We’ve seen it on TV– people losing hundreds of pounds and transforming their bodies and lives right in front of us. What would you do if that opportunity came to San Marcos? Would you sit idly by and watch your friends and neighbors change their lives, or would you join them?

This isn’t a pipe dream. It’s a reality.

Heath Herrera, owner of HH Fitness in San Marcos, has just announced his partnership with Personal Trainer Food– the hottest pre-made meal delivery system in the country– Fitness Consulting Group, and the Fitness Revolution franchise to put together their first ever National Transformation Contest.

Herrera says, “I love helping people change their lives. Unfortunately there is so much misinformation out there, and many struggle with finding the right knowledge to make positive changes. This contest is going to help a lot of people make big changes in their lives and hopefully inspire many others to do the same.”

HH Fitness has also teamed up with Diaz Martial Arts to offer local support throughout the community and also plenty of prizes to the contestants.

The contest, which will kick off on January 23^rd all throughout the country, is an 8 week long, life changing event, consisting of proven training programs and workouts, and of course, a nutrition program designed to boost metabolism and promote healthy lifestyle changes.

The goal is for contestants to develop habits that will allow them to turn back the clock, add years onto their lives, and feel confidently about their bodies.

Over 100 fitness facilities throughout the country will be involved, and the winner at each location will be evaluated for the opportunity to win a national grand prize of a spot in a Meal Movement commercial and a place as a spokesperson for the company.

The real winners, however, will be the participants and their families. “This isn’t just a quick fix. We want to help these people get their lives back,” said Herrera

Over the next 8 weeks, we will be providing updates as well as chronicling their journeys online as well as at Diaz Martial Arts. You can follow along at HHFitnessBlog.com for updates, video, and pictures.”

Of course, if you want to do more than just follow along, the National Transformation Contest is open to all applicants who wish to enter. For more information on how to transform your body and your life, contact Heath Herrera at 512.787.2219 or HeathHerrera@HHFitness.com.  You can also visit our sign-up page to learn more and to sign up:  CLICK HERE

Fitness Revolution – San Marcos owner, Heath Herrera, M.Ed., CSCS, is a firm believer in giving back to the San Marcos community. Herrera claims “It’s clear that we all really need to stick together and help each other out when we can. We have a really tight-knit group of campers and they always go above and beyond in helping others.”  We will be trading a free workout for every frozen turkey or $10 donation brought in. Herrera goes on further stating “The San Marcos community continues to be overwhelmingly receptive to our program, so it is an absolute honor to have the resources to be able to give to back to such a great cause.”

Fitness Revolution – San Marcos believes that no family should be left without a turkey for the Thanksgiving holiday. “A basic American right that no family should be denied,’” says Heath. “Humbly, we will do everything in our power to make sure as many needy local San Marcos families as possible have a hot meal for Thanksgiving.”

To make the turkey even tastier for needy families this Thanksgiving, HH Fitness will also be providing one coupon to each recipient family for a free month boot camp membership to jump start their fitness in 2011. Their large group workouts feature a music interval training system that burns nine times more fat than ordinary exercise. Herrera states “We help people get fit and burn fat like crazy with our Fitness Boot Camp Program. The best part about our training system is the host of equipment-free exercises utilized. So even if someone cannot continue with our camps they will be able to keep up with their workouts in the comfort of their own home!”

HH Fitness Boot Camps are currently in progress at Diaz Martial Arts and Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos and the Studio of Dance in New Braunfels. All newcomers receive a free 2-week trial to HH Fitness Boot camps at Fitness Revolution – San Marcos. To learn more information about Fitness Revolution – San Marcos and HH Fitness Boot Camps visit www.HHFitness.com or contact Heath via email at HeathHerrera@HHFitness.com or call 512.787.2219.

The Hays County Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since 1984, the food bank has been providing food to senior citizens, low-income families with children and individuals who are chronically ill, disabled or have otherwise fallen on hard times.  Last year the Food Bank provided more than 2,000 Thanksgiving turkey boxes to those in need. Visit www.haysfoodbank.org for more information. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hays.county.food.bank. The Hays County Food Bank is located at 220 Herndon Street, San Marcos, TX 78666.

Continuing research shows when we perform high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for maximum fat loss and fitness results it’s best to perform exercises in a non-competing circuit fashion.  There are a number of different ways to perform non-competing or alternating sets and each has its own merit:

• Supersets: Alternate between 2 different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as pushups and lunges)

• Trisets: Alternate between 3 different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as pushups, rows, and lunges)

• Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises

However, every once in a while it’s fun AND effective to take a different approach – a more old school approach with a new school twist…

I’d like to share one of my new personal favorites; and to my surprise, a program design absolutely loved by my boot camp clients as well.  It is called BODYBUILDING BOOT CAMP!

BODYBUILDING BOOT CAMP (BB) combines classic old-school bodybuilding style training with new-school metabolic training for maximum muscle building and fat melting results.  This program is really gonna burn…

”Oh, it’s a deep burn.  Oh, It’s so deep.

Oh, I can barely lift my right arm ‘cause I did so many.

I don’t know if you heard me counting; I did over 1000.”

BB is a method of intentionally overloading each target muscle group by performing consecutive sets of the same exercise with short rest periods between sets in an effort to stimulate maximum hypertrophy – much like a bodybuilder would.

Hypertrophy is just a fancy word for muscle growth.

Hypertrophy training employs moderate to heavy loads (65 – 85% of your 1-Rep max) and moderate to high volume (3-6 sets of 6-15 reps). Sets must be performed to momentary muscle failure.

Momentary muscle failure is pretty much what it sounds like.  You lift a weight until you simply cannot lift it anymore.  This is beyond the point of muscle fatigue.  Your goal is to select a resistance where your muscles completely fail at a predetermined number of reps or time under tension.  This may sound scary, but it’s really nothing to worry about.  In fact, once you get used to it it’s a lot of fun and it really shows you what you’re made of!

When you train at this level of intensity you send the signal for muscle growth.  Remember, we want muscle growth because lean muscle tissue is highly metabolic.  In other words, the more muscle we have the more calories we burn at rest and the more fat we can melt off over the long-haul. J

In fact, some studies show that for every pound of muscle we add to our bodies we increase our daily caloric burn by about 50 calories. That means if a person gained just 5 pounds of muscle they would burn an extra 250 calories per day or 1750 calories per week.  That’s equivalent to ½ pound of fat loss per week while at rest!! Though many experts disagree over the exact number of calories burned with each additional pound of muscle gain, they all agree that you do burn more calories each day with every pound of muscle you do gain and that’s good enough for me!

I know what you’re thinking…

“Am I going to end up looking like some sort of muscle freak??”

DON’T WORRY!  YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET BIG AND BULKY!

We’re not talking about massive gains in muscle like professional bodybuilders train for (often under the influence of powerful and illegal performance-enhancing drugs).  One pound of muscle is only about the size of your fist- hardly noticeable when spread across your entire body.

And here’s a quick disclaimer for all the ladies- please know that you have 10-20 times less testosterone (a top muscle-building hormone) than men do, and there are lots of men who struggle to gain size and put on muscle.

In other words, you’re not going to rip through your clothing and start looking like the Hulk (unless you eat like him and experiment with high doses of gamma radiation). Rather, you’re gonna come away with a tighter, more toned physique and a couple more cuts in your arms, legs, and shoulders to boot!

Now, how exactly do we combine the benefits of a traditional bodybuilding workout with the proven efficiency and effectiveness of high-intensity interval training like we perform in our boot camp workouts?

That’s where my BODYBUILDING BOOT CAMP program comes in:

Alternate between 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest for a single exercise for 4 consecutive rounds followed by a 1-minute transition period. Perform 4 total cycles for a 20-minute workout.

Many muscle-building experts believe that 120 seconds of time-under-tension (TUT) for each body part is ideal for maximum hypertrophy and this is accomplished with the 30-30 for 4 rounds protocol.

You also need to select a load or an exercise variation that sufficiently challenges your muscles for about 6-15 reps in each 30-second work period. Intensity is the key to stimulating maximum muscle-growth and you absolutely need to push it to the limit while maintaining perfect form and technique on every set, particular towards the 3^rd and 4^th rounds when it’s starts to really burn.

The short, incomplete 30-second rest periods heavily exhaust your working muscles and stimulate the release of growth hormone (a potent muscle-builder and fat-burner) to shock your body and make it change for the better.

There are 4 total exercises within each workout that work your whole body, though some of the workouts will preferentially work certain areas of the body more than others. Why? Well, that’s just my little secret, he he! Of course, if I’d told you then I’d have to kill you

Below is a sample outline of this month’s program design:

BODYBUILDING BOOTCAMP

Workout A

Workout B

Workout C

It’s critical to note that since we’ll be performing straights sets of a single exercise with maximum intensity and an incomplete rest between sets, these workouts will generate a lot more delayed muscle soreness than usual.

The key to mitigating this soreness is by:

-      Performing body-part specific stretches and flexibility training during the rest and transition periods

-      Performing lots of self-massage both pre and post-workout on any sore and tight muscle groups via foam rollers, softballs, tennis balls, rolling pins, etc.

-      Drinking lots of water and consuming at least 20-30 g of complete protein before and after your workouts and every 2-4 hours throughout the day

One final thought…

I threw in a special 60-second metabolic finisher employing a total body exercise just to make sure we really ramp that heart rate up and cause an additional metabolic disturbance and thus a greatest post-workout afterburn.

Now, I need you to get mentally ready because this programming is EXTREMELY INTENSE.  I recommend it only be used for a short period of time (I like 3-6 weeks) followed by a mandatory active recovery week. In fact, most of the muscle growth will probably occur during the rest week as your muscles finally get to truly regenerate after 3 weeks of pushing them to the max.

OK.  Enough talk.  Let’s build some muscle baby!

Heath Herrera, M.Ed., CSCS, YFS1

HH Fitness, a proud member of the Fitness Revolution nation

If it was easy, everyone would do it!

Bodybuilder Boot Camp Trailer from Workout Muse

To learn more about Workout Muse >>CLICK HERE<<

Stay tuned for the method behind the madness

It is important to perform full body routines that incorporate pulling and stabilization movements for your back that will improve strength, endurance and range of motion (ROM) to minimize injury.  Once you minimize injury risk your body can work more efficiently towards that lean/toned look you may be looking for.

The following routine is a 30-30 strength circuit we performed recently during our boot camps powered by Workout Muse (Their is a FREE gift at the bottom of this post).  In order to adequately perform this routine you will need to have access to something to perform lying pulls (we used the Lebert Equilizer and TRX suspension trainer), dumbbells or kettlebells, and bands.

Here are the exercises we performed:

If you are new to exercise and/or have not exercised in the last 3-6 months start with level 1 of each of the following exercises.  You should consult with your physician prior to starting or changing your exercise habits.  You will want to perform up 4 rounds of each exercise at 30:30 work to rest ratio.  Watch the videos below to see how the HH Fitness Boot Campers did with this routine:

6:00 am session

8:10 am session

12:00 pm session

4:00 pm sesson

Yes, I even did this workout.  I even demonstrate some of the different levels during my routine

If you would like to get access to any of the equipment we used in this routine you can get them at the following links (Click on the Image):

The folks at Lebert Fitness have created a new coupon code for $10.00 off the purchase of a set of Lebert Equalizers (includes Beginner/Intermediate DVD and laminated poster) for you when you order online.  Just click the banner and enter coupon code EQ0210 at the checkout (valid until February 28, 2011)

TRX

Kettlebells from Perform Better

Resistance Bands

(Each of the links above are my affiliate links.  Should you purchase something I will receive a commission and I want to thank you for your purchase.  I would not recommend these companies if I did not truly believe in their products)

Dig Deep!

Heath Herrera, M.Ed., CSCS

HH Fitness

P.S. – Click on this link or Right Click to save to you Desktop to get a sample of the 30-30 music from Workout Muse: http://HHFitness.workoutmuse.com/mp3/3030Mayhem/3030Rock5MinSample.mp3.zip

P.P.S. –  To get you own Workout Muse Tracks Click the image below:

I initially purchased the Lebert Equalizer for my boot camps to give my members the ability to work on pulling movements without the use of weights.  Once I received the Equalizers I realized they could be used for more than just pulling movements.

Watch the video below to see the many uses you get with the Lebert Equalizer:

The folks at Lebert Fitness have created a new coupon code for $10.00 off the purchase of a set of Lebert Equalizers (includes Beginner/Intermediate DVD and laminated poster) for you when you order online.

Just click the banner and enter coupon code EQ0210 at the checkout (valid until February 28, 2011):

I will have a workout out for you later in the week in which we incorporate the Lebert Equalizer to strengthen and tone you back.

Committed to your health,

Heath Herrera, M.Ed., CSCS

P.S. – I am a proud affiliate of Lebert Fitness.

As a fitness pro, this is my busiest time of the year – as you can imagine

But I had to write to you today to let you know about two awesome updates:

First, I wanted to share this great article with you about a common food that helps you:

1- Deter Fat Cell Growth

2- Increase Energy Expenditure

3- Reduce Food Intake

Cool, huh?!

Here’s the link to the article: http://HHFitness.getprograde.com/fight-bodyfat-with-capsaicin.html

Second, Prograde Nutrition is having a 25% off sale on their ultra-powerful Prograde Metabolism!

As you know, you won’t find all your weight loss answers in a bottle.

BUT…Prograde Metabolism is specifically designed to work in conjunction with a sound fitness and nutrition plan.

Click the link below for your 25% off coupon!

http://HHFitness.getprograde.com/specials

Happy New Year!

Committed to your health,

Heath Herrera, M.Ed., CSCS

PS – Yes, I’m a Prograde Partner

HALLOWEEN BOOTCAMP 2.0

Featuring The Freaky Fat Loss Total Body PUMP-kin Workout!

HH Fitness Rapid Fat Loss Boot Camps is happy to announce our second annual Halloween Charity Boot Camp. The workout will cost $20/attendee or you can contribute $50/participant to receive access to the workout and a 1-Month membership to HH Fitness. All proceeds will go to CASA of Central Texas. Here’s what you need to know for the big day:

When: Friday, October 29th, at 6:30 pm at Diaz Martial Arts

What to Wear: Costumes are a must- they are your ticket through the door! You can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, but please remember you need to be able to move in it. If you appear without a costume, it is punishable by banishment into an eternal fat-storing nightmare!

What to Bring: Your own pumpkin! Females/Smaller individuals should bring a medium sized pumpkin (about 10 lbs.) and Men/Larger individuals should bring a large one (about 20 lbs.).

We will also be raffling out some cool prizes for attendees. Lastly, for those who’d like to join us the workout will end with a family friendly after party at Diaz Martial Arts while people are still wearing their costumes.

Space is limited! We are anticipating between 15-25+ people and we will be accepting invites on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For more information contact HH Fitness at HHFitness@gmail.com or visit HHFitness.com and click on the “Halloween” tab.

Time: 9:00 am until 12:00 pm

Location: Holy Family Church Hall, 245 S. Hidalgo (and San Antonio St.)

Approximately 50 Community Agencies!

FREE screenings to include dental, vision, blood pressure, diabetes, skin graphs, cholesterol, spinal screenings, body mass index, and the Lions Mobile Screening Unit presented by the NB Breakfast Lions, Baptist Health Mobile Unit, South Texas Blood and Tissue, Public Safety Information & Exhibits!

***********************************************************

Flu Vaccines by the Comal County Health Department

($20 fee — CHIP/Medicaid accepted).

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Aetna Better Health CHIP/Medicaid Application Assistance

Bring copies of children’s birth certificates and social security cards

Copies of last 2 check stubs of anyone working in family

In addition, NBPD Children’s Fingerprinting & Exhibits, NB Fire Dept. Safety Trailer, U.S. Army Rock Climb & Hummer, NBYMCA Moon Bounce. Mascots for the children!

Free entertainment and door prizes.

DJ The Stray Cats (Manny J and Little Cat)

Local Dignitaries:

State Representative Doug Miller

Mayor Bruce Boyer

Great NB Chamber Chair Larry Hammonds

LIVE AND IN PERSON—- Mistress of Ceremony, News 4 WOAI TV’s

Jacqueline Ortiz

For more information: Ramon Chapa, Jr. Chairman, 210-365-5250 or ramonchapajr@yahoo.com

He gave me permission to share this content with you about the biggest sale he’s ever had at Workout Muse in an effort to raise money to put together the PRO version of their best selling iWorkout Muse app for the iPhone and iPod touch that allows you to build your own custom interval training workout mixed to your favorite music.

Be sure to give it a quick read below because this type of sale doesn’t come around a whole lot and there are ONLY 24 hours left

Get Fit – Get Healthy – Get Sexy

Heath Herrera, M.Ed., CSCS

FROM THE DESK OF BJ GADDOUR, WORKOUT MUSE CO-CREATOR AND FITNESS DIRECTOR

We are getting ready to make the PRO version of the groundbreaking iWorkoutMuse app for the iPhone and iPod Touch based on your feedback and requests!

But first, we really need your help, so please keep reading…

Smartphone applications are very expensive to develop and we need to raise some funds to get the ball rolling so all of our valued followers can realize the power of all of the following upgrades in iWorkout Muse PRO:

- Create custom warm-up and cool-down (pre-workout and post-workout) options to book end your main interval workout to best allow for a total fitness experience, PLUS the ability to create a transitional period that allows for any desired rest and transition between your warm-up, workout, and/or cool-down instead of having to constantly restart the app… this can get annoying!

- Create multiple interval protocols within the same workout instead of being confined to a single interval protocol (e.g. 30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of rest). This function will allow for really fun interval routines like ladders, complexes, pyramids, and the ability to do pretty much any interval workout you can think of! This is my personal favorite feature

- Choose from a variety of sound effects to mark the stop and go for each work period like a gunshot, gong, ringing bell, etc.

- Choose between a male and female voice for the audio instructions

- The ability to control the volume of the music and the audio instructions/sound effects SEPARATELY so that you never miss an audio update on really loud songs with lots of instrumentation for genres like rock and hip-hop

- A phone vibrate option that marks the stop and go

- Provide “__ Round(s) Down” announcements after each round until the end of the set workout duration to better allow people to pace themselves and track their workout

- To pick-up exactly where your music left off when restarting the app so that you don’t have to listen to the same song again and get more musical variety

- And more!!!

So that’s why we’ve put together the following unbelievable sale to help make this PRO app a reality ASAP:

24-HOUR LIMITED-TIME SPECIAL!!!

Help us raise money for the development of THE iWorkout Muse PRO app for the iPhone and iPod touch AND the WorkoutMuse app for the Blackberry and Droid platforms!!

This product includes well over $200 worth of interval tracks for ONLY $20 for a special limited-time ONLY! There are 10 total tracks featuring an eclectic mix of intervals and fitness applications including:

- TWO 50-10 Tracks from Bootcamp Dynamite: Reggaeton and Rock/Hip-Hop ($39.95 value)

- TWO 30-30 Tracks from 30-30 Mayhem: Rock and Orchestral ($39.95 value)

- TWO 20-10 Tracks from Ultimate Tabatas: Hip-Hop and Techno ($39.95 value)

- ONE Pyramid Interval Track from MMA Rockout ($29.95 value)

- ONE 45-15 Track from Resistance Band Training Soundtracks ($35.95 value)

- ONE 15-30 Power Training Track from Kettlebell Kaos ($29.95 value)

- ONE 60-120 Track from Warp Speed Fat Loss ($19.95 value)

The average WM track costs about 20 bucks and now you can get TEN tracks for the same price… this is by far the most insane sale we’ve ever offered so be sure to take advantage!

Thanks in advance for your support here and we know you’re going to absolutely LOVE iWorkout Muse PRO… let’s do it together

Crank it!

BJ

PPPS- If we raise enough money, we’re even going to roll out the Workout Muse application to the Blackberry and Droid platforms, so please forward this email to any fitness junkies or trainers and coaches you know how would love to build their own custom interval workouts mixed to their favorite music on these smartphone devices too: