Potatoes, eggs, and coffee beans

coffee

Today we’re going to shift gears a bit. Got a story to share with you.

Whether you’re:

— having a hard time sticking to your nutrition plan
— inconsistent with your workouts for whatever reason
— coming back from an injury and just can’t quite get your training going
— etc.

It will make you think, reflect, and become a better and stronger version of yourself.

###

Potatoes, eggs, and coffee beans

Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

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Things will happen TO you in life. You will be faced with DAILY challenges trying to eat healthy and stay consistent with your workouts. You WILL have MULTIPLE failures along the way. But that’s okay.

At the end of the day, what matters is what happens WITHIN you. How you adapt and change and become a better version of yourself.

Commit to learning from your mistakes and getting BETTER. EMBRACE adversity. And you will be unstoppable!!

Train hard, rock on, and talk soon –

Forest

 

PS – Another thing that is a HUGE part of being successful in any area of life – people you surround yourself with. Your support system. They say you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with, after all.

This is a big part of what makes the community at FVT so powerful. Having like-minded folks around you that are working towards a common goal.

If you are a new/prospective client, click HERE to contact us and schedule your free intro session.

If you are already a client and are looking to take your NUTRITION to the next level, click HERE for more info on our nutrition coaching group.

Why you’re NOT getting results from your workouts (and what to do about it)

You’ve been working out – hard – two, three, four or more days per week. You feel like you’re getting stronger, you have more energy, and your overall fitness level is without a doubt improving.

BUT, you’re just not getting the fat loss results you know you could be.

I mean, you’re TRYING to watch what you eat. You know it’s better than it was when you started your workout program. So it’s really strange that you’re not losing at least one or two pounds per week.

Alright. Here’s the deal. I’m a nice guy, but at the end of the day, I gotta be real with you – because my job is to get you results.

It’s your nutrition.

You could very well FEEL like you’re eating pretty good – or at least making an effort to – but actually, you are probably making a few simple (but NOT necessarily obvious) mistakes that are keeping you from losing fat like you should be.

It could be eating sweets and snacks during the day. It could be drinking a beer or glass of wine (or two) each night. It could be going way overboard on the weekends with eating out.

Point is, you THINK you are eating good most of the time … but it’s simply not enough to get you where you want to be. You need a plan, some guidance, and accountability in your nutrition planning to help you reach your goals.

Enter the FVT Nutrition Coaching group.

This group will provide you with the specific plan, the accountability, the support, and what one of our members recently called “positive peer pressure” you need to make some serious in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Members of the group get:

— Bi-weekly in-person meeetings – we weigh in, I personally do a 15-20 minute talk on a nutrition-related topic, and then we do our “hot seat” portion of the coaching – we go around the room and talk about any specific challenges YOU are having that are keeping you from reaching your ultimate goals. And we break it down as a group and try to help you solve it!
— Private Facebook group – so that all members of the group can interact w one another between meetings, share recipes, etc.
— Weekly food log report reviews – I personally review your food log report each week to make sure you are staying on track.
— And more.

Now there IS an application process. Truly, we do not want to accept anyone and everyone in this group. That’s why I have NOT set up an online payment option.

The cost is very reasonable actually (currently $39 per month, going up to $49 very shortly) – so that’s not the reason we’ve decided to do it this way – the key is that anyone who wants into the group must be ready to get very serious, stop making excuses, and make some amazing changes.

It’s not for everyone. But it is a GREAT solution for the right people. Members of the group are already experiencing some amazing results – which I’ll share with you in a separate message, in a couple of days.

But for now. If you are interested, click HERE, fill out the contact form and let me know want in the Nutrition Coaching Group. Tell me why you think you’d be a good fit for the group. And I’ll get back with you ASAP!

Looking forward to hearing back from you soon, and have a great Friday –

Forest Vance
Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training
ForestVanceTraining.com

PS – We have space for only four folks in the current group – so if you’re interested, please fill out an application as soon as you can! Thanks 🙂

FREE Bring-A-Buddy Boot Camp Saturday March 22nd at FVT

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We’ve got just over a week to go in the FVT 30 Day Rapid Fat Loss Challenge! Folks are seeing some AMAZING changes, can’t wait to see how it turns out.

The last couple of Rapid Fat Loss Challenges, we’ve held a free Bring-A-Buddy boot camp at the end to celebrate a job well done. So we’ve decided to continue the tradition …

We’re going to hold a FREE Bring-A-Buddy boot camp on Saturday March 22nd at 10am.

Rapid Fat Loss Challengers have priority for this one – so we’ll open up registration to friends, family, and co-workers of current challengers ONLY for the next 48 hours (through the end of the day Wednesday, March 12th). THEN, we’ll open sign ups for all current and past clients, members of the community, and anyone else interested in training at our studio.

It’s a great opportunity to bring a friend, family member, co-worker, etc. in to check out the program in a easy no-obligation way.

 

– IMPORTANT! –

If you’d like to attend the free Bring-A-Buddy boot camp on March 22nd, you need to reserve a spot ahead of time. We will have sign up sheets at the studio starting this afternoon (the 11th of March).

Space is limited – so if you’d like a spot, make sure to get signed up quick.

You can also email me if need be to schedule with the name of the person(s) you’re planning on bringing with you and I will get you signed up.

That’s it for now! Thanks, have a great day, and talk soon –

Forest

Body Weight Exercise Substitutes

In the rare occasion that I grab a workout at a “big box” gym, I always end up competing with other folks for equipment. And it honestly frustrates the living hell out of me …

Like if I’m doing a circuit-style workout where I’m rotating between two or more exercises, inevitably someone hops in and starts using one piece of equipment I’m using for a circuit while I’m doing another exercise in the rotation.

I thought a list of these exercises might be helpful for you next time you’re in a similar situation – at the gym, at home, in a hotel room – and need some good body weight exercise substitutes for moves you normally do in your routine. So here ‘ya go:

horizontal press substitutes (bench/dumbell chest press/machine chest press/etc.)

  • push up (regular or on knees)
  • hands elevated push up
  • push up with rotation
  • close grip push up
  • spiderman push up

vertical press substitutes (shoulder press/machine/etc.)

  • pike/downward dog push up
  • feet elevated push up
  • stick up/wall slide

quad dominant leg substitutes (squats/leg press/etc.)

  • body weight squat
  • prisoner squat
  • 1 leg squat
  • lunge/variations

hip dominant leg substitutes (deadlift/etc.)

  • single leg deadlift
  • step ups
  • squat jump
  • lying hip extensions
  • 1 leg lying hip extensions

vertical pull substitutes (lat pulldown/pull up/etc.)

  • stick up/wall slide
  • pull up
  • chin up

horizontal pull substitutes (seated row/bent row/etc.)

  • inverted row
  • underhand/mixed grip inverted row
  • suspension trainer row

In summary, body weight exercises can be great substitutes for traditional free weight and machine -based moves. The exercises listed in this article are just a starting point for you – the idea is to get you thinking outside the box for more ways you can incorporate body weight training into your existing routine!

Train hard and talk soon –

Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Kettlebell Instructor
Fitness Nutrition Coach

PS – Signed up for my weekly email newsletter yet? You’ll get a copy of my 7 Day Rapid Fat Loss Blueprint when you do – FREE – as my way of saying thanks.

Just drop your name and email into the box at the upper right of the page to claim your gift now!

March 2014 Challenge Workout Results

Results from the March 2014 FVT Challenge are in!

Here’s the workout again in case you missed it:

=> March 2014 Challenge Workout

 

And the results:

*FULL results coming soon, updated 3.9.14

(Women Non-Modified)

SF 18:47
JM 19:26
BC 22:07
FY 21:12
AM 21:37
SK 21:53
DT 22:14
MG 22:14
JM 22:17
MT 22:25
MG 23:15
MT 24:20
AR 25:23
GK 25:27
CP 25:55
LA 26:16
MR 26:45
RK 27:00
KM 28:02

(Women Modified)

BS 21:10
CL 21:26
BR 22:30
LB 22:45
CP 24:10
GS 24:46
LC 25:35
SG 27:09
DB 27:21

(Men Non-Modified)

RM 19:48
JM 20:37
MP 22:07
BP 22:30
RB 22:55
AB 23:06
PK 24:00
BK 24.02
SS 26:25
CC 28:02

Now Hiring Trainer/Coach @ FVT

8-8-13-FVT-charity-boot-camp1

FVT is growing, and we’re looking for a highly qualified trainer/coach to join our team!

Certification with a nationally accredited organization and/or degree in a related field is preferred.

Prior experience working in the fitness industry is NOT necessary.

The following things however are CRITICALLY important:

– passion for health and fitness
– positive attitude
– high energy
– outgoing personality
– high level of personal fitness and health
– comfortable speaking in front of groups
– punctuality
– professionalism
– reliability
– willing to work nights and/or weekends
– “beginner’s mind” mentality, always willing to learn

If you think that you or someone you know could be a good fit, the first step is to simply fill out THIS form with:

– name
– phone #
– what makes you a perfect fit for the job

We will contact you and set up a 5 min appt to drop off a formal resume at the studio from there. Please follow the EXACT instructions in this message if you would like to be considered for the job.

Thanks for your consideration, and helping to spread the word!

– Forest Vance
Owner, FVT Boot Camp and Personal Training

March 2014 Challenge Workout

March 2014 FVT Challenge Workout

Killer challenge workout for you this month to test your conditioning and all-around fitness.

Remember – these challenges are to be done only PERIODICALLY, as a way to see if your fitness level is improving. They are not intended as a stand-alone program, or as workouts you would do several times each week, etc. We do them once per month at the FVT studio, and then come back and re-visit the same challenge every three months to see how we’ve improved.

Let’s get started –

March 2014 FVT Challenge Workout

— 100 kettlebell swings (16k for women, 24k for men)
— 50 burpees (touch body to the floor on each rep)
— 100 push ups (knees for women, toes for men)
— 50 inverted rows (body should be parallel to the floor; body touches bar/etc. at top of each rep)
— 100 walking lunges (tap knee to the floor at the bottom of each rep; ea step counts as one)

 

– weights listed are “prescribed” and what you want to eventually work up to using … BUT use good judgement and safety when selecting a weight for YOUR own fitness and ability level
– exercises can be done in ANY order you want (do NOT have to do reps consecutively)
– 25 min time limit
– under 23 mins is awesome
– under 20 mins is the “gold” standard

Enjoy! And let us know how ‘ya do!! Results will be posted at the end of the week.

– The FVT Team

 

Do this INSTEAD of your cardio workout today

kate v fat loss accelerators

Got a “cardio” day planned? Do this hybrid DB metabolic complex workout from my friend Kate instead:

=> Hybrid DB Metabolic Complex Workout

 

If you have been a subscriber to our email newsletter or reading the FVT blog for any length of time you have likely heard me mention Kate’s name frequently.

She is a trainer who works with high profile clients in Manhattan. Folks she trains typically 1) are paying her TOP dollar to get results and 2) don’t have extra time to waste. They need effective and efficient workouts. So Kate is one of my go-to sources of info for this style of training.

In the workout she’s shared with us today, you’ll train your entire body, elicit a physiological response similar to that of interval training, and get BETTER results. Very cool. Check it out here:

=> Hybrid DB Metabolic Complex Workout

 

Enjoy that workout, and let me know how ‘ya do –

– Forest