www.strongfitnessmag.com

I heard about STRONGCAMP events through Dacia Lucas, Ambassador & coordinator for STRONG camps. The events are backed by Strong Fitness Magazine , a ladies fitness magazine. The staff at the magazine is nothing but a ”positive vibe”. Circulated globally, the magazine has a strong presence in the US & Canada. I’ve been a subscriber for years.

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m always looking for a laugh. A dose of laughs while getting the endorphins rolling is my kind of event. There were lotsa laughs to be had at the Lynbrook camp. I’m glad I was welcomed at the inaugural event. I invited girls from my work, but everyone had plans & could not attend.

The 2 day camp was led by Ambassador Esmin Feliciano, & started with a ”meet & greet” on Friday night at the Rockville Center Hotel. I’ve frequented the hotel when in town for my job, & the service is top notch. Georgetta, the hotel manager, really took care to see that campers & other hotel guests had everything they needed (there were also bar mitzvah & wedding guests at the hotel the same weekend). Van service is reliable exclusively to the JFK airport, too.

A fabulous spread of food was setup for the Friday night meet & greet. Esmin was there to greet, along with Dacia Lucas. I saw lotsa familiar faces from the Suffield camp last September, too. Chief photographer, Paul Buceta www.PaulBuceta.com, was there as well. He’s a pro in his field, with a no-nonsense approach to business. I always learn something about the business from Paul, even if the “chatski” is only 5 minutes.

The first girls I met on Friday night were Sarah & Georgia, ’The Alchemy Fitness Girls”. They’re New Yorkers from Staten Island, & they were excited to tell me about their concept in fitness. Georgia, mother of 2 & fluent in Greek, & Sarah is a WBFF Pro former fitness competitor & occupational therapist. They both enjoy motivating ladies to be the best they can be at whatever they’re doing.

Blessed with 2 days of sunny skies, it just couldn’t have been better weather for the weekend set of events. We all met the first day at Greis Park, & set up to do the Zumba class with Lynn.

Lynn set the tone for the weekend, & “flipped the switch” with a fun class. Her tunes were upbeat, & she was an excellent teacher. I hadn’t done a Zumba class before, & definitely needed the instructions. It was a blast!

Paul was on the sidelines at the 50 yard line of the football field, to snap a few pictures. We weren’t paid to be there. We were there to get out of the house & mingle with like-minded ladies with a passion for fitness. As one instructor, Maria Gonzalez, mentioned later, ”if you live alone & don’t have work or family obligations, why not come out for the camaraderie?” She had a great point, as when you live alone, the countertops aren’t going to care if they get cleaned again, (haha).

photo by Paul Buceta copyrighted

Georgia & Sarah, the Alchemy Fitness girls, led the second class on day one. Their workouts are revved, with upbeat music, & I loved the way they taught, by alternating counts with each other on what we would do next. You could go at your own pace, & they had class details written on a board they displayed for everyone to see. (A syllabus of your ”butt kick”, so-to-speak.). Check them out on Instagram at @Alchemy_Fitness.

After lunch, we headed over to do a kickboxing class with Maria. She’s a great instructor, with lots of energy.

Later, Nicole would teach a class on stretching, & also gave tips to us on how to avoid incontinence when aging. Nicole was very down-to-earth, & could easily relate to any issue with positive advice.

Day 1 was capped off with a yoga class taught by Jaclyn, a recent covergirl on Strong Fitness Magazine. She would also give nutrition tips on day 2.

The whole class on day 1, Greis Park.

Maureen, ”mid-move” in Zumba

Brooks Adrenalines shoes

On Sunday, we would all meet over at Proficient Sports Training (www.ProficientSportsTraining.com) gym. The gym is owned by retired NFL defensive back, Donny Brady. I took a Lyft ride over to his gym a scoche early to get a few pics, as i knew I was going to do a blog. I was greeted by Donny, & his wife (who had an angelic face & was just as sweet). They were glad to show me around, & i loved the positive quotes on his gym walls.

Donny mentioned his goal now is to train kids, & be a positive influence with his ”Body by Brady Bootcamp” concept. He is from Bellmore, Long Island, NY & went into the NFL at a young age. While we were there, 2 kids were training in the other area doing intervals.

Donny taught us a few drills, and brought back high school memories for me with the “six inch killers” (raising your legs six inches off the ground & holding the feet there a few minutes). We would do leg raises, scissor kicks, deadlifts & plank holds, too. I pretended I was in the NFL draft, & had a good time laughing.

After Donny & his wife left, we spent another hour or 2 doing some more drill work led by Dacia. I enjoyed the class, & went down to train next to Betty. She was an animal. At over 70+, she was doing full pushups on a ladder sequence, mixed in with running back & forth to a cone, & 2 lunges each trip. I loved the energy, & came up ”a tad weak” on upper body strength. I decided I’m going to work on upper arm strength for the next camp in doing some pushups.

After the final workout, we chatted with Jaclyn on nutrition. She gave advice to get plenty of protein a day, as well as answered various questions.

We capped the day off with lunch at Valley Stream Park. Esmin thanked us all for attending her camp & passed out gifts to the Ambassadors who taught, & drew names for some other prizes.

Special thanks to OutworkNutrition.com, a camp sponsor. They have a fabulous whey protein supplement, ”Build”, which has 120 calories per scoop, & 25 grams of protein. Thanks too, to Proficient Sports Training, for lending their gym a few hours, & sponsor Grounds and Hounds Coffee, (www.groundsandhoundscoffee.com), who sends a percentage of their profits to rescue pets.

I hope you find my blog inspirational, & remember, YOU are FABULOUS. 😀

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