Gratitude Journal /  by Stephen Cooper

What are you grateful for today?

It's a simple question, but one that you should often answer.

Each morning we are given a new day to do with whatever we want.  I really believe that to be true.  If you think about it we have so much opportunity and so much to be grateful for.

I often feel "goofy" for feeling happy just being able to open my eyes in the moring.  I honestly think to myself, "wow...I'm lucky to be here anohter day" and today is going to be great.

If you aren't in the habit of being grateful you can visit this link on my site where I've posted a "gratitude journal" which my colleague, Barney Kuntze of Pinnacle Health and Fitness up in Canada, recently sent to me.

Click here for the Gratitude Journal...

Are you already in the habit of writing in a Gratitude Journal?  Let me know in the comment section.

What Do Kim Kardashian and Boot Camp Pasadena Have in Common? /  by Stephen Cooper

We both use rope training.

I've been using the rope training with my clients since the end of 2008, so it's nice to see that trainer to the stars Gunnar Peterson is using it with his clients such as Kim Kardashian.

There are a couple of different names for rope training such as Battling Ropes, and Ropes Gone Wild, but whatever you call it, it's a great way to burn fat without the typical pounding that comes with most aerobic exercises.

Click on Picture to Play Kim Kardashian Video

Looking for a workout with the ropes? Click here to see a clip of a session I did with a client just a few days ago. You'll see the fat-burning session with complete details.

 Click on Picture for More Information on Rope Training

If you are in the Pasadena/Altadena area and want do some rope training with us here at Boot Camp Pasadena, please contact me.

Aimee doing Ropes Gone Wild at Boot Camp Pasadena 

Inches Make Champions /  by Stephen Cooper

"What's the difference between success and failure? Ideal conditions? Half again as much effort? Twice the talent? Ten times "the breaks"? Or is it simply that some people have what it takes and some people don't?

Vince Lombardi, the football coach who brought the Green Bay Packers from fifteen losing seasons to successive world championships, thought success was a matter of inches. A bit more concentration, one extra push in practice, a consistent second effort for a tiny additional gain. He didn't ask his players to be something other than they were - he asked them to improve their best an inch at a time. He knew inches add up, in life as in sports.

In life as in football, it is often the little things that count: going to meetings when we feel like staying home, or speaking our minds, no matter how insignificant our opinion may seem. When we feel like simply hiding - inches make the difference.

Today, I will be aware that I am a champion in the making. I may not make a complete turnaround today, but I will make progress."

-Vince Lombardi

Myth Busting...You need to eat every two to three hours to optimally lose fat and get shredded. /  by Stephen Cooper

Do you really need to eat every 2 - 3 hours to get or stay lean?

I just read this post over at T Nation.com.

This is another common belief held by bodybuilders that often does more harm than good. I mean, who the hell wants to carry around Tupperware containers full of rice and chicken all the time? It's just so damn inconvenient. The reason most bodybuilders eat every couple of hours is because...well, because someone told them to. But if they did some research, they'd see that resting energy expenditure isn't really decreased at all! In fact, there was a study done a while back that showed subjects who did a three-day fast — absolutelynofood — had their resting energy expenditure rate actuallyincrease.

Now I've experimented on myself and on my bodybuilder clients with a variety of meal frequency plans and have even tried a couple of 37-hour fasts for experimental purposes. And honestly, I haven't seen that much of a difference between three meals and seven meals a day,if the calories are equal.

The important thing to know is that after you eat a meal, you're still in a "fed state" and absorbing nutrients for six to ten hours after that meal.

True, after about four to six hours you do get an increase in gluconeogenesis, the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate substances, which is a good reason to eat some more protein to stop any muscle breakdown. But eating seven meals is still ridiculous to me.

My bodybuilders have had great success eating three to five meals per day. As long as macronutrients and energy intake are equal, there really is no difference in the outcome. Of course, it's up to what you like. If you want to eat more often, that's fine.

But I'll leave the Tupperware at home.

Targeting Belly Fat /  by Stephen Cooper

As most of you know if you have been training with me even for a little while I'm not a big fan of cardio. I especially despise long duration cardio for the intention of fat burning. If you love to run for the sake of clearing your head, heart health, or you just feel good doing it then have at it.

For me, ever since the 7th grade I have hated running. I can remember running around a dusty track and detesting every step I took, God forbid we had to run around the school that was pure boredom.

If you are like me you want the “short cuts” to fat burning and losing fat. One of the short cuts to fat burning is high intensity training sessions.

I recently read this over at the highly respected trainer Alwyn Cosgrove’s site…

"Here's a study that came out late last year:

 Irving et al.
Effect of exercise training intensity on abdominal visceral fat and body composition.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Nov;40(11):1863-72.

 The study consisted of three groups:

  1. No exercise
  2. Low intensity aerobic exercise (5 days per week low intensity)
  3. High intensity (above Lactate threshold) exercise (3 days high intensity, 2 days low)

The exercise groups burned the exact same calories (so exercise time was adjusted down in the higher intensity group.

 At the sixteen week point the high intensity group had significantly reduced abdominal fat
 The low intensity group saw no changes.

 It's clear that if you want to target belly fat - a higher intensity training program works better. But here's the take home advice -- these researchers adjusted the time down in the high intensity group (so that calories burned were the same) - for example only doing 20 mins instead of 30 mins.

 But that's not real world. So if you have 30 mins to train - 30 mins of high intensity work would make an even bigger difference. Because when calories burned are the same - it's more effective - you'd see an even bigger effect when the calories burned were higher.

 Bottom line - train harder to target belly fat more effectively."

So please folks when I suggest that you do something in a specific manner to burn fat there is a method or science to my madness.  

Participate, challenge yourself, and you will get results.

 

Which is the Best Method to Lose Fat, Alwyn Cosgrove and John Berardi /  by Stephen Cooper


Fitness Anywhere Video

Have a look at the Precision Nutrition website to learn about this experiment...

"Back in January we asked for people interested in taking part in a particularly cool informal experiment. And boy were they interested! Within 24 hours we had more people than we knew what to do with and had to limit the number of participants to fewer than 150. We guess getting 8 weeks of training designed by Alwyn Cosgrove, JB, and Fraser Quelch was a big draw.

The experiment compared the effectiveness of three similar, but distinct, different strength and conditioning programs for fat loss and overall fitness.

1. One was a strength program that also included steady state cardio: get on the treadmill at a given speed and go for 30-45 minutes.

2.One was a strength program that also included interval training(aka high intensity interval training or HIIT): get on the treadmill and run really fast, take a short break, and repeat for a given number of rounds.

3. And the final group was a strength program that also used suspension training(aka TRX training) as part of their conditioning work. Don’t know what suspension training is? Well, read on.

In this study, we asked three questions. Which of these three programs:

-would most effectively improve performance?

-would most effectively promote weight loss?

-would people find most fun, and thus, stick with the longest?

Have a look at the Precision Nutrition website to learn about this experiment...

News and Helpful Links From Stephen Cooper Training /  by Stephen Cooper

Our current camp will end on Friday June 26. On Monday the 29th we'll start right back up with another four week session. This will be the last session before "summer break" when I'll be in Brazil till late August. We'll start up again probably around Aug 26...I will give you the specific details before I leave for vacation.

I am still working on the details for Boot Camp in Rio (second week of August) but it has been a little more challenging than I had expected. I will post any news as soon as I know.

From the Stephen Cooper Training Site...
What is You Stop Doing Strategy?

The Great Challenge of Training is That There is No End to Training

Video Tip on Eating

Food Inc. The Movie Opens Here in L.A.

Please let me know how often you'd like to hear from me. Once a week, twice a week? What are you most interested in? Nutrition? Training? Etc.?

This newsletter is for you, so let me know how I can help.

Keep up the great work...I know that I don't say it often enough, but I see your effort, and I am impressed.

Best,
Stephen

P.S. I encourage you to leave your comments and questions on the blogs. Someone else in your class may have the same question. Share, and let's help each other.

Can Someone "Drop In" for A Class? /  by Stephen Cooper

I just finished speaking with a current boot camper and she was asking if a friend could "drop in" for a class.

I'm happy that clients/current campers like the class and trust that their friends will too, but before he or she comes to a class they will need to fill out the proper "pre-training" forms.

In order for someone to be accepted into a class I need to review his/her's medical history.  Jumping into a stressful exercise situation without the proper screening is dangerous and I do not allow it.

Having worked as an EMT driving an ambulace, and working in a hospital for over 8 years, I've seen way too many people get injured or die with various medical pasts.

Exercise in general will reduce your chances of many deadly diseases, but caution must also be stressed prior to beginning a training program.

In over 13 years as a personal trainer I have never had anyone get hurt, and I intend to keep it that way.

Train hard, but train smart.

Link to "Ghetto" Workouts /  by Stephen Cooper

Hi guys,

Last week I spoke about some amazing "ghetto" workouts, well my colleague Mike O'Donnell over at Life Spotlight.com, has found the best of the best of the best "ghetto" workouts.

I encourage you to have a look at some incredible guys performing amazing movements.

Have a look here at Mike's site...

*Note:WARNING:Music and Language in videos below may be offensive and not suitable for work or kids….I am not responsible for it…so when in doubt just turn the sound down or off!

 

Attitude /  by Stephen Cooper

byCharles Swindoll

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

As you approach today, be sure to have a positive attitude, a positive energy, and a positive mindset. As Ghandi says, “YOU be the change you wish to see in the World.”

Have an incredible week everyone.