Exercise of the Week: Stability Ball Push Up

Heres one of our more advanced exercises for the upper body. The added difficulty provided by the stability ball causes you to have to use your core so much more than in a regular push up. Give it a try, but be careful. This one can get dangerous if you don’t know your body.

What it works: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders and Core

Trainers tips: Brace your abdominals and keep your body as stiff as possible. You’re really going to need to keep tension everywhere throughout your body. Butt, quads, abs and mid back. It all needs to stay as tight as possible. If you can do 5 reps thats good. If you can do 10 reps, thats even better. If you’re getting 20 reps you’re an animal.

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Mental Skills Questions…Ask Yourself This?

Angelo”The Inspiration”Hunter gives you some food for thought.  Not just for fitness, but for everyday life.

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Exercise of the Week: Anti-Rotation Hold

One of my all time favorite core exercises. Great for low back health. One of the most important functions of our core is to prevent motion of the spine. Here we see Angelo engaging his core against the resistance of a counter rotational force. If you want serious core stability, start with the the Anti-Rotation Hold.

What it works: Abdominals and obliques.

Trainers tips: Brace your abdominals like you’re about to take a punch to the stomach. Make sure your hands are in direct line with the middle of your chest, and there should be a 90 degree angle between the rope/cable and your forearms to allow for maximum torque. Start out by trying to hold for 30 seconds. Once you’re strong enough increase the time. Don’t forget to train both sides of the body.

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Exercise of the Week: Cook Bridge

Here’s one you’ll see us commonly use in our boot camps, as well as a favorite of mine for warming up and activating the glutes and hip muscles.

What it works: Glutes and hip stabilizers.

Trainers tips: Keep the abdominals braced, push through the heel, and keep that knee pulled into the chest as tight as possible to protect the lower back. As a warm up try 10 reps. If you’re really trying to get a burn going you’ll have to shoot for 15 or 20 repetitions.

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NEW Contracts/Packages and Scheduling

Hello everybody. Starting July 5th 2010 we will be changing up the way in which we handle scheduling and purchasing of training and classes. I’ll provide here instructions on doing both. Everything we do from this point forward, most of it can be handled online from the comfort of your own home.

Scheduling

In order to schedule yourself for a boot camp class you will need to sign in and create a new user profile. This only needs to be done once. It will put you in the system and you’ll be on your way to scheduling all the appointments you can handle. To do this; simply go to our main web page www.stamfordbootcamps.com and find the tab at the top of the page that says schedule. Upon going to that link you will be asked to create a new user profile. Don’t be surprised if your name is already in our system. Verify that it is you, and continue with the login process. Once you’ve created a profile you will be able to purchase boot camp packages, one-on-one training, and schedule yourself for appointments.

Contracts/Packages

In an effort to reward individuals for their commitment, we will now be providing longer/cheaper commitment packages for the boot camp classes. The longer you commit, the cheaper it gets. Before you purchase a Contract or Package you must first have created a user profile as described above. Notice the new tab up above labeled Contracts/Packages. Once you click on that, it will take you to our retail page. From here all you need to do is click the arrow for the drop down menu and select the contract/package you would like to purchase. You will have the option of selecting 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months.

EFT and Pricing

1 Month = $300

3 Month = $264 per month

6 Month = $240 per month

12 Month = $216 per month

Once you pick a contract and electronically sign you will automatically be billed monthly in the amount shown for the duration of your contract. Only once obviously for a 1 month contract. Prices are also subject to CT sales Tax.

That’s it folks. The future is here and we are priding ourselves on being a progressive company that will keep up with even the biggest of gyms. If you have any questions please email me at my personal email thebuffgeek@gmail.com and I will try to help you out the best I can. Most importantly, if you cant figure it out, just come to class. We’ll get you up and going eventually.

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The Inspiration Hunter You Can And You Will

I’m guilty as hell!! I’ve been trying to help people get more out of their fitness life for the last 15 years. Now I’m pissed. People want and want, but nobody wants to do the work. Get Of Your Asses and move. Rollover classes, make up time..None sense. Take control and start-over now.

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Fire Your Shoes

stamford boot camp

I don’t like shoes.

I think they look silly and I think our society gives them too much power. Their main purpose is to provide protection for our soles when we are walking outside on rough terrain but why can’t it end there?

Why do business men and women feel the need to have to wear these silly things all day long? They’re not comfortable.

I spent most of my life as a child not wearing shoes and it’s continued that way into my adulthood. Sure sometimes I get strange looks in the gym but it’s actually been a pretty fun conversation starter. It also allows me the opportunity to teach people a thing or two about their own body.

Why I don’t wear shoes when I workout.

Shoes are designed with the best intentions, protecting our ankles and feet. Unfortunately they put a lot of limitations on our ankle mobility. When our bodies move we create force from the ground up. Our body movements rely on a delicate chain of actions from our ankles, to our knees, to our hips and so on. If you throw restrictions into the bottom link of that chain, that ground force energy then travels a different path then the rest of the body intended for. Of course you won’t notice this. It happens on a microscopic level. But over time that small energy leak in the system will eventually show itself. It could be in the form of sore knees, tight hips, back pain etc. The average gym goer will pass this off as being from old age, or just some regular wear and tear that we have to deal with when it comes to working out hard.

Sure I still have a lot of my clients train in shoes. Usually they’re more comfortable that way. A lot of them are also athletes and the wearing of shoes can’t be avoided. If they’re going to play the sport in their shoes then I’m definitely going to train them in their shoes. It all really comes down to what your goals are in the gym. Sports aside, for general health purposes and definitely for rehabilitation I suggest people start working out in their socks and ditch the Nike high tops.

Note:  Stamfords NO BS Body Conversion Boot Camps are held in shoeless friendly environment.  Give it a shot next time you’re down in our blue room.

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Summer Beach Jam for Breast Cancer Benefit

Hey guys!  It’s not often that a group of unknown talented musicians
get together and create an atmosphere worth grabbing your attention.
On Sunday August 1, 2009 several groups took time out to give back by
sharing the gift of music with those who have either been through
breast cancer or know someone who is battling this disease.

At one time they gave a round of applause to a young lady who had a
double mastectomy two weeks prior to the event.  She still was able to
gain enough energy to enjoy the show and cause.  The benefit was to
honor those who are fighting/fought and to raise funds for the
care/treatment/amenities that are needed for the Yale New Haven cancer
treatment for patients.

I have to be honest,  It is such an honor and a privileged to give
back to such a wonderful group of people.  As most of you may know I
have lost several people in my family to various forms of cancer.  So
when I was asked if I could be apart of this event, I did not have to
think twice about it!  I said YES before the sentence was finished.

I just wanted to take time to share this story and prove that we can
all make a difference in someones life just by doing little things.  By
doing these little things for others, big things and good things will
happen for all involved.  The universe loves the discipline of
reciprocity and I can only speak for myself, but what an awesome
feeling throughout the day.

It feels great to give!  So I challenge us all to find an event or
cause where you can give your time and help those who need you to be
their inspiration.  Who knows, sometimes the action of giving your time
can be that inspiration for you!?

I always talk of how keeping or creating a positive mental mindset
can create an incredible outcome.  Well, on this day the energy and
atmosphere was full of it!!  If those with cancer can give it their all
to fight their battle, then we as people can give it our all to get and
battle anything that we want/desire in our lives.




What
would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?


Vincent van Gogh

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My July 4th Weekend…Keeping Up With Your Spouse!

Hey guys!  I hope everyone had an awesome Fourth Of July weekend!?
I had an extremely fantastic getaway with my better half.  As most of
you know I married a wonderful energetic, youthful, strong and
beautiful young lady.  I thought that might butter her up when she
reads this post..LOL

After a shortened week of work we headed out to my brother and
sister in-laws, in Ny.  Just over the Tapanzee bridge. (Haverstraw, NY
think that’s how you spell it:-)  I got to chill with my new peeps and
hang out with their beautiful little girl Haley.  She loves her Uncle
Angelo, of course I had to play a little peek-a-boo.  It’s so fun to
watch how little kids really don’t give a rat-so about anything other
than the now!

She just wanted to play and show off for her aunt and uncle.  So, we
had a brew and some grub,  listened to the Yankee game.  Then it was
off to wifeys hometown of Rosendale, Ny.  Oh yeah, we brought a long
their 4yr old German shepherd Sasha with us.  Great dog, play, play,
play!

Once we arrived, the real chill phase was on.  We decided on
Saturday the 4Th we were going to climb/scramble/hike.  I believe it’s
called Bonticou’, Probably spelled it wrong, but we climbed it all the
same.  Before we headed up to the hills/Mtn we stopped off a little
late at a friends BBQ,  got caught up in some chit-chat.

So the plan was to be on top on the Mtn. before night fall or just
at sunset…That did not go according to the plan.  So we found
ourselves in the woods just as the sun was beginning to set.  Or should
I say the sun was just about out of sight.  No problem.  I’m with the
one person who knows her way up and down this rock, all is good.  At
least I thought it was.

So we finally settle at the peak and start checking out some of the
firework displays going off all around us.  It really was a cool
spectacle and we were the only people up there, which made it very
special!  Wait!! It gets more interesting.  The fireworks lasted about
a good 60 to 90 minutes, now remember it’s about 10p/10:30 in the
evening.  The moonlight is incredibly bright, but that’s when you’re
out of the woods.

We start heading down after a great evening of QT and figured we
head back into town for a quick after hours bite.   Continuing on
through the brush and trees we make our descent, noticing that the head
lamp I was wearing was much brighter than the one wifey had. I lit up
the woods in front of her.  I tell ya, good thing we get a long or it
could of been a battle.

Forgetting that branches are just about eye level with me.  I was
impaled several times, once in the neck and the other to the left eye
lid.  Just a scratch…

Finally, we get to the bottom and began to laugh.  This just proves
that sometimes we have to trust our significant other, even though we
may not like a certain situation.  Deep inside you know that person
will get you out of a jam or whatever the issue maybe.

So get out there with that special someone and be daring, adventurous, live life to the fullest!

Another way to keep each other healthy, do it as a team.

TOGETHER!!!

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