i don't know what it's like to be fat, but I do know...

Each morning when I teach my boot campers I am always focusing on their faces.  Faces don't lie when it comes to showing me how hard they are working.

What I see are both the body and the mind struggling.  These are physical as well as mental struggles.

There is a huge desire in the client to ease back.  Their body is telling them, "whoa I haven't done this in a long time and this is scaring me."  Of course our bodies try to warn us of overheating and over exerting which is helpful and often life saving, but for the most part there is a grey area in which we need to push ourselves.

To those who are overweight, this is a particualary hard area to push through.  I've never been overweight so I cannot pretend to understand what it's really like.

What I can tell you though is that as you push forward and fight through the discomfort your body will respond in positive ways.

Little by little with consistent effort, smart eating, and enough rest and recuperation your body will thank you by becoming lighter, leaner and it will respond better to your commands.

Right now being overweight maybe you cannot count on your body to do one more push up, do squat jumps for a minute,or run a little further...but don't give up.  Just as you body has responded to poor food choices and lack of exercise, it will respond to training.  Just stick with it and don't give up.  

Be the best you can be today.

Don't compare yourself to others.

Train hard today.

Eat smart today.

Get enough rest and recovery today.

Take care of you today.

 

What are your priorities?

How did you start your day?

Did you get enough sleep last night?

Do you have healthy food choices on hand, or if you'll be eating out, do you know where you can eat healthy meals?

Will you be working out today?  If so, what type of workout do you have planned?

Do you have time for some stretching, meditation, or other bodywork of some type?

What's for dinner?

Do you have a time in the evening when you disconnect from the online world?

Is your bedroom peaceful and conducive for sleep?

...What are your priorities, and how are you working towards them? 

Seth Godin

Are you serious about transformation? I’m not talking about polishing yourself, improving yourself, making things a bit better. I’m talking about the reset button, a reinvention that changes the game.
That means an overhaul in what you believe and how you do your job. If you’re up for that, then right here, right now, you can start.

 

- Seth Godin from his new book Linchpin

This is exactly what it takes to change your body too.  Make the decision.

 

Discount on Road ID

Here's something smart to buy as a Christmas gift to yourself as a boot camper, or for someone you know who exercises.

I've had my Road ID for about 3 years. It's one preventive measure that you hope you'll never have to use, but smart to have.

You can receive a !0% discount by clicking here, and putting in the code: pcHoliday294

Holiday Eating Tips

This list comes from my buddy and trainer Dave Quevedo...

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit.  In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately.  Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can.  And quickly.  Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare.  In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch.  You can't find it any other time of year but now.  So drink up!  Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip?  It's not  as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something.  It's a treat.  Enjoy it.  Have one for me. Have two.  It's later than you think.  It's Christmas!

 3. If something comes with gravy, use it.  That's the whole point of gravy.  Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on.  Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes.  Fill it with gravy.  Eat the volcano.  Repeat.

 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk.  If it's skim, pass.  Why bother?  It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

 5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it.  Hello?

 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.  You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.  This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound  plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

 7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge.  Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention.  They're like a beautiful pair of shoes.  If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

 8. Same for pies.  Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat.  Have a slice of each.  Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin.  Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?  Labor Day?

 9. Did someone mention fruitcake?  Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost.  I mean, have some standards.

 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.  Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.  Remember this motto to live by:


 "Life should NOT be a journey to the  grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a  ride!"

Is Your Personal Trainer Telling You The Truth?

Or is he or she selling you a bunch of crap you don't need?

Seth Godin makes a great point in his blog this morning.

"Watch the money

"How much life insurance do you have?"

Zig Ziglar liked to say that with that one question, you could tell if someone was a successful life insurance agent. If they're not willing to buy it with their own money, how can they honestly persuade someone else to do so?

If you're in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you're selling to?

My favorite: if you work for a non-profit and you don't give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I've met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but I can also report that a huge number of people—even on the fundraising side—would happily cross the street and risk a beating in order to avoid giving $100 to a cause that's not their own. And the shame of it is that this inaction on their part keeps them from experiencing the very emotion that they try so hard to sell.

Money is more than a transfer of value. It's a statement of belief. An ad agency that won't buy ads, a consultant who won't buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn't tip big—it's a sign, and not a good one."

As a trainer you wouldn't believe the amount of stuff that I am asked to sell to you.  Supplements, exercises equipment, clothes, DVD's, e-books, the list goes on and on. 

My feeling is that the only thing that I am going to promote or suggest to you is something that I either use personally or that I fully trust the company or person selling who is selling it to us.

I am totally transparent when it comes to the supplements that I use, the food or diet that I follow, and the time that I spend training.

Here is my exact day today.

Before Boot Camp

Taught Boot Camp and trained one, one on one client
  • 3 eggs with olive oil
  • 1/2 banana, 3 dates
  • 2 cups water
My workout (15 min.)
Lunch
  • chicken satay
  • greens drink
  • L-Glutamine
  • L-Arginine
  • 2 tablets fish oil
Nap (30 minutes)
Dinner
  • Beef
  • Zucchini
  • 2 tablets fish oil
  • water
So what do I want you to take away from this?

Basically, it's that true health and fat loss is maintained through discipline and habits.  There are no magic potions, no gimmicky equipment, and no other "miracle" products of any type.  Just the basics.

Stick to a smart plan and you will see results.  Always be searching for the "next thing" and you'll come up frustrated and probably have less money in your wallet.

 

Minimalist Fitness

Great quote from Minimal

"The idea is simply to look around and ask tough questions about what you really need and what you don’t. Figure out new ways to solutions that provide only what you need and nothing that you don’t. Finally, add to the greater conversation about the idea of embracing “enough” in an industry and culture that clearly believes in “more”."

It's 11:35 pm and I'm Thinking About the Next Boot Camp

Here's an email that I just sent to a new boot camper, but it may apply to you to...

"Really that's what I do.  I always want to make this the best experience for each camper.

I try to figure out what has worked the best for my most successful clients and pass that along to people like you who are just starting with me.

One of the main things that comes to mind is to trust me.  If I tell you to do something or eat a certain way...it's for your benefit.  I've been doing this a long time and I'm confident that I know what works. That's not to say that I'm not open to learning, and I spend a lot of time keeping up on the latest fitness, diet, and health related stuff.  I really do like this part of my profession... investigating stuff.

My biggest tips for you are:
Show up to each session.  At each session give it 110%
Eat clean meaning as close to nature as possible.
Sleep well and focus on "healing time".  This may mean massage, meditation, visualization, etc..
Drink water, not soda, not beer, not wine, not juice...but water.

Those are the basics that come to mind.  Focus on those.

I'll be sending out more tips as we go along, but please focus on those basics."