Pre-turkey day workout advice

The countdown to Turkey Day is on!  Remember as we talked about in boot camp--Thanksgiving is just ONE day.  Enjoy yourself.  Enjoy the festivities with your friends and family.  Eat some of the traditional Thanksgiving foods and don't feel guilty about it.  It's just ONE day.

Before I give you your boot camp homework, here are some healthy ideas for the Thanksgiving holiday:

• Make sure you don't starve yourself before your meal (more likely you'll overeat at dinner)

• Make a conscious effort to eat well in the days leading up to Thanksgiving (lean protein, LOTS of produce, and small amounts of healthy fats like almonds and other nuts)

• Plan (NOW!) for great workouts the day before and after Thanksgiving--and even on Thankgiving Day if you can.  Grab friends and family and make it a social time.

• When at your Thanksgiving meal, drink water before your meal. At the meal, eat what you want, but take smaller portions.  Drink water with your meal and take frequent sips.

• If you drink alcohol, have a glass of water in between each alcoholic beverage and limit yourself to two alcoholic drinks.

We're off from boot camp the week of Thanksgiving, but if you make  an effort to exercise well, make good choices and have just a little restraint with portion sizes, you really can enjoy wonderful food, good times and treats you wouldn't eat every day---and not have to pay dearly at the scale.

I wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Now, on to the homework!

This workout is for Almaden boot campers and Los Gatos boot campers. For my ladies at the "Fit and Fabulous" FitCamp in Willow Glen, you've got your homework for the whole week on your handout!

I've got a very simple workout for you.  You can perform it by running, walking, or swimming, or on any exercise machine at the gym.  

Keep in mind that the cardio interval bursts are to be HARD.  If you're talking and carrying on while you're doing your cardio interval burst---you're not working hard enough!  Talking and carrying on is best done during warm up or cool down :-).

0:00- 5:00 minutes:  Warm up by walking or doing our "active warm up" from boot camp.

5:00-8:00 minutes: Pick up the pace to a "7" on our scale of 1-10

8:00-8:30: Go HARD for just 30 seconds! (about a "9" on our scale)

8:30-9:00:  Drop down to "moderate" exertion (about a "7")

Repeat this pattern of 30 seconds HARD, 30 seconds MODERATE for 5-9 more rounds, depending on your fitness level.

Cool down by walking around for about 3-5 minutes and finish with a great stretch!

Don't forget my FREE Customer Appreciation workout on Saturday, November 29th! If you've already RSVP'd you'll hear from me soon via email with details.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, email me (becky@lifesportfitness.net) and I'll fill you in!

Free fitness information!

Exciting news!  I've been asked to participate in the world's largest fitness promotion called "The 12 Days of Fitness". It's a great FREE giveaway of tons of fitness information, videos and audios by nearly 250 of the top fitness pros around (yours truly included!).  

It's organized by Dax Moy, a prominent fitness professional in London.  He asked me to join the promotion this year and create a special report for one of my specialty markets--boomer women.  Now, some of you reading this aren't boomer women, I know--but there is SO much information coming in this promotion--you've GOT to read on.......

There will be information all ALL things fitness:  

-Weight loss workouts

-Athletic conditioning workouts

-Core conditioning workouts

-Back care workouts

-Nutrition reports

-Meal planning programs

And it's all FREE!

All you have to do is go to: www.12daysoffitness.com and sign up to get your hands on this stuff.  The promotion begins December 10th and runs through December 22nd.  

During these dates, you'll receive ONE email a day from Dax with a list of free items for the day.  You can download whatever interests you!

My report will feature weight loss tips for women over 45, bone building exercises and postural exercises.  

I know a few of the other fitness pros selected for this promotion--and they're TOP NOTCH.  

You really owe it to yourself to get on this list and grab some free fitness info.

What a way to start 2009!

High intensity exercise burns serious calories!

I've got a quick, but intense homework assignment for participants in my evening Los Gatos boot camp and my early morning Almaden boot camp.  Make sure you warm up (take a 5 minute walk) before starting this workout!

The 60-25 workout

Jumping jacks- 60 seconds

Walking lunges- 25 out , 25 back

Spiderman push ups- 60 seconds (or to failure)

Ab crunches- 25 reps

Squats (squat jumps for advanced campers)- 60 seconds

High knee run- 25 reps (count "1" each time right leg comes up)

REST:  60 seconds

Repeat this sequence 2 times---or 3 times if you're feeling beastly!

Participants in my "Fit and Fabulous" Willow Glen camp:  Please do "workout B" on your handout this weekend, plus TWO cardio interval workouts before class on Tuesday.

Have an amazing weekend!

Committed to your success,

Becky

Take my workout, please

I had a tough cardio workout planned as your homework this week.  But, I did my own workout at the gym this morning and it was a pretty good one, so I decided to share it with you.  If you don't belong to a gym, I'll have a non-gym workout for you at the end of this post. 

First, a couple of housekeeping items:  

-Welcome to  campers Patty, Aubree, and Darling. They're the newest rookies at the Almaden boot camp.  And a big "welcome back" to Sylvie who was a camper at one of my Campbell boot camps and has returned to join the "Fit and Fabulous" group (also known as the Willow Glen bootcamp).

- A big THANK YOU to Aubree for referring Darling to the Almaden boot camp.  Aubree will enjoy a 20% discount off her camp fees in December as well as a one year subscription to an online meal planning program as a bonus for her referral.

-I've been trying out some new games and drills on the folks at the Los Gatos bootcamp.  Thanks for being open to new stuff, guys!  That PUMPkin workout was fun, wasn't it??!!

Now, on to this weekend's homework.  This is what I did at the gym today.  It took me less than 1 hour.  It's a great full body workout followed by an interval cardio session.  All exercises are done for 12 reps unless otherwise listed. Choose a weight that fatigues your muscles by the end of the set.

Assisted pull ups (I did 6 reps, as I'm really working on strength gains on this exercise)

Leg press (normally I do squats, but I did leg press today as I'm getting over a back injury)

Dumbbell chest press

Alternating lunges

Dumbbell squat-to-shoulder press

Dips

Squat w/biceps curl (using low pulley system)

Repeat this sequence 2-3 times

Cardio interval:  Pick any cardio machine and do 30 seconds of ALL-OUT HARD work, followed by 90 seconds of moderate work.  Complete 8-10 rounds.  

Cool down and stretch!

If you have no gym access, do this:

Push ups  

Walking lunges  (15 out and back)

Dips

Squats  (15)

Repeat for 4 rounds and then do the cardio interval workout listed above (walk, run or swim).

Make sure to plan time to get at least one great workout in this weekend.

See you in camp!

Becky

Want weight loss? Stop the excuses

We all have them:  "I have no time", "I work too much", "I can't get up early", "I don't know what to do", "my diet sucks" ....blah blah blah.  Well, a fitness colleague of mine is doing something really crazy with regard to banishing a lot of these excuses from our minds and our mouths.

 You've heard me speak of him before when he helped several thousand people lose weight as part of his free "Mid Year Resolutions" program last summer.  My friend Jeremy Nelms is at it again!  Read on to see what he's going to do and how you can benefit from it.........

Jeremy owns a personal training studio in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and he is moving into his studio for the next 60 days where he will sleep on an air mattress, work 12 hour days, sleep only 7 hours a night and prepare his meals from a very minimal make-shift kitchen there at his studio.  He'll work out only 45 minutes per day, up to six days a week and he'll log his weight loss progress over the 60 days.  He's doing it to show us all that a lot of the reasons we give for not reaching our fitness goals are really just excuses.  

So, what's in it for you?  Some free stuff, that's what!  He's going to give away a free 4-week fat loss workout program, AND a nutrition DVD just for visiting his blog!  He'll also be logging his food and exercise every day, so if you return to  his blog often over the next 60 days, you can learn just what he's doing (and eating) to lose weight successfully.

He moved into his studio last night and he just uploaded a video today (in his underwear, no less!) to kick off the program.  You've gotta see it to believe it!

Log on here:  www.NoExcusesFatLoss.com/blog

Jeremy called me a couple of weeks ago to run this idea by me and ask me if I thought he was crazy. Well,  yeah, I think he's kind of crazy, but it's a it's a GREAT idea!  Jeremy is just one of those cool guys who will go to GREAT lengths to get people motivated (even if he has to strip down to his undies to do it).  

So, head over to www.No.ExcusesFatLoss.com/blog and grab some great FREE workout and nutrition information for yourself.  

Now you've got TWO trainers on either end of the U.S. committed to your success!

Becky

Build strong legs--and burn some SERIOUS calories

I hope everyone is set for a great weekend!  We should have wonderful weather, so please make a point to get outside and enjoy a great "extra" workout before our next boot camp workout.  This weekend's homework workout will not only give you an excellent cardio workout, it is going to improve the strength of your legs.  

I've invited a few "visitors" to my blog post today.  They're considering joining up for the Almaden boot camp, the Los Gatos boot camp or the "Fit and Fabulous" FitCamp in Willow Glen.  Welcome to my blog!  This is where you'll find additional fitness facts and info, additional workouts, and a place for all lifeSport Fitness boot campers to "congregate".  Please scroll down and try the "homework" workout along with my current boot campers.  I hope to see you in a November camp!  We're a fun group of people--give us a try!

For folks in my Los Gatos boot camp, remember that we have our Freaky Fat Loss workout on Thursday, October 30th.  You must bring a 6-12 pound pumpkin (uncarved, please!) to class, as it will be your workout buddy for the entire class :-).  Don't miss this class!  There might even be some treats......................

For the "Fit and Fabulous" ladies at the Willow Glen boot camp, please make sure you have ordered your bands.  You'll need them on the first day of camp. If you haven't ordered them,  click here   and order a light, medium and heavy "economy tube".  You'll get your door straps for free with your purchase.

Finally, registration closes for all November boot camps on Thursday, October 30th.  If you have not already done so, click HERE to register.  

Oh, and don't forget my November referral bonus!  The camper referring the most friends to a November camp will not only get a 20% discount on December camp tuition, but also a FREE ONE YEAR subscription to an online meal planning and nutrition program!  Woo Hoo!

Okay, on to your weekend workout.  

After a 3-5 minute workout, please do the following:

Walk fast or run for 3 minutes

Perform walking lunges for 1 minute

Walk fast  or run for 3 minutes

Perform body weight squats for one minute (advanced folks, make 'em jump squats)

Walk fast or run for 3 minutes

Perform jumping jacks for 1 minute

Repeat this sequence two times for a 24 minute workout, or 3 times for a killer 36 minute workout.

Remember to stretch and re-hydrate after you cool down.

Committed to your success,

Becky

Want to lose weight? Do interval training!

Yes, my Los Gatos boot campers know the benefits of interval training:  More calories burned per session, an elevated metabolic rate for several hours after the workout, improved "fat burning" potential, and shorter workouts (yeah!).  With this in mind, I give you your weekend  homework.

As always, please make sure to do a good 5 minute (or more) warm up to prepare your body for the workout. You can do this workout at home, at the track or wherever you want. You'll need a jump rope (although you can  "fake" the jump rope portions by simply doing the 'Ali shuffle' in place).

Two minutes of jump rope

Jump squats (40 seconds on, 20 seconds recovery) Rookies:  Do regular squats

Two minutes of jump rope

FAST lateral shuffles  (40 seconds on, 20 seconds recovery)

Two minutes of jump rope

Walking lunges (40 seconds on, 20 seconds of recovery)

-30 second water break-

REPEAT

Repeat this cycle 3 times (2 times for rookies) for a killer 27 minute workout.

Please remember to cool down after this workout by walking around for about 5 minutes, and finishing up with a good stretch.  Don't forget to stretch your calves!

Leave a comment here to let me know how you did!

Congrats to one of our newest rookies, Dina, who has reported that she's already lost 3 lbs!  Way to go, Dina!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Committed to your success,

Becky