Attitude Adjustment

check out Ken doing dumbell rows!

check out this footage from last Tuesday night's bootcamp!

The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitudes.
-Victor Frank

1. Meet on the Treadmills for our cardio today, we will warm up and then do intervals!

then...

2. On the minute every minute perform 5 Burpees then max rep thrusters (95/65).
The goal is to complete 100 total thrusters.

*Intermediate Scaling= 3 Burpees with 100 rep goal for thrusters.
**Beginner Scaling= 3 Burpees and 50 rep goal for thrusters.

3. 

10 weighted step ups  20 Walking Lunges
2 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges
3 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges
4 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges
5 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges

since it's almost weekend! here's a delish Skinny Margarita

2 oz silver Tequila
2 oz crystal light lemonade
Splash triple sec
1/2 freshly squeezed lime
Shake together over rocks and chill before serving.

You weren't born to fit in. You were born to be brillant." Simon T. Bailey

Intermediate Step Class!

check out this video of tonight's step class! I love love this group! They have come so far and I am amazed at what they are learning to do!

                

April Group Fitness Schedules

Grab your advanced copy of the april Group Fitness Schedule at the following link! 

It will download as a PDF file. 

http://www.box.net/groupfitnessschedules

Remember the key to keeping your fitness on track is to make a plan and stick to it! Highlight the month's schedule and put it somewhere where you can see it every day! Make yourself go, even when you don't feel like it, you will never be sorry! 

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. -Wayne Gretzky

Cheerleaders!

Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you’re scared to death!
-Earl Wilson

I thought that was appropriate after this morning! thanks to all of you for your sweet comments and support! WOW! I definitely do feel supported and love knowing that my friends and family are there to be my biggest cheerleaders~ I realized today that no matter what we endeavor to do, with a strong support system, even the biggest and scariest tasks are do-able!  I hope this for all of you too, that there is a support system that helps you with your goals. Everyone struggles at some point or another with lack of motivation, fatigue or lack of consistency! Sometimes though,  it's not a lack of motivation – sometimes it’s the people you center yourself around.  The most successful people I've trained surround themselves with a powerful, encouraging group of people who stand by them throughout it all.

Who are your cheerleaders?  Who can you be a cheerleader for?

Tonight's workout!

Run to Eastside High School and back, every 60 seconds, do 10 air squats.
then..
1x sprint, 20 x Push ups
2x sprint, 20 x Push-ups, 30 situps
3x sprint, 20 x Push-ups, 30 x sit-ups, 40 squats
4x sprints 20 x Push-ups, 30 sit-ups, 40 squats, 50 Wall Ball throws
3x sprint print, 20 x Push-ups, 30 x sit-ups, 40 squats
2x sprint, 20 x Push-ups, 30 situps
1x sprint, 20 x Push ups

ohhh yeah~~
this one is epic!
newbies, scale down by doing half the number of reps!

Check out our TV appearance!

click the link below to see a clip of our morning show appearance this morning~
Pivotal Fitness helps us get motivated: www.pivotalfitness.com - Video Your-Carolina | Local Entertainment for Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson S.C. and Asheville N.C.

Lifesaver!

Staying on track...how often are your workouts, clean nutrition and health efforts derailed? So, it's the middle of spring, summer is coming and I have heard so much discussion recently about 'getting ready' for summer! Well, let's talk about how to hop back on the fitness and nutrition party train!

Here are a few ways I use to get back on the fitness train!

Find your LIFESAVER meal...you know what that is, the one thing that you can eat that is quick, clean, filling and accessible. Mine is Egg Beaters, frozen veggies, Laughing Cow wedge and spinach, all scrambled together! I always have these ingredients on hand and can toss it together in less than 5 minutes.

Find your LIFESAVER workout...the one thing that you love to do and it's not a chore to get going and do. It could be running or yoga, which both can be done from home.  Lace on your tennis shoes, pop in a DVD and GO! If you are a gym rat like me, it could be a spin class or Turbo Kick! Whatever moves you, DO IT!

Find your LIFESAVER friend...your special accountability partner that will hold you to your goals. It can be someone you work out with at the gym, a neighbor that you share clean cooking and meal ideas with or someone who is a phone call away that will keep you motivated and refocus you when needed!

JOURNAL your foods...I do this whenever I need to hold myself accountable! I find this is the very best way to REALLY know what's going in my body. My LIFESAVER food journal is from Lance Armstrong's website.  It helps to determine your daily caloric needs and has lots of foods in the data base. When you start adding it all up to see what you are really eating it makes it so much easier!

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

Don’t Just Say It ... DO IT! 
So you bought the gym membership. You bought healthy clean foods, you found a partner...now what? You know the diet doesn't work if you eat junk, the gym also doesn’t work if you don’t actually go inside. Guess what?? Even if you do make it in to the gym, you also have to actually WORK OUT. (Don’t laugh, you have no idea how many gym members I’ve seen treat the gym like gossip central) The idea is to make the decision and then DO IT! 

see you at the gym!

HERE'S What we are doing today!

5 Rounds

Each round is two minutes. The athlete will sprint to fence and back and use the remaining time to perform as many push-ups until the round is over. One minute of rest after each round. The athlete is scored by the total number of push-ups.

THEN~

15 Dbell/Kbell Renegade Man Makers
30 Box Jumps
one set of lampost suicide runs
10 Dbell/Kbell Renegade Man Makers
30 Box Jumps
one set of lampost suicide runs
5 Dbell/Kbell Renegade Man Makers
30 Box Jumps
one set of lampost suicide runs
.............................................................................................................
Man Maker # – Dbell or Kbell go AHAP (as heavy as possible)
Guys should be around 35-45
Girls should be around 20 to 25 pounds

Go heavier if you can. Good strength movement.
here is an awesome description on how to correctly do a manmaker...

.How to do a manmaker....
Man Maker... The man maker takes the basic push up and adds a variety of progressively challenging elements. The man maker addresses strength, balance, coordination and mid line stability in one movement.

Start by standing with a dbell in each hand and drop into the plank position with one dumbbell in each hand. Ensure you maintain a solid plank position and engage your abdominal muscles. Execute a full range of motion push up by lowering your chest to the floor. Press away from the floor and return to the plank position by fully extending your elbows.
Now that you have returned to the plank position, pull one dumbbell up to your chest (rowing motion) and return it to the floor. Repeat by pulling the other dumbbell to the chest then thrust both feet forward toward hands (as if performing a burpee) and complete a squat clean bringing the dbells up to the catch/rack position (at shoulders) then press both dbells overhead. We will be adding 2 standing lunges. This is one rep. The man maker requires a lot of abdominal and shoulder stability and balance especially during the movement.

Abdominal strength – Complete 100 knees to elbows after the workout. Each time you have to drop the bar, roll over and do 20 pushups

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."
- Bill Gates

what did you do today to empower someone else?

2011-03-21_18-38-30_116.3gp

Let's Run Some Hills!

"The problem in life is not knowing what to do, but the absence of doing it."

Tonight's Workout!!

PushJumps

For Time:
 200x Push-ups (men 250)
Every minute on the clock you perform 10 x Box Jumps, then continue with your push-ups. The clock keeps running until you are done with 150 push-ups.
Three rounds, for time
•Walking lunges, 50m
•Count # of steps, do that many burpees
As you contemplate this lovely workout...attempt to calculate how long you can stretch your legs, we'll be doing this outside!

•Walking lunges - chest up (no leaning forward), and the back knee kisses (not slams into) the ground. Take big steps, but don't sacrifice quality.
Thruster Ladder.....
do one thruster the first minute, 2 the second, three the third, you are done when you can't complete that many Thrusters in the time prescribed.....
finish with...
hill sprints!

Reah's YUMMY Pancake Recipe!

• 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg
• 1/4 cup instant oats
• Tbsp of 1% cottage cheese
• couple of dashes of cinnamon

Whisk til fluffy or better yet toss everything in the blender.  Cook on the stove top or griddle like a regular pancake.  Drizzle with a little sugar free syrup to taste.

Beware it seriously looks like puke when it's all mixed together but trust me it cooks up to be delicious!

It's a beautiful day to RUN!

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Today's workout!!!
Warm Up
Run the club!
then...
Thrusters and Runs
90 seconds
5 thrusters
run to the shopping center, tag the building, run back, get back as quickly as possible to maximixe recovery time
rest
repeat 15 sets!

(I can hear Darla now!)
In the second part of this workout you spend one minute at each of five stations, resulting in a a five-minute round after which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. This event calls for three rounds. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of ‘rotate,’ the athletes must move to the next station immediately. 
The stations are:
 1. Over head one arm Ball lunges–hold a weighted ball overhead, lunge....each set use different arm
2. Sumo deadlift high-pull
3. Box jump –
4. Push-press –
5. Burpees –  

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”
-Og Mandino

I made this pork tenderloin recipe this weekend and it was absolutely wonderful!  I made a few changes to the original to keep it clean and it turned out fantastic!

Spinach, Pesto, and Feta-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1  (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1/4  cup  basil pesto
• 1  cup  baby spinach
• 1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil  (I get mine at Costco)
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes
• Olive oil-flavored cooking spray
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes with balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 500°.
2. Cut pork lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open halves, laying pork flat. Place pork halves between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Spread pesto evenly down length of tenderloin; top with spinach and feta and sprinkle with 1/2 of the sundried tomatoes. Close tenderloin; secure at intervals with wooden picks (about 12). Place pork in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Coat pork with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with pepper. Pour tomatoes in balsamic around pork in pan. top with the remaining sundried tomatoes.
3. Bake at 500° for 22 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand 5 minutes. Discard wooden picks; cut pork into 8 slices. Serve roasted tomatoes over pork.

 this was SO wonderful! I served with a green salad and brown rice.

Rainy Day Workout!

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

thanks Laura for a GREAT quote! 

 

Good Luck Christy on your Half Marathon this weekend!!!

Warm Up.

Tabata Air Squats and pushups and straddle squat box jumps

MAGIC   10
10 ROUNDS
10 D/L
10 BURPEES

25 - 20 - 15 - 10 - 5Box Jumps

Dumbbell Thrusters 

Plank Row Pushups 

Burpee box jumps 

Back Squats

 Double Chocolate Shake

Ingredients

6 ice-cubes

¾ cup water

1tbs cocoa powder

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

1/4 cup of greek yogurt, plain

Place ingredients into a blender and bend for

1min.

Vanilla and Pineapple Shake

Ingredients

½ cup water

4 ice cubes

½ cup diced pineapple

2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Place ingredients into a blender and bend for

1min.

Today's Workout and a Chicken Recipe!

“It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult.”

 - Seneca

Today's Workout
cycle 20 minutes
treadill intervals 20 minutes and then...
 

20 Back squats,
40 Box jumps,
15 Back squats
30 box jumps
10 Back squats
20 Box jumps
5 Back squats
10 Box jumps

core with a partner!
 
Recipe...
my new favorite way to make chicken!
 
I am always looking for good ways to cook chicken, especially since Big Daddy brings lots of it home from work at the Chix plant! It can get boring, so, I have found some really good ways to make chicken interesting!
 
Here's my latest!
 
Basil Lemon Chicken Breasts
 

6 - 8 chicken breasts
Basil Paste
Lemon Juice
Mrs. Dash
 
Line a baking sheet with non stick aluminum foil. Pat the Chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice, or, bottled juice. Squeeze out generous amounts of Basil Paste and pat onto the chicken breasts.  Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash and let sit for an hour. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. You can find Basil Paste in the Veggie Section of the Grocery store. I freeze mine since it has a limited shelf life and I don't use it all up. I bake a bunch at once and then use it in different meals all week. This summer when I get my garden going, I am going to try to make my own paste and freeze!



How Many Days Until Spring?

BootCampers! Tonight we meet in the CAVE! 6 pm, see you there!

Nothing like a warm breeze to get us all excited about our fitness, or even better how we look under those winter layers.  Have you let your fitness slide? Have you spent your winter hibernating? Well, the time is here to get caught up! Tonight's workout is challenging, and will definitely send your fitness to a new level.  We haven't done this one in a while, so, be ready for an awesome challenge! New bootcampers, remember that all our workouts are scaleable to your level.  Remember, lighten your weights, reduce the number of reps...whatever it takes to get it done!

MUD RUN~

Let me know who is interested in doing this race, we did it last year and LOVED it!!! The date is April 16th, Big Daddy and I are in and have a team in place, we would love for any of you to join us...our bootcamp classes most definitely help in the training for these races.

http://usmcmudrun.org/
go to the website to register!!!

Tonight's Workout:

1. Thrusters and runs

Start at the fence with a bar.  Do 5 thrusters, run to the building, tag it, run back, you have 2 minutes to get done before the next set starts.   We will do 15 sets total! 

Parking lot suicide...use the lines of the parking lot to run 1 set of suicides when done with the thrusters.

"Tabata What?"

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are kettlebell swings, the second 8 are v-ups, the third 8 intervals are shoulder presses, and finally, the last 8 intervals are push ups. There is no rest between exercises.

 32 intervals total

LETS DO IT!

Never give in!

“Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never – in nothing great or small, large or petty. Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
-Winston Churchill

Burpee Challenge today!

We will be inside and outside this morning.  Get ready to work hard!  

Warm up – Because it is the first Thursday of the month, you know what that means!!!   

10 Minute Burpee Challenge!!  As many burpees as you can do in 10 minutes! Goal is 100!  Can you do it??? If you do meet the challenge, try to see how many you can do past 100.

THEN ~~~~

 

Run to Eastside High School and back, every 2 minutes 10 air squats

then...

25 - 20 - 15 - 10 - 5
Dumbbell Thrusters
Plank Row Pushups
Box Jumps

It is 90 days till summer, are you ready to show that 6 pack? If you are putting in the hours at the gym, hitting Cardio hard, lifting weights and you are still not getting the results you want, check out your nutrition...it is most likely the culprit! Whenever I feel like I am losing definition in my core I start tracking my nutrition and calories. I use it to get back on track with where I need to be, for me it's mostly to be more aware of mindless snacks and portion control! Check out Lance Armstrong's site for my favorite tool for tracking calories...

 http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/

  

The importance of tracking calories
Most of us claim that we watch what we eat. We also claim we change the oil every 3,000 miles. Do we really? It has been shown in tests that we tend to forget some of the bites that we make throughout the day. It turns out that most of us do remember that hamburger and french fries we had on the way home. But the things we tend to forget are the 50 grams of chocolate, the can of Coke, the bag of popcorn, and the few cookies we had before we went to bed. Unfortunately, those little details make all the difference and the only way to stay on track is to have a clear and complete picture of what we really eat throughout the day.

Tracking calories is probably one of the oldest dieting methods, and throughout all these years it still has not lost any of its appeal. We all know that consuming 1000 calories a day is rather little, and 3000 is too much for most of us. So why not pick a number in between, make sure to eat just that many calories, and observe the results a few weeks later. No change? Pick a lower number of calories. Gained weight? Pick a lower number of calories. Lost more than you expected? Make sure you eat enough nutrients.  To determine your Daily Calorie Needs, go to: 

Want to lose 1 pound a week? Then subtract 500 calories from your daily total. Want to lose 2 pounds a week? Then subtract 1000 calories from your daily total. Better yet, eat 500 calories less and burn 500 extra calories per day through exercise.

If you are eating the right amount of calories and find that you are still hungry, replace higher calorie foods (like processed foods) with lower calorie, higher fiber foods such as whole grains, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and grilled lean meats.  Eat the right foods and you won't be hungry. In fact, my advice it to eat no processed foods!

Dieting really is that simple. The reason why so many of us fail, is because we underestimate the number of times we opened the fridge. So put a notepad on the door of your fridge, and start recording the foods and the times at which you consumed them. This way you will not only determine the number of calories you may consume, but you also may be able to detect any unhealthy eating patterns. Last but not least, after having spent a few minutes writing down all the foods, you will think twice about eating them in the future.

“Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”
-Max Lucado

Burpee Challenge today!

 

We will be inside and outside tonight!  Get ready to work hard!  

Warm up – Because it is the first Tuesday of the month, you know what that means!!!   10 Minute Burpee Challenge!!  As many burpees as you can do in 10 minutes! Goal is 100!  Can you do it??? If you do meet the challenge, try to see how many you can do past 100.

THEN ~~~~

Repeat the following Set 3 Times

1 lap around the gym

30 wall balls

30 walking lunges with bar

30 kettlebell swings

30 Box Jumps

30 pushups

Core to finish.

Nutrition Tip of the Day!

DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES, especially JUICE. No orange juice, no grape juice, no pomegranate juice, no anything juice. If you want juice, eat the fruit or squeeze it yourself. Juice or liquid calories are some of the most processed foods you can eat. Straight sugar to the blood and thus, an enormous insulin spike. Not good.

 
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
-Mark Twain

Can you help someone feel that they too can become great? do it today!