What is it?: A 6-week progressive training program geared towards improving overall athleticism. Each session lasts for an hour and a half with both indoor and outdoor components. The 6 week cycle is split up into three phases. Each phase lasts for two weeks and is designed to build off the previous phase with increasing amounts of difficulty. Medicine ball throws, hurdle jumps, sprints, and general weight training tactics will all be employed to increase the speed, agility, and strength of the participants.
Where is it?: The outdoor half of the session is located at Nunziato Field in Somerville (Corner of Putnam and Summer Street), while the indoor session is located at The Training Room (691a Somerville Ave.)
Who is teaching it?: TR Trainers Jason Pak and Lauren Perreault will be teaching one half of each session (either the indoor or outdoor component). Expect a high level of attention as the athlete:instructor ratio never exceeds 6:1!
When is it?: Once a week. Saturdays 11:30am – 1:00pm beginning May 14th.
Leah and I began to work together back in February and I could tell from day 1 she was going to be a hard worker – all she needed was a little guidance. She seemed slightly skeptical when we were going over foam rolling techniques as well as some dynamic warm-ups to help prepare her for the strength training and metabolic portion of the workout. I mean wasn’t I supposed to beat her into submission with a heavy dose of burpees, jump roping, crunches, lunges till she couldn’t see straight? All that makes for good television – not necessarily good training.
Jillian Michaels: the bane of all human existence. Just kidding - not.
Now, don’t get me wrong – Leah busted her butt during our sessions. But we also made sure she was ready for our sessions by taking the time before the work outs to take care of her body and help reduce the chance of any injuries from occurring.
First things first, we had to get her diet squared away. I hesitate to label it a “diet” because I didn’t really want her to eat less – but better instead. First thing I saw right away in her food log was that she took in a lot of carbohydrates and not nearly enough protein. All I told her were some simple guidelines that I tell all my clients: eat more protein/fiber/good fats, and eat fewer carbs/sugar/bad fats. Every week, I looked over her log and let her know some simple tweaks she should make and any foods she should add/cut out.
All too often, I see people jump into these ridiculous diets and workout routines without ever being prepared for them and end up being completely overwhelmed. So, instead of instilling healthy habits over time and realizing that losing weight requires a lifestyle change, these people jump into an entirely unrealistic program that promises results in the short term without first changing their behaviors to set them up for success in the long term.
After setting her up with a plan for her “diet”, I then had to get rid of Leah’s notion that waving small, pink dumbbells in the air would be the key to her fitness endeavors. Somehow, women have been brainwashed to the fact that lifting up a weight more than 5lbs would suddenly make them the female equivalent of Hercules.
Pick up some real weights!
Tougher weights/exercises = More caloric burn = More Weight Loss
Here’s what I wrote in my last client spotlight with Andy concerning my thoughts on resistance training for fat loss:
“What many fail to realize is that the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Your RMR comprises approximately 70% of your total caloric expenditure per day (the rest is made up of physical activity and the energy it takes to break down food), which means the amount of muscle mass you have is crucial for any fat loss endeavors. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t deem it quite as necessary because it’s so metabolically “expensive”. For that reason, any time your body encounters a period of lower caloric intake (a diet), lean muscle mass is often the first thing to go. The only way to “bypass” this is to strength train with weights challenging enough to provide the proper stimulus that tells your body that it needs to hold on to the muscle mass.”
Translation #1: When you’re on a diet, muscle is very hard to maintain because it uses up so much energy (burns calories). The body’s survival mechanisms kick on and are stubborn to release any fat stores it has in case it needs to use it in the future for energy during periods of “starvation”. You need to lift challenging weights to make your body hold on to that muscle and burn fat instead.
Translation #2: Lift.
Leah met with me once a week and generally took 1-2 classes at the Training Room per week (Circuit Training/Cross-Training). She was also very diligent with the “homework” that I gave her, which usually consisted of a circuit of four-five strength training exercises coupled with about a 15-20minute bike interval set. Being an athlete throughout her life, she loved the way the classes and training sessions pushed her to her limits and were not boring like traditional, long duration cardio sessions. While losing more than a pound of body weight per week, Leah also got more flexible, stronger, and overall in better shape and conditioning than she has been in a long time. Here are some clips I took of her last session:
Pushups: 10lbs
Trap Bar Deadlift: 145lbs
Ab Wheel:
Kettlebell Swings: 16kg
Leah before at 199lbs and ~37% body fat
Leah at 164.5lbs and 29.5% body fat
This is just the first part of Leah’s journey! I have no doubt I’ll be writing again soon once she hits her next goal of dropping below 25% body fat. Until then -
[Andy wanted to collaborate on this post. His comments are in Bold]
Andy trained with me somewhat infrequently for a couple of months until he proposed to his now fiancee and decided to really buckle down and get aggressive with his training. Putting his trust in me, he made some major changes and sacrifices to both his diet and physical activity levels in order to not only improve his general health but also to ensure his wedding pictures didn’t portray him as he put it: “a tub of lard”.
The very first thing I needed Andy to do was to keep a detailed food log to see what kind of improvements we needed to make with his eating habits. I can’t stress enough that it is impossible to out-train a bad diet. Using a free iPhone app called “Lose It” he was able to get a pretty accurate representation of the amount of calories he was taking in as well as the protein/carbohydrate/fat macro-nutrient breakdown of each meal. Rather than nitpick and poke holes at every little “mistake”, I chose a couple of guidelines to correct some of the major flaws in his diet – mainly, eating a higher quality breakfast and cutting down on the amount of alcohol. What many don’t realize is that “a drink or two every night” adds up and can sabotage the efforts of an otherwise sound diet.
Drinks Add Up!
Most people on New Year’s resolutions or just general fat loss kicks try to do too many things at once and end up getting overwhelmed and are doomed right from the start. Real, long-lasting results will occur through lifestyle changes and that doesn’t happen overnight. Andy also began eating smaller amounts & eating more frequently, upping the fruit & vegetable intake and cutting back on sugar, particularly added sugar (“sugar is the devil”).
Step two was to figure out his training schedule. Realistically, Andy had about 3 days to work out during the week. He supplemented training with me once a week with a 50/50 class at the Training Room as well as a regular gym session on his own, which included a weight lifting and high intensity cardio interval regimen. The first half of our sessions were solely for building strength and gaining mobility while the second portion was completely metabolic and meant to burn as many calories as possible.
What many fail to realize is that the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Your RMR comprises approximately 70% of your total caloric expenditure per day (the rest is made up of physical activity and the energy it takes to break down food), which means the amount of muscle mass you have is crucial for any fat loss endeavors. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t deem it quite as necessary because it’s so metabolically “expensive”. For that reason, any time your body encounters a period of lower caloric intake (a diet), lean muscle mass is often the first thing to go. The only way to “bypass” this is to strength train with weights challenging enough to provide the proper stimulus that tells your body that it needs to hold on to the muscle mass.
Drop the pink dumbells and challenge yourself!
With less than a year of serious weight training under his belt, Andy puts up some serious numbers. Andy’s mantra: “More weight, Jason, more weight” was interestingly inaudible throughout this entire session:
400lb Trap Bar Deadlift:
Tough, but he made it. Notice the two little 2.5 pound weights sticking out at the top because there wasn’t any space left on the bar.
300lb Squat:
Could’ve gone lower, but depth is understandable considering the max effort trap bar deadlift right before.
We decided to load his pushups with one of our trainers, Lauren:
Two (and a half) reps with about 120 pounds on his back – not too shabby for a guy who could barely do any a year ago.
An example of one of our Kettlebell “Complexes” with 2-20kg KBs:
Front Squats, Alternating Push Presses, Romanian Deadlifts, Alternating Rows, and Swings
Andy before at 272lbs and 31.1% Body Fat
Completely transforming your physique requires a tremendous amount of hard work and discipline. All too often, people create excuses for themselves. Work, life, stress, kids, etc. all “get in the way”. With his optimism and enthusiasm, Andy was able overcome these excuses and set aside the time to make healthy lifestyle choices. That’s why it’s important to set yourself up for success. Surround yourself with people that support you, keep healthy food choices at the office, and train hard at the gym so that with the right self-motivation you can achieve your goals like Andy did.
Andy at 223lbs and 21.6% Body Fat
It’s still May, so one more final push until Andy’s July 31st wedding date! Stay Tuned!
Train Hard,
Jason
Andy’s Comments:
A year ago I figured that the weight I had put on after some personal issues the last few years was there to stay with my 40th birthday now some years behind me! Jason’s right that the galvanizing event was my upcoming wedding to Kate, and armed with that deadline I challenged Jason to help me get into shape. A year and 65 lost pounds later, I can’t say enough good things about how much Jason has helped me.
Jason gave me nutritional advice and regularly checked in via Txt to see how I was doing. As he said above it helped tremendously to just focus on a few key things. Probably “sugar is the devil” was the key learning for me, as focusing on that alone led me quickly to be in or around my daily calorie target without focusing on calorie counts, fat intake, etc. Of course, My fiancée Kate gets major credit for cooking healthy meals and giving me healthy snacks for the work day (generally, almonds and fruit). Plus, no doubt, the knowledge that Jason would be checking food logs was undoubtedly a motivating factor on those evenings when a beer would have felt good after a stressful workday!
Jason was always well-prepared for workouts with the exercise schedule written up in advance; and workouts were always varied and challenging. As someone who had never really lifted weights before I quickly found that I enjoyed that challenge and was amazed to see the weight levels being increased as the body weight came down. The daily stretching routine that Jason prepared has been helpful to me also, particularly early on as I had a long way to go flexibility-wise.
I also tremendously enjoyed the Training Room exercise classes, after the first-time nerves that perhaps I’d be out of gas after the first 15 minutes! The combination of cycling and body weight or circuit exercises keeps things interesting and for me I push myself much harder than if I was in the gym on my own with the headphones on.
To sum up, the Training Room are lucky to have Jason on the team. I couldn’t have achieved the progress I made in the last year without his counsel, guidance & support. [Jason: It was a team effort with Heidi, Maren, and Lauren - best instructors ever! And even more importantly - Andy's drive and dedication!]
