Hi Fusers!

Another week, another chance to thrust one of our awesome members into the spotlight and give props for how hard they work at Fuse Fitness. This week we're giving a big shoutout to Tim Weitzel, who has been working out with us consistently since May of 2015 and has logged in 245 workouts since then. That's not to say those are the only workouts he gets in--he's an avid cyclist and works long bike rides into his fitness routine.

Not only is Tim a rockstar when it comes to his training, he's also a smarty-pants. Tim has a Ph.D. from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Organizational Psychology and has spent his career in Leadership Development, Assessment, Coaching and Organization Development. He began his business, Tim Weitzel and Associates, in 1992 as a single-person run business, and has seen a tremendous amount of growth, both nationally and internationally, since its origin. So basically, he's awesome.

There are a lot of things we appreciate and love about Tim. First and foremost--he is ALWAYS on time. And by on time I mean early. I'm pretty sure that if he's actually just on time, then he thinks he's late. Whatever the case may be, it's always appreciated. Being rolled out and ready to go is super helpful to us coaches. While this aspect of him may suggest that he's all business, I have evidence to prove otherwise. Tim has a great sense of humor, and has brought many laughs, stories and overall great conversations to my 8am classes. Some of those group conversations are best kept secret to only those of us who were there. What goes on in 8am Monkey Ninja Bootcamp, stays in 8am Monkey Ninja Bootcamp.

All joking aside, Tim is an amazing addition to Fuse Fitness. He truly works his butt off, always giving 100% effort. He doesn't let his knee and back issues, caused from years of being a competitive rower, hold him back--we figure out ways to work around those issues and come up with alternative exercises when needed. We love having him in class, it has been a joy having him here.

And now for a few words from Tim himself :)

"I joined Fuse because my body was losing its responsiveness. When I tripped, I would go down hard. I was stiff and inflexible--only 52 at the time. I was in good cardiovascular shape, but strength was an issue. I was blobby. As a lifetime athlete, I wanted to maintain better flexibility and dexterity. And I wanted to look better. I was not able to row anymore because of a back issue. I also wanted to find a good community.

"I haven't really encountered many challenges. I really love the Fuse workouts--the harder the better. This said, I do sometimes need to substitute listed exercises to accommodate my back and knees.

"Since working out at Fuse, I have gained more dexterity and become more flexible. I have maintained my weight loss and now have firmer everything :)

"Kristin and Pascha and their instructors do a great job. I love The Fuse!"

[Insert blushing emoji here] We love you too, Tim!

Yours in health,

Kristin at Fuse Fitness

p.s. As always, if you'd like to join our awesome fitness community and start getting the results you want, fill out the contact form below to sign-up for a free consult.

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Hi Fusers! This week Fuse Fitness is taking the opportunity to highlight Barbara Higbie, one of our longest members, who has been working out consistently with us since the summer of 2012! She is an amazingly talented, Grammy nominated musician - check out her website/bio/upcoming events here!

Before joining Fuse, Barbara was trying to manage her weight and stress levels. At the time she joined, she had been jogging about 30 minutes a day, five days a week for the past 20 years. She had also tried lots of other classes throughout the years, but nothing stuck.  The weight was beginning to pile on in new places and her mood was up and down, because she was taking care of both her young daughter and mother with Alzheimer's disease, while also maintaining her music career. Barbara saw the Fuse Fitness sign one day while in the neighborhood, decided to drop by to try out a class, and has been hooked ever since. She says, "It's one of the easiest and best things I've ever done in my life."

As most of us at the studio have figured out, Barbara loves interval training! She is one of the only clients who always wants intervals - she says it's because she doesn't like to count reps or keep track of the exercises herself. She prefers not to have to think too much about what comes next, and would rather have a set of exercises that get her heart rate up and get what she calls "a good work out in." Outside of interval training, her other favorite thing to work on is handstands, and can't get enough of them. Barbara once told us, "Who knew I'd ever crave doing a hand stand? It is so hard to believe!"

The challenges that Barbara has encountered along the way have been minimal. She still has trouble doing a free-standing pistol squat, a very challenging move that can take quite a long time to master. Despite that difficulty, she says, "It feels like one big positive wave that moves me along. The environment is great - high standards and low pressure." Due to her demanding music career, sometimes she is out of town for a couple of weeks at a time touring, thus having to miss her workouts. It is always challenging for her to deal with the muscle aches/soreness that come from having missed a couple weeks of classes.

Looking back to her start at Fuse, she still remembers her first class, when she couldn't do a Turkish get-up - now she can do many in a row with great form. Barbara says she has never been great at following extreme diets, but has slowly cut out lots of sugar and flour since working out at Fuse and it has made a big difference.

One of the results Barbara is most proud of achieving since working out at Fuse is having great core strength. "As a professional singer, it has made a HUGE difference to have a strong core!" Barbara recognizes that her consistency with coming to class has really paid off in regards to seeing such great results - she has maintained her weight loss and continues to manage her stress levels, keeping a steady, positive outlook on life. According to her, "It's easy for me to get to class. The community at Fuse is made up of real, down to earth people, who enjoy working hard and having fun while staying focused."

Barbara has been very supportive of us and our business from the very beginning - we are so lucky and grateful to have someone as loyal as her. She brings a fun, upbeat energy to class each day. We love her random comedic outbursts in class when performing an awkward or suggestive movement, which makes teaching class so much fun - we always get a good laugh in.

As you can see from Barbara's success story, working out isn't just to stay fit and look good. Fitness is a lifestyle that requires consistency in order to achieve results. While clients may have different goals and seek different results, a fitness program is beneficial to everyone. If you are currently not getting the results you want with your fitness program, we encourage you to sign-up today for a free fitness consult by filling in the form below. As Barbara says, "Having a fitness 'home' makes my whole life so much better! Finding Fuse was the biggest gift of the last five years! Thank you Pascha, Kristin and team Fuse!"

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Barbara, thank you for your love and continued support. We love having you as an integral part of our Fuse Fitness community! Class would not be the same without you!

Hi Fusers! This week Fuse Fitness would like to highlight our member Geoff Piller!

Geoff is one of our most dedicated clients when it comes to his health and fitness. He is self motivated, extremely consistent and laser focused. Before class even begins, he is off to an early start with a quick sprint outside and then comes inside to foam roll and stretch. Something about Geoff that demonstrates his great work ethic is that while everyone else takes a break to chit chat, he never stops, speeding through his workouts staying super focused, while most others have stopped to talk. He is usually the first one in class to finish an AMRAP or RFT workout.  Afterwards he can repeat everything that was discussed/small-talked about in class--he takes multi-tasking to another level--"listen while you work".

This sentiment is shared by all of us trainers here at Fuse--Geoff is one of the sweetest people we know. He is one of our biggest cheerleaders and is such a caring and giving person. He always has something encouraging and/or positive to say. And let us not forget what an amazing baker he is! And he shares with us :)

Thanks to incredible members like Geoff, we have such a wonderful, interesting and supportive fitness community! With that being said, here is Geoff's Fuse Fitness success story in his own words:

"I was a long time runner and used this method of exercise to stay in shape. I developed a hamstring injury and had to evaluate whether I could continue to run.  I concluded that running was making me fit, but it was not a complete total body workout- I felt limited. I decided I could get a better return by putting the time into a bootcamp style workout. My goal was to have overall balanced fitness, weight loss, and efficient use of my time.

"Some of the challenges I have encountered were working out with other people, as well as being inflexible.  I now enjoy working out in a group setting and have slowly achieved flexibility victories over time at the Fuse. Lastly, I hate Turkish Get Ups or any other exercise that begins with the word Turkish and still cannot jump rope. However, I do have many strengths and would like to focus on the things I'm good at.  I'm able to keep up with people in class who are considerably younger than me and I like the challenge of a rigorous workout. I can also sprint up the hill several times in a row like a bat out of hell and able to to exercise and play well with others.

"Overall I feel like I am in much better shape than when I was just running."

Very true, Geoff! When he says he can "sprint up the hill several times in a row like a bat out of hell" he is not joking one bit. Geoff, you are an inspiration to everyone here and we truly appreciate you!

Yours in health,

Fuse Fitness

Hey Fusers! As 2016 has come to an end, we want to wish you all a very happy new year, filled with good health, good food and good times!

We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead, and as we have been planning what's in store at Fuse this coming year, we wanted to take a few moments to stop and reflect on where we came from and where we're heading--so here's our story....

Pascha and I met in 2008 while working together at a small personal training studio, where we worked side-by-side, learning about each other personally and professionally, and forming the start of a life-long friendship and soon-to-be partnership.

During these early years, we realized we shared many values that deepened our connection and inspired us to open a business together. The values we share are a dedication to family and friends; having a high-level of integrity, honesty and loyalty; helping others; a passion for health and fitness; working hard; and a mutual respect and admiration for each other.

Three and a half years after meeting, in June of 2011, we opened the doors to Fuse Fitness in Kensington, CA. We spent many months searching for the right space, until we found a place where we knew we wanted to build our community. Many long nights and weekends were dedicated to renovating/cleaning/building this space--we opened 1 month after we signed our contract/lease, while both working full-time during the days and raising families. It was an intense but very exciting month!

What makes us a great team and such great friends is that we have so much in common and really respect each other. However, our business challenges lie in that both our strengths and weaknesses are very similar. It would be great from a business perspective if we excelled in opposite ways, but that's not how it worked out.We both excel at being great teachers/coaches and designing fitness/lifestyle programs, and both have very similar training philosophies and styles. Our biggest struggle/weakness is in business operations, specifically marketing and business organization. We are also challenged when it comes to building and putting things together, esp. anything from IKEA--while this has created some frustrating moments, it has created many more hilarious moments where we've found ourselves laughing uncontrollably. At least we know we are pretty much always having a good time!

A couple of months ago, Pascha and I decided it was time to face our challenges head-on and committed to and invested in a 1 year minimum intensive business coaching program. We want to continue to grow, prosper and provide our community with excellent fitness and health programs, and we realized we couldn't reach our goals if we didn't tackle our challenges. We took a good, hard look at our business and accomplishments thus far, and were honest with each other--we needed to make a big change if we wanted to continue to grow. We are proud of ourselves for recognizing this and making the big decision to invest both financially and time-wise to the business coaching program.

Our goal is to continue to grow our business and provide a space where we can have the room to have a couple of class options at one time, as well as more room for private and semi-private training for the entire Kensington community. We would love to be able to expand into the space next door sometime this year. Our desire is to continue to help the people in our community reach their health and fitness goals--this includes those who need to lose weight; those who are wanting to increase their strength; those who have fallen off the wagon due to family and career commitments but want to feel healthy, young and fit again; those who are injured and/or in pain; pre and post-natal women; athletes; and senior citizens.

That being said, we are very proud of ourselves. Through much trial, error and tribulation, we have created a space that truly is a close-knit community. There is no greater feeling in the world to us than being able to help people take control of their health, improve their quality of life, and be a supportive part of their fitness journey. The fitness community here at Fuse is one of the biggest accomplishments in our lives so far--we love all of our clients so much and are so grateful for each and every one of you!

Cheers to a great 2017!!

Yours in health,

Kristin and Pascha at Fuse Fitness

Over the next few weeks we are celebrating our amazing clients here at Fuse Fitness. Everyday we come in to work we can’t believe that we get to work with such amazing people that inspire us by showing up day in and day out.

Today I have to tell you about Lia Swindle.

We are so proud of Lia! She has made amazing progress this year towards her goal of feeling stronger and empowered. It hasn’t been an easy path for Lia, as it isn't for anyone to reach his/her goals. But Lia has consistently shown up and worked hard at getting stronger one day at a time. Her results have been amazing.

Lia joined Fuse Fitness two years ago, and she has been a pleasure to have in class and witness her growth over these past few years. While having an ongoing pelvis injury, she is careful to modify certain movements to avoid further injury, but is still a beast when it comes to lifting weights. Watching her goblet squat a 35lb kettlbell, push press two 35lb weights overhead and then deadlift a 70lb kettlbell is so inspiring.

Lia now looks forward to coming to class with a drive to work on getting stronger and feels good about lifting her bags full of groceries within one trip, as she says "I got this"! Lia is also proud of setting a positive example for her cute, yet "rock star" daughter Hannah. Lia loves that Hannah sees her working out and representing what a strong female is capable of. Overall, Lia feels so much better about herself physically and mentally.

Fuse Fitness is a boutique fitness studio, in which we work hard to provide the safest and most effective way to achieve an active and healthy lifestyle, build strength and lean muscle. Our fitness program is also known for injury prevention and helping our clients keep up with their kids, in a supportive, noncompetitive and community oriented environment.  As you can see from Lia's success story, we are so proud to know that we have amazing clients who have achieved their goals and understand that health and fitness is a lifestyle and not a trend or something you only participate in during the new year.

Sign up HERE to schedule your free consult today and be our next success story!!

Keep up the amazing work Lia. We are all inspired by you and so proud of you. Bring on 2017!

Yours In Health,

Pascha at Fuse Fitness

  Hi Fusers!

Happy holidays!! Thank you all so much for being such a supportive fitness community and inspiring us to always challenge ourselves and strive to serve you better! We truly appreciate how giving you all are, and thank you for committing to help others in our community by participating in our food drive, adopt-a-family program, coat drive and winter wonderland donations every year. We love you and thank you for being so generous.

It has been awesome seeing many of you balance out the start to your holiday indulging during Thanksgiving and still attend classes--way to go!! Now that Thanksgiving is over, we will now be entering into the next phase of holidays with Christmas, Hanukah and the New Year, which means lots of parties and probably some traveling as well. It can be very challenging to balance out holiday indulging, so we decided it would be beneficial to share a few tips on how to survive the holidays this month without getting too far off track.

I believe the most important rule is to never go to a party hungry. We have all done this before, and most likely it didn't end well, right? We begin by eating every hors d'oeuvre  that is passed around, then gorging ourselves with our meal, then dessert and 2, 3, 4 glasses of wine--whew, that's a lot of extra calories consumed! I can feel my belly swelling from writing this. Then we feel bad about ourselves and wonder how much damage was done...an endless cycle. The average American gains 5+ pounds during the holidays--let's not let that happen to us! So, it's best to plan ahead and eat a light and healthy meal or snack prior to attending the party, so you can make healthier choices at the party, and choose just a few indulges that are worth it, but not go crazy.

Another important rule is to continue to prioritize your workouts--if you have to miss one, then find another time to exercise. Even if you are traveling or with family members during the holidays, you can invite them to go for a hike, a bike ride or a brisk walk to burn off those extra calories. Stay consistent with your workouts and you'll feel much better about the extra holiday indulgences.

Saving the best for last!  Let's discuss the calorie goblin--whether you call it hooch, sauce, vino, juice, moonshine, cocktails, booze, whatever...this is the hardest part for many of us. The rule of thumb is for every cocktail or glass of wine you have, be sure to follow up with one glass of water. This will help keep you hydrated and will fill your belly up. When you are hydrated, this keeps you from drinking excessively as well as overeating. So be sure to drink at least 8 cups of water per day (plus an extra cup per drink consumed) to help detox your system and stay hydrated.

While I understand I'm not telling you anything you don't know, it's always good to have a good friend looking out for you and remind you of these things. Because once you step into your next party, all of your hard work may go out of the window. So I hope these tips will be a helpful reminder that of course you should indulge, but do so in moderation. With that said.. I will see many of you on December 5th at the Hotsy Totsy for the Fuse Fitness' Annual Christmas Party! I hope we will all survive!

Yours In Health,

Pascha Brown

Hi Fusers! We are springing into summer! This means vacations, summer camps for kids, hopefully sunny days and more outdoor activities. It's easy to slack off  with your fitness program during the summer months, so we decided to switch things up this month, to focus on total body workouts using the TRX. So we hope you will appreciate the fact that we like to keep things interesting and push you outside of your comfort zone. You may even decide at the end of the month, to purchase a TRX for yourselves and take it with you on your vacations this summer :)

Many of you have taken a TRX class with myself, Kristin or Beverly. You may have also performed a few TRX exercises in our other classes, so you have a general understanding, but I'll explain further.

The TRX, is a nylon suspension training device, that leverages gravity and your body weight to perform a variety of total body exercises. There is an anchor that is either mounted to the ceiling or wall that holds the suspension trainer. You can adjust the resistance by moving your body toward the anchor for more body weight resistance or away from the anchor to ease the resistance. The straps can be adjusted to perform standing, seated, prone(lying face down) or supine movements(lying face up). Some basic examples are squats, planks, bridges and rows. But of course as you build your strength and stamina there are plenty of advanced movements that can be done. In my TRX Power class on Saturdays we even add dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, dynamax balls as well as other equipment. Here is a video of one of our members doing a vinyasa flow series on the TRX as a 4 minute AMRAP.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGFb48zLA-L/?taken-by=thefusefitness

The reason the TRX is so awesome, is because you can perform strength exercises, conditioning, balance, mobility and flexibility training and every exercise strengthens and trains your core. The TRX can also be programmed into an interval, an AMRAP(As Many Rounds As Possible), a ladder, pyramid, or RFT(Rounds For Time) just like any other fitness program. The TRX works every muscle in your body, including your forearms when performing a row, biceps curl, or a fly, and the muscles in your ankles and feet while performing lunges. The TRX is an all around great functional fitness training device.

Lastly, You can travel with it! It's easy to pack and set up on the beach, at a park and in a hotel room, it's easy to attach to the door. So it's effective and convenient. I hope I have listed enough positives for you to give it a try.  I challenge you to have an open mind and get ready for TRX! See you in class!

With Love,

Pascha Brown

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?

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

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 everyone! Happy February and happy Groundhog's Day! Here's to hoping the groundhog sees its shadow and that spring is on its way :)

Well, it's been an exciting month! Sadly, I haven't taken the time to blog about it--so here it goes, playing catch up and talking about what's new.

We've had a great month at the studio! Lots of dedicated fitness junkies kicking it up a notch, committing and sticking to New Year's resolutions, burning fat, building lean muscle, and most importantly, blasting through hundreds of burpees. We held a burpee contest this month, tracking burpees every day, awarding the person who had the largest percentage increase throughout the month.

And the winner is....drumroll please.....Avery Sim, with a whopping 120% increase! The prize? A gift certificate to our favorite workout clothing store, Lululemon!

Here are a couple videos of my awesome Power TRXers, who have gotten so strong and fit!

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Some recent healthy eats:

I threw a super fun dinner and bowling party for all my Iron Works fitness peeps. We started off with dinner and margaritas at Picante and ended with bowling, more drinks, and birthday cake at Albany Bowl.

A quick photo update on my kitty ventures....this super friendly neighborhood cat jumped on my head when I bent down to pet him. I was a bit scared that he was going to scratch my face, but he just hugged my head and nestled his little face against me, purring away. No claws, just love :)

And lastly, what's happening this month at The Fuse Fitness....February is National Heart Disease Awareness month, so we are challenging our members to strengthen their hearts by creating an endurance challenge. We'll be running the hill by our studio for time, and at the end of the month, the member with the best time will win a Polar Heart Rate Monitor Watch!

Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!! I'll be back soon with some more photos and videos regarding the haps at our little studio :)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com