There are 88 days left in the 2009...how's that "I want to get in better shape" resolution from LAST New Year's Eve coming along? If you are like most Americans, you might still be struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't worry...the good news is that today is a great day to get a jump start on changing the way you feel, the way you look and to make the coming 2010 the FITTEST year ever!

Here are 4 simple steps you can use right now to create in change your body, even during the upcoming calorie-fest of a holiday season (think cookies, cakes, candy, Thanksgiving meals, etc.).

Start TODAY and you will see the wheels of change get into motion:

1) Never, ever, EVER give up.

If you stumble, get back up. I know this is brain-dead simple...but so
powerful. Get social support from a friend; especially in a like-minded
setting like our results-driven team at Sexy Core Boot Camp. When you surround
yourself with that kind of motivation, it will make things a lot easier to move
forward during challenging times.

2) Be consistent with your nutrition compliance.

Stick to whole, natural foods (unprocessed) 90% of the time and you will change
your body - guaranteed. The best foods are the ones WITHOUT an ingredient list. (IE: veggies/fruits/lean meats).

You can avoid junk food, sugar, and mindless
snacking by simply planning ahead and packing/preparing better choices
to safe-guard against these waist-expanding mistakes.

3) Make small, baby step changes today for big time life-long
changes that will guarantee you'll never get out of shape again.

Once those strong healthy LIFESTYLE habits are locked into place,
they are going to have immense power in keeping on track when you
those old nasty habits try to creep back into your life.

Even when you are feeling a little heavy from a huge holiday party,
your LIFESTYLE habits will take over and keep you in the right direction.

4) Be accountable for making the right nutrition and exercise choices.

With a food journal, it will help you eliminate the mistakes you are making.
It will put into writing what you are putting in your mouth...that is powerful.
I've said it before. Surround yourself with like-minded folks who will NOT let
you fail. Don't skip your workouts. Be accountable to a team effort like our
campers enjoy.

5) Exercise smarter, not longer for better results.

There is more research than ever that tells us short, high-burst exercise is
WAY more effective for burning fat and changing your body than slow boring cardio ever could. In fact, simply going out for a jog or hitting the treadmill for an hour produces LITTLE results when it comes to transforming your body.

Don't get me wrong. Movement, general exercise is good (although sometimes a bit
boring).

But if you are all about better, faster results and wish to transform your body in the shortest amount of time, you better change up the way you workout, like we
do during our new, explosive routines at Sexy Core Boot Camp.

There you have it...now get ready for a fantastic season of fat loss and body transformation!

Hey Everyone...

I'm baaaack. Hawaii was awesome, but no matter how much
fun you have - it's always good to be home!

OK, so here's the question...you want to squeeze in
a quick, powerful workout while you are on vacation near
the beach.

Do you go to the hotel gym here?



Or here?



Yeah...that's what I thought - me too.

Here's one of the workouts from Honolulu:

Hey Sexy Core Seekers -

Curtis here...as I prepare to jump on a plane for Hawaii, I wanted to leave you with an expert guest blog post from my good friend and colleague, Christopher Reed.

It's about something we all can use a little more of...grab some green tea, sit back and get focused!

Talk too you all soon...take it away, Chris!!

FOCUS

Before getting into the topic of this blog posting Focus, I would like to thank Curtis for the opportunity to address you- his readership. I consider this a great honour as I consider Curtis to be a great Personal Trainer, Instructor and an excellent leader with great passion for what he does. Curtis consistently strives to deliver the best to his clients and has their deepest goals at the heart of all of his actions- so it is my pleasure to help and share my humble experience with you knowing that Curtis believes that this will be of direct benefit to you, so I also thank you the reader.

In reading this posting you are someone whose life has been changed because of Curtis - undoubtedly he has helped you to start to journey down the path of positive lifestyle change and healthy living. In Curtis you have a dedicated resource and ally that will consistently strive to provide to you the resources, tools, and people to deliver you to your optimal level of fitness; yet, even with all that Curtis can do for you, ultimately the power is within your own grasp to both actualize and realize your true potential!

Truly, you can be your own worst enemy and critic or best ally. It all depends on your mental toughness. Who are you when Curtis is no longer around to hold you accountable? (Accountable to yourself ultimately) Hence the focus of this posting is on THE FOCUS

Focus may be defined as:

“The distinctness or clarity of an image rendered by an optical system.”
I would like to use this as a working framework. When breaking down this definition a few words stick out to me: distinctness, clarity, rendered image, and optical system. Looking at these individual components in isolation will shed some light on my perspective of FOCUS and in doing so I aspire to change the manner in which you determine what your FOCUS is when you are establishing not only your fitness goals but life goals as well (in my view the two go hand-in-hand). Make no mistake I will challenge you to take action and change your perception!

Distinctness / Clarity to me these two terms are synonymous with one another. When an image or goal is distinct it is sharp and clear. In goal setting the clearer our vision is of this goal the better we are able to see the steps involved in accomplishing it. When goal-setting do you work toward a goal or do you start with your ultimate goal and work backward?

Personally, I prefer the latter. I like to start with the ultimate goal and work backward. Now, the next part of the discussion gets a little meta-physical. Reality and time is a concept that you construct in your mind; ultimately your perception affects both your individual reality and perception of time. In essence your reality is a piece of realty that you occupy for a space in time. You can be anything or anyone that you want to be- don’t believe it, know it!

You want to be fit, you want to be a millionaire, you want to be the best Mom/Dad; becoming is in the how. Ask yourself how would a fitter me behave? If I were a millionaire how would I make fiscal decisions? If I want to be the best Mom / Dad, spouse...whatever; HOW can I be that version of myself? Step into that world, step into that realty for a moment. Do it right now. Be that person now!

I want you to think of a fitness goal, write it down and give your goal a deadline as to when you want to accomplish it, now I want you to think about this goal. I want you to see yourself as having already accomplished this goal (remember there is no such thing as time) how do you look? How do you hear yourself talking? How do you smell (just stay with me here)? How does your food taste? How do you move? Make the experience as sensual as possible.

In activating as many of the senses as possible your mind creates those sensations in your body, your mind starts to fire all of your little microscopic neurons in excitation over the endless possibility that you are capable of. You are truly limitless! You are truly transcendent in your power! Feel that energy flowing within you from the inside out. Affirm yourself in a wave of accomplishment. See it, hear it, smell it, taste it, feel it and ultimately know and believe it! See this image clearly; step up and be that ultimate you NOW!

Unless you have the courage to step into the skin of who you want to be you will be trapped. FOCUS on your goal and become that better you, ask yourself right now HOW would the ideal me act? What would the ideal me say? Think of how the ideal you would be and be that person- you already are yourself; aren’t you? (meta-physics again)

A rendered image is our visual representation of what is. A rendered image is our perception, a re-presentation of reality. If our perception involves re-presentations than could we not construct images in any way we choose? Ah, therein lays the crux- choice. In making choice we can no longer be victims; we no longer get the opportunity to hide from life. The very nature of choice involves an implicit call to action! Choose to re-present yourself in every moment as that ideal you- be courageous, take action and be that ideal you now! Stop hiding. Stop making excuses as to why you cannot do something and think of reasons to support how you can do and be the greatest version of you right now- in this moment! Excuses are like a$$holes everyone has one and more often than not they are full sh*t.
I am not saying that to offend but it really is that simple. No bullsh*t.

As I said from the top of the article you are your own worst enemy- except that responsibility. Learn to think creatively and see opportunity in obstacles- there are always ways around or over circumstances! Every stone that is in your way can become a pebble depending on your view, your re-presentation, depending on your Focus. Learning how to see your ultimate goal will allow you to see only the result you want. In adapting that vantage point you will become that result and live it daily. Athletes have moments like this where everything they aspire to be in a moment comes to fruition- it is called being in the zone. I believe if you can be there once, you can always be there. It is all up to you. You have the choice; you have the power to make that decision right now!

An optical system is a tool that improves our ability to see. It will often increase our own sight and allow us to see things and realize capabilities that we otherwise may not have believed existed. As this relates to your individual fitness goals and desire to reach and become that ultimate you Curtis is your optical system. In him, as I said from the top, you have the resources, tools and network of people (one of these people being me) to help you achieve your optimal level of fitness. My aim with this posting is to cause a paradigm shift within you- the reader. This paradigm shift is a challenge! I challenge you to dare to dream big! I challenge you to be that ultimate you that you can see, smell, hear, taste and feel RIGHT NOW.

In the moments where you feel like your vision is getting blurry or that you may have lost your way ground yourself, get your vision checked; consult with your optical system (Curtis) let it (him) help you re-focus and get you back on track. See who you want to be; make a choice to take action and become the ultimate you that you deserve to be RIGHT NOW! Do it for no one other than yourself, affirm in your own mind that you are exactly who you want to be, you are one in the same person right now and start living the life that want to.


About the author: Christopher Reed is the CEO of Apex Training Systems a fitness company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During Christopher’s 14 year career in fitness he has been a Personal Trainer, Group Exercise Instructor, Health Center Director, Motivational Speaker, Defensive Tactics Instructor, and Innovator having created a unique group exercise program known as Kettleboxing™. Currently Christopher has aspirations of becoming an author, featured speaker, and world traveler certifying Trainers to teach Kettleboxing™.

His passion for and devotion to both his career and the people with whom he comes into contact are relentless. An accomplished professional with several certifications of distinction; the most recent of which being the first Canadian to become a Certified Kettlebell Trainer under Steve Cotter and Ken Blackburn of the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation, Christopher is as relentless in his pursuit of continued personal and professional growth as he is in the servicing of his clients. For further information or to contact Christopher he can be reached through his website at http://www.acheiveyourpeak.com

Without further delay...

Taking in an amazing 647 votes and our 1st transformation contest winner:

MR. ERIC CHAPMAN!

Eric is getting married in just a few short months (I'm guessing that had
something to do with his mindset on training and getting such amazing results) ;)

Our 2nd place winner was a close runner up with an impressive 571 votes:

MS. AMANDA POWELL!

Amanda has shown ASTOUNDING dedication to taking control back of her life - the way
she looks, the way she feels and the way she stays fit...and we couldn't be more
proud of her - great job, Amanda!

Our final contestant raked in a cool 479 votes:

MS. ERIKA PORA

Erika is a camp favorite...beautiful, kind and full of GREAT ENERGY! She has
changed her body, her life and is ready to keep pushing to new levels of success -
let's keep it up!

Eric will be receiving FREE BOOT CAMP TIL 2010, along with a gift basket from
my friends at Taglio Salon in Scottsdale, valued at well over $300.

Amanda will also be receiving a gift basket from Taglio Salon (the same $300+ version Eric will receive)...can you tell Taglio HOOKED us up or what?!

Seriously...you gotta check this place out: Taglio Salon (101/Scottsdale Road)

And...Eric will be receiving a free total body massage from Gail at Massage at Arrowhead Creekside (a $75 value)!

Our next transformation contest details will be announced soon...and if you want to take a 2 week free shot at the most results-driven, results-guaranteed boot camp community in the state...you need to get over HERE:

http://www.sexycorebootcamp.com

Thanks everyone!

-Curtis

Monday 8-24-09 Mayhem Monday

Station#1- Upper Body Circuit: 5 minutes
1- DB Push-up Rows @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
2- DB Shoulder Presses @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
3- DB Bicep Curls @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
4- DB Push-ups @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
30 s rest and then repeat

Station#2- Core Circuit: 5 minutes
1/3- DL Hip Extension @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
2/4- V-Up @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
30 s rest and then repeat

Station#3- Lower Body Circuit: 5 minutes
1/3- Double Lunge (left leg) @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
2/4- Double Lunge (right leg) @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
30 s rest and then repeat

Station#4- Core Circuit: 5 minutes
1/3- Spiderman Mountain Climbers @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
2/4- Squat Thrusts @ 30 s work, 0 s rest
30 s rest and then repeat

Here's some video highlights of the fun:

This one is a fun one, folks.
Literally, a little something special for everyone in camp.
Enjoy!

20-10 Complete Body Blubber Annihilation

1-Prisoner Squat
2-DB Chest Press
3-Knee Ins
4-SL Hip Extensions
5-Diagonal Lunges
6-BW Row
7-Side Pillar (+knee to elbow variation)
8-Split Jump + Squat Jump
9-T-up/Grasshoppers
10-Stationary Sprints/lying Snow Angels

Oh, what the heck...let's have a Screamer.
Hit the timer for 8 seconds of tuck jumps and
12 seconds of resting front pillars. ;)

The video is below...but before you go off and tear into a killer
workout...you better be prepared with THE most important training tool.

I'll give you a clue...

You can't 'out-train' inferior nutrition choices. Period.

The best program in the world will always fail if you are eating
supportively and fail to fully RECOVER.

There it is...the super secret, top level insider trick...RECOVERY.

Alright, so maybe not so secret - but the reality is that MOST get it wrong.

It truly makes NO sense whatsoever to workout with such intensity and effort to reach your goals, IF you are not putting the 'good stuff' back in to recoop and RECOVER. The key is nutrient balance.

Once more because it is that important: NUTRIENT BALANCE is essential for RECOVERY.

Without it, you are spinning your wheels going nowhere fast.

PS: I am NOT a sales rep here...I am simply sharing what I know will work and what I can fully trust. (I am bombarded with the endless question - what should I eat after a workout - and I am just giving you the best answer I can).

Prograde Workout has been an essential part of my nutrition plan for the past year, it helped me and keep up with the workouts, stay strong through the workout and RECOVER BEST from the workouts.

You know you are going to buy supplements somewhere - why not get them through someone you KNOW (me), someone you can trust (me) and can come back to for any questions you might have (me) ;).

Give it a shot and save a few buck in the process - but the 10% ends this Friday - here you go - see for yourself ->

Prograde Workout >>> Click HERE <<<<

OK...so you are all set now...crank out a hot one here:

20-10 H.I.T. Workout of the Day (Cardio Emphasis)

Exercise #1: Sandbag Relay
Exercise #2: Jump Rope Variation

Enjoy!