Well you did it. You survived the 4 week, phase 2. Congratulations. Are you pleased with yourself?


Next week is an optional recovery week from strength training.


Cardio minutes are still necessary, but if you feel beat up or are feeling sluggish, you’re welcome to take a recovery week from strength. I highly recommend you still block off an hour on each of your normal training days and do something regenerating for yourself. Read a book, get a massage, go for a walk, medidate, take a nap, do something that makes you laugh or smile, stretch, roll, listen to relaxing music, meet up with an old friend (watch out for bad habits), etc…
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If you feel like you don’t need a recovery week or if you feel like you don’t want to stop because you have momentum, then you’re welcome to join us for a complimentary bonus week.



This week’s agenda:


• Bonus Week
• Cardio Minutes
• Week 4 Recap
• Inspirational Stories
• Nutrition Tip
• Phase 3
• Questions

Bonus Week

Next week is a bonus week. There will be no charge for the classes as they are a thank you for your business and patience during the merchant account set up. The class schedule is as follows:


6am, Monday @ B&G Club
9am, Thursday @ Mackenzie Center
8am, Saturday @ Mackenzie Center


You’re welcome to attend ALL classes, so if you can work your schedule to be there you’re welcome to attend. You must rsvp so I don’t call you if you don’t show.

Cardio Minutes:

Recovery Week Goals:


Rookies / Returning boot campers: males = 175 minutes, females = 250 minutes

Week 4 Recap

The week started with heavy rains and flooding and transformed into perfect weather. Many of your peers took advantage of the flexibility to attend any class so they could get their workouts in and keep building momentum.


I noticed many a boot camper progressing in some way, most noticeably by moving up a level or simply training faster/harder.


I haven’t given out camper of the week awards in a long time, but I would like to give two particular shout outs.


Amy Travers and Paul Cullen, both of the 6am class, in my eyes had memorable weeks.


What Amy did that stood out was run from 1 exercise to another instead of walk. She now runs with a sprinters form vs a shufflers form and she’s now able to “stick her butt & chest out” more consistently after having difficulty with it for so long. High Five Amy!


Paul brought intensity. Each of you have many speed gears like a manual shift car, but for whatever reason you’re not using or haven’t developed them yet. Paul has begun using his next gear and you can see it during sprints around the gym and shuttle runs. It’s very exciting and inspiring to watch and if you asked Paul, I bet he’d say it’s “pretty cool” to be able to move faster or at a higher level.


Someone in class, who I hope to name in the future has told me they have some pretty impressive before & after clothing samples. Imagine those ads with the person holding up their before pants and wearing something fitted after. Fingers crossed I’ll be sharing a picture and interview with your mystery teammate soon.

Inspirational Stories

Mary-Alice Tully is a former private client of mine and a while back I took a video of her doing a push up T for an article review I wrote and I posted it on youtube. Well, low and behold, she’s had 25,000 people watch her. She’s becoming a youtube superstar. Check it out here and feel free to post a comment.


And if that wasn’t enough…


Paul has proposed to fellow classmate and sweetheart Jen O’Leary and she has accepted. The 6am class now has 3 recently engaged members if you include Kathleen Cote and her fiancée, which means you’ll have some extra motivated people to train alongside as they shift gears to wedding ready.

Nutrition Tip

Burn & Earn.



Thursday was my planned splurge meal. I knew it was coming for many weeks, so I planned ahead by making time for a couple of workouts. I did a 6am strength workout and a lunchtime sprint workout. I still worked a full day 5am to 10pm, but I knew I wanted to splurge so I made time and created a caloric deficit.


I also cut back on 2 previous breakfasts by reducing my oatmeal intake from 1c of raw to ¾ c of raw oats. That’s a little thing, but if you add up a lot of little things and you mix in some big things (2 hard workouts in 1 day), you can create a caloric deficit to allow room for a guilt and friendly waist band free splurge meal.

Phase 3

Phase 2 was Get Spring Break Ready and Phase 3 is affectionately being called, “Drop A Dress or Pant Size in 21 Days”! Think you’re disciplined enough to make it happen? We’ll see.

Got Questions?

Ask me a question and I’ll answer them in the forums.


Cheers and wishing you a great week of body changes!


Your coach,


Mike Alves


Newton Boot Camp

Sunday, March 14, 2010

2010 Change Your Body Boot Camps

Phase 2, Week 3 Recap

Anyone know how to build an arc?

Since Moses brought 2 of everything onto the big boat and it’s been raining non-stop all weekend, it seems fitting to remind you that I’ve taught 2 do anywhere cardio workouts so far this year.

1)        Jumping Jacks and Movement Prep;  60sec:60sec

2)        Burpees and Movement Prep; 60sec:60sec

Combine these or most any other total body cardio exercise from your interval training program sheet and you’ll be able to get a challenging, results-oriented, happy hormone delivering cardio workout using as little space as 6’ x 6’.  Pretty awesome.

I’ve done jumping jacks, high knee runs and tuck jumps (20:10) on the top floor in the Alves Compound East and plenty of workouts in the driveway (Mary across the street is always watching me and talking on the phone) using total body exercises with both body weight, bands and free weights and most recently the basement (set up my heavy bag and cleared some space to jump around).  I know what works and what doesn’t and I especially like to keep it simple (raise your hand if you like simple).  Life’s too short to be complicated.  Right?  Right!

Here’s a link to the interval training program that you’re following already.  Leaders, how’s it the interval training program going?

This week’s agenda:

• Week 3 Recap
• Local Guest Day
• Nutrition Tip
• Week 4 Theme
• Cardio Minutes
• Recovery Week
• Got Questions

Week 3 Recap

What do you think?  Are you getting stronger, faster, associating fun with exercise and changing your body?

We did 20:10 tabata intervals, a beach muscle finisher and Burpees on Monday.  T / W we did a 60:60 workout (the partner glute hams), a fighting finisher and 10 yd shuttle runs.  Th / F was the 30:30 bench workout, the glute finisher and the Big Dog Sprints Around the Gym.  Did you get stronger this week?

Jack Goldsmith sent me an email and said, “your class was kick a** — I loved that routine!” regarding Friday’s workout.

Sally Babigian told me she’s down 27 lbs of body weight since Sept 27 and has dropped her dress size from a size 10 to a size 4.

Share your story.  How has your body and lifestyle changed since joining boot camp?  Please tell us as your efforts inspire your peers.

Local Guest Day

Guest day was a success.  The 9am and 6:30pm classes invited guests to join us.  Thank you to Leslie Williams, Pam Venti, Maria Vacca, Kim Santilli and Bill Weinreb for introducing us to Laura Otting, Chris Car, Brianne Cappock, Katie Ross, Julie Carrozo, Sara Boudreau and Lisa Goodman.

Remember you’re not only changing your body, but you’re also transforming your life.  The best way to sustain your success over the long haul is to build a huge support circle.  The more people, who understand, experience and buy into what you’re trying to do, the more automatic it will become for you and the less resistance you’ll face outside of class.

Have you seen my facebook/youtube videos.  Everywhere I go I’m trying to get people on board.  This past summer we had a family vacation at the beach and each morning I’d get b/w 3-6 people working out doing either strength and/or conditioning.  When I go to the beach with family and friends we pump up the beach muscles before we go.

Before the Alves Family Reunion (AFR) last year, we did a mini burn & earn triathlon (strength, bike & swim) so we could enjoy a couple of fine splurge meals.  I invite my family and friends to our charity workouts.

When I head back to the “Lud” (Ludlow) once a month, I call up old buddies, my sister, Mere, and her fiancé, Matt and even my mom and plan workouts together as our “social” get together vs just grabbing a drink/meal.  Everyone needs to workout, we mine us well train together as it creates a memorable bond.

Nutrition Tip

Blanching green vegetables.  This one is from my dietician girlfriend Vanessa.  One way to get your greens to pop in both color and flavor is to fill a giant bowl with ice and water, then boil the greens in water in an appropriate sized pot for 2 minutes.  Then drain the water and put the greens in the bowl of ice water to shock them and stop the cooking.  From here they’re perfect to go into your stir fry, to sauté in seasoning or serve cold.  This is guaranteed to make your greens present well and pop with flavor.  J

Week 4 Theme

This is the last week of phase 4.  Time to get some rocking results before heading into a pseudo-recovery week.  Monday will be a 50:10 workout, T / W will be a 40:20 and Th / F will be 2-10min continuous circuits.

There is no challenge week until the week of April 5 and progression week starts during recovery week.

Cardio Minutes:

Week 4 Goals:

Rookies / Returning boot campers:  males = 175 minutes, females = 250 minutes

Recovery Week

This is our last week before recovery week.  If you’re on a monthly billing agreement you’ll be receiving a recovery week workout to do or not do.  Let your body decide.  The newer you are (the shorter your training age) the more frequently you can train without needing to take time off (of course always listen to your body).  The longer you’ve been training or the longer your training age, the more potential time off you’ll need (again listen to your body).

Got Questions?

Ask me a question and I’ll answer them in the forums.

Cheers and wishing you a great week of body changes!

Your coach,

Mike Alves

Newton Boot Camp

Good morning from Stamford, CT!
I’m here for a conference and it’s great to see colleagues and to keep sharpening the pencil.  I really enjoy learning and being surrounded by people who like to get better and also desire to change lives.

Man it was tough last night.

I was eating clean and then this 1 guy brought back a brownie Sunday from the buffet and it almost broke me.  It looked so good, but I wanted to save my splurge dinner for tonight (special occasion) as I head back to Boston for dinner with my parents and girlfriend and then to the Lion King.

Nutrition Discussion & Grocery Shopping Tour

Sunday is the Nutrition Discussion from 10-12p at the boys & girls club.  The first hour we’ll review your handout and discuss any questions you have and the 2^nd hour we’ll head to the grocery store tour.  If you’re personal goals are to prevent disease, look better or improve your performance you NEED to learn and MASTER nutrition.  If you don’t, you’re just spinning your wheels, sabotaging your success and yo-yo’ing until you’re ready to take control (is yo-yo’ing even a word?).

The nutrition handout is attached to the email.  RSVP to confirm your attendance.

This week’s agenda:

• Nutrition Discussion / Grocery Shopping Tour
• Week 2 Recap
• Nutrition Tip
• Week 3 Theme
• Cardio Minutes
• Local Guest Day
• T/Th Conditioning
• Questions

Week 2 Recap

So how did you like the alternating Periodization?  We did the same exercises, but different interval ratios, intensities and reps.

Alicia Straus wrote me after Monday, “Loved class today!  Definitely my favorite of the three. Liked the suicides too.”

Sally Babigian commented after Wednesdays workout, “I really like a lot of the arm and shoulder stretches and openings in today’s class.  The partner exercises are bad ass!  Ouch you can feel both of those working big time, we will all have ab lines after this phase!”

Personally I was most impressed by the collapsed bodies on the gym floor after the Thurs / Fri classes.  That was a profound statement of effort on your part and a defining sign that you trained with max effort and really kicked down some walls.  Remember that feeling because that type of effort yields the best and fastest results and has a huge carryover to your attitude and lifestyle.  Cheers to you!

Nutrition Tip

Here’s a fast, simple and fresh snack to keep your energy up:

Green beans (carb) rolled into ham (pro) and low fat havarti (fat) cheese.

Week 3 Theme

Monday will be Tabata intervals (20:10), followed by 60:60 and 30:30 intervals for the rest of the week.

Tuesday / Wednesday are local guest days and we’ll be doing a 60:60 workout.  Be sure to mentally prepare your guest for the workout and remind them to go at their own pace and choose the level that is best for them.

Cardio Minutes:

Week 3 Goals:

Rookies / Returning boot campers:  males = 175 minutes, females = 250 minutes

Local Guest Day

Local guest day is scheduled for the middle class of the 3^rd week.  You are welcome to bring a guest to class on one of the below dates.  Local guest day builds your support circle and lets your friends understand better what you do to look and feel so great.

• 6:30pm, 3/9 @ Mackenzie Center
• 6am, 3/10 @ B&G Club
• 9am, 3/10 @ Mackenzie Center

All guests must complete a registration packet PRIOR to participation.  Guest day is a courtesy gesture from your peers and me.  Please DO NOT put me on the spot by having your guest arrive unannounced without prior completion of a waiver.  Click Here to download and e-mail your guest a registration packet to complete.

Non-Local/Out of Town Guest Day:

These guests are welcome anytime, but must be planned with me.  Please have these guests complete the guest registration packet and submit via e-mail prior to attendance.  You’ll never have to skip a beat when family, friends or colleagues are visiting.  Just bring them with you and create a new bond.

Tuesday / Thursday Conditioning

There is some interest from the boot camp in a Tues / Thurs conditioning only class, but not enough to secure the gym space at current boot camp rates.

Alternative options include expressing your interest to me and then me sending out a separate email and you guys taking it from there.

A third option, is I write and advanced conditioning program for “leaders”, we schedule a 1-2 hour block of time, most likely on a weekend day and I train / teach you the plan and then you can either do it on your own or create mini groups.  You won’t get the coaching, but you’ll have a plan and can just do your best.

Let me know what interests you.

Got Questions?

Ask me a question and I’ll answer them in the forums.

Cheers and wishing you a great week of body changes!

Your coach,

Mike Alves

Newton Boot Camp

Hello and welcome to Change Your Body Boot Camps,

Yes, I know this is a week late, but good things come to those who wait.  Right?  Right!  J

Greetings!


How is your recovery week going?


I am still amazed by your finish and how strong you trained the last few 2 weeks.  Each week you got better, but those last 2 weeks were impressive.  You were strong, you were enduring, and you were mentally and physically tough.  In some way shape or form, you and each of your teammates set a personal record of sorts.  You either did a higher level of exercise, completed more reps, did more rounds, lifted or ran faster, finished earlier or lifted heavier weights.  High Five!

This week’s agenda:

• Next Phase
• Survey
• Recovery Week Workout
• Week 5 Recap
• Challenge Week Results
• Post Testing Results
• Inspirational Stories
• Cardio Minutes

Next Phase


Next phase begins 8am, Sunday, February 21 at the Mackenzie Center with Measurements & Orientation.  Any current boot campers who would like to have their measurements recorded must RSVP to this webpage to schedule an appointment.  Each appointment will last 3-4 minutes.  Current boot campers go first and then new recruits will follow.

Phase 2 is 4 weeks in length and runs from Feb 21 to March 21^st.  This will be our spring break workout.  Have you ever gone on one of those spring break trips?  I did (Cancun).  It definitely is wild and I remember getting beach ready for those trips, so if you’re going away and you want to talk about peaking let me know.


Survey

Most every phase, I send out a survey to ask you for feedback on your boot camp experience.  This is a huge opportunity for you, to help me deliver the best possible experience and service while yielding the fastest results.  Please take a moment and complete the brief 10 question survey.

Click here.


Recovery Week Workout


Each recovery week, I will provide current boot campers (memberships of 3-months or greater) with a recovery week workout to use at your discretion.  This week is a Do Anywhere Abs Workout.  Check your inbox for it.


Week 5 Recap


We had 2 challenge days and 1 post testing day.  Each day the classes as a whole seemed to get stronger and stronger and culminated with strong finishes on post-testing day.

You beat all 3 team challenges and everyone beat the individual challenge.  Congratulations and I’ll do better to make it a bit more difficult (wink).

Interesting note.  No class beat the push up challenge, but because it was combined with the 30:60:90 round & round we go challenge, it didn’t matter.

High five to our top 10 Individual Challenge finishers:  Marisa Cimino, Linda Riak, Susan Poston, Charlotte Vanlier, Marc Gromada, Maria Vacca, Paul Cullen, Jeff Evaul, Janice Copley and Sal Companieh.  You’ve gotten yourself into much better condition.  Good job.

There are 2 things to keep in mind regarding the individual challenge.  First, some people will be more likely to finish early than others.  People with more fast twitch muscle fibers, people who are in better shape, people with lower BMI’s and body fat %, type A people, former or current athletes and competitive people in general.  If you don’t fall into one of these categories it doesn’t matter.  We have an environment that is designed to help you change.  Everyone gets better together.  In shape help the less in shape, strong help the weak.  At the end of the day, we all just want to get better.

Second.  I added the individual challenge b/c I knew it would motivate the above people to get better.  Challenges like that bring out the best in those type of people.  I also know that, some people are slow starters, are more out of shape than others, need to see other people do it first, need to be in positive environments, need to have people to look up to and need to remember at the end of the day, you’re only competing against yourself.

Remember, everyone beat the individual challenge.  You all won!

To see the results, click here.


Post Testing Results

Too see your results:  click here

Inspirational Stories

Looks like it was Paul Cullen’s phase.  Not only did he complete the pyramid finisher in 6:09 and run a 7:38 mile, but he also set the male class record for shuttle runs with 17.

Florence Chan, Quyen Chu and Barbara Rutberg all showed up early to the Ab Workout for some outdoor road sprints on a cold day.  Check out their photo.

Linda Riak tied Quyen’s old frog squat record at 58, only to have Quyen beat it with a 63 and Kathleen Cote set the new record at 65.  High fives to everyone.

The old push up record for women, held by Alicia Straus was 23 (regular) and it was tied by Pam Venti and Alicia and then broken by Jennifer Stomberg and Maria Vacca.  Men, when are you going to beat the 50 push up mark?

There are bucket loads of inspirational stories from this past phase.  Measurements, testing, lifestyle, nutrition,… there are numerous changes being made by you and your peers.  If you want to get a shout out in the weekly recap and inspire your peers, please share your success stories with us.

Cardio Minutes:


Week 5 Cardio Minutes:

Recovery Week Goals:

Rookies / Returning boot campers:  males = 175 minutes, females = 250 minutes

Please comment below with your week 5 cardio total.  Thank you!

AB Workout for Haiti


We raised $240.  Thank you Barbara, Becca, Flo, Alicia, Ellen, Marisa, Marc, Maria, Quyen, Sal, Carol, and Sally for donating.  Thank you the Mackenzie Center for providing us with the space and time slot.

100% of proceeds will go to support the people of Haiti via the American Red Cross.

Cheers and see you Sunday or Monday.


Your coach,


Mike Alves


Newton Boot Camp