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Albuquerque Journal "FIT Tips" - Tip 1 | Tip 2 | Tip 3 | Tip 4
Fitness and Fat Burn (Maureen's Medical Moment on WNDU.com) - November 8, 2007
Upscale Magazine (Atlanta, GA)
Indiana's News Center - September 2007
Best Body Magazine - May 2005
Get Fit by Phone (FitnessbyPhone.com) - May 2005.
SPORTSPECIFIC
STRIKE ZONE
Adult kickball players have so much fun they forget they’re exercising
By Glen Rosales For the Albuquerque Journal
Kickball. It elicits memories — some good and some bad — of grade school gym class. But it’s no longer just a kids’ game, and adults who play it need to be aware that just as with any other sport, it should be taken seriously.
It’s a sport that can be a tremendous way to exercise and keep fit without really going through the drudgery of a workout, says local certified personal trainer Brenda Rule-Osburn, who operates Bodies Be Fit.
“It’s a great sport to get great exercise,” she says. “You can exercise in a lot of different ways outside of the gym. In kickball, you’re exercising, but you’re having fun so you don’t really think of it as exercise.”
Participants can burn as many as 600 calories during a game, says Tiffany Ficklin, spokeswoman for the World Adult Kickball Association and a player herself.
“What I feel are those quick-twitch muscles,” she says. “It’s those quick bursts of energy that get you.”
That’s the real benefi t of the sport, Rule-Osburn says. “You have a lot of quick stops and quick starts. That gets your metabolism going and keeps it going for longer periods of time.
“Jogging is a great activity, but running like this off and ..s you keep going for a longer period of time.”
While the sport is played recreationally much like beer-league softball, it’s extremely competitive, says player Alfredo Moreno, who works in the University of New Mexico sports-media relations department.
“I don’t think it’s anything that anybody goes out and trains for,” he says. “But you are competing and you want to show what athletic skills you have left. And you don’t want to be sore the next day. You want to jog a little beforehand, do some minor stretching, because once the game starts, people are playing it seriously.”
Knocking around
A track athlete while attending school in southern Oregon, the 29-year-old Moreno says he got into the sport on a lark, knocking the ball around in the evening with college friends.
“That was before we knew there was a national association and that there were people in the Northeast who were taking this thing extremely serious,” he says.
His team reached the semifinals of a national tournament in Washington, D.C., before disbanding, although he stuck with the sport by signing as a free agent with another team.
As with any sport, injuries do happen. “You see some of the soccer-related injuries,” Moreno says. “Pulled hamstrings, sore groins. After a tournament, playing six hours in a day, I’m definitely sore the next day.”
Many of the injuries involve new players, Ficklin says. “People vividly remember playing in the fifth grade,” she says. “The first thing they’ll do is get out there and take a great, big, gregarious kick. The first thing they pull is their quad.”
One way to avoid injuries is through a solid warmup, Rule-Osburn says. She recommends something that again goes back to childhood: jumping jacks.
“Jumping jacks increase your metabolism and get your heart going,” she says. “It’s just a good exercise overall because you’re using all parts of your body.”
While exercise is one health benefit of the sport, there are others, Ficklin says, not the least of which is stress relief. “There’s nothing like taking out your aggression on the big red rubber ball,” she says. “We’re really just a bunch of adults running around and having fun like kids.”
It’s also a great social sport for people looking to make new friends. “It’s really about being young at heart,” Ficklin says. “We have people who played sports in college. We have working people. We have people that sit behind a desk all day. And we have people who were picked last in gym class. The great thing about WAKA is you’ll never get picked last again.”
Sign up
Registration for local kickball teams begins this month and continues through early April. For information or to register as a team, group or individual, see kickball.com.
Albuquerque Tribune - Evening Apr 25, 2006
Fitness is Just a Phone Call Away
Clients ring personal trainer Brenda Rule-Osburn to motivate, instruct them
Richard Stevens Commentary
Brenda Rule-Osburn, a certified personal trainer, will be a contributor to the Recreation Corner that will run Friday in The Trib’s sports section from May through August. The Recreation Corner will debut May 5 with golf tips from Puerto del Sol pro Todd Kersting. Rule-Osburn’s column will debut on May 12.
If you are looking for a sweaty time, call Brenda Rule-Osburn. If you are looking to burn calories, drop pounds, grow muscles, get in shape, eat better, strengthen your heart and maybe even live longer, call Rule-Osburn.
Or, as one of her clients puts it, if you are looking for a “gentle kick in the butt,” call Rule-Osburn. Yes, fitness might be just a phone call away. Rule-Osburn, 46, is a certified personal trainer who has expanded — and maybe improved — her business by hooking up with a California-based company called Fitness By Phone. Of course, you don’t lose the pounds and change your lifestyle simply by chatting with Rule-Osburn on the phone. She has her rules. You have to eat smarter. You have to set goals and keep charts. You have to wear a calorie counter called Caltrac. You have to move, move, move. But Rule-Osburn can be that kick in the butt that sometimes accompanies the advice, the charts, the goals.
This personal motivation by phone has been used successfully in many professions. Now, some of the gurus of the gym have gone long distance. One of Rule-Osburn’s prize clients is Tammy Wiggins, a nurse in Indianapolis.
“I love the program,” said Wiggins, 42, married with two children. “Brenda is a great coach and she has put together an excellent program of things I would never think to do on my own. And she’s there 24-7 for me. She is there to push me, but always in a positive way.
“I had my doubts that a program like this would work long distance but I’ve lost 52 pounds since June of 2005. She is that voice in the back of your head telling you to keep going, that you can do it.”
A client of Fitness By Phone typically keeps a diary that tracks diet, exercise, calories burned, heart rate, etc. Rule-Osburn critiques the progress — or lack of progress — and makes changes. Or simply does some gentle motivating.
“We set goals and the goals are nutritional as well as physical,” she said. “And I’m always there if they need to talk.
“They are given tools that give immediate results and we establish a relationship of accountability to me and to themselves. But ultimately I strive to teach my clients to be accountable to themselves.”
Rule-Osburn admits her Fitness By Phone coaching often resembles baby-sitting. Kind of like telling a kid to do their homework — or eat their veggies. But the adults usually get into the physical progress and therefore into the physical process.
“A gym can be overwhelming,” said Adrianna Hermosillo, 36. “I walk into a gym and I don’t know where to start.
“With Brenda, I’m seeing results and I’m being pushed to get those results. I need that motivation. I need that push. This is like having a friend who knows everything there is to know about conditioning and is willing to share it with you.
“She is strict with you when it comes to working out, but when it’s one-on-one on the phone, it’s like talking to a friend.”
Rule-Osburn offers different Fitness By Phone programs that range from $150 to $400. The more expensive packages include personal workouts in her home gym. You can also use her home gym to work out on your own. Her garage-converted-into-a-gym is a maze of fitness paraphernalia that includes treadmills, elliptical machines, free weights, Bowflex and even the Chuck Norris-hyped Total Gym.
“Her exercises are awesome,” said Hermosillo. “I’ve been doing this for (two months) and I don’t think I’ve done the same exercise twice.”
Rule-Osburn says the motivation factor for her clients vary but she prefers the ones who are in it for the sake of good health. The dropping of pounds will be a bonus. Wiggins said a strong motivation for her was to “lose inches.” Hermosillo admits it was “the vanity factor.” And Wiggins also has another goal: “One of my goals is to fly out to Albuquerque this fall and finally meet her.”
Stevens is the Tribune’s deputy sports editor. You can reach him at 823-3663 or rstevens@abqtrib.com.
Erin Fredrichs/Tribune Personal trainer Brenda Rule-Osburn helps a client with a 40-pound free weight during a training session. In addition to training clients at her home gym, Rule-Osburn motivates and instructs clients by phone. “I keep calling and thanking her,” said Adrianna Hermosillo. “The phone has really been helpful in keeping me motivated.”
Albuquerque Journal - Feb 16, 2006
TRAINERS’ CALL
BY PHONE AND FAX, FITNESS COACHES ARE MEETING THEIR CLIENTS’ NEEDS
Story by NANCY TIPTON Photographs by MARLA BROSE of the Journal
Debbie Kennedy has always been good at losing weight. “I’ve been on every diet known to man. And I was successful at them,” she says. But what the 46-year-old Albuquerque resident didn’t get from any of the diet plans were tools to help her keep the weight off. “Diet is the operative word here,” she says. “What I needed was a life change.” Enter personal trainer Brenda Rule-Osburn. Kennedy’s husband gave his wife a gift certificate to meet with Rule-Osburn, who, it turns out, is more than a personal trainer. She’s a coach. Kennedy and Rule-Osburn are part of a growing national movement in the fitness industry involving people who want more than six-pack abs and trainers who do more than change weight stacks and count reps. Coaches aren’t just for teams and elite athletes anymore.
Customized approach
“You need someone to look at the big picture,” says Cindy Miller, a certified personal trainer who owns Heart Zones Personal Coaching. The California-based company uses heart rate-based training for a variety of athletic endeavors. “Some people don’t know where to start with a program, others just aren’t getting results they want. Both can benefit from a coach,” she says. “It works great for the self-directed athlete who just needs a little accountability.”
The Heart Zones program works like this: After a brief interview with Miller, the client is paired with a Heart Zones coach who can best meet the client’s needs and goals.
Heart Zones offers four- or eight-week programs that include a weekly phone consultation with a coach (additional weeks may be purchased anytime) and can include specific training plans for a triathlon, a 5K/10K run or walk, weight management, a long-distance event or any other goal.
More information, including prices, is available on the company’s Web site, heartzones.com.
Talking pointers
Rule-Osburn’s approach was developed by another California resident and personal trainer, Susan Block, and it’s called Fitness by Phone. Block says she stumbled onto the method almost a decade ago when a former client called Block, frustrated because she had stopped working out.
In an article for Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, Block writes, “Beverly wanted to find a way to overcome her scheduling obstacles and get back on track with her fitness goals. I had an idea and though neither of us knew if it world work, we were willing to give it a try.” Block’s idea was to have the client use a heart rate monitor and an accelerometer to measure her activities. She had the woman keep a record of what she was doing. And, once a week, the two had a 20-minute phone conversation.
It worked so well that Block developed a program to teach other trainers how to incorporate phone coaching into their businesses.
“The approach is really empowering,” says Rule-Osburn, who was named Fitness by Phone’s Coach of the Year last year. “We give people the tools and they become empowered and self-motivated,” she says. It isn’t a quick fix. Rule-Osburn asks clients to commit six months to the program. And she starts at the beginning, having clients keep diaries of what they are eating and how much they are exercising. Then she has them use a Calrac, a device worn on a belt that measures steps taken and calories burned. She develops a cardiovascular program and, a little later, a strength training program. She talks with clients by phone. She also has converted her garage into a gym where her clients can work out.
Rule-Osburn offers five “starter” packages that range in price from $150 to $399 a month. More information is available by calling her at Bodies Be Fit, 797-3778, or by e-mailing her at
brenda@bodiesbefit.com.
Moving more For Kennedy, it was the personal attention that made the difference.
“If you don’t call Brenda at the appointed time, she’s calling you,” she says.
Kennedy has worked with Rule-Osburn since June and has lost about 60 pounds.
“But what I’ve gained is that it’s expanded my thought pattern.”
She travels for her job and now picks hotels based on whether they have workout facilities. She also says it isn’t about the weight anymore. “I feel better when I exercise. I found I like to walk … I like to move. “I don’t feel guilty when I eat a dessert. I just exercise more.” Although the concept is catching on, finding a coach can be somewhat challenging. A check with major gyms in Albuquerque found none offering “phone coaching” as part of a regular package.
Heather Morgan, regional fitness manager for New Mexico Sports & Wellness, however, says some of that organization’s trainers are starting to work more by unconventional means like email and phone.
A growing movement in the fitness industry involves coaching, even by phone and fax.
This is a Caltrac device, which is worn on a belt that measures steps taken and calories burned.
Brenda Rule-Osburn, personal trainer and fitness coach, encourages a client during a workout
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