Saturday, October 30, 2010

Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

When you set out to achieve a goal, no matter what it is, it requires moving outside of your comfort zone.   While collaborating on opening our studio, we were put in many situations where we felt lost and vulnerable simply because we had never opened up a studio before. We soon realized that we have both been in various situations where we had to dig deep and really challenge ourselves to overcome an obstacle or achieve a goal. Adam has experienced this in training, while Kimberly has experienced this in her career choice, but the one commonality was that by moving outside of our comfort zone, we were able to find the path to success.

"If there is anything I have learned in my years of training, it is that my greatest progress has come when I have challenged myself to master a type of training that was extremely difficult for me to grasp.  Whether it was due to being unfamiliar with the training, not being genetically built for that type of training, or just simply that it had never previously peaked my interest, when I emersed myself in that particular form of training I found the same thing happened every time: I would make significant strength, endurance, flexibility, or aesthetic gains simply due to all of the challenges physiologically that came with working well outside my comfort zone.  I am not going to embelish the reality of these persuits by any means and say that the experience was incredibly pleasant.  I can however tell you that once I got through the initial 6-12 weeks of adaption to the new and unfamiliar training practices I found many benefits that made the humbling process well worth the discomfort.  The period of discomfort had one very obvious benefit, that was pretty instantly realized, and that was self discovery.  This one attribute is the one that I feel is most closely linked to personal growth.  Taking the time and effort to challenge yourself with something that will produce uncertainty, feelings of inadequacy, and sensations of anxiety will likely produce improvement in many areas of yourself that you don't readily work through.  In the pursuit of starting my own business I have realized that this will be a prime environment for discomfort.  I am very excited about all of the personal growth and improvement I will experience during this immense learning experience.  The best strategy I can have when things seem to feel overwhelming and insurmountable is to continue to focus on the process and learn as much as I can with each new challenge." - Adam

"I get bored easily and am constantly trying to find different ways to challenge myself and once I mastered one challenge I simply move onto the next one. However, the one time that I was truly humbled by the state of vulnerability I was left in was when I was about to graduate from law school  and I realized that I did not want to follow the path of others and take a job at a law firm as an attorney. I realized that I did not want to be a lawyer, instead I wanted to open my own fitness studio. Now many of you (and many others in my life) may question my decision to spend years (and money) in law school only to graduate and open up a fitness studio. I knew that I had chosen the path less taken and I knew this path was going to be bumpy, uncomfortable and scary. But what made me follow that path was my ultimate desire to open my own business and the success that may bring with it. This process has been very challenging, especially since this the first time I have done this, but instead of throwing in the towel and giving up, I have learned to just accept the fact that there are times where I feel overwhelmed, scared and uncomfortable and just move on. I have realized that it is okay to feel those things, in fact it is almost necessary to feel that way, because in order to truly achieve your goals you have to work for it, through the good times and bad. So whatever  goal you have, just stick with it and know that it is okay that there are times that you have no idea what you are doing...the payoff will be immeasurable."-Kimberly

Sunday, October 24, 2010

5k Hunger Walk

Today we had the opportunity to spend our Sunday doing something truly positive for our community.  We participated in the annual 5k hunger walk organized by FAM (Family Assistance Ministries).  This fundraiser was assembled for the purpose of raising funds for FAM's food distribution, rental and financial assistance and the Gilchrist House, a 26-bed shelter in San Clemente for women and children.  The weather was amazing and it was great to spend the afternoon walking for a great cause.  We made a great contact with Mission Hospital and look forward to participating in both "Play More. Eat Better" events in November to fight the battle against child obesity.  Our company is titled Body Transformation Fitness and we are proud to help transform the bodies and health of our clients, but we are just as passionate about doing everything we can to help transform our community as well.  Below are some pictures of today's event.    











Thursday, October 21, 2010

Owner Podcast - Training for Golfers

http://stopchasingpain.podbean.com/2010/10/21/elite-training-for-golfers/

Check out Adam's podcast where he discusses strength and conditioning training for golfers and SPX Fitness!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Box Gym is Dead

After years of experience in many different traditional gym facilities, executing my own strength and conditioning workouts along with training hundreds of different clients, I have found one commonality in all of this.  I never use ANY machines.  In the standard Box Gym you find about 75% of the floor space covered with machines that can isolate, fully support, and simplify the body's movements.  This unfortunately is not how the body is designed to work whether you are an athlete or not.  The body is a very integrated system of multi-functioning joint structures that are designed to operate together as a unit in many dynamic patterns of movement.  Life doesn't demand a greater ability to execute bicep curls, calf raises, quad extensions, and ab crunches.  Working in an isolated manner on equipment that provides all the assistance for you mimics no demand in everyday life.  The body is continually placed in circumstances where certain muscles are providing work (strength), certain muscles are assisting mobility (movement), and certain muscles are providing stability (protection), all at the same time.  So it makes sense that the body should be trained as a unit for the purpose of improving it's capabilities in everyday life.

This is the basis of what BT Fitness is out to achieve: true harmony within the way the body moves, stretches, stabilizes, produces force, and balances itself.  Using equipment like the Proformer, TRX suspension trainer, Kettlebells, Stability Balls, Medicine Balls, and Band Tubing, we can not only effectively improve an endless amount of movement and strength capabilities but also deliver the personalized instruction that allows you to understand how and why all of the application makes sense.

This brings me to the other issue I see with the traditional "box gym".  People get their tour, they sign up for a membership, they get their free 30min slam bam session with a trainer, and then they are on their own among an endless sea of complex designed machines and heavy dangerous looking equipment.  Most of the time people get so intimidated, they end up paying however much a month to use the elliptical for 30min 3x a week and maybe do a few of the safer looking machines.  On a long term scale this will not equate success.  This formula will ultimately lead to frustration, lack of results and sometimes unnecessary injury and a waste of money.

That's why we at BT Fitness are striving to deliver not only the most effective selection of exercises for performance and health, but also to use equipment that is basic and easy to understand yet capable of giving you a truly significant challenge.  We strongly believe that if you transform your fitness... you will transform your body...from the inside out!      

Co-Owner Adam Tombelaine
NCSA: CPT & CSCS

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Lower Body Metabolic Workout Revealed




The reason this workout is incredibly effective for burning fat and increasing lower body strength is it focuses on working all of the big calorie burning muscles around the hips and also combines high intensity sprint intervals as seen in the swing and sprint combo. 

Kettlebell Swing X 30 second and 30 yard sprint 
Coupling a demanding exercise like the kettlebell swing (which not only improves hip & lower body strength but core stability as well) with a heart rate intensive exercise like a short sprint really revs up the metabolism.  This circuit is done first in this series because it is the most demanding and requires the most stability so it should be placed at the beginning of the workout to not only get the most benefit out of it but to also reduce any risk of injury. 

TRX Squat, Jump Squat, Single Leg Squat, Lateral Jump Squat
Moving from this circuit into some slightly assisted TRX lower body training geared toward balance, stability, and single leg strength is a great way to create a well rounded lower body focused routine.  The drills performed in this video include the squat, jump squat, single leg squat, and lateral jump squat.  These exercises are also done on a timed format so that heart rate and metabolism stay elevated during the remainder of the workout.  The set and rest time is kept equal keeping the intensity high and the duration shorter.  This entire workout took Kimberly about 35min but her metabolism will likely remain elevated for at least the next 24 hours.  

We are excited to offer specific instruction on form, technique, and progression at our set to open early next year.  We pride ourselves on giving the most focused instruction on these dynamic movement combinations that challenge the body to work outside of it's comfort zone as this is the only way to initiate change.  This is the premise of our motto: Transform Your Fitness... Transform Your Body.       

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

What are all these videos/photos meant to show you?

A few people have asked "what is the point of your videos and photos?" and we realized that you also may be wondering why all of our videos/photos are shot on a high school football field. Well the truth is that our studio is not ready yet, so unfortunately we are not able to film there. However, we are excited to share with you some of the exercises and equipment that will be offered at BT Fitness once it is opened. These videos and photos are just demos for you to see some of the exercises that you yourself will be able to do in our group classes. Of course, when our studio is ready, we will start filming demos there so you can see the exact layout of our place, but for now we hope you understand our temporary filming location. If you ever have any questions regarding form, technique or exercise progression, please feel free to send us a comment via email or on our Facebook page. Your suggestions/comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Seafest

Since BT Fitness is new to San Clemente, our goal is to really immerse ourselves in the San Clemente community. We really love what a tight-knit community it is and are looking forward to participating in all of the City's events. Today we went to the annual Seafest at the San Clemente Pier where we were able to start promoting our business while getting a chance to taste the amazing chowder that local businesses entered in the cook-off. We are so pleased to be a part of this community and look forward to future events. Hope to see you at the next one!