What's your game plan?

There were some great college basketball games on this weekend. I don't know about you, but I love March Madness. As a currently "retired" college basketball coach, I really like to watch the play action and to see teams execute exactly the way the play was drawn up. You'll hear coaches talk all the time about the game plan and sticking to the game plan even when the game isn't going as they had hoped.

Here's my question for you....what's your gameplan? Well if you don't have one, you are basically swimming upstream because it's nearly impossible to be successful in this fitness game without a plan. That's where we come in. Your professional fitness gameplanners. That being said, check out the plan for this week.

Monday
Perform the following workout circuit style resting only as needed for:
Beginners: 2 sets of 10 reps
Intermediate/Advanced: 4 sets of 8 reps



Tuesday
Do something active for 20-30 minutes and make sure you watch Penn State play in the NIT semi-finals.

Wednesday
Perform the following workout circuit style resting only as needed for:
Beginners: 2 sets of 10 reps
Intermediate/Advanced: 4 sets of 8 reps



Thursday
Do something enjoyable for 30 minutes. (Hopefully watch Penn State in the NIT finals)

Friday
Pick either workout from above and perform circuit style as many times as possible for:
Beginner: 8 reps of each, 10 minutes
Intermediate: 10 reps of each, 15 minutes
Advanced: 10 reps of each, 20 minutes

Stick to the gameplan....it's what works.

Have a great week

Livin' the Good Life

Last week a friend and I got together for business lunch to discuss some upcoming Get Fit Carlisle programs. When asked where he wanted to eat, he said we should meet at the Good Life Cafe. Although, I'd never eaten there before, I had heard great things so I decided to check it out.

I wasn't disappointed. This place was great. The atmosphere was nice, the service was great and the food was really good. I had a bowl of turkey vegetable soup and a curried chicken salad sandwich on wheat. Very good. There were lots of choices and they recently added a buffet at lunch. We ended up sitting right by the buffet and from the looks of things, it must be good as well. There was a steady stream of people continually getting in line for the buffet option.

The best thing about the Good Life Cafe is that the food is prepared with the health and fitness of the buyer in mind. Organic fruits and veges, coupled with grass fed meat products produces a great tasting and nutritious meal. Not only that, it's priced fairly. I think my bill was around 8 bucks for a soup/sandwich and drink. Not bad.

At Get Fit Carlisle we are all about helping you lead a healthy life and the Good Life Cafe just made it easier to eat right on the go. If you are ever in-town for lunch, give the Good Life Cafe a try. You'll be glad you did.

By the way, you can click on the picture above and it will take you to their website. Check it out!

Do This - Get in Shape

AFter a week of Bodyweight workouts, let's get back into some dumbbell work. Follow the blueprint this week to get stronger, burn fat and get in better cardiovascular shape. The best bang for your buck.

Monday
Do the following workout in circuit format resting only as needed.
Beginner: 2 sets of 10
Intermediate: 3 sets of 10
Advanced: 4 sets of 10



Tuesday
Any leisurely activity for 30 minutes

Wednesday
Do the following workout in circuit format resting only as needed.
Beginner: 2 sets of 10
Intermediate: 3 sets of 10
Advanced: 4 sets of 10


Thursday
Go play a sport or try a new activity for at least 30 minutes

Friday
Pick either of the above workouts and perform it in circuit format as many times as possible for the following times
Beginner: 8 reps of each for 15 minutes
Intermediate: 8 reps of each for 20 minutes
Advanced: 8 reps of each for 30 minutes

Enjoy!

The Easiest Way to lose weight

Quite a few people lately have asked me the best way to lose some weight. Maybe it's because summer is right around the corner or maybe it's because "The Biggest Loser" is in full swing on NBC again. Maybe it's because our local family has lost almost 115lbs and people are starting to wonder how they are doing it. I'm not sure why so many people have asked me lately but I'm glad to give you a straight forward answer.

Some trainers may say...Do more cardio! Others may say...you have to exercise at least 6 days a week to lose weight. Still others may promote 60 minutes of strenght training followed by at least 45 minutes of cardio 4-6 days a week. But none of those answers is correct. Nope, none of them.

Here's the deal, you may very well be busting your butt shredding 500-600 calories per workout (which isn't that uncommon in our Get Fit Carlisle Classes). And even that's not the easiest way to lose weight. (Ask our clients if class is the "easiest" way)In all honesty though, your workouts may be going great and you very well may be burning calories like crazy during your time at the gym. But it's what you do the other 23 hours a day that counts.

Think of it this way....If I burn 500 calories at a workout that last about 45 minutes(just a brief sidenote here, the average person would have to run for 7 hours to burn 1lb of fat. That doesn't sound that easy)and then I stop by McDonalds on the way home for a burger, fries and coke for 600 calories, how effective was my workout? In fact it may take me on average about 3 minutes (about the time it takes me to eat a #2 at McD's) to completely make my 45 minute sweatfest useless.

So if want to shed a few pounds quickly and easily...Change your diet! Cut out the junk, stop eating processed garbage and concentrate on whole natural foods. No sweat, minimal time and not real expensive. Your workouts should be a supplement to your nutrition plan and be designed to up your metabolism 36-48 hours post workout. Is your program doing that?

Remember, it is impossible to outwork a bad diet. Eat great, follow the right workout plan and results are guaranteed!

The World's Best Piece of Equipment

You know every Saturday or Sunday morning I like to turn on the television before church and see what's new in the infomercial world. It's really unbelievable the amount of equipment out there that is going to get everyone in great shape and solve all of life's problems. I think I saw an ab machine this weekend that promised to help lose weight, inches, get stronger, fix the economy and produce world peace. And to think it could all be mine for just 3 payments of $39.95! Amazing.
What they never tell you is the best piece of equipment we have is the one we were born with. That's right, our bodies! No one should consider adding outside resistance (machines, dumbbells, etc) until they can move their own body properly. That's why for this week's workouts I've gone all bodyweight. Check out the videos below.

Monday
Perform 10 reps of each exercise in the following circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes


Tuesday
Get outside and enjoy the "nice" weather. Go for a walk at lunch or afterwork.

Wednesday
Perform 10 reps of each exercise in the following circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes


Thursday
Any leisurely activity for 30 minutes

Friday
Perform either circuit from Monday or Wednesday. Perform 3-5 rounds of 15 reps of each exercise.

Next Question?

Ok, here's the deal. At Get Fit Carlisle we want to give you what you want. But we need to know what that is. This is your chance to ask us any question that you have concernning health, fitness and nutrition and we'll do our best to answer the question. If we don't know the answer, we'll find the person who does.

In addition, tell us what you are looking for in a fitness program. Do you like the big gym feel or do you like the smaller personalized feel? Do you like to do your own thing or do you enjoy having a trainer/coach at every session? Tell us what you are looking for in a facility so we know how to improve our approach.

Post your questions and comments in the comment section below. Tell us what you want, and we'll try and give it to you.

Financial Fitness

Often times when you hear the word fitness, it is easy to think about working out, boot camps, circuits and the gym. Actually, I'm glad you do think that way as hopefully this "fitness" word is on the tip of your tongue as you pursue health in your daily life. As always, please let us know what we can do to help you achieve your physical fitness goals and help you "Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better."

However, as I sit and watch FoxNews and watch the DOW Jones still below 7000, I'm reminded that fitness is more than just physical. Part of the mission of Get Fit Carlisle is to help our clients become fit in other areas of their life as well (intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, etc. etc.)

In these scary economic times, I think we'd all like to become a bit more financially fit. And to be perfectly honest, becoming financially fit isn't that much different than becoming physically fit. The keys to success are the same.
1. Determine your goals
2. Hire a qualified coach
3. Follow the plan
4. Stay Accountable
5. Be Disciplined

This is pretty much the recipe for success that we've experienced here at Transformation Training and Fitness with our clients and should be what you have in place for your financial fitness plan as well.

A friend of mine, James DeGaetano Jr., (actually he's a former high school teammate, and current client so we go way back) is a financial advisor that has been a great help to me over the past 2 years of running this business. I've always appreciated his honesty, integrity and hardwork in many areas but especially in running his branch of First Command Financial Services. If you are ready to pursue financial fitness in this time of financial chaos, I recommend you give him a call. (717-960-0012)

Remember, it's extremely important to pursue fitness in all areas of life, not just our physical bodies.

Fitness Blueprint for Week of 3/10/09

If you are trying to get in great shape, it's important to do resistance training as well as cardiovascular training. With our Get Fit Carlisle programs, we try and combine both so that our clients can workout shorter but still get the best bang for their buck. Give this weeks workout a try and let me know what you think.

Monday
Do 10 reps of each exercise as many rounds as possible for the following times:
Beginners - 10 minutes
Intermediate - 15 minutes
Advanced - 20 minutes


Tuesday
The weather is getting nicer. Get outside and go for a walk, run or hike!

Wednesday
Perform the following exercises as a circuit. 3 Rounds of 8 reps each. Try to lift as heavy as possible without going to complete failure


Thursday
Call up a friend and spend some time together. Do any leisurely activity for 30 minutes

Friday
Perform the same workout as Monday but complete 3 rounds of 15 reps of each exercise.
Rest as needed.

Post your questions in the comments area below

Have a great week!

The first milestone

Congratulations to our favorite family as they've accomplished goal #1. After four weeks of their challenge they've successfully lost 104.4lbs as a group! Great job everyone!

Within the family, several members have lost 2-4% of their total body weight in just the first 4 weeks with one member losing 21lbs! himself. That's 21lbs in one month! It's amazing what a little hard work, discipline and accountability will do. Check back in to see how week 5 goes.....

*The above picture is a view of 1lb of fat. Imagine losing 104.4 of those in 4 weeks.

This Weeks Fitness Blueprint

March sure did come in like a lion this year. We were lucky to avoid a big snowfall but it sure is cold outside. Warm yourself up with this week's new workout and the rest of the week outlined below. Post your questions in the comment section.

Monday
Perform the new workout for 3 sets of 12 reps each. Check out the video below and give it a shot.


Tuesday
Try a cardio core workout for a change.
Perform 30 seconds of jumping jacks followed immediately by a 30 second plank and a 30 second superman. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat for the following times
Beginner: 10 minutes
Intermediate: 14 minutes
Advanced: 20 minutes

Wednesday:
Perform the following circuit 4 times for 8 reps of each exercise


Thursday
Do any activity for at least 20 minutes. Go for a walk or try out a new sport

Friday
Repeat Monday's workout but this time perform 3 sets of 10 reps of each exercise

Saturday
Plan meals and go grocery shopping for the upcoming week

Sunday
Day of Rest. Take it easy and relax your body, mind and spirit