Archives for March 2013

From Blah to BAM!

My journey into fitness has been a long one…and one that still continues and always will!

Growing up I was fit, active, and a dancer.  The problem…did not learn the proper nutrition that fuels the body or the difference weight training makes in developing a healthy body.  I grew up with an obese father and what we today call a ‘skinny fat’ mother.  You see, many people see what people look like on the outside and if they are thin, think “Oh, they are fit”.  Not necessarily true. A person can be within their scale weight, but carrying a large percentage of body fat making them at risk.

This brings me to Summer of 2011.  I had lost about 30 pounds at that point and was feeling good about being able to fit into my size 8 clothes.  After a friend of mine convinced me I should tap into my long gone days of dance by trying out for the Swarm Performance Team, I finally took Jason up on his constant nudges to get my booty in the weight room.  I wanted to look like the dancers and be able to feel comfortable trying out showing my mid-riff and backside.  We had 12 weeks…

I went from this…..

Mexico 244

To this…

swarm bikini

Well, I didn’t make the team, but fell IN LOVE with weight training the difference I saw in such a short period of time.  I needed a new goal.  But what??  I came across some posts from a fellow personal trainer friend of Jason’s and how she was transforming her body.  I saw the pictures and read about her road to figure competing.  WOW!  Could I do this, though?  Did I have the will power…the drive?  What was I made of… I soon found out!  I decided to train for my first bikini competition last April 2012.  I had 11 weeks…

This is what happened:

Jill Box

So, I’m here to tell you that anything is possible and everything towards creating the body and life you want takes just the first step.  Things don’t happen overnight…they shouldn’t.  I’ve become SO strong on the INSIDE and that has made all the difference.  I know what I’m made of…I know things will be hard and I can push through.

Are you ready to start your journey with me?  What do you have to lose besides fat and excuses?

I’ll see you at the studio!

Jill

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  • chalenejohnson “Use your body to build your body!” Double tap if you would be interested in an at-home version of my stretch and strength program #PIYOSTRENGTH! This move is a single leg advanced version of #TwistedPlank #oblique crunches. PIYO is a stretch class for people who have a hard time holding still, meditating, or who don’t feel like they’re getting a tough enough workout from Pilates or Yoga. It’s an athletic stretch workout that builds muscle and sculpts your body – with your body. You burn calories and pour sweat while getting wildly flexible! Wanna try it? Dbl tap to say yes! Wanna teach it?? Go to http://www.beachbodycert.com for a 1 day certification training near you!   3d

Cardio vs. Weight Training

*This is an email I received from a gym owner.  I am passing on this information to my clients that wonder what they should do to see results.  This is what Hell Bent consists of.  Read on…

I got muscle with aerobics…

…said no person ever

Before the week hits, I want to set something straight:

For real results, you need to build muscle..

And to build muscle, you need to damage it during your workout, so that it can ‘regrow’ afterwards.

Yup, ‘damage’.. stay with me

During this ‘regrow’ after your workout.. it’s the intention to have your muscle grow back stronger and bigger.

That’s one of the main purposes of working out, aside from burning calories during the workout.

DURING your workout you’re tearing it down. When you eat & sleep you rebuild.

But you will only ‘regrow’ and rebuild your muscle if you:

-> Take a protein shake within 5 minutes from finishing your workout
-> Push heavy weight in the first place (with proper form)
-> Have a complete meal within 60 min after finishing your workout (go sweet potato & Kale, both available at TJ. Tijuana. I mean Trader Joes.)
-> Be nice to others. Don’t be like Justin Timberlake, only inviting 2 of the N-Sync members for his wedding with Jessica Biel, that’s just mean
-> Drink at least half a gallon water (aim for a gallon and fail forward)
-> Get at least 7 hours sleep. No more Jay Leno. Go to bed. Live like a European in America, it’s a beautiful thing.
-> Reduce stress to a minimum. Have a 7 month emergency fund set up. And cut out all vampires from your life. Especially if they get drunk more than once per month.
-> Eat clean. No more drive-throughs, except for maybe Waba Grill if you go for the all-white meat and brown rice before 3pm.
-> Stop saying dumb things like “I want arms like that” or “I want legs like hers”. Be grateful, happy with what you have. I can guarantee you that your absolute WORST day is someone
else’s dream come true (think paraplegics).

If you do all this properly, you will gain muscle.

Gaining muscle is GOOD.

When you gain muscle, you increase your metabolism for throughout the day, so that your Calories OUT goes up not only during your workout, but also afterwards..

So you break down muscle while you workout. That’s why every workout should be 45 min max – you don’t want to damage your muscle for too long

Muscle, muscle, muscle, muscle, muscle.. muscle

To all ladies: I want you to read that sentence a couple times – or as many times you need to become comfortable with the term.

Muscle is good, it’s your friend.   Excess bodyfat makes you look bulky. And excess calories gives you excess bodyfat.

Therefore, CALORIES make you bulky

Calories IN vs Calories OUT

Nutrition 101. If you have meatball marinara’s for lunch, you’re giving yourself too little ‘wiggle room’ for all other 5 meals you should be eating throughout the day..

.. and you’re very likely to overeat throughout the day.

‘Overeating’ here means that your Calories IN from waking up to bedtime exceeds your Calories OUT.

One more time:

IN more than OUT – you gain weight

IN equals OUT – you stay the same

IN less than OUT – you lose weight (provided your deficit is reasonable and not all week long, avoiding the starvation response)

See, I’m slightly fired up here – because after my last email where I told about Zumba being ineffective for fat loss, I get this reply from a girl:

“Zumba is a great workout because people sweat and one of my friends lost 30 lbs while doing it”

To debunk this nonsense:

-1- Sweat is not an indication of a good workout, it is your body’s way of ‘cooling you down’ when you get hot. Some people sweat more than others, and it has little to do with whether your workout is effective.
-2- Anyone can lose 30 lbs by reducing their calories IN.. i.e. going on a diet. If you’re disciplined and eating 500+ calories less than what you burn off 6 days a week, you’ll lose 1 pound per week.

REGARDLESS of what exercise program you do. Your exercise program serves to increase your Calories OUT.

Therefore, weight loss is not an indication of a good workout either. It’s your definition, inches, sizes, strength, energy, and butt that defines your workout.

Look, I must write this.

Because I want to save your day, literally.

I want to save you TIME

The #1 thing that separates the successful from everyone else is.. how.. they .. manage.. their.. time

Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day.

Warren Buffet has 24 hours. Jay Leno has 24 hours. And even Kanye West has 24 hours, 10 of which he spends with Kim and 10 of which he brags about how much money he has.

What puts you ahead or holds you back, is how you spend your time. Time management is huge

Huge as in Kim’s butt huge.

Now if you look at the Aerobic workout versus a Weight Lifting workout..

Aerobics is like Spanks. It feels good at first, but in the end you’re just as flabby.

Resistance makes you stronger. You can’t expect to see results from only aerobics, there is no resistance involved.

It’s aerobics.

And “trying to lose fat with aerobics is like emptying the ocean one shot glass at a time”

Your body grows when you are uncomfortable, Your body grows when you put it through resistance, and aerobics does not provide ample resistance.

It just hurts to me to see these unfit people ‘trying’ and truly believing they are going to see real results.

It just won’t happen with aerobics. Richard Simmons never had a 6-pack.

As another awesome gym owner in Canada, Rob King says:

“Anyone wanting to improve their body is a bodybuilder. And I’ll lift weights till the day I die”

So as a group, let’s start being bodybuilders. Or Warriors.

In the good sense of the word.

Not meatheads, but renegades that keep their eyes on the prize and live, eat, and breathe fat loss.

You can do it – I believe in you, and if there is anything you need just let me know

Yup!