FVT/MDA Charity Boot Camp Follow Up

THANK YOU to all who participated in last week’s charity boot camp event. We had over 25 folks contribute to the cause, and raised a grand total of $801 for the Sacramento MDA – our most successful charity effort yet!

Couple of photos from the action:

Full house at the FVT studio

Erik going beast mode and blowing his glasses off

We are so thankful to everyone who helped organize this charity boot camp, and for the unique opportunity we have to come together as a community and give back in this way.

We’ll be back with another FVT Charity Boot Camp event very soon!

Train hard, and have a great week –

– The FVT Team

Meet RFL Winners Jimmy and Nicole (new videos)

We finished up our first Rapid Fat Loss Challenge of 2013 about a week ago, and I am still just blown away at the results we achieved as a group.

A couple of pretty darn impressive stats –

  • Six people in double digits (that’s 10 pounds or more of weight loss in 30 days)
  • 126.4 total pounds lost – among a total of 15 participants that made the final weigh-in. That’s an average of 8.43 pounds per person!

GREAT work to all!!

Now, at our “rapid fat loss end party” celebration, we brought the winners up to claim their prize(s) … and on a whim, I put ’em on the spot 🙂 We caught their comments on camera, and it turned out to be pure gold. Check out the videos below:

On watching these videos, and doing a bit of reflection on the challenge event as a whole, I think the #1 factor of success this time around was the folks who participated. They gave it their all, and committed 100% to the program we gave them.

The factor that was a close #2, however, I am convinced was the carb cycling plan that we used as our “official” RFL Challenge diet. It enabled folks to lose fat faster than I honestly thought was possible.

If you’re interested in learning more about this special plan, stay tuned – I’ll have more details on it for you later this week.

And that’s it for today! I hope today’s message has been some great motivation for you. Get out there and DO IT!

Enjoy the rest of your Monday, and talk soon –

– Forest

April 2013 Challenge Workout Results

* If you missed the April 2013 FVT Challenge Workout, click here to see it now

Official Results

JJ 558
SS 521
SK 520
BK 510
LC 510
JM 506
MA 495
CC 489
SF 487
LA 482
MG 475
JB 470
BC 463
JC 456
KS 455
MW 451
GV 451
JM 432
EZ 430
AS 429
RK 419
SG 409
RB 382
BK 356
NP 303

Modified (exercises substituted due to injury, lower-than-prescribed kettlebell weight used, etc.)

JP 530
SM 527
MG 507
PN 465
BA 434
KD 422
BR 408
RA 366
MP 358
BK 340
MP 313
CB 300
EP 271
PT 241

Great work all! ‘Till next time –

The FVT Team

BOD POD Interview with Dr. Truong of BeWeightless.com (video)

I mentioned to you the other week that I got my body composition tested with a BOD POD device.

Well, I managed to set up a follow up interview with Dr. Truong – owner of the weight loss clinic in Sacramento, CA where I had the test done. In this short video interview, you’ll learn all about the BOD POD technology, and how you can go about setting up a test for yourself!

If you are trying to take your fitness to the next level, or are just the type of person who likes to test and track and know exactly where you’re at, you gotta check this one out.

First, watch the video. Then, read the recap below.

Video Recap

FOREST :

Hey guys, Forest Vance here…personal trainer, boot camp instructor and kettlebell trainer based out of Sacramento, CA.

I’m here today with Dr. Truong. Dr. Truong, thanks for being with us today.

DR TRUONG : Thank you for coming to our clinic!

FOREST : Yeah, this is awesome! So, we’re here and obviously you can see behind us is a BOD POD and Dr. Truong is going to tell us a little more about, tell us about this. What does it do and how can it help our people?

DR TRUONG : So the BOD POD is a new state of the art machine and it has become the gold standard for measuring body composition. It allows us to measure your lean body mass and what percent of body fat you have. It’s great for us to understand when we want to lose weight and it is also important for us for when we go to our trainer to know if we are really increasing lean body mass as well too.

FOREST : Okay, awesome! I got in here a couple weeks ago and got my body fat tested –

DR TRUONG : Yes you did, and he looks great!

FOREST : (laughs) …and it was really cool! I’ve been wanting to do it for a very long time and I know it is very accurate which is awesome.

Let me ask you this, what would be the benefit of doing this on an on-going basis?

DR TRUONG : That’s a great question. Let’s say you start off and you want to lose weight. You want to have a baseline, you want to know how much body fat and lean body mass you have. So you start yourself on a program and you want to know right from the beginning where you are at. So as you start losing weight you want to make sure you are losing body fat and not lean body mass. When you start a program that Forest will put you on he is going to help you trim down the amount of body fat stored and increase lean body mass as well as increasing your metabolism.

FOREST : Cool, cool. So what would be the next step – let’s say someone wants to come over and check it out and get their body fat tested..what would they do?

DR TRUONG – Give us a call, visit our website (BeWeightless.com) and our number is on there, and we’ll put you on our schedule. The main thing we want you to do is wear something tight like spandex or even wear a bathing suit. So it’s tight, it doesn’t trap air and we can get an exact measurement of your body composition.

FOREST : Okay, cool! That’s awesome, man. Thank you so much, Dr. Troung.

DR TRUONG : Let’s get you in here so we can see what it looks like inside! So Forest is 6’4’’, all muscle, and you can sort of see what it looks like inside. For someone that is tall and muscular as he is it fits perfectly. So we’ll close and you can see that it is fairly comfortable.

There you have it.

FOREST : Alright, that was very cool. Thanks a lot Dr. Truong, I really appreciate it. We’ll post up that stuff at the end of the video too here. So if you want to come down and check it out and get your body fat tested we’ll tell you exactly how to do that. Thanks again guys, and we’ll see you next time.

DR TRUONG : Take care.

Contact Dr. Truong via phone (916.760.7191) or email ([email protected]) to schedule your BodPod appointment today! And be sure to mention that Forest sent ‘ya 🙂

April 2013 Challenge Workout

BOOM! It’s time again for the monthly FVT Challenge Workout. Here’s what we got for ‘ya:

January 2013 Challenge Workout (workout recap)

  • burpee
  • body weight squat
  • push up
  • kettlebell swing

Perform each exercise for 45 seconds continuously, completing as many reps as possible with perfect form. Rest for exactly 15 seconds. Repeat the process with the next exercise in the sequence. Do five rounds of the entire sequence total, resting for 60 seconds between rounds.

Keep track of how many reps of each exercise you get in each set. Your score is the total number of reps you get in the entire workout.

Thanks! We’ll have the scores for you at the end of the week.

Train hard –

Forest

How to Lose 15.4 Pounds in 30 Days (2013 FVT RFLC recap)

This last Saturday, we finished up and celebrated what turned out to be the most successful FVT Rapid Fat Loss Challenge EVER.

Jimmy B, winner of the FVT Rapid Fat Loss Challenge and $300 in prize money – lost 15.4 pounds and 8.17% of his body weight in just 30 days!!

A couple of pretty darn impressive stats –

  • Six people in double digits (that’s 10 pounds or more of weight loss in 30 days)
  • 126.4 total pounds lost – among a total of 15 participants that made the final weigh-in. That’s an average of 8.43 pounds per person!

Jimmy B (pictured above) took 1st place – with a total of 15.4 pounds lost and 8.17% of total body weight … Nichole W came in second, and also lost 15 pounds/7.72% … and Scott S was in third with 16.4 pounds/7.17%.

Honorable mention to Eric Z, Vai S, and Ryan A – all also in double digits of weight loss.

I am just blown away. Awesome, awesome job to everyone!

Now, if you’re interested in getting similar results, but:

  • Missed the challenge registration
  • Aren’t in the Sacramento, CA area
  • Weren’t able to participate for any reason

I wrote up a quick recap of what the top challenge finishers did to get such amazing results.

 

How to Lose 15.4 Pounds in 30 Days – Top 3 Tips

 

1 – If you want to lose weight, you have to focus on your diet.

No bones about it. When it comes to getting those #’s to move on the scale, it’s all about the diet.

If you want something basic – but effective – check out this post:

=> EASY Fat Loss Meal Planning

It’ll walk you through a day of clean eating. And, I think you’ll be surprised at just how easy it can be! 🙂

Also – the “official” meal plan we used in the Rapid Fat Loss Challenge was carb cycling. This approach is a little more sophisticated, for sure … but if RAPID plateau-busting and fat loss is what you’re after, it’s a great way to go. More details about that coming very soon.

 

2 – Commit to a workout schedule – and make it happen, no matter what!!

Having a specific, directed and realistic workout schedule – and sticking to it, no matter what – was key for our challenge winners.

Heck, the top two finishers both have small children, under two years old … so if they can do it, so can you! 🙂

Here is a basic – and free – workout plan to get you started:

=> 1036 Calorie Workout

(You could do a workout like this three – four times per week, with “easy”/light 30 minute cardio days in between.)

 

3 – Set a specific, realistic goal – and make it happen!!

I can attest personally to the power of this practice. Doing this when I played football at the college and pro level made all the difference, as did when I lost over 60 pounds in about seven months, and, more recently, when I started my personal training business.

If you want all the details on the power of – and exactly how to go about – setting goals, check out this popular post on ForestVanceTraining.com:

=> 3 Steps to Make 2013 Your Best Year Ever

 

To sum up, THANK YOU again to all the Rapid Fat Loss Challenge participants for an incredible job well done. We had a great time at the challenge, and learned a lot in the process. Look forward to doing it again very soon!

– Forest Vance, MS, CPT, FNC, RKC II

 

PS – Get TONS of cool (and free) clean eating and KB training tips like the ones covered in this article, delivered straight to your email inbox on a regular basis – when you sign up for my email newsletter. Sign up now – for free – in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Charity Boot Camp Thursday, April 11th @ 7pm

On Thursday, April 11th @ 7pm, we’re coming together as a community to help the Sacramento branch of the Muscular Dystrophy Association – and we need your help!

Click here to get all the details on the event, donate as much or as little as you like and reserve your spot now:

= > Spring 2013 FVT Charity Boot Camp

Money raised in this charity event will go directly towards the MDA. The MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to finding treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education.

This 45 minute circuit-style boot camp workout is a great opportunity to:

  • Help la local charity
  • Get an extra fat-burning, metabolism-boosting workout
  • Bring a friend or family member to check out what we do
  • Try out our program if you’ve been meaning to do so

PLUS – I am going to personally donate a digital copy of our new Carb Cycling for Fat Loss manual as a “fast action bonus” to the first 15 folks who reserve their spot at the event.

Click here to get all the details, donate as much or as little as you like and reserve your spot now:

= > Spring 2013 FVT Charity Boot Camp

Thanks, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, CPT, FNC, RKC II
Owner and Head Trainer, Forest Vance Training, Inc.

Extreme Methods for Super Fast Weight Loss (4 tips)

As the end of our Rapid Fat Loss Challenge approaches, you could be looking for some tips and tricks to shed those last few pounds of body fat.

Or, you might have an event you’re getting ready for, where you need to be in peak shape for a short period of time.

Whatever the case may be, if super fast weight loss is what you’re after, these methods DO work. Just use them at your own risk 🙂

 

Extreme Methods For Super Fast Weight Loss
by Forest Vance, MS, CPT, FNC, RKC II

Several years ago, I trained a client for a weight loss contest put on here in Sacramento at a local radio station. We ended up winning the contest – which was awesome! 🙂

In the final week, there were a few tricks we used to get an edge on the competition. I’m going to share some of the things that helped my client drop those last few crucial pounds in the week before her final weigh-in.

Also, it is very important to note – super fast weight loss is not the healthiest long term solution to your problems. BUT – in the short term – for some kind of special event, etc. – it can actually be done pretty easily.

 

5 Tips for Super Fast Weight Loss

Workout more

Seriously. Work out for two hours per day for the next seven days, I can almost guarantee you’ll end up dropping a couple of pounds 🙂

Restrict your calorie and carbohydrate intake

Let’s just pick a number and say that you’re currently taking in 2000 calories a day. Drastically cut your calorie intake – say, down to 1000-1200 calories a day – and cut out all your starchy carbs like bread, rice and pasta. You’re allowed only veggies and 1-2 pieces of fruit per day for all of your carbohydrate intake.

Please keep in mind that I’m recommending this as a short term solution; it’s not something you want to do for any length of time. But you’ll experience super fast weight loss with this method, that’s for sure.

Drink lots of water

You actually end up retaining water when you don’t drink enough. You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in calories every day already; up this to at least a gallon or so per day. This will help you drop some extra water – combined with cutting your carbs, it’s a dynamite combo for super fast weight loss.

Hit the sauna

Saunas actually do have some proven medical benefits, contrary to popular belief. Among other things, they can help improve joint mobility and cleanse the system from toxins.

For our purposes, we’re going to use the sauna to drop weight fast. All you’re going to do is spend 15-20 minutes per day to drop some of that excess water weight.

So, there you have a few extreme methods for super fast weight loss. Good luck with your weight loss efforts!