CT Fitness and Rehab

I know you’ve heard me say it before, but I can’t let Thanksgiving go by without saying it again:

Thank you, CT Bootcampers for everything: for your friendship, for your support, for your humor, your dedication, your sweat.  Thank you for laughing with me, swearing at me, and even hating me some days.  Starting my day with you guys helps kick the day off in a positive way everyday.

Aside from the obvious things like family, friends, home and health, I’m also need to share my thanks for the following:

• The people who kick my butt:  Master Brandon Tracy  and my classmates at Infusion MMA and most recently, Jessica Laufenberg at SBR Coaching.
• My wife’s job at the high school. Not only have her last few months been the least stressful months of the last 5 years, but her job comes with a few perks that benefit our bootcamp.
• My new position at Upland Hills Health.  Even though it shook up my business plan, I have the leadership position I’ve been wanting, and I get to work with great people. 
• All the CT Fitness supporters who don’t come to bootcamp but cheer us on the “sidelines”.   I am fortunate to have so many people wishing us well and spreading the good word about CT Fitness.

Thanks again, everyone!  Wishing you a great Thanksgiving!

Talking during workouts has become quite the topic of discussion over the last few months:  Who talks, who doesn’t. Which class is the chattiest.  Why doesn’t the men’s class talk at all?

Kara was recently asked behind the scenes if all the talking drives me crazy.  Here’s my answer:

It’s YOUR workout.

Some people come to bootcamp to get their butts kicked, and some come for social reasons.

I don’t care what your reason is–I’m just glad you are there.  Coming and chatting through a workout is better than no workout at all.

 Is your intensity up if you are talking? Honestly, probably not.  But it’s your workout.

The workout is there and it is intense enough for you to use to get results (strength, power, calorie burn, etc.).   However, it is still up to you to use that workout to push yourself to the level you want, to get the results you want. 

That being said, I can honestly say that I am guilty of purposely trying to create workouts that make it hard for you to talk.  It’s a personal feeling of satisfaction when the workout is over and no one can talk (or move). 

Bottom line:  I care about you and your workout, but it is your workout. Make it the workout you want it to be, whatever that means to you.    And expect a little exercise harassment out of me in the process.

My thought for today originates in our days of coaching–

Our coaching days at Middleton High School

When we coached Middleton High School gymnastics, we had a great team that did very well.  At the big invites, inevitably some coach would talk to us and say “my team is just here to have fun.”  I always wondered why they thought we were there.  As if the fact that our gymnasts were laying it all on the line and putting their best performances out there meant they weren’t having fun…

This thought has resurfaced recently. At races, I’ve heard many people  talk about the race with the same disclaimer:  “I’m just doing this for fun.”  Again, it makes me wonder why they think the rest of us are racing.  Because I think..

..Putting your best performance out there is fun.

…Testing your limits is fun.

…Working hard to acheive a goal is fun.

Don’t get me wrong. Going out and just doing it to finish is fun as well. Doing an event just to do it with your  friends and family is fun. 

But trying to do your best at the work you enjoy doesn’t disqualify you from fun.

I hope you, too,  are finding challenges that makes all your hard work fun!

 How many things do you do that go unnoticed or unappreciated?  All of us have stuff in our day that needs to happen to keep things running smoothly or at least keep chaos from taking complete control.  We do these things because they are an expected part of our paid job or they are necessary to keep our home and family clean and healthy, or because they are aggravating chores that nobody else wants to do.  Whatever tasks these are, our efforts  simply pass without a grateful “thank you.”

It’s easy to make a list of our own underappreciated tasks.  Not so easy to look around and see all the things that, “magically” get done.  I am extremely fortunate to live in a world of mystery organized and managed by my incredible wife.  

The short list:  grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning (including the bathrooms in a house of boys), getting kids to and from their events, dog walking, and keeping everyone’s schedules in check.  All of this is done while she works a full time job and fits in her own workouts and training. 

So why is this a blog topic?  To say a huge and well deserved thank you for all the times I’ve failed to adequately look around.  I have received a great deal of credit for bootcamper success.  The honest truth is that KT is a huge part of the work that happens so that success can occur.

So much of CT Fitness appears simple—Find a group of people willing to get together and get their butts kicked each morning.  However, the amount of work that goes into actually accomplishing a good butt kicking frequently requires several hours each day of background organization that goes unseen.  The inspiration for CT Fitness began in large part from KT’s input and support.  Locations, scheduling, contracts with the schools, billing, website topics and information, knowing how to work the technology, Facebook, event ideas and organizing, workout planning (some of the hardest workouts have been the brainchild of KT) have involved way too much organization for a single person to manage while working another job.  CT Fitness could never be the successful “family” it has turned out to be without KT.  Her efforts combined with the good word of mouth that all of you have done, I am able to run successful classes that have people talking and wanting to join in.

Thank you, Kara, for all your work to make this a success.  Thank you, bootcampers, for showing up, pushing each other and spreading the good word about CT Fitness around town.  You all deserve credit for not only the business success, but the success of each other.

 PS.  We are in the midst of planning another customer appreciation event within the next several months.  Stay tuned for details.  I welcome any suggestions for the event as well as any feedback about how to make the classes better.

Kara and I were sitting down chatting about workouts one weekend morning.  She was firing some fairly serious questions at me about workout design, so it became quite the philosophical discussion.  When we were about halfway through the discussion, we realized it would make a great blog write up so we tried to get some of the key ideas down on paper.  While we restructured some of this for “flow”,  it is all from that discussion that took place.

KT:  What is your philosophy when it comes to creating bootcamp workouts?

CT:  I come from the Physical Therapy standpoint of integrated function—Using your arms, legs, core together to move your own body weight in a balanced manner. I’m big on balance and postures.  Those are the main things I correct in a therapy setting.  Regardless of diagnosis (ankle sprains, knee surgeries, etc), my patients’ programs need to include balance and posture. I believe lack of balance and poor posture are an issue in the general population and they are likely what makes people need therapy in the first place.   In bootcamps, I can help develop and strengthen balance and postures before people become my therapy patients (or someone’s patient) at all.

KT: No offense, but sounds kind of boring.  How do you make this interesting for bootcampers?

CT:  Thanks, supportive wife with bad posture :)   To me, boredom comes from doing the same thing for an extended time.  Therefore, I vary the exercises to keep my bootcampers interested. You won’t find my bootcampers doing 10 minutes of the same exercise.  I don’t want to breakdown the body. In my workouts, one body part gets to rest and recover while another works, therefore avoiding injuries that come from repetitive stress.

I’m also a big fan of “stacking” exercises. Large muscles groups can handle more than 45 seconds of work.  Therefore, working them for longer periods with back to back  exercises will make them stronger.  However, when we switch exercises, the work is a bit different, and I pull in more/different groups.  A muscle has more than one job—sometimes it’s the primary mover and sometimes it’s assisting other muscles. For example:  If a muscle has functions of A, B and C, I want to try and work all of those functions.

Another way of saying this is that every muscle could work in three different planes (frontal, sagital and transverse–i.e. forward and backward, side to side, and rotational).   Muscles need to work in all three of those planes in order to have true functional strength.

KT:  What do you think is the most important concept in your philosophy?

CT: If I have to pick one, I think it’s moving with proper technique. It’s why I don’t work out with my bootcampers.   If I’m working out, how am I going to see proper vs. improper technique?

I consider it a major part of my job to help my bootcampers stay safe and well. If work is not done properly, there is going to be injury.  Joints, tendons, ligaments are built and arranged to move a certain way and when they don’t move that way, there is stress where stress wasn’t meant to be.  This leads to injuries. 

Muscles, in coordination with your nervous system, have a memory.  If I can get people to perform the movements correctly enough times to create a habit, the neuromuscular system can remember how to do that movement no matter what the setting. Therefore no matter where my bootcampers are in life –working out with me or without me, cleaning, working, just moving around in their daily life—they will move correctly and hopefully, avoid injuries.

KT:  That’s a lot to consider in one 45 minute workout…

CT:  Bottomline consideration:   High workload, controlled stress is what it’s all about.  And sweating.  You gotta sweat.  Heat is what is expended when calories are being burned—staying “hot” is a great goal.

KT:  Do you really want me to write that last line down??

It’s been awhile.  What I thought was going to be just a crazy summer turned into a crazy fall.  The blog caught the raw end of the deal.

The summer was nuts running the bootcamps, working at the hospital full time, training for triathlons, chasing the boys to their activities, and doing all the other stuff that comes with being a grown up, husband and father.

Too make things even crazier, this August I was surprised by a new position, and therefore a promotion, at the hospital.  A director-style position was what I was looking for when I started CT Fitness and Rehab because I never thought would become available at the hospital.  At the end of the summer, there it was, only without the financial risk of opening my own facility. I couldn’t pass it up.

So the Rehab part of CT Fitness and Rehab will probably not happen, but the Fitness part will keep going strong—thanks in large part to all of you.  Kara’s been teaching classes so I can get to meetings or just get some sleep after too many 14 hour days in a row.  She’s been an integral part of all aspects of bootcamp since day one– from creating workouts, to critiquing workouts, to all the crucial behind the scenes stuff that I can’t keep up with–so I know you’re in good hands when I can’t be there. And I still hear whining (and compliments) so I know she’s doing it right. 

It’s been nice to step back a bit because there are things I notice from this view, and I have time to think about things.  I’m hoping to get them down on paper to share with you soon.

As always, thanks for all your support, friendship and fun.  You guys have always been what makes this job great.  I’m grateful that you have hung in there with me as long as you have—for some of you since day one!

CT Fitness is excited to bring Jessica Laufenberg of SBR Coaching to speak to new and experienced triathletes! 

• WHEN:  Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7 pm
• WHERE:  Little Theater in the High School (enter main doors, take a left, first door on the left)
• WHY:  Because you want to do a triathlon for the first time, you want to improve your triathlon times, you want to try a triathlon of a greater distance OR you just don’t know what to do in between tri seasons**

Jessica will provide information on all of the above and there will be plenty of time for Q& A also.

One of my favorite pictures of Jessica as she greeted one of her triathletes coming out of the swim at Ironman WI

After stalking Jessica for months on Facebook and on her webpage, I finally gathered the courage to join one of her programs this summer.  It’s funny when I look back on it now–she is the most down to earth, fun, easy to be with people I know.   And while that’s all good, what I really came to love about her was her in-depth knowledge of the sport of triathlon, exercise science, physiology and biomechanics.  Most importantly, she truly cares about people and she cares about their bodies and keeping them healthy with good form and proper training.

PLEASE pass the word about this great opportunity to learn from a great coach!!

**If you are registered for an Ironman or are thinking of doing one, she is having a seminar specific to that distance on September 27 at 7 pm at her studio, SBRCoaching, in Verona.  Check out the details HERE.

A new class just for runners of all ability levels! 

I’ve watched with great interest from an instructor and clinician’s viewpoint the impact  that strength and speed work has had for the runners in my classes.  It has been especially interesting since we only do it on a limited scale because the focus of my bootcamps isn’t to make better runners but to improve overall strength and fitness.

I’ve also seen my fair share of aches, pains and injuries over the years at the PT clinic and most recently in my classes that have stemmed from increased running mileage, improper form and/or specific weaknesses in those muscles used for running.

Therefore, we have decided to run a class specifically designed for runners–from the 5k runner to the marathon runner, beginner to experienced.  This class will focus on:

•  running form,
• strength for running specific muscle groups
• speed drills
•  improving lactate threshold
• core and flexibility for runners

When:   Wednesdays and Fridays  6:15 – 7 am.

Where:  Varied locations over the summer into fall.

Cost:  $60/mo 

Class format:  First 10-15 min will usually be a self-led warm up at our pre-announced location.  You will receive this via email by Monday of that week.  The next 30 min will be varied from stationary exercises with weights focusing on the legs, to hill work to track sprint intervals to simple technique drills.  Above all, your form will be critiqued from start to finish (fresh to fatigued) in an attempt to keep those aches and pains away.

You don’t need to be fast to join!!  All you need is the desire to increase your speed! 

Class will start as soon as we have 5 people sign up for class.  Pass the word and let CT know if you are interested at ctfitnessandrehab@gmail.com

Well, our one year anniversary came and went without much ado. Maybe because we couldn’t quite remember exactly what date we started (this is sounding a bit like my marriage J) Turns out our first bootcamp was May 1, 2010.

It has been an AMAZING year! We have a great family of bootcampers. I say family because that is how I come to feel about all of you—even when you swear at me. The support and friendship found in each group is incredible. Your hard work is motivating, and it is always great start to my days.

As I sit here with my classes to capacity or near there, it’s hard to believe those first classes only had 3-4 people in them. I’d like to thank the original Bootcampers who have been with me from the very, very start:

Stephanie Love—the first person to join bootcamp that didn’t know me (or Kara) at all. She took a chance based on the recommendation of a friend (thank you, Adrienne Bestul!!)

Julie Ibinger who actually was one of my original guinea pigs—she started before bootcamp even started when she would show up with Kara to let me test out workouts on her. I think she would say I got better as time went on J

Dana Fager, Mike Peterson, and Jason Beier—All good friends who decided to join me right away on this ride. Thank you!

Matt Dobereiner and Jeff Gassman—I barely knew either of you back then, but thankfully, you took a chance on a new guy and a new workout.

And last but not least: Kara Thomas, Pam Peterson, and Troy Stoenner—my family—who of course “had” to sign up. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for all your support over the last year.

Thank you to each and every one of you for being a part of this dream of mine. Even though there are some days 4:45 am comes WAY too soon, within the first minute of each class, I’m having a great time because of all of you. You make this job way too fun!