Boot Camp

About a month ago, I received a text message from the Aerobics Coordinator at the Orem Fitness Center. I have been instructing a weight training class twice a week there for more than a year, and the Aerobics Coordinator apparently has been pleased with my work enough that she offered me a new class: the fitness boot camp!

I have been wanting to start a boot camp and have been trying to figure things out in my head.  So when I received the text saying that the instructor for the fitness center class was moving, I immediately jumped on the opportunity.  I started going to the class to get an idea of how the instructor ran it, as well as to get to know some of the people who attend and to let them get to know me a little.  I wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible, and let people be comfortable with me.

And I hope that worked, because last night was the first class I taught; this morning was the second.  I felt a little intimidated about it last night, but I tried to make sure that didn't show.  I felt a lot better about it this morning (other than being tired), partially because it was the second class, and partially because the class this morning was so much larger.  As strange as that may sound, the larger class was somehow easier.  We ran, did lunges, squats, push-ups, renegade rows, shoulder presses, crunches, planks, Russian twists, hip raises, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, calf raises, and ran some more... not necessarily in that order.  It was a lot of fun, and the people who attended said it was a good work-out.  I guess we'll see if they really liked it at the next class tomorrow afternoon and Thursday morning.

For anybody who's interested, this Boot Camp is a "free" class, "free" meaning with the purchase of either a monthly, yearly, or daily pass to the Orem Fitness Center.  It is held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:00 pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 am, and Saturdays at 8:00 am.  I would love to see a lot of people there!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! What a wonderful time!

I know it's a day late, but I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. That is probably self-evident by the title of this post.

I love Thanksgiving.  If I had to pick a favorite holiday, it would probably be this one.  Maybe it's because it is all about being grateful for what you have.   Maybe it's the amazing variety and assortment of pies and other delicious foods that bring a wonderful aroma to the entire house.  Maybe it's because of the huge family gathering and the laughter and excitement of all the children.  Maybe it's a combination of all of those.

This Thanksgiving was exceptionally wonderful.  My fiance and I decided to host, with the help of her sister and brother-in-law.  Her family came down from Boise, and my sister and brother-in-law came down from Logan.  I also had my three kids this year, my fiance's uncle here in Orem came with his wife and their three kids (who are basically the same age as my three), and another aunt came with her husband and daughter (who happened to be about as old as my middle child).  Altogether, we had 25 people in attendance at Thanksgiving dinner.

As would be assumed and appropriate for such a large gathering, there was an enormous amount of food.  We assigned everyone to bring something, and nobody disappointed.  We had two different turkeys (one seasoned with maple, one with rosemary), mashed and baked potatoes, two large crock pots filled with stuffing, vegetable trays, home made rolls, green salad, fruit salad, green bean casserole (which most people there actually enjoyed), deviled eggs, and probably 16 different pies!  After eating, we visited for an hour or so as the 7 children ran around playing with each other, their laughter filling the different rooms they ran around to and played in.  We eventually all came together for games of "What If?" and "Werewolves" (a more "complicated" version of "Mafia").  To say the least, it was an amazing feast of Thanksgiving.  Everyone seemed to have a very enjoyable time.  I, myself, am very grateful for everyone who came, helped out, brought food, or just enjoyed the day with us. 

I read an article in the Daily Herald newspaper yesterday titled "Gratitude is good for your brain."  Apparently, in the past few years, psychologists have started doing experiments to learn more about the science and brain chemistry behind "one of humanity's most powerful emotions."  According to the article, "One of the reasons why gratitude works so well is that it connects us with others."  Undoubtedly, the results of these initial studies do not teach us anything knew about being grateful: it is a "positive emotion" that can make us feel better, and it can help others feel better, as well. This is why Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  It is a wonderful time of year to slow down from all of the hustle, bustle, and distractions of daily life--the struggle to secure for ourselves our wants and needs--and to remember what we do have, what we have been blessed with. It is a beautiful time to let our family and friends know how grateful we are to have them in our lives.  I am, again, very grateful that I have had the privilege to spend this Thanksgiving with my children ( the light and joy of my life), my fiance (the light and love of my life), her family (an amazing group of wonderful people who, fortunately, feel like part of my family), and my sister and her broth-in-law (two more amazing and wonderful people). 

And I would also like to an extend a heartfelt thank-you to any and all of my readers, wherever you may be throughout the country or throughout the world. I hope you enjoy my writings, and I hope to be able to provide some more entertaining stories for your enjoyment.  Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend, and remember to be grateful as we transition into the Christmas season, the new year, and the business of everyday life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Season Encore: Elevate Indoor Triathlon

Two months ago, I competed in the VikingMan Olympic distance triathlon in Heyburn, Idaho (for a breakdown of race distances, see my post "Going the distance..."). I took second place in my age group and then basically took a month off.  I didn't do nothing, but I rested and took it easy on any swims, bikes, or runs that I did; I mostly just biked to work until the weather started getting too cold. 

After a month off, I started focusing on weight training. Because it is getting too cold to bike or run outside, and because running on a treadmill isn't my favorite activity, I figure this is the perfect time to rebuild my strength base and prepare for another season of racing. I have been focusing on weight training for the past month, and I feel really good.

Last night, however, the triathlon bug bit me a little too hard, and I couldn't ignore it.  Almost right across the street from my house (I can walk there in the same amount of time it takes me to drive there.. maybe less), there is a gym called Elevate.  Elevate specializes in triathlon training.  Along with traditional gym equipment--free weights, machines, treadmills, and other cardio machines--Elevate also has a room of CompuTrainers (hook up your own bike and ride as if you were outside) and a room with two Endless Pools.  A USA-Triathlon certified coach also works through Elevate. 

Every January, March, and November, Elevate puts on an indoor sprint distance triathlon: 10 minutes swimming in the Endless Pool, 13 miles biking on the CompuTrainer, and 3.1 miles running on a treadmill.  I participated in these races back in January and March of this year.  Last night, I decided to sign up for the November race, which was held today.

I showed up at Elevate at 10:20 a.m. this morning, 40 minutes before my scheduled start time.  I signed in, got body marked (my race number--22--on my right arm, and my age on my right calf), and then suited up.  There was nobody scheduled to start at 10:30, so we hooked up my bike to the CompuTrainer, and I started early.

First was the swim.  The Endless Pool shoots a constant stream of water at you, and you swim against the current.  Everybody swims ten minutes, and each person is awarded a time bonus or penalty depending upon how fast the current is set.  The default current is set at 1000 psi.  For every hundred psi above 1000 psi, 1 minute is subtracted off the participant's overall time.  As the pool tops out at 1600 psi, the largest time bonus they were giving was 5 minutes off for swimming at 1500 psi.  I jumped in the pool, and the owner of Elevate asked me where I wanted to set the current.

"What is the fastest anyone has swam today?" I asked.

"1300 psi," he told me.

Knowing that I had to take advantage on the swim, I told him, "Let's do 1600!"  I was not going to be outdone here!

So, he set the pool to 1600 psi, counted down from 3... 2... 1... GO!

I was off.  Staying comfortable in the water, I was great for the first 8 minutes.  After that, I started to fade, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish at that pace; I wasn't sure how much longer I had.  Luckily, about a minute later (at least, I'm guessing it was about that long), I got a signal from the triathlon coach that I had one more minute in the pool.  I lengthened out my stroke, relaxed, and finished the entire 10 minutes at 1600 psi... the fastest swim of the day!

It was then off to the bike.  This is probably where I need to do the most work.  The swim comes almost naturally to me, as I grew up swimming competitively in Las Vegas.  The run is my weakest of the three, so that is what I typically spend most of my time working on.  The bike is very enjoyable, so when I go out for a work-out on the bike, I usually forget that I am working out and just enjoy the ride.  I had the equivalent of 13 miles to ride today, and I wanted to push myself.  I am still waiting for the official times and splits to be posted on the Elevate website, but my unofficial time was about 34 minutes and 56 or 57 seconds, which is more than two minutes faster than this same race back in January and March.  Very happy with my performance, I jumped off my bike, took off my bike shoes, pulled on my running shoes, and hopped on a treadmill. 

I was off on the run... though I knew I was going nowhere for the next 3.1 miles.  I gradually increased the speed, and eventually started doing intervals.  I increased the speed by 0.2 miles per hour for one minute, then decreased the speed by 0.1 mph for the next minute, and  kept repeating that so my average speed was constantly increasing.  Like I said, the run is my weakest of the three events.  My fastest 3.1 mile (5K) run is 21 minutes and 14 seconds.  I did mine today (again, unofficially) in 21 minutes and about 58 seconds.

Being done with the run, I slowed the treadmill down to a nice, slow walking pace so I could cool down.  I also stopped the timer on my watch and looked at my unofficial time.  Unofficially, and before subtracting my time bonus for the fast swim, I did this race in 1 hour, 8 minutes, and about 40 seconds.  My time bonus will take off at least 5 minutes. I tried to talk the owner and triathlon coach into giving me a 6-minute time bonus for maxing out the pool; we'll see if they went for it when official times are posted. 

Either way, I "went nowhere FAST" (Elevate's slogan for these races) and ended up with one of the fastest times of the day. Even more importantly... I feel GREAT!!!  This was my 9th and final race of this year, a race I wasn't even planning on doing until last night... a great encore to a great racing season. If I can do this in the middle of my post- (or "off-") season, when I'm focusing on weight training rather than my swim/bike/run training, then I am excited to see what I can do next year!

Tina's Story, Part 3

After a couple days, Tina's apprehension and nerves got the better of her trust and excitement. She approached me and said, "I am eating so much! There is no way I am going to lose weight!"

I assured her she was not eating "so much."  True, she was eating a lot more than what she had been eating, maybe twice as much.  Yes, she was eating (what felt like) all the time. I asked her how she felt, and she said she felt great but was never hungry. I told her that was good and convinced her to keep trying it for the rest of the week.

After a week, she came back to me, and after a brief chat to see how she was doing and make sure she had followed both her nutrition and exercise plan, I put her back on the same scale I had weighed her on a week earlier.  Of course, our conversation included her telling me that she was sure she had not lost any weight. However, to her astonishment, in just a week, she had lost four and a half (4.5) pounds (2.04 Kg)!

I didn't have to say much after this, of course.  Tina immediately trusted me and was ready to do whatever I asked her to do.  We continued to work together for the next 11 weeks.  I gave her a free 12-week program, and we met every week to weigh her, test her body fat, and write up new nutrition and exercise plans.  We gradually increased her daily caloric intake to 1600 Calories per day, then cut her back to 1200 Calories per day, and then built her back up to 1400 Calories per day, which is where we leveled off. I had her doing weights 2 times per week, and cardio 4 times per week.  As long as she was doing what I asked her to do, she lost weight. And even more importantly, she told me she had never felt better!

Tina's Story, Part 2

A week later, Tina came back, food journal in hand.  We did an official weigh-in to see how much she weighed at the time, and then I sat down to look it over. As I did, one thing jumped out to me more than anything.

"Tina," I said, "you're not eating enough."

Not eating enough?!  But she was trying to lose weight! Isn't that what you're supposed to do to lose weight, cut calories?!  Yes, but she had cut them too drastically.  Not to the point of anorexia, but to the point that it was causing her body to store as much energy as possible.  This news floored her, so I explained a little of how the body works, as it had been explained to me.

The human body is an amazing thing; it can adapt and change, while still remaining constant.  Thousands of years ago, humans were hunter-gatherers.  One thing this meant was that people didn't always know when they would have their next meal, nor how big that meal would be.  So the body adapted; it began storing food so that it had the energy it needed until the next meal came. And how does the body store food/energy?  As fat.

This adaptation has remained, though our eating habits have changed.  Now, we can get something to eat on almost every street corner, and almost everywhere in between.  Whether it be a fast food restaurant, a sit-down restaurant, a gas station, a grocery store, or our own food storage, we have an abundance of food sources.  If we want something to eat, we go get it, usually with very little effort. However, our bodies have not fundamentally changed.  We can train them to adapt, but Tina was eating so little that her body was saying, "Ok, I don't know when I will get my next meal, nor how big it will be.  I better hold on to what she is giving me now."

So, Tina and I sat down and wrote out a weekly meal plan.  I told her I wanted her to eat 1200 Calories a day.  I also wanted her to be eating every 3 hours, which worked out to 5-6 times per day, rather than the 2-3 times she was accustomed to.  This would train her body that it was getting food on a regular, constant basis, so it could use, rather than store, the energy she was feeding it.

Her eyes got wide as she saw "how much" I wanted her to  eat, especially when she saw I was allowing her to eat a Skinny Cow brand ice cream bar every night.  She expressed to me her fears that she would be eating so much, and that there was no way it would translate into weight loss.  I asked her to try it, just for one week.  She said she would, and went on her way, armed with her weekly meal plan, as well as a moderate exercise plan we had written out that included two days of weight training and three days of cardio.  She was a little apprehensive, but she trusted me and was excited to give it a try.

To be continued...

Tina's Story, Part 1

About 6 months after I became a certified personal trainer, a friend and co-worker approached me with her dillemma. Her name--as you probably have already guessed, thanks to the title of this post--is Tina.  She told me that she was having problems losing weight.  She went on to explain that she had cut her calories and was trying to exercise regularly.  Still, the weight was not coming off; in fact, she said she was still gaining weight.  How was this happening?

We went on to talk a little about what she was eating, and what she was doing for exercise, every day.  It seemed to me that she was trying to do things right, but I also had some suspicions and thoughts of what coud be done better.  Despite this, I told her that I didn't want her to change her routine for a week.  All I wanted her to do was write down everything she ate. I didn't care if she counted calories, fat grams, carbs, or anything else; if I needed to know that, I could figure it out.  What I did want to know, however, was (1) what she was eating, (2) how much she was eating (portion size), and (3) when she was eating (what time).  I told her not to change anything else, just to write down this information--plus any exercise she did--for a week.

To be continued...

Sports Nutrition Workshop

This past Friday and Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a Sports Nutrition Workshop, presented by Nancy Clark (M.S., R.D.) and Dr. Bill Evans (PhD), in Salt Lake City. I won't take up space here to list all the credentials and backgrounds of the two presenters; if you want to read those, visit these websites: www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com and www.nancyclarkrd.com

I will say that both of the presenters are very educated AND experienced in the field of sports nutrition. Between the two of them, they have worked with all the "Big 4" professional sports teams in the Boston area (football's Patriots, baseball's Red Sox, basketball's Celtics, and hockey's Bruins).  Nancy Clark has also written a number of books, and I picked up three of them: Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Nancy Clark's Food Guide For Marathoners, and The Cyclist's Food Guide: Fueling for the Distance.  I figure they will be very helpful and informative, and I plan to use them extensively in both my personal and professional lives (especially if they work as well as the author claims).

The workshop, itself, was also very informative and definitely well worth the money.  Much of what was discussed was not new to me, but the way it was presented did offer a new, fresh perspective.  And there was much that was new to me.  I plan on sharing some of that right here over the coming weeks and months (though, some I will keep to myself, so-called "tricks of the trade," and if you want to know them, you'll either have to study, attend this workshop, or just come see me!).

The highlight of the workshop for me, however, was that I got to share Tina's story.  Nancy Clark talked a little bit about someone who came to see her and the program she prescribed for that person.  The question came up, "Well, what happened with this person? Did you see results?"  Nancy's answer was, "I'm not sure; she never came back."  Because I had a similar experiece with a friend and client that did provide results, I raised my hand and shared that story: Tina's story. When I was done, there were a few questions for me!  Yes, the registered dietitians, food scientists, and nurses--who paid the big bucks to hear these nationally acclaimed authors and researchers speak--had questions for me!  A simple personal trainer! They wanted to know more of what I did!

So, what is Tina's story?  Check back soon to find out!