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The hottest, fastest growing trend in human & k9 fitness is coming to DC! You don’t have to worry about squeezing in your workout time and sacrificing time with your pup, now you can do both at the same time!

Camps are filling up fast and are limited to 10 participants, ensuring that campers get the most out of this exciting fitness program. Now you can get, and stay in shape with your furry buddy while giving him the time and attention he deserves!

To find out more visit www.dogtagbootcamp.com Or Register Now! Boot Camp’s just $299/ month! Saturday Boot Camps are free for the Month of May ... but you must be pre-registered.

A recent Brookings Institution survey ranked the 30 biggest metropolitan areas according to the number of “walkable urban places” relative to the area’s population.

Our nations capital, Washington, DC, was ranked #1. Here is the complete list:

1. Washington
2. Boston
3. San Francisco
4. Denver
5. Portland, Ore.
6. Seattle
7. Chicago
8. Miami
9. Pittsburgh
10. New York
11. San Diego
12. Los Angeles
13. Philadelphia
14. Atlanta
15. Baltimore
16. St. Louis
17. Minneapolis
18. Detroit
19. Columbus, Ohio
20. Las Vegas
21. Houston
22. San Antonio
23. Kansas City, Mo.
24. Orlando, Fla.
25. Dallas
26. Phoenix
27. Sacramento, Calif.
28. Cincinnati
29. Cleveland
30. Tampa, Fla.

 

Technorati Tags: Personal Training in Washington DC,Washington DC fitness,Fittest Cities,Fattest Cities

Men’s Fitness magazine just released their annual list of fittest and fattest cities in America, and out nation’s capital comes in ranked #13.

I would like to think that it is a result of our world-class personal trainers. Unfortunately quality of personal training available wasn’t one of the judging criteria. Instead they looked at things like.

• how much residents are excising

• how healthfully they eat

• how much they use gym memberships

• how much junk food they consume

• how much alcohol they consume

• how much time they spend sitting in traffic.

Men’s Fitness also talks to mayors and city parks departments to learn about local exercise venues, programs designed to get citizens off their couches and moving, and civic leadership.

Washington would have ranked a lot higher if it wasn’t for alcohol comsumption and time spent in traffic. We received a grade of “F” when it came to booze and an “F+” when it came to traffic.

The Top 10 Fattest Cities in 2007

1. Las Vegas

2. San Antonio

3. Miami

4. Mesa, AZ

5. Los Angeles

6. Houston

7. Dallas

8. El Paso

9. Detroit

10. San Jose

 

The Top 10 Fittest Cities in 2007

1. Albuquerque

2. Seattle

3. Colorado Springs

4. Minneapolis

5. Tucson

6. Denver

7. San Francisco

8. Baltimore

9. Portland

10. Honolulu

Complete list of Fittest and Fattest Cities

At the beginning of September, I read a story in USA Today about Tim Borland, a fellow ultra-endurance athlete, who is running 63 marathons in 63 days. Notice I did not say “attempting to run 63 marathons” or “planning to run 63 marathons” or “hoping to run 63 marathons.” Tim is running 63 marathons.

I was so touched by the story that I had to contact him and I had to meet him.

Tim and his support crew were in Washington, DC yesterday for marathon number 56 — the Marine Corps Marathon. I joined a crowd of 20 other supporters to greet Tim as he finished.

Tim is not doing this to set any records. He is running for a higher cause. He is running to raise awareness and money for research that will benefit children with Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T). A-T is a rare genetic disease that is incurable. It affects one in 40,000 babies born, causes loss of muscle control due to brain cell death. There are only 500 kids in the United States who currently have the disease.

His wife, Michelle, their kids Kailey and Colton and a college buddy Mike Durant are all along for the ride providing support.

I was lucky enough to be able to grab Tim for a few minutes after the race to talk about his journey. And there was a connection between us that I cannot explain. It was a feeling that I knew what he was going through — and he knew what I had gone through.

• I knew how nice it must have been to have a crowd of people there supporting him when he came in.

• I knew that even without a crowd around, he would still be out there pounding the pavement.

• I knew how excited he got as he spoke to People Magazine.

• I knew how thankful he was for a family that is as supportive as his is.

• And I knew how powerful it is to have a passion that will keep you going mile after mile, marathon after marathon.

I wish Tim and his team all the best. Including:

• Wind at his back.

• 60 degree days.

• Cheering crowds.

• National Media Coverage.

• Fast, comfortable running.

• Checks and donations pouring in.

If you more information about Tim and his journey, take a look at his website.
If you are as touched by his story as I was, you can make a donation online. I can tell you from experience that every little bit helps.

 

 

Due to the high demand for free fitness ebooks, I have designed and launched a new website www.Free-Fitness-Ebooks.com.  These free fitness ebooks seperate good health and fitness information from the bad, and are hand-picked by me, a fitness professional.

 Enjoy.

Do you practice yoga, but cannot seem to get to class as often you would like?  Do you practice yoga at home, but are getting bored with your routine.  If so, check out YogaToday.com.    

 YogoToday.com offers a free,  daily, one-hour yoga class from beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  World class yoga instructors take you through a session that focuses on strength building, flexibility, and stamina.

Yoga Today delivers a different show, 7 days a week, keeping your workouts fresh and energizing. 

Do you live in Washington DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia? Are you a swimmer looking to improve your stroke?   Do you want to join a Masters swim team, but don’t feel like you are good enough yet?  Do you dream of doing a triathlon, but swimming is your nightmare?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES, then I can help. In addition to offering traditional personal training services in the Washington metro area, I now provide swim coaching.  I offer private and semi-private coaching to intermediate and advanced swimmers who want to improve their stroke, increase their endurance, or learn to swim in open water.

• I am a former High School All-American and Division I swimmer.  I swam competitively at Boston College.

• I am a nationally recognized endurance athlete.   I made history when I swam 1,550 miles down the Mississippi River—from Minneapolis to Baton Rouge—becoming the first person in seventy years to swim North America’s longest waterway.

• I am a former master’s swim coach.  I was a coach for Southern California Aquatics (SCAQ) the largest adult swim team in the country. I coached numerous national champions and masters All-American Swimmers.

 After 3 sessions with me, a happy client just sent me this testimonial:

“I’m delighted to let you know that the last 4 or 5 times I’ve gone to the pool I have swam 800 meters straight!! This is entirely down to your coaching and is very pleasing for me — bearing in mind that the first time I tried on my own I was able to only swim 50m.”

 Contact Me to Become the swimmer you always wanted to be!

I am so excited about this news that I wanted to share it with everyone I knew.  My 1550-mile swim down the Mississippi River is going to be the subject of a documentary.  Alex Houston of Fiat Lux Productions is producing an hour-long film called: “Swim Lessons: The Nick Irons Story.”  

In 1997, I jumped into the 56-degree water of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and took the first of more than a million strokes that pushed me down the longest river in North America. After four months I climbed on shore inBaton Rouge, Louisiana.   I didn’t just make this swim for the challenge or the glory; but a personal mission to raise national awareness and funding for multiple sclerosis, the disease my dad lives with.

A short trailer for the movie is now up on YouTube.   Could I ask you a favor?  Could you please take a look at the video?  And if you like it, could you help me get the word out abut it?  You can do this by:

• Passing it along to your friends and contacts – anyone you can think of who might enjoy watching.

• Adding it as a favorite on YouTube.com.

• Posting it to your blog (if you have one).

• Adding it to your MySpace Page (if you have one).

• Promoting it in any other way you would like.

 Thanks so much for your help, I do appreciate it.

Aug

21

How does weight lifting make me stronger?

Filed Under Ask the Trainer, Personal Training, Weight Lifting | 1 Comment 

A good strength training program is based on a principle called progressive overload – which calls for progressively placing greater-than-normal demands on the muscles you are working.

When you lift weights, you do a little bit of damage to your muscles. For a couple of days after the exercise, your body recovers and repairs the damage you did to it. And when the muscle repairs itself, it makes it bigger and stronger than before.

So you are breaking down the muscle, so your body can build it back up.

 

Aug

14

Hardest workouts in Washington, DC

Filed Under Personal Training, Washington DC | Leave a Comment 

Metro Sports Magazine recently surveyed personal tainers, coaches, and gyms in the Washington, DC metro area to write a story titled “Toughest Workouts in the Mid-Atlantic.”   

They used my personal favorite swim workout in the article.   Take a look and if it sounds like fun contact me about personal training and I will gladly put you through it.

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