Hi Fusers! This month we're celebrating one of our amazing members, Marni Gonzalez. If I could describe her in one word, in relation to how she is in the gym, I'd say tough. By definition, I mean that she "demonstrates a strict and uncompromising attitude or approach."  When presented with any challenge in class, she always creates a strategy, implements that strategy and then very successfully completes the challenge. Just. Like. That. If you've taken class with Marni, you know that she maintains her strong pace evenly, keeping her focus on the goal. It's quite impressive.

Having been a member at Fuse since March 2015, Marni has without fail, (unless she is traveling, which is one of her passions) showed up and stuck to her very consistent schedule, for a total of 345 times, logging in just over 300 hours of working out. Consistency and keeping a schedule for working out is what gets results, and Marni has that figured out.

That's just a glimpse into Marni's gym life--as you can see, she is hard-working, disciplined and goal oriented. I'd wager to say that her tenacity probably has something to do with how she became a neurologist. Just a guess on my part :) She has been a practicing neurologist since 2006 and is a senior physician at Kaiser Permanente Medical Group. She also led the creation and implementation of The Memory Center, where she and other team members provide medical and social support for patients with dementia.

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So yeah, in one word I'd say this woman is tough. But since I don't have to only describe her in one word, I'd also like to say that she is incredibly sweet, supportive and I love having her in class. Marni has made a serious commitment to her health since joining, both with her workouts and her diet, and she has really transformed her body. She's super strong, works really hard, motivates everyone and inspires us all. And I love how devoted she is to her family and her faith.

Here are a few words from Marni about her fitness journey:

"Approaching middle age prompted me to contemplate my future self.  Do I want to be a “healthy” and “active” 65-year-old, enjoying retirement?  Or, do I accept the alternative?  At this crossroad in my life, I made a commitment to get healthier, physically.  I joined Woohoo Fit in June 2012, two months after my 39^th birthday and have been working out consistently ever since.  When Woohoo Fit closed in the Spring 2015, some of us former "Woohoo-ers" transferred to Fuse Fitness.  I am so thankful that I decided to do so!  It was a pretty seamless transition for me.  The challenging classes, wonderful trainers, and community of fellow "Fusers" make this place very special. I felt welcomed from the beginning.

"I realized that exercising regularly does not necessarily result in weight loss.  Don’t misunderstand me – I know that it is essential for cardiovascular health.  However, working out three times a week while I continued my undisciplined food habits gradually but surely resulted in a size increase in my clothes!  I also felt I reached a plateau in my fitness level.

"Fortunately, last February 2016, I committed to a change in my approach to food.  I also increased the frequency of my work outs (from three to four times a week), threw in Monday night yoga sessions with Kelly, and exercised even while on vacation (which I never used to do).  Now, also thirty pounds lighter, I don’t think I have been stronger and more physically fit in my life.

"I am very grateful for the phenomenal trainers who so patiently worked with me over the years at Woohoo Fit and Fuse Fitness – Eva, Kelly, Amy B., Kristen, Pasha, Gail, Beverly, and now Michelle.  My life has forever changed!"

Marni, we are grateful for you and the example you set. Thank you for being such a wonderful and integral part of the Fuse community!

Yours in health,

Kristin at Fuse Fitness

P.S. As always, if you're reading this and interested in finding your own path to success with your health and fitness, fill out the contact form below to sign up for a free fitness consult today!

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Hi Fusers! This November, we will be focusing on flexibility at Fuse Fitness. While seemingly not everyone's favorite part of their workout, it's mighty important and many of you could really benefit from ramping it up in this department. Too many of you are frequently complaining about how tight you are and how it hurts to get up from bed in the morning.

This, my friends, is not acceptable. Get to class a little early so you don't skip out on the foam rolling. Definitely at least get to class on time so you don't miss the dynamic movements and mobility work in the warmup. And if you have to leave early, then stop a few minutes before you have to go and do your stretches!! And while you're at it, commit to going once a week to Kelly's amazing Gentle Yoga class on Monday evenings at 7:20pm, I promise, this is an absolutely wonderful way to end your day! Here's a bit more about the what and why of flexibility....

What is flexibility? In simple terms, it means the ability to bend without breaking. However, in regards to fitness and exercise, the definition isn’t quite so simple. Most of us can bend without breaking, however this does not necessarily qualify as being flexible.

According to the Dictionary of Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine, flexibility in regards to fitness is the range of movement/motion around a joint. This range of motion is dependent upon a number of factors, including the size and shape of the bones, the ability of tendons to stretch, the condition of the ligaments, normal joint mechanics, soft tissue mobility and extensibility of the muscles.

Let me break this down so it’s easier to understand. Range of motion (ROM) is simply the distance and direction your joints can move. The more flexible you are, the better ROM you have, and thus the greater mobility you have. Good mobility is the body’s ability to move with little to no restrictions.

Why is this a good thing? Because moving without restriction means moving without pain. And for those of us who have suffered through pain caused by tightness, poor mobility and/or decreased ROM, we now know the extreme value in working on our flexibility. Because pain is just not fun.

We’ve all noticed the ease and freedom that babies and children move with. Their little bodies are so pliable, bendy and free from restriction. How many times have we watched our kids move, and wished for the same ability to move freely? To get up and down without any strain, pain or tightness? We all have, and the older we get, the more we wish for this.

That is because naturally, we lose flexibility as we age. Coupled with the fact that flexibility training is the most overlooked aspect of most people’s fitness routines, we're looking at some pretty tight, often painful, bodies. I get it--when you’ve only got 30 to 45 minutes to work out, who wants spend any of that precious time sitting around stretching? Afterall, isn’t the reason why we’re at the gym to combat sitting around too much? Everyone’s just trying to get the most bang for their buck with the limited time they have to exercise.

However, these things combine to create the perfect storm. Not implementing a plan to work on the decreased flexibility that naturally occurs from aging will quickly lead to pain, strains and restricted movement. Thus, it must not be skipped. So many injuries can be prevented with proper mobility and flexibility training. Some of the other benefits of flexibility training are improved posture, reduced lower back pain and increased blood flow to the soft tissues.

Our fitness programs always include plenty of mobility and flexibility training. We have all clients foam roll prior to beginning their workout, then we take everyone through a proper warm-up of all the joints. The beginning portion of all workouts is a combination of dynamic moments and mobility exercises designed to properly loosen up the body for the programmed workout. And we finish up the workout by taking the time to stretch out everything that was used. We also encourage our clients to take our awesome weekly Gentle Yoga class with Kelly, on Monday evenings at 7:20m.

So fellow Fusers, let's work together toward increasing our flexibility! Less strains and pulled muscles, more fluid movement that feels good. Sound good?

As always, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Yours in health,

Kristin

Hi Fusers! Last month we focused on speed, and you all did a great job! Lots of shuttle sprints, staggered sprints, fast feet, agility ladder work and a couple of track workouts thrown in for good measure--whew, you guys are getting fast!! Congrats, and keep up the great work!

This month we will be shifting our focus to power. The definition of power, simply put, is power=force and velocity. What this translates to is that power is the maximal amount of force in the shortest amount of time. Think explosive movements, such as wall ball, box jumps, and tuck jumps. Here's a quick power video we made.

In most sports, power is extremely important. Think of a sprinter jumping off his/her block as soon as the gun shoots to go. Without power (aka extreme force in a very short time frame), it would be impossible to get moving fast and get a good start on the race. Another example is a baseball/softball player swinging his/her bat. The pitch is coming hard and fast, and the player needs to react extremely quickly and generate a lot of power in order to make contact with the ball to get a solid hit. Without explosive power, the player would never come close to hitting the ball.

How does this relate to us, you might be wondering. Some of us may still be competing or playing sports, but many of us just have enough time to workout a few times a week. The main benefit of power training for the general population is that it teaches our nervous systems to recruit muscles quickly--think reaction speed. In the real world, reaction time and strength can be what makes or breaks you. Think about it this way, imagine you were standing, and someone comes running by and knocks into you. Your ability to generate strength quickly could be the difference between getting bumped or getting knocked down and out.

If power movements are a part of your fitness program, as they should (however, power should only be trained as the client has progressed to do this safely; there needs to be a baseline of sufficient strength and balance before progressing to power moves), you are training your nervous system to be able to react quickly. Thus if you were to lose your balance for any reason, your body has a much greater chance of being able to recruit the correct muscles quickly, leading to regaining balance quickly and reducing your chance of injury.

Some fun ways to train power involve jumping, which we're going to celebrate with a Fuse field trip this month! If you haven't already signed up, we're heading to Sky High (an indoor trampoline place) Saturday, March 19 from 1:30-2:30pm--kiddos are welcome too!

Hope to see you at Sky High for a fun afternoon of jumping!

Yours in Health,

Kristin at Fuse Fitness

Good Morning Fusers and Happy Presidents Week! Last month we focused on interval training and you all did an amazing job! By the end of the month I’m sure you have noticed improvements in your strength and cardiovascular endurance.  We loved watching the progress all of you have made, so Bravo to putting in the work.

This month we have been putting you through the ringer with speed drills and sprints during classes. You have been sprinting the hill, doing staggered sprints, high skips, backwards run, lateral side shuffles, shuttle sprints, traveling high knees, fast feet, jump rope, ladder drills, boxing drills for speed and various conditioning intervals. Whoo! sounds exhausting just writing it all out.

So, why do we feel “the need for speed”?  Working on speed drills are beneficial for everyone not just runners and athletes. Depending on what your goal is speed training is great for metabolic training and increasing your ability to run or move faster and more efficiently.

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Metabolic training as you learned from our last blog is a fantastic calorie burner, creating a shock to our bodies making us more fit and strong because of the lack of oxygen and rest periods. For example, when doing stagger sprints, you have to be able to run quickly, but stop with ease to touch the line, pivot and then sprint again to the next line and back. At that moment your heart rate has increased without a rest period before sprinting to the next line, while still trying to keep up your speed and efficiency.

Moving or running quickly with efficiency is very challenging. You have to pay close attention to how your arms, legs and feet are moving, how you are breathing- and how your body’s imbalances.  There is just so much to think about. But in order to create a powerful and efficient stride that builds strength and endurance, you have to focus on these things.

Sometimes I get so tired that I feel my arms and legs flailing about like a fish out of water. In a recent running workshop I attended, we worked with an awesome speed and testing coach Nick Winkelman.  He explained to us that you should be able to run faster with less energy and feel light when you run. The trick is to zip up your core and stand in an upright position, and pretend your are sliding the heels of your feet against a wall behind you, while striking the balls of your feet downward and driving your knees forward. That’s a lot to take in and coordinate. He also said “running should look like you are taking off like a jet plane running through hot coals from a cheetah”. Get the picture?

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So for this month, I challenge you to set a specific goal for yourself, are you working on metabolic training, efficiency or both? Decide now and work on it during class or in your training sessions.  And if you are traveling, you have no excuses because I have put together a quick speed workout for you below. Don’t forget to join us for our next outdoor track workout on Saturday, February 27th at 10:45am. I expect to see many of you getting chased through hot coals by cheetahs!

Speed workout-Interval 40/10 seconds - 4 rounds

1. Fast feet
2. Traveling high skips
3. Shuttle sprints
4. Speed skaters

Best of luck!

Yours in Health,

Pascha at The Fuse Fitness

Hi Fusers! It's been quite some time that the old blog has been collecting dust! Working towards more frequent blogposts!

So much has happened at Fuse since last time, so here's a little catch up. Back in March we merged with Woohoo Fit and partnered with owner Eva Bramwell, a good friend of ours. We realized how like-minded our fitness philosophies are, how very similar our clientele and demographic are, and thought it would be a great move to expand and blend our fitness communities. And it has been awesome! We love all the Woohoo-ers and they have truly added to our community here at Fuse.

In April, Pascha and I and our families took a spring break vacation over to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We went with three other families, all amazing friends of ours who we have met through Fuse. Pascha and I count our blessings on a very regular basis--we have truly met some of the most wonderful friends through Fuse.

In June we proudly celebrated our 4th anniversary! We hosted an anniversary outdoor bootcamp followed by a potluck brunch with mimosas. This year really felt special and celebratory--we have gained lots of new members, as well as trainers Eva, Kelly and Juliet, all truly wonderful and inspiring.

So far this summer, lots of our members and clients have been traveling or will be traveling. It's important to remember to exercise while on vacation! Most of us splurge while vacationing (it is vacation after all!), so it's super important to stay active. Whether it's changing up your routine and adding long bicycle rides, swimming, or hiking, or doing a body-weight workout in your hotel room, just move! Don't let all your hard work at the gym fall to the wayside just because you can't come to your Fuse workouts! Here's a body-weight routine to take on vacation:

-Warm-up with a light jog, 5-10min

4 Rounds:

20 air squats

10 pushups

20/side mountain climbers

10 burpees

20 walking lunges

10/side ice skater jumps

You'll get a great sweat going, and will feel so much better about enjoying your margarita poolside later in the day :) Also, if you follow our Facebook page, we share a weekly workout as well as interesting health articles, motivation, and tips to live a healthier life.

Cheers to summertime, health and life!

Kristin at The Fuse Fitness

Hi Fusers! We've been out of touch a bit here on the blog, but looking forward to more blogging this year! We hope 2015 is off to a good start for everyone! Here's a bit about what we've been up to at The Fuse in the last few months....

Classes have been awesome, lots of dedicated clients working their booties off, continuing to amaze us with their hard work, dedication to their health, and continuous gains in strength.

We had an awesome turnout and beautiful day for our Annual Outdoor Thanksgiving Bootcamp:

We had a fun, dedicated group get after our Annual Outdoor Christmas Eve "12 Days of Xmas" Workout:

Clients getting at it in bootcamp in January:

We decided to do a Wall Ball Challenge for the month of February, where you complete the max amount of wall ball shots in one minute. Competition has been fierce, and the winner at the end of the month will win a Fit Bit Flex. Who's going to take the prize?!

Lastly, we had a great Valentine's Day Outdoor Bootcamp last weekend. We did a fun, challenging partner workout.

The weather was amazing (hello 75 degree weather in February) and our clients worked so hard to complete this challenge. Started out with a game of freeze tag...

There were box jumps:

Burpees and planks:

Partner leg throws:

High five squat jumps:

Wall ball partner pass:

And of course, adorable kiddos:

And with that, I'm going to wrap it up. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for daily health tips, recipes, workouts and fun!  It's been a great few months, and we're looking forward to entering into the spring and summer months with more outdoor weekend bootcamps.

Keep up the great work Fusers!!

Much love,

Kristin at The Fuse

Hi Fusers! Happy Friday to all of you!! Hope you guys have some fun plans this weekend. Don't forget that we're having our Valentine's Day Outdoor Bootcamp tomorrow (Sat. Feb. 9th) at 10:45am at the Albany Veteran's Memorial Park, which is located behind Albany High. Sign up online or just show up! Free for everyone, so bring your Valentine.

Just wanted to remind everyone of what motivated us this week....

Important words to live by I tell ya. Easy to forget this and take our bodies for granted....

Anyway, happy weekending to you!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness

Hi friends! Happy New Year! Now that 2011 has wrapped up, here's to 2012 being a year that brings good things to you and your family!

The holidays have been a whirlwind this year, lots of fun, and lots of crazy :) Here's a quick recap of mine in photos....

I'm sure we all indulged more than usual, but don't let it bum you out. We work hard all year long, we deserve to have some indulgent behavior :)

Now, time to get your booties back into The Fuse.....let's get this new year started with a bang! We're kicking it into gear this month with our New Years Specials and our fitness challenge.

There are two specials--the first is for all members, a 2 for 1 deal--you bring in a workout buddy (spouse, friend, partner, etc), you both receive 50% off a monthly unlimited package AND you have someone to motivate you (reg. $150 each, now $75 each). The second deal is for new members only, which is $50 off a monthly unlimited class package (reg. $150, now $100).

And the challenge for this month....the dreaded/loved burpee....dreaded by you, loved by us, dreaded because they're tough, loved because they get results. The most burpees (no push-up on the burpee) in 90 seconds wins. The prize? A $75 gift certificate to Lululemon...a little something toward showing off your hard-earned, toned muscles.

And that's a wrap. Happy New Year!!!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hey everyone! Happy Wednesday! Mine got off to a great start with an awesome TRX Power class--way to go Beverly, Kristy, Scott, Rebecca, Susan and Pascha!

While I wasn't able to get in a video of today's class, I was busy sweating away, here's a clip from last week's same class with a few different people. Last Wednesday I was taking a rest day....I somehow have a few ribs out of alignment (wtf?!)....so I've been trying to take a bit more rest here and there. You're probably wondering the same thing I have been....how does one go about knocking multiple ribs out of alignment without falling off a roof....I'm still working on the answer to that one :)

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If you've been following my blog, you've probably started to realize that I'm a huge advocate for letting loose and having fun....all the hard work and dedication of training hard and eating healthy has to have its rewards. For me, it's about enjoying the pleasures of life while maintaining my level of fitness. However, sometimes I get carried away....this past weekend was no exception. I ended up going out to eat 4(!) nights in a row....not normal for me AT ALL. I celebrated my best friend's birthday on Friday night....here's a photo of how it went down.

Many, many margaritas :) The following 3 nights my parents were having a mini-vacation and staying in SF...and invited us to dinner 3 nights in a row. Wow, I'm one lucky girl. My parents are so much fun and we had a great weekend. Lots of food, lots of wine, lots of laughs :)

And last, I have to recap on my chronicles with my clients' pets. Here's a video of Kit....if you read my blog then you know she is having a love affair with my gym bag.

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And here is a photo of Rudy, another client's pet.

....isn't he handsome? He's so sweet and despite his size vs. my size, he always tries to sit in my lap. He's definitely not a "lap dog." I'm usually covered in dog fur by the time I leave their house...and doggy kisses :)

Hope to see you all in class soon! Please feel free to leave me a comment ;)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi everyone :) Here we are again, successfully made it through the mid-week hump. Which means the weekend is on the horizon :) I hope your week has been great so far. Mine has been pretty rockin'--some great workouts, funny conversations, inspiring words and healthy food. Not too shabby :) Here's what my Monkey Ninja Bootcamp at Iron Works did today, pretty tough, definitely awesome.

As you know, our winner for last month's "Highest Class Attendance" challenge was the awesome Rebecca Merino, with a whopping total of 28 classes. That's right, 28 solid hours of hard-core exercise....pretty inspiring, wouldn't you say? It was a very tight race, and while we could only give away one prize (a gift certificate to the awesome masseuse Adrienne of Mend in downtown Berkeley, website http://www.adriennesaltzbergcmt.com/), I also wanted to give a shout out to Kattt Atchley, our runner-up, attending 27 classes!

In the spirit of letting these fabulous women inspire you, we invited them both to do a quick interview to share with the rest of our students/clients. Thankfully, they both agreed :)

Here are the questions we asked, along with their answers. Be inspired ;)

1. How long have you been coming to The Fuse Fitness?

Rebecca: "Since it opened, but before that, I was going to Kristin's Saturday Monkey Ninja Bootcamp at the park."

Kattt: "I have attended classes since the last week of June."

2. What are your favorite classes and why?

R: "I take TRX, Bootcamp, and Metabolic Surge regularly.  But my favorite class has to be Yoga Tune Up.  After a week of doing all the other classes, it feels like heaven to massage and stretch the muscles.  However, I love Yoga Tune Up because of the other classes.  So if I could only take one class a week, I'd have to go with where it all began for me, Saturday Bootcamp."

K: "My favorite classes are power yoga, pilates fusion, monkey ninja, slow flow yoga - from intense to subtle. I like the classes because I always feel better *afterward* and I like the feeling of accomplishment. I like the "I did it!" feeling. As I've developed stamina and feel more secure in the poses and movements, I am learning (and enjoying) how to increase the intensity. Also, through doing these exercises, I am learning anatomy, and beginning to understand my body in new ways through these exercises (e.g., incorporating breathing, and using core muscles, especially my gluteal muscles)."

3. What Fitness goals have you set for yourself if any and have you achieved any of them?

R:  "I don't really have any specific fitness goal. I primarily workout because I love the feeling of being in shape and the adrenaline rush after a tough workout.  Also, to be honest, I like to eat.  I love Little Star Pizza, onion rings, and pretty much anything sweet.  I don't go crazy everyday, but come Friday or Saturday evening, I definitely don't stick to any diet that The Fuse would recommend.  I guess my fitness goal would be to keep working out so I don't feel guilty about some of my nutritional choices."  Rebecca, don't worry, we love to eat too :) A cheat day is always welcome after a week of hard work, sweat and discipline.

K: "I achieved my early goals: my clothing fitting and increased energy. My long term goals are strength, increasing intensity, and learning how to relax after working out."  Kattt, just what we love to hear, clients/members/students ninja-kicking one goal after another...keep up the good work!!

4. Tell us something interesting about yourself.

R: "In the spirit of Halloween, I read Bram Stoker's Dracula at a much too early age and have been scared of vampires ever since.  Most people have fears of spiders, heights, or things like that, but I'm just afraid of a vampire floating into my window while I sleep.  Aly likes to sneak up behind me with fake fangs and freak me out.  Lesson learned, never tell a 9 year old what you're afraid of."  Alright, now I know what to dress like for class on Halloween! Thanks for the idea ;)

K: "I am a visual artist working with pen and ink on paper. I am an experimental vocalist, composer, keyboardist, and combine disciplines into performance, which means I have my own artistic language. I also have an electronic pop laptop band called "The Atchleys", with my husband Kenneth; and "Kattt and Ron" with vocalist Ron Heglin, which is more meditative. I have performed work in art galleries, dance lofts and bars."  Wow Kattt, so cool! Very impressive :)

Well there you have it friends, the words of our two most dedicated and very inspiring members. Let it be motivation to push yourselves in your workouts, today and everyday. Whether it's going to that next level of intensity in Metabolic Surge or letting your mind/body center itself and calm in Slow Flow Yoga, work hard! Nothing in life is worth it if you don't give it your all. Know what I'm sayin'? :)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com