Extreme Challenges & Fun

Posted on April 6, 2014 by avcelite

AVC Elite Training has changed my life in so many ways. I have tried many different workout programs, gyms, trainers, etc… the past many years.

It was a time in my life where I was looking for something completely different that would keep me motivated, challenged and getting results all while having fun. AVC Elite Training with Amy has been a great experience and benefit to not only my health, but my overall well being and happiness.

The training is just what I was looking for providing extreme challenges all while having fun in a group setting… And… this training is very effective. The results and benefits I have received have been numerous.

On a personal level in regards to my daily life, I have so much more energy, endurance, stamina and overall enthusiasm especially when I hit my 12 hour shifts as an RN. In addition, I have lost weight!

On a physical level, I am accomplishing some great challenges in the training and noticing significant differences in my abilities. I am not only participating in AVC Elite Training’s Group Training Program, but I am also training for the AVC Elite Training Catalina 20M and 50K Event in April.

The combination of the Group Training along with the trail training has made my entire body stronger in so many ways. If you want results and want to reach goals, this is the way to achieve them.

The people at AVC Elite Training are so encouraging and inspiring. I look forward to our training sessions each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday taking on this challenging work with a fun, supportive and motivating group of people.

In addition, I have actually re-prioritized my work schedule and other commitments in order to be at those training sessions each week.

Thank you Amy!
~ Cathy P.

Are you looking for a new approach to fitness that both challenges and motivates you? Check out AVC Elite Fitness and make a yourself a priority.

Stronger, More Energetic & Mentally Healthier in 2 Months

Posted on March 29, 2014 by avcelite

I started training with Amy at AVC Elite Training in January 2014 primarily to boost in my exercise regime as part of my New Year’s resolution. Because of her adeptness, diverse training techniques, genuine concern and continued encouragement, I feel stronger physically, noticeably more energetic, and mentally healthier within only two months of participating in her Group Training Program.

Not only is Amy knowledgeable and experienced in how the body reacts to specific exercises, her contagious energy and infectious personality keep me highly motivated and make working out a great deal of fun!

The modifications Amy offered when needed were perfect for my workout the first couple of weeks, but now, because of the endurance I have built through Amy’s training, I am able to participate with proper technique without modifying the exercises.

Throughout the training, Amy personally monitors each trainee to make sure proper form is managed to prevent injuries and to get the best possible results from each movement performed. She is also very resourceful in offering nutritional advice for an optimum before and after training experience.

Amy’s Group Training Program has enhanced my life and I’m grateful to be part of her program!

~ Susan

Do you want to jumpstart your fitness and health like Susan? Check out upcoming small group training sessions and enjoy improved strength, energy and mental health.

Functional Fitness Results Came Quickly

Posted on March 15, 2014 by avcelite

Before I began AVC Elite Training I was reasonably fit. At my checkup, the doctor said for my age (58) my blood pressure, cholesterol and heart rate were great. I have cycled weekly for over 30 years and it’s helped to keep my vital statistics in step.

What my yearly physical did not detect, was complete loss of flexibility, repeated back pain and severe hamstring cramps whenever I tried to run ½ mile. In addition, my core strength was nonexistent. I was not able to complete one pushup or sit-up.

In October I began training with AVC Elite Training. Results came quickly. By December I increased my flexibility, lost eight pounds and increased my core strength. I can now handle multiple sit-ups and pushups. With Amy’s guidance, I saw a physical therapist and began a stretching routine that has eliminated my back and hamstring issues.

Besides the benefit of better health, the number one reason I continue to attend Amy’s sessions is because they are a blast. Amy works us hard, but her enthusiasm and humor make it worth all the effort. It’s a great group dedicated to exercise and having fun!

~ Tim

Best Shape of Her Life at 42 years Strong

Posted on March 9, 2014 by avcelite

I have been training with Amy for almost a year now. I have tried many types of aerobics and/or circuit training type classes trying to find something that I enjoyed and challenged me. Since training with Amy, I have gotten my butt out of bed at the crack of dawn 2 days a week with a smile on my face!

I hate getting up early, but bubbly Amy with her TRX, muscle ropes, muscle jump ropes, tabata intervals, agility work, intense core work, squats and lunges, multitudes of strength work with dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, weighted bars and so much more, makes me want to get up and get going!!

Her guidance, individualized instruction and coaching all pushes each one of us to the limit, but in a safe way as she always places the primary emphasis on form and technique, providing modifications when needed and helping each one of us to be the best that we can be.

I am 42 years old and I am in the best shape of my life! I feel stronger each week as the training is ever changing. There is never a dull moment or an ignored muscle as our entire body is 100% engaged throughout every single session. The best part for me physically…I now actually have abs that are toned and visible!!! The hard work is worth it as the payback is huge!

Honestly though, one of my favorite parts of the training is seeing my AVC Elite Training Family each week. We share blood, sweat and tears (tears from laughing so hard) with our fearless leader Amy…otherwise known as “El Diablo!”

~Janel

If you too want to defy aging and be your best at any age, discover the top 10 reasons to love training and contact AVC Elite Training to get started today!

An Ageless Accomplishment in Fitness

Posted on February 23, 2014 by avcelite

Earlier in the week, I was talking with some friends at work and Tough Mudder Arizona came up in the conversation. The more we talked and looked at some of challenges online, the more we convinced ourselves that this Tough Mudder thing is insane and maybe would have given it a go in our 20’s, but certainly not in our late 40’s.

Okay so later that week, I am in Amy’s training and she issues a challenge to the group to sign up and finish the next Tough Mudder as a team. You know we have a couple younger pups in the group, but the majority of the Team are right up there in age with me and quite a few even a bit older.

I am thinking this is not going to be much of a “team” for Tough Mudder as we will probably be the oldest Team out there! (As a side note: we discovered during TM that there were a few older Tough Mudders participating in the event that day, but we by far the oldest Team in the size of our Group out there for TM AZ).

So…..Before I realized it, I am signed up for the challenge with 20+ others. How do things like this happen??? I mean I got plenty of sleep the night before, I was sober, not taking any medication legal or otherwise… It happened because Amy convinced us that we could do it and as many times before, she has made me and each and every person in the AVC Elite group reach goals that were thought to be impossible.

So now you know how I got to signing up for this very understated “challenge”…. Now let me tell what it took to get us prepared. First of all, Amy worked harder than any of us and that says a lot since I have never worked out as hard or had as much fun working out as I did in preparing for Tough Mudder. We all still attended our normal 2 days a week training, which she stepped up a bit to incorporate moves, exercises and then some that would be needed to prepare us for Tough Mudder.

Later on, Amy added marathon Saturday sessions incorporating running and obstacle courses along with interval training. Then, she added exercises that you might see in the “World’s Strongest Man Competitions.” I think Amy came up with a few tricks that Tough Mudder could use to make it even more challenging. The great thing about it is that we gradually built up our strength, endurance and abilities over this approximately 8 month training period if you take our start date of training beginning with the Fall Group Training in September and leading to the Marathon Saturday’s which were added on later.

We all came out of it in the best shape of our lives. I say this not only because we were all stronger, faster, had more stamina, endurance and agility, but because I dare say we all looked HOT!

The day of Tough Mudder Arizona came and we conquered it with ease! We did it as a Team staying together, supporting one another and having a blast while doing it. We celebrated our victory afterwards as “official” Team AVC Tough Mudders.

One thing that some fail to realize is that many people get injured (and many times severely) during Tough Mudder Events. We are all proud to say that not one of us got injured other than your expected and typical bumps and bruises. It was an experience none of us will ever forget!

Okay Amy so what’s next??? Climbing Mount Everest…Seriously Just Kidding!!!

Thank You Amy and the AVC Elite Tough Mudder Teammates!

~Brian

Let’s warm up to Mount Everest…with a 50K Ultra trail run perhaps? Are you ready to be inspired by training partners and reach new fitness goals you never dreamed possible? Start with your AVCs…Elite Training that is and achieve the ultimate.

Memorable Mudder Moments

Posted on February 22, 2014 by avcelite

In June of 2011, I received a text from my brother that had the link for the Tough Mudder event on it asking me to check it out. I said I was down for it, but couldn’t get any other family members to commit. The race was going to be in February 2012. I remember texting Amy Van Cleve that I wanted to do the Tough Mudder. We both half-joked that we should do the event and then promptly went about our lives.

When Amy decided in May 2012 to train a group of athletes for the Tough Mudder Race in 2013, I was excited and a little fearful. Having done other events, I knew that I would just have to go through the training and be as prepared as I could be for the event.

I spoke with a co-worker who had done the race in 2012 and he shared some pictures of his team going through the obstacles.

The only obstacle that took my breath away was the 15 feet jump off a platform into water ( the “Walk the Plank” obstacle.) I sent Amy these pictures and suggested that she share them with the group that would be going through the training. She opted not to share the pictures since she didn’t want people to get preconceived ideas about the obstacles.

She knew what we were up against…we did not fit the mold for the participants that usually join the race (we were predominantly 40-60 year old women..not 25 year old stud muffins.) I knew we could accomplish this event, especially with Amy carefully watching us every step of the way and making sure we stayed uninjured.

We began training in October 2012 for the race in February 2013. The requirement from Amy was that we be enrolled in AVC Elite group training Monday and Wednesday sessions and she would add a Saturday training day. We were on our own to run two to three days a week to get the base conditioning in. I can’t even guess how many hours we put in from October 2012 to event day on February 23, 2013 but needless to say there were a lot of hours involved.

Amy worked predominantly on our endurance in the Saturday training sessions. The basic training session was warm-up, run, cardio exercises, run some more, and yet more cardio exercises. Towards the end of our training we were up to 13 miles in total with 20 or more obstacles lasting 4 hours.

In addition to endurance, Amy placed an emphasis on proper running with your weight balanced underneath you, 180 steps per minute strides, proper arm movement and no over-striding. She constantly emphasized hydration, proper nutrition, proper sleep, all components that made us the best condition that we could be in. Not to say that I couldn’t have run more or had better nutrition but her constant reminders were always there making sure that we were giving it our all.

The training sessions all run together but the memories that come to the forefront for me are the following:

First training session running, doing 2 minute cardio exercises, and walk/running up and down Kong with Kettlebells
Training session at Mountain View High School where the temperature was 20 degrees and we had frost on our running shoes
Carrying a telephone pole across Mountain View practice fields to utilize it for the Twinkle Toes obstacle
Crawling through John’s tarped-covered “Trench Warfare” obstacle
Training sessions in which you looked at your watch and realized that you were two hours into training and you still had a minimum of an hour to go
Jumping into Amy’s pool in January to get ready for the Arctic Enema obstacle
The look of horror on some of my teammates faces as Amy described some of the obstacles we would be encountering in the race (planning meeting at the Monastery)

The spirit of camaraderie in our training was unparalleled. When someone achieved an obstacle that they hadn’t previously been able to do, the entire group cheered. When someone had an injury, (and there were plenty of them) the entire group rallied around that individual. We had such a fantastic collection of personalities all melding together to conquer this achievement.

Most everyone on the team had an obstacle or a fear that they would need to overcome to complete the entire Tough Mudder event. We didn’t dwell on the obstacles we weren’t going to try…we would simply try every one and if we couldn’t get it done after a couple of attempts, we would move on.

Finally it was race day… The 15 of us showed up at the training facility at Ellsworth and Guadalupe. After an inspirational speech by Sean Corvelle (boo-rah), and we were off for 12 miles of running and 21 obstacles.

We had an amazing group of friends and family there to support and cheer us on. They couldn’t have done more for us than cheering us on at each obstacle. Big Kudos to Helen, who trained with us through every Saturday session, and took amazing videos and pictures of the all the FUN we were having.

The actual race itself is a blur, with the hardest obstacles for me being the Berlin Walls and Everest. Everything else was doable. I was definitely fatigued during the race, but felt I had the endurance to complete it. We stuck together as a team and although it took us a bit longer because of that, we were there for each other the whole way.

Thanks Tough Mudder team! You guys are the absolute best. You guys are the toughest Mudders I know…thanks for helping me cross this off my bucket list…

Memorable moments:

Kendall completing the monkey bars…go Kendall!
Cynthia jumping off “Walk the Plan” the 15 foot platform…conquering one of her fears
Patti getting through the obstacle Trench Warfare which can be horrible for claustrophobic people
My whole team working together to get up Everest…thanks, team

After a couple of months had passed since the Tough Mudder event, the daughter of one of my friends did the Mid-Atlantic Tough Mudder where one of the participants drowned. I realize that many accidents happen especially in such a difficult event, but I sincerely feel that Amy trained us to prepare for the race and we were the most prepared we could have been.

Thanks, Coach Amy, and I can’t wait to do the next Tough Mudder event!
~Margie

What will you check off your bucket list this year? Rim-to-Rim at the Grand Canyon? Tough Mudder? Ironman? An Ultra Trail Event? What ever your fitness goals, AVC Elite Training can help you achieve them. Contact Amy today and let’s get to work!

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