Los Angeles Personal Trainer

Back in 2007 I was putting together some ideas for my first DVD. One of my friends insisted I should meet her client, who was the owner of a big fitness DVD company, to give me some guidance. I met with the client to find she was an overweight businesswoman with an even bigger attitude. Over the next hour she bluntly told me that I didn’t have any idea what a fitness video should be like or what American audiences wanted. Then the final few, defeating phrases we exchanged:

“Tell me something Lalo, is your video going to be FUN?” she taunted.

I replied, “Well, it is going to be challenging and…” but she cut me off before I could finish.

“Then it won’t sell!” she snapped. “Come up with something fun and people will buy. If you need somebody to produce it for you, we can help.”

Those were pretty much the words that closed that meeting. I walked back to my car with my ego feeling like it had been beaten with a bat over the last hour. It’s over, I thought. All that effort, time and money to create what I thought a perfect video should be like; it was for nothing. I felt like I’d been wasting my time on something that wasn’t going to work. I felt stupid.
On my way back home, I started thinking about all the possible ways I could make this video “fun” so people would buy it; music, props, costumes. The very things I disliked about fitness videos. Every idea just kept leading me back to something I didn’t want my video to be like in the first place.

So, I went back to the drawing board… and didn’t change a thing. Why? I decided that I was going to do something that I would enjoy working out to, like if I were creating it with myself as a client in mind. The Fun Factor lady was right; this was something completely different than other videos out there. It didn’t have bright lights or colors, no extremely happy people behind me doing the exercises, no porn-like music playing on the background. I knew that this video was either going to succeed or it was going to sink badly, but I was willing to live with it on my terms. People may like easy, but they want to see results. I decided to create the tools to deliver them, but it had to be physically challenging. I don’t know about you, but challenging is my kind of fun.

Months later, the Fun Factor company almost closed shop due to lack of sales, while my video got featured on TV, radio and magazines, including SHAPE as DVD of the month. The sales were (and still are) something I never expected. We started receiving orders from people all over the U.S. and the rest of the world including Japan, Germany, Australia, England, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Vietnam, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and Portugal. How these people learned about my video? I still have no idea.

Up to this day, there are still people who just don’t get it. To these people: Good things in life don’t always come easy. Why do you think I went to college? Do you think I was in my biology class thinking, this is so much fun!? I didn’t, because it wasn’t, but I knew a good education would benefit me in the future.

I truly enjoy exercise. I know it’s good for me, but that doesn’t mean I wake up every morning before my alarm because I cannot wait to go workout. Think twice! I’d rather sleep in, but I do it because I like the way a healthy body feels, and the way it looks too. I like to know that no matter what activity the day brings, I’m not going to feel like the last kid to be picked to play at recess; the one nobody wants on their team.

Big exercise companies know most of us are lazy. They know that in order to get their hands in our pockets they need to sell us something that promises to be fun and easy. They advertise their product like it will get us runway model looking bodies while we sit watching ‘American Idol,’ sipping on a root beer float. If it were that easy, everybody would be fit already. People act like being healthy is doing somebody else a favor, rather than doing it for them selves. They want to have a body like so-and-so, but they don’t want to give up their daily grande Mocha Frappuccino. That wouldn’t be living! They want to get lean and look thinner, but don’t want cut this or that out of their diet. They don’t want to get sore, or much less sweat. They need something that’s easy and that won’t make them give up their so-called pleasures in life. Many companies know that’s what we want to hear, rather than what we need.

Funny enough, a few weeks ago my rep suggested that I should check out this new abdominal machine because they needed a spokes person for their infomercial. The machine was actually pretty good and seemed to work the way they described it. Even though it was a big chunk of money, I declined. What was my reason? A few sections of the script they would not change:

“That makes it easier to get a tight, toned tummy AND lose those ugly love handles, too.

You can have so much fun on this, you shouldn’t even CALL it exercise.”

So, what made me start doing fitness videos? Two things. First, I wanted to help people achieve their fitness goals to give themselves something to be happy about. Second, I got tired of people asking me to write them a fitness plan at every party I attended. Instead, I give them a training session wrapped inside a case. You might think they would stop asking, but they still do. I just keep pointing at my DVDs. I wanted this to be the closest thing to training them without having them come over or without having to spend their vacation money on training sessions.

If you want to get in shape it’s not going to be an easy journey, but it will be a worthy one. Regardless of what type of exercise regimen you’re doing to achieve your goals, if the program, class, DVD or instructor is too easy, no matter how they may promise to make you look instantly amazing, you won’t. Your body needs to be challenged to transform from fat to fit, period.

Lalo Fuentes, CSCS
Personal Trainer & Lifestyle Coach
Los Angeles, California

We are very happy to announce that SHAPE magazine Germany will be featuring Lalo Fuentes in this July 2010 Issue. The article will be 7 pages long featuring Lalo's signature moves and of course, his unique FREEZE technique. Here is a quick video blog where Lalo and Tara Macken talk about the article. Don't forget to pick up a copy of SHAPE this July!

Hope you guys are enjoying the World Cup as much as we are. Let the best team win!
Cheers!

Isabelle Deluca
LaloFitness

Send us your fitness questions to: AskLalo@LaloFitness.com

After many requests, we are pleased to announce the Online Coaching program by Lalo Fuentes, starting April 1st, 2010.

This program is the perfect way to achieve a healthier body. You will have direct contact with Lalo no matter where you live. For what it would cost you to buy one Latte a day, you can get a healthier, hotter you. Lalo’s goal is to make it affordable enough so that anybody with the desire to become fit inside and out can join.

Because of the personalized nature of Lalo’s Online Coaching service, we will only be considering 15 people at a time. On March 20th, we will be selecting the first 15 candidates. If you would like to be considered, send us an email telling us why in 200 words or less. If you don’t get selected, don’t worry - your name will be placed on the waiting list and we will contact you as soon as there’s a space available.

Send us an e-mail to: OnlineCoaching@LaloFitness.com

Hi Lalo!!

I LOVE your workouts!!!

I have a 2-part question:

1. Is there a cardio workout routine you can recommend that doesn't require any equipment but is also effective for burning calories? I find the traditional jumping jacks, on the spot running and kick-back exercises you do in LaloFit v1 exceptionally effective. So on my "cardio only days" I do these exercises in rotation for about 30 minutes. Although I feel the burn, the exercises can get boring. Are there other simple exercises I can do in combination with those moves when I am on a "cardio day"? I really like to sweat it out!

2. Is it ok to alternate between LaloFit v1 and v2 (e.g. Mon, Wed, Fri: v1; Tues, Thu, Sat: v2) or is that too taxing on the body?

I really want to see results quickly...but I guess patience is a virtue!

Thanks!
Claire

p.s. any plans to produce a cardio-only workout DVD?

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Hi Claire,

I’m glad you like the workouts!

Take your cardio workout outdoors. While you’re getting some cardio done you are also enjoying the outdoors, which could be a great way of reducing stress. I filmed my fitness videos inside a warehouse and only using 5 Lb weights to send the “Do it anywhere”, “No excuses” message. Try running, hiking, biking, swimming, play tennis, beach volleyball, racquetball and the list is endless. Any of those activities will make you burn a lot of calories and fat. If you still want to keep it indoors, you should try to also include the ab workouts in between your cardio moves. That should get you sweating and will ad variety to your cardio days. The only way I would do a cardio-only DVD is if I end up doing a 3 month program

Having both videos gives you more variety, which is great, but you should not workout every day with them. Since both LaloFit exercise videos are full body workouts, you’ll be working the same muscles. Try to do V1 Mon, Wed, and V2 the same days but the following week. You can also do V.1 Mon, Wed, and V2 on Friday or the other way around. On Tuesday Thursday and Saturday you can do cardio and abs. And yes, patience is a virtue; as long as you do strength training, cardio and have a balanced diet you should be on the right track.

Good luck!

Lalo Fuentes, CSCS
Personal Trainer & Lifestyle Coach
Los Angeles, California

Dear Lalo,

I have been using the LaloFit V.1 workout 3 times a week for the last 5 weeks and my body has become more toned - THANK YOU! But I also feel that my body has gotten used to the exercises and it is now easier to work through each movement.

My goal is weight loss. How long should I stay on a workout program before changing it up?
Thanks,
Lay

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Dear Lay,

Each person responds a little different to each training program. If you workout three times per week and also do cardio and eat healthy you should be ready to change your workout regimen after eight weeks. The body (muscles & bones) needs this amount of time to adapt to certain movements and get results. While in a fitness program, not only your muscles will benefit from it, but also your bones.

When you start a new exercise program you muscles as well as your bones need to adapt to the new challenges or stress your body is experiencing. Your muscles will become more developed and your bones will gain density. The trick is that, not your whole body will get these benefits, only the muscles and bones where the stress is being applied repetitively for a certain period of time, which is about 8 weeks. That’s why I included a full body workout mixed with cardio in my fitness DVD’s, so you can get the most amount of muscles worked within one hour.

It is very important to always change your workouts. You can have a few different workouts you do for these eight weeks and put them on rotation. After those eight weeks, you should change it around and do something different for another 8 weeks. You can either try the same technique with an advanced and new set of moves or change the technique and style of workout all together for something completely different. You can always come back to your original workouts but this time around you will be adding more intensity to it and still expect results.

If you’re thinking about increasing the amount of weight because your workouts are getting easy, concentrate on your posture and technique before you do that.

Have fun!

Lalo Fuentes, CSCS
Personal Trainer & Lifestyle Coach
Los Angeles, California