Tonight, we just wanted to introduce you to our new design.

See you soon!

Lana & Tim

Workout clothes

Speaking of clothes, I’m a bit of a clothing junkie—but not in the way you might think. Really, I don’t have a lot of clothes and I rarely go shopping. I look for bargains and rarely buy anything that’s not on sale. But when it comes to workout clothes…that’s another story! I recently realized that about half of my wardrobe is exercise clothing and I probably have it (in at least 3 colors, thank you). I have more pairs of workout pants than I do regular pants!

I realized that I had a problem when I was shopping for a new pair of jeans not so long ago. I found a perfect pair (which is so rare, am I right?) and I bought them immediately. It fit well and made me feel great. And even though I’d wear these jeans multiple times per week for months on end, after purchasing them, I still had to justify their $60 price tag to myself.  However, just a week prior, I had spent $50 (yes, $50!) on a new pair of Nike (my favorite) workout pants—something I’ll wear for an hour once a week. Am I nuts? (Don’t answer that…haha)

So I started to wonder: Are you like me? Do new, cute, or cool workout clothes motivate you to exercise?

Workout clothes DO motivate me.  I used to wear those baggy sweat pants to the gym, now I only wear them at home as PJ’s. I am much more excited to go to a gym when I’m sporting my great-fitting, sweat-wicking exercise pants that make me feel comfortable and confident than if I threw on any old thing. I call them my “super-woman pants”.  Seriously, as soon as I put them on, I’m ready to go.  You will never see me working out in a random oversized T-shirt or anything made of cotton (it retains moisture and keeps you soggy). I can’t really explain it—I mean, I’m definitely not that into my appearance. For me, buying and wearing nice workout clothes is not about what others think when they see me exercising. It’s about how the clothes make me feel about myself. I like to have the right gear for the job so to speak. Just as a new fitness gadget, like a pedometer, heart rate monitor, or even a bodybugg, can motivate other people to get moving, that’s what workout clothes do for me. They don’t have to be expensive or fancy—they just have to have the right fit, fabric, and style. If that makes me a clothing snob, so be it! (At least it helps motivate me to exercise 4-5 days a week and feel good while doing it.)

How about you: Do you care what clothes you wear when working out? Do new workout clothes motivate you, or do you think these “outfits” are silly}?
I would love to hear your thoughts ladies and gents!!!

Usain Bolt - Olympics 2008

There are very few athletes in my opinion as gifted as Usain Bolt, the man is a freak of nature. He is one giant explosive, white fibris machine. While not many of us were gifted with such a cool name and none of us are as fast, the explosive workouts are just that explosive to the muscles. I have been running a bit more distance of late on soft and hard surfaces and have neglected my white fibris muscles and it truly showed today on my track and field day workout. I was slower than I was just 4 months ago and as I am writing this, every muscle in my body feels!

The importance of keeping the workouts fresh is not only for the mind but also to keep shocking your muscles. Today I am going to take you verbally through an explosive workout and next week I will take the video camera out there and demo some new and fun workouts. (did not want to do that this week, have to prep myself a bit, so I’m able to actually speak to the camera)

So the plan is to go to your local track, almost every high school, junior college or university will have one you can use, I have been blessed to have the use of the UCLA track and field…it is free and makes for an amazing workout.

Bring with you a workout band and a workout partner.

To start, do some ballistic stretches such as leg kicks and round house leg kicks as seen on back to basics video, 10 minutes of warm up should get the muscles warm. Then go to the stadium stairs and get started with intervals of single step sprints to double step sprints 10 sets of each.  Next we go to stair hoppers, jumping as many stairs as possible (As seen on hoppin to fitness) for one set and then do single leg hops staying on your right leg for one set and the left for the other, doing 5 sets of each. Now we move to the track for 50 yard resistance sprints, hopefully you brought your workout partner for this. Have your workout partner wrap the band around your waist and tow him or her at full speed for 50 yards, rest for 1 minute and switch having your partner run 50 and repeat for 5 sets. We move to 100 yard sprints racing with your partner or have them time you for 5 sets with 2 minute breaks in between sets. Finish with 5-10 minutes of static stretching, drink some water and go home and eat a chicken (or just a 6 oz. chicken breast spinach and a yam.)

Usain Bolt

White fibris workouts are great to lean out and give you more A to B speed, if you add this into your workout regime twice a month, you will see the results, I can gurantee you. While I don’t promise that you will run like Usain Bolt, I do promise that you will improve your speed and feal leaner and meaner, toning your calves, quads, glutes, hamstrings, abs and muscles you never knew you had, and as promised I will be back next week with a video and new track and field workout.

Thigh & leg workout

This is a short one from me today. I hope you all had a great weekend.  And I will be back with more next Sunday.

Trouble spots, be gone! Get a longer, leaner look with these exercises and workouts designed to trim your thighs and sculpt your legs.  I know how frustrating cellulite can be, I used to have so called “dimples” and I tried everything, but there’s nothing like the right nutrition plan and the work out routine.  Nothing else works, but you have to commit.

Pendulum Lift

What you’ll need: A step and a pair of 5-pound dumbbells.

• Stand with right foot on step and left foot hanging off back, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms by sides, palms facing back.
• Keeping right leg slightly bent, hinge forward from hips while lifting left leg behind you until body is almost parallel to floor and hands hang below shoulders.
• Return to start. Do 15 reps.
• Switch legs; repeat.

One-and-a-Half Squat

Targets: Butt, quads, and hamstrings

• Stand on step with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms by sides, palms facing in.
• Squat until thighs are near parallel to floor, keeping knees behind toes and back straight.
• Rise halfway; hold for 2 seconds. Lower into full squat.
• Return to start. Do 15 reps.

Knee Pump

Targets: Hips, butt, and hamstrings

• Stand on step with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent, palms facing in.
• Lean upper body forward slightly and lunge straight back to floor with right leg (don’t bend knee).
• Keep bent left knee behind toes.
• Lift right leg, bringing right knee and left hand up toward chest. Lunge right leg back; lower left arm.
• Do 15 reps. Switch legs; repeat.

Single-Leg Raise

Targets: Calves

• Stand on step with right foot in center, left forefoot on edge (heel hanging off, but not below step level), holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms by sides, palms facing in.
• Balancing on ball of left foot, lift right foot a few inches in front of you. Raise left heel as high as you can, then lower, keeping right leg straight and lifted throughout.
• Do 15 reps; switch legs and repeat.

A couple of the biggest differences between man and woman’s bodies is the where we store fat and the amount of muscle we naturally have on our bodies. The reason why women get cellulite is because they store their fat in between the muscle and the skin, thus giving skin dimples. So ladies, it is important that you do hit the weights too, if you want to rid yourself of the skin dimples and under arm (tricep) jiggle. The muscle you build will smooth out those dimples and give you smooth skin. I am not saying give up your spin class or boot camps but your classes are a supplement to your workouts because it is just as important for you to switch up your workouts as it is for us, guys. The good news for you and bad for us is that we store our fat in between our muscle and our organs giving us more heart attacks and other organ problems, so guys don’t forget your cardio and girls please try not to stress us out!  So “naturally” women are built up of 23% muscle and men 52%, hence harder for woman to “naturally” build as much muscle. Why is this important, well ladies this means that in most cases you are not going to bulk up like Arnold and if you are watch your calorie intake and lighten up the weights and go for a few more reps. Also you may not get as fast as results as your man because muscle burns fat and men naturally do have more muscle so do not get discouraged because the weight will come off.

I also know that comfort ability plays a huge part in woman’s fitness, generally speaking most women (or guys for that matter) are not going to do things in the gym that make them uncomfortable. So if you do not like to jump rope – hit the eliptical, bike, stair stepper or treadmill instead or practice the exercises that you are uncomfortable with at home until you perfect it, then take it to the gym and feel like a pro. Do not let the word power-lift scare you either, dead lifts with barbells, straight legged dead lifts, squats, bench press and kettle bell exercises are just as effective for women as they are for men. Mix them up with your tricep push downs and curls, use dumbbells for the dead lifts and presses to. I promise you will feel the muscles working in a good way.

Look back at some of the routines I have thrown up or find some other good weight programs, high speed and intensity applies to you just as much as it does to me (just a little less weight), do your plyos and jump rope because in the end we are all same same, but different.

Get your feet wet. I compare becoming a blogger to learning a new language. There is a very specific culture that you have to understand (though, not necessarily follow) in order to be successful. Once you start reading blogs regularly, and more importantly, commenting, you’ll better understand the ethos of the blogging culture, you’ll have an easier time fitting in and becoming part of the conversation.

Worry more about being good than getting traffic. While the blogosphere isn’t exactly a meritocracy, it’s very difficult to be popular without being good.  Start slow, and build a depth of quality posts before you start aiming for link exchanges. If you’re good, people will recognize you. Be passionate about what you write, stay personal and draw in the reader, so they can identify and feel as if you’re writing just for them.  The key is to stay interested yourself, if you’re interested, then will your readers be.

Write for your audience. The obvious thing to keep in mind is that you need to start a blog with a purpose. If you’re just writing about yourself, then “success” is fairly irrelevant. If you’re writing about your business, your industry, your band, or your upcoming film, you need to decide from the outset the type of content you are going to write about, how often you’re going to write and the voice you’re going to take. If those things are inconsistent or incongruent, you’ll lose your reader, you’ll lose recommendations and your blog will be less successful. Audiences want some level of predictability. If you write about advertising almost exclusively and then start writing about your cat, people will get confused and annoyed. Confused and annoyed readers do not stay around long.  Take Tim’s blog for example…we always write with you, the reader, in mind.  Tim started this blog because he wanted to vertually help people with their fitness goals. And he does just that, day after day.  Of course we have since added a few other topics, only because we’re listening to you, and responding to your questions and needs.  Our main goal was to create an online community that is wanting to live a healthier lifestyle.

Connect with your readers through an about page. One of the best ways to make a lasting impact is to connect on a personal level with your readers. That means letting them know who you are and what your background is. You don’t necessarily need an author pic to relate to your readers, but you should find some way to allow readers to connect with you on a personal as well as a professional level to develop some rapport.

Don’t get seen naked: Never launch a blog with fewer than 5 posts. In the blogosphere you typically get just one shot at impressing a visitor or fellow blogger. Too many new bloggers throw up two posts and then start working on promotion. In the world of blogging, you are selling yourself and your writing. If you can’t give people a fully dressed picture of what your blog is all about and what type of writing will be on it, then why should they throw a link your way, or subscribe to your RSS feed? When someone links to you or subscribes they’re giving a vote of confidence that your site is worthwhile, so give them something to grab on to, and let them know your space won’t be “just another abandoned blog.”

Make sure a link to your RSS feed is available above the fold. It should be obvious to anyone launching a blog, but its amazing how many new bloggers do not make a link to their RSS feed readily available. New bloggers often don’t want to devote space on their site to an RSS feed when they could squeeze in a bit more AdSense. While this thinking is understandable, it is simply wrong. The returns of having subscribers are much more valuable because subscribers drive long-term traffic organically, while an additional AdSense block provides at best a marginal short-term gain. We haven’t even started to advertise, because that is not our goal.

Finishing touches:
Ask friends for feedback on your site. Ask some of your webmaster friends to review/critique your site a few days before its official launch. The blogging world is largely comprised people who consider themselves somewhat entrepreneurial, and as a result, bloggers tend to respect (and want to help) people who are out there trying to start up their own site. By asking other bloggers to give you feedback, you put them in the role of expert and create in them a sense of ownership in your site (which means they will be more likely to give you a hand when you need it). Not surprisingly, this technique usually does provide some valuable feedback from people who have experience, if not expertise, in running a blog. But in addition, by putting your peers in the position of expert, you dramatically increase the chance that they will follow your launch and drop you a link once you get off the ground.

Patience. Blogging success does not happen overnight. Be prepared to stay dedicated to promoting your blog for the long haul. Eventually, your hard work should pay off with increased traffic and a significant growth in popularity of your blog. The key is to not give up and to stay true to what you’re writing and why.

Good luck!

Getting my lean on

Fast pace and intensity are the key words for the rest of August. I just  got a call from one of my clients who went back East to his home town, ecstatically he told me that everyone was telling him how amazing he looked. When he went to the gym to work out he took his buddy and put him through a Kaos workout and had his buddy (10 years his junior) hunched over and gasping for air. These are stories that makes every trainer’s day. We packed on ten pounds and dropped 5% body fat on him in 2 and a half months, not bad. The key was fast pace and intensity, and a little less eating out. Most people spend way to much time in the gym milling around, cool if you have a lot of time on your hands or just don’t want to get to the next level. Here are a couple of workouts sure to get you sweating and your lean on.

Get a flat bench press and load it up with a weight you can do 15 times, for me 145 lbs does the trick. Also grab a dumbbell or kettle bell for snatches.

This circuit will be timed for 15 minutes as many times as you can get through it

15 bench press

15 bench hoppers

15 snatches on each arm (example is on Kaos shoulder workout)

15 on each arm standing alternating dumbbell shoulder press

25 medicine ball oblique exploders on the bench (example is on Kaos to the core)

Give yourself a 2 minute break for water and set up for the next circuit

Next circuit is on an incline bench, load it up with a weight you can do 15 times 135 does the trick for me

This is timed for 15 minutes as many times as you can

15 reps on incline

run the gammitt (example is on Kaos shoulder workout)

Jump rope for 2 minute intervals

15 plyo push ups

This is fast pace so give yourself as little breaks in between sets as possible.

This next workout again is timed.

Complete as many sets as you can in 15 minutes

Max set of pull ups ( if you can’t get 6 in a set go to the lat pull down machine or assisted pullups and do 15 reps)

Dumbbell dead lifts 15 reps

Hanging leg raises 20 reps

one arm dumbbell raises 15 reps on each arm

Side to side bench hoppers 30 reps

Take a 2  minute break to water up and set up for the next circuit

This circuit is timed, do as many sets of each for 15 minutes

Bent over straight bar rows 15 reps

Straight legged dead lifts 12 reps

Easy bar curls 15 reps

Medicine ball single leg wraps (Suit case grabbers, example is on Kaos to the core)

After this circuit take 1 minute water up and head to the treadmill, set on an incline of at least 1 and do 5 intervals of sprints 30 seconds as fast as you can and 1 minute at slow jog.

You can make these workouts as hard as you want, increase weight or speed. It is all up to you now, grab your I-pod and workout partner and go get your lean on.