The Buff Bride

I got the special opportunity to watch a really great person reach their goals. As she tells me and says on her blog, http://www.inthenameoflove.org/, that she was "broken" growing up. She had grown up not having a lot in life. But through her parents, she is now a successful and well respected motivational and spiritual speaker.

Bianca Juarez is not like any client I have ever trained. She is very competitive and very TYPE A personality. She comes off strong and sometimes can be intimidating in the gym, so women will judge her as a mean girl or will be envious of her strength. But as a trainer, you love to have a client in front of you that is going to do whatever you tell them to and they if they cannot do 30 push ups in 40 seconds, they will do 30 push ups in 42 seconds! This girl doesn't give up.

One day Bianca challenged me to do one of the hardest workout circuits out there called Cross Fit (workouts that are finished by time and usually a competition to finish the fastest). This workout was so hard that I actually didn't want to start the workout because I didn't want to be too sore from it the next day. But I took on the challenge and started working out with her. Bianca didn't know how hard Cross Fit was but knew it was a hard workout and started before me. I remember looking over at her 30 seconds before the 20 min workout was done and while Bianca was almost done with her arm curls, she started to gag and almost throw up. I was about to rush over to her, but she just stuck with it and finished the final 40 seconds of the workout before going into the bathroom!

As of yesterday, Bianca is now happily married and will not be able to attend my Bootcamp's as often because she is moving in with her husband who lives out of my area. You know that she put in some hard work to look good in her wedding dress. I had the chance to call her the day of her wedding and would you believe it....she was on her way to the gym to get a "last chance workout!"

Congratulation Bianca the Buff Bride!

Summer weight gain?

So now that summer is coming to a close a you are back on from your vacations, parties, and bbq's....how much damage did you do to your body? Of course the goal is to relax and have fun while your kids are off school or while you are on your summer break from school, but do you really need to OVER-EAT, OVER-EAT, and UNDER-WORKOUT? Its summer time! This is the time to enjoy the beaches while its warm and be more active in the sun (while using sunblock!).
Why are we ditching our workouts for pigouts? If you are home with your kids, be active! If you are on a vacation like Hawaii or Palm Springs, workout in the morning before the activities and site seeing.
Of course here at Next Level Training in Whittier, CA we get a drop of people working out. As trainers we do like the down time to spend with our families and loved ones. But my wife will tell you, we workout on our vacations. Before we go anywhere, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Palm Springs, we make sure to find out if there is a gym inside the hotel or if there is a park or hiking trail we can do together. Staying active during the vacation is key to keeping off the Summer Weight Gain!
This summer we got to visit relatives in Colorado Springs and got to go the "Incline" hike of 1 mile of stairs in high altitude. While on a trip to Las Vegas my brother in law and I worked out at the gym in the Hard Rock Hotel (which is awesome becasue it's free to get in!).
So there is no excuse to why you should gain weight over the summer time.
Of course we here at Next Level Training welcome you to lose the weight here at our gym in Whittier, Ca! Our Fitness Bootcamps, Zumba dance classes, and world class Personal Training will shed the fat off and tone up your body!
Here are 5 quick fixes to get back in shape for the holiday's:
1. Stop eating BIG portions! -Start your day with a balanced breakfast like oatmeal with banana, and 1 hard boiled egg, while a fruit like apple or orange. Then eat small snacks the rest of your day
2. Hit the weights! - I know its tempting to just do cardio and not lift weights because you do not want to be sore, but weight training will help burn fat and increase your metabolism! Combined with cardio to help lose the water weight, you will see nice lean muscle fast!
3. Find a workout buddy!- Studies a have shown that working out with a friend or family member is a way to stay motivated and focused on your fitness goals. Try joining our fitness bootcamp classes www.nltbootcamp.com or www.nextleveltrainining.com and workout with a group of motivated individuals that have the same goals as you do!
4. Put down the alcohol- Studies have shown that alcohol consumption inhibits the bodies ability to burn fat by 20%! That means even if you are working out and burning 1000 calories an hour, you are going to be burning off the sugars and carbs in your drink rather than fat!
5. REST-Getting proper rest will help your body recover from your workouts as well as lower cortisol levels (horomone that makes you gain weight) released by your body while under stress or fatigue.

So what are you waiting for? Get to your local gym or park and start getting ready to look good for the holidays! If you are close to our gym here in Whittier, CA contact us at www.nltbootcamp.com or www.nextleveltrainer.com or call me Joseph Herrera at 714-612-4162!
Have a healthy day!