Happy Friday to you!  We’re 2 weeks into our holiday season push and we’ve begun our fight against holiday season weight gain, sickness and stress.  We’ve had some blips along the way with some absences due to illness, but we’re aiming for the grand prize, which is weighing the same or less come January 2nd (if that’s your goal), NOT being sick in January (a super compensation result from the Holiday Season Hangover) and to manage our stress along the way (stressful weeks reduce workout intensity & less stressful weeks, kick butt).

The coach in me is very excited for you for a couple of reason:  (1) I was thinking back to when CYBBC 1st began and how we used to “rest” during the “rest periods” and now we do “Chaos 4 Corner Touches” in 60 seconds or less.  Does anyone know what a rest period is?

A 2nd thing I’m excited about or more proud of for you is the empowering culture of change you get to train in / helped create.  It sure it makes it easier more fun to train, when you’ve got teammates and partners high fiveing as you slide, crawl and grunt yourself towards your best shape.  Since we’re talking about teammates, check out this article I wrote for you here.

This week’s agenda:

  • Rookies
  • Cardio Minutes
  • ND & GST
  • Guest Day
  • Turkey Workout
  • Jen Mendelsohn
  • Holiday Season
  • Record Keeping
  • Testing
  • Shout Outs
  • Questions
  • Facebook

Rookies

Please welcome Jennifer Abbott, a fellow Cabot mom, and Stephen Cimino, son of Marisa our 9am superstar and boyfriend to Jackie Bunt of the 6:30pm class.  You gotta see him jump it is beautiful.  Please also welcome back Kathy Krongel, Susan Andelman, Melissa Locke and Amy Sparby.

Cardio Minutes:

Time Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total
6am 18 16 24 58
9am 18 18 22 58
6:30pm 18 18 23 59

Week 3 Goals:

Rookies / Returning Boot Campers w/ Weight Loss Goal:  males = 175, females = 250

Eva Chittenden, one of your peers in the 6am class, was having difficulty getting in her 250 minutes of cardio each week, when she thought back to something I had said, “anything outside of your normal daily activities counts towards your weekly cardio goal” and tested / inquired if she started taking the stairs everyday at work (she works at a hospital) instead of the elevator could she use those minutes towards her cardio goals to which I replied, “yes!”.  She’s getting an extra 20 minutes per day, just by walking up and down the floors.  She has a phone app that she uses for her cardio minutes and starts / stops it from 1 floor to the next.  Sometimes she has to climb 22 flights, but she says it makes her feel good, clears her head and/or lets her focus on what’s next, even though sometimes it leaves her out of breath.  Got a tip for getting in your cardio minutes?  Please share below.

ND & GST

Nutrition Discussion & Grocery Shopping Tour

10-12pm, Sunday, November 14 at the Boys & Girls Club and Stop & Shop.

*Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  Imagine wandering through life without the ability to use those skills.  Now imagine how bad your life’s going to be in the 21st Century if you’re left behind not knowing how to eat to reduce disease risk, transform your body and improve performance.

Rsvp to confirm your spot.

Guest Day


We like guests.

Non-Local / Out of Town Guests are welcome to participate anytime so you, nor they have to skip a beat with your training and you can create a new bond together.

Local Guests are welcome to participate on the middle classes of the 3rd week only.  Guest Day builds your support circle and lets your friends understand better what you do to look and feel so great.

  • 6:30pm, Tuesday, 11/16 @ Mackenzie Center
  • 6am, Wednesday, 11/17 @ B&G Club
  • 9am, Wednesday, 11/17 @ Mackenzie Center

All guests must complete a registration packet PRIOR to participation.  Click Here to download and e-mail your guest a registration packet to complete.

Turkey Workout

3rd Annual Gobble, Gobble Turkey Toss, Give to Hungry, Learn Fat Loss Charity Workout.

6-7pm, Wednesday, November 17 @ Mackenzie

  • Donate a frozen turkey which will be “tossed” from person to person at the end of the workout while loading the giving truck.  All sizes of turkeys welcome.
  • Bring a water bottle, hand towel and gloves (your hands will get cold passing what could be 100 turkeys)
  • A cooler to keep your frozen turkey frozen while we exercise (please bring labeled cooler & turkey inside)
  • A back pack filled with dumbbells, weights, a medicine ball, a pumpkin or canned goods that you will use to exercise with (8-10lbs for women, 15-20lbs for men)
  • Wear fitness attire
  • Bring a friend
  • Rsvp by submitting your completed registration packet to mike(at)mikealves(dot)com to reserve your spot.  You may call mike @ 617.268.6232 if you have any questions.

Jen Mendelsohn

I am very sorry to report that your M @ 6:30pm and W / F @ 6am teammate Jen Mendelsohn’s husband, Mac, passed away unexpectedly this past Monday.  He was a fellow fitness buff, a fan / practitioner of Krav Maga, he loved Jen’s foam roller and was a good man.  The funeral is tomorrow, Saturday @ 9am @ Grace Episcopal Church, 76 Eldridge Street Newton , MA 02458.  If you’d like to leave a note for Jen and her family you can here.

Holiday Season

We’re ¼ of the way through the holiday season.  We have a big & potent holiday coming up with Thanksgiving.  It very well might be the most favorite holiday for many because of the great food, the great company and the nearly ZERO stress with the exception of the commute and the hosts who cook.

I’m planning to indulge, enjoy the seasonal foods and be in the moment, but I’m very aware of the consequences of overindulging and DO NOT want to see my hard work in the gym and the kitchen disappear because of 1 day of pleasure, so I’ll plan ahead by:

  • Saving my splurge meals that week
  • Burning & Earning before & after splurges
  • Getting workout buddies
  • Starting new family / friend / work traditions like:

1.      Your Family Walk after meals

2.      Your Family Workout Before meals

3.      Burn & Earn Workouts Before Big Events

4.      Carb Depletion Workouts the day after Big Events

5.      Sugar Free Desserts

6.      Your Family Traditional Games, Trivia and Sports

  • Push the plate away.
  • Buy less
  • Consume less
  • Practice do anywhere workouts

You can have your holiday and enjoy it too, just be smart and exercise some pre-holiday planning and self control.

Record Keeping

Everyone in class has at least cardio minutes to record, others might be keeping a nutrition log, a water log, weekly mileage, run pace, weight lifted, etc…

I keep track of the strength workouts, weight lifted, hours slept, conditioning workouts done, cardio minutes, stretching and mantra walks.  I record them daily into my planner as the days go and total them at the end of the week.

I make a meal plan most every week using the same system I teach you in the Nutrition Discussion, with some minor modifications (I use a yellow legal pad, write, rip and shop).

Sample Meal Plan Template

(sample 6am workout meal plan)

Right now my goals are to maintain my weight while focusing on getting stronger and decreasing my body fat percentage.  I eat about 3-4 meals per day, rarely less and sometimes more, and take 2-4 splurge meals per week, except maybe on vacation.

When I make my meal plans for the week (often times with Vanessa, but not yet always), we plan out our breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.  I write down which days are date nights (is she cooking, am I cooking are we cooking or are we dining out), which day(s) is guys night out and any other meal I won’t be at home for.  I pre-plan my splurge meal in advance holding onto a “wild card” splurge meal for emergencies and I time my starches.  I hit the grocery store and start my prep.  Some weeks / weekends theirs zero time for anything, so the most important thing is #1 access to healthy, easily prepared foods and #2 to have breakfast for at least the next day prepared.

Beverages are easy.  I drink only water.  Most times with ice.

How do you keep your weekly cardio minutes?  Do you use a spreadsheet, a day planner,  a piece of paper?…How do you keep or do you keep your weekly nutrition log / meal plans?  Please comment below on how / what you do and keep.

Testing

The last physical testing day for 2010 is Thursday, December 16 and Friday December 17.

Shout Outs


To the Otting and Haddawi Families for introducing a new family tradition by participating in a pre-Halloween fun run/walk 5k.  The Haddawi’s were all dressed in Spiderman themed costumes.  The Otting family saw Jon’s parents as Super Grandma & Grandpa with blue shirts and red capes (how cool is it the grandparents, parents and kids all did a race?), Jon as Green Lantern, the kids as I’m not sure (maybe a Stars Character and Curious George).  Amy Hennessey and husband also ran the race.

Speaking of commitment, sometimes you just have to show up and Lisa DeLima, found herself without equipment on Wednesday morning for whatever reason and was smart enough to know it was better to show up without equipment than to miss class because of it.  Another example of someone who is not only committed to her health and getting better, but represents the kind of person you WANT to have on your team and train alongside.

Got Questions?

Got a question?  “Ask Mike” and I’ll answer them in the blog.

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Your coach,

Mike Alves

Newton Boot Camp

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