LA Times 5 Star Review of Core Transformer by Roy Wallack

Met up with well-respected Roy Wallack, LA Times fitness gear GURU, at the recent 2012 IHRSA Fitness Convention to pitch him about the Core Transformer Kits--both 1,000 Calorie BURN and Fat BURN Fusion (my favorite as it's a core fusion workout featuring some of my favorite athlete's performance, Pilate's blended integrative movement progression sequences). Soooo, when he called me last week to let me know that the Core Transformer Kits (and for a limited time, you get FREE shipping on the Fat BURN Fusion Kit) were going to be reviewed I was both elated and sweating buckets–not bullets--all at once. That's because as a long-time subscriber to the LA Times and loyal fan of Roy’s fitness gear and gadgets reviews, I know his reputation of being a tough, no bars hold kind of reporter. This meant getting reviewed by Roy was a “be careful what you wish for” scenario. In other words, being reviewed would highlight the great, good, bad and down-right frightening.

However, great news! The Core Transformer received positive marks all the way around with Dislikes: NONE. A  M  A  Z  I  N  G:)!!! Here is the LA Times Gear: Resistance Core Workouts review below:

Gear: Resistance cord workouts core and more Core Transformer: A long rubber stretch cord with built-in handles and foot straps that provides resistance through every movement. Designed by veteran L.A. trainer-to-the-stars Linda LaRue, RN MEd, ATC.
Likes: Easy, but exhausting workouts. Crossing the cords in an X with your hands and feet in the straps forces you to engage every plane of motion, getting significant resistance through a variety of floor exercises — invisible ball throws, starfish squats, cross-country skiing, figure-eights, boxing, etc. Workouts conclude with mat exercises and stretching. Simple, effective and inexpensive, it weighs about 7 ounces and fits into a sock. The DVD includes 30- and 15-minute workouts.
Dislikes: None.

Price: Core Transformer 1,000 BURN Kit and Core Transformer Fat BURN Fusion Kit MSRP $34.95. (310) 890-3305; www.coretransformer.com/store

LA Times Review Core Transformer Roy Wallack. Gear: Resistance Cord Workouts

2012 IHRSA Fitness Convention Highlights

Chris Poirier, Todd Durkin & Linda LaRue IHRSA 2012

Officially attended my first IHRSA Fitness Convention held in LA. Wanted to share a few highlights from the show including the good news is that the Core Transformer speciality bands and workout DVDs are now being carried by Perform Better and featured in their Group Fitness Catalog.

LA Times Fitness Writer, Roy Wallack & Linda LaRue, IHRSA 2012

Move Strong Multi-Station Gym-It Kicked Butt!

Took loads of meetings with potential clubs for distribution within their Group Visited with Todd Durkin (who loves the Core Transformer bands). Demoed the bands along with our choreography, which we call movement progression sequences to NASM, and got to meet up with one of my favorite fitness writers EVER, Roy Wallack, who covers the fitness gear and gadgets for the LA Times Fitness section.

Mike Fantigrassi of NASM & Linda LaRue IHRSA 2012

Did see a lot of repetition or sadly put another way—knock-offs of TRX suspension training and Power Plate. I guess the good news is that they’re a hit and the bad news is that they’re a hit. I did see a couple multi-station performance gyms, such as the Move Strong unit at the Perform Better booth. Really how it was a great all-in-one total body training system to get-it-in and get-it-done. If I owned a gym, I'd earnestly consider placing it within my club.

Linda LaRue, Gay Gasper & Brian Nguyen IHRSA 2012

Finally, I am truly, truly happy and grateful to now be carried and part of the superb Perform Better Group Exercise team lead by Gay Gasper. 


Bottom line: Small steps forward.

Fat BURN Fusion Kit Review by Fit Bottomed Girls: There’s Nothing Sweet About These Sixteens (But Man Are They Effective!) February 2, 2012

Core Transformer Fat BURN Fusion Kit

Wanted to share with you the AMAZING review of the new Fat BURN Fusion Kit review by Fit Bottomed Girls. Here are a few snippets below of the review. Thank you Jenn Walters and Tish Merritt. We ♡ u BIG:)! To buy our new Core Transformer Fat BURN Fusion Kit click here! (Great news. For a limited time only, we're offering FREE Shipping.)

It’s baaaack. Just when you thought your abs were safe, Linda LaRue has released her latest and greatest workout DVD, 3D Fat Burn Fusion, which promises to help you target and tone stubborn core muscles and smoke off your belly fat—fast.

This DVD consists of two workouts. The first workout is the 30-minute Fat Burn Fusion, which consists of both standing total-body ab work and core mat work that borrows moves from yoga and Pilates. The moves, combined with the Core Transformer tubing method that Jenn reviewed, kicks the bad ass-ness way up. The standing work was hard…challenging enough, in fact, that I was looking forward to the mat work.

And then there’s the Athletic Core Set-Up (ACS) segment. I swear a day doesn’t go by that someone doesn’t stop me and ask me how they can tone up their midsection. I want to hand this DVD to them lovingly and tell them to make sure to watch the Athletic Core Set-Up. Linda breaks down how one targets the area and what that area is called (hallelujah for those who want to actually learn what they really need to work!)

What I loved: I was so thankful the main workout was only 30 minutes because every time she said “Only 16 [reps]” I about died. You’re gonna feel the burn fast. The music got a thumbs up this time around, too. There was a bunch of world beats up in that piece that had me cracking me up! Most importantly, I loved that you’d actually get to witness Linda out of breath. Finally! We get a normal human being that actually sweats and breathes.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★★★
Music: ★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★1/2

Celery Root and Apple Puree: Healthy Recipe Makeover

I am a huge fan of Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes and table scapes are inspirational—except for (AKKK!) the amount of fat and sugar calories. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I typically manage to tweak her recipes cutting half the fat and sugar while still preserving the great taste. Here is one of my favorite winter root veggie healthy recipe makeovers of hers, Celery Root and Apple Puree. As Ina would say, “How easy is that”?

Ingredients
5 T. unsalted butter 


1 cup large-diced fennel bulb, tops and core removed

2 pounds celery root, peeled and (¾-inch) diced 
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and (¾-inch) diced 
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and (¾-inch) diced 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
½ cup good apple cider 
¼ cup whole milk

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a shallow pot or large sauté pan. Add the fennel, celery root, potatoes, apples, 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. 2. Sauté the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cider and tightly cover the pot. Simmer over low heat (I pull the pot halfway off the heat) for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft. If the vegetables begin to burn or they seem dry, add another few tablespoons of apple cider or some water. 



3. When the vegetables are cooked, add the milk and cook for 1 more minute. Transfer the mixture to a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade and process. (You can also use a food processor but the texture will be smoother than with the food mill.) Taste for salt and pepper and return to the pot to keep warm. Serve warm.

Serves 8-10. Serving Size: ½ cup.

For more healthy recipe makeovers that will cut calories without losing the taste, join my free Make Healthy A Lifestyle Blog at LindaLaRue.com. If your goal is to get fit in 2012, I recommend my new Fat BURN Fusion Total Body Core Transformer Kit. FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY: Free Shipping. Click here to order now.

Lose Belly Fat, Shred Abs: Fat BURN Fusion Core Transformer Kit SAVE 25%. Limited time FREE Shipping

Core Transformer Fat BURN Fusion Kit

Lose belly fat, shred your abs! Save 25% with our new Fat BURN Fusion Core Transformer kit that includes 3D Fat BURN Fusion DVD and improved, super durable resistance band with rubber foot guard--just in time to lose weight and get healthy with the New Year! The Fat BURN Fusion DVD gives you two fat-blasting High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) fusion workouts using the total body core, 3-dimensional, constant resistance Core Transformer® system that keeps you in your customized, MAXIMUM fat-burning zone and as a bonus, our new super durable, specialty Core Transformer resistance exercise band. You’ll build lean muscle in all the right places, plus you’ll sculpt your shoulders and back, tame that triceps jiggle, build a tighter butt, and build core strength for flat abs and a strong back.

Kit Includes:

Core Transformer Resistance Band and Fat BURN Fusion DVD

DVD Programming:

Workout 1: The 30-Minute 3D Fat BURN Fusion Standing and Mat Fusion Workout is based upon the popular Hollywood Core Transformer® group fitness class that’s been packing them in with standing room-only at Crunch WeHo. It’s the perfect combination of standing total-body ab and core work and core-mat work that blends functional training with yoga and Pilates inspired moves—all intensified by using the constant, 3-dimensional resistance of the Core Transformer® tubing method. By blending standing moves followed by mat exercises, your body will resist the challenge to plateau, so you’ll be burning maximal calories all the way through! At 30 minutes, it’s a well-rounded workout that easily fits into any busy lifestyle.

Workout 2: The bonus 15-Minute Quick HIIT TORCH athletic performance workout is a sure-fire routine to blitz hundreds of calories in a jiffy. It will also boost your metabolism—the rate at which you burn calories all day long--with our best belly fat burning total body core movement progression sequences. 

*The Core Transformer® resistance band is eco-friendly and made from natural, sustainable rubber trees.

About the Creator: Core performance guru Linda LaRue, RN MEd, ATC creator of the Core Transformer®, is a Registered Nurse and Athletic Trainer with a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine from the University of Virginia. She has been a pioneer in functional, total body core performance training for 20 years. As a Master Personal Trainer and fitness instructor, she has consulted with top health and fitness experts, and professional sports teams.

Teri Ann Krefting is the dynamic lead talent for the 15 Minute Quick TORCH HIIT Challenge. Teri Ann is a certified personal trainer, sought-after veteran workout DVD star, and one of Hollywood’s hottest group instructors. With Teri Ann expertly cueing and motivating you through these challenging workouts, you’ll sweat, smile and melt body fat fast!

DURATION: Approx 50 min.


To purchase the new Fat BURN Fusion Kit click here. Post submitted by core performance guru, Linda LaRue, RN MEd, ATC.

Wanderlust Wining

THE OUTDOORSY OENOPHILE’S WINE COUNTRY COMPANION by Stefani Jackenthal (my friend Stephani's first book. WooHoo!)

Written by one of the world’s foremost wine and travel experts Wanderlust Wining available at Amazon click here, is a fun delicious journey through many of America’s finest wine countries; exploring their outdoor activities and wine tasting specialties. It’s a one-stop-read to crafting active wine tasting trips in unique (and familiar) wine countries all over the United States.

Discover how to kick off mornings with action-packed activities and spend the remainder of the day sniffing, swirling and sipping through local wineries. Learn how to taste wine like a pro and be in the “local know” about the best hiking and mountain biking trails or places to paddle, surf and sail. Visit creameries, galleries or savor a sustainable wine dinner served in the middle of a vineyard.

Each fast-paced, easy-to-understand chapter offers light-handed wine education and historic facts about the area’s wines, local parks and sports outfitter, “must-go” restaurants, art galleries, markets, vineyards, and more.

♪ FitHits: We’re Gleeked (And a Giveaway!)

By Linda LaRue, RN MEd, ATC

We’ve been a little Glee obsessed here at FBG HQ for a few months now. What can we say? We just love “spontaneous” choreographed dance so much. So when Linda LaRue, the creator of Crunchless Abs and the new, constant resistance, 3-dimensional workout, The CORE TRANSFORMER, shared our Gleekness and wanted to write a workout playlist featuring songs the show, we were pretty much like, “Yes!” Times 1,000 with jazz hands.

Channel Your Inner Gleek Workout Playlist
If you like to sweat to mash-up songs or have ever felt like an underdog, this workout playlist will make your face and heart smile—while also inspiring your feet to fly faster on the treadmill. In fact, “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become my personal theme song. It has kept me going more than a few times lately—especially when I’m flat-out exhausted or when I hit major life road blocks. So grab your water bottle, your Nikes and start believing—and Gleeking out!

1. (3:50) Don’t Stop Believin’, Glee Cast: Go on a journey with this one! Get it? Har har!
2. (4:07) U Can’t Touch This, Glee Cast: With your fly cardio moves, no one can touch you!
3. (2:17) Borderline/Open Your Heart, Glee Cast: Hands down, the Madonna episode was one of our faves. This mash-up is perfect for relieving that Glee moment.
4. (3:19) Loser Like Me, Glee Cast: Know you’re a rock star? Belt this one out while you work out!
5. (4:41) Forget You, Glee Cast featuring Gwyneth Paltrow: Gwyneth is so fantastico on the show. Work out like her character would—by having lots of fun!
6. (3:56) P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing), Glee Cast: We already love MJ so Glee and MJ? Double the pleasure, double the fun!
7. (3:20) Raise Your Glass, Glee Cast: Dirty little freaks are totally cool in this track.
8. (3:04) Hell to the No, Glee Cast: This sassy song is SO much fun. So get out your best take-no-ish attitude and work it, girl.
9. (3:36) Do You Wanna Touch Me, Glee Cast featuring Gwyneth Paltrow: Get your girl-power rock ‘n roll on with this high-energy track!
10. (3:36) Thriller/Heads Will Roll, Glee Cast: Don’t be a zombie! End your workout with a bang with this rockin’ track!

As a bonus, the Yes Fitness Music Team is sponsoring a three CD giveaway of their top iTunes In the Key of GLEE workout CD. Expertly cued to a perfect, heart-pumping 135 BPM, it’s a Gleeking good playlist for your next workout. Just enter a comment to win—U.S. residents only please!