REDONDO BEACH BOOT CAMP

I was working out with a friend on the beach doing Pavel’s RKC presses and pulls workout with a 16kg and 20kg kettlebell. I was really impressed with my friend’s form while reflecting on where we both were 9 months ago in our training. Our method of training is so different from workout routines that range from the extreme where you do what you like and have fun to the extreme of the no-pain-no-gain workout where you feed off the intensity of the workout and try to get a runner’s high while placing little focus on form. In the first case the body may not change, i.e. reach your goal, or in the other case, you’re always sore and prone to injuries. A bunch of exercises just bundled together toin loose weight is really ineffective. Bad form produces micro trauma, hurting the joints, creating muscle imbalances leading to tight areas of immobility and loose areas of joint instability. Looking great but living in pain is unnecessary. How we work out today determines the long-term results.

Exercise is like a drug, finding the right dose produces long-term results. In the Russian Kettlebell Challenge system form is everything. Our first exercise is to pick up a kettlebell which will tell us a lot about our client or student. If the client tries to bend over flexing his spine instead of his back he just told me “I have tight hips and a weak lower back.” A kettlebell swing would not be a good idea at this point, low cobra stretches, planks, bridges, wall squats, and sumo dead lifts would work. We never have someone swing a kettlebell until he is properly prepared.

Let me give an example of two group workouts I observed on the beach: One group in particular had a student, whose back was obviously locked up, doing exercises that were not appropriate for his level. Both groups were doing walking lunges in the sand. which I don’t recommend–stationary lunges or step back/step forward lunges maybe. If an exercise does not look good, it does not magically do good things. The kettlebell system is not going to give out generic exercises. Sounds picky? Absolutely not. Everyone who has done a lunge knows that the knee is supposed to track over the toe with back straight and core tight. I just don’t think wobbly knees, a bent back, and a loose core are going to produce anything but stressed knees and strained backs.

It is hard to teach just a few exercises correctly because people start thinking that they are not burning enough calories. We need to stop thinking about working harder until we can work out correctly. Eat less and learn proper technique. How we work out now determines how we move in the future. If I am in pain and it is more than after-workout soreness, I am doing too much or my technique is off.

1. Find someone to check out your exercise technique.
2. Don’t mindlessly exercise; have a program.
3. Have a hard day, a medium day, and an easy day.
4. Try fast walking with a good arm swing and a tight core. It is good for low-back health.

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Understanding and practicing the basics are the keys to success in achieving any fitness goal. The most common fitness goal is to loose weight. Losing weight without some form of exercise will not achieve health, nor will exercise without a nutritional plan work. Focusing on one of the two necessary components to a good fitness plan won’t bring the desired results . If you are having trouble committing to both nutrition and exercise, you will need to take a step back and reassess how important your goal is to you.

Many people need to exercise and to eat better, but they don’t want to. They make the mistake of waiting to want to exercise, which is a big mistake. You must take action regardless of how you feel.

The two challenges with nutrition are that people are creatures of habit and they are uninformed. Here are some examples: eating with family and friends, having a Strarbuck’s breakfast, eating out at lunch, not knowing what is healthy food, starting a weight-loss program instead of shopping healthy, buying unhealthy foods that are marketed as healthy, not knowing the components of a healthy meal and eating healthy portions.

One more point about being uninformed, many people still use the word diet. Diet means “I am going to cut calories for a while, loose weight, learn nothing about eating healthy and then regain my weight.” Fat loss is about combining healthier eating habits and exercising, a life style change with permanent fat loss.

Here are 5 exercise tips:

1. Don’t run to get in shape. You must be in shape. When you are out of shape, your muscles are not strong enough to stabilize your joints. Six times your body weight of force is going through your body with each stride. Get strong first.
2. Meet with a professional to get an assessment and then get a personalized fitness program so you know what specific exercises your body needs.
3. You should workout 2 to 3 times a week For many people 2 times is enough in the beginning. Think long term.
4. Have a complete exercise program, cardiovascular training, flexibility training, strength training (weight training), and core training.
5.Consider training with kettlebells because you can get your cardio, flexibility, core, and strength training done in less than 25 minutes. Most gym and machine-based programs isolate specific muscles. That is not how you move daily in life. When you walk or run, your body works in systems or movement chains not chest, back, butt, legs, biceps, and triceps.

Here are 5 tips on nutrition:

1.Eat more protein at each meal. Most important is breakfast. Many people skip breakfast or have coffee, sugar and starchy carbs; instead, try 2 eggs or cottage cheese and some fruit (an apple).
2. Drink at least 8 glasses of water or 3 bottles of water daily.
3. Eat 3 meals at least. Many a people who maintain low body-fat percentages advocate 5-6 small meals.
4 Every meal must include a good serving of protein, a variety of vegetables, fruit–limit your bread, pasta, rice and potatoes consumption, especially if you are trying to loose weight.
5. Include more healthy fat which will help you loose weight. Eat fat to lose fat may sound crazy, but examples of good fats are salmon oil, omega 3 fish oils, flaxseed oil, avacados, and olive oil.

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If you are looking for a great fat-loss program, how about starting out with kettlebells training.

People like kettlebell training because they

* find it easy to stay motivated. There’s no tendency to quit.
* are able to focus on form, and improvement can be seen in every workout.
* find it is simple and efficient. Workouts consist of 2 to 3 exercises and can be completed within
25 minutes.
* find it works for groups, which provide an exciting social environment.
* are able to combine cardio, weight, and flexibility training in one workout.
* find most kettlebell exercises are compound exercises in which you work your upper body and lower
body at the same time.

Since kettlebell training requires proper technique, it is important to learn from an experienced, certified instructor.

For more information, sign up for my email newsletter and learn more about kettlebells for fatloss in my upcoming article where I will go into more detail.

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I used that tittle just to catch people’s attention

I have never been an advocate of high protein diets because of my experience as a trainer at 24 Hour Fitness but have recently had extremly good results following differnent higher protein/ more vegetables and fruit nutrition plans.

Back in the dark ages at 24 Hour Fatness, we used the Apex program which was a high carb, low fat, low calorie diet based off of weighing, measuring, and counting calories. We were all educated by the company on the evils of low carb diets. We were also supposed to sell our clients on supplements of which I had mixed feelings. I weighed and measured my food one time and it was so tedious that I never did it again but I did follow the basic principles. I ate 3 to 6 meals a day, took multi-vitamins, amino acids, meal replacement drinks and bars, creatine, lots of water, 60% carbs, 20-30% protein and 10-20% fat. My results, I weighed 187-189 lbs with a body fat percentage of 12-13%. My goal was to look big and strong in order to set an example as a trainer. I had some good results and some not so good. I think that the clients really had a hard time with the inconvenience of the calorie counting. I could say from my perception, most people failed miserably on that plan. Too be fair about the supplements, the idea was that most people will cheat and fail so at least help them by getting them on a multi-vitamin and have a nutrition bar handy so they could grab that instead of a snickers bar.

Back in Jan 2008, I tried eating more protein shifting to a more higher protein diet with lots of organic vegetables, fruit and no supplements except for fish oil. I based this off of Paul Chek’s book and lectures. I dropped 8 lbs and felt more energetic. My body fat was 11-12%.

Here is my current ideas for weight loss based on a lot of books, research, client success and listening to fitness professionals who are smarter than me.
1.Nutrition like exercise is personal, so I can’t nor am I qualified to prescribe a personalized meal plan.
2. I can share basic principles to help people develop their own ideal meal plan.
3. If you want to loose weight the fastest, safest way, cut out sugar (fresh fruit is OK), starchy carbs (all wheat products, rice, pasta, potatoes, and corn products), and lastly no milk (cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese is ok).
4. You must eat protein at each meal. At least 3 meals and your carbs will come from lots of fruit and vegetables.
5. You must learn about sources of healthy fats to have in your diet to help you feel full or you will loose your mind, get too hungry and grab cookies, ice cream, In and Out Burger, Taco Hell, McDonalds and Dominos Pizza. You get the idea. I know from personal experience.
6. No soda or fruit drinks. Water, tea (green tea is great), coffee but no sugar or cream.
7. Try for 2 weeks but no cheating. If you fail get back up and start another 2 weeks.
This is for weight loss not the rest of your life.

I am only suggesting this because I have done this twice. One time before a Jiu-Jitsu tournament when I lost 6 pounds in less than a week. I am also suggesting it because when people see results faster they really begin to believe in exercise and nutrition. Is it right who knows but I know it is better than eating fast food or munching out of boxes and bags of high calorie low nutrient goodies.

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Since 2003 I have been personal training. My experience proves that nutrition is hard for everyone. First off, Everyone is bombarded with an information overload so even if they have good intentions, it can be hard to find the right individual path.

One method I if find very useful is applying the superfoods concept. I will keep this very simple: I will refer to superfoods as tasty, low calorie, nutrient dense foods. With the superfood concept, it is important to eat the same superfoods on a regular basis, similar to taking a multi-vitamin. Results will come by practice. It doesn’t require anyone to make much of a change in what they eat at first. All that’s needed is a commitment to try: try, fail, try again.

Before I go, I will give examples of some great superfoods to experiment with. Add these foods more often throughout the week: blueberries, spinach, free-range chicken, wild salmon (frozen and canned to save money), broccoli, and free-range eggs.

Many people do not respond well to fad diets so with superfoods everyone can create their own diet that fits into their lifestyle.

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One great way to make your workouts more enjoyable is to add some outdoor training to your routine.  The beach is an excellent location to workout with kettlebells.

The first and most obvious reason is that you don’t need a mat and therefore don’t need to worry about dropping the kettlebell. This allows you to try various kettlebell exercises that would be risky in doors.  The second reason is that workout out barefoot in the sand strengthens the feet.

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The new Redondo Beach Boot Camp Blog is now listed in the Technorati.com Blog search engine.

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Welcome to the new Redondo Beach Boot Camp Blog which we just launched.

This is an additional website feature that we decided to add to our site in order to better communicate and interact with you, our Boot Camp members and potential members. We plan on making Posts each week with the primary Blog content objective of educating, inspiring and motivating readers to workout more intelligently, efficiently and consistently to get in the best shape of their lives. We’ll also Post any relevant Boot Camp announcements.

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