February 1, 2018

This DDP Yoga position might be my favorite because I think it’s often underrated for its effectiveness.

This is the Dynamic Resistance Row.

How To Do DDP Yoga DR Rows

You’ve already mastered Dynamic Resistance and Supported Lunge.

Now, it’s time to add a new challenge.

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From Supported Lunge, reach your hands out to grab the ball so it’s like your fingers are shooting out water from a fire hydrant.

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Inhale, drop the ball, and clench your fists together.

Exhale and pull your hands back for a count of 3, 2, 1. You should be squeezing your shoulder blades together here. Just like Bar Back, imagine you have a coin in between them that you’re trying to keep from falling to the floor.

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Take a moment to squeeze here while you inhale.

Open your palms, extend your fingers, exhale, and push against the side of a mountain for a count of 3, 2, 1.

Finish like you’re reaching out to grab the ball once again.

As far as I can tell, this movement is unique to DDP Yoga.

What You’re Working During the DR Row

Your lats and biceps are the main muscles you’re working during the DR Row.

Your latissimus dorsi helps to lower your arms to the side, lift your arms in front or behind you, or rotate your arm. Strengthening this helps to increase the function of these movements.

Meanwhile, your biceps help to bend your elbow. (And, they look really good when you’re doing Showstopper!)

The Benefits Of The DDP Yoga DR Row

 

The benefits of the DR Row are similar to the benefits of the DR Cables and DR Curls – you can build strength and muscle with zero weights, which means the joints are not stressed.

Additionally, since dynamic resistance is involved, you can increase your heart rate and burn calories while doing so.

Give The DDP Yoga DR Row A Shot

If you’d like to try the DR Row – or any DDP Yoga movement – contact me! I teach classes on Thursday nights at 6:30 in Metamora with a great group of men and women. I also do 1:1 and small group personal training at Titan Fitness in Washington and Peoria. 

January 31, 2018

It’s often said that DDP Yoga gets your heart pumping by just standing still, with no running, jumping, or lifting involved.

My personal favorite way to demonstrate that is with DR Curls.

How To Do Dynamic Resistance Curls

You already know how to get dynamic resistance going from Ignition.

In case you need a reminder, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and flex your quadriceps (thighs). Pick up your toes and grip them into the mat to engage your calves. Then straighten your legs and keep a slight bend in the knee. Pretend like you’re pulling your legs together as if they were on ice, but they don’t move. You should feel this in your adductors inside your legs. Finally, squeeze your glutes.

Now you’ve fully engaged your legs. Almost all of your muscles from your belt line down should be flexed here.

For the Cables part, reach out to the sides like you have imaginary dumbbells. Imagine you’re picking up 100-pound weights. Pull them up so that your forearms are parallel to the ground and you have a 90-degree bend in your elbow for a count of 3, 2, 1. Squeeze your biceps!

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Once you’ve reached the top, turn your palms over, open up your hands and pull your fingers apart, and push down for a count of 3, 2, 1. Inhale with your chest out and shoulders back, just like the end of a Diamond Cutter.

Your heart should really be going after a set of three of these.

How To Do Dynamic Resistance Cables

The DR Cables assume the starting position of Road Warrior 2 (what a rush!).

From Road Warrior 2, turn your palms up. “Grab the cables,” so to speak, and pull in for 3, 2, 1. This time, your forearms should be perpendicular to the ground. Flex those biceps!

This position is also known as Showstopper, which is named after one of the many monikers and signature poses of the legendary Shawn Michaels.

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To finish this move, turn your palms away from each other and push away like you’re moving through wet concrete for 3, 2, 1.

What Body Parts Are Worked By DR Curls and DR Cables

These DDP Yoga moves primarily work the arms:

1. Biceps
2. Triceps
3. Forearms

However, because you may be in a Lunge or a Road Warrior position, your legs may also be doing work, too.

The Benefits of DR Curls and DR Cables

Each of these moves can replicate similar movements to lifting weights. You can still build muscle and strength without dumbbells or curls. A bonus here is that you can do so without placing stress on your joints. However, if curling a heavy weight is a goal for you, you should still make that your primary focus.

Another bonus to this move that I’ve found is that it keeps the workout fun. When people first see Showstopper, especially, they feel a little silly. But, I’d like to think as people get used to the move, they like the idea of showing off their guns. Including a social aspect in a group fitness class is always a plus.

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Try DDP Yoga DR Cables and DR Curls With Me

I have two ways you can try this move with me. First is my group class in Metamora on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. Second is my 60-day challenge, 1:1, or small group training I offer at both Titan Fitness locations in central Illinois.

I hope to see you intimidating Shawn Michaels in no time!

January 30, 2018

Oh, what a rush!

It’s time to talk about a staple in nearly any yoga system: Warrior 1 and Warrior 2.

The difference in DDP Yoga is that Dallas renamed them to be Road Warrior 1 and Road Warrior 2 in honor of one of the greatest tag teams in pro wrestling history, the Road Warriors.

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Unfortunately (for me, at least), the name is about the only thing this pose has in common with the legendary Hawk and Animal.

Let’s take a look at how to do Road Warrior 1 and 2 in DDP Yoga.

How To Do Road Warrior 1

Road Warrior 1 looks similar to Supported Lunge, except it has a few key differences.

First, make sure your forward knee is directly over your foot. Then, and this is where it differs, flatten your back foot to the ground and turn it to the side while straightening your back leg. I like to tell people the feet should be very similar to an L stance in taekwondo.

(I should note here that Road Warrior lunge would be a poor choice if you had to save your life, so please make sure you’re using it for a stretch and not for self-defense.)

Your hips should be forward.

Inhale, and lift your hands up toward the sky. Roll your shoulders back and imagine you are grabbing a ball above your head.

How To Do Road Warrior 2

Keeping your feet planted, exhale and use dynamic resistance to drop your arms so that they are at shoulder level. Turn your torso toward whatever direction your back foot is pointed toward. For example, if your right leg is forward and your left leg is back, your right arm will be forward, your left arm will be back, and your torso will have turned to your left. Keep looking forward.

What Body Parts Are Working During Road Warrior 1 and 2

The Road Warriors (again, the poses and not the tag team) work your:

1. Hip flexors
2. Quadriceps (thighs)
3. Feet
4. Shoulders
5. Back
6. Forearms
7. Hands

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Your Turn!

Come try the Road Warriors with me! You’ll be feeling so good afterwards that you’ll be ready to team up with me to give someone the Doomsday Device!

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Well, maybe not. Either way, come try these and all the other moves in the DDP Yoga Diamond Dozen with me at one of my DDP Yoga classes in Metamora, or request to do some DDP Yoga during my 1:1 or small group training sessions at Titan Fitness in Peoria and Washington.

January 29, 2018

One of my all-time favorite exercises is the lunge.

That might be why I like the DDP Yoga Supported Lunge Into Space Shuttle position in the Diamond Dozen so much.

The Benefits of Lunges

Much like the Push-up, the lunge features a whole host of benefits.

• Lunges strengthen, shape, and sculpt your lower body. “A research study by the American Council on Exercise found the forward lunge to be one of the most effective exercises for eliciting a high level of muscle activity in the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and hamstrings—significantly more than other common lower-body exercises like the body-weight squat”
• Lunges work your core, too. Your core helps you maintain balance throughout the movements of the lunge.
• Lunges help make activities of daily living easier by increasing your balance, like walking or climbing stairs.

Add in any variation to the lunge, and it can be like you’re doing a brand-new exercise.

How To Do The DDP Yoga Supported Lunge

Step out into a lunge with, say, your left foot forward. Your left foot should be flat, and your knee should be directly over your ankle. There should be a 90-degree angle between the floor and your foot.

You should be up on the ball of your back foot so that your heel is off the ground.

Depending on how difficult this is for you, consider stepping your back foot in a little bit. Or, drop your back knee to the ground to take some of the pressure off your front leg. Regardless, maintain your front knee over your front ankle, or you risk losing some of the effectiveness of the lunge.

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Finally, DDP Yoga Lunges engage the upper body, as well. Push both of your hands into your forward thigh. Roll shoulder shoulders back. Your triceps should be engaged here.

This is Supported Lunge. Typically, at least in my class, I come into a lunge following Down Dog, or, if I’m feeling a little nicer, following Table.

Supported Lunge looks most closely like Crescent Lunge, except in DDP Yoga, the hands are pressing into the leg instead of reaching high.

How To Do Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle looks similar to High Lunge, but with a key difference.

Take a deep breath in Supported Lunge. Exhale and lower your chest down to your thigh (or as close as you can get).

From here, you have a few options. I’ll explain from easiest to most challenging.

First, you can simply keep your hands on your thigh. Don’t even move them from Supported Lunge. Make sure you’ve rolled your shoulders back.

Second, you can bring your arms back so that your biceps are touching your rib cage. Your hands are open, like you’re holding a ball behind your back or butt.

Finally, from that position, you can interlace your fingers to open your shoulders more.

Take a deep breath in and count back from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

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Explode off that front leg and reach up to the sky in Touchdown. You get bonus points if you can keep that lunging foot on the ground while holding your opposite foot off the ground.

What Body Parts Are Working In Supported Lunge To Space Shuttle

You’re working your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, toes, core, hip flexors, and your shoulders in these two positions. Who thought a lunge would have so many benefits?

Now It’s Your Turn

You can try this a few ways with me. First, I teach DDP Yoga to a group on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Metamora Park District office. I also am available for 1:1 or small group training at Titan Fitness in Washington and Peoria.

January 28, 2018

One of the most dreaded exercises—in my experience, at least—is the push-up.

Push-ups, I think, are deceptively intimidating. They taunt you by saying, “But I’m just a bodyweight exercise!”

Then, as you get into your plank set-up, you start to realize that your arms are bearing a good deal of your weight. You start to lower, and then BOOM! Your chest hits the ground. You try to push back up again, but instead, you lay there… defeated.

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This is a common occurrence I see for my clients in my group fitness classes and 1:1 personal training.

DDP Yoga adds a layer of complexity on top of the push-up. In this post, we’ll learn more about why that is and how to get there.

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How To Do A DDP Yoga Slow-Burn Push-Up

DDP Yoga push-ups are a little different than push-ups you might be used to because they involve a slow burn. Instead of cranking out push-ups as fast as you can, DDP Yoga push-ups rely more on lowering and pushing with control. In fact, if you’ve done any type of power yoga, you’ve likely seen the chaturanga posture.

Assume a plank position. Make sure your hips are dipping toward the ground, and also make sure that your butt isn’t creeping up toward the sky. Tuck your tailbone and push your heels back. I should be able to place a broomstick along your back to from a nice, neutral line.

Keep your hands directly underneath your shoulders, and add to your stability by spreading your fingers wide.

Because this is DDP Yoga, make sure you engage all of your muscles with dynamic resistance. Squeeze your core, your glutes, and your legs to get the maximum benefit.

To begin, take a deep breath in. Exhale and lower for a count of 3, 2, 1.

Hold yourself just a few inches off the ground in a position called Crocodile and count there for 3, 2, 1. Inhale again. Finally, exhale and push up for 3, 2, 1 until you’re back into plank.

If you want to make these a little easier, lower to your knees. You can still work your chest, but your knees take some of the pressure off. You can make these even easier by standing at an angle against a wall.

Build up to get yourself counting to five instead of three, and 10 instead of five.

What Body Parts Are Working In The DDP Yoga Slow-Burn Push-Up

You’re working everything with Slow-Burn Push-Ups.

Specifically, though, you’re working:

1. Chest
2. Triceps
3. Biceps
4. Lats
5. Glutes
6. Hamstrings
7. Quads

The Benefits of DDP Yoga Push-Ups

Push-ups have many benefits.

1. Push-ups help you assess your fitness at any age, according to Harvard.
2. Push-ups fatigue and exhaust your muscles so that they grow.
3. You can modify them in countless ways. Adding medicine balls, TRX bands, changing your hand positioning, and switching up your numbers can all adjust the intensity of your push-up. The variations are endless.
4. Push-ups are a great way to increase your heart rate so you can burn more calories.

Your Turn: Try DDP Yoga Slow-Burn Push-Ups

You have a few opportunities to try them out. First, you could try them out right now since you can do these anywhere. Second, you can attend my class at Metamora Parks & Recreation on Thursday nights. Finally, contact me about 1:1 or small group training at Titan Fitness in Washington and Peoria.