O2 Fitness & Club Ready

O2 Fitness has teamed up with Club Ready to provide an online program like no other (FREE of Charge) for their members. If you are serious about getting results, there is no program like it that can help you maintain organization while staying in tune with "your calories in/calories out" routine to reach your goals.

Have you ever wished there was a program that would just log exactly what you ate, gave you suggestions of what you should eat for each meal or for you full day, how many calories were included in your meals, how it compares to your daily caloric target, and have it all specifically designed for your body weight, basal metabolic rate and with your specific goals in mind?

How about a program that logs every exercise you complete through out a day, logs the calories your body will burn during that specific exercise, or calculates speed/distance/burned calories while mapping a specific route that you ran in your neighborhood or over at the Loop?

What if you had the opportunity to see the progress or lack of progress through professional reports designed to help you realize what you are or aren't doing correctly in your fitness routine. Whether a report shows you how much body fat you have lost over a period of time or the fact that your lack of protein is keeping you from maintaining muscle growth, this program will help.

Well, there is and O2 Fitness is allowing all of their members to be a part of a state of the art program to make it fool proof to reach your fitness goals. Other great functions with the Club Ready program are: Goal Setting, Upcoming Event Tracker, Scheduling, Journal Entry, Custom Log Tracking (i.e. Body Fat, Weight, Measurements, Running Distances, Endurance testing, Stress levels, Energy levels, and Motivation levels), Nutritional Progress Reports, Fitness Evaluations, Progress Photo Tracking, Exercise Library, Important Fitness Articles, Community Discussions and much more.

This program has it all and if you fail to get involved with what O2 Fitness and Club Ready has to provide, you're cutting yourself short and making it hard for yourself to reach your goals. It is truly having all the tools you need to get the results you want.

If you are a member of O2 Fitness and you haven't gotten set up on your own FREE website with Club Ready, email me ASAP at: AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com

Happy Training,

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

www.O2FitnessClubs.com

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

PER(fect)FORM

Can you figure out what I was saying in that title? I keep telling my clients that I need to patten that title. If you know what it takes to gain the most of amount of progress out of your workouts without injuring yourself or working all the wrong muscles, you will know that it all starts with your exercise form.

The title is for anyone who exercises and to athletes training for their specific sport, so they can keep a constant reminder of what will get them maximum results.

Anyone: PERFORM your exercise with PERFECT FORM!

Athletes: To be able to PERFORM, you must have PERFECT FORM!

You may hear people grunting in a gym and you look over their way to see what all the noise is about. You have probably asked yourself a million times and you've always wanted to ask a trainer whether or not that guy is even doing it right when they bend all out of shape to get that weight lifted. The reason I know is because that is the most common question amongst members in a gym.

Honestly, 9 times out of 10, no they are not doing it right. If you are focusing on a specific muscle group to exercise, you should not have to incorporate a whole different muscle group to assist in lifting the weight. This will cause people to build all the wrong muscles and if you have seen a person with one bigger shoulder or chest than the other, it is quite the site. It is also sad to say that I see it too often.

Learn the correct form of an exercise by researching or asking a trainer. Don't attempt an exercise if you are not sure how to do it. It is better to ask someone than to ruin your future because you injured yourself and gained all the weight in all the wrong places.

Keep in the back of your mind the title to this blog, but also remember that slow and steady always wins the race. It took many years for you to get out of shape, so find comfort in knowing it won't nearly take as long to get back in to shape (even if you never worked out in your life). I had a guy who never touched a weight in his life, he was struggling in all facets of health, but slow and steady exercising caused him to gain flexibility, strength, endurance and come off all of his medications (Diabetes, Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol). We completed this task in only four short months only training a couple times a week.

Interested in how I did it? Ask me how because I know that I could help you too!


Happy Training,

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director/Personal Trainer
www.O2FitnessClubs.com
www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com
www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

How To Motivate Yourself

Many people learn different ways to motivate themselves to get to the gym and do their workouts, but nothing has worked better for my clients than a little imagination trick that I have used for the past 10 years. So make sure you are sitting down and relaxed as we go through this. Make sure there are no distractions and if you have any negative thoughts about this being psycho babble crap, then keep doing what your doing and when you lose your motivation, make sure you saved this post somewhere because you will need it.

Put a video image of yourself in front of you. Create this image on a faded screen that is very very small to where you can barely see it because of how blurry and small the image is. This image should be you looking fantastic, at your goal weight and smiling like nobodies business. You have your hands up saying, "Look at this new body" as you rotate around in a circle to see it all.

Now that you have that faded image in your sight, put another faded image right next to that photo, just as faded and just as small. But, look at this new image as if you were looking down from the skies above. This image is you on the treadmill, smiling and jamming to your music. You can see everyone around you checking you out and whispering to their friends, "Man! Look at how great he/she looks." You just are eating every little bit up as you keep trucking on with no tired feelings in sight. You are in the best shape of your life. Got your two images???

OK! NOW MAKE THEM BRIGHT! Turn up the volume on how bright and crisp the images look. The more you turn it up, the more you can see it from your own eyes without squinting. Keep turning it up until that feeling inside of you feels really good. Look at those two photos. Smiling and showing off your body in one photo and running forever in the other photo with an amazing feeling of pride rushing through your body. How awesome does that look? All that hard work and you are exactly where you want to be.

Now look behind you and you will see a different set of images that just makes your heart sink before you even turn all the way around to get a good feeling. You already know it is not good, as you get that feeling in your stomach as if your gonna be sick. This is an image you don't want in your life. You are laying back on the couch with your legs propped up feeling lazy and tired. Your falling in and out of sleep as the day goes on. Your face is pale and your muscles are weak. You've put on a lot of weight and you find it hard to get off the couch to even shower. There is some medication lying on the table that just reminds you of how much of your life has past you by and it is too late to get off the couch and turn things around. You just feel depressed and each passing day seems longer and longer.

You see the other image as if you were looking from above, staring down at yourself walking with your loved one, whether it's family or friends. Your loved one's are waiting on you to catch up as you trail behind, panting and sweating profusely. You can't seem to catch up and your heart is beating out of your chest as you stop and bend over, hands clasped tight around your knees as you feel your gonna face plant right in to the ground. It is the most distasteful image of yourself that just burns your soul to think you ever let yourself get this way.

I am sure that all you want to do is turn around and stop looking at those photos and start looking at the ones in front of you that give you amazing feelings throughout your body. But, as you turn around...those photos that were oh so beautiful are slipping away from you. They are moving further and further away and you stand there with confusion in your eyes as to what to do next. RUN DAMMIT! GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO GET IT!!!

Those photos are slipping away from you and all you have to do is keep moving forward yourself. The faster you go, the quicker you reach those photos, but guess what??? The photos behind you are also moving. They are moving right in your direction and the more you stand still, the the closer they approach! Get it moving right this second and spend one single hour of your 23 hour day in the gym working hard so you can catch up to those beautiful images and feel those un-freaking-believable feelings in your soul!

How good will that feel once you get there and you don't have to even think about those images behind you anymore. How awesome will that make your loved one's feel too? I can see in one of your happy images right now your loved one standing behind you, checking you out and feeling prideful that you are ALL THEIRS.

Now get moving and make it happen!



Happy Training,

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director/Personal Trainer
O2 Fitness Personal Training
www.O2FitnessClubs.com
www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com
www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

Whistle While You Work!

Right now, I am listening to "Finally" by C & C Music Factory which is playing on our satellite. No, it's not on my Ipod, no it's not on my ITunes account, no you don't hear it on my Satellite radio and I really would prefer not to hear it in the gym. So I am going to get off my happy butt and go change the station so members, just like me don't have to listen to early 90's while they workout. This is the new millennium, so no offense but that old school crap isn't doing it anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I like listening to some old school songs but not when I am working out and definitely not when I need to stay motivated to reach my goals. Have you heard a slow song in the gym and you just feel the urge to grab the closest partner and slow dance? If you listen close enough, you may here me somewhere in the gym singing out loud so I can take the attention off of how de-motivating the song may be and laugh at how horrible my singing is.

Gyms find it hard to please just everyone when it comes to music, but wouldn't it be cool to have a database of songs that people could request and you just play the most popular songs during those times of the day. Each month it switches up and everyone has an opportunity to choose what music gets them motivated and keeps them pushing hard in the gym. Yeah, I know the the alternative would be to just bring their own music and listen to it, but most of the people I see who aren't doing cardio won't have earphones in. Those are the ones who notice the music anyhow.

So, the next time you go in to your gym and hear a song that is just out of place, just start singing it as loud as you possibly can and with the worst voice ever, and 1) You will cause everyone else to either sing along with you, 2) More than likely they will just probably laugh at you, or 3) Hopefully, the gym will get the point and change the station.



What are some songs that you would want to be played in your gym? I would love to hear your feedback.


Happy Training,

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director/Personal Trainer
O2FitnessClubs.com
www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com
www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

Bo No Woe, Bo Glow Fo Sho!!!

Check out what's making Bo's face glow during his incredible weight loss journey!

http://www.bowilmington.blogspot.com/

"I DON'T NEED THAT CRAP!!"

When you join at O2 Fitness, you get a Free Fitness Assessment and a Free Personal Training Session. That is a great perk for joining our fitness facility, right? Believe it or not, most people say, "I don't need that Crap!!!"

Since January 1st, we have had around 200 new members join the gym. Now you have to understand, O2 is about 7,000 square feet. Not a huge facility, but clean and filled with top notch equipment. Not to mention the trainers there are awesome ;)

So, we have around 200 members that felt the motivational bug pulling at their heartstrings to get their tales in to the gym and get in shape. Everyone has either a goal, resolution or bet, to get in the shape to lose weight, gain muscle or just tone up their body.

Now that everyone has a goal in mind and is highly motivated to working on that goal, wouldn't you think that everyone would take Free advice from a professional? Wouldn't you think that no matter what magazine, Internet website or friend told them what they should be doing, they still would want to learn something they might not have already known. Honestly, if I were wanting to be the best marathon runner (or anything) that I could possibly be, I would jump at a free session with an experienced instructor in a heart beat!

So many people turn down a free session with a personal trainer that it is quite disturbing. I think that some of these other gym's in the area have ruined for those who really care about fitness. Being the Fit City for three years in a row is prideful, but being the best personal training facility in Wilmington on top that is unbelievable! But it saddens me that no one wants to learn how to tweak their routine to propel them to reach higher goals.

After a tough attempt to get a member to show for his Free Fitness Assessment, his "I don't need a trainer" mentality was quickly reversed to a "Holy Crap!, I can't believe that's all I need to change!" and he left our quick session with a new understanding that what he learned was completely wrong and was preventing him from reaching his goals.

You have to understand people, what you read may be earning money to advertise products or routines, what you see on television is not completely true. Remember I wrote that post on how this world turns with the $Green$ in people's eyes. You need to trust those who are there for your best interest and if your at O2 Fitness, you can guarantee we care. I guess when it is a corporate business, you can expect the training program to be run by salesmen and not personal trainers. O2 is ran by a great family who has their minds and decisions in the member's hearts.

With 9 trainers who have degrees and certifications, why do you think we all chose to work at O2 and why 95% of them still work here from when the gym opened 6 years ago? Makes sense, huh? Take advantage of our Free services because you will be blown away at how much you will learn. I have never met a person in such good shape that didn't learn something new from taking advantage of a Free Session.

The worst thing that can happen is you don't learn anything!

So, I understand that trainers have to make a living, so they can't give away all the details. There is so much to learn, you will never learn years of experience in the matter of an hour anyways. So, without expecting to get a full program written out for you, there are some things you can ask to learn more about you.

Before any trainer can tell you what you should or should not be doing, they need to know all of these things about you first: Goals, Fitness History, Nutrition and Injuries/Limitations. Once they have this important info, you can ask:

1) For resistance training, how many reps and sets should I be completing for my goals?

2) If I am coming 2, 3, or 4 times a week, what would be the best split for my goals? (i.e. Monday - Upper, Tuesday - Lower, etc..)

3) I need to lose body fat quickly, should I do more low intensity cardio or interval training for my goals?

4) There is so much to learn about machines and functional training, so make sure you at least know how to use the treadmill or elliptical before you leave.

5) There are a ton of different opinions about progression when it comes to everyone's fitness program and everyone has their unique goals according to their body types, so make sure you ask what is a good progression increase percentage for your experience, body type and goals.

6) Ask your trainer to do your body fat analysis. Forget weighing yourself on the scale everyday. That number is crap! Look at your body fat percentage to see how much muscle you have gained and how much fat you've lost.

7) Ask your trainer to tell you what and how you need to be eating every day.

8) Ask your trainer if your goals are reasonable. Don't let them sell you on you only needing them to reach your goals when your goals just may be too high to start with.

9) Ask your trainer to assess your Core Strength, Flexibility, Stability and Muscle Endurance. If you lack in either of these fields, it will limit how quickly you can reach your goals and may cause you to injure yourself or quit due to little or no results.

10) This is not a question, but an important tip for you! If a trainer can't or hesitates to give any of these answers to you, they are SALESMEN disguised as a personal trainer!!! RUN!!!!

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask me as I will be completely honest with you even if it breaks my heart to tell you. If you want a real Fitness Assessment, come to O2 Fitness and you will get one along with a Free Personal Training Session.

Happy Training,

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

www.O2FitnessClubs.com

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

WHAT AM I DOING?!?!?!?!?

Are you saying this to yourself now that you purchased a gym membership and you're standing in the middle of the gym amongst the sea of equipment; "Should I be lifting heavy or light weight? How many reps am I supposed to be doing. How fast am I supposed to do them and am I even doing it right? I am afraid a trainer is going to call me out in front of all these people and try to sell me something? What if people are laughing at me? What if people are copying me and now they are doing it wrong? This is stressful! I need to leave! I need to quit! Who cares if I'm fat! I want to eat a cheeseburger anyways! I shouldn't be unhappy! Stress will hurt my exercises anyways! I should go now! I should just give up! I am! I am going to! I am going to.....just.....QUIT!!!"

WOW! Is this you? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but there are so many out there that are feeling like this everyday. I heard through the grapevine of a member who said, "I don't want a trainer because I have too much weight to lose first, and plus, I plan on getting a trainer when I plateau." People! What are you doing to yourselves??? I can't believe you let your mind games or your negativity control your body and your happiness. You don't quit your job and you complain about it every day!!! If you don't understand how to fix the toilet, you ask how, you figure it out, or you pay someone to fix it!!!!

Basically you are telling me that you don't mind looking and feeling like dookie, but until the pores of your skin open wide and release that upchuck inducing aroma, that is when you are going to start asking for help or paying someone to fix it? Let me now ask you this? When you are sick, where do you? When the doctor gives you a prescription, where do go? When you take your prescription to the drugstore, how much do you spend? If you have insurance, why do they help? Have you ever asked insurance if they help towards fighting obesity? It is a disease right? They want you to stay healthy and alive so you can stop spending their money and start paying them them more.

On the other hand....maybe your not obese and your insurance won't help you, but what will you do when you aren't in the best shape you can be and your not getting the results you want?Maybe you don't understand what you are doing and your prideful mind definitely won't ask anyone for help. Sadly, a lot of you will quit working out and return to an easier lifestyle of being lazy and eating everything you want. It is unfortunate, but that is how our world works.

Ask! It is your new/old word of the day! Ask questions! Ask for help. Ask yourself why you are really hear and then give your self an Askicking of a workout!! I know there are some of gym's out there that give all the other gyms a bad rep when it comes to personal training. So many times a day, we see an unfamiliar face at O2 who is desperately in need of some help, but the moment we lend a helping hand, they are rude. It is not because they are just mean and enjoy being rude to people. Well...not all of them. But, they are rude because they feel we have a different objective in mind. Here we are just wanting to help make sure our members are happy, getting results and comfortable knowing they can come to us for anything at anytime, but they feel we just want to sell them personal training.

It's true that personal training is our jobs and it's what brings home to the bacon, but so many people categorize personal trainers as salesmen. Are you kidding me? It's funny! If I were to categorize personal trainers as anything, it would between a nurse and a bartender. We are caring individuals looking after your health who you can share everything with.

Have you ever seen the bond with a member and a personal trainer? It is something you can't explain, but the best comparison would be the relationship between a very important person and their bodyguard. Trainers are protectors! Protectors of your life, your future, your health, your ability to live longer for your kids, your sanity, your sex life, your self esteem, your energy, your confidence and most importantly your heart so you can continue loving others for as long as you live.

When I evaluate each member who joins O2 Fitness, my goal is to find out what they have done to get in the shape they currently are and what they will need to do to get in to the shape they want to be. Finding that underlying motivational factor that drove that individual to walk through the front door of our gym is like holding the most precious sparkling diamond in the palm of your hand. By getting to know this, it will allow me to best point this person in the right direction. It is the same as when a doctor evaluates you and gives you a prescription. It is just like the chiropractor who looks under your skin with his finger tips to know just what to adjust. It is like the counselor who can read between the lines to realize what psychological issues may be really bothering you.

We strive on excellence as our trainers are fully educated and nationally certified so that we can help anyone and everyone that asks for it. We may be able to push you in the right direction with your questions, but no matter how much that may help, it will never help as much as if you worked with a trainer on a regular basis. After saying those words, it dawned on me why members think trainers are pushy used car salesmen. It is because they don't know us. They don't see that we just care so much about them that we are just eager to share all of our secrets. Giving you tips is not letting you drive off in a junker, it like giving you a piece of the cure. We want you to succeed, not fail! If caring is a crime, then go ahead and lock me up forever because I am going to keep breaking the rules.

If your trainers are different than what I am preaching, then your at the wrong gym!! You won't find that crap at O2!

Happy Training,

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

O2 Fitness Clubs

www.O2FitnessClubs.com

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

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Look Who is 8 Pounds Lighter!!

The other day was the first milestone as a week and a half past by before Bo weighed in for the the first time since starting his fitness program with us here at O2. Bo took off 8 pounds and you should have seen the look on his face because I guess he didn't really believe me when I told him I was confident in getting rid of the weight for him.

He is doing great and I am just so proud of the hard work he is putting forth to reach his goals. I see him everyday of the week, either when he is with me for our session or he is on the elliptical gliding away...or should I say acting like Leo! I told him today that I was going to take a photo of him up there with his wings spread.

If Bo is not a living/breathing testimony for all of those out there who struggle with their weight. This guy is just phenomenal all around and I just am dying to see what Big Bo looks like when he reaches that 220 mark. As I trained him this morning and he was balancing on the ground while doing some single arm cable pulls, I could close my eyes and imagine Bo balancing on foot on a Bosu ball while doing single legs squats with the pin set at triple the resistance he is currently at. I know it is going to happen, I am certain of it.

So, as I am busy meeting with all the new members that have joined this month, I only wish I had more time to post about our sessions and how things are progressing but Bo is doing a wonderful job with that. Go check his blog out at: http://www.bowilmington.blogspot.com/

Happy Training!

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

O2 Fitness Clubs - Wilmington

AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

5 Meals a Day?? That's Insane, Right?!?!?!?

NOT AT ALL!

Now, you may be asking yourself how eating 5 times a day could possibly be good for you! This eating plan consists of good, healthy foods along with goods habits. You cannot eat pizza 5 times per day to be a lean and in great shape. The only thing you would be is a big blob of blubber! Foods high in carbohydrates, like pizza, drag you down, bloat you and deplete your energy. It is time for you to change your habits and start eating light and healthy.

Your first step to change your lifestyle and your eating habits is to start the day with a good healthy breakfast. Your body needs source of protein and carbohydrate at breakfast. Continue your day eating a good source of protein, carbohydrates and some fats every 3-4 hours. Do not let your body go more than 4 hours without food as your metabolism will slow down.

What we are focusing on is to raise your metabolic rate so you can burn calories all day
long. Drink plenty of water before and after meals, and throughout the day to curb your appetite. You want to flush out any toxins and excess fat in your body.

Try to plan your meals with the foods you enjoy. If you do not like tuna, do not force yourself to eat it. You will never stay consistent if you are dreading what you have to eat. Eat your meals slowly while sitting down. Too many of us eat on the run, standing in the kitchen or in the car. We do not give our bodies the chance to tell our brains we are satisfied and as you know, if you are not satisfied, you might over eat.

There are going to be days that you might “fall off the band wagon.” For example, you might eat a high fat meal or over eat at dinner. If this happens, do not give up!!! Just get right back on your eating plan the next day and your body will not be affected. By throwing in the towel, that is where you get into trouble. If you make a mistake at work, you don’t just quit your job, do you? No!, you correct it and move forward. Remember, quitters never win and winners never quit.

Here are some tips to follow if body fat loss is your goal:

• have your food steamed, baked, broiled or roasted.
• eliminate any rich, thick sauces and soups such as Bearnaise, Hollands, Alfredo's an
sauces (marinara is a better choice).
• remove skin and fat from chicken.
• eliminate butter all together.
• eat smaller portions more often and never stuff yourself.
• share your dessert! Do not eat the whole thing by yourself!
• learn to just have a taste. If it is a food you cannot resist, stay away from it all together.
• chew gum while baking, especially during the holidays.
• ask for your salad dressing on the side and dip your fork in for a taste.
• do not go out to dinner starved as this will lead you to over eat. Drink water before your meals.

If you like it, share! Check us out on Facebook & Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for a Free Personal Training Session with me to kick off the new year the right way!!

Happy Training,

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

O2 Fitness Clubs

O2FitnessTrainer@yahoo.com

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

"See Less of Bo" - Day 10

I am going to submit Bo's Post for all to see when he updates. Here is day 10 and the end of week two:

"SEE LESS OF BO"


Happy Training,

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director/Personal Trainer
O2 Fitness Clubs
www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com
www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

Look at Bo Go!

We are halfway through our second week of training with Bo Dean. We are seeing great strides already. Some of these strides may not seem that much to others, but to me progress is progress and it should all be rejoiced!

Bo is doing wonderful! To see the battle that he has with himself and to see him overcome his demons in the morning, afternoon and evening is so amazing! If you think the battle with obesity is just about coming to the gym, your completely wrong! Bo battles getting out of bed, while he is at the gym, looking in the mirror after a shower, going to meetings where bad food is offered, late night before bed, and the list goes on and on. It is a constant battle and to see Bo fight off these battles in his head is tough to see, but uplifting as he keeps pressing on and on.

Despite overcoming the obstacle of showing up to the gym every morning, Bo has lengthened his time on the elliptical, increased the weight on his exercises, increased the amount of exercises being performed, increased the intensity to his exercises, increased flexibility in his legs, while decreasing some pounds in the process. I would call that an awesome start!!!

Make sure you continue to give Bo words of encouragement because as the "new" wears off and the motivational fire that is lit under his tail starts to fade away, Bo will have to rely on accountability and others pushing him to keep his butt moving in the right direction. You all have been wonderful so far.

Today, Bo and I came up with a great idea. We are going to take a photo after every session and create a video at the end of our journey to share his progress from start to finish. Well, his exercise will never be finished but his journey to get to his 220 pound mark certainly will be. This is the first photo and when all is said and done, you will get his last photo along with all the others in between.

Now all we have to do is pick a song to go with his....what do you think should be the song that we incorporate all the photos with??? Let me hear your thoughts!!!

Best wishes and Happy Training!

See Bo's Post: http://www.bowilmington.blogspot.com/

Happy Training!

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director/Personal Trainer
O2 Fitness Clubs
AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com

"See Less of Bo" - One Amazing Journey!!!

Whether you have been a prayer warrior of ours through our sweet Kayleigh’s blog or just starting out to read some of the helpful fitness articles that I have written over here, you will know that 1) I have a sweet or scary looking tattoo up my arm, depending on how you look at it….and 2) I have a heart!

This week, I had the pleasure of meeting someone who is like no other person that I have ever met in my life. If you have ever made the comment or described someone as being a big teddy bear, I will have to show you whose photo has been inserted in the updated version of your Webster’s Dictionary.

A public figure in Wilmington, Bo Dean is a (6 ft - 328 lb) selfless man whose amazing heart has been called by the Lord to fundraise for practically all the major events and great causes in our city. He gives so much to everyone else and puts so much energy in to his love towards others that he has not made the time to take good care of his health. After a heartbreaking death of a very best friend, Dean realized that he would be no good to this world anymore unless he made a change.

After our sweet Kayleigh went to Heaven this past year, her journey taught us all about faith, hope and love. Aimee and I realized that true happiness and true love is only received when you are the first to give it to others. Bo has a huge heart that is filled with so much love for others that we decided it would be a blessing to help Bo get his health back on the right track.

O2 Fitness has graciously allowed me to take time out of my busy work schedule and give Bo Dean the attention that he needs. After being in the fitness field for such a long time, I have seen on a couple occasions what happens when someone with Bo’s health situation comes strolling in to the gym, passes up on personal training, and soon loses motivation to show up anymore. You try to reconnect, but before too long, you have to accept that your hopeful phone calls will just never get through.

Out of the few people who have crossed my paths, I remember two of them clear as day. Marge was over 400 pounds and after working so hard to lose 108 pounds, she started to lose focus of her goals and before too long, the excuses started rolling in which caused her to find more important things to do than come to our appointments. Once you reach that point, there is only so much a personal trainer can do sometimes.

The other person who stands out in my mind started working out in the first wellness center that I worked at in Charlotte, NC around ten years ago. This guy was a giant and I remember that day he came in to the gym with his family to join. He sadly declined personal training because he felt that since his whole life was based around athletics, he could easily take off the weight to reduce the negative effects that sleep apnea was doing to his body. Unfortunately, he passed away several months later. His name was Reggie White.

I can’t let motivation, neglect, pride, money or death get in the way of Bo Dean reaching his goals! Besides burning off the fat, Blood Sugar WILL be controlled, Diabetes WILL go away, Medication WILL be gone, and a huge smile of success will emerge. I am going to change this man’s life one session at a time!

I had the pleasure to sit down with Bo and go over his detailed history/limitations, and nutritional meal plan that was set up by Heidi Kaufman at Wilmington Endocrinology to figure out the best weekly fitness program to set him up on. Starting off, we are going to meet three days a week (Mon, Wed & Fri) at 7:00AM to focus on functional training, core strengthening and flexibility with Bo to build up some of the stabilizing muscles so he can properly develop full body strength to perform some more technical exercises as his body progresses through this amazing transformation.

On the days Bo is not training with me, he will be incorporating a cardio routine in to the mix to drop the body fat. We are keeping Bo in his fat burning zone to prevent him from training too high, which could still burn some fat, but it will also contradict the resistance training to quickly build back lost/unused muscle. By building his muscles back, his newly formed muscle will help us burn fat and allow the cardio we do to burn off fat too.

To sum my plan up so you all can see less of Bo is: Follow proper nutritional outline to increase resting metabolic rate, progress through function and resistance training to build muscle to help burn fat and keep the fat off long term, and cardio to perform as the quicker fixer and burn fat fast. The more fat reduced, the more flexibility is gained and the more ability to progress with muscle mass, strength and endurance.

It’s funny, if you ask Bo if he thinks he can achieve his ultimate goal of reaching 220, he would probably say yes but answer with the word “hope” somewhere in the sentence as I am sure I would if I were in his shoes. Being that my shoes practically have to be cleaned weekly from all the fat I have shed right off people’s bodies, my answer would sound a little something like this, “Hell Yeah…and them some!!!”

I would like to mention two things right now! One will be directed to everyone out there who either knows Bo Dean personally, knows him from a far or maybe wants to get to know him now that you have read this. Bo needs every single one of you like never before, starting today!!! Bo has a tough journey ahead of him and some weeks are going to be harder than others. He may lack motivation, will power or the strength to get out of bed some days. After our sessions this morning, he is probably feeling the muscle tension set in already. All I have to say is this is no easy task for him and he needs you now more than ever before. You only have two words that you need to say when you pass by him. So, if you know BO!!! You say…GO BO!!!!

Now, I would like to say something to you Bo. I have so much faith in you and I respect you so very much for making the decision to change your life around so that you can continue to help other people. That is just another act of kindness that motivates me to be more like the amazing individual that you are. You can’t even do something for yourself without the reasons being for someone else. That is truly a blessing and I am more than sure that everyone who has ever crossed your path can certainly agree to what I am saying. You are amazing!

I know I said more than just “something,” but I actually didn’t even say what I really wanted to say yet. Bo…I took this job as a Fitness Director at O2 Fitness to continue my outlook on life which is to honor God and my family, but to use the knowledge and blessings that God has given me to change as many people as I possibly can through fitness. With every challenge placed before me in my life, I do EVERYTHING that I possibly can to succeed in that challenge 100%. That means, if your ultimate goal is to reach 220lbs, then my goal is to help you get there by burning off 108 of those pounds, and I promise to do just that until we reach that goal together!

Go wish Bo luck and follow our journey from his point of view at: www.BoWilmington.blogspot.com

Best wishes & Happy Training!

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

O2 Fitness Clubs

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

Let the New Years Begin!!!

All I have to say it WOW!

I am seeing new faces! I am seeing motivation! I seeing dedication! I am seeing brand new outfits! I am seeing ALL the cardio equipment moving at once. I am seeing sweaty new outfits! I am feeling the energy in this place! I am seeing lives being changed! I am smelling the fat just burning right off these bodies as we speak! Hmmm, maybe that was a little too much.

It is amazing to see the people in here with goals on their mind and a driven purpose taking place!

Have you ever seen something so amazingly beautiful, but were quickly filled with saddened feelings that remind you that this beauty will soon whither away before your very eyes? Maybe from time to time you look back at an amazing photo of something that made your heart feel so warm, only to tear up because that photo portrayed something or someone who has changed for the worse.

That is how quickly this post has turned from exciting to depressing in a matter of five minutes. I already know this beauty won't last, the equipment won't ALL be moving at once, the smell of burning fat will go away. As sad as it may seem, it is even more sad to see all those motivated people with great intentions fall in to temptation that our crazy world has to deliver.

Whether it is unhealthy food provided for faster service, quick fix videos that promise you unrealistic results, faulty fitness equipment that promises a faster and easier workout, or nutritional products that promises results without doing the actual exercising, it is ALL the same song and dance. What do you think ALL of the fitness ads that are being marketed in this world are for??? Put yourself in their shoes for once. If you wanted to start a business in the health field, what would you have to do to be successful?? The answer may have something to do with you saying, "What can I do to make a lot of money that will help people get results faster than all the other fitness ideas already thought of?"

Here are some things you may need to understand about what you are seeing on television, magazines or any other advertising print that is out there.

1) THEY WANT YOUR MONEY AND NOTHING MORE!!!!

2) THEY ARE LYING TO YOU!!!!!

3) YOU ARE FAILING AT YOUR GOALS TO HELP THEM MAKE THEIRS!!!!

Fast Food: Seriously everyone! If you did not realize it when more than half of the population started to be considered, or should I say nationally publicized, for being the most overweight country and there is a fast food chain (including your favorite coffee maker) on every corner raking in tons and tons of money. Your Money!

We are taught to be respectful growing up and to not make fun of overweight people. However, we find it okay to feed our children this crap and risk their lives to be made fun of by their peers. I won't even go in to the sadness of all the lives that are ended because of how others treat them. I am sure you can use your own imagination on that one.

This is not a plead to fight off fast food, but just how fast are you going to regret it when you are victim to the negative effects that all fast food WILL deliver. Just FYI, it is healthier to skip a meal or to wait a little longer before your able to get home to eat than to eat the process, steroid injected food. If you haven't seen the movie, "Super Size Me" then you must!

10, 7 or 6 minute abs!!! Are you kidding me? After seeing the 7 minute abs come out, I knew there was a conspiracy. Whoever says they are better or faster when it comes to getting flat abs is a joke! Do you know the name of the ONLY thing that can control how flat your abs are? I will give you a hint. It is big. It is red. It beats constantly. It supplies blood to your body. It supplies oxygen to your body. When this thing supplies blood and oxygen to your body at a much faster pace, it burns fat off your body.

Wait...did I just say what I think I said? You mean your heart is the only thing in charge of burning fat off my body? You mean burning that same fat off of my stomach will allow others to see a flat stomach??? YES! YES! and YES!

Ask yourself this? When you want to endurance your biceps, don't you want to do a lower weight with a ton of reps until your muscles fatigue? Certainly! How about if you want to increase muscle mass to your biceps? Don't you want to do heavy weights for a very low amount of reps until your muscles fatigue? Right again! So, if your abdominal muscles are just like your biceps, you can endurance and build them up exactly the same way. Hmmm...Then, why does everyone say to do a million sit-ups a day? The answer is simple! ADVERTISING LIES!!!

Supplements: Okay, I will say this. There are a lot of helpful supplements out there that are good for you and highly recommended for you to reach your goals. It is nearly impossible to gain muscles mass with out needing extra protein in your meal plan. There are multi vitamins that pack a wide variety of nutrients to help your body function properly. There are other supplements that do a great job at fulfilling the daily requirements in place of eating some unpleasant tasting foods.

However, when it comes to weight loss, this is where I have to speak my two cents worth! Supplements that speed up your heart rate to help you lose weight is not a very smart idea. Your just as guilty as the smoker who doesn't quit because they will gain weight or the drug addict who indulges in cocaine to drop a few extra pounds. Supplements that speed up your heart rate are so unhealthy for your heart. It causes your endurance to be in really bad shape and you can't take them forever, so when you stop you will just put the weight back on and royally mess up your metabolism.

Just drop the pills, quit being lazy and go workout the right way!

I hope that I opened some of your eyes to something new today. If not, you may want to read it again because you must have misunderstood me.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and best of luck with your resolutions. I pray this gym will continue to be packed through March.

Happy Training,

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director & Personal Trainer

O2 Fitness Clubs - Wilmington

AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com