Happy Holidays

I wanted to wish happy holidays to everyone as well as some good luck for the upcomming new year.  Its that time again that you should think about what goals you have for 2012 and begin strategizing a way to get there. More about how to plan ahead to follow.

Stay strong,
Russ

True Testimonial

1. Name:  Lou Brown
2. Trainer:  Russell Reeves
3. How long have you been a member at Brick Bodies Downtown?  1 year 

4. When you first started training what was different from how you are now?  I haven’t had much weight change but my energy level is much higher and I’m sleeping more soundly often uninterrupted through the night than I have in years.  I also have much greater flexibility and have greatly minimized my chronic low back pain.

5. What made the difference between now and back then? 

The biggest change has come from my exercise and personal training benefits I’ve received at Brick Bodies.   That combined with returning to regular monthly chiropractor visits has my back feeling about as good as it has in the past 20 years. 

6. What single thing has attributed most to your current change in health? 

My Brick Bodies membership experience has also helped me re-channel the daily stress of work, family commitments, commuting, etc. and manage my priorities but taking care of myself first through paying better attention to my health through nutrition and exercise.

7. What was your most difficult obstacle and what helped you overcome it?

Getting into a regular routine, regardless of how “imperfect” it might have been at first.  It was very important to me to take the time and make the commitment to prioritize my health and nutrition by making time for me.

8. What piece of advice can you give to others in your position?  Just make the decision to make the time for yourself to take care of your health and nutrition along with all of your other commitments.  If you don’t take care of yourself, then you won’t be around for very long to fulfill all of your other life commitments to others.

9. What are your goals now and how do you plan on achieving them?  Good news/bad news:  I have been selected for a new job (much more responsibility and higher stress) in Washington DC so I need to say goodbye to Brick Bodies.  I plan on finding a new gym close to my new job and continuing in the exercise routine that I started at Brick Bodies.  I also plan to continue Personal Training lessons at whatever gym I join.

10. Is there anything else you’d like to add in order to help complete your story?  I want to thank Russell Reeves, Melissa Clark, Angela Ware and all the other personal trainers I worked with over the past year at Brick Bodies for the knowledge and encouragement they shared with me during my membership.  Along with John Brick, everyone made me feel like they were really personally concerned and committed to assisting me achieve my health and fitness goals.  I couldn’t have done it without them.

100%

Remember...

  Anything worth doing is worth your 100%

  Nothing that is worth having comes easy.

Semper fi,
Russ

Make It Count

Hey fit people!

   Ask yourself this question: Am I going to make the most out of today? 

It's a simple question, but sometimes can be difficult to answer.  Between preparing for the holidays, the changing weather, busy schedules, etc... it can can be hard to make every day count. 

I strive for excellence in my research, my clients and in my training and the way I do it is by focusing on how I can improve by 2% each week.  If I can improve the way I work by becoming more efficient, perfecting different training methods or simply by getting a little stronger, faster or leaner, by 2% each week, then I can improve by 104% in the next year! 

I want you to make today count.  Even if it's only something small, I want you to make some improvement in your life and take another step towards the perfect you.  Take control of your life and make the most out of each and every day.  Stay motivated, stay strong and keep churning down the road to progress even if it's one step at a time.

   Take the next step today.

Russ

Thought of the Day

   It's always a good idea to take time out of your day to step back and determine what's most important to you.  Today, your assignment is to think about what motivates you to exercise? Take time to write the reasons down and keep them in a safe place.  It's good practice to come back and review your motivations and see if different factors have changed over time.


  Do you exercise because you need to stay fit for your job (military, sports officials, etc..)?  Do you exercise because you are conscious about your health?  Do you do it because it is something you truly enjoy? Do you exercise because it's something you know you "should do" or "have to do"?

  I exercise for a bunch of reasons:

1. I enjoy the rush of energy during exercise.
2. I like to challenge myself and see what kind of changes I can make to my body.
3. I want to have control over my health.
4. I exercise because I want to perform well during competitions in 2012.
5. I exercise because it's a social event for me to see some of my friends at the gym.
6. I do it because exercise is something I love to do.

   Now, I want to focus on the intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors for exercise.  Research has shown in many different cases that people who are motivated by intrinsic factors (personal motivation, achievement, etc...) out-perform and even perform longer than those simply motivated by extrinsic forces (pressure from others, social pressure, media pressures, etc...).  I know that in order for me to truly enjoy my time training and keep up quality workouts, I need to focus on my intrinsic drive!


  If you noticed, all of my reasons to exercise are intrinsic drives and that's the way I want to keep it.  Take your list of motivations and look it over carefully.  Find the intrinsic motivators on the list and stick to them.  You'll find exercise much more rewarding and stress-free if you pursue your intrinsic drives.

   What motivates you?

Russ

Metabolic Measures

Hey there die-hard!

   Every week I hear questions or comments regarding metabolism.  Everyone is posting, tweeting or blogging about basal metabolic rates, MET training, metabolism reduction during aging, etc...  While these are all hot topics, many people don't actually understand the different ways we can currently measure metabolism or even what one's metabolism really is!


   Metabolism is loosely defined as the combination of reactions performed by the body that both breakdown substances (catabolism) as well as build molecular structures (anabolism).  This can be seen as clearly as gaining or losing fat and or muscle!  Typically, catabolism is an energy generating process while anabolic processes take an input of energy to occur (there are some exceptions to this rule, however).

  The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy required for homeostasis (bare-minimum amount of bodily function for survival).  Typically, these processes (breathing, heart rate, brain activity, etc...) can use around 65% of the calories a person consumes.  That means that the rest of the calories are used during activities of daily living (ADL) or through exercise.

  There are also other important and useful metabolism measurements that a trained healthcare professional or trainer may be able to administer.  These measurements are aerobic threshold (VO2 Max) and anaerobic threshold.  An easy way to explain these two measurements are as follows:

   1. Aerobic Threshold: If you imagine that your body is an automobile, the aerobic threshold is the maximum miles per gallon that the car can achieve.  Physiologically speaking, aerobic threshold refers to one's maximum rate of oxygen processing to provide fuel.  This number is very important to have during training so that clients can have a benchmark to measure their progress as well as a reference point for how intense they should be training.

   2. Anaerobic Threshold: Using the car analogy, anaerobic threshold is the car's red-line.  Physiologically, anaerobic threshold refers to the body's ability to process energy when there is not enough oxygen being delivered to the tissue.  In this hypoxic state, a biproduct called lactic acid builds up and eventually causes fatigue.  The body's ability to deal with the accumulation of lactic acid ultimately defines the anaerobic threshold.

   All of these metabolic measures are incredibly important numbers for both controlling weight gain as well as for making exercise progress.  It's vital to familiarize yourself with the numbers and where you fall on the fitness spectrum.  Use these measurements as an aid to continued progress and feel free to post the improvements that you see!

  What's your benchmark?

Russ