I’ve seen the Lake Cachuma, Karen’s best view. I really enjoyed that landscape. After this we made a stop at a typical Danish village called Solvang. I really thought I was in Europe, I don’t have to tell you how weird it is to see an European village like this in USA!

Next to this stop direction to Elaine Lalanne house, Jack Lalanne‘s 50 years wife. I want to let you a bit suspense about this part of my trip. So I will share my visit of Elaine friend’s boat house, it’s a house situated on a flank of the ocean. It was so beautiful and a typical coastal house. In the past it was a house to put boats in. The owner also showed us her ranch house. That’s really why I was expected of a ranch but instead of vineyard they cultivate avocados; 3000 avocado trees and plenty of lemon trees. So beautiful!! I really appreciated that visit, it’s so different that I have already seen so far. I will leave this beautiful state richer on terms of experiences!

Now I will share the fitness part of my trip with you, fitness folks! I am a lucky girl who had the opportunity to see/visit Jack & Elaine Lalanne’s house. That house is full of incredible memories, the one more astonishing than the other! I didn’t expect something different than what I’ve seen. All the pictures, awards & prizes meant that Jack is still there. All of his works and his accomplishments will last forever!

Finally I had the chance to see Jack’s workouts rooms, one where he worked out and the other one with all the materials he created. (such a great and revolution work he did for the fitness industry!)

As I said in my first post, I really wasn’t into fitness before my coming in USA. I didn’t really know fitness before, I always quit my workouts subscription before the end. And I even less knew about healthy eatings habits. That visit inspired me to take more care about my body and especially to change my eatings habits.

Before we left I was grateful to receive books and DVD of Jack Lalanne. I already went through one on the home-coming trip to Santa Monica. I can’t wait to taste some yummy recipes of the “Cooking with Jack” book, a book about how to eat right and we can’t go wrong!

As conclusion I would like to thank Karen to bring me with her on that sweet and amazing escapade and a huge thanks to Elaine Lalanne for her hospitality, her joy and happiness she transmitted me during the weekend.

Carole, Belgian intern.

We think so! Over the years we have found that many teens want to get in shape for prom, even those that may not have been that interested at first! Then there is the other side, where some girls may take it too far. Enter PromFitness, a hybrid fitness solution created by the Student Fitness Experts , O2 MAX. PromFit creates a personalized fitness experience for young girls going to prom. The program was developed over the last few years with the help of therapists, doctors and teens themselves. Our programs are designed to align with the girls’ goals, schedules and preferences. PromFit helps girls get prom ready-the right way by integrating social media, technology and fitness to deliver results.

We are teaming up with Operation Prom is an not for profit organization that helps low income students get free dresses, accessories and discounted tuxedo rentals! We will be giving away 20 programs to Operation Prom girls to help them learn more about fitness, nutrition and their bodies. With your help, we are hoping to be able to make a documentary following at least five girls on their PromFit journey. We will go around with them as they learn more about their bodies, fitness and nutrition. We will see how both programs help them gain more confidence, self-esteem and the health and fitness tools to take with them to college and beyond. We are hoping to be able to fund this project in order to help us get our program implemented at schools and to help inspire more girls to live a healthy life. With your help we can help young girls become strong & confident!

In collaboration with Operation Prom we are looking to raise $2000 to follow 5 girls as they get prom ready this spring and give at least 10 girls a fitness program!  To contribute click here

I’m often asked how I get my abs? I especially get this question a lot as prom and summer get closer. While I am a HUGE proponent of a strong core and incorporating core movements into as many strength exercises as possible, the truth is that ab exercises alone will NOT get rid of extra fat.

It is a combination of the right mix of hard work, cardio, strength and eating well. Now that we got that out of the way I thought I would share a few of my favorite core exercises.

• Complete 1 full set of 10-15 repetitions (each left-right movement counts as 1 repetition) of each exercises and repeat 2-3 times. Each time you If you find that are pressed for time I suggest doing 1 set first thing in the morning before you leave for school and fitting in the 1-2 more in the evening as study breaks. Do these exercises 2-3 times a week skipping a day in between. if you are consistent for at least 2-3 weeks you will start to feel a difference.

1. Bicycle Crunches
1. Why?  Best move for targeting the rectus abdominis (i.e., the ‘six pack’) and the obliques (the waist),

2. Reverse Crunch
1. Why? Focuses on the rectus abdominis. With this move, you’re curling the hips off the floor, so you’ll feel this in the lower part of the abs. Avoid swinging the legs to raise the hips. This is a subtle move, so you only need to lift your hips a few inches off the floor.

3. Side Bridge
1. Why? Side bridges improve the stability of all the muscles surrounding your spine and stomach. In fact, researchers shows that this exercise helps prevent back trouble. As I’ve gotten more into running over the years this exercise has helped tremendously helpful.

4. Scissor Kick
1. Why? Scissor kicks are an effective exercise for strengthening not only the obliques, but the hard to reach lower abdominal muscles. The key is to focus on having your midsection do the work and to keep your abs constantly contracted throughout the exercise.

5. Criss Cross
1. Why? This is a popular Pilates exercise that helps define the waist. It focuses on the abdominals with a special emphasis on the obliques which help with posture and stabilization.

6. Tick Tock
1. Why? I often refer to this as windshield wipers. This exercise engages the core, especially your obliques. This advanced core exercise quickly tightens and tones your abdominals while also stretching out your low back at the same time.

What do fitness, prom and the south have in common?

Santa Monica-based Youth Fitness + Media Company brings Prom and Fitness to the South with Franco’s fitness facilities.

“It’s not uncommon for many of us to feel like we have to “get in shape” when it comes time for a special event. High School girls are certainly no different as the media, pop-culture and peer pressure constantly remind them,” says Sandy Franco, one of the owners of Francos, an independently owned chain of Fitness Clubs in New Orleans. “As a mom of a teenage girl who is going to prom this year I thought  that PromFit was a great program that would bring a lot of value to girls in our community.” For year fitness clubs have tried to figure out how to get more teens working out. O2 MAX engages these young women online and provides them with an affordable training and nutrition program that gets them ready for prom in a fun, healthy way.

PromFit is an online based personalized fitness, food and fashion program that helps girls get ready for prom-the right way. PromFit was started by Karen Jashinsky, the founder of O2 MAX Fitness who is also one of the leading experts on teen fitness and social media. PromFit integrates social media, technology and fitness to create a personalized fitness program that delivers results while reaching girls where they are today-online. By partnering with Franco’s girls will get the best of both worlds – fitness coaching online as well as access to a trainer in their community. Girls learn about their bodies, dresses that are best suited for them, fitness and healthy eating habits.

“The concept for PromFit developed over the years as I was working as a personal trainer and would get questions from girls looking to lose weight for Prom. These high school students were really busy, wanted some extra workouts and wanted it to be social yet personalized and of course cheap. I was determined to figure out how to do this,” says Karen.

Teens live in a world today where they are accustomed to immediate responses and instant gratification. Girls can submit a picture of themselves via email to get a fitness and fashion consultation.  Within 24 hours they get their personalized response which includes a fitness and fashion consultation. “Our mission is to be the go-to, trustworthy source that parents can trust and girls want to go to,” says Karen. PromFit creates a personalized experience for girls while also teaching them more about themselves along the way with its proprietary questioning methods created by Karen.

PromFit demonstrates that fitness can be empowering and fun by placing a strong emphasis on being fit, strong and confident while learning about their body along the way. When girls sign up they submit a full length picture and get a personalized fitness and fashion consultation as well as a fitness program. O2 MAX has created a shorter version of its PromFit program to work with girls in the Mandeveille, LA area. “I’m excited to launch our Accelerator Program with Francos. It is a shorter version of PromFit that gives girls a jump start on getting more consistent with workouts and better nutrition. Over the years I have found that girls are more likely to stick to a fitness and nutrition regimen even after Prom is over.” Francos will be offering girls in the Mandeveille, LA area a free workout with a personal trainer Monday at 7 PM to kick off the 7 Day PromFit Accelerator program.  The 7 day PromFit Accelerator program which costs $50 and gives girls access to workouts at Francos along with the PromFit program at Francos. Girls can sign up on www.promfitness.com or by emailing prom@o2maxfitness.com for more information.

More about O2 MAX
O2 MAX is a fitness + media company that specializes in creating personalized solutions for busy students.  Workouts can include a mix of private training, nutrition coaching, shared workouts at fitness facilities and online coaching.  O2 MAX delivers results by staying connected with students even after the workout is over. O2 MAX was founded by Karen Jashinsky, the first recipient of the ” Emerging Business Leader Award” by the fitness industry and presents regularly at fitness, educator and school conferences on the topics of using social media to engage kids in fitness and how the fitness industry can work to engage more youth in fitness. Karen recently presented at CAHPERD & IHRSA, fitness and educators conferences on the topics of “Using Social Media to Engage Kids in Fitness” as well as “Prom as the Gateway to a Lifetime of Fitnes.

More about Francos
Franco’s Athletic Club is located in Mandeville a suburb of New Orleans. Franco’s is an award winning  full service family lifestyle club and spa  with  over 16,000 members. Today, Franco’s Athletic Club is one of the most highly regarded health and fitness centers in the world. With a strong commitment to producing first-rate programs for seniors, children, and adults alike, Franco’s has become a model facility for health clubs all across the country.

For more information on PromFit or O2 MAX Fitness contact karen@o2maxfitness.com or call 310.927.7526

For more information on Francos visit www.myfrancos.com Sandy Franco 985-792-0200 sandyfranco@aol.com

We are a fitness company that creates programs for students (think prom, college, etc) and we are looking for internet savvy and entrepreneurial individuals interested in working in a start-up environment this summer. We are looking for entrepreneurial individuals (ideal for college student or recent grad) to join our team for equity. You will be involved with multiple aspects of the company’s platform and growth strategy and help with business development and operations.  This starts as a 2-3 month internship with the potential to earn equity and stay involved (even after you go back to school). We need someone that gets excited by internet operations and is very familiar with ways to grow website traffic and e-commerce. We are looking to build systems to scale faster, online revenue sources, establish several strategic partnerships with relevant brands and implement various student fitness programs and initiatives for the fall. The ideal person would have experience in building, running or working in/at an Internet company. Having contacts that can help us grow any of our initiatives currently at hand is a plus too!! We are based in Santa Monica, CA, however you can be based anywhere!

The internship will entail a range of corporate marketing projects and responsibilities primarily including but not limited to:

•Corporate Website – Keeping it up-to-date and executing incremental enhancements as we discover needs/opportunities

•Presentations – Working directly with the senior executive team to build strategic presentations for keynotes and other speaking engagements

•Social Marketing – Contributing to the company’s presence in various social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others

•Analysis & Reporting – Tracking corporate website analytics, social media monitoring and other types of data to “tell a story” and provide actionable recommendations

We would love to find an entrepreneurial student who is passionate about online media and wants to have an invaluable experience in a high-visibility internship. We are looking for someone who is really interested in doing something entrepreneurial and would be excited by the possibility of being part of the management team and obtaining equity.

If interested please fill out our application online

If interested please fill out this short online application.

To apply please fill out our online application