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:

[wpvideo quQKNm76]

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 everyone! We've made it through the mid-week hump, which means the weekend is quickly approaching :)

Today we lost a truly inspirational, brilliant man, someone who has greatly impacted and influenced the world we live in. Steve Jobs succumbed to pancreatic cancer, and while we all knew he was gravely ill, it nonetheless comes as a huge shock and with much sadness. I wanted to share with you an amazing quote from Steve Jobs, one that is so profound on so many levels.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma -- which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Now I challenge you to really think about this....what does this mean to you? What I love about this is that it applies to everything in life. I want you to think about how this applies to you, to your health, to your dreams, to your goals. What is holding you back? What is getting in the way of achieving happiness, health, success? Really think here, find your inner voice, no matter how small it might be right now, and give it life. Feel blessed that you are alive, that you have a chance, that you have a choice....and appreciate it. It's easier said than done, however this quote really captures something special and meaningful. Something I believe we can all learn from :)

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi friends :) Happy very almost weekend! Isn't it funny come Monday morning it seems as though the weekend will never rear its head again....and then before you know it, it's Friday afternoon! I love hearing about everyone's plans for the weekend and love to know how you spend your down time.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm heading out to the parents' Saturday afternoon. They only live 45 minutes away, however it seems a world of difference....at least in terms of my relaxing abilities :) My Saturdays always start with a 9am client (let's me sleep in a little bit!) and then teaching my Monkey Ninja Bootcamp over at my studio, The Fuse Fitness in Kensington. I love teaching my Saturday class! Most of the people who take it have been taking it for a long time, so I can really.kick.their.asses! Love it! And for some weird reason, they keep coming back for more :) Tomorrow's workout is already planned, and it's no joke. The kind of workout that will leave everyone laying in a sweaty puddle at the end of the hour, unable to move. And even though I am up front and honest about what kind of workout we'll be doing (HARD!!) they show up anyway! Like I said, weird, huh?

After class I clean the studio from top to bottom, getting it ready for the beginning of a new week. We close down Sundays so we can all get a bit of rest. And then I'm heading to the parents', where I will get to chill (so looking forward to that, it seems like it's been a while), maybe even by the pool (we strangely get our summer weather in September and October), take a nap, *try* to cuddle with our cat (mainly chase her around and most likely get bitten by her), and go out to dinner with my parents and husband to one of our favorite restaurants, Town. I think that name is so cute...going out for a night on the Town. Anyway, they have great cocktails(!), awesome food and the atmosphere is fun and lively. And the company is wonderful :) Sunday I will get to really sleep in (woo hoo! it's been forever) but I'll probably wake up early anyway....at least I don't have to wake up to an alarm, that always makes for a great day. And if the weather is nice and warm, which it's supposed to be, I'll head out to my parents' pool with my book and probably fall asleep in the sun :) In case you couldn't tell, Sundays are my rest days and I plan on resting to the max this Sunday!

Anyway, just wanted to wish everyone a great weekend and see what you guys have planned. Partying, working, resting, exercising? Please share!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness www.thefusefitnessstudio.com

Hi friends! :) Hope your Thursday is getting off to a good start. The weekend is almost here! I'm looking forward to getting out of town and visiting my parents. They live in Menlo Park, about 45 minutes from me, and it's so relaxing to leave my life here and have a very mini-vacay out there. My parents are so wonderful and have always been so supportive of me and I feel so lucky to have them :) They live close enough that I can see them regularly, yet far enough away that is allows me to unplug and unwind....which is often hard to do in my own home if you know what I mean :) There's always something that needs to be done in my house that it's often a bit challenging to relax....and I could use some relaxation right now. While I wouldn't have it any other way, it is exhausting working the way Pascha and I have been since we opened our studio....teaching 8 or 9 classes a week, training clients one-on-one between 20-30 hours a week, and then running and managing our business in all our spare time. Whew!! Anyway, I'd love to hear what your plans are for the weekend....that's always my favorite stretching topic in my classes or with my clients; I enjoy hearing what people do in their free time.

As many of you already know, we hosted the "Eating Healthy On The Go" workshop last weekend. Like I mentioned in my previous blogpost, it was a great success. It was our first workshop since we've opened in June, and our goal is to host one a month. We would absolutely LOVE to hear ideas on what type of workshops you might be interested in.

Back to last weekend's workshop....Pascha and I thought it would be very informative to expand on it a bit and discuss foods that fool people. What I mean by that are foods that are marketed towards the consumer to trick them into thinking it's healthy for them. Sound confusing? It is a bit....food marketing folks have it down--they know how to suspend your disbelief and get you to buy their product. Take low-fat or non-fat, fruit flavored yogurt. Sounds healthy, right? The packaging makes sure to say in big letters on the front that it's low-fat and low-calorie. There's usually a pretty picture of some piece of fruit, representing the flavor of the yogurt. How could you go wrong, this is surely healthy for you. Well, take a look at the ingredients....sugar is usually in the top 2 or 3 ingredients. A Yopait, low-fat banana yogurt has 26 grams of sugar in it, equivalent to 6.5 teaspoons! That's a lot of unnecessary sugar that is not good for you. The best way to enjoy yogurt is to buy plain yogurt and doctor it up yourself. If it's too sour for you, add some fresh fruit and a small amount of unrefined, natural sugar, such as honey or agave. One of my favorite snacks is whole milk, Greek yogurt, mixed with sliced banana, strawberries, slivered almonds, unsweetened coconut and chia seeds. Healthy, delicious, plenty sweet because of the fruit!

Another common trap when it comes to buying food is wheat bread. We all know that we're supposed to eat whole grains, so white bread is out. But little do we know that plain wheat bread isn't much better for you. Another marketing trick which does nothing for our health. Unless the package says 100% Whole Wheat Bread, you may as well buy white bread. What's the difference you ask? White and wheat bread are made with wheat flour, which the bran and the germ have been removed through a process known as milling. Milling gives white flour a longer shelf life by removing the bran which contains oil, allowing products made with it, like white bread, the ability to survive storage. In other words, it's processed. If the product is 100% Whole Wheat Bread, it has to use whole wheat flour that hasn't been processed or stripped of its nutrients. It may not stay fresh as long on the shelf, but who really wants to eat bread that weirdly doesn't go bad for weeks?

What I want you to take away from this is that it is absolutely necessary to read the nutrition facts and not get sucked into the marketing of a product. Even more important is to check the ingredient list. If sugar is in the top 1-3 ingredients, think again. Jarred pasta sauce is often another food that fools people--it's usually loaded with added sugar. You wouldn't know until you glanced at the nutrition facts and ingredients. Also, if the ingredient list has a whole bunch of items on it that you have no clue as to what the heck they are, do you really want that going into your body? Food is what fuels and nourishes every cell in our bodies...it's important to give it things that are healthy.

I challenge you to look past packaging and key-words marketers use, such as "organic," "low-fat," and "gluten-free" and to immediately draw your eyes to what really matters....the ingredients in that food and the nutrition facts. Don't be fooled by a processed, junky snack item that says in big, bold letters on front, "Only 100 calories per serving!" It may just be 100 calories, but if it's processed and junky, it has no benefit to you or your body.

Cheers to moving past food marketing traps and forward into healthy food choices. Please share your thoughts on this topic!

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness

Hi there! Hope your week is off to a good start. I know mine is....it's amazing what great weather can do for keeping your spirits flying high :)

We had our first workshop this past Sunday....and it was a success! Jamie Dougherty from Jamie Living (check out her website, www.jamieliving.com) put on "Eating Healthy On The Go" over here at our studio, The Fuse Fitness in Kensington. She spoke about the difference between yin (expansive) and yang (contractive) foods and the need for balance in what we eat for the best digestion. Her 6 simple steps for eating healthy on the go are to reduce caffeine, drink lots of water, eat dark leafy green veggies, increase your sweet veggies, chew your food thoroughly, and make sure to breathe. Jamie also spoke about the need to eliminate all processed foods from our diets...including dry cereals! This really shocked a lot of people....Jamie says that even healthy dry cereals, such as Kashi, are processed and should be avoided. She'd like to see everyone sticking to oatmeal (and not the pre-packaged, sugared up kind :) ) for cereal. Jamie stressed the importance of eating organic when it comes to meats and dairy--you don't want animal products that come from animals that have been pumped with hormones and antibiotics! All in all, it was quite informative and everyone enjoyed it! We'll definitely be having her back for another workshop soon!

Our next workshop, "Jumping in Feet First," is coming up Sunday October 16th, 1:30-3:30pm with the lovely Cynthea Denise! She is one of our amazing yoga instructors and you can check her out on her website, www.shaktimoon.com. Here's the info on the workshop and what it entails:

"In the Iyengar tradition of Yoga much attention is paid to the feet as the foundational support to healthy, strong and fluid standing postures.  Reflexology reveals that all of the organ systems can be effected by working with the feet.

In our day to day life we cover our feet with shoes and go about our day without paying attention to our feet unless they hurt.  In this workshop we will take a look at the anatomy and function of our lower extremities and how simple daily attention can improve the function of the feet and how this will effect the rest of our body."

You can sign up for this amazing, informative workshop on our website, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness

Hey everyone :) Hope you're all having a great week so far! I'm definitely enjoying this beautiful weather :) And, as of Sunday, our beloved SF Giants are on a 7 game winning streak! They're playing the Dodgers tonight, let's keep that streak up boys!

I wanted to congratulate 2 of our awesome instructors, Jennifer Lynch and Leanne Dow, for completing the totally crazy awesome Tough Mudder this past weekend! From the words of the Tough Mudder website, this race is "probably the toughest event on the planet! Tough Mudder is not your average lame-ass mud run or spirit-crushing ‘endurance’ road race. Our 10-12 mile obstacle courses are designed by British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Forget finish times. Simply completing a Tough Mudder is a badge of honor."  Yeah, we don't mess around over here. Way to go ladies!!!

Also, a special shout out to my friend Toné Chin, who trained his butt off to prepare for a boxing match last Sunday. The fight was part of a charitable event and the proceeds went to Alcazar Scholarship Fund, By Any Dreams Necessary, and Rocha Scholarship Fund. It was his first fight and he did awesome! And I witnessed it, he really did train hard :)

While everyone else was working their booties off last weekend, Pascha and I were on the opposite end of the spectrum. She was in Miami with all of her girlfriends, partying the nights away, and I was visiting my family (3 brothers, my nephew and my parents) in NY. We celebrated my oldest brother's birthday, and I think I can honestly say we ate and drank our ways through NY. It was a blast :)

While we are big promoters of tough workouts and training hard here at The Fuse Fitness, we do like to kick back, relax and have a great time. It's important to balance work and play ;)

What are your favorite ways to relax and have a good time? Please share!

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness, www.thefusefitnessstudio.com :)

Hi friends :) It's been a little while, hope all has been good in your world. We're finally getting some nice summer weather around here. (Who says living in CA is always golden? Not if you're in the east bay...) We just had a lovely 3 day weekend. And tomatoes, which were our food of the week last week, are freakin' amazing right now. I'd have to say, it's pretty good over in my world :) It's the little things to be grateful for.

So I recently had a request for a blog post. It is my very first request and I feel honored for that. Again, it's the little things...thanks Tone´ :)

A couple of weeks ago during the stretching segment of my Monkey Ninja Bootcamp the topic of post-workout protein shakes came up. My students often see me downing a protein shake right after our class is done and there are a few other students who are also capitalizing on this window of opportunity. The question at large here is why are we doing this?

Intense exercise is a physiological stress on the body, depleting the muscle's fuel resources and causing micro-tears in the muscles. What's the common sense thing to do when the tank is empty and damage has been done? Exactly. Refuel and repair. Without taking the correct measures to repair and refuel your body, you are negating many of the positive effects of exercise. So if you're putting in all that effort to get a kick-ass workout you need to learn the correct way to repair and refuel....there is a short window of opportunity for optimal post-workout nutrition.

No more than an hour after your workout is finished, and preferably within 30 minutes, you should be consuming your post-workout meal. But what should it consist of? Well, that answer is simple: carbs and protein. The website www.livestrong.com has an article titled "How Do Protein & Carbohydrates Replenish Your Body After a Workout?" which breaks down what happens during exercise and why you need to refuel with carbs and proteins.

Carbohydrates

During exercise, your body relies on stores of glucose inside your muscles and blood. The muscular contractions of exercise elicit an increased uptake of glucose from the blood, making it necessary for you to replenish blood glucose after exercise. An adaptation to regular exercise is the increased storage of glucose inside your muscles as glycogen. After exercise, an enzyme known as glycogen synthase is elevated. Glycogen synthase stimulates your body to remove glucose from the blood and replenish and increase muscle glycogen stores for your next bout of exercise.

Proteins

Part of adapting to exercise involves breaking down muscle tissue for it to build itself back up and adapt to the stimulus of physical activity. Protein taken in after exercise assists with this process. Your body uses the amino acids inside protein to rebuild and replenish muscle tissue that was damaged during exercise.

Intake Recommendations

A combination of carbohydrates and protein is optimal for workout recovery. Consuming both nutrients allows your body to replenish and rebuild energy stores and muscle tissue. It also reduces the levels of cortisol in your blood, a hormone that reduces muscle growth. Carbohydrates and proteins should be consumed within 10 to 30 minutes after your workout. For carbs, you should consume 0.7 to 1.0 g of carbs per kilogram of your body weight. For proteins, take in 1.6 to 1.8 g per kilogram of your body weight.

--taken from www.livestrong.com, article title "How Do Protein & Carbohydrates Replenish Your Body After a Workout?", written by Laura Niedziocha.

So now onto the next questions and answers....why protein shakes and why only carbs and protein? The simple answer is this: you want your post-workout meal to be very easily digestible. Liquids are quicker to digest and fats slow down digestion. Therefore a protein shake that combines protein powder with carbs is the ideal post-workout meal.

It is said that the most easily digestible protein powder is whey protein. Personally, I try to keep my protein shakes dairy free, so I roll with Sun Warrior Raw Whole Grain Sprouted Vegan Protein. Check their website out at www.sunwarrior.com. The nutrition stats are pretty amazing and their product is super clean--"it is naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, contains large amounts of antioxidants tocopherols and tocotrienols, and contains other essential nutrients such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorous, iron and potassium. Sun Warrior protein is created through a process of combining the sprouted endosperm and the bran from raw sprouted whole grain brown rice. This unique process creates the first complete hypoallergenic protein which is made up of all 9 essential amino acids and other non-essential amino acids in a perfectly balanced amino acid profile."

--taken from www.sunwarrior.com

Now for the fun part--what to add to your protein shake. My favorite concoction is organic unsweetened vanilla-flavored almond milk, organic banana, Sun Warrior Protein Powder, chia seeds and cinnamon. A good mix of carbs and proteins with very little fat. And so yummy! I'm a huge fan of the Magic Bullet, a single-serving size food processor and blender, makes it so easy to make my protein shake in the morning and clean up is so simple.

So, that was a long blog post, whew! Please share your favorite protein powder and protein shake recipes! And of course, let me know if you have any questions.

Yours in Health,

Kristin, The Fuse Fitness

Hi friends :) Just wanted to share some recent eats with you.

My husband Doug (here's your shout-out babe!) made this beautiful salad. It had mixed greens, avocado, radish, cucumber, tomato, blueberries, nectarine and feta, all organic. We ate this amazing salad with a side of organic chicken breast tenders, marinated in teriyaki, and grilled on our bbq.

A recent breakfast I made before dashing off to work...2 organic eggs scrambled with ham, a little bit of cheese, salt, pepper and chipotle chili pepper, served with avocado on top. On the side I had leftover Quinoa and Black Beans, recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/q​uinoa-and-black-beans/detail.a​spx. We put this recipe up a couple of weeks ago on Facebook when we highlighted beans as our food of the week. I added a little zing by adding pepperoncinis on top, so yummy!

 Another dish we recently highlighted on Facebook was Coconut Curry Tofu--the food of the week was curry. This was my first time cooking with tofu and I loved it! Here's the link for the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/coconut-curry-tofu/detail.aspx, and here are some pics of the cooking process from start to finish:

Making curry sauce

Sauteing tofu in coconut oil

Cooking brown rice

Chopped up veggies

Everything simmering together

Final dish! It was delicious!

And while yes, eating well is so incredibly important, we have to leave room for treats every once in a while.

This was a special treat we shared celebrating my dad's birthday. All that fresh summer fruit was so amazing! A special treat for a very special person.

Hope you enjoy!

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness

Hey everyone! Hope your weekend is going well! Ours has been a lesson in....rolling with the punches. We had a bit of an upset a week and a half ago when our practically BRAND NEW bamboo laminate floors bubbled up, leaving an approximately 6ft x 2ft sized bubble. Um, yeah. What to do, what to do....

Well we realized quickly that the bubble was getting bigger and if left to its own devices would surely eventually snap, meaning that the pieces of laminate would break apart. It got increasingly more difficult as the week progressed to pretend the bubble was not there...or at least to pretend that it was going to disappear. We had to do something, and we had to do it now. We immediately called up our contractor, who came out right away to assess.

Well, he admitted, "I forgot to put a moisture barrier down." Excuse me, you forgot what? Um, you know, just an essential step in the process.

"Okay, so what does that mean?" I say.

"I need to do it all over again."

My brain begins to quickly process what this means....multiple days of work, starting back at the beginning, cancelled clients and classes, and a HUGE FREAKIN' MESS! So I had two choices....freak out and start yelling at him or roll with the punches. I chose the latter, albeit not easily. The past couldn't be changed so there was no purpose in freaking out at him. He apologized and said he'd get the job done.

So there you have it....if you've visited our class schedule and noticed many cancelled classes or walked by our studio and wondered, didn't they just open....that's the story. Good news is....floors are almost done (again)! Which means an evening of serious cleaning. And a re-grand opening Monday morning ;). C'est la vie.

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness