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:

ANGIE WORKOUT:

100 double Kettlebell squats, 100 pushups, 100 pullups, 100 hanging abs. 

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

http://www.fitinahurry.com/

Your Fitness Coach,

Belton Lubas

As fitness experts, you know we’ll never promise you a pill is going to be the answer to that “jiggle in your wiggle.” If you want six pack abs you’re going to have to work for them.

BUT…

There is some very promising research out there in regards to a dietary supplement you’ve probably been hearing a lot about.

Yes, I’m talking about Essential Fatty Acids. You probably have heard them called something like Fish Oil pills.

How’s this for good news?!

*University of Georgia researchers have found something pretty amazing about Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA. Get this: The actually help STOP the conversion of pre-fat cells into fat cells by causing them to die out before they can mature.

Once a pre-fat cell becomes a fat cell, well, there’s no turning back. You’ve got that fat cell for life. Imagine, actually decreasing the accumulation of fat by taking an Essential Fatty Acid supplement containing DHA!

Now let us do our best infomercial voice for you…

“But wait, there’s more!”

Seriously, that’s not the only benefit of Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA.

According to studies** done at the University of South Australia people that combined exercise with Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA saw greater fat loss than the test group that only exercised and did not take the supplement.

How can you not be excited by these research studies??

Now, personally, we don’t like Fish Oil pills because they cause you to burp like crazy. If you’ve ever taken them you know exactly what we mean. And they aren’t always the highest quality.

We prefer EFA Icon from Prograde Nutrition because they use Krill Oil. It’s been found to be a superior source of Essential Fatty Acids containing DHA. Plus, with EFA Icon there are NO fish burps. And we haven’t even mentioned all the amazing health benefits from this dietary supplement.

If you’re looking to accelerate your fat loss results then we recommend you go with Prograde Nutrition’s EFA Icon. You can get it here, http://element5fitness.getprograde.com/icon

Yours in rapid fat loss,

Rommel and Belton – Element 5 Fitness

PS – Remember, EFA Icon is NOT a miracle solution. You will need sound nutrition and exercise. BUT the research is there. It’s definitely a supplement with powerful fat loss properties.
http://element5fitness.getprograde.com/icon

* Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136:2965-2969
** American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85:1267-1274

It’s been 14 years since I made the final decision to pursue a career in health and fitness. Just two years after starting my college years in Business Administration I enrolled in a degree in Exercise & Sports Science at Oregon State University. The ironic thing is I couldn’t stand business back then, but today as an owner of Element 5 Fitness, I completely appreciate it and actually enjoy the business side of things. But I digress.
Many, many things have changed in relation to how I approach my nutritional habits, my workouts, and my auxilliary physical activity. From 1995-1998 I approached fitness with a balls-out approach of working out 5-6 days a week, which included 45 minutes minimum of strength training, followed by 1-3 hours of recreational basketball at least 3-4 days per week. I was also mountain biking and rock climbing regularly, and snow boarding during the winter at least two times per week.
I was very lean, and was able to eat whatever I wanted. I supplemented well only because I knew that I wasn’t getting all the necessary nutrients from the foods I was eating. I was spending a lot of money on multi-vitamins, protein powders, meal-replacement shakes, you name it I’ve more than likely tried it.
You see, although I was in an Exercise Science program I was still set in the mindset of “I can do whatever I want, and because I’m so active I won’t gain any fat”. When in reality I was just too lazy and undisciplined and resorted to supplements to “make me healthy.”
In 1998 I started my personal training career at the university’s gym, and to prove I was a product of my product I knew I needed to change my mindset in order to change my fitness lifestyle. I enrolled in EAS’s “Body of Work Spokesperson” Contest (this was just before it was renamed to the now famous Body for Life Transformation Challenge). I was already hooked on EAS’s products at the time that I wanted to become a spokesperson. I ended up as a semi-finalist, and was awarded a certificate of achievement and a “Success Coach” certificate as a means to help other individuals who were pursuing the Body for Life challenge.

(Couldn’t find my 12th week photo, sorry!)

BUT, I know you’re diggin the Kid ‘N Play hairstyle! LOL!

My Certificate of Achievement

My transformation created a huge shift in my lifestyle. I finally set concrete goals, wrote them down, and ACTED on them. I kept a food and workout journal everyday, and was even meticulous about weighing my food – talk about anal. I was monitoring EVERY SINGLE thing that was going into my body. I was always within roughly 100 calories above or below my target, I drank a minimum of 96 ounces of water per day, took all my supportive supplements, slept 7-9 hours per night, and even took yogo twice a week to improve my flexibility. I was dialed in, and no one and nothing was able to upset my regimen! I finally practiced what I preached, and I took what I learned from this experience and applied it to help other individuals create transformations of their own.

Fast forward to 2002, which was the start of a more holistic approach, and the start of my re-education in my field. In 2002, I was fortunate to win a contest to the World IDEA Convention, which is the largest fitness convention in the world. The convention lasted five days, and I went to as many cutting edge educational courses (at the time) as I could. Long story short, I realized that what I knew and understood up to that point was simply outdated and that I needed to make more of an effort to keep up. This sparked a voracious appetite to do hours of research and testing out many nutrition and exercise protocols.
Fast forward to today. I’m a big believer in Dr. Berardi’s Precision Nutrition lifestyle program and this is what I adhere to 90% of the time. Hey, you gotta allow yourself to cheat 10% of the time, but more on that in another blog. Nowadays I don’t count calories, eat more whole foods, less simple and starchy carbs, WAY more fruits and vegetables, use less supplements, and increased the good fats in my diet. As for my workouts, they’ve been cut down to 30 minutes or less. I’ve simplified them into quick and efficient workouts, which have allowed me to get the same results in half the time. It seems that the more experience and knowledge I gain, the methods become simpler and more laser focused.
So what’s next? Well, I’ve decided on pursuing another transformation to prove that less is more. Stay Tuned!