The FVT ULTIMATE Challenge Workout (recap, full workout, pics and more!)

At the end of October 2014, I was on a phone call with a friend of mine that owns a couple of gyms, and he mentioned to me that they always do some kind of physical / mental challenge workout or event, once a quarter, to keep his people fired up and motivated to train.

I thought this was a GREAT idea … and I thought, we do these Challenge Workouts once per month at our studio already … what if we did an “Ultimate” Challenge Workout, one that was not the usual 45 minutes, but maybe three or four hours in length … and one that addressed all aspects of fitness, such as:

— strength
— endurance
— power
— flexibility
— coordination

And so on …

And the FVT Ultimate Challenge Workout was born!

So over the last eight weeks or so -THROUGH the busy holiday season – we had about twenty FVT members training and preparing for the epic workout we held last Saturday at the new FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training gym.

The workout was AWESOME!!!

I have NEVER seen so much positive feedback and excitement on social media after the event was over from folks who participated … everyone KICKED BUTT, and 100% of the 17 people who started the workout, FINISHED … and it was overall an amazing, fun, meaningful experience we’ll NEVER forget!!

 
FVT Ultimate Challenge Workout – Recap

Here’s exactly how the workout went:

We kicked off with an approx 35 minute warm – up … we started with things like bird dogs, hip bridges, planks, squats, easy lunges, stick ups, leg swings, etc … and worked up to higher-intensity stuff like jogging, shuffling, bear crawls, and partner carries.

— Next came the boot camp workout portion.

This is exactly what we did:

140 kb swings (24k for men, 16k for women)
35 pull ups
35 kb presses / side (8k for women, 16k for men)
105 box jumps to a 18 in tire
96 walking lunges / side
49 burpees
105 push ups for men, 49 push ups for women
49 hanging knee raises
210 jumping jacks

Broken up into seven “rounds”, and with a 45 minute time limit to finish.

That was the toughest boot camp we’ve EVER put together, without a doubt!

— Then we moved on to a 5k run. We started at Tower Theatre and ran down Land Park Drive, around the park, turned at 13th ave, came back up Riverside and circled back to Tower.

Finally we ended with a “mini-challenge” competition. It was:

7 recline rows
15 kb swings (24k for men, 16k for women)
12 push ups (knees for women, toes for men)
7 burpees

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.

Victoria C was our women’s winner, with a Jenny M VERY close behind.

And our men’s winner was Caleb F, with Ruben M a very close second.

Then we finished with food, drinks, and some good times!


To sum up, I want to leave you with a point – and lesson, really – that this experience drove home for me.

Doing something like this has very little to do with your natural physical abilities, or what you *think* are your limitations.

We trained for the event for eight weeks ahead of time, so literally anyone who participates in our boot camp program, could have completed this challenge if they had trained for it.

What it comes down to is MENTAL toughness. Grit. Getting it done, pushing on, and knowing you are GOING to finish, no matter what.

And an AWESOME, positive, motivating group it was we had working out on Saturday. Everyone there KNEW they were going to finish, hell or high water. And they got it done. Had fun in the process. And did something they can be proud of FOREVER, and will NEVER forget.

THANK YOU FVT peeps for being awesome! Keep rocking it! And we’ll put together another one of these Ultimate Challenge Workouts soon!

’till next time –

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

FVT Grand Opening Party Saturday, January 31st!

x and 16th first day workout

Save the date – we are holding a Grand Opening Party for the new X and 16th FVT location on Saturday, January 31st!

We started workouts on Monday the 5th at the new space, and it’s been AWESOME! MUCH more room for workouts, two full – size bathrooms, two full – size dressing rooms, more dedicated parking, and much more.

YOU are now invited to come out and see the new space … and experience an FVT boot camp workout first – hand!

We’ll get started at 9am … you can come by, have a drink / snack, and see the new place.

Then we’ll have a HIGH – energy, kick – butt FVT boot camp workout at 10am. It’s going to be an AWESOME experience for everyone who comes out – GUARANTEED.

Current and past FVT clients, friends, family, co-workers, ANYONE who is interested in coming and experiencing a workout at the new facility is welcome to attend!!

Now the boot camp will be FREE … BUT you WILL need to register AHEAD OF TIME at the link below – just enter your name, best email address and phone number, and your spot will be reserved! And, please DO NOT fill out the form for your friend / family member / co-worker / etc … forward this message their way and have THEM fill it out themselves. Thanks!

=> Register for the FREE Bring-a-Buddy Boot Camp at FVT on January 31st at 10am here

Then we’ll be “open house” at the studio for another hour or so afterwards – ’till about 12 noon – for more drinks, snacks, and fun!

Look forward to seeing you there –

– Forest Vance, Owner, Head Trainer, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

PS – Remember – the Bring-a-Buddy boot camp at the Grand Opening party will be FREE … BUT you WILL need to register AHEAD OF TIME at the link below – just enter your name, best email address and phone number, and your spot will be reserved! And, please DO NOT fill out the form for your friend / family member / co-worker / etc … forward this message their way and have THEM fill it out themselves. Thanks!

=> Register for the FREE Bring-a-Buddy Boot Camp at FVT on January 31st at 10am here

Important – Boot Camp / Semi Private Schedule Changes, Effective Week of January 12th, 2015

We are going back to the old boot camp / semi private training schedule (with a few new time ADDITIONS), effective next week.

This week, with the move to the new space, we made a couple of tweaks to the training schedule – adding four training times per week, and shifting a few of the boot camp / semi private training times around by 15 or 30 mins.

The main idea was to offer more options for you to train, during the prime workout hours of the day.

It seemed like a great idea in THEORY … but in practice, the ZERO transition time between sessions we have now is not working very well with our current set up, training flow, staffing, etc.

I think changing back ASAP is the way to go, so that we can keep you in your routine as much as possible.

SORRY for any inconvenience all of this has caused!

SO … we are going back to the old schedule (with a couple of new class additions), effective next week. Below is the full schedule of training times offered, effective NEXT week, the week of 1/12/15:

6:00 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday

6:30 am Tuesday and Thursday (new!)

9:15 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday

5:00 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

6:00 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

6:50 pm on Monday (new!)

8:00 am and 9:00 am Saturday

 

SEMI PRIVATE

(basics)

9:00 am Tuesday and Thursday

5:45 am Tuesday and Thursday

4:00 pm Monday and Wednesday

10:00 am Saturday (new!)

 

(advanced)

“Strength” advanced heavy lifting group

7:15 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday

 

Apologies again for any inconvenice this has caused.

Let’s finish off the week strong!

– Forest Vance
Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

NEW KB/BW FVT Challenge Workout!

Well, yesterday was our first day at the NEW FVT boot camp and personal training facility:

1st class at x and 16th

We had over 50 clients come in for a workout over the course of the day, and all went (more or less) without a hitch.

Same awesome workouts, just with a bigger and better training space!! 😉

(Mark your calendar for the 31st of January, we’ll be holding a Grand Opening party … come by for a workout, to say hi and check out the new space if you’re in the Sacramento area.)

The workout we did in our boot camp sessions yesterday was our monthly Challenge Workout.

Folks come to us to lose fat, build muscle, and feel great … but they also want fun and challenging workouts to keep them motivated and excited! And that’s what our monthly challenges are all about.

This month, it was the FVT Band Challenge … with a small twist / IMPROVEMENT for 2015.

See the full workout below – give it a try – and I’d love to hear how you do.

And if you enjoy this workout … and would like MANY more fun and challenging workouts like this one to keep you motivated and fired up to train hard every day … read more about my Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts program at the bottom of today’s article:

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FVT Band Challenge Workout

** Complete ALL the “tests” at the grey band level and earn a grey FVT band! (if the workout is done at a boot camp at our facility)
** Complete ALL the “tests” at the black band level and earn a black FVT band! (if the workout is done at a boot camp at our facility)

1 — KB swings – 16k for women, 24k for men

45 sec w perfect form, no break = grey band
90 sec w perfect form, no break = black band

2 — Push ups – knees for women, toes for men

Elbows and upper arm BREAK parallel, no exceptions … body stays in a totally straight line, no hip sag or “A frame” … no adjusting the knees, hands or feet during the test.

Body cannot touch the floor at the bottom of a rep; cannot lock out and rest at the top.

15 for grey
30 for black

3 — Pull ups

Any grip (pull up or chin up)

women – 15 sec hold over bar = grey, 1 rep = black
men – 1 rep = grey, 5 reps = black

4 — Burpees

NO push up at bottom

8 rounds of 20 seconds work / 10 seconds rest

5 each round for grey – must maintain pace
7 each round for black – must maintain pace

###

More about my Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts program, as promised above …

If you are training at home, on your own, etc … and you want more great KB / BW challenge workouts like this one … check out my Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts program.

This is my most popular kettlebell program by far, and you can get the whole system – including a full 8 week training plan, instructional form videos on KB training, and a LOT more – at the link below:

=> Learn more and get your KB Challenge Workouts here

If you’re looking for high-intensity, short-duration (under 20 minutes) kettlebell – based workouts you can do anywhere, this is an AWESOME program for you. You’ll get TONS of new, fun, and exciting kettlebell challenge workouts to add to your current routine.

And, this isn’t the typical “kettlebells for fat loss” stuff that’s floating around out there these days. This is a time-tested, PROVEN program designed by yours truly – an ex-pro football player and now “maverick Russian kettlebell instructor”.

Rather than focusing on the same re-hashed kettlebell training info out there, this program focuses on combining kettlebell movements in a special and unique way – and incorporating this into a challenging and progressive program – that will get you results faster than you ever thought possible.

=> Learn more and get KB Challenge Workouts here

###

That’s it for now.

Be back soon with more great KB training info … in the meantime, train hard, and have a great day –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com

PS – I lost 64 pounds in 7 months shortly after my football career ended – and I’ve managed to keep it off, using a program like Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts.

If it worked for me, it can work for you!

=> Learn more and get KB Challenge Workouts here

First Boot Camp at X and 16th! (pic inside)

Whew!

It has been an exhausting weekend getting things ready … and exhausting last couple of months actually 😉 … but our first boot camp at the new FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training gym was rocking and rolling this morning at 6am!!

1st class at x and 16th

Couple of quick things:

1 – Do not go to the old studio! We are not working out there any more 😉 Instead, go to our new location at 1530 X street. We are on the corner of X and 16th … across the street from the gas station and Willie’s, in the big tan building.

2 – Please do not park in the front lot directly in front of the gym. Per our lease agreement, we can park:

— In the lot in front of Willie’s across the street – we have 10 dedicated spots there for our gym

— In the back of the building – we have 4 dedicated spots there

— Anywhere you can find a spot on the street

That’s it for now! Be back with more on the new space later this week!

– Forest Vance

Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

It’s ALMOST time … (progress update on new X and 16th location!)

WOW! These are some exciting times.

For months we’ve been working on getting things together for our new location on X and 16th street … and now moving day is almost here!

We will be all set for our first workouts on the morning of January 5th.

The address is 1530 X street. Drive by and check it out when you get the chance – the signs are up, so you can see exactly where we’re at:

photo 2 (8)

The mural is all done – LOVE how it turned out, HUGE shout – out to John Horton of HortVisual.com for doing this amazing work:

x and 16th

As you can also see in the picture above, the flooring is going in, and is almost done (whew!)

Paint is almost done too, mirrors going in later this week, some new equipment is being built / on its way … and we are MOVING over the weekend …. exciting stuff!!

Can’t wait, it’s going to be great.

 

At the end of the day, our main focus always has been, and always will be:

Relationships – we CARE about helping you reach your fitness goals. And you’ll meet lots of cool people who you’ll be training with side-by-side and working towards a common goal TOGETHER!

Experience – the positive energy, the challenging workouts, just the feeling you get when you walk in the door is DIFFERENT than other places you might work out … and we pride ourselves in that.

Results – no offense to the big chain gyms … but at the end of the day, they don’t really care if you show up. In fact, they over-sell their memberships, and would probably prefer it! We are different. We are about first and foremost getting you the RESULTS you want – because that’s why you came to us in the first place.

But that being said, the new location is a big step up in a lot of ways. We will have more space to work out. We will have two full – size bathrooms instead of one small one. We will have two full – size dressing rooms instead of 1/2 of one 😉 We will have 14 dedicated parking spaces, plus lots of street parking in the area.

 

Big thing was, I wanted to keep you posted on how things were progressing … we WILL be in the new space on Monday the 5th unless something crazy happens!!

Thanks, Happy New Year, and talk soon –

– Forest Vance
Owner, Head Trainer, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

PS – If you want to come visit us for a workout, we’d love to have you – click HERE to visit our main website to see what we’re all about, and you’ll see a link there where you can contact us to schedule your free Test-A-Trainer session to experience FVT for yourself. Thanks!

Merry Christmas from the FVT Team!

jingle_bells_ornament-r38522c59c2f34239a12cf93a6fe67fbb_x7s2y_8byvr_512

THANK YOU for being a member of the FVT family! It is an honor to assist you in reaching your fitness goals.

I hope you can take this time to relax, spend some time with family and friends, and to express gratitude for all that is good in your life.

Merry Christmas, and here’s to a great year ahead!

– Forest Vance
Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training, Sacramento, CA
ForestVanceTraining.com
ForestVance.com

Now Booking Test a Trainer Sessions @ FVT

Hope you are having an awesome week, and that your final holiday preparations are going great!

We are getting a LOT of folks inquiring about training, starting next week and in to the New Year …

Just wanted to shoot you a quick message to let you know … if you’ve been thinking about contacting us, ya might want to do it sooner than later and get something scheduled and on the books … ’cause our schedules are starting to get pretty booked up here for the next few weeks! 🙂

Learn all about what we do at FVT and book your free “Test a Trainer” session here:

=> FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

Thanks, Happy Holidays, and talk soon –

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training