It’s mid-week and your energy and enthusiasm to get a workout in is starting to fade. You’ve done well the past two days, but you might have gone too hard and your mind and body are simply telling you to back off a bit.
So what do you do?
Well, you just need that extra motivation and inspiring workout to get you excited again. And, have we got the perfect workout for you. Just follow the advice of our friend from “Beefy’s Gym”, especially when he explains, “That was the pre-warmup, to get you ready for the warm-up, to get you ready for the pre-workout, followed by the workout, which precedes the post-workout, then we’re going into a 60-minute warm-down…”
Ok, better yet, I’ll just let you watch the video and you can follow from there, enjoy
- Don’t be offended. Wait…yes be offended. I dare you
- I included some video links, embedded them, or linked it to my other blog for a point
- It may be a little long so bear with this
- Lastly, the words and phrasing I give credit to where it is due…Pastor Ryan Meeks from EastLake Community Church
So………here goes:
My wife suggested to go to church Sunday evening. I was sort of reluctant. You know, tired, rainy, rough week last week, just kinda not in that mood. It’s kinda funny that every time I resist something I know would benefit me, I do it anyways and I love it afterwards. Ever feel that way?
So we went to church and the topic of the sermon was “Work Hard”. Usually I write a blog from an inspiration of some sort and I found it tonight. Some of you have been missing my emails. Sorry, I haven’t found that inspiration till recently.
Now please bear with me and don’t worry I am not going to get “churchy” on you. I may use some bible verses due to the relevancy of this blog and where it came from. But, my goal is not to force anyone into thinking a certain way. That is your choice and your views and I am ok with that. What you do with this information in this blog is your choice ultimately. In the end, I hope your offended enough to take action and get some work done. So here is what I learned from going to a Sunday evening service at Eastlake Community Church.
LESSON 1
Work Hard
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk only leads to poverty.”Proverbs 14:23
This verse hit me pretty good. It hit me from different angles. Definitely from a business perspective and some other aspects as well. Kinda like a “talk the talk well walk the walk” thing too! The premise of this is not to just say your going to do something….DO IT! Action speaks louder than words! We have heard this line that too many times.
Speaking of talking the talk and walking it…Just recently, a bootcamper called me out early in the morning. This person said…”why don’t you do the exercise with us?” Well, my ego took over and so I did. What this person didn’t know was that I blasted my legs the night before with a rigorous Muay Thai workout. I didn’t have to justify myself but I did 30 Split jumps anyways WITH this person (even though it was only 30 step out lunges…I leveled it up a bit).
You know, I do ask the bootcampers to share their accomplishments, setbacks, and workouts as they go through their 21 day rapid fat loss journey. So here is mine as I am being transparent. I will give you a glimpse of the day before. The day of my Muay Thai workout.
Thursday November 19th:
5am = wake up, 6am = bootcamp, 7am= egg whites and spinach breakfast, 8am = train, 9am = shake, 12pm = Unwich (turkey), 130pm = martial arts client, 2pm = corporate meeting representing Element 5, 3pm = chicken breast salad from subway, 4pm = corporate training Bellevue, 530pm = chicken breast salad, 6pm = bootcamp, 7pm = martial arts class (teach a portion but take as a student and get butt whooped!!), 830pm = cous cous with turkey meatballs and spaghetti sauce. Then comes Friday…blasted legs and all and my little justification act/moment.
And just so you know what the high intensity of Muay Thai or boxing takes look at the videos posted and the link to my other blog (click—>) ”Boxing Mom” workout and check out the first video, read the blog later its cool though! Or to check out the actual video look below. (you can read that blog later about high intensity boxing workouts)
**FYI….this woman has three kids of her own** Now that’s a MOM you don’t wanna mess with!!
Holding pads for these athletes IS A WORKOUT!! Look below!
So yes hard work does pay off and talk is cheap. I hope a look into my day shows you who I am and what I do. Just to be clear, Rommel and myself, NEVER show an exercise we ourselves haven’t done. More importantly, hard work gets you results. I remember working hard to be a great defensive player for OSU’s Men’s volleyball team. I didn’t have the luxury of being 6ft 5in++. I had to work at being fast defensively, responsive, and tactful offensively as a server since the back row line is the most I would probably get to see. Practice and tournaments and games was like a second job to school. Work Hard…
Look, no one ever said achieving great things was going to be easy. You set your goals, aim for it and work hard.
Pastor Ryan said something funny tonight. He said we like to believe there is this thing called Pixie Dust. Just sprinkle it and the problem (fat for us in the fitness world) goes away. Pixie Dust. Just sprinkle it and the magical opportunity comes your way. Pixie Dust, your problems aren’t yours to own, just sprinkle it and it will go away. Pixie Dust…bullcrap. Work Hard.
LESSON 2
Work Hard at What You Do Best:
Colossians 3:23-24 starts out saying “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…”
Ah this part is good. You see the Michael Jordans of the world have it easy. Tiger Woods? Cmon! what’s so hard about walking in the park and swinging at a ball to a goal? I mean the goal isn’t even guarded! You won’t be tackled either. So, lucky them eh? Just naturally gifted right? WRONG!
You think those great athletes haven’t put in the work? Greatness is easy to see, but we neglect the process behind that greatness.
“I have failed many times, and that’s why I am a success” – Michael Jordan
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
It’s the very same reason why Rommel and myself are in this business. We are good at what we do and we will work hard at what we are very best at doing.
LESSON 3
Work Hard at What Matters Most
One of my coaches Bedros Keuilian asked me a question. He told me to name three things in the business that was successful to us achieving our goals. He had told me to focus on what we are good at, and not to spread oneself too thin. How true, how relevant. Thanks Mr. Keuilian.
Life is temporary people. If you give your life to something you are NOT good at, then you “betray yourself”. You assassinate your character and destroy your integrity, as Mr. Meeks says. Lasting greatness is due to hard work. Your not entitled to it. You want great results in fitness or in life? Work Hard. Simple yet hard to do.
After the sermon was over, (The Pastor said for anyone who he hasn’t met to feel free to come up and introduce themselves), I walked up to the front with Amanda and we thanked the pastor for his message. We then went to Fred Meyer to return a Red box dvd. Amanda went off to look for an item and I was texting my business partner Rommel about the awesome church experience and you know how these grocery stores have banks in them? Well as I was walking and texting with my head down I literally almost ran into one of the banks promo sign. It was a promo sign for the bank and a Disney prize of some sort….it said:
PIXIE DUST………….and so my blog began.
P.S. Please leave a comment with your thoughts
P.P.S. Please subscribe to this blog and forward this to those you think may benefit from it.
Element 5 Fitness founders and creators of Strong & Sexy Boot
Camps Rommel Acda, CSCS, and Belton Lubas, NASM-CPT are proud to announce the
grand opening of their first fitness training center in Kirkland, WA.The Element 5 Fitness Training Center offers
group fitness and fat loss programs, one-on-one personal training, Muscle
Activation Techniques (MAT), sports performance enhancement, and is also the first
licensed Underground Strength Coach Gym in the Pacific Northwest.
Rommel and
Belton believe that their unique fitness programs are the answer for fitness
enthusiasts feeling the effects of the economic crisis currently facing
Americans. They state: “People are really struggling right now with these hard
financial times.Though we feel
fitness is a necessity item, most people still do not, and the bottom line is
that it tends to be the first thing that gets cut when people are short on
funds.Our fitness programs provide
the solution to maintain staying in shape.”Our Strong & Sexy Boot Camps are thriving in spite of a
struggling economy due to its mission of offering large group workouts lasting
60 minutes in length for as little as $20 per workout. This offers a
significantly more affordable alternative for busy people than traditional
one-on-one personal training rates that start at $65 per one-hour session.
Strong
& Sexy Boot Camps has some ravings fans, none more vocal than Briony Stow, “I
first heard about the Bootcamp from a friend, naturally we were a little
skeptical, but they promised amazing results and money back guarantees, so why
wouldn’t you try it out? So I did. A few months later, I achieved my weight
loss goal. In fact, EVERYONE that came to train and followed the nutrition
guidelines achieved amazing results. I would recommend these guys to anyone and
everyone! Oh, and even though I reached my goal, it became something that I
enjoy so much that I continue to train with them 2-3 times a week and will do
so indefinitely.”
Element 5
Fitness training center is also home to the United Source Martial Arts
Academy.The United Source Academy specializes in authentic Muay Thai
kickboxing, Western Boxing, Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, Filipino
Weaponry, Clinch/Ground Boxing, and Fitness Kickboxing.The academy offers a multifaceted experience for the beginning to
advanced practitioner. Their focus is not limited to the insufficiency of
solely creating the ‘toughest fighter’ but rather in the equally important
value of introducing individuals and families to the life long benefits of
martial edification and personal development.
The Element 5
Fitness Training Center will be holding a free boot camp from 10-11am this
Saturday to kick off the grand opening. The United Source Academy will be holding martial arts demonstrations every
30 minutes starting 10am. Come join us for a great workout at 10am, food, drinks, and prizes to follow at 11:30am. We are located at 11626 Slater Ave NE, Suites 4 and 5, Kirkland, WA 98034 behind NAPA Auto
Parts.For more
information call us at 425-823-4400.
Yesterday was very very interesting. A couple of things were repeatedly brought up to me and I had to finally blog about it. At first, I thought maybe it was pure coincidence, or maybe we were all on the same page? So, out of the many conversations, comments, and eavesdropping in the gym, I heard two main topics:
- My Blue shirt looked good and I should wear blue more often as told to me by 5 different people. The 6th one (Allen our new trainer) said it was weird on me because he was used to seeing black and red. Whatever…hehe.
- “My schedule is too busy. I can barely eat or even drink water! I’m rushing to work and so I skip breakfast!” Blah blah blah
Well, the blue shirt did look good and it represented our ultra sound body fat testing device by Bodymetrix. But that’s not why I am writing. That’s a different topic.
I’m writing because people are telling me that they go four to six hours without eating because they are BUSY. I had a long talk with a client yesterday about eating every 2-3 hours and that it was a struggle for her!! The work environnment doesn’t allow for her to eat on a regular basis. I scolded her and now she is taking a stand for her health and going to talk to her boss about getting some time to actually take a break and eat some food and drink water. Hey, I’m not responsible for what happens if her boss reacts differently. But Good For Her!
SIDE NOTE: A message to employers, bosses, managers, and all those who make those decisions; “What the Hell?!” You want happier healthier employees? Geez
Seriously?!
Ok so these clients are busy. I understand. And to put it in perspective for those who gave me an excuse… Let me give you an insight how my “BUSY” day went.
Tuesday Night:
I finished training a client who barely eats because she is “busy”. We talk about shakes and quick healthy snacks. I don’t give her any excuses so I gave her my personal jug of chocolate powder shake, flax seed, and organic fiber. Ah ha! Now she can’t say anything. hehe. I then lecture her about making time to workout outside of meeting with me; but I myself haven’t worked out yet that day. Cmon, It was a BUSY day right? I have an excuse. I was about to walk out the door when Willie (Element 5 Fitness Master Trainer) suggested we do a workout that entails:
Instead we were inspired by a member doing some boxing so we boxed for 45 minutes and perform thai kicks in the combo. Boy that was tough! As we ended, Willie and I both agreed that it was well worth the time to stay an extra 45 minutes to get that workout in because it reset and renewed our spirits!
SO here we are to Wednesday:
YOU WANT BUSY?
4:00 am – wake up and get ready
4:45 am – drive to Redmond from Bothell. Pound a shake and an apple while driving
5:30 am to 6:00 am – measure bodyfat for two clients using Ultrasound device
6:00 am to 7:00 am - Strong and Sexy Bootcamp
7am to 7:30am – Measure Bodyfat again
7:30 am – Train the “Welcome back from Vegas” format for this client. HA!
8:30 am – Train the “Welcone back from Palm Springs, San Diego, Mexico, LA, was just sick, and leaving again to LA” format for these two clients. Double Ha
9:30 am - Train the “Just came back from San Diego, gained 10 pounds but lost 5 since coming back and then heading to China WORKOUT” format; but client and I call the session 15 min early as he is BEAT! Good work.
SIDENOTE: Is there a pattern here? hmmmm
10:15 – Run to QFC and Starbucks and grabbed turkey, zuchinni, squash, snap green peas, oatmeal at starbucks. ARGH have only 15 minutes till 10:30 appointment!
10:30 am - Train and talk to client about boss who wont allot time to eat and replenish fluids. Encourage client to talk to boss.
11:30 am - Leave to Noon Strong and Sexy Bootcamp at Downtown BellevueFirst Street Fitness with Water Babies Crew. Yes EAT and DRIVE! Turkey and veggies.
12:00 pm – Train noon crew in “They didn’t go to vacation” format
1:30 pm – Train and gave client the frustrated look. Suddenly she wasn’t “trying” she just DID IT!!
2:30pm – Train, Nutrition talk, uh oh…stopped exercises to perform Muscle Activation Techniques Jump Start low grade exercises. Talked with client about Red Carpet event she is preparing for Bobby Engram Foundation to fight sickle cell disease.
3:30pm – Head to Woodinvilleto train Basketball crew on Strength Format. Finished Turkey and veggies and ad some grapes from a friend’s cute daughter who offered me some. Was reminded to wash grapes first to make sure they are clean. She was too cute.
4:30 pm – Head to Downtown Bellevue for Strong and Sexy Bootcamp evening class and new client.
5:00pm – Arrived earlier so I grabbed a Labrada Lean Body shake at Emerald City Smoothie about 4 blocks away. Water base, adams peanut butter, fiber, calcium, glutamine, amino acids, flax oil, and a small stick of Ostrich jerky. Popped open computer and sent some files (SSbootcampmanual) but wireless died and I didn’t want to deal with it, so I WORKED OUT!
5:30 pm – class time…
6:30 pm – New Client, 15 yrs old. I call him G35 because thats the car he wants. His mom came to watch…Um NOT on my watch! (sorry for the pun) I put her on a bike and had her do 35 minutes while she watched. Don’t think she liked that very much in the beginning. She was loving it later though.
7:30 pm – wrapping up
UGH TRAFFIC
8:00 ish pm – Brown Rice chicken and an orange.
Popped open computer and still did some more work.
So essentially I went from 4am straight till 9pm ish. Don’t give me this “I cannot eat” crap and “I cannot workout”. I have used that before. You just saw my day. ‘Nuff said…
If you need some great information on quick exercises for you BUSY folks… Go to
Having trouble sticking to your fitness routine? Shake it up a little by working out first thing in the morning. It’s a huge mental shift, but with the sun coming up earlier, early morning workouts will help you jump start your metabolism for the rest of the day.
In addition, you can avoid the stress of battling decisions between your workout and possible last minute evening activities that would have competed with your time, you won’t have to think about getting your workout in, and you’ll find yourself getting more work done during the day.
So challenge yourself to get up earlier and in less than two weeks I guarantee you’ll see and feel a difference.
PS, Still need some pick me up help in the morning? Here are two quick dynamic flexibility exercises to get the blood flowing.
With spring in full effect most people are hitting the gym hard to achieve that flat belly. However, a lot of people are also seeking to achieve amazing looking arms to show off during the summer as well. Most of our female clients are concerned with getting rid of the “back-of-the-arm” jiggly wiggly’s, and are tired of it jiggling long after they’ve stopped waving.
Good nutrition will of course help, and interval training will improve the fat burning process, however specific weight training will boost the “toning” effect. (I can’t stand the word “toning”, but hey I gotta use it).
Follow this three exercise “superset” to attack the stubborn “jiggly” in your triceps so that you can break out the tank tops and show off your newly shaped arms!
The Workout
Perform each exercise for the prescribed amount of reps. Make sure to select a weight that will fatigue your triceps for the prescribed reps. Transition between each exercise with little (no more than 10 seconds) to no rest. After you perform the third exercise rest for one minute, then repeat for two more times to complete three sets.
Exercise 1: Narrow hand position pushups – 5 reps
- Use a full range of motion! Don’t wuss out and only go half way down. Your chest should almost touch the floor. If you can’t complete 5 full reps, then do whatever you can and move on to the next exercise.
Exercise 2: Plank to pushup position – 10 reps total
- Start from a plank position on your forearms then transition into a pushup position. You will not perform a pushup though. Do five reps starting with your left hand and the other five transitioning with your right hand.
Exercise 3: Rope Pressdowns/Extensions – 15 reps
- Using a rope attachment from a high cable pulley, hold the ends of the rope with your palms facing each other. Keep your knees soft and slightly lean your upper body forward, while keeping your back flat. Start with your elbows bent at 90-degrees, then straighten your arms as you slightly pull the rope apart. Do not separate the rope too much as this will create too much pressure in your shoulders.
[Photo credit: figureathlete.tmuscle.com]
Here’s a video that demonstrates exercises 1 and 2.
Have you ever looked at high intensity athletes such as martial artists (MMA Fighters), track stars, gymnasts, etc, and wonder how and why they have a physique like that of a bodybuilder posing at the night of their showing?You see 6-pack abs, ripped muscles, and basically just a lean mean fighting machine?
These high intensity athletes are not freaks of nature (well, some of ‘em are), but more or less people who have truly maximized their genetic potential through High Intensity Training.Whether it is their profession or a passion, you can see across the board the effects of their training.One class of high intensity athletes are martial artists such as MMA (Mixed Martial Artists) Fighters.
As of late, you have seen the explosion of MMA into the mainstream affecting everything from clothing lines, media, pay-per-view, haircuts (kidding), etc.But when you look at how these high intensity athletes train, it is amazing.There is something to be said about the energy demands and requirements for this type of training.This form of training is anaerobic (without oxygen) in nature and has what we call an “afterburn” effect aka EPOC (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption).Unlike traditional cardio aerobic programs where you stop burning once you stop your exercise, anaerobic exercise keeps on going for hours afterwards thus maximizing fat loss! It is the Energizer Bunny of fat loss! Keeps going and going and going…
BJ Penn http://www.newzealandmma.com/home/images/photos/bjpenn.jpg
Although many cannot handle the actual intensity of how hard Martial Artists truly train, you can still get involved in high intensity training starter programs and maximize the benefits from it.As you progress, you can increase the workload and change up the routine to accommodate your progressions.
So how many calories can you burn?Well, let me just say that your body composition determines that.Obviously if you are heavier, your energy demands are greater.For example, did you know that you can burn up anywhere from a low end of 300-600 calories OR 800-1200 calories per hour of boxing training?Those numbers are dependent upon the body mass of the individual. But before you get excited about your fat loss journey, keep in mind most people CANT go for an hour of boxing let alone 15 minutes.Now remember, boxing is one format of a high intensity exercise.You are missing the point here if you start buying gloves and a heavy bag.I’m talking about high intensity training and using martial artists as an example.Look at the example below demonstrating high intensity vs traditional cardio training below:
-154 pound person who runs at a pace of 8 mph will burn 320 calories in 20 minutes. That same person, walking at 3 mph for an hour, will burn 235 calories.
Now take that into your training protocol and you will see that you do NOT have to train for an hour.Train Smarter not just harder.
The Strong and Sexy bootcamp program with Element 5 Fitness has incorporated this form of training into their programming.All over the Eastside clients are experiencing fat loss with this type of training.From 25-50+ pounds of fat loss, you may wonder why participants at the Strong and Sexy Bootcamp classes are experiencing this phenomenon.Well, if you were paying attention to the paragraphs above then you would know why!
I have included some of the sample workouts below that were incorporated in our Strong and Sexy Bootcamps classes.This is a 30 second format PER exercise.You cycle through the three exercises one after another WITHOUT rest.The only real rest you will probably get is a 5 second transition between stations.
30 second format EACH exercise EQUALS ONE SET:
-Bench Press OR Band Punches 30 seconds
-Reverse Lunge with Band Row
-Jump Rope OR explosive cardio format
Repeat these exercises 4 or 5 times through!That itself covers a quick six to seven and a half minutes!Once you combine 3 – 4 formats of this type of training, you will have covered at least 20-30 minutes of a high intensity type of training.
If you dare, try this format and adjust the intensity and tempo to get a killer workout!Welcome to the FITNESS WARRIOR LIFESTYLE!!!
Here are some surefire ways to burn off an additional 100 calories to help you burn extra fat and attain a leaner physique.
1. Raise Your Intensity
It’s a well known fact now that increasing your intensity during your workout will create an “afterburn” effect. If you haven’t heard of the term “afterburn” in the fitness world, it simply means a disturbance in your metabolism causing you to burn more calories after an intense strength training or interval training workout.
2. Ditch The Sugar
One 8 oz glass of juice has an average of 28 grams of sugar and 120 calories. One packet of sugar is 4 grams and 16 calories. Do the math. In one glass of juice you just consumed 7 packets of sugar. Get rid of the white stuff; your body will appreciate it.
3. Ditch The Sugar Substitutes
Research has shown that our body reacts the same way to sugar substitues (sucralose – aka Splenda, aspartame – aka Equal, saccharin – aka Sweet’N Low). Insulin levels still spike, wreaks havoc on our metabolism and causes the body to store more fat.
4. Eat Healthy Fats
Studies have shown that consuming more healthy fats, aka essential fatty acids, allows our cells to burn more fat and shrinks existing fat cells. A supportive diet rich in healthy fats also helps to break down the visceral fat around our organs, which is the dangerous body fat.
5. Turn On The Heat
If you’re into the hot stuff (get your mind out of the gutter) research has shown that adding more spice (hot sauce and chili peppers) to your meals can elevate your caloric burn by 25%.
6. Stand Up and Let Go Of The Handles
If you’re one of the machine cardio goers, let go of the handles on the elliptical already! If you’re stuck on the bike, change it up and get on another machine that has you standing instead.
7. Sleep Well
A lack of sleep and poor quality sleep drastically affects your fat burning hormone, leptin, and your appetite controlling hormone, ghrelin. A good eight hours of sleep will keep these hormones working full-time versus part-time. If these hormones aren’t operating optimally it can cause cravings.
Did this post help? There are a lot of other tips out there, let us know what else you’ve heard. Share in the comments section below.
Valerie Bertinelli was on the Today Show this morning and talked about how she lost 40 pounds and looks and feels sexier than ever at age 48. She’s the face of the new Jenny Craig campaigns, which took her goals to a whole new level of responsibility and accountability. It allowed her to stay true and hold strong for her fitness goal in front of a national audience by not only losing the weight, but to prove to herself and to us that she can keep it off.
I can’t stress this enough when it comes to weight loss. Social support and accountability is a huge component to get you to your goals. It’s often overlooked or downplayed, because too many people are afraid of putting themselves out there. Who cares what people are going to think. They can’t make you feel inferior without your consent anyways so forget about the naysayer’s.
Valerie didn’t care about what people would have thought, and by putting herself out there she was able to help many women believe in themselves to go for it too. Especially in their late forties where most women think it’s nearly impossible. It’s never, ever too late.
So how did Valerie do it?
Believe it or not, she lost majority of her weight without hiring a personal trainer and by doing five days of moderate walking, and sticking to the Jenny Craig nutrition plan. The Jenny Craig system focuses on a fixed diet plan, and a reduced calorie diet using a 60/20/20 ratio (60% – carbs; 20% – fat; 20% – protein). Most people would have a hard time losing weight with this plan, but it worked very well for Valerie.
As for her exercise, I would have incorporated at least two days of strength training, because it further stimulates your metabolism by building fat burning muscle. However, I believe her routine worked well for her simply because she BELIEVED it would.
You see, most people overlook what’s going on in their heads and are usually somewhat skeptical of trying out a new fitness program. Losing weight is not rocket science, but the problem is that most people have poor follow through, get frustrated, try a different routine (but still have doubts), get frustrated again, and then it becomes this vicious cycle over and over.
The result is being obsessive about exercise, but see absolutely no results. If this is you, I encourage you to take a step back. Choose a workout routine and nutrition plan that will complement your schedule. Then implement it with a passion and believe that it will give you the results you desire.
If you can do this I guarantee you’ll enjoy your journey.
Ok – Comment time.
Did you enjoy this post? Have you tried Jenny Craig, and if so how was your experience?
Please share in the comments section below.
- Rommel
PS, Take a look at my simple home/office workout routine ==> Click Here.
I have just been recently featured in Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training Fat Loss Blog. Craig is a fat loss expert and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. When he speaks about fat loss, listen up!
He also has a strong stance on how cardio is a waste of time in regards to fat loss. This is something we’ve preached to you guys over and over.
Check out my blog post and download Craig’s “Dark Side of Cardio” report.
