He's a beer drinkin', cigar smokin,' totally psycho fitness dictator and his name is Osmin Hernandez. He is also the star trainer of a new TV fitness show, Operation Osmin. I am hooked.
The story is that the guy was discharged from the Cuban armed forces because he was declared insane, so then he got on a raft and hauled ass to Miami, where he eventually became a celebrity trainer.
He is just sadistic towards his TV "clients." Each espisode starts with Osmin interrogating the client about his or her objectives and bad habits. Ironically, he is puffing on a cigar while ranting about bad habits. But hey, no one is free from sin.
For the rest of the episode, he forces the client to only drink water and eat salad and fish for the whole 30 days the episode spans. In some episodes, Osmin has even taken wine and beer from the homes of clients, not to throw them out, but to drink them himself.
In the episodes, Osmin does offer some interesting suggestions for working out in the city, but some might get you arrested. There is no problem with doing lunges down the street or using scaffolding as a pull-up bar, but you're just asking for trouble if you start climbing on a sculpture in the middle of the city or if you do push-ups on top of a moving car.
The best part is that the guy is so badass I even found his mugshot on the internet. According to that site, he was arrested in May for battery and possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis. Had this happened during one of his infamous training sessions, it would've made one hell of an episode! We have already seen him abuse his clients, and now we know what's really in his cigar.
I am proud to announce that I have just survived my first round of Insanity. Since I had previously been doing P90X and P90X + for about a year, I thought I'd write about how they compare in my experience.
During the first week of Insanity I was amazed at how hard the workouts were. Even with the rest intervals, the workouts were pretty intense, but I did my best, ending up with sweat pouring into my eyes six days a week. It wasn't all that much easier by the end of the two-month program, mind you. Still, Insanity helped me like cardio more. The increased agility it gave me motivated me to enjoy the sweatfest. I can't say that my fit test results were much better at the end than they were on my second week --they were usually between zero and five reps higher-- but the workouts did become more bearable by the end.
Insanity also helped improve my strength. I had always wanted to be able to do one-arm push-ups and I finally pulled off a few on my very last day of Insanity. Although this is not an exercise featured in the program, all the other push-up exercises in the DVDs surely had something to do with this accomplishment.
The routines in Insanity are ok, and some moves like the V push-ups, balance push-ups and the squat push-ups are very cool. (Yeah, I like push-ups). My favorite workout is Max Interval Plyo, precisely because of the creative push-ups.
However, I find that Shaun T repeats a lot of moves in the different DVDs, which made it boring for me sometimes. Having to do practically the same warm up everyday would get on my nerves, especially at the beginning. But by the end of the program I kind of welcomed the predictability of moves in the warm up and the rest of the program.
I also find the routines could've been arranged better. For instance, I would have preferred exercising different muscle groups on different days, with emphasis on upper body one day, core and abs another, legs another, etc. That's a good way to avoid injuries. I love doing push-ups, but my body tells me that if I try to churn out 100 of them on a daily basis for three consecutive days, even if they are different types of push-ups, my shoulders are going to be feeling very sore, and not in a good way. To fix this, I would go into plank position whenever I felt my shoulders were hurting too much. The plank is a very good core exercise anyway.
Exercising different muscle groups on different days is something I enjoyed about P90X. It prevented me from overworking my muscles and kept things interesting. It was also educational in a way because I learned about what exercises target certain muscles.
But the thing that blew my mind about P90X was the incredible gain in strength that it helped me accomplish. I went from doing zero pull-ups and chin-ups to doing 10. I went from being able to do one or two standard push-ups to doing 30. To be fair with Insanity, I think that the only reason I didn't see such a dramatic change in strength from Insanity was because I had already been through P90X for a year. Well, that, and the fact that Insanity is agility-oriented, not necessarily strength-oriented.
The downside of P90X is that, contrary to Insanity, you need some equipment. After my first round using mostly 10 lb. weights, I had to graduate to 15 lb. weights if I didn't want to plateau. That's certainly not the case with the pull-up bar, although I would consider buying some ankle weights to try to increase the number of pull-ups I can do.
I must say that Tony Horton's silly humor made things a lot more interesting for me in P90X. Shaun T seems like a great guy and I liked him a lot in Insanity, but I just get Tony's humor. Making people laugh during such a tough program takes talent, in my book.
Now I am considering a variety of other fitness programs to embark on next. Among them are Rushfit, from MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre, and Tacfit. Or maybe I'll just make up my own program.
Watch Calisthenics Kingz (CK) videos on You Tube and you will be amazed. These guys transform an urban park in the Bronx into an elite gym with their incredible, gravity defying moves. But CK doesn't just work out at parks. Nowadays the entrepreneurial bodyweight fitness group, led by founder Hit Richards, has its own fitness DVDs and is planning many more. It is also recruiting worldwide.
Hit says three of the four DVDs CK has produced so far showcase the group's skills and strength to entertain and show people the level it has been capable of reaching. "One of the DVDs is an instructional that teaches the basics from a very beginner to an advanced level, showing exactly what exercises to start with, demonstrating proper form and telling you when to advance to the next level," he explains. The instructional video also teaches about stretching and nutrition.
In just a few days, CK will release an abs DVD that Hit says will "combat any program on the market." "I designed a Killer Abs program that will be released very soon." he says. "It's actually one of my personal ab workouts that helped me get my abs." Judging by his 20-pack, it must work. He says the program focuses on working out the lower abdominal area and on burning fat.
Hit and his crew are also working on a program he believes will rival the popular Beachbody programs P90X and Insanity. "I designed a program that has three phases and will get you in great shape in only 40 days, if you follow the program exactly as instructed from day 1 and that's a guarantee," Hit says. "No matter what your fitness level, these programs will assist you." CK's DVDs are available on the web at http://www.calisthenicskingz.net/
Besides producing DVDs, Hit is seeking more recruits for CK, women included. In his quest, he discovered Kylie "Kyz" Warren, a super badass girl from New Zealand who he says can do some moves that even he can't do.
"Women can be just as strong and awesome as men! We just have to be a little bit more dedicated to achieve the same results," Kyz says.
Kyz is now working on requirements for women while Hit is working on requirements for men. Requirements are the set of exercises a potential member of CK should master.
But while Kyz and Hit work on the requirements, they recommend starting out with a few exercises to gain the skill and strength necessary to pull off the kinds of moves they do. "I would recommend first mastering the basic calisthenics exercises...such as variations of pull-ups (wide grip, close grip, reverse grip, behind the neck), dips and variations of push-ups (diamond, pseudo, decline, incline crossover, one-arm)," Hit explains.
Kyz says that doing basic chin-ups and push-up variations and the abilitity to handstand are a great start. "Consistency is the key," she notes. "For example, to do the handstand, you must start at the beginning and perform the handstand against the wall to feel comfortable holding your own body weight."
From here you can progress onto the freestanding handstand, Kyz explains. "After the freestanding handstand you can then go back onto the wall to try handstand push-ups, then without the aid of the wall."
They also gave us some insight into their personal workouts. When asked what are the exercises she does regularly, Kyz mentioned stair or hill running, sprint training and back squats. "At the moment I am doing a cardio and legs-based program as I am striving to achieve a slimmer upper body for my April wedding," Kyz explains. "In the past my training program consisted of a crossfit-style workout with a strong focus on the upper body and handstands." Kyz also tries to incorporate a stretching session at least five times a week.
"My all time favourite exercises are handstand push ups, press to handstand, chin-up levers and muscle ups," Kyz adds.
Meanwhile, Hit says his workout regimen is exactly what you see in his videos. "I don't just do that for the camera, I do that as a workout," he says. His workouts usually include one set of 10-15 muscle-ups, nine sets of 20 pull-ups each (different variations each set), 10 sets of 30 or more dips, five sets of 15 freestanding handstand push-ups, three sets of 10 tigerbend push-ups and two sets of 20 or more scorpion push-ups.
Of course, nutrition is a very important part of achieving the level of fitness of the CK crew. "I have a very clean diet, a high protein/low carb diet," Hit explains. "I eat chicken & fish (salmon, tuna, whitings, etc.) and lots of vegetables, mostly green, so majority of the carbs I do are complex carbs."
"Common sense is the key here. Everyone knows what is good or naughty. And the age-old saying 'everything in moderation' is so true!" Kyz says.
Hit and Kyz confess they are not fans of supplements. "I definitely do not believe in taking supplements. You can get everything you need from an optimal diet," Kyz states while Hit says he has never used supplements and never will.
The stars of CK also place a lot of importance on motivation and inspiration. After all, the group has what it calls the 4D system, the Ds standing for drive, dedication, discipline and determination. "Our mission statement is 'We challenge you to challenge yourself' because in challenging yourself, there aren't any losers, there's only a winner: you," Hit says. CK's amazing moves intend to entertain, but also to inspire and motivate people. "We use that platform to show people that the possibilities are limitless."
Enjoying yourself is also essential. "Find something you love doing!," Kyz recommends. "Don't limit yourself to just going to the gym. Kayaking, mountain biking, trampolining, walking, aerobics classes, swimming, social sport... the list is endless! Try doing different things to avoid repetitiveness, which eventually leads to boredom."
Hello P90X fans! Remember the guy Tony Horton describes as having triceps like "diamonds of gold" in the Shoulder and Arms DVD? That guy is lawyer and author Joe Bovino and he recently gave us the inside scoop on what the making of P90X was like.
Before participating in P90X, Joe had already tried out his friend Tony's previous program, P90, and while he said it worked, he didn't think it was strenuous enough. One day he ran into Beachbody president Jon Congdon at a gym in Los Angeles, who told him about a new, more challenging program called P90X. "He said they were trying to get a test group together and I should check it out. So I did," Joe explains.
Off to a makeshift gym in Santa Monica Joe went, every day except Sunday, for 90 days. After driving 45 minutes from his office to the gym, he exercised along with 40 or 50 other people, sweating under Tony's guidance. "We were only allowed to miss three days of the 90. If you missed more than that, they could kick you out," Joe says.
The workouts they tried out were pretty much the same as those on the DVDs and Joe was satisfied with the challenge they brought. "It was fun, but it wasn't easy," he says.
Through P90X, he says he realized he could achieve a higher level of health and fitness. "I’m no spring chicken, and I’m single, so it makes sense to do whatever I can to feel and look great." In fact, it motivated him to check out other methods. "I tried CrossFit recently and enjoyed that too, but I have a lot to learn about that method."
But that doesn't mean he's done with P90X. Joe started a new round in January. "I’m missing a few beers from my eight-pack and want them back."
Joe also joined multi-vitamin shop USANA. "I checked [USANA] out and they really do have the highest-rated multivitamins in the world. I was never a vitamin guy because the market is so unregulated and there’s so much BS. But this was legit."
"I take the vitamins and other products (Nutrimeal, Fibergy, Soyamax, Nutrition Bars, and the Rev3 energy drink) religiously now and recommend them to others."
Let's face it. Working out every day is not an easy task. Sometimes it gets boring. Sometimes you feel so tired you just want to curl up in front of the TV and veg out. Happens to me all the time. So to avoid slacking off on my workouts (and feeling rotten for wasting time doing nothing) I seek out a little extra inspiration. One of those sources of inspiration is in You Tube. There are so many awesome women posting videos of their fitness achievements! Watching them really motivates me to keep doing my best.
Recently, I discovered some push-up videos by a lady called Tara Scott. I have never met her, but she made my jaw drop in amazement. After watching her videos I immediately hit the floor to try out some of her moves.
So far I have tried the Scorpion, the Corkscrew, the Cross-Crawl, Diamond, Shoulder Roll and One-Leg Dand, among some of the "easier" ones she does.
The One-Arm and Flying Frog...well, those are going to take some more practice to say the least.
Why don't you try out some of these fun moves too? I would love to hear about your achievements!
My name is Taína (Ta-EE-nah) and I am 35 years old. I have exercised most of my life, but only discovered a real passion for working out and training hard about a year ago. Throughout my life I had been pretty active as a (non-professional by a long shot) ballerina, gymnast, aerobics enthusiast and gym member. But I was just going through the motions. Especially at the gym, where no one helped you figure out an appropriate routine, I would repeat the same exercises all the time without achieving any major results other than just burning the calories I consumed. The routine became boring. I needed a challenge.
Then I saw the P90X infomercial on TV one night. I knew the program would work because it would keep me entertained while teaching me how to work out different muscle groups. Keep in mind that I don't sell P90X or any Beachbody products. I simply bought the program and found that it works for me. Practically any exercise routine you do that provides a variety of moves and a good challenge will work for you. P90X was just the program I chose. Pick your weapon!
The key is to stick with the program whatever it may be! When you stick to whichever program you choose and take it seriously, you will see results, you will feel stronger and ready to take on the next challenge. When you are able to pull off that first "real" push-up without using your knees or that first non-assisted chin-up, there will be no stopping you. You will be badass... and that is a great motivator!
To keep the fun in working out, I am always trying moves that are more and more difficult. Each time I pull off a new move I look forward to the next challenge. For instance, at first I could only do push-ups on my knees. I practiced a little every day and in no time I did my first "real" push-up. I was so amazed that I kept pushing myself. The same with pull-ups and chin-ups. Now I'm just looking for more push-up, pull-up and chin-up techniques and often coming up with my own crazy moves just to keep things interesting. Check out this video I did just for fun:
Working out shouldn't just be about losing weight. That is just one of the benefits, if that's what you're looking for. Through consistent exercise you will be able to do things you never thought you would ever achieve while looking and feeling better.
