by Dennys Passeto

Last Tuesday I was a guest speaker at a local 12 week long weight loss challenge that concluded last week.  It was the final weigh in for the contestants that had participated in the 12 week long challenge.

They were all local people just like you and me who had just 1 goal in mind, to lose weight and get in shape.

The purpose of my speech was to give these individuals some ideas and knowledge to take with them to continue to propel their great results now that they were going off on their own.  This is the most valuable tool I can give them as a trainer to empower them to take control of their lives.

Needless to say, I was blown away by their progress as the organizers first announced the inches and total body fat percentage lost followed by presenting the winner their cash prize.  Nice prizes too.  The winner took almost $300 in cash!

It was very much like the biggest loser except the contestants did all the work on their own with the help of a weekly group meeting and weigh in at the Kentlands Nutrition store. This became their headquarters  where they received a motivating and informational speech on a different aspect of weight loss every week.

I was honored to have been invited and to get to witness this.  I wanted to let you know that they are starting a new 6 week weight loss challenge on December 1st.  Yes, I know that was yesterday but you can still sign up and be only 1 day behind. With this powerful system in place, you’ll make up the results in no time!

Anyways, if you are interested in signing up, please contact Kimberly Strickland at 240-388-2537 or by email at wlc.strickland@gmail.com. Be sure to tell her I sent you.  I’ve also attached the flyer for the upcoming challenge.  This could be a great way to motivate yourself into making some positive changes.

And don’t forget about spreading the gift of great health by giving a Gift Certificate for Personal Training to someone you love this holiday season.  Gift Certificates are available for any amount you desire.  However, you must order before December 16th to ensure you have it by the 24th so don’t put this off.  I know we all procrastinate every year including myself so let’s break the cycle.  Please contact Mike for more information at 1-888-872-7961 ext. 1.

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There is a load of information out there in exercise literature which suggests that lower intensity exercise burns more fat than higher intensity activities. But what evidence exists that might prove this theory to be true?

Scientifically, this claim actually makes sense. The human body uses more glucose (sugar) for energy production and less fat as exercise intensity increases. In other words, the harder you work out, the less fat is used as energy to support your intensity level. In fact, when you’re at rest, your body is burning approximately 85% fat and 15% carbohydrates (in the form of glucose) for fuel.

These are scientific facts, but common sense would tell us that being at rest everyday will not help us lose weight! Yes, your body does need a certain amount of oxygen to properly break down fat cells, and yes, your body generally receives more oxygen when you’re exercising at a lower intensity. However, the notion that low intensity exercise is the best way to decrease body fat does not make sense mathematically, nor has it ever been proven in exercise research.

Whenever you hear about certain trends in the fitness world, it’s always best to look at scientific, evidence-based research to get the real facts! Extensive research was conducted on this topic at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. The researchers had subjects perform two 30 minute bouts of exercise: a relatively low intensity bout (about 65% of maximum heart rate) and a relatively high intensity bout (about 85% of maximum heart rate). They then examined the source of energy that was used to support the exercise during the two bouts.

The results showed that for the low-intensity exercise, subjects burned a total of 240 calories, with 96 of those calories (41%) coming from fat. During the high-intensity bout, the subjects burned 450 calories, with 108 (24%) coming from fat.

The picture here is clear. Though the lower intensity bout produced a higher percentage of calories burned from fat, the higher intensity bout produced a greater overall number of fat calories burned, and just look at the difference in overall calories burned!

We’re not suggesting that walking, light jogging or leisurely biking doesn’t have its place in your fitness program. However, to get the most out of your exercise regimen, the research shows that working harder is also working smarter when it comes to burning fat!

Don’t forget, we’re still offering our back to school promotion on personal training! When you purchase any training package of 18 sessions or more, you receive 3 sessions for FREE! Call Mike at 888-872-7961 ext. 1 to sign up for your free trial session with the area’s best personal trainers or click here to get set up.

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Today I want to share a really inspiring success story with you. Kimberly Nugent King who has been training with me personally for the past 2.5 years just completed a major goal that she set out for herself about 12 months ago. She ran the JFK 50 mile Ultra marathon. As you probably already know, a marathon is 26.2 miles so this is just shy of running 2 marathons. INSANE!

Imagine you run a marathon, get to the finish line, then just turn around and run back to the start line. Add below freezing temperatures, running challenging trails with boulders in the dark at 5am, and finishing in the dark at 6:30pm and That sort of sums up this race of extreme endurance and mental toughness.

Kimberly has been at this for a long time. In our first year of training, her goal was to do a marathon, which she accomplished. In her 2^nd year, she ran the marathon again and then decided that for her 3^rd year, she was going to not only do the marathon but also run the JFK 50 miler which is just 1 month after the Marine Corps Marathon.

She trained hard with me in the gym and also joined a running group to get her mileage up. To assist the competitors to stay motivated in focused, they are allowed to have pacers to run big chunks of the race with them to help them stay on pace and meet all the time cut offs. I ran 12 of the 50 miles with her. I met her on mile 15 at 9am and ran through mile 27 with her. She started at 5am (19 degrees) in the dark through some of the knurliest trails (Appalachian) on the east coast. Yes, she’s one tough broad. It was a bone chilling 27 degrees when I met up with her. My body ached like I couldn’t imagine from the 12 miles I did in this weather so I can’t imagine doing an additional 38 miles on top of that. Here are Kimberly’s comments about our training regimen and her account of the race…

Dennys and Kimberly at mile 27 after having just run the past 12 miles together

Testimonial about Dennys and Achieve Fitness

“Dear Dennys, I would not have been able to do this without the training and support that you personally gave me over the last 7 months for this race in particular.  Part of my drive to finish is that I did not want to let you down since I suspect that you believed in me during the training phase when I started to doubt myself.  It takes a really dedicated and exceptional trainer to support someone through something like this. Thanks for the tough love in the gym to make sure that I was prepared for this. ”

Race Recap

“The short answer is that I finished my 50 mile ultra marathon.  The more important answer is that I will never do it again J. Here is the rest of the story.

I started at 5:00 AM.  It never got above 19 degrees with the wind chill factor.  I hit the Appalachian trail (AT) at 5:30 AM after doing an almost 800 foot elevation change in about a mile.  It was pitch black when I entered the trail.  I had a head lamp and a flash light as I made my way through the trail.  I prayed out loud for God to keep me safe.  I did great on the trail.  I was about the 25th person out of 250 5:00 AM starters to come off the first portion of the trail.  I saw the sun rise from the top of a cliff on the (AT).

Running along the C&O Canal

The second portion of the AT was a challenge.  My ankles were tired from rolling on rocks.  I fell and turned my ankle real good.  I dusted myself off and came off the trail feeling happy that it was over.  The next section on my run was 26 miles along the C&O Canal.  I fell a couple of times and banged up my knees and hands. There were signs on the side of the road that mocked me.  There were ones that said “if you had just run a marathon you would be home by now”. There was one that said “never under estimate the stupidity of people in large groups” J (or something like that).  Then there was the road runner club shirt saying that said “what is nuts is a matter of perspective”.

Finish Line

I had three sets of pacers (Dennys Passeto, Steve Schraf, and Jud and Sharon Larrimore) run with me and an amazing husband who met me at 5 different points on the course.  I would not have made it through without my pacers.  Jim said that the last 4 miles I looked like I was part of a death march to the finish line.

I stared at my feet and willed them to keep going forward.  I turned to praying out loud again for the strength to finish.

After an hour ride home, my muscles had enough time to completely seize up. I could not get out of the car on my own.  I went up the steps on my behind. That night my legs would not support my weight any longer and Jim became my personal walker.

I am happy that I finished.  I will never do it again. It took me 13 hours and 46 minutes”

[End Quote]

If you’ve ever had the desire to participate in a marathon, further yet an ultra marathon, I’d recommend this event. It was very well organized and the scenery along the C&O Canal was breath taking(in more ways than one…LOL). Here is where you can sign up for these events…

Marine Corps Marathon – www.marinemarathon.com

JFK Ultra Marathon – www.jfk50mile.org

Obviously you want to set small goals for yourself and work up to the marathon and beyond. Whatever shape you’re in now does not matter. With work, you too can do it. And if you need any help, let us put you on a training program to get you there. Contact us today for more details about our personal training programs in Maryland, DC and Virginia that can help you make the most daring goals a reality.

Massive Holiday Sale

Buy any package of 12 sessions or more before December 31st and receive $150 OFF! Just call us at 1-888-872-7961 and mention “50 Mile Email” and we’ll knock that off our current prices for you.  Discount available for gift certificates as well.

Dedicated to your health and fitness,

Dennys Passeto, CPT
Achieve Fitness
www.achieve-fitness.com
1-888-872-7961

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