This morning (ok it’s still morning) my first client was telling me that Madonna’s trainer is now working with Gweneth Paltrow.  Gweneth was apparently talking about how she works out for an hour and 45 minutes – 6 days per week.

Do you have the resources or TIME for that?

Does it take that much time and effort to lose fat?

Trainers all over the country are still training their clients for 60 minutes.  Who came up with that?  It may be due to the little we knew, compared to today, about the acute and chronic adaptations the body goes through depending on time, intensity, etc.  What we thought was absolute truth about our physiology and how are bodies react to exercise has changed. 

Think of how far we have come from doing the same old boring 8 – 10 Nautilus machines at the gym.

You, however, are in the know.  If you weren’t before…now you are.

You can get it done in less time and get better results doing it.

My 10 minute whole body workouts are making waves, big waves.  In fact, the guys from Beach Body now have informercials on television for a 10 minute workout system and Bob Greene (Oprah’s) trainer has also released an in your home 10 minute workout plan.

Try one of my workouts and see how doing 4 complex (big) movements back to back for 10 minutes will leave you feeling like you did workout for an hour and 45 minutes!

1. Squats
2. Push ups
3. Rows
4. Jumping Jacks

10 reps each for as many rounds as possible.

This simple example of one of my workouts is what has spawned over 11 months worth of workouts on my site. 

You are busy.  You don’t have a celebrity trainer.  You do have the desire to make a change and that is where it all starts.

10 minutes.  Workout.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

I will continue to give commentary as usual.  I will also be adding more pertinent information on how to reach your fitness goals at home.  More articles, tips, and videos each and every week.  I have purposely been writing about the human side of things and how that relates to fitness.  That will not change as I believe without talking about that side of the coin – we will all be in trouble.

I have been “practicing” my video skills lately so here is my first go at it.  This was a short video I took with the Flip Video Camera.  Wow have things changed!  It’s so easy!  I uploaded this onto my YouTube Channel in about 10 minutes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBYWdqgyxMw]

Now for todays tip for working out at home…

Make sure your find your favorite music and play it during your workout.  You need to create an environment that you want to be in when you exercise at home.  I had an in home client that used to workout to classical music.  It wasn’t my cup o’ beans but he genuinely loved it so that’s what we listened to.

I prefer something up beat with a lot thump to it.

What ever your preference is for music, don’t suffer through another workout without it!

Live life.  Workout.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com
www.homeofficeworkouts.net

Squat and walk your way to a great workout.  Leaving for vacation I wanted to get in my whole body just one more time.  I am looking forward to a week off from my workouts to enjoy water skiing, swimming and “hanging out” with my wife Andrea and my two boys Trevor and Andrew.

Here is the workout:

1. Front Squats – 10 Reps
2. Farmers Walk – to failure

6 rounds of this left me absolutley exhausted!

This was my first weighted squat since my knee surgery in March so I went a bit light at 95 pounds for the front squats.  The farmers walk I used 100 pound dumbbells.  Take the least amount of rest between sets as you can (even though your going heavy).

Enjoy this workout and enjoy your next week!

Go heavy.  Walk heavy.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

As the month comes to a close I wanted to pick up the pace, so to speak, and really crank up some intense workouts.  This one fits the bill!  Hold on to your shoes.

As I have mentioned I am no speed demon but I am going to let you in on what I did for weight, reps and time to give you a bench mark, good or bad.  For me this workout was 20 minutes and 11 seconds of pure intensity!

1. Run 1/4 mile (.25 on a treadmill, one lap on a track)
2. Pull ups to failure
3. Incline bench with dumbbells at a slight incline (maybe 10-15%) to fail.

Here’s my humble stats:

1. 1:48 to 2:10 splits on the 1/4 miles
2. 16, 14, 13, 10 reps on pull ups
3. 12, 11, 10, 8 reps on the dumbbell bench press with 60 pounds and a neutral grip (palms facing each other)

In total this workout took just over 20 minutes and was I glad to be done! 

Do I have to mention it burned tons of calories?

Just did!

Win.  Just win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

This next statement might get me into some hot water with some of my colleagues…but I’m going to say it anyway!

Sometimes I think personal trainers shouldn’t exist to begin with! 

Granted there is a need (especially these days) for someone to safely instruct people how to perform physical tasks in order to achieve a desired outcome quickly and effectively.  Or might I say help someone shed unwanted body fat without hurting themselves.

Sometimes I feel like if people would just move, if they would just play, if they would just work around the house they would be much better off!

What if I could tell you about  an exercise routine that involves no thought, burns tons of Calories and hits all of the target areas like the core, arms, legs, butt, lower back, upper back AND the heart and lungs?

Could this be a new fitness contraption that sells for 3 easy payments of $29.95?

This unbelievable workout that I rediscovered is called…

PLANT A GARDEN

My wife and I recently planted an 8 x 10 foot vegetable garden and it took 4 hours total.  For a beginner exercising for the first time this equates to 8 half hour workouts!  That’s more than a week!

For an intermediate to advanced exerciser that is at least 4 hours.  For a nut like me it is one crazy marathon of a workout!

This rivaled some of the toughest workouts I have ever experienced!  Everything is sore and though I don’t know the exact Calorie count…it must have been massive!

What did we do exactly?

1. Edged a 10 x 8 foot rectangle out of the grass next to our shed in the back yard.
2. Used a pitch fork to lift the sod up and shake out the dirt.  Put the remaining grass roots (and weeds) in the wheelbarrow.
3. Repeat until grass and weeds are gone
4. Drove 12 stakes in the ground and attached plastic fencing to keep the “critters” out.
5. Planted Zucchini, peppers, and two types of tomatoes.

Besides the workout this task does so much for my family.  It taught my six year old son how to plant a garden and now he gets to watch it grow!

It will provide tons of fresh veggies for my family this summer and save us a lot of money at the grocery store!

It gave my wife and I a sense of accomplishment and gave us an opportunity to do something together!

I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

How much did all this cost?

About $65 dollars total including the plants!  I charge $80 per hour for new personal training clients.  For 4 hours of training that is $320.  Four hours of building a garden from scratch was a mere $16.25 per hour!

I don’t ever want to hear again that someone doesn’t have the time or the resources to exercise!

Happy Gardening and congratulations in advance to reaching your fitness and or weight loss goals!

Garden.  Exercise.  Win.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

I did this just  yesterday after searching for Home Office Workouts and 10 minute workouts and we are thankfully gaining some serious ground.

Funny enough there is another Dave Gleason, a musician in fact, that dominates the search engines when you type in ‘our’ name.  I thought to myself, “why not try Dave Gleason Fitness” and see what comes up.

Something that caught my eye right away was BFL Champion – Dave Gleason listed on YouTube.  This is an interview and video expose of Andrea and I on our trip to Maui, Hawaii as a result of me winning the 4 Week Sprint for the Experienced Fitness category in the Body for Life contest.  It was posted by someone in Australia 6 months ago.

One key word I want you to listen to…CONSISTENCY!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhO59pFHe20]

A few of my training techniques may have changed…but not the underlying principles that got me into that kind of shape.

1. Relative Intensity
2. Consistency

If I can do it…you can too!

Motivate.  Be consistent.  Win

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

Comments I often get are “there is no way I can perform the exercises in those workouts” or “I will probably only be able to each exercise once in 10 minutes”.

Another terrific attribute to this system is RELATIVE INTENSITY. 

Everyone, and I mean everyone is at a different ability level and fitness level. 

• Some are stronger.
• Some have never exercised regularly.
• Some don’t have much stamina.
• Some feel like they need to lose weight before they can exercise.
• Somedays we feel great…somedays not so much.
• Etc.

It doesn’t matter.  Why?  Because every exercise can be modified to be more difficult or much easier. 

The days you feel like a million bucks…you might get 4 or even five rounds done in 10 minutes.

The days you don’t you may only complete 3.  You take what your body will give you.

Here’s a bit of advice that was given to me along time ago - 

“Before you can be great at anything you first have to be good.  Before you can be good you have to start!”

Can you do 4 exercises, 10 repetitions each, and then repeat that for 10 minutes at your personal best effort? 

I bet you can. 

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

Every exercise/movement was performed 20 seconds on (best possible effort) 10 seconds off for 6 sets!

• Step ups (12 inch step)
• Jumping Jacks
• Foot fires
• Prone bridge hand taps
• Sprinting in place
• Skaters
• Side shuffle between cones (about 25 feet)

I have to tell you they crushed it!  Nice job ladies!

This workout requires virtually NO equipment and can be done in part or the whole enchilata.

Breathe.  Burn Calories.  Lose Weight.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

Who really likes to stretch anyway?  Ok maybe if you are a faithful yoga or pilates junkie you atleast like the way it feels after the class is over.

<-<- What the #@*^! are those?  I”ll explain.

For most people reading this blog, trying to workout at home is a task not easily achieved on a consitent basis.  What is to be skipped over from most in home workouts?  Stretching.

How beneficial is it any how?  Which type of stretching works the best anyway?

What if you could get even MORE benefit from deep tissue massage?  Yeah but who can afford that on a consistent basis?  If you can shell out less than $17 to $25 (depending on the size) you can work on your flexibility and make a more profound impact on how your muscle responds to to your workouts.

 A Foam Roller does the trick.

Let me explain it to you this way:

When you stretch in traditional ways it is like pulling on a wrinkled T-shirt and expecting it to stay “unwrinkled”.  When you use a foam roller, for what is called myofascial release, it is like ironing that wrinkled T-shirt.  Myo (muscle) and facsia (connective tissue) are both affected allowing for better recovery from workouts, less stiffness and soreness and ultimately better workout performance – allowing you to stay clear from injury and reach your goals faster!

Click Here to see an instuction sheet (PDF) on how to treat yourself to a deep tissue massage.

You can find foam rollers where I have trusted and purchased all of my in home exercise equipment by visiting my friends at Perform Better.

Happy Rolling!

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com

Here was our version:

• 50 – 25 lbs. Kettlebell Dead Lifts
• 50 Squat Thrusts
• 50 Push ups
• 50 Medicine ball sit ups
• 50 Walking Lunges
• 50 Kettlebell Bentover rows (25 reps each side)
• 50 Dips
• 50 Jumping Jacks

That’s 400 reps in 13 minutes!

Last night I had a little over 4.5 hours sleep.  Up at 4:30 am to hit the road and train my first client.  Yesterday was just one of those days… end of the month, kids practice, billing, bills, taxes, work on my business, post new content on my website – you know…LIFE. 

How many times does life get in the way of you reaching your fitness goals? 

Today the last thing I wanted to do was workout.  I had a half hour between two late morning clients so what did I do?  Blow it off? NOPE.

The Filthy Fifty.

The same workout my bootcamp did ( although with a bit heavier weight) and they beat me hands down by 1:21!  So my workout took 14 minutes and 25 seconds and now I feel great!  I also feel good because I didn’t miss a workout!

Do be lazy.  move.  WIN.

Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com