Who Would You Be--If You Thought You Could

I have a teenager who volunteers for me at work. I will call him, "Neil" for anonymity sake. 'Neil' is 16. He approached me some months ago for a job as a personal trainer. He explained with an incredible amount of earnestness that he had personally experienced a life changing transformation because of fitness and he wanted to share his newfound knowledge with others. I told 'Neil' that while I didn't have a job for him, per say, I could offer him a volunteer position. He responded quickly that he felt he was over-qualified for a volunteer position and would "think about it."

After a few weeks of thinking about it, 'Neil' agreed to a volunteer position in the fitness center. His role was to make members feel welcome and answer questions. In short, he was to be helpful. In his volunteer role, 'Neil' and I had the opportunity to get to know each other better. I asked him what his life plan was; where did he want to go to college, what was his career path. I fully expected with his passion for fitness, to respond that he in fact wanted MY job. (insert smugness) Instead, he responded without a second of pause that he wanted to attend a prestigious University in Texas, major in Political Science and would one day be President of the United States. I couldn't help but smile.

When I was a youngster, I used to tell people confidently, that I wanted to be both a brain surgeon AND a break dancer when I "grew up." I remember their laughs and the way they would pat me on the head. "Oh--she's so creative! So ambitious! A break dancer AND a brain surgeon?!" Remembering the way those adults made me feel, I looked right at 'Neil' and said, "Well, aren't I lucky to know and have worked with the future President of the United States."

I have thought about 'Neil's' unabashed belief in who he will become many times since our conversation. In part, because he tells every person he meets his "plan" but, mostly because his desire stirs something within me.

I teach fitness classes and do personal training all day long with people who have lost the vision about who they will become. They feel they are too old, too out of shape, too whatever to become that dream that they once held.

FACT: People change their lives every single day. People pick up as single parents with three kids and go back to school. People take a chance on a dream idea and end up making millions. People start walking one day and a year later are running a marathon.

So, I ask you this, "who could you be--if you thought you could?" Let that marinate... Now, write it down. Don't be shy. Dare to dream big--HUGE even. Ask yourself this, "Why is that dream not possible?" Write all those reasons down and forget them. For every reason you can't, respond with a reason you can. Hold yourself accountable. Tell a best friend or your partner your dream. Share it with a career coach or a personal trainer.

While I didn't grow up to be a b-girl or a brain surgeon, I do wake up every day ready to take chances, inspire people and dream big. So I challenge you tomorrow to wake up armed with with the vision of who you can be and just "go be it."

"It's a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."

-William Somerset Maugham

TRX Suspension Training--Like Pilates on Steroids

What is TRX?

Born in the U.S. Navy SEALs and developed by Fitness Anywhere, Suspension Training^® is a revolutionary method of leveraged bodyweight exercise. Easily set up the portable TRX^®Suspension Trainer™ and you’re in control. Safely perform hundreds of exercises that build power, strength, flexibility, balance, mobility, and prevent injuries, all at the intensity you choose.

The HBW endorsement:

In looking for a way to train my clients and ultimately myself in a more dynamic and functional way, I stumbled on to TRX. I have found amazing results with this incredibly small and versatile piece of equipment. Since you use your own body weight, women don't need to be worried about "bulking up." Since all the movements are functional and allow you to load them and make them explosive, this is PERFECT for athletes. Even endurance athletes who are terrified of adding any extra muscle mass are able to run long, jam on hills harder and push their lactate threshold further than ever before.

If you are looking to take your workout to the next level; run faster, jump higher, be in the best shape of your life--sign up for a TRX session with me TODAY!

Drew Brees Talks TRX Training

Jessi Stensland Trains on TRX (Extended Version)

Cardio Equipment Lies

I hate to burst your cardio queen bubble, but that faithful piece of cardio of equipment lies to you like Tiger lied to Elin--consistently and creatively.

Jump on any piece of cardio equipment and there are an array of numbers that dance on the screen providing feedback about your current performance. See speed, distance, resistance, incline, heart rate and calories as examples.

As far as speed, resistance or incline goes, you’re pretty safe. Most of the time those numbers are at least close to accurate. It’s near heart rate and calories that thing get very hazy.

The fact is cardio equipment drastically over estimates how many calories a person burns. Even if you put in your weight, age and wear a heart rate monitor. By drastically, I’m talking no less than 250 to 500 calories per session. Back away from the stale donut in the office break room.

I know fitness devotes who live their life to hit that magic number of calories burned. They run or climb or ellipse their way to see that magic number on the screen and then BEEP hit the big red stop button and call it an accomplishment. Well kids, it ain’t.

Let’s frame this conversation and dispel some myths. One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. That means to lose a pound—just one--of fat a week you need to be in deficient 500 calories per day. Each. Day. Of. The. Week. Sadly, most folks significantly under estimate how many calories they take in and OVER estimate how many calories they put out. This is how the battle of the bulge is lost.

So, my love, when you hardly break a sweat on the elliptical and that darling piece of equipment states you burned 500 calories in 30 minutes, quite bluntly, you didn’t.

To determine how many calories you are actually burning during a cardio workout, you need to determine your basal metabolic rate or BMR. Your BMR is the minimum caloric requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual. There are lots of intense mathematical formulas you could use to determine this, but if you didn’t pass advanced algebra, I wouldn’t try your hand at the Harris-Bennett formula. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris-Benedict_equation)

In addition to it being mind bending math, the equation does not take into account body composition, a measure of the percentages of muscle and fat composing your body. It is therefore less accurate if you have a non-typical amount of muscle. This is because muscle burns calories, while fat does not. Therefore, a person with an above average amount of muscle will have a higher BMR or RMR than calculated; a person with a below average amount of muscle will have a lower BMR or RMR than calculated.

Stay with me gang.

There is a better way to determine if you are working "hard enough" to reach your weight loss goals. Ready for it? Go breathless. That's right, work hard enough for short bursts or intervals to literally be breathless. A workout would look like this:

• Pick a piece of cardio equipment that works for you based on level, interest and injury.
• Then do a 5 minute warm-up with your "target effort" being a 5/6 on a scale of 1-10 for rate of perceived exertion.
• At minute 6, kick up your target effort level to a 7/8 and sustain that level from 0:30 seconds to 1:30 seconds.
• You'll know you are working hard enough if by the end of the work interval you are breathless.
• Recover for 2 minutes at level 6
• Repeat for 5 intervals
• Cool-down for 5 minutes
• Rate of perceived exertion: 1-10 1=couch surfing (very easy) 10=wind surfing with 10 foot waves (very hard)

If weight loss is your goal, than think of programming your cardio exercise by these two criteria; variety and intensity. Interval training (period of hard work/breathless to periods of recovery) has been proven to burn more calories through the after burn effect. So, the next time you jump on your beloved stairmaster, resist the urge to go the same speed, distance and time you always have. Shake things up and add the breathless concept to your workout. The benefit: more fun, more calories and more effect.

Now, go get 'em tiger.

8 Minute Buns

The Making of a Fitness Buff

It was the summer of 1984 and the Olympics were being held in sunny L.A. I was half a world away, firmly planted in front of the TV, completely mesmerized by the track events. Carl Lewis was busy being super human and inspiring the world with his speed and athleticism. I remember how race after race he would cross the line for first. And then, time after time, he would climb atop the medal stand with the US flag waving, star spangled banner playing, wearing his gold medal.

During commercial breaks, I would beg my mom to come outside and time me as I ran laps around our house. There I was, four years old, lined up on the invisible starting line in front of our house. On my mom's countdown I would shoot off the line with imaginary Carl Lewis just in front of me. As we rounded the corner towards the finish line, I would leave my imaginary competition in the dust and finish breathless, back where I started. At the finish line, my mom would shout out my race time. Each time, heaving with exhaustion, tiny hands on tiny knees, I would shout back, "I can do it faster!"

In true Olympic form, after every race, I would climb up to the top of the stairs on my front porch for the "medal ceremony." At my encouragement, my parents would join me singing the star spangled banner while I stood at attention, hand over heart, imagining the waving flag.

And thus it began; the love for running until my lungs burned, only to want to run again--faster this time. The thrill of dusting the competition on the final corner of the home stretch. The honor of topping the medal stand.

When did you start making fitness a part of your life? When was there a time that you exceeded your own limits and expectations? Can you remember a time you stood on top of the medal stand and felt so incredibly proud of yourself?

Take a minute to remember that life is all about celebrating your successes big and small and remembering what inspires you.

So today, I'd like to thank Carl Lewis for being faster than a speeding bullet. I'd like to thank my parents who always stood up to sing their support. And finally I'd like to tip my hat to genetics. I mean seriously, what four year old runs laps for faster and faster times?! That is definitely genetic.