Thursday

Here is how my Thursday went....

Today is my day to sleep in. Well most people do not call waking up at 6:00 am sleeping in, I do. I go to coffee with two of my best friends from high school. I actually look forward to meeting with them to chop it up on how we are all doing. I got to work around 7:45 am and started training. I have sessions at 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, and 12:30. I took lunch at 1:30. But my lunch included about 30 minutes of TV and 2900 meters in the pool. Then back to work by 4:30 pm. I had time to read and look through my emails before my 5:00 appointment came in. Beau Mills was my client. He was the 13th pick in the MLB draft two years ago. He has high hopes of making it to the big leagues by next season. He is a very hard worker. I ended the night at the gym with a 30 minute loosen up workout. Lots of soft tissue work, dynamic stretching, core stability and a couple strength exercises. Just wanted to get the body loose and in good position. I made it home by 7:15 pm, just in time for dinner with my beautiful wife. She is great!

A great day in my standards. I love waking up to take on each day. I love what I do. I love the people I work with. I love my wife!

The mind is very powerful. With the right positive mindset you can take your game to a whole other level. Learn to think like a champion. Want to be successful at anything you do. Do not settle for average. Go for the TOP and do not let anything get in your way.

It's not about the numbers

I was sitting down with one of my trainers today and we started talking about "why we weigh and body fat test our clients?" Ok the typical answer are for assessment, making sure the client stays on track, to show perspective members that we get results, and so on. Yah, I get it. But then I started thinking, "Why do we really measure clients?" I teach and promote a healthy lifestyle. I do not teach 10 week programs. I want my clients working out and staying healthy until the day they die. There is no finish line for health and fitness. It is a consistent approach that is a lifelong adventure. Then we get into the numbers. If I have a 40 year old mom who comes into my gym and all she cares about is numbers, she will never be satisfied. And yes, I have these clients. The day we have them step on the scale or measure their body fat and they do not see what they want to see, it ruins their day. But she looks fabulous, is in fantastic shape and lives a very energetic and active life! Oh but her body fat was not down so it depresses the hell out of her. I don't like this method. To me the results are there. If we keep testing and measuring body fat she will eventually go up. Just with age, your body fat goes up. For instance, I am 29 and 8.5% body fat and have 12.5 lbs. of fat and 133.5 lbs of lean mass. The day I turn 30, if I have the same skinfold measurements, I will be 12.5%, 18.25 lbs. of body fat and 127.75 lbs of lean mass. So eventually my body fat will go up and my pounds of body fat will go up and my lean mass will go down. Does this mean I am failing in my fitness program. ABSOLUTELY NOT!

For some reason we as fitness professionals think that testing body composition is the gold standard for results. In my opinion results are when a 55 year old man ,who trains with his wife, changes his life dramatically in two years with working out, choosing the right foods, able to move without pain and now enjoys bike rides with his wife. To me results are a 45 year old mom who has more energy then her kids, can perform bodyweight chin-ups and is able to give her family 100% daily effort. To me results are when my clients come in and they feel 100% better than the day they walked into my facility.

Results are not numbers. Results are real life changes, an increased vigor to Live life and a contagious positive energy that they built through living a healthy lifestyle.

Stick to your program. Do not get down or depressed when you see numbers. Keep going and keep staying positive. You will see the long term results.

Don't Be Old School

Don’t Be Old School
By: Justin Levine

Why do people still perform crunches? Why do people still get on the leg press machine? Why do people still believe in long slow distance training to “burn fat”? Well, this is what we knew 20 years ago. Things change and so must people. Fitness has transformed over the past 20 years. There are many concepts that at the time we thought were the most efficient ways to get fit. We no longer live in a bodybuilding world where we design body part splits for our workouts. You know the workouts: chest/triceps, back/biceps, and legs/shoulders. If you are still doing this you are “old school”. Program design has changed to training specific movements for proper function. We will get into that a little later in the article. The body is meant to function a certain way. Check out Michael Boyle’s article and dvd, “A Joint by Joint Approach”. We need mobility in certain areas and stability in others. If the hips do not move properly our low back will hurt. Does anyone out there want to blow a disc in their lower back? I am sure no one will answer yes but every time I walk into a “big box” gym people are always performing crunches, back extension and leg press exercises. Dr. Stuart Mcgill, a low back specialist, states that “any flexion or extension will create a disc to blow.” It might not happen the 1st, 2nd, or 50th time you perform these exercises, but eventually your low back will “hurt”.
This article will cover many old school concepts and methods that you should not be doing anymore. If you are just stop. I will also get into some specific cutting edge theories that you need to implement into your program design. Remember, you need an open mind when it comes to fitness. If you want to continue to get results you must learn to change your program. There is so much education out there for us to learn. Do not do the same thing you were doing 5-20 years ago. Step out of that bubble and step into the new age of fitness training and continue to learn.

Crunches are old school. Again, if you want a low back disc to blow then continue to perform crunches. The movement of crunching puts the spine into flexion. The spine does not want this load. The function of the spine is meant to be stable. When we move at the spine we cause low back pain. Read any of Stuart Mcgill’s research. This guy is way smarter than I am and these are the concepts he talks about. Another exercise people need to eliminate from their program is back extensions. Start thinking stability exercises for the “core”. Examples are plank variations, side plank variations, cable stabilization exercises, core rollouts, medicine ball training and cable chops and lifts. If you want a “6-pack”, change your diet. If you want to lose weight, change your diet. Doing “abs” at the gym will not get you leaner. It is a mix of a properly designed workout program, consistent healthy nutritional habits and proper rest and recovery. We need to promote good postural habits and doing crunches puts our body in poor position for good posture. Stabilize the spine, stop doing crunches and you will see the difference in the way you move.

Bodybuilding splits are old school. In fact bodybuilding splits are probably close to 20 years old. This is what people did in the 80’s and 90’s. We went to the gym to work our chest for an hour. Then the next day was arms. Good ole biceps and triceps for the entire workout. We would leave the gym with a massive pump in our arms. Then the next day we worked back and shoulders. Then we would finish the week with a ridiculous leg routine. Some leg workouts left us unable to walk and we were sore for days after. If you are still working out like this, STOP! This is not an efficient way to get fit. You must incorporate specific movements and interval conditioning (I will get into that one on #4) into your workout routine. Horizontal and vertical pressing and pulling movements, bilateral and unilateral knee dominant and hip dominant movements and core stability exercises. Do not make it too complicated. Add balance to your routine. If you have two pressing exercises (bench press and push-up) you need two pulling exercises (chin-ups and DB row). If you have two knee dominant exercises (split squat and lunge) you need two hip dominant exercises (deadlifts and hip lifts). When you have imbalances it leads to injury. Who wants to get injured? Nobody! If you are trying to get fit, do not lift like a bodybuilder. Structure your workouts with these new concepts to build an ultimate fitness level.

Leg press, leg extension and leg curl machines are old school. In fact if you are working out on any machine, unless it is a Keiser cable system, then you are outdated. Machines do not build function. Your movement is constricted on a machine. Remember the old school Nautilus machines when they first came out. What year was that? 1976. Back then Nautilus was the “cutting edge” of fitness training. But we do not live in the past, we live in the future. Time to step into the new age of training. If your program is loaded with machine exercises and non-functional training then change your program. Implement deadlifts, squat variations, chin-ups, rows, push-ups, presses and core stability work. You will get results. In fact you will get the best results you have ever seen.

Long slow distance “cardio” for fat burning is old school. I was a culprit of this when I first started training clients. I would have my clients do cardio on their non-weight training days for at least 45 minutes. I wanted them to stay in the “fat burning zone” the entire time. Sound familiar? With the knowledge of guys like Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle and Mark Verstegen, I finally figured out that this was not the answer. I started having my clients do intervals. There are many different interval protocols. For deconditioned individuals an interval might be a walk on a treadmill at a 5% incline for 30 seconds and then back down to 1% for 1 minute. For fit athletes I usually choose the Tabata protocol. These are very intense and can be done as a medicine ball circuit or on a treadmill or bike. I do not use the word “cardio” to my clients anymore. We call it conditioning. Cardio is the word people use when they get on a treadmill for an hour at the same pace. Conditioning is when I have my clients perform 15 intervals of 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off. It sounds better. At the completion of every training session I add conditioning to the workout. It could be a metabolic circuit, treadmill sprints, or bike sprints.

The “5 minute walk on a treadmill” warm-up is old school. Do not walk on a treadmill for 5-10 minutes and think you are warmed up. You need to implement a dynamic warm-up to your workout routine. Not just once in awhile. Every time you workout you need to perform a dynamic warm-up. A proper warm-up will prepare you for your workout, increase flexibility, increase mobility, and elevate your heart rate. A walk on a treadmill only covers 1 of those traits. Your workout will be more intense and you will reduce injury.

Ok I saved the best for last. If you are still participating in step aerobics you are very old school. This was a fad in the 80’s. All step class is going to do is give you knee pain. Yes, it is good that you are moving and staying active but there are better options than “step class”. If you like group classes choose a strength training or circuit training class. At least now you can get some interval type training.


So the moral of the story is that things change. What we used to do does not work anymore. And what we know now may change. With the beauty of science and education we as fitness professionals continue to study the body and learn the most efficient ways to get fit. I personally will continue to learn the rest of my life. Thank you so much to guys like Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, Mark Verstegen, Gray Cook, Stuart McGill, Todd Durkin and Martin Rooney who are always willing to share their knowledge to the world.

No excuses, Just go get it.

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!

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!

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.

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!