devetterfitness

Weight Loss From a Slightly Different Angle

2009-12-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

Weight Loss From a Slightly Different Angle

By: Chas DeVetter

Lots of people are trying to lose weight. In fact for 90% of my bootcamp and personal training clients, weightloss is their number one goal. I, on the other hand am trying to gain weight (not body fat, mostly muscle is the goal). I am always some what scarred to admitt that I am trying to gain weight, because of the angry looks that I seem to get when I tell people, so please be kind and don't hate. I actually have a few clients that have had some great suggestion to help me in packing on a few lb's.

I spent 20 years of my life watching my weight and staying lean for wrestling. My body fat was typically around 5% during the season. I have not ever had a problem losing weight. I made good eating choices, and as a college athlete, worked out for 2-4 hours per day. So, it is not to say that I sat on my rear watching soaps and eating bon bons. It is also not to say that it was easy for me to pass up Thanksgiving pie and Christmas cookies, but I did it any way. Many people make the same choices every day, in order to get to their health and fitness goals. More people, don't make the difficult choices to reach their goals, then they wonder why they were cursed with bad genes that do not allow them lose weight. Wow! I apologize, I did not sugar coat that at all. Not to say that genetic factors are not involved, but that is a whole other discussion.

So here is the tie in between my weight gain process and your weight loss process. I always try to eat 5-6 times per day, whether losing weight or gaining. The difference is how much at each meal. Probably the most important aspect of my abillity to gain weight recently (it has always been hard for me) has been introducing fast food and eating out into my diet. I have been able to bump up the calories that I am eating simply by eating out more often. I am trying currently to eat out two times per day, and it is working. So, if you would like to join me in my weight gain quest, join the fast food eating out plan that I am on. Otherwise, stay away from fast food and eating out often. It will make a huge difference in your weight loss pursuits.

Your work out routine makes a huge difference as well. An effective program, coupled with great eating habits will have the weight melting off!

Hope that Helps. Let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help.

Chas DeVetter
DeVetter Fitness
http://www.devetterfitness.com/

Food Labels Can Be Misleading

2009-11-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

I was sitting down to breakfast this morning at Mimi's cafe and thought that I would glance through the paper. Typically, when I am in a hurry, like I was this morning I will find a couple of articles that I skim through. Today was different. There were articles on grocery store food labels, menu information at restaraunts, how niacin supplementation was more effective in treating cholesterol than the actual cholesterol medication Zetia (just one study, but wow) and much more. I did not have time to get through all of the health and fitness related articles, but was very impressed that they were seeing some of the spotlight in the Omaha World Herald.

Anyways, I got off track a bit there, because I mainly wanted to discuss one article. The article that I want to discuss a bit today was titled "Lawsuits, New FDA Scrutiny in Grocery Aisles, by Matt McKinney from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. This article says that food manufacturers are being sued for their mileading labeling. The labels in question were typically foods that are labelled as healthy. The FDA is also looking into these allegations and into coming up with a uniform system for labeling.

The point is this... Learn to read labels! Just because the food is a "healthy choice" or claims to lower cholesterol or aid in digestion doesn't mean that the food is healthy or even does what it claims to do. Buyer be ware. These companies are all about the bottom dollar and will take advantage of your lack of understanding what actually is healthy.

If you can walk over to a bag of bread and read the ingredients to decide whether or not the food is good for you, you will be a lot better off than if you go by what ever mr. big bucks, bottom line, 4 houses in the Hamptons, marketing genius tells you on the front of the package. So that's all I have got to say for today. Learn how different foods effect your body and decide which foods to buy based on your understanding of the ingredients, not the promotional material. For more articles on healthy eating go to the DeVetter Fitness Health Resouces Page. http://www.devetterfitness.com/health_resources.html.

2009-10-17T12:42:00.001-07:00

I just had an amazing black bean burger. Lean beef, black beans, onions, whole wheat bread crumbs, an egg, sea salt, pepper and some southwestern seasoning. It was grubbin'!

Why You Should Hire a Personal Trainer

2009-10-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

By Chas DeVetter BS, Certified Personal Trainer

Yesterday we had a film crew come out to get some footage on the DeVetter Fitness Bootcamp as well as some bootcamp and personal training client testimonials. Everything went great and I am very excited to see some of the videos that will come from the filming session. All of the positive client testimonials got me to thinking about the numerous benefits that go along with personal training and fitness bootcamps. Since I already discussed fitness bootcamps in my last blog, I thought that I would tackle personal training this time. So here are some (definitely not a complete list) of the reasons why hiring a great personal trainer like the personal trainers at DeVetter Fitness will help you attain the goals that you have not been able to achieve on your own. Reason #1: personal trainers have the education and experience to make your work outs safe and effective. I am of the opinion that if you are going to spend the time and the effort that is involved in working out, you should make sure that your work outs are effective. Why go to the gym and spend two hours on the treadmill when you could get a more effective work out in less than half the time. Often, since people do not have much time, they work out for a short amount of time at an intensity that will not get the results that they are looking for. Along with that, even if you are using some great work out that you found in a magazine, it does not mean that it is a good program for YOU. A great personal trainer will take into account your past injuries and health conditions to make sure that your program is safe for you.

Reason #2: Studies show that personal training works! Those people who meet with a personal trainer have been shown to have much greater success than those who don't. Those who hire personal trainers lose more weight, are able to maintain their weight loss and are more likely to achieve their fitness goals than those who go it on their own.

Reason #3 Personal training clients have a set time to work out and have paid for those sessions. Many people are busy and let problems that arise in life to get in the way of their exercise plans. As the saying goes, "the squeaky wheel gets the oil." I find that many personal training clients are much more consistant because they have a set time to work out. Along with getting physical activity scheduled into a full day, there is something about investing your hard earned dollars into achieving your fitness goals. When you invest money into personal training, you are less likely to miss work outs and more likely to emphasise the healthy eating and extra work outs that often go into achieving many common goals.

Finally, personal training can be convenient and affordable. What is more convenient than walking down the stairs of your home or down the hall to your apartment gym to work out? If you have a little bit of room in your house and a few pieces of equipment, you can work out at home as well. DeVetter Fitness offers in home, in apartment and country club personal training. In fact, if you have one to three other friends that live in the same area as you and also want to get into shape you can split costs and enjoy working out with your friends. Along with having a good time with your friends you can save some cash as well. Small group training with 3 other friends ends up being about $25 per session at DeVetter Fitness. So if you are often at your apartment or country club why not hire a personal trainer to come to you. This can often save you time and money for gas and a gym membership.

These are some great reasons to hire a personal trainer. Let me know if you have questions about the benefits of personal training or the personal and small group programs that DeVetter Fitness offers. Also let me know if you can think of some of the reasons that I missed.

What are Fitness Bootcamps?

2009-10-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

What are Fitness Bootcamps?

By Chas DeVetter

In Omaha, NE, Fitness Bootcamps are hot right now, but many people do not quite understand exaclty what they are. The purpose of this article is to help you to better understand what a fitness bootcamp class or program is so that you can decide if one would be a good option for you.

Fitness Bootcamps are group exercise classes or programs that consist of a variety of forms of exercise. There are as many types of fitness bootcamps as there are types of exercisers. Original fitness bootcamps were workouts designed to push exercisers physically and mentally, similar to military bootcamps. Since the first bootcamps, there have been many unique bootcamp formats to cater to exercisers who are not looking to go through a military-style bootcamp, but still want to enjoy the numerous benefits of a group exercise program. Some examples of these bootcamp offshoots include womens-only programs, men's-only, bride-to-be bootcamps, mom-and-me bootcamps where mothers bring their infant children, outdoor body weight bootcamps, indoor bootcamps...

There are many pros to bootcamp-style programs. First of all, fitness bootcamps are fun! Many people enjoy the team-like atmosphere of a fitness bootcamp. I have found that having a group of people to laugh, sweat and work alongside with is a powerful thing. This group bonding often leads to non-exercisers actually looking forward to their workout time and can also be a good motivator to drag yourself out of bed or off the couch on the days that you do not feel like working out. Along with the team-like atmosphere, bootcamps are fun because of the variety of exercise that you will perform (in a good bootcamp). Rather than jumping on the dreadmill 5 days a week, you are suprised at bootcamp by what you will do that day.

Next, fitness bootcamps are more affordable. You are getting the knowledge and expertise, as well as motivation and semi-personalized programing that you could only get elsewhere from personal training. In Omaha, NE personal training ranges from $50 to $100 per hour, with $70 per hour being the norm. With a bootcamp you are splitting costs with others, which makes it more affordable for everyone. Many bootcamps cost anywhere from $8 to $20 per hour.

The next thing about a fitness bootcamp program that is a definite pro is that many of them will assess you before and after the program (although this is not always the case with bootcamp classes in local fitness centers). These assesments range from weight, inches, body fat, muscular endurance, muscular strength and aerobic conditioning. Being assessed at the beginning and end allows you to see if what you are doing is having an effect or not. Success often motivates and the lack of success lets you know that you need to make some adjustments. Either way, knowing and not guessing your progress is extremely important.

The final fitness bootcamp pro is that you have a set date. Many people have good intentions when it comes to working out, but find that other things always come up. Having a set time that you are scheduled to work out is a great way to make a lifestyle of physical activity a reality.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of what exactly a fitness bootcamp is.

Please leave questions and comments here or get ahold of me on facebook or at my personal training and bootcamp website. If you are ready to join the best bootcamp in Omaha, NE, call to find out more about DeVetter Fitness Bootcamps at (402) 301-8657. If you want to see more free health and fitness articles click the link.

2009-09-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

What Wrestlers Know About Weightloss
By:Chas DeVetter

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Chas DeVetter. I am a personal trainer and fitness bootcamp instructor as well as former wrestler. I also coach at the high school level in Omaha, NE, although I do not consider myself a wrestler anymore. This blog discusses some of the things that wrestlers know and do that you could learn from in your weightloss pursuits.
Let me start by saying that I think that wrestling has received a bad wrap from the media for the drastic measures that it's athletes will go to to make weight. Wrestling has promoted some unhealthy practices that have lead to injury, illness and even in a few cases death. However, before you dismiss the rest of the article because of the negative image that the sport has, you should know two things. First know that those who make the rules, the coaches and the athletes have come a long ways in terms of safety for the athletes. Second and finally wrestlers practice many affective weight loss principals that could help you in your weightloss pursuits.

Wrestlers know how to lose weight! Granted, some of the weight that a wrestler loses is water weight with in a day(s) or hours of their weigh-in, with the intention of drinking that water weight back on after the weigh-in. That to me is a good reason why weight is not as good of a measure of over all health as are circumference and body fat levels, but that is a later blog topic! We are talking weight loss, so like I said before wrestlers know how to lose weight. After many practices, I for example, would leave 8 pounds lighter than when I started! Rarely did I lose less than 4 or 5 pounds in a practice. Don't get me wrong, most of it was water weight, even though I drank liquids through out practice. In fact I once lost 5lbs in 30 minutes (all water weight), which I am not recommending. The point is, if you are working so hard that you cannot peel your shirt off after a work out, imagine how many calories your body is burning. Image also, if you would, doing this day in and day out for weeks and months. Your body has no choice but to adapt. In fact, I could not eat enough calories to keep my weight up even when I was eating everything in sight to maintain weight. I would lose over 10lbs of body fat (as well as some muscle) and got down to around 5 percent body fat in the months preceding the start of the season, with out even altering my eating habits. This was pretty typical of my teammates as well.I must let you know that these practices were not easy. To quote Terry Brands, a 2 time National Champion for the Iowa Hawkeyes, "We do things that would make a billy goat puke." It sounds crazy and extreme. It was! At the time, I just knew that these crazy, extreme work outs were necessary to accomplish the goals that I had set for myself. Not only did I believe it was worth while to work as hard as I could for the two to three hour practices, but I even went to work out at least three times per week in the mornings as do many wrestlers who are "watching their weight". The common thread that can be found woven into this story and the story of many people reading this blog is that there is a very important goal at stake, one that is worth taking drastic measures. I think that it is important to work smart as well as hard and I would never recommend any one starve themselves to lose weight (this practice is nearly gone from what I see in the sport of wrestling). I do reccomend, if you are having trouble reaching your weight loss goals, or any goals for that matter- ask yourself this question. How important is this goal to me? Will you spend the time, effort and often money that it takes to achieve your goals? Will you pass up the beer, cake, pop... that will keep you from getting where you want to go (wreslters have to eat smaller portions during the holidays and often skip sweets)? Sometimes it is good to ask the tough questions. If you are wondering what sacrificing to lose weight looks like, perhaps you should ask a wrestler.
If you have questions or comments you can also get a hold of me at info@devetterfitness.com or go to http://www.devetterfitness.com/ to find out more about fitness bootcamps or personal training in Omaha, NE.

Posted by devetterfitness at 12:29 PM 0 comments
Labels: sacrafice, weightloss, wrestlers
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2009-09-23T11:00:00.001-07:00

Check out this article from Tosca Reno called Journaling for successhttp://ping.fm/iwFpF Go to http://ping.fm/t09Jf for more free health and fitness related articles.

First Blog

2009-08-31T19:34:00.001-07:00

This is officially my first blog, so I will keep it short and sweet. My goal in having a blog is to be helpful to my audience, whether they be DeVetter Fitness Bootcampers, Personal Training Clients, Online Personal Training Clients, or even people who are just searching for accurate health and fitness information. I plan on tackling current event health and fitness information including recent studies and trends. However, I cannot (will not) promise to always stay on topic and avoid throwing in my 2 cents. With that being said, my first blog is officially over and I thank you for your interest. If you have topic ideas that you would like to see covered or if you would like to contact me, you can e-mail me at info@devetterfitness.com. Find out more about DeVetter Fitness and Myself at http://www.devetterfitness.com/.