Fitness Expo and Events Coming to Colorado Springs

The City Auditorium will be hosting more fitness style events this summer and over the next few months. The next event will be this Saturday, June 25th 2016 from 6-9 pm where participants will have 3 opportunities to enjoy a group “dance off.” We spoke with fitness enthusiast and the man behind these events, Alberto Jaramillo, who told us that he believes a fit city like Colorado Springs deserves to have more events like this.

Dance and choreographed fitness classes might just be the new trend in fitness and offer something very unique in the way of exercise but those taking the classes will also learn some sweet dance moves while making this high intensity workout fun. The City Auditorium seems to be the perfect place for something like this with a large hardwood floor along with a high stage where instructors can be seen by everyone.

There will be multiple chances to try new dance style fitness classes at the City Auditorium and you can find out when those events will be available by following the Colorado Springs Fitness Expo Facebook Page. They will keep you up to date on when and where those events will be.

Also, there is a huge fitness expo coming up January 1st 2017 where they will have multiple gyms and vendors from all over the Springs area talking about what they do and how you can get involved. This will be a free event where you can meet different trainers in town and find what’s right for you.

So again the next two dance events are:

Saturday June 25th 2016
Sunday July 10th 2016

Both of those events are located at the City Auditorium at 221 E Kiowa. $10 per person.

If you are a gym or trainer and are interested in becoming a vendor at the January Expo booths are currently $75 for the entire day. The City Auditorium will provide a table along with chairs. To get more info email Alberto at: [email protected]

Listen to the podcast with Alberto to find out more!

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Kick Your Way to Fitness – 9 Round 30 Minute Kickbox Fitness

During this interview there are so many different ways to be inspired along with some great tips on getting into shape and dropping a few pounds. We recommend listening to the podcast and downloading the show if you can, but if not, here are some of the finer points:

Kaye Baron, owner of 3 locations here in town, and her General manager of the gyms, “Queen” Be sit down to talk about the Colorado Springs franchise but more importantly how it has changed general manager Be’s life.

Queen Be and Kaye

Fitness is a powerful tool and has the ability to completely transform a person’s life and way of living. Be describes her story about how she lost over 80 pounds of fat and gained lean muscle, strength and confidence. During the interview we talk about the psychology behind exercise and how it’s the best therapy (usually cheaper too!) along with the 9Round fitness center goals and how they want to help make a lasting change, not only with the body, but with the community as well.

First, what is 9Round? 9Round is an interval based gym where the members move through 9 different rounds, each being 3 minutes long. The rounds are a mixture of kicking, punching, squatting, pushing and we can’t forget the infamous speed bag!

Takeaways and tips – During the show we received many great tips from both Be and Kaye and one of the most memorable is to just start. No matter what program or activity you choose to do starting is going to be the hardest part and also believe, believe in yourself and know that anyone has the power to change!

At 9 Round Your First Workout is FREE! Give Them A Try!

Here is how you can get involved:

Watch the 9Round YouTube documentary –

Also, here is the Smoothie recipe link and that recipe for homemade banana ice cream we talked about:

Smoothies Link

Banana Ice Cream Recipe:

1 Frozen Banana

1/4 Cup Almond Milk (or any milk)

2 Tsp. Cocoa Powder.

1 Tbsp. Agave Nectar.

Directions: Mix All Ingredients together in a food processor or blender. You may need to add a little more milk depending on how big your banana is (That’s what she said). Once you get a thick ice cream like texture you are ready to eat! Or you can freeze it for an hour for a thicker texture!

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Smoothies – 7 Delicious Fruit Smoothie Recipes

Here are a few tips to make the most out of your smoothie experience!

Using frozen fruits is the best way to achieve that thick delicious texture of a traditional smoothie. If you use unfrozen fruits, you can add some ice cubes to help but it will have a watered down texture.
We like to prep our fruits beforehand! We buy fresh fruit at the store and freeze it ourselves. Already frozen fruit isn’t always the best quality and can be more expensive.
Prepping bananas can be tricky but here’s what we do. Unpeel 5-6 bananas and then slice them into small pieces (about 6 pieces per banana) then we place them on parchment paper inside the freezer uncovered overnight. The next morning, we place them into a plastic bag. This helps keep them from sticking together and prevents ice from building up around them.
When freezing other fruits like strawberries or blueberries we wash them first (we cut the tops off the strawberries) and then give them plenty of time to dry before placing them into a bag to freeze.
Apples – Prep your apples like the bananas and be sure to remove the skin as it does not blend well in most standard blenders.
Get creative! Please enjoy our recipes but add and remove things to your taste. We tend to always add a scoop of protein powder to all of our smoothies, chocolate is our favorite. Let us know what you think and email us at: [email protected]
Enjoy!

*To get a copy of these along with other great monthly recipes and workouts sign up for our monthly email!

Fruity Protein Refresher

½ Cup Frozen Strawberries

¼ – ½ Cup Frozen Blueberries

¼ Cup Greek Yogurt

¼ Cup Milk

1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter or your favorite nut butter

(Optional) 1 Scoop Protein Powder

Honey My Oats

1 Frozen Banana

¼ Cup Rolled Oats

¼ Cup Milk

1 Tbsp. Honey

(Optional) ½ Cup Yogurt

Creamy Carmel Apple

1/2 Cup – 1 Cup Orange or Apple Juice

½ Cup Frozen Apples

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

¼ Cup Milk

Strawberry Lime

1 Cup Frozen Strawberries

¾ Cup Orange Juice

1 Tsp. Lime Juice (add more to taste)

1 Tsp. Agave Nectar

Blueberry Smoothie

½ Cup Blueberries

½ Cup Yogurt

½ Cup Milk

½ Tsp. Vanilla

A Touch of Green

¼ Cup Blueberries

¼ Cup Strawberries

¼ Cup Bananas

½ Cup Spinach

1 Cup Milk

1-2 Scoops Protein Powder

Chocolate Banana Split

1 Frozen Banana

½ Cup Milk

2 Tsp. Cocoa Powder

1 Tbsp. Agave

*Note* Add more Banana and mix in a food processor. Then Freeze for 1 Hour and serve as Ice Cream!

Further Instructions:

Equipment – For our smoothies we use a standard Cuisinart Blender. It’s nothing fancy but it gets the job done as long as we don’t over fill it! If you have a fancy blender by all means use it, but if you’re going to purchase a blender you don’t have to break the bank on a really expensive one. Below is the Blender we use.

http://www.cuisinartwebstore.com/product/smartpower-7-speed-electronic-blender-pink

Helpful Hint – When you’re adding protein powder or any dry foods be sure to add them after you add the milk or liquid. If you add the milk on top of the protein powder it tends to run to the side of the blender and stick there making it hard to mix in.

Adjustments – Our recipes are more of a guideline to help you get started. Feel free to change any recipe as you see fit and you can substitute your favorite milk such as; almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk or any other. If you use coconut milk it tends to add a slightly sweeter flavor

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

60 Minutes with Dietitian Suzanne Himka – Sugar, Gluten, Detoxing and More!

Suzanne Himka, fitness expert, enthusiast and Dietitian joins the show and gives some really useful information about diet including: sugar, gluten and junk food. To get the most out of this interview we suggest listening to the show and subscribing in iTunes. But if you can’t listen or for some weird reason you like to read… Here are 3 of the highlights.

Sugar – Sugar is 7 times more addictive than the drug cocaine and in a can of soda there are about 35-45 grams of sugar. 1 teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams, divide 45 by 4 and you get about 11 teaspoons of sugar in one soda/soft drink. The recommended intake for sugar is 6 teaspoons per day so that means with one can of soda you are consuming close to twice the recommended sugar intake. Furthermore, kids are drinking about 4 sodas per day so that means 8 times the recommended sugar intake for the day and that’s just soda, not to including anything else! Suzanne also describes how sugar affects the immune system, while your body is trying to figure out what to do with all of the sugar that’s coming in your immune system has to work very hard and it can’t pay attention to anything else leaving you wide open if there is some kind of sickness or virus. With all that being said it’s safe to assume that eating too much sugar and being sick all the time can go hand in hand. Finally, she tells us to ditch the high fructose corn syrup because it is stored as fat. If you’re going to consume sugar use it sparingly and use natural sweeteners like: Agave, Raw, Cane Sugar or Stevia (for diabetics). FUN FACT – Splenda was discovered in the lab originally as a pesticide!
Gluten – Gluten is actually ok for 99% of the population however that 1% suffers from Celiac Disease which can actually lead to death! What happens when a person with Celiac Disease eats gluten? There is a weird response in the stomach where the way we absorb nutrients is turned off, so over time the body isn’t getting its nutrients and suffers from malnutrition. However, another 15% of the population is gluten insensitive which will cause a person to have headaches and feel tired all of the time. Both a person with Celiac and who are gluten insensitive should stay away from gluten.
Detoxing – Suzanne tells us how the detox process works and how our bodies are naturally good at detoxing but in order for our bodies to be able to detox we need to stop adding toxins! A good way to detox for a day would be to juice. The best way to juice would be to use organic fruits and veggies because you want to make sure that there are no pesticides on the foods that will have an adverse effect on what you’re trying to do. If you can, use a juicer but a blender will work fine too.

These are just 3 of the great tips I could remember! For more great info and fun listen to the entire show!

In addition to dropping knowledge bombs on us in the podcast Suzanne also helps kids, families and the community stay in shape and get their diets in control. She is so much fun and if you’re looking for someone to help you she is available for hire. She does one on one coaching as well as whole family coaching from diet to exercise you can find her at her website: SuzanneHimka.com

She and her husband offer Ninja style fitness camps for kids where they get to try some really cool obstacles! You can find out about that at Here: NinjaCamp

We would like to thank Suzanne for bring her years of experience and energy to the show! Fun fact: Suzanne competed in an episode of American Gladiator! Please tell me you remember that show otherwise I’ll fell really old…

You can also check out the video podcast of Suzanne in the studio!

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Reps Are Dead – 4 Exercises to Improve Your Squat

Reps are Dead and 4 Exercises to Improve Your Squat

Reps Are Dead

Reps are Dead

One… Two… Three… This is a very typical sound you would hear if you sat in on one of my early training sessions. I was taught that you were supposed to lift weights and aim for three sets and do 10 reps per set. No Matter what the exercise was. This is the gold standard of training and every now and then it still is for me but why?

My name is Drew Smith and I am a personal trainer, competitive powerlifter and general fitness nerd. After I studied all of my books and personal training certification materials I jumped into the world of fitness and gave my clients cookie cutter programs that I learned from my books and quickly realized that no one person is the same and to have a standard program for everyone isn’t logical. Most of my programs for clients are similar but not identical and they shouldn’t be.

I’ve always counted reps and knew that if you wanted to grow muscle you aim for a 12 -15 rep range during the different exercises. This has worked for many clients as well as myself however as a personal trainer/ coach I am always asking why? As I researched this topic I found that the reps aren’t what’s really important but the time under tension, how long the muscle is working. A typical set of 12-15 reps can take anywhere from 20 -30 seconds depending on how fast you’re moving and in some cases it could be less than 20 seconds. Which might not necessarily be a bad thing but if muscle growth is your goal then time under tension is of the utmost importance and reps are almost an arbitrary number.

Having muscle is very beneficial for many different reasons for many different people. Whether you’re a busy mom, a carpenter or even usher checking Id’s at the movie theater. Strength training has been proven to prevent osteoporosis in women and for men it makes them all believe they’re as hot as Channing Tatum (even if they only workout once a year). If building muscle is you or your client’s goal then TUT (time under tension) should be in the program. I’ve be incorporating this into a lot of my programs and have seen some great results. Not only are my clients getting stronger their form is improving and their more focused, we go for multiple sets and instead of counting reps we count seconds. I will start the thirty seconds when a client starts the movement, during the exercise I coach my clients to pace themselves for 2 seconds on the concentric movement and again for two seconds on the eccentric movement. When they do this I notice they have more fluid patterns and more control, it’s almost as if they lose the urge to get through it as quick as possible, because the faster you go the more reps you have to do! Also it is a good change of pace, we still do rep work but it’s a nice break in the session to change the mindset of a client and really become immersed in the training.

I coach all different types of clients from local competitive powerlifters, middle-aged adults to seniors. All having different goals but I have incorporated TUT training into all of their programs. I typically shoot for one or two exercises per week or session and I will use more for the client who wants huge muscle gains and have even tried up to 90 seconds for time under tension. There are many ways you can manipulate the time as well, for instance on the bench press you can do an excruciatingly slow 8 seconds on the eccentric and 1 second contraction. You can do 2 seconds down and 2 seconds up, or 3 seconds down and 1 second up. My personal favorite is 2 seconds down and 2 seconds up, this leads to nice smooth, controlled reps and what I typically aim for is 30 seconds total or about 15 reps.

For hypertrophy aka muscle growth TUT can be very useful however if overused it can cause some serious post workout pain! No pain no gain right? While some muscle soreness after working out is expected it’s not the best way to judge if you’re getting a killer workout. When using TUT training I like to sprinkle it into the workout as a nice addition but not for a complete workout. The benefits of TUT aren’t worth the soreness, at least not for me. The best way to measure your results are through progression, measurements and time. Keep a log of your workouts and track your weights and reps so you can look back and see that you increasing the weight and reps over the course of your training.

If you’ve never tried TUT now might be a good time to give it a shot! We would love to hear what you think please feel free to get in touch with us below at any of our social media pages or email us too!

4 Exercises to improve your squat:

1. Close Stance Squats

2. Adductor Exercise

3. Abductor Exercise

4. Glute Bridge

We have found that adding in these 4 simple moves to be very helpful with squats. We added one or two exercises to the end of a leg day for 2-3 sets for 10-12 reps using light weight to start.

Listen to the podcast for a complete breakdown plus what’s happening in the fitness world!

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge with Bridget and Suzanne

“The Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge –

From the producers of “American Ninja Warrior” comes “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge” to NBC.

Inspired by Spartan Race – the creators of the world’s most demanding obstacle course races – “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge” raises the bar on team competitions. Groups of friends, families, co-workers and more must work together as they race across specially designed Spartan courses engineered to test their determination, endurance and will. Teams of five compete on one the most demanding courses ever devised and have to push through the pain to win $250,000.”

This is a very special day as we get to talk with TV celebrities! Bridget and Suzanne just took part in a new team challenge show that will be airing on NBC starting June 13^th. What’s even more exciting is that these ladies are representing Colorado Springs! If you live in, near or around the Springs you’re pretty much famous too.

A little bit about these fit women.

Bridget Praytor

Bridget is a single mother of five kids, that is not a typo, yes five kids two of which are twins. Growing up she played sports but not because she wanted to but mostly because she was tall and was more or less expected to play sports. At 6’ 2” Bridget is a ball of energy and has found a passion for obstacle course racing, that passion is contagious and even during our interview she convinced Dr. Grove Higgins to sign up for this coming Spartan race at Fort Carson. Bridget has an amazing story where she describes how she lost 70 pounds (20 of which was the twins) and how she got so good at obstacle course racing. So good that NBC reached out to her and asked that she get a team together to participate in the Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge.

Suzanne Himka

Suzanne admitted to us that she hates running however, she does love sports and participated in gymnastics through college. She went the Miss fitness route and did American gladiator, martial arts and competitive bodybuilding. During the interview Suzanne describes some of the obstacles that they had to overcome in the show, imagine a group of people standing on a giant log that is swinging back and forth over a body of water and the people have to leap off this log and land on a platform on the other side of the water. Suzanne is also a registered dietitian and gives us a few tips during the interview.

Listen to this episode of Under Ten Fitness to hear the detailed experience of shooting this TV show and as a bonus Bridget, Suzanne and Dr. Grove give some great tips along the way from diet tips to training tips.

The Spartan Team Challenge Crew

The show is called the Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge and premieres on NBC June 13^th 10/9c

Website: www.nbc.com/spartan-ultimate-team-challenge

Twitter: @NBCspartan

You can follow Bridget on Instagram here: Bridget’s Instagram

Suzanne also host’s Ninja Kids Warrior style fit camps you can find those here: Suzanne’s Website

We would like to thank Bridget, Suzanne and Dr. Grove for being guests on the show! Be sure to watch them on TV and cheer for them along with Drew and everyone here at Under Ten Fitness.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Epigenetics and The Truth About Cellulite

Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in the genes that don’t change or affect the DNA sequence. Research is leading to new information about the relationship between epigenetic changes and disorders like cancer, immune disorders and other diseases.

As I understand it Epigenetics are traits that are acquired throughout your life and can be passed on to a child or offspring. At the moment the testing of epigenetics is done primarily on mice because human testing is so comprehensive and it takes a long time to test between generations.

Here’s what they’ve found out so far in the lab. While working with mice they discovered if they introduce a small or mild stressor and pair it with a sensory cue, such as a sent or specific smell. Then the mice will avoid that cue whether it be a smell, sound or something visual. Then they looked at the brain waves of the mice and saw that the offspring devoted more mental energy to processing the same smell. They believe that could mean this is a cultural thing that is learned and passed along through the mice but then… They separated the offspring and had them raised by mice who had not been exposed to the same stressor and saw that the brain still devoted more energy to this smell.

All this information along with other studies on epigenetics is leading to the thought or belief that the choices we make and situations we’re exposed to can have a lasting effect on our kids and possibly generations to come.

So the question is, will the choices we make today effect our future generations?

I’d like to explore this question with you and add a health and fitness spin to it (this is a fitness website after all). What if we are a product of our decisions and that we actually have a lot more control then we believe? What if during our life we can add epigenetic tags to ourselves and become inherently better at things and then pass that along to our kids. Think of the physically active people in your life, you know the ones who seem to be genetically gifted at sports without even trying. What if in actuality those traits and skills were passed down generation to generation and are part of the DNA code of that person?

The study of epigenetics is still very young and it’s all very exciting to think of the possibilities and consequences of our decisions…

Listen to this episode where we discuss epigenetics and what’s happening in the health and fitness industry. Plus the truth about cellulite.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Performance and Prison?

Today on the show we talk more in depth about specific workout programs and the intensity of the workout.

Why do you feel weaker some days and don’t seem as strong as you were last week? The more we learn about this thing called fitness the more we realize how little we actually know. We are learning about our bodies and what might actually be the cause of our poor performance. Where does performance come from and how can we achieve it on a regular basis? That question is answered by really learning about how we move and what obstacles are in the way.

The body is one piece of equipment that works together and if one part is out of tune it affects everything. When you understand this you are ahead of the game and can continue toward ultimate performance. Listen to learn more on this episode of Under Ten Fitness.

Also on the show we talk about what’s trending in the health and fitness industry.

There is a new gym in New York that resembles a prison! An ex-convict opened a gym that resembles a prison and uses no equipment. Prison Gym

All this plus more on UTF.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

Yoga Video With Julie Myers

Meet Yoga instructor Julie Myers:

Julie completed her first yoga training in 2012, but she feels she has been studying yoga her whole life. She has always found movement to be a nurturing, powerful force in her life. Always up for a new experience, she went to her first yoga class on a whim and fell in love with the expansive feeling that the practice gave her. The encouraging and nurturing community that yoga creates has inspired her to grow and expand in ways she never imagined. It is this experience she hopes to share with her students. She aims to inspire students to deepen their practice and realize their potential through all yoga has to offer.

Julie trained with Siva Power Yoga in Wichita, KS where she earned her 200 hour certification and has continued her education through Corepower Yoga and Hot Asana Yoga Studio. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science at Wichita State University and Associates Degree in Physical Therapy from Kansas City Kansas Community College. She has been working in the field of health and fitness for 10 years with experience in personal and group training, yoga, athletic performance, and rehabilitation.

She currently teaches group classes at Hot Asana Yoga Studio Colorado Springs, and is available for private sessions.

Try some yoga with Julie in this 18 minute video!

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @undertenfitness
Facebook: undertenfitness
Instagram: undertenfitness

And as always remember – Stay Motivated!

Drew Smith

The Joy of Yoga with Julie and Erica of Hot Asana Yoga

Julie from Hot Asana Yoga here in Colorado Springs and Erica join the show for a discussion on yoga.

Yoga has many great ways to help improve your body and not just in the way of making you strong and flexible, it also helps many people relax and become less stressed. We will get into the yoga benefits but first it would be good to know where yoga comes from and its original purpose.

The word yoga translates to “union” or “to unite.” I think that is very fitting for the practice of yoga, it’s not just about sweating to lose weight for that beach body but yoga, to me, is a practice of doing something good for yourself, your whole self, mind and body.

We at Under Ten Fitness really like yoga for its many benefits and think that everyone should practice yoga even if only a few times a month or year. Yoga is one of the best ways to keep your body moving and feeling good from stretching to strength yoga covers it all.

In this episode I talk with Julie and Erica about how yoga takes care of the whole body and contrary to my original belief yoga can be really challenging. I first tried yoga a few years ago and sweat more than I had every sweat during any workout, and it wasn’t even “hot” yoga.

Yoga has firmly made its place in the fitness world and has been around for thousands of years. Yoga was one of the first forms of organized exercise and should be a consideration for anyone’s weekend fitness program.

We want to thank Julie and Erica for taking the time to talk about their joy and passion for yoga and if you would like to know more about them of the studio please check out Hot Asana’s website.

Hot Asana’s Website

Hot Asana’s Facebook