20 Minutes of Heaven

Posted by Fahad AlYehya | Core Fitness – Kuwait

Core Fitness has been in business for close to 2 years. We’ve jumped into the market with very high risk, doubtful but hopeful. We originally started out with a much larger area (1,000mtr2) and slowly trimmed it down to roughly 300mtr2. Our risk was high as it is, so might as well shrink a few things or two.

In order to sell the service being sold, we needed believers, people who can witness results and talk about it to other people.  And so, we brought in 10 clients with different goals, interviewing them one by one before and after our prescribed 7 week cycles. The amount of questions had no answers. With all my knowledge, I could not convince any of them that our 20 minute workouts achieved anything. I even pulled in science to explain that it’s more than possible to benefit from 10 minutes of what we were doing. I don’t blame anybody since common sense tells us that the more time we put in the better results will be.

Finally realizing that no amount of words can explain what we’re trying to sell, I simply gave up and said “Guys, go try it out. If you don’t like it you’ll get your money back.”

“That was intense!” Client #1

“HARDCORE!” Client #2

“…….”Client #3. His blood-sugar level crashed. A diabetic who didn’t eat a single calorie since breakfast.

“Huuuuh, huuuh, huuuuh…man…gi..give me a few minutes to catch my breath!” Client #4. He puked 10 minutes later.

The comments above were what our clients said after their first 20 minute workouts. Thankfully, they’ve all signed up and witnessed great results. However, this proves nothing to the people who have yet to enroll at Core Fitness. After interviewing numerous clients throughout Core’s tenure, I’d like to think that I can finally explain why our 20 minute workouts work.

Short and Sweet

The first obvious question that pops to mind is the 20 minutes. What can we possibly do in such a short time? If you think about it, that’s exactly it. We realize that 20 minutes is a short duration and we also realize that in order for a client to achieve results is by pushing him beyond his physical potential, which involves a lot of boot-camp style training and attitude. Secondly, pushing someone to the brink of insanity in 20 minutes involves some sort of motivation, hence the personal trainers responsible for pushing you towards your limits.

Upping the Ante

In the beginning, we developed the 20 minute workouts to promote health and fitness to the inactive individuals; it was hard, yet you could manage to come the next day and do it all over again. The current crop of clients had such great results that word of mouth started to spread fast, and the active population wanted in. We then implemented a leveling training system that increases workout intensity each time a client levels up; the higher you are, the more uncomfortable and intense workouts got. The active clients had a blast, but the not-so-active had a very hard time coping. The “uncomfortable” zone was designed to push clients beyond their potential, but proved to be a disaster since our non-experienced clients didn’t understand if workout induced pain was good or bad, so they quit.

Our memberships are 7-weeks long. Below is a detailed life cycle of workout expectations:

Week 1: Due to workout intensity, clients (based on activity levels before joining Core) run out of breath, borderline faint/throw-up, and/or faint or throw-up. They usually last 5-10 minutes then beg to stop.

Week 2: The above continues if the client does not abide by Core’s nutritional guidelines and advice. The one’s who do only feel light-headed for a maximum of 30 minutes post-workout. (Clients usually quit here)

Week 3: Client’s grow accustomed to workout intensity and brace themselves prior to their 20 minute engagement. They tend to be happier since they survived it.

Weeks 4 and beyond: A walk in the park, but with visible landmines and bear traps. Clients with optimal diets and recovery enjoy these 4 weeks. Clients who half-ass their diets and recovery struggle from time to time.

The intense side effects witnessed by our new comers are normal. Pushing intensity levels beyond your physical potential will include temporary bouts of dizziness, fainting and puking; your body will get used to it in accordance to the scheduled timeline above. This will not happen to our new members since we toned down our welcoming package.

I Don’t Want to Die

Word finally got out that Core Fitness works, but is too intense. Clients started quitting, thinking that their bodies are bound to break down and get injured. Amongst those clients are close friends of mine who trained, got scared then went back home and haven’t joined a gym since. Does that mean Core Fitness pushes their clients too hard, or are our clients being lazy?

After realizing the above, we concluded it to be very bad for business. We added and leveled down our workouts as many as 3 times. We continue to do so once our current crop of clients grow too-accustomed to the intensity, giving them more physical challenges than originally anticipated.

Caution

Our 20-minute technique taxes the CNS (central nervous system), which causes members to faint, puke, feel dizzy, fatigue, etc. Certain precautions have to be taken in order not to avoid any injuries:

1) We assign personalized nutritional plans to members, so make sure you abide by them. Eating a light snack or meal before and after training is required.

2) No more than 20-minutes of cardio or any vigorous activity before training.

3) Our workouts damage and fatigue the muscles; without essential nutrients, you expose yourself to injuries. Refrain from playing any sport immediately after training. Eat and rest for an hour first, then indulge in other vigorous activities.

Personally, I have overworked my CNS numerous times and it is not an experience anyone wants to endure. It starts by intense exercise for over 3 months. Pushing myself beyond my own physical potential while dieting increases the risk of this; in addition to work-related stress, my sleeping patterns decrease (first sign of CNS taxation), hence delaying physical and mental recovery. Fatigue starts to set in, effecting workout performance (2nd sign of CNS taxation) and in order to compensate I squeeze every last drop of energy to yet again go beyond my potential. This is followed by another day of minimal sleep, which in turn causes my eye lids to twitch (3rd sign of CNS taxation). Lastly, all it takes is a whiff of a cold breeze and a perspired workout-induced body to seal the deal (4th and last sign of CNS taxation). The sickness lasts 1-2 weeks, depending on whether you choose to stay in bed and rest, or continue on your journey for fitness. The latter is counter-productive; unfortunately, my will to a better body always beats any virus.

I would advise anyone who has went through the same experience to take a week off and rest, supplying your body with much needed nutrients and rest for recovery.

Results

Core’s training technique (including a sound diet) greatly depends on maintaining as much muscle as possible, while shedding every ounce of fat. It produces results based on the client’s physical structure, weight and fat stores:

1) Average (Mark): Height to weight ratio is optimal, but fat outweighs muscle. Fat stores tend to be around the waist area. This group of individuals witness great recompositioning; their weight may increase or decrease a few kgs (5kg max). They lose the existing fat in exchange for muscle.

2) Overweight: At least 20kg over their optimal weight, this group loses an average of 10kg of fat and water weight on a 7-week workout plan. A current member enrolled in a 3-day per week membership and included 30-60 minutes of cardio on 2 of his off-days. He lost a staggering 20kg the first 7-weeks and averaged on 10kg of loss every membership. This group tends to lose the most weight due to the existence of large fat stores and inactivity.

3) Chubby: Slightly above their optimal weight, this group is the most problematic since they need more time to witness results. Their fat stores are specific (chest, lower back, hips, lower body) and upper bodies are weak. Core tackles this by increasing the amount of upper body muscle mass, while tightening up the lower area. However, the training will not work if the client does not abide by the nutritional plan. Nutrition plays a much larger (90%) role in this group.

Conclusively, we focus on maintaining as much muscle mass as possible, as opposed to losing as much weight as possible in order to create a more physically fit structure rather than a scrawny one. We highly recommend our current and new clients to depend on the mirror and not the scale.

Core Fitness also caters to those who want to add muscle mass; just not extreme amounts of it. We focus on increasing lean body weight as opposed to overall weight. Nothing differs from this group as the above; both focus on nutrition first and exercise second to reach their goals. The only difference is in order to gain muscle, you need the necessary nutrients for growth which Core Fitness will gladly provide.

Supplementation

I get a lot of questions and concerns in regards to performance supplements, such as protein powders, pre-workout boosters, fat burners, creatine, glutamine, amino acids pills, and so on. Core Fitness promotes supplementation use depending on what stage the client is currently in. Moreover, we only promote researched and proven supplements to excel client results after they have stopped.

Supplementation is not for everyone. You need to start with a solid nutritional foundation for a minimum of 3 months. When extra solid food ingestion cannot be achieved or results have stopped for a prolonged time, supplementation may be taken into consideration. Lastly, we do not advise beginners to depend on them in order to get faster results.

Pfffft! 20 minutes?! Who you trying to kid!?

Core Fitness produces healthy and physically fit individuals; if you abide by your workout specific appointments and nutritional necessities, then you are well on your way to the world of fitness. Core Fitness does not target the bodybuilding community; we focus on overall functionality, health and fitness.

People need to realize that we are not a conventional gym; our clients don’t just come in and train on their own. Moreover, results are not limited to muscle-gains and fat-loss; what’s the use massive amounts of muscle and single-digit body fat percentages if you can’t function properly?

We cater to:

1. Athletes who want to add a good amount of muscle and overall performance while still maintaining flexibility on the field. Even the average person who just wants to improve his performance at his next friendly soccer match at the chalet.
2. Fathers and husbands who have numerous responsibilities and obligations, such as taking care of their family and maintaining a stressful job.
3. Individuals who don’t want to spend the majority of their time at the gym.
4. Beginners who don’t know what to do or where to start.
5. People with sports-induced injuries, such as the knee, shoulder, ankle and lower-back.

Individuals envisioning the Arnold physique need not apply. We don’t build mass monsters; we build athletes.

If anyone has any inquiries in regards to Core Fitness, nutrition, supplementation and an overall healthy lifestyle, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Posted by Fahad AlYehya | Core Fitness – Kuwait