The wall is up and construction on the back room is complete! We have purchased some new equipment including two squat racks, a new set of rubber covered bumper plates, clips, Olympic bars, deadlifting platforms, a boxing bag, and more!
The results of the Facebook Poll are in! The official Facebook name for the backroom is …. (drum roll please) … The I pick things up and put them down room. ? … really guys? I’d like to call out a certain someone with a first name that begins with the letter “K” and rhymes with Lady for creating that hilarious option.
Supreme Dictator Tim has overruled the ridiculous Facebook poll name and has decided to go with something a little simpler and more relevant: The Arena! The floor of the Colosseum where the gladiators did battle was referred to as the Arena, and it was the stage for all the action.
Despite being overruled, many thanks to all who participated in the poll! You’re interaction with us helps give us new and better ideas on how to continue serving you best!
Christmas is a magical time of giving and receiving gifts and sharing time with ones we love, but for some, this Holiday can be very difficult. Some families go through challenging times around Christmas and find support through shelters such as local Domestic Violence Shelters.
The centers provide safety and comfort to those who need it, and during the Holidays also try to rekindle a shred of the magic by having presents for the families and children they serve.
Earlier this month, Colosseum owner, Tim Gallagher, spoke with a representative from a local Domestic Violence Center about how he could help donate Christmas presents for those families. Here is what he found:
The Domestic Violence Centers appreciate gifts in the form of gift cards to local stores such as target, kohls, toys r us, kmart, etc. so that they can purchase age appropriate and perhaps even kid-specific presents.
If you would like to help us on our mission to raise $2500 for these families, please drop a gift card (recommended amount $25) into the check slot at the front desk. Tim will personally see to their delivery. THANK YOU SO MUCH for supporting this deserving cause!
Do you eat enough protein? For many of us, our bodies function best when we eat an even percentage of calories from Protein, Carbs, and Fat. So that’s 33% from each. Therefore, if you eat 2,000 calories per day, that’s a goal of 165 grams of protein per day.
Protein comes in the form of meats like chicken, steak, fish, turkey, and eggs, and vegetarian sources like beans, tofu, and soy. These items are usually perishable, require cooking, and are not available in the snack isle or vending machines (at least none that I have seen.)
Protein can only be efficiently digested in amounts of 30 grams at a time for average sized human beings or up to about 50 grams in bigger ones, so one giant portion of chicken will not cover your protein needs. It has to be spaced out.
So, if you need 30-50 grams of protein per meal, and a total of 165 grams in a day, how the heck are you going to eat all the protein you need during your busy day?
Meet Juan Ponte. He is a nutrition specialist and owner of Max Muscle Sports Nutrition in Columbia and a trusted partner in our local fitness community. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, he offers all our members a 15% discount at his store.
Juan’s store carries several lines of high quality proteins that are the best in the business. Maxpro protein is derived from milk, so the primary protein is whey – a fast and efficiently absorbing protein. Furthermore, digestive enzymes are added to the mix to prevent gas or bloating. Shakes are quick, nutritious, and tasty. Just add water, shake, and enjoy.
A 5lb jug of MaxPro Protein will last you at least a month and runs about $60. They come in flavors like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and tirimisu. The same amount of protein in the form of steak will run you hundreds of dollars.
Max Muscle is located at 6476 Dobbin Center Way in Columbia MD. www.columbiamaxmuscle.com 443 – 542 – 9885
 Christmas at the Colosseum Its been a few years since the last time we have thrown a Christmas / Holiday Party at the Colosseum, but we are bringin’ it back with style. You won’t believe it until you see it, but the Colosseum will transform from hard core fitness gym to holiday themed gala in just a few short hours after close of business at 4pm on Saturday. If anyone has pictures from previous years please send them to me scott@Colosseumgym.com so I can post them on our blog!
Hope you can join us!
Time: Saturday night December 03,2011 from 7-10pm
 Come join Tim and Scott for an early trot around Centennial Lake before a day of eating, football, festivities, and more eating! From the fitness standpoint, its probably a good idea to get in a good workout before eating all that food. Just sayin’. All are welcome to join us. Members, friends, family … even bring your dog! Tim’s Great Danes will likely be present and Scott will be bringing his polar bear looking white lab, Charlie, as well. As always, Tim has promised coffee for those who need the caffeinated inspiration to get moving!
Meeting Place: rt 108 entrance near the boat rentals
Meeting Time: 8am
On October 21 from 9am to 4pm The Howard County Office on Aging will be hosting hosting the 13th annual 50+ Expo at Wilde Lake High School. The Colosseum will proudly be doing free fitness evals and consultations all day. Come visit us to determine your BMI & Body Composition %, and we will give you a free personal training session (new clients only please)! I expect lots and lots of vendors and visitors to be present at this event. It is free and there should be plenty to do and learn! 50+ EXPO site
Written By David Johnston
I have worked in commercial gyms for years now, and have watched every sales tactic and technique imaginable when it comes to personal training. Often times, a new client is presented with a questionnaire asking about their preferences regarding a personal trainer– “Would you prefer a disciplinarian type, or an empathetic type?”
I always thought the question was the silliest question in the world– until I started watching other personal trainers with their clientele.
See, here’s the deal with personal trainers: they are typically commission-only. Which means, when they’re not training a client, they are making no money at all. Which means they are intensely interested in acquiring a client in the first place, and by all means never offending that client.
We are taught in the sales world to “never say no”– if you want to close a sale, you should always be cheerful, agreeable, and always tell the client what they want to hear, even if you later have to modify it to something slightly different. And most personal trainers approach their new clients in this manner: they are passive, borderline fearful of offending the prospective client, for fear that they won’t close the sale. And then once they have that client, they are afraid to be blunt, to “tell it like it is”, for fear of losing the client.
But here’s the problem: you are hiring a trainer. This means, you are seeking out guidance and leadership from a qualified professional to help take you to a level of health and fitness you admittedly can’t get to on your own.
Can you imagine sending your children to a teacher who backed down her expectations every time the child said “It’s too hard”, for fear of discouraging the child? Can you imagine employing a teacher for your child who was more concerned with being the child’s friend, than the child’s instructor? Of course not! You would run screaming from a teacher like that. Why? Because a teacher’s job is to hold your child accountable, have high expectations, and help elevate them to the next level of knowledge.
The same is true with personal training. You want somebody with a strong personality, somebody who is smart (maybe a little too smart), somebody who will call you on your BS, somebody with high expectations, somebody who holds him or herself to a ridiculously high standard. This will help to elevate you to the next level, even if it’s a bit painful (and trust me, it will be– if it was simple and pain-free, you’d already be in great shape, and not spending hundreds of dollars on a personal trainer!).
So when hiring a trainer, do yourself a favor and look for the meanest, most brutally honest trainer in the gym. Yes, it will sting a bit, but at the end of your sessions, when you actually have the body and health of your dreams– along with the self-esteem that you earned in the process– you will come back and thank me!
Jean is the owner of Columbia Eye Associates, and eyewear store in Columbia, and she would like to help you protect your children from sports related injury.
“Protecting Your Child’s Eyes from Sports Injury”
If your child plays a sport that requires a helmet or faceguard, don’t make the mistake of thinking your child’s eyes are protected from injury.
Your child’s eyes are still exposed to danger from sports equipment, or an opponent’s fingers penetrating the opening of a facemask. If your child wears glasses, everyday fashion eyewear is not held to the same protective standards as regulation eyewear. However, a quality pair of sport goggles, equipped with polycarbonate lenses, can be sight savers since they help the eyes and surrounding ocular region of the eye.
Sports activities can at times become very costly and may even keep your child from being able to participate.We invite you to come in so we can talk to you about your child’s needs and get them into protective eyewear.
We know that you have many choices in eyecare and we look forward to serving you.
Colosseum members receive a 35% discount on all eyewear and 50% off of children’s eyewear. Offer cannot be combined with insurance.
Written By Jean Trinkaus, Owner
Columbia Eye Associates
 Scott Middleton, Editor Dear Readers,
Did you know that being out of shape can cost you THOUSANDS of dollars on life insurance premiums?
You can’t put a dollar value on being healthy, but it’s nice when taking care of your body benefits your wallet. This article explores the cost of life insurance based on your physical exam and tells you how to maximize your chances of saving big.
Many bio-stats are used in determining your health-premium classification. Most are in your control. Age and medical history you cannot change.
The exam consists of a medical history interview (surgeries, medications, etc), a physical (height, weight, blood pressure, pulse), saliva and urine samples, and a blood test. In some instances, the exam can include an EKG to test heart rhythm.
Here is what they are looking for:
- Viruses (HIV, Hepatitis, …)
- Liver and Kidney function
- Drug, nicotine, or medication use
- Overweight
- Heart disease risk (high blood pressure, fast pulse, high cholesterol)
Most life insurance companies use a 6 class structure:
- Preferred Plus No Nicotine (or Super Preferred)
- Preferred No Nicotine
- Preferred Nicotine
- Standard No Nicotine
- Standard Nicotine
- Substandard
Estimate a 20% higher premium for each class your drop. So for me (25 yrs old), a Super Preferred 500K 20yr term life policy would cost ~ $325/yr vs Standard at ~$550/yr. Premiums for a Substandard policy can get way out of hand.
So how do you max out your score?
- Quit smoking, doing drugs, and/or binge drinking
- Control your weight (Body Mass Index of 20-25)
- Fast for 12 hours before the exam
- Schedule a morning exam (body is less stressed)
- Get your blood pressure below 120/80
- Reduce salt intake.
- Daily Exercise
- Bring your resting heart rate down to 70 bpm or less
- Cardio Training
- Rest 3 min before testing
- Two days leading up to the test:
- Don’t drink caffeine
- Don’t drink any alcohol
- Avoid vigorous exercise
- Get plenty of sleep
If you are fit and healthy with no known health issues, the time to get insured is right now. Once you’re qualified at super-preferred, you are locked into that great rate for the entire term. If something unfortunate should happen to your health, you may be stuck with a very high rate, or be outright denied coverage.
If you already have life insurance and you aren’t happy with your health classification, kick your health habits into high gear and get a re-test!
Sincerely,
Scott
Insurance: A Lifetime Solution for Financial Security by Rob Deane
As your priorities change at every stage of life, you need to change with them, especially when it comes to insurance. Coverage that meets your needs when you are 25 years old is likely to be different when you reach age 55. As you think about your evolution through life, consider these important stages and the insurance needs of each.
Protecting one of your most valuable assets
When you are young and just beginning to accumulate financial assets, your ability to earn income is likely the foundation of your financial future. Protecting that income is critical. Consider this: If you are a 35-year-old earning $50,000 per year, let’s say you have an additional 30 years of earning potential. With estimated annual salary increases of 3 percent, you’ll earn more than $2.3 million dollars over the remainder of your career.
What would happen to those you care about if you could no longer work because of illness, injury or death and your earning power was gone? Chances are there would be financial hardship unless you protected your income with disability income insurance and life insurance.
If your employer offers disability income insurance as a benefit, you may assume you’re adequately protected. However, that coverage may be insufficient if you examine it closely. Also, remember that group disability ends when you leave your job. With today’s unstable job market, that’s something to think about.
Individual disability income insurance policies are available with various features and options, and may be more affordable than you think. Since your coverage stays with you, job changes or periods of unemployment won’t interrupt your protection.
Another way to protect your income is with short-term life insurance that may be able to be converted to permanent insurance later on. Term insurance offers inexpensive protection at a time in your life when you might have large financial obligations like a home mortgage, and permanent life insurance may be financially out of reach. Life insurance with a guaranteed conversion feature may also give you the ability to convert to permanent life insurance in case your health changes.
Growing your assets and saving tax dollars
As you grow more financially successful, achieving your financial goals and accumulating assets requires ongoing attention. It’s true that your income remains the foundation for your future, but hopefully you’ll begin to have more opportunity to improve your lifestyle, enjoy more discretionary spending and save more money.
Again, insurance can be a valuable tool for reaching your goals in this stage of life. Let’s say you are a family with two wage earners and you depend equally on both salaries to help with financial obligations like college. Chances are you will also be trying to grow your retirement savings. This may be the time to convert your term life insurance to permanent policies. This move may help you accumulate tax-deferred cash value and still provide income tax-free benefits in the case of your untimely death.
A permanent life insurance policy can help ensure a steady flow of dollars to supplement retirement income for your survivors in case you don’t reach retirement age. If both you and your spouse are fortunate enough to retire and live up to or beyond your life expectancies, it may also give you an optional source of supplemental income to help control the amount of taxes you will pay in retirement.
Giving back and leaving your legacy
In later years, you may wish to leave assets to loved ones or charities that are important to you. Of course, you’ll also want to avoid having to deplete your assets in case you or your spouse becomes ill during this life stage.
Once again, certain types of life insurance provide the flexibility to reach these goals. Tax diversification through life insurance can help you reduce the amount of taxes due, and thus increase the size of your estate. Thanks to a tax-free death benefit, it may be a good way to help offset your taxable investments so your family can make the most of your financial legacy.
Leaving a gift to charity with life insurance is a flexible, cost-effective and, in many cases, tax-advantaged strategy that will benefit your cause after your death.
If you are wondering which life stage you are in and what type of insurance you need, an insurance review with a financial adviser can be helpful. Be sure to ask him or her about the insurance policy’s features, benefits and fees, and whether the insurance is appropriate for you, based upon your financial situation and objectives.
Because each life stage goes by too quickly, it’s important to make the most of every day. Knowing that you and your loved ones are protected will help you do just that.
Click HERE to contact Rob for a free consultation.
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