New Year, New You!

     New years day! Join a gym, start a new diet, a new workout plan, this year is going to be the year!  We have all done it, and for 80% of people out there, your dream of a new body will be all but over by January 20.  So what can change that?  Me!  With options for Personal Training, Online Training, and Group Training, I am making it easier than ever to get the body you want.
Personal Training
My most comprehensive program for quick and effective results.  With personal training I will custom build you a workout and nutritional program to get you to your goals faster than ever.  Together we will troubleshoot methods that work best for you, ensuring that you can be successful.  Personal training will involve 1 on 1 training sessions that include weight training, circuit training, cardio, and other exciting training styles. I can work with your schedule and arrange weekly days and times to meet and work out.  I will work tirelessly to ensure that you look and feel better than you ever have before.  This level of training can not be found anywhere else in the area and it all comes to you for just $25 per session.
Online Training
Double your chance of success by doing exactly what you planned on doing this January but let me do all the thinking and planning.  With all the same benefits of personal training, online training allows you to train in your own gym or home, on your own time.  Each session you will have a set of goals to achieve during the workout and record to results. You will also have a nutritional plan to follow.  Online training will involve a monthly meeting with me in which we will discuss concerns and ways to improve.  Online training will be perfect for the person who enjoys doing their own thing but will benefit from having an expert do the legwork. I will lay out a plan for you to execute and you will surpass your goals quicker than you ever could on your own.  Online training  is just $75 per month.
Group Training
The simplest and most affordable way to get involved is with group training.  With Fat loss as the common goal, I host group sessions for all comers on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, each week at 5:45.  Sessions are usually circuit based and a designed to optimize calories burned.  Participants do not get a customized nutritional plan but do get the awesome benefit of working out with others and having someone their to motivate them to show up week after week, as they watch the lbs fall off of themselves and those around them.  Group training is just $10 a week.

If you are interested or just have questions, please contact me on facebook on my business page or personal page.  www.facebook.com/chasekepley

We are killing our Kids! Part 2

So.....How do we fix it?  I have two simple ideas/concepts that I think could take a big chunk out of the problem, and the child for that matter.  If used by parents, I do not see how improvements in your child's health and fitness level won't improve.  First off, teach them to cook.

1.  The chef method
Ok so your kid, or kids, have been eating crap lately, and now they are starting to look and feel terrible.  Here is a way to trick you and them into having healthier and more well rounded meals.  Learn to cook.  Maybe you know your way around the kitchen pretty well, but chances are your child doesn't.  It does not matter how old they are, if they are real young, just make them an assistant instead of the lead chef, but otherwise, walk them through the process of cooking.  What will this do you ask?  A couple of things, but lets start with the big one.  People who cook for themselves eat better.  It is really that simple.  If your cooking it, then I can guarantee a few of things.  

• It did not come from a drive thru.  
• It did not come from a gas station.  
• You spent some calories shopping for the groceries, fetching them from the pantry, and whipping them into a meal   

It is not easy to go into the kitchen and make Doritos, or doughnuts, or ice cream.  Much easier would be chicken, white rice, and a vegetable, or a steak wrap and salad.  If you made it from scratch, you know exactly what is in it, and chances are it is way healthier than the alternative. The second major benefit to teaching you and your children to cook, is your are ingraining in your children that food comes from the kitchen, made with ingredients from the pantry and fridge.  Which is one million times better than teaching them that food comes from that horrible place with golden arches, or from pizza boxes, or from endless buffet's.
2.  The game method
Alright so you now have your children, and yourself, eating better.  However, they still move like an elderly walrus.  From here on out, make a point to teach your kid, or kids a new game every week.  Week 1-basketball, Week 2-kickball, Week 3-dodgeball, Week 4- Freeze tag, etc......  There are tons of games out there, and when you run out, 6 years from now, start over.  If you spend anywhere between 45 minutes- 1 1/2 hours a day learning and playing new games, you are going to be pretty fit and healthy.  Obviously you are not going to turn your kid into Michael Jordan in one week, so don't focus on them having perfect form or flawless fundamentals.  Praise there successes and focus of stressing participation and having fun.  To learn a new game, you have to pay attention, focus, move, react, and play.  All good things!  If you are doing this, I see no way your kid will be overweight and unhealthy.  F.Y.I. you are going to get healthier too.

We are killing our Kids! Part 1

   Everyone is comfortable with our adult obesity problem.  We know why and how people become so overweight, and what has to be done to change it.  No surprises there, however, our newest and scariest problem scares the crap out of me, and fixing it may be next to impossible 15 years down the line.

   Children are bigger and unhealthier than ever.  They don't play sports, they don't eat plants, they don't drink water, they have no clue what real food is, and worst of all...they don't even know that something is wrong with that!  Parents all over they country are killing their children, not with beatings, or poison, or weapons.  They are killing them with food.  Compounding bad eating habits with lack of exercise and creating an entire generation of inactive, obese children that will not be able to run, fight, or even walk a mile without becoming short of breath.  So what is the penalty for killing your children with food?  What kind of jail time results from this crime?  When does social services step in?  How about NEVER.  You don't go to jail.  They don't take your kids away.  Nothing happens.  Nothing happens, except you submit your child to a lifetime of being teased and picked on.  You make sure your kid gets picked last for everything on the playground.  You nearly guarantee early onset diabetes, depression, and heart problems.  And worst of all, you may outlive your children.  Experts are now predicting that this generation of parents may actually outlive their children for the first time ever in the modern world!

   

Make a Goal and stick to it!

   So many people have trouble with the principle of goal setting.  I don't know why exactly, but it must have something to do with the fact that on the internet we can look at 10 things at once, and on tv we can flip between 100's of different channels.  No matter what it is, you will never have success until you have a clear cut goal.

   Far too many people come to me, or any other trainer for that matter and say "I want to add about 10 pounds of muscle and lose about 20 pounds of fat" I reply "Which one first?" client says "Both"  And here we have our first problem.  I guess it is because every other commercial we see promises "build muscle and burn fat" and now we think that is an easy thing to do.  Well, it is not.  To build a ton of muscle( 10 pounds is a ton) you need to rest a lot, eat a lot(healthy foods) and avoid most activities other than your training sessions.  To burn fat you need to restrict calories, get up early to go for walks, and play or participate in every activity that crosses your path.  Do you see my problem here?  That is not to say that you will not lose some fat during a muscle building program, and you may build a small amount of muscle during a fat loss program, but doing both, quite tough!
    So, if you really want to meet your goals, set realistic ones! Write down, I will lose 10 pounds of fat!  After you meet that goal, find a new one.  You could add 10 pounds of muscle.  If the first goal takes 2 months and the second takes 4 months, then in just half a year you have taken care of both of your goals, but you did it in a more focused and effective way.
   When you have a focused goal, you can find ways to keep it front and center in your life.  In other words, you will find ways to remind yourself.  "I want to lose fat" I shouldn't stop and eat at the Cici's  buffet.  Your goal is clear and you know that Cici's will not get you to your goal.  Good things will happen when you know exactly what you are shooting for.

If you have any questions about goal setting, or need help achieving your goal then contact me at  Kepley Faster Fitness and I will help you in any way I can.
Chase Kepley
cmkepley@gmail.com

Day 1

Today I begin hosting my first ever group fitness boot camp.  I am really excited to be getting started. I can't wait to meet some new people, and assist them in working hard to meet their goals this summer.  Today is forecasted to be over 80 degrees, so I can't picture a better new beginning, than a day like today.
For anyone interested, here are a few details.

• Workouts are Monday, Tues, Thurs, @ 7 p.m. starting April 4th
• Workouts will take place outdoors
• Your first workout is free
• Workouts will be designed to challenge fit participants, and scale down to beginners
• Fat loss and Muscle building will be THE GOAL
• Detailed advice about things you can do away from working out to improve your fitness level and life will be available daily.

If looking and feeling better is something you are interested in, then please come check us out today at Reed's Baptist Church at 7 p.m.  All you will need is yourself and a jug of water!

Chase Kepley
cmkepley@gmail.com
facebook.com/chasekepley

Warm Up for success

    I want to address something that has been a problem for a while now.  Warm ups.  For too many people, a warm up is 5 minutes on the treadmill or bike. Then it is time to lift, or do whatever else you plan to do in your workout.  I think that the treadmill or bike for 5 minutes is perfectly fine however, there are some things that need to be added to that.  The 5 minutes of movement serve to get the blood flowing and there is nothing wrong with that.  My own personal warmup, which I use with all my clients, contains jumping jacks and a thing I call seal jumps to serve that same purpose.  However, it is what follows that, which will lead to a safer, more efficient, and often more powerful workouts.

(Cobra)See, it doesn't look stupid

    First off, now you have the blood flowing.  Lets get everything else loose and warm.  Start with some arm circles or swings.  Follow that with some squats and lunges, no weight added, just your body weight.  Next is one of my favorite stretches lately.  Squat down, grab your toes, then without letting go of your toes, straighten your legs and feel that stretch in your hamstrings.                                           The idea of all these is not to hold for

(elbow to ankle)Keep that back leg straight and toes point forward

15 or 20 seconds.  These are all quick, 5 seconds, relax, 5 seconds, relax.  Don't waste 20 minutes holding all these.  We are trying to keep you moving pretty quickly all while loosening up. Now drop to the ground, chest down.  Do some cobra stretches.  They look kinda yoga-ish but they are helpful.  Then, for 95% of the population the next stretch may be the most important(because we sit down way to much).  The elbow to ankle lunge.  This will get that hip flexor moving which is something it does not do a lot.  Rotate back and forth each leg about 5 times each.  If you can't get your elbow to your ankle then get as close as you can.  Follow all these with some med ball throws and you will be well on your way to a better workout, and far less likely to get injured.    

Pushing Through

Fernando has had some off and on knee pain lately, so we have limited lifts that place pressure on that joint.  We are still getting some great workouts in though and this is a little of what has been going on.

Big Rocks

Too many people try to make training too complicated.  They seem to think that super strong people, got that way by knowing something they don't, or that there is a certain exercise that got a person that six pack, rather than hard work.  Maybe it's that our subconscious that wants to avoid hard work.  Im not sure what it is, but what I do know, is that training is not complicated.
There is a theory called the big rocks theory.  I will link to it for those of you who are interested, you should read it!  www.callipygia600.com/callnugget/lessons/handouts/big_rock.htm
Anyway, for you lazy people.  The theory boils down to, if you don't take care of the big rocks first, you will never get them in.  Big rocks, in this instance, means big lifts.  Squat, dead lift, pull ups, pushups.  These are not complicated.  There is no secret to pushups or squats.  Just do these things and good things will happen.  Start every workout with one of these, and then at the end, do your sit ups, do your curls, or whatever it is that you like, but big rocks first!
Sorry this was brief, but try to apply it and you will like the results.

Boot Camp

    On April 4th I will be starting a boot camp for people of all ages, fitness levels, and backgrounds.  The sessions are slated to take place on Monday's, Tuesday's, and Thursday's @ 7 p.m behind Reed's Baptist Church.  Each session will be 1 hour long and consists of a warmup/stretching/movement prep period, followed by a combination of strength training, cardiovascular and metabolic focused movements, and fat burning circuits.  All parts of the workout will be able to be scaled down for beginners, and amped up for experienced participants. Not to mention the first day you come and check us out, your workout is FREE.  So it costs you nothing to see, if what we are doing, is for you!
   For those interested in getting into great shape for this summer, and throughout the year, we are offering healthy number of options to fit your lifestyle and goals.

*Option 1(Boot Camper)  $20 and you get 3 consecutive boot camp workouts.

*Option 2(Boot Camper Plus) $75 gets you 4 weeks of boot camp workouts.

*Option 3(P.T. Camper) $165 gets you 4 weeks of boot camp workouts and 1 personal training session each week. In your personal training session, you will get 1 on 1 coaching and a customized workout to fit your needs and goals.  Each personal training session will be tailored to your needs, and get you to your goals faster.

*Option 4(P.T. Camper Plus) $235 gets you 4 weeks of boot camp workouts and 2 personal training sessions each week. A total of 5 workouts a week, including 2 that are built just for you!  You will be in better shape than you ever imagined and well on your way to the body you want!

*Option 5(P.T. Camper Extreme) $300 gets you 4 weeks of boot camp workouts and 2 personal training sessions each week.  5 workouts a week including 2 that are built just for you! Plus, a complete nutritional overhaul.  Our most advanced package will provide you with all the tools to be successful in your quest for the perfect body.  Do you need your meals planned out? We can do that. Would you like to keep a food journal and have it reviewed on a weekly basis? We can do that. Do you just need advice on making proper choices at the grocery store and restaurants? We can do that.  Wherever you have gone wrong nutritionally in the past, we can help you!  Our extreme package provides you with all the nutritional information and advice you need!

Don't Forget it is free to come and try out a boot camp workout!

If you have any questions please email me at cmkepley@gmail.com

Still Going Strong

Goodmornings and A.M. workouts

It is only 7:00 am and it has already been a good day.  Today was the day I look forward to every year, the morning when I get up, get my coffee, go to take the dog out and as I open the door......NO cold air rushes in.  To me it means that morning walks will be more fun, morning workouts will be more enjoyable and most of all, with warmth in the air, I am way more likely to do both.  It is hard to get going when cold winter nights carry over into the morning, and before the sun comes up, who wants to be outside?  Well consider that over with.  I was so excited I forgot to grab a bite to eat and my dog Basden and I headed out on a walk.  40 minutes later, here I am feeling awake and refreshed.

Mornings are a golden opportunity that I think everyone should take advantage of.  I like the quiet, and the calm, but the benefits are endless for people who are getting out and getting moving in the a.m.  Maybe the best benefit of all is, you have got some exercise in and your day practically hasn't started yet.  A time you normally watch the news or check facebook has become an activity time.  Good luck convincing me thats not good for your body and overall health.  I think everyone should plan at least one day a week to get out earlier than normal.  Tell yourself, "On Fridays, I am going to get out and walk before work" or "I am going to go for a run every Wednesday before the kids wake up." Tell yourself whatever you need to, just do it!
As for morning exercise goes, there are some misconceptions about how you should treat meals with regards to the morning time and exercise.  It was believed by many for quite some time that if you worked out before breakfast that you would burn strictly fat and that your benefits from the workout would be much better.  Thats not exactly true, without the food intake, like myself this morning, you will not have as much energy during the walk, run, or workout.  Which could mean, you can only walk 20 minutes instead of 35, or you can only run 1 mile, instead of two, or even less reps on the squat or deadlift.  This is not a good thing, and could lead you to feel drained from your a.m. exercise instead of energized.  So here is a tip that can help you with that problem.  Eat before hand, but skip the carbs.  No biscuit, no toast, no cereal, etc.  Something like eggs is a much better choice.  You will have some food in the tank for reserve, but you still be burning what is around your belly, not carbs you just put in it.

Two quick tips

I ran across an article from Molly Galbraith and thought it really had some solid material in it.  The info is basic and I've said it a million times, however, the way she puts it, is simple and easy to understand, and I think a ton of people can benefit from these two simple ideas.


1. Stick with a diet/routine long enough to get results! Everyone wants results from their routines, like yesterday, and this can cause frustration and “the grass is always greener syndrome.” Any time a new routine or diet comes out that sounds cool, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and they end up skipping around from routine to routine and diet to diet without ever really sticking with one and seeing results. There are tons of great routines out there. Pick one, stick with it for 6-8 weeks and see results! This will also help you in the future in knowing how your body responds to certain training/dieting stimulus. Do you feel like you gained a lot of mass incorporating heavy deadlifts into your routine? Awesome! Does the Anabolic Diet give you great energy? Wonderful! Do barbell complexes rip the fat off of you? Great! Did you get some awesome gains from Wendler’s 5/3/1?Fantastic! Sticking with a diet or routine long enough to see results is the best way to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. So quit jumping from one thing to another like a Chihuahua with ADD!


2. Let big, compound movements comprise the bulk of your exercises! If it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times – these are the money exercises: squats, deadlifts, pushups, pullups, bench press, rows, overhead presses, lunges and all of their variations. These are the exercises that will make you strong and build muscle in the shortest amount of time. They are also the exercises that create the biggest demand on the body and burn the most calories. Get good at these exercises and do them often if you want to reach your goals! Enough said.


Okay, those two were soo good, I am going to give you a extra one


3. Focus on strength! Until you can properly squat and deadlift at least your body weight for females and two times your body weight for males, and bench press at least half your body weight for females and one time your body weight for males, you have no business doing body part splits.  Getting stronger opens up so many doors to so many other types of training, and makes that training infinitely more effective. Think about it, how effective will your metabolic circuit be if you can barely do five push-ups? How many rounds will you make it through before your upper body gives out on you? And think about doing curls on your “arm day.” How will your results improve if you are doing hammer curls with 30 pound dumbbells instead of 10 pounds? What kind of effect will that have on your hypertrophy training? Astronomical, right? Training for strength will also help improve the strength of joints and ligaments and help prevent injury when you are training explosively, like doing sprints or plyometrics. So the bottom line is: training for strength is the way to go! Once you have built up a decent strength base, you can try other types of training and reap major results.


If you can do these 3 things, you will be miles ahead of 90% of the other guys/girls in the gym, and you will be bathing suit shopping with a smile in no time.  Thanks again to Molly Galbraith for the great article!

Boot Camp

There has been some significant interest in a group fitness/boot camp type workout.  So I, along with the help of others, am working out the details of a program that will provide that type of fun and fit environment, along with great results.  Hopefully in the next few weeks I will know exactly what type of things to tell people to expect, but as of now, here are a few tangible concepts.  This should give you an idea of the exciting things to expect.

• Workouts will likely be 3 times a week, most likely in the evenings.
• Workouts will take place outside, accompanied by green grass and fresh air.
• Workouts will involve a mix of flexibility, strength training, and cardio.
• Workouts will be aimed at the general population. Mainly people who just want to look and feel better.
• Workouts will be able to be scaled down to beginners, and also amped up for experienced fit individuals.  Anyone and everyone will be able to benefit from dedication to the program.

But I don't have time.....

    I would like to work out, but I just don't have the time.  I hear it all the time, and I do not think it is completely bull.  People today are busier than they have ever been.  We are constantly plugged in or connected and more information means more responsibilities.  So you are not crazy if you feel squeezed for time.  The problem may still be avoidable though.  I feel like the idea of getting a workout in has a foggy interpretation these days.  By that I mean, when you think "work out" what do you picture?
   For me, tons of things qualify.  However, too many people just imagined changing clothes, buying a gatorade, a 10-15 minute drive to the gym, waiting on their favorite machine or bench, and then spending the next 60 minutes trying not to get caught staring at hot girls/guys through the huge mirror wall, then of course the expensive protein shake, and the drive home accompanied by a shower.  So how long did that take?  2 hours, if your drive is longer, maybe more?  We thats where you may be messing up.  Too many people have the idea that, if I don't have the 2 hours available for that, then I don't have time to workout at all.  Well, thats wrong, and now your bathing suit is not going to fit because of it.  So here are a few ideas of things that will total 30 minutes or less, and still give you some great results on those days when you just don't have time.  We all know facebook statuses don't update themselves!
     1. Walk-it sounds simple, but it will do a ton more than doing nothing.  Grab the dog and go for a walk. Walk as fast as you are comfortable walking for as long as you have time to. It is nice just to get outside and you will benefit, so will the dog.
     2. Exercise deck-pick 2 exercises, example (pushups and pullups) or (situps and weightless squats) then grab a deck of cards, shuffle and pick one off the top. 9 of clubs? Do 9 of the first exercise. then grab another a do what it says, alternating exercises, until you can't go any longer.
     3. 1 Lift-Pick one lift, please don't pick bench press. Pick a big movement, Squat, deadlift, lunges, or pullups, and then do just that for the entire workout.  You will be suprised how hard you can work on just one lift.
  

Tearing away...

Saturday was an exciting day.  Fernando did what few people in his position ever do.  He showed up, worked hard, didn't quit, and scheduled another workout.  Earlier this week we took a few measurements, in order to have a way to gauge progress, but the real progress is going to be visible in the workouts, and in his day to day activities.  I felt it was a good idea to video tape the meat of the workout, so that we would have some evidence to look back on.  Should Fernando see the program through and really make some huge changes in his life, the workout tapes will be the greatest visual measuring stick.  Based off what I saw Saturday, Fernando is committed, excited, and anxious to get the ball rolling.  And that is exactly what we did.  The idea behind the workout was to just keep things simple and use basic push, pull, and swing movements.  We involved the whole body and really got some bang for our buck when in comes to work vs results.  As expected, rest periods were important and we were not shy about using them.  The real focus was placed upon giving 100% during the work periods, take proper time to recuperate, and them going 100% again when ready.  It worked great, thanks to his commitment, and that is obvious during the video.