Fitness Savant

Marietta, Ga. Announces the Arrival of Top-Notch Fitness Programs

Dallas-based boot camp takes flight and lands in Marietta, GA. 

MARIETTA, GA May 19, 2010 – The Transformation Boot Camp announced today its newest location in Marietta.  The Transformation Boot Camp Marietta offers non-military, completely motivational fitness programs for men and women of all levels on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 a.m.

“With the success of this program in the Dallas area over the past 5 years, we really felt the need to make it available to the men and women of the United States looking for a fitness solution,” said Mike Thornton, creator of the Transformation Boot Camp.  “With campers losing anywhere from 10 to 100 lbs, we knew we had found a formula that worked for men and women of all fitness levels.”

Classes are held Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 a.m. at Mount Bethel Park.  For additional information or to register, please visit http://www.transformationbootcamp.com/marietta_boot_camp.

About the Transformation Boot Camp:
The Transformation Boot Camp was started in Dallas, Texas in 2003 by fitness expert Mike Thornton and offers its participants a non-military approach to boot camps.  Using positivity and encouragement as motivators, the Transformation Boot Camp combines metabolic-boosting workouts with education to help men and women of all fitness levels achieve their fitness goals.

Contact:
Memré Savant
Fitness Savant
(404) 909-0358
memre@transformationbootcamp.com
http://www.transformationbootcamp.com/marietta_boot_camp

Fitness Tip: Watch those liquid calories that add up – One great alternative to soda is a fresh brewed glass of decaf Green tea. Brew green tea with cloves and cinnamon stick and sweeten it lightly with Splenda and a fresh wedge of lemon or lime juice. It’s a great health drink with NO Calories and high in antioxidants. So drink to your health and Lose Weight. Remember that liquid calories can really add up in your daily intake. So drink wisely.

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Fitness Gear: Foam Roll

From eFitness Tracker, Fitness Tip: Persistence! – Violate this step and you’ll never achieve permanent results. We recently concluded conducted a 10 year study which proves that persistence is the single most important aspect of any diet or exercise program. The study followed a group of people (group #1) who exercised and dieted very strictly, but sporadically and compared those results to a group of people (group #2) who exercised mildly and followed a very basic diet, but this group never varied from their routine. Even though group #2 exercised and dieted far less (but did so persistently) they got 68% better results than those who exercised and dieted VERY STRICTLY but only occasionally.

This is a subject that truly bothers me, and I feel I need to talk to my readers about this. This is an epidemic, and I’ve recently learned our children will have shorter life spans than us because of this. Too often I see overweight children, and my heart just breaks for them. I’ve often thought of specializing in this particular population, but my concern is knowing it’s the entire family that would need the help, not just the child. I can work the children until they pass out, but that will do no good if they return back into a home and are fed a fast food burger, fries and shake. It’s not going to do one bit of good if the child goes back home only to plop down in front of a video game all the time. One hour of play a day is recommended, yet most children, much less adults don’t even get that in a week. We must get this under control immediately, and it all starts in your own home.

From the Mayo Clinic ¹:

Obese children can develop serious health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, often carrying these conditions into an obese adulthood. Overweight children are at higher risk of developing:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Asthma and other respiratory problems
• Sleep disorders
• Liver disease
• Early puberty or menarche
• Eating disorders
• Skin infections

The social and emotional fallout also can hurt your child. Being overweight can cause:

• Low self-esteem and bullying. Children often tease or bully their overweight peers, who suffer a loss of self-esteem and an increased risk of depression as a result.
• Behavior and learning problems. Overweight children tend to have more anxiety and poorer social skills than normal-weight children have. At one extreme, these problems may lead to acting out and disrupting the classroom. At the other, they may cause social withdrawal. Stress and anxiety also interfere with learning. School-related anxiety can create a vicious cycle in which ever-growing worry fuels ever-declining academic performance.

Depression. Social isolation and low self-esteem create overwhelming feelings of hopelessness in some overweight children. When children lose hope that their lives will improve, they’re well on the way to depression. A depressed child may lose interest in normal activities, sleep more than usual or cry a lot. Some depressed children hide their sadness and appear emotionally flat instead. Either way, depression is as serious in children as in adults. If you think your child is depressed, talk with him or her and share your concerns with his or her doctor.

What an incredibly bad legacy to leave our children! I know we are busy people, but there are always ways to find time for ourselves. I have struggled most of my life with weight. I can look at chocolate and balloon up 5 pounds. I have to exercise to maintain, and I have to be vigilant about my nutrition. I like to eat good food, and I’m not a so-called health food nut, so I had to find a balance that works for me.

You must do the same. Just because you like to eat cookie dough on occasion, does that mean you should keep it stocked in the house just in case you get the craving? NO! Do this same thing with your children’s snacks. In fact, make their snacks healthier. Experiment to find the things they like. My son has the opposite problem with weight – he has a hard time gaining. The doctors have told me to let him have milkshakes and to eat what and when he wants due to his medication that reduces his appetite. Instead of loading him up on junk, we keep whole milk for him, skim for me; protein powder we both use; bananas, strawberries and peanut butter; and chocolate syrup to make healthier, more satisfying shakes.  I buy him snacks I actually don’t like, so I won’t eat it. I buy separate pudding mixes: sugar free for me, regular for him. All this is to show you that with only 2 people in the house, I make the effort to adjust food for our separate needs. If he wants cookies, I make him hide them in his room, and he won’t touch my favorite veggies.

As for exercise, he now makes sure he plays every day, he does his chores, and he still has time to do homework.  I once read somewhere a person who felt guilty for using “child labor”. Child labor is making them work in a sawmill 16 hours a day for a dollar when they are 10. Chores are responsibility, teaches necessary life skills, and will make your child learn to do for themselves.  It also get them up and moving, and as anyone who’s ever mopped hardwood floors or vacuumed the stairs can tell you, you will sweat. Get your children involved in every aspect of life, and soon they will begin to make the right choices for themselves.

Use play to get you and your family active. Here are some ideas to sneak in some fitness under the guise of fun:

1. Play your Wii. Get one of the sports games and have a bowling night, or a fencing competition.
2. Twister is good for flexibility and core training. When’s the last time you had to weave your leg through arms, bodies and legs to get to the red dot and hold it until your next turn?
3. Go on a scavenger hunt. Make a list, and take a hike through the woods to find the items. Make it a race, and have everyone span the neighborhood as fast as they can.

The key to all this is you, the parent. You have to be active yourself or they will just continue to do as you do, not as you say. Big deal if your daughter doesn’t want to sweat. Better she sweat now than develop diabetes. Big deal if she doesn’t want to look like a guy and pick up a weight. Better do that now than develop osteoporosis down the road.  Big dang deal your boy is a Modern Warfare genius. It does him no good when he can’t even walk up the stars without a break. Do you and your children a favor. Get the family active, get them moving, and you will all be around longer, enjoying a happier, healthier life.

The Medicine Plus, a service of the National Institutes of Health, has some wonderful information on children’s obesity. I have downloaded a copy of a flyer for you from them available here. I love to work with children, so please contact me if you’d like help in creating a family plan to become healthy and active.

¹ Childhood obesity; By Mayo Clinic staff; http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/childhood-obesity/DS00698/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all#

I have not been eating enough. Yes, you read that right, not enough.  I know you’re wondering how in the heck that could possibly be so bad when you’re trying to lose weight, so that’s what I’m here to tell you. Yesterday I hit a very low spot, and it started while doing my cardio. I only had 30 minutes of HIIT on schedule – 5 minute warm-up, 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds moderate (repeated for 20 minutes), then 5 minute cool-down – but I couldn’t keep up the HIIT like I was supposed to.

By the time I got home yesterday I was exhausted! I threw on my PJ’s and started eating. I was nearly ravenous, but at least I ate chicken. Then, my boy wanted Wendy’s, which of course meant a burger and fries for me.  Now, let me tell you what was going on in my brain at the time so you understand, and will know that I understand YOU, is that my body clicked on something telling my brain, “Get some food in this girl NOW!” It’s almost as if you can’t fight it, it just becomes instinct, and you must eat. So, eat I did.  By 8 pm I felt a migraine coming, something I’ve only experienced a couple of times in my life, so I went to bed and slept straight through until this morning.

Why am I not eating? Me, a personal trainer who “knows better”? My appetite has decreased due to two combining factors:

1. I have cut out the junk and am eating more substantial. Junk food is a quick fix for hunger, but it doesn’t have any lasting effects other than to turn to fat. It’s just empty calories, so as soon as I would eat junk, I’d be hungry again in an hour. Now I am eating better again, and better food lasts longer.
2. Exercise has increased my appetite. Add this to more substantial food, and I am not as hungry as often. I eat every three hours, so when that next meal time rolls around I find I’m not so hungry. By the time evening rolls around, being tired from the day, I just don’t have the stamina to fix a meal like I should.

I should be eating about 1450 – 1700 calories per day, adjusted for workouts and activities.  Last week I was 1588 calories under for the week with 5 out of 7 days coming in under. Sunday I only ate 1041 calories, BAD BAD BAD!!! Monday I had 1354 calories, BAD BAD BAD!!!

Food is energy, and if you can see what has happened to  me, then you will understand something that may cause you to want to give up. If you don’t eat enough, your body doesn’t get the resources it needs to function. To function, a body needs a minimum of 1200 calories per day, and you can see for two days in a row I came in well under. Added to that are my workouts that divert the calories my body needs just for basic functions to compensate for the extra activity. Easily put, think of your body as your car. If you don’t put in enough gas you won’t make it to your destination. If you get tired and physically exhausted like I am, listen to your body and take a break. I have cardio on schedule today, but I think I may just take a rest day and move today’s workout to Saturday. I’m just too tired, and if I ignore my body then I will derail my goals.

Take a break if you need to, and don’t over-do it.  Listen to your trianer when she tells you to eat. Food is not your enemy. If you’re around my age, we already know it’s harder to get those extra pounds off, but pushing yourself over the edge will actually make things worse. Today my lunch bag (or bucket as it should be called!) is filled with oatmeal, whey protein, a sweet potato, chicken, and turkey chili. I have a protein bar in there, but I’m not really feeling it today for chocolate, so I may go get some real food. I need to eat.

I’m using my new eFitness Tracker software, and I think I’m in love! It’s a wonderful program! I offer a one week free trial if you’d like to give it a try.

In part 3 of this series, we’ll talk about beginning an exercise program to suit your needs, interests and lifestyle. This is the where the pavement hits the road so to speak. This is where you have  to decide that you will get out of bed early, that you will go to the gym 5 times a week, that you WILL get active. This is where you know you have to give up something, whether it be time, lunch dates, favorite tv shows or happy hour.  It’s time to decide that getting healthy, sexy and strong is going to take hard work and you are going to do it.

Do you need a personal trainer? Well, that depends.  I have a client who really prefers me mostly as a workout partner, because having that set appointment makes her get up and come to the gym. I am her motivator because I am her accountability.  I have another client who needs more guidance although she is very knowledgeable of what it takes. You have to look back at your goals and decide how you will best arrive there. You have to be honest with yourself, know what you are willing to do and not do. If you are a yoyo dieter, have been there, done that over and over, then I highly recommend exchanging money for services of a trainer if you really want to learn to get off the cycle. There are many options for hiring your own trainer, so talk to one about your needs and see what can be done for you. A lot of gyms as well as personal trainers offer a free evaluation or session that can jump start your program. If you absolutely cannot swing the services of a personal trainer and will need to go it alone, knowledge will be your strength. Read up as much as you can from good sources. Cosmo doesn’t count.

 What do you like to do? What is fun? Not everyone likes or wants to do traditional strength training. Not everyone is a cardio bunny. We all have our own likes and dislikes when it comes to physical activity, so don’t become intimidated by what you thinkyou are supposed to do. You are supposed to do what you wantto do! If you like to dance, take belly dancing or samba classes. If swimming is more your thing, join a club with a pool. Some of us need variety, so join all your interests into a program. The point is to get moving! The ACSM recommends 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week, but truthfully most of us need more. So, think about what you can tolerate (or actually enjoy) for just 30 minutes today.  Get out your calendar, decide on your interests, then pick your program. Join a gym if you need to, buy some equipment, and plan your schedule. Write that time as sacred in your planner, PDA and Smartphone. I work out during my lunch hour, and that means I have to give up lunch dates with colleagues most of the time. Make the appointment and make it not an option to break. This is your life; this is important!

Stick with it for at least 6 weeks.This is so very important, yet not many people sustain a program this long. Most people are looking for results like yesterday, but years of damage to your body will take more than a week to fix. It’s important to set your goals, log your foods and exercise, and take your stats over a longer time so you will gain an understanding of what your body needs and how it responds to certain aspects. Deciding to eat low carb, then seeing no fat loss after only 4 days is totally unrealistic. Pick something and stick with it. If you decide on doing 30 minutes on the treadmill 3 days a week, see no progress in a week, then change suddenly to 1 hour a day 6 days a week is literally overkill. Start slowly and build up, take your stats, consider your nutrition, then examine what may need to be tweaked. If you are working with a trainer, listen to her. On the flip side, if after some time something just isn’t working for you then don’t hesitate to change it. The point is, you must have patience and faith in your program, and the willpower to continue on when you think things just aren’t working.  In order to fix the problems, you have to know what they are. How can you know if you keep changing your mind every other day?

So here is how to prepare your fitness plan:

1. Make a list of activities you enjoy. If there are classes, list the times and places.
2. Get out your calendar and plug your workouts into your schedule. Know your problem times ahead, and have contingencies ready.
3. Log your progress. Keep a workout journal. This journal is my favorite because I have everything in one place. In fact, if you’re a client, it’s required!
4. Stick with it for 6 weeks, and don’t make rash decisions.
5. Take your stats weekly.

So far we’ve set our goals, planned your nutrition and made appointments with ourselves at the gym. You start this program, you’re going along great, then one day when the scale stops moving so quickly, and that little voice in your head starts talking again. It’s telling you that it’s ok to skip that one workout; it’s ok to eat that vat of ice cream; there’s no harm in that box of cookies to keep in the cabinet “just in case”.  Next time we’ll discuss what to do when this happens, because it will, and I want to make sure you are armed and prepared to thwart that little voice.

Part 1: Setting Goals

Part 2: Nutrition

Part 3: Exercise

Part 4: Plateau Busting

Today is Sunday, planning day. Today I will plan my meals for the entire week, shop for groceries, cook the food I need, and separate it into portions. Then I will plan my workouts for the week, and since it’s a holiday weekend coming up I’ll need to plan accordingly. That means planning my cheats and my workouts.

The saying ” If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is so true. With a plan you are more likely to achieve your goals. Aiming for 90% accuracy is better than winging it, finding yourself out and about without a protein bar in your car, and swinging through McDonald’s. If you do need to hit the fast food drive-thru, make sure you know what you want ahead of time. You can find nutritional information on their web sites, and you may be surprised that what you may think is a better choice is actually not.

What does it mean 90% accurate? Well, let’s say you eat 5 meals a day 7 days a week. That’s about 31 or 32  opportunities to eat right, leaving you 3 – 4 cheat meals Now, a cheat meal is not a bucket of ice cream, and you should aways try not to go all out. If you actually plan your cheats you will eliminate the guilt and you will will keep that cheat under control. Plan on it!

Spring Ft. McPherson Power Lifting Challenge

Life is about many things, most of all enjoying the time we are given. The best way to be able to enjoy that time is by keeping our bodies and minds in great condition. Health is about the whole person, not just separate pieces that exist in exclusion of one another. No, life is about making it all come together by understanding how all areas of our lives are connected and the synergy between them.

I lived my life too long in ignorance of this, and I am now dedicated to educating myself and teaching others the keys to a healthy, sexy and strong life.  Happiness comes from within ourselves. We can build our esteem through pushing our bodies and minds to the limits, making them stretch for growth. There is nothing like setting a goal and making that accomplishment even if you might think it small. Passing on a chocolate dessert is a major accomplishment for me, so don’t think your goals must be some earth shattering achievement. If it makes you proud and makes you smile, you have done well.

There’s a saying that says if you shoot for the moon and miss, at least you’ll land among the stars. I believe this is so true, because sometimes we don’t get exactly what we set out for, but we always get what we need. Maybe you want to start a fitness program to look good naked, but a year down the road you developed great new healthy living habits, or vise verse.  I can promise you that whatever reason you begin your health and fitness journey, many wonderful things are in store for you.  I will do my best to provide you with information that will help you survive attacks of the regrets, laziness and defeat. I will provide you tools to get through your days in a smarter, healthier, happier way. Promise yourself time and patience, and devote time just for yourself each day. We can do this together.