I was recently at the gym performing the basic plank roll demonstrated on the Article page titled "Using the Big 4 for Ulitmate Back Health and Performance".  A trainer came up to me and had me tilt my pelvis in towards my rib cage in order to essentially increase the activation level of my Rectus Abdominus (you feel these working when doing a basic crunch).  Although at this point the plank was more challenging, I would have to disagree with his recommendation.  And this is why:

One of the things UBT Fitness drills into clients' heads is to maintain a neutral spine at all times when doing all exercises.  Not only will this prevent lower back pain, but when combined with a stiffened core, and whole body stiffness, you are able to exert the most force throughout your exercise.  When the trainer had me tilt my pelvis, it created a flat back posture.  In a neutral position, your natural lower back curvature is maintained.  "For many athletes, training strength and power in the torso does not require the rectus to be challenged throughout the flexion/extension range of motion – but integration of the rectus with the other abdominal muscles is paramount." (Dr. Stuart McGill)

One last note:  A basic slow-speed sit up imposes about 730 lbs of compression on the spine.  I'm surprised that I see a great deal of trainers still having their clients perform these core exercises.  The basic plank and side plank are superb exercises for training the entire abdominal wall!! 

Starting in January, we held a Biggest Loser contest at the Circulation Data Services in Des Moines, IA.  This was a two month program where participants competed to have the highest weight loss percentage by the end of February.  At CDS we have a one hour session and a half hour session.  A Biggest Loser was selected from each group.  I'm extremely proud of the efforts this group put into the program.  I was also excited to see all the amazing results at the end of the program.  

I would like to congratulate our Biggest Losers, Joe Fazio and Sue Sullivan!  Joe and Sue were very dedicated campers that put full effort into every workout!  They were determined to see results and that is exactly what they did!  Joe had a weightloss percentage of 10% and Sue had a weight loss percentage of 4%.  Great work Sue and Joe!      

I wanted to send out a warm welcome to all of the new boot campers at the CDS Global Boot Camp here in Des Moines, IA!  We have a total of 35 members for the month of March!  I look forward to all the great things we are able to accomplish this month!  Stay tuned for updates on the CDS Boot Camp!  

Make sure to check out our new times and locations!!! Our boot camps are blowing up more than ever, now coming soon is a fitness boot camp in Santa Monica, CA!!!  Best thing about our camps are the results and the amount of fun we make exercising out to be, lastly is the economical pricing!  Our monthly rates are about two days of personal training!

Click the bootcamps tab!

Ok everyone, as you know we are taking a little break from our Bayard, Bridgeport and Scottsbluff Boot Camps for Thanksgiving. So here is a quick home workout you can do to stay on track. Be sure to do a warmup before, like one from class or one from the video library. Also, as Chris said in class, try and minimize the damage of the Thanksgiving and the leftovers by limiting the amount of starchy carbohydrates you eat. Examples are breads, cookies, potatoes, and any other highly processed grain or sugar. With that said enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!!

When people are thinking about joining one of our fitness boot camp classes, I am sure a lot of uncertainties come up.  Some important ones being, "Are they the best out there?", "Will this actually work?", or "Do they have proof that their program works and have they actually tested it out?".

With today's post, you get the pleasure of seeing real life results.  These two cases followed the exact same plan as our boot camp classes, not only the training but also the dieting.  Not many trainers can say that they actually followed the plan they are giving you and saw great results.  Most do not even have enough confidence in their own system to even try it!

One of our awesome boot campers gave me the idea of this post and how relevant it is to everyone.  She had seen my before and after photos in the testimonials and it had raised some great questions.  Her questions were something like "You lost 22 pounds in 4 weeks?" and "Were you following the same kind of diet and training as you give us in our boot camps?"  So with the two questions that camper brought to me, even as simple as they were, they really hit me.  A lot of people do not know if our program really works and to what extent, or if we actually have proof that it works and are able to back it up with real life results.  We must be able to show exactly how awesome our boot camp program really works, and also that we have actually put it to the test with ourselves!!!  The good thing about the great results these two cases saw is that we were following the same exact plan that is given in our boot camps.  So again, something as simple as questioning if we follow the same type of program we give to our campers to see great results really opened my eyes to common sense.  We need to show you how we came to the conclusion that our system is the best and that it will work!!!

Lastly, I believe the campers in our boot camps are still questioning how our diet program and some of the training is supposed to be followed.  This is understandable; it is a whole different lifestyle to follow and goes against how many grew up.  So in order to make sure everyone is on the same page, I am going to be posting some great articles in the "Member's Zone".  I am going to be writing in detail the exact same diet plan that I followed with the exact same foods and everything!  This is going to completely eliminate the guess work and give you the results I saw in four weeks!!!  Also I will be giving you the training I did on my off days at home.  This will completely remove any excuses and give you everything you want, the best body you could imagine.

Trust me, I lost 22 pounds in four weeks and got ninth place in the world in a transformation contest.  How is that for results?

"I lost 30 pounds in 8 weeks!" Joel Henson

"I lost 22 pounds in only 4 weeks!"  Chris Little

BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS:

-We are launching a whole new boot camp campaign on January 5th! 

-These new boot camps will be even more effective than the ones before.  We have been working in the trenches to develop an even more effective style of training to produce faster results.  To give you some quick science, we have found an even more efficient and result producing style of training to develop certain muscle fibers that are the ones we have been using to drop "22 pounds in four weeks".  This new twist we will be adding in the sessions will also be more exciting and more easily customized to a beginner or all the way up to a professional level.  No matter your current fitness level, this style will be for you!  Also new for our boot camps is going to be more detailed core training!  Our new core training is going to elevate your performance dramatically, decrease injuries, and of course get you those abs!

-New boot camp times!  We will be adding a Scottsbluff morning session, if you are interested you need to help us decide what morning time works best, email us and let us know!

-Referral contest:  Starting on January 5th we will be holding a referral contest.  The winner receives 6 months free of boot camp!

-Contracts: We are going to be putting together contracts for those of you who want to save even more money!

-Lastly, to complete the January Kick Off, we are also going to be holding a 21 day transformation special.  You will get the first three weeks of January for only $47!!!  If you like the results you are seeing, continue on, and if not, no hard feelings!  We are doing this to show you just how confident we are in our new boot camp style and we know you are going to love the results you see in just three weeks!!!

Current fitness boot camp classes are in these locations:

-Scottsbluff, Nebraska

-Bridgeport, Nebraska

-Bayard, Nebraska

-Des Moines / Grimes, Iowa

Hey everybody, I just wanted to let you in on some recent UBT Fitness news and an upcoming event we have.  First off I would like to announce the winners of our referral contest in Bridgeport and Scottsbluff:

Bridgeport- Matt Bloyd- Winner of 6 months of free Boot Camp!!!!!

Scottsbluff- Tie between Sandy Macke & Jeff Johnson- Both get 3 months free!!!!

Thanks for all your hard work to help more people get in the best shape of their lives! The other bit of news i want to tell you about was our monthly assessment that we do in class. The average weight loss was around 7 lbs. and a 25-30% increase in conditioning. Not to bad considering this was the first month of boot camp for many of the participants. Just think of how many months have gone by in your exercise routine with little to no results. Get on the path to proven results with a Boot Camp near you!

The last thing i wanted to tell you about was our charity event next Saturday the 7th for Doves. Watch the video below for more info.

Event Flyer:

http://ubtfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Boot-Camp-Charity-Ad.pdf

More Info on Doves:

http://www.dovesprogram.com/index.html

This weekend Robby, Nick, and I road tripped to Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado to hang out.  On Sunday, before we came home, we had the most intense workout you could ever have.  We played a pick up game of tackle football in a park.  Afterwards it gave me a great idea for the Monday blog post.

Playing an intense pick up game like that, not only football but any other high intensity sport like basketball, volleyball, etc you bring your body to its limits.  Our workouts follow the same principle of sports.  You go 100% for a certain period of time then take a rest.  Although, the competition brings your body much closer to its max effort than just a workout, the reason being that most people want to win and will push themselves as hard as they can just to win the game.

Today, being a day after the game, my muscles are more sore than any strength training workout could possibly make them.  Which means I pushed my body past the limits that I normally take it to during a workout, in other words, producing results!

So, my challenge to you this week is this, bring your body closer to its limits than you ever have before.  Like what we did this weekend, try and play a competitive pick up game of football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, or any other sport you enjoy doing.  The other option of bringing your body to its limits is pushing yourself harder in the boot camp classes by adding weight, getting more reps in, or performing the reps more explosively.  Try these two methods and watch your results improve faster than you thought possible!!!

On Saturday November 7th we will be holding two fund raiser events for Doves.  The first one will be at 11 AM at the Bayard High School weight room and the second one will be at the Fitness Warehouse Center at 2 PM.  Bring some canned goods in order to participate in the free workout!  We will also be having two guest speakers, Dr Nick Krysl from Wills Chiropractic talking about joint health and other health topics, and we will also be having a guest speaker from the Doves foundation!  Lastly, there will be other bonuses we give out for participants.  See you there!

Happy Friday to all the UBT Fitness readers out there! Today I want to give you a some tips on how to stay healthy this flu season. Its been going around alot this past week so follow these 7 steps. Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend!

 7 simple inexpensive ways to dramatically boost your immune system and reduce the risk of the cold or flu this year.

1.    Vitamin D through sun exposure or a good multi-vitamin that contains Vitamin D3

More and more research is showing that Vitamin D can play an important role in fighting off the flu. Spend at least 30 minutes outdoors during peak sun-light hours and supplement with a good multi-vitamin.  We recommend GNC's Mega Mens/Womens Ultra Mega (see Jon the GNC in Scottsbluff) or Pro-Grade VGF 25+

2.    Avoid sugar and processed foods

This one is a no brainer. These food provide little to no nutrient, especially the ones that help fight off the flu. Also the large insulin spike these foods cause makes you more susceptible to cold and flu viruses.

3.    Exercise

This is another one we all know but most don't do.  Exercise strengthens the immune system in addition to improving a whole host of things like cholesterol, blood pressure, joint pain, strength, stamina etc…… Do your self a favor and get more active the flu season. Better yet, join one of our ever growing Boot Camp near you. You'll thank us!

4.    Drink pleanty of water

Water is essential for many bodily funtions, but the truth is many people dont drink enough of it. Shoot for at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces (200lbs=100oz.) and even more if you are exercising regularly or in one of our boot camps like you should be!

5.    Get enough rest.

Some believe getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night dramatically increases you chances of contracting the flu. Shoot for 7-8 hours for optimal recovery and recuperation.

6.    Wash your hands thoroughly throughout the day

Another no brainer. Wash as often as you can and carry alcohol based hand sanitizers for times when you can't wash with soap and water.

7.    Consume anti-oxidants to help fight off free radicals that can weaken your immune system

Replace those processed carbohydrates and sugars that we talked about in #2 with fruits and vegetables. They contain numerous vitamins and minerals that will help stave of the flu this season.

This article is a reprint of this week's article in the Star Herald.  A lot of people do not know what a fitness boot camp is, let alone our unique style!  Also, the article looked great, thank you Star Herald!!!

What is a boot camp? Is it for me?  What exactly do you guys do?  These are just a few of the questions that I recieve from people when they hear about our camps.

A boot camp is a group style fitness class that creates awesome energy, camaraderie, and accountability which is lacking when training on your own.  Our training method is based on high intensity interval training, which consists of varying periods of work followed by varying periods of rest.  We then combine this with resistance, core, and cardio training using compound exercises that target the whole body, not just arms one day and legs another etc……This method of training has scientifically been proven to burn 9 times more fat than traditional low intensity cardio, which most people use for fat loss.  We also use a wide array of equipment like kettlebells, agility ladders, resistance bands, medicine balls, and sand bags to provide variety in the workouts and to help get you a lean, efficient, athletic body!

For the person asking will I be able to do all this stuff, we simply reply YES.  Here is why.  Every exercise or drill we do has a series of regressions and progressions to accomodate people of all fitness levels from the person just starting out to the avid exerciser.  Best of all our classes take 40-45 minutes max from in to out!