Killer Core Exercises For A Toned Stomach For Summer

At 44, I am in better shape than I have been since playing collegiate volleyball, I can’t wait for my next Fit Fun Bootcamp workout!”

after

It has been 17 weeks since I started the bootcamps. I have lost another 20+ pounds, lost 2 1/2 inches from my waist, have significantly increased my upper body strength, have tons of energy, no backaches and actually like myself again. Bootcamps have allowed me to make new friends and build a great support group while at the same time giving me individual attention , support and motivation . They work you hard, but it is well worth it.

-Marsue 44, McFarland

"She had sculpted hollowed out cheekbones. She looked awesome. She said she had been going to Mamatone...I envied C.’s physique."

I’d like to blame the baby. But, to be honest, I only gained 18 pounds during my pregnancy because I was sick all 10 months. (That is right, boys, pregnancy is 40 weeks, 10 months, not the 9 that they would like us to believe.) After my 47 hours of labor followed by my emergency C-section I could finally eat. And eat I did. I lost those 18 pounds within the first post partum month. But I felt that I needed to make up for all of those months of eating that I had missed out on…reclaiming what I (mistakenly) believed was my right as a woman – to eat everything and anything in whatever quantities I desired. (Think fried cheese sticks and apple fritters, and who wants to food journal that). Also I was breastfeeding and thought (also, mistakenly) that I could eat those extra 500 calories a day and perhaps even lose a little weight.

So after I had to cross off all of my initial ideas off the list I began considering the exercise route. I tried Pilate-ing my way back to no avail. Then about 9 months ago I ran into my friend C. who I hadn’t seen in a couple months. She had sculpted hollowed out cheekbones. She looked awesome. She said she had been going to Mamatone. I was intrigued by the premise and going to a class that was all women. But mostly I envied C.’s physique.

I tried out a class a few weeks later.

I am now down 57 pounds and feel like I am well on my way to looking great. I am stronger and have more energy to chase around my two year old. And now there are days where I am pleading with Dustin to add more weight – yes – me asking Dustin to please make it harder.

- Aimee

"I go to Bootcamp three days a week and I run three days a week. The group element is inspiring and keeps me accountable. ”

Picture me, 33 years old, in the jeans section of a department store, 3 months after the birth of my second son. I have already lost the 30 or so pounds I gained during pregnancy or so I thought and I start trying on pants. The smallest ones I can fit into are a 22. A 22! I’m depressed. I leave with one pair of 22’s. I have to wear something. I am not the first or last mommy to have been in this position.

Picture me, later that month checking facebook. My friend posts a picture of me pushing my older son on a swing at the park. I don’t even recognize myself. I’m really depressed now.

I attend MamaTone one day a week in addition to running 2 or 3 times a week and the pounds aren’t melting off like I want them to. I realize that I’m going to have to take another look at my eating. It’s obvious that I had been letting my good habits slip. At the same time, my husband mentions that his 20 year high school reunion is coming up and he’d like to lose some weight. He starts counting calories and he starts dropping weight like crazy!

I sign up for Fit Fun Boot Camp so I can get in more workouts a week (the toddler wasn’t fond of childcare). I hear Dustin call out as I’m running up the Elver Park hill, “every step is a step closer to your goals”. This couldn’t be a truer statement. I am so glad to hear it. I need to hear it. I am now addicted to how exercise makes me feel.

Picture me now, 36, at my goal weight, 130 pounds. I couldn’t have done it without my partners along the way. And my journey was just that, a journey. It wasn’t a straight line and it isn’t finished. My new goal is to keep this weight off for the rest of my life. I know there will be challenges in the future, but I plan to persist and I plan to use helpers. I am thankful to all the people who continue to inspire me and help me on this journey called life. I need and appreciate you all. Thank you!

- Lynn

Becky went from a size 18 to a size 4 in less than 1 year!

before

after

Dustin had talked to the Mom’s Club that I’m in and I contacted him about personal training at home in October 2008. I was shocked at our first session because I couldn’t even do a single sit-up, yet he was having me do crunches on the ball while holding a dumbbell!

His workouts were so intense!! But they WORKED!! I was amazed how fast I progressed. I was also very impressed with how great he was at avoiding exercises that could cause additional injury or stress to my knee.

The before picture was taken AFTER I had already lost about 20 pounds shortly before I started working with Dustin. In the first 3 months working with Dustin, my weight went down to 124 and my bodyfat percentage went down from 27% to 18.4%. Plus my cholesterol was borderline high and I was going to have to go on medication for it. It is now completely normal from the weight-loss and exercise.

Now for one of the biggest changes — I just went shopping for new jeans. What a difference it was to go shopping for clothes. Last year I would have been in a size 16. I’m now a size 4!

Becky, mother of 2 kids

"Taking Dustin's Program While Pregnant Helped Me Bounce Back in Record Time!”

I was 4 months pregnant with my second, when I started Dustin's MamaTone program. I was in pretty good shape and had been doing a lot of cardio before, but I could feel the difference right away when I started lifting heavy weights in his program. I think before I was skinny fat; now I'm skinny fit!

- Alecia

"Continuing at Mamatone was and is a huge part of my survival.”

I was always a runner, assuming some kind of cardio would keep me fit. And it did, until kids. After my daughter was born (now 5) I lost most of my pregnancy weight. But I got pregnant with my son (now 3), unplanned, when she was only 12 months old. After he was born in June of 2007, I was looking at about 20 pounds of extra weight. The scale read 138 and I’m 5 foot 3. I was also terribly overwhelmed by two kids under two years old, a demanding career and shift, and other personal problems.

I started Mamatone in January of 2008, when my son was 6 months old, and I haven’t stopped since. The weight came off quickly when I started going twice a week. By January of 2009 I was down to 120 and a few months later 115. This was also around the time I started dealing with a very traumatic separation and divorce. Continuing at Mamatone was and is a huge part of my survival.

- Sarah

Busy mom with 5 kids stops making excuses and drops 47 lbs, and does 50 perfect toe pushups!

before

after

By the time my baby was about 11 months old, and I weighed close to 170, I was frustrated and tired of not fitting back into my prebaby clothes (or any clothes in my closet for that matter).

I accidentally ran across Dustin on Craigslist and his MamaTone class (similar to bootcamps) sounded intriguing. I met with him before signing up, took the complimentary class, and I was hooked!

After 4 months of MamaTone classes, I lost 30 pounds and met my goal weight for October. Since then, I’ve lost another 10+ pounds while taking his Fit Fun Bootcamp classes. I have muscle definition throughout my entire body, energy to keep up with my family, and strength that astonishes me everyday! My prebaby clothes…are too big! MamaTone, Bootcamp and Dustin has changed my life for the absolute best!”

Jody 35, McFarland

"Patty is in her mid 20's and is in Better Shape than at the Peak of Her Swim Career!"

after

I tried running and lifting weights after work, but once winter came I lost my motivation. All I wanted to do after work was sit at home and watch TV in the warmth of my apartment. I joined Dustin's Fit Fun Bootcamps and after the first 6 weeks I had lost 6 lbs and started to eat healthier.

I have lost almost 40 lbs since May of 2008. I am in better shape than I remember being in even while I was at the peak of my swim career. While I feel great having lost all the weight I gained after college and the fact that I am able to wear clothes that I haven’t been able to wear in over 5 years, I am most excited about the increase in energy that I have each day and how good I feel after a workout.

-Patty

Megan hardly recognizes the person in her before pictures, since dropping 20 lbs and 3 dress sizes!

before

after

When I had to buy larger shorts last summer I decided to sign-up for FitFun Bootcamps as a birthday present to myself. What a great gift!

Friends and family commented often about how good I looked but I really didn’t understand until I saw a picture of myself from 6 months before Bootcamp, I barely recognized myself! I pulled out the boxes in my closet I was going to donate and went back through them. It was like going to the mall in my own house, things I though I’d never wear again fit and looked good!

There were mornings I did not want to get out of bed, I was sore and tired. Now, 3 sizes and 20 pounds later I am glad I did! I am pregnant with my second child and am in better shape then I was with my first.

My food journal is still active and my chart of progress from bootcamp with my burpee count and run time are still on the fridge, an everyday reminder of how far I have come.

Megan Blankenheim-Villarreal