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

Do you feel like this???

Is this how you feel after your Holiday feast???


Well, I can only say one thing that will make you feel only slightly better than the way you are currently feeling right now...."Your Not Alone."

So many people are feeling guilty right now because they promised themselves they wouldn't eat too much over the holidays only to prove their self control is weaker than they thought. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us!

Don't you wish you could weigh yourself like this...


but unfortunately your scale is telling you this...

"Go Run"
Don't beat yourself to death! The best thing to do is put together a game plan on how you are going to overcome this obstacle and succeed at your goals.

FORGET MAKING A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION!!! All you are going to do is stress yourself out about it and set yourself up to fail, once again. You just stressed out about failing at "eating less" for the holidays and now you want to test your will again with new year's resolutions??? Forget it!!!

Just do it! Yeah, like Nike says! Just do it! Get off your tail and just go make it happen. Don't make a resolution and tell all your friends about what you are going to do. Just show determination, bust your tail and make it happen! Get a membership, get a trainer, get the results and show off your hot new bod!

Simple? YES! Don't hype it up. Don't tell the world. Don't promise anyone. Don't set a goal date. Don't do ANYTHING that is going to set you up for failure. Don't allow yourself to stress about it and just GO DO IT!

Happy Training!

Adam Freeman

Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com

Food Tips for the Holidays

When ever the holidays come around, people are excited to share time with family and friends. People are de-stressed as they get a break from their hard work, some fly in from different states, others may be excited to see family they may only see once a year, some newly formed relationships are introduced and to their hopeful future families, gifts are prepared in beautiful wrappings, and the true meaning of the holidays is revealed.

We all know too well that when you get a lot of people together in one household for any type of event or holiday, there is no doubt that every household will linger the smell of mouth watering, belly growling, taste bud craving, heart sinking, button undoing, nap inducing.... food that just screams excitement. It is the time of year where all bets are off and our fitness goals are no longer in the front of our minds.

If I were to finish my description of all that food where I left off with the (...), it would continue as this: ...nap awakening, belly aching, stress enhancing, guilt increasing, bathroom anticipating, constipation happening, hernia preventing, calorie absorbing, cell building, body fat % increasing, weight gaining, pant size replacing, depression facing, stress heightening, self esteem decreasing, exercise needing individual who could have made a world of difference if they just read this article before they stuck their fork in the pie!

Tip #1: The biggest problem most people have is eating in moderation. Your stomach is only so big, so when you stretch it out every time you stuff it, it grows and grows and grows. The bigger it grows, the more you have to eat to feel full. After eating until you are full each and every time, the consumption of food becomes a lot more and that means more calories are being absorbed in all the wrong places. Eat less/smaller portions throughout the day and it will cause your stomach to reduce in size, making it easier to get full quicker. Not to mention, you are keeping your metabolism going by eating more, smaller portions through out the day.

Tip #2: A great way to eat in moderation for the holidays is to eat half of your normal, pile slabbing serving and save the rest for three hours later. You will be able to enjoy two or even three great holiday meals in one day. Plus, you won't have to worry about feeling stuffed because you didn't force it all in and feel depressed because you didn't get to save room for that favorite food you had been anticipated devouring all year long. You could very well take a run in between all three meals and burn off those unwanted calories, making your holiday season a self esteem enhancing time of the year.

Tip #3: I know! It is so hard to eat in moderation if you have a hundred different types of food on the table. Even if you took one small scoop of everything, you would pack in several thousand calories. The trick is to just not eat the basic servings you know all too well. For instance, if I have the choice of five different foods. Say...Honey Baked Ham, Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, and Pumpkin Bread. How many times a month do you see corn or mashed potatoes in the same dinner meal? If your like my family, you will actually see them mixed together very often. Did you anticipate this holiday feasting season just to eat some corn and mashed potatoes? Probably not, so don't eat it and save your calories for something better like that kick butt, secret recipe making, green bean casserole you only get to have once in a blue moon.

I know we are not all perfect with our nutrition through the holidays and honestly, you don't have to be. If you make small adjustments, still enjoy the same food and not feel so negative afterward or have to make up for so much damage, then you are starting your new year off on the right foot.

Everyone here at O2 Fitness would like wish you all a Happy Holidays and be safe as you travel.

Warm Wishes!!!

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director & Personal Trainer
O2Fitness - Wilmington
www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com
AdamFreemanPT@Yahoo.com

Getting Ready for the New Year

New Years Resolutions! Many people have them. Many people fail them!

It is evident in the gym on January 1st that people want to start the new year off on the right foot. People become motivated and they set goals according to their underlying motivation. People are motivated to lose weight in order to fit in old outfits they used to fit in so easily. It is heartbreaking when you see the amount depression going on when one person places a significant amount of stress on their bodies. Stress alone is keep that weight on their bodies.

When the new year hits, the gym is full and busy from sun up to sun down. People are sporting their new fitness clothes, new shoes while rocking out to their new I-pods they just got for Christmas. You can feel the motivation and excitement going on that it just wreaks failure in every trainer's mind. Failure? Did I just say failure? YES!

Unfortunately, 75% of those motivated individuals will lose their motivation and return to the comfortable lifestyle they once lived just a few weeks prior. Why??? All those motivated souls who would spell out a heartbreaking story about how their doctor said their health is deteriorating and if they don't start working out, their life expectancy is diminishing by the day.

What if everyone were able to follow through with their goals, follow through with their New Year's resolution and reach the results they so desperately set out to achieve?

You can do this! You can make it happen! You can achieve greatness! But how??? You say you set goals, but did you set them appropriately? Probably not! Most people these days fail at reaching their goals because they left out a few basic, but major steps in setting goals according to their plan. Look, you already have your motivation and you already have your goals in mind, so why is it so hard to reach them? Well, I guess I wouldn't be a nice guy if I built it up and didn't tell you, so I guess I will not only tell you but share the steps it takes to reach your goals 100% of the time.

Write your 12 week (90 day) most important goal down in "affirmation" form on an index card so you can have it handy wherever you go. Write an achievement, not something you want to avoid. (How lean you want to become, not how much fat you want to get rid of)

[ex. By December 3rd, 2010: I am so happy and thankful now that I am wearing a size 5, my stomach is flat and feels hard. My pants fit perfectly on my waistline. I can see my abs and other people are noticing it too. People are commenting on my appearance and it makes me feel so good. I feel like an achiever.]

When you read this goal card, you notice that you can practically paint an image of this client. That is the whole purpose of writing your goal down and keeping it with you at all times. You need to train your subconscious mind in order for your goals to be met 100%. The subconscious mind accepts commands most easily when they are given in the present tense, personal, positive format and when they are read and visualized repeatedly, with faith, emotion, gratitude and an already having received attitude. The best time to read your card is when you are in a state of relaxation or just about to shut off the lights at bedtime.

Think about this. Name the first Cola/Soft drink that comes to mind? See, without hesitation you said Coke or Pepsi because the company has done their job. They have embedded so much advertisement in your brain that out of all the soft drinks in the world, those were to first two you thought of. In advertising lingo it is called "Share of Mind" which both Coke and Pepsi were awarded top of the class. Think about it if you were to put your goals in front of your brain all day every day. What do you think would happen?

After while, you are going to get to the point to where you put your hand in your pocket and think of your goals and that image you have in your brain without even pulling the card out to read it. You will be so focused on your goal and while taking action, you will reach those goals much faster than you expected. If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.

Happy Training!

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director/Personal Trainer

O2 Fitness Clubs - Wilmington, NC

www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com

December - O2 Fitness Personal Trainer of the Month

Every month, I am going to choose a personal trainer at O2 Fitness who I feel portrays and defines the exact image of what a successful personal trainer truly means. When I say successful, I don't mean the trainer who sells the most personal training or the trainer who has the most clients in their schedule books. The success I'm talking about has to do with character, professionalism and how they carry themselves overall.

At O2 Fitness, all of our personal trainers are educated and have extensive education to prove why their experience has been nothing but successful. Many lucky clients have had life altering changes with our trainers leading behind the wheel. So much weight has been lost in the walls of this club, you could practically call this a professionally glorified chop house. As sick as that may sound, it is beyond satisfying to hear so many success stories that I could create a blog of its own and easily have a post for every single day of the year.

Besides picking the hundreds of clients who deserve more than just recognition for their hard work, we will chose a personal trainer who is in charge of leading those clients to a new and healthy lifestyle. Picking a specific trainer is hard enough because I am so blessed to have every single one of them on my team. The personal trainers are one of the main reasons why people think of O2 Fitness when they think of personal training in Wilmington, NC.



Without a doubt, the personal trainer of the month at O2 Fitness is Jamie Baxendell. Jamie is originally from upstate Pennsylvania, but moved to Wilmington just over three years ago where she jumped right in to personal training at O2 Fitness.

Jamie is certified through two of the most prestigious certifications available:

National Academy of Spots Medicine (NASM)

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA-CPT)

Jamie earned her degree through a physical fitness specialist program where day in and day out she studied and learned how to be the best trainer for her clients. Jamie specializes in functional training with clients of all ages from childhood to elderly adults. She also enjoys working with clients who are pre and postnatal.

Jamie’s philosophy is to enrich people’s lives through health and fitness. She accomplishes this by customizing an individualizing programs that fit her client's needs and wants to get them the most out of their workouts, each and every time they train.

Susie Smith is one of Jamie's clients here at O2 Fitness who has experienced the amazing professionalism that Jamie carries in the club. Susie has lost nearly 50 pounds under Jamie's supervision and is currently stronger than she has ever been in her life.

Another client of Jamie's who has seen incredible results is George Popa John. George was at a high risk with cholesterol and his blood pressure. We are pleased to say that George has lowered his cholesterol and his blood pressure is down to a very healthy level now.

Way to go both Susie and George for you hard work and dedication. We are excited about your progressive journey through the O2 Fitness Personal Training program. You are family to us and we look forward to seeing more results come as your new goals are set to be met.

Jamie, keep up the hard work and know that you are a highly respected trainer for a reason. We are blessed to have you a part of our team and we see continued success in your future. I am proud to share your name with members who ask about personal training because you deliver the results every single time. Great job!

If you are interested in signing up for a Free fitness assessment with Jamie to see how she can completely change your life through reaching your fitness goals, contact me below ASAP and catch Jamie before the new years rush fills up her appointment book.

Wishing you all a wonderful day and Happy Training!

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director & Personal Trainer
AdamFreemanPT@Yahoo.com
www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

"Quick Fix" - Step 2: Keeping The Fat Off!!!

Continuing from yesterdays post, it is just as important to exercise to keep off the body fat as it is to take it off quickly. As we all now know, doing low intensity cardio for as much as an hour a day will greatly reduce your body fat percentage, but what kind of exercises do you do to keep it off?

The answer is resistance training, weight lifting, free weights, machines, etc... It's not what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, it's anything that has weight to be lifted makes us stronger.

Many people, mostly women, have the misconception that lifting weights will make them look like a body builder. Honestly, if lifting heavy weights could make anyone a body builder, every man in this world would be walking with their arms bowed out and their biceps bulging! I wish it were that easy! The truth is, it won't make anyone a body builder if your exercises and nutrition are geared properly according to your fitness goals.

It is really simple, men typically have less body fat or can reduce their body fat because they have more muscle on their body. They have more muscle because they are the ones you typically see in the free weight area lifting the heavy weights. Yes, most men have bigger frames than women do, but everyone has a body fat and body mass ratio compared to their own height and weight. So, what do you think would happen if you had more muscle mass on your body? If you already have muscle, what benefits would you have if you had more?

The more muscle you have on your body, the higher your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is. Your basal metabolic rate is how many calories your body burns in a given day. Since we all know that muscle weighs more than fat, the body has to work harder to use and carry that muscle which in return will burn more calories throughout the day. Just think if you add enough muscle for your body to burn an extra 300 calories a day. That is practically one extra session of cardio and you didn't have to lift a finger.

Hmmm....well in that case, if you actually do cardio when your body burns an extra 300 calories already, you are doubling up the amount of calories your body burns each day. Does that mean you can eat more calories if you burn more calories. Of course it does! Who currently wants to eat more than what their nutrition plan is giving you? I am sure a lot of you would answer, yes, and I don't blame you one bit.

Now that you know how to do it, you need to know what to do. You have a couple options. You could read countless books, study all the mumbo jumbo and design the best program for your body type to achieve the goals you want in the quickest amount of time. You could hire a certified trainer at your local gym and let them put the years of study and experience to work for you. If you don't have time to go to a gym and your a on-the-go type person, you could purchase online personal training from a reputable trainer.

So, what are you going to do? Are you going to continue trying all the quick fixes that everybody and their brother is trying to sell you or are you going to come to the realization that it is going to take genuine, good ole' effort to get the results you want? I promise it is not as tough as you think it is. Just as the world conned you in to thinking there is a healthy quick fix out there to lose weight, they tricked you in to thinking you have to go in the gym for hours upon hours to get the results you only dreamed of.

You know what? Just like trusting a certified dentist to fix your teeth or a doctor to heal your sickness, you need to go to a qualified trainer to teach you the right way to reach your fitness goals. The information is there for you, all you have to do is ask for advice.

And...This is the best advice that I can possibly give you about all this. If you do more than what you are doing right now in your life, your body will react by adapting to your changes. Once you know exactly what to do, you are unstoppable.

Wishing you all a wonderful week and Happy Training!

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

"Quick Fix"

I was emailing one of my Online Personal Training clients about these two words that should not go in the same sentence as the word, fitness. No matter what new and improved product, what the fake television doctor advertisement says, how many minutes you can get those sweet abs in or how less you have to work to achieve the body of your dreams….It’s NOT happening!

If you look at the rest of the world, the only thing that is getting results faster are computers and unless we become some cyborg mutation, don’t plan on this world ever getting the same “quick” results with our bodies. Now don’t get me wrong, you can get quick fixes through surgery or starving your poor body dry, but we are personal trainers and when you ask us what the secret is, we are going to tell you the same thing we tell our clients…hard work!

Well now, let me take that statement back because a lot of people who want to lose body fat may be working too hard! What???? Did I just say that? YUP!

Seriously, I have seen thousands of people who are either under-training or over-training when it comes to losing body fat. There is a happy medium and all you have to do is calculate a few numbers will enable you to know exactly what to do to get the fastest “Healthiest” results your body can possibly fathom.

This is no over night fix, but if you want to know what the healthiest “Quick Fix” there is on this planet, then trust me when I say it is easier than boiling water. Actually, I better not say that because I learned how to boil water back when Aimee and I started dating nearly 6 years ago. Ouch!

Here is goes! There are two steps you must remember:

Step 1 “Quick Fix”) Burn Body Fat Quick! It is really simple and you have to trust me on this one. A lot of the members that I come in contact with fail to understand that you don’t have to crawl out of the gym in a pile of sweat soaked clothes to get the best work out and burn the most body fat. Actually, it is the exact opposite.

When you are on the elliptical, treadmill or bike, reading your magazine or watching your little television, are you paying attention to where your heart rate is? Probably not, because every time I look at people in the cardio area, they are doing everything but looking at their heart rate. Why is the heart rate so important? For one, it will share some very important news as to whether you are building endurance or burning fat.

The most important ingredient to incinerating body fat the quickest over a given time is oxygen. If your heart rate is beating at a slow rate, your body isn’t burning calories fast enough. If your heart rate is beating at a fast rate, your body may be burning calories, but not the calories you were hoping for if your goal is weight loss.

Think with me for a second. When you are doing your cardio session, there is that point in time when your body starts to warm up and your sweat conductors start to release a glistening sweat over your body to keep it cool. At this point, you start to feel your heart rate in your chest a little and maybe your breathing starts to pick up as you feel your muscles are longing for more oxygen. This is called the threshold between aerobic (with Oxygen) and anaerobic (without Oxygen).

When you cross over in to the anaerobic side, your body lacks the delivering of oxygen to your muscles which will cause your muscles to burn until fatigue sets in. The more and more you train in this level, the more endurance your body builds up. There is nothing wrong with training in this zone, but if the main goal is to reduce body fat, your body is working against you.

Training in the aerobic fat burning zone allows oxygen to burn off a higher percentage of fat calories over a period of time without losing any muscle (and I will share the importance of keeping all the muscle you can next post). You may not sweat like crazy or walk out of the gym feeling like you just had the best workout of your life, but you know that you are reaching your goals when you see the results on the scale.

What rate should me heart be beating at to get the best results? Here is the calculation:

220 - 30 (Age) = 190
190 – 60 (Resting Heart Rate*) = 130
130 x 65% = 84.5
84.5 + 60 (RHR) = 144.5

*To determine your RHR (Resting Heart Rate), take your pulse for one full minute when you first wake up in the morning.


Again, remember it is not how hard your heart is beating, but how hard your heart is beating with access to oxygen that gets the faster fat burning results. Stay tuned for the next post, Step 2, which explains how to easily keep the body fat off over a longer period of time.


Not local to Wilmington, NC and Interested in Online Personal Training with me? Go to: Online Personal Training

Also, follow our every move on Facebook and Twitter!

Happy Training,

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

Welcome!

Hello Everyone and welcome to the O2 Fitness Training blog! A lot of you may be coming from another blog of mine or are brand spanking new. Well, no matter where you are coming from, you are in for a real treat!

We are bringing you a healthier lifestyle by allowing every single one of you in to the minds, hearts and secrets of Wilmington's #1 personal trainers. If you ever wanted to take your fitness to the next level or even just start a fitness program, we will be giving you insight to the best tools around.

Our trainers have hit the pavement hard to earn their degrees, certifications and gained the experience with hundreds of clients over the years. I have been training for nearly ten years now and when I decided to join the O2 Fitness Training squad, I knew I was in the right place when I found out how awesome the trainers were. Not only will the clients be gaining a great deal of fitness information, but so would I.

Needless to say, I am pleased to bring you the O2 Fitness Personal Training blog! We are also easily found on Facebook and Twitter (Look over on the right toolbar). There you can follow our every move as we will be updating great fitness tips and some fun and exciting news that takes place over at O2 Fitness. Ya never know, we may even throw out some FREE stuff...like FREE sessions with one of our awesome trainer or FREE Online Personal Training if your not local to Wilmington, NC. Woo hoo! Free Stuff for Anyone! Ya never know, so keep your eyes out!

In the mean time, go follow us on Facebook/Twitter and check out the new O2 Personal Training website:

O2 Fitness Personal Training

I look forward to sharing some awesome tips, recipes, success stories and some FREE stuff for all of you!

Best wishes and Happy Training!

Adam Freeman
Fitness Director & Personal Trainer
O2 Fitness Clubs - Wilmington, NC
Email: AdamFreemanPT@yahoo.com
Website: www.WilmingtonNCPersonalTraining.com

Blog: www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

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What My Clients Say

“I could not walk up a flight of stairs without completely losing my breath. I literally felt like I had someone standing on my chest almost all the time. I was 348 lbs, a 54 inch waist, and I was eating everything on the go. I was on heart, diabetes and cholesterol medicine and it was spiraling out of control.

My life was running me and I wanted desperately to change and did not know how or where to start. All of the attempts I had were done in extremes and overdoing it. I just did not have the direction and understanding that was needed to get me to a place where I could find health. Through a series of events that have blessed my life in ways that I am more grateful for than you can fully understand, I was introduced to a personal trainer named Adam Freeman.

Adam’s firm but compassionate approach gave me the reassurance and encouragement that I needed to begin a journey to change my life. By starting me out with improving the small muscles in my body, working on stabilizing me and ensuring that I could build towards greater efforts, explaining each step of the way the why and how of what we were doing, Adam has taken me from not being able to walk up a flight of stairs to being able to bike 17 miles, run those stairs with weights, balance on a Bosu ball while doing squats and doing pull-ups and push-ups.

The feeling of accomplishment is extraordinary. But what is even more incredible is the way I feel: ALIVE! I have not felt this good in years. I am awake, driven, breathing and full of life! Adam insisted that I get a dietician and working with a change in eating habits with this extraordinary training has literally created a new me.

I have lost almost 100 pounds to date. I am down to a size 41 inch waist and I am off ALL three of my medications for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I cannot say enough about how much Adam’s guidance, professionalism, compassion, encouragement, and shear caring have made a difference in my life. I wince when I call him my trainer because he is much more; he is my friend and my brother and I hope everyone has the chance to work with and know someone that can bring so much goodness into one’s life!”

- L.S. Bo Dean

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"Before joining O2 Fitness, I was overweight and taking multiple medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. My goal in joining O2 was to lose 10 pounds, reduce my blood pressure medications and to improve the appearance of my body. Having little experience in personal fitness, I was very apprehensive and nervous about joining. Shortly after joining, I took advantage of the free assessment and met Adam Freeman. What impressed me about Adam, the other staff members, and the O2 center members was the nonjudgmental, friendly, and supportive atmosphere of the center.

Now, 4 months later, I am 20 pounds lighter and have reduced not only my blood pressure medication, but my diabetes medications by half. This is mainly due to the environment and facilities of O2 Fitness along with training and assistance from Adam Freeman. The weight loss and reduction in medications along with my improved body appearance has greatly exceeded my expectations. My stomach is flat and my jeans are 4 inches smaller!"

-Patrick Pittman

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I am an admitted workout fanatic. I love pushing myself and eating healthy in order to get to the next level of fitness. If you're checking out Adam's website you may find yourself in any number of fitness levels. There's probably some of you that were like me in that I have been an athlete since childhood. I've always worked out and have never even given thought to needing a trainer. I knew what I was doing.

Several years ago I began to train for endurance races, mostly distance running. I found myself really getting bored with my workouts and wasting time because my body would get used to the same old routine day in and day out. I hit a tremendous plateau and began to get really frustrated. I asked Adam if he would help me with a plan to get out of the rut I was in. Adam took the time to see what level I was at, what my likes and dislikes were, what I had found to work for me or not. He did a full evaluation and we began to work.

Immediately I was impressed. I actually began to enjoy my workouts again and he took me to a whole other level. He introduced me to exercises that I had never seen before and within weeks I was on track to achieving my goals. I found Adam to be able to push me with the intensity that worked for me. I was quickly able to see that he had an extreme amount of nutritional and physical knowledge and was excited to share his passion for fitness.

He has the necessary drive of a coach and the patience of a saint. No matter what level of fitness you are at, you will achieve your goals by choosing to let Adam lead you there. It's one of the best moves I've ever made in all my efforts to make myself a better athlete.

- Joseph Daughtry

"Don't put off another day with excuses that won't get you anywhere. I'm motivated to help you reach your goals and I won't let you down!"
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Adam's Online PT - Fitness Tracker

Fitness Tracker Overview

Track Your Food Intake and Exercise Access to thousands of foods in the food database. Track calories burned in activity log. Set nutritional targets and measure progress against the targets. In depth nutritional analysis charts

Access Your Customizable Fitness Evaluations Detailed fitness evaluation reports, customized by your trainer. Chart progress from one evaluation to the next. Fitness evaluations that exactly match your fitness evaluation process.

Track Your Progress Track weight, stress, motivation, energy levels and fitness evaluation results for any date range. Ability to also create custom tracking for anything you want to track.

Access Comprehensive Journal Tools Enter weight, stress, motivation, energy for any date. Create a written journal. Create an unlimited amount of additional things to track, ie 2 mile run time, waist size and so on.

Access Comprehensive Workout Library Categorized by body area / muscle groups. Descriptions, photo's, video and podcasts. Printable

Access To Hundreds Of Health & Fitness Articles Are you hungry for information? Your login area provides access to hundreds of fitness articles. Bookmark articles and receive article bookmarks direct from your trainer.

Create Your Own To-Do-Lists Create an unlimited number of different to-do-lists. Can receive To-Do-List items directly from your trainer.

Track Progress Through Photo's Upload unlimited number of photos tied to a timeline. Compare any 2 photo's side by side.

Participate In Community Discussion Creating a community helps keep you accountable. An easy way to find fitness buddies and ask questions.