Get rid of winter body fat.

Summer's just around the corner.
Want to blast winter belly fat?

Kick up the intensity!



Simply walking the dog or plodding along on the treadmill might be good for your heart but a recent study by the University of Virginia (UV) showed that women who regularly do high intensity workouts have far less belly fat than women who work out at an easy level.

This suggests that while just being "active" may be good for your overall health, if you want more significant changes to your body composition and body fat loss you need to work at a level that makes you breathe heavily. Additionally, one of the best parts of the UV study was that it was done with women who's mean age was 51 years old. This shows that despite the natural changes that occur with age, by increasing our workout intensity we can still change our bodies regardless of how old we are.

So, how can you effectively increase your intensity? Alternate short bursts of high intensity with active rest period or lower intensity exercises. This mode of training is typically called high intensity interval training, or "HIIT".

Below is a simple "Oh, boy!" workout I like to use when I'm short on time because it gives a big bang for the buck, conditioning the muscles, revving up the cardiovascular system and burning unwanted fat without taking a long time to finish.

Oh, Boy Workout:

50 Jumping Jacks
40 Alternating Rear lunges
30 Bicycle Ab Crunches
20 Pushups
10 Burpees (see pic above)

Be sure to warm up and stretch as needed.
Go down the list 2-3 times as fast as you are able.

No More UBC Sessions

Don't worry, we're not ending classes!
Starting this month, however, we're switching to a monthly system for URBAN Boot Camp.

That means: 1) no more trying to remember when sessions begin and end, 2) no more loss of momentum and hard-earned results, 3) new or returning participants can start at any time, 4) unlimited class participation at one budget-friendly price and 5) if you sign up for automatic billing, no more writing checks!

The monthly fee of $156.00 includes:
~ Fun, interesting workouts
~ Non-competitive, supportive team environment
~ Result-oriented programming
~ Seasonal goals and focused training
~ Nutritional guidance
~ Weekly assignments/emails

Contact us to get your Complimentary 1-Week Trial today!

Boot Camp burns almost 500 calories!

According to a recent USA Today article, boot camp-style workouts are among the hottest trends for 2011, dishing out a calorie burn of almost 500 calories per hour.

Good thing we've been offering these type of fun, fast-paced, fat-burning workout for years!





Come join us and see how many calories you can burn for FREE as our guest for the next two week!

Sign up here today!

Indoor season is here!

Arms a little too jiggly? Summer tops feeling a bit snug by the end of the season? Beginning to bust out of your summer bathing suit?

Not surprising! Summer vacations, long days, and having the kids home can wreak havoc on your schedule as well as your eating habits and fitness routine. So, unlike poor Italian swimmer Flavia Zoccari, some wardrobe malfunctions can actually be caused by gaining a bit too much junk in the trunk.

Fortunately, indoor UBC season starts in October!
Just in time for you to get back to your regular schedule and down to business.

We're excited to announce that we are now located within Portland Athletic Club, located at 5803 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy in Portland.

Check out the new details on our website.

Sign ups have already begun, so hurry and claim your spot!

We're also pleased to announce that we will begin using the facility for our personal training program (including partner and small group training) as well for those who'd prefer not to workout in home. Ask for details!


Look forward to helping you get more fit soon!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

"Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement." ~ Alfred Adler

Check out some of the movement at URBAN Boot Camp this week!

CLICK HERE

Workout of the Week

Back and Forth

2 min cardio

squats, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3
pushups 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3

2 min cardio

lunge (of your choice), 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3
bentover row, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3

2 min cardio

biceps curls, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3
triceps dips, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3

Warmup 8-10 min (include brief stretching)
Cooldown 10 minutes.

Workout of the Week

Move It!

2 min cardio (ie jumprope, running, etc)
One-leg squat, 30 secs
Spiderman pushups, 30 secs
Side plank w/hip dips, 30 secs ea side

2 min cardio (ie jumprope, running, etc)
Fwd/bwd lunge, 30 secs ea side
Seated row, 30 secs
T-stand, 30 secs

2 min cardio (ie jumprope, running, etc)
Side squats, 30 secs
Biceps curl, 30 secs
Triceps dips, 30 secs

Dynamic warmup 8-10 mins. Go down the list 2-3 times, resting/stretching as necessary between supersets. Finish with cooldown/stretch.

Workout of the Week

Core Efforts:

Pullups
Pushups
Deck squat
Side plank with hip dips

Down the list circuit style, starting at 10 reps, progress down to 1
As usual remember to warmup and cool down as appropriate for your program.

Workout of the Week

Doin' it Tabata-style:

*alternate these every 20 seconds x 4*
Squat jump
Renegade pushups

*20 secs r leg, then 20 secs clam, 20 secs l leg, REPEAT ALL x 3*
Split squat w/biceps curls
Clam ab crunch w/dumbbell chest press

*20 secs ea leg x 4 ea*
One-leg squat

*alternate these every 20 seconds x 4*
*Dbl-arm bentover row
Side plank w/hip dips

Dynamic warmup 8-10 minutes. Rest only as necessary between sets. Finish with cooldown/stretch.

What are supersets?

A super set is a workout in which you do two or more exercises back to back with little rest in between. It can be a great way to break through plateaus, burn calories, increase your intensity and endurance, and overload your muscles to facilitate the training effect (aka build/"tone"/strengthen).

Supersetting is especially beneficial when you are short on time but still need to get it all in. A simple example is to do a couple of push/pull exercises for your upper body followed by a lower body exercise.

For example:

pushups/pullups/squats
or
triceps dips/biceps curl/fwd lunge

You could also do an upper body/lower body combo, ie chest flye/split squat. One benefit of this type of split is that one half of the body "rests" and recovers while the other half works.

There are endless ways to put together supersets. The "trick" is to know your purpose and design your program accordingly. Check back tomorrow for our Thursday Workout of the Week tomorrow. Supersets included.

UBC Workout of the Week

Jumprope, 2 minutes

Fwd/rear lunge, 12x ea side
Med ball pushups, 12x
Bent-over row, 12x

Jumprope, 2 minutes

Dumbbell plies, 12x
Chest flye or cable flye, 12x
Reverse flye, 12x

Jumprope, 2 minutes

Lateral raise, 12x
Biceps curl, 12x
Triceps rope pull, 12x

Ab crunches, 25x
Egg rolls, 10x
Deck squat, 10x
Hover, 30-90 seconds
Side plank w/hip dips, 10x ea side

After dynamic warm up, go down list of exercises 2-3 times. Finish with cool down/stretch.

UBC Workout of the Day

Look for new UBC sample workouts each Thursday!

30/30*

DB squat w/shoulder press
Pushups
Lateral raise

Forward lunge w/biceps curls
Renegade pushup
Triceps dips

Deck squat
Hover
V-ups

*Thirty seconds on, thirty seconds rest.