How's Your Progress? /  by Stephen Cooper

Today marks the third session of boot camp, and I want to hear about your progress.

Please answer these questions for me. (Please post them in the "comment" section.)

Have you made it to all 3 sessions?

Did you take your measurements prior to starting the boot camp?  Men-weight and waist, Ladies-weight, waist and thighs.

Have you lost pounds?  Inches?

Did you take a before picture?

Did you purchase the book "The Primal Blueprint"?  (My choice for nutrition information.)

Are you getting enough sleep?  (Meaning, do you wake up feeling rested?)

If you know your diet is lousy are you taking a multi-vitamin?

How about a "greens drink"?

Are you getting enough protein?  If not, are you using a good quality protein powder supplement?

How'd you do with the questions above?  Dig in and train hard this last month of 2009.  I know that you will be tempted to indulge in Christmas goodies, so train hard now.

 

Altadena Sheriff's Station Bike Ride /  by Stephen Cooper

Have a look at this fun bike ride which will be happening next Saturday December 5 in Altadena.

http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/11/sheriff-station-bike-tour-of-altadena-dec-5.html

I'll be riding and would love to see you there.  Contact me if you'll be joining us.

Stay on Track With Your Training During Thanksgiving Week /  by Stephen Cooper

My hope is that you have been earing clean and training hard so that when Thursday comes, you'll be able to enjoy all of your Thanksgiving favorites without any guilt.

Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas should be fun, and filled with loved ones and good food.  I would rather that you go overboard a few times a year, then skimp and try to plan a diet, or low fat holiday.

Enjoy each day, be thankful each day...we have been given a tremendous gift.

P.S.  The videos below are from my hike the other day.  On the video I mention one of the reasons why I enjoy being in shape.  It's nice to look nice, but the benefits of feeling great and able to do whatever your body asks is tops in my book.

What You Do On Your "Off-Days" is Important to Your Fat Loss Success /  by Stephen Cooper

Knowing that today is an "off day" from boot camp.  I'd like to know what are your plans are as far as eating right and training.

I know what I’m gonna do.  I’m going for a hike up this fire break.


It’s a steep and sandy climb, not for beginners, but you are welcome to join me.


Email me, call or text me if you’d like to join me and for the time.  We’ll meet up at the end of Lake Ave. in Pasadena.  The fire break is just to the left of the main trail.

We can talk about training, or whatever you like...or just crank out a great hike while wiping out some stress from the day.

At Boot Camp Pasadena My Main Focus is on Helping You Lose Fat and Getting You Lean and Toned /  by Stephen Cooper

When I am creating your workout program, I have a few objectives in mind.

I am focusing on giving you the best fat-burning workout in our short, forty five minute time period.  Safety is always on my mind too, as I want your fat loss to be fast, but it must be done in an intelligent way.

Our workouts focus on full body movements which burn a lot of calories, plus you are building lean muscles which will burn fat throughout your day...long after our workout session.

Like today's workout...we did what would be called a "fighter's workout".  We worked the entire body with bodyweight exercises with minimal rest.

To those of you who made it to this morning's class, I want to say "way to go".  You busted through a challenging workout.

We Often Use Medicine Balls in Boot Camp, But Did You Ever Wonder Why They Call Them Medicine Balls? /  by Stephen Cooper

I got this from Wikipedia...

"Medicine ball training is one of the oldest forms of strength and conditioning training – the first reference to wrestlers training with sand filled bladders appears in Persia nearly 3000 years ago. In ancient Greece the physician Hippocrates had them sewn out of animal skins and stuffed with sand. His patients threw them back and forth for injury prevention and rehabilitation."

So now you know.

Your Goal for Boot Camp Video /  by Stephen Cooper

You know when you go to a store and someone says that..."may I help you?". It sounds so insincere.

It's difficult to put this across in an email, but I really do want to know how to help you. I've made a short video today where I talk about your goals in taking the boot camp.

When I think of my job as your trainer I have a couple of main points on my mind.The first is to help you achieve your goal as fast and as safely as possible. Each email, video, workout, etc., has your goal in mind.

The second goal is to help you develop these skills and techniques so that you'll make them a habit in your own life.

So having said that, I'd really like to know what can I do to help? Is it more videos, emails, articles, more training days, weekend sessions? I'm totally open to hearing from you and your ideas.

Take 2 minutes to watch the video, and let me know.

Have a great day,Coop 

The Process of Successful Fat Loss /  by Stephen Cooper

As I've mentioned before, there are 3 areas that I ask you to focus.

  1. Nutrition
  2. Training
  3. Rest and Recovery

One of the most simple ways to monitor yourself and see how you are doing is to give yourself  a rating from 1 being least compliant to 10 being excellent.

Each day simply note somewhere be it a paper notebook or electronically, how you did in each area.

Once again it seems simplistic, but simple is often not easy...but it works big time.  No mystery, no distractions.  You'll quickly be able to see how you are doing, or where you need to improve.

What To Eat To Lose Fat At Boot Camp Pasadena /  by Stephen Cooper

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Zen and Boot Camps /  by Stephen Cooper

I’ve been on a minimalist “kick” lately.  I’ve actually been into Buddhism and Zen since I was about 12 or so, but we’ll leave that for another time.

I like the quote “Identify what’s most important to you, and eliminate the rest”.  So how does this relate to your goal of being more fit and losing fat?

Success in boot camp will come down to a few things.

1.       Courage

2.       Commitment

3.       Community

Courage- This one you have already conquered, so pat yourself on the back.  You have followed through in signing up for the camp and you are showing up.  If you only knew how many people have told me that they should or would come to camp but never do, you’d be amazed.  You have also demonstrated your courage to do some new and often awkward exercises.

Commitment- Now it gets a little more challenging.  Your commitment to eating well and training consistently will make or break you.  I use the 80/20 principle here…so eating and training hard 80% of the time will keep you on the right track.  If you stray from this very much, you will most likely be frustrated.

Community- There are a lot of great people in your class who are supportive and encouraging.  If you aren’t already part of our Facebook group, I encourage you to join us there.  You’ll find many of your fellow campers, and me, who are there to answer questions, or to keep you on track.   We have a good time there.  Join us here on the blog too.

The class sessions are filled with exercises and we don’t get time to discuss much, so please take advantage of the blog, videos, and the Facebook page.

As always, let me know what I can do to help.