Trainer Spotlight: Mandy Malool
Mandy’s favorite exercise: Deadlift
Why Mandy loves the deadlift:
Pictured Below: Mandy performing the deadlift.
Happy August, Everyone!
We are excited to be bringing monthly newsletters back into the mix here at the studio. Through our monthly newsletters we will be sharing exciting events and news occurring at the studio as well as in our clients’ lives. If you are a client and have something big coming up in future months please keep us posted and we are happy to share in our studio newsletter!
We hope you all have an awesome August and continue to work hard to reach your goals and live the life you have always wanted to live. YOU can do whatever you set your mind to and YOU deserve to be happy; never forget that.
“In order to succeed we must first believe that we can.”
Best,
Caroline Kolowich
Join our very own Atlanta Personal Trainer, Brad Kolowich Jr on the Weather Channel for tips on how to exercise in this hot summer heat. (Click on the image below for a link to the video.)
For a link to the video, click on the image above.
CLIENT OF THE MONTH
Beth
April 2016
We are proud to introduce you to our April 2016 client of the month, Beth Wellesley! Beth, 33, has been on a path to success since the day she walked in for her first session over 3 years ago. When Beth first came to Brad Kolowich Jr Personal Training Studio she was preparing for her upcoming wedding. Since her June 2013 nuptials, Beth has continued to commit to two workouts a week AND (other than travel) she has yet to miss a single workout! Beth has sustained a healthy lean physique through regular strength training, walking, yoga and having a positive ‘can-do’ attitude!
Late last summer Beth announced she and her husband would be expecting their first child in May 2016. At 35 weeks pregnant, Beth has continued to work full time and sustain her regular training schedule. Though step-ups, push-ups and bench dips might not feel as easy as they did nine months ago, you won’t hear Beth complain but rather you’ll see her smiling through the task at hand. Her optimistic disposition and dedication to she and her growing baby’s health is nothing short of exceptionally inspiring! Thank you Beth for being a source of motivation and inspiration for us all! Congrats on your growing family and best wishes as you round the corner to the final weeks of your pregnancy!
Eating healthier can be tough, but that task becomes extremely difficult when temptations from within the kitchen seem to beckon you. Squash those diet-breakers with these five strategies recommended by top personal trainers and health coaches to help you stay focused on your goals ahead.
1. Begin at the Grocery Store
Your grocery cart is the first point of entrance for tempting foods to reach your home. If these foods don’t make it into your kitchen, they’ll have a much more difficult time tempting you. So before shopping, it’s best to create a listof all the items you’ll need including snacks. This requires a few minutes of planning each week; however, the amount of time you invest now will save you the effort and disappointment in the long run with having to re-start another program. Keep in mind that your list is only effective if you stick to it. Unplanned purchases can prove disastrous, so minimize them by buying only what is on your list and making sure that you don’t shop while hungry.
2. Put Your Pantry on the Program
Troublesome foods exert much less temptation power when they aren’t within your immediate reach. Remember the saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”? Give away or discard all the foods that will make it more difficult for you to stick to your plan. If you have to go to the store to buy a tempting food, you will have extra time to consciously think about whether this is something that’s really important to you or just a momentary whim. Once the tempting foods are out of your pantry, you’ll have an opportunity to reorganize items in a way that puts the healthy stuff up front, visible and within easy reach.
3. Shrink Your Dishes
Oversized glasses, bowls and plates tend to make us feel like we need to fill up the entire space with food or drink. This translates into consuming much more than we originally planned. We often eat first with our eyes, so to speak, and then with our stomachs—meaning that if a meal appears small at first glance because it’s served in a larger plate, chances are we’ll likely eat more to feel satisfied. By choosing smaller-sized dishes, your meals will naturally appear larger and you won’t feel slighted in portion size.
4. Plan It Out
Planning is key to making many healthy changes. Whether it’s creating a grocery list, organizing your pantry or having dishes that make your meal look satisfying, planning helps you prepare in advance to be successful in your endeavors. A great way to plan ahead is to have healthy snacks ready to go. Whether its individual containers of light yogurt, cut up fruits and veggies, or snack-sized bags filled with pre-measured amounts of nuts or whole-wheat pretzels, prepared snacks can serve as important tools to helping you stay on track between meals. They are easily portable and may be brought to work as a great alternative to mid-day vending machine options.
5. Get Out of the Kitchen
Finally, one of the best ways to avoid kitchen temptations is to simply engage in an activity that takes you away from that room in the house. A distraction that takes the focus off the kitchen can help minimize unplanned eating. This could mean engaging in a hobby or craft, reading or even scheduling a little time for physical activity. By participating in other enjoyable activities that benefit you mentally and physically, you’ll likely have the motivation to eat healthier and avoid those kitchen temptations.
By Gina Crome
Gina M. Crome, M.S., M.P.H., R.D.
AceFitness.org
Eating fresh produce is the best way to obtain the nutrients that support optimum health, but the pesticides used on many crops remain a major health concern. This is the primary reason why at Fit Chow we use produce that has never been treated with pesticides. By choosing organic foods, you can reap the health benefits of fruits and vegetables without exposing yourself and your family to potentially harmful chemicals. Pesticides present real health risks, particularly to children and those with health concerns. The toxicity most commonly associated with pesticides in animal studies include disruptions in the normal functioning of the nervous and endocrine system, and increased risks of cancer (http://www.drweil.com).
You may be familiar with the term “Dirty Dozen”. This is a list of produce (fruits and vegetables) used to identify the produce with pesticide residue found in them. If you don’t want to eat bug and weed killers, when shopping on your own you most definitely want to purchase organic or pesticide free versions of the produce listed on the the Dirty Dozen. However, rest assure, at Fit Chow you will only be served organic and/or local pesticide free fruits and vegetables.
The Dirty Dozen
Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen™ list of produce includes apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, spinach, sweet bell peppers, imported nectarines, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes. Each of these foods contained a number of different pesticide residues and showed high concentrations of pesticides relative to other produce items.
In particular:
Every sample of imported nectarines and 99 percent of apple samples tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other food.
A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides. Single samples of celery, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides a piece.
The Clean Fifteen
Environmental Working Group’s Clean Fifteen for 2014 – the produce least likely to hold pesticide residues – are avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Relatively few pesticides were detected on these foods, and tests found low total concentrations of pesticides. So when shopping, if cost and saving a some money is a concern for your family, you may choose to use the conventional versions of these produce items.
Notable findings:
Avocados were the cleanest: only 1 percent of avocado samples showed any detectable pesticides.
Some 89 percent of pineapples, 82 percent of kiwi, 80 percent of papayas, 88 percent of mango and 61 percent of cantaloupe had no residues.
No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen™ tested positive for more than 4 types of pesticides.
Detecting multiple pesticide residues is extremely rare on Clean Fifteen™ vegetables. Only 5.5 percent of Clean Fifteen samples had two or more pesticides.
Source:
http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php
Live Life Fit
Client of the Month
Nicole Hogan
January/February 2014
We have a first ever three month streak for Client of the Month at Brad Kolowich Jr’s personal training studio. Nicole Hogan, 28, a full-time nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and an O.R. Nurse at Atlanta Plastic Surgery Specialist has been working non-stop in pursuit of competing in her first ever NPC Bikini Competition. Through the holiday’s, Valentines, snow storms (and being stranded at the hospital), her birthday, illness and other special events, Nicole has let nothing be an excuse for reaching her goals she has set in place. Nicole stays consistent with her workouts in the studio and on her own. Since the start of the year, she has learned to take her nutrition to another level—prepping meals, counting her macronutrients more diligently, weighing and measuring everything to meet her ideal macronutrient make-up, and she even completed a trial run through of the dietary process to get stage ready! This vigorous two week process involves sodium loading, then sodium depleting, water loading and then water depleting, and finally carb depleting and carb loading—and Nicole tackled it flawlessly! A year after beginning her fitness journey, Nicole is in the best shape of her adult life. In the picture above she has photographed her abs in March 2013 and again in February 2014. She is a true testament to Richard G. Scott’s quote about consistency, “We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day.” Nicole will be competing March 21-22 in Pensacola, FL in the Panhandle Showdown Championships National Qualifier in hopes of receiving her national qualification to compete in other future National NPC Bikini events. We wish you the best of luck Nicole!
Client of the Month: Madeleine Conti
October 2013
This time of year it is easy to let busy schedules, the cooler weather, sporting events, work commitments and ailing bodies get in the way of their training schedules. The client of the month for October however lets nothing get in the way of making her training a priority. Madeleine Conti, 22, is a Percussion Instructor at Woodward Academy. She also occupies her time as an entrepreneur running her own business of teaching private in-home music lessons. She makes the commute to Brad Kolowich Jr Personal Training Studio from Peachtree City and she is preparing for her first NPC Bikini Competition. Though Madeleine only trains with Brad once a week, she gets her daily workouts in on her own and follows a strict diet (prescribed by Brad) catered to helping her reach her specific goals. In September, Madeleine had what could have been a devastating injury, but she was determined to continue to push toward reaching her goals. While rushing into work one morning Madi clumsily made “friends” with a nasty curb. She was diagnosed at Urgent care with swelling of soft tissue in her ankle OR a severely sprained ankle. Most would take some time to let healing occur; however, Madeleine instead texted Brad from the ER with a message informing him of her injury and stating “We may need to shift my focus in my workout from legs tomorrow, but I will see you in the morning.” This is just a little glimpse into the motivation, determination and dedication Madi brings to reaching her fitness goals. Madeleline is the current female record holder in push-ups and dips and holds the overall sit-up and plank record with a 13:32 minute plank! Madi brings a positive attitude and smile to every workout! We thank you Madi for being a inspiration to us and the Brad Kolowich Jr Fitness studio! Congratulations and continue to reach for the stars!
-Mandy
Timing is everything!
When it comes to health and fitness, timing is everything. That is exactly what inspired the creation of Brad Kolowich Jr’s trademark double orange dot at the start of his business logo. The double dots resemble the dots on a standard digital clock. Brad says, “Everything we do is calculated to the T–from our workouts to nutrition to supplementation to recovery time.”
When trying to reach your fitness goals, one of the most important times of the days are the 2-3 hours that encompass the start and end of your workout. Brad Kolowich Jr and his team of personal trainers try to help educate and support our clients on what supplements to take to best support your body before, during and after your workouts to aid in performance and recovery. Here is a sample supplement timing guide to help make the most of your workout (suggestions vary client to client, based of his/her individual goals).
Pre-Workout
The focus of pre-workout nutrition should be on sustaining energy, increasing performance, and supporting the body to reach his/her physique goals. Take these supplements about 30-45 minutes prior to your workout.
Creatine–increases the body’s supply of ATP (energy production). Creatine increases strength and muscle gain when used in conjunction with an exercise program.
Caffeine–improves endurance, reduces muscle pain, and help mobilize fat stores. It may even help to motivate you to workout for a longer period of time.
During Workout
Hydration is critical! Water is best, but you may choose to sip on workout drinks that provide energy and replenish electrolytes, depending on the intensity and duration of your exercise.
Electrolyte drinks–rehydrate and replenish minerals lost during sweating. For long duration events, you may supplement with a drink that provides carbs for energy.
Energy drinks–ideal for extended periods of exercise to boost endurance.
L-Carnosine–helps reduce lactic acid build up in the muscles, enhance muscle contraction and promote muscle recovery.
Post Workout
Post-workout nutrition is the key to timely recovery and repair. The majority of your muscle strength and building happens after the workout! A liquid meal immediately following your workout is the quickest way to replenish and rehydrate the body. Consuming a liquid meal no more than 30-45 minutes post workout will stop the body from going into a catabolic state and ensure you have protein available for the continued protein breakdown occurring.
Protein–is necessary to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and reduce protein breakdown. Whey protein is quickly absorbed and is easy to digest post-workout. It provides the body will all the essential amino acids necessary for muscle recovery. A post-workout shake with a mix of whey, casein and carbs is our favorite way to end a workout.
Glutamine–reduces muscle soreness and speeds up recovery while also supporting the immune system.
Contact us: inquiries@bradkolowichjr.com to learn more about the supplements which would help you best reach your goals!
-Mandy
adapted from Amazing Wellness
Brad Kolowich Jr. Personal Training Studio boast many special features that sets it in a class of it’s own in the arena of training studio’s in Atlanta. As mentioned in Atlanta’s 2012 August edition of Jezebel Magazine, one particularly unique quality at Brad’s studio is the inclusion of a line of healthy treats, :anyWhey Treats. Baking and cooking has always been a hobbie/passion of mine (just ask my parents who had to instate the rule, “you make it you eat it and clean it”). My combined passion for baking, health, nutrition and fitness birthed my new idea to create a treat that wouldn’t spoil your waistline, would satisfy cravings for sweet treats, provide the body with the necessary pre/post workout fuel to aid in recovery, boost metabolism and aid in the release of body fat while preserving muscle tissue. :anyWhey Treat’s menu changes frequently at Brad Kolowich Jr. Studio’s. Below is a sample menu.
: anyWhey treats
Featuring: all natural, healthy and energizing pre/post workout treats
Energy Boosting Protein Cake Pops, $2.00 each
for orders, contact Mandy Malool, mandy@bradkolowichjr.com
Nutrition (approximately per ball): Calories 57, Fat 2.75g, Carbohydrates 5g, Protein 6g
Protein Bars………$2.00 each
Peanut Butter Cheesecake
(Oats, Vanilla Protein, Peanut butter, Cheesecake flavoring)
Chocolate Almond Delight
(Oats, Chocolate Protein, Almond Butter, Coconut extract)
Lemon Bar
(Oats, Vanilla Protein, Almond Butter, Lemon Flavoring)
(Nutrition varies per bar) Approximately 100 Calories, 2g fat, 10 Carbs or less, 10g protein