Help Someone Have An Even Happier Holiday

Tuesday, I mentioned that the 7th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest was getting ready to kick off. Well before that happens, the 6th TT Transformation Contest winners must be crowned.

The finalists have been announced and it's up to you to help choose the winners. Cast your vote here ==> TT Transformation Contest finalists for the winner of the $1000 Grand Prize for men and women.

I think it's interesting to read their essays before voting, too.

These men and women got some incredible results. Some lost belly fat, others got six pack abs, and some guys and gals even got down to single-digit body fat after using the Turbulence Training workouts.

Please take a minute to recognize the hard work of these finalists by voting for your favorite. You only have until Friday, before 9:00 pm EST so go to TT Transformation Contest finalists now.

Congratulations to everyone who participated.

Will you transform you body and maybe even be the next $1000 prize winner?

The 7th TT Transformation Contest starts Sunday, December 27th, right after Christmas. Check back here for details, coming soon.

Holiday Gift Suggestions From Craig Ballantyne

I previously posted my holiday gift suggestions on this blog post
==> Holiday Gifts For Your Favorite Fitness Buff. Today I received the e-mail below from Craig Ballantyne containing an article for you about his favorites. Some of our lists overlap- great minds think alike, right?

Hi Mickey,

Just in time for Christmas, I've written an article for your readers on the "Top 5 Holiday Fitness Gifts".

Top 5 Holiday Fat Burning Gifts
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS

With Christmas gifts and New Year's Resolutions only a few weeks away, these are my top 5 gift suggestions. It doesn't matter if you're buying for someone or if you want to know the best fitness gifts to ask for, these are my 5 best fitness present suggestions.

#5 - A kettlebell



With a kettlebell, you can burn calories, do intervals, work your abs, build strength, and completely sculpt your body. Beginner women should start with a 12-18 pound kettlebell while beginner men can start with an 18 or 35 pound bell.




(Mickey's note: If you can find good quality kettlebells locally, you'll save big bucks on shipping. If money’s no object, go with Dragon Door, considered the best by many.

#4 - A blender to create delicious blender drinks and meals

For about $60-$100 you can get a machine to blend up fruits, veggies, nuts, protein powder, and seeds to create a nutrient dense complete meal to overcome busy mornings or to create the perfect snack or dessert. Once you get started "blending your nutrition", you'll be amazed at what you can create.

#3 - A GymBoss Timer


GymBoss Interval Timer

This little timer allows you to set two different intervals and will alert you when each interval is up. It's a cheap - $20 - tool that will help you organize your workouts and maximize your results.

#2 - A Stability Ball



The stability ball is one of the most versatile fitness tools, and it allows you to exercise your abs and back of your legs better than any bodyweight only exercises.



#1 - The Turbulence Training Fat Loss System

With Turbulence Training for Fat Loss you can lose fat and sculpt your body in the comfort of your own home, without doing long, slow, boring cardio. It is a proven, guaranteed program that will help you lose belly fat and get a lean, hard, flat stomach.

So those are the 5 best fitness presents you can give - or receive -this year.

Happy Holidays!
Craig Ballantyne

(Mickey’s note: I never said the guy was modest. :-) Seriously, though, Craig knows how many people have transformed their bodies using his Turbulence Training system and he’s passionate about helping more people.

As I’ve said many times before, I’m a TT member and I know how good his program is. If you can’t work with me in Lancaster or if you just hate gyms, Turbulence Training is the fat loss program I would recommend. It's quick, it's not complicated, and it works.

And, you can even try out Turbulence Training for less than the price of a giant, designer coffee at Starbucks.

Click here to give Turbulence Training a 21-day try-out for less than 5 bucks ==> TT 21 Day Trial

Remember, Craig guarantees TT will work so you have nothing to lose. It’s the perfect program for anyone who wants to lose fat, look better and get healthier.)


P.S. Now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of Turbulence Training because Craig is gearing up for his 7th TT Transformation Contest which starts on Sunday, December 27th. Don’t miss your chance to use Turbulence Training to win up to $1000 cash.

You read that correctly. You can win big bucks for getting in shape. Details to follow.

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Get 12 Days of Fitness at Body & Soul for only $20!

Enjoy time at Body & Soul Fitness and join us in the fight against ALS! Get a 12 DAYS OF FITNESS guest pass for your family and friends with a $20 donation to Augies Quest!

100% off all proceeds will go directly to Augies Quest to cure ALS. For more information on Augie's Quest, please click here.

The pass is valid for 12 consecutive days and must be used before 12/31/09.

For more information about how the 12 Days of Fitness works at Body & Soul, check out my previous blog post here ==> 12 Days of Fitness

Stop Wasting Money On Poor Quality Vitamins

Did you know that the same brand of vitamins or other supplemnts can have wildly different potencies from one bottle to the next? If you're tired of taking a crapshot with your nutrition, you may want to check out ProGrade Nutrition, which is having a sale this week.

ProGrade is the brainchild of a couple of fitness pros who wanted to offer quality nutrition products for fitness trainers and I am a ProGrade Partner.

Their website proudly proclaims, "...we are not for everyone. And that's ok with us." So, if you're just looking for the cheapest vitamin without regard for quality, ProGrade is definitely not for you.

ProGrade is GMP certified. On top of that, they are a GMP "A" Rated facility, so what they say is in the bottle really is IN the bottle. It's extremely difficult to get certified and even tougher to get an "A" so if you're looking for good quality nutrition products and don't mind paying a little more for the best, check them out here ==> ProGrade Nutrition


Don't wait. They are having a 15% off sale but it ends this Friday at 11:59 pm EST.

If you want safe, professional grade nutritional products that deliver on their promises - essential fatty acids, multivatmins, delicious nutrition bars (my members were amazed at how good they are), workout drinks, meal replacements, etc. you can find all of those here.

Prograde Nutrition's VGF 25+ multi-vitamin is a blend of 25 vegetable, green and fruit concentrates. There are separate formulas for men and women. They use whole foods in their products rather than a bunch of chemicals and synthetic vitamins created in a lab.

Use the coupon code: holiday15 (Cannot be combined with other offers.)

The 15% discount is applicable to SmartShip (monthly autoship) orders but it only applies to your first purchase, not ongoing orders. However, subsequent monthly orders will renew at the absolute lowest price listed on the site including free shipping.

This is the best sale they've ever had so don't miss it. Order before 11:59 pm EST on Friday to take advantage of the discount. Remember, use the coupon code: holiday15

ProGrade Nutrition

Exercise smarter: Eight Great Fitness Myths Exposed

Just came across this great article via Twitter. Check it out.

Exercise smarter: Eight Great Fitness Myths Exposed

12 Days Gym Use for a $20 Donation to ALS

I just found out about a program that helps people become more fit while also helping find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

ALS destroys the nerve cells controlling muscles, ultimately causing complete paralysis while leaving mental function intact. Survival is typically two to five years after diagnosis, and no cure exists.

Body & Soul donates to a variety of charities and non-profits through used book sales but St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is our primary charity. Until now, it is the only organization I've actively fundraised for through the gym. However, ALS is a horrible disease and my cousin Kathy died from it so being able to contribute to the health of my community while contributing to finding a cure means a lot to me.

Here's how the 12 Days of Fitness works. During December, participating health clubs open their doors to members of the community and invite them to experience 12 consecutive days of fitness at their local fitness center with a donation of $20 to ALS.

It's a great way to get more people, more active, more often and also help raise money for a great cause.

Since Body & Soul is a all-women's facility, I can't offer gym memberships to the guys but...

Since my bootcamp training is co-ed, I've decided to allow any non-member (male or female) who contributes $20 to attend one week (3 days) of bootcamp, even though that program is separate from Body & Soul membership. The regular cost of 4 weeks of bootcamp (12 sessions) is $188 so the week of bootcamp alone is a $47 value.

Bootcamp meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30 PM. Body & Soul is open 7 days a week.

Physical activity this time of year is a must. Exercise helps with stress management and weight control. I hope you will join me for 12 days of fitness- you'll benefit yourself and be contributing to a worthy cause.

If you have any questions about the 12 Days of Fitness program, please feel free to call me at (717) 509-7777.


Pass valid for 12 consecutive days and must be used before 12/31/09

Holiday Gifts For Your Favorite Fitness Buff

Looking to stay as far away from the crowds as possible over the holidays?

Have a fitness buff on your gift list?

You can forget the crowds, save time and promote health by buying fitness related holiday gifts online.

Here are some of my favorites, all are under $30 (unless you're 6'9" or taller):


GymBoss Interval Timer

I'm not usually not one of those people who gets off on gadgets but I love my GymBoss. If you're a regular reader, you know that I'm a big proponent of interval training. Cardio intervals, bodyweight intervals, Tabata training, etc. The GymBoss is an inexpensive and convenient way to keep track of your intervals.

You can set it for 1 time or 2 different times. For example, you can program it to beep every 30 seconds if you're doing a bodyweight circuit or you can program it for a 20 second work and 10 second rest Tabata workout or any combination of times for other interval training. There is also a handy clip, which is helpful when I'm running outside.

To get the most out of your workout, you need to focus on the exercise at hand. Trying to keep track of the time is an unnecessary distraction which the GymBoss eliminates.

You can get your's here.


Plate Mates

In lower weight dumbbells, you can easily find a slightly heavier weight to progress to. At Body & Soul, I have 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12 pound dumbbells. However, once you hit 15 pounds, the dumbbells increase by 5 pounds.

That can be a big jump, especially for some exercises and that's where PlateMate Microload Pair 1 1/4 lb. Magnetic Hex Weights come in. Each set contains two 1 1/4 pound magnetic weights that attach to each end of the dumbbell. So, instead of trying to jump from 15 pounds up to 20, you can make 17.5 pound dumbbells using Plate Mates.

Just a reminder- because they are magnetic, they only work on metal dumbbells. Also, you'll need to get two pairs because you need two Plate Mates per dumbbell.

PlateMate Microload Pair 1 1/4 lb. Magnetic Hex Weights



Flashing Safety Light

If you're buying for someone who bikes, walks or runs after dusk, they really should have a good clip on flasher to improve their visibility. This one has 6 different flashing settings or can be set to glow steadily:

Flashing Safety Light



Thera-Band Stability Balls

When I first saw exercise balls popping up at gyms over a decade ago, I thought they were probably just another gimmick. I was wrong. While I have no use for the crazy acrobatic "functional" exercises some trainers have their clients perform, I have found stability balls to be a valuable addition to any gym. If you work out at home, an exercise ball is an excellent way to greatly increase the number of exercises you can do.

I have always used Thera-Band stability balls at the gym. They're a quality product used by many physical therapists and they're very sturdy.

I've read comments by exercisers who had to constantly refill their balls or whose cat burst multiple cheap exercise balls, etc. I very occasionally need to top off my Thera-Band balls with some air but they get used every day by many members.

There have also been some injuries lately related to burst stability balls (you can read about that here ==> Stability Ball Safety) so don't go cheap if you're buying one.

If you are 5'1" - 5'6", you would get a 55cm (red).

For those 5'7 - 6'1", go with the 65cm (green).

If you have exceptionally long legs and are close to the upper height range, you may want to go with the next size up.

Thera-Band Exercise Balls



Spri Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are another item you can find at many discount stores and they may be fine. I haven't had a lot of experience with different brands. An aerobics instructor once told me that she had tried different kinds in her classes and found Spri bands to be the most durable. They're the ones I use at Body & Soul and I've been happy with the quality.

Each band below comes with a door attachment and exercise chart. Regardless of which brand you buy, you will probably do best to get at least two different resistances because you'll be able to use more resistance on some exercises than others- just like with dumbbells. (Please don't tell me that you do all your exercises with the same weight. If so, you're definitely doing yourself a disservice.)

The different colors signify different resistances, going from "light" to "very heavy"

SPRI ES500R Xertube Resistance Band with Door Attachment and Exercise Charts (Green, Light)

SPRI ES501R Xertube Resistance Band with Door Attachment and Exercise Charts (Red, Medium)

SPRI ES502R Xertube Resistance Band with Door Attachment and Exercise Charts (Blue, Heavy)

SPRI ES503R Xertube Resistance Band with Door Attachment and Exercise Charts (Purple, Very Heavy)