SS Times

July has come and gone like an intense summer storm (we sure had a few of those!)  Many of us have traveled, or had extended holiday weekends, yet very few have missed a beat, that is the sign of a strong habit developing.

That is serious progress!

With that being said, I have fulfilled many of my summer commitments and will be making myself available for Friday training sessions again.

Friday training will be on appointment base only and will not be in the schedule on Zen Planner.  If you desire a session on Friday, just let me know what time and I will selectively book it for you!

Saturdays for August- 7^th, 21^st.

To all of you that have provided referrals and positive feedback to others, thank you.  I very much appreciate you taking some of your valuable time to help spread the word about SS.  I am incredibly grateful to you all for your continued support.

I am looking for new testimonials from current clients to add to the website.  More on this to follow.

Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.

Thank you for trusting Smart Strength with your health and wellness.

We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you into the future!

To recap the month

-We completed 145 total sessions for the month.

-We averaged 29 sessions per week.

-We are averaging 137 sessions per month YTD.

-958 training sessions have been completed YTD.

Moving Forward

-I want to make everyone aware of the Cancellation Policy at SS.  If you cancel a scheduled appointment within 24 hours of the appointment, you will be charged for the session.  If you cancel and reschedule within the same week through Zen planner, no problem.  It is on you to make that decision and schedule a makeup appointment. 

-If you are ok with being paired with another client for sessions, please let me know.  I will create a networking group and pair up clients that train at similar times.

-If you wish to remain strictly 1 on 1 that is ok, and please just let me know that is your preference. 

-SS shirts are in and every member should have received one at this point.  If you wish to purchase any additional shirts, the cost is $20 per shirt.  The second order is in so I should be able to accommodate any style or size desired.

-We also have plans to create an online catalog of Nike products branded with SS logos for sale.  More on that in the coming months/ weeks depending on demand.  These products would be polos, Dri fit tees and sweaters and hats.  The stuff that I have been wearing lately..  If this interest you, let me know at our next session!

-Smart Strength clients receive a discount towards our awesome Run Albion 5 K series.  Unfortunately, the last race was rained out, but I am hopeful we will have perfect weather for the next.

***The third race is Friday, September 17^th and coincides with the “Festival of the Forks!”  Plenty of time for us to get in shape.  I would love to have a group of SS clients participate in the race.  It is a great course, highlighting some beautiful portions of Albion and always a good time!  Spread the word!

Click the link to visit their website.  As race date approaches, I will be reminding each of you.  We should try and coordinate shirts and photos as well on race day.

We are currently in the process of 2 major projects that will be of immense value to SS clients and the brand overall.  Big things are on the way.  This includes a online coaching add on package and a new, larger facility.  Stay tuned!!!

As always, if anyone has any suggestions or feedback, please shoot me an email, or let me know during our next session.

Let us enjoy this month and continue to move and enjoy the weather!

Work Smarter, not harder

Your Trainer,

Alex

SS Times

Summer is here in full force!  What a perfect Michigan weekend!  I hope you all are enjoying the 4^th this weekend with friend, family, and those you hold dear to your heart.

The end of June was the end of the 2^nd Quarter.  Many of you were re-assessed.  I saw a lot of progress across the board, and I hope you are proud of your efforts and commitment to training!  Hats off to you.

In addition to posting better “numbers”, so many of you are moving better, having less aches and pains, and are breezing through a 45-minute workload that would have seemed impossible back when you started.  It is amazing to see the growth.

To all of you that have provided referrals and positive feedback to others, thank you.  I very much appreciate you taking some of your valuable time to help spread the word about SS.  Very cool! I am incredibly grateful to you all for your continued support.

We are continuing to grow at a steady pace but are approaching the cap on what is a realistic and sustainable client load.  This is a great problem to have, but none the less, if it becomes a problem, we will have to implement a waiting list for new sign ups.

Above all else, I wish to maintain the highest standards in service and product and will not sacrifice that for unsustainable growth.  I will take care of my people.

Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.

Thank you for trusting Smart Strength with your health and wellness.

We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you into the future!

To recap the month

-We completed 156 total sessions for the month. (3^rd best month this year)

-We averaged 31 sessions per week.

-We are averaging 135.5 sessions per month YTD.

-813 training sessions have been completed YTD.

-We had 4 clients sign up for the 21-day trial (currently 21 active members)

-The Peloton has proven to be an effective cardio workout.  If you have a weight loss goal, we should be taking full advantage of the calorie burning the bike provides.

Moving Forward

-I have had several clients express a desire to start doing small group training (2 clients at the same time).  If you are interested in this option, please just mention it to me and I will start introducing clients to each other and you can take it from there.  I find it creates another level of accountability and is an awesome networking tool and creates even more value in your training.  It also makes the workout go by faster I hear….

-If you wish to remain strictly 1 on 1 that is ok, and please just let me know that is your preference. 

-SS shirts are in and every member should have received one at this point.  If you wish to purchase any additional shirts, the cost is $20 per shirt.  The second order is in so I should be able to accommodate any style or size desired.

-We also have plans to create an online catalog of Nike products branded with SS logos for sale.  More on that in the coming months/ weeks depending on demand.  These products would be polos, dri fit tees and sweaters and hats.  The stuff that I have been wearing lately..

-Some clients warm up/ conditioning will include outdoor runs.  I have two options that cover 1 mile or 2 miles.  If you want to see this in your program, just let me know.

-Smart Strength clients receive a discount towards our awesome Run Albion 5 K series.  Unfortunately, the last race was rained out, but I am hopeful we will have perfect weather for the next.

The third race is Friday, September 17^th and coincides with the “Festival of the Forks!”  Plenty of time for us to get in shape.  I would love to have a group of SS clients participate in the race.  It is a great course, highlighting some beautiful portions of Albion and always a good time!  Spread the word!

Click the link to visit their website.  As race date approaches, I will be reminding each of you.  We should try and coordinate shirts and photos as well on race day.

-Smart Strength is still operating under summer hours.  This new schedule is Monday – Thursday, 7am- 7pm.  In addition, 2 Saturdays per month (July 10^th, July 24^th).  This coming week is especially short with Monday being a holiday, but there are still some open slots left!

As always, if anyone has any suggestions or feedback, please shoot me an email, or let me know during our next session.

Looking forward to making this a healthy and activity filled summer!

Work Smarter, not harder

Your Trainer,

Alex

SS Times

It seems this past month flew by even faster than the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby! As the weather turned from good to great and then fell off a cliff this past Friday, we all kept our motivation to become stronger, more fit, and healthier.  I am proud of you all. Also noteworthy was how well everyone adapted to some atypical training weeks with my vacation and other modifications to the training schedule.  I am incredibly grateful to you all for your continued support.

To all of you who have provided referrals and positive feedback to others,  I appreciate you taking some of your valuable time to help spread the word about SS.  Very cool! We are continuing to grow at a steady pace but are approaching the cap on what a realistic and sustainable client load is.  This is a significant problem, but if it becomes a problem, we must implement a waiting list for new sign-ups.

Above all else, I wish to maintain the highest standards in service and product and will not sacrifice that for growth.  I will take care of my people. Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.

Thank you for trusting Smart Strength with your health and wellness.

We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in the future!

To recap the month

We completed 138 sessions for the month in total.

We averaged 34.5 sessions per week.

We are averaging 131 sessions per month YTD.

657 training sessions have been completed YTD.

We added 4 new clients to the family (currently 22 active members)

The Peloton has proven to be an effective cardio workout.  If you have a weight loss goal, you should be taking full advantage of the calorie-burning the bike provides.

Moving Forward

SS shirts are in, and every member should have received one.  If you wish to purchase additional shirts, the cost is $20.  A new order is coming in shortly, so sizes Small-2XL should be available.

We also have plans to create an online catalog of Nike products branded with SS logos for sale.  More on that in the coming months/ weeks, depending on demand. Some client’s warm-up/ conditioning will include outdoor runs.  I have two options that cover 1 mile or 2 miles.  Let me know if you want to see this in your program.

Smart Strength clients receive discounts on our excellent Run Albion 5 K series.  The second race is Friday, June 25^th.  Plenty of time for us to get in shape.  I would love to have a group of SS clients participate in the race.  It is a great course, highlighting some beautiful portions of Albion, and always a good time!  Click the link to visit their website.  As the race date approaches, I will be reminding each of you.  We should try to coordinate shirts and photos as well on race day.

Smart Strength will be implementing summer availability hours.  This new schedule is Monday – Thursday, 7 am- 7 pm.  In addition, 2 Saturdays per month (June 5^th, June 19^th).  This coming week is especially short, with Monday being a holiday, but some open slots are still left!

As always, if anyone has any suggestions or feedback, please email me or let me know during our next session.

Looking forward to making this a healthy and activity-filled summer!

Work Smarter, not harder.

Your Trainer,

Alex

All too often we make the mistake of only seeing distance running as a physical endeavor.

The problem with that is we do not address the other aspect that comes with plodding down the trails, roads, or tracks.  What do we do with our mind while we run?  Do we think about our day, our life, our fears, our aches, and pains?  Or do we blast the latest pop track or motivational speech on our devices?

I am writing this article to the newbies to distance running, or any steady-state long-duration exercise (biking, swimming laps, walking, etc).

Experienced runners know how to deal with their minds while they run.  They have enough practice and have been through the drill enough times to know what to expect.  But for someone who has not yet run a 5k, 10k, or even a mile, it can be intimidating and scary to think about how hard it is going to be.

We as humans tend to extrapolate things in our minds.  We think “gee it was hard walking up those 10 stairs, I’m winded, imagine how hard it would be to walk up 20 stairs, it must be twice as hard.”  We think “wow, I ran one lap around the track and it was awful, I can’t possibly imagine running 4 laps!”  I understand that thinking, I once was that way myself.  But I will show you the science to help combat that thinking and to get you on your way to covering more distance than you ever thought possible.

We as humans are VERY good at being aerobic endurance athletes.

This has come about from thousands of years of evolving as hunter-gathers and a necessity to cover long distances.  The original hunting strategy was to “chase” a deer over long distances until it was simply too tired to run away.  The deer would bolt in a very powerful and fast way, but eventually, it has to stop and regenerate energy.  Humans can just keep moving at a constant and steady pace.

Eventually, the steady constant pace is enough to close the gap on the quicker deer since it needs an extended amount of time to recover.  This hunting tactic is still used to this day in remote areas of Africa that are still hunter-gather societies.  Below is a video that goes into detail the evolution of endurance exercise in humans, in case your curious.

The average human has a greater amount of slow-twitch (oxidative) muscle fibers than fast-twitch (anaerobic) muscle fibers.

These slow-twitch fibers are much easier to train and develop compared to fast-twitch fibers as well.  In addition to muscle fibers, we have a lot of machinery in our bodies to help transport oxygen, bind oxygen, and use oxygen to create ATP (energy) for our muscles to use during activity.

To put it simply, we are very good at covering long distances at a steady, constant pace (sounds a lot like distance running).

My advice: Resist the idea to extrapolate how hard a long-distance run will be.

So when starting on your next big distance run, instead of being nervous about how much harder it will be than your previous run, take a moment to think about this graph.  What this is showing us is that the initial start to a run or any activity is the hardest.  Our body ramps up oxygen consumption, and we think “wow I’m already tired, there is no way I can last the whole distance.”

But in reality, once we reach our steady-state (around 2 minutes of activity) and we find our pace, we can maintain that for a very long time.

As you build more experience and your conditioning levels improve, you can maintain a faster pace for steady-state.   Use this science to fill your mind during those long runs and always remember, “work smarter, not harder.”

Don’t forget to check out Run Albion to sign up for the “Run the Rock” race.  It is only 3 weeks until race day!  (Friday April 30th, 6:30 PM start time)

Smart Strength clients receive a discount!  This is a great community event that helps enhance the message of health & wellness for all!  Cant wait to see you there!

Your Trainer,

Alex

SS Times

March was an incredible month here at SS.  Your support and commitments have been absolutely amazing.  I appreciate you!

We have seen steady growth and have had extraordinarily little turnover in clientele.  Like the weather in spring, we just keep getting better and better.

To all of you that have provided referrals and positive feedback to others, I am grateful.  I very much appreciate you taking some of your valuable time to help spread the word about SS.  Very cool!

Smart Strength is a unique company.  The products we create are sweat, laughs, exhaustion and joy.  We deal in personal records and pounds lost.

But above all, the people and the experiences make the company.

Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.

Thank you for trusting Smart Strength with your health and wellness.

We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you into the future!

To recap the month

-We set personal records with 166 total sessions for the month!  (57 more sessions than Feb.!!)

-We averaged 37 sessions per week during the month of February, another PR! (Increase of 10 hrs/wk!)

-We added 6 new members!

-Window decals done and look sweet!

-Many of you have experienced the Peloton and have expressed positive feedback.  I will continue to look for ways to incorporate the bike into your program.  If you would like to try a longer ride, just let me know and we can make it happen!

Moving Forward

-We are working on getting some SS swag (t shirts) for our amazing clients.  Stay posted for that.  If we receive positive feedback, we will look to expand this.

-As the weather consistently warms up, we will look to incorporate some outdoor exercise… walking lunges down Superior St anyone???

-Smart Strength clients receive a discount towards our awesome Run Albion series.  The first race is Friday, April 30^th.  I would love to have a group of SS clients participate in the race.  It is a great course, highlighting some beautiful portions of Albion and always a good time!  Click the link to visit their website.

-The gym will be closed Sat. April 17^th.  Your instructor will be participating in continuing education that day…. Always working smarter, not harder, for you!

-Smart Strength will be implementing summer availability hours in the coming months. No changes this month, however.

As always, if anyone has any suggestions or feedback please shoot me an email or let me know during our next session.

Looking forward to helping you have the best spring ever!

Happy Good Friday and have a great Easter weekend!

Work Smarter, not harder

Your Trainer,

Alex

Getting “real” with yourself

Let us be honest, getting real with yourself is hard.

Shoot, its downright miserable sometimes, and that is exactly why we avoid it.  But if we can’t be honest with ourselves, how can we expect to ever change?

There are a million areas in which you can chose to be honest or dishonest with yourself, but for the sake of this blog, we are focusing on fitness and diet.

Fitness

Most clients have no problem pushing themselves hard during a training session.  Once they walk through the door and hit the warmup routine, they know its game time.

But what are you doing the other 23 hours of your day?  What are you doing the other 5 days of the week?

Are you constantly moving for work?  Are you chasing kids from point A to point B?  Are you taking a walk around the neighborhood or downtown?  Or are you sedentary?

Are you stretching and foam rolling on your days off?  Are you icing!?  Proper recovery is essential for growth and gains.

Strength takes years to build and requires constant maintenance.  Atrophy begins in as little as 48 hours of inactivity… not fair but that is the reality.

Diet

What you put into your body matters.  All of it.  Snacks, liquids, meals, etc.

Only you can decide what your ideal body image is, and only you can make that happen through how you choose to fuel your body.

Only you can decide how much of your diet are you willing to change.  How much you are going to alter your food and drink lifestyle to achieve your goals?

Realize it is damn hard to earn and maintain a “fit” body image, and the diet component needs to be on point, day in and day out.

Be honest with yourself, are you doing that?

Action item

Get yourself a journal and start writing your inner most thoughts in it.  This is a difficult habit to create, realize that and do not beat yourself up if you happen to miss a day or two.  The point is to get used to being “real” with yourself, in a safe environment.  Practice writing out what really happened that day or weekend.  Do it often, daily would be best!  There is no right or wrong, just flow.  They are your thoughts, your opinions, do not write what you think others would like to hear… Be ruthlessly honest!

After you have taken the courageous step of committing your thoughts to paper, read it over.  This combination of journaling and reflection creates association and memories in your brain.

Stick with it, it will get easier as time goes by.  Also, it will start to manifest itself in your daily life.  You will realize some of your weaknesses in real time and catch yourself.  You will start to think about the future, and what it will feel like to have to account for your actions in your journal later.

Getting real with yourself on paper will soon lead to getting real with yourself in real life!

If you work at it, learning how to be totally honest with yourself is an extremely powerful skill.  If you know exactly who you are, you can walk through life with the ultimate confidence.

If you know exactly how hard you have worked… when you truly earn something, no one can take that away from you!

P.S.  If you enjoyed this article, forward it on to anyone you know who could benefit from the message.

P.P.S.  If you are interested in starting a journal, but do not yet have one, I have just the one for you!  Mention this to me next session to receive your free “Wealth Management Journal.”

If you are not yet a member and would like to claim your free journal, click here

Your trainer,

Alex

Strength > Posture > Running form > Energy expenditure = Performance.

There it is.  Everything you need to know about becoming a better runner and setting a PR on April 30^th! If only life were that simple. And running was that easy.

So, let’s unpack a few things and explain all the hard work that goes behind those simple arrows in our equation.  This is where the magic lies.

Strength training has mad value. Yes, even to aerobic endurance athletes like runners and cyclists.

Better strength comes from being able to use the right muscles for certain exercises. That’s why one of the most important qualities of strength training is the improved ability to isolate and fully engage certain muscles and muscle groupings.  For instance, being able to anteriorly or posteriorly tilt our pelvis and the accompanying muscles.  To actively pivot and maintain this position can make all the difference in which muscles are doing the work, and consequently which muscles are fatiguing during our prolonged exercise activity. It’s one of the most important exercises we do at Smart Strength:

https://smartstrengthprogram.com/anterior-and-posterior-tilt-the-most-important-exercise-we-do-at-smart-strength/

Bad posture equals a bad running form.

Our posture is the framework for which our running form is created.  I have rarely seen someone who demonstrates poor posture and body control but can whip up an amazing running form when they hit the starting line.

Strength training is an effective tool at slowly changing someone’s posture.  With increased strength and body awareness, people then have the tools to self-correct and practice better posture daily.

Increased strength and better posture allow a person to train/ run with a “stronger” form.  I advocate that there is no “perfect” running posture, but there are qualities that are heavily associated with better running performance, less fatigue, and are much more resilient to injury.

I think most of us would acknowledge that a bad running form will have negative effects on our overall running performance.  But I do not think many realize just how much impact form has on performance.  Consider the double negative effect of a sloppy or loose running form — it detracts energy, oxygen, and blood flow away from essential muscles and instead diverts these resources to muscles that counteract our desired movement.  Ouch!

Not to mention how repetitive, constant stress on structures and tissues that are not anatomically designed for that will often lead to an injury… a catastrophic blow to your running performance. In a nutshell: Bad running form>decreased performance>increased risk of injury.

Run Smarter, not harder

Your trainer,

Alex

SS Times

February has come and gone… For those of you that love February, perhaps its your birth month, or you enjoy showing your valentine how much you love them… God bless your heart.

For the rest of us, lets rejoice!  That cold, dreary month is out of here!  Bring on Spring and Sun!

To recap the month-

-We set personal records with 109 total sessions for the month!

-We averaged 27.5 sessions per week during the month of February, another PR!

-We added 4 new members!

-Window decals should be up by the end of this week, along with some beautiful weather!

-Peloton is getting the final touch up/ caged pedals to make your riding experience better!

Looking forward to March.  We are already off to an incredible start, on pace to smash our PR for sessions in a week!

As the weather improves, we will look for ways to incorporate some outdoor exercises into our programming.  Perhaps some tire flips down M-99, playing dodge the semi would work for conditioning?… JK

As always, if anyone has any suggestions or feedback please shoot me an email or let me know during our next session.

Looking forward to helping you have the best spring ever!

Work Smarter, not harder

Your Trainer,

Alex