Tag Archives: mikealves.com

gobble, gobble

Posted on by
2

 

Gobble, Gobble Turkey Toss, Give to Hungry Learn Fat Loss


Friday, November 16, 2012 @ 7pm

At the Mackenzie Center, 1337 Centre St, Newton Centre, MA  02459

Presented by Mike Alves of Change Your Body Boot Camps

To Benefit the MHSA/Bristol Lodge of Waltham.

 

Mike Alves of Change Your Body Boot Camps is announcing the turkey donation fat loss workout event to remember with the 4th Gobble, Gobble Turkey Toss, Give to Hungry, Learn Fat Loss Charity Boot Camp Workout.  This event will provide food to hundreds of people during the Thanksgiving holiday and take the givers through a great fat loss routine they can do anytime, anywhere with most any object, even a back pack filled with canned goods or books.

 

 

The fat loss routine will be 45 minutes of total body interval training using only your body weight and the weight of the loaded back pack you bring. You’ll be warmed up and cooled down; we’ll address every functional movement pattern, work your holiday storage system (e.g. your core) and end with a “finisher”. The best part is, it will allow people of different levels of fitness to train together because it is time based and includes exercises for beginners to advance. It will be fast, fun and you’ll understand how to exercise to lose fat in the shortest amount of time.

 

 

The MHSA/Bristol Loge Meals of Waltham is a soup kitchen that will be providing Thanksgiving Day meals to individuals and families in need. Help ensure that no person is turned away this holiday season.

 

 

All attendees are asked to do the following:

 

 

  • Donate a FROZEN turkey which will be “tossed” from person to person at the end of the workout while loading the giving truck. All sizes of turkeys welcome.
  • bring a water bottle, hand towel and gloves (your hands will get cold passing what could be 100 turkeys)
  • a cooler to keep your FROZEN turkey frozen while we exercise.  please bring labeled cooler (so you don’t mix up your cooler w/ someone else) w/ turkey inside.
  • a back pack filled with dumbbells, weights, a medicine ball, a pumpkin or canned goods that you will use to exercise with (15-30lbs for women, 30-60lbs for men)
  • wear fitness attire
  • Rsvp by filling out contact form below to reserve your spot as there are only 100 spaces available.

 

 

 
Frequently Asked Questions:

 

“Mike, why are you doing all these charity events?” Why not? Seriously, Getting people in shape is what I do for a living. Getting you to break habits like overeating and not burning & earning is all part of it. Giving to others is a way to make you feel good about yourself and tie it into something you may not love yet, like exercise.

 

“Mike, why do I need to bring a labeled cooler?” Great question. The Mackenzie Center, our host venue has many services and programs to offer, but a walk-in freezer is not one of them. I could have the “giving truck” arrive for the start, but I feel the minor inconvenience of lugging a cooler, will be worth the experience of the turkey toss. That’s when you’ll really feel the power of celebrating the holidays, exercise and giving.

 

“Mike, what’s the workout going to be like?” Fast and as challenging as you are willing to make it. There will be music playing in the background, the exercises will be time based, each person will have a choice of 3 different levels to choose from for each exercise. You’ll be warmed up, train your core, do a total body strength circuit, experience a finisher, do the turkey toss and conclude with a static stretch.

 

“Mike, why do I need to bring a weighted backpack?” The backpack and your body weight will serve as your resistance for the day. It is also a symbol that you can exercise anywhere, anytime, with most any object, even a weighted back pack.

 

“Mike, what should I put in the back pack?” You can put books, a medicine ball, dumbbells, canned goods, a pumpkin, anything really.

 

“Mike, what if I want to do more or less weight than you recommended?” Go for it. Use less weight if you are in less shape and more weight if you are in better shape. The heavier weight you use, the faster your results will occur. If you choose too little weight and it’s too easy, strive to do as many reps as possible. If you choose too much weight and its too heavy, that’s o.k. too. Just do your best, rest as needed and keep going. Good things will happen faster.

 

“Mike, what if I get tired?” Great. Do your best to push through it. Challenge yourself, see what you really can do. Then if you need to rest, rest. Just stay where you are, grab a sip of water and rejoin when you can. If you need to sit down, then sit down.

 

“Mike, why the Bristol Loge Soup Kitchen?” I read a couple of articles in the Boston Globe about Soup Kitchens not having enough food to meet the demand of applicants requesting assistance. I couldn’t imagine not (1) having a place to go for Thanksgiving and (2) not being able to feed myself or my family. So…Gobble, Gobble. We’re going to give 100’s of pounds of turkeys and feed over a 100 hungry people. It will be awesome. Article #1, Article #2

 

“Mike, can I make a cash donation instead or as well?” Of course. You can make a cash donation to the MHSA Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen of Waltham. You don’t have to bring a frozen turkey to participate, but you’ll be glad if you did.

 

“Mike, what if I haven’t exercised in a while, I’m really out of shape or I have an injury?” Good questions. Well its up to you. This will be a challenging workout, I will show 3 different levels for each exercise and I expect you to do your best. If you think you can’t, then you probably can’t. If you think you can, then come on down. You and I will do our best to get you a great workout.

 

“O.K. how do I sign up?” Fill out the contact form above. You can also contact me with questions on my contact page.


Change Your Body Boot Camps is a fun, challenging and dynamic body transformation exercise class for busy people looking to change their bodies and their lives. This class is perfect for people looking to be led, supported by peers and can make time to exercise either before or after work after school drop off. Participants will use their body weight, dumbbells and bands as resistance in an interval workout that incorporates exercise regressions and progressions to address different fitness levels. To learn more about Change Your Body Boot Camps go to bootcampboston.com.

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

Posted on by
Reply

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!”

Guest Post: The Hidden Truths About Cholesterol and Statins by Adrienne Nicole, Mercola.com

Posted on by
Reply

I’m a big fan of searching for answers when I have a question, and a while back I was looking for information on how to help a client get better sleep, when I came across an article from mercola.com.  Check it out here.

 

Anyways, my readers, aka you, must have enjoyed the article because mercola.com asked if they could write an article for my blog.  When they told me that it was about Cholesterol I was very interested because I have an interest in cholesterol’s relationship to testosterone production, it’s affects on heart disease (I have a family history of heart disease) and I like butter, steak, coconut oil and other high saturated fat foods.

 

Enter, Adrienne Nicole, a writer for mercola.com.

 

=====================================================================================================

The Hidden Truths About Cholesterol and Statins

For years, the medical community has feared cholesterol. It has been regarded as the primary cause of common American disorders, such as heart diseases and obesity. Due to its reputation, certain types of foods have been demonized and labeled as hazards to health. Among these are eggs and other foods rich in saturated fats.

Every time high cholesterol is diagnosed – often around levels of 200 to 250 –cholesterol drugs called statins are prescribed to patients. According to research, statins are the second most prescribed medicine in the United States, and tens of millions of Americans are taking it. The more pressing matter is not only are adults taking this but kids as well.

First of all, false facts have been spread about cholesterol and statins for the past two decades. Instead of working hard to suppress the formation of cholesterol, people should understand that the body requires it to function well. Second, statins may be successful in inhibiting cholesterol production, but their adverse effects outweigh their benefits.

Before acting on your cholesterol levels, you must first understand what cholesterol does and why statins are not the answer to regulating it.

Why Cholesterol is Your Friend, Not Foe

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance, 75 percent of which is produced by your liver. It is utilized by your body for the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that contribute to fat metabolism. At the same time, cholesterol plays an important role in the formation of your memories, and is key for your optimal neurological function.

Cholesterol levels that fall within 200 and 250 should not be the basis of high cholesterol. In fact, there are people who have levels within this range but are not at all at risk for heart disease. On the other hand, there are some who have “healthy” levels, which fall below 200, but possess an increased chance of having a heart attack. Health experts believe that unless your levels are 330 and above, you should not worry about high cholesterol.

While there are consequences with extremely elevated levels, studies show that low levels of cholesterol can bring about the following side effects:

  • Higher risk of depression
  • Increased suicidal tendencies
  • Increased violence and aggression
  • Higher chance of contracting cancer and Parkinson’s disease

The key is to keep your cholesterol levels at healthy range. In order to do so, you must avoid statins at all costs. There are now more than 900 studies proving the adverse effects of statins.

How Statins’ Side Effects Overshadow Their Benefits

As mentioned before, statins are a HMG-CoA reductase or cholesterol inhibitor. Specifically, they block the enzyme in liver that formulates cholesterol in your body. While these cholesterol drugs are successful in doing so, they disrupt several mechanisms in your body, as well as induce several unwanted effects on your body.

One of the major complaints reported due to statins is muscle problems. Cholesterol-lowering drugs affect your muscles by activating the atrogin-1 gene, which contributes to muscle atrophy. Common indications of muscle damage are muscle pain and weakness. If not dealt with, an advanced case of muscle degeneration called rhabdomyolysis can destroy your tissues.

Several other problems that are linked to statins are:

  • Polyneuropathy or nerve damage in the hands and feet
  • Acidosis
  • Immune system impairment
  • Memory loss and cognitive decline
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Pancreatic and hepatic (liver) dysfunction

Statins can also prevent the production of an important nutrient in the body called Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10. This coenzyme is actually important for your cellular energy production. It is produced in the same pathway that cholesterol is created. When you take statins, the creation of CoQ10 is also inhibited.

Statins also contribute to the rising of your blood sugar. Your liver also functions to convert excess sugar and grains into cholesterol and triglycerides. With the intake of statins, these sugars are then sent back to your bloodstream. Because of this, you become more at risk of diabetes or hypoglycemia.

How to Keep Your Cholesterol Levels at a Normal Range

The best method to maintain your normal cholesterol levels is to go natural. Integrating a healthy diet and proper exercise in your lifestyle is the most effective way to keep your cholesterol levels from becoming abnormal. This may require discipline and great effort, but it can also influence your entire physical, emotional, and mental health.

It is best to avoid processed foods rich in sugars and grains, as these contributed to a myriad of disorders. Add more heart healthy choices to your diet, such as grass-fed meats, raw eggs and dairy, avocados, raw nuts and seeds, as well as coconut oil and olive oil. Avoid frying your foods; instead, consume them raw.

Eliminate alcohol and smoking from your lifestyle. Exercise to keep your blood circulation regulated. This will transport elements of your immune system to various parts of your body, keeping your resistance high. Do not just include aerobics in your routine. Perform other activities, such as high-intensity exercises, strength training, core exercises, and stretching. Of course, it is important to have adequate rest periods when you exercise to allow your muscles to recover.

 

About the Author

Adrienne Nicole works as a writer for Mercola.com, the world’s most visited natural health site. Many of her relatives have been diagnosed with high cholesterol and other related problems, and she has recently learned that she too is at risk for these. Thanks to Dr. Mercola, she has learned effective strategies on how to keep both her physical and emotional health in optimal condition.

 

=====================================================================================================

 

Summary

 

Adrienne’s article kind of follows the nutrition philosophy I have and teach my clients about, while also being blunt about how to reduce your risk for high cholesterol (discipline, natural foods, exercise, eliminate alcohol & smoking, avoid processed foods, refined sugars and V, cover your ears, grains), why cholesterol is good, why too much or too little cholesterol is bad and what the side of effects of taking statins are.

 

What did you think?

Be sure to click like on this article to give Adrienne some recognition for it and comment below to tell me what you think?  Do you agree, disagree, etc…

 

Yours changing lives,

 

Mike Alves

Newton Boot Camp

Newton Personal Trainer

Like Us on Facebook

 

p.s.  click like, share or tweet to give Adrienne a shout out.

p.p.s.  comment below to share your thoughts

 

 

 

How do I lose 5-10 lbs?

Posted on by
3

Question: How do I lose the last 5-10 lbs?…or…How do I gain 5-10 lbs?

Answer:  It has to do with liquid calories and new research backs up what many coaches & people already knew.  Continue reading to find your answer.

Water: a non-caloric beverage

 VS.

Soda: A caloric beverage

How to gain weight?

What seems like a lifetime ago now, I used to work with professional, college & high school athletes and to help them not only keep weight on, but gain weight I’d have them drink liquid calories in addition to their meals because it was a great way to sneak in extra calories. I did the same myself when I was in a weight gain phase back in college. (I entered college at 147 lbs. and left college at 195 lbs.)

 

How to lose weight?

However if you’re looking to lose weight, you definitely want to skip the calorie drinking and replace it with water while focusing on “solid” whole foods.

Dr. Tom Halton, the author of The Weight Loss Triad, just wrote an article on this subject and cited new research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Tate, et.al., reported subjects who replaced their caloric beverages with non-caloric beverages lost 5% of their body weight over 6-months vs. the control groups who didn’t replace their caloric beverages. If you’re 185 lbs and you’re looking to lose the last 9.25 lbs, or if you’re 130 lbs looking to lose the last 6.5 lbs and you want an easy way to do it, switching your cocktails for club soda w/ lime, your beers for seltzer water, your latte for “black” coffee or green tea and your O.J. for water w/ lemon are some simple yet still pleasurable ways to be social and still enjoy hydrating & meal consumption.

In summary

Drinking caloric beverages or liquid calories is great for weight gain, but bad for for weight loss.

If you want to gain weight, drink liquid calories like smoothies, shakes, juices, alcohol, creamer, half & half, etc…

If you want to lose weight, don’t drink calories & instead drink water or its derivatives (tap, seltzer, mineral, ice, club soda, coffee, green tea …).

Yours living the active life,

Mike Alves

Tate, DF., et. Al. Replacing caloric beverages with water or diet beverages for weight loss in adults: main results of the Choose Healthy Options Consciously Everyday (CHOICE) randomized clinical trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012; 95(3): 555-63.


Aesop’s Fable: Farmer, Goose, Golden Eggs and Body Transformations

Posted on by
Reply


It’s the New Year, a fresh start, a clean slate and a new beginning. It’s a time to reflect, goal set and “resolve”, right? Right!

I have a question for you. Did you get sick after the year-end holidays and/or at the start of this year? I did. And that is very un-Mike Alves-like (yes I just wrote that). Why did I get sick? Because I focused on producing, on what I could do, get done, finish, achieve, etc…and didn’t keep my normal balance. I started living like everyone else and I stopped training like no one else. My immune system suffered and I paid the price.

Since I love the start of a new year for all the reason above and due to my cold, the colds of my clients and my grand writing of the 2012 Change Your Body Boot Camps Macrocycle and programs, I was reminded of Aesop’s Fable, The Goose with the Golden Egg.

The story goes like this,

One day a countryman going to the nest of his goose found there an egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it was as heavy as lead and he was going to throw it away, because he thought a trick had been played on him. But he took it home on second thoughts, and soon found that it was an egg of pure gold.
Every morning the same thing occurred, and he grew rich by selling his eggs. As he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find nothing.

Moral of the Story: Greed often overreaches itself.

Well…I overreached. I attempted to squeeze out every last ounce of results I could and I didn’t take care of myself the way I normally do. Stephen R. Covey author of the NY Times best seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, would say that my P/PC balance was off and Aesop would say I was greedy. “P” stands for Production and “PC” stands for Production Capability.

In our wonderful world of bigger, faster, stronger, where many strive for the American Dream, there is a tendency to focus on Production (the Golden Eggs) and neglect Production Capability (the Goose).

If you desire to achieve or produce more and net golden eggs, you also must schedule time to take care of the achiever or producer, the goose, and focus on your production capability.

If you want to get a better job or earn more (Production / Golden Eggs) you often have to work more, acquire more skills & knowledge and/or take on more responsibility (Production Capability / Goose).

If you want to lose weight, lose fat, build muscle, run faster, get stronger, break a personal record, change your body, …stay healthy…, etc…and focus on your production or net golden eggs you have to change the way you think, eat, move, sleep, drink, train, … i.e. you’ll have to change your lifestyle and also focus on your Production Capability and thereby take care of the Goose.

In closing. Life is more exciting when you’re producing something and you can increase the rate, quality AND duration of your production if you not only give focus to your production capability, but prioritize, schedule and DO it. When you take care of the Goose, yourself, you can sustain production of Golden Eggs, your results, for a longer period of time. If you make this a habit, addressing your production capability, and adopt this balanced lifestyle, you’ll reap the rewards over your lifetime.

Imagine all of the Golden Eggs the farmer could have had over his lifetime if he took care of the goose.

Here’s your chance. Take it! I am.

Yours changing lives, including my own,

Mike Alves

p.s. Newton’s #1 Body Transformation Program, Change Your Body Boot Camps is in its 4th year of helping Busy People address their production capability.

p.p.s. If you want to try us out for FREE, apply here:

Change Your Body Boot Camps,
Newton, MA

Newton Personal Trainer
Newton Boot Camp