Blogs

Define Defense is partnering up with Coach Meg from Spark Behavior Solutions to offer you a workshop about performance, motivation and learn how to master healthy habits for better results! This great workshop will take place at the Define Defense studio on November 15th from 6-7.30pm. 

Before the workshop, we will be offering a free TRX / Cross Training class from 5-6pm for our clients and all workshop attendees. 

$35 for DD members
$45 for non DD members


Please register by emailing Coach Meg at info@sparkbehavior.com

This fall, 20 lucky cycling enthusiasts will get the once-in-a-lifetime experience to take a ride with one of the world’s top pro cyclists. “Fast Freddie” Rodriguez, who is currently making his way through Colorado as a member of Team Exergy in this week's USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and who placed fourth in the race’s first stage, has committed to lead a group of 20 individuals in a ride and discussion at Living at Your Peak, the nation’s only interactive gathering designed to help health-conscious individuals and influencers discover how to live longer, better and impact the well-being of their world. The inaugural Living at Your Peak Summit is September 13-15, 2012, in Vail, Colo.

“It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to go on a ride with one of the world’s top cyclists,” said Jamie Stone, Living at Your Peak event champion and a board member of the Vail Symposium. “We are thrilled to present this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will enable cycling enthusiasts to learn valuable life and health lessons from one of cycling’s greats.”

Rodriguez, who will lead the ride and discussion on Friday, September 14, is recognized as one of the all-time leading U.S. cyclists, with a resume that includes three U.S. Pro Championships, a Giro d’Italia stage win, podium finishes at one-day classics including Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem, plus stage podium finishes at the Tour de France, Giro d’ Italia and Vuelta de Espana. His Fast Freddie Foundation supports young cyclists in their endeavors to pursue athletic goals while also encouraging them to remain committed to education.

Participants will road bike with Rodriguez through Vail and engage in an interactive lunch session in which he will discuss lessons from the Tour de France as applied to everyday life. To sign up for this unique interactive experience, individuals must register to attend Living at Your Peak. Participation in Rodriguez’s session is limited to 20 individuals. Spots will fill up quickly and those who are interested are encouraged to sign up early.

Event registration for the full two and a half days is $1,000. One-day registration is $549. Registration fees include:

• Lunch programs and dinners prepared by some of Vail’s world-renowned chefs.
• Interactive sessions led by some of the nation’s leading health, wellness, fitness and nutrition experts.
• Entertainment and VIP cocktail parties with event presenters.

Registrants who sign up for the full event will have the opportunity to receive a Functional Movement Assessment with recommendations, a Cartoid Artery Check with nationally renowned doctor, Jeffrey Boone, MD, a Comprehensive Wellness Report from the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, reports that outside of the event are worth nearly $1,000 in value.

Living at Your Peak is organized by the Vail Symposium, a grassroots, non-profit organization providing thought-provoking, diverse and affordable educational programs to the Vail Valley community. Event sponsors include Vail Valley Medical Center, HealthONE, the Town of Vail, The Steadman Clinic, Vail Summit Orthopaedics, Vail Resorts, PGA TOUR, Triumph Development, the Vail Daily, Vail Beaver Creek Magazine, Antlers at Vail, Vitality Center, Opedix, Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, The Biegler Foundation, Colorado Access, Wendy and Paul Raether, the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, Vail Luxury Magazine, The Sonnenalp Resort and the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.

For more information about Living at Your Peak, please visit www.livingatyourpeak.org or call 970-343-9918.

Marathon legends, cycling champions, renowned researchers and the nation’s leading health and fitness experts will be among the presenters at Living at Your Peak (www.livingatyourpeak.org), the nation’s only gathering designed to help health-conscious individuals and influencers discover how to live longer, better and impact the wellbeing of their world. The Vail Symposium today announced the notable lineup of speakers for this inaugural event, to be held September 13-15, 2012, in Vail, Colo.

“Featuring one-on-one interactive sessions with recognized experts in an intimate setting, Living at Your Peak offers attendees the unique opportunity to share an exclusive, life-changing wellness experience,” said Jamie Stone, Living at Your Peak event champion and a board member of the Vail Symposium, a non-profit organization responsible for Living at Your Peak.

Tennis legend and health advocate Martina Navratilova will keynote the event. Jenna Wolfe, co-anchor of NBC News’ Sunday TODAY show, will emcee. Living at Your Peak’s renowned list of presenters includes experts in the areas of fitness, nutrition, cognitive health and well-being, preventive medicine, longevity and stress, sports fitness and personal health.

Fitness

• Josiah Middaugh, professional triathlete, seven-time XTERRA national champion, eight-time American snowshoe champion, certified strength and conditioning specialist.
• Ellen Miller, manager and coach of the U.S. women’s mountain running team, Mount Everest climber and adventure racer.
• Jeff Olson, RLT, champion skier, two-time Olympian, three-time national champion and Pan American Gold Medalist, co-founder and president of Well Nourished Worldwide, co-founder of the Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission and the Zyozy Foundation.
• Uta Pippig, world-renowned marathoner, founder and president of Take The Magic Step, LLC and co-founder of the Take The Magic Step Foundation.

Nutrition

• Paul Anders, restaurateur, executive chef at Vail’s Sweet Basil restaurant.
• James Hill, PhD, executive director of the Anschutz Center for Health and Wellness, leading expert and author on nutrition.
• Kelly Liken, former Top Chef and Iron Chef America contestant, proprietor of Vail’s Kelly Liken Restaurant.
• Kevin Nelson, award-winning executive chef at Vail’s Terra Bistro restaurant.

Cognitive Health and Well-Being

• Cheryl Chessick, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado (CU) School of Medicine, director of women’s studies and treatment at the CU Depression Center.
• Jack D. Edinger, PhD, insomnia researcher and clinician, professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Sleep Medicine at National Jewish Health, adjunct professor at Duke University Medical Center.
• Clifford Saron, PhD, associate research scientist, Center for Mind and Brain and M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California, Davis.
• Matt Vogl, deputy director of the University of Colorado Depression Center

Preventive Medicine

• C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, director of the Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai, trailblazer and leader in preventive heart health.
• Monique Giroux, MD, co-founder of the Movement and Neuroperformance Center of Colorado, medical director of movement disorders for Swedish Medical Center.
• Scott Small, MD, professor of neurology, Columbia Neuroscience, nationally renowned expert on brain health.

Longevity and Stress

• Eli Puterman, PhD, postdoctoral scholar at the University of California – San Francisco, recognized expert on the physical impact of chronic stress.
• Jay Williams, PhD, acclaimed physiologist and medical nutritionist, clinical professor, author, researcher, health and wellness consultant.

Sports Fitness

• Peter Millett, MD, director of shoulder surgery at the Steadman Clinic.
• John F. Murray, PhD, licensed clinical and sport psychologist in Palm Beach, Fla., has been recognized for his work with NFL teams and professional athletes.
• Inigo San Millán PhD, director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.
• Coen Wijdicks, PhD, director and senior staff scientist in the Steadman Philippon Research Institute’s Department of BioMedical Engineering.

Personal Health

• Jeffrey L. Boone, MD, MS, consultant in cardiometabolic health, preventive cardiology and stress medicine in private practice in Denver, Colo.

To learn more about these presenters’ Living at Your Peak sessions, visit www.livingatyourpeak.org.

Living at Your Peak is organized by the Vail Symposium, a grassroots, non-profit organization providing thought-provoking, diverse and affordable educational programs to the Vail Valley community. Event sponsors include Vail Valley Medical Center, HealthONE, the Town of Vail, The Steadman Clinic, Vail Summit Orthopaedics, Vail Resorts, PGA TOUR, Triumph Development, the Vail Daily, Vail Beaver Creek Magazine, Antlers at Vail, Vitality Center, Opedix, Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, The Biegler Foundation, Colorado Access, Wendy and Paul Raether, the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, Vail Luxury Magazine, The Denver Athletic Club and the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.

For more information about Living at Your Peak, please visit www.livingatyourpeak.org. 

For training and working out, goals are extremely important. You need to set short and long term goals and make them challenging but possible. If they are not possible, you will not reach them and eventually become disappointed or frustrated. On the other hand, if they are too easy, you may not push yourself enough and not make enough progress, if any at all.

Another aspect of training, one that I feel has played a huge role for myself is having the right mindset. I'm not necessarily talking about what your motivation is for your workouts because there are thousands of reasons why you can, should or want to do it. What I'm thinking about is the attitude, the mindset, the personality you step into the gym with. When you have that mindset, nothing can stop you. You can just keep going and whatever is in front of you, you do not stop. When I go into a workout like that, I feel stronger, faster and better than any other moment. People call me nuts when they see me training (and I probably am) but it gives me great satisfaction and motivation. This is when I get my best workouts and earn some of the nicknames I have been given over the years (Beast, the Hammer,... All for different reasons).

Getting that mindset is not easy and I feel cannot always be planned ahead. It's a feeling of the moment. It may be influenced by your goals, motivation, your previous success and progress or simply how well you slept the night before. It depends on the individual and circumstances but also on the people around you. A good group of training buddies or trainer can get you in that moment, in which you feel invincible and full of energy (sometimes I have to step in to prevent injuries as a trainer when a client gets 'in the moment').

There is nothing like this feeling and sometimes you just start working out and you know you'll be killing it that day. Other times, you need more guidance from a trainer to get in the right mindset. Either way, it should be your goal to find that motivation. It is the perfect intrinsic motivation (because you want to for yourself, not for others or a reward) and when you work out like this, you will feel great after and again be looking forward more to the next workout. It's a vicious circle. If you feel bad for yourself when working out, it will probably not be any better next time. So give it your all. I guarantee that, if you work out hard but responsibly, you will experience that mindset more and more while enjoying every minute of it.

For the beginners out there: no matter what sport you practice, go for it, get over that beginner's hump and you'll find more enjoyment and great progress lying right ahead of you! Leave it all out there and you will experience more results than what you were hoping for!

For cross training and TRX classes or private personal training, check out www.DefineDefense.com

By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.

The PGA TOUR, whose Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation golf tournament launched earlier this year with a special focus on helping Americans live healthier lives, will extend its commitment to health this fall by supporting Living at Your Peak in Vail.  Scheduled for September 13-15, Living at Your Peak is the nation’s only gathering designed to help health-conscious individuals and influencers discover how to live longer, better and impact the well-being of their world.

“When the PGA TOUR launched the Humana Challenge, we were thrilled to see such a prominent organization use its platform to help Americans live healthier lives,” said Jamie Stone, Living at Your Peak event champion and a board member of the Vail Symposium, a non-profit organization responsible for Living at Your Peak. “We are proud to partner with this organization to extend its commitment to health to the Vail valley.”

The Humana Challenge, a collaboration among the PGA TOUR, Clinton Foundation and Humana, uses its stature and visibility as a PGA TOUR tournament to challenge individuals to better understand their role in their own well-being and to take steps to improve and maintain their health. In addition to public education initiatives throughout the week, the tournament features healthy concession options and on-course well-being activities for tournament spectators. The second annual Humana Challenge will be held January 14-20, 2013.

“As a strong adjunct to our own health initiatives, Living at Your Peak closely aligns with the Humana Challenge’s mission and will help us achieve our goal to motivate people to live healthier lives,” said Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA TOUR. “The PGA TOUR is strongly committed to supporting initiatives that promote health and well-being, which is why we are proud to sponsor this event.”

Living at Your Peak is organized by the Vail Symposium, a grassroots, non-profit organization providing thought-provoking, diverse and affordable educational programs to the Vail Valley community. Event sponsors include Vail Valley Medical Center, HealthONE, the Town of Vail, The Steadman Clinic, Vail Summit Orthopaedics, Vail Resorts, PGA TOUR, Triumph Development, the Vail Daily, Vail Beaver Creek Magazine, Antlers at Vail, Vitality Center, Opedix, Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, The Biegler Foundation, Colorado Access, Wendy and Paul Raether, the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, Vail Luxury Magazine, The Denver Athletic Club and the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.

For more information about Living at Your Peak, please visit www.livingatyourpeak.org. To learn more about the Humana Challenge, please visit www.humanachallenge.com.

When growing up, my parents had a certain saying: It’s better to get a B or C after trying really hard than getting an A without trying at all. That being said, I was a very good student but it showed the values that were important to them. I guess it’s in line with the saying ‘Hard Work Beats Talent’ and I couldn’t agree any more. If things go too easy for you, then you never learn determination, the satisfaction and rewards of hard work.

The point is, you have to work and you have to try hard. If you put a lot of effort and determination in something, good things will come your way. The road may not be always full of sunshine and there will be bumps in the road but nothing ever goes perfectly. This absolutely applies to training as well. If you train hard (and smart but that’s for another article), then you will see progress. If you don’t put 100% in, then don’t expect all your goals to come true. 

Now that has absolutely nothing to do with performance. As a trainer, I never expect our clients to perform the same or compare them to each other. For example: I prefer much more that a person is giving a 100% lifting a 20lbs. kettle bell than the person next to him/her lifting a 50lbs. kettle bell without breaking a sweat. Everyone works at their level and gets the equipment suited for them. However, we do expect everyone to do their best and to give a 100% in their workouts, whatever their fitness level allows.

My family is not one of the most athletic families (sorry guys but you gotta admit). I do have one uncle who ran marathons and is now still biking many miles with the road bike. Besides him, nobody really practices any kind of sport so I was a pretty odd duck. For some reason, I did get into sports. When I started karate at the age of 7, my parents told me that if I signed up, I had to do it for a full year. Quitting was not an option. When I first started, my obvious goal was a black belt. In 2004, I reached that goal. When I started road biking, I wanted to do well and I did, especially since I only started when I was 18 years old. I wanted to gain muscle and over the last 4 years, I gained 30lbs. of lean muscle. I wanted to heal my injured back and today, I barely have any issues anymore. Today, I’ve made martial arts my hobby, job and a big part of my life. I am still biking on a regular basis and challenging myself with races and new goals. I always put the work in to reach my goals, no matter how easy or hard it might be. Even when I fail, which happens, I know I did what I could.

I believe in perseverance or as the saying says: ‘If you talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk’ (last saying I promise). Of course, if you don’t enjoy something it is likely that you will quit at some point which is fine! There is so much out there that enables you to choose what you really love to do. Also, you will fail at some goals in your life and that is normal. Everyone does but as long as you gave it a fair shot and put your energy into it, then there is nothing to feel bad about.

I’m sure you see where I’m going with this blog. You simply have to put the effort in. Don’t quit and be persistent. Reaching a significant goal will never be a walk in the park. But one thing is for sure: if you persist you will see progress, you will reach your goals and you will feel GREAT!

My family was always very motivating in every hobby I had but also very strict. I could not be any more appreciative for that. It taught me discipline and determination. At the same time, that is why I was able to reach my personal goals. If they didn’t bother putting rules in place and taking the time to enforce them, I would not have learned the lessons that I did. So find motivation in your training, no matter what it is, be confident and persistent. As your trainer, I will do my part as well as I can but I need to see the focus and determination in your eyes.


By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.

Define Defense in Boulder, CO
- Modern Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- Personal Training
- Cross Training / TRX Classes

1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302

(720) 340 6254

www.DefineDefense.com

Info@DefineDefense.com

Part 1of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Multilateral Physical Development

Different people have different objectives of training. Some may train for a healthier body, others may want to break their own records and become stronger and some want to compete to test themselves with others.

No matter what your objective is, every athlete should work on their multilateral physical development. This serves as a training base and means you increase your endurance, strength, speed, flexibility, coordination etc. Even if it does not directly affect your goal or performance, it is important to work on these things because indirectly they will greatly help you in reaching your goal (and preventing injuries).

For example: a long distance runner still needs to strengthen their core, do speed drills etc. because it will improve their performance. Or a martial artist who runs 10 miles won’t punch harder but will have better cardio and recover faster.

Once you have a base, you need to work on your sport-specific development, which means training to improve in the specific area of your sport.

Part 2 of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Supercompensation

Everything we do in our training and our training planning is affected by supercompensation. It refers to the biological state your body is after working out and rest. When you work out, your body is fatigued in many different ways and this reduces the functional capacities of your body. After resting, your body will recover and replenish and if the training stimuli were big enough, you will achieve a higher homeostatic level. This means your body will be stronger, you will have more endurance, more glycogen stored etc.

If you do not allow your body to rest before working out again, you will land in a negative spiral and exhaust your body more. This will lead to decreased performance and overtraining.

If you rest too much, you will lose the supercompensation results and you will be right back at where you started. The right (smart) training and the right amount of rest is key!

Part 3 of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Energy Systems

Energy required for muscle contraction is released by by the conversion of ATP into ADP+P

Therefore, ATP sources need to constantly replenished by different energy systems:

Phosphagen System

Readily available in the body and can be used instantaneously for efforts up to 8-10 seconds. Very important for weight lifters, sprinters etc. No lactic acid production and no oxygen necessary.

After the effort, in the first 30 seconds, 70% of the creatinephosphate is replenished and in 3 to 5 minutes, a 100% is replenished.

Lactic Acid System

The lactic acid system provides energy for resynthesizing ATP for events up to 40 seconds (first 10 will be Phosphagen system). It breaks down glycogen stored in the muscle cells and liver and produces lactic acid (no oxygen used which creates an oxygen debt).

Restoring glycogen takes 2 hours for 40% and 24 hours for full restoration after a workout with breaks throughout. For a continuous, high intensity workout, it can take 48 hours.

95% of the lactic acid is removed after 1 hour and 15 minutes so the muscle pains you may feel for the next few days are not lactic acid but micro damage in your muscle.

Aerobic System

Fully activated after 60-80 seconds (warmup is important) to produce energy for resynthesizing ATP from AD+P. Energy sources are fats and glycogen (and protein occasionally).

Primary energy system for endurance athletes.

No lactic acid production or buildup.
However, in most cases, the aerobic system and lactic acid system work at the same time! The ratio depends on the intensity of your efforts.

The best indicator of which energy system you are actually using when exercising is measuring the level of lactic acid in the blood. The threshold (point where both energy systems are working but no build up of lactic acid) is 4 millimoles. Over that and you will get a buildup because your body is producing more than it can take away.

You can raise the threshold by training. An athlete with a good aerobic base (endurance) can work with higher intensity before crossing the threshold.

Part 4 of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Training the energy systems

Lactic acid tolerance training

This will improve your tolerance but also your body’s ability to buffer it and increase lactate removal from the muscle.

Intervals of less than 1 minute will require 4-8 repetitions with long recovery periods in between (15-30 minutes)

Longer intervals of 2-3 minutes are desirable but only if you can hold the intensity.

This is a very hard workout so don’t overdo it.

Maximum oxygen consumption training

Intervals of 3-5 minutes, max intensity. Heart rate up to 10 beats under your max.

Improve efficiency of the oxygen transport system.

Anaerobic Threshold Training

Tempo training with speed slightly above comfortable. Intensity should be 60-90% of max and you have to hold it throughout your training. Lactate levels will be above 4 millimol and will build up.

Phosphate system training

Short bursts of maximum intensity up to 10 seconds. Long recovery necessary to prevent lactate production.

Aerobic Threshold Training (Long Slow Distance Training)

More than 1 hour

No lactate production

Comfortable intensity (have to be able to talk)

Will improve endurance and recovery time

By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor, based in Boulder, Colorado. Take a look at www.DefineDefense.com, www.TrainerVanacker.com or check out our videos onYouTube.com/DefineDefense !

During March, I participated in a 30 day Paleo challenge. As you may have read in my previous posts, my experience was double sided. I did really enjoy some of the healthy changes I had to make, such as eating more fruit, vegetables, soup and nuts. This made a huge difference and got me more into a routine of eating these items, which are of course fantastic for your body and health. Please note I will not go into the details of the diet and what to do, this is purely about my experience and not intended to explain what you should be eating.

Other things, I wasn’t as much a fan of. So many things were cut out of my diet that it caused me to get very bored of certain foods. Also, dropping so much water weight (6lbs. at a certain point) wasn’t very fun. I was thirsty all the time and got dehydrated very quickly, not to mention I looked very deflated (since you retain more water when you eat more carbs).

During the challenge, I ran into a bigger problem though. Since my work requires me to stand, run, exercise and do many more things for long periods of time, my total exercise duration every week (with individual training as well) easily exceeds 15-18 hours of sports. Doing the Paleo diet caused my performance to go down. As I wrote in my previous article, I switched to Paleo for Athletes and reintroduced carbs to accommodate my high levels of exercise. This made a huge difference and got my performance levels back to their original levels (and went up since). This was more in line with how I normally cut weight and watch my food intake when cutting. It is a very manageable way of eating and fueling your body right. The right amount of carbs in the right times are hugely important, combine that with the health benefits of some Paleo ideas and you’re on the right track! Since starting on March 1st, I lost 10lbs, am close to my goal competition weight and did not compromise my performance or lean mass.

In my opinion, athletes need to eat more carbs than the Paleo diet can offer, that is why Dr. Cordain, who wrote the books on the Paleo diet, recommends athletes to make these adjustments.

Even though it was not ideal for me (which I knew beforehand but I considered this an experiment), the Paleo diet may work much better for others. Certain ideas of it make perfect sense and most importantly of all, it does not allow you to eat manipulated and processed foods, chemicals etc. These foods are a huge reason why so many individuals are unhealthy and obese. In my opinion, eating unprocessed foods is one of the most important changes you can make in a diet.

People need guidance. Perhaps that is why the Paleo diet is so popular and I am positive it works for many people. If you are looking to cut weight and you are not very active, it is likely to do just that for you. If you are very active, it may still work but I think there may be better ways. There are many articles and studies out there that tell you why to eat and why not to eat certain foods. Many foods have changed (the nutritional value) over the last 10,000 and even 50 years. However, for every pro study there is a con study. At the end, you need to do what works for you, using common sense. 

You should strive to eat as healthy as possible, fuel your body and give it what it needs and don’t get frustrated along the way because if you do, you are likely to give up. Go ahead and cheat a bit every once and a while, just be smart and disciplined about it. If you need help or you plan on starting a new nutrition or training program, go to a professional and ask for advice and motivation, both for nutrition and training needs.


By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.

www.DefineDefense.com

1805 11th Street Suite B

Boulder, CO 80302

(720) 340 6254

Join us on our Spring Kickoff party on April 27th from 5-7pm with raffle prizes, snacks, drinks and much more! If you are new to our studio, come check out our studio and see what we're about! For our current clients and prospects, this will be a great time to socialize and have fun together. Invite your friends and family to join you!

During the party, we will be offering one time discounts on memberships, classes, workshops and all our retail products.

Our raffle prizes:
- A free month membership for any program
- A Define Defense sling pack (3x)
- A Title MMA body shield
- Several other prizes from our partners

Starting at 5pm at our studio location: 1805 11th Street Suite B, Boulder CO 80302

www.DefineDefense.com
(720) 340 6254

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova will share her unparalleled health and fitness expertise as the keynote speaker at Living at Your Peak (www.livingatyourpeak.org), the Rocky Mountain region’s premier interactive wellness experience, the Vail Symposium announced today. The inaugural event, to be held September 13-15, 2012, in Vail, Colo., is the nation’s only gathering designed to help health-conscious individuals and influencers discover how to live longer, better and impact the wellbeing of their world.

“You don’t need to be an elite athlete to be dedicated to wellness; anyone – at any age – can make a commitment to be fit and healthy,” said Navratilova. “As AARP’s Health and Fitness Ambassador, I have dedicated my time to helping those of us who are 50+ learn to lead healthy, active lives, and I am thrilled to be part of an event that is focused on teaching everyone health, fitness and longevity – from elite athletes to weekend warriors to individuals just beginning their journey to wellness.”

Navratilova is widely considered to be the greatest women's tennis player in the history of the sport. Over the course of a career that spanned an amazing four decades, she amassed an unmatched number of professional records. She won 59 grand slam titles, including a record nine Wimbledon singles championships. Still in phenomenal shape on the verge of 50, she became the oldest player to ever win a grand slam title before retiring in 2006.

In addition to her work on the tennis court, Navratilova is a compelling advocate for active living and aggressive goal setting. Her book, Shape Your Self, is a guide to personal fitness and healthy living. She has motivated thousands to live healthier lifestyles by taking simple steps to a better life. She also serves as the health and fitness ambassador for AARP, in an alliance created to help AARP's millions of members lead active, healthy lives.

“Martina Navratilova is not only a legend in the tennis world, she is also an inspiration to anyone with a commitment to lifelong wellness,” said Jamie Stone, Living at Your Peak event champion and a board member of the Vail Symposium. “Her presence at Living at Your Peak elevates this event to the next level, enabling our guests to have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with a world-class health and fitness expert.”

Living at Your Peak is an interactive health, fitness and longevity experience offering unparalleled access to accomplished world champions; internationally recognized trainers, coaches, researchers and doctors; top chefs, nutritionists and world-class restaurants; and peer networking opportunities. Living at Your Peak sessions will offer interactive components to engage guests beyond a traditional presentation environment. Jenna Wolfe, co-anchor of NBC News’ Sunday TODAY show, will emcee the event.

Registration is $1,000 until June 30 and $1,200 beginning July 1, and includes priority access to event sessions, event coordination with a personal concierge, exclusive access to VIP events and gourmet meals prepared by Vail’s internationally renowned chefs. Spouse passes are $300 and individual session fees start at $50 per session.

The event is organized by the Vail Symposium, a grassroots, non-profit organization providing thought-provoking, diverse and affordable educational programs to the Vail Valley community. Event sponsors include Vail Valley Medical Center, HealthONE, the Town of Vail, The Steadman Clinic, Vail Summit Orthopedics, Triumph Development, the Vail Daily, Antlers at Vail, Vitality Center, Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, The Biegler Foundation, Colorado Access and Wendy and Paul Raether.

For more information about Living at Your Peak or to register, please visit www.livingatyourpeak.org. 

When is the best time for weight training and how much should you train? It's a question that probably has been asked millions of times. It is a great question though. After all, if you put the time and effort in, you want to make sure that you reap the maximum benefits of it.

The answer is very difficult though. It depends on your physiological state, how much you have been working out, what your goals are etc. it is more important to understand the basics so you are more aware of what you're doing yourself.

I know there are many articles out there about the best time of the day to work out and when you burn the most, have the most energy etc. Fact is, for most people, the best time to work out is when it fits in your schedule! Better to have a great training when you have the time than rushing through a workout when you only have 20 minutes...

As to how often you workout. If you look at professional martial artists and other athletes, they put a lot of hours in the gym but they do split workouts for their strength, then they add cardio and at another time of the day, they will work on techniques. This is not realistic for most people either so a good guideline for someone that wants to add strength and size is to train 3 times/week full body. Work mostly on the large muscle groups and spend less time on the small ones (arms, shoulders). This way, you challenge all muscle groups multiple times a week. Downside is however, you can't spend as much time on each individual muscle group.

Another option is to do split workouts. For example you can do chest and triceps on Monday; legs, shoulders and abs on Wednesday; back and biceps on Friday.

There are many variations and it is up to your trainer to figure out what will work best for you, depending on your goals, level, limitations etc. The thing you want to accomplish is working your muscles hard and frequent enough to stimulate an increase in size and strength without overtraining and making sure it fits in the time you have available.

A few other training splits:

- Four days a week: you will work out half your body one day, the other half the other. After these 2 training days, you will take 2 days off. This way, you get 4 training days per week in and you can spend more time (sets) on the different muscle groups.

- Six day split routine: you will divide your training into 3 different workouts. You train for 3 consecutive days and then take a day off. Then repeat.

- One muscle per day: exactly what is sounds like. Disadvantage is that you can't work out the same muscle more than once a week.

The last question to answer is how long to work out. If your goal is to gain size and lift heavy weights, 30 to 45 minutes is ideal (depending if you work out one or two muscle groups - or more). If you go for high volume training, more sets and more reps for muscle endurance, then a typical workout will be 60 to 90 minutes. If you add cardio for weight loss or to lean out, it can go up to 120 minutes.

Please note that these are only some examples and there are many different options in training. Training planning depends on many different factors and needs to be put together per individual. After all, no two people are the same so the same workout routine will not have the same effects.


By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor, based in Boulder, Colorado. Take a look at www.DefineDefense.com, www.TrainerVanacker.com or check out our videos onYouTube.com/DefineDefense !

What To Wear:

Come wearing comfortable, easy to move in exercise or dance clothing. Ballet slippers are most appropriate for the majority of classes, but if you do not have these, socks will work. 

Classes BNC Offers Adults:

-Active Aging Ballet (Specially designed for 50+) -Barre Bootcamp -Hoola-hoop -Yoga -Pilates -Ballet Fundamentals -Beginning & Intermediate Ballet -Dance With Me (For toddlers & their caregivers) -Jazz

To learn more go to www.bncdance.com/school or email us at info@bncdance.com or call 303.466.5685.

3001 Industrial Lane, #12

Broomfield, Colorado 80020

What defines being in shape? Is it something universal we all test ourselves up against or is it subjective? Will the same person be considered in shape if he/she goes to Portugal vs. China, Colorado vs. Connecticut? I don’t think so. The opinions are very subjective and in different places, you will be assessed differently. 

It will also depend what sport or workouts you specialize in. Are you a lifter or an avid runner and who do you compare yourself against?

If you look up ‘shape’ in the dictionary, it will tell you (one of the meanings): the contour of a person’s body, the figure. Obviously this is not what we have in mind when we discuss the physical athletic condition of an individual. For example, some people who may seem heavier may have incredible cardio and ripped weight lifters may barely be able to run 100 yards.

On the other hand, you have athletes who excel in their sport and are in great shape. Let’s say a person who goes running 5 times/week wants to go kayaking. Will the runner who is in great sport specific shape be able to go any faster than the average person? The answer will be no. Neither will the runner be any less prone to upper body injuries.

For myself, there is a great difference between being in sport specific shape and being in overall great shape. I have experienced first hand the difficulties of long distance running while I raced with the road bike. Even though you use the same muscles, they do not function properly and are not used to the new movements. This does not take anything away from the fact that cyclists are incredible athletes; it simply shows that their performance is very specific to the sport they compete in. 

These were just a few examples to make you think. In my opinion, cross training has become extremely important and will continue to become more important in health, athleticism and performance. Cross training classes (sometimes called circuit training, strength & conditioning etc.) will challenge and condition different muscle groups, increase your cardio levels and help the muscles support each other. If you build strong quads, you will need to have strong hamstrings and a strong lower back to support them. If you develop these with cross training, your risk of injury will decrease drastically.

At Define Defense, we encourage everyone to do a good amount of cross training. We start off with a cross training warmup and include our strength & conditioning classes in our membership (without extra cost). We thoroughly believe that our cross training sessions help build better martial artists. Our clients become leaner, stronger, get better muscle endurance and balance out their body. These classes are also a lot of fun because they offer something different every time to keep it interesting. We mix traditional training methods and equipment with the latest tools in the fitness world. You get a full body workout with top notch equipment and will see the results quickly!

We now offer monthly membership for our strength & conditioning (cross training) classes. You can attend unlimited classes and we are pleased to offer these for a lower rate than other cross training workout studios. Our clients are trained by a certified personal trainer at our facility.

Our Strength & Conditioning classes:
Monday 6.15-7.15pm
Wednesday 11-12pm
Wednesday 5.15-6.15pm
Thursday 5.15-6.15pm
Friday 11-12pm
Saturday 1-2pm




By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor. Take a look atwww.DefineDefense.com or check out our videos on YouTube.com/DefineDefense !

• All Define Defense adult members receive a $75 gift card and a 15% discount for all products at Max Muscle
• Max Muscle customers can enjoy a 10% discount off services and programs at Define Defense

Week 4:

At this point, following this plan seemed natural to me and extremely easy to do. Once you know your routine and the important basics behind it, you start doing things automatically, for example what to get in the grocery store or what to pack for your snack etc. 
At the end of week 4, we reached my goal. I went down to 5.92% body fat and was a whole lot leaner than when we started. 2.48% to be exact and my starting point wasn’t all that high to start with. My final weight was 203.25 lbs. The lean mass was at 191.22 lbs., which went up 3.44 lbs. My fat mass was now only 12 lbs., which went down 5.22 lbs. This means I lost over 5 lbs. of fat mass while gaining 3.44 lbs. of muscle mass! This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish and the combination of paying attention to my dietary needs and responsible, well thought out training paid off! 

I had a great experience with Max Muscle Boulder and think it would be beneficial for anyone to do. No matter if you want to lose weight, gain muscle or just be and feel healthier. Please remember you do not have to train 10 hours per week to make progress. Getting some nutrition advice and working out 4-5 times per week will go a long way and give you results! It is not always how much you train, it’s about how smart you train. That is why getting professional advice always gives you an advantage. We at Define Defense and Max Muscle Boulder are looking forward to assist you in your physical training and nutrition needs!