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.

I have addressed the topic of resistance training, and heavy resistance training at that, as my favorite form of fat loss.  I still get emails and comments from woman who are scared to lift heavy because they are going to get all bulky like guys.  I hope this video will convince a few more skeptics that it just isn’t the case.  Once you shed the fat away from the body you are left with, small, lean, and toned muscles.

If you were impressed with what Sarah was able to do and want to begin to build your strength up, my Fit Moms For Life DVDs do just that!  Workout with moms just like Sarah as they sweat and work hard towards their way to a very fit, and toned body!  To encourage you to start, I am giving my first months CD and DVD away for FREE, just pay shipping.  http://www.fitmomsforlife.com/thankyou.html Join the nearly 1000 moms who have taken the challenge!

Question:  For those of you who have been following my advice and lifting heavy, please share with me how it has worked out?  Do you feel differently?  What are the benefits?

The BIGGEST problem area that moms come to me seeking help for is their stomach area.  This is very understandable, from a physical standpoint, a larger waste makes the body look chunky and shorter.  From a health standpoint, abdominal fat is the MOST dangerous fat in the body and contributes more to heart disease than any other type of fat.  From an injury prevention standpoint, a strong core is VITAL to eliminating or preventing back pain… I am sure you have heard about someone, or have experienced it first hand the extreme pain of throwing your back out by doing something as simple as picking up your child!  According to the Mayo clinic, 80% of American’s will experience lower back pain, but 80% of those who have lower back pain could eliminate or reduce their lower back pain by doing specific exercises that will almost guarantee a much healthier and happier back!

Just remember, you need to be eating the right foods to lose the fat, otherwise core specific exercises will not matter much from a physical standpoint, meaning you won’t SEE a huge change, but you will still FEEL a huge shift in the way your stomach feels and begins to tighten up.  But today’s article is focusing on the exercise portion.

Here are my top 5 tips to obtaining a FLAT, STRONG, and TONED, stomach that your friends and family will be jealous of!

1.  Focus on the DEEP Core first: The saying “its what’s on the inside that counts,” is so true when it comes to abs. The outer rectus-abdominis muscles are what most moms work when doing crunches, without first working the deep core muscles. In order to activate the deep transverse muscles, two exercises are perfect! The first is a standard plank. When doing a plank make sure to keep the back flat and the belly button pulled in to the spine. The second exercise is called the vacuum and is performed by first exhaling all the air out of your lungs. You then hold your breath as you suck your stomach in, pulling the belly button in towards the spine. This exercise is a deep “drawing in” which is totally opposite of a crunch where you focus in on flexing the abs. Hold it for about 10 seconds and then catch your breath and repeat 10-15 times. Click here if you would like a video demonstration of the exercises.

2. Next work on the obliques: The obliques are so important for twisting and bending side to side.  My two favorite oblique exercises are the oblique side plank and the oblique ball crunch.  The side plank is similar to the front plank, but now you are stacking your feet and balancing on your forearm, this will also work those deep transverse muscles as well!  The second is an oblique crunch on the ball, to do this you stack your hips and put your feet up against a wall for support.  The ball is placed on your lower hip area and you lower your upperbody down towards the ground, after the abs have been stretched you will the engage the obliques and crunch up.

3.  Don’t forget to work the lower back muscles: The lower back muscles are so important for keeping the back upright when we are sitting at a computer or driving in the car.  It is very easy to forget about these muscles.  The best exercise for this area is swimmers.  Lay on your stomach with your hands outstretched.  Engage the lower back and lift your legs and chest off the ground.  Make sure to keep the legs straight out in front of you as you are lifting up.  Move your arms and legs up and down for about 30 seconds.

4.  Work the outer muscles, the rectus abdominis last, not first like most people do: After all the other muscle groups have been worked, it is ok to finish out with some type of crunch.  My favorite are ball crunches.  To do this, put your lower back on the ball and lay back nice and far in order to stretch the abs out, once you have done that, curl your upper body up about 45 degrees, you don’t need to sit it up all the way to get the benefits.  Slowly lower back down and repeat about 20 times.

5.  Keep changing the workouts up, and working the muscles from all DIFFERENT angles: It is easy to get in a rut.  Make sure to have many different exercises that work the same area, but from different angles, this will prevent imbalances, and make sure that the core doesn’t have any weaknesses in it!

I have about 50 core specific exercises that I like to do, in order for the abs to continually get stronger and to make sure that I don’t get injured by only focusing on one area of the core.  My Got Core DVDs will be released Dec 14th at 7 AM CST and will have over 2 hours worth of core specific routines that will follow all of the rules stated above.  Make sure to be on the newsletter list, because we only have a limited number available and it will be first come first to get them, so make sure to be the first to know!

Like I mentioned in the beginning, nutrition plays the largest role in fat loss and a flat stomach.  This coming Monday Dec 7th, I will be having a grocery store tour teaching you the right foods to eat to burn fat and get a flat stomach.  Click here for more details and to sign up.  Space is limited!

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.

A couple days ago I showed you the video of Abby and I on CBS news demonstrating our new fat burning tool, the resistance bands.  Today I would like to take that a step further and show you inside a workout that the resistance band expert, Dave Schmitz took my MamaTone and small group personal training clients through.  Not only was it very intense, but also something fun and different!

These bands are quite a bit different than standard bands that you would get with handles, these bands are circular and have a much larger stretch range which allows us to use them in many different ways than the standard bands!

Although, I am no longer accepting small group or one on one clients due to a long waiting list, I do have some room remaining in MamaTone and Fit Fun Bootcamps, and of course the Fit Moms For Life DVDs are always available!

Click here if you would like to get more info about these custom resistance bands and instructional DVDs that go along with it.  Kids love them and they can do anywhere which is perfect for someone who is traveling and doesn’t want to bring dumbbells with them!

I am always trying to be on the cutting edge when it comes to new types of workouts and new equipment.  I recently purchased enough bands for all my Fit Fun Bootcamps and MamaTone, and I must say they are loving them!  The best part about the bands is the ability for them to go anywhere with you.  Bands also force the body to accelerate and decelerate at a higher level which will help the body adapt and will greatly decrease the risk of injuring yourself when starting or stopping a movement.

If you are interested in buying some for yourself, my friend Dave Schmitz is the expert in band training (he came and taught my bootcamp staff) and has invented his own brand of band.  Click here for more info and to buy your own bands.

Don't worry we are indoors now!

If you are in the Madison area and are interested in seeing what a band workout is like, come for a FREE week of Fit Fun Bootcamp and see what all the hype is about!

A couple weeks ago, I got the privilege of watching my girlfriend compete in her first fitness modeling competition!  It is amazing the transformation she has made the past two years.  I first met her a little over 2 years ago at Supreme Health and Fitness, the gym that I work at.  She joined my Got Core class.  When I first met Abby, she wasn’t in very good shape, was holding more weight in her stomach than she would have liked, and was extremely weak in the upperbody.  She really enjoyed the core classes and wanted more, so she got a few of her friends together and did small group personal training… she said that I was the most expensive crush she has ever had

Abby over 2 years ago at MY first competition!

She really set herself apart from most girls in their 20’s that I had worked with in the past.  She didn’t question my philosophies or techniques and embraced the heavy lifting and intense cardio.  For many years she had been doing 90 minutes of cardio 4 days a week, which was doing very little for changing her physique!  I believe the reason Abby has had such an amazing transformation comes down to 3 things.

Abby before she started working with me.

1.  She embraced lifting heavy:  Abby now squats 225 lbs, deadlift 200 lbs, can snatch a 50 lb db over her head, can do at least 20 dips on a parallel bar, and 8 pullups!

2.  She realized that she couldn’t just eat whatever she wanted to.  Abby doesn’t drink any alcohol, packs her lunch and snacks everyday, reduces her carbs after 4 pm, and drinks well over a gallon of water.

3.  Support group:  Okay, it definitely helps to date a trainer from the support aspect!  She also spends more time with fit people who would rather go for a hike or go swimming than go to the bars and pig out on beer and fatty food.

You can only imagine how many people now ask her for advice on how to achieve the results that she has seen.  She usually laughs and tells them that she does what I teach everyone of you to do, the only difference is that she does it at least 95% of the time!  Consistency is key!  Abby certainly has a sweet tooth, and definitely eats her sweets, but she does enough of the other things right and doesn’t eat the bad foods enough for them to have lasting change.

Abby placed 4th out of a really good field of 12 women!  It was great for her self-confidence and had a really good time with the whole thing.  Even before it was over she was ready to do another one!  This type of competition is just a small tip of the iceberg of different goals and events that you can set and participate in.  I encourage you to find something that puts you out of your comfort zone, sign up, join a group, and be committed!  You will be amazed at how good you feel and the satisfaction of knowing that you pushed yourself past your safety bubble you have been in, and gone to a whole new level of success and fitness!

One of my bootcampers came to Chicago to support Abby.  This bootcamper is in the middle of her complete body and mind transformation and 6 months ago would have never imagined going to such an event.  The show really touched her on a lot of levels, but one of the comments she said to me really stuck, “Dustin, it is simple, it all comes down to choices, these contestants have CHOOSEN to live a lifestyle that gets them to these results.”  She is right, none of the participants just “accidentally” got the results they did or were born that way.  NO!   They had to work extremely hard, sacrifice certain things, and have strong will power and determination.

Abby is now pursuing getting her personal trainers degree and also teaches Fit Fun Bootcamps in Middleton at Madtown Twisters west.  Click here if you would like to join her bootcamp!

I would love it if you posted a question for Abby or gave her a positive message for all her hard work!

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