Sprinting and bands bootcamp workout

First Youth Fitness Class on Vortex Nimbus

Med ball being thrown at rebounder, while Keith and Agnes do step-ups.











Stephanie and Julia climbing cargo net while Agnes throws a med ball at rebounders.

Julia doing a back lunge off olympic rack.

Mikayla climbing up cargo net, Julia doing pull-up, and Stephanie on monkey bars.

Mikayla on monkey bars and Agnes on windracer.

The girls had a great time in their first class working with the Vortex Nimbus.

The Best Total Body Exercises for Maximum Fat Burn and Lean Muscle Gain

Real world fat loss expert’s Chris Arnold and Jodi Schwartz have helped countless people lose hundreds of pounds of fat, we know a thing or two about exercise selection. Because of this we are constantly asked what the best exercises are to lose fat AND gain muscle fast.

We will keep this as simple as possible for you. The best exercises for fat loss are also the best exercises for muscle gain and visa versa. You will see one thing in common among all the exercises: they provide a UNIQUE challenge to your body AND involve as many muscles in your body as possible.

Both the scientific research and the real world case studies have shown that total body workouts are superior for maximal fat loss and muscle gain. But let’s take this one step further…

Let’s dramatically accelerate results by preferentially selecting TOTAL BODY EXERCISES within each TOTAL BODY WORKOUT! For example, squats are well known for being one of the best muscle-builders with a serious a fat-shredding effect. However, the squat goes from great to UNSTOPPABLE for changing your body for the better when you make it a combination movement by adding a row or press to each squat rep. It’s obvious that you can reap more benefits this way since you have now involved your upper body into the king of lower body exercises.

It’s as simple as the Dream Body Equation below:

Performing Total Body Exercises Within Each Total Body Workout

More Muscles Involved =

More Calories Burned + Greater Muscle-Building Stimulus =

Greater Fat Lost + Greater Muscle Gain


As much as we love these exercises for the unparalleled fat-melting, muscle-building results they provide, they are challenging, sometimes grueling, sweat-producing exercises that are not for the weak of mind, body, or soul!

Without further adieu, here is the official top 10 list of our favorite exercises in the world for fat loss and lean muscle gain:

Exercise#1- Any Squatting Combination Exercise- Squat Thrust/Burpee Variations, Squat to Overhead Press, Squat to Row, Squat to Chest Press, Single-Leg Squat plus Curl to Press, Deep Squat True Clean

Exercise#2- The Swing- Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Med Balls, or Sandbags

Exercise#3- Any Lunge Combination Exercise- Alternating Lunge plus Curl to Press, Alternating Lunge plus Twist, Alternating Lunge plus Chest Press, Alternating Reverse Lunge plus Row, Split Jump plus Jerk, Split Jump plus Curl

Exercise#4- Any Push-Up Combination Exercise- Push-up Knee Tuck, Push-up Rows, T-Push-Ups, Spiderman Push-ups, Squat Thrust Push-Ups, Four-Way Push-up Crawl

Exercise#5- The Chop- Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Med Balls, Bands, or Sandbags

Exercise#6- Olympic Lifting Variations: Dumbbell or Kettlebell Cleans, Snatches, High Pulls

Exercise#7- Dynamic Back Pillar plus 1-Arm Dumbbell Chest Press

Exercise#8- Romanian Deadlift plus Curl to Press

Exercise#9- Med Ball Snatch-Slam Combo

Exercise#10- Dumbbell or Kettlebell Single-Leg RDL plus Row

Well, we hope you take our expert advice and jack up your training with these 10 deadly total body combination exercises. We guarantee you better results in less time by regularly employing these movements into your workouts. It is up to you now to take your workouts, and your body, to the next level.

We’ll be sharing some more great exercises for those specific trouble spot areas (e.g. legs, butt, abs, chest, arms, etc.) that are holding your perfect body back in the days to come ;)

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday!

PhysicallyFit, LLC

http://www.physicallyfitpersonalfitnesstraining.com/

Building The Ultimate Circuit Training Workout To Burn Fat Fast Is Easier Then You Think

Since we were all in high school and started working out, it seems the cornerstone of most resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format. What does this mean? Essentially you perform a certain number of reps for a given exercise or you perform as many reps as possible for a given exercise and then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes based on your training goals before repeating this set a certain number of times based on your goals. For a more efficient workout for fat loss and lean muscle gain, shorter rest periods are ideal. For more of a strength or power emphasis, longer rest periods are prescribed.

So, what’s the problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient way to order your exercises. Not to mention you will have to workout most days of the week to hit every muscle group while spending an average of 2 hours at the gym. How many times have you seen the typical gym member perform three sets of 10 reps for let’s say the bench press? They pump out 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on the television, and then gingerly walk back to the bench area to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 10 on the bench that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern (a horizontal push). That means you’d need at least an hour to perform four different exercises! Who has that much free time to waste on inefficient exercises?

The alternating set format is a much more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises. Here you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is improved training economy and density: more work accomplished in less time, the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:

1.) Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and squats.)

2.) Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges.)

3.) Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises

Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, we believe circuit training is by the far the best option time and time again. To demonstrate why, let’s examine one of our favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:

The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: For a 5-minute circuit, you will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises.

Exercise#1- Squats

Exercise#2- Dips

Exercise#3- Single-Leg Deadlift

Exercise#4- Pull-ups

Exercise#5- Alternating Lunges

Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.

Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).

Remember, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template we use with our many boot camp clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:

Exercise#1- Double-Leg (squat jumps)

Exercise#2- Push (push-ups)

Exercise#3- Single-Leg (supine hip lift)

Exercise#4- Pull (bent over rows)

Exercise#5- Core (plank)


We’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from our boot camps in the weeks to come!

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday!

PhysicallyFit, LLC

http://www.physicallyfitpersonalfitnesstraining.com

Updated photo's of new studio with equipment

We are in our new space and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Vortex Nimbus!! Our new youth programs will begin once we have it in place.

New Studio at 702 Bridgeport Ave. Suite 101 (Next to Sleepy's)

We will finally be moving into our new studio this Wednesday, Sept. 17th. We plan to have our certificate of occupancy Thursday morning and will resume personal training and bootcamps on Thursday from our new space.

Below are a couple of pictures taken after the work was completed over the weekend.

Outdoor Challenge Retest

8 weeks later, here we go again. Alot of new faces for the test. The big difference today, how about a 40 degree difference! 87 degrees and very humid. Those of you that improved your times not only got better, but did so under pretty bad conditions!! Great job to everyone!

50 squats, 50 push-ups, 50 crunches, 50 kettlebell swings, 50 dips, 1/2 mile run. Some completed two circuits while some did three.

830am class results:

Diane - 23:40 (1/2 mile jog)
Sarah - 24:08 (1 mile)
Linda - 25:40 (1 mile)
Alison P. - 27:17 (1 mile)
Kathy C. - 28:10 (1.25 mile jog)
Cindy - 29:40 (1.25 mile)
Patrick - 29:57 (1.25 mile)
Bill - 30:03 (1 mile)
Teri - 31:14 (1.25 mile)
Jaime - 32:10 (1st day of bootcamp ever!) (1 mile)
Dilek - 32:15 (1.5 mile)
Leslie - 32:42 (1.5 mile)
Kathleen - 33:00 (1 mile)

930am class results:

Maureen - 25:19 (1 mile)
Katie - 26:07 (1.5 mile)
Brett - 26:07 (1 mile)
Lisa S. - 27:21 (1.5 mile)
Lisa E. - 28:30 (1.5 mile)
Rose - 28:57 (1.5 mile)
Shannon R. - 30:14 (1.5 mile)
Val - 30:14 (1 mile)
Betsy - 31:16 (1.5 mile)
Charlene - 31:30 (1 mile)
Tray - 34:02 (1.25 mile)
Dana - 35:12 (1.5 mile)

Outdoor Bootcamps Have Begun!

We are back outside! It is great even though the weather has not been such this first week of May. We are holding our bootcamps at our new outdoor location, Holy Ghost Park at 70 Nells Rock Road in Shelton, CT.

Classes began Saturday, May 3rd and will run through September. Please visit our website for days/times. We have a new schedule with two morning classes remaining indoors at our studio.

Out first Saturday workout consisted of a timed challenge course which will repeat every six weeks for out members to evaluate their progress.

The 830am class started with 50 push-ups, 50 squats, 50 crunches, 50 dips, and 50 kettlebell swings. Then each person ran a half-mile loop. Repeated the 5 exercises of 50 reps each and ran the half-mile one more time.

The 930am class did the exact same workout but did one extra round of 5 exercises, 50 reps with an additional half-mile run.

Great job to everyone.

830am class results:
Eric - 22:07
Lisa P. - 26:25
Ana - 26:39
Linda - 27:31
Samira - 27:33
Patrick - 28:29
Bill - 31:18
Donna - 35:53

930am class results:
Katie - 26:31
Lisa S. - 27:12
Lisa E. - 28:27
Dilek - 32:39
Betsy - 34:48
Shelley - 36:26
Dana - 39:15
Tray - 39:44
Mo - 41:55
Linda - 27:31

First Open Sparta Workout Held

We held our first of eight open sparta workouts this past Saturday from 1 - 3 pm. This first workout consisted of exercises that participants were to do during the week as well as teach attendees how to do a deadlift and romanian deadlift correctly. Everyone also got to try doing pullups from the functional trainer with the assistance of the heavy flexbands.



The workout of the day was:

1. Squat explode (body bar or smith machine)

2. Dumbbell push-up with a body row

3. Forward lunge bicep curl/back lunge shoulder press

4. Incline kettlebell chest press

5. Obliques

6. Ab crunches

7. Romanian deadlift with kettlebell upright row

8. Pull-ups (functional trainer with assistance of flex bands)

9. Deadlift with bodybar

10. Push-ups to failure

11. 12-18 inch box jumps



Format: 2 rounds through in circuit fashion: all exercises were 2 sets/12 reps except abs. Abs were 2 sets/20 reps. Box jumps done only 2nd set for 20 reps.

February 1 will be our official launch day!

Feel free to ask any questions that you wish in regard to exercise, nutrition, bootcamps, one on one or semi-private training.