One of my favorite parts of my job is that I’m always learning. And while much of that learning comes from my readings on training, nutrition, and psychology, a lot of what I learn comes from being in the trenches day in and day out making people healthy and hot.
Every time I do a round of our “Snatched in 6 Weeks” Total Body Makeover, I learn a lot. When I work with someone one-on-one, it can be hard to tell when I’m being unclear, or when the client just isn’t understanding what I’m trying to communicate. Conversely, it can be difficult to know if we’re getting great results because I’m giving great workouts and advice, or because the client is a bad-ass mutant genius (and we have a lot of bad-ass mutant genius clients).
I really always try to keep things as simple as possible, but not any simpler. But it’s a fine line to find sometimes. Particularly since people are so different and respond so differently to each training, nutrition, and motivational technique. The beauty of doing “Snatched” is, when taking that many people through the program en masse, certain trends become clear. This past round featured a whopping 60 Snatcheders, and consequently it solidified many things that started becoming apparent during former rounds.
We take fitness seriously. We do not take ourselves seriously.
This is what GLORY looks like dear reader.
(And no, not every class does this, you don’t HAVE to dress up to get Snatched, but it’s a safe space, so some folks do!)
1) Protein Intake Can Be Shocking At First – Although focusing on protein intake is pretty standard in the sports nutrition world, since most people live on sugar and refined carbs, this can be a pretty big shift. While there’s a lot of room for individual variation (since I’m not a nutritionist and don’t do actual meal plans), this is always a helpful diet tweak that yields excellent results. But it usually takes a week or two for folks to “get” it.
2) Environment Is EVERYTHING – One of the reasons we’re phasing out one-on-one entirely and moving to the semi-private training model is, not only is it more affordable, the results are WAY better. The group, in this case, is greater than the sum of its parts.
3) Simpler Is Better – Specifically, I’m referring to training (though it could be applied across the board). We’re not doing anything crazy or earth shattering with our program. In both the classes and the add on personal training sessions, we keep it SIMPLE. No complicated periodization, no fancy (stupid) BOSU ball gymnastics, no exotic exercise choices… just pushups, planks, lunges, kettlebell swings, squats, and rows. Simple… but effective.
4) Precise Technique Is Not Only Safer, It’s More Enjoyable – I think part of why we get away with the above mentioned simple exercises is we demand a level of technical precision that isn’t the norm for group classes. As my ninjas know, if they couldn’t have a picture of themselves doing that exercise as their Facebook profile pic, they’re being too ambitious and are doing an exercise variation that’s beyond their current technical proficiency. I believe that, not only is excellence at the basics a worthy principle in and of itself, but it also prevents boredom by giving the Snatcheders something to work on the whole time. I don’t want my ninjas checking out mentally. I want them fully experiencing their body in all its beauty and fatigue and always working to get better at their technique.
5) We Can Take The Work Seriously, But We’ll Get Better Results If We Have FUN – I’m all for nailing it and being laser focused on achieving goals. But that doesn’t have to preclude fun, and, in fact, I think having fun while doing the work is CRUCIAL to getting great results. (You may have noticed our logo is me jumping in hot pants..?) We are very serious about fitness, but boy are we RIDICULOUS. I really think a lot of why we get the results we do is because we try to make training a safe space and a playground. Yes let’s get hot. Yes let’s nail the technique. But let’s not forget to play and have fun and be silly because that’s the sugar that will make the hard work medicine go down.
Great American Ninjas Dustienne Miller and John Retsios.
Fitness is more fun with friends!!
I found myself utterly overwhelmed by the incredible work ethic and results of this round of Snatched. Going from 30 people to 60 was a challenge, but I think it’s fair to say it made it even MORE fun for all involved. I presume the next round (where we will have 100 Snatcheders) will build on the lessons learned in this round and take the ridiculousness AND results to a whole other level.
Lastly, I just want to thank everyone involved in making this last round such a success. I am reminded on a daily basis that I’m far luckier than any human has a right to be. To my team and my ninjas… I publicly proclaim my love and gratitude to you for all your hard work!! Thanks for always teaching me and for making my job so fun! You inspire me every day, and I’m gonna make out with every single one of you. With tongue.