Blog - Page 43 of 48 - 12 Minute Athlete

How to Be a Badass in 21 Steps

For most of my life, I’ve tried to be as tough as possible.

I used to punch all the guys in high school. I also put a few holes in my parents’ walls (sorry mom and dad). After that, I asked for (and was quickly given) a punching bag to take out my toughness on instead.

And while I’ve never taken myself very seriously (OK, other than maybe my freshman year in high school when I died my hair pink and covered myself in spikes), I still love the idea of being a badass.

Because being a badass means more than just trying to be cool. It means being true to yourself and who you are, sticking to your beliefs, and putting yourself out there in the world. And most of all, it means having the confidence to go after your dreams—even if no one else believes in you but yourself.

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The Secret to an Awesome Workout

Ever wonder why sometimes, you feel strong and awesome and powerful when your workout is over, and other times, your workout just kind of… well, sucks?

Sure, it could be due to external factors—maybe you haven’t been feeling that great lately, or maybe you’re extra stressed/sad/overwhelmed with life. Heck, even little things such as changes in temperature can affect your workout (I certainly experienced that in Mexico).

But while these annoyances are, for the most part, out of your control, there are several things you can do to make sure your workout is as awesome as humanly possible.

Seven Reasons You Should Fall in Love With Box Jumps

I have a confession to make.

Despite being reasonably tall for a girl (I’m 5 ‘ 8 1/2″), with legs that prohibit me from ever buying regular length jeans, my jumping skills have always been a bit… weak.

As a basketball player in high school, I may have been pretty decent on the defensive side of things, but for some reason, jumping just was never my strong point. I was so pitiful, in fact, that my dad would ask me if my feet ever actually left the floor when I jumped (my husband has made the same joke years later).

Yep, I was that bad at jumping.

To be perfectly fair, I never actually practiced jumping as a teenager. Sure, I ran lines, and shot lay ups, and didn’t have a half bad three point shot, but jumping? I never even did a jumping jack, let alone a squat jump or a tuck jump.

It's Time to Stop Talking—And Start Doing

It’s rare to come across someone who doesn’t want to be in really awesome shape.

That wouldn’t love to be able to crank out several pull ups in a row.

Or run a sub 5 minute mile.

Or eat healthy foods, effortlessly.

Or have a rocking body they don’t mind showing off at the beach.

These people are everywhere.

They talk about how nice it would be, how only if they had better genes, or more willpower, or more money for healthier food or a gym membership… then they would be fit. They’d have the body of their dreams, and the athleticism needed to conquer the world.

And that’s it. These people are talkers.

10 Warning Signs You’re Exercising TOO Much

While most people have trouble getting motivated to work out at all, there are some people—myself included—who have trouble taking even a single rest day.

And though it’s good to keep moving and working out on a near daily basis, it’s possible to overdo it sometimes.

Most people understand that rest is important—rest helps rebuild your muscles and allows them to grow back bigger and stronger—but there are times when we may try and push it too hard.

In the fitness world, this phenomenon of exercising too much is called overtraining, and most athletes of all levels have experienced it at some point in their lives (whether they know it or not).

Rather than helping you reach your goals faster, overtraining can actually send you backwards, resulting in symptoms such as unwanted weight gain/loss, lack of motivation to exercise, and fitness plateaus.

So how do you know if you’re exercising too much?

Here are 10 warning signs you might be overtraining:

How to Do 12 Minute Athlete HIIT Workouts if You're Just Starting Out

If you’ve been a couch potato for most of your adult life, or if your definition of a vigorous workout is half an hour on an elliptical machine or recumbent bike while reading a book, these workouts must seem a bit… hard.

Impossible even.

And I’m not judging. A few years ago, I would have felt the same way.

Back then, if you’d showed me these workouts, I would have laughed in your face and told you there was no way in hell I could do one.

But here’s what you have to realize: it’s all mental.

You can do these workouts.

No matter what kind of shape you’re in, you can start doing these HIIT workouts today.

Because it doesn’t matter how many breaks you have to take, how many reps you can do or how much you have to modify an exercise just to be able to do one single rep.

All that matters is that you try—and that you really, truly give it your all.

But if you’re new to the site, or you just haven’t found the willpower to do one of the HIIT workouts quite yet even though you’ve been here for a while, here are some tips to stop you from procrastinating and start getting in the best shape of your life:

10 Essential Stretches for Athletes

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have much of a problem getting motivated to work out on a regular basis—but when it comes to recovery, that’s another story.

Maybe you do a good job at taking a rest day at least once a week. Maybe you even do some foam rolling here and there or book a massage as a reward after an extra tough workout.

But when was the last time you spent any time on your flexibility?

Yes, I know it’s time consuming. Yes, I know it’s not as exciting as working towards a strength or skill goal.

But as an athlete, no matter what your level, you need to properly take care of your muscles, or you’re putting yourself at risk for injury.

If you can take 10-15 minutes at least a few times a week to stretch, you’ll reap more benefits than you might expect, and allow your body to get stronger, healthier and fitter than you would be otherwise.

Plus, you’ll help yourself prevent getting injured—meaning you won’t be forced to take extra time off from your regular workouts.

Start with my 10 essential stretches for athletes below, and watch your flexibility and mobility improve over time!

Home Exercise Equipment Review: Dip Bar

dip bar

There’s no doubt in my mind that you can get in a really good workout with absolutely no equipment.

And in case you haven’t noticed, many of the 12 Minute Athlete HIIT workouts use nothing more than your own body weight.

Personally, I work out equipment-free on a regular basis—and anytime I travel, I never bring more than my timer and maybe my jump rope, yet I’m still able to get in an ass-kicking, sweat inducing workout—no problem.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t nice to have some basic exercise equipment available every once in a while, whether at home or in a gym.

A good piece of equipment can be used for multiple exercises, adds an increased challenge and keeps your workouts interesting.

One of my favorite pieces of home workout equipment that fits this description? Dip bars.

Here’s why…

Do more with a dip bar

Yes, push ups are great. Yes, handstands and handstand push ups should rock your world.

But want to build a sexy, strong upper body—fast? A dip bar will do the trick.

Mexico Adventures, Sweaty Humid Workouts, and Dorky Videos

How’s 2013 treating you so far?

My 2013 has been awesome. I’ve had a lot of fun adventures and met some really cool people so far.

Plus, I’m totally psyched about the direction 12 Minute Athlete is heading.

We’re building a movement here, folks. A movement of awesome, totally no-excuses athletes. We’re changing lives, one 12 minute athlete as a time.

I’m currently working on two big projects for the site — get ready, because they’re going to rock.

So anyway, in an effort to give you a peek into my crazy world, I wanted to tell you a little bit about my recent trip to Sayulita, Mexico.

It was awesome. Amazing. So much fun.

Seriously, if you ever have the chance to visit, definitely go.

Here are a few highlights of my trip:

How to Properly Warm Up Before You Work Out

If you played high school or college sports, you probably remember your coach telling you to always warm up beforehand, or put yourself at risk for getting injured.

As a former basketball player, I remember jogging around the court, doing lunges down and back, doing wall sits and even running lines before starting practice or a game.

But since most of us are past the days of organized sports, how do you know how to properly warm up before a tough workout?

Longer isn’t necessarily better

Despite what your coach may have drilled into your head back in your school days, longer warm ups do not equal to better performance.

In fact, too long of a warm up can actually cause you to lose strength and endurance in your actual workout.

In her book, The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Tells Us How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer, Gretchen Reynolds stresses:

“A warm up should be a prelude to exertion, not the exertion itself.”

The ideal warm up length? Just around two to five minutes. My typical warm up takes about two minutes, then I’m onto the good stuff.

And while there’s really no right or wrong way to warm up, you should always aim get a little warm (hence the term warm up) and get your muscles working—but not wear yourself out completely.

How to warm up

As I mentioned before, there’s no absolute perfect warm up. Generally, you should try and gently work the same muscles you’ll be working in your workout in your warm up.