Saturday, March 19, 2016

Zuzka's Black Diamond Workout #7, And Training vs. Working Out

Well Zuzka's Black Diamond Workout for Upper Body and Abs looks REALLY hard:

Workout Breakdown
Time Challenge
1. Knee raises (straight up) x 10
2. Side to Side Push Up x 8
3. Leg Raises x 10
4. Uneven Push Ups x 8
5. Chin Ups x 5
*check out the link for modifications – you can always do a bent over row or a plank row instead of chin up.
6. One Arm Elevated Push Up x 4/4
7. Pull Ups x3
*check out the link for modifications – you can always do a bent over row or a plank row instead of pull up.
8. One Leg Elevated Push Up (exercise ball) x 8 alt.
_______
2 rounds – 10:27
+ buy out:
Knee Raises x10
Leg Raises x10
Chin Ups x5
Pull Upsx3
A terrific push/pull workout. I love all the variations of the push-ups, of course most of you know I love pull-ups, and the hanging ab work is an absolute killer. If you wanted to add one of her Lifted Butt Series Workouts to this you'd have a pretty damn good overall full-body routine. 
Zuzka as well as BR.TV offer some great workouts - they really do. But they are workouts and for the most part do not help us TRAIN. There is a significant difference. For some of you - you simply might not give a sh*t, and that's fine. For others of us, we need more of a plan to see results. People with Zuzka's body type are going to have far easier results with any workout plan they follow. 
For instance, this is a picture of Zuzka from ZWOW #1 when she first came back after not working out for over 2 months. 
Obviously she has come a long way, but look at the definition in her arms, and some still even in her abs. Not many people out there can maintain muscle like that without working out. It was funny to watch her during this workout. She was dying! Way to go Zuzka though for pulling through and over coming her obstacles. Not many of us can do so that successfully either. 
I don't think she would be where she is today without the porn industry, BUT she did not let it consume her, she walked away and turned it into something positive. 
So - are you training or exercising? 
READ this:
Modern corporate health clubs are designed exclusively for Exercising, Training being far less profitable. The standard industry model is 55 percent of the floor space devoted to “cardio” equipment, on which repetitive motions of various types can be performed while watching television. The remaining 45 percent of the floor space is dominated by exercise machines designed primarily for the convenience of the gym staff — they are easy to use, easy to teach the use of, and easy to vacuum around.
Programs like P90X, CrossFit, or anything available on DVD that promises to keep your muscles “confused” are also Exercise. Any program that features random exposure to various types of physical stress cannot produce a specific physical adaptation, past a certain point that occurs relatively quickly. Their function is to burn calories, get your heart rate up, and make you sweaty and tired. They may do their job of providing Exercise quite well, and again, this may be all you need from a fitness program.
But certain people rapidly outgrow Exercise, and for them Training is the logical next step. People who respond well to the improvement that always accompanies the initial stages of any program that is adhered to faithfully quite often see the possibility of continued progress. They like the idea of taking their fitness to the next level, and in the process of discovering their physical capabilities they develop an interest in a specific aspect of their exposure to Exercise.
Whether it is distance running or strength development, these people get “hooked” by the possibilities for continued improvement that their hard work has shown them. This leads inevitably to the conclusion that the next phase of exercise must be planned to produce the specific result they have grown to value. At that point, they’re Training.
Training may also be the most effective way to get the results that most people use Exercise to obtain, especially if that goal is more than just maintenance. Carefully planned activity with the specific purpose of losing weight, for instance, works better than just doing the same exercises with the same weight for the same length of time on the same days of the week for months on end. Once you set up a plan that continually increases your strength and your endurance, and that also controls your diet, you’re Training, and your goal is now being prepared for, not wished for.
Wherever you might be in this process — just starting to think about getting up out of the chair or wondering why you’re not making any progress no matter how hard you try — the correct approach to the problem involves understanding where you are along the spectrum of your physical existence, and making the correct decisions about what to do next. It may be that Exercise is all you really need, but Training may be the best answer to the problem. (from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rippetoe/exercising-training_b_4597039.html )
Well...... are you training or exercising? 
I am off to go train. :) Happy Saturday everyone! 


6 comments:

  1. I certainly started off just exercising - and that's why I plateaued so quickly! That whole muscle confusion thing is absolute nonsense. How can you get better at anything without doing it often?

    I credit training programs with where I am today. Logical progressions, sensible rep ranges, adequate rest and repeating workouts/having a workout PLAN.

    Now, for someone like my Mom who doesn't care to train and is happy being active, exercise is great for her. She just wants to move, sweat, get it done and move on with the day.

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    1. I just finished a 12 week plan and am onto the next. I am considering Bret's Get Strong program - it is 3 days a week, and mixing it in with 3 days of GM Bodies. I am torn between the Strength Focus or Floor one. Any thoughts as I know you use them?

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    2. Integral strength is an 8 week program that has you training 6 days a week (I was a bit more sporadic as I like to do other things, too). It's more of a general strength program, focusing on mastering shrimp squats, broad jumps, L sit, invested press, pullups and various core work, with added conditioning like sprints and rope work. I saw improvement with a few things after doing integral strength. Arm balances were easier, handstands were better. I had more strength in my hips. And my pullups were more solid. It focuses on quality of reps rather than quantity.
      Floor one is VERY skills focused and very little strength. I think parallelets one and rings one have a bit more strength focus, just due to the nature of the apparatus. There is a brief strength period that lasts about 4 weeks, but the remainder of the program is skills and learning to master a flow. The program is about 4 months or longer, depending on how easy you learn the skills.
      I'm still working on floor one at the moment.

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  3. I was exercising with Bodyrock and then with Zu a few years. Honestly I started to feel myself better, I learnt to do push-ups, but I didn't see the results I wanted (I know that nutrition plays a big role too, but I couldn't keep a lot of training stuff at my flat and I need to lift heavy but for me it was impossible with Bodyrock (how many reps could I do with 30 kg barbell (for example) in 50 sec on and 10 sec rest - to switch up equipment fast, maybe 5? and then out of breath with flyes in my eyes start to do lunges), I have only 3 & 5 kg DBs, then I bought 8's + I got rounded shoulders because of pushing exersices (there are a lot of these in their workouts). One day I decided to go to the Gym, I wanted to improve my shoulders, my back. And I did! Now I'm pretty fine with pull-Ups, chin-Ups and I like hip thrusting (I couldn't do it at home). I have a training plan, haha! :))))

    It's good, that Zu incorporate pulling exersices in her WOs now. Sometimes I do them, when I want to change up my training routine a little bit.)

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    Replies
    1. I think Z has more of a plan than BR.TV does, but she jumps from upper body to Lifted Butt, to arm balance, to flexbility, etc. She should incorporate some of the same moves EACH week rather than ignoring pull-ups for 6 weeks and then going back to them.....

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