Core Fit 'N Motion

Well, it has been fun to watch the excitement with the attendance contest this month. Who knew $50 would create this kind of competition. We had one member come to the morning and evening workout today to make up some ground! Keep it up. The leader is at seven classes since March 1st. There are several at six, and many more just behind. I’m planning something fun for Saturday April 3rd after the morning workout. This is also where the winner will be announced and given their gift card. More details to follow, soon. If we have a tie at the end, we will throw their names into a hat and randomly draw the winner.

We’ve had several new members join in the last couple weeks. Most have come through referrals of existing members. Remember the referral program – refer a friend and receive a free month!

When talking to many of the people calling to inquire about our programs or those coming in for their free intro, I keep hearing apprehension about joining a new class. Many are worried about joining a large class and slowing it down. Others are concerned about trying something new around others and want to start in small class. Most of our classes have less than 8 people, although occasionally classes can be up to 12 people. The intro session allows a new member to obtain a comfort level with each exercise before needing to perform it in a group. Also, our classes are based around timed “rounds” and therefore each member can work at their own pace – meaning no one has an affect on how others perform. Set your worries aside and come check us out.

Today we did a circuit consisting of 8 exercises and completed the circuit three times. One of the stations included the barbell bent press. It was the first time for many of the members to try this exercise with the barbell. Some used the kettlebell.

This afternoon I read a couple chapters of a book originally published in 1906 by Arthur Saxon titled The Development of Physical Power. Arthur was one of the original strongmen. He was 5′ 10″ and weighed 200 pounds. His record Bent Press was an astonishing 370 pounds! In the book he has a chapter titled The Bugbear of Training: How to Avoid ~~~. This chapter especially caught my attention because in it he discusses a common pitfall of training. Here is an excerpt:

The bugbear of training loses half it fearsome aspects to the tired athlete who has a lot at stake, and must continue at his work, if it be done in company with a friend or friends. There is nothing so fatiguing as the raising of iron weights time after time with no one to watch, no one to encourage, no one to advise – to express surprise at your improvement. To surprise and beat your friends is always an encouragement, and in practicing with weights you cannot get the right positions unless you have an expert lifter to occasionally offer a hint. Lifting, too, may become dangerous if practiced by oneself, so you see the idea is to endeavour to make your training as much a pleasure as possible.

This is great advice from the World’s Strongest Man over 100 years ago, and this advice is still highly relevant today! How many times do people go to the gym and simply go through the motions? Or, worse yet, decide not to workout at all because they don’t have anyone else to go with!

At Core Fit ‘N Motion we meet these recommendations provided over 100 years ago. We offer group training that gives everyone the opportunity to workout with a friend. For example during today’s circuit, each person was paired up with another friend. The partner approach really helps each person push themselves a little harder than if they were at the station alone. After the workout I was talking with one of the members about a workout we did a couple months ago. During that workout I gave all the members a group of exercises and told them to complete them as many times as they could in 30 minutes. This member worked out next to another highly competitive member and they unknowingly pushed each other the entire time. Following the workout they talked about their accomplishments. Each person admitted they looked over and saw the other still working and trying heavier weights, and as a result worked harder himself. As a result, both achieved so much more in that workout than had they worked out on their own.

The other key idea that Mr. Saxon provides in the excerpt is the idea of working out with another expert. Not only are the classes led by Art of Strength trained instructors, each person working out in the class is an expert in their own way. It’s hlepful to see another person working out at a similar ability level and observe their form, weights used, pace, etc.

By taking Mr. Saxon’s advice and working out with friends and under the eye of an expert, we can all achieve our own personal goals, train safely and make improvements every time we hit the gym. So come on out, train hard and have fun!

That’s all I can say for Alyssa, Lyndsey, Mike and Shannon. Tonight all the power was out in a couple block radius around the gym. That didn’t stop those four. They came into a dark gym. Alysssa rounded up a couple candles and we began our workout. We made it through the first round and magically the power came on. Lyndsey grabbed her ipod with a special mix she made for our workouts and we continued on.

It was refreshing to see these four make the best of the situation. It didn’t matter there weren’t any lights nor did it matter that without power the furnace wasn’t running, these four wanted to work out! Most people would have used the power outage as an excuse to skip the workout. Great job!!!

The new schedule is out and we’ve had people at each of the 8:30 classes. As a reminder, if anyone has any suggestions for additional class times, please leave a comment on the site or let us know at the gym.

Also, March is our Cabin Fever Contest. I am giving a $50 Dicks Sporting Goods gift card to the person that comes the most during the month of March. There are 60 workouts on the schedule (plus a couple impromptu Sundays) for the month. A little extra incentive to get out of the house and get rid of those cabin fever blues.

To accommodate your requests, we are updating our schedule. Starting Monday February 22nd we will be adding 8:30 am classes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Starting Saturday February 27th we will be moving the Saturday class back 15 minutes meaning that class will start at 11:15. This Saturday we will have class at the normal time. Sunday classes will still be held sporadically and will be communicated to members by Text or Email. Please let me know if you are interested in being notified of Sunday classes.

To encourage increased attendance, I will be holding a contest in March to see who comes the most. More details to follow.

That’s how much weight was moved Friday by 8 of us. We did a timed workout of 30 minutes of exercises including 2 hand swings, one hand swings, front squats, dead cleans, clean & press and rows. We did this workout a couple months ago. Kelsey saw a 22% improvement in her weight moved. Way to go!

Jeanne informed me that she hasn’t been to her chiropractor in over two months! It’s great to see the positive effects the workouts can have on someone. It’s one thng for a fit person to see improvements in physical performance, but it makes me feel so much better to hear about someone not experiencing the pain and discomfort they once were.  Congrats Jeanne!

Renee has been in Rhode Island for the kettlebell certification this weekend. It sounds like it has changed a lot since I was there in April. She is bringing home some great ideas to continue to improve our training program!

The Delano Business Expo is coming in April. We are planning on having a booth and will be holding small demonstrations. Stop by and check us out!

Well, I felt it was time to give an update on the members. I haven’t written much about them lately. Come to think of it, I haven’t been writing much at all lately. It’s been busy at the gym. Busy is a good thing. That means people are showing up, working hard and seeing results.

Bruce has been a superstar. He has been coming four days a week and has seen HUGE improvements. I spotted him doing a front squat with the 40 kg (88 pound) kettlebell earlier this week. He was doing a situp-getup with an eight kilo bell and commented that when he started he couldn’t do it with any weight. To show my admiration and congratulations, I have a free shirt waiting for him if he reads this and mentions it to me…

Tonight, we did an extra core routine at the end of the workout. Half way through, Tony mentioned that he has greatly improved his flexibility. Joe is another that is moving up in weight. He was swinging the 28 kg this week and looking good. The women, are all doing amazing. We did a little confidence builder and I saw a couple of them swinging the 24 kg bells 🙂 Keep up the great work!

I also need to give a special shout out to Todd and Lori. I can count on them like clockwork. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday they show up, rain, snow or shine for the 6:00 am class! Tony and Kelsey are my regulars on Friday nights. Lately Fridays have become their personal training sessions. I don’t think they mind, but if you’re looking for a smaller class, Friday’s are it.

Renee is going to Rhode Island next weekend to get her certification. Later in February we will be adding more classes. So far we have decided to add 8:30 am classes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. To celebrate and show our commitment to the Delano area, we are offering reduced monthly rates for those that wish to commit to us:

• $79 per month for a 6 month commitment
• $69 per month for a 12 month commitment

Lately, I (Renee’) have had several people ask me why I always work out barefoot.  When I tried giving short answers such as “it improves my balance” or “I don’t get as sore” it always led to more questions and more explanations.  I decided this would be a good topic to post about and let you decide for yourself if you want to give it a try.

The foot has 28 bones, 38 muscles, 35 joints, 56 ligaments and 2 arches.  It is the very foundation of our body and affects every other part of our bodies from the ankle to the knee, the hip, the back and even the neck.  Most athletic shoes with their inflexible soles, structured sides and super-cushioned inserts keep the foot so restricted that they may actually be making your foot lazy, weak and more prone to injury.  These shoes do all the work for our feet and the foot muscles weaken from lack of use.  It is common for ankle, knee and back pain to occur from improper foot mechanics. 

Barefoot exercise allows a greater range of motion to the foot, which can increase its flexibility.  Barefoot exercise will help with balance, postural alignment, and injury prevention.  One of the first things you may notice when you first try barefoot squats, lunges and other strength training exercises is an initial lack of stabilization.  A person can become so conditioned to using shoes for support that they almost fall sideways when doing a barefoot lunge.  Balance is one aspect that will greatly improve when the strength and flexibility of the foot improves.  With improved balance comes improved posture and muscle alignment which leads to less aches and pains and a reduced risk of  balance injuries such as twisted ankles.

Try exercising barefoot for a couple weeks and see how it strengthens you from the neck down!

I put this word on the whiteboard at the gym a couple weeks ago and asked if anyone knew what it meant. I didn’t get any takers. A week later, I spelled it out – Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption. Even after listing these words, I only had a couple members ask me what it meant…

In today’s society, with so many people wanting to lose weight, I feel this is an important concept to understand. The formula for losing weight is simple: calories in must be less than calories out. This being said, the most important aspect of losing weight is to manage the calories you take in; a good diet is essential.

This, however, is not my specialty. I focus on calories out…. exercise. The concept of EPOC has been studied for several years, and it suggests that after exercise the body continues to need oxygen at a higher rate than before the exercise began. Thus your body is burning more calories than it was prior to exercise. Research suggests that high-intensity resistance exercise disturbs the body’s homeostasis to a greater degree than aerobic exercise, resulting in a larger energy requirement after exercise to restore the body’s systems to normal. Therefore, counting calories burned while on the treadmill and comparing them to the calories burned while performing high intensity resistance training will not give you the complete picture. You should also consider the effect of EPOC with your training methods. The training methods used at our gym uses high-intensity resistance exercises and therefore in my opinion is a fun way to increase your EPOC.

This week at Core Fit ‘N Motion, we did a Tabata workout with several stations.  A Tabata workout consists of one exercise being done at maximum intensity for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds rest for 8 cycles.  Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan published a groundbreaking study in the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise.  They provided documented evidence concerning the dramatic physiological benefits of high-intensity intermittent training.  In 6 weeks of testing, Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity in his subjects and a 14% increase in their ability to consume oxygen.  These results were in already physically fit subjects.  The conclusion was that just 4 minutes of Tabata interval training could do more to boost aerobic and anaerobic capacity than an hour of endurance exercise!

Brittany, one of the taekwondo athletes that works out with us 2 or 3 days a week, is out in Colorado Springs. She is competing at the Olympic Training Center competing at a qualifying tournament, the first step in several, to qualify to fight in Singapore in 2010 at the first ever youth olympics (for 16 -17 year olds).  Good Luck Brittany.

Brittany gives me a hard time because I don’t update the blog frequently enough. I challenged her that if she wanted more frequent updates, she should help me out and write some. Last night she sent the following from Colorado:

HELLO!!! I am sad that I cannot be there to workout with you all.. I am currently in Colorado Springs, Colorado preparing for a very important tournament. As most of you know, I am in TaeKwonDo along with Travis and Dex. I am very excited to say that I am going to kick some major butt!!!!! (At least that’s the plan! :D) Tomorrow is weigh-ins for the tournament, and the five of the teammates are very excited.

I have been nagging at Alan to update the site more often, but obviously he does not listen. So, I might be writing more of the posts.  I plan on doing at least a couple a week… that’s the plan. I sure do have a lot of plans.

Recently Travis had a SMALL party in the corefit gym, but it was very fun. The whole room was filled with fog, spider webs all over, and it was very spooky. Even though not many people came, there was a slight moment when Tana showed her spunky side. Tana and I got very much into the Cupid’s Shuffle Dance. (Even though no one else joined!) I also scared the daylights out of Tana and man alive did she get me back good. I was almost out of my pants… not only Tana, but Renee, Travis, Zach, well just about everyone scared me. You would never expect the gym to look how it did, but it did. The lively, colorful, wall muraled, vibrant gym we know and love was for one night spooky!!!

Hope everyone had fun working out, everyone is improving, and we are getting so much BIGGER!!! Going to need more workouts… I think I can help with that!?!?!?!  >:O RAWR O:<   Alan should keep you updated on how we all are doing out here!!! (I am going to do my best for him.) GOOD LUCK WITHOUT ME AND DECCA TO KEEP THE JOKES FLOWING!!!!

MISS YOU ALL!!!