Excel Fitness CT's Blog

HYPE Tons of Toys

Jeff Roux B.S. Exercise Science 12/20/11

On Wednesday, December 14, HYPE (Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs) held its annual Tons of Toys event at the Gershon Fox Ball Room at 960 Main.  Nearly 300 people attended the event and HYPE collected 1,410 toys, topping last year’s count of 950 toys collected.  Excel Fitness’ Co-Owners Shawn O’Brien and Jeff Roux were present to donate  over 50 toys they collected at their personal fitness center. Mr. O’Brien stated, “It’s great that over 1400 local kids will have smiles this Christmas.”  “Hosting a toy drive is such a simple thing to do to raise awareness and give back to our community.  We are thankful to be a part of this growing event and to have such generous members and friends who donated,” added Mr. Roux.

All of the toys collected will once again be donated to 96.5 TIC’s We Are the Children.
HYPEsters have been supportive of Tons of Toys since the first event five years ago, and this is Excel Fitness’ second year collecting toys for the community.

Thank you for donating over 50 Toys!

Jeff Roux B.S. Exercise Science 11/23/11

I recently and unfortunately suffered a laceration on my dominant hand requiring 9 stitches.  The ER doctor asked me what I do for a living and when I told him he kind of laughed and said, “Well, you won’t be working out for a couple of weeks.”  Little did he know who he was dealing with and what I was capable of trying?  In actuality, I believe that he should have suggested continuing to do lower body exercises and cardiovascular work, ensuring to keep the wound clean and dry, but that is another story in itself.

Needless to say within 3 days of the injury I was back in the gym.  I was able to complete a full lower body workout using plate loaded machines, crunches on the ball and two shoulder exercises.  I thought I would still able to palm a shoulder press machine and not affect the stitches and while griping a dumbbell with my left and use my right hand to support and perform a modified DB front raise.  I also ran 2 miles.  2 days after that I returned to do more core, and plate loaded chest machine and used the resistance bands to perform Lat pull downs, back rows, chest fly’s, bicep curls and overhead db triceps extensions.  Through only slight modification in placing the band around my wrist instead of in my palm I was able to complete many of the traditional exercises one would normally complete in the gym.  One week after the injury I was playing tennis with my left hand and actually beat the person I was playing with.  My point is, whatever you’ve hurt there is usually a way to exercise around that injury.  UBE’s (upper body ergo meters, hand bikes) are great for people who have injured their lower body.  The question remains if an injury occurs does this take away from the fact that you still have a health goal?  Are you going to sit at home and wait, or are you going to explore the alternatives?  Everyone knows exercising has positive effects on mood; many people get depressed when they cannot exercise, so why stop exercising?  Find a way, your mind and your body will thank you.

For more information on modifying your exercise program to fit your needs contact the fitness professionals at Excel Fitness, you’ll be glad you did.

Excel Fitness Raises Money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 

By: Shawn M. O’Brien, Co-Owner of Excel Fitness

If you haven’t heard of Excel Fitness in West Hartford, CT, we don’t blame you; we are a small, but award winning fitness center with close ties to the local community.  Excel Fitness, which opened in 2007, has two owners, Jeff Roux and Shawn O’Brien, along with a great mixture of 5 to 10 full and part time employees.  In these four years, we have seen some of the worst economic times, the home financing debacle and a variety of worldwide national disasters and during this time we have committed ourselves to our local community with clothing drives, school supply drives and food drives.  Although, we have a deep rooted commitment to the local community, our dedication and effort is even greater during The American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” our only true dollar raising event.

Excel Fitness got involved in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in 2009 and at that time we raised over $4100 and Mr. O’Brien became a Pacesetter (one who raises $2000 or more) for The American Cancer Society.  We felt very proud of this effort and thought it would be a great thing for the business and our staff to continue this in 2010.  During the months to follow our event, Mr. O’Brien’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, her treatment and double mastectomy was successful.  She is now in remission.

The year quickly passes and Excel Fitness gets a jump start on the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event for October of 2010.  We attended the kickoff breakfast and got emails out early, while Mr. Roux and Mr. O’Brien pledged to paint themselves in pink body paint if they hit their aggressive goal of $7000.   We hit goal again and yes we looked fabulous in pink body paint running outside in Bushnell Park in Hartford, CT at 9am.  Team Excel Fitness hit this goal and WE were more than happy to celebrate with some fun at an event dedicated to saving lives.   At this point we had raised $11,100 for cancer research and as a team, Excel Fitness finished in the top 3 for companies and Mr. O’Brien, a Pacesetter again, was in the top 3 for participants in total fund raising dollars.

In the months to follow Mr. O’Brien’s father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December of 2010 and died weeks later.  The events while tragic only recommitted Shawn’s efforts to find a cure for ALL cancers.  Welcome 2011′s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Kickoff Breakfast and Mr. O’Brien is now a keynote speaker for “How to Fund Raise” at the event.  With his wonderful and supportive girlfriend, Holland, accompanying him, he spoke about the emotional drive behind committing to this cause and the deep emotions of not only survival from cancer, but loss from cancer.  He gave the very emotional “How to Fund Raise” speech with not a dry eye in the audience of a few hundred people.

Excel Fitness was deep in the fund raising protocol for 2011′s event.  Excel Fitness had a wine tasting  event sponsored by Wine Cellars4 in Farmington, CT and massages from Nurturing Hands in West Hartford, CT along with numerous raffle prizes and a door charge.  2011′s efforts were the most successful fund raising thus far.  We hit $8141.  Mr. Roux and Mr. O’Brien are both Pacesetters, Excel Fitness #2 as a company and Mr. O’Brien was #2 as a participant.  Our goal of $8000 was hit on the last day of fund raising and all because we have a great team, wonderful friends, supportive family and most of all passion for this cause.  Now finishing our third year raising money for The American Cancer Society we have raised over $19,000.

Excel Fitness may be a small business, but we have a large impact on our clients and community.

www.excelfitnessct.com

Marathon Follow Up

by:

Matthew Knight, B.S, CSCS

Excel Fitness Personal Trainer

Matt Knight Finishes Hartford Marathon

Recently, I just finished my first marathon and I am very pleased with my results.  I finished the 26.2 mile run in 3:40:55 which placed me 458 out of 2,314 people.  I was able to maintain a 7:49 mile pace thru the first 13 miles then miles 13-20 my pace dropped to 8:10 per mile and thru the last 6 miles my pace dropped to 8:27 per mile.

The run was very difficult; I experienced bad chafing about half way during the run so ended up just losing my shirt.  But the hardest part of the run was definitely the muscle cramping.  Throughout the last 3 miles I had to battle thru severe muscle cramping in my hamstrings which definitely showed in my results.  Around mile 16 and then again around mile 22 I took a sport  gel packet which gave me some carbohydrates and replenished some electrolytes, also threw out the run I tried to drink water to prevent dehydration.

Overall I had a great experience training and running the Hartford Marathon.  Now that the race is over my body is very sore, not just my lower body but my shoulders, biceps and back too.  A goal of mine would be to eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon.  In the future I plan to keep on running and improving on my results.

To see my results and an online video of myself crossing the finish line follow the link below…

http://www.ctnow.com/about/hartford-marathon/results/

Get your Two-Week Guest Pass and Free Personal Training Session to Excel Fitness

Another Endorsement for Shawn O’Brien and Excel Fitness

by Martha Price Miss Hartford County 2011

I had the pleasure of working with Shawn O’Brien at Excel Fitness in preparation to compete in the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Pageant.  He helped me reach my goals of slimming down, toning up, and most importantly, living a healthy lifestyle.  After several personal training sessions, Shawn has provided me with a wealth of knowledge about health and fitness which I am sure to use for the rest of my life.

One of the most valuable things that Shawn taught me was how to challenge my body using a variety of equipment and techniques.  He tailored my workouts to accommodate the equipment I had at my school’s gym.  Before working with Shawn, I usually played it safe by containing my workouts to the treadmill, elliptical, and stretching area.  Now, I’m confident and comfortable using every piece of equipment, lifting weights in the weight-room, and lunging across the room with 10 lb dumbbells. Needless to say, I am now much better equipped to stay in shape.  Since I typically travel to Connecticut on the weekends, I was wary about not being able to keep up my workout regimen at home.  Shawn provided numerous creative alternatives to maintain my workouts using the limited equipment I possessed.  The variety of exercises I learned was not only effective, but it also made my workouts interesting and continuously challenging.  From this experience, I have taken away a wealth of knowledge about how to get fit no matter where I am or what equipment I have.

Martha Price - Miss CT Top 10

Before I started working with Shawn, I assumed that his role would simply be to help me get in shape.  After our first session, I knew that Shawn was more than a personal trainer.  His genuine words of encouragement helped me not only persevere through challenging workouts, but also through the stress and pressure of competing in a pageant.  Shawn constantly reminded me to stay positive and keep working hard to achieve my goals.  His optimism is contagious, and made me feel as if I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.

I am very blessed to have had Shawn on my support team as I prepared for the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Pageant.  I took the stage feeling confident, healthy, and focused.  With Shawn’s help, I was a top 10 finalist.  I am excited to continue using the knowledge that I have gained from working with Shawn not only in preparation for future pageants, but also in my everyday life.

Forever Grateful,

Martha Price, Miss Hartford County 2011

Excel Fitness 2-Week Guest Pass with Free Session (click here)

Dear Shawn,

As a pageant girl I’ve attempted numerous diet and exercise regimes: Some great… some not so great. It’s imperative that I live a lifestyle promoting healthy habits, and I couldn’t seem to find the perfect niche. Working with you helped me find not only my inner-fitness-guru, but also the habits and workouts I needed to maintain my preferred body image.

You made sweating glamorous and kept me smiling through all my rigorous routines.  You kicked my butt into TOP shape and I felt like I had one of the most competitive swimsuit bodies at Miss Connecticut; I would not have made top ten without your help.  You not only were supportive in my preparation, you ensured I had the tools necessary to maintain this body for the rest of my life. I’m so proud to say that I’m at the same weight today- 4 months after Miss Connecticut- that I was the day of my swimsuit competition.  I would not be as healthy as I am today without you.

When I was crowned Miss Rocky Hill 2011, I was skeptical to have to drive to Excel from Stamford, CT but you ended up being worth every mile!  I’m so thankful for all of your tips and support through my journey and I can promise you I will be in touch not only for future events but also for everyday lifestyle questions.
All the best to you and everyone at Excel,

Kaitlyn Tarpey

Miss Rocky Hill 2011

30 Classes in 30 Day Challeng: Militant Yoga

By Ilicia Balaban

I am a goal oriented person and I love a good challenge.  Yoga has been a staple of my exercise regime and spiritual practice for years but I have not felt truly challenged by a yoga class in a long time.  Last Monday I decided to try my hand at Bikrum yoga. Bikrum differs from traditional hatha yoga in several important ways. The studio is heated to 107-110 degrees with 60 percent humidity, classes follow a standardized 26 posture protocol with two sets of each posture, breaks (including water breaks) are built in to the class so that the body can return to homeostasis, and students are instructed to stretch beyond their limits to the point that they feel like they are going to “break in half and fall down backwards.”

Ilicia is deep into her stretching

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I walked in to Simsbury Bikram for the first time. It was a shock to my entire system. All of my faculties were exhausted after that first 90 minute class. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually I felt as if the instructor had rolled up his mat and smacked me in the head with it. But, like I said, I love a challenge and I couldn’t wait to do it again. I signed up for 30 day introductory membership and have since decided to challenge myself by doing 30 classes in 30 days and I’d to take all of you on my journey with me with weekly updates.

I went through waves of love and hate with Bikrum. The first day my goal was simply to stay in the room and try my best.  The next few days I was on a high, so excited to get to class, ready to push myself as hard as I could, convinced that this was the day I would hold the posture for the full 90 seconds or touch my head to my feet. What I have found most interesting this week is the psychological transformation happening. I have always struggled with body image issues having been very overweight as a child. Because of the heat, participants typically don’t wear much clothing in the studio. Every day I spend 90 minutes in a room full of people, in front of a mirror in just my sports bra and shorts. Normally I would spend that time critiquing my body and then feeling bad about myself for wasting energy criticizing myself. I can’t do that in this class. If for even one second I begin thinking about my body rather than the posture I am holding I will lose my balance and fall over. Bikrum forces me to leave my baggage, my hang ups about myself at the door and focus 100% of my energy on the task at hand. Mindfulness and intention are the name of the game and after just one week, the fruits of my labor are becoming apparent in many different facets of my life, from my relationships to training my clients and how I feel about myself.  More to come next week as I continue on with my 30 day challenge…

Excel Fitness took its staff and advisory board on a TEAM BUILDING event at Saint Joseph College on August 16th, 2011.   Saint Joseph College’s Adventure Course leader, Justin McGlamery took us through a three hour highly organized and educational course on learning and Team Building Tools.  Using such terms as: TRUST, COMMITMENT, Communication and Success.

Skills to Communicate Better

After two hours of passive tasks and some drills to encourage communication and sharing, we attempted “The Helium Stick!?!?!?”  I would love to explain more, but let’s say it took someone in our group to do modified “lamaze breathing” techniques to finally get a rhythm going .  Justin said, “Every group has their own way to learn “The Helium Stick, aka The Stick of Death,” why this was ours I do not know.  The third hour we did a tire swing relay with our group.  Wow, was that harder than I thought it would be!   All of the events built upon one another and we succeeded with this task as a group, not as individuals.

Team Building At St. Joseph College

Ilicia and Melissa Team Build

I encourage all businesses both big and small, institutional departments or other groups to participate in something like this to not only get out of the office, but to learn about one another.  Want to be successful?  You got to try something different.

One of our trainers told me they were so happy to work for a company who really wants to keep getting better.

Shawn O’Brien – twitter  @shawnexcelfit

Thank you all who attended Excel Fitness’s First Charity Wine Tasting and Open House on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011.  We had approximately 70 people in attendance, who were all here to support our fund raising efforts for The American Cancer Society and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.  Our supporters were greeted with some great wine from WineCellars4, chair massages from Nurturing Hands and great door prizes from over 40 local businesses.

Excel Fitness Charity Wine Tasting to Cure Cancer

We raised over $1200 for The American Cancer Society at the door alone.  Wine Cellars and Excel Fitness are still calculating their percentages for donation.  So all things said and done, we deem this event a total success.
If you attended this event, we would like to thank you by giving you a complimentary personal training session.

(click here to reply to this email to schedule your session)

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Have a great weekend.

Shawn, Jeff and TEAM EXCEL FITNESS