I hear this all the time in fitness ads; New Year, New You! I don’t like it, it sounds rude to me. I doubt you need a new you.

You may want a stronger you, a healthier you or a more energized you but I’m sure you don’t need a completely new you!

What do you like to do in the New Year; start a new eating plan, start a new workout plan, do a Body Cleanse or Detox???

Is it confusing with so many options and you may think you will start, do too much and just quit.

I’ve been in the fitness biz a long time and I know majority of the people I come in contact with will do something, even if they are not totally sure what they are doing.

I just started using and working with Arbonne and their nutritional line. No, it’s not dried foods or 30 day juice plans.

What I can help you with is to get started on a healthy plan that works for you.

Simple Options:

Incorporating Protein Shakes in your meal plan.

Taking a good vitamin.

Multi-layered Ideas:

Get your workout set straight.

Totally change up your diet and get a serious jump start!

Kick it off with a Body Cleanse that is very “normal” and includes eating on a daily basis, every meal, not just an apple and then drink all of this.

I am setting up 1-on-1 (or small group) meetings to help my clients and anyone who wants to get started on the right track. We can discuss your goals and what works best for you.

If you are interested in sitting down with me so you are ready to roll after the holidays let me know ASAP so you are set before Christmas and ready to get your start Dec. 26th!

A little info for you…Arbonne Nutrition Line is plant based, nothing synthetic; Gluten Free and Vegan. It’s a very clean, straight forward line that I love and am happy to share with all of you.

_Happy Holidays_Diana

I’m the WORST left-over user person there is. Once I’ve eaten something I’m over it, unless it was something crazy good and most likely from a restaurant where I paid a lot for it. I just can’t bring myself to eat whatever it was I ate the night before.

I’m trying to change that and be less wasteful. I have a small family, 3 of us, so most packages of meet are a little too big and we end up with some left. Vowing to use a left over chicken breast for lunch I remembered some very easy lunch ideas I used to eat all the time and have gotten away from. These were some of the meals I used when I was really getting lean for an event, vacation, certain dress…you know what I mean.

Don’t toss the left-over chicken breast. Instead make a powerhouse lunch that will do great things for your body.

Chicken Wrap:

Mexican - Use a whole grain or low carb tortilla. Heat the chicken, heat tortilla for a few seconds in microwave and top with any of the following; avocado slices, black beans, shredded low fat cheese, plain low fat Green yogurt and/or salsa.

Greek - Kalamata Olives, feta cheese, red onions, shredded lettuce.

Turn the Greek Wrap into a Salad by tossing in chopped romaine lettuce and garbanzo beans.

Pita Pizza - Whole wheat pita, topped with small amount of pesto, add chopped chicken. Broil until pesto is bubbly. Mix arugula, pine nuts and sliced cherry tomatoes, toss with lemon juice squeezed from 1/2 a lemon. Top pita (after cooking) with arugula mix.

Soup - Chop the chicken breast or shred it when it is freshly cooked the night before. Add it to your favorite healthy canned soup; heat all together for a quick and filling lunch.

Start thinking about some old favorites you can use the left-overs for and I’m sure you’ll have some very health and tasty lunch ideas.

Boot Camp in the City ~ A short story of our more adventurous days.

People always ask me, “What is the difference between boot camp and going to a class at the gym?” Well, besides the variety of workouts, getting to be outside, getting to know your coach and your coach getting to know you and actually be concerned if you show up or not there are the “outside” elements.

I have had many interesting ADVENTURES at boot camp since I started Windy City Adventure Boot Camp in 2007. These do not involve clients or workouts or nutrition but the elements that are out of my control: nature and the occasional homeless-mentally ill- gypsies (whatever you like to call them) who also enjoy the parks in the early morning.

This is not to deter you from boot camp, most of the time it adds a bit of entertainment, a spark, and a good story for your friends that you won’t get inside a gym.

If you are a trainer who goes outdoors or you have a boot camp I would love to know if you come across any of these situations. I feel it’s unique to life in a big city, I can’t imagine suburban coaches deal with much of the following and you are probably glad you don’t!

Let’s start with a nature story.

Rats in the park!

Ah yes, lovely little furry creatures that my daughter once asked to get as a pet, yeah right! One summer at Wrightwood the rat activity seemed above normal. Maybe it was “the” breeding ground that year but they were _EVERYWHERE! _

One day I heard a camper scream. She was running to her mat during a circuit and a rat was making its way in the other direction. They met at the mat and scared the crap out of each other. The rat went one way and my camper took a minute to catch her breath.

Another day they were running around maybe 30 feet from where we set up our mats. Not phased by us one bit they kept coming closer. Soon our water bottles became our choice of weapon, throwing them in their direction until they went the other way.

The most memorable is the day they CHASED me down! As I was instructing push up sets at the picnic table area I heard squeaking and 2 rats appeared from the bushes. I don’t know if they were fighting or playing but they were coming my way, jumping in the air at each other and squealing away. Can you guess my reaction??? It was basically a HOLY SH*T moment! I ran and they followed me. Picture all my campers standing around me and I am screaming, running with 2 rats bouncing behind me. I wish I had video of it now. The rats finally detoured into other bushes. My campers wanted to know what happened to their fearless leader and I should protect them from the rats. Yeah, good luck with that. After a few phone calls to the city, no more rats. Sorry rats but it had to be done!

The Homeless, Crazy, Wondering Gypsies??

Oh yes, we have had our fill!

Let me rewind for a moment to my first encounter with a homeless person. I was 17 and in Las Vegas on a cross country trip with my then high school boyfriend and family. A man dressed in a dirty clown costume came up to me on the street and began to “entertain” me. He even jumped into my arms for me to hold him. I FREAKED out! 17, from Ohio and never encountered a homeless person in my life. With no idea what he was doing and no cash to give him the family I was with got me away from him.

Fast forward…I now live in Chicago where not a day goes by without someone looking through trash in my alley or a person pretending he is a conductor of an invisible orchestra in the park or even a man stripping down to nothing in the middle of a busy intersection. It’s basically a daily event and you kind of get used to it. Sometimes harmless and entertaining, sometimes not.

We have had a few stand out visitors during boot camp:

The Ice-Tea Man:

My first summer holding my boot camp at Montrose beach; a popular area for crazy! I had my girls lined up on one side of the path doing their exercises and I was on the other. I see a man walking up the path, very dirty with tons of clothes on in the middle of summer. Ok, I will just keep instructing and let him pass by. As he gets near me I make eye contact and nod my head as if to say “Hello”. WRONG! He had a 2 liter filled with Ice-tea (at least I pray it was ice-tea) and threw it one me. Oh yeah, with out missing a beat. He walked by, squirted it on me and kept walking. I froze, my campers froze and I instructed them to not say a word! I just wanted him to keep walking. Once in a while I still see this man around the beach and avoid him like the plague!

The Schitzos:

One year at Wrightwood we had a “regular” who would sit on a bench with his bike, newspaper and bagel. He seemed harmless enough, never walked around us or yelled. Later I found out as my campers would run by him he would yell out swear words. Not full sentences or engage in conversations but just yell things out. One day he showed up with only a tire of his bike then he stopped showing up all together. Not sure what happened to him but we were all relieved he was gone!

The Sleepers:

These are the easy ones. It can be a bit nerve racking at first since you don’t know what it will be like if they wake up but they usually don’t. I ran a full boot camp circuit one day with a man sleeping and using the kiddy slide as a pillow. I had 30 women running by within 10 feet of him for an hour and not a stir. We’ve had people sleeping on benches, under trees, wherever. I’ve had to modify workouts on the fly because they did not wake up and move off of a space we needed.

I actually had one man sleeping on a bench who startled me as I entered the park. He got up, apologized for scaring me and collected his things. I felt really bad for him, he was very articulate and nice. I think he must have had a bad shift in life since he was not our normal park visitor. I hope he is doing better now.

The Combo: Crazy old lady and scary young guy.

This had to be one of the craziest camp days since it lasted the entire camp! We were at Montrose (the best spot for crazy watching) working in the grass along the path.
On one side we have a younger guy walking around talking/rapping to himself. One pass = ok, two passes = not sure, 3+ passes through = I don’t think so. That actually prompted me to get the stun gun (given to me by a PT client) out of my truck. Nothing ever happened but it was scary. On the other side of the story, my campers are doing some relay runs in the grass. I look up and there is an older woman with a shopping bag and a big smile on her face running back and forth with my campers. What the heck are you supposed to say to that…YOU GO GIRL! What a day!

The Hangover, Montrose Style:

This one is an unsolved mystery. Was he homeless, crazy, on drugs, wasted, part of a practical joke gone wrong?? We’ll never know. During an interval run around the mile loop my campers came back in talking about a guy they just ran by on the trail. I was a distance away but could see him stumbling back and forth moving in the other direction (thankfully!). My campers reported he looked young, 20-something, only had his underwear on, no shoes or anything, was digging in the trash and was missing a tooth! We discussed many different scenarios that day but I think the best fit is a bachelor party gone wrong. Maybe wasted and dumped by his friends as a practical joke? We figure he could have been looking in the trash for his clothes or keys? Whatever the story at 7:30am he was still out of it!

All Hands ON Deck: My most recent and maybe most disturbing (Gross!)

Last week as I walked into the park I saw one of my campers setting up on the court but kind of pacing and not really putting her stuff down. As I came around I noticed a guy sleeping on his side on a nearby bench. First thought, “Ugh! Maybe he’ll hear us, wake up and leave.” As I got closer I noticed something, let’s just say all hands were not on deck! I’d say one slipped below…cringe, gag, yuck! I immediately dropped my gaze and quickened my pace, too late to take another path. Grabbed my client and took the long way around him through the parking lot to the field. Looks like we’ll be working out in the grass today! He stayed there most of the camp, thankfully his back was facing the direction my campers enter the park. I’m really hoping he is on his way to another destination.

Finally…The Drunk!: Ahh, youth, drinking all night, stumbling in at sunrise and screaming at your local boot camp. A girl got dropped off at a condo building across from my boot camp location. As she practically tripped out of the car and kind of made it up her porch she decided to become our biggest cheerleader. _YOU GO B*#CHES!! _Thanks for the motivation lady. She yelled a few more things; I think something about her being drunk. NO WAY, really? Funny. I wish I would have had a closer look at her since she lives at the end of my block. Would love to thank her for her cheering when I run into her sober one day.

This sums up one difference between going to a class in an aerobic studio and working out in the great outdoors. At least in Chicago.

Next time you think your workout is boring, come join us, I’m sure something entertaining will happen.

It’s your fitness, make it an ADVENTURE!