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Thursday, December 3, 2009
In this issue...
What's New for December...
The end of 2009 is just around the corner, and the festive holiday season is now here. December also marks our
anniversary edition of the SFA Press Newsletter as well as Stayfitanywhere's first successful year in business. Hooray!! Thanks to everyone for their support throughout the year.
We hope you enjoy our Holiday Edition of SFA Press. Although this is usually a time for social gatherings and activities, it can also be a busy and stressful time, where health and fitness routines can easily fall to the back burner. In light of this, this edition of the SFA Press will feature
strategies for maintaining your fitness and nutrition over the holiday season. From all of us at Stayfitanywhere,
we want to wish you a Happy Holidays by encouraging you to stay active, enjoy the spirit of the season to the
fullest, and to always remember, if you drink, don't drive.
Stayfitanywhere's
eBook, 'The 12 Keys to Fat Loss' is now available for download! The '12 Keys to Fat Loss' is a highly informative, simple
read and will sure help to motivate you to shed those extra pounds. This eBook is a must read!
Check out Stayfitanywhere and get your copy for free!
Thank you to those who made it out for our skating event at the Richmond Olympic Skating Oval. It was a festive time
with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics just a couple months away. Hope everyone enjoyed their skate. Look for our January Active Activity,
Snowshoeing.
Andrew Burchell will be presenting 'Health Maintenance & Exercise Strategies for the Holidays' on Tuesday,
December 22nd at 7:30pm,
at Mainspace (350 E. 2nd).
To register for the lecture, or for more information, please contact aburchell@stayfitanywhere.com.
Stayfitanywhere Christmas Specials are now available.
For a limited time only, Stayfitanywhere is offering specials on personal training, online personal training
packages, fitness assessments as well as the release of the '12 Keys to Fat Loss' eBook!
Take advantage of any of the following packages for a fantastic holiday gift for a friend or loved one.
Find all the holiday savings at Stayfitanywhere.com.
 In November, Stayfitanywhere was invited to Vancouver Fashion Week courtesy of Laurie Belle, host of
Left Coast TV. We had a fantastic time connecting with local celebrities, athletes and business professionals. You can check out our Vancouver
Fashion Week interview with Laurie at Left Coast TV.
Our segment is around the 16:20 mark of the clip.
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Learn it! Train it! Live it!
Whistler/Blackcomb, Cypress, and the rest of the local mountains in Vancouver have opened for the ski and
snowboard season. This couldn't be better news for Vancouver 2010 and all winter sports fans here in the city and
around the world! Last month we worked on BOSU DSU squats and this month we will progress to BOSU FSU squats.
Following are some instructions on how to get on and off the flat side of the BOSU as well as some exercises you
can do while on top. If you don't own a BOSU or don't know what a BOSU is, don't worry, you can always just a
fluffy couch cushion.
Try this:
BOSU FSU(Flat Side Up) Squat.
 
- To get on the BOSU place your left foot over top of the center, then bring your right foot up beside your left.
From this position slowly shimmy your feet until you get to a shoulder width position. For your first time you might want to have
something to hold onto nearby. To get off allow your body to go in one direction, let the rim touch the floor and then step off
and walk away.
- Once on top of the flat side with your feet shoulder width apart, spend 30 seconds getting used to the feeling.
- Perform 10 squats while holding at the bottom of each for 5 seconds.
- Once you feel comfortable performing regular squats try some quick drop squats: drop to the bottom of a squat
as fast as you can and hold it for 3 seconds then come up under control, try 3 sets of 15.
- Finally try quick drop squats with side to side loading: drop to the bottom of a squat as fast as you can,
from this position put most of your weight on your left leg, then transfer your weight to your right leg, go
back and forth four times then come up under control... try 3 sets of 10.
You now have an arsenal of exercises with progressions to prepare yourself for the ski/snowboard season that has already arrived.
However nothing beats actual time spent on the mountain so get out there!
Consult a physician if you have any medical conditions prior to attempting any exercises.
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Fitness and Fat Loss
With great food often being the focal point of many holiday celebrations, unwanted weight gain can easily result.
However, the holiday season shouldn't have to spell disaster for your healthy lifestyle. The best strategy or
mind-set to take on during this festive time is to focus on weight maintenance. Here are 3 great activity
strategies to help you maintain your weight over the holidays:
- Morning 30: Plan to do a quick 30 minute workout every morning. This will give your metabolism a good
boost for the day. Keep it light, but do it daily!
- Look to Move: As you go about your day, look to find opportunities to move. For example, when shopping,
purposefully park further away, so you can get in some extra walking. You can also get in some extra movement by
trying a fun winter activity such as skating, snowshoeing, tobogganing, or cross-country skiing.
- Post-Dinner Walk: If you end up having a dinner where you 'overindulge', don't sweat it! Just go for a
30 minute walk. Low intensity exercise after a meal will boost your metabolism and speed the digestion process! A great time
to get everyone into the Christmas spirit with some carolling
Any questions? Contact Andrew Burchell.
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Recipe of the Month
With the holidays around the corner I thought I'd share one of my favourite treats during Christmas (or any time of
the year if you’ve ever eaten in Frankenmuth) which is cranberry dressing. This delicious spread goes well with turkey,
slathered on warm toast for breakfast, or stirred into a cup of yogurt for a snack.
Not only tasty, but these berries are a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory effect. Cranberries are rich in vitamin C and believed to contain excellent infection fighting properties.
All recipes are provided by personal Chef Cory Richert.
This month's recipe: Cranberry Dressing
Makes 2 cups – Prep time: 5 minutes –Total active time: 20 minutes
 Ingredients:
1 lb. 2 ounces (500 g) frozen cranberries
1 cup (7 oz/200g) of caster (superfine) organic cane sugar (or just give your sugar a spin in the food processor for 30 seconds, you can substitute with regular sugar)
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 small apple, peeled and cored
Cooking Directions:
Place cranberries in a non-metallic bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Leave overnight,
turning once or twice. Coarsely grate the apple and put it into a heavy based saucepan with the grated
lemon rind. Strain in all the juice from the berries and add two ladles full of berries, leaving the rest of
the berries in the bowl for later. Add 1/2 cup (125 ml) water and simmer for 20-30 minutes (or until the apple
is very soft and everything has thickened…about 10 minutes). Add the rest of the berries and heat through
for 10 minutes.
Pour into sterilized jars. Seal tightly and turn upside down. Cover with a cloth and leave to cool
completely before turning upright and storing in a cool place. The jam will keep for a couple months but,
once open, keep it in the fridge and use within a week. (Also makes a nice homemade Christmas gift!)
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SFActs
Holiday Nutrition Survival Guide
5 Essential Tips for Avoiding Excess Calories and Eating in Moderation
- Allow yourself to enjoy the foods and 'goodies' you don't normally eat.
However, only pick your absolute favourites. It's not worth putting those extra calories into your system if it
isn't totally worth it.
- Eat a small vegetable meal before you head out to a social dinner. By doing this, you will be more full and may be more likely to eat less of
the 'richer' foods.
- Give food away! If you are hosting a party, make sure you have lots of containers so that you can give those
leftover treats (and calories) to your guests before they leave.
- Control your portions! The excess calorie intake over the holidays are usually a reflection of how much we
eat, not what we eat.
- Slow Down! Chew your food thoroughly before swallowing. You may find that you end up eating less in the end.
The first step of digestion takes place in the mouth, so slow down and enjoy the taste and texture of those
calories before they end up as fat on your trunk.
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30 Minute Challenge
The holiday season has arrived. You have plenty of shopping to do, you have Christmas parties to attend, plus all
the rest of your usual activities and errands. What are you going to sacrifice to get everything done that needs to
be done? I know you didn't say your fitness exercises, why would you sacrifice something that is going to give you all the
energy you need to get you through your busy day. Don't worry you don't need to spend 2 hours at the gym,
try this 30 minute workout that can be done ANYWHERE!
Directions: Perform the following 8 exercises in a circuit format. Do each exercise as quick as you can for
1 minute and when you get to the end take a 1 minute break. If you are looking for a challenge find a progression
in brackets.
Holiday Calorie Burn Circuit:
- Squats with a 2sec hold at the bottom (explode all the way up to your toes)
- Pushups, hold at top when you can't push anymore (lift a leg as you come up)
- Alternating Stationary Lunges (eyes closed)
- Knee Drives (drop to half a pushup position and pump them out)
- Lateral Lunges, 30secs each side (explode to a 1 foot balance)
- Glute Bridge with 3sec hold (Lift 1 leg at the top hold 3sec)
- 1 Leg Knee Touch, 30secs each leg (eyes closed)
- Mountain Climbers (do a pushup then pump a Mountain Climber on each leg)
- 1 minute break – drink some water, wipe up the sweat and do it again
To view pictures and videos of these exercises sign up for your Accountability basic package at
www.stayfitanywhere.com. If you have
any questions contact jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com.
Consult a physician if you have any medical conditions prior to attempting any exercises.
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Editor's Note
We certainly had an eventful year. Everything from our monthly active activities, to the launch of our Online Training Centre,
to our highly successful Evolution Bootcamp.
This is our first anniversary edition of SFA Press and we hope you have enjoyed the previous 12 issues. We
certainly had a blast educating and informing everyone with our take on fitness and health. Thank you for all your support
throughout our first year. We look forward to bringing new, fresh ideas and concepts in the future. Stay tuned for more exciting
news coming in the new year...
Happy Holidays from the Stayfitanywhere team!
Joe Cheng jcheng@stayfitanywhere.com
Andrew Burchell aburchell@stayfitanywhere.com
Josh Neumann jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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