Angie, Angie, Angie.......Where to begin........

Lets start at week 5 workout 4. This was the workout I really cranked it up on you. I had you doing single leg straight leg deadlifts, bulgarian split squats, and to top it off you had to do swissball supine hamstring curls.....your favorite:):) This was too much for you to handle and it was a breaking point for you. You Quit the workout and broke down in tears. Luckily this was our coaching call day so we had some time set aside to discuss the workouts for that week. Some people (Including you) think "WOW, crying because of a workout?!?!" What a "wimp". But this was not my thinking at all, in fact it was something I wondered about since we first met.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF?????

Do you believe you can do the things you have set you mind/heart on?????

Do you realize you can achieve these fitness goals you have set for yourself?

The reason I made week 5 workout 4 so hard was to test your confidence. The workout I sent you was one of the hardest routines I have come up with. I needed to see if how you would react. Would you run from the workout? Avoid my phone calls/emails/text messages? Or would you ATTACK the routine and push through your fears of failure? Well, I think you did a little bit of both:)

My responsibility to you as your Fitness Coach is more than just giving you exercises. In fact, that is the easy part....bringing out your confidence to succeed at ANYTHING you do in life is the hard part.

Fast forward to post Jamaica trip and we are back to an old mentality you have been struggling with this whole time. Basically Angie you need to start believing in yourself! You need to stop allowing this weak mentality to creep into your mind. Dream big for yourself and take the proper steps to achieve your goals. Which ironically you are doing that right now by working with me!

Get out of your own way and let yourself succeed!

Thank you for allowing me to help you through this process. It has been an honor working with you up to this point. I look forward to the next couple of weeks of hard training! Lets see how far we can take your fitness.......

Alex

My trip to Jamaica

There I am in my bikini after working hard for 7 weeks!! WooHoo for me!!

After snorkeling on our sunset boat ride to Rick's Cafe

Our last night in Jamaica....this picture describes it perfectly- paradise!!

Alex-

Jamaica was awesome! We had a great time. There was lots of relaxing at the beach, Sunrises (the drink) and Red Stripe beers. We visited Rick's Cafe - and I jumped from the cliff! We snorkeled, parasailed and visited a waterfall. It was absolutely incredible.

I worked really hard to get my body in shape for this trip and I was absolutely thrilled with the way I looked and felt. I had amazing results in the 7 weeks I worked with you prior to going on vacation. But, as we both know to achieve my goals, it's going to take more than just those 7 weeks. I have a lot of work ahead of me!

Since I've been back from vacation, I've been in a funk. It was very frustrating for me to come back and see how much weight I gained. I know that you explained it was water weight and you changed up my workouts to help work it off but I can't help looking at the scale. Friday you told me to go back to Jamaica and get the Angie I left there. You are absolutely right! I lost a lot of fire, but there's still a flame burning!! I appreciate the advice you have given me and for putting up with me crying on our coaching call on Friday :( I know that you will help me accomplish what I have set out to do. I've been unsteady the last couple of weeks but I'm done with that! ANGIE IS BACK!!!

Yay for me!!!!

Alex,

I can NOT believe the changes I have made in the last 6 weeks!!! Holy Crap is right! I am SO proud of myself! I can't believe I've really done this.

I did not miss a workout in 6 weeks and I only had two bad days were I quit 2 exercises short of completion. I pushed myself through all the workouts & never cheated a rep! I'm reaping the benefits & that's awesome!!

If this is what I can do in 6 weeks I can't wait to see what else I can do!! I'm starting to believe that I really can create the body that I've always wanted. That is exciting!

Hopefully I'll get a good picture while on vacation to post for everyone :o)

See ya when I get back....I'm gonna really bring it!!!

Thanks for being my coach. I couldn't have done it without you!

Angie

6 week body composition....

Holy Crap Angie! What a change, you are rocking this program so far! Your numbers are great! That is all I can say “great”. Three numbers we really care about. Lean weight, fat weight, and % body fat. You basically swapped muscle for fat. Just like I said:)……You went from 90lbs of muscle to 93lbs a gain of 3lbs! Your fat weight went from 24lbs to 21lbs a loss of 3lbs!
Seriously…..AWESOME! You went from 21% percent fat to 18% fat, another great change! You went from “Average” to “Above Average” which is very good.
Your girth measurements confirm the great changes of your other numbers. The only number I am not happy with is your calf measurements. That number is a user error on my part:) I did not record it accurately. Otherwise you have gained muscle throughout your body. Your girth changes represent that change.
Angie, you have gone through many different emotions these past 6 weeks. Most of those emotions have been based on past experiences. You need to really look at these numbers and think about all the hard work you have done versus what you haven’t done. When you really look at the results 6 weeks of hard work garner you just think what type of results we can get when we take it up a notch! I am very excited for you to come back from Jamaica recharged and ready to take your fitness to the next step! Let’s see what we can really do!!!!!!!

Be proud Angie, you are doing a wonderful job!!!!!!!!!!

Week 6 Begins...

Alex - I had a crazy week with school & Brian's trade show had him away for 2 days.

My workouts were great last week & I ate really clean but I was tired and kinda on cruise control.

I've been keeping my blog a secret but I just posted in to my friends/family. Maybe their encouragement will get me over this hump.

I'm going to make another video too.

I'm ready for this week! I hope you give me some major leg work...I need to pump up these skinny legs of mine!!

Angie

5 weeks into it......

Angie,

OK last week you seemed distant? I want the Angie that was inquiring every other day about something. I want the girl that was asking me EXACTLY how much protein/carbs/fats she should be eating every meal.

I want more questions and focus from you!

You are making great progress but I want more! I want you in crazy good shape for your upcoming trip.

I know you have a crazy schedule but you can do this, I believe in you!

Lets push it to the max this week.

LETS SEE WHAT YOU REALLY GOT!

Good Luck!

-----------

Alex Schutzenhofer, ACSM HFS
Director of Fitness
The Final Rep Fitness, Inc.
888.344.6884 x705 (office)
402.880.3909 (cell)
alex.schutzenhofer@thefinalrep.com
http://alexschutzenhofer1.blogspot.com/
www.BeConfidentlyFit.com

Weekly Review - Week 3

Weekly Fitness Review – Angie Flaherty - Week 3
May 8th, 2009 submitted



Workouts – All the lifts went great this week. Angie needs to change the time of her workouts. She will be doing them early in the AM. I introduced Dead lifts this week. I explained the difference between squats and dead lifts while using dumbbells.
Scarecrows were another new exercise I introduced. It was very hard for Angie to perform, she actually text me during her routine to ask a question about the lift. I was able to respond very quickly and help Angie with the lift.
I conveyed the importance of keeping the weight close to her body as the exercise become harder. This is important when not having a spotter or supervised exercised.

Nutrition – So far so good. Angie doesn’t feel like she is eating enough. Stressful week and next week should be better. Angie just started a nutrition diary and I will start adjusting her calories accordingly.

Troubleshooting – Angie just started planning meals and making meals in advance. I explained drop setting and how to perform it.

Week 4 will be great! Good Job Angie!!!!!

Oh my, what's that I see? It's a little bitty bicep growing on me!!!

2 Down 14 more to go....

Week 2 is in the bag! It was MUCH better than week 1. Weights were lighter and I felt a lot better. The single leg hamstring curls were my tough spot this week. They were nearly impossible for me to do but somehow I made it through.

I think I'm seeing results! My biceps are showing definition and there's actually a muscle there when I flex!! Yes, I have been flexing in the mirror..lol. A girls gotta see if the work is paying off!! :)

Week 3 I'm going to focus on eating better on my days off. I'm going to set an alarm for every 3 hours to try to stay on track. I got my PN package this week so I'll be able to find some yummy things to eat for all these meals I need to get in :) I have to say that the pumpkin pie bars are sooo good. It's too bad that they're not an "anytime" treat. I would eat those all day!!

Today was workout 1 of Week 3. I felt SO good. I noticed a lot of improvement in my ab work. I did 3 sets of 20 jack knives and it was a breeze! Just last week I was struggling through them. It feels so good to see some progress. It makes me want this transformation even more. When I decided to take this on I knew that I was ready and motivated. Now I'm feeling proud and excited because I'm actually doing it!!!

WooHoo for me!!!
-Angie

Overview of Week 1

Well, week 1 is over with…it was tough! Here’s a breakdown of how the week went.
Day 1- I did a post for this day, since it was so monumental. Please see it for details.
Day 2- The open wrist bicep curls superset with hammer curls were tough. The Bulgarian splits squats brought me to tears…seriously! It was hard to finish a set being completely exhausted and know that I had to do it again.
Day 3- I got to use my bands for the cable press and fly…loved that! The bicep curls are still killing me!!
Day 4- Today I used my exercise ball. Can’t say I ever hated it as much as I did today. All I know is that supine ball unilateral hamstring curls are freakin murder!! I cried again today. This time doing push ups. And, no it wasn’t when my arms completely gave out and I slammed into the floor…it was because I was so frustrated with myself that I could barely even do them.

All in all it was a great week. Funny to say that when I was pretty much torturing myself. I learned this week that I may not have muscles yet but I’m strong on the inside. I am determined. I pushed myself harder than I thought I could. I felt pain and exhaustion that I have never felt from exercise. I hurt and I cried but I didn’t give up.

Nutrition.....Week 2

- Excerpt of Angie's nutritional diaries in italics my suggestions in bold -

Monday
5:00 AM oatmeal - still the instant kind, but I did buy the other stuff I just wanted to use my last few packs(add a protein shake - 1scoop of powder plus 8oz blended will do)
8:45 AM apple & cheese stick(add handful of almonds)
11:45 AM 1 1/2 cups of sugar snap peas 4 ozs lean ground beef 1/2 cup black beans 2 tbsp salsa(Good)
2:45 PM orange & cheese stick(add handful of almonds)
4:45 PM power bar & handful of almonds(subtract power bar - add either protein shake or 845am meal)
throughout day drank about 20oz of green tea & about 80oz of H20

7:30 AM 20oz H20
8:00 AM chocolate PB shake (recipe you sent me)(Good)
9:30-10:30 worked out 20oz H20
10:30 8oz Gatorade(homemade protein bar)
20oz H20
12:00 4oz lean ground beef 1/2 cup black beans 2 tbsp salsa
20oz H20
20 oz H20 (3pm - protein shake/protein bar/apple-almonds etc.... SOMETHING)
5:00 4oz sirloin steak 2 cups grilled veggies (zucchini, portabello & shitake mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes and red potatoes) (push this meal later like 6 or 7pm)
20oz H20 (almonds plus fruit for snack)

So far so good Angie. You did a good job on Monday eating 5 times but you were pretty low on calories. Stay away from packaged protein bars i.e. power bars they are full of junk for the most part. I sent you some recipes of homemade bars, start getting into the habit of making these in batches and storing them to be used throughout the week. If you absolutely need to have packaged protein bars around I will give you some recommendations.

Tuesday you did great with what you ate but you just didn't eat enough times throughout the day. 3 meals instead of 5 meals. I put my recommendations in bold letters above.

Keep working hard at your nutrition. You will get the cookbook soon and that will help you with variety. But it is important to have 5-6 "go to" meals you can always be ready to eat in a moments notice.

Alex

Week 2

Angie, Great first week. I know you ran into some bumps in the road but that is to be expected. You did a great job communicating your workouts to me and you were a model client with getting your workouts back to me.

Keep working hard and don't give up! You can conquer these plateaus you have encountered with certain exercises. Push ups are hard, Bulgarian Split Squats are hard, Super setting is hard! But that is the point:) You will see before you know it you will be doing these same exercises without even thinking about it. Then you will be moving more weights than you could have ever imagined! I look forward to helping you get there......

This week will be better, much better. I am confident you will feel stronger about your weight lifting by the end of it......

Good Luck

Alex

After two workouts.....

Spoke with Angie for the first time since she performed her two routines. I was very please to hear that she could walk today:) Even though her routines do not have much weight right now they still are putting her in angles her body is not accustom to. And this is our goal right now, activate as many angles through proper form. So when it is time adding the weight will not be a problem.

One concern was Angie's report of dizziness. I never like to hear that, especially if it is unsupervised exercise. After speaking with her, I figured it had to do with her Pre-workout nutrition. So I sent her a detailed article describing how to eat prior to a workout. This will help with the dizziness if it was related to nutrition. We will find out....

Today I started to send Angie recipes. Homemade protein bars and homemade protein shakes, YUMMY! I also had her pick up some protein powder to start using this in her everyday diet to help get her protein amounts up.

4-21-09 Notes on first workout

Finished my first workout...holy heck! I was reminded how little muscle I have :) Alex had me doing squats, lunges, more lunges, more squats, presses, skull krushers, rows and curls. Whew!

I had to workout in the evening today and personally I don't think it worked well for me (I normally workout in the AM). I thought I had eaten enough to make it thru …big mistake. Half way thru I had to eat a cheese stick because I was getting dizzy.

Although my legs felt very weak and I literally had to hold on when walking down the stairs, the hardest part of the workout was the upper body work. For most of the exercises I could not do the prescribed reps and I'm talking complete failure...could not even move my arms.

I'm a little disappointed with the way I was feeling for my first workout. I didn't feel as strong as I thought I would have. I know it was because I had not properly fueled my body though. Now I know that working out in the AM is definitely what I need to do and I will do whatever I have to do to stick to that schedule. I have a funny feeling that this won't be the only lesson I learn on this journey......

The transformation begins....

Your first workout

Angie, here we go.......your first workout.

These are full body routines for the most part. I want you to take notes and give me as much feedback on these exercises. Anything you can give back to me will help me in the future designing your program.

Make sure you can view the video links. Double click the name of the exercise to view the video. I use two sites, one will not ask for a username/password but the other will. When you are asked for a username/password enter this:

Username: Provided in email

Password: Provided in email (it is the precision nutrition site)

I also attached a very basic full body stretch routine. Feel free to do any other stretches you like that I may have not put on this document.

Drink lots of water throughout the day and stretch often.

Fax or e-mail your completed workout to me upon completion. I look forward to seeing your report.

Good Luck

Sample of Angie's exercise below. Sets/wts/reps are sent to her via email.

DB Squats

DB Forward Lunges

DB Reverse Lunges

DB R/L Split Squats

DB lying on Ball Press

Seated on Ball French Press

Lying on Ball DB Skull Krushers

1 arm DB Rows to Hip R/L

Open wrist DB curls

Hammer DB curls

Goal Setting

Angie, great question. "Goal Setting" this tends to be a thorn in the side of many people. We tend to make our long term goals our short term goals or vice versa.

One short term goal you have is "the vacation". This is a good short term goal. Get as fit as possible by the time you leave the country. To show physical change it will take 6-8 weeks. So this gives us our time limit. Now you can expect to gain anywhere between 2-6lbs of lean mass over the next 7 weeks. I'm not too concerned with your fat weight, because you are already lean enough we just need to put muscle on you which in tern will decrease your % body fat.

Many determining factors go into achieving these numbers. Genetics, nutrition, adherence to the program, etc....

Your Action Steps
1. 4 days a week of strength training.
2. 2 days of 45+ minutes of intense cardio
3. Eat as close to the PN program as possible.

Things we will be addressing by the end of the week.....
Exactly how many calories you should be eating (macro nutrient ratios)
Compliance sheets/Food Diaries
Supplements?????

Setting Goals

Hi Alex,   I just read me latest email from Precision Nutrition...it was about setting goals. I would like to set some goals for myself but I have no idea how much lean mass I can gain or how much body fat I can lose. Can you help me set some realistic goals for myself? I've never written down my goals before so I think this will be a great experience! I look forward to your reply.   Thanks! Angie

My meeting with Alex

Alex,

It was nice meeting you yesterday. So far, between meeting Frank and now you, I am so glad that I made the decision to contact The Final Rep! I really believe that working with you is finally going to bring me to the place where I've been wanting to be.

I have a couple of questions for you but have decided that I will start first by documenting our first meeting...

10:45 AM Alex arrives on time! Before he can even get out of his car I am waving like a giddy little kid from my front door. We introduce ourselves and then get down to business since we only have a half hour before I need to leave to pick up my youngest from preschool.

Sitting on the couch in the living room Alex asks me some background questions. The usual medical and physical stuff. I mentioned that I have some lower back pain when doing certain weight lifting exercises. He asked more questions and even had me demonstrate the stance I use and then showed me how to correct it.

We went down to the basement so that Alex could see where I work out. I showed him that I have an elliptical, weights and an exercise ball. We also looked at the workouts I have been doing so that he could get an idea of what I was currently doing. He was happy with the space I have available and suggested that I pump up my exercise ball since I will be using it like a bench and that I also have a sturdy chair.

Back upstairs we started taking my measurements. Those little pincher things sure do pinch! When Alex was measuring my thigh I told him that I really want a muscle there! That's been a life long dream-to have some leg muscles!! He got to see that I carry most of my fat in my mid section thanks to the pincher pinching just above the hip bone...poor Alex! I wasn't embarrassed at all though. There is no time or energy for that nonsense when one is on a mission like I am!

That's about all there was to it! He packed up his pinchers and measuring tape and said to watch my email. And, low and behold about 3:30 PM...there is was- my body comp! WooHoo! Now we have my starting point. 90lbs of lean mass and 24 lbs of fat!

I can expect my workouts from Alex and Sunday and Wednesday nights. I will be working out 4 days a week (Tuesday thru Friday) as this works best with my work schedule. We're going to have our weekly coaching calls on Friday afternoons and he told me to email or text him anytime.

So, here I am embarking on the journey of body transformation. I have wanted this for longer than I can even remember.

Now for my questions-

You mentioned getting 2.5lb magnets to attach to my power block weights since jumping 5 lbs has been too difficult for me. Do you know where I can get them? I tried Sports Authority and Scheels yesterday with no luck.

The nutrition information you sent me indicates eating starchy carbs only after a workout. Does that mean on the 3 days that I don't workout that I avoid starchy carbs all together?

Also, can you give suggestions on how to change the plan to accommodate my 9am workout time since this schedule assumes an afternoon workout?

-A

Meeting Angie.....

Angie, thank you very much for allowing me to come to your home this morning. It was nice meeting you in person. Your enthusiasm is contagious and I too am very excited to get you going on your program!

I have completed your baseline body composition. This is the base for all the nutrition advice I will be giving you. To transform yourself in a short period of time, whether that being lose or gain, you are going to have to drastically change things up. Your lean mass is at 90lbs and your fat weight is 24lbs. We want to concentrate on the lean mass during the next 7 weeks, we want to add as much as possible to this without gaining any fat weight. Your percent body fat is 21%, which is good! To score an "average" rating women should have a % body fat between 22-24% so as you can see you are "above average". The girth measurements will tell us more after the next body comp.

I look forward to seeing you change for the better!

Frank-Thanks for the awesome welcome! I am very impressed with The Final Rep and the services offered. Having a Coach is just what I need and I am really looking forward to working with Alex.

Alex-It was nice speaking to you last night. I cannot wait until Thursday (tomorrow) to do my fitness assessment and to start my journey of transformation with your help!!

I am very excited to be sharing my experience via blog so that others can witness my journey, help me a long and hopefully become inspired to do the same.

I will begin my blog with my favorite quote, which as it always does, fits the cirmcumstances perfectly.

Until next time....
A

Before I was transformed, the snows of Mt. Fiji were just the snows of Mt. Fiji and the waters of the Tassajara were just the waters of the Tassajara.

While I was on the journey of transformation, the snows of Mt. Fiji were no longer just the snows of Mt. Fiji and the waters of the Tassajara were no longer just the waters of the Tassajara.

After I was transformed, the snows of Mt. Fiji were just the snows of Mt. Fiji and the waters of the Tassajara were just the waters of the Tassajara.

-Zen Koan

Welcome to The Final Rep Fitness Angie!

Angie! I'd like to personally welcome you as a valued client - you are going to see amazing results on your fitness program with Alex. Remember, you can reach him directly at 402.880.3909 or alex.schutzenhofer@thefinalrep.com. He will be in touch with you in about a half hour to introduce himself and get you started. I'll also fill him in on our new blogging experience! He will set up a time for your fitness assessment as well.

Here are the links we spoke about today:

www.precisionnutrition.com

www.musclewithattitude.com

You're going to love Berardi's new PN System 3.0 - we use it with all our clients, you not being an exception. ;) Alright, go ahead and get that introduction video up for Alex - I want to see your passion and excitement for the program! Let's make it happen!