New Kitchener Studio opening January 3rd. Fat Loss Challenge starts Jnauary 10 in Kitchener and Guelph

Check the newest video for Strength Powered Fitness and Bootcamp in Kitchener and Guelph. Fat loss challenge starts January 10th in Kitchener and Guelph. Early bird registration ends January 3rd. Start the new year with fitness and losing weight!

Fat Loss Challenge - Kitchener And Guelph

We recently had our first fat loss challenge in kitchener and guelph. It was a great experience for both myself and all the participants. The challenge was 21 days long. Participants had to attend 3 bootcamps a week and were given a healthy, well balanced meal plan to follow. We weighed in and measured once a week. The goal was to lose 10lbs in 21 days in a healthy manner.

As a collective whole, out of 21 people in 21 days, 120lbs was lost and 154 inches were lost. What amazing results. I am so proud of everyone!

Here's the top 3 winners:

D. Laidlaw - 12.2lbs lost and 15.5 total inches lost.

Miroki T: 32hrs 45m cardio completed

Jill F: 9.2lbs lost, 9inches lost, 7hrs cardio completed

The next one starts in January. Stay tuned for more info!

And here's what people said about the challenge:

Leah, thanks so much for a great challenge! I enjoyed it and am still using the
meal plan. Looking forward to another challenge in January. Looks like there
were some great numbers and some really hard work! L.A.

Thanks for the inspiration today! The motivation is greatly appreciated to keep
everything into perspective. L.A.

Thanks im really proud of myself. I did pretty good considering I could never stick to a diet. I dont even look at this meal plan as a diet anyway, because I'm eating all the foods I like and I'm not starving myself. M.Ch - 10.4lbs lost, 10.25 inches lost, 23 hrs cardio completed

I think one thing you should add to your profile is that your a great motivator! Thanks so much for the great words of encouragment... I.K

Congrats to everyone in Kitchener and Guelph for particpating. You did a great job on the fat loss challenge!

Babble.

Well it's been a while....I've been so busy with the studio I can barely keep my head above the water it feels like. It's funny how life changes and it's funny how those changes can affect you. I like discovering myself. Finding out why I do the things I do. I wonder if anyone else does that. Some of the answers I don't like though. I push those ones out of my head.

Anyway. Babble. Moving the studio to a new location. I can't wait to be out of the downtown core....it's so busy. Drives me bonkers. And I hate the dirty. The new place will be great. I hope I can pull it all together. The vison I have in my head is pretty grand. I hope it plays out that way.

Considering a strength and conditioning course at Sheridan. I'm pretty excited about it. I need to hire a trainer for saturdays though...working on that now. December's going to be a busy month.

I suck at blogging

Ya ya....I know, I suck at blogging. I really do not have enough hours in the day!!! I am going to try and blog my training as I'm getting into the groove now and have a few things planned that require leaning out!

My studio is open...downtown Kitchener. I'm loving it. Still finding my groove with training and teaching in there but it's going good so far. Gonna post some pics of the studio here. But first...training today:

A1. Full Squat

115x5
135x5
135x5
135x5
115x5

Ugh...my squat sucks balls and honestly 135 was hard. I am all kinds of messed up...need a massive massage!

A2. Single leg DB RDL

35/8e
40/6
40/6
40/6

B. DB Step up

20/8x 3

C. Lying leg curl, toes pointed

3x8

Plus cardio. Have another class to teach tonight.

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Bootcamps & personal training in Guelph and Downtown Kitchener
www.bootcampbod.com
www.strengthpoweredfitness.com

Burpee Spidermans

Find me on twitter @SPF_Bootcamp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/strengthpoweredfitness
My forum: www.extreme-physique.com/forums

Video - double crunch & single leg hip bridge

New video with a medicine ball double crunch and a single leg hip bridge.

Find me on twitter @SPF_Bootcamp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/strengthpoweredfitness
My forum: www.extreme-physique.com/forums

How to do a Mountain Climber

Bootcamp classes in Kitchener and Guelph!

Studio opening in downtown Kitchener in august....stay tuned for details!

New bootcamp video

New studio opening in downtown Kitchener in August. Check out how we get our bootcampbod....now it's time for you to get yours!

Bootcamp in Kitchener and Guelph!

Squat swing lunge

This exercise is brutal when done in a circuit with burpees and lateral BOSU squat hops. Stay low throughout the movement...your quads will be screaming at you in no time. Establish a rhythm and your balance on the first couple of reps....brace yourself with your abs and keep your core tight. Because of the explosive movement backwards combined with the swing, if you are not tight you will arch your back too much. Also the same reason this movement should not be done with any type of shoulder injury.

Front squat

One of my fav exercises. Love front squats!

Med ball plyo pushup with burpee

Med ball plyo push up with burpee. I love burpees lol...I have a million variations of them :p

woodchop

Medicine ball woodchop.

Done correctly, your weight should be over your heels, as you would for a squat, heels remain on the ground, knees in line with your feet, twisting through the waist, not at the knees.

Injuries, Tabatas & Beer

So...it's tweleve noon on sunday...technically I could have beer if I wanted...but I really haven't had it yet. I just put it in the title because it sounds so yummy.

I am feeling completely frustrated at the moment. My entire body is breaking down and preventing me from any quality training. Currently I am sporting and/or rehabbing a dislocated shoulder joint, stress fractures in my shins, strained external oblique, slipped disc (which isn't giving me too much problems at the moment thank God), still having grip issues from my previously broken hand, falred up left elbow tendonitis, and something funky is going on with my left knee.

I can't run, do any plyometrics, run stairs, no olympic lifting or overhead pressing and deadlifting is hit and miss. ARGH! And what I do do has to be light or done for very short periods of time. So finding training that I can do that is effective enough for me is pissing me off lol.

I have been doing tabatas at home in place of sprinting or stair running. Even 20seconds of jumping jacks cause pain in my shin and my shoulder pops out with ever swing overhead lol...I look like a complete cripple trying to train.

So here's what I did today...these were far from max intensity nor were they done at proper speed but I still feel worked and it's better than not training at all!

Tabatas = 20s work : 10s rest x 8 rounds

Series 1:

Step run, lead with right
Step run, lead with left
Jumping jacks
Burpees

Series 2:

Kettlebell swing
Med ball mountain climber
Med ball stability ball crunch
Seated Med ball twise

Series 3:

Stability ball jackknife
Kettlebell snatch, right arm
Med ball split squat jumps
Kettlebell snatch, left arm

Series 4:

Stationary lunge with Kettlebell press, right arm
Med ball burpee
Stationary lunge with kettlebell press, left arm
Med ball burpee

I always save the best for last. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go down some arnica, slater myself with traumeel and sit in a vat of ice. Later!

Earthquakes, Tabatas & Beer

Oh what an exciting day! We had an earthquake....in Ontario! So crazy. I didn't even feel it :( I was driving. I feel so ripped off. It's all anyone is talking about and I was right here and I didn't feel a damn thing! Within an hour there was a facebook page "I survived the quake of 2010" ...lmfao, we're such geeks. Like as a nation I mean.

So with that came tornado and thunderstorm warnings. WTF...I had to cancel bootcamp. I skipped cardio at the gym because we were going to run the 100 steps in Guelph. GRRR. So I did some tabats in my living room to compensate.

I didn't want too many strength moves because it was supposed to be in place of cardio so most of it is just jumping around. Here's what I did:

20s work : 10s rest, 8 rounds

Series 1:

Kettlebell Swing
Step run, lead with left 1st rnd and switch on 2nd
Push up
Double crunch with med ball

Series 2:

MB woodchop left
MB woodchop right
Jumping jacks
Lateral double hop

Series 3:

Burpees
Step run, lead with left
Step run, lead with right
Jumping jacks.

Dripping with sweat. Tonight's beer totally justified.

Workout of the Day

Workout of the Day

Frog Hops - Got these from Zuzana
Monkey Pushups - Also from Zuzana
Band Ab Pulldowns
Bulgarian Squat with Overhead Press
Med Ball Bench Slam & Hopovers
Band Squat & Row

40 seconds at each station, repeat circuit 3-4 times with 60 second rest between circuits.

Sweet Berry Omelet

Sweet Berry Omelet

6oz liquid egg whites

splash of light cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

sliced strawberries or whole blueberries

Splenda

Beat eggs with cream, vanilla and cinnamon and add a dash of Splenda. Cook in pan like an omelet and when almost done, add berries down the middle with another sprinkle of Splenda. Flip one side over to continue to cook. When done, sprinkle top with a little more cinnamon and Splenda. 

So yum! 

Workout of the day

Spent friday at the park with Denise after getting booted from my former gym...apparently I'm a threat to their clientele. This was a pretty hard series, especially in the heat, but I still felt like I needed more so I went to the gym about an hour later for weights and cardio lol. I was rewarded by my retardedness with a groin pull....so sweet :-/

No rest, 40 sec timed intervals:

Burpee squat & press
Med ball explosive push up
TRX horizontal pullup
Double squat thrust, close & wide

4 sets

No rest, 40 sec timed intervals:

Bulgarian squat with DB clean
Squat to row
Alternating step ups
TRX pushups
Med ball plank lunges

3 sets

The Ass Backward Food Industry

Having just watched Food, INC and then coming across this article where they are paying people to lose weight....it really just blows my mind how ass-fucking-backwards this society is. How about making good healthy food more affordable in the first place so that chips, fast food and pop aren't the only option for lower income families. They go to extensive, costly lengths to make more food, cheaper (and subsequently less healthy)....all these manufactured and genetically modified foods end up being extremely cheap compared to whole foods...lower income families live on this shit and then 'they' end up having to pay people to lose weight, pay for their ill health, set up costly education programs and the whole damn cycle is just ridiculous. I'm really blown away by the conflicts of interest by which this industry is run. That movie was a definite eye opener.

Workout of the Day

It's pretty hot and disgusting at my gym....full of skylights and huge windows that let the sun pour in and NO air....so if you do this workout, I hope your gym has a less puke-inducing temperature to train in....because this wasn't all that intense and I still felt pukey because of the heat.

Tri-set with no rest:

Stability ball chest press, 10-12 reps
T-bar row, 8-10 reps
Dumbbell snatch, 6-8 reps
Rest 90 sec
4 sets total

Tri-set with no rest:
DB clean, squat & press, 8-10 reps
Single leg romanian deadlift, 6-8 reps
Lateral BOSU squat & hop with med ball, 12 reps total
Rest 90 sec
4 sets total

Unique Anderson - One unique trainer in New York City!

I am constantly googling and surfing the net for new and exciting exercises and inspiration for myself...so that I can continuously provide motivation for my own clients. I stumbled across this chick's videos and man, every single one of them I love...this girl rocks my world...I love her energy and I love her athletic ability. She's a personal trainer out of New York city and I believe she runs her own facility.

Here's a link to her website and a few of her videos on youtube. You can find more viewing the related links or by searching her name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBrjEtz0LZ4&playnext_from=TL&videos=dLic1yq76o0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVZt0B3qwZw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVnHJm5ZywM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3pbesVDadY&feature=related

Huge list of photoshoot clothes, clubwear, swimwear, & shoe sites

http://www.howcool.com/
http://www.catdancerz.com/ **
http://www.sexydepot.com/
http://www.floodline.com/Special_index.htm
http://www.colleenkelly.com/
http://www.babygirlboutique.com/
http://www.flirtcatalog.com/ **
http://www.odgirl.com/ **
http://www.sensualelegance.com/store/
http://www.syren.com/
http://www.poisonangel.com/index.html
http://www.trashy.com/
http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/
http://www.club-wear.biz/
http://www.bikini-beach.com/roma.htm
http://www.alsbikinis.com/index.html
http://www.vkini.com/
http://www.ineedshoes.com/ **
http://www.chelseasofnewyork.com/

Fitness, Figure, & Bodybuilding Competition Suits

Here is an extensive list of sites that offer competition suits for fitness, figure and bodybuilding

http://www.bikiniguru.com/ - best suits for natural boobies
http://www.fitweardesigns.com/
http://www.khpdesigns.com/
http://www.tremblaydesigns.com/
http://www.cryscorner.com/
http://www.fitnessandfigurecompetitionsuits.com
http://www.bonitadress.com/
http://merrychristine.com/
http://www.cherrybombs.net/catalog/index.php
http://www.suitsyouswimwear.com/
http://www.dreamwearonline.com/
http://www.posingswimsuits.com/
http://www.vandellacostumes.com/
http://www.optimumfitness.com/
http://cynthia-james.com/
http://www.jagware-posingsuits.com/
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/suits/suits.htm
http://www.ceradawear.com/
http://www.suitsbyceleste.com/
http://www.bodybuildingbikinis.com/
http://www.passionfruitdesigns.com/

Chick Pea and Almond Butter Sandwich

Chick Pea and Almond Butter Sandwich


1 19-oz. (540 ml) can chickpeas
Three tablespoons (45 ml) almond butter
Olive oil
1 or 2 fresh green onions, thinly chopped
A few drops of lemon juice
Pinch of ground cumin
1 - 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) minced parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Whole-wheat pita pockets cut in half
12 slices cucumber

1. Rinse and drain chickpeas. If you are so inclined, peel them by holding each pea between your thumb and index and third finger; squeeze until the skin slips off. (Yes, it takes time, but they taste better and they don't cause people to have intestinal gas! You decide.)

2. Put half the chickpeas in a shallow bowl or plate. Add the almond butter and a few drops of olive oil. Mash the mixture with a fork or potato masher; add more oil if needed.

3. Stir in remaining chickpeas, green onions, lemon juice, cumin and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (This mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.)

4. At serving time, open a pita pocket and stuff with the chickpea mixture. Slide in some cucumber slices and serve the sandwich with crisp raw vegetables and a glass of milk.

Makes four servings.

Discuss this recipe on the forum

Why do I skip the gym???

Why why why do I skip the gym?!?! I feel so much better about everything in my life when I've had a daily ass kicking from exercise. I haven't been in about a week and a half...busy, rain, work, bad mood, injury, feel like crap....you name it, I've made the excuse. But I went today and I feel awesome. Completely worn out. And that's what I need! I have to stop getting caught up in all the other stuff I have to do and make sure I make getting to the gym a priority first every day. Training at home is NOT the same for me. Neither is teaching bootcamp. I need the gym and I need it first in my day and I need it every day!

I am off today to look at studio space. I am so excited. I will post how it goes but right now I don't want to jinx myself!

Success at the IDFA Novice Classic 2010

I've been training 4 girls for the IDFA show this past weekend. It was a roller coaster of a ride for these girls but they all stuck it out and did a great job! We walked away with one 2nd place trophy and a ton of experience and a whole lot of smiling faces. We had a major body-mishap on Denise...she ended up depleting electrolytes on friday which is never good...so I had to first fix her so she didn't die lol...and then make her look good again by the time she hit the stage. She was definitely testing my coaching skills! Here's a picture of her abs on friday afternoon and then saturday morning after I fixed her!

And here's the whole group and Dee with her trophy!

Egg white apple crumble

egg white apple crumble

(This is from this months Oxygen...it is still good for pics and occasional recipes! I changed it up a bit.)

12 egg whites
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup ww flour
1 diced apple
cinnamon and splenda brown sugar to taste (optional - I put on after it's cooked)

Spray a cake pan or pie plate with pam and mix the ingredients in. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20-30 minutes.

So good!!!

 Discuss this recipe.

Jessica's Footprint

I am posting this for a friend.

The event is to help raise money for paediatric brain tumour research at sick kid's hospital.

It's a 5km walk that begins at York Road Park on JUNE 19th, 2010 from 9:00 am - 12 noon (in Guelph). There's also lots of activities for kids before/after the walk.

For more details about the event please check out the website:
http://www.jessicasfootprint.com/index.php

To sponsor her for this event please follow this link:
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=854705&LangPref=en-CA

Cross posted to the SPF Facebook Fan page

How to make a medicine ball

1. Get yourself a cheap $5 ball from walmart or canadian tire. Slice it once and then cut into one side to make a flap

2. Tape back the flaps. I filled it with ground stone, which was wet. it makes it heavier. I used just a measuring cup to put it right inside. I also used sand, which flows better because it is dry. I used a pitcher to pour that in

3. Make sure you shake it frequently and pack it tightly

4. This pitcher worked well to pour the sand in 

5. Once it's as full as you can get with the flaps open....cut a piece of duct tape and put rubber glue on the tape and the two flaps that were previously taped back

6. This is the flaps taped. Next you want to get as much sand in there as possible. It's best to kind of shift the sand to one side and then use a spoon to get more in

7. Repeat the glue / tape process for the original slit in the ball. Then take duct tape and wrap it around cris cross over the glued area.

8. Continue wrapping duct tape until the ball is covered twice. I used different colours just so you can see how I did it.

9.Once it's covered in duct tape you need to cover it in cloth hockey tape so it doesn't slide out of your hand when you're using it.

10. Ta Da! Finished product. Weighs about 20lbs! 

Homemade Score Bars

Ok....just pure evil to post but I am on day 4 of a PSMF and it's all I can think about LOL

Homemade Score Bars Recipe

Ok....ya know how the store bought scor candies are sticky and stick to your teeth...k well, these taste exactly like them but w/o the stickyness. I haven't made the recipe yet but I did get to taste the results I got this from the client I'm painting for today.

Take a cookie sheet and cover it in one layer with salted soda crackers/saltines (the kind you crumble into soup).

Melt one cup of butter and mix w/ one cup packed brown sugar. Spread over the crackers evenly and bake at 350 for 10 minutes I think she said.

Pull it out and, while it's still warm, spread 2 bags of real semisweet chocolate chips over top. The chips will melt cause it's still hot from the oven. Once it's all spread out and melted, place in the freezer till set, or overnight.

Best. Thing. Ever.

bootcamp

Shoulder is down and out for the count!

Well I'm in a huge funk right now because I injured myself and can't train. I was demo-ing a plank toe touch and my shoulder popped out...it was already pretty unstable and I had just done some olympic lifting so it was pretty tired too. Such a stupid thing. I'm pissed.

But...on a good note, while training before killing my shoulder, I hit a 10lb PR on squats and it was easy...woot woot.

I was so bored today, not being able to train, not working 10 hrs a day...grrr. On the upside...I did get some work done, got a facebook ad running which has been pretty good so far. I am hoping I will get my Precision Nutrition texts tomorrow....at least then I can study.

My Weekend

Well...my weekend was crazy. I crashed my former place of employments Staff Appreciation party...was lots of fun. Miss those people lots! Had a great time. But spent the entire next day curled in the fetal position on the couch, nursing a terrible hangover. Managed to drag my ass off the couch long enough to go eat bacon and waffles for breakkie.....how's that for a motivational personal trainer LOL.

Am back on the clean eats and no drinks bandwagon. Until the girl's show, then I will have a cheat with them to celebrate. First show and all they are having a rough time with the last couple weeks. But everyone is making tremendous progress and still moving forward. Just gotta keep their heads in the game!

I am rocking training lately

I didn't write my training yesterday and now I forget what I did. Oh well. training today was pretty good. I need my body to recover faster. I'm training a lot and have tons of energy and motivation to do it...plus teaching bootcamp 4x a week...I really want my body to keep up with me lol. But I'm so stiff and sore. This can't be from being old can it?

I did half assed conditioning yesterday, lots of skipping...so I needed to take it easy today cause my shins and ankles are feeling it. It actually feels like I rolled my right ankle but I didn't...so weird.

Today:

Bent BB Row,PG 4x6

Incline DB Press, 4x6

Seated Cable Row, 3x10

Straight arm lat pull, 3x10

15 min balls to the wall elliptical
15 min less balls to the wall bike.....legs were pretty tired at that point lol

Weight has not changed one freaking bit but I *look* like I am getting leaner. Who knows. Grrrr

Hells yeah!

Ok...I should have gone to the gym today but I wanted to get some work done on the site and I ended up registering for Berardi's new Nutrition Cert. I'm so excited. I can't wait to get the materials and get started! It's do or die now people. Wish me luck!

Well fuck

My awesomeness didn't last long. Must've been that glass of wine. Gym sucked. Pissy mood. Right back to being my old self, complete with a hate-on for everything that exists. I stopped by chapters on my way to drop my daughter off for what I think was a date (grrr) and of course checked out the fitness/health section. Randy jackson has a diet book out. Really? He's a nutrition expert now? Some things just blow my mind. If Randy Jackson can write a book on dieting, I sure as hell can. Irritating.

Caved

OMG I already caved and I'm having a glass of wine. LOL loser.

I forgot to post that I have found a place to personal train! I am so stoked...this place is an actual conditioning centre, as opposed to a personal training studio....3 squat racks and weights on rubber matting and grass turf with sleds on the other side. So awesome!

I still feel awesome...WTF

LOL I really don't know why...it must be cause I haven't had alcohol in a while. I have so much energy my friend is telling me to drink cause I'm wearing her out..haha. I'm not though...I'm loving the energy, and I'm also saving it for next weekend cause I have a party to crash!

Training was great again today. We did conditioning. Loving it. Diet has been on, although I just went to Healthy Haven and found Irish Cream Cheese Fudge....OMG...evill heaven! And I'm BBQing some burgers....I put ground flax and lots of veggies in them, wish I had some low carb buns though. I'm not really a fan of dead cow but I can handle it grilled sometimes. Are you supposed to squish out the juice of the burger? I dunno but I always do. NO BEER. It might kill me :-/

This is how I kicked ass in the gym today:

Clean/front squat,
Plyo MB Pushup,
DB Snatch,
BOSU explosive lateral squat...no rest, 4 sets.

Then BB snatch/overhead squat,
Single leg RDL,
Step jumping jacks,
MB hip drive,
Spiderman pushup on BOSU...no rest 3 sets.

Outta time. Ass. Kicked.

I feel awesome today!

Wow...I usually feel like utter crap but I had so much energy today to train. I'm in a great mood too, also rare. Did conditioning today, this is what I did:

Stability Ball Chest Press
Bent BB Row
Box Jump
Skipping

4 sets no rest between exercises, 90 seconds between series.

Burpee, pushup, squat and press
Explosion squat
Speed Stepup
Med ball slams

3 sets no rest between exercises, 90 seconds between series.

Then did 20 minutes of balls to the wall cardio. I think I was foaming at the mouth. So hot.

Then I went home and haven't stopped sneezing WTF.

Now I'm off to meet the girls for posing practice!