That’s what we have determined all of our hard work, consistency and efforts on to tell us if we are succeeding or not.

Sounds a little ridiculous when you look at it that way doesn’t it.  Well that’s what many programs and even more individuals have based their whole workout and nutrition efforts based on what that machine says.  And its an obsession.

And I can understand that to a point, but only to a point.  The scale is the easiest form of measuring numeric progress, however it is the least accurate.

There are many ways to measure progress, and many less to measure numerically.  Numbers matter to many people, there is no getting around that, and so much emphasis has been placed on bodyweight, that it’s hard to ignore the stereotype that is all over our society.

Now there are a number of ways to measure progress without numbers such as, mood, energy level and how your clothes feel.  And those are the initial feelings you are going to have when making changes to your nutrition and exercise program.  Then you have the numerical results such as inches, body fat percentage, pounds, clothing size, as well as cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart rate.  Prioritizing these is difficult as everyone has different needs when starting an exercise program.  One person may be very lean and looking to tone up more, so scale pounds aren’t important as body fat.  On the other side someone who is very obese, the scale would have importance as would body fat percentage.

When training for fat loss, there are very specific things that need to be in the exercise program for it to be fully effective.  Strength training is one of those things, and strength training and the scale don’t mix well.  This is one of the big reasons I tell my clients who are looking to lose fat to not weigh themselves unless they are on a high level rapid fat loss program (and they weigh themselves only to monitor immediate progress to see if the meal plan is working for them- and will make quick changes if it is not).  The real results happen with the circumference measurements (hips, waist, thigh, arm) and the body fat percentage.  Out of those two the body fat percentage shows the best indicator of progress if you had to choose one measure to be the most important.  However having all measurements will tell the best story of how you are doing, and also realizing that measurements do monitor progress but the other factors or results of making lifestyle changes should not be forgotten.  Those unmeasurables often will keep you consistent and give you a positive outlook on your efforts.  The scale gets way too much credit for what it tells you, especially when there are so many factors that can affect it: water intake, sodium intake, time of day, before or after workout, and the list goes on and on.  The moral of the story:  don’t believe everything a machine tells you, take the whole story into account

This month the ‘cream of the crop’ were two very well deserving campers who have been at it for a long time.  Their consistency and work ethic has earned them every bit of results they have achieved.  Fellow campers recognize their effort and see them as leaders (and nominated them as winners for this month).

Also our Champion of the Month from our Youth Camp has made amazing strides in improving in class.  He too has made the extra effort and is paying off big time for him.

Here are your superstars from January!

Black Tshirt Award

Jenna Heinrich

Jenna is that smiling face you hope to see when you walk in our doors.  She is very friendly and always is willing to lend a helping hand or, better  yet, tell a funny story.  Jenna started bootcamp, then found out she was pregnant and stopped bootcamp for about a year.  When she came back she had baby weight to lose and set a goal to achieve that.  She has achieved that and thensome.  Now a member of our second Sparta Project, Jenna is taking her results to a new level, working on enhancing her results and building upon what she has reached so far.  She never backs down from a challenge and is always willing to give anything a try.  It’s that attitude that has gotten her to where she is today.

Congratulations Jenna for winning the Black Tshirt this month.  Your fellow campers thank you and continue to be motivated by you.

Camper of the Month

Gretchen Lewis

Gretchen, much like Jenna, is that smiling face you hope to see when you walk into our facility.  Bootcamp can sound intimidating and its always nice to see a smiling, friendly face when you walk in.  In fact, I have never seen Gretchen NOT smile.  Whether she is cranking out 20 Burpees or deadlifting 200 pounds, Gretchen always has that friendly smile on her face.

Gretchen’s always present effort is perhaps what draws people to be motivated by her.  Her endurance is second to none and often is difficult to challenge.  Becoming a participant in our Warrior Strength and Conditioning class has helped her become more well rounded with her efforts, adding more strength training to compliment the tremendous stamina she has.  Gretchen is on the fast track to becoming a black tshirt winner in the very near future.

Congratulations Gretchen for being named Camper of the Month for January!

Youth Camp Champion of the Month

Eli Moore

Eli started off youth camp with some challenges, and for a while I wasn’t sure if I would be able to remedy them.  Over time though Eli has grown tremendously, making huge strides with exercise form to compliment his always present effort from beginning to the end of class.  Eli has enthusiasm in class that is contagious to other youth campers.  He has had a great month working on his focus in instructions and coming out of his physical shell, by showing us what he is capable of.

I anticipate seeing much more from Eli in the future as he continues to progress and develop into a very well rounded, confident young man.

Let’s be honest, its that 800 pound gorilla in the room that everyone knows is either helping or hindering your performance and results but seems all too often to get ignored.  And its not because we all think it isn’t important…its because we all know it is!

It’s pretty black and white when we say nutrition is 80% of your results and exercise is 20%, but that is pretty conservative in my mind.  I think its more like 95% of your results and exercise is 5%.  I mean, think about it, if you eat for fat loss and perform any exercise (almost) you will get results.  Even if you don’t exercise at all, you will get results from eating the way the body was meant to.

I used to run nutrition classes on teaching people how to eat ’supportively’ to promote an environment in their bodies for fat loss to occur.  Now I’ve transitioned to more of a support group helping people with accountability and responsibility of answering to someone other than themselves on a regular basis.  So many want to know ‘what’ to eat, but the what isn’t nearly as difficult as the ‘why’.

Why we need to eat the foods are just as important as the ‘what’ if not more important.  History has told us if we know ‘why’ we need to or not to perform a task, we are always more likely to do it or not do it.  It also evokes more learning and habit forming tendencies than the ‘what’ does.  In terms of nutrition the ‘what’ is great and gives you instant gratification, but won’t stay with you and more often than not will eventually get boring and you will not have formed a habit.  Not to mention the ‘what’ is pretty simple, I can tell you what to eat in one line:

lean meats and other proteins, vegetables, fruits, healthy and natural fats.

Eat in priority of that list with most abundant being lean meats.

If you stick to that list 90% of the time or better, you are in excellent shape.  When you start asking ‘what about _____?’ , you start to veer away from this list.  The list is pretty simple, ‘what abouts’ are very likely not on this list for a reason, and if you have a question about it, you are guaranteed to not be asking about something that would fit on this list

No secrets, nothing you haven’t heard before here, just discipline and understanding why before applying the what

12.29.11

For Immediate Release Contact:

Ben Warstler

802-751-5385

Jess Buxton Named Camper of the Year by Ben’s Bootcamps

Ben’s Bootcamps announced on Friday December 23^rd, from 9 Finalists for Camper of the Year that Saint Johnsbury resident, Jess Buxton, would be the recipient of the title.  Jess is the first recipient in the past three years of the award to be the sole winner and will receive 6 months of bootcamp membership for free.  Ben Warstler, owner of Ben’s Bootcamps says, “It was a very difficult decision choosing the winner of our annual award, so many of our campers had an amazing and empowering year.  The past two years I had co-winners of the award, I was determined this year to choose just one, and Jess is a very well deserving winner.”

Some of Jess’s amazing accomplishments include: losing over 60 pounds, 10 pant sizes, over 16 inches, 13% body fat, and has reached a personal best deadlift of 320 pounds.  Jess is also a Black T-shirt winner, one of Ben’s Bootcamps most prestigious awards as well as a Wall of Fame member.

Jess Buxton says, “…because this entire process hasn’t just made me a much healthier person, it has made me a genuinely happy person…and a person who has a much more positive outlook on life now, more so than I ever have….”

To learn more about Ben’s Bootcamp and their services, you can add Ben’s Bootcamps on Facebook, or contact Ben at bensbootcamps@gmail.com or by phone at 802-751-5385.

Camper of the Year Candidate #6

Holly Hartwell

There are so many words to describe Holly’s efforts and contribution to our program.  Tenacity, determination, sheer will, and yes you guessed it, consistency.  Starting off only being able to do a few of our exercises, Holly has blossomed into an inspiration day in and day out in every class she attends.  People are drawn to her effort, the way she goes about her business and she never lets up.

Holly continues to push her limits with heavier weights, and most recently, standard push ups.  She NEVER gives up and anyone and everyone can appreciate that…and they have.  Winning the black tshirt this year culminated an amazing journey which she continues to this day.  She is healthier, has a much more active lifestyle than she ever has, and has become a cornerstone in Ben’s Bootcamps.

Congratulations Holly, you are a candidate for Camper of the Year.

Camper of the Year Candidate #7

Tyler Gosley

Tyler has arguably had the best year of anyone in bootcamp.  Starting in December of 2010, Tyler had some very specific goals in mind and that became very evident when he completed the Metabolism Makeover Program.  It is those very specific, very detailed goals that have driven him all year to lose 70 pounds, drive his body fat under 12% and transformed himself into the very goals he has kept with him.

A former athlete, one would think that it would be easy to gain back what Tyler had lost along the path of life.  However, ‘getting it back’ is just as difficult as ‘getting it’ in the first place because of one very specific reason: regardless of whether ‘you had it or not’ you still have to do the work to get there.  Tyler has done the work and then some.  Back to back bootcamps, Warrior Strength and Conditioning, extra workouts on the weekends, Warp Speed numerous times.  His attitude and positivity within our program was so addicting, that he is now an instructor and is able to unleash his motivating attitude and drive for his own goals onto others so that they can achieve their goals.

An asset is an understatement.  Tyler is a pillar in our program and the poster child for what hard work and desire do to  help change your life. Congratulations Tyler, you are a candidate for Camper of the Year.

Camper of the Year Candidate #8

Carole Ricard

Carole has had an ‘under the radar’ transformation this year.  Working hard on her nutrition and upping her workout intensity has propelled her to become a candidate for Camper of the Year and achieve results faster than she thought she could.  Carole has had some very specific goals in mind and set a deadline to meet them.  Well, she met her goal way ahead of schedule, dropping her bodyfat below 24%.

Carole has repeatedly caught the eye of her fellow 530am high achievers, which is not an easy thing to do.  On several occasions she was nominated for a black tshirt award or Camper of the Month by her fellow campers.  By training in bootcamp 3 times a week, attending ABS class traveling from Derby to Lyndonville, and adding semi-private training after bootcamp on Fridays, Carole is driven to succeed, has succeeded, and will continue to succeed in the future.

Congratulations Carole, you are a Candidate for Camper of the Year

Camper of the Year Candidate #9

Judy Buxton

Judy has the perfect blend of effort and humility.  She doesn’t boast, she doesn’t brag, she lets her actions speak for her.  Judy transformed herself her first year in bootcamp, and is transforming herself yet again.  Through Warrior Strength and Conditioning Class, she has gained tremendous strength on top of the supreme metabolic fitness she already has.  Two years in a row, Judy has amazed other participants and myself with her showing at our Bootcancer Mini Fundraisers being right at the top of the list of finishers both years.

Judy hardly ever looks out of breath and her stamina amazes me every class.  Beyond her physical efforts, Judy is a kind face that new campers look to for reassurance, guidance, and advice, and Judy never disappoints.  Her daughter has had amazing success and wouldn’t have realized what she could do if it hadn’t been for her mom’s encouragement.

After two years, perhaps being motivated by her daughter, Judy is also at her lowest body fat  percentage.  A testament to her hard work, dedication, and willingness to help others.

Congratulations Judy, you are a candidate for Camper of the Year.