Archive for Boot Camps
Harm Reduction in Fitness
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I just returned from taking the final exam in a self-defense class at the county college. For those of you who do not know, I am study for a second bachelor’s degree focusing on nutrition, with the goal of becoming a registered dietitian. As a requirement for the completion of my degree, I had to take a physical education credit. Rather than taking a useless course, I decided that I wanted to get the most out of the experience that I could, and chose Introduction to Self Defense.
I must say that I enjoyed it enormously, and recommend to everyone who has not had such a course to seek one out. It could easily save your life or the life of someone who you care about some day. It is very empowering to know how to take someone down quickly if they are deemed a threat, but that these tactics should only be used in self-defense, not to attack someone.
Anyway, one of the themes that we explored during the course was the theory of “Harm Reduction” as it relates to self-defense and recognizing a potentially risky situation before it develops. One of the examples that was used by the instructor was to imagine that you and a friend were going out to a club, and as you exited your car and began to walk across the parking lot you notice several individuals smoking something that just didn’t smell legal. In order to reduce potential harm to yourself, a rational individual may decide to turn right around and get back in the car and choose another club to imbibe at. What if the first club is raided for illegal drugs while you and your friend are there? Potential harm avoided if you go elsewhere for your entertainment.
This got me thinking about harm reduction as it relates to fitness. Would the average person have the ability to see a potentially harmful fitness situation before it actually happened? Would it be safe for an individual who has never exercised before to jump over a stability ball? (True story, as another trainer that I used to work with at my previous employer asked a new client to do this) Should everyone dead lift? Perform plyometric movements? How about take a workout from a fitness magazine and start doing it themselves?
I work with a large number of post-rehabilitation clients, and many of them could quickly become injured again if they were to start a workout program detailed in a fitness magazine and just try it on their own. This is not to degrade the magazines or the coaches who put the workouts together. Many of them are leaders in the field are highly regarded for the results they are able to get clients while participating in a safe environment. The point is that these types of workouts are not intended for everyone, and even the fittest individuals would struggle to keep getting results after doing these workouts for a few weeks.
At Mogavero’s Fitness Innovations, we use the Functional Movement Screen to identify movement patterns that our clients need work on, and use this screen to assist in our program design. Nearly everyone that we screen has some sort of asymmetry (right side not moving the same way as the left, etc) or a movement compensation as a result of a lack of mobility or stability somewhere in their body. If someone scores low on the shoulder mobility screen, it makes no sense to have this individual do overhead barbell presses in their workout, as an example.
Some harm reduction advice in the area of fitness:
-Don’t perform an exercise or a routine that someone else is doing just because it looks cool
-Safety first- don’t do anything that you are not comfortable doing (unless supervised by a fitness professional, and even then you should never feel out of control), and give others who are throwing weights all over, jumping, etc, plenty of room so they don’t hit you
-You can never, ever out-train a bad diet. Eat like shit, you will look like shit. If you don’t, eventually you will
-Change your workout every 3-4 weeks. This will keep you from developing overuse injuries, and once every 2-3 weeks take a full week off from resistance training.
Stay focused on what could potentially happen in any situation, and be aware of how that can affect you. It is more important than ever to pay attention to your surroundings, and what you are subjecting yourself to.
Get signed up to lose your belly fat at: http://mogaverosfitnessinnovations.com
Showing Up
Posted by: | CommentsPeople ask me questions all the time about the “best” exercise programs, “best” exercise, “best” foods, “best” supplement, etc., etc. My response is usually something along the line of “It depends on what you are doing.”
It’s actually quite simple. There is a standard rule (and if there isn’t, there should be) that what is “best” doesn’t matter if you don’t show up and do the work. The “best” workout program is useless if you don’t do it.
Coach Michael Boyle posted “Showing Up is Half the Battle” on his blog, strengthcoachblog.com, and it really sums up the expectations and results that his athletes get during the summer training programs. “Bottom line, if you want to improve, show up.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
If you are frustrated due to a lack of results in your training program, whether it be dropping fat, increasing strength, or improving your conditioning after an injury, it is important that you put in the time and effort. Nowadays, people want success without earning it, and shortcuts are not the way to achieve.
Show up, do the work that is asked of you, eat a clean diet, and the results will be there. I always tell my clients, “You will always feel better after a workout than before it” and I stand by that. Feel the rush of energy, and the feeling of satisfaction after pushing your body just a little bit further each workout. It can be addictive.
But you have to show up.
New Year, New You!!
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are like most people, the New Year is when you are finally going to get in shape and improve your overall health.
Your diet and exercise program begins….
Before you embark on this program, there are a couple of things you should ask yourself:
1. Do you know how to eat healthy?
• Most people have no idea what healthy eating actually entails. There are many “healthy” foods out there that are actually unhealthy, and can lead you to gain weight, instead of lose it. Many also do not understand that to actually loose weight, you must eat, and frequently, about 5-6 times per day!
2. Do you know how to effectively exercise?
• Most people do not know how to train in a manner that is safe and effective. Many believe that walking is a great form if exercise. However, it is actually considered an activity rather than exercise, because it does not task your cardiovascular system nor your skeletal muscles to effectively burn calories, strengthen the muscles in the entire body, for lasting results. Adding some light dumbbells to this routine does very little if anything to increase your results.
Before you embark on your new program, there are a few of things you should know:
1. Diets Don’t Work!
• Especially the ones that have you eat pre-packaged foods in tiny portions, so you feel hungry all the time. Unless you want to eat these frozen foods loaded with sodium and preservatives the rest of your life, don’t bother starting any of them.
• Other diets that you cannot or will not do the rest of your life will not work. You will be guaranteed to go back to your old eating habits, and regain all the weight.
• Other programs that have your count points all day long, that’s gets really tiring, quick. Besides, this company has more law suits against it for deception and billing problems that I can count.
2. Joining a gym is not the answer!
Fact: Only 20% of gym members use their club at least twice per week.
Fact: 40% of those who join health clubs stop going soon afterwards
Fact: 90% of those who join will stop going within the first 90 days.
Why? See Answer to Question 2 above.
3. Hiring a personal trainer at the gym is a huge money gamble.
• In order for your fitness program to be effective, you should be strength training at a very minimum of 3 times per week. Most personal training sessions cost anywhere from $60-$105 per session. Do the math that is $180-$315 per week, or $720-$1260 per month! The gamble is that there is no guarantee that you will loose any weight, especially if your eating habits are not addressed.
4. Taking group fitness classes at the gym likely won’t get you results
• These classes are usually only beneficial to those who are already in great physical shape, know how to properly exercise with correct form, know the correct resistance (weights) for themselves, and have to motivation to push themselves past their comfort zone.
• These classes are typically crowded and have an instructor at the head of the class (usually with limited fitness education equivalent to a quick week-end crash course). The instructor is often doing the class along with you, paying zero attention to your form, alignment, and if you have adequate resistance, as this would break the flow of the class. These classes are more about giving you a “fun” experience, rather than an effective workout program.
• These classes are very limited in time slots, as most gyms only have one or two studios and compete with other types of classes. In order to achieve your goals, you must strength (weight) train, not strictly cardio. The step, spin, and other cardio classes alone sorry to say, will not cut it. Remember, you must resistance train a minimum of three times per week, which will be essentially impossible to find three strength training classes per week that will fit into your schedule.
What will work in the New Year?
Pine Brook Boot Camps!
Here are 8 reasons why!
1. PBBC is high intensity interval strength training that works the entire skeletal muscle system, and has been a scientifically proven method to burn fat.
2. PBBC classes are small, and everyone is closely monitored by highly experienced and highly educated personal trainers/conditioning specialists to ensure you are working out in proper form, and using the correct resistance level for your fitness level and needs.
3. PBBC offers many classes that fit into your schedule, 10 classes per week, with morning and evening classes, which is double what the average gym in the area offers.
4. PBBC offers morning and evening hours, many area boot camps offer only morning hours.
5. PBBC is affordable! PBBC is nearly half the price of other area boot camps! You won’t find a better price for the quality.
6. PBBC doesn’t exclude half of the population. Many area boot camps are for women only.
7. Your eating habits are addressed. PBBC offers dietitian designed meal plans proven to drop clothing sizes. PBBC will also educate you on the myths, lies, and gimmicks of weight loss.
8. PBBC Guarantees you results or 100% of your payment is returned
Start your Free- 2-week Trial with no obligation Today!
Call 973-619-7534 or go to http://northjerseypersonaltraining.com/ to sign up today!
Transformation Contest Winner, Ruth Zayas!!
Posted by: | CommentsCongratulations to Ruth Zayas, the winner of the Pine Brook Boot Camps Transformation Contest. Ruth worked her ass off for eight and a half weeks, and dedicated herself to changing her body. Below is a video that was taken just prior to the conclusion of the contest, and by the time all was said and done she had dropped 18 pounds, 5 inches around her waist, 4 inches around her hips, 3 inches around her thigh, and looks great.
How did she do it? With HARD WORK and DEDICATION. She came to class a minimum of three times a week, she worked out on her own on the off days, she followed the 21 day meal plan that we provide (with recipes), laid off the booze, and took care of herself.
Now, I know many of you are saying, “But I don’t have time to do this”, or “I have a slow metabolism, it would never work for me”, or “I have kids, which means I don’t have time to work out.” I am not going to go into any detail, but Ruth had a lot of personal speedbumps that she could have allowed to get her off track, and most people would have allowed this to happen. But Ruth was focused on a goal, and she was not going to let anyone else win the $300 cash prize that went to the winner.
Congratulations, Ruth!
Mark Mogavero, CSCS
PS- If you would like to see similar results, sign up today for your free 2 week trial to the Pine Brook Boot Camps, or visit northjerseypersonaltraining.com
Deserve? And Rapid Fat Loss
Posted by: | CommentsI was just reading a fitness industry publication, and in it there was an article about one of the larger chain gyms in this region. The CEO of this company was discussing that while revenue was down, he expected the company to do well in the future. Sound like the typical CEO gibberish that they have to spout when they are discussing the financial prospects of the company moving forward. But, he then said something that I find appalling, and really pissed me off. He said that “In addition to a reinstatement of a $20 processing fee for new members as of June 1, ” the chain “plans to increase its annual dues rate by 1.5% for a majority of its members on Sept 1.” “We think we deserve it.” No, you most certainly do not deserve it.
Deserve?? Deserve is a term that in its root, means to be “of service.” In this instance, this chain, and most businesses for that matter, need to “EARN” it. In my mind, none of us deserve anything more than to be treated properly, and be given the opportunity to earn what we get out of life. This chain is completely clueless. If you are considering joining a gym, do you feel as though they “deserve” an extra $20 of your money on top of their established fees for the privilege of you joining their membership list? It is this type of misplaced entitlement that led me out of the chain gyms, and into my own studio.
On another note, does everyone “deserve” a great body, or do you have to earn it? The people who are members of the Pine Brook Boot Camps EARN it every class. They deserve results because they have physically earned them. They do the hard work, watch what they eat, get enough sleep at night, and stay dedicated to a program designed to get them the results they want.
They do not feel entitled to rapid fat loss without giving the effort to earn it. And that is something where the large gyms are sadly failing. But that is OK. As they continue to pile the fees on, and people wise up to what a rip off such facilities are, smaller facilities dedicated to getting you results will prosper. And I love that.
Who’s looking out for ya?
Mark Mogavero, CSCS
Owner, Dynamic Personal Training
To lose weight fast in North Jersey, go to http://www.northjerseypersonaltraining.com and sign up for your 2 week free trial.
Are you Flying or Failing?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you flying into the new year and crushing your fitness goals? Or are you failing to achieve anything but the same body you have had
for a long, long time? Ask yourself this question until you can come up with an honest answer. Losing fat and keeping it off can be achieved,
but it is going to take a sustained disciplined effort.
Don’t sell yourself short.
You can get there.
You can do this.
You have it inside to finally get over that hump.
It’s not an easy road, and there will be setbacks. If you get lost, then stop and take a deep breath.
Take a look around.
Regardless of where you are planning on going, the path is right in front of you if you allow yourself to see it.
Keep it simple, work at it a day at a time, and realize that small gains really do add up.
And stay off the damn cardio equipment and those stupid machines. They will do nothing for you but keep you fat.
And that is how the big chain gyms want you, because it keeps you coming back hoping this will finally be the year.
But you are onto them now.
Get after it!
Mark Mogavero
2010: A New You, or SOS (and you know what that means)
Posted by: | CommentsWell, 2010 has arrived. I think there are a lot of people out there who would rather forget about 2009, but I don’t consider myself one of them. You see, I am a big believer that our experiences make us who we are. And those who achieve the most are the ones who can learn from their experiences, and apply those lessons in the future.
As a fitness professional, this is a very busy time of the year. More people than I can count have made a resolution to lose weight, get a six pack, eat healthier, etc. And the sad reality is that by the end of this week, many of those who made promises to themselves are going to break them. It’s not that the intentions weren’t sincere, or the individual really doesn’t want to change. I would say that 90% of people are unhappy with where they are in life if they are consciously making resolutions.
What they don’t have is an ability to understand that change requires a consistent effort each day in order to stay the course. A person who wants to eliminate debt has to be disciplined enough throughout the year to save more than they make in order to use that money to create a debt free status. If that individual doesn’t change the spending habits, and the income remains the same, then it is impossible to pay off that debt. The math simply isn’t there.
How about the person who wants to quit smoking? Very, very few of those who smoke are going to be able to quit cold turkey. Some do, but the numbers tell us that it takes a process to consistently reduce the volume of cigarettes per day until the habit is kicked.
Remember your high school physics class? “An object in motion tends to stay in motion”??? Newton’s first law of motion if memory serves me correct. I have a law of my own that applies to humans, and that is that humans of habit tend to stay humans of habit.
A person will do the same thing day in and day out unless they are forced to do something different. This “force” could be a willingness to change the way they look, how much money they make, how much vacation they take, how many kids they have (sometimes this choice is made for you), etc.
In the fitness arena, your habits make you look the way you do.
Genetics plays a role, but a small one at that.
Your physical appearance is based upon the foods you eat and how frequently you eat them, how much rest your body gets at night, and physical activity levels.
I’ve seen a lot of people come into my studio with the idea that if they workout hard enough, they can make their bodies look like a cover model without changing anything else. Needless to say, they are not happy when I inform them that it is going to take more than just 40-45 minutes a day with me to look that good. But, I let them know that the change in their activity habits is a start, and if they can make the new activity levels a habit for a t least two straight weeks, then they are going down the right path.
Eating the correct foods often and throughout the day is 80 percent of the equation in your overall appearance. Sleep is the other major factor. If you were to take a person who performs the correct exercise regiment each week, and eats well each and every day, but fails to get more than 4 hours of sleep a night, that person is not going to look too healthy. You need to have what Phil Kaplan commonly refers to as “synergy”, where sleep, food, and activity are all in sync with one another in assisting an individual achieve their fitness goals.
I am not writing this to destroy anyone’s hopes of finally looking the way they want or making a concerted effort to improve their fitness in 2010. My goal is to inspire you to do so in a realistic way and one where your expectations are not unrealistic.
Too many people talk to me about getting results like the people on “The Biggest Loser” do. I personally feel that what they do to those poor people is criminal, and extremely unsafe for their well being. Don’t try to mimic what the contestants do on that show, it is not good for you. And everyone on the show is sequestered, fed controlled meals, and their activity levels are ridiculous for their fitness levels.
If the contestants keep up that type of training for anything outside of the window of that show, they are going to suffer from overuse injuries and potentially life threatening stress on their cardiovascular systems. How many of them wound up in the hospital over the last few seasons? Lucky they didn’t die….
My goals for any new client or anyone new to exercise would be to change 1 habit per week at the most.
If you are eating 3 times a day right now, eat 4 times a day for one week before introducing anything else.
The next week, add a few workouts, but keep eating 4 meals a day.
The next week you would eat 5 times a day for a week, then add 1 more workout the following week, and so on until all of the changes that you are making become second nature. That is when you have made a real change, a change to your habits, which will result in the body that you want.
It takes effort and discipline, but if you keep it simple, there is no way you can fail to make 2010 your best year.
Mark Mogavero
Food Drive Workout 11-21-09
Posted by: | CommentsPine Brook Boot Camps is going to hold a charity workout tomorrow morning at 9 AM
at our facility, located at 82 Bloomfield Ave Pine Brook, NJ. Everyone is welcome, including
old clients, friends, family, co-workers, those interested in learning more about a boot
camp style workout, or anyone interested in being involved in a great cause.
Your admission ticket to this event is a frozen turkey or $20 worth of non-perishable food
that will immediately be donated to the Caldwell Food Bank to support local families this
Thanksgiving. In addition, Pine Brook Boot Camps will donate an additional $20 worth of
food for all current boot camp members who attend.
We’re hoping that this will be a huge event, and since it will be an outdoor event, it’s great
to see that we have a great weather forecast. Dress in layers, as you will be taking one or two
off once you are warmed up, and bring some water (you’ll need it 
.
Check out our article in the Caldwell Progress!!
Help us help out those in need during these trying times. It’s the true spirit of Thanksgiving
to reflect upon what we have, and help out those who are struggling more than we are. Even if
you do not want to work out, please stop by between 9 AM and 10 AM and drop of some goods.
For further information, please contact Mark Mogavero at Food Drive Workout Info,
or call 973-685-6795. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!!!
A Candid Interview With a Local Weight Loss Expert
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Here, you will get to watch a candid interview with me conducted by my wife, Melanie. I touch upon my own personal battles, image issues, arthritis, eating habits, and how much Prograde supplements have done for me. In the last 7 weeks, I’ve lost over 21 lbs, and am in my best shape since I was a teenager.
Anybody can accomplish this dramatic a change in a short amount of time. All you need is consistency, dedication, and a reason to do it. Many of my clients have experienced the same type of results, and so can you. The question is, can you do better? And will you?
Feel free to comment below.
Mark Mogavero
Losing Weight to Save The Environment
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How Much Extra Jet Fuel Is Needed?
I saw a news story last night concerning the request by Japan’s All Nippon Airways for all of it’s passengers to make sure they urinate before boarding the plane. ANA is doing this in the hopes that it can save fuel, which in turn could save up to 5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per month. According to ABC News, the average human bladder will hold about 16 oz, and if everyone on board a Boeing 767 were to empty their full bladders prior to boarding the plane, that would reduce the weight of the plane by 240 lbs.
This story got me thinking. If we were to take into account the total amount of fuel that is wasted each day in the US due to an overweight population, how many barrels of oil would that be? Think about that for a moment. We use gasoline, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy, ethanol, hydrogen, and a few other forms of fuel to transport us to work, the supermarket, on vacation, and various other trips. How much fuel is wasted because, as a population, we are too fat? If a small airline is asking it’s passengers to save up to 16 oz each in an effort to save money and the environment, what kind of impact could we have here in the USA if everyone were to lose only 5 lbs?
We always hear that you can get better gas mileage in your personal automobiles by cleaning the car out in an effort to reduce the weight of the car, thereby requiring less fuel to accelerate a vehicle to cruising speed and keep it there. I’ve never seen a paragraph in these articles mention that the driver could save just as much fuel, if not more, by losing that same amount of weight through diet and exercise. I could be wrong, and it may have been mentioned somewhere at some time, but it doesn’t mean that I am late to the party, so to speak.
Since the amount of fuel required to propel a vehicle, be it a big rig, pickup truck, subcompact, train, or even a plane, is largely based on the mass of the object and the speed to which it is necessary to accelerate to and maintain, it would only make sense that an effort should be made to lighten the load as often as possible. Strong but light is the major theme in the design of planes and automobiles, which benefit greatly through the use of materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber. Engineers go to great lengths to find materials that will allow the vehicles to be strong enough to support the loads placed on the unit, yet light enough to be a fuel efficient as possible.
Could the solution to all of our current economic hardships be the most simple? Stay with me here. What would the US look like if every citizen were to lose 5 lbs of body fat? Here are the potential benefits and areas where there would be immediate cost savings:
1) fuel (and an important step in reducing our expenditure for foreign oil)
2)clothing (less fabric needed to cover smaller bodies- 5lbs doesn’t necessarily mean a smaller size, but 8-10 could)
3)health insurance (a healthier body requires less medical procedures)
4)water (faster showers)
5)shoes (less weight means less stress on the cushioning in a shoe, making it last longer–sorry Doctor Scholls!!)
6)medication (tons and tons of medication are polluting waste water as it goes into our bodies and a small percentage passes through into the sewers)
That’s just 6, and I ask anyone reading this to share another in the comment section below.
There are many reasons to lose weight, from lowering blood pressure to easing stress on the joints of the body. Now, you can help the environment by dropping a few pounds. Just think, when I am running my Pine Brook Boot Camp classes, the campers and I will be doing our part to make the world a healthier place to live.
Let me know your thoughts.
Mark Mogavero
