Check Out Santa's Before And After Pics

So this past year, Fitness Planning Consultants had a celebrity training with us. Mrs. Claus, tired of her husband getting stuck in chimneys, decided to utilize our services and get him to shed some pounds.

Santa was a little reluctant to start off the program, but eventually warmed up to the idea, since our staff had been really GOOD this year. So check out his before and after pics to see his stunning transformation. He said that he was able to really make great time this year now that Rudolph didn't have to continually pull him out of chimneys.

Awesome Inspiring Story For The Holidays

I don't get to discuss much about my Wellness clients' successes because frankly I have more athletes that work with us than clients that want to get healthy. In the future I will try to recognize our athletes' successes more as well, but today I wanted to update you on Joyce. The picture of Joyce really smiling wide and jump rope on the ground is her after picture.

Joyce was mentioned back in a newsletter in June about how she changed her diet around and finally started seeing results. Well, I wanted to talk about her changes after a year.

We did weighing and measuring and Joyce has dropped 4 percentage points in her bodyfat, equating to a 27 pound fat loss. The scale for her has dropped 26.5 pounds, meaning she was able to gain a half a pound of muscle. This is awesome! This means we were able to keep all her muscle which in turn keeps her metabolism high and allows her to burn more fat.

She is ecstatic about the weight loss and rightfully so. I'm going to attach pictures to this newsletter when I post it on my blog and fan page. You should check them out. She's ended up losing around 15-16 inches around her body.

To Joyce though, the bigger thrill is the energy she has. She just feels better, she feels stronger and her doctors are taking note. Her arthritis doctor was really happy with the weight loss and progress she has been making. In fact, Joyce has been able to eliminate all of her pain meds and that is wonderful. Doing a full squat was unimaginable and now she can do it like it is nothing.

She realizes that this is the tip of the iceberg and next year will be another big year for her. She has a new weight goal that we will be trying to accomplish together and when she accomplishes it, you can bet we will be sharing it with you.

So, I want to say great job to Joyce and keep up the good work. Whether she realizes it or not, she is and will be an inspiration to many people who think they can't. Joyce is beating the odds and trying to change her life around and enjoying it while she is doing it. You will be hearing more about Joyce's progress in the upcoming year.

See If You Can Do These Simple Tasks

Just the other day, I woke up in the morning and as I was getting dressed realized how stiff I was trying to put some of my clothes on. I managed, but it got me to thinking about a topic for today's newsletter. When clients work with us, they might start with something like weight loss or looking better, but ultimately it is to improve their way of life. They should be able to do all of the various chores that life presents to you on a daily basis.

So I came up with a list that I want you to use as a guideline. Everyone should be able to do these things regardless of age (unless you have already broken a leg or something like that). We should be able to have the same range of motion now, that we did as a kid. So can you do these tasks:

• Can you squat down and tie your shoes?

• Can you shovel snow off of your driveway without tweaking a muscle or having a throbbing muscle afterwards? Or without losing your breath? There are a lot of people that have heart attacks shoveling snow.

• Can you stand in the shower and either squat down to wash your entire leg, or balance yourself on one leg as you lift the other up and wash it?

• Can you pick your toddler up or grandchild up in awkward positions and not hurt yourself?

• Can you go up a flight of stairs without breathing heavy?

• Can you bend over and touch your toes?

• Can you still run?

• Can you jump?

• Can you pick something heavy off of the floor and put it on the highest shelf that you can reach without hurting yourself?

• If you were to propose again (or for the first time) to your spouse or potential spouse and get on one knee, could you get down and get up without holding onto anything?

• Could you do a situp or a push-up?

• After sitting for awhile, can you stand up and not have your lower back hurt?

There are probably plenty of more tasks that are simple, we do daily, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. These are all tasks that we do and should still be able to do. The modern, easy lifestyle does our bodies no favors by allowing the body to get lax and lose it's strength and range of motion. Your body is your most precious machine and you need to take care of it. These tasks don't go away because we get older. Take the time to work a solid stretching and strengthening program into your lifestyle, so that these tasks don't become an issue for you.

Don't become that person that can't get out of a chair without some assistance. Ultimately, you'll be glad you took the time to exercise.

Superman's Training With Us To Get Faster

Yeah, you read that right, Superman - The Man of Steel, approached us recently to help improve his speed.

"I had this contest with that braggart, Flash, in a race around the world and I needed some help," Superman recently told us for a quick testimonial.

Upon timing him for his 10 yard dash, I quickly realized I couldn't see him, so Superman got a special video camera that taped his sprints. Once we slowed the speed down, we were able to analyze his sprint form and make a few tweaks to it. These seemed to really help his leg stride and he was very appreciative.

His start also was a little weak. Since he is faster than all of us, he never really bothered to work on his starts. So, we made sure he was in proper form and got that better. Every little bit helps when you are running against Flash.

"If it wasn't for Adam and his staff here at Fitness Planning Consultants, I wouldn't have been able to beat Flash by .00000000000005 seconds. They are top notch. I've already recommended them to a few of the Justice Leaguers."

Superman you are too kind. We are happy to help you anytime.

Why Do Athletes Come And Train With Us?

Last newsletter, I acknowledged a few of our athletes that had received end of the year accolades for their particular sport. Recently, in the last month, I have read about several of them in the Dispatch and so I wanted to further discuss some of the success they have been having.

The simple answer to the question I asked is that these athletes aren't satisfied with their god given talent. They want to better themselves, improve their weaknesses, reach their optimum potential. Because if they don't, some feel their competition will take advantage of programs such as us and get the better of them.

Here are some of the athletes that have worked with us in the past that I have read about recently and what they were able to do with us:

• Jack Gibbs is a sophomore at Westerville North. Over the weekend, he scored 34 points for the Warriors. Jack participated in our entire speed program as an eighth grader. He is a point guard who wanted to improve his technique and overall quickness, skills essential to blow by defenders in basketball.

• Alex Radkiewicz is a sophomore at Olentangy Liberty. Last night he scored 3 points in their varsity game. Alex worked on his lateral quickness and explosion off the floor as he plays an undersized 4 position in the OCC. He wanted to develop these other vital skills to compensate for the lack of size he might have to contend with his opponents at the 4 spot.

• Heather Laueffer is a sophomore at Pickerington North who played goalie for her state runner-up soccer team. Having heard about us through her sister, Linda (a fine softball player in her own right), Heather developed her quickness and explosiveness at a position that demands it.

• Jordan Gallegos and Bryant Bednerak were the starting running back and quarterback for New Albany's playoff bound football team. Both participated in our full program as sophomores to set the stage for big improvements in running form, speed, and quickness.

• Morgan Reichert is a senior at Watkins Memorial. She worked with us two years ago, to help improve her strength and explosiveness for cross country. It helped for her kicks that she needs during the race, especially at the end. This year she was a state qualifier. AWESOME!

• Amber Stokes was written up in the paper recently as she recovered from a bout of mono. She currently is a redshirt sophomore for the OSU Lady Buckeyes. Her, her older sister, and younger brother worked with us for a couple years, to help improve their already fine athletic skills.

• Courtney Deena is a sophomore at Columbus Academy who plays field hockey for them. Courtney was a big contributor on a team that experienced their first loss in the state final four. She worked worked with us several years back at the time trying to refine her quickness and speed for soccer. As she switched sports later on, it was a smooth transition due to the similar athletic demands of the two sports.

Do I think we are the sole reason these athletes have had success? Absolutely not! I think we are just one piece of the puzzle for them. A good athlete realizes there is always constant work he/she needs to do to refine their game. Never be satisfied with where you are. That separates the good from the great.

Insight From Celebrity Trainer Pat Manocchia

I was all set on writing a different newsletter, when I heard this interview with celebrity trainer Pat Manocchia and decided to review some of his fitness tips. Manocchia has worked with many celebrities in the NYC area including John McEnroe, Howard Stern, and Madonna.

As a personal trainer, you ask yourself what separates you from these big celebrities. Do they really know that much more than you or is it they are in the right place at the right time? I don't know if that question was answered in this interview I heard (even though the guy was good friends with JFK Jr.), but here are some of his tidbits that maybe will help you out as well.

1. You HAVE to get exercise in daily. Your life doesn't have to be consumed by it, but you need to get some type of exercise in to improve your overall health.

2. Do not run outdoors with an ipod playing. First of all, you need to be able to hear what is happening around you - cars, bikes, other people, etc. Secondly, you need to be in more tune with your own body. You don't want to start running harder because of a great tune and slowing down because of a sucky one. Finally, you also need to be aware of your own breathing as you are running. This goes hand-in-hand with the second thought, but understanding your body will help you become more efficient a runner.

3. Do not exercise with the sole purpose of making yourself look better. No matter how good you get your physique, you will always find some type of flaw. You need to change your mindset. You need to work out for the overall good feeling you get after accomplishing a hard workout and then knowing how it is helping improve your health.

4. Manocchia feels that Weight Watchers is the best of all the weight loss programs out there (I have my own views about this, but this newsletter is about him not me) and is encouraged by what Richard Simmons does. If you take away his hair and goofy outfits, he is really trying to help people. He knows the demographic he wants to hit and tries to make it fun for them.

5. He doesn't believe in dieting, but eating a variety of items. He doesn't deprive himself of foods he enjoys whether they are healthy or not, but does focus on making sure he gets the appropriate amount of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and carbs in. If he happens to have an occasional doughnut, so what, he is getting everything else his body needs.

I only caught the last half of the interview, so I'm sure there were other things he discussed. Ultimately, it boils down to you and whether you can make a commitment to yourself, not to me, about doing the best that you can for your health. Even so, sometimes hearing fitness tips means a little more coming from someone else rather than the same voice each time.