As many of you know, I recently went through Dragondoor’s 3-day RKC (Russian kettlebell certification) training course. (If any of you don’t know what a kettlebell is please read: http://blog.coreyhoward.com/?p=103) In all my prep time leading up to it, I was excited about learning from the best kettlebell instructors in the world, but I was also nervous. Every one of us experiences times of self doubt and I definitely had my moments. I knew I had to go through the RKC to take myself and my clients to the next level. After three days, I learned more than I ever dreamed of, and had an amazing experience.

After returning to work with all my new knowledge and excitement, I still wondered where this journey was going. Kenneth Jay & Brett Jones, you would be proud… I didn’t throw up knowledge all over the clients! Instead, I looked at clients training logs, made some changes, passed on the “Pavel tough love” approach and truly enjoyed implementing new strategies with everyone. Then about 3 weeks later it hit me, my purpose and why kettlebells.

In late July, I was away at a Christian men’s retreat wondering why on earth I was there and again, what was I supposed to take out of this experience. If you’ve never been to one, let me tell you… there’s a lot of alone time for reflection, prayer, and self-examination. One night, after one of the lesson’s they gathered all of us guys together and marched us downstairs to the sanctuary. After a candlelight experience they left us alone for more self-examination. I sat there alone pondering every aspect of my life wondering what my purpose was. The only thing coming to my little brain was kettlebells! I mean seriously! This should be a moment I sit back and look at myself and everything going on in my world and most of my thoughts kept circling back to training with kettlebells! (I did have a few awesome breakthroughs though; I’m not that one dimensional.)

The next morning, Sunday July 25th, as I sat through a presentation about serving others, it hit me! It all came together! As the speaker (Ryan) was talking, I grabbed my pen and started writing what was flowing into my head. Kettlebell classes for free! Rather than charging everyone to participate in the class, why don’t I just use my skills to help others work toward the body of their dreams for free! I know, it’s insane! I couldn’t believe it myself, but I kept writing. Helping people move better, feel better, workout appropriately, eat better, and love the way they look, isn’t enough. I need to do more! So, If someone wants to come to the class, rather than paying me to help them, wouldn’t it be amazing if they gave a donation, or an offering? Then Results will take that gift and give it to the homeless! So basically all 3 kettlebell classes are free to absolutely anyone! Come experience a class & stay for a year, or longer, wear smaller clothes each month, and all I would like to see you do is donate some cash every time you’re in the gym to help put a family in a home. Yes!

You see, I firmly believe we are put on this earth to serve others. We are given specific skills and are required to improve the lives of others with the skills we are blessed with. Those of you that know me, know that I eat, sleep, and breathe fitness & kettlebells. Heck, I don’t even watch the news or read the paper! Let me ask you this… Wouldn’t it be pretty cool to see someone lose 100lbs and help a family create a home for birthdays and Christmas? At the same time!!! Are you with me? I hope so. We’ll start the first week in September.

Men, this is a chance for you to take your shirt off while you’re grilling or standing on the shore this 4th of July. Women, this is a chance for you to look sensational in your bikini on the 4th of July. So let’s chisel away on that body and look great in those jeans, or shorts, or anything you turn heads in. This is an opportunity to win some cash and look great on the 4th of July! Here’s the game plan: From Saturday, May 15 to Wednesday, June 30 we will run a “Beach Body Challenge”! All participants will be weighed and measured by the 15th, and have a before & after picture taken. Everyone is required to put $100 in the pot, as an entry fee, and at the end of June (just in time for the 4th of July) the winner pockets all the money! The winner will be based off of the total percentage of inches and pounds lost in the 45 days, as well as their awesome transformation picture! And to assure your trainer is pushing you hard enough to win, the trainer of the winning contestant will get 25% of the pot. So, yes the winner splits the pot 75/25 with their trainer! Also…. the prize for 2nd place is nothing! All contestants must be clients of Results and can participate in either one on one training, group, or kettlebell class. So if you know of someone that currently isn’t a Results client, but needs a small nudge to shed some pounds before the 4th…. Fire it up and refer them! Could be an opportunity for you to win and take their money

For questions email: corey@resultsptonline.com, or call 605.310.6591

Who is, Results Personal Training and what do we do? I get asked that question a lot. The most fun answer is to say, “We make your craziest dreams and goals a reality.” If you were to look at what has been accomplished over the last year out of our little 2000 sq ft training facility, you might just be blown away.

Over a just a few short years Results has had many amazing client achievements. I had the opportunity to train Jessica for the Miss SD USA, which she won and went on to represent our state on the national scene at the Miss USA in Las Vegas. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Lexi and help her prep for Miss SD America and now she has her own business called IMPower, where she coaches and inspires other young women. After helping Aaron and Lisa get in shape for their wedding a seed was casually planted about figure competitions and almost two years later she knocked down huge wins in Fargo, and Minneapolis. Lisa has also appeared in local print magazines, and news stories as well as a national fitness publication, Oxygen Magazine. I’ve also faced the daunting task of helping 71 year old Joan, lose 100lbs and get her life back! Just this week we had one of our own trainers, Kristi, compete in the Boston marathon right alongside her client Laura. Both of which trained almost exclusively with kettlebells for their strength training.

If you were to walk into Results on any average day, what you would see just might blow your mind! Take today for example: we had a car salesman sprinting on the treadmill so he doesn’t lose a bet and have to sprint down 57th in his undies. We had a 60 year old retired man dragging a sled in the parking lot. A contractor working through some shoulder mobility issues with kettlebell arm bars. There was a 16 year old mild mannered golfer that has acquired a tasted for lifting heavy weights. Or a young successful business woman that wants to compete in this year’s Miss SD USA. You see, our clients come from all walks of life. From a 12 year old competitive barrel racer to a 74 year old retiree whose doctors love his dropping blood pressure. We have people from all ages and backgrounds. Look in through the big front window and you might see a computer programmer training alongside a real estate agent, or a surgeon, or attorney, or salesman, or construction worker. Everyone of them has their own goal, hopes and dreams. Everyone of them has their own story… but everyone of them wants to succeed, and they all train as though failure is not an option… because it isn’t!

I can’t wait to see what happens over the next year. Who will be the next client out of Results to appear on a national stage? We’re a little gym that dreams big! Thank you everyone for setting high goals and shooting for the stars. We love helping you get there.

Ninety percent of the clients in a gym or personal training studio are there because they want to move without pain, lose weight, wear smaller clothes, look better naked or just simply have a better ass. Yet today as I was standing there between one of my clients sets I looked around and listened to the people. Where are they… mentally? One client was staring out the window, gasping for breath I hope. Another was talking about jewelry, and a third was preparing to dominate a set of pull-ups. I saw one client maybe two that were in the now… nothing was on their mind except the work that needed to be done in the gym. Many times we hear people talk about the goals they would like to achieve, but are they really willing to work to make it happen? I mean really work! How many people can clearly state what some of their goals are and give me an outline of their plan of attack? For example a friend of mine’s seven year old daughter drew a picture for a first grade assignment. The assignment was for the children to draw their goal and four things they had to do to achieve it. She wanted to be a better ninja… so she drew herself hanging out with other ninjas, then sleeping to get plenty of rest, then eating for proper ninja nutrition, and the fourth drawing was her practicing her ninja skills. The point is she had a clear plan and knew what needed to be done.

I am asked many times what my favorite type of client is. Or what does it take for someone to be successful at Results. I can tell you that I am blessed to train some amazing and successful people from all ages and walks of life. My favorite client is the one that doesn’t care about other people in the gym, or what they have to do after they leave. The people that consistently make progress are the ones that can take out the trash. A few years ago there was a movie called, Peaceful Warrior. In this movie an old gas station philosopher, nicknamed Socrates, is mentoring a young gymnast. In one of his lessons Socrates tosses the young cocky kid off a bridge into a creek. After the young gymnast gets mad and yells and asks why he did that, Socrates responds by asking him what he was thinking as he fell from the bridge? “Nothing,” shouts the kid. “Exactly! You were in the now. You even had a word for it… (yelling) AHHHHH!,” The point is that no matter what your goal is, take out the mental trash. Take out everything else that doesn’t matter, clear your mind and focus only on what you need to accomplish right now. Ironically some of the most successful clients I’ve ever trained, are also amazingly driven in many other aspects of their life. They take out the trash with everything they do.

What am I saying? If you want to lose weight, look better naked, run a successful business, be a surgeon, or be the best at selling whatever your product is, then take out the trash and attack your plan for achieving your goal. Stop talking about it, cause nobody really cares until you achieve it anyway.

What is a kettlebell? This is the most asked question I get from people when they hear about what we do at the gym. The easy answer is that it’s a cannonball with a handle, which originated in Russia over 300 years ago and brought to the US by Pavel Tsatsouline. The application answer is that it’s a ground based, functional, athletic way to strength train and improve your body’s cardiovascular condition, strength, and open up some loose joints! The answer from many of my clients is that a kettlebell is a fun, evil little tool that delivers some amazing results!

Do they work? According to Pavel Tsatsouline, on dragondoor.com, he sites a study done in 1986 by Vinogradov & Lukyanov that compared sport specific training to kettlebell training. They state: “Voropayev (1983) tested two groups of subjects in pullups, a standing broad jump, a 100m sprint, and a 1k run. He put the control group on a program that emphasized the above tests; the experimental group lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice on the tested exercises, the kettlebell group scored better in every one of them! This is what we call “the what the hell effect”.” My explanation for these results? Kettlebells challenge your core stability (abs, hips, glutes, and hamstrings), force your tight joints to open up and become more stable, and also make you more athletic. Many kettlebell movements are performed one arm at a time. The advantage to single arm kettlebell movements is that while one side of your body is working, the other side is stabilizing. Are you feeling more athletic yet?

I have heard many people curious about kettlebells and many people worried they can’t do it. If you’re at all curious, then you can do it! Make sure you are learning the techniques from a certified instructor, and ask if they even train with them, themselves. There are a lot of trainers out there teaching or implementing kettlebell movements into programs, but they don’t even use them in their own training! I think just about everyone can effectively apply some kettlebell movements into their routine. If you want to improve your muscle endurance or melt away some ugly fat, perform some basic swings for time… For those of you that train at Results and have used these evil little cannonballs with handles, you know which can be harder… a timed swing or running on the boring treadmill! If you want to build some serious muscle and strength… perform some heavy ladder rep movements, or break out another bell and perform double kettlebell exercises. Are your shoulders tight? Lay on the floor and perform some arm bars. Or press the bell over head while in a down lunge position and open up that thorasic spine. You want to build a heart of steel? Try Kenneth Jay’s Viking Warrior Conditioning snatch routine (this is quite possibly the best cardiovascular conditioning program on the planet!). The possibilities are endless!!!

Are you dying to try out the ‘bell’s now? At Results we offer a beginner class on Wednesday nights at 5.30 and again on Saturday morning at 8am. I will close with a quote from Olympic Greco-Roman Silver Medalist, and Chiropractor, Dennis Koslowski, “Kettlebells are like weightlifting times ten. …If I could have met Pavel in the early 80’s, I might have won 2 gold medals. I’m serious.” Think you can tap into your inner athlete?

We would like to shout from the roof tops how proud we are of local attorney Lisa Maguire. She has been a client of mine for almost 2 years and has created quite a name for herself in the fitness scene over the last year. She has competed in 3 Figure competitions, won the overall in Fargo, and carried her momentum into Nationals where she placed eleventh in a very tough division. Lisa has been in Oxygen magazine, recently the cover of Sioux Falls Woman, and now the athlete of the week on KDLT news. You can check out the news story at kdlt.com/athlete-of-the-week.html. Thanks Lisa for being an inspiration to many of the clients at Results. We admire your awesome work ethic!

http://www.kdlt.com/athlete-of-the-week.html

Have you ever thrown up at the end of your training session? Or become sick or nauseated? For some reason, this has happened quite often at Results. Keep in mind it is our job to push you, but it’s never our goal to make you throw up! Sometimes, to get where you want to go you have to be pushed to do things you have never done! When someone is pale, dizzy or feeling sick we’ll ask questions like: How much sleep did you get last night? When was the last time you ate? What did you eat before you came in here? Typically they’ll tell us they’ve only slept 4 hours that night, or haven’t eaten in 6-7 hours because they were too busy or worse yet they ate something heavy… like fries, bread, or a burrito! We all know we need to get enough sleep every night, and eat 5-6 small meals per day, but unfortunately sometimes life doesn’t allow that to happen. So what should you eat before a workout? What would be the ideal nutrition that would give you enough energy to get you through the training session and still help promote recovery so you don’t get so amazingly sore? And what should be consumed immediately post workout to help speed up recovery?

When you train hard and push your body to the limit you are taxing many different systems in your body. Your energy stores (glycogen) are depleted. The anabolic hormone insulin may decline which causes cortisol to increase (this causes muscle tissue breakdown). Remember, your muscle tissue keeps your metabolism up so we don’t want to lose any muscle! Training hard also causes muscle damage… after all you are causing acute tears in the muscle to force it to grow back stronger. Your immune system is also weakened because the white blood cells are trying to fix the muscle cell damage. Lastly, there is the fluid loss from sweating. So, as you can see proper pre-workout nutrition is very important. In fact, if you do it right it may minimize your soreness over the next few days! I know everyone would love that!

John Ivy, Ph.D., and Robert Portman, Ph.D., wrote a brilliant book titled “Nutrient Timing” which covers optimum pre and post workout nutrition. In this book they recommend a carbohydrate and protein mix drink before, during and after your workout. Carbs before, during, and after your workout help increase muscle glycogen stores (muscle energy). Protein before, during, and after your workout should be in the form of easily digestible branch chain amino acids. This forces your body to choose the ingested nutrients for fuel as opposed to breaking down your existing muscle for fuel. Ivy and Portman cite a study out of the University of Texas in Austin that shows a protein/carb mixed drink improves endurance 24% when compared to a Gatorade type drink and 57% more when compared to water. They also cite a study by David Nieman that shows this mix helps suppress the cortisol level which in turn limits immune suppression… smaller chance of getting sick. The combination of protein and carbohydrate was also shown to limit the bodies markers of post-workout inflammation by almost 50%… in other words you would experience less post-workout soreness.

So, what does all this mean and what do Ivy and Portman recommend you consume before, during and after your workout? Get a high-glycemic drink which contains sucrose, glucose, or maltodextrin and mix it with a scoop of whey protein. For those of you that measure out your carbs, the ratio of protein to carb should be 1:3. I can’t guarantee that you won’t throw up, but I can promise you will feel a lot better and definitely survive and perform better during your training session. Now, stop eating hard-to-digest food before your workout and eat like you should! Try this recipe for a month and I promise you will be pleased with the RESULTS.

Hard to believe but this year is a third gone. Like many people, you may have began a workout program the first of the year with outstanding goals of a new look by summer. How is that coming along? Have you been as consistent as you needed to be? Did you stay focused with your cardio, strength training and better eating? Do you feel as though you’ve busted your butt, only to plateau a few months ago? Are you pondering the thought of hiring a personal trainer to help you attain the look you envision?

Hiring a trainer can be a confusing process. First off, why would anyone pay somebody to make them work to the brink of exhaustion, occasional nausea, and damn near vomiting? And you know you are going to be sore as hell the next day! Can’t you just tear a good program out of a fitness magazine? And if you decide to spend the money, what should you look for in a trainer? What questions should you ask? There are so many trainers and opinions out there how do you decide who is right for you?

I hear from my clients all the time, “I can’t believe I am paying for this!” Typically this phrase is uttered in-between sets while they are trying to regain a normal breathing pattern. Yes I have had clients throw up, get light headed, and work harder than they ever thought they could. A good trainer knows what their client is capable of and pushes them to that limit. Yes, you will be sore the next day, and no, we don’t hope you feel miserable. We are not evil little people that were picked on as children! There are a couple reasons why a competent trainer is worth your money. The first is the most obvious… accountability. If you are spending your hard earned money for a service that you play a major part in then you should feel obligated to show up for the workouts and get the most out of it. Think about it, no matter what you are paying you still need to show up for the workout, do your cardio and eat appropriately. The last thing anyone wants to do is waste their money. Secondly, you should be pushed. Sometimes the most successful programs are miserably uncomfortable. With that being said safety plays an important role. For example, if you have low back issues but the program design calls for squatting, does your trainer take the appropriate measures to ensure you are using proper depth and technique to keep you safe and injury free?

When you are trying to find a trainer for yourself there are a few things I would recommend. First and foremost you need to set up a consultation. Go meet the person and get to know them. See if your personalities click. Never train with someone you don’t feel comfortable with. Your trainer is someone you need to completely trust and feel extremely comfortable with. Think of it this way, if you pick the right person they will become a trusted friend, but you still need to look up to them and trust them with your goals. You should also ask for referrals, or testimonials. If you are talking to someone that has been in the fitness business for a while, chances are they have a few testimonials or client success stories. If they are really good they work on a referral only basis. Also, and this may be the most frustrating… but is the trainers’ schedule booked pretty full? If someone has high client retention and a full schedule then chances are they know what it takes to get results. Another question to ask is specific to your goals. For example, if you want to run in a marathon what is their experience with that? If they are worth their salt they will refer you to someone else if they have no experience with running events.

The bottom line is this: If you decide to recruit the help of a personal trainer to help you with your fitness goals, remember you are paying for someone to hold you accountable, but you still get out of it what you put into it. Be sure to interview the trainer at your consultation. Ask for client success stories or testimonials. Ask if they have any experience with any physical limitations you may have. What is their knowledge and background with helping people with your specific goal? A successful trainer is someone you get along with, respect, and they know their limitations and would feel comfortable referring you elsewhere if something exceeds their scope of practice.

We were fortunate enough to get a write up in the Sioux Falls Business Journal.  To check it out, you can follow this link: http://siouxfallsbusinessjournal.argusleader.com/article/20090401/BJNEWS09/90331051

Or just read this cut and pasted article:

Q: How did you become interested in your field?

A: “I have been in a weight room or gym for 17 years. Working out and improving physical condition has been a passion of mine since I first started training. Honestly, I’m very one dimensional. Any free time I have is spent reading and learning more about fitness. It’s what I’d do even if I didn’t have to work. Helping others achieve their physical goals is more of a passion to me than a job.”

Q: How many years have you been in your profession?

A: “I’ve had the personal training business in Sioux Falls for 3 1/2 years. I started training others out of my house with some equipment I had purchased while working at 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment full time and have had the good fortune to grow it into the private training studio it is today.”

Q: What motivated you to start your own business?

A: “After working out in gyms for a long time and seeing people come and go and noticing they were doing things wrong or not achieving their goals, I decided I needed to take action. So many times people just go through the motions when they exercise and have no idea what they are doing. They just work out and hope. But if I can serve someone by creating a clear-cut path to what they are trying to achieve, that’s awesome.”

Q: What type of clients do you train?

A: “My clients range in age from 16 to 73. We train anyone from high school students to retired people, from pageant girls and figure competitors to weekend warriors. The basic common denominator among all of them is at some point they have all decided it was time to take action and change. All of my clients are highly motivated people that work hard and refuse to accept failure.”

Q: Who is Results Personal Training for and not for?

A: “Results Personal Training is for the person that is highly motivated and wants to work hard. We can only do so much for you, but at some point the client has to take responsibility for (his or her) actions and buy into the system we have laid out. What we do works, and if you’re not 100 percent on board, then I apologize, but Results just may not be for you.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

A: “Seeing my clients not only succeed but overachieve. When someone comes in and says they had to buy new pants because the old ones are falling off, or when they see someone that hasn’t seen them in awhile and they are blown away with the changes … those are the stories I love. Or when a 63-year- old man does more pushups at 63 than he did 10 years ago when he was trying to get back into the Navy. Or seeing a client compete on stage for the first time. I love seeing someone do something they never thought was possible. That is why I do what I do.”

Q: What kinds of workouts do you develop for clients?

A: “We try to tailor every workout to each individual’s unique needs. Strength training should be personalized and goal-driven. With that being said, we use primarily free weights and kettlebells.”

Q: What is unique about your gym?

A: “We are the only private, personal training studio in Sioux Falls. In other words, the only people that work out at Results are clients of ours, and everyone of their workouts are on an appointment basis. We also implement many different training modalities, from free weights to kettlebells, sled dragging, the sledgehammer and even a slosh pipe! Variety is fun, and if it’s fun, it’s effective.”

Q: What types of services do you offer?

A: “We offer nutritional guidance with a structured food plan that is based on each person’s goals, and we run each person through a strength training routine. We also offer small group classes for those that prefer more of a competitive surrounding.”

Q: What are the hours of operation for Results Personal Training?

A: “Everything is by appointment only, but we generally schedule people from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.”

I hear it all the time from prospective new clients. I’ll ask, “What are you doing now for your workouts?” And they respond with, “I go to the gym, walk on the treadmill or elliptical, then I do the machines.” These are the same people that have been “doing the machines” for a long time! We have all seen these people in the gym! You know who they are. Remember the lady on the treadmill or recumbent bike that’s “doing the machine” while reading a magazine? The only thing that’s changed is the article she’s reading. They look the same month after month and yet they expect different results! How does that saying go…? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. There are many different ways to see results, but often progress never happens because people are unwilling to change things up and get out of their comfort zone. The bottom line is this, change up your workout once a month and your body will be forced to change. Remember your body adapts to the demands placed on it and after about 4 weeks it’s time to change it up.

The first and most obvious way to change your workout is by changing the exercises you’re performing. If you are a person that trains your body in muscle groups instead of movements, then I’d suggest you get off the selectorized leg press and learn how to do a squat (and don’t tell me you can’t squat, how do you pick something up off the floor when you drop it?). Or get off the chest press machine and perform a flat or incline bench press. Basically, get off the machines and use some freeweights. Nobody at Results Personal Training uses a machine. Everything is done with freeweights, regardless of age and ability. In fact we don’t even have fixed movement selectorized machines! Your body doesn’t move in a fixed pattern, so why would anyone workout on something that puts them in a fixed pattern? Or for those of you, who mainly use a barbell, switch it up to some dumbbell work this month. The dumbbell will force your body to improve by making each side work independently. A good rule of thumb when choosing an exercise is to try and get as many muscle groups working as possible.

The second way to change things up is to simply change your sets and reps. Many times people get stuck doing 3 sets of 10, or women will perform 3 sets of 15 or 20 thinking that light weights and high reps will “tone” them up. This type of thinking neglects two other important aspects of the muscle. Think about this; low reps (under 6) build strength, middle range (6-12) generally are used for building size, and high reps (15 and up) are used for muscular endurance. An effective program uses reps in all three groups. If you work on low reps to improve your muscular strength then when you come back to the higher reps (15 and up) you will be surprised at the weight you can use for 20 reps. A complete strength training program utilizes all three aspects, strength, size, and endurance. We hit all three groups with everyone at Results PT each month and the results have been amazing. People are smaller and stronger!

The third way to change it up is by using a stop watch. How about next time you are in the gym you perform each set for a specific amount of time? Try 2 or 3 sets for 30 seconds and try to beat the number of reps you did on the previous set each time. For example, if you are performing pushups for 30 seconds and you get 25 the first set, shoot for 27 the second, then try to beat it again on the third set. Write it down and try it again next week, you’ll be amazed at the outcome. Performing a movement for a specific amount of time is challenging and fun because you will inevitably get competitive with yourself. Another way to change your workout with a stop watch is by timing your rest periods. This will force you to focus more on what you’re there for and less on social hour. You may find that your workout takes less time and is a lot more intense. For example, if you are performing 15 rep movements and you’re limiting your rest periods to 30-45 seconds, be prepared for a heart thumping cardio workout along with your strength training.

These are just three ways to shake up your workouts and get the results you are looking for. Remember nothing forces change like getting out of your comfort zone. Try something new once a month, and in four weeks your body will have adapted to the demand, then change it up again. Basically stop “doing the machines”, get out of your own way, and you’ll start seeing progress. You’ll be glad you did.