Some Down Time

How ya been?

I've missed a lot over the last five months. There hasn't been an entry on the main blog for over 5 months, sorry about that. Private blogs have continued but nothing on "One More Set".

I'll try to get in a couple of posts over the next few weeks. Thank you for all your support.

Mark 7

Life goes ON..ON..ON and ON

I'm in the process of posting one of my clients achievements, while handling phone calls from clients when I will be able to pull my head out of my ass and get back to work, while dealing with the stress of the accident.

Damn, life goes on - even when you don't feel like it.

And isn't that what exercise, healthy living and just being good to yourself is all about. Life goes on - there is no finish line!

How does this post look by the way - to me, fine - but my head is a little fuzzy so maybe to you it looks like, hoiaeorkajd;kajdfhiuahh! I promise, I used spell check.

So here are some lessons I learned this week;

• Airbags suck - Mine didn't go off so my handy seat belt, which I was wearing by law, did work. Worked so well - I think it extended my neck by 1/2 inch - look out Nicole Kidman!
• The $15 in change sitting in your car is gone.
• When the cop is asking what your name is and were you using a cell phone - don't say - hold on a minute' I gotta reconnect!(just kidding)
  
• When the guy that "hit and run" on you - and the cops bring him back and sit him in the grass - YELL - "Thanks a lot Dick Head"!
  
• The fur from your dog in the back seat - from years of him riding in the back seat- are now implanted on you like a porcupine just threw at at you!
  
• When you wreck a red dodge neon go and get a blue dodge neon. They are good at going from 50 mph to 0 mph in a second.
  

Sorry Guys

Well - the last week has been a hoot. I had planned on posting a lot of client before and after photos for the Healthy Times 6 Week Fitness Challenge, but a car(hit and run) took me off the road and left me a bit out of sorts. Reading and using a computer have been a bit tough.

Actually, right after the accident, I didn't know how to even use my cell phone. I was very dazed. To top it all off(his insurance is questionable) they found the guy a few miles down the road, thanks to some good Samaritans, and he was brought back by the Cops. He was not charged with anything accept being an idiot by all those that witnessed it.

I'll write more when I can think more clearly - I wish to apologize to all of you and your missed workouts. It doesn't excuse any of you though from doing some cardio and watching your food intake.

Signing out - brain bruised - but still thinking of all of you!!!!!

Temecula Personal Trainers Deliver - See the results!

We all know who took the 1st place prize in the Healthy Times 6 Week Fitness Challenge - Debbie Clark - her story and numbers are in the paper at Healthy Times. Go pick up a copy if you haven't already done so.

As stated in the last post I will present each of the winners from "trainer to you", and also those that did not win but had great results and stories.

We'll start with Patricia Manley - or - "Ms. Determination" as I like to call her. She placed in the "Inspirational Winners" category.

We talk about numbers a lot in this kind of business. There are many ways to judge the results of your efforts to change your body. Objective ones(how many pounds did I lose) are easy to analyze. The subjective ones(how you or others perceive the difference) are a little harder to quantify.

So let me put forth both.

Patricia Manley of Menifee. Here is a lady of determination. We started working together in August of '08' when she was weighing over 230 pounds - those pants you see her holding are part of the old Patricia.

The HT 6 Week Fitness Challenge presented to her a continuation of the journey she was already on.

Before the contest, back in August of '08', when she first realized she needed to change her life, she contacted "trainer to you" from an ad she saw on one of our trainers cars. She checked out the website and scheduled a free consultation. Her first workout consisted of a ten minute walk outside of her door, just down the street and back. This introduction to activity took her heart rate into the 85%-90% Max HR range. Just getting her to the front door, before leaving the house, took her to 75%.

Things have changed quite a bit since then.

The following are the objective results of her 6 week fitness challenge. These are just her numbers for the contest, she has lost a total of 45 lbs. to date, and has her goals set for another 20 pounds to melt away.

HT 6 Week Challenge Numbers/what she accomplished in 6 weeks!

• Scale weight lost = 12 lbs.
• BF% lost = 4.5%
• LBM gain = 1 lb.
• Total fat loss = 13 lbs.
• Dress size change = 18 to 14

Awesome numbers for 6 weeks! She lost fat and gained muscle at the same time - exactly the way you are supposed to do it if you plan on bigger results down the road. The circumference numbers(not listed) were outstanding also (I took circumference measurements of all clients in the HT Six Week Fitness Challenge as I wanted them to see how they have changed physically - beyond what the scale said).

I smiled when I heard her complaints about that her clothes were getting to big for her, even though the scale was not moving as she would expect. She refused to buy new clothes as she knew that they too would not fit her soon. Her body was gaining muscle, or replacing what she had lost over the years, and burning excess body fat. She was getting thinner.

Trish was kicking ASS!

Patricia, Trish as she prefers to be called, says the following;

"I entered the contest to push myself further and to continue with my original goals which were, improve my overall health - be able to play with my grandchildren longer - become a role model for my gifted kids that I teach - become a role model for my friends and colleagues - go farther in local charity walks - and finally, to have more stamina in the after school programs that I'm involved in with 4th and 5th graders snorkeling off the coast of Catalina and sailing on tall ships."

During the contest she encountered an obstacle. We had to modify the workouts - because she wasn't going to quit - so we kept pushing forward. Trish says,

"My personal obstacle during the challenge was getting through each day without intense knee pain. I have a torn meniscus of my left knee, which I hurt playing with my grandchildren, surgery scheduled for May 28th. This problem limited my cardio to a recumbent bike and minimal lower body resistance training, on orders from my doctor, and even then I had extreme pain at times."

Trish adds;

"my primary source of inspiration during the challenge was my trainer. He never gave up on my abilities to succeed and never told me I couldn't win. That does keep you striving harder to be proud of your accomplishments. I always left sessions smiling and I knew that I could keep going to achieve my goals."

But her determination was the real key. Trish states;

"The most important factor in my success was my drive to succeed and not giving up because of my bad knee. For once in my life I am proud of the decisions I have made for me."

"During this challenge I learned that I am not a quitter. I am a person with convictions and goals. I can accomplish what I set my mind to. I learned to eat healthier everyday by keeping a food journal and by doing some kind of exercise everyday. I learned that I wanted to make good life choices so what I do in the future will not revert back to my old habits. I learned to be extremely proud of me."

As we say a lot on One More Set - there is no finish line - so Trish is setting new goals for herself;

"I would like to progress to further my fitness goals of weight loss with my trainer and to add to my lifestyle with more exercising challenges: marathons, hiking in the Rockies, and kayaking."

Trish has one more bit of advice for all of you facing your own challenges,

"My advice to future participants is to realize your end. Do not set yourself up to fail but work on small pieces of yourself as you succeed in your personal journey so you do make it to where you want to be."

Thanks Trish for your effort and story.

Your actual objective weight loss numbers far exceeded the HT Women's 2nd Place winner(not to take anything away from her - her pictures and accomplishments were truly awesome).

I believe your numbers should have put you in 2nd place behind Debbie Clark. Period!(BTW - your prizes from T2U, will reflect that we feel you took second place;)-)

So from me and all of us at T2U, clients and employees alike, great job and keep showing all of us how it is done.

Fitness Challenge Results - Temecula Personal Training and Trainer to You

Let me first say congratulations to all of you that participated in the Healthy Times newspaper 6 Week Fitness Challenge. You all did an outstanding job with a collective weight loss of over 150 pounds.

21 clients entered, 11 completed the challenge and 10 actually got their forms to me in time to be submitted. Unfortunately for entry #11, if she had completed the forms in time, would probably have been in the winners circle(but rules are rules and I didn't make them - more on this in another post).

Below are the winners and the prizes given by "trainer to you". Over the next couple of days I will create a post on each of the winners with their photos and stories. These are the winners as reported in the Healthy Times newspaper;

Women's Winner: Debbie Clark
Total weight loss 16 pounds!

• 1 Month of AquaFIT personal training
  
• 1 Month of T2U branded weight loss supplements
• 1 T2U branded fitness journal
  
• 1 @ Home massage by Carol Cunefare
  

Inspirational Winner: Patricia Manley
Total weight loss 12 pounds!

• 1 Month of AquaFIT personal training
• 1 Month of T2U branded weight loss supplements
• 1 @ Home massage by Carol Cunefare
  

Inspirational Winner: Sonnie Straw
Total weight loss 7 pounds!

• 1 Month of AquaFIT personal training
• 1 Month of T2U branded weight loss supplements
  

Runner Up Winner: Ashley Vanover
Total weight loss 9 pounds!

• 1 Month of LunchCRUNCH personal training
• 1 Month of T2U branded weight loss supplements

Now, you may notice that one of the "Inspirational Winners" gets a massage when the others didn't - but I will explain in more detail later. But for now, congratulations to all of you, and keep up the good work.

The challenge may be over - but you still have goals in front of you, remember, there is no finish line!

Lose the Weight or Pay the Price

Check out this news story from the BBC about "bet dieting" going on big there - they took it from an up and coming trend in the U.S. Click the link below to read more.

A short article about how it works. Would it work for you? I have a few clients that enjoys these kinds of challenges and a few who say that it makes it worse for them.

The last statement in the article sums it up the best though - what have you learned - did you learn to keep it off?

Tell me your thoughts> GR8Brit - I know you'll answer - so be careful on what you say!


BBC NEWS | Health | Bet dieting takes hold in the UK

Online Diet Plans at SparkPeople

Here is another free site for fitness and nutrition. I haven't tried it out yet - so if some of you do - let the rest of us know what you think.


Online Diet Plans at SparkPeople