A few weeks ago on Twitter, #tweetfleet member @lostoffworld blamed me for her sore legs. Now of course, being the man I am, I had to tell her all the ladies say that, but she was referring specifically to the spin classes she had started taking at her local fitness facility as a result of all my talk about pushing our own workouts to the next level.

It would appear that my “Push it til you puke” mentality has become infectious amongst many of New Eden’s capsuleer community, and quite frankly, I couldn’t be more proud.

I offhandly told her that if she thought spin classes were bad, wait until I got her into the 4 Minutes of Hell approach I often employ in my own workouts.

Of course then I had to explain exactly what that meant. Once I started typing it out, I realized I had to make sure that anyone reading had to understand the nature of proper form while exercising. It’s one thing to push yourself, it’s another to do so stupidly.

By the time I had gotten it all drafted, then re-read it for clarity, it became quickly apparent that words alone would not suffice, so I took some pictures. Even then, it still didn’t capture the sense of good form, so off to YouTube I went in search of good form on the exercise approach I wanted to present. While YouTube is a great resource for many things, finding good form in exercise is apparently hit or miss, and I couldn’t find an exact match for what I wanted to demonstrate.

In the end, it looked like I was going to have to record some video of my own. Lovely.

I have a new appreciation for fitness personalities that make instructional videos. It takes several takes, a lot of aching muscles, and even more concentration to try to present perfect form in every single movement you make. By the time I got to what you’re going to see below, I was completely exhausted, shaking, and drenched in sweat.

In some parts of the video, I failed myself, but I also learned a lot about my own form, areas I can correct and improve upon, and where I do well, all valuable assets in my continuing quest for personal growth. Some may mock or insult that, but it’s all part of being accountable to each other.

Here’s the first of the 4 Minutes of Hell videos. This one focuses on Box Jumps. I hope you can gain some insights from it, and that you give it a go.

If you’re looking to watch me do 4 minutes straight of box jumps, it doesn’t happen. As I mentioned, it takes a lot out of you doing these types of videos. Maybe if I move forward with them, I will get better at it, but even if I don’t, it lets you know that we’re all human and can improve.

Disclaimer: By watching this video and attempting any of the exercises therein, you are absolving this blog and myself of all legal ramifications that may result in the event of injury or death.

Enjoy