November Goals

You Won't Know What You're Striving For Without Goals.
Do you have some?
What are they? 
Are they written down?


My Training Goals For November 2010

• 3-4 Resistance Training Days/ Week (70,000 +lbs in volume -if it tests well)
• 8-9 Hours of Sleep/ Night
• Learn/Choreograph 2 New Zumba Fitness Routines/ Week
• Prepare and Send my Zumba Education Specialist Pre-Screening Package to Zumba Fitness (Corporate HQ)
• Improve Sprint, Box Jump and Tire Strike Numbers by 50%

My Physique Goals For November 2010

• Lose 1-2 inches from thighs
• Lose .5-1 inches from calves
• Continue upward trend in neck and shoulder measurements
• Continue downward trend in hip and waist measurements

My Fitness Teaching Obligations For November 2010

• Monday: Zumba Gold
• Tuesday: Spin Class and Zumbatomic
• Wednesday: Zumba and Yoga
• Thursday: Yoga and Zumba
• Friday: Zumba
• Saturday: Yoga
• Sunday: Yoga

"More Is NOT Better. Better is Better" Could You Be Overtraining?

On your fitness journey, there are many paths that can be taken to accomplish your goals: group exercise, resistance training (or weights), endurance training and more. Variety is a critical component in your fitness success. Without varied types of overload (or exercises) you risk plateaus. But what do you do when you are training wisely (choosing exercises that make you better), training consistently, eating healthy meals and still not getting the results you want? Consider rest.


In order to get the results you want, and avoid injury and other potentially serious consequences, your body needs adequate time to recover. This means you need to rest. You need adequate sleep and some days off from exercise. Overtraining syndrome can occur when the body faces more overload than it has time to recover from.


Not sure if you may be overtraining? Consider the Symptoms of Overtraining

• Lack of energy
• Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Sudden drop in performance
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Decreased immunity
• Decrease in training capacity / intensity
• Moodiness and irritability
• Depression
• Loss of enthusiasm for the sport/activity
• Decreased appetite


If you have been experiencing any of these symptoms consider consulting your family’s physician, taking a few days or even a week off of exercise and working more recovery time into your training schedule.

Also, consider discussing your workout regime with a trainer. Just because you are doing a lot of exercise does not necessarily mean you are doing what will get you the best results. “More is not better. Better is better. And better is more.” (Frankie Faires)

Training Update: Chin-up Victory!

Last Tuesday I did 1 Unassisted Chin-Up.
On Wednesday I did 2.
Yesterday  (Friday) I did 2 in a row and 5 total.

My goal is 10 unassisted without rest.  I'll do it by November.

I'm stronger than ever before because I use the Gym Movement Protocols.  I hit Personal Records every single time I train.  I am losing body fat and inches every few weeks.
 
The bottom line is that I get better everyday because I know the Secret to Getting Great Results With Exercise. 

I'll be writing soon about how you too can do unassisted chin-ups and pull-ups.

How Hard Do You Think You Have To Work To Lose Weight?

I was at a Health and Wellness Fair this afternoon talking about Megan K Fitness, Zumba Fitness and exercise in general. There, I had the opportunity to chat with a gentleman who told me that he could never lose any weight because he already works so hard at his job.  He told me that in order for him to lose anything more he'd have to kill himself (ie: work to the point of exhaustion) at the gym.  

This perplexed me. Not the bit about how hard he works on his beer delivery route (I had already had the route described to me and it sounds pretty intense), but the bit about having to kill himself in order to make progress or see any results.  

I'm a personal trainer, and group exercise instructor and have a love affair with exercise and movement. I may be a bit biased because I love exercise, but I don't see weight loss as a challenge because I watch people losing weight every day.  I know that shows like the "Biggest Loser" spread some pretty nasty ideas about what personal training is all about, but I didn't think that people really believed that they would have to work themselves into the ground in order to lose weight. 

Am I wrong? 

What do you think it takes to lose weight?  What do you think you'd have to change and or give up? What about your diet; what kind of changes would you have to make to your diet, to progress and meet your physique goals? Do you think its possible to set Personal Records everyday?

I'm so curious to hear your responses that I'm giving one free telephone coaching call for the most in depth response, e-mailed to me by October 19th.  And in next week's newsletter, I will address all of your responses. 

In good health,

Megan K

megankfitness@gmail.com

Gym Movement Protocols: Success Story by Captain Kyle Kruger USAF- deployed in Kuwait

I started using the gym movement protocols on August 1^st, 2010.  I am 31 years old and in the military, so fitness is a very important part of my life.

I can say without a doubt that using these techniques has given me faster results than any program has ever given me before, with a lot less work, less workout time, and without dreading the next workout.  I’ve done it all before – simple weight lifting 3 times a week working on different body parts, P90X, cross-fit, yoga, running, sports, even step aerobics. 

I was a little skeptical of the gym movement protocols and the theory of bio-feedback when Megan introduced me to it. I watched the Grip and Rip DVDs (that explain how to use the Gym Movement Protocols) and the more I learned about them and biofeedback, the more I thought “this makes sense.”  Do what your body wants to do that day, and you will improve.  I always think back to my workout routines before where everything was pre-planned for me and all the times that I really hurt after a workout.  You shouldn’t hurt. Hurting doesn’t make sense.  What really makes sense to me is construction workers.  I used to work in construction and that’s why the gym movement protocols really made sense to me.  A construction worker lifts heavy things day in and day out.  If you’ve met someone who works in construction, they most likely have certain parts of their body that are much stronger than the normal person.  Why?  Because they do the same heavy lifting day in and day out.  They are not sore every single day. They improve every day. 

I was impressed that on many workouts I would actually end up feeling better after the workout.  That’s not supposed to happen, right?  Shouldn’t you be drained, exhausted, sweating?  With the gym movement protocols, I felt like I wasn’t working as hard as I should be.  But the results speak for themselves.

My workout routine has been using gym movement protocols a pretty consistent 4 days a week for the last 70 days, and of course with a good diet (but I still have my big chocolate chip cookie, ice cream, pie or cake every day).  Since August 1st, I’ve gained 2 pounds of muscle mass and lost 6 pounds of fat mass.  I went from 16% body fat to 13% body fat.  I lost 2 inches on my waistline.  I set a new personal record every time I go to the gym, without pain, and that keeps me coming back for more.

I’m really looking forward to what another 70 days will bring me.

Ciltius altius fortius

Faster Higher Stronger

Kyle Kruger

Kuwait

My Training Progress from June to October: down 5% body fat and way stronger

A lot of friends and colleagues have been asking me about my progress and what I've been doing differently which tells me its time for an update. 

Within the fitness industry, there are a lot of fitness professionals who never seem to change.  I believe that your fitness coach should be getting better, all the time, just like you.  

To show you that I'm just as serious about my progress as I am yours, I'm recording the highlights- from my training journal- of what I've done in the last 5 months.

June 2010

I was introduced to the Gym Movement Protocols with the Grip and Rip DVD.  A DVD made by Adam T Glass and Brad Nelson that covers how to use auto regulatory training (or biofeedback- what your body tells you) in order to choose exercises that make you better every time you work out.  

In 9 years in the fitness industry, I've seen a lot of things come and go but nothing excited me quite like this. I read testimonials of people moving better, seeing dramatic physique changes and doing it all safely and with ease- without the grueling exhausting workouts and limiting diets prescribed by so many trainers.  

I began using the Protocols and getting Personal Records each time I lifted. Check out #preveryday on Twitter to see all the other people having success, using the protocols, each time they lift. 


In June 2010 my body fat was the highest it has ever been at 25% and my strength was low.  This was due to a combination of a couple months of severe depression, lousy food and little exercise.


July 27th 2010
24% Body fat 135lbs


August 2010
23% Body fat 134.6lbs


September 5th 2010
21% 135lbs


Sept 27th 
20.9% 136lbs


October 4th
19.8% 134lbs


These are just a few of my training Highlights:
Deadlift June 2010: 55lbs
Deadlift September 2010: 175lbs


Rows June: 25lbs
Rows September: 40lbs


KB Swings June: 12kg 
KB Swings September: 20kg


Chin-ups and Pull-ups June: 85lbs assisted 
September: 15lbs assisted/  Very shortly I'll be doing them unassisted!


I feel incredible.  I leave the gym feeling energized and I still eat pretty much whatever I want. 


Success is easy when you know the steps to take!
Join me on the path of perpetual progress.


Megan K

Yoga: How To Begin Your Home Practice

Yoga can be a very personal, deeply spiritual experience.  It can feel amazing, relaxing and rejuvenating.  You may be knew to Yoga or you may already have a deep love affair with your practice.  Either way, your home practice is a critical piece of your relationship with Yoga.

In my house in ND I had a space in the basement dedicated to Yoga.  It was a clean area with a small rug, a yoga mat, a little space heater (for the cold winters), a pillow and a blanket.  I loved my Yoga space.  The dogs knew they were not allowed in that area and each time I went there, I knew that I was there to either meditate or practice the physical asanas.

It isn't necessary to have a space dedicated to your practice, but it helps.
It isn't necessary to have a Yoga mat in order to practice.
Your "home practice" can occur anywhere as long as you are your guide.

To get started, I recommend that you:

• Make a list of all the poses you feel comfortable with and any others you're working on or would like to be able to practice with confidence. 
• Set aside some time for your practice: 10-20 minutes a couple of times a week
• Limit outside distractions ie: turn off your cell phone, have your spouse look after the children etc. 
• Play whatever music you'd like-,that you feel will help you focus on the moment and what you're doing (I know people who have practiced yoga to Classic Rock. It really doesn't matter, as long as you're working on presence.)
• Begin with flowing gentle movements and then take your practice wherever your intuition guides you.

Hard fast rules about warm-ups, cool-downs, sequences of poses etc.can apply in Yoga, but I don't believe they should. Everything should be taken as a guideline that can serve you, but that isn't necessarily right for you all the time. Remember, you are your best guide. Before you practice, ask yourself what you need on that day.   

Pose Sequences:

• Breathing and Centering
• Gentle Flowing Movements (including the Half Series: Plank, Crocodile, Upward Facing Dog and Downward Facing Dog)
• Sun Salutations 
• Standing Postures, Flowing Sequences if Desired
• Balancing Poses
• Back bends and Core work (although these can be and usually are incorporated throughout your practice)
• Seated Poses
• Inversions like Shoulderstand, Plow, Handstand, Headstand, Wheel, and Legs Up the Wall
• Reclined Poses like Reclined twists, knees to chest etc.
• Corpse Pose or Final Relaxation

In the West, we tend to view Yoga as strictly physical asanas and breath work.  Ulitmately, it is much more than that.  But what makes Yoga truly beautiful is that it can serve as a vehicle for presence in the moment.

Namaste,

Megan

Please e-mail: megankfitness@gmail.com with questions

Everything Makes You Better Or Worse: How To Choose Exercises That Make You Better

In life, everything we do makes us better or worse.  This includes the foods we eat, the environments we are in and the movements we make.  A good portion of what affects us is unavoidable, like work.  For example, if you work at a desk you have to be seated, for most of your day.  Granted, you can choose to adjust the seat hight, shift the position of the computer monitor and set yourself up so that you answer the phone in a way that doesn't stress your neck, but none of those factors change the fact that you are still seated, at a desk, for most of the day.  

So when it comes time to leave work what can you do to make yourself better?  You can choose exercises that are specifically targeted toward balancing your body.  

If you are seated all day long at a desk, then exercises that allow you to fully extend your legs are likely to be good for you.  If you are seated, you may also be rounding you upper back.  As a result, exercises that help you return to a more normal "neutral" posture are also likely to be good for you. 

The take home lesson from this is that, in order to choose exercises that make you better, you should look at what positions you are in for most of the day and test out the opposite.* See if this helps you.  If you aren't sure how to do this, contact me and we'll set up a coaching call.  Remember, exercise is only partly about physique goals, mostly it is about quality of life.  

In good health,

Megan K

*For the most benefit from exercise, I encourage everyone to test their exercises.  The Gym Movement Protocols allow for anyone to test an exercise and see if it makes him/her better.  This is a simple, fast process that can be applied to body weight exercises, sports, machines, free weights, even sex.  Yes, I did write that.  Its your life, and everything makes you better or worse.  Why not choose better?  I do.  

Your Body, Your Right To Say No and How To Protect It.

Dear Readers, 

It is about to get personal and very real.  I'm going to tell you a story, and it may upset you.  I have put off doing so for far too long, but I believe that the good that can come from this story far outweighs the discomfort I feel telling it. 


This post is for the 70 plus percent of women who have been sexually assaulted, 
please know that you are not alone. 


To the men who have hurt us, may you die a slow and painful death. 

MK

A little over 7 months ago I was raped and physically assaulted, by someone I knew and cared about. During the attack, I repeatedly asked the man to stop, I struggled and I fought back. I made critical mistakes in my self-defense, that could have prevented and stopped the attack- mistakes that I don't want any of you to ever make.              

Immediately following the attack, I went to the hospital and went through the invasive process of reporting it and being examined. That day, I learned that my attacker couldn't be charged until the evidence had been processed in the state crime lab and that this could take months, and months it took. 

When all was said and done, and the evidence had been processed,  the police detective was apologetic as he explained " sometimes we know someone has committed a crime but we don't have enough evidence to get a conviction, so the case has to be dropped".            

I did everything I could to stand up for myself and the system failed me. 
It has failed others and it will continue to do so. 
But this isn't about me or the system. 
This is about self-defense and You. 
This is about protecting what is yours: Your body. 


Shortly after the attack, a close friend said to me (during a discussion about violence) 
"if you aren't prepared to kill, you give up your right to live" fF.
An Ugly Truth. But he's right. Initially, I didn't want to learn how to protect myself because I didn't ever want to have to use violence. I hate violence. It saddens and sickens me, but I hate being a victim more.  
I spent the first couple of months, following the attack scared.  I still go to bed at night scared.  I hear things that freak me out, I have nightmares, and I have a very hard time trusting men- period. But I am working on it. And part of what I'm doing is learning how to defend myself. I am studying combattives and I'm very aware of my physical surroundings, and now despite the uneasiness I feel, I'm telling you my story because I don't want anyone I know, or come in contact with to ever experience these feelings.  

When it comes to self-defense there are many potentially fatal errors we make.  We fail to recognize potential dangers in our environments, we fail to recognize that anyone could  harm us, and during attack we can fail to recognize the severity of the situation.  
IF Someone threatens you, or makes a violent or menacing gesture he has shown that he is prepared to hurt you, and you must be prepared to react accordingly- with violence. 

I am not an expert in self-defense, but in order to regain emotional stability in my life I did some research and studied from an expert. 


Ladies, it is absolutely useless to learn how to punch and kick a male attacker. Nine times out of ten your attacker will outweigh you.  You need to know how to target the parts of his body that will do the most damage the fastest so that you can get away from him/her and save your life! 


Sources that are absolute MUSTS for anyone who wants to protect him/herself include Target Focus Training, and Blauer Tactical Systems.  If you are anywhere near Minneapolis, MN I strongly encourage you to contact Adam Glass for information on his self-defense courses.


Ladies and Gentlemen, Don't just read this and say to yourself, "I should do this".  This isn't something you should do, this is something you must do. 70 plus percent is an atrocious, disgusting number and what's worse is that means that at least 1/5 men have raped and even more will.  


Megan K

To Run Or Not To Run? Examining Running For Fat Loss

Last weekend, the Movement Minneapolis hosted trainers from around the world who have been certified in the Gym Movement Protocols or who are in the process of becoming certified.  This certification is by invitation only and boasts some of the best trainers in the world.  

During one of the breaks, I had the opportunity to chat with my colleague, Sean Geddes-endurance athlete and owner of Invictus Vires in Portland, OR.  We discussed the subject of running for fat loss.  Both of us have had clients come to us with the goal of running either a marathon or half marathon.  We have also encountered clients who took up running in order to loose body fat.  


While there can be nothing inherently wrong with running marathons or half marathons an overweight client is not well served taking up running as his or her primary means to achieving fat loss goals.  


Everything that we do with our bodies has a cost, and the cost of running is a dramatically increased load on the skeletal system.  When a person runs he or she exerts 6X his or her bodyweight in force.  That is a huge impact on the joints.  If you are even 15-20 lbs over weight this extra mass will take its toll on your body.  


If your goals include fat loss, and you want to change your physique as quickly as possible, use fast movements with kettlebells, weights or your body weight.  Also keep your movements large.  Large, quick weight baring exercises will yield results much more quickly than running.  If you enjoy being outside and exercising consider taking your workouts outside or walking until your body fat is lower.  


Remember, everything we do either makes us better or worse, so whenever possible choose better.  


In good health,
Megan K

My Journey To Become A Super Hero: Part II

During my childhood, I learned a lot about becoming a Super Hero from the Care Bears, Jem and The Holograms and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In my late teens and early twenties the influences shifted to movies.

I had grown up watching 80's classics like Star Wars, Flashdance, Top Gun, Karate Kid and Dirty Dancing but it wasn't until I was in my teens that I really gleaned knowledge, that only these movies could provide. Knowledge that has propelled me along the grueling path to becoming a Super Hero.

With Flashdance and Dirty Dancing I solidified my love of dance and 80's pop music. All Super Heroes need hobbies. But most importantly, I learned about the importance of having a Back-up Plan

The flashy dancing welder, from Flashdance, taught me about the importance of a day job when persuing your dreams. That's right ladies and gentleman, I'm only a personal trainer and group exercise instructor until I can become a full-time Super Hero. And yes, you guessed it, this Super Hero is always going to be a dancer.

With Top Gun I learned all about the importance of a wingman.  The odds of surviving any tricky situation dramatically increase with a wingman, at least that was always the case in high school!

Star Wars taught me to be absolutely sure I wasn't adopted and to always be wary of the dark side.  It is tempting, it is ever present and it is strong.  The dark side isn't just a way of life, its also those who seek to crush your dreams.  I'm always wary of those who laugh at people with goals, and you should be too, even if their goals are lofty like becoming a Super Hero.


With the movie Karate Kid, I recognized the importance of discipline and having good teachers.  When you want to master the kind of serious skills necessary to become a Super Hero you need to have outstanding teachers and rock hard discipline and determination.

Looking back on my teenage years I know that I could have worked harder and played less, but I'm pleased that I took what I did from those years. Thanks to the awesome movies of the 80's,  I entered my twenties well positioned and much closer to accomplishing my goal of becoming a Super Hero.

Stay tuned for Part III in my Journey to Become a Super Hero.

Getting Your Fitness On Track with the Gym Movement Protocols: A Huge Offer For You!

Autumn is officially here, and I'd like to take the time to extend each of you an incredible offer, but there's one catch, in order to take advantage you must refer one friend to either the Movement Minneapolis or Megan K Fitness.

The Movement Minneapolis is offering 1 Free Week of Physique Transformation Classes.
Our participants average 4 inches lost in two weeks (or 6 sessions).
We have helped people improve their appearance, sleep better, move better, feel better, eliminate physical ailments, and did I mention look better?
To begin, making the best progress of your life call the Movement Minneapolis (612) 568-4097 by October 5th.

For those of you who are at a distance I'm offering one 30 minute phone consultation.

Using the Gym Movement Protocols, you can expect to make make progress, get better everyday and meet and exceed your goals! This is Your opportunity to learn about the protocols and to get your fitness on track.


It is not only possible, but easy.

In good health,
Megan K
701-578-4311
megankfitness@gmail.com
www.areyouthemovement.com

Yes folks, this is how I lost 1.1% bodyfat and 4 inches in 15 days.