Category Archives: bootcampboston.com

Get, Give, Get: Get a follow along Ab Workout, Give A Back Pack and Get A Month Pass to CYBBC.

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Happy hump day!

 

 

I hope you’re day is going awesome and you’re loving the fact that you don’t have to water the flowers today.  I am.

 

 

 

In any event, I’m feeling really good b/c I rocked out a great 260 rep strength workout,  had a nice lunch and had 3 really cool things I wanted to share with you.

 

 

 

1.  Get A Follow Along Ab Workout 

 

 

One of my clients, Nasrin, asked me this great question about whether she should keep losing weight to tone her stomach OR focus more on plank & crunch work.  This was such a good question and with her permission, I created a really cool “Ask Mike” blog post about it and I’d like to share it with you.

 

http://bootcampboston.com/ask-mike/i-still-have-belly-fat-should-i-continue-to-lose-weight-or-focus-more-on-planks/

 

 

If you want a short (5-18min) & effective total body ab workout to help tone your stomach, once you reach your body weight goal, and some effective & equally short results-oriented strength workouts to help you tone everything else, click here.  You’ll get to see Coach Mike, busting his butt, to show you “live”, how intense your effort needs to be in order to make change happen.  I even get tired, sometimes go on my hands & knees and even lie down on my face b/c I get so exhausted (the end of CW#1).

 

Go ahead:  click here to see Nasrin’s Ask Mike question with my answer and get a follow along Ab Workout + 3 Follow Along Challenge Workouts.

 

 

2.  Give A Back Pack & Get A 1-Month Pass to CYBBC

 

 

I’ve been in the giving mode lately.  It started with my cousin selling wrist bands b/c his mom / my aunt got cancer, then Springfield College, my alma mater, which was hit hard by the tornadoes lost its beautiful tree line along the Massasoit shores (SC is a beautiful campus and the Harvard of Exercise Science in my biased opinion) and then I learned about this really cool program started by the City of Newton Health & Human Services department, that is collecting back packs & school supplies to give to underprivileged kids in Newton.  I don’t know about you, but I sure love to learn and nothing made learning as fun in grade school as writing in my new “trapper keeper” with my cool NFL pencils and crazy erasers and rocking out with my sweet maroon, Jansport back pack with tons of cool pockets (and hidden one’s too).

 

Anyways, I called the Health & Human Service Dept and asked them how many they were collecting (200) and how many they still needed (50), so I thought I’d ask you if you wanted to help too and if you did I’d do something really special for you.

 

Here’s the deal.  Help me collect 50, 48 more bags and school supplies (see above) by donating $50 worth of goods, by 5pm this Friday, August 17, 2012 to the Main Office at the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club and be sure to let them know and me know you did it, and I’ll gift you (1) Full Access Pass to A Phase of Boot Camp ($268 value) redeemable by anyone who is a good fit for us, including new members AND past members who aren’t currently under a membership agreement.  Current members may gift the certificate or sell it to someone who they feel is a good fit.  Gift certificate expires in 6-months (February 16, 2013).

 

 

Give & Get Specifics

 

  • 48 more bags needed for underprivileged kids
  • Donate a back pack and school supplies worth $50.
  • Do Good & Feel Good.
  • Get a 1-Month, Full Access Pass to A Phase of Boot Camp ($268 value)
  • Redeemable by people who are a good fit for CYBBC.
  • Including new members AND past members not on a membership agreement.
  • Current members may gift or sell the gift certificate.
  • Expires in 6-months (February 16, 2013).
  • Drop off by 5pm, Friday, August 17, 2012 to the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club Main Office (Edinboro Street), 675 Watertown Street, Newton, MA  02460.
  • Send Coach Mike an email, mike@mikealves.com to tell him you did this.

 

 

Get, Give, Get Summary

 

If you’ve got belly & side fat and you’d like to get a fun, follow along video you can do to help tone your midsection, click here.

If you give a back pack & supplies, you’ll feel really good about it and…

…you’ll get a 1-Month, Full Access Pass to A Phase of Boot Camp.

 

 

Thank you for reading today.

 

 

Yours living the active lifestyle,

 

Mike Alves

 

p.s.  Go check out Nasrin’s “Ask Mike” question here.  Follow along with the video, then while you’re flying high and feeling tight & solid in your gut, go drop off a new back pack to the B&G Club.

p.p.s.  No one ever says, “Wow, I really regret that workout!”

p.p.p.s.  No one also ever says, “Wow, I really regret helping those kids!”

1-Leg Dead Lifts: “less sore week my a**!”

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“Less sore week my ass!…”  is an email quote I received from Super Client, Alicia, this past Monday following our “…killer Monday workouts…”. Continue reading →

80-20 Principle Applied to Training Environments

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Change Your Body Boot Camps, Newton’s 1st Body Transformation Boot Camp that guarantees results for busy people, has released its 2012 Training Calendar. Click here to view.

Hello and good day to you!

One of the great things about your local Newton Boot Camp is the training environment. You see, the reason CYBBC has so many clients with success stories is because it has developed a system for yielding results and one of those systems is it’s training environment.

Have you ever heard of the 80 / 20 Principle. The 80 / 20 Principle, made famous by the Italian Economist, Vilfredo Pareto, and paraphrased here from Tim Ferris’ book, The 4-Hour Workweek, showed that 20% of Pareto’s Peapods yielded 80% of his peas or that 20% of the population yielded 80% of the wealth. The unique thing about this Principle is it can be applied to many contexts including training environments.

Here are some examples showing how training environment can lead to improved health, body transformations & performance.

• membership based gyms:

80% of members who do show up, don’t train on a plan, 20% do train on a plan.

• gym based, group exercise classes:

80% of group exercise classes are NOT programs, just workouts of the day. 20% are programs.

• general vs. custom programming


 

80% of programs are general and do not address imbalances or injury history, are not flexible, are not periodized or progressive and do not guarantee results. 20% of programs are customized to address imbalances & injuries, are flexible, periodized, progressive and guarantee results.

• gym equipment based workouts vs. do anywhere workouts



80% of programs are built around equipment found at a gym. 20% of programs are designed to be done anywhere you find yourself, with most any equipment available or even none at all.

• personal training studios



80% of PT Studios train 1 person at a time leaving the support & motivation soleley up to the coach. 20% of PT Studios train semi-privately using the collective support & motivation of the group to motivate the individual.

• membership boot camps



80% of boot camps accept anyone who can afford training to join. 20% of boot camps accept only the right people they want to train.

• short term results vs. long term sustainable results



80% of premium programs base their results on quick fixes (think “jumpstart” diet programs) to yield immediate results without consideration of the long term health, body composition and performance costs related to these sabotaging habits. 20% of premium programs yield both short & long term results by teaching sustainable habits to overcome the highs & lows of life.

• Good vs. Great



80% of coaches just want a paycheck and a place to go each day. 20% of coaches want to be the best they can be, the best in their area and the best in their niche.

• Fun



80% of training environments are low energy, no fun, filled with complaining people leaning on equipment, walking around aimlessly, watching tv or reading where people don’t really want to be. 20% of training environments will be high energy, exciting, motivating & fun places you want to be.

The Lucky 20%



Basically 20% of the people who set 2012 Health, Body Composition and Performance related goals will yield 80% of the results. These people are most likely to train in a high energy & fun environment where everyone is on a flexible and customized, long term sustainable, results-oriented, do anywhere program, that is not dependent on gym based equipment, which uses the motivation of a highly selective group of motivated people who are ready & committed to train, who are not complainers or whiners and are led by a coach who will accept nothing but the best for his/her clients, his/her program and his/herself.

The Unlucky 80%



The other 80% of people who set 2012 Health, Body Composition and Peformance related goals will yield 20% of the results if any. These people will go through the motions when they show up because they don’t have a plan, their accountability isn’t strong enough, they’ll most likely get hurt trying to train too hard in a workout that is not progressive or from having low energy from following a “jumpstart” nutrition plan. They’ll watch too much tv instead of watching the sweat slalom off their nose. They’ll lose momentum becaues their program is not fun, it’s not flexible, it’s dependent on gym based equipment and they’ll grow tired of being surrounded by negative nelly’s and coaches who don’t care.

In closing, Change Your Body Boot Camps has a system for delivering sustainable results in a safe manner and part of that system is its training environment. Phase 1 begins, Sunday, January 1 at 8am with Measurements & Orientation. The 1st day of training begins, Monday, January 2. You can learn more about our 2 convenient locations and flexible training times by visiting our website, bootcampboston.com.

Happy New Year!

Yours changing lives,

Mike Alves

Newton Personal Trainer
Newton Boot Camp

p.s. here’s the link for the schedule.
p.p.s. here’s the link to try us out.

Fighting the Freshman 15 / Getting Real World Ready

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60 lbs in 6-months
Way back in the early 2000’s I was honored to get to train a forward thinking high school graduate that was looking to get in his best shape for college.  This young man who is now a strong adult, desired to lose weight, get strong and get lean, which I assume would only compliment his great personality as he moved forward.   His result was 60 lbs of weight loss in 6-months.  I’d like to take some of the credit for his success, but I can’t because we both know he was super motivated to change and his nutrition was dialed in.  Plus I know that my programming then vs. my programming now was far inferior, so it really was a super motivated person, training 4x/wk/1hr each with me on strength and then doing additional cardio on his own.  He made the time for both training and in the kitchen and had an outstanding first semester and college experience.  If you’re reading this, way to go AC!
30 lbs Gained in 24 weeks
Also back in the early 2000’s I was honored to get to train another super motivated high school kid, we’ll call him J. Flavor, who was tired of being skinny and wanted to get strong, put on muscle and increase his body weight.  After his first, 12 week program he had put on 20 lbs and after his second 12 week program he put on at least another 10 lbs.  Again, it was this young man’s desire to change and get better that earned him results.  He could of have done it with anyone, but I was the lucky coach he chose.
Peak for Sports Seasons
Also back in the 2000’s I had the honor of co-starting a high school strength & conditioning program called Pride Sports Performance (Pride is the Team Name for Springfield College, my alma mater) and volunteering at Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning, where I had the opportunity to train super motivated high school and college athletes that either wanted to peak for their upcoming high school / college season, to get noticed by college recruiters / pro scouts or to prepare to play at the next level.  I can’t again take credit for any of their successes, I was just lucky to work with them, but each of these kids went on to have improved seasons.
Body Changes = Increased Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence
And there were numerous handfuls of other awesome, smart and motivated high school and college kids who I’ve had the pleasure of working with privately over my last 12 years as a coach, who hired me not only for body changes, but for what those changes could do for their self-esteem and confidence.  How they would feel more secure in meeting new people while living away from home for the first time or entering the “real world” and becoming fully independent.  How they would walk taller and not second guess themselves when speaking or taking action, which allowed the life skills instilled by their parents, the education they’ve worked hard to accumulate and their own personal life experiences to shine through without hesitation.  
1st Impressions
If you’ve graduated from high school and had the new / scary / exciting experience of being a college freshman as a dependent / independent or if you’ve graduated college and had the new / scary / exciting experience of entering the real world as an independent (or maybe still co-dependent), you know that there are some big butterflies and that you wanted to make a great impression.  
From 147 – 185 in 1 Semester
When I graduated from high school, I weighed 147 lbs. and was a ½” shy of 6 feet.  I was SKINNY!  I knew that when I got to college, I wanted to be more attractive to the female co-eds and if I put on some muscle and weight so I wasn’t skinny anymore, I’d have the confidence and self-esteem to go with my already outgoing personality (my blog, I can boast).  What happened?  I trained every day from Monday – Friday following the good ole body building / body part routines that were sadly too common then, with next to no cardio and an occasional weekend day of shooting hoops.  I made time to get to breakfast at 7am before my 8am classes (what college kids make time to get up these days), always went to lunch and dinner in Cheney Hall (the cafeteria) and stocked my dorm fridge and cubbies with food (thanks mom & dad) so I would never have to worry about being hungry, plus I was a partier then so I had my share of pizza and beer.  Result:  I went home for winter break and weighed 185 lbs.  That’s 38 lbs of mostly muscle with some fat gained in 1 semester.  I had to get a bunch of new clothes because I outgrew a lot of things.  My waist went from 30” to a 34/35” waist and my shirts went from M-L to L-XL.  It was cool.  Academically I was kicking butt, socially I knew everyone’s names even if people didn’t remember mine (I’m great with names) and I was definitely more attractive to and confident with the females on campus.  Life was great.
Lost & Found:  Self Confidence / Body Weight
When I finished my internship (I graduated college upon completion) with the Boston Red Sox’s minor league affiliates the Sarasota / Fort Meyers Red Sox, I had lost a bunch of weight and with it some confidence.  This time I arrived to Spring Training weighing 195 lbs and when I returned up north 6-months later, I was under 180 lbs and my primary responsibility was to be the Strength & Conditioning Coach for my teams, so it’s not like I didn’t have access.  My clothes were hanging, I was tired and I wasn’t happy and I had to prepare for my boards, my National Athletic Training Association Certification.  After I passed my exams (first try), it was time to get my confidence back and my weight back, by getting in the gym and training.  This time I was at Umass Amherst as an assistant strength & conditioning coach working with their Division 1 athletes / teams.  This was awesome, I got right back into shape fast and only had to lift weight 4x/wk now to make fast gains.  I was ready for the real world and good karma had followed me once again when I had the confidence and high self-esteem to believe in myself and let my talents and work ethic shine through.
Special Offer for 2011 Grads ONLY
Circling back to the present, I now want to provide an opportunity for motivated, 2011 high school and college graduates (New Customers Only), who are looking to change their bodies, get in their best shapes and increase their self-esteem and self-confidence so their natural talents can shine through without hesitation or second guessing.  From now until midnight on Memorial Monday, I’ll be offering the following Grad Bootcamp Packages for the summer: 
Grad (3-Month) Summer Bootcamp Package (June 19 – September 3)- $97/month (Typically $246/month)

Grad (1-Month) Bootcamp Package (Month Start Date of Choice:  June 19, July 17 or Aug 14)- $137 (Typically $268/month)

Fighting the Freshman 15 / Getting Real World Ready
If you know a motivated 2011, high school or college graduate, who would like to be proactive and fight the freshman 15 and/or would like to enter the real world with peaking self-confidence, please refer them to me or contact me through my website, bootcampboston.com/contact or mikealves.com/contact.html.
Yours changing lives,
Mike Alves
Newton’s Best Boot Camp
Newton’s Best Personal Trainer
Online Personal Training
p.s.  this is a huge deal for those looking to make a change now!
p.p.s.  2011 grads only
p.p.p.s.  last day to order is Midnight, Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2011.
p.p.p.p.s.  order now at:  bootcampboston.com/contact

Bra Flab vs. Man Boobs

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They might not be life threatening epidemics, but they certainly can be a self esteem threatening epidemic.

What is bra flab?

Bra Flab

Bra flab is the “soft” tissue found above and below the bra material just below the posterior axillary fold (arm pit).  It’s the cousin of arm flab,

Arm Flab

which is when your triceps or back of the arm gets soft and hangs loose like in the picture. 

Most people know about the arm flab, but many haven’t seen the bra flab and bra flab occurs when the muscles on the axillary border of the posterior upper back become atrophied from lack of use and often in conjunction with overeating. 

What do you do?

Pulling more and eat less for starters.  What do I mean by pull more?  Do horizontal and vertical pulling exercises against resistance either from an external load and/or your own body weight.

Sample Exercises:

1.       Vertical Pulls
a)      TRX Chin Up Progression
b)      Band Resisted Reverse Grip Pull Downs
2.       Horizontal Pulls
a)       TRX Inverted Rows Regressions
b)       Seated Band Rows

Adding the above exercises to your strength training routine will help to tone and shape the muscles that make up bra flab.  They’re not the only exercises that can improve the area, but their the biggest bang for your effort exercises.

Fellas.  Man boobs are no bueno and you certainly want to fight getting soft and droopy up top. 

What are man boobs?


Man boobs are when you’re chest muscles or pectoralis muscles become severely atrophied and begin to sag. 
What do you do?
Pushing more and eating less is usually a good start.  What do I mean by push?  Do horizontal and vertical pushing exercises to strengthen and shape both your anterior thoracic wall (chest) and your upper trap muscles to give you the dominant beach muscles that you once had or always wanted. 
Sample Exercises:
1.       Horizontal Pushing
a)       Push Up T Progressions
b)       DB Bench Press
2.       Vertical Pushing
a)       Band Resisted Overhead Press
b)      DB Overhead Press Progressions
Now men or even ladies, if you want to get rid of the saggy boobs and get hard and tight pec muscles, add the above exercises to your exercise routine.  These are also not the only exercises you can do to firm up your chest muscles and give you great traps, but they’ll get you started.
So now you have potential cures to the self-esteem epidemics known as bra flab and man boobs.  Give the exercises a try and you’ll immediately feel them beginning to start the change process.  Incorporate the exercises into your weekly routines and before you know it you’ll have created a habit, eliminated a problem and gained increased self confidence.
Yours changing lives,
Mike Alves
p.s.  want a coach, a team and a program to help you get in your best shape this summer and not next?  Click here to try out Newton’s Best Boot Camp for 1-month at a killer price. 
p.p.s.  here’s the link:  https://www.spafinder.com/sparahrah/Boston-MA/Change-Your-Body-Boot-Camps/14268/index.htm