When Is The Right Time To Begin Training? Part 1
First, it is always a great time to begin training and working towards your goals, or simply, strengthening your body for life.
That being said, there are always variables:
Age
Sport(s) Goal(s)
Health Issues
Needless to say TIME is not a variable.
No matter who you are, so long as you have two legs that work efficiently, a brain that can reason, and eyes that can view the world you will always have 2 or 5 minutes available to sprint, perform jumping jacks, walk up and down stairs for fitness and health, curl a laundry basket full of clothes, and use your broomstick to perform front squats, single leg deadlifts, stretch and shoulder mobility exercises.
THERE IS ALWAYS TIME, AND ALWAYS RESOURCES SURROUNDING YOU.
Now, for age, we begin lifting items as soon as we can grasp and not let go. As we grow we carry stones, logs, drag stuff, and jump off of anything we can climb.
We even bounce off the earth when we fail at these things. We seem to survive.
To that, I say a child can begin training at any age, so long as they have good form, are never near their one rep max (or even 3 rep max) before the age of 12.
Of course, a adult should be supervising this. But the idea that a child is too young to take on more, when they clearly can, seems a little far-fetch.
Do I train young athletes with weights at Belley Fitness 12 and under?
No. But that is because I find the maturity level of children within my studio not quite up to par with potential danger if they make a mistake and hurt themselves with some weight plate, a dumbbell falling on their foot, etc.
Belley Fitness can resemble a playground at times, and to have focus, not just jump, play and possibly break stuff by accident (or on purpose as teenagers have in the studio) can be challenging.
And trying to monitor and help 2 or more kids at once potentially making a mistake can lead to missed observation of the athlete lifting the weight, or even worse, 2 kids really hurting one another.
It’s not like they’re running wild on a field or basketball court.
There’s actually really heavy weights that can literally lop off a finger or easily break a bone being used in the studio. so safety first with this age bracket.
Will my own children one day be training with weights before the age of 12?
Absolutely. So long as it interests them I will lovingly be there to guide them towards a much easier physical life through the gift and ability to perform fitness and prepare nutritious foods.
Not too mention the confidence and feeling of empowerment that comes with physical and mental strength.
Part 2 will cover sport and goal setting.
Robert Belley
Belley Fitness : Pembroke, Massachusetts
The Simplest Way To Begin Losing Body Fat
The simplest way to begin to losing body fat is to simply eat less of the terrible food choices you make.
I know it sounds “too simple”, but it’s 100% true.
Simply maintain eating the healthy options you have daily, but cut in half the greasy or sugary options.
If you’re currently eating a large sub sandwich every day for lunch, cut back to a small. Or eat half the large sub now, the other half tomorrow.
If it’s late-night ice cream binge-eating, eat half the damn pint, eat the other half the next night.
Often people fall helpless for the CHANGE IT ALL mentality.
And guess what that yields?
Usually it leads many people right back to their terrible food habits. With self-inflicted chocolate chip muffin negligence insurance. Not to mention over-compensating belly tucking. But that’s a post for a different therapy visit.
To begin, despite the advice of the genetically gifted fitness model you may be following on Instagram, you do not have to go cold-turkey. And yes she really does make 6-figures for posting 2 minute videos in her bikini most of the day from her bathroom… and if you already have a lean physique, a camera, know how to do a squat, are familiar with smiling, and have wi-fi then welcome to the new Silicon Valley.
However, if you do not meet the previous sentence criteria, you can simply eat half of whatever it is you usually eat that hurts your health and waistline.
Soon, eating half of the junk choices will yield better decisions as you begin to see progress.
And witnessing progress is where a plethora of motivation kicks in, in my opinion, for us normal folks.
Seeing your body change weekly or monthly is absolutely encouraging, and helps to visualize what you may achieve next as you transform!
Of course if you’re a selfie-obsessed individual you probably see the changes by the post. But of course you’re destined for stardom anyway so you probably don’t suffer from any body fat issues. Don’t forget to link your bank account to Facebook and other platforms for the advertising moo-lah 😉
And sometimes this cartoon helps too for ideas!
Keep on trucking and I hope your 2017 is off to a amazing start!
Rob
PS: for the partners and friends of anyone who is breathing…
Robert Belley
The award winning personal training studio Belley Fitness is located in Pembroke, Massachusetts.
Happy New Year Pembroke The Work Will Not Do Itself
If there is ever one message I must convey to you, in all things life,
THE WORK WILL NOT DO ITSELF.
The goal is the variable, and the constant is the phrase above.
Unless you put the duration of time in, the mental effort of visualizing in, the physical effort of work in you will not experience the benefit, or progression, of achieving your goal.
Even if your goal is lying on the couch for 5 days straight, you must perform the 3 actions above.
Good luck with all you set out to accomplish in 2017!
I have my “BIG” goals lined up, and my accessory goals undertow.
The waves will appear huge, and the less impressive (noticeable) will serve as a constant reinforcement.
So plan your year out in advance to capitalize off the motivation as you push forward and achieve.
The award winning personal training studio Belley Fitness is located in Pembroke, Massachusetts.
Robert Belley
Calorie Counting Honestly
One of the benefits of my profession is that I meet many individuals who wish to change their life.
Assumingly for the better.
Unless they decide to use their new found superpowers to take down small children for lunch money.
Or stop old ladies from crossing the road with their incredible sled drive strength.
None the less, one of the fascinating observations I’ve made over time concerns people’s nutrition, or diet, log.
I personally measure everything I eat. Not all the time, but definitely 75% of the year.
Most importantly I journal when I have a goal. Tracking leaves me with very little confusion on whether or not my approach worked, and it helps me to look back at prior results to confirm I can repeat past success again.
To track my meal planning I use a digital scale. In fact, we own two in our house, and both have been verified by a 500 gram weight to be accurate.
So that’s fun, you know, facts.
With that, if I weigh a slice of naan bread, and it states 100 grams, well, I will eat that 100 gram serving and record it accordingly.
Contrarily, I know individuals who do not weigh their serving portions, but, rather eye the amount.
Needless to say this isn’t a very accurate method.
And needless to say, during these “eyeballing” logs people also tend to fluctuate on the wrong side of improving their body composition.
They write down in their log book they weighed such and such serving, and write their calories and macros.
When I ask about these servings though they communicate they didn’t actually weigh the serving. They judged it on observation to be correct.
If there is one thing I recommend above all things “Be Honest With Yourself”.
Always be honest with yourself.
The fastest and easiest way to succeed at anything in life is to be honest with yourself in the journey of your goal. Be it financial, relationships, career, health.
For example, If I’m off by about 200 calories a day, possibly 300, over the course of 3-5 times per week I can expect a little bump up in body fat.
Is it life or death, or goal-murdering?
No. Not that dramatic.
But it may mess up my next weigh-in for sport. Or I may wonder where a hard fought for striation or muscle belly went.
And if it’s incorrectly logged in my workouts as poundages being lifted, well, I’m sure you can see where I may become disillusioned sooner than later on my actual abilities and results overall.
So always help yourself by being honest with yourself first.
Your life will become increasingly easier.
Good luck, and remember, if you’re interested in changing your current fitness and look, I’m here in Pembroke to help.
Belley Fitness
Pembroke, Massachusetts
Servicing clients from Pembroke, Marshfield, Duxbury, Kingston, Scituate, Hanover.
Metro Dash Boston 2010 Pics
Here’s some of the people I shared time with at Metro Dash Boston 2010…
The cool couple from New Hampshire:
The really nice couple that set my initial pace for me who also operate Ultimate Fit Camp in Leominster, Massachusetts:
The gentleman I helped cross the finish line (who helped me not slow down running on West 5th Street to the finish line):
These athletes were very inspiring for me. Not only because they competed or finished. Because they were courteous, friendly, selfless and caring.
It’s a diminshing manner courteousness.
Today, do yourself and someone a favor.
Be courteous.
It’ll improve both of your days.
And will trickle onto others watching.
Open a door… Smile at someone… Greet someone by their first name… Tell someone you like their shirt… Pick something up for somebody… Say hello to someone walking by you on the sidewalk…
Live the dream,
Robert Belley
Metro Dash Boston 2010 Experience
24″ Box Jumps?
Tabata’s?
Sled Drags?
Star Jumps?
Sounds like a session at Robert Belley Fitness in Marshfield. But indeed it was a event in South Boston at Condon Elementary on D Street this morning. The event? Metro Dash.
Designed by a Navy Seal, Sean (who by the way is a really cool individual and was a pleasure to spend over an hour talking with) that tests fitness enthusiasts on their capacity for both long distance running and body weight/apparatus exercises.
I will be honest with you. Going in I was excited about this. After receiving my preliminary information I thought this may be too easy. After completing it I underestimated the length of running involved and the terrain which made this fun again.
One of my major hiccups going in was that the rep counts and time finish is based on the honor system. For Sean, with his background, this is a no-brainer. The individuals who make it to his level rely heavily on trust and honesty to accomplish unbelievable tasks as teams and personal goals.
On the civilian level, f#$kers cheat.
So, he did instruct us before the event to keep people honest. Tell them if they’re not doing something full movement. I executed this level of power during the very first Tabata challenge, at the corner of Seaport Blvd and Sleep Street. Gorgeous location and wonderful view of Boston. I was hitting the mark of 16 full body weight squats in 20 seconds and some people we’re doing mini-squats. No go! I spoke up. But you have to. Or more will follow believing it’s okay or commendable.
It’s not fair, or even the same event, if some cheat and others perform the correct movements. It’s frustrating to view someone next to you, or ahead of you, and know they cheated, but got away with it.
So I did what I could, without seeming too much of an ass, to help regulate exercise form.
After the push-up intervals, of 8 per 20 seconds for men, the run back to the start line was pretty challenging. I was running faster than normal and underestimated the effect of the squats earlier.
Challenge point 3 was “The Gauntlet”. The 8 foot wall was my favorite to scale. Love hopping fences and tall obstructions.. and I got to twice this event! Totally rad!
Took about 6-8 minutes depending on your fitness but a challenging succession.
Now the entire route was cool because there was no route. You had to do your homework and figure out ahead of time what streets you would take to ensure the least amount of distance and easiest path.
Very cool feature unlike most road races. I’m not a fan of road races for myself because I find them relatively boring. But this was great for someone like myself who enjoys mystery and confusion. I’m weird, what can I say kids })
At challenge point 4, on Columbia ave near William J Day Blvd, we had to perform star jumps. Brutal when lactic acid is flodding your tissues. We did 76 in a row at Robert Belley Fitness this December. Really fun. Basically you squat down, touch your toes and leap up while opening your appendages so you resemble a star. These suck. Haha. I averaged 10 per 20 seconds. There was no set number but to just keep doing them. I asked the timer.
Next we ran along the beach to G Street. There we met a burning set of walking lunges in the sand, and a bear crawl back.
I told Sean it was great to do after so many events because in the Belley Fitness Challenge I had already planned on doing this and it was excellent for me to experience first hand. It sucked. But manageable obviously. Sean runs this route each city in advance. So he knows. Of course he’s fitter than most 😉
Fifth we ran up G Street and navigated our way to the top of Thomas Park by the monument (commemorating the Patriot drive of British out of Boston). This is a spectacular location. Boston is so beautiful from this vantage point. Atop the hill we did sit-ups. Again, cheaters!
I did full sit-ups every set for the prescribed 10 each interval and others were doing mother f’n crunches and still claimed the same “Champion” medal at the end of the event. Total bush league. People disappoint me.
Even when my hamstring was pulling I laid my legs flat and muscled my upper body up past vertical. That caused my abs to cramp up. But worth it to know you set out and did something legit. Never cheat yourself.
But after we only had to run a half mile back to the start/finish line at Condon Elementary.
Narly right?
My hamstring started to pull, but thankfully the men I began running back with were motivating and kept my focus on not letting the pull detract me from slowing down. And I’m thankful for that. We just made the cutoff time by seconds of a “Champion” medal for “Dash Time”.
Last, and self-created, was our jump over a fence to cut a street out. I loved it! We all scaled that thing with ease. Unfortunately the same man who encouraged me twisted hurt his Achilles on the drop and began hobbling towards the finish line. I helped him across the line. I would have rather sacrificed the medal to help another individual in need. He and I came across together and I hope I can locate a picture later of us doing so.
So all in all it was much more fun than I anticipated the night before.
Now shout outs:
The first pacers I met were a couple from northern Massachusetts, whom the gentleman runs his own fitness service. Ultimate Fitness I believe. Will have to find out more through pictures later. They were a tremendous help most of the race for me to keep pace. Totally needed that push. They finished ahead of me and they were a lovely couple.
I met a great couple from New Hampshire earlier. Gave the gentleman my Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif bar. Told him it would be his favorite bar by far by Clif. LOL. Helped Kelly, his wife, to begin foam rolling too. She was fast, and with foam rolling for her tightened muscles she will only become faster and feel better before every run.
I spoke with a upcoming fitness professional, Dennis, who interned out of the Crossfit at Fenway, near Fenway Park. Cool facility. I’ve seen it a bunch of times while driving to Red Sox games. He was a very motivating young man.
And after the event I spoke with Sean, the director and creator, and helped him pack up. It was an enjoyable near couple hours. Really got to learn his hopes for the event traveling across America and he was definitely one of the coolest cats I’ve met. Par for course too for a special forces individual. They don’t speak much of their credits. They often blend in very well with society. But they have this inner drive and ability that is absolutely out of this world. Insatiable really. I talked a lot, go figure, but the little he did speak of I was truly appreciative for his time and allowing me to help him out.
So all in all, I suggest you try it yourself. You can go to http://www.metrodash.com/ and find your metropolitan on the list. Do it! The views of your city will leave you happy with your participation. Especially if you live out in the sticks or along the ocean as I do. Boston is majestic to view.
And by the way, the t-shirts you get totally rock!!!! They are absolutely form fitted for athletic people like ourselves. You’ll look sexy in it 😉 For sure.
Live the dream!
Rob
Metro Dash Boston 2010 Experience by Robert Belley of Robert Belley Fitness in Marshfield.
Metro Dash Boston 2010
So about two weeks ago I received an email from Sean, the Director of Metro Dash. He asked if I would be interested in entering his race.
Now being in my fortunate position I get alot of these from different race directors and event holders. Between fundraisers, charity runs, fitness product suppliers, and so on and so forth. So every time I’m a bit skeptical of an event legitimacy.
But after checking Metro Dash out I decided I will be entering the 2010 Boston event on August 7th in South Boston.
Below is a picture of the flyer.
It should be a 10k (6.2 miles) with interval workouts intermixed at scattered physical challenge points. And fancies something rather cool called The Gauntlet: an extreme urban obstacle course.
I’m actually pretty excited about this race. Not as much as I was for Death Race but still ambitious.
This is the email I received from Sean:
Hi Rob,
I am the race director for Metro Dash which is an insane 10k urban obstacle course. Metro Dash will be crushing souls in Boston on 8/7/10. The event was specifically designed for CrossFit, boot camp, and other similar style functional training gyms. Metro Dash is the ultimate test of athleticism. Competitors run city streets in search of scattered physical challenge points, power through intense interval workouts, and conquer “The Gauntlet,” our extreme urban obstacle course. I have no doubt that your clients would be very interested in this event. Registration is currently open and is capped at 200 athletes. We also give competitors the option to fundraise for the Navy SEAL Warrior Fund in exchange for a discounted registration.
Please check out www.metrodash.com for more information about the event as well as specific information for Boston. I have also attached a flyer to this email if you would like to print it out and share it with your gym clients. We offer a great race and rely on word of mouth marketing to get the word out about Metro Dash, so any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me.
Cheers,
Sean
That being said I’m entering.
If I like it you’ll know about it and so will my Marshfield fitness studio clients at Robert Belley Fitness.
I’ll keep you posted to my experience 😉
Till then, stay cool, and stay dry,
And live the dream.
Rob
Fast Workouts, Vince DelMonte Influenced
So yesterday I ddecided I’m gonna run through a quick little program developed by my colleague Vince DelMonte.
I need some inspiration and when I’m more vascular and muscular I usually feel better about myself.
Hey, even us motivating fitness pro’s need a pick-me-up 🙂
So yesterday I ran through a quick dynamic warmup, then a few starter sets, then hit this workout:
1A) Deadlifts x 4 reps (185)
no rest
1B) Shoulder Press x 4 reps (25)
no rest
1C) Pull-Ups x 4 reps (BW)
rest 60 seconds
repeat for 8 sets… I only did 5 though
It was good. I didn’t go crazy though.
As you can see from weights above.
And I still finished under 15 minutes 😉
Just like my In and Out Workouts over at http://www.inandoutworkouts.com/
So no excuses,
Live the Dream,
Rob
PS – If you serisiously find it difficult to grab free time to get your training session in, just head over to http://www.inandoutworkouts.com/ and I’ll hook you up with some fast workouts.
Rob Belley Fitness
Marshfield’s Fastest Fat Loss Studio
Weight Watcher’s Circa 1991
2009 Boston Marathon – Post Race Video – Robert Belley
Robert Belley
Marshfield Fitness
Pembroke Fitness
Duxbury Fitness