Week #5: Fitness Challenge

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Hopefully you all had a great weekend and got outside now that the weather seems to be getting warmer and a little more sunny... depends on where you are I guess. 

OK, down to business.  Here's the deal with this week's challenge.  During the times that we are watching TV and all those annoying commercials come on, which for some reason we all decide to sit and wait and watch all of it.  Instead, lets have fun and make it a fun activity/ game time.  How many sit-ups can you do during that car ad? How long can you do fast feet during that preview? etc. 

So for however long or how many shows you decide to watch this week, you will do an exercise for each commercial that you have come on.  Now, you will want to keep it simple but effective and somewhat challenging.  Some recommendations are:

• Cardio based: High knee runs/Jogging in place, Burpees, Jumping Jacks, skaters, Mt. Climbers, Fast Feet, Tuck Jumps, "Jumping Rope" (pretend that you are), etc.
• Strength: Push-ups, Sit-ups, Lunges (in place), squats, Plank hold, etc.

Hopefully, those exercises will help people fill their TV time with fun times and exercise to help burn off those  unwanted pounds and calories.  Remember, there needs to be a caloric deficit for there to be weight loss and with spring around the corner there is no better time then now.  We all have times were we are more into or less into our health and fitness goals.  But that time for being into them 100% is now and Better Body Fitness NW is here to help support that. 

Good Luck this week! We know you all can do it!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Week #4 Fitness Challenge

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to kicking this week off with nothing short of awesome!

How have your challenges been going the last couple of weeks? Have you been able to complete them? Have there been any struggles that you have experienced or successes that you have had? Remember, we are here for you and are able to answer any questions that you may have.

Ok, on to this weeks challenge.  This week we are doing: Limit your caffeine...( I know, NOT the caffeine!) to only 16fl.oz. each day.  This will cover ALL forms of caffeine (coffee, soda, tea, etc.) This will be good for you and I won't lie some of you might go through a withdrawal but the reason for this is because caffeine is a stimulant and while I won't say its bad for you (because research has shown with coffee and 1-2 cups a days has health benefits) we typically replace water with other beverages (most with caffeine) and it doesn't hydrate us, it will do the opposite and dehydrate us.  So, lets get to drinking less caffeine, replace the remainder with water, and get hydrated! (I know, I made it sounds very exciting.) But, it really is a great thing for your body.

For the fitness part of your challenge this week, daily you must complete 30 push ups and 5 burpees! Yay! This will help boost your

I hope that you guys have a great week and I know you all will rock these challenges.  Keep up the good work and kick butt! Just remember to keep going forward towards your health and fitness goals.  Make a motivational wall, take out those clothed that you want to wear, write down a quote or leave a book that speaks to you out, etc.  Do what its is you have to do to help yourself stay motivated. You can reach your goals.  It is all possible.  I assure you, it all can come true.  And, as always....

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Week #3 Fitness Challenge!

Happy Week 3 One and All!

I hope that this post finds you all well and that you guys are tackling those challenges! I am so excited to also announce that we are only about 3000 views away from 15,000 views! This blog is  something that is close to my heart and the fact that you all are taking such an interest in this as well as taking away information that will help you get closer to your goals is so amazing in my eyes. So, thank you. 

Anyways, back to your weekly challenge.  This week is more of a "workout" oriented challenge.  Its a great way of burning those little extra calories but it won't feel like you are "over doing" for any workouts that may happen that day or throw you off from a rest day that you may be enjoying. Remember, we need to start getting our gears into place because it is almost march! I know, I can't believe it either.  BUT this means that summer is coming and really isn't all that far away. So, by adding these challenges into your daily routine it will help you transition into a different mentality and help you get ready for summer quicker. OK! Our challenge looks a but something like this:

50 Squats (body weight)

40 Jumping Jacks

30 Russian Twists
(for beginner to moderate levels do 30 total, for more advanced levels complete 30 each side.)

20 Planks rows
(please review this: http://betterbodyfitnessnw.blogspot.com/2012/06/move-of-week-plank-row.html)

10 Star Jumps

Please complete this circuit 2 times during your day. You don't have to do this all at once if you do not have the time. You could do one set in the morning and the other after you get home from work, or during your lunch break, whenever.  That is the beauty of this challenge, it is quick and does not take long, so there is no reason not to do it!

Good Luck everyone and enjoy your week!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Fitness Challenge #2: Bring it on!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I hope that the week has started off to a great start and that you all have only great things headed to you this week.  OK! So, it is the start of another week and therefore another 7 days worth of awesome health and fitness challenges.  This week, we are going to be doing a nutritional and an exercise challenge. 

For the nutrition part, I want you all to focus on making sure you are eating 5 to 6 meals each day and are spacing them out about every 3-4 hours.  This is very important when you are working at getting weight off or keeping it off because it lets your body know that, one, you are not starving it and therefore it does not have to store all of what you are eating to fat. Then secondly, it keeps your metabolism running at a higher rate so you will feel hungrier and your body will have to fuel that it needs to give you more energy to do the things you need to get done everyday, as well as, having increased energy to stay and be active.

Now, for the exercise challenge! It is a burpee week.  If you are unfamiliar with burpees, please review at this link: http://betterbodyfitnessnw.blogspot.com/2012/04/best-total-body-exercise.html
Here is the concept.  I will have you all start with 10 burpees on day 1.  Then, on day 2 you add 2 for a total of 12 and so on for a total of 7 days you continually add 2 reps.  (You will end at 22 on the last day of your burpees. 

Good Luck with your challenges this week everyone! I know that you will do a great job and remember that you can always ask us any questions via our comments or our email.  I hope that everyone has a great week of kicking butt!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Workout Challenge Of The Week: The Squat Pyramid

O.k. you guys, here is the deal, every other week we will have a workout challenge posted for you guys to do during the week. This way you can get some extra calorie burning exercise in! They will be simple challenges that you can incorporate into day, maybe even at work.

So, for this week I want you all to do squats.  This is perfect because you can do them anywhere, even at your desk! But here is the twist, you will need to pick a number (that has to be 15 reps or higher) and then every day you must complete 5 more squats for 7 days straight.  So, you start with 15, then tomorrow 20, then 25, and so on.

If you aren't sure how to do a squat or if your form is correct please refer back to the Move Of The Week: The Squat.


Good luck this week you guys and remember that we are always here to help out. :)
Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Eating Out Can Be Healthy: Just UseThese Little Tips

Hey everybody!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and has been having a great week since.  With school starting back up and with summer coming to an end, we all will start to become busier and most likely may be going out for those quick “on- the –go” meals.  It is hard to always know what is healthy and what isn’t, even a salad can be over 1000 calories with dressings, cheeses, and other additives.

Looking for healthy choices doesn’t have to be hard and you can find healthier options even at the major chains restaurants.  If you know you will be out or just out and about you can visit this website to find the restaurant that is near you and look it up and they even have healthy meal choices and how to order it! Nothing could be easier to stay on track and be able to go out.

Go and visit: www.healthydiningfinder.comand try it out to see what you think. I find it a very helpful and hopefully you will too.

Remember that other good ideas are to get a take-out box and put half away so you are eating a proper portion too, order water and drink about 16 ounces before your meal (stay away from the pop and alcohol), and either don't eat the bread or chips that come to your table or just pull one serving aside for yourself . 

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Clean Eating BBQ Garlic & Dill Asparagus

Hey everyone! Here is a fun way of spicing up your vegetables to make them more entertaining to eat that are easy to make! Plus they are a great add in for summer grilling. Just Click on the link and enjoy!

Clean Eating BBQ Garlic & Dill Asparagus


Enjoy your summer eats!


Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Blueberry-Banana Oatmeal Sundaes

So, just because it is the summer time doesn't mean that we can't still have a nice treat to cool off the hot days with. I found this awesome little treat in Clean Eating Magazine and it is a quick and healthy treat that we can all eat!  Go to the link below to get a hold of this amazing little treat!

Blueberry-Banana Oatmeal Sundaes

Happy Summer Eating!
Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Sweet & Crunchy Guacamole

Hey Everyone!

As the summer months come, so do the BBQ's, picnics, and eatting outside. I don't know about you all but I know that one of my personal favorites to have during the summer months is guacamole...when the avacados are tastey, fresh and cool and the veggies are just delicious!

Searching around for some healthy ways of mixing things up for this up and coming summer, I stumbled apon this awesome recipe for guacamole. For only 107 calories (for a 1/4 a cup serving) it is a good way of keeping things healthy and fun! A nice change to your fish tacos, turkey burger, or even cut up veggies it is the perfect summer side dish.

Check the title for the recipe and I hope that you all had a great weekend, a Happy Mother's Day and that you enjoy this week!

Committed to your health and fitness, Justin and Angie LaPointe

Where Are You At? Come In And Get A Body Composition Done!

Good Afternoon Friend!

We hope you are having a great January and that you are still moving in the right direction with regards to reaching your new and improved health and fitness goals.

We are committed at Better Body Fitness NW to help motivate and hold you accountable to reaching those goals you have set for yourself. We are here for you and will help hold your hand on your way to a leaner, stronger, more functional you. We take pride in holding you accountable and motivating you to be your very best.

We want to let you know about two days that are coming up that we have put on our calendar to do body composition (lean mass/fat mass) testing. It is important to know these numbers from a health standpoint so you can work on doing the right things to lose body fat and not your lean muscle (fat burning machinery)

The two days will be as follows:
Monday January 30th from 5-7pm - Maddie and Justin will be covering this session
Saturday February 11th from 9:30-11:30am - Nicole and Maddie will be covering this session

It is free of charge to current clients, campers, and wellness program participants.  It is $5 for everyone else. Feel free to tell your friends, family and co-workers to come see exactly how much lean muscle tissue and body fat they are carrying around and how they can get rid of it. You can sign up for spots at Better Body Fitness NW or call 503-657-3814 to hold your spot.

So start off this year on a good note by taking some time to come in and let us give you some starting statistics about where your body is to day so you can keep track of your numbers and make sure your body changes are going in the right direction.

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin, Angie, and the staff of Better Body Fitness NW