Only About 20 More Days...

…before the Big Move! Yep, as of April 1st, we’re going to be moving to our new building at 701 S. Eastwood Dr (next door to Goodyear, in the same building as State Farm Insurance).

It’s VERY exciting. We’re going to have a larger mat area, more room altogether and a Parking Lot! We’re in a busier area, too, with lots more shopping and many more choices in eating as well. (There’s a Quizno’s, Jimmy John’s, Burger King, and Dunkin’ Donuts all within a short walk on our side of Rt. 47.)

The new building will also enable us to expand our fitness classes, too. We’re committed to making fitness part of our student’s lives – and having room for more fitness equipment really adds to the fun. More fun = more fitness.

Our Mixed Martial Arts classes will benefit from more continuous room for sparring and grappling. Our new BLUE mat should be arriving this week.

There’s lots of work to be done still, but we’re very close. Jim Zei, of Zei Decorating, has been working on the painting this week and it’s looking GREAT!

We’re going to have an Grand Opening Weekend Party, too. It will be a chance to see the new place, try a new class, work out on some different equipment - and maybe even win some FREE classes!

Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption

There appears to be some misunderstanding about whether or not exercise actually continues to burn calories after you're through with your workout. The answer, as near as science can tell, is an unequivocal "Yes".

The scientific term for the phenomena is EPOC - Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. At the finish of your workout, your body attempts to return to it's previous resting state - as well as adapting it to the exercise performed by repairing muscles, building new muscles, increasing bone density (if you lifted weights!) and refueling those muscles by replenishing glycogen stores.

Glycogen is the form of sugar that's actually stored in your muscles. It's the "gas" for your "engine". It powers the brain, heart, other involuntary muscles - just about everything.

During exercise, when more energy is needed, your body converts fat into free fatty acids that get dumped into the blood stream where they can be used as fuel (along with the glycogen). At the end of the workout, they help energize the repair process, helping the body rebuild and recover. Any unused free fatty acids are reconverted back into fat for later use.

(Or storage. Sigh.)

Studies have shown that the EPOC effect is greatest immediately after exercise and slowly tapers away. This raised metabolism, in one study, was still observable as long as 38 hours after the workout, but in general the effect has diminished substantially by between 3 to 14 hours after your exercise.

Anaerobic exercise seems to cause EPOC to a greater extent than aerobic exercise does. That means that lifting causes it more than running. And, it appears that increasing either the length of time spent exercising or the intensity of the exercise (or both!) increases the EPOC effect.

Bottom line? Exercise not only burns calories NOW, but it continues to burn them at a better than resting rate for several hours after your workout. And... stored fat IS used for fuel during your exercise - but whatever isn't needed for muscle repair and rejuvenation is sent back into storage.

Our Kids Won't Outlive Us?

Wow. I heard that on the news this morning. With the rising obesity rates among children, their projected lifespans are MUCH shorter. Fat kids become fat adults that not only die younger, but have many more health problems along the way, dooming themselves to a lesser quality life than what our generation had.

Luckily, there's still time, but it's going to need a large shift in thinking among parents. Years ago, kids just got up and ran around the neighborhood for 6, 7 or even 8 hours a day. We climbed trees, crawled under bushes, played tag and even "ghost in the graveyard" if we could get the whole neighborhood to stay out after dark.

Has your kid ever climbed a tree?

The thinking shift that's needed by parents is to realize that THEY have to get their kids involved in as much physical activity as possible. It's simply NOT happening by itself - and school gym classes alone are NOT doing the job.

I almost hate to see Michelle Obama's new "Let's Move" initiative, not because it's not needed (it is!) but because it will probably politicize the whole thing and Republican kids (Are there such things? Really?) won't be allowed by their parents to participate.  Sigh.  What a world.

We started offering a Kid's Fitness program several months ago, allowing our Demo Team to test drive the exercises and activities. They are having a blast - and really challenging themselves with body weight exercises, throwing and lifting kid-size weights and balls - and plenty of running, stretching and jumping, too.

Designed by owner/instructor (and Registered Nurse!) Carolyn Schulenburg, Kid Fitness is 45 minutes of solid exercise. There is also some solid nutrition information - along with a few recipes for sharing Good Food with parents.  Our BootCamp Fitness program is based around a large nutrition component and we're presenting this same information in a Kid Friendly format with weekly handouts and Mat Chats.

We've started with a single class (Saturday mornings) and will expand as needed to help kids get more exercise and help with learning to eat better.

Please give Carolyn a call at 815-334-9662 to schedule your trial class. There is no charge for the introductory lesson, simply come prepared in workout clothes.

You Are What You Eat...

If you want a doughy body - eat dough.

Rule #1. You CAN'T out-train a bad diet.

One Twinkie is 150 Calories. A bottle of Budweiser is close to that at 140 calories.

Each one would cost you about 20 minutes of jogging on the treadmill (for someone in the 180 - 200 lb size).

How about a Whopper with Cheese, french fries and a Chocolate Shake? That combo contains about 1363 calories... and you're on that treadmill for 2 hours and 20 minutes!

About 70 to 80% of any weight loss program is about dieting, not working out. However, good health is isn't just about losing fat - and no amount of dieting is going to improve strength, flexibility - or improve your heart and lungs.

Home treadmills are a great place to hang your laundry - gym memberships can leave you lost, confused, waiting in line - and ultimately vowing to start again next week. Or month.

Our BootCamp guarantees that you will get 3 hours of workout per week - Carolyn will be on the phone if you miss a class, scheduling a make-up session.

It's all good stuff, too. Intelligent exercises that will work you without hurting you in a class designed so you can work at your own speed, pacing yourself or pushing yourself as you need to!

And you will get a huge notebook packed with nutritional information that's updated every class - and supplemented with weekly emails!

Check out the websites - we've got our local one at WoodstockFitness.com and our national one at WoodstockBootcamp.com

We currently meet on Tuesday and Thursday at 7:15PM and Saturday at 11:00AM. We're going to be adding classes in February, too, so please call Carolyn and let her know that you're interested: 815-334-9662. She'll be more than happy to talk with you about your fitness goals for this year and answer any questions you might have as well.

Woodstock BootCamp Video

We've pulled together a quick look at several of our BootCamp Fitness Classes - and if you're curious about what goes on at BootCamp, take a minute to watch:



These days, many of us are concerned about our health, particularly as we grow older. I'm not a medical professional (that's Carolyn's job!) but one opinion I'm pretty confident about is that people were NOT designed to sit around watching TV and eating ice cream.

Been there, done that.

I wish I could tell you that our BootCamp program was as easy as "a bag o' chips and the Sports Network" - but honestly, while not easy, it can be even more fun.

And, with the way Carolyn has designed our program, it's NOT that hard either. You get to work at your own pace, your own intensity level, doing exercises that you feel comfortable with.

Getting up, getting involved, getting a handle on your own fitness is very empowering. Quite simply, it makes you feel good, makes you feel like you're getting something done.

The people that make up our classes are great, too. They are fun, they can be loud, they're always enthusiastic - and they're about as non-judgmental a group that you can imagine.

We've had people that were as young as 15, as old as 72. We've had skinny people looking to build some muscle - and we've had heavy people looking to slim down. We've had people that were trainers themselves - and we've had people that had never touched a fitness band or even heard of a kettlebell.

Come join us - give Carolyn a call at 815-334-9662. She's not going to try and talk you into anything that you're not interested in. (To my knowledge, she's never sold used cars!) She's simply there to answer your questions and offer you the chance to give a BootCamp class a try - for FREE! No pressure, no commitment, just an opportunity to decide if this is a place and a program that you'd be comfortable with and that could give you the support and fun time you're looking for on your road to better health!

Kid's Fun Fitness Program

Our BootCamp program has really taken off, bringing fitness and nutritional information to the nearly 50 adults who have enjoyed working out with us over the last year. But what about the younger crowd? Can kids do a BootCamp style fitness workout?

Yes - and we're pleased to be offering a Fun Fitness class for students from ages 6 - 16 on Saturday mornings at 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM.


Students will run, jump and roll through a variety of fun exercises designed to not only build strength and coordination, but to help offset the sedentary lifestyle that many children have these days. In other words, get 'em off the couch and have them put down the game controller for at least a little while each week!

Each class has been designed under the supervision of Carolyn Schulenburg, WMMA owner and Medical Professional. Each exercise MUST be safe and have proven health benefits for children in order to be considered for the program.

The students will work at their own pace - based on their level of fitness - and every exercise will be presented in a way that allows kids to "ramp it up" when they are ready. Exercises will target endurance, strength building as well as balance and coordination.

Top sports coaches around the country understand that general conditioning during the off season is a necessary component of a successful game season - particularly when it comes to kids. Getting them in shape so that they can learn to compete in a particular sport is not only a winning idea, it helps to cut down on injuries and makes every sport a little safer.

Whether your child is a couch potato in need of some regular exercise or a budding champion wanting to stay in shape in the off season, our Fun Fitness classes are the answer. Please call Mrs. Schulenburg at 815-334-9662 (WMMA) to try a FREE CLASS!

Progress!

We've made a lot of progress on the new building: we're ready to move the furnace now (currently, it's right in the way!). We've started patching drywall - and lots more repairs and fixes in that department need to be done. We've got a Fitness BootCamp Banner out front. We've removed a bunch of walls. New lights will be ordered soon. Lot's of painting to be done - but that will be after Christmas sometime.

There's still a whole lot on the Wish List - moving doors and adding a Parents Room window - but that will all come in due time.


Currently, the best way to help is to get some friends to sign up for our many classes. Starting in January, we're going to be adding Kids Fitness classes to our lineup. Patterned after our BootCamp, these classes will be fun, fast paced activities that will really give our younger members a good, healthy workout. The classes will meet twice a week, but only for 1/2 hour sessions as they will be packed with exercises and workouts. If your kids spend a little too much time in front of the screen, this is a fun way to build some muscle and burn off some energy!

Keep in mind that we also offer Fitness BootCamp, KickBoxing and Self-defense Black Belt classes for adults. If you're feeling tired, getting in better shape is the best way to look and feel better!

And, of course, Mixed Martial Arts is still hot, still a GREAT way to burn calories as well as learn some skills that just might come in handy one day!

Depending on many factors including weather, free time and delivery schedules, we're still hoping to be moving in early next year. Stay tuned!