Monthly Archives: July 2011

8 Simple Nutrition Tips to get the Most out of Your Koko Smartraining Workouts

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These 8 simple changes to your daily nutrition, when combined with your three strength and three cardio Smartraining workouts each week, will make a big difference in how you look and feel.

I explain in more detail…Have a listen:

  1. Drink 16oz of water first thing in the morning
  2. NEVER skip breakfast
  3. Eat Little Meals Often (E.L.M.O.)
  4. Rid your diet of white foods
  5. Eat 5-9 servings a day of fruits and vegetables
  6. Include protein in each meal or snack
  7. Control portion sizes and read food labels
  8. DO NOT eat after 8PM

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

Is your strength increasing with Koko Smartraining workouts, but your Q score staying the same?

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Koko FitClub Q ScoreThose of you in Koko Nation are very familiar with the Koko Q Score. A measurement of strength relative to weight, it allows you to compare your strength to everyone one else who uses Koko. A question I often hear is, “Why, if I have achieved consistent strength increases, have I not seen my Q score go up?” This happened to me recently- my Q score did not seem to want to budge.

First let me explain how we calculate the Q score, because it isn’t all about strength. It is a strength to weight ratio, independent of age and gender. (Age and gender are the ways we group and compare Q scores.) But, what most of you may not know, is that the ratio calculation is adjusted for pace. The pace score you get during your strength test affects your Q score. This is a variable that may very well be causing your Q score to stay where it is.

A simple example: If two individuals who weigh the same lift the same amount of weight for the same number of repetitions during their strength test, but one of them maintains an average pace score of 98% while the other only 75%, the first person will achieve the higher Q score. Why?

The Smartrainer equates staying on pace with lifting a weight you can manage with good form and without momentum. You have developed enough strength and enough stability in your joints and core to handle it. If you aren’t staying on pace you are either dogging it, (I know you’d never do that during your strength test!) or you are lifting more than you should and likely using poor form and momentum to help you complete each rep.

Here is a helpful rule of thumb: During a strength test, if you cannot keep the pace bar in the blue box for 2-3 reps, then it is a good indication you have maxed out on the weight you should lift. To push yourself on to a higher weight with a poor pace score doesn’t help your Q score. (It is also a good way to injure yourself.)

So, if your Q Score seems “stuck” here are the three things to look at:

  1. Is your weight accurate in your member profile? (Let the front desk know if your weight changes, it makes a difference.)
  2. Is the total volume of weight you lift during each subsequent strength test increasing? (Volume is, for each exercise, the amount of weight x the number of sets/repetitions: a single repetition of a chest press at 50 lbs is not the same volume as three reps at 50 lbs. If you aren’t sure, you can look at your strength test sessions in detail at mykokofitness.com. Go to program history and click on  the program number. Once inside you can click on “results” for the strength sessions within that program to view the weight, sets and reps for each exercise.)
  3. Are you maintaining a good pace score during your strength tests? (This makes a difference for all the reasons I stated above.)

During my latest strength test I worked very hard to stay on pace- even when I was really being challenged by the weight- and you know what? My Q score finally got a boost!

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

 

Our first member to 1,000,000 Koko Points!

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Meet the First Koko Millionaire:

Leo Godwin

Leo’s Koko Stats:

Koko Q Score: 112

Strength Gain since starting Koko: 72%

Weight Lifted: 9,757,375 lbs

Average pace score over 628 strength sessions: 98%

Why I Koko: “I want to continue to play my favorite sports at a high level…against guys who seem to keep getting younger!”

Are you wondering what it takes to rack up one million Koko points?

Leo’s dad, (also Leo,) introduced him to Koko FitClub Pembroke in September of 2007, so he’s been at it awhile. He tries to be very consistent with his Koko routine, shooting for four strength and ten cardio sessions per week. (Leo prefers to do two cardio sessions each visit.)

He has always been active- he plays basketball four days a week, loves golf and plays on a softball league- but has never been a “gym guy.” Like many of us, he never felt comfortable or enjoyed going because he wasn’t sure exactly what he should be doing on the strength side. That’s not the case now that Koko is part of his life.  ”I walk in and [thanks to the Smartraining System] know exactly what to do.”

Has Koko helped Leo’s game? Yes, according to Leo, he hits the ball farther in golf and softball and says “I’m 44 and have no trouble keeping up with the 20 year-old guys I play basketball against!”

Leo shared that Koko also made a huge difference in his recovery from a basketball injury last year. When Leo ruptured his patellar tendon he was forced to take a few months off from Koko, and worse, had to stay off the basketball court for six whole months. Apparently, though, this was a good thing. He had the same injury to his other knee ten years prior and required ten months to recover enough to play again. He says, “My surgeon was amazed at how much faster I came back this time, especially since I was ten years older.” Leo attributes that to the strength he’s built with Koko.

Congratulations, Leo!

We love Leo’s story because what Koko is for him is what we want Koko to be for all  of you: a simple way to get fit that fits within your life, enabling you to get out and do the things you love and feel great doing it- even as the years fly by. We want Koko to help you be the best you possible!

So, when will you become a Koko Millionaire?