Happy Thanksgiving! Click on the LINK, it’s a gift to all my blog friends..a FREE eBook “Holiday Survival Guide”….enjoy and GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!

http://www.ahwatukeebootcamp.com/pdf/FREE-CBC-Holiday-Survival-Guide.pdf

Ally my best, DAWN

p.s…..if the above doesn’t show up as a link you can click on, just copy and paste it to your browser.

Well, it’s been about 2 weeks since I decided to get rid of my DirectTV and TV in general. A few days ago I finally packed up my directTV receivers and mailed them back. YIKES! So, the experiment begins…

The first few days were found with some extra time which was nice. I actually got to bed a little earlier too and I got a LOT done. I have to say that I love not watching the news, which is 90% negative most of the time. You may think that I would be out of the “know” or current worldly or local events. Nope, trust me, friends and relatives will keep you informed, ‘Did you you hear?”…also there is the internet, yahoo updates and such. For the most part living in oblivion is nice too! The weight of the negative stuff put in the news isn’t put on my shoulders. Very nice, very nice indeed.

Side effect: After the first week i started to replace TV time with computer and BlackBerry time and even naps! LOL! The computer thing was bad for a few days and my thumbs started to kill me from working the blackberry. So now I’m working on time management with those two items. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.

I recommend this little experiment to anyone looking to free yourself of all the clutter that enters our brains from the television. See how much free time you acquire. I have to say that my daily productivity has definitely went up.

If you are a current boot camper of mine, try this out for a week. You may find you have more time for your kids, you get to bed earlier and you feel more positive!

I’ll keep you all posted as I head into week 3….

Also, some of my future posts will contain ab exercise ideas…a request from one of my campers, Michaela. Any other ideas anyone wants me to write about just let me know!

Ok, off to bed I go….TV FREE!

So I’ve decided to experiment with the idea of living wiithout TV. What would drive me to such a CRAZY act (it get disconnected tonight at midnigh:) you say? Well… I want to see how much TIME I gain and how much my attitiude changes. TV does a great job of taking away precious time that you could be doing something productive. It also can expose you to alot of negativety, check out the next newscast you watch. Now THAT should put a spring in your step!

Also, there are some personal training programs (certifications) I’ve been wanting to take and I needed to find funds for these programs. I will save about $80 a month once the TV is disconnected. I cringe when I say this, but I’ve also taken out my $4 a day Starbucks habit and will save about $100 a month. After about 4 weeks I will allow myself 1 starbucks (or Hillside Cafe…love that place) a day. That is a savings of $180.

How can this little experiment apply to YOU? If you are trying to fit a fitness program into your budget during these hard times, try what I’m trying above. Maybe you simply cannot live without TV, but think of things that you CAN live without and would probably be good to cut out as it’s a little unhealthy anyway. Sometimes I hear this with potential cllients, “I just don’t have the money right now”…but IF you really want to make a change in your life, especially a lifestyle change, you CAN rearrange WHAT you are spending the money on and you will be suprised what you find. You can workout on your own but many people need the extra push of a trainer. This is just one example as it’s in my field. But you can apply the same idea to a trip you want to take Or that outfit you are dying to buy for your high school reunion or WHATEVER it is….

So join me on this journey and I will report back from time to time and let you know how it’s going. I may go crazy after about 1 week but I know this is going to have a PROFOUND affect on me. If you do the same I hope whatever you do has a profound affect on you too!!!

Good LUCK!

Great job today Ahwatukee Boot Campers! Today we did 30 V-up crunches, 30 walking planks, 30 DBthrusters, 3 gut drills, 15 incline plyo pushups for 25 minutes. I saw some GREAT hussle out there, awesome job. Not to mention the abs at the end. Good work, see you tomorrow!
Here is a video for what a dumbbell thruster is:
dumbbell thruster

I’ve been training for well over a decade now and have a million different exercises and combinations of exercises in my head. I was talking with a training client today and we got into an interesting conversation about her favorite exercise. It was great learning about her preferences, likes and dislikes. So I wanted to open this up a bit and ask you… what’s your favorite exercise and why?

To note: This information is from an article written by Dr. Chris and Kara Mohr. It’s great information that they provide and I wanted to share with my campers!

Here it is:
********************************************************************
The question was sure to come up …
… what about calorie free sweeteners? Stevia, sucralose, and the rest of the bunch?
Are they a better option than calorie containing sugar options when trying to lose weight and burn belly fat?
Let’s delve into them a bit and discuss some of the realities and myths with calorie free sweeteners.

First, when I say “artificial sweetener” what am I talking about? There are a bunch, but the most commonly used are Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), Sucralose, Saccharin, and Aspartame. And then there’s this “new” guy on the scene, Stevia (it’s not artificial, but it IS a sweetener).
And each of the artificial sweeteners has an “acceptable daily intake” (ADI) — meaning according to the FDA, you should not consume MORE than the amounts listed below per day.

Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) = 18-19 cans of diet cola
Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low) = 9 to 12 packets
Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One) = 30-32 cans diet lemon-lime soda
Sucralose (Splenda) = 6 cans diet cola

Fair enough? Now depending on who you talk to, or what you read, you’ll hear all different opinions — “I only use sucralose, because xxxx” or “stevia is natural, so I use that…”
If you look at the values above, you may notice that according to the ADIs, the max for Splenda is just 6 cans of diet cola/day, whereas Equal is 18-19 cans. Does that mean Splenda is more of a concern than Equal? It might.

But as a side note, if you’re drinking THAT many diet colas/day, your diet needs an overhaul as there are absolutely zero positive qualities to diet colas (or any diet soda for that matter).
Let’s cover a few of these in more detail.

Sucralose (Splenda):
While this one has received safety approval from the FDA, it’s surely not without controversy. Picking sides with this is like jumping in to the Health Care Reform debate!
But I’m ready to go for it.
First, the upside of Sucralose:
it has virtually no aftertaste
it’s stable when heated so you can cook and bake with it
it’s stable at different acidities (pHs) so it can be added to things like lemon juice without affecting its sweetness
it has a proven track record of safety in many research studies.
Cons:
anecdotally (meaning personal stories) have tied intake to migraine headaches
may affect healthy bacteria in the gut, according to animal data
it may cause weight gain?
This last one is a bit more controversial. In a nutshell, one study using rats fed them different quantities of sucralose. At the end of the 24 week study, the rats consuming sucralose gained weight compared to the ones that didn’t take any in.
Weird. Zero calories, how can it cause dangerous belly fat to creep up on us?
I will say at this time I’m not impressed with the data showing artificial sweeteners cause us to gain belly fat … I clearly need to see more research to support this theory. The thought was that while artificial sweeteners themselves don’t have calories, they “trick” the body into craving more sweet foods…
…voila, belly fat and overall weight gain is through the roof.

It’s correlation data, but if I remember anything from statistics, it’s that correlation doesn’t mean causation. In a nutshell, the correlation that those who used diet soda weighed more doesn’t mean the diet soda itself caused them to gain weight. More research clearly needs to expore this. Keep in mind, also, that the doses used in this particular study were very high if we tried to extrapolate these findings to humans. At this point I just don’t buy into that conclusions of this data and am surely calling for more.
Again, another red flag for me here is that the “maximum” recommendation is 6 cans of diet cola — for some, that’s a ton, but for others, that’s breakfast. Regulate your intake!

Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal):
You’ve seen the little pink packets … pink packets of poison, according to some. Like the others, this has the stamp of approval from the FDA. But opponents of this suggest it causes migraines, causes cancer,brain tumors, and evil belly fat.
Like the others, the research is mixed — some studies show a negative effect, others show a positive effect.
I hate to give the “more research is necessary” answer, but, well, it’s the best answer to give.
I talked about my feelings on the weight gain and artificial sweeteners with sucralose.
As for cancer — it’s a hard one to pin down. These data are all done in animals, usually given very high doses, to see what happens.
For some reason the review boards look very unfavorably at loading up humans with artificial sweeteners and seeing if they cause cancer; therefore, we’re reliant on animal data. But even if there is that chance, that concerns me … stamp of approval or not!
I don’t like the idea of artificial … I don’t want artificial ingredients in my body and try to limit them as much as possible. I do that by knowing what I’m eating, being able to pronounce all ingredients, and eating foods as close to the earth as possible.
With that said, I AM supportive of making the transition to calorie free drinks if someone is a regular soft drink (or juice, or sweetened tea) drinker….

…For example, a former client started our relationship with regular stops at 7-11 for Big Gulps, where regular coke was his product of choice. Several times a day — he drank 3,000 calories EACH day in soda alone.
Would he benefit from switching to diet soda? For sure! And he did, greatly.
And overtime I got him to drink less and less diet soda as well, as 1 case each day of that is surely not great for you.
But as a whole, sweeteners aren’t my favorite.
I also have yet to find one without an off flavor. Call my crazy, but I want to eat a food that, well, tastes like food — not have some bitter aftertaste that’s CLOSE to being real, but not quite there.
I’d personally rather have a REAL sweetener, infrequently. Moderation. That’s a very unsexy word in marketing and the media, but it’s true.
You want a cookie?
Eat a cookie — occasionally.
Is a fat free, sugar free, calorie free flavored chocolate chunk piece of cardboard REALLY going to help out your desire for a cookie?
Not a chance.
Eat the real thing, on occasion, then get over it. Fair enough?
Eating real foods is what will help you live as healthfully as possible, burn belly fat, and look and feel great!
****************************************************
Any thoughts boot campers? I “think” i figured out how to allow comments but you may have to register as a follower of this blog…we shall see! I’ll figure out this blogging thing soon enuff! Take care, Dawn

Knee pain is a common injury in fitness. What I have found is that the main culprit is usually your SHOES. If you have crappy shoes and you are doing a pretty intense workout just imagine how that can affect your knees, back and even ankles. If you have old shoes or cross training shoes please get some new ones, preferably running shoes. Go to a reputable running store where they actually fit you into the correct shoe for your foot (RunAZ and Soles Sports both give Adventure campers 10% off as well).

IF your knees are bothering you then do modifications of exercises that involve running or jumping. For example, instead of running -brisk walk, instead of jumping – don’t jump (i.e., regular squats instead of squat jumps). Once your knees start feeling better you can pick it back up again. Also, ice when you are at home, 20 minutes at a time, once or twice a day. Foam roll, ask me about foam rollers as they are awesome to help stay flexible. As for flexibility, stretch! Try stretching on your own at home. Remember, if you haven’t worked out in a while your body will react. The only way to get your knees used to the workout is to do what knees do, i.e., squat for example. Over time it will get better.

Bottom line, you have got to take care of your self from the outside in. When you are working out take care of yourself by utilizing some of the suggestions given above. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of rest. Look into Juice Plus and Fish Oil and so on, because what you eat or don’t eat (lack of certain vitamins and minerals) affects your body as well.

If you try all these suggestions and your knees are out of controlled, inflamed, you can’t walk without agonizing pain then see a doctor! You may have a prior existing issue with your knees that you were not aware of until you started working out. It’s always a good idea to see a doctor before starting any physical activity. Take care, DAWN