I know that food is 80% of your results, but the concept of eating fruits, vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats won’t fill a blog post.  See, I just covered the nutrition in that sentence.  Now, moving on…

Let’s talk building muscle and losing fat.  A concept that just a few years ago, was thought to be impossible.  It is now known that is not the case.  It is possible, but there are a few rules you should know before jumping into any workout program to achieve these results.  You will see me refer to metabolic training a lot.  Metabolic training is performing weight training at a moderate weight with higher intensity, such as circuits, complexes, ladders, etc.  Those of you in bootcamp, think of it as a bootcamp class. Oh and by the way, when I’m referring to building muscle, I’m talking about the muscle tone of an olympic middle distance sprinter, not one of Conan the Barbarian

Your first requirement is to have a blend of heavy strength training with metabolic training.  If you train twice in the same day, make every effort to do your heavy training first then your metabolic training after.  Heavy strength training takes experience to lift heavy so make sure you have proper instruction and is always best to train with a partner when lifting heavy for safety purposes.  Movements like Deadlift, Squats, Floor Presses, Rows, and Olympic/Powerlifting Movements work best in this department.  Two to three movements of true heavy lifting will be all your body can handle for one day, so you can add in some secondary movements with high weight and low reps to round out the workout.

Your second requirement is to have a metabolic training in your program.  Metabolic training can take the place for the bulk of your cardiovascular exercise due to its very high calorie burn capability.  Tabatas, complexes, circuits, ladders, and many more methods are great ways to test your body and burn major fat at the same time.  Plus, often times they are fun.  One thing to be sure of is that the metabolic training has balance to it especially if you are training heavy and metabolic in the same day.  If you have been performing deadlifts and metabolic in the same day, for example, and the metabolic workout is leg intensive, maybe back off the weight for the hips in the metabolic portion a little, and turn it up on the other body parts.  However, the metabolic is so variable and whole body, that often doesn’t need to happen, but for balance purposes I needed to mention it

Your third requirement is frequency; how often should you work out.  That can vary and where you are in your training, how much experience you have with exercise, and where you are in your goals.  My clients have had the best results with training 5-6 times a week, with at least one full day off from exercise.  Getting 2-3 days of heavy lifting and 3-4 days of metabolic training (to equal 6 max), is a good rule of thumb.  So, if you are currently training 3 times a week, you don’t need to necessarily jump up to 6 right away.  Add a day now, and in a few weeks add another.  If you are already training 6 days a week, perhaps change the ratio at which you are training heavy versus metabolic.  If you are training 6 days a week and not reaching your goals one of two, or both can be going on: you are not truly training heavy and/or metabolically, or your nutrition needs work.

Three requirements that are quick and dirty to get you to losing fat fast and building muscle at the same time.  Great rules to know now as you plan for your New Year’s Resolutions

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We started our program in 2006 and used the word ‘bootcamp’ because it was catchy but we also wanted those who were interested to understand that this wasn’t going to be just a walk in the park.  However, we also weren’t going to adapt the unhealthy characteristics of the stereotypical bootcamp programs such as yelling and screaming, belittling, and elitist fitness training.  Since that time, bootcamp has intimidated some but helped countless others.

There is no doubt some controversy as to how ‘legit’ our program is, but only for those who have not been to bootcamp.  By ‘legit’ I mean the fact that it is the right fit for them.  Results speak for themselves and our program has walking, talking billboards all over the Northeast Kingdom and beyond.  It comes back to that word ‘bootcamp’ that stereotypically has people hesitant.

Oh, and the injuries, let me ask you something; when was the last time you saw a sports team with zero injuries?  Active people sometimes get hurt.  However, inactive people get hurt far more.  Our injury rate is extremely low in comparison to the individuals we have in our program and has gotten progressively lower since we have started.  I wish I could count how many injuries have been PREVENTED from our program because of better balance, stronger bones, ligaments, and muscles, and a harder focus on weaknesses.  I will bet that the prevention of injuries has surpassed the occasional injury of our clients 100 fold.

Do we do things in our program that promote injury? No, we do things in our program that promote results and push comfort zones so that our clients can get the best results possible.  You won’t see our clients balancing on one leg on a stability ball will performing an overhead press.  However you will see metabolic circuits using weights to challenge the individual.  You will see people who are pushing themselves to new levels of results by challenging their abilities, but in a safe manner.  And you will NOT see instructors yelling and screaming at clients because they are unable to perform an exercise.  Rather the instructor is coaching through the movement and/or offering a modification to a movement so the client is still able to perform the workout.

This is perhaps one of the biggest things that sets us apart from most bootcamp programs in the world (I can say this because I am a business coach for bootcamp business owners around the world).  The diversity of our program that allows for virtually all levels of fitness to participate in our program and achieve maximum results.  What else sets us apart is the family atmosphere all of our clients experience when they walk through our doors.  Every client is treated like an individual and is welcomed into our family with open arms.  These two things are not something someone would relate to a ‘bootcamp’ program.

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1st Base- Star Jump Burpees x 10

2nd Base- Split Squat Jump x 10 each side

3rd Base- Saw Planks x 10

Home- Contralateral Push ups x 10

Complete as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes.  When you complete a round score a ‘run’ on the board for your team.

Here’s todays video: Lyndonville 830am Bootcamp Class:

Congratulations to todays top performers:

830am: Jenna Heinrich- very consistent intensity throughout including the finisher.  Her Star Jump Burpees had perfect form

415pm: Abby Smith- very high intensity in tonights workout. Pushed her teammates but also got better herself with endurance and strength

630pm: Peggy Fedele- has made tremendous strides in her stamina as well as strength.  Tonight she just wouldn’t give up and pushed through her comfort zone.