Merriam-Webster's definition of PERSEVERANCE:
"continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering."
The Maine State Health & Fitness Expo featuring The 2013 OCB Pine Tree State ~ Bodybuilding, Figure & Bikini Championships is upon us, and as I lay here I'm reflecting on what's lead myself, and the show to this point.
In 2010, having lost the desire to compete in bodybuilding, but still wanting to be involved in the sport, I decided to throw my hat into the ring as a promoter. Having been around the sport for 2 decades I felt as though I could be a good promoter, I just didn't know how to go about getting started.
First I reached out to friends that had also been around the sport for many years, and started building a small team in which to bounce ideas off. I then contacted the OCB in regards to getting a sanction. I felt drug free promotion was the way to go with sport, and the OCB gave the green light for me to promote a spring show in Maine.
In 2010 I contacted a venue from the hay day of bodybuilding in Maine during the late 80's to early 90's, and got it! A great start! We where putting together a 3 day event to take place in April of 2011. Friday: The first MMA tournament in the state. Saturday: The debut of the OCB Pine Tree State. Sunday: An APF Bench Press Meet. All the pieces where falling into place......or so I thought!
The state of Maine pulled the plug on the MMA tournament several weeks before the show. Though it had become legal in Maine, the committee created to promulgate the rules of MMA in Maine had yet do so......so day one of the Maine State Health & Fitness Expo was gone, and with it many sponsors.
More problems. Ten days before the first OCB Pine Tree State I only had 7 registered competitors. I get it. A new show.......in Maine......with an new & unknown promoter. Who wants to risk competing in that? At this point, the entire show was cancelled, and 2011 was gone.
I don't know, maybe it was to big an event to soon in my promoting career. In any case, I was very disappointed in myself. I stepped away, and took a break; contemplating if it was something I wanted to do again.
Blessings in disguise! After some time had passed, I decided to press forward with a 1 day event in 2012. Reduce the size of the event, and get good at it, then go from there. I contacted the same venue, but was shot down! Then I got shot down at several others. I got back to thinking about giving up, about QUITTING!
The wonders of Facebook: Through a chance friend connection on Facebook I was turned on to the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. I checked it out online.....WOW! I contacted the manager, Jamie, and explained my event. He welcomed it with open arms, and there was my "Blessing In Disguise"
Planning for 2012 was in full steam! I put the staff together, and we got busy. Doing a one day show made things so much more simple, and the venue accommodated almost every request. Not everything went smoothly, but all the problems where fixable. Anyone that knows me, knows I'm an ideas guy, but I often miss the small details. The day of the 2012 show, one hour before the competitor meeting two of my judges where helping me fill out all the paperwork I had missed, and it was a lot! Like I said, the problems where fixable.
The 2012 show had 30 competitors, and 200-250 people in attendance. Those are good numbers for a first year regional show! At the conclusion of the show I already had my sights set on 2013! What errors could I correct, and how I could make it better!
So here we are, on the eve of 2013 Maine State Health & Fitness Expo featuring the OCB Pine Tree State, all of us having PERSEVERED though times of difficulty & self doubt.
With that said, I want to applaud all those competing Saturday for having the courage to follow your dreams, and I want to thank all those that helped, encouraged, supported, and put their faith in my ability to put this together!
Tomorrow, YOU ARE ALL CHAMPIONS!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Owner: Impact Fitness Center
Promoter: Maine State Health & Fitness Expo
Friday, April 5, 2013
Monday, June 25, 2012
How Important is Post Exercise Nutrition?
If you're looking to get the
greatest return on your time, and effort spent in the gym, you will take your
post exercise nutrition seriously! Along with breakfast, what you consume and
how soon after your workout you consume it is critical.
Exercise, both strength and endurance training have numerous benefits. However, exercise can put significant stress on your body causing muscle soreness, the need for more sleep, increased appetite etc. These symptoms are letting you know your body is in need of replenishment. Assuming your rest and nutrition are on point, repeated bouts of exercise & recovery will lead to increased muscle fiber size and strength. This process is known as "remodeling".
"Remodeling" your body is a lot like remodeling a house. You can have a great blueprint, and spend a lot of time gutting the property and cleaning up, but if you don't have the materials available to put up new walls, roof, floors etc. you'll be left with nothing more than a gutted house.
Exercise uses up carbohydrate (glycogen), and protein is needed to repair& amp; rebuild muscle tissue. Without quality carbohydrates & proteins available the remodeling process will be minimized, and our ability to reach our physical potential will be greatly reduced!
In Regards to Carbohydrate: Research has shown that a carbohydrate intake of 0.8 to 1.2 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight immediately post workout maximizes glycogen synthesis and accelerates protein repair. However, unless you've had a very long, intense workout, 1.2g/kg may be a bit excessive as excess carbohydrate can be converted to bodyfat. Therefore I recommend 0.8g of carbohydrate per 1 kilogram of body weight for speeding up muscle carbohydrate replenishment while preventing excess fat gain (van Loon et al 2000a).
I n Regards to Protein: Researchers have used anywhere from 0.2g - 0.4g of protein
per 1 kilogram of body weight to demonstrate the effectiveness of adding
protein to a post-workout carbohydrate drink (van Loon et al 2000b, Roy et al
1998). As an increased consumption of the essential amino acids may lead to a
more positive protein balance, 0.4g/kg may be better than 0.2g/kg.
In Regards to Fat: Although essential fats are often overlooked as a being an important part of a healthy diet, post workout is one instance when fat should be avoided. Consuming fat as part of a post workout drink/meal will slow the absorption of nutrients, and the minutes following the completion of your workout is a time when how quickly you can provide your muscles the carbohydrate & protein they need is critical!
Post workout muscles are primed for nutrient uptake. This period is often called "the window of opportunity". Research has shown that consuming a post-exercise meal immediately after working out is superior to consuming one only 1 hour later. In addition, consuming one 1 hour later is superior to consuming one 3 hours later (Tipton et al 2001, Levenhagen et al 2001). If you wait too long, glycogen replenishment and protein repair will be compromised.
Typically whole food is superior to supplements. This is not the case post workout. A post workout drink that combines both carbohydrate and protein will be able to be digested and absorbed much quicker. This will help take advantage of the "window of opportunity" mentioned earlier.
The ideal proteins to use in a post workout drink are whey hydrolysates and isolates, and carbohydrates dextrose and maltodextrin.
In a nustshell, the quality and timing of your post workout nutrition will maximize your time spent in the gym, and greatly improve the opportunity for you to reach your health & fitness goals!
I hope you find this information useful, but the information provided is only as good as the person who puts it use.
Happy Training!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
Owner: Impact Fitness Center
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Exercise, both strength and endurance training have numerous benefits. However, exercise can put significant stress on your body causing muscle soreness, the need for more sleep, increased appetite etc. These symptoms are letting you know your body is in need of replenishment. Assuming your rest and nutrition are on point, repeated bouts of exercise & recovery will lead to increased muscle fiber size and strength. This process is known as "remodeling".
"Remodeling" your body is a lot like remodeling a house. You can have a great blueprint, and spend a lot of time gutting the property and cleaning up, but if you don't have the materials available to put up new walls, roof, floors etc. you'll be left with nothing more than a gutted house.
Exercise uses up carbohydrate (glycogen), and protein is needed to repair& amp; rebuild muscle tissue. Without quality carbohydrates & proteins available the remodeling process will be minimized, and our ability to reach our physical potential will be greatly reduced!
In Regards to Carbohydrate: Research has shown that a carbohydrate intake of 0.8 to 1.2 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight immediately post workout maximizes glycogen synthesis and accelerates protein repair. However, unless you've had a very long, intense workout, 1.2g/kg may be a bit excessive as excess carbohydrate can be converted to bodyfat. Therefore I recommend 0.8g of carbohydrate per 1 kilogram of body weight for speeding up muscle carbohydrate replenishment while preventing excess fat gain (van Loon et al 2000a).
In Regards to Fat: Although essential fats are often overlooked as a being an important part of a healthy diet, post workout is one instance when fat should be avoided. Consuming fat as part of a post workout drink/meal will slow the absorption of nutrients, and the minutes following the completion of your workout is a time when how quickly you can provide your muscles the carbohydrate & protein they need is critical!
Post workout muscles are primed for nutrient uptake. This period is often called "the window of opportunity". Research has shown that consuming a post-exercise meal immediately after working out is superior to consuming one only 1 hour later. In addition, consuming one 1 hour later is superior to consuming one 3 hours later (Tipton et al 2001, Levenhagen et al 2001). If you wait too long, glycogen replenishment and protein repair will be compromised.
Typically whole food is superior to supplements. This is not the case post workout. A post workout drink that combines both carbohydrate and protein will be able to be digested and absorbed much quicker. This will help take advantage of the "window of opportunity" mentioned earlier.
The ideal proteins to use in a post workout drink are whey hydrolysates and isolates, and carbohydrates dextrose and maltodextrin.
In a nustshell, the quality and timing of your post workout nutrition will maximize your time spent in the gym, and greatly improve the opportunity for you to reach your health & fitness goals!
I hope you find this information useful, but the information provided is only as good as the person who puts it use.
Happy Training!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
Owner: Impact Fitness Center
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Sunday, June 17, 2012
"Project Resurrection" My Return to The Bodybuilding Stage ~ Installment 2
Today marks the completion of 10 full weeks of Project Resurrection. I've had improvements in both strength, and body composition. On April 16th 2012, my starting weight was 229lbs, and starting body fat percentage was an all time worst 20.4%. As of June 17th my weight is at 225.2, and my body fat % is a more tolerable 17.1%.
I've been focusing on workout economy......how much work can I get done in a unit of time. This work includes soft tissue work, warm-up, mobility, and the actual workout. I've also put more of an effort into my recovery by getting more sleep......getting to bed earlier at night, and getting in a few naps a week. I've combined this with more of a periodization approach to my training. For years I've always gone as hard & heavy as I could in every workout, and gravitated to exercises that I like best. Now that I'm 42, that doesn't work so well anymore. I'm using percentages on my core lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press & overhead press), using a de-load week every 4th or 5th week, designing programs that don't last more than 4 to 5 weeks (this includes the de-load week), and spending more time in my warm-up. I'm also planning on taking (2) full weeks off a year from training which is something I've never done before. This has made a big improvement in how my joints/muscles feel. I don't feel so beat down, and tired. I'm more excited about my workouts, and I'm flat out stronger! Training needs to be hard, but to maximize the time & effort invested some thought should be put into your programming.
As is the norm with me, improvements to my training has been much easier than improvements in my nutrition. I'm in the cycle of doing enough damage on the weekends to ruin all the good eating habits during the week. I actually like eating healthy, so I can't quite pin point why weekends are so difficult, but with some simple planning, and a little will power, it can be fixed! This journey wasn't going to be without speed bumps, but if I'm going to get back on stage I will need to get rid of the self inflicted speed bumps!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
Owner/Fitness Director: Impact Fitness Center
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
www.facebook.com/Impact.FC1
I've been focusing on workout economy......how much work can I get done in a unit of time. This work includes soft tissue work, warm-up, mobility, and the actual workout. I've also put more of an effort into my recovery by getting more sleep......getting to bed earlier at night, and getting in a few naps a week. I've combined this with more of a periodization approach to my training. For years I've always gone as hard & heavy as I could in every workout, and gravitated to exercises that I like best. Now that I'm 42, that doesn't work so well anymore. I'm using percentages on my core lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press & overhead press), using a de-load week every 4th or 5th week, designing programs that don't last more than 4 to 5 weeks (this includes the de-load week), and spending more time in my warm-up. I'm also planning on taking (2) full weeks off a year from training which is something I've never done before. This has made a big improvement in how my joints/muscles feel. I don't feel so beat down, and tired. I'm more excited about my workouts, and I'm flat out stronger! Training needs to be hard, but to maximize the time & effort invested some thought should be put into your programming.
As is the norm with me, improvements to my training has been much easier than improvements in my nutrition. I'm in the cycle of doing enough damage on the weekends to ruin all the good eating habits during the week. I actually like eating healthy, so I can't quite pin point why weekends are so difficult, but with some simple planning, and a little will power, it can be fixed! This journey wasn't going to be without speed bumps, but if I'm going to get back on stage I will need to get rid of the self inflicted speed bumps!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
Owner/Fitness Director: Impact Fitness Center
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
www.facebook.com/Impact.FC1
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
"Project Resurrection" My Return to The Bodybuilding Stage ~ Installment 1
Resurrection as defined by dictionary.com: a rising again, as from decay, disuse, etc.; revival. Based on this definition you can see why I titled this attempt to return to the bodybuilding stage "Project Resurrection", because that's what it is......A RISING AGAIN!
I've spent the last quarter century of my life in a gym, and almost the last 15 years as a personal trainer. I've been so focused on helping others reach their fitness goals that I've lost sight of my own. Maybe I've burnt out somewhat, maybe I got sick of carrying a cooler with me everywhere I went, maybe I don't have the drive to work around aches & pains, or maybe I've just gotten lazy!
I've become one of those people, who after not exercising in quite some time, you'll often hear say "I'm getting back into it". I've also become a stress eater for the first time in my life. I used to be a stress non-eater. If I was overly stressed looking at food made me queasy, so I could never grasp the concept of eating to make yourself feel better. I have full comprehension of stress eating now. Good tasting, greasy food would make me feel so much better.......for about 5 minutes. The stress of a couple of job changes over the last 10 months, starting my own business, promoting my first bodybuilding show, and finances has taken it's toll on my nutrition, my exercise, my energy levels, and my overall self esteem. Ultimately everything is a choice, and now I'm choosing to do something about it!
A big part of making progress in any area of our lives is to set goals. I've set a goal of returning to the bodybuilding stage sometime between March & April of 2013. The last time I competed was in 2006, and I sucked. I had lost my drive to do the work necessary to step on a bodybuilding show, and got on a stage I knew I shouldn't have been on. I retired from bodybuilding after that show, but retiring on a sour note has never set well with me.......the only problem is that I was never willing to do anything about it......until now!
Promoting my first bodybuilding show has ignited a spark in my that has long been dormant, and as I go through the process of "resurrecting" this body in preparation for next spring I'm going to blog about my ups, my downs, and everything in between. I plan on posting bi-weekly. My hope is that not only will putting myself out there publicly will keep me on track, but that I may inspire others who have lost sight of their passion & their goals whatever they may be.
Depending on which show I do next spring I'll be either 42 or 43, and I'm going to prove that age is just a number!
I hope you'll follow me during this journey.
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Owner/Fitness Director:
Impact Fitness Center
I've spent the last quarter century of my life in a gym, and almost the last 15 years as a personal trainer. I've been so focused on helping others reach their fitness goals that I've lost sight of my own. Maybe I've burnt out somewhat, maybe I got sick of carrying a cooler with me everywhere I went, maybe I don't have the drive to work around aches & pains, or maybe I've just gotten lazy!
I've become one of those people, who after not exercising in quite some time, you'll often hear say "I'm getting back into it". I've also become a stress eater for the first time in my life. I used to be a stress non-eater. If I was overly stressed looking at food made me queasy, so I could never grasp the concept of eating to make yourself feel better. I have full comprehension of stress eating now. Good tasting, greasy food would make me feel so much better.......for about 5 minutes. The stress of a couple of job changes over the last 10 months, starting my own business, promoting my first bodybuilding show, and finances has taken it's toll on my nutrition, my exercise, my energy levels, and my overall self esteem. Ultimately everything is a choice, and now I'm choosing to do something about it!
A big part of making progress in any area of our lives is to set goals. I've set a goal of returning to the bodybuilding stage sometime between March & April of 2013. The last time I competed was in 2006, and I sucked. I had lost my drive to do the work necessary to step on a bodybuilding show, and got on a stage I knew I shouldn't have been on. I retired from bodybuilding after that show, but retiring on a sour note has never set well with me.......the only problem is that I was never willing to do anything about it......until now!
Promoting my first bodybuilding show has ignited a spark in my that has long been dormant, and as I go through the process of "resurrecting" this body in preparation for next spring I'm going to blog about my ups, my downs, and everything in between. I plan on posting bi-weekly. My hope is that not only will putting myself out there publicly will keep me on track, but that I may inspire others who have lost sight of their passion & their goals whatever they may be.
Depending on which show I do next spring I'll be either 42 or 43, and I'm going to prove that age is just a number!
I hope you'll follow me during this journey.
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Owner/Fitness Director:
Impact Fitness Center
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
How Can We Ever Have Time, If We Never Take Time?
For you Matrix fans out there, in the 2nd installment "Matrix - Reloaded", the Frenchman says the title of this blog post to Neo & Company. That statement couldn't be more true!
There are so many things we wish to do in life, but the most common reason why very few of those aspirations are ever accomplished is "If I Only Had The Time".
Whether it's taking a class, starting a new business, beginning an exercise program, building the tree house, starting a garden, or spending time with friends & relatives, how can any of these things get done if we don't make the time.
Health & time.......the two most important commodities that exist. The more time we take to be healthy, not just physically but mentally & emotionally, the better able we become at enjoying the time we have. Health & time, they are intertwined.
Of course it's not always easy to find the time we need to accomplish the things we want, but it's not impossible. Budget time like you would budget a dollar. Spend less time on a computer or video game, reduce the amount of time spent in front of a TV, make to-do lists (daily), stop hitting the snooze button etc. Maybe those little changes equal a time savings of 30 - 45 minutes a day. It doesn't sound like much, but at the end of the week that adds up to 3.5 + hours that can be devoted to family, reading, studying, writing, business building, or any other goal you may have set for yourself that you originally thought you didn't have the time for.
We can't control the hands of time, but we can control what we do with it..........the choice is yours!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Owner/Fitness Director at Impact Fitness Center
www.facebook.com/Impact.FC1
There are so many things we wish to do in life, but the most common reason why very few of those aspirations are ever accomplished is "If I Only Had The Time".
Whether it's taking a class, starting a new business, beginning an exercise program, building the tree house, starting a garden, or spending time with friends & relatives, how can any of these things get done if we don't make the time.
Health & time.......the two most important commodities that exist. The more time we take to be healthy, not just physically but mentally & emotionally, the better able we become at enjoying the time we have. Health & time, they are intertwined.
Of course it's not always easy to find the time we need to accomplish the things we want, but it's not impossible. Budget time like you would budget a dollar. Spend less time on a computer or video game, reduce the amount of time spent in front of a TV, make to-do lists (daily), stop hitting the snooze button etc. Maybe those little changes equal a time savings of 30 - 45 minutes a day. It doesn't sound like much, but at the end of the week that adds up to 3.5 + hours that can be devoted to family, reading, studying, writing, business building, or any other goal you may have set for yourself that you originally thought you didn't have the time for.
We can't control the hands of time, but we can control what we do with it..........the choice is yours!
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Owner/Fitness Director at Impact Fitness Center
www.facebook.com/Impact.FC1
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Scale Is Not Your Friend!
The reason for the title of this blog is simple; its how I feel. The scale is a tool, but it’s certainly not an end all be all.
Whether you’re training to get huge, toning up, or leaning out; you’re trying to add muscle. A pound of muscle is equal to a pound of fat in weight, but not in density. A pound of muscle is much denser than a pound of fat, and will take up less space. As a person loses body fat, ideally, there will be an increase in lean muscle mass. Over time an increase in muscle, and decrease in body fat will mean changes in how your clothes fit, a leaner appearance, a more shapely body, more strength & energy, but not necessarily large changes in weight.
Another tool you may or may not be aware of is what’s called a BMI (body mass index). A BMI is a good tool for sedentary people, but not for those who a very active, and carry a good amount of muscle mass. Like a scale, a BMI does not distinguish between lean mass, and body fat.
A good tool for monitoring your progress is a body composition test. Several sites are measured on the body using a caliper. Those results are then figured into a formula to obtain your body fat %. For men, a good range is 12-18%, while a good range for women is 18-25%.
My favorite tool, however, is how I look in the mirror, and how my clothes fit. I don’t need a scale, or caliper to tell me I can see my top set of abs, or that my pants are tighter in my butt, but looser around my waist.
If you are going to use a scale, use it at most once per week and at the same time of day (ideally first thing in the morning). If you use a caliper test (use a certified trainer who has experience in providing this test), use that same person all the time. This will keep the test consistent.
As I finish this, I ask one thing of you. Do not let any positive feed back you receive from the mirror, your friends & loved ones, your pant size, or your performance be negated by a number on the scale.
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Independent Team Beachbody Coach
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/scottfleurant
Whether you’re training to get huge, toning up, or leaning out; you’re trying to add muscle. A pound of muscle is equal to a pound of fat in weight, but not in density. A pound of muscle is much denser than a pound of fat, and will take up less space. As a person loses body fat, ideally, there will be an increase in lean muscle mass. Over time an increase in muscle, and decrease in body fat will mean changes in how your clothes fit, a leaner appearance, a more shapely body, more strength & energy, but not necessarily large changes in weight.
Another tool you may or may not be aware of is what’s called a BMI (body mass index). A BMI is a good tool for sedentary people, but not for those who a very active, and carry a good amount of muscle mass. Like a scale, a BMI does not distinguish between lean mass, and body fat.
A good tool for monitoring your progress is a body composition test. Several sites are measured on the body using a caliper. Those results are then figured into a formula to obtain your body fat %. For men, a good range is 12-18%, while a good range for women is 18-25%.
My favorite tool, however, is how I look in the mirror, and how my clothes fit. I don’t need a scale, or caliper to tell me I can see my top set of abs, or that my pants are tighter in my butt, but looser around my waist.
If you are going to use a scale, use it at most once per week and at the same time of day (ideally first thing in the morning). If you use a caliper test (use a certified trainer who has experience in providing this test), use that same person all the time. This will keep the test consistent.
As I finish this, I ask one thing of you. Do not let any positive feed back you receive from the mirror, your friends & loved ones, your pant size, or your performance be negated by a number on the scale.
Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Independent Team Beachbody Coach
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/scottfleurant
Sunday, March 21, 2010
3.21.10 Workout
Sunday 3:30pm
Upper Body Pull
Warm-up: seal jacks/x-jacks/basic jacks/bent knee iron cross/supine straight leg raise/band static pec stretch x 2/external rotation 8lbs x 2 sets of 12/internal rotation stretch x 2
Upper Body Pull
Warm-up: seal jacks/x-jacks/basic jacks/bent knee iron cross/supine straight leg raise/band static pec stretch x 2/external rotation 8lbs x 2 sets of 12/internal rotation stretch x 2
- Lat Pulldown - 50lbx20/100x5/150x5/200x5/250x5/260x5
- Bent Barbell Row - 135x/225x5/255x5
- 1 Arm Row - 125x8/125x8
- Seated High Pulley Row - 150 x 3 sets of 8
- Dumbell Curl - (1 set) 60x3>45x4>30x7 (drop set)
- JC Band Bicep Curls 15/10/10 .30 sec rest between sets
- DB Wrist Curls - 40x10/40x8/30x12
- Zotman Curls - 20x10/20x10
- Single Leg Standing Calf Raise - 3x8
- Seated Calf Raise - 70 x 3 sets of 12
Static stretch hams, calves, lats, triceps, biceps, forearm flexors.
Foam rolled quads.
Time to complete: 75 minutes.
Post workout: 1 serving P90X Results & Recovery Drink mixed w/ 1 serving of BSN Cell Mass.
Awesome workout! Next sessions is Legs/Shoulders/Traps/Core.
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