A fast buck in fitness.....

Yesterday I was contacted by an old co-worker and was asked to become a part of the "greatest and most cutting edge" development in the fitness/weight loss industry. I was told that I could actually get paid designing nutrition programs for people (really dumb ass- I could probably get paid for training people as well....). The great part is I would come in as an "executive" and once I had a few of my clients buy into the program and become "distributors", they would be working for me.

This "ground breaking" development is a computer based nutrition/diet program, where "a computer does all the work". All clients have to do is choose what diet they want and their goals and a computer will tell them everything they need to do to get their results. Oh yeah, people will be sent text messages when they should eat. So, if you're in a business meeting and you get a text from this program, tell your boss "Sorry, I have to leave, I got a text that told me I need to go eat chicken and broccoli". Are you for real???? Once I heard the statement "People aren't gonna lose money on this, all they have to lose is weight", I had to start laughing. This is f'in ridiculous I told myself, but I had to keep listening, the guy wouldn't shut up.

The best part of the conversation was when I was informed that in 3 weeks I would be driving around town in a "black beamer" (sorry, but I'm a truck guy). Of course, I finally had to cut this conversation (sales call) off, I had a client waiting. I could not help thinking how I just wasted 20 minutes of time listening to this garbage. The fitness industry is full of gimmicks, idiots, and schemes designed to make a fast buck and people are desperate so the believe in this crap. Getting people to follow a nutritional/diet plan is not that simple. A lot of time, thought, and consideration needs to occur before you can actually determine what a person should be eating to achieve their goals. NOT just clicking on a few icons on a computer screen!

I really wish situations like this didn't occur. It really makes me feel bad for all those people buying it to this stuff, literally, and waisting a lot of money. The best part of it all is when I got home and turned on the TV, I saw a commercial for the "Shake Weight", I'm just glad I didn't throw my remote against the wall! Hopefully through educated, professional personal trainers and strength coaches people can achieve a healthier life without falling for this type of stuff.

Super Size Me

The other night I re-watched the movie "Super Size Me". It's a documentary about a guy, Morgan Spurlock, who decides to eat nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. During this time he weighed-in on a weekly basis, had blood work done, and was under strict medical supervision. Obviously he gained a ton of weight and his blood work results were to say the least, unhealthy.

This movie was made years ago. The fast food industry is still thriving. There is something wrong with this picture. We have full control to avoid making fast food a staple in our diets, but some people chose to put that garbage in their mouth's and in the mouth's of their children. It was disturbing for me to watch someone consume McDonald's for 3o days and encounter all of these , pretty much well known, negative health effects. What is more disturbing is that the movie was done to prove a point, to show America you need to avoid this crap, but every morning when I drive by McDonald's the drive-thru and parking lot are packed, by personal choice.

People can chose what they want to do with themselves. Eat what you want, drink what you want, and sit on your ass as long as you want. What kills me is when these habits are passed on to children. I have 250 sixth graders throughout the day, some active, some obese. Is it their fault? When I walk thorough the cafeteria, with around 600 kids, and I see packed lunches that are loaded with unhealthy calories, I wonder what were these parents thinking??? When I get to school in the morning and I see the same students with McDonald's cups every morning (who are obese, by the way) I feel like I should talk to the parent about better food choices. But that wouldn't be right, right? I might hurt someone's feelings and in our society it's more important to "not offend" somebody than improve someone's health.

I realize I'm not the only one who feels this way. There are many people who chose to eat and have their children eat nutritious foods. I applaud these people for not giving in to the easy way out. Cooking breakfast, packing a quality lunch, and making a healthy dinner takes time and preparation. The good thing is that time will be repaid in the amount of "healthy years" you and your children will enjoy in life. Take 30 days of your life and eat quality, nutritious, prepared at home food- you will feel such a positive difference both physically and mentally. You were only given one body, take care of it and it will take care of you.

For more fact on fast food check out this link: DON'T EAT IT!

Joe Kenn's Research

I was fortunate to meet Joe Kenn at a Hammer Strength Coaches Clinic Last March. If you are in the strength and conditioning field or even the personal training field, Joe Kenn should be one person that you take his advice to heart. Joe operates Big House Power and speaks at several clinics/conferences throughout the country. If you get a chance to see him speak, don't pass it up. He is extremely motivational and puts stuff in perspective when it comes down to getting stronger and in better physical condition.

You may be asking yourself, so what's your point? Well, I've been reviewing a lot of the information that I have gathered over the years from clinics/conferences and other literature and Joe's one hour lecture made just about more sense then any other piece of training advice. When It comes down to it, it's about the basics, the foundation. However, some people have "research" that leads you toward other methods of training. Kenn's quote "I AM THE RESEARCH", has been repeatedly running through my mind as I train my clients and work with my students.

There is research out there that can prove everybody wrong and everybody right. So many people love to quote research and focus on a group of individuals that lost 2.3 lbs of body fat vs. 4.2 lbs of body fat doing intervals on a bike vs. intervals on a treadmill. What does this really tell us? I know some research, test studies, and statistics are vital to the strength and conditioning field. When it comes down to it, if we are getting positive results with our athletes and clients, isn't that research.

I've done research on myself pretty much my entire "training" life. Over the past year, I was a little more specific. I decided to documented my own training and my nutrition plan. I know what set and rep scheme is best of for me to gain strength, to put on size, and to lose body fat. I know what foods I should eat to stay lean or to put on a little size. I know certain foods are not right for me, even though they are though of as "healthy". I know what to do in terms of interval training, complexes, or cardio to get the results I want. Isn't that research. More importantly, I know that most of the research I conducted on myself can be manipulated to fit different individuals and passed on to the people that I train and they can get the results that they want.

I really had a great time meeting Coach Kenn and discussing effective ways to make athletes/clients stronger and logical and effective methods of progression. I will continue to do my "research" and focus on doing what is worthwhile and reject what is useless. I will also look at studies and statistics on various topics which might influence me to implement changes or validate what I am currently doing in terms of training and nutrition. All in all, conduct your research and determine what will bring the best results to your athletes and clients- that is what it all comes down to anyway.....

Begin Positive.......

It's Monday. The beginning to a new week and a day that most people dread. Instead of thinking about all of the negative things that come along with Monday's, tasks that need to be done, waking up to the alarm clock for another 4 days, and having to go to work or school for an entire week. Think about all of the great things that can be accomplished this week. Look at Monday as a positive beginning to making your life better than its ever been. Try to focus on things that you can do physically, nutritionally, and socially/professionally. Here are some ideas;

Physically- Don't miss a workout this week (actually, that should be a given). Set a physical goal you would like to achieve this week. Try to add weight to a couple compound lifts, do more reps than you normally do, perform a few more sprints than normal, rest less between each sprint, the list goes on and on..... Or you can change things up. If you normally back squat, perform a front squat, instead of a conventional deadlift- perform a sumo or snatch grip deadlift. Whatever you chose to do different, look at it as an improvement. Get in the mindset of getting physically better this week today, and by Friday you will have surpassed your expectations.

Nutritionally- Don't eat anything that you shouldn't (okay, another given). Plan your meals in advance so there is no room for error. If you haven't done so, make sure you have your food shopping done for the week and a few days of food prepared. Try to add a new healthy food to your diet, switch your normal meals up (eggs for dinner???), or try a new recipe to a food you are currently eating. If you make it until Friday without a slip up in your nutritional plan, you will feel more energized and have better outlook on life in time for the weekend.

Socially/Professionally- Smile at a stranger. Hold the door for someone. If someone holds the door for you say "Thank You". Little things can make a big difference in the way you carry yourself throughout the day. Reach out to an old friend you haven't talked to in a while. Make a new friend by striking up a conversation with someone you normally see but haven't exchanged words. Think about way's to make your job more enjoyable. What can you do to make your place of employment better? Think about the good things pertaining to your job each morning this week and go into work with a better attitude, you will accomplish more and the day will go by faster.

This was just a thought going through my mind while I was on my way to work at 5:10am. I've got my mindset right. I'm gonna dominate this week, good things are gonna happen, and everyday is going to be better. I am already off to a good start! What great things are you going to do this week?

Mistakes.....

As much as I hate to admit it, I've made a lot of mistakes as a personal trainer/strength coach. Actually, I'm proud to admit the things I've done wrong or could have done better. I've learned from each mistake and I have become a better trainer and my clients and athletes have had much better results. The more I thought about the mistakes I've made, the longer the list seemed to get. I thought to myself, "man, I sucked at this when I first started!" I'm gonna list and describe a few of the mistake I've made and trust me, there have been many more, and there will be many more, but that's how I will get better.

1- Not focusing on continuing education. I know I mentioned the importance of this several times and I will keep repeating myself, I feel continuing education is that important. Once you attend a seminar or conference you will be influenced to keep gaining knowledge in the fitness field. Buying and reading books is almost just as addicting. I've spent a lot of money at amazon.com on books relating to movement, nutrition, and strength training as well as some books on business and relationships. I really wish I would have done this during my first year as a trainer, I could have been so much better at client relations, writing programs, and discussing nutrition with clients.

2-Having a one track mind. Steady state cardio is out - you need to do intervals. Doing exercises on the stability ball is the only way to activate the core. There is no need to perform static stretching. Carbs are bad. You should always train until failure. Those are just some things that I read or heard and I took that advice and ran with it 100% , and didn't look back. Now that I'm older and wiser I realize there are "many ways to skin a cat". I think just about everything has its place, and too many trainers rule things out completely or add thing in without clearly thinking on what is best for the client or the situation. Don't rule everything out and don't think the newest thing is the best thing. Oh yeah, and research can prove whatever you want it to prove, you just have to find the right research.

3-Reading/Buying Muscle and Fitness type magazines. If I had saved all that money instead of wasting it on bodybuilding magazines, I would have my own gym by now. I wasted a lot of time following "bodybuilding" routines and getting wrapped up in the Joe Weider philosophy. Being in great shape should focus on movement, not just getting the "pump". Following these routines that involved 6 different exercises for chest was really useless when trying to improve the way the body should function. A side from that, the steroid influenced physiques really were not realistic to obtain. The worst part is, I had some of my early clients follow those routines. (I can't believe I wasn't fired).

4-Working at a commercial gym for 8 years. When I think of all the bad habits I picked up from training at a commercial gym, I really want to kick myself in the head. The gym itself is basically a "sales and marketing" compound. Everything that is done that looks like the goal is to get the clients/members in better condition is sales driven. I'm all for making money, but at what expense. I once saw a trainer sell a 60 year old women Muscle Milk and Creatine so he could make his supplement goal. We were given "cookie cutter" routines to follow that involved machine based circuits which could create more muscular imbalances to the already posture challenged client. I have been through several fitness managers at commercial gyms, and they should all read my #1 mistake. None of them attended a seminar that wasn't put on my the gym we worked for, and they thought they knew all........ I wish would have found a private gym earlier in my training years. I work with great people and we are driven through client success.

5-Not assessing and analyzing client movement. A lot of people have movement deficiencies, not understanding way to evaluate them or correct them is a big problem. We are dealing with peoples health, they should not hurt or injure themselves when going through a workout. I am a big fan of Gray Cook and Eric Cressey when it comes to advice on what to look for and how to progress when analyzing a clients movements.

Those are just some things that I think were mistakes that I could have avoided during my first years as a personal trainer/strength coach. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, he focuses on the 10,000 hour rule. Basically devoting 10,000 productive hours of time to be truly successful at any endeavor. I think I'm getting there. Everyday I am one step closer to getting better at what I do, and making and learning from my mistakes is just part of the process.

Veterens Day

Today I have the day off from school, which is much needed after the lockdown situation we had in Broward County yesterday. I was able to work longer at the gym this morning and train a few clients I haven't seen in a while. It's great to see people that put fourth the effort to physically change and improve their health and physiques. Around 10 years ago on my day's off from school I would cancel my clients, go out the night before until around 2am, recover most of the day, not go lift, eat like crap, and then feel like a sack of turd. How times have changed..........I figured today I would give a little description on how I spend my time on a day off, well kinda.

The thing is, I really enjoy working. I feel I have the best and most rewarding jobs I could possibly have. Once I am done work today, I will unofficially still be working. The rest of my day I will practice what I preach and I spend a lot of time reading and continuing my education. I'm going to go grocery shopping for grassfed beef, organic chicken, almonds, cashews, eggs, broccoli, lean ground turkey and organic apples. A little later today I will grill the meats, steam my veggies, and pack my food for tomorrow.

Around mid-afternoon I'll go to a park near my house and do one of my "sprint" workouts. Probably run some 100's and 60's, pretty much the routine I mentioned in this post. I will spend a good amount of time warming up (form running/hip mobility) and take full advantage of the beautiful weather. Since I began implementing sprint workouts into my program, I feel rejuvenated. It's kind of hard to explain but getting outside and running fast (well, trying to) is a lot of fun for me.

I will try to get some reading in today as well. I would like to finish a book that really has kept me entertained, Talent is Overrated. It's a great book on methods of success and it focuses on the theory of "deliberate practice". This is something I will elaborate in the future, it's an interesting topic that puts a lot of things in perspective. I will also catch up on some of my favorite blogs (see right) and go to a couple of my favorite websites TMuscle and Elitefts and read some cutting edge information, training logs, and some Q&A forums.

I know it doesn't seem like an exciting day, but it is my ideal Thursday off. If I can do what I love for a living and get better at what I do for a living by doing the things I love, my life is pretty damn good! I'll also get to spend some time with my fiance which make everything even better......

On a side note, a BIG thanks to everyone who has or is serving in the US armed forces- your hard work is truly appreciated.

Haters! (I hate that word, Negative People.....)

Everywhere you go in life and everything you do, you are going to encounter negative people. There are some people that will always tell you that you can't do something or achieve certain things. There are some people that will question the reasons that you want to better yourself, your health, and your relationships. When trying to get in better physical condition, people love to make negative comments or try to persuade you to make unhealthy food choices or question the reasons you go to the gym or go to a hill to do sprints when you could be doing something "more fun". For me, pushing myself to physical exhaustion is fun! (ok, I'm a little crazy). Now back to the topic....

Dave Tate touched on this subject and I found it almost humorous because it occurs in my life and many other peoples lives who are trying to get leaner, stronger, or healthier. Tate spoke of a group dinner which he went to a restaurant with some friends and when it came time to order he was criticized for ordering a healthy meal, something like grilled chicken and broccoli. His friends made negative comments trying to justify their lack of disciple and make themselves feel better. Meanwhile his friends ordered chicken wings, cheeseburgers, onion rings, and fries. Of course, they probably were all overweight and some of them probably could be mistaken for an attraction at Sea World. I've been it this situation numerous times and I don't get it, wtf? Just cause I'm trying to eat a healthy, clean, "leanness" promoting meal I "need to live a little" "I am ridiculous", "I am vain/shallow" and "I need to let loose".

There are plenty of times in my life where I let go and enjoy a few meals that aren't even remotely healthy. I was in Vegas for my 35th and I had pretty much every type of food that I don't normally eat. I had a great time and it was great to "let loose" but at the same time I knew when I got home I would go back to my "normal" way of eating. There is a time and place for "cheat meals". Just because it's the weekend and it's football season, it doesn't make sense to eat like crap Saturday and Sunday so I can feel like crap on Monday.

You will encounter negative people everywhere you look. Take the grocery store for instance, people have actually made comments about the food I have in my shopping cart. A person questioned why I was buying "free range organic eggs", basically I was told that I was wasting my money and regular eggs are just as healthy. Sorry, didn't know you were my financial advisor.....

As far as your personal achievements go, don't expect a complement or a congratulations from the negative people in your life. If you get a promotion, get a raise, or decide to take on other endeavors in your career path, don't expect anything positive from these people. If you get in better physical shape and achieve your weight loss goals, yeah the negative people will take notice, but don't plan on getting a compliment!

I made some choices in my life that require a lot of dedication. I am very passionate about getting stronger and staying lean. I would prefer not to let my body fat get over 10% while maintaining, what I feel, is an adequate level of strength. Since last January, my fiance and I have lost between 20-30lbs, have gotten physically and mentally stronger, and we have had fun in the process. We are in this thing together and we encourage each other to make better food choices and we hit the gym to train together when we can, even though our schedules are extremely busy. Why do we do this? Because our best years are in front of us, we realize that we have never felt better and our outlook in life has never been more positive. One of the reasons people might be negative toward your achievements is because their best years are behind them.

Negative people will try to make themselves feel better by trying to make you eat worse and exercise less. Just remember "nothing tastes as good as being in great shape feels". Make choices that will effect your life in a positive way. Eat the right foods, go to the gym, exercise outside, do the opposite of what the negative people in your life do on a daily basis. If you are doing something that is beneficial for your health, your relationships, and your happiness, don't let any body or anything stand in the way of what you are trying to accomplish. Be positive, be dedicated, and every now and then-live a little and let your guard down- you deserve to have a little fun.

If we take closer look on what's important to us we should focus on the positive things in life. Be passionate about what makes you happy and don't let negative individuals bring you down. When I start my day, I know what is important for me to accomplish and the things i need to do that will make my life better. At the end of the day, when I look in mirror, I understand that I am the way I am because, to me I feel that "average is just unacceptable!"