Fundraiser Bootcamp a success and tips to help you achieve success as well

This morning we held our flood victims fundraiser Bootcamp, at which it appropriately poured with rain.  After taking a vote, we decided to stay outside and all got well and truly drenched while in the process of having a great workout.

All 26 participants put in a fantastic effort despite the wet weather, especially those who attended for their first ever Bootcamp.  A huge thank you to everyone.  We raised $300.25

It’s hard to tell in the pictures, but it was absolutely pouring down while I was taking them.  Everyone stayed focused however and we didn’t venture inside till the last 5 minutes when the thunder started and I decided not to risk a lightning strike!!

Success tips

Follow these steps to success with your fitness, fat loss or health improvement program:

1. Make a change immediately-start your journey now.  Successful people do stuff now.  They don’t put it off till next week or tomorrow.  They decide what they want and they start doing whatever it takes right NOW.
2. Know where you are starting from.  You may have a doctors report that says “you need to do something about this.’  Or you may be making the decision yourself.  Take your measurements, test you fitness levels or have your vitals checked-cholesterol, blood pressure, weight etc.  Once you have a starting point, you’ll know if your program is working or not along the way
3. Find out how to get there.  Ask for help.  Get a program that’s proven to work.  Don’t fall for the latest gadget or products’ snazzy graphics and marketing.  Having a step by step strategy in place that you know will work will make sure you get to your destination.
4. Be prepared.  Just as you wouldn’t go away without packing, you can’t successfully complete your journey without getting organised.  Clean out the kitchen, stock your fridge and cupboards with the right sorts of foods.  Enroll in a program that promises realistic results and has proof that it works.  Make sure you block out training sessions in your schedule-actually write it down on your calendar, in your diary or wherever you record other appointments.
5. Make sure your journey is going to be comfortable.  If you hate swimming, don’t start with a swimming program.  If you like to work out in a group-don’t take up running.  Make sure you’re comfortable with your choice of training methods.  You need to enjoy what you are doing.  No matter how effective the program might be, if you can’t see yourself attending regularly-it won’t work for you.
6. Start off slowly.  Do not go out and start training for an hour every day.  Take regular rest days and don’t push to your maximum intensity in early weeks.  Make sure the program you choose can be scaled to YOUR individual fitness level.  Whether you’ve been doing anything lately or not, the program has to accommodate you and not the other way around.  If you go too hard too early, you’ll end up injured, burn’t out and just plain exhausted.
7. Fuel yourself properly.  It doesn’t matter how much or how hard you train.  If you don’t get your nutrition right, you won’t see maximum or permanent results.  I’ve said it 1000’s of times-You Cannot Out-train a Bad Diet.  So fuel your body properly and you won’t ever need to diet again.
8. Join a club.  Having social support makes exercise much more fun and you’ll be much more likely to stick with it.  You can enlist the help of a friend who agrees to meet you each day which is great, but as long as you don’t start giving each other excuses that is.  Or you can join a sporting club or gym.  Or you can get a trainer to support you and guide you on your journey.
9. Keep going till you get there.  This can be the hardest part of all.  Initially you’re likely to see speedy results, but inevitably they will slow down.  A good program will allow for this and if you stick with it, the results will come again.  Whatever you do, don’t swap and change courses every few weeks just because the scales haven’t moved.  Stay the course and you will get there if your selected program was solid in the first place.   It can take up to 3 months to make training a habit that you do without thinking about it.   So hang in there and keep going.  It will be worth it when you get there.
10. Check your progress.  Along the way, it’s important to take regular checks of where you are exactly.  You or your trainer can then pinpoint if you need to make adjustments to your original plan.  So schedule those assessments and keep your appointments.  Whether you are checking them yourself, or you have a trainer or a GP is doing them for you.  Don’t neglect this important part of your journey.

So keep training hard-or start if you haven’t yet.  Eat healthy,nutritious, real food instead of processed crap and get plenty of sleep.  It really is that simple.  The process is simple, but sticking with it can be hard on your own.  Get support and success will be yours.  This is one journey you really don’t need to make alone.  I can help you achieve your fitness and health goals.

Jo

February 5, 2011 | Categories: What's happening at FitterFaster | Leave a comment

Is it time for you to make a change?

Improving your health and fitness can often seem to be an insurmountable task.

Changing what and when you’re eating, getting more sleep, beginning a training program or fixing the one you’re already doing, drinking more water, cutting out alcohol etc can seem like just too big of a change.

The best way to tackle it, is to just decide to do it.  But how do you do that?  I know, you’ve started before.  You’ve purchased the latest miracle shake or piece of equipment that was guaranteed to get you the results you were after, but low and behold, a week later and you were back to your old habits.

What gives?  How come some people can do it and others can’t?

Well something has to happen to really make you decide that this is the time for you.  Sometimes you don’t even realise that something has happened, but whatever it was, the time became right and you are able to follow through with your plans.

That something could be obvious-you or someone close to you has a bad health scare or you try on clothes for that party that’s coming up and nothing seems to fit anymore.  Or you just wake up one day and look in the mirror and really don’t like what you see.  How did you get that way?  What happened?  One minute you were a teenager or in your 20’s, eating, drinking and being merry and all was good.  The next minute, you are looking a feeling tired, your pants don’t fit, you have no energy and you’re getting old!!

You know you can turn this around though.  Getting older doesn’t have to mean a decline in health and fitness.  I’m in better shape now at 43 than I was in my 20’s.  Not that I was overweight then, but I was soft and unfit and stuck with habits that were very bad for my health.

I think my moment was when I had 4 kids at home under 4 years old and I as much as I love being a Mum (and I really, really do as anyone who knows me can attest) I felt that stuff was out of my control and that there was no ‘me’ left.  I decided to take up exercise and with a good friend, started walking and then joined the gym.  As I started to see results, I made a decision to take up triathlons-a decision which still amazes Greg and myself when I really think about it.

At first it wasn’t easy.  I had to get up a ungodly hours to fit my training in.  Greg was working incredibly long hours building up our other business and we hardly saw him.  So into my office I’d go really, really early in the morning, onto the treadmill or bike or lifting weights before the kids got up.

Some nights I’d hardly slept with feeding the twins – Lauren and Harrison- during the night and still also having Ben and Caitlin awake as well.  But I still got up.  I knew that if I really wanted to make this work and see results, I just had to do it.  Even if it meant that I had to have a granny nap in the afternoon while the kids went down, or make sure I got into bed a bit earlier the next night.

It was really hard at times.  But one thing I really noticed was the longer I was consistent, the better I felt after training.  The longer I was consistent, the easier it was to get out of bed.  And the longer I was consistent, the better my results got.  It was amazing, I was soon addicted to training, an addiction I still have now, almost 10 years later.

I did have setbacks.  Another baby slowed me down a little in between.  But I was still in the gym working hard the day before I was booked in for my c-section at 42 weeks.  Although I had to stop running, I did other things that I could manage.  I traded my racing bike for an exercise bike with a cushy seat.  I attended yoga and pilates classes.  I still lifted weights-heavy ones too-but now I had to ask for assistance to place them back onto their racks when I’d finished.  I had lots of reasons to stop many, many times over the past 10 years, but I never will.

Is it time for you?  Imagine how you will look and feel in a few months time if you start now.

• Decide to start today. Don’t wait till Monday or the start of the new month, or till after that function that’s coming up.   There’s no time like the present.
• Start by cleaning out your kitchen -yes really!!  A couple of days ago I was having a hormonal craving for something sweet.  I searched high and low in the cupboards, the fridge and back to the pantry.  I think I searched everywhere about 5 times, but there was nothing there.  So guess what!  I couldn’t have it.  This is so simple.  And NO you don’t need it there for your kids!!!!!!  They are no different to you.  Do you want them to end up overweight and unhealthy and looking for the magic cure just like you are?
• Don’t spend too long planning Planning is important, but it’s more important to take steps that get you closer to where you want to be.  Do something today-do a workout off my website www.fitterfasteronline.com They are free and you don’t need any equipment.  Eat something healthy 5 times today-space meals 2-3 hours apart.  Once you’ve started, you can refine your plan, but the most important thing to do, is start now.
• Enlist a friend or colleagues help Arranging to meet with someone each day to train is one of the most effective strategies.  If you don’t get up and out of bed, you don’t just have to justify this to yourself, but you’ll have to make up an excuse to them as well.  Once you’re up and get going, you will feel like it – believe me.
• If you’re not confident to start-get help This is another DO TODAY strategy.  Don’t put off asking for help any longer.  Nothing is going to change until YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  You may only need help temporarily.  Perhaps you’ve never exercised before and really don’t know where to start (lots of free ideas at http://www.fitterfasteronline.com) or you really are confused about what’s healthy and what’s not (again visit the website)  Or you may want help and support long term.  It’s up to you, but if you contact a professional and make appointments and a commitment to meet them, you’ll be much more likely to succeed.
• START NOW!! I’m repeating this again, because it’s so, so important.  I cannot stress enough to not put it off any longer.  If you really want to change, YOU HAVE TO MAKE CHANGES. Drop the excuses and reasons.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day.  We all have jobs, families,  and a million other reasons to run out of time, but think about it.  If you don’t do something about your health and fitness soon, you’ll have to find lots of time to be sick instead.
• Talk to someone who’s done it before and has achieved or is achieving the results you’re after This could be  friend or work mate that leads a healthy lifestyle.  It could be a professional trainer.  People who are successful at what they do are usually very willing to share their secrets.  They are proud and usually flattered that you’d ask.

I hope you can all find the motivation to get started.  But remember, the motivation is usually temporary.  It won’t get you out of bed every day despite what they’ll tell you.  There will be plenty of times when the motivation just isn’t there.  That’s when the successful people decide to DO IT ANYWAY!  That’s why they get the results.  Because they do it even when they don’t feel like it.

Remember consistency is the key.  Each day, each week and each month.  You have to be consistent.

Goodluck everyone-train hard, eat healthily and get plenty of sleep.

Jo

January 26, 2011 | Categories: What's happening at FitterFaster | Leave a comment

Private Coaching and more begins

You’re looking at the first step in the relaunch of FitterFaster for 2011.  This is the new logo for FitterFaster and you’ll be seeing it around a lot very soon.

So what’s going to change?  Well, a lot and a little:

Bootcamp will remain as the main service at FitterFaster.  So you are still going to get a fantastic training session:

• developing your all round athletic abilities,
• improving the function of your body on a day to day basis,
• burning heaps of fat,
• raising your metabolism so that you continue to burn more fat during the rest of the day and
• improving muscle tone (commonly known as ‘toning up’) so that you not only feel fantastic, but look fantastic too.

Bootcamps are great as the group atmosphere just lifts everyone up to new levels and the friendships that develop are integral to what makes this an ongoing success.  Everyone is really supportive of each other giving it that real ‘team’ feel.

Private Coaching sessions will commence on 7th February.  I’ve introduced Private coaching for a number of reasons, some of which I’ll list here:

• there are some people that wish to make a start on a fitness program but are unsure of how they’ll fit into group Bootcamps.  These people can make a start on their fitness in a private situation and gain improved function and fitness abilities before beginning Bootcamp at a later date if they so wish to.
• although Bootcamp can be scaled and tailored to differing fitness levels, some participants require extra work on form and function to be able to perform at their best.  This can be due to extended inactivity or previous injuries or other rehab issues.  This can be better addressed in a smaller group either temporarily or permanently.
• experience trainees that want to go the extra step can have  a private coaching program tailored to their needs too.  Whether it’s doing extra strength work or working on improving their endurance and anaerobic capabilities for a particular sport or event, this can also be catered for.
• some people just prefer the smaller private training situation. We all have our own interests, likes, dislikes and needs.  All round fitness, fatloss and body composition changes can be addressed successfully by private training as well.
• special groups like pre and post natal, specific sports improvement, etc

Tentative time slots are listed below, so don’t wait to make your booking.  There are a maximum of 4 spots in each session.

Packages include either: 3 Privates a week or the Hybrid Package consists of 2 Privates and Unlimited Bootcamps each week.  Both packages run in 10 week blocks and will start on February 7th.

Tentative times are as follows.  Please note that these are not set in stone, so if you’re interested but are unable to make these times, please contact me this week to organise other suitable times.

Monday 10.30am

Tuesday 5.45am

Thursday 5.45am

Thursday 10.30am

I’m also open to an early Saturday morning session or other times as required by potential clients, so please let me know if you need to work out a different time.

The Beginners Program at Bootcamp is one of the most exciting changes we’ve made at FitterFaster.

It’s been thrown around that ‘Bootcamp would be too hard to start now.’  Regular Bootcampers can be heard saying this all the time and often people tell me that they’d love to come, but they just need to get fit first!

I’ve actually been going back through records and doing a lot of training sessions from 12-18 months ago at Bootcamp this past few weeks and I think everyone would have to agree, that things haven’t really gotten harder over that time.  Instead, what has happened, is that a lot of the people who’ve been coming since then, have just developed more strength mentally and are actually just pushing themselves harder in each session.

However, to address potential Bootcampers concerns, I’ve developed a Beginner Program which basically takes any new clients through a stage by stage plan to ensure that they are not overdoing it in the first 6-7 weeks and that they are getting the most out of Bootcamp while minimising the risk of injury and also minimising the muscle soreness that will inevitably occur.

Each new client must work through a series of phases during which there are restrictions including modifying drills and exercises, extra rest breaks to be taken (mandatory) and extra support from the trainer in charge and assistant trainers where applicable.  Once they ‘graduate’ they will be ready for full on, no excuses training, but by then, they will be well and truly prepared and ready.

Who's this camera shy person in the FitterFaster gym?

The New Trial Membership will launch on Feb 1st and will take over from the 3 free training sessions that I have given in the past.  Instead, potential new clients will undertake a trial membership for 3 weeks in which they receive:

• 1 semi private training session per week for the 3 weeks (existing time slots only)
• unlimited attendance at Bootcamp
• Assessments both before and after the 3 week trial
• Basic Nutrition plan which we all know is vital to getting results

All this is valued at $390 but the cost will be set at just $75

If after 3 weeks we cannot prove that FitterFaster is going to get you results, you’re under absolutely no obligation to continue.

In fact, I’m so sure that you’ll see FitterFaster is for you that I guarantee that if you make full use of everything included in the trial membership package and don’t get any results, I will refund your money. It’s 100% guaranteed.

Online training I’ve been doing online training programs since I started FitterFaster, in fact some of my regular clients began with online programs before moving onto Bootcamp.  I currently do programs for general fitness, fat loss and more specific programs such as run programs or triathlon training programs.   I’ll be working on promoting this and implementing it in a bigger way later in the year.

So I guess you could say, that the basics of FitterFaster haven’t really changed at all.  I’m still all about getting you the best results that I possible can.  Through  proven training practices, effective real world nutrition and ongoing support and accountability, I’m determined to prove that FitterFaster is the place to go for serious fat loss and fitness results.

If you haven’t tried it yet, don’t wait any longer.  Whether you’d like to try our new Trial membership or start right away with Bootcamp or Private Coaching, give me a call today!!  0429 612975

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post and have a great weekend

Jo

January 23, 2011 | Categories: What's happening at FitterFaster | Leave a comment

Important Updates

It’s almost the end of the school holidays.  I can’t believe it’s gone so quickly.

Lots of clients have been away and had time to catch up with their families and spend some quality time with them.  I’ve been the same.  Although we have not been able to get away, we’ve spent heaps of time together, most days doing nothing more than hanging out by the pool.

As the new term draws near, there’s a few important changes and events happening at FitterFaster, so please read and not carefully:

New Bootcamp Starting times

From 31st January, the morning Bootcamps will begin at 5.45am sharp.  I’ve discussed this with most of you over the past few months and you have all said that this will still suit you, and I thank you for supporting this change.  I know for a lot of you, it will actually suit better to finish up 15 minutes earlier.  So get ready to set your alarms a bit earlier.

Just to recap, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 6am Bootcamps will be starting at 5.45am from January 31st.

Australia Day Public Holiday

On Wednesday 26th January, the 6am Bootcamp will run for an 90 minutes.  Those who are working and still need to leave at 7am are welcome to do so.  The 6pm Bootcamp will run as normal for 60 minutes.

Local Flood Victims Fundraiser

On 5th February we will be holding a fund raising Bootcamp for local flood victims.  Donations will be taken and this Bootcamp WILL NOT be debited to our Bootcamp Packages.  Please note that it will be held at Base Camp, not at the Hockey Oval as is the usual practice on Saturdays.

Please spread the word about this important event.  We want to raise enough money to make a difference and I’m pretty sure that everyone you know will know someone who was affected by all the recent rain and the damage it caused.  We will run all the beginner modifications for anyone attending for the first time to support the cause.  So do whatever you can to get your buddies here.

FitterFaster For Running

The formal running of this program will conclude next Thursday 27th January.  We’ve had a great bunch of Bootcampers doing these sessions and I congratulate you all on your efforts.  I really encourage you all to continue meeting and doing this session together.  I’m not sure what’s going to pan out for me on Thursdays (more details below) but I will also join you if I’m able.

Semi Private Training Sessions

With one more free session to go on Saturday, I think I can say these sessions have been a great success.

Everyone has departed with parting words like “that was fantastic,” or “I really, really enjoyed that.”  I’ve also received several emails thanking me for the great workout etc.

I did run the same session for each of these with just a sample of some of the types of things we’ll be doing in these sessions.  Once these are up and running, they’ll be tailored much more to individual goals, weaknesses, strengths and wants.  The generic sample session you’ve all experienced hopefully gave you a taste of the extra support, guidance and push you would receive in a semi private training session.

These will become my premium product if you like and hopefully those who take up the packages will also attend Bootcamp for the fantastic benefits that can only be achieved in the larger group sessions too.

I won’t go into full details at this stage, but remember that these sessions can be tailored for beginners right through to those with superior fitness levels so are suitable for everyone. Beginners may even prefer to start with these sessions and then move on to Bootcamp once they’ve built a base level of fitness.

For a start, there’ll be 2 packages offered:

• Semi Private Coaching only-3 semi private coaching sessions each week for 10 weeks.  Included full personalised nutrition plan.  Priced at $25 per person per session paid in 10 week blocks
• Hybrid Semi Private and Bootcamp-2 semi private coaching sessions each week PLUS unlimited Bootcamps for 10 weeks.  Also includes full personalised nutrition plan and the expectation that you will attend at least one Bootcamp each week (to make up minimum 3 attendances at FitterFaster each week)  Priced at $75 per week per person.

Each semi private coaching session will have a maximum of 4 clients at one time.

I’ll get you a list of available times for coaching in the next couple of days, but if you or anyone you know is interested in the meantime, please let me know by calling me on 0429 612975 or emailing me at joanne@fitterfasteronline.com

Train hard

Jo

January 21, 2011 | Categories: What's happening at FitterFaster | Leave a comment