To say that I have a “favorite” client would be like a mom saying that she has a favorite child. But just like a good report card makes for a happy mom, a die-hard, no complaining, bring-it-on attitude makes for a very happy trainer. Cyndi Guillot is that kind of client. This is a woman who has a 5-month-old, 5-year-old, full-time job, and sometimes gets but a few hours of sleep per night… but come 5:30am Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she trains with me. Neither of us particularly like that God-forbidden hour of the morning, but she refuses to play the “I don’t have any time” card. In 8-weeks time, Cyndi has improved her VO2max from 28.3 to 36.4mL/kg/min. In other words, she’s gone from the 15th to the 50th percentile for aerobic capacity of women in her age bracket. In all of my years of training, I have never witnessed this dramatic of an increase in just 8-weeks time. This is a mama on a mission! Cyndi perseveres when the workouts get tough; she shows up with a good attitude, even when she’s dog tired from an all-nighter with a teething infant; she’s changed her eating habits whereto she eats small meals and very little saturated fat or empty calories; she does sprint repeats without whining “how many more” or “my (fill-in-the-blank) hurts;” she swings a 35-pound kettlebell without crying “it’s too heavy” or “I can’t.” An attitude like Cyndi’s enables you to get out of your own way and reach your goals! Cyndi is going to be at her goal weight by December. Where will you be on your path towards achieving your goal by December? Stuck right where you are? Regressed? (The average person begins gaining “holiday weight” after Halloween). Still making excuses for why you cannot lose weight? Or will you, like Cyndi, be celebrating a milestone of getting in the best shape of your life?
A Few Things That May Help Get You There:
10. It’s harder to lose weight after 30 is no excuse. It’s the truth, but it’s no excuse.
9. You don’t have time to exercise is a stale copout. You have 24 hours in your day, just like everyone else… just pick one.
8. If you cannot afford a trainer, download the FREE virtual workouts that are available at cardiopump.com/virtual-workouts. There are 9 of them. Pick one.
7. If you cannot leave the house, there are workout DVDs for that.
6. If you don’t have time to prepare healthy meals, get them delivered. MyFitFoods is available in all big cities in Texas, and they serve surrounding areas. Most metropolitan areas have a food service similar to MyFitFoods.
5. Quit abusing alcohol.
4. Stop eating out at restaurants frequently, especially fast food. You can control what goes in to your meals at home.
3. Remember that you are setting an example for your children on how to eat, move, and be healthy.
2. Choose your attitude.
1. Eat a reasonably-sized serving (see www.choosemyplate.gov) then shut your pie hole.

Here’s a funny but true video by Bill Maher. It is a few years old, but still very clever. Hope you enjoy it.
Ask Your Doctor if Getting Off Your Ass Is Right For You

One of the previous recommendations on the 101 Legit Ways to Lose Weight countdown was to consult with a licensed and registered dietitian. Your likely response to that was, “I would, BUT…” The dot, dot, dot is the same for masses of people: “I can not afford it.” Just because you cannot afford weekly sessions with a dietitian doesn’t mean you cannot utilize his/her expertise; you just have to be smart about it. What is it that you really need to do: change your behavior! Unfortunately, without regularly scheduled sessions, the behavioral change is going to have to be your business. What action needs to take place: your pantry needs to be purged of the garbage, you need to learn how to pre-plan meals and write a grocery list of all ingredients needed, and you need to learn how to shop for those items at the grocery store. That’s where a 1-time appointment with a professional can help. For roughly $100-200, most dietitians or qualified nutritionists will come to your home, raid your pantry and fridge and explain why certain items “gotta go,” help you write a healthy grocery list for weekly meal planning on whatever budget you may have, and go to the grocery store with you to help you find all of the items on your list. You may think that you can handle the supermarket on your own, but it’s very helpful to have a professional with you to explain healthy tips with shopping at the store. For instance, marinara sauce may be on your list. The amount of sugar and oil in marinara sauce varies considerably from one brand to the next. Your savvy shopping pro buddy will help you pick the right option for you on this and many other items on your list. $100-200 is not much money when you consider that what you learned from the pantry purge, list creation, and supermarket experience are lessons that can change the way your stock, plan, shop, and eat for the rest of your life. That mere $100-200 can change the way your family eats, too. It is a very small price to pay but can make monumental impact.

I highly recommend hiring a professional to conduct a pantry purge, create a grocery list, and sweep the supermarket with you at least one time. You will have to be devoted to changing your behavior with food, but he/she can help you put that behavior into action with these lessons.

For a lesser cost, typically $50-100 plus cost of groceries, many nutritionists will buy the groceries then come to your house to make a meal. They will explain how to cook and why to buy certain ingredients/health benefits as they make your meal. True, that is just one meal, but if it’s one meal that you enjoy, it may become a weekly dinner around your household. Also, the lessons that you learn about cooking and eating healthy as the nutritionist whips up the meal may affect how you plan other meals and snacks.

I love intense cardio kettlebell endurance workouts. That mode of training is prevalent in all of my kettlebell videos, with the exception of Bell Body Sculpt (Disc 3 of Kettlebody by Brook). That’s not to say that the flavor of kettlebell training that I most enjoy is the only way to train with this equipment, nor is it to say that other flavors of kettlebell training are wrong or bad. To put this differently, I’ll compare kettlebell trainings to tai chi. There are five major styles of tai chi. Chen style is very different than Yang style… which is different still from Wu style, Sun style, and Wu/Hao style. The family share much underlying theory, but differ in their approach to training. Similarly, my approach to kettlebell training, which mirrors the Kettlebell Concepts practice, is very different than other approaches, such as Pavel Tsatsouline’s style with Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC). As a lover of kettlebell, it thrills me for the general population to embrace kettlebell training, period. It matters little to me whether they prefer Kettlebell Concepts style, RKC “hardstyle,” or Girevoy Sports competition style. I love for people to embrace kettlebell in whichever way appeals most to them. Part of that appeal will depend on whether they are more gifted as fast-twitch, power athletes or short-twitch, endurance athletes. Part of it may depend on if they prefer a rhythmic workout set to the beat of music. Part of it may depend on if they want to follow the style that originally was practiced when kettlebell was first introduced to the United States (by Pavel). There are a lot of reasons why one style may jive for a person. As long as the style follows safe biomechanics, which minimizes the risk of injury, I salute all styles of kettlebell practice. I hope that even other styles continue to develop and more and more people become drawn to the kettlebell world!

Spoiler alert: you will be able to get another BB cardio kettlebell DVD workout for FREE beginning next month! GoFit kettlebells will be packaged with a complimentary “Intro to Kettlebell by Brook Benten” DVD beginning late October 2011.

Have you or someone you know recently had a baby? A study called “New Mom Kettlebody Challenge” will begin May 1. Nominations are accepted through Saturday, April 23.

Kettlebody by Brook is an intense 3-disc set that is intended to be alternated 6 days per week for 8-weeks to render significant physical changes. The workouts include Cardio Kettlebell (vigorous cardio & lower body strength), Yogaburn (yoga blended with athletic conditioning for challenging strength, some cardio, and flexibility), and Bell Body Sculpt (full body toning). Each workout is approximately 30-minutes.

The eight moms selected to participate in this program absolutely MUST be cleared by their physician to take part in this challenge. Participants must be willing to submit weekly progress reports (8 reports total). Reports should not just be limited to inches and pounds lost, although that is important to include, too, but also how the body feels (energized, sore, stronger, achy, etc), and general comments about eating habits of the week (a diet journal is highly recommended), and where the “motivational meter” is reading. These reports will be published on cardiopump.com/blog and GoFit.net social media. All moms selected must be willing to commit to the full 6 day per week schedule (M- Cardio Kettlebell, T- Yogaburn, W- Bell Body Sculpt, Th- Cardio Kettlebell, F- Yogaburn, Sat- Bell Body Sculpt, Sun- rest) for an entire 8-weeks, uninterrupted. No workout can be missed.

Would you like to be considered in this challenge? Simply draft an email to brook@cardiopump.com, subject: “New Mom Kettlebody Challenge,” and in the body of the email, include: name, address, date of baby’s birth (must be after May 1, 2010), age, weight, any health conditions, current fitness regimen, and why you would like to be selected for this challenge. Nominations are accepted, but please be sure if you nominate someone, that person is willing to go through with the program. Weekly reports, including weight and inches, will be mandatory. Directions will be given on how to take body measurements; subjects will need a measuring tape.

Although only eight mothers will be selected to receive complimentary copies of Kettlebody by Brook, GoFit kettlebell, and GoFit mat to take part in this challenge, all are welcome to purchase Kettlebody by Brook and unofficially join in the challenge, too.