Too many people have excuses why not to be healthy and fit. "I am too busy, I don't have time, I am too tired, I had to pick my kids up from school, I don't have money, the list goes on an on. Listen, I am here to tell you those are B.S. excuses. You can make time for your workouts. Be a little more organized. Working out will actually increase your energy throughout the day. Instead of going home, drinking a glass of wine and watching TV, go to the gym and workout. Your energy will soar. Ok, go pick up your kids at school and then take them to the gym with you. Most gyms have child care programs. If they are old enough, workout with them. If the weather is acceptable go to a park and run around with them. Be active. You do not need money to be in shape. At every park there is monkey bars. There you go, you can do pull-ups, get down and do push-ups, perform some planks, perform bodyweight split squats, and run some sprints. I always tell people that I can work them out with no equipment. Just a determined mind and a hard worker is all I need.
We have to have a positive mental attitude. You will never accomplish your goals if you are negative and have excuses. We have a choice every day of our Life to either live healthy or not. Eat a cheeseburger and fries or chicken and vegetables, drink a protein smoothie or have a chocolate shake, drink water or drink beer. These are all choices we can make on a daily basis. Which choice will you make??? It is your decision. Learn to have self control. You will feel better, have more energy, be healthy, stay away from the doctor, and people will be attracted to your positivity.
Life is not just about working out and being fit. You need balance. But I truly believe if you are in shape and feel good about yourself, you will appreciate everything around you so much more. You do not need that daily 2 glasses of wine a night. You do not need to smoke those cigarettes. You do not need to eat those high fatty foods. You need to be healthy. Eat healthy, be consistent with your workouts and watch your vitality just soar.
If you are reading this and saying to yourself, "this is B.S.", then step out of that bubble and get your butt to the gym. You need a workout and you need some good food. And then watch your attitude change.
Stay up, stay positive and stay driven!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A day in the Life of Justin....
I got this idea from Mike Boyle. He gets lots of questions on how he has time for his writing, seminars, training, and his family/personal life.
So here are some ideas that could help to make your day a little more organized and enjoyable....
1. Like Mike, I believe in waking up early. I heard a quote a long time ago that says, "Successful people are up before 7." I wake up M-F at 4:30 am. I eat breakfast and watch a little sportscenter. I am at my gym by 5:00. I get there early to do any paperwork, write up workouts, read the newspaper, and just get 30 minutes of quiet time before any clients show up. I feel if you wake up after 9:00 am, the whole morning is wasted. If you want to be successful, start waking up early. I am usually at the gym from 5 am - 12/1 pm, then I take a break, which usually involves a workout and maybe a cat nap to energize me for the afternoon/evening.
2. Sleep is crucial. I am in bed by 9:00 the majority of nights. I need my sleep. With as much activity that is part of my day, I need rest. Some people say sleep is overrated; I totally disagree. If you lack sleep, you will be run down, lack energy, and higher your chances of getting hurt. You need 7-9 hours. None of this 5-6 hours of sleep. It is hard to make it through the day with minimal sleep.
3. I look at my calendar every sunday night. I look at my schedule of clients, I put my own workouts in the calendar, any personal related activities I put in the calendar, just anything that is going on for that week. Every seminar I go to talks about how successful people are super organized. Well I want to be successful, so I am going to listen and follow through. Time management and organization are critical to get your SHI* done. My own workouts are so important for me. I have my own performance goals and if I do not schedule myself then I will be overwhelmed to get them in. I add my workouts to my calendar as if I was a client.
4. Any break in the day from clients I sit down and read, write workouts, and write articles. I sometimes feel I need more time to do these things. I train between 5-8 hours training clients a day and my workouts are at least an hour a day. So, the day goes by fast. I need to read any chance I get. Whether it be strength and conditioning material, nutrition information, self growth, or business books, I have given myself a goal to read more. I need to learn from successful people. People that have been through the trenches and are gladly giving me the resources to learn from their mistakes. If I can read 1 hour a day, I am happy. I am just beginning down the path in this world and if I can get any ideas and hints to make things easier, I will take them.
5. I get back to work by 3:00 pm. And I try and leave my gym by 6:30 every night. That gives me time to spend with my wife. I have learned that balance is so important. I can't just focus on work, my workouts, and the things going on in my Life. I have to and I want to communciate with my wife on a daily basis. Sometimes after long days we are very tired and just are able to eat dinner together and then I go to bed, but anytime is good time.
I definitely do not know everything. What I do know that it is important to learn from others. I have a long way to go in this industry but I feel I am on the right path to success.
I have learned that most people make Life too complicated. Well it isn't that complicated. Be organized, be balanced, be humble, and be positive. The rest will come. Continue down the journey of a healthy and full life. Appreciate the people around you and inspire the people around you. Todd Durkin said to READY, FIRE, AIM. Just go do it. DO not over think things. There are so much opportunity out there for everyone. It is just a matter of making it happen.
Go out and GET IT!
So here are some ideas that could help to make your day a little more organized and enjoyable....
1. Like Mike, I believe in waking up early. I heard a quote a long time ago that says, "Successful people are up before 7." I wake up M-F at 4:30 am. I eat breakfast and watch a little sportscenter. I am at my gym by 5:00. I get there early to do any paperwork, write up workouts, read the newspaper, and just get 30 minutes of quiet time before any clients show up. I feel if you wake up after 9:00 am, the whole morning is wasted. If you want to be successful, start waking up early. I am usually at the gym from 5 am - 12/1 pm, then I take a break, which usually involves a workout and maybe a cat nap to energize me for the afternoon/evening.
2. Sleep is crucial. I am in bed by 9:00 the majority of nights. I need my sleep. With as much activity that is part of my day, I need rest. Some people say sleep is overrated; I totally disagree. If you lack sleep, you will be run down, lack energy, and higher your chances of getting hurt. You need 7-9 hours. None of this 5-6 hours of sleep. It is hard to make it through the day with minimal sleep.
3. I look at my calendar every sunday night. I look at my schedule of clients, I put my own workouts in the calendar, any personal related activities I put in the calendar, just anything that is going on for that week. Every seminar I go to talks about how successful people are super organized. Well I want to be successful, so I am going to listen and follow through. Time management and organization are critical to get your SHI* done. My own workouts are so important for me. I have my own performance goals and if I do not schedule myself then I will be overwhelmed to get them in. I add my workouts to my calendar as if I was a client.
4. Any break in the day from clients I sit down and read, write workouts, and write articles. I sometimes feel I need more time to do these things. I train between 5-8 hours training clients a day and my workouts are at least an hour a day. So, the day goes by fast. I need to read any chance I get. Whether it be strength and conditioning material, nutrition information, self growth, or business books, I have given myself a goal to read more. I need to learn from successful people. People that have been through the trenches and are gladly giving me the resources to learn from their mistakes. If I can read 1 hour a day, I am happy. I am just beginning down the path in this world and if I can get any ideas and hints to make things easier, I will take them.
5. I get back to work by 3:00 pm. And I try and leave my gym by 6:30 every night. That gives me time to spend with my wife. I have learned that balance is so important. I can't just focus on work, my workouts, and the things going on in my Life. I have to and I want to communciate with my wife on a daily basis. Sometimes after long days we are very tired and just are able to eat dinner together and then I go to bed, but anytime is good time.
I definitely do not know everything. What I do know that it is important to learn from others. I have a long way to go in this industry but I feel I am on the right path to success.
I have learned that most people make Life too complicated. Well it isn't that complicated. Be organized, be balanced, be humble, and be positive. The rest will come. Continue down the journey of a healthy and full life. Appreciate the people around you and inspire the people around you. Todd Durkin said to READY, FIRE, AIM. Just go do it. DO not over think things. There are so much opportunity out there for everyone. It is just a matter of making it happen.
Go out and GET IT!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
An educational weekend
I drove to LA on Friday. Saturday was the Perform Better 1-day Seminar. There were speakers giving lectures and hands on presentations. The first presenter was Todd Durkin who spoke about "Going for Greatness". To me, this subject is just as important as the nuts and bolts of strength and conditioning. IT was all about taking your game to the next level. Todd was a great motivator and speaker. I got alot of valuable information from his presentation. A great quote that will stay with me from Todd's presentation is "Attitude determines Altitude." You can go as high as you want if you have the right positive mental attitude.
The next presenter was Alwyn Cosgrove, who always gets the audience laughing and thinking. He puts things into simple sense. If we listen to his ideas and then immediately implement them, you will make more money, run a more efficient business, and will be able to grow your business into whatever you want.
Next was Gray Cook. This guy is so intellectual. He knows the body from the inside out. I always learn so much information on how the body is meant to function from Gray. His main topics that were covered were improving mobility before stability. We need to create mobility first before we start working on stability. The joint needs movement capabilities before we can start stabilizing. Once the individual is able to move properly, then we can stabilize and once that same person can now stabilize, then it is time for strength development. If we mix up the order we will be creating more of a dysfunctional body.
Last on the docket was Mike Boyle. Mike stepped out of the box for him this seminar and talked about training the obese client and client with low back pain. IT was very interesting to hear some of the ideas from Mike. With obese clients, just get them moving. He talked about the things he does not do with obese clients and that is: foam roll, stretch, and core work. Why put a 300+ man on a foam roll. It will be very hard for him to do it the correct way. Strethcing and core work on the ground is very awkard for an obese individual. These individuals need to dramatically change their diet and get moving. You do not need to spend 20 minutes on soft tissue and flexibility. Drop 80 pounds first and then we can start improving muscle quality.
The hands on sessions were good. Todd's was very energetic and was actually a tough workout. We did some metabolic work for the entire 25 minutes. We did not stop. It was challenging.
I came away with some great knowledge from this seminar. I will be able to come back to my facility and implement ideas ASAP. California Fitness Academy will be a better place.
On a side note: watch out for those bars that say "Protein Energy Bars". You think they are good for you. Read the ingredients closely and be careful. This bar from Detour is horrible. Loaded with processed sugars, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and all this other crap. Make sure to read labels and understand what you are eating before you decide to "think it is healthy for you."
Other Ingredients: Designer Whey Protein Blend [(Whey Protein Concentrate, PDUF Whey Protein Isolate, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein), Soy Protein Isolate], Glycerlean [99.7% USP Glycerine, Taurine, L-Leucine, CLA], Milk Chocolate Flavored Coating (Maltitol, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Soy Lecithin, Salt, Vanilla), Sugar Free Caramel (Maltitol, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Cream, Butter, Natural Flavors, Salt, Disodium Phosphate, Lecithin), Water, Gelatin, Calcium Caseinate, Peanut Flour, Cocoa Butter, Rice Flour, Natural and Artificial Peanut Flavor, Mono and Di-glycerides, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (as a Preservative), Natural Vitamin E (as Mixed Tocopherols), Sucralose, Neotame.
The next presenter was Alwyn Cosgrove, who always gets the audience laughing and thinking. He puts things into simple sense. If we listen to his ideas and then immediately implement them, you will make more money, run a more efficient business, and will be able to grow your business into whatever you want.
Next was Gray Cook. This guy is so intellectual. He knows the body from the inside out. I always learn so much information on how the body is meant to function from Gray. His main topics that were covered were improving mobility before stability. We need to create mobility first before we start working on stability. The joint needs movement capabilities before we can start stabilizing. Once the individual is able to move properly, then we can stabilize and once that same person can now stabilize, then it is time for strength development. If we mix up the order we will be creating more of a dysfunctional body.
Last on the docket was Mike Boyle. Mike stepped out of the box for him this seminar and talked about training the obese client and client with low back pain. IT was very interesting to hear some of the ideas from Mike. With obese clients, just get them moving. He talked about the things he does not do with obese clients and that is: foam roll, stretch, and core work. Why put a 300+ man on a foam roll. It will be very hard for him to do it the correct way. Strethcing and core work on the ground is very awkard for an obese individual. These individuals need to dramatically change their diet and get moving. You do not need to spend 20 minutes on soft tissue and flexibility. Drop 80 pounds first and then we can start improving muscle quality.
The hands on sessions were good. Todd's was very energetic and was actually a tough workout. We did some metabolic work for the entire 25 minutes. We did not stop. It was challenging.
I came away with some great knowledge from this seminar. I will be able to come back to my facility and implement ideas ASAP. California Fitness Academy will be a better place.
On a side note: watch out for those bars that say "Protein Energy Bars". You think they are good for you. Read the ingredients closely and be careful. This bar from Detour is horrible. Loaded with processed sugars, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and all this other crap. Make sure to read labels and understand what you are eating before you decide to "think it is healthy for you."
Other Ingredients: Designer Whey Protein Blend [(Whey Protein Concentrate, PDUF Whey Protein Isolate, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein), Soy Protein Isolate], Glycerlean [99.7% USP Glycerine, Taurine, L-Leucine, CLA], Milk Chocolate Flavored Coating (Maltitol, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali), Soy Lecithin, Salt, Vanilla), Sugar Free Caramel (Maltitol, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Cream, Butter, Natural Flavors, Salt, Disodium Phosphate, Lecithin), Water, Gelatin, Calcium Caseinate, Peanut Flour, Cocoa Butter, Rice Flour, Natural and Artificial Peanut Flavor, Mono and Di-glycerides, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (as a Preservative), Natural Vitamin E (as Mixed Tocopherols), Sucralose, Neotame.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Goals
Goals are so important to have. For personal development, business growth, and overall success. If you do not have any goals and are unsure of what is to come, then you better get busy figuring them out.
Here are a few of my goals that I want to accomplish in the upcoming year:
Increase clientele by 10%
Increase gross income by 15%
Read at least 45 minutes everyday on strength and conditioning material
Read 4 unrelated to fitness books (self growth, motivation, business)
Have 5 different speaking engagements
Volunteer my skills at least 3 times
Start thinking about expansion
Attend at least 1 national fitness seminar
Start constructing my DVD/book
Complete my half ironman in 5 hours 30 mins. or less
Complete the Wildflower Olympic course in 2:20 or less
Alright there you have it. This list can and probably will grow. As I continue to learn about myself and grow, I will add to the list.
Remember you can accomplish so much, it just takes hard work and commitment to achieve!
Here are a few of my goals that I want to accomplish in the upcoming year:
Increase clientele by 10%
Increase gross income by 15%
Read at least 45 minutes everyday on strength and conditioning material
Read 4 unrelated to fitness books (self growth, motivation, business)
Have 5 different speaking engagements
Volunteer my skills at least 3 times
Start thinking about expansion
Attend at least 1 national fitness seminar
Start constructing my DVD/book
Complete my half ironman in 5 hours 30 mins. or less
Complete the Wildflower Olympic course in 2:20 or less
Alright there you have it. This list can and probably will grow. As I continue to learn about myself and grow, I will add to the list.
Remember you can accomplish so much, it just takes hard work and commitment to achieve!
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