Posts Tagged ‘the fitness asylum’

Crank it with BJ: D.A. Wallach of Chester French!!

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
The other day I was honored to work out celebrity D.A. Wallach, the lead singer of Chester French. D.A. and I went to high school together and have stayed in touch since.
For those of you who don’t know, Chester French is a pop music duo comprising singer D.A. Wallach and multi-instrumentalist Max Drummey. The group originally formed in 2003 as a five piece live band at Harvard University, where the band members were freshmen. A year later, D.A. and Max began working as recording engineers at the school’s student recording studio, and continued writing, producing, and engineering their music as a duo. By their senior year, the album that they had made for less than $2,000 sparked a bidding war between some of the biggest artists in popular music, including Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. Ultimately, D.A. and Max signed with Williams to his Star Trak imprint on Interscope Records (home to U2, Eminem, Gwen Stefani).

Since then, Chester French has played hundreds of shows with its three piece backing band, touring the US and Europe as a headliner or with Blink 182, Weezer, N*E*R*D, Common, or Lady Gaga. D.A. and Max have also made a point to connect with their supporters through free, intimate acoustic performances in dozens of sneaker shops and record stores around the U.S. Their relentlessly energetic and engaging sets have won fans of a variety of styles of music, and the group’s audiences are as diverse as its sound.

In April of 2009, Chester French released its highly-anticipated debut album, Love the Future, which has received broad critical acclaim. People Magazine’s Chuck Arnold called it “a delightfully whimsical pop pastiche that evokes everyone from the Beach Boys and the Beatles to Prince,” and the Boston Globe hailed the release as “too wise – and too catchy – to possibly be the debut from the recent Harvard grads.”

To promote Love the Future, the duo simultaneously released a free, full-length concept album of comedy-infused hip-hop and pop music entitled Jacques Jams Vol. 1: Endurance. Overseen by renowned DJ Clinton Sparks, the album featured collaborations with Jermaine Dupri, Diddy, Pharrell, Talib Kweli, Bun B, Janelle Monae, and many others. Over 300,000 fans have downloaded Jacques Jams, available at www.ChesterFrench.com/mixtape, and publications ranging from VIBE to the New York Times have praised the project’s creativity.

Chester French rounded out 2009 with national network television performances on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Both appearances showcased the group’s fiery live show, as well as D.A.’s and Max’s typically unconventional sartorial stylings, which have landed the duo in GQ and Vogue.

In order to stay connected with its fans, the band has created www.ChesterFrench.com, where fans can buy music and merchandise directly from D.A. and Max. It is also the hub of their unique VIP Concierge Service, a free membership network through which Chester French provides its fans with extraordinary personal service, news, and invitations to exclusive events.

You can expect their new album in 2010 and D.A. is also embarking on a solo project in the New Year as well.

Be sure to head over to their Facebook fan page and follow them as they are quite talented and a ton of fun:http://www.facebook.com/chesterfrench

Crank it!
BJ

PS- iWorkout Muse PRO has been submitted for your review for to the Apple iTunes store so now it’s just a waiting game. But if past experience is any indicator, we expect this baby to be ready by the end of this year or early 2011… stay tuned!

Cardio Kickboxing Workout

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Here’s a great Cardio Kickboxing Workout put together by our fantastic MMA instructor Eloisa DeLeon from our new Cardio Kickboxing class at The Fitness Asylum in Milwaukee, WI.

Boxing Intervals: 3 Minutes on, 1 Minute Off

1- Jabs @ 30 seconds with immediate transition
2- Hooks @ 30 seconds with immediate transition
3- Upper Cuts @ 30 seconds with immediate transition
4- Front Kicks @ 30 seconds with immediate transition
5- Back Kicks @ 30 seconds with immediate transition
6- Side Kicks @ 30 seconds with immediate transition

The great thing about Cardio Kickboxing is that all you need is your bodyweight, plus some skilled instruction, to get in a great workout.

For fitness facility owners, it’s also a great walk-in or punch card class to offer to your campers or clients that can’t get enough of what you do.

Stay tuned for the NEW Boxing Intervals Workout Music Soundtrack that’s powering this workout next week!

To learn more about this Cardio Kickboxing class in Milwaukee, WI at The Fitness Asylum, please visit:

http://www.MilwaukeeFitnessAsylum.com

Crank it!
BJ

ABS OBESSESION: Fill Your Camps with a Core Class!

Monday, July 19th, 2010

It never ceases to amaze me how much fitness enthusiasts LOVE to work their abs.

Every magazine cover you see these days talks about “flat, sexy abs” and a “tight tummy” and a “toned midsection” and for good reason… most people want to absolutely smoke their core and can’t get enough of it.

I saw this abs obsession in full bloom a couple weekends ago when we hosted a special TUMMY TIME bring-a-buddy bootcamp workout at THE FITNESS ASYLUM in Bay View, WI.

The house was full with about 50 attendees, over 20 of which were friends of our campers.

Check out a brief highlight video of the core stability workout we did using the 10-3 Core Stability Soundtrack powered by Workout Muse interval training workout music:


Here was the template for this workout, 10 s on, 3 s off for 6 straight sets followed by a 30-second rest and transition to the next exercise in the core stability circuit:

1- Front Pillar Variation

2- Left Side Pillar Variation

3- Right Side Pillar Variation

4- Left Side 3-Point Back Pillar Variation

5- Right Side 3-Point Back Pillar Variation

If you’re a bootcamp owner, I’m sure you’d love to put on a killer core class like this that could get you 5, 10, or even 20 or more hot leads.

In the business of fitness, NOTHING beats referrals and we prefer to build our program through word of mouth instead of overpriced paid advertising any day of the week ;)

Crank it!
BJ

PS- If you are a bootcamp owner, check out the exact email newsletter I sent out to my campers to promote the aforementioned bring-a-buddy workout that brought over 20 new people through our doors. Please feel free to modify for your own business:

Hey BJ,
It’s tummy time!!!
As I mentioned yesterday we will be having a special Bring-A-Buddy Core Workout Next Saturday July, 10th at 10 am at The Fitness Asylum in Bay View.
Here’s how it works:
1.) We need your buddies to arrive by 9:45 am to sign a release to exercise in case there are any casualties of war (joking… well, not really…). Plus they will be writing down who referred them so we can announce the winner at the end of the class.
2.) The camper who brings the most buddies will win a free massage for their efforts. If there is a tie we will do a sudden death tie breaker- either arm wrestling or a cage fight… not sure yet…
3.) The referral rewards program also takes effect as any buddy who signs-up as trial member will generate a $10 gift card for you and if they sign-up for membership that will generate a $50 gift card for you.
As I have mentioned before, we want to grow this program from within and get more good people like you involved and we will reward you for helping us do so ;)
In order to help you spread the word and get your buddies to come, I have provided a done-for-you Facebook update posting template below that I recommend you post 2-3 times over the course of the next week to hype up the class:
“It’s tummy time!!  Join me for a FREE Abs Workout on Saturday, July 10th at 9:45 am at The Fitness Asylum in Bay View- The Fitness Asylum, 2612 S. Greeley St, Suite 220, Milwaukee, WI 53207.”
Plus, here’s a real slick new way to spread the word on FB and go viral very quickly:
You can now tag your friends in your status or post. Type @ and then type the friend’s name. For example: “It’s tummy time!! I’m doing a core class with @John Smith.”
Crank it for Next Saturday!!
BJ