Clooney, Clooney, Ahhh Clooney

So we went to see Up In The Air last Sunday. George = Crackers (my husband will understand that reference :) So bizarre to be sitting there and to see my high school flash up on the big screen. Even better, to see the fence I used to hop to get to school each day...okay, so they eventually added a gate. Memory lane and George was there.

I began wondering. What was George like growing up and would he have been my friend? (We have to look beyond the 7 year age difference, but he doesn't seem to mind younger women :) And could he be my friend now? Let's see.

Kids made fun of him in middle school for the Bell's palsy he had for one year. I would've defended him...(again, I would've been 5, but I was a sassy 5...)

He played baseball and basketball. I like sports. (Go Cards!)

He had 280-pound Vietnamese black-bristled pot-bellied pig, named Max, that lived with him for 18 years. Hmmmm....not so sure on this one, George....(picture in blog is of "baby Max" and "baby George").

He had two bulldogs, named Bud and Lou, after the famous comedy team Abbott and Costello. I LOVED reruns of Abbott and Costello when I was a little girl...and bulldogs, well, as my husband says, they ARE the new "golden retriever." Think about the TV commercials you see lately. Bulldogs are everywhere. So, check. He's an animal lover.

And he was a hot doctor on ER (he was both McSteamy and McDreamy). I need doctors on occasion. Check, again.

He said that his dad's advice has echoed for him through the last few years..."Don't wake up at 70-years-old sighing over what you should have tried. Just do it, be willing to fail and at least you gave it a shot." Major check on that one, George McSteamy.

Which leads me to my final answer. Yes, George, I think we would've made great friends as kids. As far as friends as adults...well, I suppose if you friended me on Facebook, I'd click accept (wouldn't leave you up in the air :). Better yet, I'm about an hour from LA. Do you need a personal trainer? At least I gave it a shot.

Why Women Rock...And Thank You

This weekend has just totally rocked! We attended the San Gorgonio Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award's Ceremony at The Mission Inn and were privileged to listen to Dee Dee Myers speak on Why Women Should Rule The World -- her recent book. Dee Dee was the first woman and one of the youngest people EVER to serve as White House Press Secretary.


Her speech was beyond inspiring. Her statistics on women in the business-world were eye-opening. One tiny notable comment she made was that as women, when we're complimented, we often feel obligated to make "an excuse" for our great achievements or we say, "oh, but if only I had done this...or done more..." We refuse to accept the compliment -- something in our brains is hard-wired to seek perfection. Men don't typically have that response. So as women --- strong, loving, intelligent women -- let's be committed to reprogram our responses and respond confidently with: "thank you." Let's embrace the well-deserved compliment and give ourselves some credit -- no excuses. Just "thank you."

And then on Saturday, Kat, Lisa, Michelle and I went into North Hollywood and met an incredible (and funny) group of women (okay, and Paco, too -- a great guy :) who are living out a vision to revolutionize fitness. (So I do find it interesting that Friday night I listened to Dee Dee and then Saturday I met DeDe -- the founder and CEO of Boogie Box Fitness. What was up with that?)

We received our initial training to become Boogie Box Instructors -- a new way of fitness that incorporates hip hop/pop/latin rhythms with strength and endurance conditioning, plyometric movements and kickboxing. It's set to music that knocks your socks off and the sweat is exhilarating! More on that another time...


So the DD's I met -- former White House Press Secretary and the CEO of an up and coming, extraordinary fitness company -- women who are moving forward with confidence and have something to share that will change the world. Hmmmm...what have I done lately to change the world??? Think I'll get right on that now...thank you :)

Reach For It (And Alice Walker's Recipe for Anxiety Soup)

It's not a secret...Reach For It,

Whatever it is that you want to do -- reach for it.
Whatever it is that you have dreamed of -- reach for it.
Whatever it is that you love -- reach for it.
Whatever it is that makes you smile -- reach for it.
Whatever it is that inspires you -- reach for it.
Whatever it is that is something new -- reach for it.
Whatever you set your mind to -- reach for it.
And remember Alice Walker's Recipe for Anxiety Soup:
Dance
Meditation
Soup
Snuggling

Kickin' It -- Diane and Kim!

Diane you have done soooo amazing in the past 10 weeks -- you've been kickin' it and it shows! 16 pounds lostin 10 weeks and your energy and inspiration is contagious! Boot camp and Zumba are doin' your body good! We'll be looking at inches lost soon! (Diane and Christi are in the picture.)

Kim -- you've sooo kicked it, too!
25 pounds lost! You are on such a great fitness journey! Keep up your weight training and your Zumba, girl! And, in the words of Kim, "The small group training is a challenge everytime and produces real results. And Zumba is so fun!"

Both of you saw even more tremendous results when you made the decision to change eating behaviors and work at maintaining a nutritious lifestyle. You realized that it doesn't mean complete deprivation -- it means balanced, nutritious eating and rewarding yourself from time-to-time!

Count Down

So, we're up to 57 people attending our Riverside Zumba open house! It's going to be a blast! Can't wait to post pictures for everyone.

It's A Party! Riverside Zumba Studio Open House

Found A Muscle!

So the camper quote of the day (thanks to Michelle and Diane): "With that exercise, I think I found a new muscle!" Seems like new muscles are poppin' up everywhere at camp :) Muscles the campers never knew they had!

Oooh la la! Bada Bing Bada Boom! The Power Of Positive

I'm fat -- it's the way I'm built. I'm never going to lose this fat -- I sleep eat in the middle of the night. I just can't do it -- I don't want to. I don't have time -- really. I've tried stuff, tried it all -- it doesn't work! It's just not for me -- not going to happen. I can't run -- are you kidding me? Boot camp -- get real, are you crazy? I love my vino too much! Even if I lose the fat -- I'll probably gain it all back. Muscle? -- Where?

How do you feel about any of those excuses? How do you feel about yourself -- right now, this second, this moment? I've heard it, seen it, felt it...not going to say it's easy. I'd be lying. But this is what I know -- CAN'T should NOT be in your vocabulary. Repeat after me -- "I CAN'T, just like the word DIET, are two words that are totally bad for me to hear in my head." The "power of positive" is transformative -- Oooh la la! Bada Bing Bada Boom! -- you're on your way. One small step toward the rest of your life. What are you going to do next? What good things are you going to do for yourself since you completely deserve it.

Zumba Fitness Classes Starting Soon!

Is your inner-Latino ready to come out and play! Or maybe it's already there! Get ready for awesome workouts with Zumba Fitness Classes (and you can also schedule your own private Zumba fitness party). Details on location, days, times and costs to follow soon. Email me at trainer@T3fitnessenergy.com to be on the list to receive details as soon as they are finalized.

Let's have some fun!

Camp Quotes of the Day

"I am not talking to you..." (I'm sure Chris said that to me as a term of endearment)

"Mike, you have steam coming off of you..." (Literally the sun was shining behind him and steam was radiating around his entire body)

We're thinking of calling morning camp "Canine Camp" -- we are infiltrated each morning by neighbors taking their dogs to the park -- 9-10 dogs to be exact. They think boot camp is just for them.

My Big Fat Greek Boot Camp -- Gone Fishin'!

A bit of Greek culture was introduced to our outdoor boot camp this morning thanks to Camper Mike. Ball toe taps led to what he called preparation for a Greek wedding. Oooompah! Oooompah!

And then fishing was introduced as well. It's 5:45AM. It's twilight. The sun is just coming up. Mike walks up and says, "shouldn't we have our fishing poles and bait this early in the morning...?"

So the new 2x4 that I brought this morning, which elicited quite a few deranged yet funny comments -- needs to be painted and Mike's name should be placed on it. We'll see what uses we can find for it. Stay tuned...

A shout out to my campers for bringing new cultures and sports to camp -- who'd-a thunk!

Flipping The Switch

A fitness friend (aka, fitness client) reached out to me recently with tears and said, "Christi, I can't seem to flip the switch. I want to lose the weight, but I keep making the wrong choices." As a trainer, as a friend, those words touched me deeply and, of course, I wanted to find an immediate way to help her flip that switch -- and "fix" it for her. It's not completely up to me to fix her -- it's not completely up to her -- it is completely up to us together as a fitness and health team. Neither of us were failing by any means. Failure would be NOT recognizing the need for change, not reaching out and eventually giving up. She doesn't want to give up -- she desperately wants to find a way to flip that switch. It's not easy. We're all wired differently so our "switches" are powered by different things.

As her trainer, she relies on me to provide her with the "fitness/nutritional tools" she needs, the inspirational words on good and bad days, laughter, empowering her with all the reasons why healthy eating and exercise is important...but ultimately, she, and any of my fitness friends need to dig deep within themselves to find the reasons for making changes. Once they find those life-changing, mental "re-channeling" reasons, then they can tenaciously cling to those reasons to make their health a priority and begin to see WHY this is so important to the rest of their life. My job is to completely support them, guide them on their journey and make it real, make it fun, make it something that keeps that switch flipped, empower them and help them see that they are totally worth the change and that they deserve to make the switch. AND, they CAN do it.

So after much thought, these are some empowering thoughts that I hope will help you either flip the switch or at least move the dimmer switch up a touch more:

* Avoid negative self-talk -- find your own personal daily internal affirmation(s) that you tell (or internally yell!) yourself
* Avoid comparing yourself -- this is your journey and you are responsible for you; do what you can do now
* Ask yourself where your strength is coming from -- it's inside of you, it may just be hiding out temporarily -- you can and will find it
* Be aware of your body, your muscles and your breath -- awareness when you're exercising and when you're not -- you are in possession of a beautiful, living body
* Learn about your body -- this will help you respect your body
* Bring your mind, body and spirit together by taking a few minutes each day to focus on positive things
* Journal what you eat -- no excuses! Research has found that people who do this lose twice as much weight as those who don't; and while you're at it, journal a few thoughts about how you're feeling each day. Then be accountable to someone (i.e., friend, spouse, love, trainer) by talking through that journal.
* Be assertive with your friends, family and maybe co-workers -- let them know you need their support and why this lifestyle is important to you
* Find a fitness partner (i.e., friend, spouse, co-worker, boyfriend/girlfriend) -- train together with a trainer and have the support of several people around you

Self-motivation and drive isn't something we all automatically have inside of ourselves -- it can be a real challenge to get up early for fitness boot camp or train/exercise 3-5 times per week or to eat nutritiously. FIND the time for you. Your hour of power and escape -- you're done in 45-60 minutes -- not much when you look at it as part of a 24-hour day. Do what you can to keep your body in motion -- it's your health. It's the only body you'll have and you are so, so worth it!

Incredible Fitness Energy Teams!

It's social. It's fun. It's guys and girls. It's fitness!

Reward

Just one word for today -- reward. How amazing it to see a camper -- in just 6 camps! -- go from holding a wall squat for 20 seconds to holding it for a complete minute. Then when fellow campers applaud and high-5 their teammate for their accomplishment and the camper is beaming with such a feeling of accomplishment -- THAT'S what I'm talking about! It's rewarding not only for me but for everyone else, too.

So set your mind to something and go for it! What's stopping you? That voice in your head that questions your ability? I'm too overweight. I don't have enough strength. I can't start now. Nope. Nope. And Nope. You can. You will. You'll see...

Think R-E-W-A-R-D. Realization. Empowerment. Winning. Achievement. Resolve. Determination.

Let's kick-it at camp and have some fun!

Axl Rose Impersonation

Yesterday's camp. Full of so much energy and we had Axl Rose (Guns 'n Roses) visit us. Okay, well, maybe not...maybe it was Laura breaking out into an Axl Rose dance impersonation as she was doing ski jumps and as Sweet Child Of Mine was blaring in the studio. The beauty of camp -- it brings out the best in us -- and sometimes we're surprised by what we find. See you at camp!

Green Bands, Cones of Doom and Eyeball Sweat

There's something so amazing about the campers in my fitness boot camps -- their individual ability to challenge themselves to go further with each camp is great, but what I love is their collective sense of humor. When you can find moments of laughter through the sweat, I believe that's a really good thing. It's really a love/hate relationship in camp.

So there's Michelle -- she is quick-witted and comes up with the funniest comments about camp. There's always something new and different with each camp, so a few weeks ago, I placed cones in various places in the studio and each cone had a different exercise identified. 8-count body builders. Mountain climbers. Ski jumps. You get the idea. Michelle walks into camp and without skipping a beat says, "Uh-oh, the cones of doom...." Now, no matter what, this is what everyone calls them -- and the campers absolutely love/hate them. Ah, the cones of doom.

Then Sharon -- again, extremely funny. From time to time in camp we all do the same thing as a group, so everyone will find "their space," but Sharon has identified these "spaces" as our "battle stations" (tongue in cheek). Again, all in fun and sweat. Sharon's also the camper that said she didn't know "eyeballs could sweat..." (in reference the gallons of sweat lost in camp :) Now we're waiting to see if toenails can sweat.

And all of the campers anticipate the last part of each camp -- the green bands! How we love the green bands (even though most of them are blue). In unison at the end of our sweaty camps, campers will shout "yeah, the green bands!!!" That means it's time for stretching and you're finally finished with camp for the day! I'm thinking we need a "green band anthem" for camp. Campers?

So these are just a few of the stories -- there are many, many more that I'll add as reminders to my campers (and myself) that fitness can be fun -- hard work and sweaty -- but in the end, fun. Love it. Hate it. Love it. Hate it.