Still can't give up your coke or other soft drinks?

Found this on Matt O'Neill's blog....and thought I just had to share with you... it's the latest anti soft drink campaign from America">

What'll be hot in terms of fitness in 2010? #3

Over the last few years the term 'functional' fitness has taken off.

2010 will see it take on new meaning and relevance.

As our nation becomes ever older, functional fitness will have even more bearing and relevance. We're living longer, therefore we need to be able to function in normal every day activities for longer to remain independent.

But, more importantly, we have become so sedentary in our everyday lives - the modern corporate world doesn't allow for a lot of movement. Then, people go to a gym to access some activities, and generally, they sit themselves down at one machine or another doing pec deck, shoulder press, chest press, leg extension, leg curl. Whilst these activities may help to gain lean muscle mass, they do nothing for agility, balance or even resemble any type of natural movement. Isolating muscle groups does nothing to emulate real life activities.

Our bodies need to function through the primal movements of pushing, pulling, squatting, bending, lunging, twisting and gait (walk, jog, sprint) and jumping.

What'll be hot in terms of fitness in 2010? #2

Corporate Fitness

In 2010 companies will start to see the benefits of fitness time during the day for time poor staff and executives. Organised lunch break activities will lead the way in enhancing productivity, morale and fitness and see reduced sickness.

What'll be hot in terms of fitness in 2010?

I have been doing a bit of reading and scouting around and each day I will add something to my list of what will be hot in 2010 (fitness wise of course!!!):

1. Metabolic conditioning:

Metabolic conditioning is basically conditioning the muscles to better use what’s being delivered to them by improving the efficiency of the different metabolic pathways.

When strength training is performed with a high level of intensity and short rest intervals between exercises, the cardiovascular and metabolic conditioning benefits equal or exceed what can be achieved with more traditional “cardio” activities.

What this basically means is that you can have an effective workout, in a short space of time. As a nation, as we are becoming more time poor, effective workouts that don't require an hour or more have got to be the key to ensuring we stay fit, and lean. We should not be able to use the excuse, I don't have the time to exercise.

Consider a workout (and the time that this would take) that consists of :

Timed 3 rounds of:

10 squats

10 dips

10 pushups

10 bent over rows

- this workout covers hip & thigh exercises, pushing and pulling exercises for the upper body. A total body workout which can be done in a short space of time. Of course, you just need to add in 5 minutes warmup and 5 minutes cool down/stretch time.

Tough Bloke

You know you want to join us in July!!

View video here

New Year, New Goals...

So, the end of the year is nearly here - and the end of a decade!!!! What resolutions did you make at new year's eve last year?? did you achieve any or all of them?

2010 is going to be the year that we all achieve our goals together.

So...what are your goals for the year? short term... long term...
there are so many fitness events that you can use as short or long term goals.
There's the Fitness Five fun run in April, run by Kembla Joggers, then Mother's Day run, these can all be used as stepping stones to the City to Surf or a half marathon. Then there's our favourite, the tough bloke challenge, on again in July. We are also organising a special challenge day up at Appin Scout Park (home of the tough bloke challenge) to utilise the obstacle course there in Feb or March. Then there's all sorts of adventure races, fun orienteering races... what will you be gearing towards? Having a goal can be the thing that keeps you motivated on the coldest wettest days, to drag yourself out of your warm bed and put those joggers on. You feel so much better for having done it, rather than just wasting the time in bed.

Whatever your goals for 2010, make them realistic, achievable, and set a date by which to achieve them. Then... tell us, and we will make sure you get there!! We might even come along to hold your hand.

check out our Specials now online!

Special offers on training now available online

Bootcamp on the Beach

Sandbag squats on the beach this morning

Need to shift or gain a few kilos but not sure what to do?

Nutritionist, Matt O'Neill has a great program called the "Metabolic Jumpstart" program. Each program is designed to suit your needs, based on your current stats (height, weight), if you want to lose weight, maintain or put on weight, and devised according to your particular calorie requirements.

It's great because it gives you a quick snapshot of a typical day, as well as how to put your day's plan together. Too easy! I lost 7 kilos in 5 weeks on it - and it's only $29.95 for the 4 week program, which includes quite a few tools and access to the online areas as we well.

December Specials

Special offers available for 1-14 December:

1. Sign up for 3 months unlimited group training (this includes bootcamps) and receive 25% discount off your next month's training.
2. Sign up for 1 month's unlimited group training and receive a week free training. That's 5 weeks for the price of 4!

Available to first 30 subscribers!

FitDeck(R) cards

We now have FitDeck(R) cards available for you to take on holiday with you! For more info, and to buy online, click here

Make your Exercise count in 2010

If you need a 'real' reason to get moving in 2010 (other than the usual New Year's rantings of losing weight, this year I'm getting fit, etc etc), then why not do it for a good cause?

Join the Move Movement to get more active while raising funds for important medical research and clinical care at Westmead.

With regular exercise, you can reduce your risk of serious illness like heart disease, liver disease, diabetes and depression – and feel great doing it.

Whether you’re walking, cycling, running or playing sports, The Move Movement helps you track your progress and keep motivated, and it’s a great way get your family and friends involved.

Attitude to Burn will be entering a group - let us know here if you want to be involved!

Why would you bother?

Seriously, before you go buy anything from the TV or Magazine ads.... have a serious think about whether it's worthwhile or not.
This one gets my vote this week for being the most useless rip off:

The ropeless skipping rope!!!

3 Secrets to Get a Booty for Life Today!

If you want to lose thigh fat, get sexy legs, and build a great butt and booty that you can be proud of for life, then this will be one of the most important articles you ever read.

Nutrition is the secret to success for women when it comes to sculpting their bodies and losing thigh fat.

Do you keep a nutrition log? If not, you must start doing so!

Research shows you'll lose more fat if you track your diet and write down what you eat.

Record every aspect of your nutrition for at least 1 week. Most people have no idea how many calories they are eating each day. Just doing that will help you lose inches.

Here are 3 more secrets to success if you want a Booty for Life...

1) The #1 diet secret to success is...

Remove excess sugar and processed foods from your diet and switch to cheaper and healthier foods. In the Booty for Life program, you'll receive a complete calorie counter and meal plan guideline to help you identify the perfect fat burning meal plan for women.

2) Small nutrition changes can help you lose a lot of fat.

This can be as simple as committing to one small nutritional improvement per day (such as replacing your lunchtime soft drink with water) and one large change per week (such as setting aside time on a Sunday to shop and prepare for your weekly meals).

In the Booty for Life program, you'll also get...
- The Treats and Cheats Food Guide
- A step by step system to determine the number of calories you need
- Detailed guides to good carb, high-protein, and healthy fat foods
- A perfect meal plan for eating multiple meals, even for busy women

3) Exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home - and even while LYING DOWN! - can help you sculpt your booty and "perkify" your butt.

In the Booty for Life workout program, you'll discover...

- Unique LYING DOWN exercises that work your butt
- Proven exercises to burn belly fat
- You don't need long, slow cardio or boring crunches

And you can build a beautiful butt in the comfort of your own home!

Click this link to get the complete Booty for Life program and nutrition guide.

Give the gift of health & fitness this Christmas!

If you're not sure about what to get someone for their christmas present this year - why not give them the gift of health & fitness with an Attitude to Burn gift voucher?.

We have a range of denominations available that can be used on anything from our store - personal training, group training, equipment such as boxing gloves, focus mitts, kettlebells, fitballs.

Only 8 weeks until New Year's Eve...

Which means you still have time to get in great shape before New Year's Eve rolls in.

Why wait to make a new year's resolution? Why not get started NOW!!!

- Make a plan - set your 'realistic' goals - aim to lose 4-8kg maximum
- Fill your cupboards & fridge with healthy food - get rid of all the junk & refined processed stuff
- List your meals for the week.
- Make sure your meals are small portions - a healthy size of starchy carbs (fist or tennis ball size) and protein the size of your palm or deck of cards. Loads of green leafy veges & other coloured veges. Carrots, Corn etc are counted in the same way as potatoes - starchy carbs.
- Aim to eat 5-6 small meals or 3 small meals and 2-3 snacks per day
- Aim to drink around 2-3L of water a day
- No soft drinks
- Limit sugar in coffee & tea.
- Try and switch to either one black coffee or 2 cups of green tea instead
- Fish oil caps - 2-3 per day
- Exercise - 5-6 days per week. 30-40 minutes per session.
- Limit your treats - aim for 1-2 meals per week.

November is our Birthday Month!!!!

Since November is our birthday month - we're offering all new customers the chance to try us out for just $1 a day for 6 days (Monday to Saturday)!

that's just $6 for a whole week of unlimited workouts....

But hurry, this offer is limited to the first 30 subscribers!!

Email Attitude to Burn now to book your space

New Workout Formats coming soon!

We are currently working on new formats for our workouts.
Workouts that will be even more effective - guaranteed to blast your metabolism.

More on adaptation...

In yesterday's post we mentioned changing your program every 4 weeks....
This alone can strike fear into the hearts of many...but I read I need to do 3 sets of 20 to tone up.
while this approach may appear to work for a short period of time - pretty soon your body just plateaus because it has adapted, or gotten used to the exercise. There's no challenge in the same workout.
So, where to from here?
Easy.
There are so many variations of your workout that you can do to rev things back up again.
You could switch to:
a/ continue with 20 reps of each exercise but do them in circuit fashion, one after the other. Then repeat the whole circuit 3 x
b/ change the rep count. Reduce it from 20 to 12, but make sure you increase your weight accordingly.
c/ Increase the set count to 4.
d/ Change the exercises altogether. If you're in the gym and you've been doing lat pulldowns for back, then switch to assisted pullups or chinups, or even bent over barbell rows or seated rows. Legs you can choose from Squats, Hack Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges - all manner of variation (forward, walking, diagonal, reverse, side), wide squats, leg press, leg extension & leg curl.
e/ use supersets, ie you can group two exercises together for different body parts or even the same body parts.
or be radical and f/ Do something completely different - have a break from the gym (get outdoors :-) ) and join in a bootcamp or outdoor fitness group.

Our Bootcamps are getting great results - why don't you join us?

I go three times a week to the gym but I don't seem to get results

If this sounds like you... there could be several factors at play.

1. A structured plan.
Just 'going' to the gym isn't enough. You need a plan. What are you trying to achieve? For most people, it's to 'tone' up and lose weight. What does that mean exactly?? Well, firstly you'll be building muscle to create more lean body mass. This muscle is what you need to rev up your metabolism. Secondly you'll be adding in some cardio - preferably high intensity intervals. Thirdly - you need to look carefully at your nutrition. Each meal needs to be a healthy mix of macronutrients - protein, carbs & healthy fats. The other factors are...hydration - you should be taking in at least 2L of water a day, and one very overlooked factor, REST. Your body needs a good amount of rest through your sleeping at night - 6-8 hours optimum and one day of total rest a week for your body to recuperate.

2. Adaptation
Your structured plan also needs to allow for your body's adaptation to exercises. Around every 4 weeks you need to change what you're doing with your exercise plan.

3. Don't let the machines do the work
Whilst machines can be a valuable tool in the early stages of your exercise routine, the sooner you can master technique with bodyweight exercises and free weights the better. Machines tend to make muscle groups work in isolation. If you think about your real life, when do you really ever use muscles in isolation?
To explain - Say for instance you go to the gym and use the Pec Dec to try and strengthen your pectoral muscles. How does this exercise mimic anything in real life? Then look at another chest exercise, the pushup. The pushup is not only highly functional in terms of you having to support your fully body weight, but it incorporates many many muscles - you are using your core muscles for stability, your glutes will also come into play for some stability, then you are using your arms - biceps and triceps come into play in both phases of the pushup, together with the pectoral muscles. All of a sudden, you've got virtually a whole body exercise. What this equates to is more calories burned during your workout.

More to come on this tomorrow!...

Fitness Testing on this Saturday!

Hi all,
Just a reminder that Fitness Testing will be running concurrently with a circuit session tomorrow morning down at Nicholson Park Woonona.

Beep Test
# situps in a minute
# pushups in a minute
Max. Plank Hold

then on to the circuit when you're finished!

See you there at 8am sharp.

Bulli Spring Bootcamp #3

Our next Bulli Bootcamp is due to start on 3 November - spaces getting very limited so book early..book now!

Helensburgh Bootcamp

We will be running a new bootcamp in Helensburgh - 4 weeks- two sessions per week.

It's Challenging
Fast paced, 45-minute interval classes. Each session starts with a good warm-up, and is then followed by 30 minutes of HIGH intensity drills and exercises; athletic style drills, running drills, medicine ball drills, speed and agility drills...focusing on speed, power, balance, co-ordination, agility and flexibility. Each class finishes up with a variation of core/abdominal work and full body stretch.

It's For Everyone
Anyone can join in, fit or unfit, male or female. If you are looking for a challenge and bored with your same old routine, our boot camp can help you achieve your fitness goals while having fun in a non-intimidating, non-competitive environment.

It's Demanding
Boot Camp is hard. Every class is designed to rev up your metabolism and push you beyond your fitness potential. Once you realise the dramatic improvements in your power, endurance, strength, stamina and physical wellbeing...you will be addicted.

It's About Results
Bored with your same old exercise routine? Then start today and commit to a fitter, healthier you. You will improve your cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance. Our Bootcamp programs start & finish with fitness testing - this way you can see how far you have progressed during the program.

The nitty gritty
When does it run? 17 November - 10 December
Nights: Tues & Thurs
Time: 7.15-8pm
Cost: $150
What's included in cost:
training t-shirt
unlimited access into other group training programs run by Attitude to Burn or home training suggestions
nutrition guide with meal plan & recipe suggestions

Book Now as spaces are limited

I'm worried I'm not fit enough....

One thing that I hear a lot from a variety of different people, whether in general enquiries or in the warmup before a session is ...

I'm really worried that I won't be able to keep up because I'm not fit enough...

So... isn't that exactly why you're joining in?

There is definitely an innate fear that people will feel foolish or be too unfit when starting something new. The thing is..we've all been there, we all had to start somewhere... and that's why you've taken the first steps into rectifying the situation. Big pat on the back for that!

The main piece of advice I can give is...just join in, do your best, if you have to stop and catch your breath..do so...then get going again, and in a few weeks time you'll look back and wonder what you were so scared about.

Monday Training: Labour Day

As it's a long weekend, there will be no training scheduled for Monday. All training will resume as normal (with Bootcamp starting again) on Tuesday morning.

Saturday morning session at 8am still on at Nicholson Park. Let's hope the rain stays away during the day and just waters our gardens and fills our water tanks overnight!

Another new Trainer

We are also pleased to welcome Steve Wilson to the Attitude to Burn team.
Steve is a highly experienced trainer formerly a paratrooper in the military, he was also a combat fitness leader within his unit, training large groups in physical training in preparation for combat operations.


After years of operational service in the military, he started working as a trainer, over the past few years he has achieved much success with his clients.

Steve specialises in training and programming for entry testing into the Defence Force, Police, Fire Brigade, Customs and also pre trek preparation & conditioning for Kokoda trail etc.


His proven training methods are dynamic, fun and challenging and they are sure to have you coming back for more!

Dolphins!

We were honoured with a large pod of dolphins cruising South at Thirroul Beach this morning at 6am...then I went over to Bulli to meet a client at 7.00am and that same large pod cruised on past again!

Team Ouch! at Pink Triathlon

What a great day - once the dust cleared!
Very inspirational seeing Louise Sauvage complete the long course - no mean feat!

Really proud of Jo & Lynne's efforts in the relay - great swim & great bike ride :-)
go Team Ouch!

Thanks to all our supporters - we raised over $700 towards Breast Cancer Research.

New Trainers

We are pleased to be able to welcome a new trainer to the Attitude to Burn group.

Oscar Bradley is joining us - he's currently in training for the Coolangatta gold and will give you a great workout!

More to come....

Nicholson Park update

It appears the earliest you can train at Nicholson Park in Woonona is 7am! So that one's out for morning. Thirroul it is!

Donate for Breast Cancer!

Support Team Ouch! at the Pink Triathlon.

Please help us to support this worthy cause:

Support Team Ouch!

We will be entering a Relay team in this Triathlon which is held in two weeks time!!

Workout to do anywhere!

All you need is your bodyweight & a skipping rope...

Pyramid workout:

100 skips with rope
10 squats
10 burpees
10 pushups
10 speed rows
10 lunges
10 tricep dips
10 t-ups

100 skips with rope
then increase all reps to 15

100 skips with rope
increase all reps to 20

100 skips with rope
increase all reps to 25

Enjoy !

Council Update

Most of you will be aware that there has been ongoing discussions with Council regarding policies for Outdoor Fitness Trainers. Our biggest fear all along had been that the Site Licences would become a bidding war, with sites awarded to the highest bidders. Council assured us that this would not be the case, and that the sites would be awarded via an expression of interest.

We have today been notified that we are to submit Quotations for our specific sites by 1 October, which leads me to believe our original fears have been realised and that popular sites will be subject to a bidding war. I will also be required to pay for an additional mobile PT licence, separate to the site licence fees. But again, Council assured us this wasn't a revenue raising opportunity!

Regardless of this, it will mean that we may need to rationalise the number of sites that we currently operate from with our Groups. This is where I need your assistance.

Our current sites are:
Thirroul Beach - we moved here for winter due to the lighting.
Bulli Park - Our Bootcamp site which has it's ups and downs (literally!!!!).
Nicholson Park, Woonona - our mid morning and Saturday site.

This is where I need your assistance - which is your preferred training area for the next 6 months? I think we will always try and move to Thirroul for the winter training due to the adequate lighting provided there.

If you could please help us to determine our best 'primary' site, would be greatly appreciated!

Please vote on the Poll that is located on the right hand side of this page.

Thanks for your help in this, and see you all at training

Stroller Fitness Woonona group started today

We had a first stroller fitness session today - these will be held regularly at 10am on Tuesday mornings meeting at Nicholson Park near the surf club at Woonona.
First session is free, so come along, bring a friend and join in.

New school holiday programs coming soon!

If you ever get stuck for what to do with your kids in the school holidays, how about joining in some of our school holiday programs? we're currently developing Mini Bootcamp for kids 5-12 and Teen Bootycamp for girls from 12-16. Fun and Fitness.

These will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the holidays.

Parents are more than welcome to join in for a healthy family activity.

Contact us now for more information.

Spring Bootcamp started today

Well, our first day of Spring ushered in a new Bootcamp....
and of course, more of the fitness testing.

Today was a 12 minute run test - testing distance, as well as the obligatory pushups, situps in a minute and plank hold. It's great to see previous bootcampers who could barely do pushups on the knees, now blitzing it in the full pushups.

We'll be running bootcamps each month, so if you want to improve your fitness, strength and endurance, as well as lose weight and look nice and toned in time for summer...book into October's bootcamp.

Fat Blaster workout

this is one we did in our groups today and one you can do at home....

WORKOUT A
Supersets (2 exercises that you perform one after the other with no rest in between)

1. 20 Kettle bell (or dumbbell) swings
2. 10 T Ups
Repeat 3 x with no rest

1. 10 Reverse Lunges
2. V ups
Repeat 3 x with no rest

WORKOUT B
Burpee Intervals

Perform Burpees for 30 sec. Rest 30 sec. Repeat for 4 minutes. (4 x through)

WORKOUT C

1 min Plank
1 min Split squat
1 Min hip extensions
1 min belly blasters

Do all simultaneously with no rest in between

WORKOUT D

Intervals
Star jumps 1 min
squat thrust 1 min
walking lunges 1 min
sprints 1 min

repeat Workouts C & D

If you're not sure of any of the exercises above, or how to do them with correct technique, why don't you book a 1/2 hour personal training session?

kilos coming off

It's great to hear when your 'bootcampers' are turning around and starting to lose the kilos.
Great stuff !

All it takes is some dedication, a bit of hard work and commitment to eating healthy nutritious meals 80% of the time.

Are you ready for the challenge?

Spring!!!!

Spring is just around the corner...you can feel it in the air - the days are slowly getting longer...it's not long before we'll all be back in shorts/tshirts/bikinis or boardies.


We are now taking bookings for our Spring Bootcamp. 4 weeks of training... Book now to get your headstart on looking great in time for Summer!!

Worthwhile causes

There are two worthwhile events coming up which, to me, are far more important than some of the other things that we set out to achieve.

Firstly - Relay for Life - if you want to join the Attitude to Burn team in some fundraising for this event, please visit our Relay for Life site

Secondly - Triathlon Pink. Sydney 26 September If you've never done a triathlon and always wanted to at least have a go - this is the one to do.

12 week transformation challenge

Our 12 week transformation challenge has started...who will make the biggest improvements??

Our nutritional plan is not some craaaazy diet like some others choose to use. Ours focuses on teaching good nutritional habits that will last a lifetime. Good nutrition is for life, not just 8 weeks or 12 weeks.

Good luck to all challengers :-)

Monday's workout of the day

The 100 challenge workout:

10 squats
10 lunges
10 squat thrusts
10 frog hops
10 inchworm pushups
10 crunches
10sec plank
10 brazilian crunches
10 stepups
10 lap 10m shuttle run

how many rounds in 30 minutes?

Last Bootcamp for winter starts Tuesday...

Our last Bootcamp for winter is due to start at Bulli on Tuesday and it's just about full. It will be great to see what results we get in the final fitness testing this time. last time we had increases in 3 levels in the beep test! great stuff.

This blog....

is now to be continued over at our Attitude to Burn Online Communitycome and join us.

Monday's workout of the day....

Our workout on Monday consisted of 3 rounds of:

10 lunges (each leg)
20 squat jumps
30 slamballs
40 skips (with rope)
30 crunches
20 KB swings
10 burpees

there are some sore legs today...

Workouts this week

Last night's workout consisted of 3 rounds of:

10 frog hops
20 step ups each leg
30 slamballs
40 squat jumps
30 burpees
20 frog hops
10 step ups each leg

then boxing!!
Tiring, but fun.

If you like a little Mexican in your diet....

Try this recipe - nutritious & healthy:

healthy tacos

Weather woes

Well, despite the best laid plans of 'beep testing' night planned for last night, due to rain... we ended up postponing this - so that will hopefully be done on Monday night next week.
Instead, we boxed, kickboxed & ran in the rain.

Fitness Testing week

This week is Fitness Testing week at Attitude to Burn. Because we 'do it outdoors' we don't have access to treadmills, stationery bikes etc to do what would normally be considered as 'formal' types of sub-maximal testing.
Our testing is based on what is functional or appropriate for our style of training.
So...
last night was the following:
set 4 cones up 10 m apart - each cone has an exercise, ie
10 alt. lunges
10 situps
10 tricep dips
10 pushups
race back to start - how many rounds in 10 minutes. One tester got 1 and 3/4 more laps around this time around from 6 weeks ago, which is excellent.

Then the next test was:

Mark out a designated area, and do one lap of the area running (or run/walk depending on fitness levels of participants), then 10 pushups, 10 situps, 5 burpees. Time for 3 laps through.

Then we finished off with # of pushups/situps/10m shuttle runs over 1 minute period.
All had made great gains since the last 6 week testing.

Wednesday night is Beep Test night - which will be followed by strength & kettlebells.

Above all else.....

Fitness should be FUN!

I am a firm believer in trying to weave fun into fitness.... or fitness into fun.
Last night we played a pseudo version of netball with a fit ball as our warmup.
Certainly beats a normal warmup ;-)

If your workouts are...ho hum...or just plain boring, spice them up with a game of something!

Now I'm trying to think up next week's warmup games :-)

The TRUE outdoor workout!

Movement in Nature - The Workout the world forgot.

">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGF-ErsJiI

The soundtrack to this sounds like it's by our very own (French import!) Endorphin

Partner Workout

Last night we did a partner workout, which proved to be challenging & fun!
The circuit consisted of:
KB Zig zag runs with a sprint back (partner squatted while waiting)
Med Ball squat & pass
Med Ball situp & pass
KB swings
Kickpad work

It's the sort of workout you can do anywhere with a friend - you can substitute a dumbbell if you don't have a kettlebell, sandbags or anything.

New recipe !

Just received a new recipe from gymsuperstar.com - serve with steamed greens or salad for a healthy dinner!

Balsamic Glazed Salmon


1 tbsp.olive oil
4-5oz. salmon fillets
sea salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. honey

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Season both sides of salmon with salt and pepper. Add salmon to skillet and cook 2 minutes per side. In small bowl, mix together vinegar and honey. Add mixture to skillet and simmer until fish is tender and liquid reduces, about 2 minutes. Serves 4.

Ooh, it's raining outside. I don't want to get wet...

Well, if you're a bit precious about getting wet when you workout (I'll just add in here that it can be quite refreshing..), and you just want a nice workout you can do at home with minimal or no equipment... here you go!

Warmup:
1 minute skipping (if you don't have a rope, just pretend - arms 'n all!)
1 minute lunges
1 minute squats - if you have a swiss ball use this against the wall and do wall squats
Repeat
Stretch out quads, hamstrings & chest lightly

Circuit workout - perform 10-12 reps of each exercise in a circuit fashion - ie go straight onto the next exercise, no rest
Burpees
Alternating stationery lunge - or walking lunge
Ab crunches
Squat jumps
Tricep dips
Reverse leg curl on swiss ball - or single leg bridge lifts if you don't have a ball
Pushups
- have a quick drink/breather, then run through circuit again another 2- 3 times.

Cool down with 2 mins skipping and light stretching for chest, arms, shoulders, hamstrings, quads and calves

Enjoy :-)

More pearls of wisdom from Tom Venuto

I received this in my inbox today, and it's well worth a read!

BURN THE FAT ARTICLE
BY TOM VENUTO
http://www.BurnTheFat.com
-------------------------------------------

"How you could you eat that crap? It's so bad for you!"
(nag, nag).
"Don't you know those fries will give you
a heart attack?" (nag, nag).
"You have to stop eating all that junk food, it's going
to make you fat!" (nag nag)

"If you keep eating fast food, then all your workouts
will be for nothing!" (nag, nag).

Your friends nag you, your family nags you, your doctor
nags you, and of course, your personal trainer nags the heck out of you, to stop eating all those BAD FAST FOODS.

But does all that nagging you and bad-mouthing the fast
food industry really help?
Doesn't look that way. The fast food industry is thriving, even in the bad economy. The Chicago Tribune recently said
that McDonalds is "recession proof."
As one of only two companies to turn a major profit over the last year (the other being Wal Mart), McDonald's is laughing
its way to the bank. In fact, McDonalds plans to open 1,000 new stores this year.

I was driving down Route 95 a few weeks ago and pulled
over to use the rest room at Mcdonalds on a Saturday morning (there's a McDonalds conveniently located
immediately off almost every exit up and down the full
length of Interstate 95.
The parking lot was full, it was standing-room only inside and the lines snaked around into the seating area!
You'd think Brad and Angelina were there signing autographs or something. Nope, just a regular weekend
at breakfast-time.

I was shopping in Wal Mart the same week and I almost passed out when I saw (smelled, actually) a Mcdonalds... INSIDE THE WAL MART! Also, with lines.

Yep. It looks like your friends and family's nagging you,
and all the messages of the health and fitness industry
to get people eating less fast food are not working!
So what does work?

The results of a new survey from the behavior and psychology section of the journal, OBESITY (Feb 2009)
provide some answers:

Researchers at the University of Minnesota School
of Public health surveyed 530 adults about their
attitudes towards fast foods.
They found that people already know fast food is unhealthy. (umm, no kidding!)

The primary reasons they eat it anyway are because of the perceived convenience and a dislike for cooking! (I'd add another: they think fast food is always cheaper than healthy food).

So, said the authors of this research paper, scolding
people and warning them that "fast food is going to make
us fat and kill us" is the wrong approach.

The right approach?

Focus on teaching more people how to make healthy eating
fast, convenient and easy, because those are the reasons
people are choosing fast food in the first place.
So what's holding us back from implementing or taking
this advice?

Well, I think that most people can't get over the ideas
that they "just cant cook" or that cooking is "too time
consuming" or that healthy food "tastes like dirt" (as if Mcdonalds is gourmet food!)

That said, I'm not going to nag you, scold you or
try to scare you out of eating fast food. Nor am I
going to bad-mouth the fast food restaurants.

I'm going to lead the new charge by showing you just how easy and convenient it is to eat healthy and nutritious
food and make it delicous.

Here's a few meal ideas (for starters) to prove
my point.


3-MINUTE APPLE CINNAMON OATMEAL

* natural oatmeal (like Quaker old fashioned rolled oats)
* natural (unsweetened) applesauce
* cinnamon
* for protein, serve with scrambled eggs or egg whites on side
or stir 1-2 scoops of vanilla protein powder into the oats

I eat this almost every morning. It's faster, easier and
cheaper than going to the donut place or getting sausage,
cheese, bacon breakfast muffins at the fast food joint!
(you don't have to wait in line, either!)


10-MINUTE LAZY PERSON'S CHINESE STIR FRY

* Brown rice (I like basmati)
* frozen oriental vegetables
* chicken breast, grilled (try foreman grill)
* bragg's "liquid aminos" (or light/lo-sodium soy sauce)

This takes 30 minutes, however, if you get
a rice cooker and make a giant batch, you can
have your rice on standby for instant eats and
this will take less than 10 minutes.

Doesn't get any easier than that. (I like
those chinese veggies that come with the little
mini-corn-on-the-cobs... reminds me of that Tom Hanks Movie, BIG)


2-MINUTE BLACK BEANS AND SPICY SALSA

* black beans (15 oz can)
* Medium or hot salsa
* 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 2 gloves garlic or chopped garlic to taste
* salt and pepper to taste

This one takes you all of 2 minutes to make.
No cooking required! And it's good! It's vegetarian
as listed above, but if you're a high-protein muscle-head like me, just add chicken breast or lean ground turkey.

Best part: this is all inexpensive food!
Oats, rice, beans... doesn't get much cheaper
than that - buy your healthy staples in bulk
and the cost per serving is probably less than mickey D's! (yes, even the "Value" meals)

I'll share some more recipes in future newsletters,
and will compile my recipe project into a book or
ebook later this year. Plus I'm already publishing all my recipes for my inner circle members one by one as I create them (http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com)
Every one of these recipes is compatible with
my Burn The Fat program (http://www.BurnTheFat.com)

This means that my way of eating makes you more muscular and leaner... so you can look hot wearing
very little clothes this summer... and be healthier...
and save money too.
Train Hard, Eat Right, and Expect Success!

Tom Venuto
http://www.BurnTheFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

Australian Fitness Expo

It's nearly upon us once more, the Australian Fitness Expo. If you want to get some great deals, see what's new on the fitness scene, by up some fabbo Lorna Jane gear, then get yourself to the Expo
It runs from April 17-19.
The great thing for me is the full three day FILEX conference - lots of new ideas - so be warned people!

Autumn....

Well, I'm not quite sure where February disappeared, but disappear it has.
..and now, it's Autumn - and yes, you could feel it in the air this morning on that cool Southerly wind.

When you couple this with darker mornings, it's often all the excuse some people need to stay in bed for an extra hour instead of getting up, getting going, and getting fit.

We are very spoilt in this climate, we think it's cold when it's 22 degrees. I say, perfect exercising weather!

If you're one of those people that looks for excuses like this instead of exercising, hop on over here Outdoor Fitness Experience and see how other people handle exercising in 'real' cold.

After you've read that blog - see you at 6.15am in our pleasant climate

The Biggest Loser

It's really hard to not post comment on shows such as the Biggest Loser. Whilst on the one hand it's great for personal training and fitness in general - it helps to motivate the general public into action, I really disagree with the methods and the whole concept of the show.

Yes, I know... it's a show. It's meant to have MASSIVE results and MASSIVE impact, but do they really have to be so brutal to those poor people? and for the love of god, 1100 calories for the women and 1400 calories for the men? No wonder these people don't keep the weight off without some drastic measures later - they're not learning how to do it for life.

I would never advocate a healthy diet for a women to be less than 1500 - 1600 calories, and for a man 1900-2000 calories - depending upon their activity levels.
But for people that were eating around 4-6000 calories a day and upward, doing no exercise, to now drop to those levels and do around 4 hours of intense exercise a day...no wonder blood sugar levels and tempers, moods etc run rampant.

That little amount of calories would have sent the most hardened person straight to the temptation table in a flurry.

But... this is the only way they get such massive weight drops.

Which leads me to my next point of contention.
This is just not realistic people - 1/2kg to 1kg a week is the key to healthy, long term weightloss. Anything above that is generally not sustainable - yes, you may get more or less fluctuations on a week to week basis - but if you average it out over a 10-12 week period, it should average out to a kilo a week. By doing that you are learning more about what your body needs, how much it uses, what is optimum, how you feel, if you need to add more 'fuel' or could tweak a little more. At least when you start off around 1600 calories a day, you have somewhere else to go. If you start at 1100 calories and 4 hours of exercise...what else are you going to have to do when you plateau, which you inevitably will as your body shuts down its metabolism thinking its in starvation mode.

Crazy stuff. Yet compelling viewing...if only for the wrong reasons.

8 reasons most people fall off the fitness & weight loss wagon

This was the subject of an email from Tom Venuto (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle), so i thought it worth re-posting here:

THE 8 REASONS:

1. NO FOCUS: you didn't set goals, you didn't put your goals in
writing, and or you didn't stay focused on your goals daily
(by reading them, affirming them, looking at a vision board, etc.)

2. NO PRIORITIES: you may have set a goal, but you didn't put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than
having a flat stomach.

3. NO SUPPORT SYSTEM: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going got tough.

4. NO ACCOUNTABILITY - you didn't keep score for your own accountability - with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn't set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else
or show your results to someone else)

5. NO PATIENCE: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 pounds a week or
5 pounds a week or 3 pounds a week, so the first week you lost "only" 1 or 2 pounds or hit a plateau, you gave up.

6. NO PLANNING: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn't
plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn't have a menu on paper, you didn't make time (so instead
you made excuses, like "I'm too busy")

7. NO BALANCE: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, "I want it now" route instead
of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.

8. NO PERSONALISATION: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn't suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition or body type.

So there you have it - 8 reasons why most people to fall off the wagon! Have you been making these mistakes? If so, the solutions are clear and simple:
focus, prioritise, get support, be accountable, be patient, plan, balance and personalise.

Wollongong Council's proposal

So... the Council have finally passed their draft proposal on how to handle all of us renegade fitness trainers.

Whilst the majority of us would be in favour of some type of licensing arrangement, why should we be the only users of 'public land' for 'private enterprise' that need to submit a quote indicating a dollar figure that we think we should pay for the use of whichever parcel of land that we want to train on?

Surely a simple $1000 per annum fee or something along those lines would be a fairer way to offer these licences? At least then we know what we are up for. But, to simply say we need to quote... what if we don't quote high enough for the revenue raisers?? What then of our business?

Just when you thought it was safe....

here's more on goal setting:

It's a great post from the Fitness Philosopher

So...you want to run 5km ?

Many people start out there fitness regime by starting out running.  

This can sometimes be people's downfall - they start running, can only run for a minute or two, start running out of breath and feel as though they have failed, and give up.

So... what's the answer - how do you get past this and be able to continue to run effortlessly like all those others out there?

Well... firstly, it helps that you gain some understanding as to why you run out of puff so quickly.

When you first start running, your body actually is working anaerobically - ie without oxygen. It takes a little while before your aerobic system kicks in and takes over. Quite often, this is when you've run out of puff and stopped.  So...the answer is...focus and keep going for a bit longer, concentrate on breathing in and out nicely and evenly, and you will find that it appears to get easier. Of course, if you've been sedentary for a while, you're not going to be able to just keep going for 20 minutes - you will need to build up to that - so aim for small chunks to start - 5 minutes at a time or f your goal is to run 5km - how about following cool running's "couch to 5km" program here? It starts you out so gently, and has you able to run 5km easily in 9 weeks.

You will find that as your fitness increases, the quicker your aerobic system will start to kick in.

Q: I'm not sure how to structure a typical day's 'good' eating - can you help?

Many people are told that they should eat a certain way to ensure that they keep their metabolism active throughout the day - ie 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. What a lot of people aren't sure of, is how to actually do that, and what is a good daily plan.

Here's what I eat typically in a day:

Meal 1: 7.30am - Muesli with a skim milk protein shake, blueberries or other berries.
Meal 2: 10.00am (snack) 25g cheese, piece of fruit - or 1 cup watermelon/strawberries etc.
Meal 3: 1.00pm Grilled chicken, green beans, brocolli or salad
Meal 4: 3.00pm (snack) Natural Greek Yoghurt, Low fat, with frozen blueberries and sprinkle of muesli on top.
Meal 5: 7-8pm Stir fry chicken or beef, bokchoy, capsicum, beans, sprouts etc with fist size of basmati rice; or grilled marinated chicken with green veges & potato.
Meal 6: 8.30pm (snack) piece of fruit and handful of almonds
Drink during day : 2-4L water depending on exercise levels & heat.

- As you can see from the above, the daily food intake covers protein, carbs & fats. Incorporates plenty of calcium, fruit and vegetables, with adequate hydration during the day.

Two evenings a week I will 'cheat' by adding some wine & dark chocolate.

If you can plan out a week's worth of eating, in a similar structure, then you will be well on your way to excellent nutrition and weight loss success.

Goals for the New Year

So - have you set your goals for the year? fitness and otherwise?
Have a clear vision of where you want to be - how you want to feel, how you want to look, what you want to achieve.
Is it a 5km fun run? A triathlon? City to Surf?
or do you want to just look the best you ever have and feel the best you ever have? How do you quantify that?
Do you need to lose 2 dress sizes or more?
Would you like to be able to increase your strength - either upper or lower body, or even your core?
Quantify that by - how long do you want to be able to hold the 'plank' for.. how many situps in a minute, how many pushups in a minute?

When you have a clear idea of what it is you want to achieve, then we can take the steps to help you get there.
Write out your goals and go and achieve them!

Council issues.

http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/business/lcencesregulations.asp
Can anyone see here, where it states about licences for fitness trainers?
Now, council are in the process of lodging development applications across various parcels of land (see DA-2008/1794) so that we can all be treated 'fairly' and 'tender' for the use of the land.
Wonder how much we'll all need to tender? What if we're not successful? do we have to shut up shop?
I'm all for paying a licence fee to the council for the use of land - but in a transparent way, not in this underhanded way, which is obviously only designed to be fair to Council and increase their fees.
The story is here:

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/General/council-fee-plan-angers-outdoor-fitness-trainers/1401053.aspx

Tips to help achieve your goals for 2009

1. Clarify your vision - what is the no. 1 goal that you want to focus on and attain this year?

2. Believe you can accomplish it.

3. Identify and align yourself with people who have already achieved what you wish to achieve.

4. Adopt a relentless commitment to action - do something every day to help get you closer to your goal.

5. Most importantly, have fun and remember to enjoy the journey along the way.