Nike got it!

I think Alli Mckee read my mind, she wrote in her blog about a commercial that came on while she was working and it stuck with her. I saw that same commercial and thought WOW. Nike did a great job with this ad. Basic premise is how every athlete goes through steps of practice for their sport and how it’s not always easy taking those steps –you may stumble at first but in the end it was worth it.

The ad is for Nike and the song The Hours – “Ali In The Jungle”

It says:
“It’s, not, how you start, it’s how you finish.
And it’s, not, where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna get up?!
Just how are you gonna get up?!”


Great lyrics and it applies to life, we’ve all been there. Most of us can relate to this message whether it’s job, school or family. And if you’re training for sport or training for competition you know it’s not always easy. For those of us who are working to change their bodies and drop weight you know what I’m talking about. We train hard, eat well and put in many hours trying to reach our fitness goals and sometimes we slip up, this is where we get knocked down. When you slip up, it could be food related, missing a workout, doesn’t matter. DON’T DWELL ON IT. Brush yourself off and get back into the fight.

If you slip up don’t fast or workout for 3 hours, just get back to eating clean. Don’t let one bad meal turn into a week of bad meals. How quick are you gonna get up?!

Remember it’s not about deprivation, it’s smart eating and training. It’s staying with it. It’s about not beating yourself up and keeping your head up!

We’re all going to stumble and fall, maybe more than once. But think back to what Hulk Hogan used to say, “Whatcha Gonna Do?” Get back up! Keep training! Keep working hard for your goals no matter what the goal may be…that goal is for YOU and when you reach it, it will be worth the effort!

Interval Training --how hard to push!

Those of you who work with me know I’m not a huge fan of distance running for weight loss or transforming your body. But I could talk about this subject till I’m blue in the face and I will still see the “speed limpers” running endless miles without changing their bodies.
If you want to transform your body –here’s the best plan.

1)Clean eating –not a diet, it’s a LIFESTYLE.

2)Resistance training –lifting weights that are challenging with good form. 3-4 days per week.

3)Interval Training –many options here, find something you can do for short bursts. 2-3 days per week.

If your plan includes just running your body will eventually stop responding. This type of exercise is considered steady-state cardio. Your body adapts extremely fast to steady-state cardio and you'll burn fewer and fewer calories the more you do. But on the positive side –HEALTH ---yes this type of training is “heart healthy” and is very beneficial in that regard. The bottom line with steady-state is that it’s not the way to train if your goal is fat loss and body composition change; there are better methods for training (resistance training, intervals, boot camp).

Who should run?
Folks training for an endurance event.

If your sport requires running.

If it’s the only type of exercise you enjoy.

If you love the outdoors and look forward to that “runners high” –I’m not going to discourage you.

If your running is intervals –hills, walk/run or sprint.

Remember Interval Training is NOT for everyone. Because it’s tough and if you do it correctly, your body is not going to like you— but it will get better. Please use caution and make sure you’re prepared to do it. Sometimes you’re not feeling 100% maybe an easy 30-40 minute session is better that day than an all-out interval session. You can't go all-out every workout-you have to take it easy every once in a while - yes I said it. Doesn't mean you sleep walk through every session. Get out of your comfort zone and keep hard Interval training sessions between 12 -30 minutes. Listen to your body!


My wife LeeAnne was at one time a “cardio queen” (sorry dear), her body responded at first, but eventually it adapted. Last year she finally added Interval Training to her routine and guess what –she got GREAT RESULTS.

Here’s what she wrote in her latest blog entry:

My husband Mark help me put this together basically because I'd hit a plateau and couldn't figure out how to push past it.. My diet had been pretty clean and I thought I was working out hard enough, but we figured out my cardio was the culprit...

Cardio days should be intervals not steady state cardio. Meaning you’re not going to just hop on a treadmill and walk for an hour. This is the area where I had to make a huge adjustment with my training, specifically the intensity. I like most people believed that the best way to burn fat was just walking or running longer not harder. The best thing about intervals is that you burn calories hours after you finished your workout, not just during the workout. With steady state you just burn calories WHILE you’re doing it, a huge difference. When I shortened the workout and increased the intensity, I got better results.

It was tough at first because I never pushed myself hard enough to find that level where I needed to be. The key is to get to a level that’s uncomfortable for you and then taper off – so your heart rate is going up and down. If you’re just starting out then a simple walk/run routine will get you familiar with the training.

The key is understanding how your body feels at the different levels of intensity. The best way to do this is by monitoring your body through the workout. You do this by using the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale.

It’s a subjective rating system that rates your effort level so you know how hard you’re working. It’s a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being very easy and 10 being maximal effort. Keep in mind, your level 7 might be different than my level 7 in terms of speed or incline, but both of us will be having a hard time talking non-stop.

Level Intensity Ability to Maintain Talk Test(the percieved rates are from Valerie Waters Red Carpet Ready book)

1 – 2 Easy --- Easy to maintain for a long period of time can carry on a conversation with no effort

3 - 4 Easy – Moderate----- Possible to maintain with minimal effort can carry on a conversation with min effort .

5 - 6 Moderate -----Possible to maintain but requires work Can maintain conversation with some effort.

7 - 8 Moderate – Difficult ----- Difficult to maintain this level of intensity Conversation requires much more effort.

9 - 10 Difficult – Peak Effort ----Difficult to maintain for more than a couple of minutes No talking zone BE CARFUL this level can make you feel sick.

So after you’re used to a walk/run routine or want to change up your routine you can organize the workout a little different. A simple example is a 30 minute workout like this:

Time Type Intensity Level

5 minutes Easy - moderate 3 out of 10
5 minutes Easy - moderate 4 out of 10
5 minutes Moderate 5 - 6 out of 10
5 minutes Easy - moderate 4 out of 10
5 minutes Easy - moderate 3 out of 10
5 minutes easy 2 out of 10
30 minutes

You can build on this and eventually jack up that intensity to a level 7 or 8 instead of a 5 -6 –But remember a good rule of thumb, the more intense the interval, the shorter it will be.

For me I think I never knew how it felt to be at that level 7 or 8 but once I figured it out, I started to get better workouts and I got leaner. Another big step for me was buying a Heart Rate Monitor, then I knew what my heart rate number was when I was at a level 8 or 9 – this is where talking became very difficult –this was then my HIGH number and I could use my Monitor to adjust my intervals.

Remember we’re all going to be different with our numbers and some of us can’t use a formula for calculating max heart rate, I’m one of those people. My resting heart is super low and it fluctuates from day to day, so using a standard formula doesn’t work for me. The TALK TEST is best for me.

So what I did was by using my monitor I did my intervals and tried to push myself hard to get to that level 8 (where talking was REAL tough) once there a read that number on my watch and recorded it –THAT WAS MY TOP NUMBER. Now going forward I can monitor myself using my watch during my intervals.

My plan for a while will be doing an interval for time say 30s try to reach my HIGH number than instead of resting for a specific amount of time just let my heart rate drop 30 beats before I repeat the next interval.

There are so many routines and interval workout options out there, it’s endless. But the key is the intensity –

What "I Love You" Means from Children

Innocent and funny stuff from kids.
Can you say "I love you" any better?


What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . Slow down for three minutes to read
this. It is so worth it.

Touching words from the mouth of babes.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8
year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and
deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
====================================

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4
____________________________________

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip
before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7
____________________________________

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing,
you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8
____________________________________

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
____________________________________

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who
you hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
____________________________________

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it
everyday.'

Noelle - age 7
____________________________________

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6
____________________________________

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at
all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8
____________________________________

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6
____________________________________

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5
____________________________________

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7
____________________________________

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all
day.'

Mary Ann - age 4
____________________________________

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes
and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4
____________________________________

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars
come out of you.' (what an image)

Karen - age 7
____________________________________

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's
gross.'

Mark - age 6
____________________________________

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean
it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8
____________________________________

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a
contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's
yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy
said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Short on time Workout

Sometimes last minute things come up and you’re forced to change workout times or change the workout itself. If you’re short on time you may want to think about doing a circuit or superset the exercises. Bodyweight exercises are great and the right combination makes for a great workout. Just doing a twenty minute workout with chins and squats will burn a ton of calories.

Another good example of a twenty minute workout if you’re short on time.

Sample Workout

Rep Range: 12-15

Time Period: 15-20 minutes

• Valslide Reverse Lunges

• 1 Arm Dumbbell Row

• Push-ups (elevate your feet if regular push-ups are too easy)

Perform the exercises back-to-back in circuit fashion and complete as many circuits as possible within the given time period.

Here’s another workout option ------a full circuit bootcamp style.

Thanks Karen!

Being consistent is the key to changing your body!

Okay it’s that time of year. You know, New Year’s resolutions are in full force. I see and hear from a few clients I haven’t seen in a while. It’s great to keep in touch with these folks, but WHAT TOOK SO LONG? Mostly it’s an email asking what the latest great workout program is. Folks, again it’s not a half a year thing. People that are serious about changing their bodies ALL have one thing in common –Consistency. If there’s a secret, it’s that there is no secret or magic potion, its consistent hard work and eating clean.

But it’s too tough and at my age I can’t change. PLEASE. People can change anything if you believe it is worth it. One issue I keep seeing in some clients is they focus on the negative, I might hear someone keep saying how much they hate doing intervals on the treadmill or they hate working out in general. That’s a tough one. Realistically if you hate something it’s tough to keep doing that activity. If that’s the case it’s probably a good idea to find an activity you enjoy. If you do, it may be something you’ll be consistent with. Human nature also shows us that we usually do not like to do things we are not good at. Find something that meets your needs. And please don’t give up on something just because it’s difficult, making significant changes to your body, gaining muscle or losing weight is not a walk in the park. Excuse the pun. Making changes doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t come without some hard work.

Don’t use excuse #1. “I have no time”. This excuse can be used for everything. Women may find themselves always wanting to take care of everything and everyone else besides themselves. Ladies make yourself a priority, you have to make time. At first it may be tough and some of you may not like it, in time it will get better. The feeling of accomplishment and getting it done will be a great feeling, using the “I have no time” excuse is just another way of telling yourself it’s just not important enough.

If you need to re-write all the reasons you want to change then do it. What are your goals? This will inspire you. Try to focus on those behaviors that you may not enjoy that much and remind yourself that it will bring you rewards that are worth the effort. Remember it has to be worth it and if you think you are able then you will be. Educate yourself, we will do anything that we think is worth the effort and having that confidence we’ll be able to do it.
If you’re just starting out or you’ve been off course for a while, it’s time to get back to the basics.

How can you be more productive?

1) Try setting a time for your workout. I have 45 minutes to work out today. Set the timer and do it. Even if it’s 20 minutes make the time. If it means getting up earlier then set that alarm. Our body’s will get used to the earlier time and thank you in the long run.

2) Use circuits and supersets – (Exercises back to back or in a group) more work in less time.

3) Burn more calories with full-body exercises – squats, deadlifts, lunges, KB Swings etc. It’s true the tougher exercises are normally the best for us. A squat is going to burn a ton more calories that a bicep curl – don’t watch other people in your gym and copy their workout. In fact in most cases do the opposite (unless they look the part:)

4) Plan, Prepare and Prioritize. If you’re not used to planning, it takes some time to get used to –it’s worth it. Food planning should be a no-brainer. With eating 5 -6 meals a day –don’t make the mistake of trying to do it on the run. Making meals in advance is a great way to avoid dicey situations and making poor choices.

5) Schedule your workout –even if it’s not with a Trainer –Schedule the appointment with yourself.

Being consistent is the key for changing your body ---not starving ourselves and working out hours a day.

The Plan is SIMPLE but executing that plan is not always easy.

$30 Treadmill Workout --Thanks Val!

$30 Treadmill Workout

This is a very simple and effective 30 min cardio / full body workout that can be done in about 8 square feet with one piece of equipment - the Valslide - this little gadget can reshape your whole body and I highly recomment it - If you don't already have a pair you can purchase at the following link.
https://valeriewaters.infusionsoft.com/go/vs/leeanne/


Take a few minutes to warm up, and then get ready to SWEAT:

Squats - 20 reps

Skater Jumps - 20 reps

Valslide Reverse Lunge - 20 reps (each leg)

Valslide Side Lunge - 20 reps (each leg)

Valslide Tricep Push-Up - 10 reps

Valslide Mountain Climber - 20 reps

Valslide Belly Robbers - 20 reps

Valslide Sliding Crunch - 20 reps

Do this circuit 3-4 times, with 1-2 minutes rest in between each circuit

The Green Smoothie!! Or Blue!!

I’m still hearing some folks are not getting their snacks in during the day.
Found a great snack option, doesn’t sound good –but try it first. The Green Smoothie!! Or Blue!!

A snack will control your blood sugar. You want to avoid low blood sugar. Don’t go more than 3.5 hours without food. If you get too low your body will crave the “bad” stuff. Keep it level for sustained energy during the day. Small meals spaced apart during your day are the way to go.

A snack is not a “big” meal. Its 100 – 200 calories. Ideally you try to get 1-2 ounces of lean protein and ½ cup – 1 cup of carbs that are low to moderate on the glycemic scale. Fruit by itself doesn’t work – add some almonds or 1 tbsl of natural peanut butter.

Be prepared – don’t go places hungry, if you do you’re asking for trouble!! A low-sugar protein bar will work if you’re on the road. 10-13 Almonds mixed with raisins in a baggy is ideal.

Remember the keys to getting lean.

1. Small, frequent meals work. You should consume 5-6 meals per day.
2. Cutting carbs works. For fat loss, starchy carbs in the AM so you can burn off.
3. Vegetables work. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be accompanied by a serving of vegetables.
4. Adequate protein works.
5. Fish oil works.
6. Water and green tea works. Drink enough water so your urine is always clear, and don't forget to have 8-12 ounces of green tea each day.
7. Training with a high intensity works. Keep your rest periods short and the intensity high.

Other snack ideas.

Low fat yogurt and mixed berries
Celery and almond butter
Tablespoon of hummus with baby carrots
Leftovers from the night before make great snacks

I never thought my wife would like a protein shake –this one she loves!!!!
The Green Smoothie!! Or Blue!!

So – yes, the green smoothie... Who knew I could possibly like this? Finally after 6+ months of my RCR girls telling me how good it was, I decided to bite the bullet and try it, and I love it!! This little blend of protein, fruit and spinach is now a staple in my daily diet. I personally am not a fan of fruit, so this helps me get at least two servings in.... I know you want to know how to make it – well here are the directions!! Enjoy!!

In a blender –

1 handful of spinach – best to make sure this is always on bottom, it blends better.
1 scoop of Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry or Unflavored Whey Protein
1 cup of fresh or frozen berries or fruit
6 oz of water

And blend – that’s it….

If you are a strawberry banana person – add a fresh banana and frozen strawberries – here you could use the strawberry protein

If you are a Mocha type gal – you can use the Chocolate Whey, with a tsp of dry non caffeinated coffee. If you don’t want fruit you can add some ice to thicken it up

My favorite is chocolate blueberry cherry – so I use the chocolate whey, with ½ cup of frozen blueberries and ½ cup of cherries….
Be creative, have a different smoothie each day, use it for your AM or PM snack -