Sergeant Tony's Blog

When I coached high school basketball I sent college coaches information about some of my star players. I would send the coach a copy of our schedule and invite them to attend one of our games.

The hope was that the coach would be impressed enough with the player’s stats and academic record to come and watch him play. This was all designed to get the player an athletic scholarship.

One night during the pregame warm-up of one of our games, I noticed a well known college coach enter our gym and take a seat in the stands. I was more than just a little surprised since I hadn’t been contacted by the coach prior to the game. Usually they would contact you ahead of time to let you know that they would be at a certain game. So I thought that maybe he was there to scout one of the players on the opposing team. But the other coach was just as surprised as I was.

Huh?

I left my assistant coach in charge of our pre-game warm-up and went into the stands to welcome the coach and maybe find out why he was visiting.

After exchanging greetings I asked what had brought him out that night.

What I found out made me laugh and also made me angry at the same time. Though I didn’t show either emotion right then.

“Well, I was contacted by your star point guard, Noel Richardson (not his real name), and asked to come watch him play.” he said.

“Coach, did you said Noel Richardson?” I asked, trying to suppress my concern.

It seems that Noel Richardson had taken the initiative to contact the coach on his own and invite him to come and watch him play. It was rare that a player would contact a college coach directly. It wasn’t considered good form. But it happened. Even more rare was for the coach to just show up without giving a courtesy call ahead of time. But that happened too.

“Yes, Noel Richardson,” he confirmed. “He even mentioned that you would be expecting me and that’s why I didn’t call ahead to tell you I was coming.” the coach explained.

I was livid!

And as I was about to speak further, the horn blew indicating that the pregame was over and I had to rush back to the bench area to prepare my team for the game.

What I wanted to tell the coach was that Noel Richardson was not my star point guard. In fact, Noel wasn’t even a starter. Noel wasn’t my sixth man, nor my seventh man, nor my eighth man. Noel was a bench warmer. He got playing time only when we were ahead by at least 15 points with less than a minute to play. I kept Noel on the team because being on the team was good for Noel … he was a young man in need of direction and discipline, and a place to fit in.

But at the time I was so angry I barely knew what to do. What I decided was to give Noel what he wanted. I started him.

For one game in Noel Richardson’s high school basketball career he became a starter.

I played him for the first 2 minutes of the game. During which he committed one foul, turned the ball over twice, had the ball stolen from him once, and took three shots … 0 for 3 … all from behind the 3 point line.

Noel spent the rest of that game on the bench. The far end of the bench … as far away from me as possible.

Noel talked big, bragged big, and convinced a big time college coach to come and watch him play.

But in the end Noel was all talk, bless his heart. And after his two minutes of infamy, he was set down in embarrassment.

Noel didn’t like hard work. He didn’t like to practice. Noel liked to talk and clown. When practice was officially over, many of the players would stay and practice their individual skills on their own. Noel never did.

Some of you have made commitments to lose weight and get in shape. If you’re a member of the Second Combat Challenge, you’ve additionally convinced others to invest in your goals and commitments. For each of us, no matter who we are, there will come times when it’s going to be hard to come to Boot Camp. There’ll be times when it’s going to be tough to eat right. In those times it’s going to take an act of your will and an exercise in self discipline to accomplish your goals and be successful.

It’s easy to talk. But successful people find ways to be successful in times of adversity. Let me urge you all to recommit yourselves to the principles, practices, and plain hard work of success.

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10 Little Secrets About Food, Fat, and Fitness

1. Your meals should consist of 60% protein and 40% complex carbohydrates.

2. You canNOT spot reduce. 1000 crunches a day won’t get rid of the fat covering your abs. You must increase your cardio.

3. USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP workouts will NOT create big bulky muscles on women. You girls don’t have enough testosterone in your body to create them.

4. “Overeating” refers to eating more calories than your body requires in a given day and leads to weight gain. Take your body weight x 7 = the maximum number of calories you can eat in a day, NOT TO GO BELOW 1200 calories. If you weigh 200 pounds and want to lose weight, then your max calories should be 1400. (200 x 7 = 1400)

5. Overeating the “good stuff” — the healthy food — will also lead to weight gain. Healthy food purchased at Wild Oats will make you fat if you overeat it.

6. The more colorful your food, the better it is for you. Think rainbow! This does not apply to Skittles or to green meat.

7. Liquid calories count. Beer bellies are called beer bellies for a reason.

8. The four aspects of fitness that we emphasize are: muscular strength and stamina, aerobic capacity and stamina, flexibility, and stability.

9. Good running shoes generally last about 3 months before the mid-sole shows signs of breaking down and is no longer providing adequate cushioning and support. Go to Fleet Feet Sports!

10. Pancakes taste really good.
I know that isn’t a secret. But sadly, they’re called “cakes” for a reason. For that reason I prefer to call them “Flap Jacks.” That takes away the word “cake” from their name so they won’t make you gain weight when you overeat them. (Yes, I’m kidding!)

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The Second Combat the Fat Weight Loss Challenge!

CTF2 is underway and people are already seeing some awesome results!

Here is the Progress Report for last week — Week #2! The Challengers are listed by their call signs, the percentage of weight they’ve lost so far, and the number of times they came to BOOT CAMP last week.

Barracuda: down 4.26%, 3 x to Boot Camp
Boilermaker: down 4.13%, 5 x to Boot Camp.
Ramman, down 3.76%, 5 x to Boot Camp
Bronx Bomber: down 3.2%, 2 x to Boot Camp - out of town
Charley: down 3.04%, 3 x to Boot Camp
Puddin Head: down 2.5% , 5 x to Boot Camp
Teenacious: down 2.49%, 5 x to Boot Camp
Bull Eagle: down 2.24%, 5 x to Boot Camp
Maverick: down 2.09%, 4 x to Boot Camp
Houdini: down 1.5%, 3 x to Boot Camp
Admiral Hallsey: down .88%, 3 x to Boot Camp
Steel Magnolia: down .5%, 3 x to Boot Camp
The Kracken: down .21%, 3 x to Boot Camp

Be sure and encourage these brave challengers!!

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USMC FITNESS BOOT CAMP CLASSES

At Christ Methodist
0530 Monday through Friday
0645 M-W-F
0830 M-W-F
5:45 PM: M-Tu-W-Th, (5:30 PM on Friday). M-W-F are weight days, Tu/Thu are cardio days. THE TUESDAY EVENING CLASS MEETS AT ST. MARY’S TRACK.

At Evergreen Presbyterian
0530 Monday through Friday

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ST. JUDE HALF MARATHON TRAINING ON SATURDAY!

1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles) Training for the December 6, 2008 St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon continues this Saturday at 0800 at Shelby Farms! Meet in front of the Visitor’s Center!

This is a program designed to ensure a half marathon finish time of less than 2 hours 30 minutes. (Although most who’ve completed the training finish much faster, some in under 2 hours!)

As a prerequisite, participants should be able to run/jog 3 miles in less than 36 minutes in order to begin the program. Over half of the participants each year are first time half marathoners!!

YOU can do this!!! But you’ve got to join ASAP!

Sergeant Tony’s Half Marathon Training is open to ALL, Boot Campers and “friends” of Boot Camp, alike. The fee for the 3 month program is only $75 for active duty Boot Campers, and $100 for friends of Boot Camp.

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FACEBOOK

Find me on Facebook and make me your friend! (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629618416)

I’ll make you mine! Then join the USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP Group!

While you’re on Facebook, you might see an ad for USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP pop up. Do NOT click on it! Facebook charges me for every time someone clicks on it. The ad is NOT for you knuckleheads! So don’t click me into the po’ house!

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“The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don’t be a guy.”
~ Corey Flood, from the movie “Say Anything”

To your continued good health and fitness!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
5358 Denwood
Memphis, TN 38120
901-644-0145

www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

www.shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main

I’m not much of a salesman.

I kind of like Lloyd Dobler, the teenaged character in the movie “Say Anything,” played by John Cusack. (A movie full of odd and interesting quotes!)

When his girlfriend’s father asked him what he wanted to be, Lloyd said:

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.”

I wish I’d had that answer when my high school guidance counselor frowned at me when I told her I wanted to be a Marine. She might not have looked so disappointed.

(All of the men I knew and admired when I was a boy had spent time in the service. And the men I really admired and looked up to were Marines. As one of my Marine family members told me when I was 18, “your country has provided you with 18 years of protection, freedom, and opportunity … you should think about giving something back.”)

Anyway, I have no talent for sales. I stammer and sweat and sound phoney. But I really admire those who do it well because nothing happens in this country until someone sells something to someone. Our economy depends upon it. I mean, our own government gave us some cash a few months ago and told us to go out and buy something!!

All that said, I don’t want “to be sold” and usually dismiss any salesperson who pushes me, even just a little. Most people don’t want to be sold. But on the other hand, we love to buy!

So anytime I present anything to you that I sell, or present something for you to buy from someone else, it’s from a pure conviction that it’s a win/win proposition.

That being said, some of you aren’t getting the vitamins and nutrients you need. Period. EVERYONE should be taking a good multivitamin. I use Shaklee products that you can buy from the website that you’ll find at the end of every email I send you. I have several very good reasons why I chose Shaklee products about 5 years ago. (I did some research and then turned my kitchen into a laboratory.)

If you use supplements that you’ve researched and have confidence in, that’s perfectly OK! My advice today is for you to TAKE ‘EM!

Most of you aren’t getting enough water either. As the temperatures go down, you’ll find yourself drinking less water. But drink up, everyone!

So get up right now and take your vitamins with a BIG glass of water! Then come back and finish this newsletter!

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The Second Combat the Fat Weight Loss Challenge!

CTF2 is underway!!!

We’ve expanded a bit to accommodate the incredible last minute response to this second challenge. I will have the before and after pictures of those who placed first, second, and third from CTF1 on the website soon, so stay tuned!

Here are our Challengers for CTF2, along with their call signs!

Jenny Engler … “Boilermaker”

Andy Cook … “Bronx Bomber”

Debby White … “Charley”

Becky Adkins … “Barracuda”

Josh Miller … “Ramman”

Kim Hardy … “Maverick”

David Strong …”Bull Eagle”

Cacky Sobral … “Puddin Head”

April Strickland … “The Kracken”

Danny Loe … “Houdini”

Amy Howell … “Steel Magnolia”

Michael Hall … “Admiral Hallsey”

Tawnette Baker … “Teenacious”

Besure to meet them, encourage them, and make them feel a part of the USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP experience. YOU remember how YOU were skert your own first days, right?

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USMC FITNESS BOOT CAMP CLASSES

At Christ Methodist
0530 Monday through Friday
0645 M-W-F
0830 M-W-F
5:45 PM: M-Tu-W-Th, (5:30 PM on Friday). M-W-F are weight days, Tu/Thu are cardio days. THE TUESDAY EVENING CLASS MEETS AT ST. MARY’S TRACK.

At Evergreen Presbyterian
0530 Monday through Friday

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ST. JUDE HALF MARATHON TRAINING ON SATURDAY!

1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles) Training for the December 6, 2008 St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon continues this Saturday at 0800 at Shelby Farms! Meet in front of the Visitor’s Center!

This is a program designed to ensure a half marathon finish time of less than 2 hours 30 minutes. (Although most who’ve completed the training finish much faster, some in under 2 hours!)

As a prerequisite, participants should be able to run/jog 3 miles in less than 36 minutes in order to begin the program. Over half of the participants each year are first time half marathoners!!

YOU can do this!!! But you’ve got to join ASAP!

Sergeant Tony’s Half Marathon Training is open to ALL, Boot Campers and “friends” of Boot Camp, alike. The fee for the 3 month program is only $75 for active duty Boot Campers, and $100 for friends of Boot Camp.

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FACEBOOK

Find me on Facebook and make me your friend! (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629618416)

I’ll make you mine! Then join the USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP Group!

While you’re on Facebook, you might see an ad for USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP pop up. Do NOT click on it! Facebook charges me for every time someone clicks on it. The ad is NOT for you knuckleheads! So don’t click me into the po’ house!

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USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP ANNIVERSARY PARTY!

When: Saturday, October 4th from 6:00pm -10:00pm

Where: Pearl’s Oyster House

Downstairs Party Room

299 South Main Street

Memphis, TN 38103

Appetizers and Cash Bar

Join us for food and fun as we celebrate 9-years of Boot Camp success!!! Receive free gifts and prizes! Take part in a friendly game of pool or darts! This is an open house event so feel free to drop-in and say “Hi” or stay as long as you like! Pearl’s is a great downtown venue! I suggest getting a babysitter for the kiddies and making it a fun night out! I look forward to seeing you there!

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“The world is full of guys. Be a man. Don’t be a guy.”
~ Corey Flood, from the movie “Say Anything”

To your continued good health and fitness!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
5358 Denwood
Memphis, TN 38120
901-644-0145

www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

www.shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main

I climbed Mt. Fuji (the real one, not the parking garage at the U of M) with a guy whose wife was a nurse. Dave ate whatever he wanted, but Debbie was very strict about her diet. Dave said that Debbie was a food Nazi.

He packed all kinds of food in his backpack and offered to share some of it when we took our first break during our assent up the mountain.

One of the sandwiches in his pack was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on … get ready for it … white bread! PB&J on WHITEbread!

Why the very THOUGHT of such a thing sent Debbie into a food slamming frenzie! But Dave just shrugged his shoulders.

Thing is, Debbie was right. Right on target.

She said white bread was “the white death.” I won’t trouble you with all of the chemical, nutritional, dietary reasons why white bread isn’t good for you. (Although white bread was in my lunch box everyday when I was a kid.)

Debbie went a little further and said that she didn’t eat anything that was white. “White is NOT right!” she declared.

Debbie didn’t eat refined sugar, white flour, white rice, white potatoes, table salt, white lard (no Crisco), no white birthday cake icing (actually, no icing at all), nothing processed and nothing white.

Turns out Debbie was right. All that white stuff isn’t good for you. Jack Lalanne, THE MAN! (sorry Gary Thompson!) turns 94 this month and is going STRONG! The guy is incredible! And the guy eats nothing white or processed.

I’m a hypocrite. I’ll admit it. I eat some white stuff. (I like some white stuff, what can I say?) But I try to limit the white stuff that I eat. I try to restrict my intake of the “bad foods” to special occasions or events. “It’s Wednesday!” is not a special event or occasion. There are valid reasons to avoid processed food … and “the white death.” Lots of good reasons.

Eating right — eating the right foods in the right proportions — isn’t just a component that effects weight loss and appearance, but it profoundly effects your mood, emotions, and energy levels as well. And it goes without saying that what you eat effects your health, well being, ability at work, and athletic performance.

Primarily, you should think of food as fuel.

Secondarily you should think of food as fuel.

Thirdly you should think of food as something to enjoy.

Here’s the question you should ask when you indulge in that “bad food” … or that white death … “What will I have to do (exercise) to burn off the calories from this xyz? How far will I have to run? How many pushups will I have to do? How will this make me feel? How will it effect me?”

Hopefully, this will help you to say “no” more often than not. And ideally, it will help us all — you AND me — to say no to the white stuff, and yes to the good stuff!

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GREG INMAN WINS FIRST CTF CHALLENGE!

This past Saturday evening, the first $5,000 Combat the Fat Weight Loss Challenge came to an exciting and awesome conclusion! It was wonderful!

The successes of ALL of the challengers was unbelievable and VERY inspiring! Over 600 pounds was lost in the past 6 months! Greg was responsible for 112.8 pounds all by himself! He lost almost 34% of his starting body weight! Greg lost the highest percentage than anyone else! Way to go Greg!!

Steve Collins was a close second with Sarah Bowen a very close third. (Steve lost 78 pounds and Sarah almost 70!!!) There pictures will be on the website ASAP!

The Second Challenge is underway and you’ll be hearing more about this new group of life changers soon!!

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ST. JUDE HALF MARATHON TRAINING ON SATURDAY!

1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles) Training for the December 6, 2008 St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon continues this Saturday at 0800 at Shelby Farms! Meet in front of the Visitor’s Center!

This is a 3 month program designed to ensure a half marathon finish time of less than 2 hours 30 minutes. (Although most who’ve completed the training finish much faster, some in under 2 hours!)

As a prerequisite, participants should be able to run/jog 3 miles in less than 36 minutes in order to begin the program. Over half of the participants each year are first time half marathoners!!

YOU can do this!!!

Sergeant Tony’s Half Marathon Training is open to ALL, Boot Campers and “friends” of Boot Camp, alike. The fee for the 3 month program is only $75 for active duty Boot Campers, and $100 for friends of Boot Camp.

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FACEBOOK

Find me on Facebook and make me your friend! (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629618416)

I’ll make you mine! Then join the USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP Group!

While you’re on Facebook, you might see an ad for USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP pop up. Do NOT click on it! Facebook charges me for every time someone clicks on it. The ad is NOT for you knuckleheads! So don’t click me into the po’ house!

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USMC FITNESS BOOT CAMP CLASSES

At Christ Methodist
0530 Monday through Friday
0645 M-W-F
0830 M-W-F
5:45 PM M-Tu-W-Th, 5:30 PM on Friday. M-W-F are weight days, Tu/Thu are cardio days. THE TUESDAY EVENING CLASS MEETS AT ST. MARY’S

At Evergreen Presbyterian
0530 Monday through Friday

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USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP ANNIVERSARY PARTY!

When: Saturday, October 4th from 6:00pm -10:00pm

Where: Pearl’s Oyster House

Downstairs Party Room

299 South Main Street

Memphis, TN 38103

Appetizers and Cash Bar

Join us for food and fun as we celebrate 9-years of Boot Camp success!!! Receive free gifts and prizes! Take part in a friendly game of pool or darts! This is an open house event so feel free to drop-in and say “Hi” or stay as long as you like! Pearl’s is a great downtown venue! I suggest getting a babysitter for the kiddies and making it a fun night out! I look forward to seeing you there!

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“When you stop moving, it’s over.”
~ Don Wildman, 75 year old athlete and adventurer

To your continued good health and fitness!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
5358 Denwood
Memphis, TN 38120
901-644-0145

www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

www.shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main

It’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

I’m talking about the Sgt. Tony’s $5,000 Combat the Fat Weight Loss Challenge.

Tomorrow evening the first challenge comes to an end and one of the 10 challengers who started this contest six months ago will walk away with a check for $5,000!

Moreover, the challengers have lost over 600 cumulative pounds and changed not only their appearances, but their lives and lifestyles! (One of them is responsible for losing over 100 of those pounds all by himself!)

This has also been a learning experience for me. I’ve learned about what it means to be big in this culture, things that I take for granted everyday are impossible things for people who are overweight.

I had never thought about what it means to try to fit into a small airline seat and then have to use a seatbelt extension.

I didn’t think about how overweight people don’t sit in restaurant booths because they can’t.

I didn’t think about big people not being able to ride a roller coaster, small car, or bicycle.

I didn’t know about how an overweight person doesn’t swim in pools without steps leading into the water because they can’t pull themselves out of the pool using the pool ladder.

I hadn’t thought about them not being able to water ski because their boat isn’t able to get them up and they can’t get themselves out of the lake anyway because they can’t climb up the ladder attached to the boat.

I didn’t think about how restrictive a person’s lifestyle becomes when their body size exceeds the average measurement of common everyday things.

And on and on the list of restrictions and inabilities go. Things I’d never thought of.

Seeing people take off those shackles and rediscover freedoms and abilities lost long ago has been an absolutely incredible experience for me! And awarding $5,000 to someone tomorrow evening will be AWESOME!!! I can’t wait!!

In addition to the first challenge coming to an end tomorrow night, tomorrow morning we kick off the Combat the Fat Challenge 2!

Until yesterday we had 10 new challengers on board for the next contest. However, one of those was unable to get their physician’s clearance and we now have an open spot for the next challenge.

If you know of someone who wanted to get in on the CTF2, but waited too long. Tell them that a slot has opened up and they should contact me ASAP!!

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ST. JUDE HALF MARATHON TRAINING TO BEGINS TOMORROW!

1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles) Training for the December 6, 2008 St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon will begin tomorrow morning, September 6, at 0800 at Shelby Farms!

Meet in front of the Visitor’s Center!

This is a 3 month program designed to ensure a half marathon finish time of less than 2 hours 30 minutes. (Although most who’ve completed the training finish much faster, some in under 2 hours!)

As a prerequisite, participants should be able to run/jog 3 miles in less than 36 minutes in order to begin the program. Over half of the participants each year are first time half marathoners!!

YOU can do this!!!

Sergeant Tony’s Half Marathon Training is open to ALL, Boot Campers and “friends” of Boot Camp, alike. The fee for the 3 month program is only $75 for active duty Boot Campers, and $100 for friends of Boot Camp.

————————————————

FACEBOOK

Find me on Facebook and make me your friend! (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629618416)

I’ll make you mine! Then join the USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP Group!

While you’re on Facebook, you might see an ad for USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP pop up. Do NOT click on it! Facebook charges me for every time someone clicks on it. The ad is NOT for you knuckleheads! So don’t click me into the po’ house!

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0645 CLASS! … 0830 Class!

The 0645 class remains on the schedule and the 0830 class is back on active duty after the summer break! Both classes meet Monday/Wednesday/Friday!

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USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP ANNIVERSARY PARTY!

When: Saturday, October 4th from 6:00pm -10:00pm

Where: Pearl’s Oyster House

Downstairs Party Room

299 South Main Street

Memphis, TN 38103

Appetizers and Cash Bar

Join us for food and fun as we celebrate 9-years of Boot Camp success!!! Receive free gifts and prizes! Take part in a friendly game of pool or darts! This is an open house event so feel free to drop-in and say “Hi” or stay as long as you like! Pearl’s is a great downtown venue! I suggest getting a babysitter for the kiddies and making it a fun night out! I look forward to seeing you there!

————————————————–

“When you stop moving, it’s over.”
~ Don Wildman, 75 year old athlete and adventurer

To your continued good health and fitness!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
5358 Denwood
Memphis, TN 38120
901-644-0145

www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

www.shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main