What's In My Grocery Bags?

Here's a quick video I shot when I just got back from the store. I wanted to show you a few of the things I like to buy for the week and hopefully give you some ideas for healthier options and what to pick up when you go shopping.

Don't Listen To The Losers!? The 5 Common Mistakes People Make Who Regain Weight & The Proven Strategies To Avoid It

So what do I mean by don't listen to the losers?

We are in a fast paced society and when it comes to weight loss, it can never happen fast enough. When you hear about someone who lost 30 lbs. in 30 days, you think they are amazing and you want to emulate everything they did to get the same results. 

Now that is an exaggerated weight loss but what about the person who dropped 30 lbs. in 12 weeks. That's a more realistic number and a very healthy amount of time to lose weight and in fact we've had numerous boot campers do just that. 


But a lot of times what happens with fast weight loss is that the weight comes right back on 6 months down the road if you don't pay attention. 


So don't always assume that the person who lost a ton of weight in a short period of time has all the answers and you should model after them entirely. 


The people you need to be searching for and modeling your actions after are the ones who have lost the weight and kept it off for a period of 1 year or more, ideally 3-5 years! They have learned to make health and fitness a part of who they are and it's a lifestyle now, not just a short term goal. 


In the video below I am speaking to a group of the Wealth For My Health contestants about this very topic and how to avoid gaining all your weight back after you've reached your weight loss goal. 

Wealth For My Health Trainer Mike Bevard Talks About Maintaining Results- Lincoln, NE from Mike Bevard on Vimeo.
(Please be patient as it may take a minute for the video to load)

For more information on the Wealth For My Health Challenge and to learn how to register for the next challenge that starts in August, click HERE. 

Registration deadline is August 23rd. 

A Lesson Learned....

I just received this email the other night from one of our valued members:

“ A co-worker decided to try another bootcamp/fitboxing class. A lot of red flags came up. An uncertified instructor, one level for all & a push to do back to back classes. I cautioned her to be careful and hoped she would change her mind and come to a Capital City Boot Camp. Today when she came to work, on crutches, the message was clear. She was pushed to do back to back classes at an intensity too high for her fitness level.

While x-raying her leg, shock ran though my mind. This was not just a sprained knee and ankle! It was a twisted fracture of her fibula.  Surgery is almost warranted and injury to the knee is
still to be determined. A warning to all, not all boot camps are the same or safe! Don't put your body in the hands of just anyone. Mike, feel free to pass this on. It may be a while before this nurse can exercise again, but my goal is to have her attend a class with a real professional instructor in a safe environment.

Thanks for pushing me to the limit, being aware of my weaknesses, and using your knowledge to provide correct and efficient exercises.”

-Raquel :)

Now after I read this I was upset and this is just another example of what’s wrong with the majority of the “boot camps” out there.

Most of the boot camps out there are just glorified aerobics classes trying to do cookie cutter workouts with the main goal of just getting you TIRED! Anybody can make you do hundreds of pushups and situps and make you tired…that’s not how it should be done.

And most of the boot camp instructors want to get tons of people in each workout to make lots of money and they just hire an “aerobics” instructor instead of a certified fitness professional to teach the class. That’s a recipe for injury like you’ve read above. 

A proper boot camp should provide an orientation before you even step foot into the workouts to properly indentify your fitness level and address any concerns you might have with certain exercises.

A proper boot camp should be more like a personal training session tailored to each individual in the group with proper exercise progressions and regressions for each fitness level.

The instructor should be constantly correcting technique and monitoring you instead of participating in the class like an aerobics instructor.

They should provide a proper movement preparation phase like foam rolling and band activation stretching and then go through a proper group warm-up to get the body ready for the workout and a proper cool-down phase to prevent unwanted injuries.

The bad thing about the name “boot camp” is that it’s associated with large group classes that go through a random arrangement of exercises that do nothing but wear you out. There is no scientific training program in place because they change the workouts everyday for so called “muscle confusion”. This makes it hard for the client to learn the proper technique and form for the exercises and they can never build up the skill to do it properly which eventually leads them to get injured and never wanting to be involved with a boot camp again.

There needs to be a scientific training program developed by a certified fitness professional that get results, but more important, keeps you safe.

Now if you want all the bells and whistles that some of the other boot camps have out there and risk not getting results or worse yet, getting injured….then you have the freedom to choose that type of program. But if you want a boot camp that’s more like a group personal training session designed by a professional to keep you safe and get results, then contact us.

Be sure to do your research and know what you’re getting yourself into.

Get after it!

Mike

PS- If you want to be a part of the best and most safe fitness boot camp in Lincoln, we have our next orientation this Saturday, July 17th at 10am and we begin a new session of camp on Monday, July 19^th. Contact us at 402-910-0743 to schedule your phone consultation.

The Method Behind The Madness

We have a great month of new bootcamp workouts locked and loaded for you!

As you know, we spend an inordinate amount of time researching and testing exercise variations and workout templates to best ensure that we bring the cream of the fitness crop your way each and every month.

Lots of other bootcamps simply seek to just beat you down and get you tired with no rhyme or reason behind what they do. This results in limited results and lot of unwanted injuries.

However, everything we do at Capital City Boot Camp is based on sound exercise science and battle-tested, in the trenches real world experience.

I have always felt that it's important to know why you're doing what you're doing when it comes to fitness because it helps reinforce the implementation of the necessary habits to get into the best shape of your life.

So I just wanted to take the time to briefly explain the method behind the madness of the incredible, cutting-edge Continuous 20-Minute Workouts that we are doing this month.

What is it and how do you do it?

Continuous 20-Minutes is a density training bootcamp-style workout where the goal is to perform the same amount of work in less time and/or more work in the same amount of time or less.

Each workout consists of a 4-exercise circuit that works your entire body. Every 2 minutes you will perform 10 reps of each exercise (5 reps/side for unilateral movements) in the circuit as fast as you can with perfect form and technique.

The goal is to complete each circuit within 60-90 seconds and then you rest for the remaining time left in each 2-minute round. In other words, the faster your complete each round the more rest you get and visa versa.

You will perform 10 total rounds for an INSANE 20-minute metabolic workout.

If your completion time is 60 seconds or less then you need to INCREASE the intensity of your workout by increasing loads and/or using more advanced exercise variations

If your completion time is longer than 90 seconds then you need to DECREASE the intensity of your workout by decreasing loads and/or using easier exercise variations

Why does it work?

"Training Density" describes the amount of work completed in a certain period of time. ‘

'Work" describes total training volume which is the number of reps you perform for each exercise times the loads/exercise variation used to do so.

The more work you complete in the same amount of time the greater the calorie burn and the greater the muscular demand resulting in improved fat loss and lean muscle gain.

To take training density to the next level, seek to complete MORE work in the SAME amount of time or LESS.

Since you must perform 10 reps of each exercise in the 4-exercise circuit, this can be accomplished by either increasing the load used or by using a more advanced exercise variation where applicable from week to week.

In other words:

10 reps for each exercise in the circuit X

4 total exercise within each circuit X

10 total rounds =

400 total reps in 20 minutes

For example, if you used a 10 lb dumbbell for all exercises within the circuit, that means you would have performed 4,000 lbs of work in 20 minutes- Not too shabby! :)

However, if you progressed to using a 15 lb dumbbell for all exercises within the circuit by the end of the phase that would mean you performed 6,000 lbs of work in 20 minutes- That's 2,000 lbs more than you did in your first workout!

Now the only way your body could meet this increased workload is by boosting lean body mass eliminating unwanted body fat. Plus, since your heart rate will be elevated throughout the entire workout, your overall conditioning will go through the roof this phase!

This progressive overload is the key to making your body change. Simply seek to gradually move from Level I to II to III over the course of this month to best ensure you get the most out of your workouts.

Sneak Peak at Capital City Boot Camp Workouts of the Month:

Below is an outline of our workouts of the month.

We will be using a 3-workout rotation with 48-hours between bootcamp workouts for optimal muscle growth and recovery.

Continuous 20 Minutes Density Training

3 Equipment-Based Workouts

	Equipment-Based Workout A	Equipment-Based Workout B	Equipment-Based Workout C
Interval Protocol	Continuous 20-Minutes	Continuous 20-Minutes	Continuous 20-Minutes
Exercise Selection and Order	Four-Exercise Circuit with 1 Dumbbell (DB): 1- Vertical Jumps Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 2- Spiderman Push-ups Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 3- DB Rotational 1-Leg Deadlift Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 4- DB Alternating Reverse Lunge + Overhead Chop Variation- 10 reps (5/side)	Four-Exercise Circuit with 2 Dumbbells (DB): 1- Skater Jumps Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 2- Scorpion Push-ups Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 3- DB Split Stance Bent-Over Row Variation- Underhand Grip- 10 reps (5/side) 4- DB Lateral Touchdown Lunge + Curl Variation- 10 reps (5/side)	Four-Exercise Circuit with 1 Dumbbell (DB): 1- Rotational Burpee Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 2- Superman Push-ups Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 3- DB Braced Core Squat Variation- 10 reps (5/side) 4- DB 1-Arm Snatch Variation- 10 reps (5/side)

As always, we will be powering our bootcamp workouts with WORKOUT MUSE

The music will tell you exactly what to do so we trainers can do what we do best- coach, supervise, and motivate you to the best results-producing workouts of your life!

Get After It! 

Mike

Death, Taxes and a HUGE Boot Camp Discount For YOU!

To quote the great Ben Franklin "Of two things you can be certain: Death and Taxes"

Yes, it's that time of the year again and today is Tax Day...and for some that equals dread over a big bill due to Uncle Sam. For others, it means a windfall of cash in the form of a tax refund check.

So as I wrapped up my taxes and I got a not so nice surprise... I'm gonna have to write a great big check and send it off to the IRS.

I should have seen this coming.

My training biz has been doing really well for it's first year in business but this just caught me off guard a bit.

In any case, I need to bring in some cash quickly to pay this bill.

So bottom line....I'm gonna give you a HUGE discount on my boot camps and save you a ton of your hard earned moolah!

Here's the deal....

You get 50% OFF on a one year paid in full membership to Capital City Boot Camps!!

Call it an "IRS sale" if you will.

You get the following boot camp training packages on sale...

-HARDCORE 5x Week Package for ONLY $1,314 (normally $2,628/yr)

-RAPID RESULTS 3x Week Package for ONLY $714 (normally $1,428/yr)

-BUSY PERSON 2x Week Package for ONLY $474 (normally $948/yr)

-EXPRESS FITNESS 1x Week Package for ONLY $234 (normally $468/yr)

Click here to get your discount ----> http://www.capitalcitybootcamps.com/Specials.html

This is a great opportunity for you to take advantage of so you can put your focus on training hard and getting results for the next 12 months!

THIS OFFER EXPIRES April 30th, 2010.

.....this is a one time deal and you will NEVER see our prices this low again.
http://www.capitalcitybootcamps.com/Specials.html

Disclaimer- Due to the large reduction in price, there is NO REFUND after the purchase of your 12 month paid in full membership if you do not hold up your bargain and complete your full 12 months of training due to moving, time conflicts, travel, etc.. The 12 months must be completed in a consecutive manner and MAY NOT be broken up into smaller 3 or 6 month increments to be used at your convenience.

Shout Out To A Few Elite Campers!!

“Fat loss is an all-out war. Give it 28 days — only 28 days. Attack it with all you have. It’s not a lifestyle choice; it’s a battle. Lose fat and then get back into moderation. There’s another one for you: moderation. Revelation says it best: ‘You are lukewarm and I shall spit you out.’ Moderation is for sissies.”— Dan John, legend

 Now there's a great quote for the kind of mentality you need to have to lose fat, change your body and keep it that way for life.

I just wanted to give a shout out to a few boot campers who have done an outstanding job these past few months and deserve some credit for their results! :)


 Shea Timmerman- Shea started the camp about a month ago and so far has lost 4.5 inches and 2 dress sizes and has cleaned up her eating and attends our 9am/7:30pm boot camp and 6:30pm FitBoxing classes at least 3-4 times per week.

  Christine Keating- Christine has been in the camp for about two months and participated in the Mosier-Timperly Weight Loss Challenge and tied for 5th place out of 84 people!! She lost 19 scale pounds and 5.1%. So that means she lost over 15 lbs of body fat! Way to go ;) Christine attends the 5:45am boot camp 3 times per week.

  Trent Maly- Dr. Maly is my personal chiropractor at MT Chiro and has been attending the 5:45am camp for close to a year now. His office just finished their weight loss challenge last week and he ended up being the winner by dropping 15 lbs and 6.5% body fat in three months! Plus he just won a gift card to Scheels during our Weekend Core Challenge where he held a front plank for 11:11 and actually broke the overall record of 7:37 set by Lyndsey Gardner. BUT he did have to battle for it as Ashley Deisler also broke the record and set a new female record of 10:15!

 These are just a few of many others in the camp who have taken it up a notch the last few months and decided to fight the fat loss battle with everything they have.
 
Great job everybody and keep going strong!
 
Get after it!
Mike
 

Please feel free to leave a comment below to congratulate your fellow boot campers and show your support!

Burn Fat With This Six-Pack of Beer!

Here's a common question I get a lot of times when I talk to people about losing fat and changing their eating habits.

" So how many beers can I have?" or " Can I still drink wine?"

Well this week in our boot camps we are having a nutrition challenge of NO ALCOHOL for the next 7 days. For some this may be easy, but for others this will be a challenge.

If you are serious about losing fat and shrinking your waist line, then you need to seriously limit how much alcohol you consume.

Why? According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, alcohol is fat-sparing, meaning the body burns alcohol first before it burns fat for fuel. Drinking alcohol stops the body from burning fat as energy just as skipping meals and not getting enough rest does. Not only does alcohol shut down fat burning but it also causes the body to make even more bodyfat.

Plus drinking alcohol increases the desire to eat more high-calorie foods which is the worst thing you can do when the fat burning process is shut down. So your body just stores more fat and makes it harder to get rid of.

A glass of regular beer or wine supplies more than 100 calories. Reduce calories by choosing light beers, limiting the amount or switching to non-alcoholic beers and wines. Regular beer and wine are lower in calories than mixed drinks, such as martinis and margaritas.
Here is a little breakdown of calories in alcohol from www.livestrong.com

Calories in Beer
A 12-ounce bottle of regular beer delivers 153 calories, while its light beer counterpart is only 103 calories, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database. Beer companies have been trying to cut calories, and Budweiser has stolen the show. Calling it "the lightest beer in the world," Budweiser offers BUD Select 55, a light beer that delivers only 55 calories for a 12-ounce bottle.

Calories in Wine
A five-ounce glass of red or white table wine is 121 to 125 calories. Dessert wines are higher. A 3.5-ounce glass of dry dessert wine is 157 calories, and a sweet dessert wine is 165 calories. Note that a 5-ounce glass of non-alcoholic wine is only 10 calories!!

Bottomless Cup
Waiters and friends like to refill that wine glass or toss you another beer. Calories add up fast. Two 5-ounce glasses of wine totals 242 to 250 calories, and three glasses total 363 to 375 calories. Two regular beers are 306 calories, and three are 459 calories.

Beer and Wine Compared with Hard Liquor
A 1.5-ounce shot of vodka, rum, gin or whiskey is 97 calories. One shot full of hard liquor served on the rocks is less calories than a glass of regular beer or wine. Mixers can add many more calories. One apple martini is 235 calories, according to Calorie King. One large margarita is 325 calories, according to The Daily Plate.

So what if still want to drink alcohol and lose your love handles?

Well if you're looking to get drunk and wasted, then I'm afraid there's no solution for you....but if you just like the taste of beer and want to have a couple with your cheat day meal, then maybe there's one beer that can help you satisfy that craving and still keep that fat burning furnace running on high.

Try O'Doul's. Yes...I know it's non-alcoholic. Get over it ;)

It has everything beer has and it tastes really similar to regular domestic beers.  Plus it also contains zero crap carbs like High Fructose Corn Syrup. Eventhough it does says non-alcoholic, it still contains a trace of alcohol in it. But it takes 10 O'Doul beers to equal the alcohol amount of 1 regular beer! You can also get non-alcoholic wine with only 10 calories per 5 oz glass.

So if your serious about losing fat and getting in shape, then try our Boot Camp Challenge Week of NO ALCOHOL for next 7 days and post your comments on how you're doing below.

But here's the bottom line, alcohol and a leaner, stronger body just doesn't mix.

Get After It!
Mike

Why Am I Not Losing Fat On My Weight Loss Diet!?

Maybe this question is going through your head right now.


You find that you workout all the time and kick some serious butt in the gym.


You say that you eat healthy most of the time and that nutrition isn't the problem.


But have you really looked at what you consider "healthy" eating.... maybe you're not eating as healthy as you think.


Check out this great video by my friend and fitness professional Scott Colby aka The Abs Expert. If you want more information from Scott, check out his website and get 20 FREE Abs Training Videos http://www.theabsexpert.com/


Watch the video below:

What are your thoughts on this topic? What things do you have that you thought were healthy but actually fall into the unhealthy category?

Should Your Kids Know How To Cook??

I ran across this video about Jamie Oliver a few weeks ago and then I saw his premier of Food Revolution on TV last week.

I think this video and what Jamie's trying to do really opens parent's eyes to what types of food the school system is feeding their kids. It also shows the importance of teaching your kids how to eat healthy and cook food.

I think one of the biggest reasons our nation has become so overweight and obese is because of the lack of knowledge about how to cook and that's just being passed down to the younger generation and has led to the dramatic rise in childhood obesity.

Before the 1970's, most families still valued cooking meals at home and sitting down together at the kitchen table. After the 70's, this became less of an occurance and it's rare today for families to sit down and have meals together. Nobody wants to spend the time to prepare the food as a family. Instead, families are eating more prepackaged, processed and fast food that comes in a can or box. So as a consequence, people don't know how to cook and it's really becoming a problem.

And the food that kids are getting in the school system for breakfast and lunch is all "fake" packaged food washed down with a nice carton of sugar loaded milk. And I'm not bashing the schools because they are working hard and doing what they are told by the government. But it always seems to be about the cheapest and the fastest way to do things. We need to have higher standards.

So do you think we should be concerned by this here in Lincoln?  

Check out this video!

So what do you think about this topic, not having kids myself I'm curious what your thoughts are?

Lincoln Bootcamp Fun Fat Burning Finisher

The 5:45am Lincoln boot camp crew doing our mat push relay finisher to top off an intense workout. The boot campers try to push the mat for as many rounds as possible during a two minute period.

Check out the Lincoln Boot Camp Fun Fat Burning Finisher

If you want to be a part of the best coed fitness boot camp in the Lincoln area and have a ton of fun, then call 402-910-0743 for your FREE 1 WEEK PASS!!

One of the Most Inspirational Videos I've Ever Seen!!

It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and get lost in the daily routine. With fitness, it's easy to get caught up with losing weight and battling the scale.

But sometimes you just need to take a step back, take a deep breath and realize the important things in life otherwise it will just pass you by. I once got some advice that you need to "slow down to speed up". Life comes at you fast and with fitness, there's more and more information out there about the latest diet craze or revolutionary ab machine. So when it comes to reaching your goals, when you're having trouble planning your meals or your workouts and when you're getting really stressed out about things, that's when you need to take a step back, calm down and get re-focused on the things that are most important....and that speeds up your results.

So for example, with nutrition, think about the biggest things you can do to get the biggest results and don't worry so much about every little thing.

Some big bang for your buck things would be eating breakfast every single day, small frequent clean meals every 3-4 hrs, lean protein at every meal to boost metabolism, half your body weight in ounces of water each day, green veggies at every meal, and cutting out processed carbs, pop and alcohol.

I know you're busy and are going through life a mile a minute but sometimes you just need to relax and enjoy the ride! :) I know I'm guilty of this as well and it's something I'm trying to work on.

So lets slow things down and please take a moment out of your busy day to watch this AMAZING video that inspires me every single time I watch it. It's a reminder to me to appreciate the journey of life and that what you believe you can achieve! It's also an amazing story about the power of love and the human spirit!



Please leave your comments below letting me know your thoughts and how this story inspired and touched your life like it did mine!

Get after it!
Mike

My Beach Body Pump Workout

With the winter coming to a close and the smell of spring finally in the air, it's time we get busy with this great beach body workout so we can have some fun in the sun!

So grab your weights, towel and water bottle and lace up your shoes so you can get ready to workout with me during this full beach body pump workout hosted by my friend BJ Gaddour and Workout Muse in the first ever LIVE "Crank It With BJ" event that I did on Saturday!

This workout was a killer and you can see and hear me along with BJ suffer throughout this 30-15 six exercise circuit. Just a quick warning, this is a raw and uncensored video, so you may want some ear muffs around the 4th circuit in a couple spots! ;)

The main workout takes about 35-40 minutes and then I finish with some stretching. I also show you a little foam rolling routine I do after my workouts that really help to relieve sore and tight muscles and keep your body healthy and speed up recovery.

Killer Beach Body PUMP Workout:

Beach Body Full Workout from Mike Bevard on Vimeo.

Here's the workout for you to follow along with courtesy of Workout Muse:

Circuit#1- Bodyweight
(Repeat this circuit for entire workout if you don't have equipment)
1- Speed/Jump Squat
2- T-Push-up
3- Prisoner Split Squat (L)
4- Prisoner Split Squat (R)
5- Hip Extension (L)
6- Hip Extension (R)

Circuit#2- Kettlebell
(Substitute dumbbells if you don't have a kettlebell)
1- Swings
2- 1-Arm Squat to Press (L)
3- 1-Arm Squat to Press (R)
4- Bent-Over Rows
5- SLDL (L)
6- SLDL (R)

Circuit#3- Band
(Substitute dumbbells if you don't have bands)
1- Squat to Overhead Press
2- High Pull
3- Push-up
4- Bent-Over Rows
5- Squat to Chest Presses
6- Bicep Curls

Circuit#4- TRX
1- Suspended Squat Jumps
2- Suspended Rows
3- Suspended Push-ups or regular pushups
4- Suspended Biceps Curls or DB curls
5- Suspended Triceps Extensions or DB Skull Crushers
6- Suspended Single Leg Squat

Circuit#5- Arms and Abs Blaster
1- 1-Arm DB Curl to Press (L)
2- 1-Arm DB Curl to Press (R)
3- KB X-Body Mountain Climber
4-6: Repeat 1-3

FINISHER- Run in Place for the final 90-seconds of active recovery to make that body change!!

If you made it through the workout, post your comments below and let me know what you thought!

Get After it!!
Mike