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How To

How to Stay Fit With a Desk Job

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The challenge of how to stay fit with a desk job is often overlooked. If you sit for much of your job, you know how easy it is to fall into a sedentary lifestyle. Reading reports, composing emails and attending Zoom meetings make it convenient to sit at your desk and be productive. Even transferring from an office to work-from-home makes it easier to sit all day. 

Adding in a quick exercise and mobility session can make a world of difference in how you feel and how your body functions. Try this free program 3 days a week (less than 20 minutes, no equipment necessary) if you need a simple, workable plan to follow. What do you have to lose? 20 minutes. But what you have to gain! 

how to stay fit with a desk job

Negatives of Sitting All Day

Sitting down and working all day is not manual labor, but it’s actually pretty tough on the body. Our bodies do well moving a certain amount in the day, and that’s hard to do if your job is to focus and be electronically available for hours at a time.

If you sit too much without regular movement or exercise, you’ll notice tightness, fatigue, lethargy. Like a water well that needs a water primer, regular movement sets up our body for better movement, better health, and fewer issues in the future.

The Benefits of an Exercise Program

Despite this schedule, you must be deliberate about making time to take care of your health. It will pay you back in spades. How? You might already know some benefits of exercise, but they include:

  • Increased energy levels (that don’t come from calories or caffeine)
  • Decreased back pain
  • Increased mood
  • Greater quality sleep

Back to the part where I said you have to be deliberate – extra time doesn’t fall into your lap. Motivation doesn’t rain down like pollen in Austin, ya know. You’ve got to make a way for physical activity to fit in your life. This involves knocking down your specific barriers to exercise. 

If this is striking a chord with you, I’m going to guess your barriers might be lack of free time and lack of a plan. 

Challenge Your Limiting Factors – Have a Plan

Many of my clients have a desk job. They are busy, productive, and after thinking, producing and strategizing all day, the last thing they want to do is think up an exercise program before they exercise. The lack of a program to follow was a limiting factor. 

If that is a limiting factor for you, and you are looking to start something without a huge time commitment, try the following program. Do it 3-6 days a week. It will take less than 20 minutes. It won’t prep you for high level athletics but it will go a long way in helping prevent and ease the pain of a sedentary lifestyle, and promote good health. 

Feel Better From 20 Minutes a Day

Chances are, you know some benefits of exercise, and you even know some exercises. The challenge is more likely that after focusing and working on all, you just don’t want to think anymore about what to do in the gym. If that sounds familiar, and you’d like increased energy, decreased pain, try this program.

Pick 3 days this week, and give yourself 20 minutes. You can do this!

Exercises for Sitting All Day

Do 8 reps of each exercise, then move to the next exercise. After you have done all exercises for 8 reps, repeat the circuit. (Scroll down for hyperlinks and videos). It will look like this: 

Evaluate how that was, decide to do another set. Aim for 3 this first go round, and note how long it took you. Very do-able! 

If you’d like a more in depth look at some of these exercises, check out these links:

how to do bear crawls

how to do lunges and lunge variations

how to do the Y

How to Stay Active at a Desk Job

If you are looking for other ways to stay fit with a desk job in addition to the 3 sessions above, remember that you can add in small daily changes that add up. You might have heard of these before, but they do make a difference in keeping your body active, moving, and feeling good.

  • stand up and stretch at the top of every hour
  • stay hydrated; walk to the restroom often
  • walk to a co-workers office to discuss what could have been an email
  • take walking meetings, either with co-workers of while on muted zoom
  • Decreased back pain
  • walk up stairs when you have the time

Do It! And Update Me!

Let me know how this goes! I’d love to hear how you’ve made staying fit and active at your desk job a reality. Email me with any feedback or questions! kathryn@kathrynalexander.com.

How to Follow Gym Etiquette

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If you have ever wondered how to follow gym etiquette, you are not alone. Proper gym etiquette is not complicated; there are a few gym-specific things to know, but otherwise it is pretty much common sense and common courtesy. Be nice to people, share with people, and leave the gym clean and organized. Read on for tips on gym etiquette.

Gym etiquette tips for how to follow gym etiquette. Kathryn Alexander Personal Training in Austin, Texas.

How to Work With Others in the Gym

The most important etiquette tip of all is to simply be respectful of others in the gym. In a public space, people will differ on how they prefer to interact. Some lifters prefer to get their training in and leave with minimal involvement of others. When you see this preference in somebody, please respect it. Other people find the gym a great social situation and want to chat and lift with others. A general rule of thumb is to politely reinforce your boundaries (“great to see you! I’m going to go lift now. See you next time.”) and respect others. 

This means do NOT offer unsolicited advice to people. No matter what. People who want help will seek it. This goes for trainers as well. Despite what your sales lead tells you, do not go tell someone they are doing something wrong. There are other ways to open up conversation and offer support, but unsolicited criticism/advice/suggestions are not the way to do that. 

Other things that I consider to be both common sense and worth saying are to give people personal space and be aware of what people are doing around you. 

How to Use Cameras and Videos in the Gym

Trending right now is the use of cameras and videos in the gym. People are videoing their lifts, either for form checks, for their coach, for social media, etc. Inevitably there are issues with the use of video in a public place. Just this week, a girl posted a video of a guy “hitting on her” and reposted it to shame him. In this situation, he didn’t appear to be rude. Of course, there are situations where people are creepy, where people aren’t, where people are misunderstood. 

A good rule here is that videoing others in the gym is an invasion of space. It’s rude; don’t do it. Sure, videoing your lifts discretely is fine, but a public gym is not your production room. Remember, other people just want to lift without dodging a million cameras walking through the weight room. 

Etiquette of Cell Phone Use in the Gym

Exercise tracking is becoming much more popular, and it’s a great way to log your training. My clients, workout partner and I all use Train Heroic to train our workouts. You’ll see us in the gym inputting our numbers quickly between sets. I’m certainly not entirely anti-cell phone use, and I highly encourage the use of phones for logging your training and form check videos.

But please remember no one (literally no one) wants to hear your conversations or your music. Save your chatting for after your session and use your ear buds. Just don’t hog equipment for 20 minutes between sets because your Insta is fire today. K? Get your work in and get out.

How to Work in With Someone

This is “how to follow gym etiquette” 101. Working in with others allows gyms to flow when it’s busy. In this case, you might end up sharing the equipment. People call this “working in” with someone. Resistance training typically has a lifting period and a resting period, which s conducive to sharing. When I lift, my set takes 30-60 seconds. I’ll rest for 1-3 minutes. This is a great time for someone else to work in. 

How to Share Gym Equipment

The best situation for working in or sharing equipment with someone is if you don’t have to change the equipment too much. Generally speaking, if someone is doing something like squat, deadlift, bench, cleans, or jerks, it is probably better to wait. Unless your program is very similar to theirs, and your set up (ie height, seat position) is as well, there will be so many variables that it is easier on both of you to not share. 

Accessory work is a bit more conducive to sharing. Pin selectorized equipment is easy to share, as it doesn’t require loading and unloading weight plates. Dumbbells and the free weight benches are also conducive to sharing, as you can quickly move your weights in and out of the shared work area.

How to Clean Gym Equipment

Wipe down equipment before you use it if it’s dirty. Wipe down equipment after you use it. Clean up any sweat, chalk, blood, or whatever else you left behind. After that, you should still wash your hands, wash your clothes, and shower off. You don’t have to be a germ phobe, but just know you probably want to change clothes before you sit down on your couch at home. 

How to Treat the Equipment and Use it For What it’s For

The number one benefit of having a fully stocked gym is access to all the great equipment. This is contingent on the integrity of the equipment, which is contingent on taking good care of it. Do not drop the dumbbells. Use the bars for what they are designed for. Each gym will typically explain this to you. Some gyms have specialty bars like squat bars, deadlift bars, and specific bars for rack pulls. Using them in the wrong setting can injure you or ruin the bar. 

Additionally, remember that there are certain things you can do only in certain areas. There are typically just a few squat racks, but you can do curls anywhere in the gym. Ergo, don’t curl in the squat rack. Don’t do lunges on a deadlift platform. You’ll appreciate when other people give the same respect so you can get your lifts done as you’d like. 

How to Put The Weights Back

Pick ’em up, put ’em back. Haha! Seems easy to me. Like camping, pack out what you pack in, and leave it better than you found it. This means if you bring over bands, chains, straps, specialty bars, or anything else, you have to return it. Do not leave a plate on a machine because you think it’s someone else’s starting point. It’s probably not. This is one of my biggest gym pet peeves. People leave a 45 pound plate on a machine often. The people who do not start with a 45 pound plate on it are the people who can’t move a 45 pound plate. Rude rude.

Return equipment to its starting point and put your own equipment up. Do not leave the dumbbells out either. And don’t expect me to not chew you out if I catch you leaving the gym a mess. 

Other Tips on How to Follow Gym Etiquette

There are many many other things I could write about how to follow gym etiquette. Again, may of them are specific to each gym, and are common sense.

  • Don’t jump rope inside. 
  • Don’t claim an entire area as yours.
  • Wash your clothes, and lift in clean clothes. Please.
  • Don’t bring your dog. 
  • Wear deodorant.
  • Follow the rules specific to your gym.

Finally, speak to the owners/staff if someone is being rude to you. Gym owners are among the most passionate and compassionate people I’ve ever met. It’s not a lucrative field, and it’s one they usually go in for the love of it. They want to help you and they want you to succeed. 

The gym really is a friendly place! You’ll find many many people are cheering for you at a gym, and you’ll feel very supported.

Where to Start

If you are brand new to the gym, my program called Square 1 takes you though exactly where to start. It tells you how many sets, reps, and what weight to start with on exercises. It’s $15 for a 6 week program, and you can message me anytime with questions. I’d be happy to help get you started, on this beginning program, or on a program custom written for you! Email me at kathryn@kathrynalexander.com or fill out this form here. 

Happy training! 

How to Goblet Squat

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Learn how to goblet squat as we cover the benefits, variations, and training techniques to implementing the goblet squat.

The goblet squat is a great squat variation that is effective as a training tool and teaching tool. It naturally predisposes one toward optimal form, making it easy to feel a good squat. It is accessible too, as it can be done with any implement that you can hold at your chest.

The placement of the implement (high, at your chest) recruits your anterior musculature more than a back squat does, meaning you’ll use your torso a good bit. Fun fact, I felt my abs work harder than I ever have in my life, during a heavy front squat. More than a crunch, hanging leg raise, or any ab workout style class I did; it was the front squat that required so much from my abs.

You can use the goblet squat as a warm up, learning tool, or main lift. Check out the directions and video below for more thorough directions.

How to goblet squat by Kathryn Alexander of Alexander Training

How to Goblet Squat

  • hold the weight in your upward facing palms
  • press elbows toward each other so your elbows are under the weight, not pointing toward the sides of the room
  • keep trunk tight and neutral
  • break at the hips to initiate squat
  • sit deep into heels
  • squeeze big toe into the ground and squeeze your glutes as you stand

How Many Goblet Squats Should You Do?

Since the goblet squat can be used as a main lift or an accessory, you have a lot of parameters to choose from. If your goal is to use it as a strength exercise, you’ll work up to heavy weight in the 5-8 rep range. If you’d like to use it as assistance work (typically after your heavier, bigger lifts), then you can do more like 10-20 reps.

Remember to use the goblet squat to serve you and your goals! If you have questions about how to add it in your training program, please feel free to comment or email me! kathryn@kathrynalexander.com

If you’d like to learn more about working together on a custom program for you, please message me here and we can schedule a free consult.

See More From the “How-To” Series Below

How to Begin Lifting Weights

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In case you were wondering if this is a good time to begin lifting weights: any time is a good time to begin lifting weights! You are not too old, and you are not too weak, you are not too busy.

Lifting weights truly can change your life! It is like a cheat code – if you are stronger, everything feels easier. If you are healthier, the good times feel great. You don’t have to be strong to start, and you don’t have to want to be a bodybuilder or meathead.

Additionally, there are many ways to practice resistance training: lifting weights with free weights, kettlebells, dumbbells, or using band resistance or even bodyweight exercises. All of this is lifting. You can do this at the gym or at home. 

I recommend going to your doctor to get a baseline physical before you begin. From there, remember: you can lift weights! 

How to begin lifting weights. Kathryn Alexander of Alexander Training swings a kettlebell in her garage gym. Photo by Ben Porter.

What Do You Need to Start Lifting Weights

The great thing about lifting weights is that you can begin with very little. You can start at home with bodyweight exercises. If it suits you, you can start at the gym with machines and free weights. The gym is for beginners and advanced lifters alike, and so are all the means by which you can lift: bodyweight exercises, bands, machines or dumbbells. Any of these methods of training can increase strength.

If you enjoy lifting at home, you can lift at home as long as you’d like. The options for home gym builds these days are amazing, from basic and utilitarian to truly incredible training facilities. Check out Garage Gym Reviews for inspiration and information about how to build the perfect home gym for you. It’s very fun to have training equipment at home, but it’s not a necessity. Many of my clients prefer to keep their home home, and commute to the gym. 

A word of warning: a home gym won’t save you money. There’s a good chance you’ll get hooked, and you’ll want one more barbell, then a few more weights, then that fun new accessory, and then a garage renovation to house it all. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! 

The most important thing to remember is that you start where you start. It is relative to where you are in your fitness and strength levels. Start with an appropriate amount of weight, like Goldilocks (not too much, not too little). Actually, err on the side of too light. Rest, repeat, and add a bit of a challenge next time.

Beginners Weight Lifting Tips

In the next section, I’ll give you concrete starting points, such as what exercises to learn for a solid foundation of good form. Remember mindset is very important too, so keep these quick tips in mind as you begin your weight lifting career. (Note that when I say weight lifter, I am referring to one who lifts weights, not only one who competes in the sport of weightlifting.)

  1. Just do it! Just get started! Even if you are a bit apprehensive, confused, or timid. Nobody knows everything, and nobody starts as anything but a beginner. Just do it; trust me, it’ll get better! 
  2. Start light. Whether it is a machine you aren’t familiar with, or free weights that offer a gazillion weight options; start very light. Feel out the movement with the light weight and think about it as you go. Your analysis of the movement will tell you how to proceed as far as adding weights.
  3. Building off the last point: focus on the feel of the movement and the muscles that you are using. Studying anatomy will help this but is not a prerequisite. Even if you don’t know anatomy, you can learn from your body as you move. 
  4. Identify your sticking point if you are having a hard time moving forward. Is it lack of confidence in you routine? A tight schedule? Need some new equipment? There is an answer to all of those, whether it is working with a training, following a training program to maximize time spent (try a free week on any of my programs here) or hitting up craigslist.com to get you started with equipment. 
  5. Try this to learn more about your shoulders and posture in less than two minutes.
  6. Remember all the benefits of lifting weights! The health, physique and mental benefits will always work in your favor. 
  7. Back to number 1: just do it! 

Get a Trainer

If you do your due diligence, you can find a professional trainer who truly views this industry as a profession. This means he or she will teach you well, help you move quickly and not waste time, prevent injury as much as possible, and write a specific program for what you are working for. 

A trainer can help you find modifications so exercises fit your body best, help you work through your sticking points, and even help build your confidence and keep you accountable. 

It is my goal to educate my clients as we go so they can be independent. I don’t ever want to quit working with my clients, but I always want them to have a plan and the ability to do it on their own. Often, people need just a few months to get their feet under them and have all the tools to proceed independently. In that case, I’m happy happy to hear their progress reports as they break off onto their own.

Form

Study form as you begin lifting weights. Good form will apply to exercise regardless of what kind of implements, weights, or bodyweight exercises you are utilizing. Good form will allow you to move faster toward your goals, prevent injury, and get the most out of each exercise. Don’t let fear of perfection slow you down, though. There is a wide gray area of safe and acceptable form. Do your best and plan to improve as you go. Remember Tip number 1: just do it! 

Beginner Body Weight Exercises

The following exercises are foundational to movement. That means these should be practiced by beginners, and continually utilized through your lifting career. They’ll become easier, but I want you to always practice them deliberately. They’ll become more like warm up and reinforcement work than hard working sets as you progress. 

Watch these videos and practice the movements. Please reach out to me if you have questions!

Basic squat with no weight

basic squat with no weight
Y for rear delts
plank walk out
reverse lunge
hinge
dead bug

Beginning Resistance Training with Bands

Resistance bands can help you develop strength at different angles. Please be careful to buy good bands, keep them inside, and check frequently for potential tears. Also be certain that your anchor point is secure so that you won’t pop yourself in the microphone you are wearing on your face as you teach a group exercise class in front of 25 sorority girls at LSU circa 2004. Hypothetically, haha, that would be sooo embarrassing.

band pullaparts
band row
band deadlift

Beginner Weight Exercises

goblet squat
dumbbell overhead press
machine row

For a full post about how to do the goblet squat, click here.

Create a Routine

Building exercise into your routine and following a plan will help you maintain your lifting habits. Remember, lifting weights will help you as long as you are able to lift, so find a way to lift for many many years. It is about consistency and progress, not perfection and knowing-it-all. Nobody knows it all, and nobody is perfect at first, if ever. Please don’t let that stop you from getting started on an enjoyable hobby that can save your life! 

For an in-depth look at how to find or develop a training plan, read here.

Begin Lifting Weights Today!

Lifting weights can make your life better almost immediately, with very little cost or equipment necessary to begin. I hope you try some of these exercises linked above and begin your strength journey. I wish you the best of luck, and invite you to please email me kathryn@kathrynalexander.com with questions, progress updates, and my favorite, your wins! Happy lifting! 

How to do Bear Crawls

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If you have done bear crawls, you might be having flashbacks of sweat and tears and punishment from a high school coach. The bear crawl is a full body, energy intensive exercise that lends itself well to group application. It’s also fairly simple, equipment free, and luckily for us over the age of 18, has many modifications to suit your goals, ability, and space.

The bear crawl is a great exercise that is beneficial to almost everybody, not just young athletes. As you can see, you’ll be working your arms and legs, but it’s a killer ab & back exercise too. Core work, as it’s trendy to say. The bear crawl also reinforces athleticism and coordination, since it works the whole body as a unit.

Learn how to do bear crawls and add them into your program today!

What is the Bear Crawl?

The bear crawl is a traveling movement on all fours. It can be done quickly, like a run, for conditioning goals. It can be done as I’ll show you here, with smaller movements for a focus on the trunk. There are many ways to do a bear crawl well. In this case, you’ll take smaller steps and more precise movements. This will also allow you to do the bear crawl inside, where you might not have as much room as on a large turf.

How to do the Bear Crawl

  • Set up on all fours (4 point position)
  • Keep an active, neutral, flat back
  • Pick your knees up off the ground about an inch
  • Travel forward, taking very small (2 inch) steps
  • Deliberately keep your trunk engaged, as opposed to loose and flopping around
  • Reverse and travel backwards

Try the Bear Crawl and Let Me Know How You Love It!

Try out the bear crawl and let me know how it goes! It is tougher than it looks so be prepared to work!

Happy training!

Check Out More How-To Videos Below

How to do Band Pullaparts

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Band pullaparts are a fantastic exercise for nearly everybody to do, and it is well worth the time to learn how to do band pullaparts. They work your posterior upper body, something we need to be cognizant of in a very forward facing society. We look at our phones, we type on the computer, leaning in and stretching our neck. 

The truth is, we need to do this anyway. It’s not just modern times. It’s because our eyes face forward. If not for a smart phone, it would be a book, a newspaper, a magazine.

It’s also very important to make sure your back is strong if your front is strong. Do you bench press? Do you do pushups? You need pullaparts then, to maintain shoulder health. 

It’s simply a good habit to get in to work the muscles behind you, no matter your profession or physical demands during the day. 

Band pullaparts are one way to do that. They work your rear delts, traps, and rhomboids, among other supporting musculature. 

How to do Band Pullaparts

  • stand tall

  • extend your arms in front of you, gripping a light band

  • keep elbows straight but not locked as you press your arms straight around your side

  • I prefer palms down but you can experiment with different hand positions

  • squeeze your shoulders behind you as you make a big wide sweep with your arms

  • press until the band touches your chest

  • control the return to your start position and repeat

Execution and Incorporation of Pullaparts

Pullaparts are great as a warm up, finisher, or even between exercises. I sometimes do pull-ups between sets of bench press as a reminder to scapular control. You can do sets of 10-15, or do a larger set. Use a fairly light band, as this isn’t an exercise you’ll aggressively progress. It’s a reminder and reinforcement of shoulder health. Let me know if you have questions about your pullaparts!

Check Out More How-To Videos Below

How to do Lunges and Lunge Variations

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Lunges are a fantastic exercise because they are effective, versatile, and can benefit nearly everyone. There are so many ways to do lunges, so learn how to do lunges in a way that best serves you and your goals.

You can do lunges without equipment or with equipment. You can make them harder or easier by adjusting the distance and load. They can work on strength, endurance and even balance. 

How to Do a Lunge

  • From a tall standing position, step one leg forward in front of you

  • Step as if you are on railroad tracks, not a tight rope

  • Aim to land with a 90 degree angle in both knees

  • Knee should be close to the floor but not touching

  • Press into the ground through your heel and big toe and squeeze your glute to stand back up

  • Repeat with your other leg, alternating as you stand back up

When to Use Lunge Variations

You can do lunges many different ways, depending on what you are looking to gain from them. 

To work balance, do walking lunges. 

If balance is restricting you, stationary lunges or reverse lunges will allow you to get good work in. You strength will build and you’ll be able to add back in walking lunges for a new challenge.

To improve work capacity, do walking lunges a greater distance to get more volume. To add a challenge on the greater distance hold dumbbells.

In fact, to improve strength, hold dumbbells, kettlebells or any kind of weight in any lunge variation.

For all around increased challenge, try the Bulgarian split squat. These are challenging! Adjust these as you would any lunges: with something for balance, without, with weights or without. Let me know how you like them!

And as always, feel free to email me if you have specific questions!

Check Out More How-To Videos Below

How to do the “Y”

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The “Y” as I call it, is an exercise primarily for your rear delts, or the posterior muscle of your shoulder. This is a small, nuanced movement, so you can even do it effectively without weight. In fact, I want you to master it without weight first, so read below how to do the Y well.

Holding the position also reinforces a healthy hinge, which is a crucial movement to master to prevent back pain. Read the directions below about how to move into the hinge position. If this is troublesome, spend some time working on the hinge too!

How to do the “Y” for rear delts

Start with no weight at first. Remember, if you can do this and recruit the muscles you are trying to feel, you’ll do better at it when you do introduce weight. Start with a set of 10 reps, then stand and assess where you feel it.

  • hinge at the hips with back neutral and straight

  • extend arms with palms facing behind you

  • bend at the elbows as if you are elbowing the ceiling

  • rotate your arms up into a “touchdown” position

  • extend your arms into a “Y” shape

  • bend at the elbows, rotate arms, and straight elbows to return to the start position

How to do the “Y” with a Bench at the Gym

If you have a bench or would like to do this at the gym, you can follow the same directions. Watch the video below for a demo.

When To Do the Y

You can use the “Y” as a warm up exercise, in which case you’ll go fairly light in weight and do 2-4 sets of about 10 reps. If you’re using them as an exercise that you’d like to progress in, you can increase the weight and drop the reps slightly to about 8. Remember this exercise will generally be about the mind muscle connection and not about how heavy you can go. Work on feeling what you are aiming to feel (rear delts), and doing quality reps. Happy training!

See More How-To Videos Below

How to Do The Dead Bug

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The dead bug is a trunk and core stability exercise that can be done at beginner to more advanced levels. As long as you can safely lay flat on your back on the floor, you can do it. Read below and watch the videos to learn how to do the dead bug and its variations.

Begin with the easiest version, described below. Once you have mastered that, you can progress to the tougher versions by using a foam roller, or performing the 4-way dead bug. Videos are below.

How to Do The Dead Bug

  • lay on your back with arms and legs extended into the air

  • squeeze your abs to press your back into the ground

  • maintain this abdominal squeeze

  • extend your right arm and left leg toward the floor in a controlled manner

  • shorten your range of motion if your low back pops off the ground

  • return to your start position, and repeat with your opposite arm and leg

Practice, practice. You’ll get it- this one’s a thinker! 

Performing the dead bug on a foam roller provides an extra stability challenge.

The 4 way dead bug is the toughest. Keep your abs very engaged and low back pressed into the ground. This is a tough variation. I’d ideally like your reps to be better than my first rep in the video. Watch the reps to see if you can spot the difference.

How To Incorporate The Dead Bug In Your Program

Add this exercise in last, or with your ab/core work. You typically don’t want to exhaust your trunk musculature and then go do an exercise that requires core stability for safety, like the barbell squat. For this reason, you’ll often see more focused ab and core work at the end of a session. 

Start with 5 well executed reps per side. If that’s easy, add more reps up to 10. At 10 high quality reps, you can start incorporating the harder versions. The goal is always quality over quantity, so you can drop back to 5 reps again when trying a more challenging version. 

Happy training! Let me know how you incorporate the dead bug into your program! As always, feel free to email me with questions! Kathryn@kathrynalexander.com.

Learn More New Exercises Below

How to do the Floor Press

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You have probably done some sort of horizontal pressing, such as pushups, bench press, dumbbell press. But have you done the dumbbell floor press? Often overlooked for other presses, the dumbbell floor press also develops pressing strength and works the pecs, triceps and shoulders. It helps with lockout strength because it has a shorter range of motion than a traditional bench press. Read on for videos and descriptions of how to do the floor press.

How to Properly Execute the Dumbbell Floor Press

  • grip your dumbbells from a sitting position and roll back to lay flat

  • lay on your back with your elbows to your side

  • elbows should be slightly tucked, not directly out from your shoulders

  • press the dumbbells toward the ceiling until your elbows are straight and above your chest

  • do not let the dumbbells make contact with each other

  • control the return to your start position

  • from here, press the dumbbells into your legs to roll up

  • do not flop your arms out to your side to set the dumbbells down. That’s unnecessarily hard on your shoulders

When to Floor Press

The floor press can be your main lift if you would like it to be. In that case, warm up well and then begin with a medium weight. You can increase the weight each set.

If you will also be bench pressing or heavy dumbbell pressing in your session, I recommend doing the floor press after, as an assistance exercise.

How Heavy to Go On the Floor Press

Since I consider the floor press an assistance or accessory exercise, and you won’t do it in competition like the bench press, I suggest keeping the reps between 6-12. No one’s going to ask you at a party, “How much you floor press, bro?” Keeping this in mind, consider it’s utility to you: to help with your bench press or pressing strength. You can go fewer than 6 (and therefore heavier than that) IF you can do this safely. Have an exit plan and/or a spotter. Remember that it’s not necessary to max out on these. 

Let me know how you like these! If you have questions about how to use them, feel free to comment below or email me! kathryn@kathrynalexander.com

See How to Do More Exercises Below

How to Band Deadlift

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Want to be safer when picking up your kid? Yep. Want your lawn work to feel easier? Yes. Want to tighten up your back side? Oh yeah. I have great news for you! If you learn how to band deadlift, you can accomplish all of these at once.

The deadlift and similar deadlift movements are packed with full body benefits. I say “movement” because you don’t have to do a competition style deadlift, as heavy as you can, to benefit. One great alternative is the band deadlift.

Deadlifts Make You Strong

One of the most beneficial lifts, if not the most beneficial lift, is the deadlift. When done properly, the deadlift makes you real-life strong. It makes you more resilient and more injury-resistant.

The deadlift works much of your body and your whole posterior. Your prime movers when deadlifting are glutes, hamstrings, quads and back. The deadlift also works your upper back, traps, grip, and trunk.

Because it works so much of your body’s musculature, and because the deadlift allows a great amount of exertion, it sends a strong signal to your body to get respond. It says, “Get stronger and grow!”

Why Doesn’t Everyone Deadlift?

One of the biggest impediments to practicing the deadlift is that a traditional deadlift requires a 7 foot bar. Not many people have a barbell like that at home, and not even all gyms have good barbells. Additionally, some people prefer not to do a barbell deadlift. That is OK.

I do want you to have options though, because picking anything up off the floor is a movement that mimics the deadlift, and you’ll surely do that in your life. I want you to do it safely. A simple band at home can help you practice the deadlift movement by doing the band deadlift.

How to do the Band Deadlift

  • stand with both feet on an appropriately resistant band

  • keep your whole trunk engaged (abs on, arms pressed down)

  • keep your trunk neutral (neutral here means straight like normal, no swayback or tucked)

  • bring your hips toward the ground and grab the band

  • keeping your arms straight and your trunk unmoving, squeeze your glutes and grab the ground with your toes

  • press the ground away from you as you stand all the way up

  • reverse the movement to return to your starting position

Where to Find the Right Equipment for Band Deadlifts

You can find a good and inexpensive band with a quick search for “resistance band”. Look for the flat band and not tubing. If you have questions about the purchase process or your form, please email me! I am happy to help and I wish you fun, fruitful deadlifting!

See More How-To’s Below

Gym Etiquette Guide: How to Share the Gym and Get the Workout You Want

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Like a community kitchen or shared break room, the gym is better shared when participants abide by a few common rules. Sometimes it can feel strange going to a new gym or going to the gym for the first time, but knowing how to share the space goes a long way in making you feel comfortable. Read these quick tips and know you belong in the weight room!

Wash your hands before and after you workout, use the restroom, cough, etc. 

If there are people using the part of the gym you want to use, survey the area and quickly assess where others are working. 

Wait until others are done with their set before you speak to them, so they can maintain concentration. 

Speak up! Ask if you can work in or share if you want to use the same area or piece of equipment. 

Share when people ask to work in with you. Often, sharing equipment creates an optimal work/rest pace. 

Don’t stand directly in front of the dumbbell rack, in case someone needs to get or re-rack dumbbells during your set.

Likewise, don’t stand right in front of the mirror if someone is doing a workset. 

Please don’t hesitate to ask gym staff if you have a question about how to use equipment. None of us know how to use everything in every gym.

Clean equipment if you sweat on it. 

Understand that some people won’t want to chit chat while working out, and it is not personal. Usually people are just focusing on finishing their workout in time or are highly focused.

Change clothes for your workout. Dress to get the safest, most effective workout. Avoid:

  • long hair, long necklaces, or loose clothing that could get caught in equipment and pose a safety hazard
  • flip flops, heels, or unstable footwear
  • office clothes, since belts, zippers and buckles are rough on equipment. 
  • Shorts that your butt hangs out in, please and thank you.


Kathryn_Alexander_personal_trainer_austin

Be supportive of others! Remember that even if you have different styles of exercise, you are both working hard to invest in yourself. That is worth supporting! 

If you are in Austin or are looking for a personal trainer, email me to set up your free consult. kathryn@kathrynalexander.com

How to Log Press with Joel Hendershott

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Strongman events are just fun. I love the familiarity of the 3 powerlifts and the discipline of bodybuilding. But strongman is just fun! Where else can you see car deadlifts, kegs, and giant stones being thrown around? No kidding, I witnessed a conan’s wheel event where the weights were Hooters girls, one of whom was pregnant. This wasn’t even in Austin, yall. You never know what events you’ll see at a strongman competition.


Joel pulls a truck in a strongman competition

I asked Joel to teach me some strongman lifts. Joel Hendershott is a strongman coach at Big Tex Gym in Austin, Texas. He has an ISSA strength and conditioning certification and runs Bracestrength.com. Joel has a great story: he was overweight, inactive and expecting his first child. Instead of waiting for a better time, or when he was less busy (let’s be honest- when will life get less busy?) he went to work becoming someone strong and healthy for his kid to look up to. 

He began powerlifting in 2012 and did his first meet in 2013. That same year, he took an interest in strongman. He was living in Vancouver at the time and he found the local competitors to be extremely welcoming. 

“Here’s the thing about strongman: It was just random equipment at random people’s houses. If someone had an awesome log in his garage, we went there. If another guy had big tires, we trained there. The guys were like, ‘Yes, come train with us.’’’

Sidenote: Joel and I agree that this inclusive and supportive spirit wasn’t just because they were nice Canadians. Powerlifters and strongmen and -women competitors are known for being supportive of each other, even cheering for each other in meets. If you’re considering jumping in, quit hesitating!

The Clean

The log press is a quintessential lift in the strongman competitions, and is unlike any other clean and press or jerk. It requires the strength of a deadlift, flexibility of a low paused squat, coordination and strength of a clean/front squat, and stability of a heavy overhead press. Whew! And yeah, it was as tiring as it sounds. 

I used wraps loosely wrapped around my forearms, less for joint support and more for protection against knocking my forearms on the log.

  • Begins with the handles of the log facing slightly down, away from you. 
  • You essentially stiff leg deadlift the log to just above your knees and squat with it. Be sure you don’t put it on your thighs or midleg. (Don’t actually lock your knees out during those movement; just know that you won’t be able to drop your hips as low or bend your knees as much as during a conventional deadlift.) 
  • Get your elbows high.
  • Drive your hips through to stand up with the log and quickly drive your elbows forward.

You can see here that I didn’t keep my elbows high on rep 2. It made it much harder and slower.

Joel shows us how its done.

Tips: 

Start with the log tilted forward, where the handles face slightly away from you.

Supplement your training with front squats. Paused front squats are a fantastic assistance exercise with huge carry over to the log press. 

The press

Once you have the log to your shoulders, you begin your set up for the press. As Joel says, put the mass of the log against the mass of your body. You can either strict press or push press.

Keep your elbows high whether you are strict or push pressing. Remember you are pressing a log; it is round and will roll down your arms if you let your elbows fall. 

To strict press the log, stand tight with your elbows high and forcefully drive the log up. 

To push press, stay tight, initiate a quick bend at the knees, then a forceful drive of the log overhead. The push press must be a quick dip and drive. If you languish at the bottom of the position or stand up slowly, you lose power.

As you can see in this video where I do 2 presses, my elbows drop a little bit before the second press, and it knocks me off balance. 

Joel and I worked on the log press and stones for about an hour. (How to on stones coming soon!) I was pretty wiped out! These lifts are obviously great for conditioning and overall strength. I will be incorporating them into my regular workouts!

If you’d like to train with Joel, contact him at beardfacestrength@gmail.com. Be on the lookout for the how to on stones, and email me or Joel if you have questions!


Stephen and Joel talk shop while working with the log.

Stephen and Joel talk shop while working with the log.