Here’s the December Challenge again in case you missed it:
You’ll simply do:
7 Burpees 14 Kettlebell Swings 21 Body Weight Squats
… and repeat five times as fast as you can.
And the results:
SG 8:14 AG 8:35 AK 8:50 PH 9:37 LE 11:11 PP 11:18 NG 11:34 CS 12:02 NP 12:16 SK 12:24 AS 12:27 VL 12:33 SR 12:40 SM 13:55 LA 13:59 EZ 14:21
Great work guys!
P.S. Don’t forget about next weekend’s free holiday client appreciation boot camp workout! There’s are 3 spots left as I write this post – so be sure to reserve a spot now if you’re interested! Click the link below to learn more and sign up:
I’d like to personally invite you to a FREE holiday client appreciation boot camp workout on Saturday, December 18th at my new personal training studio in Land Park.
The workout will start at 10:00 am and will last about 30 minutes – all of our current and past clients, their friends and family, newsletter subscribers, blog readers, and Facebook fans are welcome to attend!
I’m holding the workout simply as a client/email subscriber/blog reader/Facebook follower holiday appreciation and to give anyone who hasn’t gotten the chance yet to come over and check out the new facility. But there is one catch: I only have space for 12 folks! And I know this boot camp will fill up fast (the last one like this was full in less than 48 hours). So if you’d like more details and/or you’re ready to sign up, click the link below:
If you’re the rare breed who actually enjoys pounding away on the treadmill for 45 minutes, more power to you! Keep doing what’s working for ‘ya.
But if you’re like me, you probably don’t like doing cardio much, either. Unfortunately, and especially if your goal is fat loss, you gotta do it.
Here’s the thing, though: There is an easier way. You don’t have to do cardio in a ‘traditional’ fashion to work your heart and lose body fat. I don’t – and I still manage to maintain a (near) single-digit body fat level all year round.
For one, as long as your heart rate gets up and stays there for an extended period of time, that’s cardio – in other words, combining body weight or weight training moves into a non-stop circuit is just as much of a cardio workout as is 45 minutes of eliptical time.
Also, research proves again and again that interval training (high-intensity, ‘burst’ cardio workouts like the one demoed in the video below) is actually superior to traditional, steady-state cardio (where you maintain the same low-to-medium intensity for the whole workout) for fat loss.
I made a video for you that shows how to get a great cardio workout without any machines at all … all you’ll need is your own body weight and a single kettlebell. I hope it helps you add some variety to your cardio routine! And feel free let me know what you think:
P.S. This workout that is a lot like ones we do in our Land Park – Sacramento Fitness/Kettlebell Boot Camps … if you’re interested in a complimentary ‘Test A Trainer’ session to try out a workout and see if it’s right for you (or know anyone who might be), contact me here or call (916) 273 9366. Thanks!
Want to know more about kettlebells? Check out this video – Sr. RKC David Whitley and RKC Matt McBryde talk about the history of the kettlebell and give some basic instruction on how to do the Kettlebell Swing:
And don’t forget: My new Sacramento kettlebell boot camp starts next Wednesday, December 1st at 5:45 pm. If you’re interested in a complimentary ‘Test A Trainer’ kettlebell session to see if it’s right for you and your fitness goals, contact me (soon, as I have limited spots in the boot camp) by clicking below:
Here’s next week’s group training/boot camp schedule – I’ve bolded changes to normal training times:
Monday 11/22
615am, 915am – Anytime Fitness Group Training 630pm – Land Park Boot Camp
Tuesday 11/23
6am, 9am – Land Park Boot Camp 630pm – Land Park Boot Camp
Wednesday 11/24
615am, 915am – Anytime Fitness Group Training 530pm – Land Park Boot Camp
Thursday 11/25 (Thanksgiving Day)
8am – Land Park Boot Camp
Friday 11/26
915am – Anytime Fitness Group Training
Saturday 11/27
9am – Land Park Boot Camp
And don’t forget – December 1st at 5:45 pm we’ll be having the first weekly kettlebell boot camp at the Land Park personal training studio – contact me by clicking here for details and/or to sign up!
Relying on the scale as your only measure of progress is a big mistake
Imagine this:
You just started a new personal training program. You’ve been following the diet your trainer has recommended, you’ve been working out a consistent four to five times per week and most importantly, you’re starting to embrace the new fitness-conscious person you’re quickly becoming.
About a month into the program, it’s time to do your first set of re-measurements – and you’re excited to see your progress!
You were expecting to lose six or eight pounds in the first month (after all, that’s typical for diets you’ve gone on in the past) … but the scale only shows a two pound difference! How could that be?! Before your trainer even starts to take your body fat, you’re feeling discouraged …
But here’s the thing: You shouldn’t. If the #1 factor you pay attention to when you start a fat loss program is your weight, you’re making a big mistake.
We’ve been conditioned to ‘live and die’ by the scale; that is, it’s the almost universal way to measure progress on any kind of fat loss program.
However, measuring your progress only by the scale is a bad way to do things. For one, muscle gain can equal weight gain – which is actually good, because more lean mass means an accelerated metabolism and more fat loss in the long run. But in the short term, it can be deceiving.
Scale weight also doesn’t take into account how much strength you’ve gained, how you’ve improved your cardio conditioning, how you look in the mirror, how you fit into your clothes, or a whole list of other benefits that come from regular, intense, and intelligently designed workouts.
Now don’t get me wrong: We do monthly weigh-ins with all of our clients – and it is a measure of progress. It’s just a mistake to go only by the scale when measuring results.
If you’re one of those folks that gets wrapped up in scale weight when dieting and trying to lose fat – and you get discouraged when weight loss doesn’t happen as quickly as you’d like – hopefully this post has made you think a bit. Keep training hard – and let me know what you think in the comments section below!
P.S. We do monthly body fat testing and circumference measurements as part of all of our Sacramento, CA – based fitness boot camps and personal training programs. For more info – or even if you’d just like to get your body fat tested – contact me here.
P.S.S. Have you signed up for my weekly newsletter yet? You’ll get a free copy of my ‘Top 10 Fat Loss Myths’ report just for signing up – and you can do that by clicking here.
Kettlebells are one of the best training tools around for time-saving holiday workouts
Something I hear from clients all the time is this:
‘If I can’t get a full (45-60 minute) workout in, it’s pointless – so I just don’t do anything.’
But here’s the thing: Something is always better than nothing. And almost everyone has an extra fifteen or twenty minutes in their day – it’s just a matter of priorities. Skip this week’s episode of Dancing With The Stars or The Jersey Shore for gosh sake and get a quick workout in 🙂
All that being said, the holiday season usually ends up being an extra busy time of year – and sticking to your normal workout routine can be especially tough. But the last thing you want is to lose any of the fitness you’ve worked so hard for all year long. So if you’re equiped with some time saving strategies to keep you on track, you’ll be prepared to maintain (or even improve) your fitness level over the next couple of months.
Knowing how to properly train with kettlebells is a great way to be prepared for life’s busy times – with a few basic exercises, you can train all of your major muscle groups and get an ‘all-in-one’ cardio, strength and core workout in literally 15-20 minutes.
For example, here’s a kettlebell and body weight circuit (from diet and exercise expert Craig Ballentyne) that uses a few basic exercises, hits all of your major muscle groups and gives you an awesome cardio, resistance training, and core workout in about 15-20 minutes:
To summarize this workout, you would do:
20 KB Squats 20 Extended Push Ups 20 KB Swings 20 Walking Lunges 10 KB High Pulls (each side) 20 Mountain Climbers 20 1 Arm Swings (each side) 20 Close Grip Push Ups 10 KB One Arm Rows (each side) 20 Stability Ball Leg Curls
And complete the circuit three times.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a time-effective way to keep in shape this holiday season, consider learning how to train with kettlebells. They’re a great way to get a total-body workout in a very short period of time and keep your workouts going strong when your life gets extra busy. And happy holidays!
Forest
P.S. To learn how to use kettlebells properly (because just doing a little reading and watching a couple of videos is, to be honest, a pretty poor – and unsafe – way to learn how to train with kettlebells), check out my kettlebell workshop this weekend! I have two spots left as of the writing of this email. I also know from past experience that I tend to get a lot of last minute sign ups in events like this, and as I’m sending an email out to almost 400 Sacramento-area folks today regarding this event, I’m expecting it to be sold out by the end of the day today. So if you want a spot, sign up ASAP!!
