My Visit to Axiom Fitness

I was called up to Milwaukee last week for business, but that provided a great chance to tag along with my friend Laura Gainor to her normal workout spot, Axiom Fitness.  Laura invited me to a Thursday 6am bootcamp-style workout (note: her husband Brian continues to chose sleep over the AM workouts).

It was a little awkward for me to be on the business end of someone else's Thursday 6am workout, since at that same time my normal class at the Charlotte Dowd YMCA was just wrapping up their workout with a substitute instructor.  Needless to say, it was well worth the lost hotel room sleep to break a sweat with instructor Jen Wenzel. 

Jen warmed us up with a quick bodyweight GPP-style circuit, then broke us up into a series of :30 circuits.  As you can see in the below video segment, Axiom featured a great variety of equipment.  Our workout featured (among other elements):

• Kettlebell work
• Rope training
• Explosive medicine ball drills
• TRX-style suspension training
• Sandbag work

Anyone who has either taken my classes, or read my CrossFit entries knows that I am a big fan of varied equipment and drills to keep things moving, and keep the body guessing.

Your workout is as only as good as your post-workout nutrition, so afterwards we were rewarded with great recovery drinks (also featured in the video) to refuel protein in the muscles.

As an instructor, often you trade time that would be spent on your own workouts to dedicate time and energy towards your classes or clients.  This was a great opportunity for me to jump into someone else's territory and be on the other side of things for a change.  Jen and the crew at Axiom Fitness have a great facility with killer workouts, so for anyone near the Milwaukee area I would definitely recommend a visit.  Bring your gear and be ready to sweat.

Fitness Spotlight: "Raw Model" Anthony Anderson

Anthony Anderson is a model who is very out-spoken about his love for natural foods and "green" living.  He was one of the first sources I began to learn from about the benefits of getting a couple pounds of fresh green leafy vegetables into my system every day if possible.

When I experimented with a vegetarian plant-based diet last year, Anthony Anderson was one of my main sources for information on alternate sources of protein.  Here is his take on non-meat, plant-based protein sources:

"Where do you get your protein???" The question is on cue almost every time. Its like they are trained to say it, and in reality, they are. 

So where do I get it? Brazil Nuts, Hempseeds, Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas), Almonds, Bee Pollen, Spirulina and Blue-Green Algae, Maca Root, and of course, the leafy greens. (Kale, Spinach, Chard, Collard Greens, Wheatgrass and Sunflower Sprouts.) About 45% of calories in spinach come from protein. Thats huge. Especially if you are eating over a pound of leafy greens a day, which really is a good idea anyways. Most of my protein and fat is consumed in my daily smoothie, which I like to have for lunch. This makes is easily absorbed into the body, and allows me more time to do the more important things in life instead of preparing a salad for 30 min."

He also impliments some of the benefits of the famous "Lemon Cleanse" (fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper) each day without going overboard and pushing to the borders of metabolism slowdown.

You can follow his blog at www.rawmodel.com