Special Announcement: FREE Boot Camp Workout Saturday January 29th @ 10am!

Thinking about signing up for one of our fitness boot camps?

I’m holding a FREE boot camp workout on Saturday, January 29th @ 10am – it’s the perfect chance to come out and try a workout if you’ve been ‘on the fence’ –
Quick note, though – I actually had to turn folks away for the last one I held in mid-December; the class filled up in less than three days (I have room exactly 12 people for this workout). So if you’re interested, make sure to reserve your spot asap!

5 Minute ‘Crunchless’ Abs (new video)

Cool new video for you to check out – it’s a ‘Crunchless’ ab circuit that’ll take you about five minutes to do –

See, it turns out that Crunches are just okay for working your abs. Although a wicked Crunch circuit can give you a great ab burn (and that’s why I still include ’em in some of my workouts), Crunches simply aren’t very functional.
According to Stuart McGil, one of the world’s leading back and spine health experts, in every day life, “the abdominals are braces.” When doing any kind of athletic movement, “the spine is in a neutral posture, not flexed, and the abdominal muscles are contracted to brace the spine.”
Which means the best way — for both your back and your beach body — to work your midsection is to do movements that challenge the muscles to perform the way they’re designed and expected to work in real life, not to train muscles in isolation.
The Plank to Push Up and Wood Chop exercises in the video below provide a couple of great examples; they are very functional movements that force you to use your abs strongly as stabilizers – but also require that you use a bunch of other muscle groups at the same time and in a more ‘real world’ movement pattern:

That’s it for this week! Keep training hard and talk soon!

Forest

P.S. We’re putting together some really cool deals for you with several businesses we’ve partnered with in the local area. We’ve got a chiropractor and esthetician in on the program, as well several other local retail stores (with more in the works). The best part is that these deals are exclusive for Forest Vance Training, Inc. clients. The value of the entire package is going to be several hundred dollars in total. We’re just finishing up the details and should have the program ready to roll out next week – so stay tuned!

MY Daily Diet + New ‘Virtual Pro Shop’

Hope your 2011 is off to a great start! Couple new cool things for ‘ya this week:

MY daily diet

My diet is geared towards the same goals you probably have – optimum health, weight maintainence and high energy – so hopefully it’ll help you figure out a reasonable and effective plan for yourself. (If you want to use it as a model, though, you’ll probably have to adjust the portions down quite a bit … I weigh about 245 pounds 🙂 ) Click the link below to check it out:

New ‘virtual pro shop’ with nutritional supplement section and more

I get a ton of questions about various fitness products, most often nutritional supplements.

My take on supps is that you need to have your diet and training program dialed in first and foremost … but once you do, they can help you reach your fitness goals a little (or even a lot) faster. And certainly, protein/meal-replacement bars and shakes are a convenient and healthy way to get the nutrition you need on the run …

So I set up a new section of my website with ‘ FVT approved’ supps, fitness gear, and more –

Here’s the link for the main page – you’ll find links to recommended supps, fitness gear, apparel, and all my workout books and DVD’s:

If you’d like to hop straight to the supplement section, click the link below:

And of course, if you have any questions about this stuff, feel free to drop me a note …

*I also have a little area set up at the studio dedicated to this new project (mostly thanks to my great new assistant Sam) … so if you want to see any of the products in person, you can check them out there, too*

Thats it for this week! Train hard and train smart –

Forest

January 2011 Challenge Workout Results

Here’s the January 2011 Challenge Workout one more time in case you missed it:


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10 Push Ups (knees for gals, standard for guys)
20 KB Swings
30 Walking Lunges (30 total steps)
40 Cross Body Mountain Climbers (one knee-to-elbow move = one rep)
50 Body Weight Squats

Do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes


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And the results (score is total number of rounds + total number of exercises (all prescribed reps) finished; I also listed each location separately as East Sac folks had a slight disadvantage going up and down a set of stairs before doing each set of lunges):

Land Park

MG 4+4
SS 4+3
ES 4+2
LB 4+2
KG 4+1
SR 4+1
SK 4
LA 3+4
MA 3+3
SB 3+3
CK 3+3
EZ 3+2
AS 3+3
AA 3
PT 2+2
NP 1+3
East Sac
AG 4
SG 4
SP 3+4
NG 3+4
AK 3+3
EP 3+3
MB 3+1
PH 3
VC 3
Great job guys! Keep up the good work!
Forest

January 2011 Challenge Workout

It’s a new year … and it’s time for some brand new, kick-a@@ challenge workouts!! Here’s the January 2011 Challenge Workout from Forest Vance Training, Inc. Sacramento, CA personal training and fitness boot camps:

10 Push Ups (knees for gals, standard for guys)
20 KB Swings
30 Walking Lunges (30 total steps)
40 Cross Body Mountain Climbers (one knee-to-elbow move = one rep)
50 Body Weight Squats
Do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

Good luck! And stay tuned for results later this week …
P.S. Want to get in on the fun? Looking for a fresh start with your fitness program this new year? We offer a free ‘Test A Trainer’ session for all new prospective clients … contact us by clicking here or call (916) 273 9366 to schedule today!

Get A Head Start On 2011 (must read)

How to hit 2011 running

First – thanks so much for making 2010 great and wishing you a fantastic 2011! What an amazing year …

I’m thankful every day I go to ‘work’ (if you can call it that) … I feel so fortunate that I can help so many people improve their lives, do what I love and actually get paid for it … and it’s all because of YOU … so again, many, many thanks.
New Year’s resolutions may be a bit cliche – but now is an great time to reflect on the past year and plan for the one ahead.
I’m personally huge on goal setting in every aspect of my life. And it’s so important, no matter what your goals are – whether that’s losing weight, managing your time more effectively, doing something you’ve always wanted to do like start a business or travel to a foreign country … because it works!!
If you’re questioning the true effectiveness of writing down your goals, here’s some research statistics I dug up on goal setting from ideamarketers.com:
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There are numerous studies that prove the value of journaling to write down and keep track of your thoughts and goals. A research study sponsored by the Ford Foundation discovered that:

– 23 percent of the population has no idea what they want from life, and as a result, they do not have much.

– 67 percent of the population has a general idea of what they want, but they do not have any plans for how to get it.

– Only 10 percent of the population has specific, well-defined goals – and seven out of ten of those people reach their goals most of the time.

– The top 3 percent of folks who take time to define specific goals, write them down, and take a planned course of action to reach them achieved their goals 89 percent of the time.

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I’m a firm believer that you can have whatever you want in life – and that, ultimately, you are the one responsible for how your life turns out.
I always take time at the end of each year to write down my goals (actually, I do it a lot more often that that) … and I achieve them at least 89% of the time. I recently found a journal from about five years ago where I wrote down my goals at the time … and it was uncanny … I had achieved and surpassed almost every one of them … I’m absolutely convinced this process works …
So, for example, if improved fitness is your goal, write it down. Be specific about it, and have a great reason why you want to get in shape. Is it for your health? To be there for your kids? To feel better and have more energy? Or even just to look great and feel good in your clothes? How much weight to you want to lose? By what date? And what’s your specific course of action to get there?
In conclusion, though New Year’s resolutions may not be your thing, take some time to reflect on 2010 set some concrete goals for the coming year. Remember, you are the creator of your own destiny and can have any kind of life you want … so, what are your goals for 2011?
Forest