I am very excited to share with you my first national TV feature.  I flew out to NYC and filmed this piece for Parents TV.  I don’t have Comcast Cable, but for those of you who do (which is 15 million houses nation wide), you can find my segment running for the next couple weeks under the parents segment on demand.

This segment is also fun for me to look back at the past couple years and see how I have grown as a person, and on camera.  I believe that this is the first of many opportunities I will have to share my love and passion for fitness with a very large audience!

Thanks to Parents TV for making me feel welcome and treating me so well during the video shoot!

I am sure by now you are aware of the Fit Moms For Life program, but if you are looking for a home workout program that doesn’t have the cheesyness you see in many workout dvds, then be sure to click here to learn more.  We give the first DVD and CD away for free in order to let you sample the monthly program.

I am super excited to share a story with you of one of my many success stories so far from the Fit Moms For Life DVDs.  Her name is Karen, and she has been so transformed (not only outwardly), that she has quit her corporate America job and has begun an internship program with me and is taking a personal training certification to help transform the lives of so many, similarly to how she has been transformed.

Karen turned her flabby size 6-8 body, into a very toned size 2-4.  She had always been a long distance runner and suffered what many of the distance runners who run a lot, but don’t do weights; which is a healthy weight, but above average body fat with very little muscle tone.  Karen is now pretty jacked up and toned.  She will be writing a couple more articles with specific training programs to combine the weights with a running program to help improve your 5K or 10K.  With those articles, she will share with everyone her before and after pic!

I don’t want this post to be so much about how great my Fit Moms For Life DVDs or my Fit Fun Bootcamps are, but rather show YOU the power of creating a well rounded body.  You are fooling yourself if you think just running for exercise is a great total body workout, or just swimming, or just biking, or just doing xy or z.  You need to work ALL muscles from ALL different directions to ensure a body that not ony functions well but looks good too!

So here is Karen’s post!

Stronger, faster, thinner and healthier are the best words to describe the results I have experienced participating in Fit Moms For Life. I have been an avid runner for most of my life running 5K, 10K, half-marathon and marathon races. Running kept me “in shape” through college and three pregnancies yet small injuries, stagnant race times and the dreaded muffin top were frustrating me.

As a coach of middle school and high school runners, I knew if I was going to tackle these issues, I needed to work on core strength and strength training. Yet, as a busy Mom of three young girls, 7, 5 and 18 months fitting in a class or a joining a health club wasn’t an option for me. As luck would have it, Dustin was holding a Mama Tone class in a shared gym while my daughter took gymnastics. I watched with curiosity at first and then signed up to start receiving his email messages. As I learned more about his training and philosophies, I wanted to find a way to participate in his program.

Sitting on the sidelines, wasn’t going to improve my fitness. The first step for me was taking time for me. So, for Mother’s Day, I took the time away from my family to attend a free bootcamp at Elver Park. The weather was cold and rainy but I brought along my sister and sister in-law to give it a try. I loved it, especially the hill sprints, I was hooked and really sore for the next few days!

Taking a class still wasn’t working with our family schedule so I was doing interval/burst training on my treadmill and using short videos from Dustin’s blog to enhance my workouts. The interval and burst training was not only burning fat, it was helping me to increase my running speed. My 5-K training run times were steadily dropping. But most importantly, it was fitting into my schedule so I could stay committed to the training plan I developed. The burst/interval training is so effective at burning fat that I didn’t need to run for 45 or 60 minutes. I could workout for 20 - 30 minutes and get great results.

Another thing I do after every workout is keep a journal of what I did, how I felt and my accomplishments. This log serves a few purposes. First, I enjoy looking back and seeing the progress I have made. Second, it serves as motivation when a workout is feeling hard to see what I did last week or last month and push to run faster or lift heavier weights. Third, it is my trainer, keeping track that I am working out and improving. If there are too many blank days, it encourages me to get back on track.

When Dustin introduced Fit Moms For Life, I signed up immediately. I needed assistance with weight training and this was a great option for my at home plan. When I received the 1st DVD I couldn’t wait to start. I am not going to tell you it was easy or pain free. I had to stay very motivated to get up and workout 5-6 mornings a week at 5:30 AM. I had to convince myself to use heavier weights and I had to push through a lot of muscle soreness. For my workouts, I alternate Fit Moms For Life DVD’s with interval/burst treadmill training.

The results, more than I could have expected. After six weeks, I started to see changes in my body. I should have taken before pictures and measurements but I didn’t and I regret it. I encourage everyone starting the program to take measurements. It may be painful at the time but you will be happy you did to see your results.

Approximately eight weeks into my training, I ran a 5K race and was the 10th woman to finish. I took an amazing five minutes off of my 5K time from last year. More important than that, I am running injury free. I always had a sore hamstring or knee or tight muscle that was slowing me down. Thanks to stronger muscles, especially my hamstrings and core, I no longer have the minor aches and injuries. The core and muscle strength also help make daily activities easier.

Another benefit to staying committed to the program is the 15 pounds of weight I have lost. My arms, back, waist and legs are so much more toned and I feel great about it. I can wear a tank top and know that I no longer have the “flying squirrel” under my arms.

If you want to run faster, lose weight and be healthier, I encourage you to take the first step and give yourself the gift of time to improve yourself. It only takes me 20 - 30 minutes five to six days a week. Not only will you improve yourself you will set an example for your kids. My three girls know my workout time is important to me and they now are more interested even at their young ages in staying fit and getting stronger. As they grow up, I look forward to working out with them. If I can find the time get in shape, you can to. What are you waiting for?

Do you have questions for Karen?  She would be happy to answer them!  Write them in the box below.

As I ponder and look back on 2009, I am very grateful for all the opportunities as well as challenges that I experienced.  One year ago I never would have thought that the blog I had just started is now getting 1,000-2,000 visitors each day, and that I would have close to 2000 current clients through Fit Moms For Life, Got Core, Fit Fun Bootcamps, and Mamatone.

I would sum up this year as uncomfortable.  I have never spent more time being uncomfortable than this year.  What I mean by “being uncomfortable” is that I did things that I knew I should do, but made me scared, nervous, and anxious.  One of the most challenging things was becoming comfortable with making my own DVDs.  I now have made 14 DVDs this year!  At first it was very challenging; it wasn’t easy watching myself on camera or hearing my voice.  Even though I have a long way to go with my on-camera skills, I am improving every day (after watching all my DVDs, I use certain phrases WAY too much, sorry for those who have to put up with that!).  But here is the take away message I want you to remember; anything you do doesn’t have to be perfect.  So often in life we wait until everything is perfect to start that new job, get into a new relationship, get in shape, or focus on your relationship with your spouse.  I have realized that we are wasting so much time waiting for the perfect time to do anything!  If I hadn’t gotten past my fears, I wouldn’t have filmed the DVDs and been able to help 100’s of amazing people who I didn’t have access to prior.  I don’t possess anything special that you don’t have, so make 2010 the year of being uncomfortable!

I get asked frequently if I am planning on leaving Madison and moving to Hollywood, the answer is that I have no plans on doing so.  I want to give you a little insight into my plans for 2010 and then want to hear about what you would like me to do.  Who knows what will actually happen, but this is some of the things I want to accomplish.

1.  Fit Fun Bootcamps: With 10 locations I am very happy and pleased with where they are at.  I would like to grow them a little more and really focus on creating the most incredible experience to each bootcamper.  I want to create more and more value for each bootcamper.  I don’t plan on expanding to many more locations because it takes so much energy and time to do so and spreads me very thin.

2.  MamaTone: Very similar to bootcamps, I don’t plan on adding more times and locations, but finding ways to add more value and service to each MamaToner.

3.  Fit Moms For Life DVDs: I will continue to focus on expanding the number of moms who join my monthly Fit Moms For Life DVD program.  I am looking to add additional resources such as CDs and maybe even a newsletter at some point.  I want to find ways to create a more cohesive and tight community for the hundreds of moms who are part of the program.  I want to create much more accountability in order to guarantee results.  I also want to be more accessible for more Q&A times.

4.  Blog: I have been very pleased about how the blog has grown and am so excited to continue to provide valuable content and help increase your commitment and motivation towards being the healthiest you can.  I also want this blog to be a platform where we can make a positive difference in the world, not just from a fitness standpoint.  I am looking forward to more and more feedback from you on specific blog posts.  I think the best blog posts are the ones that I share my information and opinion and then you comment and add value to the conversation by either agreeing and explaining why, or disagreeing and saying why, or adding an additional viewpoint!

New Projects

1.  Create some new DVDs that couples or friends can do together… All my DVDs can be done with two people doing the same thing, but I want to make some workouts that require the teamwork of two people to accomplish.

2.  Kids workouts: I want to create a bunch of 10 minute workouts that kids can do with their parents that are both fun and challenging.  I want the workouts to set a strong anchor in their lives that working out is not only healthy to do, but also fun!

3.  Start doing my own live TV show on the internet.  I have been researching this a lot and buying all the technology that I need, so I will be getting this going soon!

4.  I want to do more and more teleseminars which will allow me to go into much more depth and detail on specific topics than I can on my blog, and also allow me to help those who don’t live near me.  Click here to join my first teleseminar program!

5.  Finish my book, Fit Moms For Life: I will be looking for many of you who are women to be in the book.  I am structuring it similar to the Body For Life book and having personal stories of women getting amazing results through my program.  This will add a very powerful personal touch that will really help women out there who are doubting that they can achieve what they want in life.

6.  Transformation contests that are another way to get people to exercise and eat healthy.  Contests are such a good way to set a goal and have an end date that you strive towards getting to.

7.  ????  Who knows.  This is where you can help me out!

What would you like me to do this year to help you blow away any fitness and health related goals that you have for 2010?

Val snowshoeing back home after her 5:15 AM workout!

One of the biggest predictors of success, in any area of your life, and especially in area of fitness, is dedication.  How badly do you want results and how much work are you willing to put forth to get those results?  How are you going to overcome obstacles in your life that will inevitably pop up?

Mindy and Val are two moms who DON’T let obstacles get in their way of getting in their workouts.  I had the privilege of meeting both of these moms recently and they are super cool!  Mindy has 6 kids, but doesn’t let that be an excuse for not working out.  You can find these two friends every morning at 5:15 AM in Mindy’s basement working out to the Fit Moms For Life DVD series.

On Wed Dec 9th, a small “obstacle” occurred.  They received about 15 inches of snow overnight.  Instead of Val calling Mindy and saying she couldn’t make it there, she took things into her own hands, or should I say feet, and snowshoed over to Mindy’s house at 5:15 AM for the workout!

Now that is dedication that we should all strive for.

Mindy's beautiful 6 kids!

I have been doing a 5 part series with Kim Sveum of ABC news.  She wanted to do a series on healthy moms and decided that she needed to practice what she preached.  So she enlisted my help at creating an eating and exercise plan that would help her lose fat, lose inches, and increase her energy levels.

Click here to see part 1 Getting Started

Click here to see part 2 Motivation

Click here to see part 3  Nutrition

Click here to see part 4 Thanksgiving

Click here to see part 5 Exercise

Before I agreed to this, I wanted to make sure she was committed, because the last thing I wanted was for me to take before and after measurements on TV to 10,000’s of people and not have someone who was committed.  After meeting with Kim, I could tell she was going to give it 100% and make me look good! :)  And boy did she ever!

Here were her actual stats:

Thigh 20.5                 18.5

I want to make a couple points about these #s.

1.  You can’t spot reduce: notice she lost pretty consistently in ALL parts of her body, not just in one area.

2.  She gained 3 lbs of lean weight (muscle) through this process.

3.  Although she lost 7lbs, she actually lost 10 lbs of fat.

4.  She lost 3.25 inches in her abdomen.

5.  She lost an astounding 7 % bodyfat total.

For exercise Kim didn’t do any traditional cardio instead focused on heavy weight training and interval cardio training.  She worked out about 4 times/week for 45 minutes each time.  She did a combination of my Fit Fun Bootcamps, MamaTone Fitness, and Fit Moms For Life DVDs.

She followed a higher protein and fat diet and lower carb and no sugar eating plan and no carbs after 3 pm.  She drank 1 gallon of water each day and eliminated all processed foods and fake sugars.  She ate about 1400 calories per day.

If you want to read Kim’s blog and journey and more about how she did what she did in much more detail, I highly recommend you to click here and check out her stories!

The reason I do what I do, is to give moms back their self confidence (if they lost it), reshape their bodies, and increase their energy, to help them make it through the daily grind of life and kids.  The amount of responsibility that moms have on a daily basis can seem overwhelming, and combine that with a poor diet, lack of exercise, and lack of sleep, you can see why so many moms are stressed/worn out, and feel like they are in a gerbil wheel, spinning their legs, but not getting anywhere.

Kim Sveum of ABC news did a great story on Anne Anderson, those of you who are to Fit Moms For Life DVD #6 will recognize her from the workout.  Anne is almost ready to turn 40 and has done a great job eating right, and has been part of MamaTone (Bootcamp for stay at home moms) for well over a year and has really toned up nicely!

Notice the weights Anne and Kim are using are 25 lb dumbbells for many of the exercises!  Don’t be afraid to use heavy weights, it will burn more calories.

Here are the take aways from the video:

1.  If you don’t put yourself first, it will be very tough to keep up with everything.

2.  Know how long you can dedicate to exercise.

3.  Focus on high intensity exercise.

4.  Do strength training.

5.  Feel free to break up a 30 minute workout into 3-4 10 minutes sections.

6. Do some bodyweight exercises at home such as burpees, tricep dips, and squat pulses.

Buy the First “Got Core” DVD and get the Second DVD FREE!  Limited Quantity Available.

DVD #1

-Interview with the star of the workout Abby Brockman

-Warm-up

-Level 1 Building a foundation

-Level 2  Getting past the basics

-Level 3  Incorporating more muscle groups

Level 4  Getting more of the upperbody involved

Duration: 1 hour and 29 minutes

DVD #2

-Warmup

-Level 5 Can you make it through?

-Level 6  How about now?

-Level 7  Bring it!

-Level 8 I dare you to survive!

Duration: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Price

Normally each DVD retails for $29.99, but I was planning on selling them together for only $47.  But I want to take that a step further and give you the second DVD FREE, as a way of saying thank you so much for all your support throughout the past couple of years.  I am truly blessed and honored to be able to share my knowledge and love of fitness to you!  All you will pay is $29.99 (+$4.95 sh&h)

Check Out What Others Are Saying

“LOVE IT!!!! I have used the Got Core DVD for a week now, and have done programs 1 and 2, will do 3 tomorrow. It moves at a fast pace so you don’t have time to think about not liking it, being bored, or how much longer. It has great exercises, and each routine is different–I can pick from 1-10 workouts so I’m never bored. I am getting very good at the “vacuum” and make a point of incorporating that multiple times a day, especially at work.

This is a very good quality DVD that is quick and to the point—it gets the job done. No need for expensive equipment, lots of space, or a huge chunk of time–it is absolutely an essential tool for attaining that flat, toned tummy!!!!!!

I can’t thank you enough for all your support, encouragement, and knowledge. As a trainer focusing on moms–you are an answer to my prayers and what I searched for since having my first baby 8 years ago. Keep it up—you have touched so many lives, and I’m thankful mine is one of them!!!!!!!!!!! “
-Julie

“The Got Core program hoping it would help my chronic back pain and to improve flexibility. Since I started the program, my back has felt good and my strength and flexibility has improved. I’ve recommended the Got Core program to a number of people.”
-Marc

It is getting close to Halloween.  In honor of this time of the year, I went on CBS and had one of my MamaToners, Jennifer, demonstrate some great exercises that you can do with just a pumpkin!  Jennifer is a mom of two little kids, who I have been working with for the past 3.5 months.  I am extremely proud of Jen’s hard work and determination.  She came to MamaTone in pretty good shape already, but has taken her fitness level that very few women and more specifically moms ever get to!

One of her specialties is interval runs on the treadmill.  Only try this if you are in good shape already and are comfortable on the treadmill.  The treadmill should be set at 11 MPH and 11% incline.  The routine is simple, 10 seconds on the treadmill, 20 seconds off the treadmill (just jump to the sides to rest), do that for 8 minutes.  If you can do that you would be able to keep up with Jennifer

The point of this video is three fold:

1.  Working out should be fun and can be creative to take away from workout ruts and boredom.

2.  It doesn’t take a fancy gym or expensive machines to get a great workout.

3.  A strong women doesn’t look bulky, but rather has a lean, toned muscular look.

If you are in the Madison area and want to do the same workouts that Jennifer does, I invite you to check out Mamatone or Fit Fun Bootcamps for a great workout and support from your trainers and fellow participants.

If you aren’t in the Madison, WI area, you are still in luck, because I have p More on Pumpkin Workout

Hurray! The Kids Are Back In School!

For many of you, Labor Day comes with a big sigh of relief. Sure, you loved the summer and all that came with it; but between camping trips, kids’ sports, cookouts, vacations, and endless parties, you are exhausted and your body may have taken a bit of a toll!

For many moms, getting the kids back to school signifies getting life back in order. It is time to set a schedule and take that time once again for you. Now is the time to begin planning your meals out and having a consistent exercise routine that you can follow.

Exercise:

-Decide what time in the day works best for you: There is no time during the day that is better from a fat burning standpoint, but I have found that early mornings are the only time when there isn’t anything unexpected that pops up and prevents you from getting your workouts in.

-Figure out what physical activities you enjoy doing: If you don’t like it, chances are, you won’t stick with it.

-2-3 days of 30-45 minutes of resistance training: I encourage moms to lift heavy weights in order to burn the maximum amount of fat and build toned lean muscle

-2-3 days of interval cardio. This can be done on the same days as the weight training, but should be done after the lifting part.

-10 minutes of core training 3 times per week. More on Getting Into A Healthy Routine After The Summer

Today, I am excited to share with you Kris’s story.  Kris came to me quite overweight and frustrated with decades worth of weight battles.  It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort, Kris had tried exercise in the past and had many attempts at dieting.

In the past year her troubles in the past turned to triumph and her body began to change…

Warning personal story about to begin:

I don’t have the greatest eye sight, and from a distance it is hard to make out faces, so I rely on body shape to know who it is many times.  For the past 6 months I kept asking myself who is this new person in class?  Kris’s shape has changed so much that I have to reprogram my mind to recognize her new body.  Kris has always called herself big boned, but for once she is happy and proud of where her body is at!

Kris is in such good shape now that she ranks in the top 10% fitness level of all my clients (most of my clients are well above average in fitness).  She can be routinely found as one of the first people at the top of the big hill at Fit Fun Bootcamp.  It is hard to find a harder working person than Kris!  I was so impressed with her fitness level that she was one of the 13 moms I hand selected to be part of the Fit Moms For Life DVD series.  She is the star of DVD#9!

Kris is well deserving off all her success!

Here is her story:

Kris Before

“For the last several years I have really wanted to lose weight. I didn’t have any medical problems but even my doctor had told me I needed to lose weight. Several times I’d given it a really great effort: running, playing tennis, joining (and working out in) a local athletic club, buying an elliptical machine and trying to eat better. No matter what I did nothing seemed to help. Sure, I’d tone up a bit, but in the end I was just gaining more weight. It seemed like there was no way for me to lose weight. I was about a size 14 and sometimes my clothes were too tight but I wasn’t going to buy any bigger clothes!

Kris After

Then I saw Dustin on the morning news talking about his Mama Tone class. It sounded great and the first class was free to try, so I figured I had nothing to lose (but weight!) One thing I loved about the class was that Dustin was really interested in helping me lose weight. He wanted to know what things I had been doing and encouraged good nutrition along with the exercise program. The class was really hard, but I liked that. There were different weights available so each of us could work at our own level of difficulty and he pushed me to work hard. Feeling motivated by this I joined a free online food journal program, set a weight loss goal and continued to come to his classes two times per week. Because I could only make the class twice a week I started working out at home another day or two using some of the things I learned in his class. Dustin constantly checked up on me and my weight loss. He taught me to use heavy weights and to push myself to do things I didn’t think I could do. Last spring, I reached my 35 pound weight loss goal! When I went in for my annual physical my doctor was very impressed with my weight loss and my improved cholesterol and glucose test results. It’s been over four months and I have kept the weight off and I feel better then I have in years.

I’m wearing a size 8 and I don’t think I’ve worn that since before I had kids. More on MamaTone and Fit Fun Bootcamps Was Kris’s Weight Loss Solution