Newsletter 16

1. Lessons On Life: "Why Put Up With The Pain?"
2. Holiday Specials: "Time Is Almost Up!"
3. Training Tip: "Squats Good or Bad for the Knees?"
4. Nutrition Tip: "Veggie, Black Bean & Chicken Soup"
5. Hall of Achievements:
6. Personalized Program Design: "Tired of Not Reaching Your Goals?"
7. Charity in Focus: "Precious Ones Outreach International"

1. Lessons On Life: "Why Put Up With The Pain?"

I can't speak for the rest of you but we in Denver, USA just got dumped on; snow and lots of it. I suppose we aren't as bad as some places when it comes to snow fall but it is still a royal pain.

Speaking of royal pain... I can't believe how many people I have heard say that they threw their backs out shoveling snow in the last couple of days.

Folks if you throw your back out shoveling snow or any other activity then you need to fix this before it gets worse!

If you have been reading my newsletters for any amount of time or know me personally then you know that I suffered from severe back pain for many years so I've been there.

Bottom line:

• You need to get stronger
• You need to get more flexible in the right places
• You need to fix your movement mechanics (retrain the way your body moves)
• You need to find your weaknesses and make them stronger

It is almost New Year's Resolution time. What are you waiting for, another week of pain and trip to the Chiropractor?

I can't believe I'm doing this.

I don't discount my services. In fact I'm thinking of raising most of my prices soon. Not for existing clients mind you only for new clients.

But on to the point of this Holiday Special.

From now until New Year's Day I am discounting all services by 25%.

You heard that right, I'm taking a 25% pay cut because I love you ;-)

Why am I doing this?

Well maybe because I am out of my freaking mind!

Maybe I should be on one of those used car commercials where I'm wearing some stupid super hero outfit slashing prices so that all services must go!

THERE IS ONLY ONE CATCH...

It is better to give than receive. In the spirit of the holidays in order to receive this discount you must give a little of your over-abundance to the needy.

You can do one of the following:

Denver Area:
• Bring canned goods, clothes or an old cell phone to me at the studio and I will take them to a local charity of my choice. Food and clothes will go to the Denver Rescue Mission and old used cell phones will go to the battered women's shelter.

I have a box set up for this.

Non Denver Area:
• Donate to a local or national food shelter, homeless shelter, Boys and Girls Club, Toys for Tots, Katrina disaster relief fund, or other charity organization.
• Scan your receipt or a copy of your credit card transaction, screen shots of your credit card transaction will work if you donated online, and email it to me. (You can cover your credit card number or any sensitive information.)

The charity organization must use the food, clothes or funds to give to the needy; either locally or internationally. Donations to political or similar organizations do not count.*

*To avoid issues contact me before hand to see if the charity is approved or not.

If you are dropping off clothes, food, etc. at a local charity they should always write you a receipt. I've been doing this for years with multiple charities and I have always been offered a receipt but you may have to ask for one.

If you have already purchased a service please do not ask for a retro discount. The discounts starts... today and goes until January 1st 2008.

GIVE IT AS A GIFT!

If you want to buy a package of personal training, unlimited group kettlebell classes for a month, phone consultation, Personalized Program Design or other contact me ASAP Contact Page. We can discuss the details of how to get the "Gift" to the recipient. Pretty in a box from you or via email from me.

Want to give yourself a gift? What the heck, tis the season to be jolly and what a better way to be jolly than to get yourself the gift of fitness.

Once again, contact me for the 25% discount. Prices on my Training Services page WILL NOT reflect this special limited price.

The fine print: Not to be combined with any other offer. All judgment calls and final decisions are made by Brian. "It's good to be the king."
- name the movie that quote comes from and get an extra bonus "kudos" from me ;-)

3. Training Tip: "Squats Good or Bad for the Knees?"

"Oh don't squat below parallel that is bad for your knees" says the misguided chain smoking doctor who falls into his chair when he sits and needs his arms to push against the chair in order to get back up!

The common myth is that squatting is somehow bad for the knees, even though we seem to be designed to do it.

Is there any merit to this myth?

The scientific data:

Back in the 50s a doctor performed a poorly designed study to prove that squats were bad for the knees. Now anyone who has any knowledge of studies knows that when you begin research with a presupposition you are trying to prove, then you will find a way to prove it whether it is true or not. I'll spare you the details but the doctor did not do a double blind study, he used his biases to alter the outcomes of his poorly structured test.

This is probably the reason why to this day there hasn't been any study that has supported the conclusion that this doctor came up with.

In the mean time all kinds of exercises were created to replace the squat such as leg extensions, leg presses, leg curls AND if one was to squat it was using a smith machine or some other lame squatting machine.

The problem with these squat alternatives? They can wreck your knees faster than a Muay Thai kick!

The anecdotal evidence:

Personally I used to have knee problems, until I started squatting. Not just squatting but squatting low. How low? Rock bottom low! Now my knees not only no longer hurt, but I am way stronger, more athletic and have more pain-free movement.

I have seen this formula repeated with many of my clients.
#1 = Knee pain
#2 = Start squatting rock bottom
#3 = Knee pain gone, quality of life up, athletic performance up

Bottom Line:

If you aren't squatting then you should and rock bottom at that, barring any medical condition and always under the supervision of a qualified instructor. We don't want you squatting incorrectly, screwing yourself up and then calling me a liar now do we! Well the "me" part of "we" sure doesn't!

If you are doing leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses or machine squats I will ask you to ask yourself "why" and what have you accomplished as a result of doing them? Are they getting you to your goal? Is there a better way? My money is on some form of squatting replacing all of those silly exercises.

Want to learn more? Spend the years and dollars doing the research and getting the certifications... or just ask me.

Until next time, train like an athlete not a hamster!

PS. If you are watching late-night infomercials and are thinking of buying the "Ab Gizmo 3000" or "Dance Your Way to a Super Six-Pack" don't bother. Save yourself some hard earned deblunes and instead purchase my Personalized Program Design. I'll get you better results with your own body weight and you won't have to make installments on an expensive piece of crap that sits in the corner collecting dust for the next 10 years for crying out loud!

4. Nutrition Tip: "Veggie, Black Bean & Chicken Soup"

Hearty, Healthy, Easy to Make and Reheats Great

Nutrition Kettlebells Aurora Colordao

I got the idea for this from the blog of Tracy Reifkind, RKC. I decided to take her idea and see what I could do with it.

INGREDIENTS:

• Cabbage x 1 small head or Bok Choy x 1 large head, chopped
...
• Onion x 1 med, chopped
...
• Garlic x 4-6 cloves, chopped
...
• Carrots x 2, chopped smaller pieces
...
• Celery x 2 stalks, chopped smaller pieces
...
• Kale x 1 bunch with stems separated and included, chopped
...
• Chicken Stock/Broth 4-6 cups depending on whether you want soup or
stew consistency
...
• Salt and Pepper
...
• Olive Oil x 1-2 Tblspn
...
• Whole Black Beans x 1-2 cans drained
...
• Chicken x 2-4 lbs, cooked and chopped in 1 inch pieces

Optional Ingredients:
...
- Fresh Cilantro x small handful, chopped or torn
- Jalapeño x 1-4, chopped or sliced
- Tomatillos x 1-3, chopped
- Oregano x to taste
- Cumin x to taste
- Chili powder x to taste
- Lime juice x to taste

DIRECTIONS:

• If chicken is raw, bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or
however long it takes to get almost totally cooked through. Remove any
skin or bones. Then cut it in to bite sized cubes.
...
• In a large pan put jalapeño, carrot, onion, cabbage, kale stems, celery
and saute in 1-2 tblspn of olive oil 5-10 mins until veggies start to caramelize. Add salt and pepper to taste.
...
• Add garlic and cook 2 more mins.
...
• Add kale leaves, tomatillos, black beans, chicken, cilantro, oregano, cumin and stock/broth and turn down to med-low, partially cover and simmer for 15 mins.
...
• Serve. Put the extra in the fridge for easy quick healthy leftovers.
...
• You could top this off with some lime juice or Tabasco sauce or just leave it alone.

TIPS:

• Feel free to add other veggies, experiment with it
...
• If you can find and afford it, go organic with everything you can and use
free-range chicken
...
• You can substitute turkey for the chicken and broth
...
• If on a budget, use boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you can’t find
those get chicken thighs but remove the bone and skin before adding to
the pot. Cheaper but a little more work. Personally I like the flavor of dark
meat better anyway.

This can also be seen in my Articles section on the upper left navigation bar.

In the future I'll show you how to modify this for variety and simplicity.

Enjoy!

5. Hall of Achievements:

Our newest updates:..

Adele Stewart - Renegade Row 2 x 53 lb KBs
s
Adele Stewart - Bear Crawl 2 x 53 lb KBs for distance (she does this for fun!!! definitely a sicko!)
s
Shari Wagner - Deadlift 140 lbs (2 x 70 lb KBs)
s
Denise Scofield (a grandmother) - Renegade Row 2 x 53 lb KBs
s
Denise Scofield (a grandmother) - Deadlift 176 lbs (2 x 88 lb KBs)
s
Jenny Hamilton - Bodyweight Pull-up
s
Jenny Hamilton - Snatch 26 lbs 10 per minute for 5 minutes (50 total)
s
Jenny Hamilton - Renegade Row 2 x 44 lb KBs
s
Brian Copeland, RKC - Tactical Strength Challenge Snatch Test 100 in 5 minutes w/ 53 lb KB (20 per minute)

See all achievements on the "Achievements" link at the left navigation bar at the top of the page or click here

6. Personalized Program Design: "Tired of Not Reaching Your Goals?"

One of my recent female clients went down 2 belt sizes in a month! She did it in just 15 minutes 3 - 5 nights per week and from the privacy of her own home using just her own bodyweight!

What are you waiting for?

Let's face it, we are our own worst trainers! We are great at telling other people what to do with their exercise programs but we can't seem to figure our's out to meet our goals.

Whether you are an athlete who needs to perform better at their sport, a guy or gal who wants to look better at the beach, maybe you just want a healthy heart and joints or you want a combination of all three; I can help you get there.

What is Personalized Program Design?

A custom "personalized" training program for created just for you. I take into consideration your goals, time, lifestyle, equipment you have access to, etc. You follow this on your own at home, the gym or where ever. Have kettlebells? Barbells? Dumbbells? Just your bodyweight? No problem!

Who needs Personalized Program Design?

New to Exercise:
- You know you want to get 'in-shape' but you have no idea of how to do it. Let me show you exactly what to do and how to progress.
Wants to Work Out at Home:
- Custom made training program based on your lifestyle, time, equipment or lack there of.
Hates Gyms:
- Join the club, or rather don't, I can't stand them either. Train at home with whatever equipment you have access to. You would be amazed what you can do with just your body weight if that's all you have.
Short on Time:

You CAN exercise for 15-20 minutes per day 3-6 days per week easy! If not you are making excuses. I'll show you how, and yes this is effective. But don't kid yourself, you will be working your butt off!

Been Training for Years But Haven't Reached YOUR Goals:
- You need a fresh outside perspective on your training. You also need an experienced professional coach to show you the way. I am both of those. All you need to provide is the elbow grease and sweat!

Quit making excuses and treat yourself, you deserve it!

Learn more about my Personalized Program Design here

7. Charity in Focus: "Precious Ones Outreach International"

My friend Janet "Ama" Annan has a special place in her heart for orphaned and abused children all over the world. She is the founder of Precious Ones of God Outreach International a non-profit organization that takes in orphaned and neglected children and gives them clothes, housing, food and schooling. I have volunteered my time and talents with this organization and can tell you that they are legitimate and make a real difference in the lives of hurting children. In fact, Janet and her husband both work full-time jobs just so they can provide more money to help the children. She can use all of the support she can get. No guilt trip but if you are moved in your heart then please visit her at her website here.

Until next time, train and eat like ATHLETES not hamsters and reap the rewards of a healthy, lean, sexy/studly body!

Brian Copeland, RKC

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