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How to Balance the Beach Body you WANT with the Movement you NEED!


How to Balance the Beach Body you WANT, with the Movement you NEED!
Now that the weather is getting sunny everyone is rushing to the gym to try and get Beach Body Ready. When you think of beach bodies, you think of the term “Mirror Muscles”. These are all the muscles that look good in the mirror. Now, i would like to say that I dont think its a bad thing to train these muscles. ALL of us at some level care how we look without clothes on. There is not a person on the planet that has not flexed in front of the bathroom mirror or did a few modeling poses before a shower, haha. The issue arises when you Overtrain these muscles and it causes muscular imbalances that lead to pain or injury. 
I for one am guilty of this form of training. In my earlier years all I did was workouts right out of muscle and fitness. I really thought that I could look like those guys by drinking protein shakes and lifting (boy was I wrong). However, it was a great learning experience. I am also guilty of Only doing movement style workouts and not looking the way i like to look. SOOOOO, what I did was come up with a program that balances my Need to move with my Want to look good with my shirt off. This format of training was made, developed, and used for ME and ME only. It works for ME. This is how I train. Therefore there is no scientific study behind it, it is not meant for everyone, it is not used on my clients, it is not used for our athletes at FLO. I must put that info in for all those “Super Trainers” out there. They send me emails quoting all the lines from the text books they train out of and debate every exercise idea that does not agree with the “Guru” they follow. 
Ok, so here is the format I use. 
Soft Tissue - 4 to 5 body parts that will be used that day. 
Dynamic Warm Up and Activation- 6 to 8 exercises that will get me moving properly
Total Body- 1 total body exercise that works on the body parts im doing that day
Beach Time - 2 Exercises that focus on developing that body part
Circuit Finish - I normally finish with a circuit that will balance out the energy of the workout, tone the arms, or sometimes just do an ab circuit. 
There are many factors that decide why each exercise was chosen and also why the rep range is the way it is. One BIG factor is time. I only have about 45 min to 1 hour to workout so I have to get in, get it done and get out. Once again, i stress that this is what I do. One size does not fit all but it may help some people balance movement and looks. 
Here is an example of what todays workout was. 
Foam Rolled

Calf
45 sec
Quad
45 sec
Glute
45 sec
Back/ Lats
1 min
Movement

 1- Leg Hip Press
1 set
12 reps
Birddogs
1 set
12 reps
Retraction w/ Bands
1 set
12 reps
1 Leg RDL
1 set
12 reps
Lateral Lunge w/ Rotation
1 set
12 reps
Pull Ups
1 set
12 reps
Total Body Exercise

Trap Bar Deadlift
5 sets
10, 8, 5, 5, 5
Beach Body 

T-Bar Rows
4 sets
8, 8, 6, 6
Slow Tempo Lat Pulldowns
3 sets
10
Circuit Finish

Bicep Curls 
4 rounds
12
Push Ups w/ T 
4 rounds
20
Bosu Crunches
4 rounds
25

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