CrossFit is Hard?

CrossFit is Hard? This is the #1 question and/or comment I hear from people who have not tried it. "It's hard", is not what comes to my mind. Fun, Pain, Community and Friends is what comes to my mind. So do accomplishment and disturbed!

Ok, Ok...maybe it is hard. But the best things in life are hard. College, Marriage, Children are all hard things. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It is probably one of the reason you should.

You can sit on your ass and let life pass you up, and have others care for you someday. You can go to your globo gym and never see results. These are the easy choices. Or you can get into the game of life and try CrossFit. Feel like a million bucks every day you are alive and kicking. A well earned, kick ass million bucks! Difficult choice, huh?

Get in the game. Why wait? it's already later than you think. The ability to exercise is a limited time offer!

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Happy Flippin Holidays

It seems like its been forever since I have posted to my blog. I have been extremely busy with getting my new gym affiliated with CrossFit. We are now affiliated and the new name is CrossFit Painesville. Please follow us on Twitter. And like us on Facebook.  The web site should be up by the end of the week.

Globo Gym? No Thanks!

Yep...I confess, before CrossFit I was a Globo Gym Junkie. Leg days, tricep and chest day, back and bicep day. I loved it! My muscles where growing and I was better at running because of it.

Then I found CrossFit. I tried one 20 minute workout, and I barely made it for 10 minutes. It seemed to last forever...and I was a mess the next day. I finally met my match.

You cannot separate CrossFit workouts into upper body and lower body days. For example a power clean involves the whole body, as do all Crossfit Lifts such as Deadlifts, Jerks, Pull-ups and Rowing. CrossFit makes you mix up your body parts, just as life does. Hence the term functional movements. 20 minutes in a CrossFit gym will leave you gasping for air, like hours in a globo gym, never did. And I am still improving my running!

Sometimes, I think about taking 2 hours out of my busy day and doing one of my globo gym workouts, maybe chest and tricep followed by a 45 minute run on a treadmill. Then I remember how boring that was, and realize I'd rather shoot myself, LOL! CrossFit is a better way. It's my drug of choice.


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CrossFit Certification

At the beginning of October I went to Rogue Fitness in Columbus, Ohio for a two day seminar in hopes of receiving my CrossFit Certification. It was a jammed packed seminar with with some of the best CrossFitter in the world. In those two days it felt like I did 7,001 squats, WOW! My legs are still sore. But I didn't dare wine in front of all these fit people. Here is a picture of me with Matt Chan. If any of you have ever watched the CrossFit Games you will know this guy. He came in second place and holds the title of the second fittest man if the world. Seriously, How is a girl suppose to concentrate with all these abs around? JEEZ.

What is CrossFit? This is the question I hear the most. CrossFit is a workout that gets you good at everything, such as Running, Weightlifting, and Gymnastics. There is WOD (Workout of the day) you have to preform. Do a WOD two to six tines a week and I promise you will be in the best shape of your life. Every WOD can be scaled down to your fitness level. As you CrossFit more, you will have to scale less. Soon you will be the envy of your friends and family. This is a picture taken in my Box (term for a CrossFit gym) of some of the girls planking. Yep, that's me on the bottom.

How will I know I'm getting fit? In CrossFit there are "Benchmark" WOD's and they are named after women. Most CrossFit boxes will have a whiteboard..below is a picture of our whiteboard. On this  board we keep track of the benchmark WOD's. They are repeated usually once a year so you can see your progress, like shaving off some time or lifting heavier weight. Last Friday we did Kelly. Let me tell you Kelly is a BITC*.

I always tell my clients that want to lose weight to log their food. Now I am going to tell you to log your workouts in a book. It will be proof of your success. You will see that carrying groceries into the house is easier, or picking up your toddler doesn't cause you to make funny grunting noises. It is important to measure your gains against real life activities. At my box, if you don't have a log book the trainer will make you do burpees. I make sure to have mine with me all the time. 

Yesterday I finally received word that I passed my CrossFit Certification Test!!! If I have your interest, Please contact me to try a free CrossFit WOD. Some of the benefits of CrossFit are:

1. Helps with everyday Functioning

2. Helps to prevent injury

3. Essential to slow muscle loss as we age

4. Increases Bone Density

5. Helps to lower Body Fat

It is my passion to make exercise a regular and enjoyable part of your life. I'd like to see all of you enjoy the healthy rewards of being fit. Contact me to get started on a program that is right for you.

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Here is a small sample of a WOD taking place!

FitBit

Have you heard of this device yet? I received for my birthday in July. I love tech-geeky health related gadgets. So hubby purchased one for me. It is expensive at $100 for the fancy tracker. After a month with my FitBit, I am not disappointed. It is a huge motivator. If I sit on my ass all day, which doesn’t happen often, it knows I am sitting. And I aim to please my little tracker so I look for excuses to get steps in. 10,000 steps a day is challenging. Even as a personal trainer who is always on the move and participating in daily exercise classes, I have to really try to get these steps in. It also knows if I am climbing stairs or just walking. It suggests I climb 10 flights of stairs daily. So it is not uncommon at the end of the day to see me running the stairs in my house to get those 10 flights in. I don’t want to upset my FitBit. As your activity increases, so does the the size of your flower on the device. It also sends messages to you when looking at your device. Such as “Char, you rock” or “Char, Lets get moving”.

Another part of this gadget I like is it tracks what I eat. I have done this before with Loseit.com and I still have many of my clients on this site. The FitBit food tracker tells me how many calories I have earned as a result of my activity level. SOOOO, if I move more...guess what? I get to eat more, and that always makes me happy!

This gadget not only tracks my daily activity, but tracks my sleep patterns as well. Sleep is a very important factor to being healthy. I was surprised to find out that I get a solid 7 hours of sleep most nights. It tells me how many times I wake up in the night. Let me tell you I am a sound sleeper. Most nights I only wake up once in the night. 

The FitBit will email you weekly reports. I love to see the graphs and it lets me know what days are the most active and the not so active. I like my Fitbit. It’s not a magic pill – nothing is. It doesn’t put vegetables on my plate. It doesn’t do the hard work for me, but it does make the hard work even more rewarding.

So tell me, what do you use to keep your exercise and eating on track?


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Things Fit People Do Before Lunch!

Get Enough Sleep! Not getting enough of this can interfere with appetite, moods and energy..all things we need for a productive day!

Water! I try to remind my clients everyday of this. It is huge for weight loss, let me say that again...IT IS HUGE FOR WEIGHT LOSS. Even if you are not thirsty when you wake up, start the day with a bottle of water.

Exercise! You know I had to add this to the list. Exercise when you can, but for a lot of people if it doesn't happen in the morning it's not going to happen. After a crazy day at the office you will be glad it is done.

Breakfast! You need to "Break the Fast". Fuel your body for the day. I don't have to tell you what to eat here...I will tell you a sugary donut is not it.

Snack! If there is 6 hours between breakfast and lunch, a snack will keep your metabolism going and keep hunger pangs away.

Posture Check! I am the first to tell you I lose my posture when sitting at a desk. Thats why I have to check it a couple of times. Shoulders pulled back, core is tight, chest out.

How many of these things do you do each morning?

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A great quick breakfast

CrossFit Women

I did not write this. Found it in a magazine and wanted to share.

I am a CrossFit Woman
I do not wear makeup
I do not wear gloves
I do not do my hair
I do not ‘glisten’ or ‘glow’

I am a CrossFit Woman
I sweat
I grunt
I curse
I bleed

I am a CrossFit Woman
I will not shy away from failure
I will not hide me emotions
I will not quit
I will not hold back

I am a CrossFit WomanI am a coach
I am a competitor
I am a daughter
I am a friend

I am a CrossFit Woman
I am confident
I am strong
I am beautiful
I am a CrossFit Woman

I think it’s time we start changing this pretty little box that society has put it’s little girls in.  You should wear dress adorned in lace, be quite and polite, play with dolls and learn to cook.  Ok…..so this is an extreme exageration, but there is some truth.

Soceity has this stigma that CrossFit women are breaking.  You can be strong, confident and sure of yourself and not be a bitch.  That’s right, I used the ‘B’ word.  CrossFit women are kind, compationate, empithtic and on and on and on…..because let’s face it, we’ve all been there.  We’ve all wanted to quit a wod half way through, drop the weight or take one more break, but we don’t.  Why?

Because we are CrossFit Women!

Come try a class and bring your husband or boyfriend with you!

For Pete's Sake, Are You Kidding Me?

I am beyond sick and tired of hearing this from females, "I lift light weights for higher reps to tone", or "Will squats make my butt big?" or "I don't want to lift heavy and get big muscles".

For Pete's sake, Are you kidding me?

Please understand this, lifting heavy weights does not guarantee bigger muscles, nor does high reps guarantee becoming cut. Oh, How I wish it did! Muscle tone has more to do with diet and genetics. Females, or even males (drug free) need to seriously work their butt off for years to grow just a little bit of muscle.

I've read lots of studies that claim the more muscle you have, the longer you can live. This is more important than even blood pressure and cholesterol. So lift as heavy as you can, because it's going to take years to gain some muscle... AND GET STARTED TODAY!

Women between the ages of 40 & 50 will lose 1% of muscle mass each year, and tend to replace that with fat. If you are a female in that age bracket or any age bracket,  I wouldn't wait any longer to start pumping iron. Work as hard as you can to grow those muscles!!!


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Let's WOD it up!

Getting healthy is the hardest choice for people to make...especially for women. Now, more than ever our lives are pulled in many directions...money, stress, family, friends and work all take up most of our time. Exercise still seems to be a mans world, unless you are talking about yoga or an aerobics class. Walk into any gym and it is mostly men in the free weight area. Before I found this new craze called "CROSS FIT" I would go to the gym, get a 30 minute run in and then head to the weight room for about 45 minutes. Most of the time dreading getting to the gym, dreading the run, dreading the weights, but two hours later glad I did it. Who has that kind of time to work out? Even as a personal trainer I found it hard to find the time, but did because it's my job.

In "CROSS FIT" we do a new workout everyday. This keeps the body from hitting a plateau, but also keeps it fun. Keeping up with a workout routine is hard enough, keeping it enjoyable is the key. This is a huge reason why "Cross Fit" is so popular with women.

EXPECTATIONS: Yes, you will move weight quickly. It is part of being able to carry groceries, pick up kids, and preform the everyday functions of life. There is no whining...ok, well maybe a little. The trainers want you to curse their names. They don't care if it hurts as long as you have good form and are not injuring yourself.  No gloves allowed. In real life you do not put on gloves before lifting a box or your kids. Leave the pink gloves at home! You get dirty, sweaty, and messy hair. You will get leaner, faster and stronger but it is a progress. Try it for 90 days before deciding if it's for you. One WOD (Workout Of the Day) is not enough to decide if you like it. You will not have to spend hours in the gym anymore to get results!!

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Web Site!

As promised, Here is the link to my web site! Join us for a class! at cross-fitforce.com

New GYM In Town

Did you ever walk into a new gym and feel like a stranger in a strange land? You look around and feel lost. Where are the free weights? Where is the stretching area? What is that machine, and how do you use it? This strange feeling can turn off any prospective exerciser, especially those who are already hesitant about working out and wearing spandex. We need Spanx to design some exercise wear!

You are not going to get that strange feeling in this GYM. It has always been a dream of mine to own a small gym where you can feel comfortable working out. I’m excited to say that this dream is starting to become a reality. I have purchased a place to carry out my dreams. It was formerly known as Pulse. It will be now known as Cross-FitForce. It is located at 1898 Mentor Avenue in Painesville. We will be opening in August. The Web site should be done next week. I will post the link to my blog once complete.

I have many friends who have joined big gyms, pay the membership price each month and never attend. Why? Because once they have worked up the courage to get to the gym, they do not know what to do once there.The personal trainers are really no help, they are paid by commission...so unless you are buying something they are not interested. Exactly the reason I wanted to open up a gym. Cross-fitforce will be offering many classes starting in August. We are not the typical gym that you can just walk into and lift. The gym will be centered around classes. You will always have instruction from a certified trainer, so that you can get the most out of your gym time. We will be offering Boot Camp classes mornings and evenings. Boot Camp classes combine cardio and strength training all in one.  We will be adding some TRX Suspension Trainer classes. If you have not heard of these classes check out this you tube video.
TRX Suspension Trainer Class

And if you have not heard of the new craze Crossfit check out the link below. You may want to give it a try. I love these classes because they can be scaled back (for people like me), or be made as intense as you want it to be (for people like my 18 year old son). Making it possible to work out with my family! 
CrossFit Fun

I will be also be offering My 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge to clients who want to lose weight or for athletes who want to use the shake for after a workout.

Contact me with any questions 440/479-5148.

I hope to see you at a class soon!


Charlene Sintic
NFPT Certified Personal Trainer
TRX® Suspension Training™ Certified

Total Resistance eXercise.

As a personal trainer we have to take CEC (Continuing Education Courses) yearly to keep our certifications current. The fitness industry changes frequently, so trying to keep up with it is a full time job in itself. So on Sunday I went to Beachwood to get some CEC credits and took an 8 hour class on TRX Training. I have a TRX in my basement but never have had training on it so I thought this would be a great course, and it was! What the heck is TRX, you ask. TRX stand for Total Resistance eXercise. It’s basically a couple of adjustable straps that you anchor onto something solid like a tree or a beam, or if you get the door anchor accessory you can use in your house. Like so:

You use this pair of straps so gravity and your body weight work together to provide resistance when you exercise. You can change the angle you are at to make it easy, hard, or totally freakin impossible. This is just not for sissies, tough-ass military men use the TRX too!

These TRX people have figured out how to work out your entire body using these two straps. Check out some of the videos here video demonstrations 

After the class on Sunday, I am sold, that this is an awesome workout. I was especially sold when I woke up the next morning and could barely move my arms over my head! 


 Awesome facts about the TRX:

1. It’s light weight and portable. You can pretty much do this exercise anywhere, even outside! The small size and convenience of this system makes it a great choice for home exercisers.

2. You can train your entire body with these straps.

3. It recruits many muscles at the same time so you get more functional fitness. As the instructor explained to us, if you are going to put a roof on your house and 10 guys offer to help...you would not say no thanks I only need 2 of you. So why when doing a chest press would you only use your chest. Engage all your muscles, tighten your glutes, you abs, and your triceps and it really makes a big difference.


CAUTION: this product may improve your physique so that random strangers or personal trainers try to grab your ass. LOL!

This is me at the training class!

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CONTACT me to get started on a fitness routine

Play The Aging Game!

Why is it when I walk into a gym I see plenty of elderly men working out, but not women? Women of all ages belong in the gym or in some kind of strength training class, especially if you are over 50.

Muscles can be strengthened at any age. This can help with joint pain and lowering your blood pressure. Have you noticed how the weight piles on as we age? Losing muscle causes your metabolism to slow down, and contributes to weight gain.

To get started with a strength training program you must first get the ok from your doctor. Choose a facility that you want to work out at. I highly recommend hiring a personal trainer for a few session to learn proper form.

I want to gain muscle as I age, not lose it. I am trying to stay ahead of the game. Are You?

90 Day Weight Loss Challenge

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What Is The Best Exercise ??

Part of me wants to say that, any exercise is good exercise. But that's just to easy. Honestly, taking a walk is great, but it's not the best exercise for me personally. Part of me wants to say that this is a trick question. I believe that a body needs a variety of cardio and resistance training. In my opinion, the real answer to this question, and I hate to say this but it is BURPEES. If I had to pick just one exercise to do, it would be a BURPEE and a push-up tossed in the mix. Why? Because its an effective cardio and weight resistance move all in one. In fact, I really should do BURPEES more often in my classes.

Now it's your turn to chime in...What do you think is the best exercise for you?

Now excuse me while I do a few quick set of BURPEES!

Join one of my classes and do BURPEES with us!

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My Advice

In this post, I want to offer some advice for losing weight. Let me be quite clear, I am not a doctor, nurse or a dietician. I’m simply a personal trainer, who struggles everyday with maintaining my weight. It’s not easy for me or anyone else trying to lose. I get it! But I thought some facts that have helped me along the way could possibly help you too.

My first piece of advice is, don’t make your goals unattainable. You will be so disappointed if you expected to lose 30 lbs in a month and didn’t. It’s not worth the disappointment.

Another thing I do, and this has kept me motivated and inspired to work out, is to make a weight loss goal and reward chart.  The more weight that is lost, the more expensive or desired the reward should be. It is hard to stay committed to a life style change of working out and eating healthy, especially during the summer months when graduation parties and weddings are in full swing. So each goal should be rewarded with something other than food. When you want to eat that bowl of ice cream on a hot summer night, or you want to skip a workout...think of the reward chart. Here is mine. Make your own and post somewhere you will see it everyday.

You have probably heard a million times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Do yourself a favor and set your alarm 10 minutes earlier and make time for it! You want your metabolism to start working as soon as you get up, don’t you? Try to make your breakfast more about protein than carbs. Want to start your day with a protein shake? Join My 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge

Schedule your workouts. I know after working 8 hours a day, the last thing you want to do is exercise. Luckily this is the only part of losing weight that I do not struggle with. I love to work out, love getting sweaty, and love the sore muscles the next day. You have to find something YOU enjoy, and this may take a few weeks. Try My Boot Camps or Personal Training

Keep a food journal. This is probably the most important one. I do not know anyone that has lost weight without doing this. Keep a paper journal in your purse and write down everything you eat. If you are on a computer a lot use http://www.loseit.com/

Here is my final piece of advice. Just because you worked out doesn’t mean you can eat what you want. You are not a dog, do not reward yourself with food. Do not ruin the hard work that you have put into working out.

I lost 30 pounds in 6 months a few years back, in The News Herald Lighten Up Contest. I have maintained that but still want to lose more. I have posted this tips to help anyone else trying to lose any amount of weight. I know it’s hard, it does not happen over night...but It can be done.

Ruining Your Weight Loss Goals?

Ever notice how easy it is to get off track? And, how easy it is to stay off track? Miss a workout here some extra desserts there and before you know it you are in a downward spiral. Spirals can go both ways. Once you get back on the track of working out again, it’s easier to curb your desire for those unhealthy desserts. Sure you will still indulge, but maybe a little less. You need a solid two weeks of exercising to get back in the groove again, and make it a habit.

I have heard people say I’ve worked out for an hour today so I can eat this. In fact, I think I have actually said this myself. Don’t use exercise as an excuse! An hours worth of training only cancels out about 2 protein bars, or three cookies, or two glasses of wine. All that hard work wasted for one night of indulging. Many of my clients come to me and say “I have not changed my way of eating, but started working out so I should lose, right?”  You couldn’t be more Wrong...if that where true I would be the size I want to be. That’s why there are two components to losing weight, DIET and EXERCISE!



Here is a good idea I found on Pinterest!

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The Ultimate HERO Workout

The memorial day workout for CrossFit was to pay tribute to Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, 29 of Patchogue N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005. According to the articles I have read on-line he was a HERO! CrossFit created a workout named in his honor, and the CrossFit community pays tribute to the fallen by completing the challenging workout to the best of their ability.

The workout will be always referred to as the "MURPH". What is the Murph workout? I'm glad you asked.

For Time:
1 mile run
100 Pull-Ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

When I showed up to the workout on Monday morning, the trainer offered the 1/2 Murph. That would  ONLY be 50 Pull-ups, 100 Push-ups and 150 Squats. Did I just say ONLY?  If we wanted to do this we could. I waited for someone....anybody to say they where going to do the 1/2 and there wasn't a single person who was willing to do the 1/2. I really wanted to do the 1/2 but peer pressure got the best of me so I signed up for the full.

Off we went, about 15 of us to do the mile run. After that it's into the gym to get some things done. I broke my MURPH workout into groups. I did 10 Pull-ups, 20 Push-ups and 30 squats, and I did this for 10 rounds. My fourth round I started to feel a little nauseas, but pushed through it. On about my 9th round I noticed that I am the only one left in the gym. Everyone else has headed out for their last mile run. Darn it! After I finished my rounds I headed out for my last mile run and convinced the gentlemen that came in first to run another mile with me. He Did! I honestly don't think I could of ran it if he wasn't with me.

There where some tears at the end, and as I finished everyone was cheering for me. I came in last and it took me 68 minutes to finish, but I finished!!!!

It was very rewarding to finish this workout. I read that this was Lt. Michael Murphy's favorite work out. My husband and son also did the MURPH. This is a photo of us after the workout.

This was the hardest part for me. Pull-Ups! Push out of your comfort zone.

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Can you be THIN and Unfit?

We seem to accept the fact that thin people are healthy. It is possible to be lean and unhealthy just as it is to be overweight and and healthy. If you are exercising to lose weight, don't quit out of frustration or from lack of results...you are still reaping the benefits of physical activity such as, reducing blood pressure, stimulating bone growth, improving balance, protecting against injury, the list can go on and on.

Obesity is associated with bad health. When I look at lineman on a pro football team, nearly all of them are overweight, but I bet most of them can run a 40 yard dash in 5 seconds. These 300 pound men can run faster and are more fit than men half there size.

I'm not giving the ok to go ahead and disregard your body fat levels and just focus on exercise. The important thing is you should never quit exercising, even if you have not seen weight loss or it has slowed down. Not every benefit of exercise is visible from the outside! Physical fitness is the biggest deciding factor for good health.

What do you think...is it possible to be fat and fit, or lean and unfit?

Now, if this has motivated you to start exercising please contact me. I have many Boot Camps located in Concord and Mayfield.

My web site

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Have a drink with me?

Now that I have your attention...I'm not talking about margaritas. Even Doctor Oz will agree that meal replacement shakes are an effective, easy way to drop pounds. . Protein shakes are designed to provide a maximal amount of nutrients in a form that is unlikely to promote body fat storage.

The right shake can boost your metabolism by 25%. And lucky for you I have done the homework. I have tried several protein shakes available! There are actually a few that you have to hold your nose to get them down. I have learned from my clients, if it taste bad they are not going to drink it no matter what health benefits it may have. Here are just a few that I have tried and are still in my kitchen.

When trying to lose weight, you can't skip breakfast. In fact, even if you do not want to lose, you should never skip breakfast. Your metabolism does not wake up until you feed it. So if you get up at 7:00AM and do not eat until noon, you have missed out on 5 hours of calorie burning!

I would like you to join my 90 day challenge. You can pick the program you want to follow for 90 days. The balance kit is only $49.00 a month for 3 months, hence the 90 day challenge. There are larger kits for those that have more than 15-20 to lose. These shakes taste wonderful! In fact my son says they taste better than McDonald's shakes. I make 3 of them every morning for my family. I feel good knowing they are off to a healthy start. Here are the 3 we had this morning. Mixed with almond milk, some ice cubes and a few berries.

Do you eat breakfast?

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CROSSFIT

So recently I started doing a new type of exercise called crossfit. That's me in the photo. This is not your typical gym. There are no cardio machines, nor are there traditional hand weights lying around. Sometimes these sessions even take place in the parking lot. The equipment is pretty low tech...a box (I've learned to hate this box), medicine balls and kettlebells.

Crossfit combines weightlifting, gymnastics and interval training. The idea is to do short WOD, this is a crossfit term meaning Workout of the day, (10-15 minutes) high intensity routines that are different each time. These workouts shock the muscles so they never get comfortable doing the same thing. And YES my body is still in shock after Saturdays workout!

The results can be weight loss, toning and oh ya, badly calloused hands are part of the deal. In fact my husband and son who both do the class with me, or should I say "I do the class with them", are missing skin from their hands.

These workouts have names too. You can google them and find out what they are. For example CINDY is 5 Pull Ups, 10 Push-Ups and 15 Squats. You will do AMRAP this is also a standard crossfit term meaning As Many Rounds As Possible in a set amount of time. So in 15 minutes you try to beat the other crossfitters! without having to use a puke bucket. At the end of 15 minutes I can't do another rep...not for money, a donut or even a margarita. I am spent! And I usually come in last, UGH!

There are some modifications but not many. For instance I am not ready, willing or able (not sure which) to jump on a 20 inch box, so I stack up two plates and use that for my box jump. I think it's a mind thing but I am afraid to jump up on the damn box. I want you to try it and let me know if you can do it. Stand next to a kitchen chair and jump onto it with both feet. It sound easy but I have not found anything in crossfit to be easy yet.

Do you mix up your workouts?

May Plank Challenge

JUST DO IT!

May Newsletter

Follow this link to see my May Newsletter that turn-signal.com created for me!

Newsletter

BIg Fat Lie!

You don't need a trainer to achieve maximum results.
A recurring theme in fitness magazines is the idea that you can do your body transformation on your own – no personal trainer needed. It's a great theme for the magazine since it means you'll keep buying the latest issue for your fitness advice. The truth is that people serious about achieve amazing transformations always seek out professional coaching to ensure their success. All serious athletes have trainers.

• Real results are achieved with the guidance of a professional trainer.

If you have a goal you've yet to achieve then reach out to me.

Call or email today and I'll get you started on a program that will make your goals a reality.

Contact me!

Why Can't I lose Weight?

If there is one question that I hear over and over, this would be it! I obviously don't have all the answers, nor do I pretend to, but I have some great tips that might help answer this question for you.

The biggest reason for not being able to lose is Strength Training. Often people who can't lose do not do this. The more muscle that you have the faster your resting metabolism will be. If you have been Strength Training and the weight is not coming off, then you are not pushing hard enough. I was training a  women and she always wanted to do lat pull downs with 40 pounds. I moved the pin to 80 pounds and her mouth fell open. She said "I can't do that" (by the way I hear the can't word a lot too.) I told her "yes you CAN do it and you will do 8 reps". Well, yes she did do it, and I told her thats what all her reps should feel like. She was merely going through the motions of a work out and not struggling.

Eating mindlessly is another reason for not losing. A little here and a little there add up. I ask all my clients to use the site called Loseit.com. You can get an app for your phone or go on-line but either way this is a great way to track your food intake and exercise. Only about half of my clients are willing to do this claiming they don't have time. Once you get use to the site and have your food programed in there, it does not take much time. Just Do It!

Holding on to the treadmill. This is a pet peeve of mine. The body can not burn more fat if you are doing make believe walking. Instead pump those arms and get winded. I actually make my clients that want to hold on to the treadmill carry a weighted ball over their head.

Skipping Breakfast is another pet peeve of mine, especially if you work out in the morning. IF  your gas tank is empty, instead of burning fat, you may actually break down your muscle. And isn't that the reason you are working out to begin with, is to increase muscle? I eat a protein bar on my way to the gym at 6:00AM. If you would like to buy some let me know. These ones are from Slim & Fit cost $2 each and have 10 grams of protein.

Diet Soda. I love them too, but they tend to trigger hunger. Go for the water instead.

Tax season is over and summer is just around the corner. Now is the time to start exercising!

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