Fitness Together Norwell: 30 Days to Glory

by Martha Hicks Leta

You may have noticed a preponderance of “30 Day Challenge” postings in your social media of late. It’s one of those trends that’s been slowly gathering steam over the past few years and suddenly seems to have exploded into the interweb zeitgeist. Some trends can be fleeting and silly, but the good ones stick when people find value in them.

“Thirty days is enough to get started in the right way, to begin to understand what makes change easier and most importantly, how to stay on the right track,” says Ariane de Bonvoisin, author of “The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Making Any Change Easier.”

For people thinking about fitness, the 30 Day Challenge concept has merit for beginners and experts alike. The idea is to pick an exercise or a small series of exercises and repeat them daily, gradually increasing reps throughout the 30 days with periodic rest days, building toward a goal on day 30 that is significantly greater than the starting point. It’s perfect for beginners because the starting number of reps and duration is very manageable and not terribly time consuming; most people can bang out fifty squats on a commercial break. Such a challenge is also worthwhile for those with more advanced fitness goals as a way to boost the benefits of an existing routine. The idea that you can make a gradual but significant change or achieve something in as short as 30 days is appealing in our world of instant gratification and often inspires greater challenges to follow.

Mike Eaton

Fitness Together trainer Mike Eaton has spent the last year rehabilitating a severe arm and shoulder injury and knows the value of baby steps; it takes patience and perseverance to claw your way through the tiny achievements of those painful post-surgery PT sessions. It takes still more discipline to fully reclaim your pre-injury fitness, flexibility and strength. As a Fitness Together trainer, Mike sees the value of accountability not just for himself but with his clients every day because they identify the accountability component of their appointments as the key to their fitness success. For Mike, building accountability into his own routine by adding a 30 Day Challenge gave him a “no excuses mentality” and kept him on task.

Toward that end, he designed a grueling 30 Day Challenge for himself. “I had to do at least 100 chest-to-floor burpees, 200 squats, and 200 double-unders (where) the jump-rope passes under you twice instead of once.” (See video box above). For added discipline, Mike decided that the workout had to be completed in one structured session, not in piecemeal throughout the day. He logged each workout with a running total of each day.

“There were plenty of nights after work that I just wanted to get home but I needed to push myself and get the challenge done for the day. After a week I kind of looked forward to getting it done and logging my numbers.”

Mike completed the challenge in early May and says it was definitely worth it. “During and after the challenge I definitely saw improvements in CrossFit as well as my long distance running. I highly recommend trying a challenge and structure it to what you need improvements on.”

Alicia Tansey & Karen O’Connor Ripley

Fitness Together Norwell trainer Alicia Tasney began the 30 Day Squat Challenge in April as a way to motivate a few friends who have been historically reluctant to begin exercising. She baited these friends into doing the challenge by promising them that she would to do twice the amount outlined on the challenge web site.

“The squat is a great exercise to focus on for it’s functional benefits,” says Tasney. “It translates to things we do regularly in our every day lives, like getting in and out of the car, walking up stairs, bending over to tie shoes or pick up an object.” When done properly, the benefits of the squat include building muscle; improving flexibility and balance; and gaining strength in the glutes, legs, knees, feet and lower back.

Form is important when doing any exercise, but especially where high reps are involved. Even more important if you’re adding weights. Tasney says that for such a simple exercise, there are many ways to go wrong, and that can lead to injuries of the knees and lower back. (See below for tips on proper form.)

As of tomorrow, Alicia will be on day 21 of the challenge, which means 180 squats for her friends and 360 for her. By the time all is said and done, she’ll have completed 6,590 squats! She says she’s already feeling the benefits from the challenge. When running, her legs feel stronger and take much longer to fatigue. Another benefit? Friends have offered compliments, which we’ll refrain from repeating, but suffice it to say we could rename this challenge the “30 Day ‘Damn, Gurl!’ Awesome Booty Squat Challenge.”

Fitness Together client Karen O’Connor Ripley, a client at FT for several years, is always looking for ways to push herself further. A busy mom who also runs a cleaning business as well as a facebook page, “Ecomomics,” Ripley is a busy person. But when she overheard her trainers, Mike and Alicia, talking about their challenges she decided to incorporate one into her own routine as a way to boost her fitness level without eating up a lot of time. To focus on the area she most wants to improve, Ripley chose an abdominal challenge. “It consist of sit-ups, crunches, planks and push-ups with the reps increasing everyday. This also got me to do plank and push-ups which are two exercises I don’t usually do unless I’m at FT. It’s going good, I like it, it’s gets me going.”

As inhabitants of a planet whose circadian rhythms are tied to the 30-day cycle of the moon, you might say we are hard wired to operate within the parameters of this increment of time. When thinking about making a change or an improvement that involves discipline, a month isn’t really a daunting amount of time, but you may be surprised at what you can accomplish.

If you take up a 30-Day Challenge of any kind, keep these tips in mind:

• Choose a challenge that is doable, but challenges you as it progresses. You’re in this to make progress, not waste time or injure yourself.
• Make sure you’re using proper form. Check with your trainer if you have questions.
• Journal your progress. This will keep you on task and give you a real sense of accomplishment at the end.
• Don’t Beat Yourself Up: If you miss a day, pick up where you left off if possible. If you miss more than a few days, back up or start again. Just don’t give up!

Here are the challenges happening at Fitness Together in Norwell. If you try one, let us know how it goes, or share your challenge here. We’d love to know how you’re doing!

Mike Eaton’s 30 Day Beatin’

To be completed in one session each day for 30 Days

• 100 chest-to-floor burpees
• 200 squats
• 200 double-unders

30 Day Squat Challenge

(Again, Tasney’s doubling this.)

To do a proper squat, keep this slightly bizarre visual in mind: you’re testing a metal chair with your butt to see if it’s hot, discover it is and stand up again. You can even place a chair about a foot behind you to lightly touch down on before standing up. Keep these other tips in mind for proper form*:

1. Begin in an athletic stance, feet shoulder width apart, feet slightly turned out, spine in neutral position, abs engaged.
2. Keeping your weight in your heels, your head up and your eyes looking ahead (not at the floor) bend your knees until your upper leg is parallel or deeper to the ground. Your butt should be moving backwards as well as downward as your knees hinge, preventing your knees from going forward beyond your toes.
3. Throughout the squat, your head is still up, eyes forward, shoulders back and chest out. Don’t collapse your spine and hunch downward.
4. To return to the standing position, engage your legs, glutes and abs and squeeze as you “explode” back to your starting position.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

*Have your trainer check your form or help you modify if you have any physical constraints, or if you wish to add weights to increase difficulty.

Day 1 – 50 squats
Day 2 – 55 squats
Day 3- 60 squats
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – 70 squats
Day 6 – 75 squats
Day 7 – 80 squats
Day 8 – Rest
Day 9- 100 squats
Day 10 – 105 squats
Day 11 – 110 squats
Day 12 – Rest
Day 13 – 130 squats
Day 14 – 135 squats
Day 15 – 140 squats
Day 16 – Rest
Day 17 – 150 squats
Day 18 – 155 squats
Day 19 – 160 squats
Day 20 – Rest
Day 21 – 180 squats
Day 22 – 185 squats
Day 23 – 190 squats
Day 24 – Rest
Day 25 – 220 squats
Day 26 – 225 squats
Day 27 – 230 squats
Day 28 – Rest
Day 29 – 240 squats
Day 30 – 250 squats

The Mean Ab Challenge
(It says “June” but Karen O’Connor Ripley couldn’t wait. “Thirty days is 30 days!” she says.)

For more about Ariane de Bonvoisin’s inspirational books:.  First30days.com

To set up an appointment with Mike, Alicia or Joe at Fitness Together in Norwell call 781-659-0034

To find a Fitness Together Studio near you go to FTGetsResults.com

The 2013 “Making a Difference” Award Goes To…

by Candice Hudson and Martha Hicks Leta

Managing owner of Fitness Together in Burlington and Melrose, Brendan Stapleton, was recently recognized with the Making a Difference Award from among 240 Fitness Together studio owners at the company’s recent national conference in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.

Stapleton was presented with this award for his efforts in making a difference in the Burlington community and beyond. During the past year, Stapleton raised nearly $200,000 by participating in numerous races, including marathons, triathlons and a 12 hour walk, and donated the money to local chapters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, American Diabetes Association (ADA), St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the Nashoba Learning Group, among others.

“While there are many well-deserving studio owners in our system this year, Brendan Stapleton went above and beyond,” said Jeff Jervik, CEO and President of Fitness Together Holdings, Inc. “He is truly an asset to the Fitness Together family, and this award is a token of our appreciation for his dedication to making Fitness Together successful in his local community and in the industry.”

Last year Stapleton ran in his fifth Boston Marathon to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Between 2011 and 2012 Stapleton competed in 4 full marathons. Over the course of his career, he’s run in too many to count. In addition, Stapleton and four friends raised $25,000 for the Nashoba Learning Center, a school for children with Autism where his good friend and fellow running mate, Peter Argriros, is a staff member.

“I couldn’t have raised this money without the generosity of my clients, family and friends, so this award is really for all of us,” said Stapleton. “My passion has always been helping to make people’s lives better. That’s why I got involved in the fitness industry. Whether it’s by helping clients get healthier by working out at my studios or raising money for organizations, I think it’s important to make a difference in whatever way you can.”

Stapleton works closely with each client to develop a personalized program that meets the client’s fitness needs and agrees with their budget. This includes strength and cardio training in addition to nutrition counseling and a level of accountability and coaching not found with other programs. Stapleton also recently took ownership of Fitness Together of Melrose and is helping to make the community a healthier place.

“After being with Fitness Together for all these years all I can say is I love my job! There is nothing better than seeing a client reach their goals and become who they have always wanted to be!”

Fitness Together of Burlington is located at 212 Cambridge Street. For more information, please call (781) 273-0093 or visit FTBurlington

Fitness Together of Melrose is located at 445 Franklin Street. For more information, please call (781) 665-8282 or visit FTMelrose

To find more FT Studios across Eastern New England, check out FTGetsResults

 

FT’s Dina Whalen Announces Gift Card Fundraiser For Lynnfield Athletic Association

Dina Whalen, owner of Fitness Together of Lynnfield, announced this week that she has donated 200 gift cards to the LAA. The organization helps pay for equipment and other costs for the Lynnfield High School sports programs.

People can purchase a gift card for $25, and receive $100 worth of services from Fitness Together of Lynnfield, including PACK (small group) training sessions.

“Lynnfield High School is my alma mater and as a local business owner I am excited to be able to give back in some way,” said Whalen, owner of Fitness Together of Lynnfield. “I am a former athlete and understand the importance of the LAA and what it provides to the school’s athletic teams.”

Lynnfield HS Athletic Association

For more information about the LAA or to purchase a gift card, contact Linda Rugato, LAA, at 781-258-6447 or lynnfieldathleticassociation@gmail.com.

Check out FTLynnfield for more information or call 780-781-7591. To find a Fitness Together Studio near you go to FTGetsResults.com

___________

ABOUT DINA WHALEN

Dina Whalen, President CEO of Fitness Together Lynnfield
BS Sports Med, NSCA – Certified Strenth and Conditioning Specialist, ACSM – Health/Fitness Instructor, NASM – Golf Fitness Specialist

Dina Whalen has used all of her education and training to become a real life success story. Dina is a lifetime sports enthusiast, however she had struggled with her weight throughout her young adult years. Dina began to understand the importance of improving her health and took an active role in creating her own health and fitness program while at Sacred Heart University where she majored in Sports Medicine. With her phenomenal determination today she is in excellent shape and encourages others to join her in the quest for a lifetime of physical fitness. She has been a certified personal trainer since 2000 and has made great strides in not only improving her client’s health and fitness but there mental well being through constant motivation and encouragement. Dina has transformed her own personal success into the model that each one of her client’s could adhere to. In her early career while working at prestigious fitness centers such as the Wellbridge Athletic Club and Sports Club LA, she decided to bring her unique style and training program to a new level and opened Fitness Together. Dina takes personal training to the next level by offering “personalized personal training”.

Each individual has an individualized fitness program that combines Dina’s program as well as the ever evolving new trends in physical fitness. Dina and her team work with each client to ensure that their needs are meet and that their goals are accomplished. Dina and her staff take great pride in staying with you through each phase of your program. Not only are they attentive to your fitness needs but they understand how hard it can be to incorporate fitness into your daily schedule. Dina promises to deliver the greatest results in the least amount of time while keeping you on the proper path to physical fitness. Dina is certified with the American College of Sports Medicine as a Health and Fitness Instructor. She is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Step Up & Out With Fitness Together This Saturday

WE ARE STEPPING OUT BECAUSE …

Fitness Together Studios are Stepping Out because we are proud to do our part to Stop Diabetes. We decided to team up to change the future and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are affected by diabetes. We are committed to walk and raise money in this inspirational event not because 26 million people in the United States have diabetes, but because we personally know some of them, and want to do something about it.

Chances are, you also know someone who has been affected by diabetes and you already know how important it is to stop this disease. By making a donation or joining our team, you will be helping the Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.

As a team, united in our desire to Stop Diabetes, we are asking for your support. Please make a donation to one of our team members or become one of us by joining our team. When we bring together dedicated team members and kind donors, the power we have as a group far outweighs what any of us could do alone.

If you are already signed up for the walk, check us out at our booth for more information on how FT helps fight the battle against Diabetes and Obesity.

Date: October 20, 2012
Location: Boston Common – 1, 2 or 3 mile routes
Time: Check-in/Registration at 9:00 a.m. Walk begins at 10:00 a.m.
Step Out Event Contact: Karen Bagley, kbagley@diabetes.org
For more information, call 617-482-4580 ext.3487 or Contact Us.
Event Fundraising Goal: $555,000.00
Achieved to Date By All Teams: $204,317.39
Number of Teams: 249
Number of Participants: 1,614

We truly appreciate your support. Together we can Stop Diabetes!

Click the links below to join a team, or donate. See you there?

Team Name				Team Captain
Fitness Together Newtonville				Alera, Ashley
Fitness Together Westford				Briggle, Greg
Fitness Together Dedham				Cardoza, Michael
Fitness Together Norwell				Caruso, Joe
Fitness Together Belmont				Castaldini, PJ
Fitness Together Chelmsford				Clermont, Jay
Fitness Together Cohasset				Coleman, Bill
Fitness Together Franklin				Espinosa, Jerry
Fitness Together North Attleboro				Espinosa, Michael
Fitness Together Lincoln/Barrington				Gagliano, Matt
Fitness Together North Andover				Genetti, Adam
Fitness Together Bridgewater				Goulet, Dan
Fitness Together Mansfield				Guess, Jess
Fitness Together Medfield				Humble, Robert
Fitness Together Westborough				Lichtman, Steve
Fitness Together Beverly				Maxfield, Derek
Fitness Together Auburndale				Mayer, Sandy
Fitness Together Back Bay				Partridge, Nathan
Fitness Together Tyngsboro				Schaum, Cathy
Fitness Together Burlington				Stapleton, Brendan

To get more info about Fitness Together’s commitment to create fitness programs to fight obesity and help reverse diabetes go here.

Download our Diabetes Study

Click on the image to Download the Study

Frank Francis: Conquering The Tough Mudder

By Frank Francis Trainer Fitness Together North Andover

I woke up the last two mornings feeling like I’ve been through a war.  Thanks to DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness); this morning was worse than yesterday.

Like so many of us, I’m really sore after a very tough workout.  It doesn’t happen to this trainer very often to have this level of soreness.  But this was no simple run or strength workout in the gym.  This is the result of climbing a massive mountain about 20 times. So my calves, hips, hamstrings, and my ass are killing me.  In addition to my muscles aching, I have cuts and bruises on my elbows and knees.  My ankles are very unstable from twisting them both; I rolled my left one once and my right one twice.  My right knee is tender after jumping off of a 12 foot wall that I had to scale with no rope or things to hold on to.  My back feels like I did a back flop into an empty pool.  The soon-to-be scar on my shoulder is from crawling through mud while under barbed wire.  And lastly, I have a massive gash on my left shin from when I fell running through electrical wires that zapped me with about 10,000 volts of electricity.  The crazy part is I signed up for this!

This is the incredibly difficult event known as the Tough Mudder; a 10 mile obstacle course consisting of around 25 physically and mentally draining obstacles on Mt. Snow in Vermont.

These adventure obstacle courses (or mud runs) have grown in popularity over the last few years.  Nothing against running, biking or triathlons, but these courses attract everyone from athletes to weekend warriors to those of us who just want to relive our youth and play in the mud.  It’s a challenge but it is also different.  I think that is what the appeal is.  Many of the courses are around 5K (3.1 miles).  Several of my friends and personal training clients have done the Warrior Dash in recent years.  Last year, the bug bit me when I did one called the Spartan Race; which I will be doing again on August 11th in Amesbury, MA.  Back in May, I did a unique twist on the obstacle craze called Run For Your Lives; the same idea as Warrior or Spartan, except you are being chased by “zombies”.  But Tough Mudder was a different animal.  As a personal trainer, it was the most physically demanding activity that I have ever done.  My high school football coaches may not want to hear that.  But it’s true.

You started by getting a massive pep talk from one of the TM staff members.  He told us that the Tough Mudder is not a race, but a challenge.  He wasn’t kidding, but on a competitive level I still cared about my time.  For us all to put teamwork and camaraderie before our own individual course time.  To help my fellow Mudders complete the course.  And most of all, overcome all fears.

Then you run up the massive mountain.  For one, Mt. Snow is very steep and I was running up that bad boy several times over.  After the first climb, I saw many people dropping to a knee trying to catch their wind.  It’s going to be a long day for them.  After reaching the top, you start your first run back down.  At the bottom lies your first obstacle aptly titled “The Arctic Enema”.  Picture a 20 foot long dumpster filled with ice cold water and a plywood wall with barbed wire on top of it in the middle.  Now this wouldn’t be so bad given the 85-90 degree heat.  Dump trucks are unloading hundreds of pounds of ice into it, keeping the water at a brisk 35 degrees.  You then must jump in, submerge yourself completely underwater and swim through a hole in a wall, then pulling yourself up.  I jumped in and it wasn’t too bad, given that I was the temperature of a super cold Coors Light.  When I had to dive underwater and go through the man-size hole in the wall, my arms tensed up where I couldn’t move them as my muscles just seized from the cold.  One of my fellow Mudders said it was like
eating an ice cream cone while getting kicked in the nuts.  After pulling myself out, I started back up the hill again.  And this was only the first mile.

Throughout the course, there were pits of thick mud you had to tread yourself through.  Then there was barbed wire that was only about 12 inches above the ground so you had to army crawl under it to get past it. Later there were small bodies of water that you must get over.  One had monkey bars as the only way to get across the lake.  If you haven’t been on monkey bars since you were a little kid, they are incredibly difficult to do as an adult.  Another had a vertical cable that went from one side of the lake to the other and you must wrap your legs around and pull yourself across.  Another had a balance beam you must walk across, once again, over ice cold water.  Then you had to Walk The Plank as you jump off a 20 foot high platform into water and swim to shore.  I’m a good swimmer, but even this was tiring after everything else that was thrown at me.  There were also cargo nets to climb.  Dark tunnels you had to crawl through.  A quarter mile trek up and down the mountain while carrying a massive log.  Walls to scale without the aid of a rope.  In addition to the cold water, there was fire you had to run through.

The two most difficult obstacles were ironically the two final obstacles.  The first was Everest.  Picture a large 15 foot high half-pipe like you would see Tony Hawk skateboarding on during the X-Games.  You had to run up this thing!  It was slick from the mud, water, and God knows what else from your fellow Mudders.  Since all Mudders help each other, you made some fast friends as they could help you best the obstacle by helping you if needed.  You then return the favor and help someone else up.

The last was called Electroshock Therapy.  Now I had already been zapped by some electric wires already today.  Once while army crawling through watery mud in an event called the Electric Eel and once again in a pitch black room called Dark Lightning.  This last obstacle was simple: run through the hundreds of wires dangling down as you ran through about 12 inches of water and some small foot hills and cross the finish line that was just a few feet after the obstacle.  The electric current was cranked up to 10,000 volts.  I covered my face with my scraped up arms and ran full speed through it.  As I got zapped over and over again, I just kept my feet moving.  Finally I reached the end of the obstacle and got a jolt so strong, that it knocked me right on my ass.  It must have looked like I ran into a brick wall.  I got a huge gash on my left shin, but I picked myself up, ran across the finish line, and let out a massive war scream as I completed the course.

Now as I mentioned, your time wasn’t kept for the race and your goal was to just complete the damn thing. But I went in with a more specific goal regardless.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for time.  A former client of mine ran one in May and told me he completed the course in 5 hours.  I went in with the goal of going in at 4 1/2 hours.  My race group started at 12:20pm, I crossed the finish line at 3:47pm; 3 hours and 27 minutes.  I was impressed.  More than that, I was exhausted.  I pounded an FRS energy drink, a banana, a half-gallon of water, 32 oz. of Gatorade, and a Myoplex protein shake upon completion.  I then drove 3 hours home and woofed down an entire pizza and passed out in bed not long after.

Tough Mudder may have been my most difficult obstacle course I have attempted, but it will not be my last. If I can conquer this, I can do anything!!!!  I still have Spartan next month and am already thinking about how I am going to challenge myself even more next year!

To read about our other FT participants in the Tough Mudder, Team Boom Factor, and see more pictures from the earlier event, check out this previous post.

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Frank Francis is a personal trainer and small group fitness instructor at  Fitness Together North Andover located at 73 Main Street North Andover.

FTNorthAndover.com   |  Facebook  | Twitter: @FT_NorthAndover  |  #978.659.0047

To find a Fitness Together Studio near you, check out FTGetsResults.com

Tough Mudder Part Three: Team Boom Factor Takes On Everest & Firewalker

By Martha Hicks Leta

On May 6, members from Fitness Together in Norwell, 2 trainers and 3 clients, formed a team with 4 other South Shore residents to take part in the Tough Mudder New England Challenge at Mount Snow. In Part III, our final installment, Team Boom Factor takes on the Firewalker and Everest!

The Finish

When last we saw the team, they were only through a third of the 26 challenges. Throughout the rest of the day we stop to watch other contestants going through the tougher challenges, like the Electric Eel, where challengers crawl through water under a grid of dangling electric wires. They scream and swear when the wires touch them. It’s a lot to deal with.

The Electric Eel

The wires are small, but the shocks hurt big time.

We catch up with the team at the Funky Monkey, a long span of monkey bars that climbs up a roof-like peak and down the other side. Rumor is, some of the bars are greased, though it’s hard to say for sure. By now the contestants have been wearing their soaking wet clothes for several hours and many of them are shivering as they wait for their turn. Some of the challengers don’t make it past the first two bars before falling into the filthy 3-foot-deep pool of snowmelt below. Others make it close to the end before slipping off.  Some can’t even reach the bars and they jump in, swimming to the other side. The incredibly agile cruise across as if they were raised in trees and this is their normal mode of conveyance. Mike makes it across. The others come close. As we stand watching, only one woman makes it all the way.

Lou takes a dunk at the Funky Monkey.

We see the team again coming through Firewalker, where contestants pass through a blazing gauntlet of kerosene-soaked straw that belches noxious grey smoke into the air. Once through the gauntlet they must jump over a gas-fed strip controlled by a fat guy in a green shirt who sadistically sends the flames leaping higher into the air as skittish jumpers attempt to clear it. Some racers pause by the blazing hay to warm themselves. No one that we know of catches fire.

One of the final obstacles is called Everest, where challengers must scramble up the curve of a 15-foot tall half-pipe as it straightens to a vertical face, striving to get up and over the top. Teamwork is fully in play here, for this challenge absolutely can’t be done alone. Here, momentum can carry a person only so far, ideally delivering him or her into the helping hands of others that have gone before, who then must be strong enough and willing enough to pull strangers and team members alike over the top.

The hundred or so challengers are spread out 20 or 30 feet across the width of the obstacle, ten or fifteen deep, waiting for their turn to go. Maybe five can go at once. There should be chaos and jostling and annoyance here—at least to the same degree as in the Starbucks line at rush hour—but inexplicably there is order. Over the course, it seems, the Mudders have acquired the sort of oneness that comes with unified suffering.

The members of Boom Factor percolate toward the front of the line. Eric is up. This is the first time I’ve seen him in action. He scampers up the side and is hoisted over in one fell swoop. He stands at the top and takes in the view like a pleased warrior chief before stooping to help the next few over. Lou and Mike make it over in quick succession. Kurstin follows, grabbing her way up and over the wall by sheer force of will. It’s impossible to tell that she is dealing with the excruciating pain she carries from the injuries sustained to her heels in the weeks before the challenge. It is only days after the race that she admits they were hurting her for the entire day.

Team Boom Factor tackles the Glacier

On another part of the wall, a grey-haired woman in her late 50s is struggling to get up the wall. After a few attempts, it’s clear she’s not able to climb high enough to grab a hand. Soon a group, some wearing the same team shirt and others not, begin to flatten themselves end to end up the side of the obstacle. The other runners wait to give them room. When the formation is high enough, the woman gingerly climbs up this human ladder where two men pull her over the top. The crowd—participants and spectators alike—cheers wildly as she stands at the top pumping her fists in the air like Rocky Balboa.

Sarah turns to me with a great smile spread across her face. Her eyes are a little misty. “That was amazing,” she says over the cheering. “I love this!”

 Post Mortem

The race now over, the members of Team Boom Factor have returned to their civilian lives and have perhaps spent some time drawing meaning from this experience beyond some catch phrase that can be stitched into a parlor pillow.

While it’s tempting to wax philosophical about things like camaraderie, mental toughness and the conquering of personal demons, it must be said that this experience, however daunting, is perhaps something our forbearers, who toiled in coal mines and lost limbs on battlefields, who birthed babies in tobacco fields and then finished out the work day, might say is frivolous. For what sort of a generation is it that equates this kind of personal risk and self-torture with recreational sport?

Mike Eaton swings across the monkey bar challenge.

Perhaps there is no answer to that question. Or maybe there are thousands of different answers, depending which Tough Mudder you ask. But one thing is certain: determining the value of the experience should be left to the individuals who endured it and not to those who observe from the sidelines.

Teddy Roosevelt put a bow on it when he said:

“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man (or woman, Teddy!) in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

In the days since the race it’s clear that this particular group of valiant strivers has no plans to bask in the glory or rest their muscles for very long.  Several plan on doing the Tough Mudder again next year. Others have signed on for similar adventure races in the mean time, including The Spartan Beast, The Boston Ruckus and the Warrior Dash.

Says Allison Jones, “TM was truly the hardest thing I have ever done mentally or physically. It was such a high finishing that course. Now, I am even more motivated to continue to improve my fitness level so next year we can conquer the mountain again.“

Tired Yet?

APretty impressive.

In the future, as you’re going about the business of your daily life, if you happen to run into someone wearing an orange Tough Mudder headband or maybe the shirt, give that person a respectful nod and maybe even a “hoo-rah!” They’ve probably  earned it.

Part One of FT at the Tough Mudder Challenge

Part Two of FT at the Tough Mudder Challenge

Check out the official site for the Tough Mudder Challenge.

Want to learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project?

To speak with Joe Caruso, Mike Eaton or Alicia Tasney about training for your next adventure, go to FTSouthShore.

To find a Fitness Together studio near you go to FTGetsResults.com

The Eric: The Workout No One Could Possibly Do

By Martha Hicks Leta

Eric Petersen loves training at Fitness Together in Norwell and it shows. A client since 2011, Eric completed the ten mile Tough Mudder adventure race with Team Boom Factor in May and within a week, while basking in the post-race delirium, signed on to run in the 13 mile Spartan Beast in September with FT Norwell Trainer Mike Eaton.

The 47 year old especially loves the social aspect of training and has made quite a few lasting friendships among clients and trainers alike. During any given Pack session, Petersen can be found waxing poetic about his favorite greasy foods while his fellow Pack members strain to complete their circuits. (Eric looks like Jack LaLane but eats like John Belushi and talks food like the fat guy stuck in a fit guy’s body that he his.) His favorite topic is sausage, particularly Santarpio’s sausage in East Boston as well as the hot dogs at Capitol Lunch in New Britain Connecticut. Not everyone enjoys listening to vivid descriptions of greasy food while struggling to keep their oatmeal down during a round of squat jumps, but Eric doesn’t care. He practically levitates while describing the gustatory delights of his favorite gut busters.

Eric loves training at Fitness Together in Norwell, but he kind of hates it, too.

He calls Mike Eaton “The Silent Assassin” and lately he’s taken to calling trainer Alicia Tasney, “Lucifer” or “Lucy” if he’s feeling too short of breath for the extra syllable. Sometimes, during an especially brutal workout, Eric will hide in a corner like a wounded coyote. “Get away from me, Lucy! I’m not talking to you,” he says to Alicia. “Walk away!”

But, says Tasney, Eric asks for it. Sometimes literally. Petersen arrived for a recent appointment and announced, “I’m giving you five minutes. Write a workout for me that no one could possibly do. Go.”

Never one to shrink from a challenge, Tasney wrote the workout and called it “The Eric.” This is the sweat stain left on the floor two-thirds of the way into the workout.

Rumor has it they’re thinking of having it permanently marked on the floor like a Hollywood Walk of Fame star: The FT Walk of Stain.

Some guys have sandwiches named after them, and who knows, perhaps somewhere there’s a Petersen Pepper Braunschweiger. Maybe there’s even an emblazoned sweat stain in his future, but for now Eric will have to be satisfied with having a workout named after him.

Give it a shot. Send me a photo of your sweat stain after and tell me what you think. marthaletaFT@aol.com

“The Eric”

Pullups, (Choice of grip)
Reps: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Two full burpees after each set of pull-ups

5 Wall Walks

Spiderman Pushups
Reps: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
Two hanging dips after each set of pushups

24” Box Jumps
Reps:20

Burpee to Pullup (Full chest to the floor burpee, jump at the end to grab the bar for pullup)
Reps: 10,8,6,4,2

TRX Pike with push-ups. (Feet in TRX in plank position. Pike up, straighten, drop into pushup.)
Reps: 10,8,6,4,2

Alternating Wall Ball/Med Ball Slam with 16 lb Dynamax ball
Reps: 40,30,20, 10

__________

To find out more about “The Eric” contact the trainers at FT Norwell

To find a FT Studio near you, go to FTGetsResults.com

Tough Mudder: Part Two

The challenge called “Hold Your Wood.” (Photo by Bonnie Leta)

In Part II of the Tough Mudder Challenge, Team Boom Factor goes off the grid as they navigate the early part of the course where they endure harrowing challenges and injuries. Meanwhile their trusty support team waits anxiously on the mountain side watching other challengers endure the “Hold Your Wood” obstacle, until, at last, Team Boom Factor appears…high?

Norwell Fitness Together Team Takes on The Tough Mudder Challenge

The Braveheart Charge.” This is as clean as they’ll be for the rest of the day. (Photo by Bonnie Leta)

by Martha Hicks Leta

On Sunday, May 6, members from Fitness Together in Norwell, 2 trainers and 3 clients, formed a team with 4 other South Shore residents to take part in the Tough Mudder New England Challenge at Mount Snow, VT.

Client Allison Jones of Team Boom Factor gave herself the gift of finishing the Tough Mudder Challenge for her 36 birthday. She says, “A special thanks has to be made to Joe Caruso, Mike Eaton and Alicia Tasney, the trainers at FT. Without their guidance, encouragement, and challenges, I would never have been able to do TM. They have made FT Norwell the success it is today and they keep us coming back year-over-year to push our physical boundaries. I was absolutely amazed that I could do what I did on that mountain. I give myself lots of credit, but I know it wouldn’t have been possible without FT and my teammates on Team Boom Factor!”

Here are photos and Part I of Team Boom Factor’s epic journey through one of the toughest adventure races on the planet.