Go for the Block!

Q.

SGT KEN,
Hello. I read that you have climbed Mount Whitney. How did you train for the climb and what are some things that you brought with you?

HOOAH!
SGT Steve C.

A.

SGT Steve C.,
Hello. In order to train for any hike or climb, I trail run, hike with a full backpack or climb a Stairmaster at a gym, perform a great deal of leg and core exercises, and stretch in each workout. The magnitude of the hike or climb will determine the length of the exercise preparation

Regarding what to bring, one of the most important items I brought with me was sunscreen. Since skin cancer is on the rise, you will want to go for the block that counts! Use sunscreens that block both UVB and UVA light. Look at the ingredients and make certain that it contains both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. I use SPF 30, or higher. So should you!

Feel free to contact us, with any questions that you may have. Stay the course!

HOOAH!
SSG Ken Weichert a.k.a. "SGT KEN"

Ken Weichert (a.k.a. “SGT Ken”) is a Six-time Soldier of the Year, Master Fitness Trainer and veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. Ken and his wife Stephanie, a Certified Personal Trainer, founded START Fitness, a group exercise and hiking business that delivers military-style workouts to Soldiers and civilians since 1998. Ken and Stephanie have led thousands of Soldiers to better health through Operation Fit to Fight, a tactical fitness instructor training program designed to prepare Soldiers for Basic Combat Training, deployments, leadership schools and post-deployment reintegration. Operation Fit to Fight creates tactical athletes who lead by example and are ready to perform necessary duties in response to natural disasters or in defense of our country! Ken and Stephanie currently produce health and fitness programs for GX magazine, and for the National Guard website.

Drink to good health!

Q.

SGT KEN,
Hello. First I wanted to say, “Thanks for all that you do!” My question is concerning water consumption. My wife tells me to drink more water. I sit in front of a computer all day and frequently forget to get up and get a drink. And, I don’t want to have to go to the restroom all of the time.
Is it really that important?

SGT Jeff J.

A.

SGT Jeff,
Hello. Thanks for the compliment! Regarding water consumption, your wife is correct! The toilet trips are worth it. The fact is that drinking 64 ounces of water every day flushes toxins out of your system and makes you less hungry.

I, too, spend time in front of a computer. I like to prepare my water bottles the day before. This way, I will have my goal in front of me. I drink a lot of water before dinner in order to diminish my appetite. I also drink at least 16 ounces of water the moment I wake up. Drinking water as soon as you wake up will jump-start your metabolism.

Try it for a month, and let us know how it is working for you. Like many others, you may see a huge increase in your energy levels. Stay the course!

HOOAH!
SSG Ken Weichert a.k.a. "SGT KEN"

Ken Weichert (a.k.a. “SGT Ken”) is a Six-time Soldier of the Year, Master Fitness Trainer and veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. Ken and his wife Stephanie, a Certified Personal Trainer, founded START Fitness, a group exercise and hiking business that delivers military-style workouts to Soldiers and civilians since 1998. Ken and Stephanie have led thousands of Soldiers to better health through Operation Fit to Fight, a tactical fitness instructor training program designed to prepare Soldiers for Basic Combat Training, deployments, leadership schools and post-deployment reintegration. Operation Fit to Fight creates tactical athletes who lead by example and are ready to perform necessary duties in response to natural disasters or in defense of our country! Ken and Stephanie currently produce health and fitness programs for GX magazine, and for the National Guard website.

Superset to Burn More Calories!

Q.

SGT KEN,
Working out in the gym is getting boring. And, I seem to have reached a plateau. What do you do to make your workouts more interesting and intense?

Thanks,
PFC Devin B.

A.

PFC Devin,
Hello. Thanks for reaching out! What I like to do make my workouts more interesting and intense is Superset my entire fitness program. Supersets are where you organize multiple weight training or body resistance exercises and perform them with little or no rest in between each exercise. I try not to rest more than 45 seconds between exercises, unless completely necessary. This helps me reach target rates earlier in my fitness program and burn more calories in a shorter period of time.

Use the following formula for your fitness programming in the gym:

Weight Training Body Basics

Bulk Up – 3 sets of 4-6 repetitions each with Heavy resistance

Maintenance Drills – 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions each with Medium resistance

Sculpt Down – 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions each with Light to Moderate resistance

If you want a great program that will help you improve at push-ups, click here. Try it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for two weeks, and let me know how it is working for you. If you want to try my favorite workout to Superset with, email me for a free copy at sgtken@gxonline.com. Stay the course!

HOOAH!
SSG Ken Weichert a.k.a. "SGT KEN"

Ken Weichert (a.k.a. “SGT Ken”) is a Six-time Soldier of the Year, Master Fitness Trainer and veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. Ken and his wife Stephanie, a Certified Personal Trainer, founded START Fitness, a group exercise and hiking business that delivers military-style workouts to Soldiers and civilians since 1998. Ken and Stephanie have led thousands of Soldiers to better health through Operation Fit to Fight, a tactical fitness instructor training program designed to prepare Soldiers for Basic Combat Training, deployments, leadership schools and post-deployment reintegration. Operation Fit to Fight creates tactical athletes who lead by example and are ready to perform necessary duties in response to natural disasters or in defense of our country! Ken and Stephanie currently produce health and fitness programs for GX magazine, and for the National Guard website.

Shape Up Your Career

Hope you are having a successful workout week! If you ever wondered about a career in fitness, check out this article I attached that just hit stands.

I was interviewed about tips for people wanting to make fitness a career.

Shape Up Your Career... As A Personal Fitness Trainer

"Besides study and certification, trainers suggest shadowing other trainers, working with a mentor for hands-on experience, and finding ways to gain practical experience before taking on clients."

"'Once I got certified,' says Nikki Glor, personal trainer and fitness columnist at Military.com, 'I volunteered for an organization helping needy women live healthier lives. It allowed me to learn from the more experienced trainers I worked with before I ever charged a client.'"

Read the full article here.

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube
- Nikki on Facebook

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Fitness As We Age - Retiree Fitness

I am 61 Years old and use to be in good shape but after a desk job for 32 years well you can imagine the rest. Any advise for some one like me?

As we age, we still need to stay active in movements, especially functional movements that are required in everyday life: Stitting, standing, walking, picking up something and carrying it, etc... This requires movement practice, flexibility / balance training, and some form of cardio vascular training.

Here is what I recommend for folks as well as myself as we age:

1 - less impact - decrease running and add more bike, swimming, elliptical gliders, rowing etc...for cardio to burn fat and calories and keep heart and lungs functioning at your optimal levels.

2 - calisthenics and stretching based exercises (like 45 day plan below) mixed with some weights in dumbbell exercises etc for muscle tone and flexibility...

3 - eating less fatty foods / sugar foods / high in cholesterol foods - see diet plan below:

4 - a lower back plan to strengthen the core of your body...increase flexibility too

5 - balance - practice standing on one leg to work balance muscles of the lower leg and work up to performing some of these dumbbell exercises while standing on one leg too

I have a ton of information to help you in the articles at StewSmith.com. Everything from avoiding injury, pushups, pullups, situps, weight loss, etc... can be found in the article section or sitemap link on the main page.

For some free starter plans check out the links:

45 day Starter

Lower back Plan

and a Food Plan to help with eating habits / weight loss (basic ideas on how to eat)

Stew Smith CSCS

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.

A Letter to Boot Camp - Future SEAL

Stew, What do you tell guys you know who are at bootcamp and about to go to Special Ops training? Bootcamp must stink for someone seeking tougher training.

Here is a letter I wrote in the past to a young man at boot camp who had trained with me to go to SEAL Training. Basic can get somewhat stressful for first few weeks and I like to think this helped him and can help others about to go to bootcamp.

Dear XXXXXX

Well you should be enjoying the fruits of your labor right about now. So I hope the US Navy is all you thought it would be.

The biggest thing to remember is that the Navy is training you now to take orders. You can resist that and feel the pain or just absorb it and laugh about all the "silly", tough, and somewhat useless things you do on a daily basis.

Right now they may seem useless but they will all have meaning one day…even the cleaning of your space, uniforms standards, remembering a variety of information. Etc etc…

So enjoy it, learn what discipline is, and excel as right now you are building your military reputation – so put out and remember “Pain is an Indicator that you are Still Alive!” and my favorite one "It pays to be a winner". Soon you will be working out with the SEAL instructors and that will be better for you…

And by the way – Thanks for your decision to serve our country. I appreciate it.

Your friend – Stew Smith

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.

Squeeze it In!

Something to inspire you to work out today...

It has been a crazy work week, New York City is 92 degrees and feels like 102, and my co-worker is finishing her day in her sweaty jogging outfit.

Erin took a late lunch from 3-4 to go running in Central Park today. We had a client event last night and she is babysitting for a neighbor after work so this was the only time to do it. I joked with her about her outfit and she said "At least I squeezed a work out in today!"

How true!

It's worth being sweaty your last hour of the day, if you know you have to shower and head out somewhere by 6:30pm anyway and your schedule left no time for the gym.

Good for her.

Hope you can squeeze your workout in today too!

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube
- Nikki on Facebook

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Stand Up To Cancer

All the news about "Stand Up To Cancer" has me thinking about all the other reasons why everyone should eat right and exercise more.

People often think about it as something they should do just to get skinnier.

But you can't enjoy your figure if you are sick! So I hope you'll watch this great video from the CBS Early Show.

It was on live Friday, 9/5/08 and it is an interview with a doctor who beat cancer. He talks about what he has uncovered in order to give yourself better odds of never getting cancer in the first place, or stopping it from coming back.

These are choices you can make every day in your lifestyle, without going out of your way to do it.

Have a healthy week!

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube
- Nikki on Facebook

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Working Out Helps at Work

Need an edge to land that big promotion at work? Are you nervous about an upcoming presentation? There is a secret that most successful CEOs share. They work out — almost every day.

Staying in shape and eating right makes you work more efficiently and productively. What’s more, working out on a regular basis leads you to make better eating choices. For example, you’re more likely to have a healthy salad then eat yourself into a carb coma at lunch when you have a regular fitness routine.

You’re stress level will also be reduced if you hop on the Stairmaster. Fitness improves oxygen delivery to organs, heightens circulation, and cuts back on doctor visits and sick days.

Regular exercise and proper diet can improve your performance at work in many ways. Here’s how:

• 7 a.m.: Do you find yourself constantly running late? Do you rush to catch the subway or rush to get into work on time? If you exercise regularly you won’t be sweaty, stressed, and or too winded to say hello to the people you do business with.

• 9 a.m.: Early morning presentation? If you're used to that 6 a.m. spin class, this speech will be a breeze to get through, with less hills to climb.

• Noon: People who walk around town or the park during lunch feel less ragged and overworked. Some of the best work ideas have come to me while running around the reservoir track in Central Park.

• 3 p.m.: Big meeting at the end of the day but feeling the 3 p.m. slump? If you’re not fit, coffee may be the only thing that gets you through the day, still half in a fog. But instead of dehydrating on caffeine, a lunch-time walk has you more focused and gives you time to think quietly and plan your talking points. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or day, you won’t feel sluggish and wish for a 3 p.m. nap lust if you’re used to pumping iron at 5 p.m.

• 6 p.m.: At the end of the day your back muscles may be tight and you may have a headache.  If you can't work out in the morning try taking a class at the gym or exercising after work. It may help those muscles loosen up.

• 11 p.m.: Are the stressors of the day keeping you up at night? If you jogged during the day, you’ll be sleepy with a clear mind, and better rested when you awake to tackle your tasks. More exercise = better sleep = better work day.

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube
- Nikki on Facebook

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.