54 second video of our weight loss boot camp in Berko

The other Wednesday day I got my little camera out so that I could give you a real short snap shot of how well these ladies are doing at Bootcamp.

This session was awesome they all worked so hard and were so focused I’m sure some of them lost a pound or two just in this workout!!!!

I know that some of the moves are a little extreme but if you look closely you’ll find that everyone is working to their own ability.

Our boot campers build their exercise complexity carefully over time. We always offer options for people who are new to exercise or have injuries as you will find on the Bootcamp website, just check out the testimonials and then come meet the people!

Enjoy 52 seconds of other people doing the hard work!

Fast Tube by Casper

This stuff work and works fast so come and try out the Bootcamp. Click here to find out how you could have 2 weeks of training for £1 with us!

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Boot camp Berkhamsted

It’s not just about hard work. It’s about doing and achieving things!

I hope that you are all getting lean and mean for the summer.

If you have not started getting into shape don’t leave it any later. The magazines with the headlines flat stomach in 2 week or a 6 pack in 6 days is lying to you…!

I have started my own summer regime, Monday was drop sets, Tuesday 10 rounds of hard boxing and today metabolic circuit training! If it wasn’t for the stiff and sore muscles I’d feeling fighting fit!!!

Our boot camps are about more than just weight loss and fitness this weekend was a big weekend for 12 of our campers!

On the Friday the 25^th a group of excited and slightly anxious Absolute Bootcamp Berkhamsted Bootcampers embarked on a 5 hour journey to North Wales.

For some of it was going to be an event of a lifetime, other a celebration of how far they have come in less than a year!

Joining last September some have gone from sedentary to mountain conqueror in just 9 short months!

We took 15 including me up and brought 15 back. I can’t say for sure that they are the same 15 people as many when through some changes as they conquered fatigue and fears.

We all arrived at the hotel at the bottom of mount Snowdon on Friday evening after a long 5 hour drive. Obviously there were only 2 things on people’s minds…

1)      A good meal

2)      Hitting the bar!

Some of us hit the bar harder than others but a good time was had by all.

By 2.30 most were in bed getting the necessary shut eye for the climb ahead… others (Amy) where still up trying to sober up a little before bed!

Here she is the following morning not looking ready to go????

I think she may have been still drunk as it was not long before she looked like this!

The alarm went off all too soon at 7 for a 7.30 breakfast, then we splint into 2 groups, a fast and a slower group.

The fast group had an extra job to do.

Drop the cars off on the other side of Snowdon and then get back and catch up the other group who would have about an hour head start.

I led the faster group and we quickly got our kit together and got off to the drop point. My dad (Tony in this photo) led the slower group who then signed out the hotel and started their climb up the mountain.

I don’t know if you like driving, but if you do I can recommend the Snowdon area, but make sure that you have someone who knows where they are going or a good satnav!

I thought we were trouble…. As I heard my co-pilot come out with the quote of the weekend…. She (Susan) was doing the map reading…

“I think we’re in trouble. There does not seem to be a wiggle for the wiggle that we are on!!!!…..

Possibly not what you want to hear when you are throwing your car through the lanes of Snowdonia we 3 other cars following you rely on you to not get lost!

All was good though the map just needed turning round so that all the wiggles matched up.

We quickly got back from the dropping off of the car and started our assent. The pace was brisk and I have to give congratulation to Angie White, Neil Williams, Susan Beddal and Gale Jackson as they kept the pace and stormed the mountain!

We caught the up with the other team at about 12.30.

It was then a hard climb to the top as we were climbing in 25+ degree heat without a cooling wind.

We regrouped before the top….

Amy had to regroup mentally as well as physically, hangover in full swing in 25 degree heat!!!!

The top was gained in 4 hours so we had celebratory nibbles, water and a photo. After we all used the new toilets and congratulating ourselves for getting there regardless of painful bits and medical conditions it was time to start back down.

We started in good sprit’s knowing lunch was going to be an hour or less away and that we were on our way home….  The happy campers soon learned that down is a lot harder than up. For those of you who have never climbed a mountain, the down part is harder for 2 reasons. 1) The strain on the leg muscle and knee joints is far greater and 2) uneven ground covered in lose pebbles becomes treacherous.

Although people knees and leg were getting tired after lunch everyone battled on. Strong breeze was cooling us and our bellies were full again. Amy’s hang over was subsiding and she was starting to look positively perky!

We got to the car park on the other side of Snowdon about 8 hours after the first group had left the hotel.

Time for a finishers photo a good congratulatory slap on the back!

Well done to everyone one who climbed, I really enjoyed myself. We’ll choose a different mountain next year for some more climbing and photo taking.

I have heard mention and interest for doing the 3 peaks challenge I’ll be asking those of you interested soon. But for the time being it’s time to look forward to the summer BBQ in July and then the next activity weekend in September.

Hope to see you all there,

Keith

P.S – You see Absolute Bootcamp Berkhamsted is not just about the exercise and the weight loss, we are also about the experience and friendship that can only be gained through experiencing things together.

Cholesterol Part 2 – The Good, The Bad and the UGLY!

I’m sorry to break some bad news to you today, you may want to sit down first.

Ready?

There is no good and bad cholesterol!

There I said it… Did the world end… No…. ok, great let’s get on with it then.

The substances that we call good and bad cholesterol are not in fact cholesterol they are a substance called lipoproteins. There are several types of lipoprotein, Chylomicron, VLDL, IDL, LDL, Lp(A) and HDL.
These are all protein based carrier molecules. Neither fats nor cholesterol dissolve in water, (not water soluble). This means that they need to be carried by molecules that are.

The most important lipoprotein molecules for us to concentrate on are LDL, HDL and Lp(a).
You may have thought that LDL (low density lipoprotein), is BAD cholesterol and HDL (High density Lipoprotein), is GOOD cholesterol, but by now you know that they are not cholesterol.
These protein molecules carry cholesterol from the liver to the body’s tissues and from the tissues back to the liver. LDL carries cholesterol out and HDL carries unused cholesterol back where it is used in bile to break down fat in your digestion process.

So where does Lp(a) come into it….? Ok, this is where you move ahead of many doctors and where you start to learn the Good Stuff!

Lp(a) is another form of LDL. It does have a little difference though, it has 2 types of protein on the outside of it, which allow the body to recognise it and then for it to attach to specific areas to do its job.

Now there are many ways in which your cholesterol level can be given to you. Your doctor may measure your cholesterol level and give you;

1. Your HDL score
2. Your LDL score
3. Total cholesterol level
4. Ratio of HDL to LDL

The problem is that none of these mention your Lp(a) level, which is a shame as it may be the only one that is any use in the assessment of your heart health and the risk of you getting heart disease.

Right, we need to get on with looking at cholesterol itself rather than hanging around with these proteins.

Due to something called the Lipid Hypothesis, which I’ll ramble on more about tomorrow, we tend to feel that cholesterol is a form of fat or is ‘made’ from fat. I’m going to burst this bubble as well, cholesterol is not made from fat and fat is not used to make cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy molecule made from a form acetyl-CoA…

What? Not fat?

Nop, no fat in cholesterol it is a waxy molecule steroid metabolite and only comes in one form there are no types, there is no good and bad, it only has one molecular shape which is used to do all the jobs that we mentioned in the previous post.

To make cholesterol your body starts with the substance acetyl-CoA and then 13 chemical changes later it becomes cholesterol!

Hey presto! No fat at all….

Well not quite Hey Presto, there are other chemical and enzymes involved, but not fat in this process.

In summary

• You don’t have a cholesterol level you have a lipoprotein level

• Lipoproteins carry cholesterol from the liver to the tissue and then from the tissue to the liver

• Lp(a) is a form of lipoprotein which is not talked about, but does have an association to heart disease and many doctors seem to have no idea.

• There is no fat in cholesterol, they are not the same thing and are not similar molecules

Complicated? A little but we’ll separate it all out as we go!

Next time…. Dumb Mistake thinking you could trust scientists to be scientific! The Lipid Hypothesis

Committed to your success

Keith