Stacey training for fitness competition!

As some of you may already know, I have decided to start training for a fitness competition. There are various categories, and since this is my first, I decided to compete in the bikini category- and maybe progress further in the future to the Figure category. Figure is a step above Bikini in the level of physical training and physique.
Many of you have asked me why I am doing this... so here it goes...

I may be your trainer, your colleague, friend, or all of the above. But I am just like every one of you... I have my own personal battles with motivation for training, temptation, self image etc. I have been overweight in my life as a teen and young adult, and have even battled an eating disorder. My way through all of that was finding my career and passion through my love for fitness. I couldn't imagine anything better than sharing my experiences and expertise with all of you, to help you become the best you can be. Well, this competition is just another step in me doing that for myself! I had always told myself I could never do anything like this... I fall victim to my own self limiting behavior. I thought I wasn't tall enough, pretty enough, didn't have enough discipline or what it takes to succeed. So this is me, stepping outside of my comfort zone, facing my fears and simply going for it!
I truly am the girl that never got into a swimsuit through her childhood.... wearing a big T-shirt because I was so ashamed of my body. I have decided it is time to let that girl go, because there is still a part of her inside me. It is time to say goodbye to her and stop telling myself "I can't".
I tell each and every one of you that you can do anything you set your mind to, so what kind of example would I be if I didn't live true to that myself. I have seen the many things you have all accomplished and it inspires me. I am not trying to look better than everyone else.... just trying to be the best me I can be... inside and out.

I have made my career out of the love I have for helping people reach their fitness goals and break through those mental barriers they have created for themselves. And now it's my turn! I am excited to share this journey with all of you!

Thank you for your love and support!

Stacey

A Busy Women's Night Out!

An Invitation from Cielo Spa Boutique!

Please join us for
A Busy Women's Night Out

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Cielo Spa Boutique
(Behind Salon U)
1725 State Street, Suite C
Santa Barbara, California

An evening to pamper busy working women and moms!
Three local female business owners will discuss simple skin care methods, smart wardrobe choices, and ways to fit exercise into your busy schedule.

Women can enter a raffle to win a Cielo Spa one-hour organic facial, a BootyCampSB personal training session, or a wardrobe consultation from Wardrobe Wisdom (retail value of $345).

A free event to meet other women. Please bring yourself and a friend!

call to RSVP at 687-8979.

Light hor'dourves and wine served.

Sponsored by Cielo Spa Boutique, BootyCampSB, & Wardrobe Wisdom.
See you soon,

Roxanne Zbinden
Cielo Spa Boutique


1725 State Street Suite "C"
Santa Barbara, California 93101
(805)687-8979
www.cielospasb.com

Conditioning Specialists Lifestyle Transformation Challenge Party and Fundraiser

Come join and root for Stacey Cooper and contestant Li-At Ruttenberg with the celebration of completing 3 months training and find out who the lucky grand prize winner is!

More details can be found at www.conditioningspecialists.com

10 Tips To Keep Your Heart Healthy

By Stacey Cooper
Featured in Spring 2008 Issue of Coastal Woman magazine.

Prevention is still the best weapon in the fight against heart disease. Here
are some tips to identify your heart health risks and get you started on the
right path.


1. Don’t smoke. Tobacco contains more than 4,800 chemicals. These chemicals can damage your heart and blood vessels, which can cause narrowing of the arteries, as well as cause your heart to work harder due to blood vessel constriction, and can ultimately lead to a heart attack.
2. Exercise. Regular exercise helps prevent heart disease by increasing blood flow to the heart and strengthening your heart’s contraction so it
pumps more blood with less effort.
3. Keep your diet healthy. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products as a source of magnesium, calcium and potassium. Eat fiber to control diabetes and hypertension. Also, eat seafood rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They help clear clogged arteries and keep blood vessels strong and flexible.
4. Maintain a healthy weight. Excessive weight can put more strain on your heart and lead to many other conditions that lead to heart disease.
5. Get consistent health screenings. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage your cardiovascular system. Without testing you’ll never know whether you have certain conditions.
6. Control your blood pressure and blood sugar. High blood pressure makes the heart work extra hard and stiffens artery walls, increasing risk of heart disease and stroke. High blood sugar can lead to diabetes.
7. Watch your sodium intake to prevent hypertension and deposits along the inner lining of the arteries. This could lead to coronary heart disease.
8. Control your blod cholesterol. Avoid foods high in saturated fats and trans fats because they cause high LDL(bad) cholesterol, causing plaque buildup in arteries, which can lead to atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries) and heart damage. Instead, eat foods high in monounsaturated fats, such as olive and canola oil.
9. Watch alcohol consumption. Excessive drinking leads to hypertension and many other health problems.
10. Reduce your stress level. The link between stress and heart disease isn’t completely clear, but stress does speed up heart rate, and a heart attack is more likely to happen during times of stress. Depression and heart disease often go hand-in-hand as well.

Stacey Cooper, the founder and owner of Reshaping Fitness and BootyCampSB, is a certified personal trainer and biomechanics specialist. If you have questions for her, you can reach her at stacey@conditioningspecialists.com or 805.284.3688.

Week 4 for Melissa Olson

I am sore. Sore, Sore, SORE.
It hurts to walk, laugh, sit down - which makes going to the bathroom very interesting, pretty much whatever I do hurts.
It is funny to actually like the 'hurt' though...it means I did something good. I'm changing my body for the better.
Now if I can just make it through the soreness without walking funny, being afraid to sit down in the bathroom, and making all the weird noises a person makes when they are sore, I will be doing fantastic!

Melissa Olson Weeks 2 and 3...

Week 3 - The Bike Ride
We decided to go on a bike ride...a real bike ride, not just a cruz around the block.

There is a wonderful bike path next to where we live off Patterson and Saturday was the day we were going to check it out!

It took Meridian, my 9-year-old daughter, and I about an hour to get ready. We needed the right shoes, shorts, shirt, sunscreen, helmet, sunglasses, lots of water, Luna bars for a snack, and of course a cell phone incase we needed to get a ride home. If it couldn't fit on our body or bike we put it in Meridian's cute little backpack.

We looked good, had our heads and skin protected, and were ready to go. I had no idea how to get from our house to the bike path down to Goleta beach so my friend Diego was our guide. Inviting Diego might have been a mistake...Mr.-I-think-I'm-Lance-Armstrong was hard to keep up with. I tried to follow all the rules of the road and make sure Meridian was safe and doing what she was suppose to do...that was hard to do while also trying to remember the way from our house to the path and keep up with Diego Speedo.

When we got to the bike path I immediately relaxed. All we had to do was follow the path and Goleta beach here we come. I think Diego was relieved when we got on the path as well. He didn't have to worry about us and could cruz at his own speed. The path took us on a beautiful route. Meridian and I stopped here and there to enjoy it.

We made it to Goleta beach and relaxed on the beach enjoying our Luna bars and lots of water. I made the mistake of asking Diego how far this little bike ride of ours was. He replied ' 6 miles'. I said 'wow, that is great, but the first half of this ride felt longer than 3 miles'. He laughed then. I understood. He meant one way of this ride was 6 miles - 12 miles total! I panicked a bit then. I was feeling great, but I didn't realize that I had just rode 6 miles and I had 6 miles left to get back home. Could Meridian make it another 6 miles? Could I make it another 6 miles?

It was silly of me to worry about Meridian. We made it home just fine and she was ready to do it all over again. I was exhausted. The trip took us 3 hours total and it was amazing. I started thinking back to when I used to ride my bike at least 12 miles a day - 5 days a week - when I was in high school. I have not done this since high school. That realization was crazy and cool all at the same time. If I hadn't been working out these past few weeks I would never have been able to complete that bike ride. It is amazing how making these little healthy changes has given me my old self back!



Week 2 - Fitting into Shorts...

Tuesday night I was getting ready to go bowling - it has been HOT so I decided to wear shorts. I only have 2 pairs of shorts that fit me now and they are tight - and not just when they are fresh out of the dryer. I pause and pray that they are no longer tight - after all I've been working out for around 7 weeks now. I put them on and not only do they fit but they are big - way big - I can almost pull them off! I was dancing around my bedroom when my daughter, Meridian, walked in to see what was going on. I think she thought I'd lost my mind for a second - I told her I was happy because my shorts were big. Meridian smiled and said 'good job mom!' We danced and laughed together and it was fantastic.

It can be really hard to stay motivated and to even make it to the workouts with work, being a mom, and just life...BUT I realized in that crazy-happy-dance-around-my-room-because-my-shorts-are-big-moment that what I'm doing is important to me and my daughter and we are worth it!

Stacey Cooper is SB's busiest trainer...

Check out her boot camp has to offer on her website at www.bootycampsb.com or where she daily posts new heathly recipes or health tip articles on her blogspot. bootycampsb.blogspot.com

Stacey Cooper is taking your booty to knew heights with BootyCampSB!