Hello, Sgt. Ken!

Thanks for the workouts that you and Stephanie write for the Guard! I get GX magazine delivered to my house. Your workouts have helped me lose 15 pounds over the past four weeks. I love them!

My brother hurt his back the other day carrying his luggage. I was surprised, because I know that he is always lifting weights. Once he heals, what are some good things he can do to prevent that from happening again?

HOOAH!
Spc. Gina G., Florida Army National Guard


Hello, Spc!

Thanks for your compliments! Keep up the great work. Your results are outstanding!

There is a buzzword being used for the type of fitness that can help your brother, or anyone else that may not be prepared for routine tasks or activities. Called “functional fitness," it focuses on building a body to be capable of dealing with daily life duties. Functional fitness includes muscular strength and aerobic conditioning exercises performed in body positions that most people will execute during a routine task.

For the past three decades, many people have been flocking to gyms to perform weight-training exercises on benches and padded seats. I have given traditional weight training a new term called, “cosmetic fitness.” The problem with cosmetic fitness is that most of the exercises performed on benches and padded seats isolate muscle groups and do not teach people to use their whole body during fitness training.

Functional fitness is using your entire body during every exercise, teaching your muscles to work together for a common goal as opposed to working independently.

Why is functional fitness important? Imagine yourself performing a military press on a padded seat where your core and lower body muscles are prevented from assisting you in any way during the exercise. Imagine the day that you need to lift something over your head and you throw your back out because your core and lower body muscles were not prepared to work with your shoulder muscles during the activity.

Most functional fitness techniques are where you are standing on your feet and balancing your body weight while lifting or pulling anything during an exercise.

In this blog, I have included a list of exercises that will help anyone to become more functionally fit. If you want a free pdf of the exercise details with photos, simply email me at sgtken@gxonline.com and ask for “Operation Rapid Response, part 1”.

Let me know how it works for you!

HOOAH!
Ken Weichert


Warm-up Phase:

Aerobics: Example: Running in place; Side-Straddle-Hops “Jumping Jacks”; High Steps/Knees (5 Minutes)

Stretching (5 Minutes)


Muscle Target Phase:

Jump Rope Drill (1 Minute)
START: Stand upright as if you were going to perform the actions of jumping rope without the rope.
ACTIONS: Begin hopping where your feet leave the ground only a few inches. Rotate your shoulders slightly in order to create a jumping rope effect with no equipment.

Squats (2 Minutes)
START: Stand with a neutral spine, toes pointing forward, legs placed hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
ACTIONS: Lower your body by bending both knees with your hips moving back as if sitting on a chair. Maintain your weight directly over the heels or mid-foot. Lower to approximately 90 degrees of knee flexion.
STATIC SQUATS (Basic-Intermediate): Slowly return to the start position. LEAPING SQUATS (Advanced): Jump in the air and land in the low position. Warning: Do not let your knees bend beyond your toe line.

Lunges, Left Leg (30 Seconds)
START: Start with your left leg on the ground straight in front of you with your left knee slightly bent. Place your right leg straight behind you, balancing on the ball of your right foot. Your upper body is upright with your shoulders lined up over your hips.
ACTIONS: Lower your body, both knees bending until your forward leg achieves 90 degrees of knee flexion. Maintain your balance in the center. Return to the starting position. Warning: Do not let your knees bend beyond your toe line.

Lunges, Right Leg (30 Seconds)
START: Start with your right leg on the ground straight in front of you with your left knee slightly bent. Place your left leg straight behind you, balancing on the ball of your right foot. Your upper body is upright with your shoulders lined up over your hips.
ACTIONS: Lower your body, both knees bending until your forward leg achieves 90 degrees of knee flexion. Maintain your balance in the center. Return to the starting position. Warning: Do not let your knees bend beyond your toe line.

Flutter Kicks (1 Minute)
START: Lie on your back with your palms on the ground and your hands against the sides of your buttocks. You can look toward your legs or keep your head down against the ground. First, bring your legs straight in the air together and lower them approximately 10-20 inches from the ground with your feet flexed.
ACTIONS: Your legs will move opposite of each other vertically up and down approximately 12 inches. Warning: Remember that the lower your legs are positioned, the more back muscles that you engage for this exercise. Keep your back flat against the floor with your arms supporting the sides of your body. If you experience discomfort in your lower back, raise your legs higher. Keep your feet flexed at all times.

Dying Cockroach (Vertical Leg Crunch) Drill (30 Seconds)
START: Lie on your back with your palms on the ground and your hands against the sides of your buttocks. Bring your legs straight in the air together where your feet will line up over your hips with your feet flexed. Raise your arms and point your fingers toward your toes.
ACTIONS: Tighten your abdominal muscles and raise your upper body upward where your fingers will come close to touching your toes. Return to the start position. Continue until your goal is reached. Warning: Never lock your knees.

Box and Reach Drill (30 Seconds)
START: Lie on your back with your palms on the ground and your hands against the sides of your buttocks. Bring your legs straight in the air together where your feet will line up over your hips with your feet flexed. Raise your arms and point your fingers toward your toes.
ACTIONS: First, reach over the outside of your left thigh with both arms. Next, return to the start position and reach over the outside of your right thigh with both arms. Reaching on both sides completes one repetition of this exercise.

Crunches (1 Minute)
START: Lay down on your back with your both legs together bent 90 degrees at your knees. Place your heels on the ground and point your toes upward. Interlock your fingers and place your hands behind your head.
ACTIONS: Tighten your abdominal muscles and raise your upper body until your shoulders blades come off of the ground and return to the start position. Continue until your goal is reached.
WARNING: Do not pull on your neck with your hands. Keep your elbows wide and your chin pointing toward the sky during the entire exercise.

Modified Lower Back Bends (30 Seconds)
START: Lower your body to the ground with your arms outward and bent at the elbows, hands slightly above your shoulders, palms on the ground, and your feet shoulder-width apart touching the floor.
ACTIONS: Slowly arch your lower back by tightening your rear end and lower back muscles until your legs and arms move upward. Return to the start position. WARNING: Do not jerk your body during this exercise. Perform the actions slowly.

Push-ups (1 Minute)
START: Balance your body on your hands and feet (or knees) with your back forming a straight line. Look forward and keep your feet together or up to 12 inches apart. Note: Different arm positions engage different arms, chest, and shoulder muscles. The closer your hands are together, the more triceps muscles you engage.
ACTIONS: While keeping your abdominal muscles tight, drop your body straight down by bending both elbows. Return to the start position. Warning: Do not look down toward the ground during this exercise. Maintain a forward focal point at all times.

Dive Bomber Push-ups (30 Seconds)
START: Assume the standard push-up position. Now widen your feet and point your rear end in the air.
ACTIONS: Lower your body to the ground slowly by bending at the elbows. Slightly drag your chest across the ground and press your body upward until your arms are straight and your lower back is arched backward. Return to the start position by reversing the steps.

Squat-Thrust-Jumps (1 Minute)
START: Stand upright and ready.
ACTIONS: Lower your body, both knees bending until your hands reach the ground. Next, straighten your body until you assume the push-up position. Quickly bring your knees into your chest, switch your balance to your feet and leap in the air. Repeat.

Cool-down Phase:

Stretching (5 Minutes)


Stamina Stopwatch:
Note: Repeat the Muscle Target Phase for optimum results! The Warm-up and Cool-down phases are only performed once.
Quick Fix – 1 full set = approximately 25 minutes
Fast and Furious – 2 full sets = approximately 35 minutes
Mother Load – 3 full sets = approximately 45 minutes

Equipment Needed: None

BONUS DIET TIP: If you want a great program that will help you with your diet, try our program called Operation Diet Dissection on National Guard Fitness under GET HEALTHY. Try it for the next 30 days on and let me know how it is working for you. Hundreds of Soldiers have emailed us testimonies, telling us how it helped them lose between 8-12 pounds in 30 days. Most of all, we have seen a great deal of body fat loss in all participants.

BIO on the author: Ken Weichert, a.k.a. “SGT Ken”, is a Six-time Soldier of the Year, Master Fitness Trainer and veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. Ken and his wife Stephanie, a Certified Personal Trainer, currently produce health and fitness programs for GX magazine and for the National Guard Web site.