Monthly Archives: January 2012

On a Fit Road Trip through Koko Nation

Posted on by
Recently, I took my show on the road and had the pleasure of working out at Koko FitClubs around the country.  Being in a club is a very different experience than Smartraining at Koko HQ (or on the Smartrainer I have in my garage – BRR.) I really enjoyed myself.

 

The club experience is great, but what I really love is meeting YOU – our members – and hearing first hand how Smartraining is changing the way you look and feel. Here are a couple of highlights – from among many memorable encounters – of my trip through Koko Nation:

 

  • A mom and high school-aged daughter who are Smartraining partners. They came to Koko as the daughter was recovering from a serious back injury. She is bouncing back and they are both working hard and getting Koko strong. That’s the best – seeing mother working out with daughter and the power of Koko to dramatically change the quality of both their lives.
  • Members who have lost 30, 60 and even 100 pounds over the course of the last year – talk about a TRANSFORMATION. Not only have these members lost weight, they have changed their body composition. They have lost body fat and inches while building a most prized commodity – Lean Body Mass (M U S C L E). My favorite 6 letter word.
  • A wonderful member, who won a battle with breast cancer, was exercising at Koko with such an elevated spirit that I could not help to think how lucky her family is to have her.
  • Louisiana. Member after member had great things to say about Koko and why they love doing it. It was awesome. Many of the members and FitCoaches at the Lousiana Koko FitClubs have been Smartraining for more than three years. Geaux Koko!

At Koko we strive to change lives each and every day and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to play a role in that. Thanks, Koko Nation, for coming out and sharing your successes with me. It means the world.

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer

Koko FitClub is Better Than Personal Training & This Former Personal Trainer is OK With That

Posted on by

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Ghandi

On occasion, Koko FitClub raises the hackles of personal trainers who don’t understand what we are about or haven’t considered that we are fighting the same battle against lifestyles that leave people at risk for the worst chronic diseases. Here’s a recent example from a Patch comment in response to a new Koko FitClub here in Massachusetts:

“If you want to transform, then having someone work with you that gets to know you, can adapt if you have injuries, can motivate you even when you are not in the mood is the only way you can achieve lasting results.  The owner and staff are not personal training certified. No one in the personal training business would ever work at a “FAD” like this.  30 Minute workout with results is great. Its like 30 minute Abs. A German company has created a 17.5 minute workout that is used in gyms and by professional soccer players and is making its way into the US.  You can get virtual training now at a regular gym and get all the benefits since all the major manufacturers of equipment are getting into the virtual training business with clients having access on a computer to their results, etc.  Comcast has 100′s of programs that customers can get for free at home without taking the time to go to a gym. Their intellectual property is not proprietary and every fitness company will be competing with them soon. FAD all over it.”

Believe me, as a former personal trainer, exercise physiologist and certified strength and conditioning specialist, I know quality personal training can change lives. Since it’s Koko FitClub’s mission to do just that, we have no desire to take clients away from personal trainers.

But – and it’s a big one – the majority of us will never hire a personal trainer. (We don’t even belong to gyms.)

We want to be fit and healthy, though. We are the people for whom Koko FitClub is in business. The masses. For us, for reasons as unique as we are, Koko is better than personal training.

And did I mention that Koko works as well and often better than personal training? (On average a 33% strength gain after 24 weeks of strength training and a 41% strength gain after a year – this based on data collected from over half a million sessions!)

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Koko Nation, do you have anything to add?

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

Koko FitClub Franchising

 

Exercise vs. Anxiety

Posted on by

I was on the elliptical doing one of Michael Wood’s latest Winter cardio programs (loving them!) and he brought up the topic of exercise and mental health, mentioning his colleague, Dr. Michael Otto, PhD., who is a researcher doing great work in this area. It is so interesting and can help so many. That audio has inspired me to revisit this blog post on the subject. Hope you enjoy!

_________

Here’s another reason to feel great about your visits to Koko FitClub. It’s long been a commonly held belief that mood is elevated by exercise. Anecdotal evidence from my own life sure supports it. Juggling work and family commitments can leave me feeling frazzled at times, but Smartraining sessions always help me regroup. It’s 30, uninterrupted minutes of MY time. So, I was interested to see a handful of recent articles touting research that supports our intuition. Psychologists are actually “prescribing” exercise as a good intervention and treatment for people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety.

My further research into the subject has led me to some fascinating findings, here are a couple you may not have heard before:

  • The immediate mood boost we have come to know as the “runners high” is actually followed by longer term relief for depression and anxiety, not unlike the relief gained from medications and therapy.
  • Exercise battles anxiety and depression better than relaxation techniques or meditation.
  • Researchers think exercise is an effective stress buster because it trains our bodies’ physiological systems to communicate and work in concert more effectively during stressful situations, which in turn raises our bodies’ threshold for stress response. (In other words, exercise is “stress practice” so your body doesn’t respond to stress with the symptoms of anxiety and depression as easily.)
  • Exercise works fast, in 25 to 30 minutes, to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression. In contrast, the therapeutic benefits of medication often take weeks to kick in.

If you’d like to read more about it, here are some worthwhile online articles:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/exercise-and-mood/201110/exercise-anxiety

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2010-04-26-yourhealth26_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2010/04/study_prescribing_exercise_can.html

Stress Reduction and Exercise: Evidence suggest physical activity lowers stress via brain chemicals

Here’s to feeling better every day!

Mary Obana

President and Co-Founder
Koko FitClub
Koko FitClub Franchising