When you get up in the morning and get ready for a workout what are you thinking about? Do you mindlessly put on your workout gear, brush your teeth and get out the door? Do you think about the workout ahead? Do you have an INTENTION?

Some of you may understand how this term is used when practicing yoga. Many forms of yoga give you an intention before you start your practice and your poses. Sometimes it takes the form of a story with an outcome that makes you think of your intention for that particular practice. It is often inspiring to concentrate on that intention as you work through each move and pose.

The same thing can be applied to bootcamp or any workout routine. If you think in advance, “What is my intention today?” you may find that it gets you through the exercise not only with purpose, but with inspiration and with vigor. For example, sometimes I use an intention such as, “I am fearless. I can conquer my fears.” This will get me through some of the toughest parts of the workout and make me competitive within myself to be the best I can be. Another one I use often is, “Be Present and Full.” This one is important because it forces me to focus more clearly on each move I do in my workout. You will always get better results if you focus on each movement and each muscle that you are working on.

Here are some other intentions that you may want to use the next time you are at bootcamp or working out on your own:

-I AM OPEN TO NEW CHALLENGES

-I WANT TO LOVE MY BODY

-I WILL FIND JOY IN EVERYTHING I DO

-I WILL HEAL MYSELF

Intentions can be carried with you well beyond the workout. But make sure to set the intention before you begin the workout. Take a moment before you begin whether it is in the car on the way to workout or while you are brushing your teeth in the morning. Take that moment to set your intent and bring it with you to the workout. Carry it with you throughout the day. You will find that your mind will be clearer, your workout more effective and your day more positive. You can make dreams a reality through intention. It takes focus but it is all possible. Set your intent for your next workout and see how you feel afterwards. Namaste.

-Liz Samuel

Monday-5:45am Brookdale Park-Liz
Wednesday-6am Brookdale Park-Liz
Friday-5:45am Brookdale Park-Bernie
Saturday-8am Watchung Playground-Bernie

At Brookdale Park we meet in the left end zone (if you are facing the field from the steps). Please bring your mat, weights, medicine ball and water.
Any questions, please email us at realbodybootcamp@gmail.com

Thanks!

Images by www.danielgerdes.com

Drinking can easily pack on pounds.

Have you noticed your waste line increasing but your eating habits have not changed? Well you may be packing it on by what you drink not what you eat. Studies show that we’re chugging 411 liquid calories daily, that’s almost 130 more consumed than in 1990. The iced lattés with breakfast, a smoothie in the afternoon or the five o’clock cocktails can all be contributing to your weight gain.
Sipping versus chewing changes how our bodies recognize and process the calories we take in. Some experts believe that eating, which involves munching and crunching, sends signals to the brain that trigger satiety. It doesn’t take too much effort to drink so it’s easy to indulge.
In the summer I like going out to dinner or entertaining by the pool. All of which are fun times but slowly I realized the scale was fluctuating. I immediately changed my cardio routine on non- bootcamp days. This change along with becoming mindful of my beverage choices, I was able to get right back to maintaining my weight. Below are some ideas of what you can do to keep your calories in check.

What to do? Think before you drink.
No more than 10 percent of your total daily calories should come from beverages. If you’re eating 1,800 calories daily, that’s 180 calories, or a glass of orange juice, or wine. It’s important to check the labels.
Timing it right. Drink most of your calories during the day, when you’re most active and likely to burn them off.
Pace yourself. When you’re at happy hour or socially drinking, have a glass of water between drinks. You’ll consume fewer calories and stay hydrated at the same time.
Try milk. Believe it or not having a glass of skim milk can curb your appetite at bedtime and stop the munchies.
Stay away from soda or high caloric drinks containing high fructose corn syrup or sugar additives.
Water is the best hydrator, add a little lemon to it or splash some antioxidants in like pomegranate or cranberry juice. We generally get thirsty in the summer causing us to search for thirst quenchers, if you exercise and choose a healthy beverage, you’ll be able to maintain your weight.

-Bernadette McLoughlin

It’s been a over a YEAR, one Whole YEAR!!!! I’ve made a commitment to get in shape and real body has helped me keep this commitment. So far I’ve lost over 25 pounds and I’m really proud of myself but I have to thank Bernie and Liz. Their workouts are totally kick butt and they make working out surprisingly fun. I recommend Real body to all those Women or Men who keep trying it on their own and always give up through it. RealBody is more than a bootcamp, it’s a support system. You know your group will be waiting there in the morning and actually getting out of bed is the hardest part, once your up your ready to go. Thanks for everything Real Body, I’ve got a way to go but I have confidence now that all this is achievable.
-Veronica, Montclair, NJ

Recently my husband came home from some business travel and looked in the mirror and declared he needed to start taking care of himself. I looked at him and politely smiled and said, “Honey, that’s a good idea. Where do you want to start?” I was thinking exercise and that I could help coach him and train him to get him into shape. He turned to me and said, “I’m calling the doctor.” It took me a minute and then I realized what he needed to do. He decided to make an appointment for a check-up. He hadn’t had one in over three years and with his family’s history of heart disease, he knows that if he doesn’t take care of himself, he could end up having some serious problems at a fairly early age.

He made the call and thus began his regime to ‘take care of himself.’ At the time of the call, he had six weeks to get ready for a battery of routine tests. His main concern was cholesterol levels. But he also realized he probably had about 8-10 pounds to lose and he wanted to get his heart in good cardio shape as well. Thus began the diet. He stopped eating most carbs, ate more protein and stopped drinking and eating dessert. I am always impressed with his will-power! He was easily able to drop a couple of pounds in the first week. This got him motivated and he began to exercise some more. After the second week, he dropped another pound or two. His appointment is in a couple of weeks now and he feels that he is almost ready and that he has done the best he could do in this short span of time. It’s a start. He knows that. He knows that he has to also make a lifestyle choice and that no matter what the test results say, he will have to keep up a healthy lifestyle. He knows that even if the results are better than expected, he stil will need to keep this up. As I mentioned before, he does have this history of heart disease in his family so it’s very important to all of us.

Here’s what I propose for those of you who need something to just kick-start your new healthy lifestyle. Make that appointment with your doctor! If you know that you have a cholesterol test on the horizon, you may make better choices when you plan your meals. Maybe you’ll choose oatmeal over eggs. Maybe you’ll get to the gym three times a week instead of once a week. There are many changes you can make in that month or so before seeing the doctor. And no matter the result at the doctor, you will be on the right track to getting healthier, stronger and hopefully living longer!
-Liz Samuel

We are always reminding our bootcampers to bring a mat, weights and water.  Most of you remember to bring water with you and I’m sure you take sips in between intervals.  But are we adequately hydrated?  Probably not.  If you are feeling thirsty, you are past the point of being hydrated.  We should never get to a point where we feel parched or thirsty.  When it comes to getting the most out of your body and performance, you need to make sure that you have enough water in your body to assist your organs and muscles in working properly.  One of the elements that we lose during sweating is electrolytes.  These help our body maintain cell balance.  And we need electrolytes to have the energy for fitness training. 

It takes the body TWO HOURS for anything you drink to have an effect on your hydration level.  This means that throughout the day you need to be drinking.  As soon as you wake up in the morning, grab that bottle of water and sip, sip, sip.  Since we wake up right before a bootcamp workout and most likely don’t have two hours to allow the water to hydrate our system, we may never be fully hydrated before the 6am workout.  However, sipping water before, during and after will help immensely.  Keep a bottle with you at all times.  I keep one next to my bed, in the car and in my bag.  That way, I can keep grabbing it wherever I am.  It also is good to remember that sometimes we’re not hungry, we’re thirsty!  So before you go for a snack, think of having a glass or two of water.  If you are still hungry after the water, then eat something. 

Good hydration can also aid our body in other ways.  It can improve skin tone, help with digestion and help flush out toxins and other impurities in the body.  Sometimes if you feel tired, hydration is all you need, not that cup of coffee!  Yes, caffeine gives us a boost and it does have a lot of good properties such as anti-oxidents.  But it can be dehydrating and so you must drink a glass of water before or after that cup of coffee to keep hydrated.

Always bring that bottle of water with you to workout!  And if you don’t like the taste of plain water, there are plenty of supplements you can add to aid the taste of the water.  There are powdered flavors you can add for a change of taste.  Personally, plain luke warm water does the trick for me.  And even when I’m not thirsty I drink up!  So cheers and have a glass of water—you will feel great!!!



-Liz Samuel

I just finished an hour bike ride with my 7-year-old daughter and she said, “mom I love spending time with you, can we do this again?” And so we did. In fact on non-bootcamp days she’s a drill Sargent! She gives me early morning wake up calls so we can ride together. I think it’s great that she’s so motivated and I have a little coach too.
Our kids look at us use as role models. If we like to exercise they may try it too. My daughter is very excited about Bootcamp to the point where she created an entire hula routine. She adapted a stay fit attitude and wants to run her own Bootcamp one day.
As fun as it may be for kids we may feel that exercise is a chore or something we have to do to lose weight. For me I want to live healthy for my kids and be able to keep up with their enthusiasm. As we age it’s important to stay fit for our kids and ourselves. Our body is at its peak between the age of 25 and 30. After this point, our body starts to slowly go into a decline and we tend to put on weight a little faster than before. Part of the reason for this is, after 30, we begin to lose muscle to what is known as atrophy (muscle shrinkage due to disuse). We also begin to lose bone density leading very slowly to eventual osteoporosis. Muscle is an active tissue and therefore burns calories. When we start to lose muscle to atrophy, our metabolism begins to slow down as a result leading to more fat storage and weight gain, and over 50% of this is due to inactivity
We’ve all seen it, there are men standing together, one is around 35 years old while the other is around 50, yet the older man looks more firm and vigorous than the younger man. You might ask yourself; how does he do it? The answer is, he exercises. At almost any age you can stay in great shape as well, but you have to exercise.
So what do we need to do?
If you have kids make it fun. Try riding bikes, playing soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, and hiking. Anything that’s interactive will work but make it fun. Playing sports is great way to keep fit because it’s not boring. Also, the positive feedback will be memorable and maybe you’ll look at fitness differently.
If exercise is not part of your life ease into it slowly to avoid feeling self defeated. Start by walking then try running for 5-10 minute intervals. If you’re in a park, find a bench and try tricep dips, turn around and try push-ups. Find a coach or call a friend. Make a date to go for walks, rides etc. The goal is to try any type of activity a few days a week that you’ll enjoy. Do for yourself and for your family.

-Bernadette McLoughlin

So what does this mean? Good news. Not only is exercise great for keeping your heart healthy and weight lower, scientists now see how much being fit changes your ability to incinerate fat, moderate blood sugar and otherwise function well. I was reading the latest article in the NY Times magazine, “A Workout for Your Bloodstream,” this weekend and it peaked my interest. Yet another reason to come to bootcamp and get our bodies moving on a regular basis!

The study published last month in Science Translational Medicine, showed that molecules in the boodstream called metabolites, which drive or are the byproduct of metabolic changes in the body, actually did function better after exercising. They studied a group of normal, healthy adults, as well a group of adults who were suspected of having coronary-artery disease. They were told to exercise on a treadmill for ten minutes. Their blood was drawn before and after the 10 minute exercise. The scientists then also examined blood from marathoners, runners who had just completed the 2006 Boston marathon.

They found that after ten mintues of jogging the healthy adults showed changes in the metabolites within their bloodstream (the molecules responsible for metabolism in the body) as did the less fit group although to a lesser degree. Metabolites that were associated with fat-burning were elevated. The most fit of the adults showed increases of almost 100 percent in many of these molecules. These findings suggest that exercise has both ‘accute and cumulative’ effects on your body’s ability to use and burn fat, according to Gregory Lewis, a cardiologist at Mass General Hospital in Boston and author of this study. After only ten minutes of exercise, even the least fit showed evidence that their bodies were burning fat but not as much as the people who were the most fit of all.

So there you have it: the more you work out, the more your body burns. The more fit you are, the greater number of these special molecules, which keep up fat burning and also may regulate cholesterol and blood sugar. So keep coming to bootcamp! The more you get moving, the more chances you have of increases the changes in your blood levels that keep your body healthy. So get moving and get that metabolism going!
-Liz Samuel

It’s not too late to purchase your Father’s Day present!

One month of Bootcamp for only $150. That’s less then $10 per class! We have 4 classes per week to fit your schedule.
Sign up before 12pm tonight to lock in on this deal!!!
Email us for details, realbodybootcamp@gmail.com