November’s member of the month is Roger Alworth!

Congratulations on being chosen as member of the month! This means a coach has spotlighted because they’ve notice your incredible work ethic and value to you bring to our community.

A brief history at Amplified Fitness tell us how you got started and your experience.

 A little over a year ago I was looking for some personal training to help me get in better shape. I had the desire but not the experience or knowledge to do it on my own. I simply searched online for trainers with great reviews and came across Amplified. I recently hit my one year mark and couldn’t be happier with my experience.

The success and struggles you have been through at Amplified Fitness?

 By the numbers, I’ve lost about 10 lbs of fat, my bench press has increased by 35 lbs, my dead lift has increased by 65 lbs and my squats have increased by 55 lbs. But more importantly, I feel great. I have much more energy, my clothes fit better, I’m more flexible and I’ve gain gained some physical confidence. My only real struggle with my progress is that I simply love to eat! But I’ve certainly learned about healthier eating habits and how to handle cravings more effectively.

How often do you attend sessions at Amplified Fitness?

I try to get to Amplified 5 days per week. The only days I typically miss are those days I need to travel for business. I literally look forward to every session. If I know I’m going to miss a session I try hard to work in a double session sometime that same week.
Favorite movement(s)?
I really enjoy all of the lifting sessions. I’ve learned a great deal at Amplified about proper technique and how to get the most out of each movement. I enjoy all the cardio workouts as well. It’s sweet to get my heart rate up to a high level before work and work up a nice sweat. It melts away stress and gets me energized for the day.
Least favorite workout?
I’d have to say my least favorite workouts are those that include the Assault Bike. But that’s really only because it’s a weak spot. That’s why I’m trying to aggressively bike at least 50 cals every day to build up my endurance. Hopefully weak things will become strong!
Current goals?
I’d like to lose about 7 more pounds and steadily increase my overall strength endurance and flexibility.
Anything else you want to share about yourself: what you do for fun, what you do for work?
I’m a structural engineer by profession. I love to be outdoors. I love fishing, hiking and playing the drums. But mostly, my life revolves around my wife, kids and granddaughter!
-What keeps you keep coming back for more?

Seeing real, steady progress with my fitness goals is something I love about Amplified Fitness. But without the fun, helpful, encouraging trainers and members, it would be much tougher to get there each day.
What do you like most about Amplified Fitness?

I really like the environment at Amplified. There isn’t any judging. There are members of all fitness levels and everyone simply encourages each other. But there’s also just the right amount of competition to motivate everyone to push themselves.
What was the first ever and last concert you’ve been to?

For my first concert, LONG AGO, I went to Brian Adams and Foreigner. Just recently I went to Rush and also Boston.

What Would You Tell Someone That Was Considering Joining Amplified Fitness?

If you want to be pushed to a new level of fitness while at the same time have a blast with wonderful trainers and members, come join the party!

What is the protein house?  You can check out my short video review below.

1. Coachable.

They realize it is ok to ask for help. They realize there may be a better way. They invest the time into their coaches instruction.  They realize it is humane nature to be accountable to someone.

2. Hungry.

They have the eye of the tiger. The want more time in the gym, more information, more opportunities. They are the first to show up and the last to leave.

3. Confident

They don’t sabotage themselves with negative self talk. They accept that their best effort is enough. They celebrate every success, no matter how small.

4. Positive.

They never complain, wine or make excuses.

5. Persistent

They cut through their goals like a river through rock not due to their sheer power and strength but because of their persistence and work ethic.

www.amplifiedfitness.net/6weekchallenge

#1 You wing it.

Have a plan and intention to better yourself every time you step in the gym.  Have a designed and thought out plan to execute with focus.  Do not randomly bounce around the gym.  That’s a great way to waste time and ultimately frustrate yourself with a lack or progress.  Get in there, execute the plan you have pre-planned and get out.

#2 You train hard in the gym but blow it with nutrition.

An unfortunate lesson many novices have to learn the hard way.  You cannot and will not out train a poor nutrition program.  The experienced trainee plans their food because they value their time and know how much faster progress comes when they treat their nutrition as an imperative part of their program.  The rookie thinks he can get away without planning his food.

If you struggle with nutrition is it because you are an emotional eater or a convenience eater?  If you are an emotional eater then I recommend find a qualified medical medical professional to counsel you, don’t be afraid to ask for help, just maker sure you are getting qualified help.

If you are a connivance eater, which is very common in today’s society then learning how to efficiently meal prep and cook recopes is your duty and obligation to achieve success.  For those that like to buy back their time or simply need a helpful boost our meal prep company is an incredible option.  Check out our nutrition coaching and meal prep services here.  www.amplifiedfitness.net/nutrition

#3 You’re scared of the weights and stick to the machines.

If you want a toned, firm and defined physique free weights(barbells and dumbbells) are the best way to get there.  Machines, are fine.  However, they pale in comparison to a solid progressive free weights program.  Remember, don’t wing it.  Journal your training and have a program to follow.

#4 You train to failure on everything.

Slow down their turbo.  Training to failure is a valuable tool but not on every set of every session.  I’ve noticed over the years some people have the mentality that every set has to be an absolute grinder, or if I prescribe a set that leaves some reps in the tank they bastardize the program by adding more reps.  Here’s an example of a progressive percentage load we use for deadlifts with our Beginner and intermediate level clients.

Week 1 is going to feel easy, week 3 is going to be medium, week 5 is going to be hard and weeks 7-11 are going to serve you some humble pie.  At the end of this program you will have added a tremendous amount of strength, however, only 3 sets were taken to failure.

Week 1: Deadlift: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x5

Week 3: Deadlift: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x5

Week 5: Deadlift: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5

Week 7: Deadlift: 60%x5, 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%,x5 100%x5+

Week 9: Deadlift: 60%x3 70%x 80%x3 90%x3 95%x3, 105%x3+

Week 11: Deadlift: 65%x3 75%x3 85%x1 95%x1 105%x1 Keep making 5-10% Jumps till you hit a new max.

#5  You’re a roller coaster.

Sally is motivated.  Sally is serious this time.  Sally is back to clean eating.  Sally is working out 7x/week and on a mission!  Sally does this consistently for a month.  Sally slacks off for a month.  Sally Repeats this for _____ years and kinda, sorta, but not really, makes some progress.

Does Sally sound like someone you know?

Getting in shape starts in your head. It doesn’t start in the gym, it doesn’t start with lifting weights or riding your bike.

Learn how to fall in love with the journey and have your reason why so strongly instilled in you that living an active lifestyle is part of who you are. Once that mental shift is made is where success and habits happen. You will start to view exercise as a blessing, not a chore.

Here are some key tips for creating fitness into a lifestyle and learning how to love training, rather than a short burst of motivation that dwindles after 3 months.

*Know your why.

Really take some time and think about this. We’re getting pretty deep here. When your why is strong enough you will find your how.

*Set goals

Long term and short term. Don’t just write these down and hope, create action steps. Set specific, realistic, and measurable goals.

*Have a reward system. aka treat yo’ self 😉

Give yourself tangible and intangible rewards to look forward to as you accomplish each goal.

For example an tangible reward is something you can posses, like a pair of new shoes!  Intangible would be something like a Massage or Manicure.

*Have accountability and a support system.

You’re a badass, you’re strong willed, but you’re also human. Don’t try and do this alone. You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with. Have solid gym buddies and/or coach

#1

It builds confidence.

Weight training is empowering.  You will experience your body doing things its never done before.   Where once the empty barbell felt hard now you’re throwing the 45’s on the bar.  The confidence you gain in the gym transfers over to life outside the gym.

#2

It builds Self Reliance.

Lifting weights has an amazing transfer over into everyday activities.  Moving furniture, picking up a bag of of food, wrestling/rough housing with your kids, carrying your groceries upstairs…… There’s a flood and you need to sandbag your house!

Lifting weights builds your independence in life and allows you live life now with no physical limitations

#3

You get Sexy.

You cant tone or flex cardio.  Want to firm, tone, and tighten your body?  Then you’ve gotta pump some iron.  Cardio is great for your heart health but lifting weights and nutrition is what changes your body.

#4

You’ll handle stress better.

Sometimes its not about burning calories, setting personal records or toning your body.  Sometimes its just therapeutic.  You can arrive to a workout stressed and irritated.  I promise after hitting the iron you will leave feeling so much better.  Endorphins man…..

http://www.livestrong.com/article/39012-working-weights-relieve-stress/

#5

Its Fun.

Lets be real here.  How exciting is running on a treadmill or reading a magazine on a recumbent bike?  Gyms are filled with people hammering the cardio machines ad-nauseam only to be disappointed with their results.  It gets old fast.  How exciting is getting your first body weight bench press or double body weight back squat?!  How about your first time picking 200lbs off the floor?  Its fun and badass ;)!  Not too mention how much more beneficial it is for body composition.

#6

Its increases your metabolism.

Many people’s metabolism slow as they age from a combination of two primary factors.  They become less active and they lose muscle.

Muscle burns more calories than fat.  Lifting weights will keep your metabolism youthful and burning strong!  Want a faster metabolism?  Gain muscle.  The best way to gain muscle is through lifting weights.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8175496

In conclusion I hope you decide to incorporate a a structured and progressive weight lifting program into your fitness routine.  Cardio is great and we do a lot at Amplified Fitness.  But we also lift weights to get the best results and changes in body composition.

Its tempting to always want to do the sexy leave you sweaty and gasping for breath workouts, thinking those are whats best to do. This is false logic, you also need to go heavy to illicit an optimal change in your body composition.(hypertrophy)

Combine the repetition effort, fast paced style training(Intervals, circuits, metcons, EMOMS, supersets) with a strength effort days(slower paced heavy training) and you have a recipe for success.

I want to give our Amplified Family member Kasey a quick spotlight!  I saw that her baby turned 1 a couple days ago and it made me reflect on her dedication to fitness, despite having a small child to take care of.  I am posting this because I think she’s a great example and inspiration to other moms and the soon to be moms out there.

I remember her texting me she won’t make it to the gym cause she’s in labor. And then as soon as she hit her 6 week recovery period getting a text message from her asking if it was ok to come back and train and she hasn’t slowed down since!

In that year she has gotten in the best shape of her life, consistently hit the gym, competed in two powerlifting competitions and a bike race.

*Kasey’s latest body composition results, 1 year after having her baby.  14% bodyfat ad increased muscle, wow!

So cute ???? #momstrong #girlsthatlift #amplifiedfitness

A video posted by Thomas Grove (@thomasthetrainer123) on Apr 21, 2016 at 9:20am PDT

*Kasey deadlifting at a powerlifitng competition.

 

I’ve been training with Kasey for 4 years now and its been really fun and rewarding to watch her fitness growth and seeing her baby grow up the past year.  She’s definitely a Strong mama!

*Kasey’s baby shower at Amplified Fitness!

*Here is a photo of Kasey and I after she won best lifter award at the Utah APF powerlifting Championships in Dec 2016. There’s no stopping this Strong Mama!

O ya almost forgot we did a team triathlon together this is where I saw her baby walking for the first time 🙂

How many times have you started a fitness routine only to be frustrated by the lack of results? Here are my 4 key tips on getting faster and sustainable results in the gym.

#1 Focus.

This is a big one that I will break up into several points.

• Whats the intent of the day?

Have a game plan.  It should be written out and ready to go before you even step foot into the gym.  Don’t just wing it.  Have a professional designed plan and execute!

• Are you working harder than you did last time?

If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.  You’ve gotta better yourself in some fashion.  Some examples:  More weight, more reps, more sets(volume) less rest, faster times, slower tempo(strength training), accomplishing new movements.  Always be improving in some fashion, not matter how small.  With beginners, after we condition their body for intense training we progress them fast!  That’s a really fun part of starting out you have so much room and capacity for improvement.

• Are you giving an honest effort?

Are you going into the gym with authority and intent or are you playing on your phone, wandering around, taking excessive water fountain breaks etc…  Some of my best workouts take 20-30 minutes.  During those 30 minutes I am staying focused on the task at hand(bettering my fitness).  You’ve gotta have laser focus.  A half hour of focused intense training will do a lot more for you than 3 hours of mindless training.  I recommend having a gym buddy or buddies that are willing to work just as hard or harder than you to give it your best.

#2 Compound movements.

A compound movement can be defined as: Any exercise that engages two or more different joints to fully stimulate entire muscle groups and, indeed, multiple muscles.  Think: Pullups, Squats, Deadlifts, Kettlbell swings, cleans, jumping, Bench press, shoulder press, push ups.  Isolation movements(single joint movements) are fine, however, think of compound movements as the dollars and the isolation movement as the pennies.  Train for dollars. Please don’t start stripping 😉

Michele knocking out the 40s for 12 reps.

A video posted by Thomas Grove (@thomasthetrainer123) on Oct 9, 2015 at 8:25am PDT

#3 Variety

Change it up.  The more experienced you become the more important this becomes.  Do not mistake this for random.  Routine is not the enemy.  You do need to repeatedly do a movement to get good at it. However, you should be changing up your reps, sets, exercise order, weight, accessory movements and rest times.  How many times have you done the same workout every Monday?  No wonder you’re not getting results.  Switch things up!

It’s always fun watching someone chaos bench for the first time.

A video posted by Thomas Grove (@thomasthetrainer123) on Mar 16, 2016 at 3:10pm PDT

#4 Nutrition

The part we all don’t want to talk about.  You can’t out train a bad diet.  “I’ll just do more cardio tomorrow” does not work.  It breaks my heart every time I see someone try and do this.  It never has worked and it never will.  There are many ways to go about nutrition.  However, what is congruent among all successful diets is they are correct in the amount of Calories, protein, carbs and fats.  Whats most important above any factor is following something you can adhere to long term and create a lifestyle.

www.amplifiedfitness.net/nutrition

www.amplifiedfitness.net/contact

May’s Member of the Month is Tawni Holm!  Congratulations Tawni!  Being chosen as member of the month means a coach has spotlighted you because they’ve notice your incredible work ethic and value to you bring to our community.

 A brief history at Amplified Fitness.

Tell us how you got started and your experience.

• It had been a rough year. I felt like my life was mess and I needed to get it

  together. I was afraid of pretty much everything! A good mutual friend of mine and

  Thomas tagged me in post on Facebook that Thomas had created. He was looking for a

  Massage Therapist on trade for Personal Fitness training. To be honest, I was scared

  shitless! But I knew it was time to get over myself. I had become my own worst enemy,

  and it was time to get up and conquer. I reached out to Thomas, and here I am loving

  every minute!

  The success and struggles you have been through at

  Amplified Fitness?

  In the beginning, it was a real struggle for me. I had so much anxiety over

  working out and being around everyone that I feel like I would wear myself out before

  the work out even started! I got a good look at myself. And although it was depressing at

  times, it was also very motivating. I knew that if I could overcome my own thoughts of

  defeat, I could do anything. And I’ll tell you what -when everything goes wrong, go lift!!

  My successes have been welcome rewards. Before, 200 meters felt like it might as well

  have been 100 miles. Now, it’s nothing! I love running. I used to have a lot of back pain

  and seemed to always have a headache no matter what I did. Now, I rarely have these

  pains. One of the biggest successes though, is my mental dialogue. I find myself

  enjoying my thoughts and find that it’s much easier to let the small stuff go.

  *Tawni and her coach Thomas

  

  How often do you attend sessions at Amplified Fitness?

  I attend anywhere between 3 and 6 classes a week. My average is 4.5.

• Favorite movement(s)?

  A favorite moment comes often here. It’s hard to pick just one. I love it whenever

  I see someone else succeed. The culture is amazing at Amplified, and the people and

  trainers here definitely make it that way. It is a place to over-come what limits you. So,

  yes, you can see where that would make it hard to pick just one favorite moment.

  Least favorite movement? Least favorite workout?

  I couldn’t say. I find that it very much depends on my energy levels coming in to

  the gym. I have discovered though, that if I am having a rough day, it helps to not look at

  the work out before I get there. Once I’m there, I’m committed, and its too late to back

  out. Besides, even if I hate it, once its over and I’m pumped with endorphins, I’ll love it

  again anyway, right?

  Current goals?

  My current goal is to loose 10lbs of fat, while keeping the muscle I’ve gained. I

  love food! So, that can be a little challenging. But as every successful person has told

  me, see nothing but your target. I also am starting a new way of eating that severely

  limits my processed foods, and refined sugar intake. This starts May 8

  th

  . Wish me luck!

  Anything else you want to share about yourself: what you do

  for fun, what you do for work?

  I really enjoying hiking and camping. I love to be outside. I also really enjoy

  learning about the human body. I am continually fascinated by how unique it is. I enjoy

  spending time with my dog. She makes my world spin and I can’t imagine life without

  her. I enjoy helping people get out of aches and pains too. I’m like that chronic-helper. I

  love it!
• I work in a trucking office full time (gotta keep that health insurance!) and spend a

  lot of time through the week massaging clients and learning new things about the

  human body.

  -What keeps you keep coming back for more?

  The people. The friends Ive made, and the trainers here. I cant express my

  gratitude enough for you guys! Having someone believe in you when you don’t believe

  in yourself is a rare gift. I love the challenge. I love challenging what I think I can do,

  because all around me there are people here that are doing just that, and that makes it

  easier to believe its possible for me.

  What do you like most about Amplified Fitness?

  I love that it’s a place to conquer resistance and beat your demons. The

  successes I experience in the gym are contagious and they follow me out the door. I

  love that!

  Would you rather drag a 200lb sled up a 10 mile hill or have to stop and immediately do 5 burpees every time someone said your name for the next month?

  Am I being punked?! No, kidding. I’d take the sled drag. Can you imagine the

  bragging rights?!

  What Would You Tell Someone That Was Considering Joining

  Amplified Fitness?

  I would congratulate them on being a cut above the rest, because that is truly

  what I have seen happen here. If you walk in those doors, and commit yourself, you

  cannot help but succeed. You will always have someone that believes in you, you’ll

  never be alone, and the friends you’ll make are royalty. Living the Amplified Life is a

  good life. Also, there’s a gym dog. I mean, come on! How could it get any better?