Fitness Files: Todd Bassler
Todd Bassler is one of the expert trainers at Premier Fitness Camp. Prior to joining Premier Fitness, he was the Fitness Manager of six 24-Hour Fitness locations. Todd holds the NASM certification, a B.S. In Psychology and a Minor in Athletic Coaching. Todd works with people everyday to help make their dreams come true, continue reading to see how he stays motivated and how he motivates others.
NMF: Has fitness always been a major part of your life or was there a catalyst/point in your life when you made it more of a focus and priority?
TB: Yes, Fitness has always been an important part of my life. Growing up, I was always in some type of sports activity, whether team related or individual activities. Just to give you an idea, I've played team sports such as baseball, soccer, football, and ice hockey all through Graduate School, High School, and College. Growing up in southern Vermont there are also a lot of outdoor activities I participated in such as, waterskiing, mountain biking, wake boarding, snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, hiking, and running etc. Additionally, there are lots of outdoor chores to be completed in the northern (4 seasons) areas as well. Raking leaves, stacking/chopping wood, shoveling snow, and mowing lawns sure increases your activity level as well.
My main sport was ice hockey. I started playing at the age of 5 and continued through High School and then to division I college hockey. Hockey is a very fast, rough, and multi talented sport, which requires lots of balance, speed, strength, core strength and agility. I feel most of my training and outdoor activities attributed to the skills developed in hockey. I'm 100% a type A personality and have the positive attitude such that "no one is going to beat me at any activity or drill". I try to push the limits just to see how far I can go. I think of this as "outside your comfort zone" if you will.
I feel most people think of the word 'Fitness' in relation to "working out", which I admit can sometimes be boring. As stated in the paragraph above I feel I used my general activities and lifestyle to stay in shape.
NMF: What are a few of your go-to healthy snacks/drinks that help keep you on the straight and narrow?
TB: I'll admit, I'm really lucky when it comes to eating. I basically eat what I want, but that being said, it's not like I eat pizza every day. I'll give you a basic day of nutrition for my schedule.
- Protein Shake 6am Breakfast, - cereal and banana or oatmeal 10am apple, string cheese
- Lunch - typically I'll have a turkey/cheese sandwich on wheat3pm apple, almonds
- Dinner- chicken, beef or even venison- cottage cheese, brown rice. I drink mostly water, but now and then I have a Diet Snapple during the day.
That's a pretty typical day for me. It may not be perfect, but my goal is to maintain where I am in terms of weight and body fat.
NMF: At Nadia Murdock Fit our motto is “Train Your Mind, Change Your Body” so we must ask: How do you train your mind and stay motivated?
TB: I think what motivates me is other people. Maybe you could say it's the fear of failure, but I always strived to be better than the next guy. In sports, you're always playing against people older than you. (For example, in HS freshman play against seniors). I never wanted to be the slowest or weakest one on the team, so you just have to put your mind to it until you reach the result or goal you want to achieve. I try to train my mind into thinking, "it's not that bad" or "I'm fine'. For example, when I'm running and my body is tired, I'm out or breath, and I just plain feel like stopping, I tell myself those two phrases mentioned above. Also, I tell my clients , "Your mind gives up way before your body does"
NMF: How do you change your body? What are your fitness favorites?
TB: I love to run hills or do hill repeats. I challenge myself by using a stopwatch. Again, going back to the type 'A' personality, it's like I'm running against someone, even though it's only the clock. I also like to use a heart rate monitor, It also sets up a challenge for me. I'm usually thinking to myself "how many calories can I burn in the shortest period of time".
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Nadia
Training minds, changing bodies!
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