In her early teenage years, Denise was diagnosed with cancer in her calf. After removal of the cancer, radiation treatment and chemotherapy she still underwent several surgeries till she was about 18 years old which included may skin grafts.  In her twenties, Denise was also diagnosed with Multiple  Sclerosis.

Over the years because of the radiation and chemo, the bones in her ankles started to fuse together, essentially cause her to lose her gate.  However, Denise continued with her physical activity and did what she loved to do most, run!

That wasn’t the end of her struggle, in her thirties, Denise started to lose circulation into the lower half of her leg and doctor’s said it was necessary to amputate. So they did. And after two years of walking on crutches Denise got her “bionic leg” as I like to call it. However, her muscles in the amputated leg had lost all size and strength.  She started working with her new leg through physical therapy and now has continued to work with me.

Her goals are simple. To be able to run again. She’s not looking to run a marathon or anything like that. She just wants to run. So that’s her one year goal and I know she’ll make it.  Right now her short term goals are to balance on the less developed leg, squat using both legs evenly, and lunge without holding onto something.

After  listening to her story and knowing how strong Denise is inside and out, these goals will be a piece of cake for her.  She has battled a lot in her life. But she still comes in with her head up, feeling strong and secure that she can and will accomplish her goals.

Attached you’ll find some video I started taking of her and some of our workouts.  This is just the beginning for her. Stay tuned to see her progression!

Reminder: Things you need!

• Resistance tubing or bands. They come in different strengths so get several. Yellow is usually the lightest. Then green is harder, then red, blue, then finally purple being the hardest.
• An unopened gallon of water. (to use as weight)
• Some sort of mat.

The Workout!

• Jumping jacks (Time your self 30 seconds to 1 minute)
• Toe touch (15-20 times)
• Crunches on the floor (Time yourself. 30 seconds to 1 minute. See how many your can do with good form)

• Squat with water jug thrust. (Same as the previous one but instead of bringing the water jub over head, push it out away from the chest)
• Back row (alternating arms. Just like the other back row exercise from the last truckers workout, but alternating arms.)
• Jog around the truck three times

• Pushups (Now if you’ve been doing pushups against the truck or on your knees, now it’s time to try doing as many full pushups as you can. Try it. Each day try to add one more to your count.
• Supermans (Continue this exercise like before. It’s good for your lower back)

Cardio time.

• Try to do a light jog for 30-45 minutes.  Please refer to my cardio workout schedule on my blog.

Stretch time.

• Make sure you stretch everything every day. Legs, chest, back, lower back, neck etc!

Weighted Crunches

Cable Squats

Russian Twists

Russian Twist with feet lifted

Imagine the possibilities: Finding your inner athlete
Picture it, Washington Heights: New York City, a scrawny little ten year old playing sick to get out of gym class. A teacher’s pet who liked to do extra work in the classroom for his teachers so he wouldn’t have to endure the humiliation of dodge ball. A little theatre brat who the closest he got to baseball was listening to the Broadway recording of Damn Yankees. I was that kid who hated gym class. Now fast forward twenty years later and here I am teaching gym class to adults. Would I have ever pictured myself being “‘Mr. Fitness” ? You know that trainer at the gym who’s known to be slightly sadistic? Never! I saw myself performing on a broadway stage for the rest of my life. However, most broadway children rarely make it as adults. They peak too early. So after college I imagined what I wanted to do, and secretly I wondered what it would be like to have a career as a trainer, but I didn’t think I fit the stereotypical trainer mold. When the opportunity presented itself, I took it. I began to imagine the impact I could have on people, especially those who were intimated by the gym like I was. My goal is to help them and you find the inner athlete.
The inner athlete I talk about is the driving force that makes us live more active and healthier life styles whether you are a triathlete, a tennis player or simply someone who wants to perform 20 pushups without failure. Everyone has it. Trust me. I know from first hand experience with my own training and watching it manifest itself in my clients.
If you’ve seen my website or heard me on Sirius radio during my fitness segments, you will know my mantra very well: “If your mind leads, your body will follow”. This is something I tell my clients and students over and over again. The connection between the brain and body is so very important when trying to reach your fitness/health goals. If you do not have that connection, I promise you will not go very far. My most successful clients are the ones who come to me ready, willing and able (most of the time able). When they have made that decision in their brain, “I need this. I need to lose this weight. I want this. I want to be healthier!”. Their body will feel it.
Start imagining the things you can do with your body (get your mind out of the gutter I’m talking about fitness). Come up with a goal for your body whether it’s shedding a few pounds or increasing your bench press and truly stick to those goals through some positive thinking. Cheesy as it may sound, it does work. Your mind will tell your body that it can achieve these goals and it will.
Take my client Mark for example. A man in his mid thirties who never stepped foot onto a training floor until he started training with me. He could barely do a pushup or squat without sweating buckets and collapsing. Two years later, he trains with me on average twice a week and takes three of my classes. He also runs anywhere from 25-45 minutes on a treadmill twice a week and rides his bike around Manhattan and the other boroughs on weekends. He is currently training to ride the century ride.
Then there’s Danielle, a young woman battling some weight issues. After a year of training and dedication she trimmed down to her ideal size losing 20 pounds and completed the New York City half marathon. She now just recently became a personal trainer herself to “pay it forward” so to speak.
And of course there is me, the scrawny little theatre boy who loved to sing and dance. I changed the way I saw myself. Each day I visualized myself becoming stronger and more athletic. Sometimes I didn’t even realize I was thinking these things. It started to become natural. I saw myself performing exercises the average person could not do. And through practice I did them. My body hurt, I won’t lie to you. It can be painful. It’s the type of pain that makes you realize you dild something good to your body and finally achieving your end goals is so rewarding.
Do not wait till your next doctors visit when he or she tells you your blood pressure is through the roof and you’re at a high risk for heart disease. Don’t wait till you’ve become so over weight that you cause knee and lower back pain.
Imagine the strength you have. Accept the body you have at that moment and know that it will change. Find your own inner athlete!

The weather has remained calm and working out with the sun rising is an amazing feeling.  But as the weeks fly by the heat will kick in and we will really be burning in hell. 

I want to give a little shout out to one of my students who recently got over  a year of no exercise due to illness.  She’s healthy now and is taking control of her weight.  In a little over three weeks she has lost 11 pounds by taking my class, Salsa dance classes and high energy classes like Zumba at her local gym.  So congrats Alewa Cooper!  I’m very proud of your success so far!

So if you’re interested in joining my outdoor group, email me.  Just because we are half way through this first six week course doesn’t mean you can’t join in! 

I Like The Way – Bodyrockers
Sweat Dreams – Beyonce
Parachute – Cheryl Cole
Love Is Blind – Alicia Keys
Love Song – Madonna & Prince
Down This Way – Todd Alsup
Feel So Alive – Ashley Parker Angel
Whole Lotta Love – Mary J. Blige
Midnight (2010) – Alison Moyet
Blame It On The Girls – Mika
Holla Back Tambourine Girl – Gwen Stefani vs. Beck
Headlines – Alcazar

Boys And Girls (Moto Blanco Mix) – Pixie Lott
Mr. Brightside – The Killers
If I Had You – Adam Lambert
Where Are We Running? – Lenny Kravitz
Rocks – Primal Scream
Black And Gold – Sam Sparro
Can’t Get You Outta My Head – Kylie Minogue
Hold On – K.T. Tunstall
Mercy Mercy – Le Kid
Disco Heaven – Lady Gaga
I Got Your Love – Donna Summer
Dollhouse – Priscilla Renea
Technologic – Daft Punk

Hope you enjoy everyone!  Hit me back with your favorite music!

Weeks 1-2….Three days of light* cardio work for 25-30 minutes

Weeks 3-4…Three days of light cardio work for 30-35 min.

Weeks 5-6…Three days of light cardio work for 40 min. A fourth day of moderate* cardio work for 15 min.

Weeks 7-9…Four day of light cardio work for 40 min.  Fourth day of moderate cardio work for 15-20 min.

Weeks 10-11…Four days/Light cardio for 45 min. Fourth day/moderate cardio work for 20 min. Fifth day of high intensity interval* training for 15 min

Weeks 12-13…Four days/light cardio for 45 min. Fourth day/moderate cardio for 20 min. Fifth day/interval training for 15-20 min

Weeks 13-15…Four days/light cardio for 45 min. Fourth day/moderate cardio for 20 min. Fifth day/ interval training for 20-30 min

*You might be asking how do I measure light cardio and moderate and interval training. Well if you can recite the alphabet or just speak without having to catch your breath every few letters but still feel like you’re working, that’s your light cardio.

If you can recite the alphabet or speak but have to catch your breath every few letters or words, that is your moderate intensity cardio.

High intensity cardio usually means you can’t really talk.

INTERVAL training is only for those who are a bit more advanced and is only done once a week.  2-3 minutes are performed at a high speed or intensity followed by another 2-3 minutes at a very very low intensity at an almost rest period. But you are still walking.

This is just a general schedule and you can modify it to your ability and endurance.  Keeping the intensities light but for longer periods of time will burn more calories from fat as opposed to calories from sugars. Email me if you have any questions.

***Reminder, before starting ANY type of workout or cardiovascular  training please consult with your doctor and get clearance.***

A truck drivers workout. Yes, you read that correctly. I’m about to write out a workout designed for truck drivers. This is something I thought I would never do, but on my last trip to “The Morning Jolt” at Sirius Radio, someone called in who happened to be a truck driver. I found out later from Larry the host, about 30% of their listeners are gay, lesbian and straight truck drivers. Who knew? Well this caller told me he was a truck driver and wasn’t too sure what he should be doing as far as exercise. He has some weight issues which I believe most drivers do, plus he battles high blood pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if most truck drivers deal with high BP due to the stress level of their jobs, lack of sleep, and poor eating habits. So I offered to design a simple workout for truck drivers who listen to the show. After some digging, I found out driver usually spend about 8 hours driving and because of regulations they must rest for ten hours. But that rest time is spent sleeping in the cabin of their trucks and of course not in hotels where they might have access to a gym or even just a treadmill. At first I thought, well this will be easy. I’ll have them do a few laps, some push ups and really get their heart rate up. But then I started thinking about the stresses their bodies go through on a daily basis and what areas are deconditioned.

I don’t drive long distances. I live in New York City where I walk almost everywhere or take the subway. The one time I drove 7 hours to Ottawa, Canada I hated it! And hated what it did to my body. So when coming up with this workout I had to really put myself in the truck drivers shoes.

Somethings you may want to get to keep in your truck for resistance and weight:

• Resistance tubing or bands. They come in different strengths so get several. Yellow is usually the lightest. Then green is harder, then red, blue, then finally purple being the hardest.
• An unopened gallon of water. (to use as weight)
• Some sort of mat.

Well here we go. Get your butt out of the truck and lets warm up:

• Jumping Jacks (a great full body warm up to get the heart rate going and heat up your core temp) 20-25 repetitions
• Stationary lunge. One foot back one foot in front, drop the back knee till it almost touches the floor. This is to open up your quads and hip flexors after you’ve been sitting for hours and hours. (Holding on each side for 15-20 seconds, 3 times on each side.)
• Toe touch. Stand with your feet parallel and hip width apart. Reach up to the sky then try to reach down to your toes and back up. It’s a simple move, but your lower back strength need to be developed. Repeat 15 times.
• Repeat this circuit 2 more times with 30 seconds of rest in between each round.

• Squat with overhead water jug trust (that was a hard one to name). Holding your unopened gallon of water in front of you, perform a squat by sitting back into your hips placing the weight of your body onto your heals. As you come out of the squat trust the gallon of water over your head then bring it back to the starting position. Repeat 10-15 times
• Back row. Wrap a heavy resistance band around something secure on your truck. Holding a handle in each hand pull them back squeezing your shoulder blades together to start the movement. This will help correct any slouching which may develop from sitting. Give me 15-20 reps.
• Jog in place. 20-30 seconds.
• Repeat this circuit 2 more times with 30-40 seconds of rest in between each round

• Push ups. You can do them either on the floor in a full push up position. Or if you don’t have that strength yet on your knee or standing against your truck. 12-15 reps.
• Crunches. Lay on your mat or blanket and perform 20-30 crunches keeping your head back and focus up.
• Supermans. Now lay on your stomach face down to your mat. This exercise will help develop the muscles surrounding your lower back. Sitting for long periods of time can cause them to become very deconditioned. Extend your rams out in front of your head as if you were flying like superman. Engage your abs, lift your legs along with your shoulders and arms. It’s as if you were folding yourself in half but in the opposite direction. Go very slow on these. If this is a challenge, try only lifting your upper body till you develop the strength.
• Repeat this circuit 2 more times with 30-40 seconds of rest in between each round

Now it’s time for some cardio. You might want to eat a little something after you’ve done your warm up and strength training.

• Walk or light jog for 30-40 minutes without stopping. Keeping the intensity light but continuous for longer periods of time will cause the body to burn more fat. Do your cardio at least 3-4 times a week.
• Stretch! Make sure you stretch after every workout. Especially your lower body and lower back.

Please remember this workout is a very general workout and not designed for any particular person. Please consult your physician before starting any workout or physical activity.