Hi Fusers! We are pumped. The time has come to really kick it into high gear. We are about to seriously take control of our health, staying consistent with our workouts, adopting healthy eating habits, and getting rid of junk that's weighing us down. Introducing the Über Challenge!

This 60-day challenge begins tomorrow, April 15. Why 8 weeks? Because we want to see results and reach our goals, and that takes time. We'll be making new positive changes each week, focusing on consistency and follow through. We're tackling this head on. It is important to understand there is no quick fix; fitness and health are a journey and we'll be damned if we're not going to help make that journey a better ride.

The way the challenge works is that you get "+" points for working out and eating well, and "-" points for not working out and eating well. Pretty simple, right? To motivate everyone and eventually reward someone, the Über Challenge costs $10 to play; the winner takes all!

The main objective of this challenge is to improve our health. We may all be motivated by different reasons; whether it's to move better, feel better, sleep better, and/or look better, the one definitive commonality is that we want to be healthier. So here's how we're going to achieve that. Workout a minimum of 3 times each week at The Fuse, improve our eating and health habits, and improve on a timed workout challenge. Boom, it's that simple. And guess what? Thanks to all of you, we have a built-in support system.

Each week there will be a healthy habit to adopt for the week and all successive weeks moving forward. This is a progressive challenge with each week adding another healthy behavior.

Week 1: eliminate all processed foods.

Week 2: drink 6 cups of water a day; add 1 cup for every caffeinated beverage consumed.

Week 3: eliminate all gluten products.

Week 4: eliminate all sugar/sugar alternatives except fruit.

Week 5: get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night.

Week 6: eliminate alcohol.

Week 7: reduce caffeinated beverages to only 1 per day.

Week 8: reduce recreational screen time (tv, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to 2 hours or less.

So there you have it. Über Challenge Spring 2014. Begins tomorrow. Are you ready???

Yours in Health,

Kristin at The Fuse Fitness

Hi everyone! I know, I know, it's been a while.....all kinds of crazy have been going on over here. Crazy good though! And definitely good times :)

For those of you who don't know, my husband's brand spanking new bar just opened!! It's called The Night Light, located at 311 Broadway in Oakland, Jack London Square. It is gorgeous! He's been working on this project for over a year, and the final results are amazing. There you have it, my shameless shout-out. Come down and check it out!

Happy Spring! I can't tell you how happy I am that it's spring! (although it doesn't quite look like spring out there today) Doesn't matter though, summer is on it's way!! Hip hip hooray!

So let's see...a few things that have been going on this month at The Fuse. At the beginning of the month we hosted a group of St. Mary's high schoolers for a yoga class with Cynthea Denise. Here they are after class:

All month long we've been doing a tuck jump challenge. Whoever does the most tuck jumps in 1 minute wins a $100 gift certificate to Nike. The race is on! There's only 1 day left, and there are a few women who are neck and neck, in the 100+ range....tomorrow they'll both be in do defend their jumps and compete for the prize. Have you tried doing tuck jumps lately? Over 100 in a minute is just down right crazy!! And more importantly, everyone has been improving and crushing their previous scores! Making Pascha and I so proud!

And that, my friends, is my Monkey Ninja. Yes, they really do exist. Isn't that pretty bad-ass? I think so. And here's my Iron Work's Monkey Ninjas in action, the last few seconds of a really intense workout.

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And lastly, here's a quick video of this morning's TRX Power class getting worked by Pacha in this intense, TRX circuit!

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Happy Friday to you all! And, if you're around Oakland tonight, come have a drink with me at The Night Light! I'll be there for a bit!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi friends! Happy New Year! Now that 2011 has wrapped up, here's to 2012 being a year that brings good things to you and your family!

The holidays have been a whirlwind this year, lots of fun, and lots of crazy :) Here's a quick recap of mine in photos....

I'm sure we all indulged more than usual, but don't let it bum you out. We work hard all year long, we deserve to have some indulgent behavior :)

Now, time to get your booties back into The Fuse.....let's get this new year started with a bang! We're kicking it into gear this month with our New Years Specials and our fitness challenge.

There are two specials--the first is for all members, a 2 for 1 deal--you bring in a workout buddy (spouse, friend, partner, etc), you both receive 50% off a monthly unlimited package AND you have someone to motivate you (reg. $150 each, now $75 each). The second deal is for new members only, which is $50 off a monthly unlimited class package (reg. $150, now $100).

And the challenge for this month....the dreaded/loved burpee....dreaded by you, loved by us, dreaded because they're tough, loved because they get results. The most burpees (no push-up on the burpee) in 90 seconds wins. The prize? A $75 gift certificate to Lululemon...a little something toward showing off your hard-earned, toned muscles.

And that's a wrap. Happy New Year!!!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi everyone :) Here we are again, successfully made it through the mid-week hump. Which means the weekend is on the horizon :) I hope your week has been great so far. Mine has been pretty rockin'--some great workouts, funny conversations, inspiring words and healthy food. Not too shabby :) Here's what my Monkey Ninja Bootcamp at Iron Works did today, pretty tough, definitely awesome.

As you know, our winner for last month's "Highest Class Attendance" challenge was the awesome Rebecca Merino, with a whopping total of 28 classes. That's right, 28 solid hours of hard-core exercise....pretty inspiring, wouldn't you say? It was a very tight race, and while we could only give away one prize (a gift certificate to the awesome masseuse Adrienne of Mend in downtown Berkeley, website http://www.adriennesaltzbergcmt.com/), I also wanted to give a shout out to Kattt Atchley, our runner-up, attending 27 classes!

In the spirit of letting these fabulous women inspire you, we invited them both to do a quick interview to share with the rest of our students/clients. Thankfully, they both agreed :)

Here are the questions we asked, along with their answers. Be inspired ;)

1. How long have you been coming to The Fuse Fitness?

Rebecca: "Since it opened, but before that, I was going to Kristin's Saturday Monkey Ninja Bootcamp at the park."

Kattt: "I have attended classes since the last week of June."

2. What are your favorite classes and why?

R: "I take TRX, Bootcamp, and Metabolic Surge regularly.  But my favorite class has to be Yoga Tune Up.  After a week of doing all the other classes, it feels like heaven to massage and stretch the muscles.  However, I love Yoga Tune Up because of the other classes.  So if I could only take one class a week, I'd have to go with where it all began for me, Saturday Bootcamp."

K: "My favorite classes are power yoga, pilates fusion, monkey ninja, slow flow yoga - from intense to subtle. I like the classes because I always feel better *afterward* and I like the feeling of accomplishment. I like the "I did it!" feeling. As I've developed stamina and feel more secure in the poses and movements, I am learning (and enjoying) how to increase the intensity. Also, through doing these exercises, I am learning anatomy, and beginning to understand my body in new ways through these exercises (e.g., incorporating breathing, and using core muscles, especially my gluteal muscles)."

3. What Fitness goals have you set for yourself if any and have you achieved any of them?

R:  "I don't really have any specific fitness goal. I primarily workout because I love the feeling of being in shape and the adrenaline rush after a tough workout.  Also, to be honest, I like to eat.  I love Little Star Pizza, onion rings, and pretty much anything sweet.  I don't go crazy everyday, but come Friday or Saturday evening, I definitely don't stick to any diet that The Fuse would recommend.  I guess my fitness goal would be to keep working out so I don't feel guilty about some of my nutritional choices."  Rebecca, don't worry, we love to eat too :) A cheat day is always welcome after a week of hard work, sweat and discipline.

K: "I achieved my early goals: my clothing fitting and increased energy. My long term goals are strength, increasing intensity, and learning how to relax after working out."  Kattt, just what we love to hear, clients/members/students ninja-kicking one goal after another...keep up the good work!!

4. Tell us something interesting about yourself.

R: "In the spirit of Halloween, I read Bram Stoker's Dracula at a much too early age and have been scared of vampires ever since.  Most people have fears of spiders, heights, or things like that, but I'm just afraid of a vampire floating into my window while I sleep.  Aly likes to sneak up behind me with fake fangs and freak me out.  Lesson learned, never tell a 9 year old what you're afraid of."  Alright, now I know what to dress like for class on Halloween! Thanks for the idea ;)

K: "I am a visual artist working with pen and ink on paper. I am an experimental vocalist, composer, keyboardist, and combine disciplines into performance, which means I have my own artistic language. I also have an electronic pop laptop band called "The Atchleys", with my husband Kenneth; and "Kattt and Ron" with vocalist Ron Heglin, which is more meditative. I have performed work in art galleries, dance lofts and bars."  Wow Kattt, so cool! Very impressive :)

Well there you have it friends, the words of our two most dedicated and very inspiring members. Let it be motivation to push yourselves in your workouts, today and everyday. Whether it's going to that next level of intensity in Metabolic Surge or letting your mind/body center itself and calm in Slow Flow Yoga, work hard! Nothing in life is worth it if you don't give it your all. Know what I'm sayin'? :)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi everyone :) Hope your day has been good. I wanted to share this awesome clip from my Monkey Ninja Bootcamp with you guys:

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What I love most about this video is my super awesome little sidekick, Anai. By little I mean 5 years old. By awesome I mean she had already completed Slow Flow Yoga earlier that morning, and after bootcamp went to Kung Fu. And by super I mean she's one of the funniest little girls I know. We're BFF's....we pinky swore....many times :)

While I'm in video-sharing mode here, I also have to share this amazing video. This little girl, 6 years old, has got Nicki Minaj's Super Bass down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7hTAp6KrGY

Um yeah. Pretty freakin' awesome. Love her bad-ass little attitude. And her little sidekick. Who by the way is lovely, but nowhere near as super awesome as Anai. Just sayin'. ;)

So back to The Fuse Fitness....classes have been rockin' here these past couple weeks! We're so proud of all the hard work you guys have been dedicating to yourselves and to us. Nothing makes us happier than to see all your sweaty faces in class :)

And a quick reminder--we are hosting Cynthea Denise's "Jumping In Feet First" workshop this Sunday, Oct. 16th, 1:30-3:30pm. It will be a very engaging, interactive and informative workshop focusing on how the feet play a pivotal role in most things going on with the lower extremities. Cynthea will be teaching everyone various stretches, strengthening exercises, and reflexology tips to help take care of your feet. And really, we do kinda abuse our poor little feet. So come on over to our studio, The Fuse Fitness in Kensington, 377 Colusa Avenue, and learn how and why to take better care of your feet.

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness

Hi again! Mondays are always exciting. Of course unless you have a case of the Mondays--can't help you there :) Mondays are when we choose our food of the week and our exercise challenge of the week. Something to get you guys thinking, eating and moving healthy all week long.

This week's exercise is the Kettlebell Goblet Squat with Forward Extension, the challenge is to add 3 sets of 15 reps to your workout, 4-5 times this week. Now I have to admit, this is one of my current favorites. My clients and students can probably attest to this, as we've been working on it consistently over the last couple months or so. It's an awesome, powerful full-body movement that targets the glutes (and who doesn't want strong, toned glutes--didn't you hear, butts are all the rage these days?), legs, core and shoulders.

In case you're not sure what this exercise is, check out this brief instructional video below:

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(Hmmm....for some reason I cannot get this video to upload so it's vertical. My technological shortcomings are quickly becoming visible to the rest of the world....Anyway, you can also check this video out on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fuse-Fitness/154316971264544.)

Hope you enjoy this challenge! Let us know how it goes!

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness