Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday's Workout
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Burpies and Sit ups.



Friday's Workout
100 push ups for time

As we close of this round of boot camp, I would like to publicly congratulate all the ladies in this session. Many are repeaters and their improvements have shown in just about every aspect of their training.

This month I started incorporating a baseline workout to show them how much they've improved in upper & lower body strength as well as conditioning.

Here are your times ladies. The first time is the baseline from day one of camp and the second number is from today's attempt.

5:30 a.m.

Jill S. 7:27 6:45
Traci F. 8:05
Amy F. 7:33 6:16
Angela W. 8:12
Dawn A. 7:18
Brooke G. 6:00
Mary W. 7:51 7:03
Amy A. 8:11
Kendra C. 6:12
Stacey L. 6:11 5:53
Emily H. 10:21 7:39
Michelle B. 6:18 5:35
Kristie C. 10:44 7:25
Deb M. 8:31
Claire 9:45 6:39
Cheryl T 5:50
Rascia J. 8:06

9:00 a.m.

Angie W. 6:18
Tami T. 8:18
Angie R. 8:43 7:36
Juli B. 6:50 6:44
Shawn H. 6:13
Karen 9:41 7:44
Brooke T. 6:51 6:44
Meg B. 6:06
Mandi D. 7:06 6:52
Lisa H. 8:35
Diane W. 6:50
Patty B. 7:52
Pam S. 10:43
Peggy L. 7:11

Awesome Ladies. I know there was a comment about that some thought their times would be better, but there was a really good point brought up after the 9:00 a.m. class.

And that point was everyone recovered faster from that workout than they did the first time around. I specifically remember everyone laying on the floor coughing and talking about how they felt. Today everyone recovered almost immediately. That in of itself says a lot as to how you improved.

As we close out the last couple of days before the next session, give the two workouts above a shot sometime over the weekend. Keep the ball rolling and I guarantee that you will not have to make a New Years Resolution.......

......because you are living it now.

Always Live A Life of Thanks Giving!

Pizza Lovers Beware

For those of you who LOVE pizza, here is a recipe to bring a smile to your face without the guilt. After you make it the first couple of times it is really easy to make. I usually like to make a couple of different kinds at the same time because they do not last long.



Ingredients:
Crust:
2 Cups Almond Meal/Flour
2 Eggs
2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp salt

Instructions:
Crust:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. This should give you a ball of “dough”. If your dough is too “mushy” continue to add almond flour until you get a good consistency.
3. Make a pizza sheet or baking tray non-stick. This is VERY important if you want your pizza slices to come off in one piece. (I even put oil on my stoneware!)
4. Press your dough on the sheet nice and even about 1/4 inch in the middle and 1/2 inch at the edges.
5. Put crust in the oven for 15 minutes. It should look slightly golden brown when you take it out.



Toppings:
You will want to pre-cook any meat going on your pizza. Veggies can go on fresh and raw, or cooked depending on your preference. Your favorite cheese will do, we used Feta but would have been nice to have a little bit of melted cheese on top.



Sauce:
1 Small Can Tomato Paste
1/2 – 3/4 Cups Water (To desired thickness)
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Tsp Garlic
Sauce:
1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients. Use water to desired thickness. We like ours pretty thick. Feel free to add more spice if you want it, too.
2. Simmer on stove for approximately 15 minutes.



Toppings:
Whatever you want!
We used fresh organic baby spinach, turkey pepperoni, grilled chicken, and feta cheese!

Put it all together:
1. After crust comes out of the oven, spread sauce evenly over crust.
2. Add your cheese and toppings evenly on top of sauce.
3. Put back in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 more minutes. Cheese should be evenly melted.
4. Slice and enjoy!



You can literally make your favorite pizza or even experiment something that might sound good.

Enjoy!

Weekend Homework

Many of the core movements for boot camp can be traced back to something related to Olympic Lifting and running. As you study the videos below, really focus on form. Form means everything in exercise. Without proper form, consisting FULL RANGE OF MOTION, speed, power and overall performance will never reach capacity.

There is no reason to beat a dead horse here by covering something already covered by someone much more qualified to explain it than me. The CrossFit "What Is Fitness" journal explains maximum performance in a way better than I've seen in the past.

I encourage you to print it, study it, high light it and read it again. If you are looking to become better athletically then this is a must read. Find it by clicking here.

While the journal is printing look over the videos from the 2008 Olympics and the two on the Pose Running Technique.

Success

Success "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors."



Make sure you read all the way down to see the second half of this video.

There are many facets of success. And in the eyes of the successee, their is no more important than the success achieved.

This morning the ladies in boot camp proved that theory. There were a couple of different ways I could have introduced today's workout. But I chose the one that would get the most success. If I didn't then I would no longer be able to use the tag line, "Committed to your success" in my emails.

My only regret today was not getting any pictures or video of the gals in action. Without further ado, below are the times of the ladies who came into boot camp today.

Oh, and did I mention the workout was 100 burpees for time?

5:30 a.m.
Brooke 7:13
Jill 7:39
Mary 6:38
Stacey 6:03
Traci 5:43
Angela 8:19
Judy 4:57

9:00 a.m.
Mandi 5:42
Sheila 6:17
Tonja 6:22
Megan B. 5:28
Diane 5:37 (This was her very first workout with us and rocked it!!!)

I could have easily set them up for failure by just throwing the workout on the board and telling them to "just do it". Instead I gave them a different way to look at it. And what happened is exactly what you see in the numbers above. They killed the workout.

The next time you tackle something that looks, at least in appearance to be impossible, tackle it with an aggressive attitude and amaze yourself what you can accomplish.

We are in full swing with the "November or Bust" Boot Camp special.

$99 gets you in for 5 days a week of boot camp for 4 weeks. Classes are M-F 5:30 and 9:00 a.m. at Elkhart Sports Center. To register and be one of the first 15 for the free nutrition add-on then you can take care of everything online by clicking the paypal link and the Michiana Adventure Boot Camp Registration links below:

Boot Camp Registration:

In the second half of the video below, you will create a great understanding in the type of mindset you need to achieve whatever success you seek. I wanted to go seek this guy out after seeing these video the first time. They are VERY POWERFUL!!!



I am anxious to see what you think. Post your comments below.

You "Tabata" Be Kidding!!

The challenge for the next 3 days is to get through each of the tabata workouts below. And just because I am not there with you does not mean you can slack!! Make sure to push yourself through EVERY 20 second interval.

Wednesday
"Core-Tastic"

Sit-ups
Russian Twist
Back Extensions
Windshield Wipers (lay on your back with feet straight up, arms out to the sides and lower your legs to the right, back to center and to the left) Just like a windshield wiper goes back and fourth on your car.



Thursday
"Thighs-O-Steal"

Squats
Mountain Climbers
Weighted Lunges
Burpees



Friday
"Show-Me-Those-Guns"

Close hand push-ups (diamond)
Push Press (Dip Drive with weights held at shoulders)
Dips
Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls (Remember speed is the key here)


There is a free online Tabata timer you can use to get through each of these workouts. Keep in mind the tabata is set up for one single 4 minute (8 round) workout. Meaning you will have to start a new timer for each of the 4 exercises. Keep in moving quickly so you do not let your heart rate drop too much. Click here for the timer.

What Boot Camp Is REALLY About

What is BOOT CAMP really!?

Over the years, and if you watch "The Biggest Loser", then there is a chance you may have the wrong impression of what boot camp is really all about. As you look over this blog you will notice there are no pictures of me yelling, no screaming (except for the ladies maybe doing so at me) and no crazy exercises only professional athletes can tackle.

What you see are smiles. People having fun doing things they may have not done since grade school - today's kickball included. My approach to fitness is quite simple.....give people a great workout by allowing them to let loose while giving them the opportunity to have fun doing so.

Spending these past three 3 weeks with the 21 Rapid Fat Loss boot campers has opened my eyes for the need to change my approach with fitness. The same approach that found me success in the past is not the same thing that works today. We are all stressed and just want to have fun again. There was nothing more fun than going out for recess in school.

All week I get to hear about Gage's days outside. Matter of fact, every day I pick him up from school I will ask him how his day was and what he learned in school. Almost every time it's the same, "I don't remember, but guess what we did out at recess?"

These are the times that will stick with us forever.

Why, you ask?

Because they were fun. We were given the opportunity to be a kid and do what kids do.......play with a total disregard for what is safe and an almost reckless abandonment in order to live in the moment. This is my new approach to fitness.

CrossFit is the best methodology on this planet, but there are times when we need to go back to our childhood roots. Where yes the activity may suck because it is difficult, but we still do it because it's plain and simply....fun!

Yesterday the 9:00 a.m. class had a little plank hold competition. What happened was a true test of will power and a lot of cheering from her peers during her max hold attempt.

Shawn held that sucker for 6:08!!

That is the longest I've seen anyone hold that plank. Truly amazing!!

As boot camp progresses, you will notice several videos and pictures of what the ladies are doing. Always fun and most importantly result oriented. It won't be long before the copy cats starts copying boot camp just like they did with CrossFit. But it's always more fun leading the pack than trying to catch up. And that is the same approach I ask each all of my boot campers. To all of you in this first camp, you are all awesome!!

Enjoy the videos!!