Hey Fusers! Throughout March, we have been focusing on power in our workouts. Check out this quick video from our excursion to Sky High, where we generated lots of power jumping on indoor trampolines. I hope you all have been enjoying the plyometric movements we have worked on this month--wall balls, ball slams, heavy rope etc. and are feeling stronger and more powerful :) Personally, I have been pretty sore this month from all of the jump squats and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the wall balls! But I can’t seem to shake those horrible thrusters :/

This month, we will be shifting from power onto agility! I’m so excited because we get to work on moving quickly, while pivoting and being light on your feet. This takes a lot of coordination and focus. We bought an extra agility ladder to take you all through some fun drills, so get ready!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDoNQp_LA1t/?taken-by=thefusefitness

Agility is an important modality of fitness, as it requires a person to be able to move quickly, and change directions with control and without reducing speed. There is also an element of dynamic balance, which is the ability to maintain your balance while remaining coordinated, utilizing your body’s sensory organs to achieve this. For example, if Jack is performing drills on the agility ladder, he has to be able to change foot positions quickly while stepping, jumping, running or hopping in a specific spot. The object is to refrain from stepping on the ladder rung and maintain balance, thus efficiency is key.

In addition to agility being good for speed, balance and coordination, performing agility drills correctly can also reduce injuries. Because you are training your body to control eccentric forces (movements that provide a braking mechanism for muscle and tendon groups, that are experiencing concentric movement, to protect joints from damage as the contraction is released- Wikipedia) in all directions, you develop better movement patterns and performance with a faster and more efficient response.

For example, if Jane is playing tennis and her opponent hits a poor return, Jane has to anticipate the opponent’s stroke. She has to  respond quickly and put herself in an optimal position to retrieve the shot in enough time to execute the play. This takes proper speed and balance and the ability to stop herself quickly and start again quickly with efficient hand/eye coordination.  These movements also require Jane to pivot and cut with control in different movement patterns. If not done correctly, Jane can easily injure herself, whether it be her ankle, knee, wrists, rotator cuff, calves, etc. Matches are often won by players who move better and whose game is more stable even while fatigued.

Most sports, including soccer, tennis, baseball, football, track and field just to name of few, do a great deal of agility training. At Fuse, we think of our members as athletes as well and recognize that agility is important to work on regardless of being a competitive athlete. So, we hope you are looking forward to some cone drills, agility ladder drills, single-leg drills, high knee drills and more this month. Be nimble and be quick. Be like Jack and Jane :)

With love,

Pascha

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.

https://thefusefitness.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/img_1011.jpg?w=450

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?

https://instagram.com/p/BB6i-MprA5M/

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

Hey Fusers! Isn't it crazy that January is almost over?! How does time get away so quickly? While I never can quite figure out the answer to that question, what I do know is that there have been lots of awesome, challenging and rewarding workouts in 2016 thus far!

The year is off to a great start at The Fuse--you all have been kicking ass and working really hard! And I know, because we haven't been easy on you :) As you all know, this month's focus has been high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and we have really been pushing the envelope. I remember the first week of the month, and everyone seemed to really be huffing and puffing more than usual through the intervals (especially coming off of the holidays). However, heading into the last week of the month, I can easily say that the focus on HIIT is really showing, and you are all doing amazing! We're at a normal rate of huffing and puffing, and out of the "I'm going to die!!!!" place we were all living at the first week of January. So, great job everyone, the hard work is paying off ;)

So let's talk about why HIIT works. First off, it's efficient--you truly only need 15 minutes to get in a solid, sweat-inducing workout. HIIT utilizes short (generally under a minute), intense (hence the name) bursts of movement, followed by a short rest interval. Generally it's just enough time to take the edge off and let your heart rate drop a bit, so that you can go all out in your next interval. Because the workouts are short, you can really push yourself. It is proven that just 15 minutes of HIIT is more effective and will have much greater results than one-hour of steady rate cardio. Short and sweet. Who doesn't love that?Secondly, it's extremely effective for fat loss. According to Eric Salvador, NASM and NSCA certified personal trainer and head instructor at The Fhitting Room in NYC, “A high-intensity workout increases the body’s need for oxygen during the effort and creates an oxygen shortage, causing your body to ask for more oxygen during recovery. This afterburn effect is referred to as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and is the reason why intense exercise will help burn more fat and calories than regular aerobic and steady-state workouts.” In other words, it really ramps up your metabolism, burning more energy thus leading to fat loss. Winning.

Lastly, HIIT is convenient. Meaning you can do it anywhere. Also meaning you can no longer make any excuses. Seriously. Here's what I mean: let's choose 5 bodyweight exercises. We'll make it easy (not easy to do, easy to choose) and go with jump squats, skater jumps, mountain climbers, push-ups and burpees. Remember, I didn't say easy to do. We'll create the interval--30 seconds of all out, balls to the wall movement followed by 15 seconds of rest, 4 rounds total. All in all, we're talking 15 minutes total from start to finish. That's it. Which is why you are going to push as hard as you can. And you're not going to complain about it!! Because it beats running on a treadmill for an hour, remember that!

So Fusers, keep up the awesome work through the rest of January, and start getting excited for our February focus, which will be speed. Weather permitting, we'll have a couple scheduled track workouts, which are going to be fun! And by fun, I mean hard. But in the best way possible :)

Yours in health,

Kristin at The Fuse Fitness

Hi Fusers! Beverly guest-blogged for us this month to share the importance of strength training at the correct tempo. Thanks Beverly!

Time under tension, that is what weight training is all about. The benefits include:

• increased muscle growth
• greater body awareness and control
• better motor control of the lifts
• improved stability

But what about the tempo of a rep set, how fast or slow should you perform an exercise? There are varying opinions on this topic, but for the purposes of most Fuse Fitness members, here are our recommendations for using weights in class:

1.  Form is the most important part of lifting whether the tempo is fast or slow. A few tips:

• The mirrors and instructors are there for a reason; use both to get feedback on your form.
• Self monitor your own posture and become aware of how you are holding your body in space. Focus on your movements to create good mind-body awareness.
• Our bodies naturally wants to take “the path of least resistance” to make lifting easier. Often time, this means speeding up too much to make it go faster. Remember, always focus on quality over quantity.
• If an exercise is too easy, check your alignment and slow it down. A slight adjustment can make all of the difference.

2.  For the most part, the exercises we do in class are set up to be done slowly both                                           concentrically (shortening the muscle) and eccentrically (lengthening the muscle). This tempo of weight lifting is designed to increase muscle and strength. A few things to think about:

• Unless instructed otherwise, think of a three count to lengthen (eccentric) the muscle  with a one second pause. Then a three count to contract (concentric) the muscle with a one second pause at the end. This load is a 3-1-3-1 tempo which should be moderate to heavy. Momentum is not always your friend; powering through exercises can decrease the benefit and potentially harm your body.
• If the 3-1-3-1 load still seems too easy, chances are you are lifting too light for your ability or your posture is incorrect. If you know your posture is correct, then consider increasing the weight by 20% and slow down your movement - slow and controlled.
• When you increase the load you are lifting you might want to decrease the number of reps until your strength catches up. Don’t worry, it will catch up.

3.   Fast, explosive movements with weights (think about wall balls and kettlebell    swings) are intended to increase muscle reaction time and muscle power. For most people, a quick tempo with weights is challenging, so a light to moderate weight may be best.

Remember, always use the right amount of weight for the job. Make the most of your workout and practice good form and proper tempo with the right amount of weight to create the best results for you. If you have questions, talk to your instructors.

Thanks for listening!

Yours in health,

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 :) Hope your weeks have been good so far....the weekend is here!

Here's what we're looking forward to this weekend:

1) Giant's game tonight!!! Pascha and I are HUGE Giants fans, to the point that we'll cancel work, clients, drop everything to watch our beloved boys in orange and black in the World Series. You'll find us together tonight with our kids and friends, hooting and hollering, hoping to see our boys clinch the third game.

2) Halloween party tomorrow night! We'll be celebrating Halloween at my husband's super awesome nightclub, The Night Light, in Jack London Square on Saturday evening. The kids will be tucked away at home, and us grown-ups will be getting our party on!! All are welcome, come on out to see what Pascha and I will be dressed up as!!

3) Colusa Circle Halloween event Sunday! Our little community here on the Colusa Circle will be hosting a Halloween event for the kiddos from 10-1pm. Our studio will be making a kid's obstacle course and giving out Spooky Punch, while the other small businesses will be hosting their own kids' activities. Always a good time, come on out and visit us!!

It's been a great week here, we spent all last weekend re-organizing our studio and the feedback has been great! Clients are loving the new feel of our studio, which is awesome. So grateful to Beverly and Josh for helping us out last Sunday.

And lastly, here's a roundup of all that we shared and were inspired by this week:

Monday Motivation

Tuesday Tips of the Week "12 Counterintuitive Health Tips that Really Work"

Wednesday Workout!

Tabata Core 20/10 x 8 A) Hollow rocks B) Superman

AMRAP-12 minutes 1. 10 Scapular push ups 2. 10 squat jumps 3. 6 Foward/reverse lunges per side 4. Suicide sprints

Thursday "Multitasking Damages Your Brain and Career, New Studies Suggest"

Foodie Friday "8 Comforting Paleo Turkey Chilis"

Have a great weekend!!

Yours in Health,

Kristin at The Fuse Fitness

Hi Fusers! First off, just wanted to let everyone know who hasn't heard yet, Pascha delivered healthy little TJ on Sunday, May 4th. She is doing well, resting and recovering at home.  She was at the studio that very morning, taking Michael's class, then went into labor and delivered later that day. Pascha has been a great example of how exercising can and should be done throughout pregnancy. She lowered the intensity when she needed to, listened to her body (some days a nap was more in order than a workout), but pushed through, knowing that a strong body would make an easier delivery and recovery. Congratulations to Pascha, Terence and proud big sister Anai!!!

Anyway, onward to THE CHALLENGE. First of all, how is everyone doing?! We are into Week 4 now. Last week we eliminated gluten--I know that one can be very difficult for people, so just want to know how you're doing with it. This week has been long dreaded by many--no more sugar!! We are only allowed to have fruit from here on out, no honey, no maple syrup, no sugar alternatives.

Check out this article from Mark's Daily Apple, an extremely informative, science-based blog about primal/paleo living. It breaks down all the different types of sugar and talks about the effects these various forms of sugar has on our bodies. With hardly any exceptions, sugar is an anti-nutrient, meaning it has no significant nutritional value. And with eating, it is imperative to our health to be consuming nutrient rich foods and eliminating anti-nutrients.

With obesity now a nation-wide, and increasingly global, epidemic, it is very important to look at the human diet and assess what is going wrong. Our society is eating processed foods galore, loaded with trans-fats and SUGAR. According to Dr. Mercola, a well-known doctor and blogger of natural health, more than 50% of all Americans consumer 1/2 pound of sugar EACH day!! It is becoming scientifically proven that excessive consumption of sugar is the leading cause of obesity and chronic disease in America. Check out this article for more information regarding the dangers of sugar.

Unfortunately for all those of you who have a sweet tooth, too much sugar consumption leads directly to increased weight gain. Without significantly reducing sugar, ideally eliminating it on a daily level, saving only for very special occasions, fat loss will be extremely difficult.

Whenever sugar is consumed, our blood sugar levels spike, causing high levels of insulin to be released into the bloodstream. In a nutshell, this leads to roller-coaster peaks and valleys in our blood sugar levels, which in turn causes excessive amounts of cortisol (the "stress hormone") to be produced and released into the body, which then leads to a decreased metabolism, immune weakness, chronic fatigue, as well as fat gain, especially around the mid-section. The key to staying lean, having plenty of energy, and staying healthy overall is keeping your blood sugar levels regulated and stable.  (http://pacificfit.net/article-archive/how-sugar-makes-you-fat/)

So, I know this will be a huge challenge for many of you. But stick with it. I promise you will feel so much better--less belly fat, high energy levels throughout the day--at the end of this challenge. Trust me, I have completed the 21 Day Sugar Detox two times in the last year, which eliminates all grains and sugars, and I also gave up dairy. While challenging, which you can read about HERE, the effects on my body were amazing. I also lost my taste for sugar, as anything that has added sugar simply tastes way too sweet. That being said, I know you can do it too! Remember, nothing in life is worthwhile unless you've really worked for it ;)

Yours in health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness

Hi Fusers! Congratulations on completing Week 1! I hope you have successfully completed the week free of eating any processed foods. Trust me, your body is grateful :) And if you slipped up, or chose to indulge in something that was processed, I hope that you made it in for an extra workout to make up the points. Remember, this isn't all or nothing, it's more of a system of checks and balances. We're in this for the long haul, making the transformations that will lead us to greater health. So keep up the great work everyone!

This week the challenge is to drink at least 6 cups of water each day, adding an extra cup for each caffeinated beverage consumed. As easy as this challenge sounds, many of us find that we just don't drink enough water. I know for me, I really have to think about this one, it truly doesn't come naturally to me. However, I know that by focusing on this challenge, I'm all the better because of it ;)

Did you know our bodies are 60-70% water? Every cell in our bodies is composed of water, thus making sense of why it is so vital for us to drink enough. We lose water constantly, from sweating, breathing, and going to the bathroom. It is essential that we drink enough water to replenish the water lost in our bodies,  as well as maintain the balance of bodily fluids, which help aid in digestion, circulation, transportation of nutrients, as well as help maintain body temperature. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water.

In regards to exercise, water intake is extremely important. Obviously to replenish water lost via sweating, however ensuring your body is properly hydrated prior to working out is absolutely necessary for optimal performance. Muscle tissue is composed of at least 75% water. Being dehydrated can lead to fatigue, weakness, dizziness and/or electrolyte imbalance. Once your brain signals to you that you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. So best to stay on top of it.  http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/10-life-changing-reasons-to-drink-more-water.

I posted another article on our FB page that discusses a variety of other reasons why drinking enough water is so important.

Good luck this week continuing to keep processed foods out of your bodies and enough water in your bodies. Keep up the great work with your workouts, I know a lot of you got bonus points last week for doing more than 3, great job!

See you in the studio :)

Yours in health,

Kristin at The Fuse Fitness