The Gift...

I'm not one to intentionally use dramatic overstatements to prove a point.. Sometimes my passion for things comes across as a little over the top to people that don't share the same level of appreciation for a certain topic as I do. But that doesn't mean I'm over-emphasizing a point, it just means that you may not appreciate it as much as I do.... yet... So when I say that what we do at Dynamic will change your life, there are people who haven't worked out with us that will shake their head and say "he's taking himself way too seriously", as they head off to Gold's to do 3 sets of 10 biceps curls, followed up by 3 sets of 20 minutes at the water cooler. But for most of the people that work out with us, they get it, and they know I'm not overstating it. Let me give you an example. Jay and Nancy had Michele and I over their house a week ago for a Christmas get together and both of them couldn't say enough great things about what working out with us has done for them. I kept hearing, "It changed my life", as Jay would tell stories to his friends about the transformation in his life since working out with us. Here's a guy who is now running Dynamic-style workouts at lunchtime in a garage outside his office in Hampton where he gets 75% participation from the office of 32 workers! The people at his office love coming to work because they can't wait to see what Jay's got in store for them at lunchtime and they are feeling better than they ever have. His passion for what we do has now transformed the lives of the people he works with. His son, Jack, who also works out with us, wrote a paper for school. Topic was "a moment that changed your life".. He chose the day his father ran into me at Home Depot, we talked for about 10 minutes, and he decided he was going to work out at Dynamic. Jack chose this topic because it changed his father's life so much that it had a direct and substantial positive impact on his own. Jack also started working out with us almost 2 years ago. He just finished his first season ever playing organized football and won the MVP on his high school team. This is not an isolated event. Ask some of our trainers, like Niko, Nicole, George and Chris.. They became so passionate about what we do, that they made a commitment to share the passion by becoming trainers at the gym.

Let me ask you this, how many people do you know have ever said to you, "You have to check out Best Fitness, it is incredible, I'm in better shape than when I was playing college football. No shit, this place has changed my life!". I'm going to go grab another cup of coffee while you think about that........ OK, I'm back. Anybody? Didn't think so. But I'm not here to blast Best or Gold's or any of the other Chrome and Fern palaces. This is about the gift that I gave myself the day I stopped going to places like that. I gave myself a gift of life.. Overstatement? Not if you "get it". As much as what we do will transform you physically, the mental transformation is far greater. Working out on machines and doing bodybuilding type workouts is relatively easy and doesn't get your body ready for the real world. That's why so few get positive results from it. If it's not that much of a challenge, it's boring, and it doesn't get you significant results, then it doesn't do much for you mentally.. Managing your own bodyweight, lifting heavy loads, working at maximum heart rate, and pushing yourself to your limits is hard. When done right, it's also exhilirating. It makes you physically strong, but it makes you mentally stronger. And it makes you feel so damn good that it's like a drug and you can't get enough of it. When you feel that good, you start to look for other ways to feel even better. You start eating better, you start sleeping better, you make better lifestyle choices. You get stronger, leaner, more energetic. You want to share it with everybody you know and get them hooked on it too. This is the gift. Mentally and physically, I am stronger at 43 than at any other time in my life, I continue to get stronger, and I am on a never-ending mission to give this gift to everybody who wants it. There was a time when I shared in the exasperation that I get from the people who are at their wits end. "I need something different! I can't take this anymore! I have to bite the bullet!" No more. That will never be me. It will never be Jay or Nancy or Jack. It'll never be Niko or Nicole. Once you figure it out, you will never go back either. Once you get the gift. This isn't an overstatement. It is, quite simply, the result of what we do.

Thanks for reading, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

kevin

Relax...

Last race of the year yesterday. Over 8000 miles and 500 hours on the road and trails. 38 road, MTB, and cyclocross races. 2010 is in the books. My focus this year was sharper than ever. My efforts had more purpose. My goals were specific. I came up short. I saw major improvement over previous years, and came very close to reaching my goals, but still came up short. Now that it's over, it's time to relax, reflect, and reset. I wanted to write about how it went and where it's going, but honestly, it's all too fresh to do anything coherent right now. It's like suffering a loss. Empty. Aimless. But it all starts again in a week with a re-focused sense of urgency, passion, and energy. Today there is no race, there is no prep, there is no.......... The ice is good. I'm going skating.....

Commit..

It's that time of year again. The time of year that a lot of people give themselves a free pass on taking care of themselves because the holidays are here and there's so many get-togethers and parties to attend. We're being pulled in too many different directions trying to get the kids where they need to go and getting our Christmas shopping in. We're too busy to workout. Too busy to eat healthy. "But it's OK", we rationalize, "January 1 is coming, and with it I have another fresh start to achieve everything that I meant to achieve this year.". I know from experience that this is how it is for many people. I used to do it myself years ago. I was thinking about this last Friday as I headed out for my bike ride in 18 degree weather to do short intense intervals as "openers" for my cyclocross race on Saturday. Coming out of the house the first thing I hit is always a steep, relatively short downhill that gets me close to 40MPH. So with my eyes starting to shatter from the ice cold wind pouring in around my glasses I had two thoughts.. I should have worn ski goggles, and, what is so different about me now than 10 years ago, that I would be subjecting myself to this in the middle of December? Trust me, 10 years ago on a Friday in the middle of December I would have been wondering where we were going for a couple beers after work.

The short answer can be summed up in four words. Priorities, goals, planning, commitment. I wrote recently about priorities, and I've also written about goals. You can find those entries here and here.. With this entry, I'd like to focus on planning and commitment. Once your priorities are in order, and you've set your goals, the success of reaching those goals lies in your commitment to making it happen. Just as important, you have to have a plan in place. 

Everybody needs to understand that there are going to be many days where you just don't feel like sticking to the plan. Tough shit. These are the days where you find out what you're made of. Tough day at work? Spouse giving you a hard time? Kid got sent to the principal's office? Lose a big contract? I can list 1000 things that are going to jump out at you that can derail your commitment to your goals. "Ah, lighten up Kevin, it's just one day.". Really? Every time you give in it weakens your resolve. The path of least resistance is the logical path for people. The body likes "easy". It's human nature. Working hard at anything is a lot of effort and the mind is more than happy to convince you to just relax and do what you want. It's easy to eat fast food. Mmmm, saturated fat tastes good! It's easy to have too much to drink at a party, it makes it more fun, right? It's easy to skip that group ride or run on Sunday afternoon because the Patriots are playing the Jets. It's easy to sit down for four hours eating nachos and drinking beer while watching your favorite football team. A lot better than working hard, that's for sure! The thing is, every time you give in it makes it that much easier to give in the next time. Anybody who has tried quitting anything knows this is true.. For example, you're going along fine for 2 months, and bang, you have a bad day and you give in to watching Grey's Anatomy.. You're like, no biggie, I'll start again tomorrow. But then next week, you're thinking, "well I did it last week, it's not like I've been clean for 2 months or anything. And I think Callie is going to leave her husband for that new female doctor, Arizona. Screw it, I'm watching!"* You get my point. 

*references to Grey's Anatomy pulled from Wiki.. The author has never watched a single episode of Grey's Anatomy. Honest!

So you've got your priorities in order and you've set your goals. And please, do this now. Do it sitting down with a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning. Don't do it after a half dozen margaritas on New Year's Eve when 90% of the world's outrageous resolutions are made. Put your plan in place and commit to it. Without a plan, the commitment can be easily derailed. If you're winging it on a week to week basis, then it's going to be really easy to give in on the bad days when you really didn't have anything planned anyways. Some of us can be successful putting our own plan in place. Your own success in doing it this way will depend on what your goals are, how well you understand what's required to get there, and your level of commitment to your goals. In my own personal experience, I used to have a hard time sticking to any plan without continually tweaking it. This would lead to subpar results because I wouldn't give anything an honest chance to work. Not only that, but I would tend to work too hard too often and not do the recovery part properly. This often led to over-reaching, which sometimes advanced to overtraining which resulted in injury and/or illness. I fixed this by hiring a coach. I worked with my coach on focusing my goals and he put a plan in place to get me there. And I can honestly say I'm in better shape and racing stronger than I ever have before. Having specific goals and a training program developed for me by a professional takes all the guesswork out of it. My job was to do what he told me, work my ass off, and stick to the program. There were so many days when I had so much going on and it would have been easy to bail on a workout, or decide to do something quick and easy instead, but I didn't. I had my priorities and goals set, I had a plan in place, and I was committed to it. 

OK, so you've decided that being healthy and active is a priority for you, that getting back in shape and restoring that vitality that has eluded you since you were young is important to you, that you are going to age youthfully and not allow your health (or bank account) to be held hostage by doctors and prescriptions. I know I'm stating the obvious, of course this is what everybody wants. Then why doesn't everybody have it? Mostly, it's because they don't know how to get there on their own. Everybody has tried the big box gym route. Everybody's tried the "6 weeks to 6-pack abs blockbuster program!!!" that they've seen in magazines or on TV. Getting in shape and staying in shape is hard. Doing it on your own is harder. This is why we're in the middle of a nationwide obesity epidemic and insurance and drug companies are making record profits. Look around you at work, in restaurants, at airports. You can see it. We all desire to be healthy and fit, but most of us aren't. Priorities, goals, a plan, and commitment. If you want to be healthy and fit, then these 4 things need to be in place.

If this is what you desire, if this is a priority for you, then we're here to help you get there. We'll help you with goals. Our dynamic fitness programs are second to none in helping you get in the best shape of your life. Come to Dynamic Strength and Conditioning and the plan is dialed for you. The commitment is, in large part, going to be up to you, but the motivation and camaraderie of our group training goes a long way towards getting you through the door on days when you just don't feel like it. Ask Marc who, never ran before, but is now keeping a 6:30/mile 5k pace. Ask any number of our clients who are in completely different wardrobes because they no longer fit into their old clothes. Ask Roni who's taking up new sports and competes in about 20-30 different events per year. Ask Chris who found the fire to start competing again in long distance running and completed his first ever 100 mile ultra this year. Ask Tom who's blood pressure, cholesterol, and resting heart rate are at lower levels than they've been in 20 years. The amount of success stories we have are so inspirational. Write your own success story, it's time to make the commitment.

The Expansion - Part II

Just got back from the new location and it is getting closer to becoming a reality every day :) We're about 3 weeks away from being open barring any more unforeseen delays. This is the second entry detailing the programs we'll be offering in the new space come January 1. If you missed our newsletter you can view it here. For more information regarding our Small Group and Semi-Private Training or our drop-in based Dynamic Functional Performance Training, click here.


The most exciting thing about the expansion is what the larger space is going to allow us to do with our programs. Having a 3000 sqft area of artificial turf for speed and agility work is going to be awesome. Having power lifting stations will allow me to build maximum strength and power work into training programs that just can't be done with kettlebells. I am very psyched about the opportunity to really customize programs for each person's goals in a small group setting and to offer these programs at pretty much any time of any day. Here are more details regarding some of the special programs we'll be offering at Dynamic in the new facility.


The 90 Day Challenge will continue to be our program for those who are ready to get back in shape. It is an incredibly succesful and popular entry level program that focuses on dynamic movement, joint mobility and flexibility, enhanced cardiorespiratory function, with increased strength and muscular endurance. The 90 Day Challenge is a structured, progressive training program with nutritional guidance that meets 3 days per week and costs $495. We will be offering this in the morning or in the evening based on your schedule. 


The 90 Day Challenge is the first step in realizing huge increases in energy, strength, and muscular endurance while losing body fat and increasing lean, functional, muscle mass!

Strength and Conditioning for the Endurance Athlete is a program I am very excited to offer. As a competitive cyclist I have a deep understanding of the strength and conditioning needs of an endurance athlete. I also know that many endurance athletes either avoid strength training or just have no idea what will best complement their sport-specific training program. We need to build strength that can be applied in a way that translates to our sport. We need to generate speed and power. We need to increase our rate of force development. We need to develop a solid core which is the foundation for our force production. We have to do all of this without building any unnecessary body mass. Additionally, a well-designed strength training program is key to injury prevention. 


Starting January 1, Dynamic will be offering both Off-Season and In-Season strength and conditioning programs for endurance athletes. The Off-Season program is focused on maximal strength production, increased rate of force production, maximizing strength to weight ratio (i.e. getting stronger without getting bigger), increased VO2max, muscular endurance, and exercise economy. There will be 2x, 3x, and 4x per week options and the schedule is flexible in order to coincide with your availability. Pricing for the off-season program is as follows:

8 weeks @ 2x per week: $295

8 weeks @ 3x per week: $395

8 weeks @ 4x per week: $495

Anybody who enrolls in an off-season program with us will also be eligible for our in-season program for strength maintenance. This will be 2 workouts per week that will be focused on maintaining full body functional strength in such a way that it will complement your endurance training. The schedule will be completely flexible and the cost will be $45 per month. This can also be set up as an on-line program that you can do on your own.

                                                                                                                 photo by Rob Bauer

For the high school, college, or professional athlete we will be offering the Dynamic Sports Performance Training program. This program is designed for the athlete who is looking to get stronger, faster, and more powerful with a reduced risk of injury. The focus is on building a solid athletic foundation through linear and lateral speed development, agility, explosive power development, and functional strength training. A low coach to student ratio of no more than 1:8 ensures that the athlete will be closely supervised for proper technique and safety. The athlete that takes part in the Dynamic Sports Performance Training program will see increased performance in competition with a reduced risk of injury.

Dynamic Strength and Conditioning is offering in-season, off-season, and pre-season training programs to meet each athlete’s individual needs and goals. Programs are offered after school as well as during holiday breaks and Summer vacations.

The off-season and pre-season strength and conditioning sessions are 2, 3, or 4 days per week, 90 minute intense workout sessions that include dynamic warmup and joint mobility, speed/agility work, strength and power development, and full body functional conditioning. The in-season program is a 2 day per week 60 minute session that is focused on maintaining sports-specific strength for the athlete during their competitive season. 

                                                                          photo by Karl Gehring, The Denver Post

Fall/Winter/Spring, pre-season program is 90 minutes per session, in-season program is 60 minutes per session. 8 Weeks 

2x per week: $295

3x per week: $395

Summer 2011, 90 minutes per session, 10 weeks

2x per week: $295

3x per week: $395

4x per week: $495

  Special Team Pricing is Available!

From the person who has decided that it is time to get back in shape to the professional athlete, Dynamic Strength and Conditioning has a program perfectly suited to your goals. You will get stronger, faster, leaner. You will have more energy and your confidence and state of mind will be soaring! 

We are taking reservations in all programs now. Email me to let me know what program you would like to join and what times and days you would like to train. If you have any questions about what's the best option for you I will be able to steer you in the right direction :)

This is a very exciting time for your gym. Make no mistake, without your desire to get in the best shape of your life, none of this would be possible. On behalf of myself, Michele and the rest of the Dynamic staff, thank you for being a part of our expansion!

Best,

Kevin

The Expansion - Part 1

With the release of the details of the upcoming expansion there was definitely a lot of excitement, and also a lot of questions. (If you didn't see the newsletter, you can find it here). Here's part 1 of a more detailed explanation of the upcoming changes at Dynamic.

At Dynamic Strength and Conditioning we have created an energy that is unsurpassed at any fitness facility. The people who workout with us have become family, to us and to each other. They receive the best training and get better results than they've ever gotten at any other gym or in any other program. At the same time, not a day goes by that we are not trying to figure out how to make it better. I know that we can offer you so much more than we already are and that is the driving force behind the move and expansion. The 9000 sq ft facility at 115 Northeastern Blvd will be a state of the art strength and conditioning facility that will allow us to do amazing things with the training programs. 

One of the things that we are very happy to be able to offer again is a low cost, unlimited drop-in based membership like we started out with at Dynamic over 2 years ago. The Dynamic Functional Performance Training is going to be offered every day of the week with sessions at 6am, 9am, 12pm, and 6pm on Monday through Friday. There will also be weekend sessions on Saturdays at 8am and 10am, and Sundays at 4pm. These are going to be high intensity, full body functional training sessions that work every muscle in your body, challenging you at the highest level both physically and mentally. The unlimited drop-ins are going to be at the lowest price we've ever offered for training at only $95 per month with no long term commitment or contract. You will also have the option to receive 2 months free by paying up front for 10 months. 

The pay-as-you-go option is $10 per session. There will be no 10-visit passes or other packages. The first week of DFPT is always FREE with no obligation so you owe it yourself to come check it out :)

This led to the top question I received after the newsletter went out. Does this mean I can't train at 5p (or 7p, or 5a, or whatever time you currently train in one of our programs)? The simple answer is, of course you can still train at those times! We will have small group (groups of between 4 and 8) and semi-private (groups of 2-4) training available at any time of any day! I've said this before, Dynamic Strength and Conditioning was created to offer a premium training program and get people in the best shape they have ever been in. As a trainer and coach with 20 years of experience working with athletes, I know that the best route to the best performance is to train in small groups with a low coach:student ratio in a structured, progressive training program. The Dynamic Performance program that we've been running has been a phenomenal program, but I can assure you that the small group program we've been running has been at another level completely. With the lower coach:student ratio you get better instruction, you get more customization, you get a better training program with a wider variety of exercises since there is no space or equipment limitations, you are less susceptible to injury because you get more instruction and attention to form, and ultimately, you will push yourself harder in a smaller group. Trust me, I see it every day. Put all of this together and you get the best results possible, without question.

The scheduling for small group and semi-private will be completely flexible. For example, if you want to work out on Monday at 7am, Wednesday at 8am, Friday at 5pm we will be able to accomodate that. Tell me when you want to to work out, and we will make it happen. If you have to miss a session, then there will be tons of other time slots that you can make it up during the same week. If you are away and simply can't make it up, then we will credit the sessions towards your next block of sessions, just like personal training. You won't pay for anything you don't use.

Obviously we are still in tough economic times and I am doing my best to make small group training accessible to as many people as I can, because I feel that strongly about its benefits. So I have priced it at a point that is well below what small group training has cost at our current facility. Here's a breakdown:

Small Group Training (groups of 8 or less)

8 weeks @ 2x per week: $295

8 weeks @ 3x per week: $395

8 weeks @ 4x per week: $495

To put this in perspective, you can now train 3x per week in a small group training program at the cost of what 2x per week currently costs. To look at it another way, you are getting a personal training experience for between $15 and $18 per session depending on how often you're coming. 

If you want to take it to the next level, get full customization as needed, and an even more effective coach:student ratio, then semi-private is the way to go with groups of 4 or less:

8 weeks @ 2x per week: $545

8 weeks @ 3x per week: $745

There will be a special early bird rate for those who want to work out at 5am. In addition, you can bundle any of our small group or semi-private training programs with the unlimited drop-ins for an additional $25 per month!

We also offer several discounts and referral bonuses...

Firefighters, police force, and military put their lives on the line for us on a daily basis. In my opinion, the type of training we do at Dynamic, and the brand of physical and mental strength that our training develops, benefits first responders and military more than anybody else, since this is exactly what they require to overcome incredible challenges successfully and return home to their families. To show how much we appreciate their service and how strongly we feel that we can help them get in the best shape possible to be successful in their mission we are offering a 50% discount to all firefighters, police force members and active military personnel. Additionally, if a serviceman or servicewoman is home on-leave, they are invited to workout at Dynamic for FREE while they are home on holidays.

We are also offering 10% discounts to students, family members, military veterans, and 65+. Referral bonuses will be given to anybody who refers a friend or family member. Once your friend or family member has worked out with us for 3 months, you will receive a $50 training credit in the program that you are enrolled in!

In the next entry, I'll talk more about the special programs that we'll be offering like the 90 Day Challenge and our programs specifically tailored towards Sports Performance and Endurance Athletes. I am incredibly excited to be able to offer the type of programs that an athlete or team would only be able to get at a Division I University!

All of us at Dynamic are really fired up about the positive changes coming. We should be in the new space towards the middle of December and all new programs will be implemented as of January 1. I would like to personally thank each of you who have been with us and I'm excited to welcome the people who have been waiting for the opportunity to work out with us. I want you to know that we will never stop looking for (and finding) ways to help you achieve your goals, adopt a healthier more active lifestyle, and get in the best shape of your life!

Priorities...

I've been away from blogging for quite some time, and I don't really have an excuse other than lack of time and other priorities. And it's not that everything else has higher priorities, it's just that I've set my priorities in a way that my time to blog has been squeezed. I really need to change that because I find that the best thing about blogging is that it gives me the opportunity to hash through issues and thoughts that are important to me. Like setting priorities properly.

I want to start out by saying that I believe everybody needs to be selfish. (Insert meditative pause here while you think about what an ass I am for suggesting such a self-indulgent priority). When I say "be selfish", I mean it in the sense that your own health and happiness needs to come before all else. The reason for this is really fairly simple when you think about it. Without your own health and happiness everything else in your life, and everybody else who depends on you (family, friends, co-workers) will be negatively impacted. So if being there for your kids is the most important thing in the world to you, then taking care of yourself needs to precede that so that you can be there for them. Common sense, right?

I was thinking about this the other day on my bike. It was on a day that I didn't particularly want to be on the bike because I had so much other stuff to do. Trying to get the new gym open while running the current location takes a lot of time and energy. On this particular day I had sessions to run in the morning, meetings with architects, contractors, and city hall, a soccer practice to run that evening. Every minute was accounted for and I was feeling really overwhelmed with everything. These are the days that things like exercising and eating healthy usually take a back seat to everything else. But that hasn't been an option for me for many years. I had a healthy breakfast of eggs, fruit and granola in about 10 minutes before walking out the door to the gym. I ran the sessions with enthusiasm and intensity, I left the gym, grabbed an espresso and a healthy snack of apple and almonds. Made a clockwise circuit through Nashua hitting the architect's office, City Hall, and the new gym to meet with the landlord and some contractors. I got taken out of schedule by having to run a couple unforeseen errands. Had a grilled chicken, tomato, lettuce, mustard sandwich. I was stressed out because I still had so much to do and my training schedule called for a couple hours on the bike and I still had soccer practice to run to cap it all off. By the time I got home my window was really getting squeezed for the ride. I got kitted up and headed out the door on the bike. I didn't have two hours, but I could get in 90 minutes, I just cranked up the intensity to compensate for the lack of volume. Got home, recovery drink, quick shower, and out the door with bag of soccer balls and cones to coach the GU12's.. Home by 7:00 for dinner, grilled chicken and veggies. 14 hours of non-stop and I managed to get in a 90 minute ride, which to be honest, cleared my head so completely that it was singularly responsible for allowing me to complete everything else. Without that release I would be a mess and everything else that I have responsibility for would be negatively impacted. I finished the day in bed reading a book by one of the top coaches in the world, Dan John, because learning something new every day is another of my highest priorities.

My top priority is getting my exercise in because it makes me better at everything else in my life. And by "exercise" I mean exercise that works the body and the mind. For me, it means being on the bike, or working the whole body with intense kettlebell and bodyweight routines, or nordic skiing, or competing. It needs to be active and with purpose, it needs to work my body and my mind, it needs to be meaningful.

There was a time when this wasn't my top priority. My workouts were lame. Go to the "gym" at lunchtime, back and bi's on Monday, leg day on Tuesday, you know the drill. It didn't make me better at anything. Absolutely nothing. I'd go back to my life-sucking job, leave at 5:00, get home and have a few beers or a bottle of wine, get up feeling like ass and do it again. Sometimes I'd skip the lame-ass workout, which honestly had no appreciable effect anyways. I had pretty much stopped making gains in weights since I had the same stale routine that I'd been doing forever. On weekends I would rather watch football and drink beer than actually compete in anything. I was weak, mentally and physically.

Contrast that with the present. I missed three workouts this year. Three! They were on consecutive days last May when I was coughing green shit up from a chest infection that I believe came on because I had worked out the previous week with such high intensity that my immune system had nothing left to fight it off. I'm stronger than I ever have been on the bike. I can do more pullups than I've ever been able to do in my life. I can do turkish getups with light adults. Mentally, there is no challenge or problem that I can't overcome.

When somebody says "I'm not going to workout today because I don't feel like it" or "I don't have time" I wonder how much time they spend texting lol's and omg's to their bff, or on facebook or watching TV. Instead of spending 15 minutes on facebook, use the time to do 10 burpees, bear crawl across the room, and repeat as fast and as many times as you can for 15 minutes. That's more effort than you would put in on a treadmill in 90 minutes. And it will do more good for you physically and mentally than anything else.

I don't have to tell you how good an intense workout makes you feel. I have people at Dynamic on a daily basis that move literally thousands of pounds or do close to 1000 reps of different bodyweight exercises in less than 30 minutes. It tops off their life-force. They eat healthier to get more out of their workouts so they have more "good" energy so they can do more stuff that they like to do. So that they can make a positive impact in their family's and friend's lives. The passion is amazing, the transformation complete!

Is it hard work? Well, yeah. If it wasn't then everybody would be in great shape, healthy and happy. It takes desire, dedication, and discipline. Do you have what it takes? Start with your priorities. Think about what's really important to you and if you have really dedicated yourself to it. Do your lifestyle and actions complement or contradict your priorities? If you need help, I can introduce you to some of the folks over at Dynamic that truly "get it".

I'm going to ride my bike now. I have a race tomorrow that I need to get ready for :)

Time to Get "Back" in Shape!

The key word in that phrase is "Back". Everybody can look back at a point in their lives when they were, relatively speaking, "in shape". Everybody.. Even if it was as far back as when they were 8 or 9 years old playing town soccer or tee-ball. There's a point in everybody's life they can look back on and say, with conviction, "i was in shape then".. Of course with the rising epidemic in childhood obesity, especially in children under 5, that is changing. In the USA we are now raising children who, if asked in the year 2040, "when were you in shape?", their answer will honestly be "never". But we're not in 2040, and I'm asking you now. When were you really in shape? Are you in the best shape of your life right now? If not, then why not?

When I was in my 30's I worked out at a number of different gyms. I picked my gym based on the monthly fee and how long I had to commit to. I lifted weights. I ran on conveyor belts listening to my iPod, watching ESPN sportscenter. It took me 2 hours to get in a workout that got me little in the way of results. I could lift heavier weights and run faster on the belt after a couple months, but then the stale routines would stop yielding results, I would get bored with it. I couldn't stand going to those gyms. I had some muscle definition but I wasn't strong. Nothing that I did in those gyms translated to results in the real world. It translated to results in the mirror. On a scale of "time wasted", second to the hours I wasted in bars when I was in my 20's is the hours I wasted in those gyms in my 30's. At about 35 years old I realized I was not in shape, and if I wanted to get "back" in shape it would have to be the shape I was in when I was about 10 years old, playing "kill the man with the ball", or riding my bike with my friends 10 miles into Groton center to the penny candy store to buy a handful of Swedish fish for a dime, or running through the woods with fake rifles playing "army", or raiding the Hatfield's crabapple tree and going out in the sandpit with my friends using a garbage can lid for a shield and having apple fights. Did I ever lift weights back then? Did I run on treadmills? Did I do "flys" on the pec deck? How ridiculous is it to even think it? So why, now that I'm older, does it make any more sense to do any of that stuff if what I really want to be able to do is...... anything i want on any given day? I want to race my bike, climb mountains, go kayaking, play soccer with the kids I coach, show my own kids what fun an active lifestyle is. Is bench press or biceps curls going to help me do any of that? Ummm... no, I don't think so.

I turned 43 yesterday. The only person getting any younger than me right now is Benjamin Button. I continue to get in better shape and turn back the clocks. I ride my bike, I hike mountains, I do bodyweight exercise, I do kettlebell work, I throw around medicine balls. I work full body movements, with and without resistance that translate to the real world gains so that I can do everything I want to do. I've adopted a healthy lifestyle and diet that complements my natural training so that I stay healthy, have incredible amounts of positive energy, and can achieve absolutely anything I put my mind to. If somebody asks me "when were you in the best shape of your life?" my answer is honestly, right now. I have figured it out.

This is why people come to Dynamic Strength and Conditioning. Initially they come because they want to get "back" in shape. They stay because they want to be in the best shape of their lives. I figured out what it took to get me there, and I know how to get you there. Michele and I develop programs that are guaranteed to get you where you want to be if you are willing to do the work. I hear comments about the cost because they compare what Dynamic costs to the $20 a month chrome and fern palaces. It's not a fair comparison. I'm giving you a structured 12 week training program, designed to increase your strength, muscular endurance, power, energy levels, metabolism, lean body mass, mobility and flexibility, instructed by professionals who live it, love it, are passionate about it, and are certified to teach it. We give you nutritional guidance and help you adopt a healthy lifestyle that complements your activities and goals. Is that what you're getting for $20 a month at Planet Fatness. Is that what you're getting from the "trainer" at Globo with the flashy smile, the bulging, bodybuilder muscles, the khaki pants, and the clipboard as he sets the pin in the pec deck for the 3rd set of 10 as he chats up the hot chick in spandex working out next to you? Oh yeah, and that "trainer" doesn't come with the price of admission either.... At Dynamic, in the past year I can't count how many times I have heard "I'm in the best shape I've ever been in", or, "Hey, I'm going to do _________, I never would have thought I could do that before!". I watch as people shed inches upon inches of bodyfat, increase their functional strength, muscular endurance, and mobility by orders of magnitude. Don't know about you, but to me that beats the hell out of listening to some meathead at the water cooler talking about how he just benched 325. 

At the end of the day you have to look at the big picture. You go around one time and it's up to you how you're going to spend it and how you're going to feel. It's all up to you. It was not pre-determined that you would be in the best shape of your life at 10 years old or that you would spend the last 20 years of your life with a counter full of medications and a calendar full of doctor appointments. Only you have the power to determine how you will spend the rest of your life. A lot of it also depends on your goals and motivations. If your goal is a healthy lifestyle, having a lean, athletic build and being able to do absolutely anything you want to do as long as you're around, then Dynamic is definitely the place for you. 

We have a free week going on right now, with sessions on MWF at 5a,6a,9a,12,6p. Tu/Thu at 7p. And the week wraps up with a field workout at Nashua South High School at the track at 8am. There is no cost and there is no commitment. You owe it to yourself to check it out. It's time to get "back" in shape!

It's All Your Fault...

Martin Rooney offered me a billion dollars a couple days ago. $1,000,000,000. That's a lot of zeroes that would solve a lot of problems, wouldn't you say? But, there was a catch (of course). In this case, I could have the billion, but I would die in 24 hours. Not a difficult decision for me, I decided to live. My life is worth more than any amount of money. Let me put the question to you, and I'll even make the catch a little less harsh for you. If I was going to give you a billion dollars (by the way, you know it's a buttload of money when it takes less time to spell the amount out than to write out the actual number), but, if you accept it you only have 6 months to live, would you take the money? Of course you wouldn't. And if you would, then now would be the time to go back to facebook and become a "fan" of The 50th Anniversary of the Big Mac! Looking at it as money -vs- life, it's a no-brainer, right? So when this question was put to me, while it was immediately apparent what the response would be, it wasn't immediately apparent what my response meant. Think about it, we've just decided that our lives, the only ones we'll ever have, are worth more than all the money in the world. So why, in many cases, don't we treat it that way? Why are 65% of Americans overweight and 30% obese? Why is the age group between 2 and 5 years old the fastest growing segment of obese people in the country? Why are we dying at an increasing rate from diseases that are avoidable with behavioral changes? 

The answer is that we choose to. We choose to die from diseases that didn't exist 100 years ago that are a direct result of poor eating habits and lack of exercise. We choose to be fat. We choose to "let ourselves go". We choose to bring our children to McDonalds and Chuck E Cheese. There is not a person on the planet that thinks McDonalds is a healthy choice. Not a fucking one! But 60 million people per day (PER DAY!), spend $24,000,000,000 (24 Billion!) per year on their swill. And they do it by choice. We choose to be fat, we choose to be out of shape, we choose to allow our 5 year olds to develop Type 2 Diabetes, it's our fault. If you buy a $70,000 dollar Mercedes, you put the best gas in it that you can. Why then, when you just decided that your own life is worth more than a billion dollars, do you pour diet soda and other zero calorie, artifically sweetened drinks into your own body when they leach the calcium from your bones, take the paint off cars, and have been linked to cancers? 

At the same time, there are those of us who choose to be fit. That is also our fault. If you're in shape it's your fault. If you eat right, it's your fault. The same way it's a person's choice to take their family to McD's, it's a person's choice to have chicken, broccoli, and brown rice for dinner. If you work out 5 or 6 days a week, solid workouts that increase your metabolism, raise your energy levels, build strength and endurance, that's your fault. If you're in the best shape you've ever been in, it's your fault. If you get your kids involved in sports and fun activities, coach their teams, take them hiking and biking, then it's your fault when they're lean, fit, and flexible. How great is that! 

our fault...

and so is this....

You have the power to make your own choices. Nobody is going to choose for you (unless you're a kid and you're reading this, then your parents will choose for you, so make sure you give them this to read). What you decide to do, to eat, to be. It's all on you. You have one shot, one life, and if you're still reading this then you've decided that that life is worth more than any amount of money. It's your choice what you're going to make of it, and it's your fault when it happens. Accept the responsibility, and hold yourself accountable. It's harder to make the right choices, that's why so many people struggle with their weight and are out of shape. Because it's easy. You need to be strong and put in the extra effort to make the right choices. If you do, then great things can happen. You will never regret it. You've decided that it's worth more than anything to you so it's up to you to act on that. I've said it before, I can not put a price on my health. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and I continue to get in better shape because I choose to be. It didn't just happen. I'm turning 43 this month and I continue to improve my health and wellness on a daily basis. Every action and every choice I make contributes to it. It is all my fault.

Strength Training at Dynamic: Why You Need It...

The Dynamic Performance program is designed to increase power to size ratio and muscular endurance, enhance fat loss, while increasing mobility and flexibility. This is done with a mix of strength workouts designed to increase absolute strength and power to develop lean muscle, and high intensity circuits to train the body to be athletic and increase muscular endurance. All of these workouts help to increase the metabolism and shed excess body fat. But it takes both types of workouts to get the maximum benefits. There are some people, mostly women, who believe that doing the strength workouts will make them look like big, bulky bodybuilders. So when it comes time to do strength workouts they stick to the small kettlebells and don't get a whole lot out of the workout. The result of this is that as time goes on they're still working with the 8kgs, haven't developed any appreciable lean muscle mass, and haven't increased their power to size ratio at all. These same people typically believe that if their heart isn't beating at 90% max heart rate for the entire time that they're working out (like when we do the muscular endurance type circuit work), then the workout sucks and it's not really giving them any benefit. More often than not, these same people are also still struggling to lose the last few inches of bodyfat they've been trying to get rid of. So I'd like to clarify a few things....

First, if you want to lose weight, then the first thing that you have to do is get your diet in line with your goals. Your diet is what you do eat, not what you don't eat. What you eat, how much of it, how often, and at what times is going to be key. If you're restricting your calories while eating a diet high in processed, high glycemic carbs and low in fat, then you'll be hungry all the time and your body will more than likely store these extra carbs as fat. If your body doesn't burn it, then it's going to store it. The other thing to understand when restricting calories is that while it's true that if you burn more calories than you take in you will lose bodyfat (assuming your body is burning fat as it's source of fuel), it is also true that your metabolism will adapt to a lower amount of calories if you consistently restrict the amount of calories you take in. You have to find a balance that works and doesn't allow your metabolism to decrease as an adaptation to the lower caloric intake. For example, restricting calories for 3 weeks out of 4, or 5 days a week out of 7, may be enough to keep your metabolism high while running at a caloric deficit. A lot of it is definitely going to be experimentation to find what works and what doesn't. Everybody is different, and the same thing won't work for everybody. It's also important to eat a balance of carbs (mostly plants), fats (mostly unsaturated), and proteins. If you're looking to lose bodyfat, eat 5 or 6 times per day (every 2-3 hours you're awake), never more than 500 calories at a time, and always get fat, protein, and carbs every time you eat.

Second, the amount of calories you actually burn during your workout isn't really significant (unless you're training for several hours). The actual calorie burn during your 25-30 minute high intensity workout is going to be on the order of 400-600 calories depending on how big you are to begin with and how intensely you are working. To put this in perspective, if you went walking for an hour you would burn about 200-300 calories. If you went jogging for an hour you would burn about twice that amount. The major difference is that the workouts at Dynamic are going to increase your metabolism so that your body continues to burn calories at an elevated rate while you're not working out. Jogging, walking, jazzercise, zumba and other types of low intensity aerobic workouts won't. Those types of workouts burn a certain number of calories and then when you're done your body goes right back to burning calories at it's regular rate. Working out with short, high intensity full body movements, with heavy loads, will build lean muscle and increase your post exercise energy consumption effectively raising your metabolism.

It's important to understand that having more muscle increases the amount of calories your body requires to get through a day. Muscle mass increases your basal metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level does not. This is a fact. In order to build muscle mass, you have to do strength training. You have to work with heavy loads. The workouts at Dynamic are designed to build lean muscle mass and increase strength. They are not designed to bulk you up. Bulking up requires working with heavy loads, often to failure, and taking in A LOT of extra calories. Or if you want the bulk without the strength you could do some lame bodybuilding routines utilizing isolation exercises lifting light weights to exhaustion until you get that useless "pump" that will build inflated, non-functional muscles.. Regardless, the workouts I give you are not designed to bulk you up. They are designed to build lean, functional muscle mass with mobility and flexibility. Look around you at Dynamic, the leanest people in the gym also have the most lean muscle and work the strength workouts with heavy loads of 50% or more of their bodyweight. None of them look like bodybuilders, they look like athletes.

Since starting at Dynamic on Day 1, Marc has dropped his bodyfat from over 20% to single digits and has developed a strong, lean, athletic build. He's always pushing it with heavy loads on the "strength and power" days.

The strength workouts we do are a very important part of the program. Do them right, and push yourself with heavier loads and you will get stronger, build lean muscle mass, and increase your metabolism. Then when we do the muscular endurance workouts you will train the body to work at high intensities and gain athleticism. You need to work the entire program to get the max benefits of it.

Overcome Lack of Motivation the Dynamic Way!

I think the biggest downfall to anybody's progress in a workout program is when they lose motivation. It's a killer and it requires a lot of mental strength to overcome. There are days when I suffer from lack of motivation as much, if not more, than many. However, I've decided that what I love to do is race my bike. Cyclocross comes first, but I also love racing road, and I'm even going to give mountain bike racing a shot this year which I know I will love, maybe even more than the others. In order to be competitive at the things I love to do I have to work my ass off. There are virtually no days off. Since January 1 I have over 1500 miles in the saddle, almost all of them have been in cold, wind, snow, rain. I'm on the trainer when it becomes dangerous to be outside, like when the roads are icy, but I can honestly say I've only been on the trainer about a dozen times out of all my rides. Since early February I've been averaging between 150 and 200 miles a week. Threshold intervals, sprint workouts, tempo intervals, endurance rides, all in generally miserable weather in which I would come across ZERO other cyclists on the road. My recovery rides I would do on the rollers because it's too hilly where I live to get in an actual recovery effort. Ironically, most of my recovery rides have come on the few nice weather days when it would have been great to be out on the bike. I could have put most of my miles in on my trainer like many, but it's not the same. Nothing prepares you for riding on the road like riding on the road. Of the 1500+ miles I've put in, 47 of them have been in nice, wind free (when I say wind free I mean sub 15mph sustained winds), rain free, cloud free, snow free, cold free, weather. Those were this past Saturday. It's easy to get motivated to go out and ride your bike 50 miles when it's 60+ degrees without a cloud in the sky and negligible headwinds. In addition to all this, I have done all my rides in the last 3 months by myself, except for 3. So there is nobody to commiserate with, nobody to share the misery of riding 2 and a half hours in the rain when it's 38 degrees. You want to talk about having a tough time getting motivated sometimes? Trust me, I know what it's like. 

Today was no different, except that in addition to sucky weather it was also Monday which inherently blows. I couldn't ride in the morning because I had sessions to run at the gym. By the time I got everything done that I needed to get done it was after 2:00, the temps had dropped into the low 40's and it had started raining.. The last thing I wanted to do was go for a bike ride. There was nobody telling me I had to go. I wasn't meeting anybody to train with so I had nobody to answer to. Of course I have my coach who gives me my training plan, but he was 200 miles away in Maine, I can answer to him later can't I? Why not just skip this one, maybe jump some rope and do some kettlebell work? Maybe I could ride on the trainer for an hour instead of the 90+ minutes I was supposed to do. Or take a nap? Hell, I've only had 3 total days off from training in the past 3 months. Does any of this sound familiar to anybody? You see how the lack of motivation spawns a number of more attractive alternatives and excuses? So what do you think I did? I did what I do every single time I'm confronted with the same choice. I told myself to HTFU and get on the bike. I donned the rain gear, the helmet wrapped in Saran wrap (not kidding), the iPod loaded with 3 Social Distortion cd's that would get me through 2 hours, a couple energy gels and I headed out. The first 20 minutes of the ride I felt like shit. I ate wrong yesterday and today and was paying for it already. My heart rate was spiking where it shouldn't, the legs felt heavy, and so did all the extra layers I had to put on. I was convinced that this would be the worst ride of the season, but then things changed. The legs loosened up, the heart started responding properly to the short efforts up hills, my body somehow started converting the espresso and the crap sandwich I had for lunch into something that could be used for fuel, and I started to think about cyclocross 6 months away. The rain kept coming and it was pretty raw and cold, but it was no match. An hour forty-five later I'm pulling back into the driveway with a solid effort behind me and a much brighter mental state than just 2 short hours ago when I was dreading another ride in miserable weather. Road racing season is just beginning and I am arguably in as good if not better shape than I've ever been. My threshold power is already higher now than it was at the end of last season and I have 6 months to go till cross season starts... Fuckin giddy up!

I'm writing this because I think it's important to understand that everybody has to overcome the same barriers to attaining goals and staying on track. Yes, I understand what it's like to struggle with a lack of motivation to train. I overcome it on a regular basis, I have to. Nobody is going to train for me, and the Lactate Threshold Fairies aren't swinging by my house any time soon to magically enhance my legs with the extra 30 watts of power that I need to be really competitive come cyclocross season. So I drop an HTFU on myself and get to it. It works for me. I haven't missed a scheduled workout unless I've been injured or sick in years. But everybody has different goals and everybody is motivated in different ways. At Dynamic Strength and Conditioning I try to make it easy on you. All you have to do is show up and I'll take care of the rest. I give you the program, and it's a killer program :). There's people there to commiserate with and share the pain with. They are also there to cheer you on and share in the "high" you get from getting yourself in better shape than you ever have before. It is almost a 100% guarantee that your mental state is better upon leaving than when you got there. And when you commit to the program and make it in for your 3 sessions a week you are guaranteed to get results. Don't let a lack of motivation be your excuse to missing your workouts with us. Tell you what, if you're ever about to skip one of my workouts I want you to ask yourself, "what would Kevin say if I told him I was going to miss today's workout because _________". If the answer comes back, "rest", then you should rest. If the answer comes back "Harden up!", then you need to get your ass down to 100 Factory! The new sessions start Monday April 5th. I'm looking for people who are going to commit 100% attendance at their workouts, if you are unable to be at the workout then I want you to tell me that you got your workout in that day somewhere else. Hell, if you know you're not going to be able to make it then let me know ahead of time and I'll give you a workout to do. Obviously if you're sick or injured, then rest. Other than that? No excuses! Who's in?