How do we make sense of all this digital noise, and get down to what really matters?

And more importantly how does one find the key exercises to really workout to their true potential?

Well that all depends on your priorities, I would suspect that if you are reading this blog you have a modicum of interest in staying in shape and hopefully in calisthenics as well.

If you are looking for the exact exercises I wrote a blog post on the precise exercises along with some great video instructions.

With that being said, when I ran a search on the phrase “exercise routines” the search returned 630,000 results and when i searched on the phrase “workout routines” there were 936,000. That’s pretty staggering. So what does one do? How do you go about filtering through all those pages to find the exercise just for you?

Well I found this website ExRx.net.

ExRx.net is an absolutely FREE exercise resource. They have been around since 1999 and get over 50,000 daily visits worldwide.

And best of all they have a phenomenal FREE exercise library with over 1,500 different types of exercises everything from your basic calisthenic/bodyweight training to one of my favorites plyometrics.  For those of you unfamilar with plyometircs, it’s essentially  “jump training” or “plyos”. “The exercises are based around having muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing both speed and power.” (the last sentence was straight from Wikipedia)

The library is divided into groups such as exercise or muscle groups. So its pretty thorough and can address just about any skill level.

In addition to the tons of FREE exercises they also offer FREE interviews from leading exercise, diet, nutrition and sports psychology experts, they even have an interview with the one and only Former Mr. Universe and Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno.

For those of you who are plagued with what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat it it and other similar questions there is a diet & nutrition section on the site

And one final note worth mentioning they have a pretty complete fitness calculator section, now granted it’s a bit on the ancient side as far as technology goes, (no mobile slick apps) but it is pretty exhaustive covering everything from fitness testing to metabolic calculators.

Other sites worth mentioning for exercises aside from the obvious going to YouTube and just typing in what you might be looking for, are:

Cut and Jacked

http://www.cutandjacked.com/articles/2

Daily Burn

http://tracker.dailyburn.com/training_plans

Of course you are always free to just Google what you looking for in addition to YouTube. Ultimately the choice is yours and in the end you strive to be the best version of yourself that you can be.

The key is to decide.

Probably the best piece of advice came from author and speaker, Tony Robbins. Tony was talking about the power of decision making and he summed it up into four pretty simple steps.

1) You MUST first, clearly decide what it is that you’re absolutely committed to achieving.

2) You’re MUST BE willing to take massive action.

3) You notice what’s working and what’s not.

4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve your goal.

Step 1: Decide

Everything first starts with a decision, It seems so trite but yet it is so true. The decision to get in the best shape of your life is a decision and the decision to  just sit on the couch or at your desk and put off working out is also a decision.

Deciding is not wishful thinking. It has to be a MUST. If it is not a MUST than it is just a should and you when was the last time you were motivated to do anything that was driven by a should?

First decide what are your fitness goals? Other decisions may include how much time per day can you really truly devote uninterrupted free of distractions to your health? You MUST decide on your fitness and health goals and the frequency that you can commit to.

We are talking about your health. It is the single most important thing you have on the planet. What are you willing to do to being in the best shape of your life?

You must also be somewhat realistic. If you have not worked out in quite some time than give yourself a realistic time frame and expectations but set the bar high. The higher you set the bar the more you have to fuel the fire of motivation. Also note health is not a destination it is a journey. It takes commitment, consistency, persistence and determination. I would be lying to you if I said it was easy peasy. But it first begins with a decision.

Step 2: Act

The next step is to take massive amounts of action. Almost to the point of being ridiculous. We are talking about your health. So it deserves some proper attention and taking massive action is perfect.

What is meant by massive action is if you want to workout do one thing now that would point you in the direction that you wish to be. For example,  you came to this website, which was action in and of itself, now based on your fitness goals go Exercise Prescription and begin creating your own workout routine.

If you having difficulties coming up with ideas here are some great links and videos that you can incorporate into your workout routine:

WORKOUT GENERATOR
Workout Generator is a FREE online app that you just enter your information and it pops out a prefab workout routine based on your answers. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_plan_generator.asp

WORKOUT LABS
Workout Labs has some FREE printable illustrated workout routines. Granted not all are FREE. Last time I checked there were 22 routines and 11 were FREE. Just hover your mouse over to see which ones are FREE and which are not. They also have a fancy dandy FREE custom workout plan app, where you can create your own workout plan. It’s pretty slick
http://workoutlabs.com/workout-plans/ (Prefab Workout Plans)
http://workoutlabs.com/custom-workout-builder/ (Create Your Own/ DIY)

CALISTHENICS WORKOUT
Fortis has a slew of calisthenic workout routines minus photos, so unless you are familiar with the terminology you might get lost. But they have some solid routines. http://fortismag.com/calisthenics.html

5 Exercises included in Calisthenics Workouts (Video below)

5 of each Calisthenics exercise will build your basic strength, once you can perform 5 sets of 5 reps in each exercise, you’re ready for the intermediate 5×5 Challenge and the advanced Challenge too. So what are these simple workouts which will kick-start your calisthenic strength?

• 5 Australian Pull-ups
• 5 Lying Knee Tucks
• 5 Split Squats (Right Leg)
• 5 Split Squats (Left Leg)
• 5 Push ups

Level: Beginner (Time: 1:29 min)

EXAMPLE WORKOUT ROUTINE (Video below)

Train at level where you can manage as many reps with good technique and form.

Set rest (Rest between exercises)

Start simple.

Do alternatives/adjust for elevation/angle if needed

• Inverted Rows: 15-20 reps/3-5 sets
• Standard Push Ups: 15-20 reps/2-3 sets
• Squats: 15-20 reps/2-3 sets
• Lunges: 10 reps EACH leg/ 2-3 sets
• Calf Raises: 15-20 reps or one leg 10 reps/2-3 sets
• Pike Push Ups: 10-20 reps/2-3 sets
• High Rows: 10-15 reps/2-3 sets
• Knee Raises and/or Crunches: 10-15 reps/2-3 sets
• Plank: One/A couple of sets holding as long as possible

Level: Beginner to Advanced (Time: 6:13 min)

Step 3: Notice What’s Working
This one is pretty easy. If you are getting results and gains than you will see the fruits of your labor. It’s best to be patient and wait 8-12 weeks. The first 30 days you may see improvements but everyone is different and you need to stay focused and not abandon your routine simply because you don’t look like a fitness model. Remember the goal is improved health and fitness and that it is a journey.

If you see that after 8 weeks you are not seeing slight improvements it may be time to re-evaluate your workout routine. More importantly are you eating and getting enough sleep each and every day. That is paramount to just about any type of training you do.

Paying astute attention to what’s working and what’s not working will make a huge difference in your progress towards your goal(s).

Step 4: Change Your Approach Until You Achieve Goal(s)

Flexibility is the key in this step. If you are working out and you notice that it’s not working change. I am sure you are familiar with the quote by Einstein on the definition of insanity, if you are not. Einstein defined insanity as; “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

It would be shear madness and insanity to continue working out the same way if you are not getting any results. For that matter, it would also make sense to change and seriously take a look at what you are actually putting into your body in the form of food, if you are not growing and seeing any type of gains.

In addition, and I can’t stress this one enough, sleep sleep sleep. You body recovers when are resting and not when you are working out.

In conclusion, everything in life starts with a decision. The direction and where one goes based on that decision is entirely up to him or her. I can say emphatically, that even the idea of making no decision and not doing anything about improving your health and the quality of your life is also a decision.

Albeit, a very risky and somewhat dangerous decision. I mean, come on, we are talking about your health what better time to be in the best shape your life than now.

Note: Here is an additional audio on Tony Robbins on the Power of Decision Making (Time: 6:16 min)