Tag Archives: excel fitness

Excel Fitness Achieves Fund Raising Goal for Cancer Research, AGAIN!

Excel Fitness News, Local Happenings, , , , ,

Excel Fitness Raises Money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 

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

 

Making Strides Success TEAM EXCEL 2011
Making Strides Success TEAM EXCEL 2011

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

Another Endoresment for Shawn O’Brien and Excel Fitness

Excel Fitness News, , , , ,

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
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)

 

Excel Fitness Team Builds

Excel Fitness News, Local Happenings, , ,

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.

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.

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

The Last Year Revisited

Excel Fitness News, Fitness Tips, , , ,

When you are looking for something new, Don’t just change EVERYTHING look back at what you did first!! 

Make something you are doing better OR revisit something that worked well in the past and tweak it.

This week I revisit this past year’s accomplishments and how looking for something new really means tweaking how you do something.

Here are a few posts from last year-

Growing and Learning – The First Post

Knowing the Facts – Shawn O’Brien’s First Knowledge Based Post

Jeff Wins 40 Under 4o with HBJ

Excel Fitness Goes Pink!

Miss Hartford County, Martha Price and Her Workout

Lynn Sweet-Dobrow Testimonial for Matt Knight

A year later, as we look to what we can do to grow as a business and become a greater asset to the community Team Excel Fitness looks to where we can TWEAK things.  Since last year, we have won or been nominated for a few more awards, the entire staff has contributed to our blog with great testimonials and fitness advice, we had multiple successful charity drives for food, school supplies, and clothes and one of our greatest moments was raising over $7000 for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides for Breast Cancer (look carefully in this photo I am the only guy Pacesetter in this photo).

CHECK OUT WHAT IS ON TAP THIS YEAR-

  • Wine Tasting Open House For Charity –

                   Supporting the American Cancer Society

                  at Excel Fitness, Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 from 6p to 8p.

                  Wine Cellars of Farmington, CT will be donating 10% of its sales here that night

                   Excel Fitness will be donating a portion of its sales from July 13th, 2010 to July 27th

  • Continued Expert Fitness Advice From Our Trainers
  • Excel Fitness Brings Staff to St. Joseph’s College for Adventure and Team Building
  • Helping Local Charities
  • Making Hartford County a Healthier Place to Live

We will continue to move fitness and the community in to a good direction.

Thank you for all your feedback and referrals.

Shawn O’Brien

info@excelfitnessct.com

Testimonial- Lynn Sweet-Dobrow for Excel Fitness and Matt Knight

Excel Fitness News, , , , , , ,

In April of 2010, I came to Excel Fitness hoping to make a change in my life.  Over a period of two decades, due to personal responsibilities and health issues, it had become increasingly difficult for me to engage in a number of activities that I had enjoyed in the past.  I had spent 20 years trying unsuccessfully to return to and maintain a healthy weight, I had knee issues from my youth, and I was experiencing varying degrees of pain in my neck and upper back daily from a whiplash injury. As I approached a time in my life that would allow me greater freedom to pursue my own interests once again, I came to the conclusion that I did not simply need to lose weight.  I also needed to become stronger and more physically fit.  With knee, neck, and back issues, I knew I should not attempt this on my own.

Matthew Knight was the first person I met at Excel, and helped to form an incredibly positive impression.  He was professional and courteous from the start.  During our first meeting he took care to understand my history and my lifestyle as well as my goals, and helped me to understand how Excel could help me reach those goals.  He explained what a reasonable rate of improvement might look like with my commitment and Excel’s support.  I decided to join Excel and to sign up for some personal training sessions with Matt.  It has proved to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I had never imagined working with a personal trainer before, but the first sessions with Matt were so helpful that I decided to continue.   Matt’s positive and supportive manner enabled me to focus during my visits instead of feeling ridiculously self-conscious about what I couldn’t do.  Within a short period of time I noticed decreased neck and back pain and increased strength.  In the course of the coming months, I went from taking muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medications regularly to taking them rarely.  In addition, thanks to Matt’s further guidance regarding cardio work and diet, I was losing weight.  In the first four months, I had lost 20 pounds. 

The workouts that I do with Matt are completely different than any I could attempt on my own.  Matt uses his wealth of knowledge and expertise as a trainer to tailor my sessions to my personal needs, and to work multiple muscle groups at a time.  It’s obvious that he keeps my neck and knee issues in mind and that he plans my workouts around strengthening these areas without stressing them.  This individualized approach is just one characteristic of Matt’s training that helps me to meet with success.

I am continually amazed that while Matt has trained professional athletes, he is also able to be incredibly patient and thorough with those of us who have little or no experience at all, and to maintain a positive spin on things in order to keep us motivated.  Matt’s energy and enthusiasm are contagious and keep me looking ahead to meet my goals, while his calm and steady demeanor keep me from ever feeling overwhelmed.  As a teacher, I encourage my students to work toward and celebrate those small, steady improvements that add up to larger achievements over time, but hypocrisy strikes when I sometimes expect great leaps from myself.  Matt puts this in perspective for me.  At Excel, I am the student and Matt is the teacher.  He reminds me of how far I have come, educates me regarding his choice of exercises for me, and offers me unwavering guidance and support through each step of the way.

At the end of this month it will be one year since the day I first walked into Excel.  I cannot believe the progress I have made.  Thanks to Matt, I have lost a total of 38 pounds so far, and I have more living to look forward to every day.

Lynn Sweet-Dobrow

Metabolism; Use it or Lose it!

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Metabolism; Use it or lose it!

Jeff Roux B.S. Exercise Science 5/4/2011

You’ve probably heard it before, “as soon as I turned 30 my metabolism slowed down and I can’t seem to lose weight.”  You may have also heard, “it’s easier for men to lose weight.”  Oh really, why?

Here is my myth-busters enlightenment on these subjects.  Firstly, slower metabolism due to decreased muscle mass and increased body fat in males and females is most likely attributed to inactivity rather than to any aging effect.  Secondly, lean mass the primary determiner of metabolism or resting metabolic rate (RMR) is scientifically not different between males and females, only the amounts of mass differ.  An adult male and female with like lean mass and body fat contents could have the same RMR’s providing that they have similar exercise and nutritional habits.

Fact; we do tend to lose about 1% of our strength per year after the age of 30 and at age 50 about 1.5% and 2% after age 70.  The loss of strength is due to the loss of lean mass and neural muscular facilitation (coordination and synchronization of muscle fibers and contractions) hence the decrease in metabolism.  Again, however; the loss of strength can be attributed to INACTIVITY not aging.  There is considerable evidence that shows an intense (>80% 1RM, repetition max) resistance training program increases both muscle mass and strength in 60-96 year old individuals.  These training programs resulted in increases of up to 30% muscle fiber area and up to and over 100% in 1RM Strength.  Increasing your lean mass through resistance exercise training at any age will directly increase your metabolism.

Male or Female you can no longer use your age or sex as an excuse, only your lack of motivation and resistance to resistant training.  To learn more about safely incorporating weight training into your life contact the professionals at Team Excel Fitness.

E. Howley, B. Franks, 2007 Health and Fitness Instructors Handbook, Human Kinetics, IL. pg 282,283

Testimonial – Deby Van Ohlen

Excel Fitness News, , ,

March 21, 2011

To: Excel Fitness (www.excelfitnessct.com)

Attention:  Matthew Knight as My Trainer

I checked out Excel Fitness due to recommendations from people I trust.  I joined the gym due to the atmosphere and the qualifications of the owners and trainers;  I am an active participant because of Matt Knight, my personal trainer.

I am now in the best shape and lowest weight that I have been in since high school.  I feel that this success is directly attributable to my work with Matt.  He is extremely knowledgeable about exercise physiology and is able to easily adapt exercises and customize the workout to my needs and issues (such as elbow tendonitis, arthritic wrist, etc.).  He approaches the sessions with encouragement, humor, and a desire to see you always improve.  Along with his exercise expertise, Matt takes the time to know you so that he is able to push you to the point of optimal results without injury.  He also explains why he is having you do the different types of workouts which make the session make more sense.  As a massage therapist, I have been able to share several of the stretches Matt has shown me with my clients.

I have recommended several of my friends and clients to Matt and they all concur with my high opinion of him.  Matt is a real asset to the gym and I am extremely happy to have him as my trainer.

Sincerely,

Deby Van Ohlen

HBJ’s 40 under 40 Award; what it means to me

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Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Recipient

It’s an honor for me to be selected as a Hartford Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Recipient.  My goal to leave Bally Total Fitness after 10 years of service as the Fitness Director was to open a facility where the customer, staff and the community come first, and if these fundamental points were followed consistently the business would thrive.

Now, in a slumped economy where many businesses are both slashing prices and cutting services, or in many cases closing their doors permanently, Excel Fitness has managed to grow.  I believe our members, who have been tremendously supportive, are a large part of our success.  They have encouraged us to become involved in the community, helped us organize and contributed to our School Supply Drive, Food Pantry Drive and Breast Cancer Walk to name a few.

I also believe who we associate with is a big part of our success.  When I arrived at the winners’ photo shoot I was excited to see that I already associate with and am friends with four other recipients.  I am also proud to say that I am personally training two of them.  It solidifies in my mind if you want to be successful you need to surround yourself with other ambitious successful people.

I have to also give thanks to Karen Robbins, a client for over a year now, and my sister who at the time worked for us at Excel Fitness, for nominating me.  As a HBJ 40 under 40 Recipient, I now feel an even greater responsibility to lead by example in community involvement and in performing sound business principles and ethics.  I will encourage others to work tirelessly putting the community and the customer first to make Greater Hartford a better place to do business, work, and most of all live.

 

Karen Robbins, Excel Fitness Client

Testimonial from Paul Bunker – Working with Jeff Roux at Excel Fitness

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At the age of 53, I decided to embark on a second career as registered nurse.  As I continued my science and medical studies, I realized I would have to be in top physical shape to withstand the daily demands of nursing, and to be an effective role model in promoting wellness to my patients.  I needed to be in the best shape of my life.

While I had always worked out and stayed in decent shape, I decided I had to do more and started a weight training program in earnest.  My program was a mish-mash of exercises I had picked up from magazines, the internet, and just watching other people in the gym.  After making some nice gains, the steady improvements began to plateau, and I was constantly plagued by annoying joint inflammation caused by repeating the same exercises over and over again.  And, I had a hard keeping my body fat low.  It was time to consider hiring a trainer.

When I moved to West Hartford, and asked friends for advice on selecting a gym and a trainer.  Excel Fitness was the overwhelming response, and trainer Jeff Roux was suggested as being the best match to my fitness goals.  After visiting the Excel Fitness web site, I was impressed with the facility, but a bit apprehensive about working with Jeff, whose impressive background includes success as a competitive bodybuilder.

I needn’t have worried.  At our first meeting, Jeff put me at ease as I explained to him that I wanted to be in the best shape possible in 18 months, by May 22, 2010 – the date of my graduation from nursing school.  He accepted my goal, did a personal assessment to create a baseline, and designed an exercise program to get me started.  From day one, the effect of his training program on my body has been intense and wonderful,  to say the least.

Jeff always explains the purpose of each exercise, and demonstrates its proper form and execution.  He consistently pushes me beyond my own self-perceived limits, and provides me with fresh approaches to standard exercises and adding new ones.  For my part, I am encouraged to train to my real potential each time, and I have not sustained any training injuries, as I had in the past.

The result:  I felt I had reached the best shape of my life within 12 months, but in the past six months I have added more muscle, lost more body fat, and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.  I am able to wear clothes sizes I wore when I was in my 30’s, and friends and family have noticed the change in my body, with the comment “You must live in the gym!”  Well, I train just a little over an hour three times a week.  That’s just a bit more than three hours a week to be in the best shape of your life at any age!   My doctor once said I am his most boring patient, as I take no medications, and have never had any surgery.

Getting back to my graduation as a RN on May 22, I was able to walk proudly onstage at the age of 58 with my white scrub top tucked into my pants, in the best shape of my life.  And I have Jeff Roux and Excel Fitness to thank for this accomplishment.

Paul Bunker