Element 5 Fitness Has Psychotic Clients!!!
Goodness gracious!! Element 5 Fitness clients are psycho! I’m afraid as a trainer. Be very afraid if you plan on joining our fitness minded group. I don’t think my safety is compromised, but let me tell you why I think our clients are psychotic!
It all started on Thursday snow day at 4:45 a.m. There was ALOT of snow. It actually started early that morning and filled up the landscape and caused numerous problems all over the Northwest. I received numerous emails and texts about concerns whether class or training sessions are still on that morning. Never mind their safety, these people are fitness focused and passionate about working out! They wanted their Strong and Sexy Bootcamp to continue. Wow! I was impressed. Although we did cancel our class as the gym eventually closed, I was keeping people up to date like a weatherman/fitness newscaster. These people were determined.
It reminds me of a phrase I saw at my martial arts training studio…”SEVEN DAYS WITHOUT TRAINING MAKES ONE WEAK!!!” It sure seemed like they absorbed that mantra as their motto for the week. (Feel the pun?)
On Friday, I sent out a home-based workout for those who wanted to stay active while they were cooped up. They had their mini at home Strong and Sexy Bootcamp. I called it the P (1/2 of) 90Xworkout. (Hehe, must be because it was only 45 minutes instead of 90 and just as hard if not harder) Finally, Rommel and I gave in to the peer passion pressure and decided we were going to brave the weather and road conditions to fulfill our clients’ fitness cravings for Saturday 8am Strong and Sexy Bootcamps.
As saturday rolls around, and previously closed roads in Redmond and Bellevue open up and the chaos SLIGHTLY clears up, I decide to roll out with my All Wheel Drive to the gym for the 8am class. It was slick, icy, and scary watching others try to attempt to drive beside you, in front of you, and behind you around turns, and up or down hills. I honestly did not expect that many people to show up on that dreadful morning, but six people turned up! It was quite the morning. let me explain:
Out of the six people, Theresa who was pregnant, worked out with galoshes for the first 30 minutes due to forgetting her shoes. We had her friend Sandra drive from Seattle, swing by her house, and pick up her shoes before coming to the gym to join in on the workout. Heather walked to the gym as a warm-up to get her workout in and walked home afterwards. Dena came in slightly sick, but dedicated herself to taking on the workout. Molly came in to join the fun, and later switched vehicles with her husband and the kids so he can then workout with me after her bootcamp class. Matt braved the snow to be the only gentleman representing the males and kept up with these hardcore females!
Wasn’t I right? Our clients are Psycho…in a good way! Maybe I should say Psycho Passionate! It was fun and quite the laughs.
Here is that workout I sent out. It may be somewhat modified but here it is. On a sidenote, did you know back at Oregon State University we did a segment on home workouts? We took some film and radio class to learn how to produce a show. Originally we were going to call it the Beaver show spinning off that Comedy Central ”Man Show”. We sent out the proposal but it got turned down. Weird… But we created a fitness show instead. Anyways, on with the quick workout:
- A1 Pushups 20 reps
- A2 Bent over Rows using Gallon jugs of water or milk
- A3 Tabata Squats 20 seconds fast, 10 second rest, and repeat 3 times
- Repeat the above three A exercises 3 or 4 sets…its a nonstop fast sequence
- B1 Step out alternating lunges 30 total 40 max with water jug vertical press
- B2 Plank hold 60 seconds
- B3 20 Crunches
- B4 Reverse crunches aka butt lifts aka reverse curls aka you know!
- Repeat B exercises 3 or 4 sets Nonstop fast sequence!
- A and B should take 30 minutes
Cardio Time:
- 30 seconds split shuffles
- 30 seconds ice skaters
- 30 seconds jumpsquats
- 30 seconds in place high knee runs
- 30 seconds jumping jacks
- 30 seconds slalom hops
- 30 seconds wideouts (jump in feet together and jumpout wide while staying low and hands behind head)
- 30 seconds wall sit
- Rest 30-60 seconds and repeat 3 times the whole cardio series ALL 8 OF THEM IN A ROW!!!
Be Safe, Have Fun, Happy Holidays, and the next time your indoors…Try the above workouts. No snow can stop you! In fact you might burn so much calories and core temperature reach a pretty high level you can stand out on your driveway and melt the snow. Not.
Belton Lubas
Element 5 Fitness
No Really, Thank You For BLOCKING My Car In!!
Hello all,
Picture this, it’s 5:30 a.m. and you are heading to train a 6:00 a.m. enthusiastic group of people looking to get in shape. It’s cold, dark, and wet as you walk towards your car. When you arrive to your spot, you notice that something looks odd. You see, I purposely parked my car close to the post/wall on the passenger side to give ROOM for the driver’s side in the event another car pulled in to that slot and needed room. I was also being considerate to my wife because I wanted her car to have OUR designated slot. I don’t mind the trek to the “open’ spots that early in the morning. I was in a good mood. C’mon, I had a great weekend and a great start to the week full of informative, educational, and inspirational lessons. I also went to the same self defense course that “fitnesswife” went to over the weekend. What a great way to start the week!! BUT NO!! LO and BEHOLD my driver side was blocked in with a space of maybe 8-10 inches and the passenger side was already hugging the side post/wall.
What did I do? Well, I cursed an inanimate object and a person I did not know who was probably sleeping and could probably care less. I thought about going back home and getting a piece of paper to write them a nasty note about their lack of consideration. My mind was racing with angry thoughts!
I was then hit with the realization that all this time spent getting mad (about 5-8 minutes), could have been used to crawl through my trunk and into the car. Another thought hit me! I had forgotten the Ultra Sound Body Fat testing device that was needed for a body fat test for a client after class!
So, I went back to my home (not to write a nasty note), grabbed the device, crawled through to the driver side, and went off to take care of clients. Driving to the gym I thought about what just happened and laughed at myself and the craziness of it all. I made the class, had my device, took the test and consulted accordingly, and had a great attitude the rest of the day.
I learned something that morning. I learned that no matter how much you yell or stomp your feet at a car, it won’t move. I learned that life is too short to mind the little things that really ISN’T a big deal. Ok, so I had to do some yoga-kamasutra-gymnastics moves in order to get in. But let’s rewind a bit and play that scene differently.
Things I could have done:
- Yell, scream, and kick. May lead to damaging that car and most likely me paying for damages
- Write a nasty note and deal with the consequences of that person getting mad back
- Be late for clients and deal with the aftermath of poor service
- FORGET the Bodymetrix device and deal with poor service and unhappy client
- Have a sour day and provide poor service to other clients and classes
- Deal with the mounting consequences from all of the above and the impact it has to others
Thank you for teaching me a lesson in Humility. Thank you for reminding me about the Bodyfat Device. Thank you for allowing me to look at life from a different perspective and practice what I preach to myself. Thank you for teaching me patience. Thank you for Blocking my car in that morning. Really, Thank you…but please try to give me a little room?
Belton Lubas
