3 Decisions – Have You Made Them
by: Justin Levine
1. Positive Attitude: This decision might be the most important. Whether you want to lose weight, improve your performance or compete in a triathlon you must have a positive attitude and determined mindset to accomplish your goals. When you wake up do you immediately tell yourself “I can’t wait to go to bed again?” Or do you wake up with a motivation to Live Life. If you learn to start your day on a high note and think about how good the day will go then you are more likely to have good days. Instead of watching the news or reading the newspaper as the first thing you do, read something positive and motivating to start your day, then go to the news and newspaper. You have the opportunity to have a fresh start each day. Focus on the day ahead. You can’t do anything about yesterday and tomorrow but today can affect the future. So think and breathe positive thoughts each day.
2. Healthy Lifestyle: If you do not have your health it is very hard to take full advantage of everything around you. Your health is so important for mental and physical wellbeing. Decide to make health, fitness and good nutrition part of your life. Do not fall into the trap of following specific diets and trendy fitness programs and products. Learn to make fitness part of your life. If you do not do something about it now you will eventually have to worry about it later. And unfortunately when it is later, it gets harder. If you make it a lifestyle habit now you are more likely to have a fit and healthy life later. Living healthy is a journey and when it is a habit you feel good, look good and you will take advantage of everyday. Schedule your workouts just like you would schedule a work meeting. When you are more organized and manage time more efficiently you will not be the one that makes the excuse of “I don’t have time.”
3. Be Your Best: Too many people settle for being average and just do what they need to do to get by. We need to strive to reach our full potential. This takes a consistent approach and hard work. When you are working out do you push through a few extra repetitions or do you quite when it gets tough? If you want to get results and Be Your Best you must challenge yourself physically and mentally. Do not settle. Go for the top, conquer your goals and be ready to push through. When you accomplish a specific goal, reassess and set new and higher goals. Believe that you can and strive for excellence.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Random Thoughts - November 1st
To stir up some brain waves this morning I decided to devise a blog dedicated to some random thinking. There has been a ton on my mind lately, from program design to business stuff to Brett Favre. And it is time to put some of these thoughts down on paper. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or want to stir up some conversation.
1. I have been reading a ton lately on strength and conditioning and fitness business. Along with my normal blogs of Alwyn Cosgrove, Thom Plummer, Pat Rigsby, Mike Boyle and Mark Verstegen, my newest blogs I have surfed through are Todd Durkin, Bret Contreras, Eric Cressey and Jason Ferruggia. When I read these different blogs I realize how different but yet similar our industry is. Every name I just mentioned are successful fitness entrepreneurs and coaches. Their training styles and philosophies are very different. Instead of picking each program apart and looking for errors, I try and find pieces of each program that could be a positive influence to mine. There is so much out there. So many coaches doing their thing, getting their clients in shape and figuring a way out to be successful. It's not about whose programs better or "I can't believe Trainer A is doing that still". It is all good and as long as you, as a coach or trainer have reasons and understand why you do certain things, that is what matters. Don't be the guy or gal who watches youtube and then for your next training session take your client or yourself through the workout you just saw. That's ridiculous. Have your system and program built and then tweak, add and subtract accordingly. What is best for your clients might be different to another trainer or coach. So moral of the story is keep reading, learning and bettering yourself.
2. Persistency is the word of the year for me. Being persistent in anything you do is key to getting long term results. From business, to fat loss, to triathlon training to relationships, if you continue to have persistency and put in the work you will continue to reap the benefits. First business. There is no such thing as a short term success plan for business. I am in my 5th year of business and hustling my ass off everyday. It is a constant work load each week. The minute I rest, I realize that someone else is working just a little harder so I get my butt back in gear and keep going. Five years ago I was a great fitness coach with not much of a business vision. Today I am a better fitness coach and business owner with goals. In five years you can learn so much if you put in the work. In fact you can have a totally different understanding of something when you read and educate yourself. Reading everyday for 1 hour for 1 year can make you an expert at something. SO imagine reading everyday for 1 hour for 5, 10, 20 years. WOW! I am excited for the years to come. Next, is fitness results. Too many people buy into the quick remedy approach to fitness. Too many infer-commercials, too many trainers giving 8-week transformation programs and too many "fat burning" supplements on the market. There is no such thing as fast results in fitness. I have been working out for over 18 years. I started out with the bodybuilding phase in the 90's and the education I learned from that was priceless. Learning 15 different isolation exercises for each body part is how I began my fitness career. Yes, it was old school but it started my foundation. I slowly progressed into the functional training era in the early 2000's. But to me this was cool and crazy exercise prescription. It was standing on bosu balls or doing bicep curls on 1-leg, this is how I trained and how I started training my clients. It worked back then. I was doing dynamic warm-up drills before I even understood the actual reasons why. I just knew that it was a better warm-up than walking on the treadmill. I now understand function and the joint my joint method to training. I believe sport, performance, fitness and life is about how well you can move and control your body. Absolute strength only matters on your movement efficiency. If you can squat 500 pounds but can not do a 1-leg bodyweight squat then what is the purpose of lifting that 500 pounds. But vice versa take an athlete who can bust out 1-leg squats with 25 pound dumbbells, you have a "functional" athlete. His strength has a purpose. You need function, stability, mobility, flexibility, power, balanced strength and specific conditioning to be an elite athlete and to be an elite person. If you leave one of those concepts out you will not be well rounded. Back to the point, it takes weeks, months, and years of solid dedication and consistency with your workouts and your nutrition to reach high levels of fitness and performance. When you try a new exercise, master that exercise and then move to the next level. It is a constant process of learning, getting better and moving on.
3. California Fitness Academy has built a name for itself in Visalia and surrounding area. We are now on top of the fitness industry in our area. But just like maintaining a lead in football, the key is staying strong and not backing down. People need to know that our place is results oriented. Our clients are not perfect and our coaches are not perfect as well. WE are all trying to live a healthy lifestyle one day at a time. It's not like everyone at CFA is walking around with ripped and lean bodies. That is not what it is about. No gym is like that. But everyday our coaches come with motivation, inspiration and dedication to get their clients excited to live. We are always trying to give our clients the best and most efficient fitness programs out there. If that means changing things up a bit or adding a new exercise then that's what we do. The key is keeping people inspired to reach new levels of performance. Being able to help someone improve their health and life is unbelievable and we will continue to offer the BEST service and fitness education in the area.
4. I was at a BBQ this last weekend with some great friends. It was a potluck style BBQ. Anytime I go to a BBQ, you never know how healthy or unhealthy the food will be. Remember, you can choose the food and the portion size that goes into your mouth. Well I decided to stop off at the grocery store on the way and pick up some red and green bell peppers, a pineapple and some fuji apples. I decided to give this BBQ a slice of healthy and delicious food. I first sliced the apples and threw them on the grill. I lightly flavored them with cinnamon. They cooked on each side for about 5 minutes, getting a little soft and charcoaled. Those were a great healthy appetizer to get the party started. Then I threw the whole bell peppers on the grill. I had pre-seasoned them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Those would cook for about 15-20 minutes. When the peppers were about done, I sliced the pineapple into halves and threw them on the grill. The pineapples only need about 4-5 minutes on each side. I took the peppers and pineapples off the grill and let them cool. I then diced the peppers and pineapple, threw it all together and created a healthy salad mix. I still enjoyed the other dishes but in moderation. But these are the things you need to do if you want to get results. Yes, it takes a little effort but in the end you eat healthy and feel great.
5. Are you a Brett Favre fan? When Brett is on the field, to me, he resembles what sport is all about. Hard work, dedication, comaraderie with teammates and not making any excuses. He has portrayed these traits for many years. In fact he has been doing this for 292 straight games. But lately, his drama is getting annoying. Let's see how this "soap opera" ends. I hope he can find a way to win some games and finish the season on a positive note.
6. I have talked about stretching before. In fact, I had a random thought blog where I brought it up. And I am going to bring it up again. Flexibility is so important for long term benefit and performance. Lack of flexibility is the reason so many people have dysfunction, pain and injury. When you go to the gym, the first thing that is ignored is stretching. Maybe because it is uncomfortable or it is just boring but usually this is what people leave out of their program. When our muscles are tight they resist movement and are more susceptible to injury. We can do something about that. Ignore all the articles about how its not good to stretch before a workout or game. I have been stretching for years. And most of my stretching is done before I do anything active. Add in some foam rolling before you stretch, even better. It's what you do after you stretch is the important part. After you stretch you should perform a thorough dynamic warm-up to increase blood flow, elasticity and prepare the body for the work ahead.
7. It's time for a change when....
-You have been doing the same workout routine for more than 1 year and you just methodically run through your workout each day.
-You are unmotivated to workout and go to the gym. Change your workout, hire a coach, get a workout partner or join a club. These things will spark that motivation and get you inspired to train again.
-You needed to go buy new pants, a size bigger. Take a look at your nutrition plan, your fridge and your cupboards. Change your food, change your workouts and change your mindset. The bigger your pants size the higher the odds of you getting a chronic disease like diabetes, stroke or cancer. Do something about it.
-When all of your closest friends are always drunk. I will be the first one to admit that I enjoy a few beers. Drinking a beer is relaxing and destressing (is that a word?) But it's when you start drinking many drinks during the week. Did you know that 2 light beers a day add up to over 110,000 calories in a year. These are wasted calories that will add inches to your waist line. Be smart and start hanging out with people that will support you in a positive way.
-You wake up everyday with a negative outlook on life. Change your job, change the people you hang out with or change your attitude. Life is a good thing. Yes it is hard and grueling but when you appreciate and live each day to the fullest, Life becomes awesome! And once you have this positive mindset you can spread the wealth and inspire others!
8. Can you believe it is November already?? Man, time flies. We have 2 months left of 2010. We will never get these two months back so we must create an experience to remember these last 60 days. How we finish the year off will dictate the start of yet another year. So decide now to finish strong with momentum. Stick to your goals, stick to your game plan and drive everyday to better yourself. Each day is crucial to move a little forward in the right direction. So let's BE ELITE! Let's BE BIG! And let's GO GET EM'. Time to make it happen....
1. I have been reading a ton lately on strength and conditioning and fitness business. Along with my normal blogs of Alwyn Cosgrove, Thom Plummer, Pat Rigsby, Mike Boyle and Mark Verstegen, my newest blogs I have surfed through are Todd Durkin, Bret Contreras, Eric Cressey and Jason Ferruggia. When I read these different blogs I realize how different but yet similar our industry is. Every name I just mentioned are successful fitness entrepreneurs and coaches. Their training styles and philosophies are very different. Instead of picking each program apart and looking for errors, I try and find pieces of each program that could be a positive influence to mine. There is so much out there. So many coaches doing their thing, getting their clients in shape and figuring a way out to be successful. It's not about whose programs better or "I can't believe Trainer A is doing that still". It is all good and as long as you, as a coach or trainer have reasons and understand why you do certain things, that is what matters. Don't be the guy or gal who watches youtube and then for your next training session take your client or yourself through the workout you just saw. That's ridiculous. Have your system and program built and then tweak, add and subtract accordingly. What is best for your clients might be different to another trainer or coach. So moral of the story is keep reading, learning and bettering yourself.
2. Persistency is the word of the year for me. Being persistent in anything you do is key to getting long term results. From business, to fat loss, to triathlon training to relationships, if you continue to have persistency and put in the work you will continue to reap the benefits. First business. There is no such thing as a short term success plan for business. I am in my 5th year of business and hustling my ass off everyday. It is a constant work load each week. The minute I rest, I realize that someone else is working just a little harder so I get my butt back in gear and keep going. Five years ago I was a great fitness coach with not much of a business vision. Today I am a better fitness coach and business owner with goals. In five years you can learn so much if you put in the work. In fact you can have a totally different understanding of something when you read and educate yourself. Reading everyday for 1 hour for 1 year can make you an expert at something. SO imagine reading everyday for 1 hour for 5, 10, 20 years. WOW! I am excited for the years to come. Next, is fitness results. Too many people buy into the quick remedy approach to fitness. Too many infer-commercials, too many trainers giving 8-week transformation programs and too many "fat burning" supplements on the market. There is no such thing as fast results in fitness. I have been working out for over 18 years. I started out with the bodybuilding phase in the 90's and the education I learned from that was priceless. Learning 15 different isolation exercises for each body part is how I began my fitness career. Yes, it was old school but it started my foundation. I slowly progressed into the functional training era in the early 2000's. But to me this was cool and crazy exercise prescription. It was standing on bosu balls or doing bicep curls on 1-leg, this is how I trained and how I started training my clients. It worked back then. I was doing dynamic warm-up drills before I even understood the actual reasons why. I just knew that it was a better warm-up than walking on the treadmill. I now understand function and the joint my joint method to training. I believe sport, performance, fitness and life is about how well you can move and control your body. Absolute strength only matters on your movement efficiency. If you can squat 500 pounds but can not do a 1-leg bodyweight squat then what is the purpose of lifting that 500 pounds. But vice versa take an athlete who can bust out 1-leg squats with 25 pound dumbbells, you have a "functional" athlete. His strength has a purpose. You need function, stability, mobility, flexibility, power, balanced strength and specific conditioning to be an elite athlete and to be an elite person. If you leave one of those concepts out you will not be well rounded. Back to the point, it takes weeks, months, and years of solid dedication and consistency with your workouts and your nutrition to reach high levels of fitness and performance. When you try a new exercise, master that exercise and then move to the next level. It is a constant process of learning, getting better and moving on.
3. California Fitness Academy has built a name for itself in Visalia and surrounding area. We are now on top of the fitness industry in our area. But just like maintaining a lead in football, the key is staying strong and not backing down. People need to know that our place is results oriented. Our clients are not perfect and our coaches are not perfect as well. WE are all trying to live a healthy lifestyle one day at a time. It's not like everyone at CFA is walking around with ripped and lean bodies. That is not what it is about. No gym is like that. But everyday our coaches come with motivation, inspiration and dedication to get their clients excited to live. We are always trying to give our clients the best and most efficient fitness programs out there. If that means changing things up a bit or adding a new exercise then that's what we do. The key is keeping people inspired to reach new levels of performance. Being able to help someone improve their health and life is unbelievable and we will continue to offer the BEST service and fitness education in the area.
4. I was at a BBQ this last weekend with some great friends. It was a potluck style BBQ. Anytime I go to a BBQ, you never know how healthy or unhealthy the food will be. Remember, you can choose the food and the portion size that goes into your mouth. Well I decided to stop off at the grocery store on the way and pick up some red and green bell peppers, a pineapple and some fuji apples. I decided to give this BBQ a slice of healthy and delicious food. I first sliced the apples and threw them on the grill. I lightly flavored them with cinnamon. They cooked on each side for about 5 minutes, getting a little soft and charcoaled. Those were a great healthy appetizer to get the party started. Then I threw the whole bell peppers on the grill. I had pre-seasoned them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Those would cook for about 15-20 minutes. When the peppers were about done, I sliced the pineapple into halves and threw them on the grill. The pineapples only need about 4-5 minutes on each side. I took the peppers and pineapples off the grill and let them cool. I then diced the peppers and pineapple, threw it all together and created a healthy salad mix. I still enjoyed the other dishes but in moderation. But these are the things you need to do if you want to get results. Yes, it takes a little effort but in the end you eat healthy and feel great.
5. Are you a Brett Favre fan? When Brett is on the field, to me, he resembles what sport is all about. Hard work, dedication, comaraderie with teammates and not making any excuses. He has portrayed these traits for many years. In fact he has been doing this for 292 straight games. But lately, his drama is getting annoying. Let's see how this "soap opera" ends. I hope he can find a way to win some games and finish the season on a positive note.
6. I have talked about stretching before. In fact, I had a random thought blog where I brought it up. And I am going to bring it up again. Flexibility is so important for long term benefit and performance. Lack of flexibility is the reason so many people have dysfunction, pain and injury. When you go to the gym, the first thing that is ignored is stretching. Maybe because it is uncomfortable or it is just boring but usually this is what people leave out of their program. When our muscles are tight they resist movement and are more susceptible to injury. We can do something about that. Ignore all the articles about how its not good to stretch before a workout or game. I have been stretching for years. And most of my stretching is done before I do anything active. Add in some foam rolling before you stretch, even better. It's what you do after you stretch is the important part. After you stretch you should perform a thorough dynamic warm-up to increase blood flow, elasticity and prepare the body for the work ahead.
7. It's time for a change when....
-You have been doing the same workout routine for more than 1 year and you just methodically run through your workout each day.
-You are unmotivated to workout and go to the gym. Change your workout, hire a coach, get a workout partner or join a club. These things will spark that motivation and get you inspired to train again.
-You needed to go buy new pants, a size bigger. Take a look at your nutrition plan, your fridge and your cupboards. Change your food, change your workouts and change your mindset. The bigger your pants size the higher the odds of you getting a chronic disease like diabetes, stroke or cancer. Do something about it.
-When all of your closest friends are always drunk. I will be the first one to admit that I enjoy a few beers. Drinking a beer is relaxing and destressing (is that a word?) But it's when you start drinking many drinks during the week. Did you know that 2 light beers a day add up to over 110,000 calories in a year. These are wasted calories that will add inches to your waist line. Be smart and start hanging out with people that will support you in a positive way.
-You wake up everyday with a negative outlook on life. Change your job, change the people you hang out with or change your attitude. Life is a good thing. Yes it is hard and grueling but when you appreciate and live each day to the fullest, Life becomes awesome! And once you have this positive mindset you can spread the wealth and inspire others!
8. Can you believe it is November already?? Man, time flies. We have 2 months left of 2010. We will never get these two months back so we must create an experience to remember these last 60 days. How we finish the year off will dictate the start of yet another year. So decide now to finish strong with momentum. Stick to your goals, stick to your game plan and drive everyday to better yourself. Each day is crucial to move a little forward in the right direction. So let's BE ELITE! Let's BE BIG! And let's GO GET EM'. Time to make it happen....
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
5 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Yourself
1. Write down your goals. Goals are just ideas and thoughts if they are not written down. Be disciplined and take some time to write down what you want to accomplish. If you stay at the level you are currently at you will get stagnate and start going backwards. You must continue to want more, be more and do more. Once you write down your goals, create 5-7 steps to accomplish each goal. For example:
"I want to run a marathon in March 2011"
-Set up a training plan
-Improve nutrition protocol
-Focus on foam rolling/stretching 4x/week for recovery
-Get consistent sleep
-Log all workouts and your feelings after each workout
-Performance test 1x/month
If you create steps for each of your goals you will have a game plan to go out and achieve each of the goals. Don't sell yourself short and reach for the top!
2. Surround yourself with successful/positive people. If you are constantly hanging out with negative and bad influences you will get off route to your goals. Choose who you hang with carefully because the crew you are with will guide you, whether it is down a negative road or a positive road. If you are around positiive and determined people you will be more likely to have these traits. If you compete in triathlons or running events, find a club in your town to interact with. Start looking at the people you are with everyday....Are they helping you get closer to your goals or taking you farther away. You make the decision.
3. Workout. Having physical health is the foundation of Life. When you are physically conditioned you can put more effort in everything else in your life. You will have energy, vitality, strength, endurance and vigor to take on all of your tasks in your life. Do not be the person who says "I do not have time to workout". You must make time and put training into your schedule. Just like a work meeting or appointment, add your workout time to your daily and weekly calendar. No excuses, just get it in. It doesn't have to consume your life, but it does have to be in your life.
4. Positive Self Talk - Daily. Wake up and tell yourself that today is going to be a good and strong day. And when you go to bed tell yourself that it was a good day and tomorrow will be even better. These positive affirmations will create a mindset that is strong and positive and get you on path to conquering all of your goals. Whenever a road block enters your life, focus on the positive things you can do to get through that block. Anytime a negative thought enters your mind, ignore it and change it to a positive thought. We can control our thoughts. IT just takes discipline and hard work to create this type of mindset.
5. Healthy Nutrition. Your nutrition habits are how you feel, go about everyday, think and live. If you focus on eating fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and quality fats everyday, you will see a tremendous change in your vitality and quality of life. You will decrease your chances of chronic disease like cancer, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. We choose what goes into our mouth on a daily basis and it just takes a certain mindset to choose healthy and fresh food. Don't do diets. The first 3 letters of DIEting are DIE! Let's live a healthy and full life. If you are craving a certain food, go ahead and sample that food but know that you will be back on your healthy journey the next day. Live the 85/15 rule where you are focused on eating healthy and nutritious foods 85% of the time and giving into your cravings of unhealthier foods 15% of the time. When you think like this, you will see the long term benefits.
"I want to run a marathon in March 2011"
-Set up a training plan
-Improve nutrition protocol
-Focus on foam rolling/stretching 4x/week for recovery
-Get consistent sleep
-Log all workouts and your feelings after each workout
-Performance test 1x/month
If you create steps for each of your goals you will have a game plan to go out and achieve each of the goals. Don't sell yourself short and reach for the top!
2. Surround yourself with successful/positive people. If you are constantly hanging out with negative and bad influences you will get off route to your goals. Choose who you hang with carefully because the crew you are with will guide you, whether it is down a negative road or a positive road. If you are around positiive and determined people you will be more likely to have these traits. If you compete in triathlons or running events, find a club in your town to interact with. Start looking at the people you are with everyday....Are they helping you get closer to your goals or taking you farther away. You make the decision.
3. Workout. Having physical health is the foundation of Life. When you are physically conditioned you can put more effort in everything else in your life. You will have energy, vitality, strength, endurance and vigor to take on all of your tasks in your life. Do not be the person who says "I do not have time to workout". You must make time and put training into your schedule. Just like a work meeting or appointment, add your workout time to your daily and weekly calendar. No excuses, just get it in. It doesn't have to consume your life, but it does have to be in your life.
4. Positive Self Talk - Daily. Wake up and tell yourself that today is going to be a good and strong day. And when you go to bed tell yourself that it was a good day and tomorrow will be even better. These positive affirmations will create a mindset that is strong and positive and get you on path to conquering all of your goals. Whenever a road block enters your life, focus on the positive things you can do to get through that block. Anytime a negative thought enters your mind, ignore it and change it to a positive thought. We can control our thoughts. IT just takes discipline and hard work to create this type of mindset.
5. Healthy Nutrition. Your nutrition habits are how you feel, go about everyday, think and live. If you focus on eating fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and quality fats everyday, you will see a tremendous change in your vitality and quality of life. You will decrease your chances of chronic disease like cancer, stroke, diabetes, and obesity. We choose what goes into our mouth on a daily basis and it just takes a certain mindset to choose healthy and fresh food. Don't do diets. The first 3 letters of DIEting are DIE! Let's live a healthy and full life. If you are craving a certain food, go ahead and sample that food but know that you will be back on your healthy journey the next day. Live the 85/15 rule where you are focused on eating healthy and nutritious foods 85% of the time and giving into your cravings of unhealthier foods 15% of the time. When you think like this, you will see the long term benefits.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Running - Get in your Head
Running – Get in your Head
By: Justin Levine
When most people think of running they think of logging miles, what type of shoes should I buy, what workout should I follow, what type of stretches should I do and so on. Well today I am going to talk about improving your mental game to improve your running game. This component not only can help you improve your performance but can tremendously help take your game to a whole different level. Mental conditioning needs to be worked on just as much as the physical conditioning side of things. We need to teach and train our thoughts to be positive. Did you know that 80% of most humans’ thoughts are negative thoughts? The crazy thing about this issue is that we can do something about it. We can change our attitude, our thoughts and our mindset. But just like running a faster 5k or preparing for a marathon, we must put in the training to improve our performance. And it just doesn’t happen over night. It takes daily affirmations, consistent positive thinking and a burning desire to want this change. So I have laid out 5 mental exercises for you to work on to improve upon your mental conditioning. The key is to actually take the time to work on these strategies. You can read these over and over but nothing with change until you actually practice these strategies. And yes, these are for everyone!
1. Daily Affirmations. First, when you wake up you must create positive thoughts before you even jump out of bed. Do not wake up muttering, “ugh, another day.” Say things like: “Today I will be my best and give my best”; “I will move closer to my goals”; “Nothing will get in my way”; “I will tackle my problems with a full head of steam”; “I will drop body fat”; “I will improve my times in my workout.” These thoughts will turn into actions and you will see a tremendous change in your mindset and your life. You have to be conscious of this exercise, as it is very easy to just get out of bed and “get through another day”. Remember each day is a new beginning, a fresh start, and a brand new chance to create greatness. We cannot focus on yesterday but having a good and better yet GREAT today will make for a better tomorrow. Secondly, after a long day, when you are lying in bed about to fall asleep, finish the day with a positive thought. “I did my best today”; “I am so happy to be alive and tomorrow will be another good day”; “Good job on your effort today”; “Tomorrow will be another great day”. Starting and ending your day with positive affirmations can be a game changer.
2. Believe in yourself at all Times. During the day you must create a mindset that truly believes in yourself. Do not put yourself down or have disbelief in accomplishing a certain project, or workout, or task. Think of the self-degrading comments we tell ourselves sometimes. Would we like it if someone else said bad things about us? Absolutely not. That would make us very angry. But yet too many times we are putting ourselves down and disbelieving in our abilities. No matter the task at hand, do the work necessary to kill it. If you have the action and the mindset you will accomplish. Believe in that and you will start doing Big Things.
3. Try some meditation. Have you ever sat in a room or in your car with complete quietness, your eyes shut and focused on your internal thoughts and mindset? Try doing this for 10 minutes everyday. Do it before your workout or before you step into your office or before a big race. Meditation can relax your mind, get you centered, focused and energize your thoughts. With such busy lifestyles our mind is always racing and thinking of the next step. Focus on zoning out and direct your attention on your thoughts and your internal motivations. What drives, inspires and motivates you? This internal conditioning can be a supercharge in energy that you have been looking for.
4. Positive self-talk. This one goes hand in hand with running performance. During workouts and training you must create a positive self-awareness that will lead to successful performance. It is easy to talk ourselves into not completing the recommended distance or the last few intervals. Continually tell yourself that you can do the mileage and you can push through the tough intervals. This will transfer over to your racing as when you are pushing and giving it your all, you will be able to push through that uncomfortable zone and have a successful race. When those negative thoughts enter the head, immediately erase them and turn them into positive thoughts. “Keep going”; “Yes, I can”; “I can hold this pace”; “I can do 1 more hill repeat”; Your performance goes in the right direction when you think positively.
5. Write down all of your goals. This can be a road map to a successful training program. What do you want? Faster 5k? Run a marathon? At the end of each season, you need to assess the previous season. What were your strengths? What were your weaknesses? What will be your goals for the next season? Goals are just random ideas and thoughts until they are written down. Create a game plan that you can look at everyday. When your goals are in sight every morning when you wake up you are more likely to stay on path to accomplish those goals. The next step is showing those goals to a mentor or a coach. Now you are held accountable to achieving your goals. Meet with that person periodically throughout the year to talk about where you are at and what you need to do to stay on path.
Running is a physically demanding sport and you need strength, endurance and speed to improve your physical performance. But the mental side of things is just as important to work on. If you create a mental conditioning program to improve your overall thoughts and mindset you will become a better athlete. Become great and do big things by working on the strategies above. It is time to be HUGE! Keep living and keep training and big things will come your way.
By: Justin Levine
When most people think of running they think of logging miles, what type of shoes should I buy, what workout should I follow, what type of stretches should I do and so on. Well today I am going to talk about improving your mental game to improve your running game. This component not only can help you improve your performance but can tremendously help take your game to a whole different level. Mental conditioning needs to be worked on just as much as the physical conditioning side of things. We need to teach and train our thoughts to be positive. Did you know that 80% of most humans’ thoughts are negative thoughts? The crazy thing about this issue is that we can do something about it. We can change our attitude, our thoughts and our mindset. But just like running a faster 5k or preparing for a marathon, we must put in the training to improve our performance. And it just doesn’t happen over night. It takes daily affirmations, consistent positive thinking and a burning desire to want this change. So I have laid out 5 mental exercises for you to work on to improve upon your mental conditioning. The key is to actually take the time to work on these strategies. You can read these over and over but nothing with change until you actually practice these strategies. And yes, these are for everyone!
1. Daily Affirmations. First, when you wake up you must create positive thoughts before you even jump out of bed. Do not wake up muttering, “ugh, another day.” Say things like: “Today I will be my best and give my best”; “I will move closer to my goals”; “Nothing will get in my way”; “I will tackle my problems with a full head of steam”; “I will drop body fat”; “I will improve my times in my workout.” These thoughts will turn into actions and you will see a tremendous change in your mindset and your life. You have to be conscious of this exercise, as it is very easy to just get out of bed and “get through another day”. Remember each day is a new beginning, a fresh start, and a brand new chance to create greatness. We cannot focus on yesterday but having a good and better yet GREAT today will make for a better tomorrow. Secondly, after a long day, when you are lying in bed about to fall asleep, finish the day with a positive thought. “I did my best today”; “I am so happy to be alive and tomorrow will be another good day”; “Good job on your effort today”; “Tomorrow will be another great day”. Starting and ending your day with positive affirmations can be a game changer.
2. Believe in yourself at all Times. During the day you must create a mindset that truly believes in yourself. Do not put yourself down or have disbelief in accomplishing a certain project, or workout, or task. Think of the self-degrading comments we tell ourselves sometimes. Would we like it if someone else said bad things about us? Absolutely not. That would make us very angry. But yet too many times we are putting ourselves down and disbelieving in our abilities. No matter the task at hand, do the work necessary to kill it. If you have the action and the mindset you will accomplish. Believe in that and you will start doing Big Things.
3. Try some meditation. Have you ever sat in a room or in your car with complete quietness, your eyes shut and focused on your internal thoughts and mindset? Try doing this for 10 minutes everyday. Do it before your workout or before you step into your office or before a big race. Meditation can relax your mind, get you centered, focused and energize your thoughts. With such busy lifestyles our mind is always racing and thinking of the next step. Focus on zoning out and direct your attention on your thoughts and your internal motivations. What drives, inspires and motivates you? This internal conditioning can be a supercharge in energy that you have been looking for.
4. Positive self-talk. This one goes hand in hand with running performance. During workouts and training you must create a positive self-awareness that will lead to successful performance. It is easy to talk ourselves into not completing the recommended distance or the last few intervals. Continually tell yourself that you can do the mileage and you can push through the tough intervals. This will transfer over to your racing as when you are pushing and giving it your all, you will be able to push through that uncomfortable zone and have a successful race. When those negative thoughts enter the head, immediately erase them and turn them into positive thoughts. “Keep going”; “Yes, I can”; “I can hold this pace”; “I can do 1 more hill repeat”; Your performance goes in the right direction when you think positively.
5. Write down all of your goals. This can be a road map to a successful training program. What do you want? Faster 5k? Run a marathon? At the end of each season, you need to assess the previous season. What were your strengths? What were your weaknesses? What will be your goals for the next season? Goals are just random ideas and thoughts until they are written down. Create a game plan that you can look at everyday. When your goals are in sight every morning when you wake up you are more likely to stay on path to accomplish those goals. The next step is showing those goals to a mentor or a coach. Now you are held accountable to achieving your goals. Meet with that person periodically throughout the year to talk about where you are at and what you need to do to stay on path.
Running is a physically demanding sport and you need strength, endurance and speed to improve your physical performance. But the mental side of things is just as important to work on. If you create a mental conditioning program to improve your overall thoughts and mindset you will become a better athlete. Become great and do big things by working on the strategies above. It is time to be HUGE! Keep living and keep training and big things will come your way.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Big Kahuna - Training is Paying Off
It's funny how things eventually work out. If there has been one major thing I have learned over the past 10 years of my life it is about being PERSISTENT. Persistency, whether it be in my professional journey, family life or my training program has been proven to work. Being persistent with my training, nutrition and recovery program was a big part of the reason I had a successful race at the BIG KAHUNA long course triathlon. I have been mentioning it to my family and friends the reason I enjoy the sport of triathlon....because of the journey it takes me on. It is not necessary the race, to me it's the days, weeks, months and years it takes to improve performance. Everything you do, from nutrition, to taking ice baths, foam rolling, waking up early, sacrificing time with family and friends and spending money on all the gear, I do it for the challenge. Being able to challenge myself not only on a physical level but a mental level is the joy of this sport. This 1/2 Ironman event was the culmination of my previous 6 years of training for this 3 sport beast. In fact, a guy at the expo asked me, "How long have you been training for this event." And I told him, "6 years".
The day started off with a 4:30 wake up, which is actually sleeping in a bit compared to my normal schedule. I took my time to shower and get ready. I spent a few minutes foam rolling and doing a few movement drills to get my blood flowing and my body prepared for the day ahead. My breakfast is usually pretty light, a cliff bar, a banana and some gatorade. I nibbled on a couple fig newtons as the morning grew to keep my hunger subsided. My buddy Josh Hickey (who just did an Ironman 2 weeks before) joined me for this event. Is he crazy? Absolutely! But his optimistic attitude is inspiring to be around. There needs to be more people with his attitude. My other buddy Josh Polk (who hasn't been on a bike in a year and hasn't done a swim workout in a few months) also competed. Is he crazy? Absolutely! But for him to go out and "just do" a 1/2 Ironman is pretty cool. Hey if you are in good physical condition...why not!?
We headed to the transition area around 5:30 am. The buzz of the early morning setting at a triathlon is spectacular. Hundreds of fit athletes excited and ready to take on the same course, the same weather, the same beast. We set our transition area up and began to take everything in. I took off on my bike on a short 15 minute light spin to get the juices flowing. This eliminates any nerves that have settled. I re-rack my bike and go out on a 5 minute jog. This allows me to see the more athletes prepare and gets my legs moving a bit more. I get back, put on my wetsuit and head down to the water. I made the decision to wear shoes for the run after the swim up to transition so I set my shoes where they needed to be. This ended up being a great decision (I will explain later).
Unlike last year, there was no fog. It was cloudy but no fog, so we were going to start on time. I warmed up a bit, if that is what you call jumping in 58 degree water and did some quick paced swims to get my arms going. I would be the third wave of athletes. I had nothing on my mind except to have fun, execute my race plan and enjoy the day. I knew the training would pay off. In fact, before this event I had mentioned to a few people that "this was the best I have felt leading up to a big race." I guess we will see if I was right.
Here we are, my age group standing at the start line, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - GO. I ran out quick and immediately went to the right of the pack and found my space. This was the first event where I didn't bump or hit any of the other swimmers. It was like I had my own lane out there. I had small goals. First I wanted to get to the boats, which came quick, then I wanted to get around the pier which came quick, next get to the far buoy, which came quick, then to the next buoy. I found some good legs to get behind and followed him for quite a long time. It helped me store some energy for later. Soon before you knew it, the finish was 200 yards away. I thought to myself, long and strong and kick the legs out. I exited the water knowing I had a good swim. I ran up the ramp, rapidly took off my wetsuit where my shoes were, put on my shoes and ran up the 1/4 mile road to transition. This was a good idea because I was passing guys who got out of the water before I did, plus my wetsuit was already off so I saved time. My swim time was 31:15 and my T1 was 3:52, both respectable times.
I decided to put my biking shoes on before I got on the bike. I knew there was a small hill to climb right out of the gate so I figured it would help me get into the groove a bit faster. I made a mental note to take in fluids every 5-8 minutes, so immediately on the bike I began to sip my drink. I wasn't chugging, just sipping the whole day. And this time I used 90% gatorade during the race which seemed to help my energy. As I got into a rhythm, I began to think "today could be a good day." The first half of the bike went by quick as I must have gotten to the turnaround in 1 hour 20 minutes. I didn't wear my watch this race. I wanted to race on feel not by the time. Once I hit the 2nd half of the bike, my legs lost a bit of their spark but I pushed on. I had times where I would loose my rhythm totally and then regain it back. The last 28 miles were tough as we were fighting a head wind and some tough rolling hills. But my energy was good and I wanted to get to that run. I returned to the city streets and knew the ride was almost over, so I began to eat a bar and take in some fluids to get me through the first part of the run. I got out of my shoes on my bike, got off and returned to my transition station. My bike time was: 2:48:35 which wasn't my best time. My T2 was a fast 1 minute and 11 seconds.
Immediately when I was running, I knew my body was feeling good. I had some slight tightness in my low back and right calf so I was hoping those two things would subside so I could really take advantage of my strength. Well they did. The miles seemed to go by so fast. It was one of those runs that each mile felt like 1/2 and my rhythm was terrific. My heart rate was so steady that I was able to talk to many athletes. I pushed on the downhills and stayed consistent on the slight uphills. I made it to the half way point and was feeling a fast run. I still had great energy. I was thinking all that long and hard training is paying off. Thinking back to my long ride to Arnold and then running the 1/2 marathon the next day. All the training when we went camping at 7500 feet up is paying off. I continued to sip my bottle of gatorade and hit up 3 gels throughout the 13 miles. Quickly I was at the 3 mile to go marker. I kept my cadence high, my body relaxed and my breathing controlled. I was able to make up many spots in my age group with this run. I hit the last downhill fast, almost sprinting, smiling and feeling great. I turned to the infamous beach finish. But just like last year, it wasn't bad at all. My run time was 1:39:49, a pace of 7:37 min./mile.
My total race time was 5:04:43. So close to breaking the 5 hour mark. When I did this race in 2007 my time was 6:02. This is where I bring back persistency. It doesn't take days, or weeks or months to get better at this sport. You have to put in days, weeks and months to get better in years! You must be PERSISTENT and continue to strive for excellence. Will I break the 5 hour mark?? Absolutely yes. In fact my goal next year will be to break the 4:50 mark...why not!?
One more big thing that was on my mind...TAPER! Most triathletes go into their races with tired bodies. They never reach their maximum performance because they never allow themselves to rejuvenate and take full advantage of all their training. Learning to taper correctly is the difference of having a stellar race and a forgettable race.
I will work on improving my bike leg of the race, get an even faster run and continue to execute good nutrition. Time to put in the work....
Thank you so much to my wife, Stephanie for allowing me to train and sacrifice saturday and sunday mornings for long workouts. Having support really helps with this lifestyle.
The day started off with a 4:30 wake up, which is actually sleeping in a bit compared to my normal schedule. I took my time to shower and get ready. I spent a few minutes foam rolling and doing a few movement drills to get my blood flowing and my body prepared for the day ahead. My breakfast is usually pretty light, a cliff bar, a banana and some gatorade. I nibbled on a couple fig newtons as the morning grew to keep my hunger subsided. My buddy Josh Hickey (who just did an Ironman 2 weeks before) joined me for this event. Is he crazy? Absolutely! But his optimistic attitude is inspiring to be around. There needs to be more people with his attitude. My other buddy Josh Polk (who hasn't been on a bike in a year and hasn't done a swim workout in a few months) also competed. Is he crazy? Absolutely! But for him to go out and "just do" a 1/2 Ironman is pretty cool. Hey if you are in good physical condition...why not!?
We headed to the transition area around 5:30 am. The buzz of the early morning setting at a triathlon is spectacular. Hundreds of fit athletes excited and ready to take on the same course, the same weather, the same beast. We set our transition area up and began to take everything in. I took off on my bike on a short 15 minute light spin to get the juices flowing. This eliminates any nerves that have settled. I re-rack my bike and go out on a 5 minute jog. This allows me to see the more athletes prepare and gets my legs moving a bit more. I get back, put on my wetsuit and head down to the water. I made the decision to wear shoes for the run after the swim up to transition so I set my shoes where they needed to be. This ended up being a great decision (I will explain later).
Unlike last year, there was no fog. It was cloudy but no fog, so we were going to start on time. I warmed up a bit, if that is what you call jumping in 58 degree water and did some quick paced swims to get my arms going. I would be the third wave of athletes. I had nothing on my mind except to have fun, execute my race plan and enjoy the day. I knew the training would pay off. In fact, before this event I had mentioned to a few people that "this was the best I have felt leading up to a big race." I guess we will see if I was right.
Here we are, my age group standing at the start line, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - GO. I ran out quick and immediately went to the right of the pack and found my space. This was the first event where I didn't bump or hit any of the other swimmers. It was like I had my own lane out there. I had small goals. First I wanted to get to the boats, which came quick, then I wanted to get around the pier which came quick, next get to the far buoy, which came quick, then to the next buoy. I found some good legs to get behind and followed him for quite a long time. It helped me store some energy for later. Soon before you knew it, the finish was 200 yards away. I thought to myself, long and strong and kick the legs out. I exited the water knowing I had a good swim. I ran up the ramp, rapidly took off my wetsuit where my shoes were, put on my shoes and ran up the 1/4 mile road to transition. This was a good idea because I was passing guys who got out of the water before I did, plus my wetsuit was already off so I saved time. My swim time was 31:15 and my T1 was 3:52, both respectable times.
I decided to put my biking shoes on before I got on the bike. I knew there was a small hill to climb right out of the gate so I figured it would help me get into the groove a bit faster. I made a mental note to take in fluids every 5-8 minutes, so immediately on the bike I began to sip my drink. I wasn't chugging, just sipping the whole day. And this time I used 90% gatorade during the race which seemed to help my energy. As I got into a rhythm, I began to think "today could be a good day." The first half of the bike went by quick as I must have gotten to the turnaround in 1 hour 20 minutes. I didn't wear my watch this race. I wanted to race on feel not by the time. Once I hit the 2nd half of the bike, my legs lost a bit of their spark but I pushed on. I had times where I would loose my rhythm totally and then regain it back. The last 28 miles were tough as we were fighting a head wind and some tough rolling hills. But my energy was good and I wanted to get to that run. I returned to the city streets and knew the ride was almost over, so I began to eat a bar and take in some fluids to get me through the first part of the run. I got out of my shoes on my bike, got off and returned to my transition station. My bike time was: 2:48:35 which wasn't my best time. My T2 was a fast 1 minute and 11 seconds.
Immediately when I was running, I knew my body was feeling good. I had some slight tightness in my low back and right calf so I was hoping those two things would subside so I could really take advantage of my strength. Well they did. The miles seemed to go by so fast. It was one of those runs that each mile felt like 1/2 and my rhythm was terrific. My heart rate was so steady that I was able to talk to many athletes. I pushed on the downhills and stayed consistent on the slight uphills. I made it to the half way point and was feeling a fast run. I still had great energy. I was thinking all that long and hard training is paying off. Thinking back to my long ride to Arnold and then running the 1/2 marathon the next day. All the training when we went camping at 7500 feet up is paying off. I continued to sip my bottle of gatorade and hit up 3 gels throughout the 13 miles. Quickly I was at the 3 mile to go marker. I kept my cadence high, my body relaxed and my breathing controlled. I was able to make up many spots in my age group with this run. I hit the last downhill fast, almost sprinting, smiling and feeling great. I turned to the infamous beach finish. But just like last year, it wasn't bad at all. My run time was 1:39:49, a pace of 7:37 min./mile.
My total race time was 5:04:43. So close to breaking the 5 hour mark. When I did this race in 2007 my time was 6:02. This is where I bring back persistency. It doesn't take days, or weeks or months to get better at this sport. You have to put in days, weeks and months to get better in years! You must be PERSISTENT and continue to strive for excellence. Will I break the 5 hour mark?? Absolutely yes. In fact my goal next year will be to break the 4:50 mark...why not!?
One more big thing that was on my mind...TAPER! Most triathletes go into their races with tired bodies. They never reach their maximum performance because they never allow themselves to rejuvenate and take full advantage of all their training. Learning to taper correctly is the difference of having a stellar race and a forgettable race.
I will work on improving my bike leg of the race, get an even faster run and continue to execute good nutrition. Time to put in the work....
Thank you so much to my wife, Stephanie for allowing me to train and sacrifice saturday and sunday mornings for long workouts. Having support really helps with this lifestyle.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Perform Better Summit - A Life Changing Experience
The three days of August 6-8 could definitely place in the top five weekends of my life. Yes, the Perform Better team over delivered. I have been to the previous 4 summits and they were good but this one was a "GAME CHANGER". I first want to give a huge shout out to the Perform Better crew and especially Chris Porier for putting this all together. The presenters were world class, literally. I was fortunate enough to bring two of my young coaches with me and to see their eyes light up when learning from and meeting the likes of Mike Boyle, Robert dos Remedios, Todd Durkin, Alwyn Cosgrove and Thomas Plummer was priceless. Their energy was BIG throughout the entire weekend.
I want to give a breakdown of the presenters that I watched but also give strategies of implementation of the tools and advice that was given. This information and academia means nothing if we do not follow up and "DO WORK". You will also see many key phrases that we heard all weekend long.
Friday morning started with a must see with Martin Rooney. His energy and motivation was a great way to get the engine going for the rest of the weekend. Martin lives what he preaches and is an "in the trenches" coach and mentor. I have three quotes highlighted from his presentation. #1: "Coaches that believe they have clients that can succeed will have clients that believe they can succeed." We must cut the "well Bob won't lose weight" attitude. We need to continue driving and inspiring our clients to accomplishing BIG THINGS. Sit them down, fire them up, BELIEVE in them so they can believe in themselves and motivate with Enthusiasm! Not all fitness coaches need to jump around and scream during a session. If that is not your style then fine but the training session must have some energy and spark for your clients. Without it the session gets stagnate and dull and you might lose that client. #2: "Establish your core values and personal mission” Martin asked us if we had this written down and kept it with us at all times. Nobody raised their hands. This is huge in having a philosophy and a path to follow. And keeping it with you at all times will remind you to stay focused and motivated to achieve your objectives. #3: "You can do anything you want to!" In realistic terms of course but having this mindset, to me, is what life is about. Do not sell yourself and your clients short. Expect big things, create a positive atmosphere and self awareness and continue the climb to the top. Do not let yourself fail! Thank you Martin for a great start to the weekend.
Mike Boyle discussed warm-up strategies. If you have watched Mike's new DVD (which is a must in the library) then he went over most of the same education. But as I was listening to Mike, I realized how much the industry is influenced by his work. This guy is a legend and guru in our world. And if you are not following and learning from Coach Boyle, you are insane. His work is cutting edge, scientific and top notch coaching. He also is a very fun person to drink some beers with. Thank you Coach Boyle for your influence and mentorship to my program and our industry. Keep showing us the way.
Dr. Stuart McGill was next on the list. This was actually my first time listening to McGill and I enjoyed and respected the intellect. McGill discussed his work and research with low back injuries. As I was listening to him speak about the various back ailments and issues, I was thinking to myself "it's no wonder people are always suffering from chronic lower back trauma". The biggest thing I got out of this lecture is we need to create an atmosphere to enhance back hygiene. Giving a quick email or text to our client to remind them to sit up straight and focus on good posture could really be significant to improving low back pain. Along with reminders, we also prescribe proper exercise protocol, the client reduces and better yet eliminates their long term issue, and we have a client for life. Thank you to Dr. McGill for spreading the research to the fitness world to make us better.
Mark Verstegen is another presenter that has revolutionized the fitness industry. He is the creator of so much of what we do. Mark has a superb system that gets some of the top professional athletes ready to compete at high levels. This presentation went over training for the endurance athletes. This is right up my alley. It was good to be reminded of this information so we set our clients and ourselves up for success. Working with endurance athletes is tough because you never know how they will walk into your facility. You have to be an artful coach and set up a training program that will allow the endurance athlete to succeed. These athletes put in so much training volume that as a coach you have to be on the lookout for overtraining symptoms and guide them down the path to proper and smart training protocols. Definitely props go out to Mark for being an innovator and a legend to us in the fitness industry.
We ended Friday night with Thomas Plummer. A kick in the ass type of presentation. After hearing Thom, I wanted to drive home immediately and implement some ideas to improve my business. If you run a business Thomas Plummer is the man you need to be following. Go get on his blog and read everything on there.
Day 1 ended with a few beers at the social. A great first day.
Day 2 started with a bang just like day 1. Bill Parisi is a role model to any business person. His systems and strategies are very simple and easy to implement. It just takes discipline, hard and consistent work and laser like focus. It's doing these things EVERYDAY. If you want a successful and profitable business then go do it. If you want more clients, then go do it. If you want more campers in your boot camp, go do it. The person that will most likely stop yourself is YOU. "Be comfortable being uncomfortable" is a quote I will remember for the rest of my life. It's uncomfortable going to local business trying to get new clients, it's uncomfortable waking up at 4 am daily to be at the gym at 5. But if you learn to tap into your potential you will maximize your performance so you can maximize your life. Thank you Bill for everything you do. I would not be training youth athletes if it wasn't for this guy. He also, is an innovator.
Robert dos Remedios was my next lecture. This guy might be the most down to earth coach you will ever meet. He is a real life, in the trenches strength coach who tells no bull shit. He likes to say "bull shit" but that is beside the point. He tells it like it is. And that is something to be respected. Working with junior college athletes can be a very demanding and tough task. He overdelivers and takes his job to a high standard. If you notice reading this, every coach that presented is an "over deliverer" (if that is a word). Take one thing out of the weekend and this write-up...OVERDELIVER to yourself and your clients. Props to Dos for keeping his presentation entertaining and packed with valuable, realife information.
I cruised around some of the hands on sessions on Saturday. I now use the hands on sessions to watch the coaches’ coach. The training sessions that influenced me was Todd Durkin's and Dos's. These coaches brought some energy to their training. I like that. Totally different coaches, totally different training philosophies and styles but they both brought enthusiasm. You can know all the science in the world but if you do not deliver your clients and athletes enthusiasm and passion, you will not be in the industry very long. Todd's session was crazy. So much going on and his interns brought energy and motivation and he was able to get 200+ trainers in the zone! It was pretty cool to watch. Dos just straight up kicked everyone’s ass with his "cardio strength training" methods.
My last lecture of the weekend was my favorite. Sue Falsone ripped her presentation and delivered life changing information. The way she knows the body is kind of crazy. Someone that says, "I love the diaphragm musculature" must have a passion for anatomy and corrective movement. But her passion was echoed throughout the crowd as she taught a full room of fitness coaches and physical therapists about the anatomy and function of the thoracic spine. This information was cutting edge and I was zoned out during this presentation. Getting to the source of many faulty patterns can directly come from poor function at the thoracic spine. So many people are pretty screwed up because of bad life movements and posture. And correcting the t-spine's dysfunction can reduce many problems. We need to use our tool box to create a system to assist our clients down the right path. Even strength and fitness coaches need to splice in this corrective work to enhance the program. It doesn't need to be 30 minutes of thoracic mobilization work but splicing it into the warm-up can tremendously help people move better in their life. So if you haven't read up on Sue Falsone, go do that immediately.
A few more thanks yous:
Thank you to Rob Milani for always hooking it up with equipment. Rob is the man when it comes to facility design and equipment inventory. He cares and it's hard to find that now a days. And me being 5'6", it's good having a 6'5" 300 pound guy on your side.
Thank you to Alwyn Cosgrove for making the fitness industry a respected business. He has taught me that the business of fitness needs to be high level and worked on daily. Just like the training aspects you need business strength as well. His semi-private model is systematic and efficient and as influenced my program in a very positive way.
Thank you to Albert Park who was an attendee. Albert works with Luka Hocevar in Washington. I got to know this young energetic man on Saturday. He taught me that no matter who you train and what level, you must love what you do, have passion and excitement to move forward and never let up. This is something that can be lost in translation as the business grows and builds wealth. But you must always remember what got you where you are today and that is "I love training clients".
Thank you to Jesse and Mike, my coaches who represented my facility. They sat upfront every lecture, they came in with an open mind, they learned, they got better! Talk about life changing. I think I can say that Jesse's and Mike's life were changed for the better in Long Beach. Keep doin work!
Lastly thank you to my wife Stephanie for accepting my passion as I sit here now on my computer (after being gone all weekend) doin work.
Time to get after it......
I want to give a breakdown of the presenters that I watched but also give strategies of implementation of the tools and advice that was given. This information and academia means nothing if we do not follow up and "DO WORK". You will also see many key phrases that we heard all weekend long.
Friday morning started with a must see with Martin Rooney. His energy and motivation was a great way to get the engine going for the rest of the weekend. Martin lives what he preaches and is an "in the trenches" coach and mentor. I have three quotes highlighted from his presentation. #1: "Coaches that believe they have clients that can succeed will have clients that believe they can succeed." We must cut the "well Bob won't lose weight" attitude. We need to continue driving and inspiring our clients to accomplishing BIG THINGS. Sit them down, fire them up, BELIEVE in them so they can believe in themselves and motivate with Enthusiasm! Not all fitness coaches need to jump around and scream during a session. If that is not your style then fine but the training session must have some energy and spark for your clients. Without it the session gets stagnate and dull and you might lose that client. #2: "Establish your core values and personal mission” Martin asked us if we had this written down and kept it with us at all times. Nobody raised their hands. This is huge in having a philosophy and a path to follow. And keeping it with you at all times will remind you to stay focused and motivated to achieve your objectives. #3: "You can do anything you want to!" In realistic terms of course but having this mindset, to me, is what life is about. Do not sell yourself and your clients short. Expect big things, create a positive atmosphere and self awareness and continue the climb to the top. Do not let yourself fail! Thank you Martin for a great start to the weekend.
Mike Boyle discussed warm-up strategies. If you have watched Mike's new DVD (which is a must in the library) then he went over most of the same education. But as I was listening to Mike, I realized how much the industry is influenced by his work. This guy is a legend and guru in our world. And if you are not following and learning from Coach Boyle, you are insane. His work is cutting edge, scientific and top notch coaching. He also is a very fun person to drink some beers with. Thank you Coach Boyle for your influence and mentorship to my program and our industry. Keep showing us the way.
Dr. Stuart McGill was next on the list. This was actually my first time listening to McGill and I enjoyed and respected the intellect. McGill discussed his work and research with low back injuries. As I was listening to him speak about the various back ailments and issues, I was thinking to myself "it's no wonder people are always suffering from chronic lower back trauma". The biggest thing I got out of this lecture is we need to create an atmosphere to enhance back hygiene. Giving a quick email or text to our client to remind them to sit up straight and focus on good posture could really be significant to improving low back pain. Along with reminders, we also prescribe proper exercise protocol, the client reduces and better yet eliminates their long term issue, and we have a client for life. Thank you to Dr. McGill for spreading the research to the fitness world to make us better.
Mark Verstegen is another presenter that has revolutionized the fitness industry. He is the creator of so much of what we do. Mark has a superb system that gets some of the top professional athletes ready to compete at high levels. This presentation went over training for the endurance athletes. This is right up my alley. It was good to be reminded of this information so we set our clients and ourselves up for success. Working with endurance athletes is tough because you never know how they will walk into your facility. You have to be an artful coach and set up a training program that will allow the endurance athlete to succeed. These athletes put in so much training volume that as a coach you have to be on the lookout for overtraining symptoms and guide them down the path to proper and smart training protocols. Definitely props go out to Mark for being an innovator and a legend to us in the fitness industry.
We ended Friday night with Thomas Plummer. A kick in the ass type of presentation. After hearing Thom, I wanted to drive home immediately and implement some ideas to improve my business. If you run a business Thomas Plummer is the man you need to be following. Go get on his blog and read everything on there.
Day 1 ended with a few beers at the social. A great first day.
Day 2 started with a bang just like day 1. Bill Parisi is a role model to any business person. His systems and strategies are very simple and easy to implement. It just takes discipline, hard and consistent work and laser like focus. It's doing these things EVERYDAY. If you want a successful and profitable business then go do it. If you want more clients, then go do it. If you want more campers in your boot camp, go do it. The person that will most likely stop yourself is YOU. "Be comfortable being uncomfortable" is a quote I will remember for the rest of my life. It's uncomfortable going to local business trying to get new clients, it's uncomfortable waking up at 4 am daily to be at the gym at 5. But if you learn to tap into your potential you will maximize your performance so you can maximize your life. Thank you Bill for everything you do. I would not be training youth athletes if it wasn't for this guy. He also, is an innovator.
Robert dos Remedios was my next lecture. This guy might be the most down to earth coach you will ever meet. He is a real life, in the trenches strength coach who tells no bull shit. He likes to say "bull shit" but that is beside the point. He tells it like it is. And that is something to be respected. Working with junior college athletes can be a very demanding and tough task. He overdelivers and takes his job to a high standard. If you notice reading this, every coach that presented is an "over deliverer" (if that is a word). Take one thing out of the weekend and this write-up...OVERDELIVER to yourself and your clients. Props to Dos for keeping his presentation entertaining and packed with valuable, realife information.
I cruised around some of the hands on sessions on Saturday. I now use the hands on sessions to watch the coaches’ coach. The training sessions that influenced me was Todd Durkin's and Dos's. These coaches brought some energy to their training. I like that. Totally different coaches, totally different training philosophies and styles but they both brought enthusiasm. You can know all the science in the world but if you do not deliver your clients and athletes enthusiasm and passion, you will not be in the industry very long. Todd's session was crazy. So much going on and his interns brought energy and motivation and he was able to get 200+ trainers in the zone! It was pretty cool to watch. Dos just straight up kicked everyone’s ass with his "cardio strength training" methods.
My last lecture of the weekend was my favorite. Sue Falsone ripped her presentation and delivered life changing information. The way she knows the body is kind of crazy. Someone that says, "I love the diaphragm musculature" must have a passion for anatomy and corrective movement. But her passion was echoed throughout the crowd as she taught a full room of fitness coaches and physical therapists about the anatomy and function of the thoracic spine. This information was cutting edge and I was zoned out during this presentation. Getting to the source of many faulty patterns can directly come from poor function at the thoracic spine. So many people are pretty screwed up because of bad life movements and posture. And correcting the t-spine's dysfunction can reduce many problems. We need to use our tool box to create a system to assist our clients down the right path. Even strength and fitness coaches need to splice in this corrective work to enhance the program. It doesn't need to be 30 minutes of thoracic mobilization work but splicing it into the warm-up can tremendously help people move better in their life. So if you haven't read up on Sue Falsone, go do that immediately.
A few more thanks yous:
Thank you to Rob Milani for always hooking it up with equipment. Rob is the man when it comes to facility design and equipment inventory. He cares and it's hard to find that now a days. And me being 5'6", it's good having a 6'5" 300 pound guy on your side.
Thank you to Alwyn Cosgrove for making the fitness industry a respected business. He has taught me that the business of fitness needs to be high level and worked on daily. Just like the training aspects you need business strength as well. His semi-private model is systematic and efficient and as influenced my program in a very positive way.
Thank you to Albert Park who was an attendee. Albert works with Luka Hocevar in Washington. I got to know this young energetic man on Saturday. He taught me that no matter who you train and what level, you must love what you do, have passion and excitement to move forward and never let up. This is something that can be lost in translation as the business grows and builds wealth. But you must always remember what got you where you are today and that is "I love training clients".
Thank you to Jesse and Mike, my coaches who represented my facility. They sat upfront every lecture, they came in with an open mind, they learned, they got better! Talk about life changing. I think I can say that Jesse's and Mike's life were changed for the better in Long Beach. Keep doin work!
Lastly thank you to my wife Stephanie for accepting my passion as I sit here now on my computer (after being gone all weekend) doin work.
Time to get after it......
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
4th of July Training weekend
I had been planning this ride for quite some time. But bad weather and bad timing led to postponing the ride. The plan was to start in Merced and ride up to Arnold. A near 90 mile ride with close to 4500 feet of climbing. Then to top off the training weekend I signed up for a 1/2 Marathon the very next day in Angels Camp. IT was called the Twisted Oak 1/2 Marathon.
Here's the story....
I woke up at my normal wake up time of 4:15 am on Friday morning. My best friend Steve was nice enough to drive me to Merced. We left Visalia at 5:10 am and were off. At about 5:45 am I called the radio station like I usually do on Friday mornings. But this time I was headed out on my bike. I still made the call and did my interview. We arrived in Merced at around 6:30 am. I filled my water bottles, bought a few bars for the ride, sprayed the sunscreen on, pumped up the tires and was off. I was figuring the ride to be close to 90 miles, give or take a few miles. So my mind was ready and so was my body. I took off on J59 which is a tough road to ride on because of the limited shoulder. But since it was early the traffic was light. The first 15 miles were just about getting the legs going. Luckily I wasn't racing because there was a pretty heavy head wind right in my face. So I just began building my speed and marched onward. I told myself to not be stubborn and just stop at stores as I passed them. It turned out to help me quite a bit as I filled my bottles up with ice and gatorade and bought a bar if needed. I stopped at the 18, 38, 55, and 75 mile marks to re-fill and stretch the legs. As I would zone out, minutes would fly by and before you knew it I had made it to the half way point. Time was really flying. My energy and spirits stayed high the entire ride. Except for some light tightness in the lower back, my body was feeling good. As I made it to Highway 4, I knew that the ride was in its final phases. But just like a few stages of the Tour de France, my ride was a mountain top finish. I knew this all along. So as I reached the last 15 miles I knew they would be tough. But I kept a steady pace, kept my cadence high and pushed through the hills. I keep things positive in my head so that helps tremendously on long rides like this. I set small goals of making it to specific destinations. When I made it to Murphy's, a small town about 8 miles south of Arnold, the ride was coming to the end. THere were some climbing still left to be done but I knew this was it so enjoy and finish strong. I saw my destination and pumped my fist like I had just won a stage of the Tour. It was a big accomplishment. My ride time was just over 6 hours.
I woke up Saturday morning with some tired legs. I ate my normal pre-run meal of a cliff bar and banana and headed to the site of the race. I talked my good friend Ira into running the 5k race so it was good to have someone there competing with me. I had mentioned to the race director that I had rode 88 miles the day before. This wasn't the end of hearing about this during the day (you will see later). I definitely needed to warm-up to get my legs going. So I ran about 10 minutes, did a dynamic warm-up and did 5x50 yard striders, then ran back to the start of the race. The race started out fast because it was 90% downhill. We reached the 4 mile turnaround and knew we had to come back up that same hill. It was steady, not too steep but consistently climbing. My legs were feeling the ride. But again, I set small goals and this really helps a race go by quick. As I hit lap 2 I told myself 3 more miles, stay steady and zone out. They call the last 1 mile "Hernia Hill" because of the steep ascents through the Twisted Oak Winery. We had to do this twice so the second time around was tough. But I pushed though and before you knew it I was crossing the finish line. MY time was 1 hour and 35 minutes which was good enough for 6th overall and 1st in my age group. It wasn't my best 1/2 marathon but I was happy with this time because of what I did the day before. As the award ceremony began, the race director gave an award to the individual who put in the most effort to get to the race...well that was me. He announced to the crowd of what I had did the day before.
Overall a great weekend. Next up....Merced to Alpine Lake in August. That one is the same ride I did plus 38 miles and 4000 feet of climbing so a huge ride. Keep Rocking!!
Here's the story....
I woke up at my normal wake up time of 4:15 am on Friday morning. My best friend Steve was nice enough to drive me to Merced. We left Visalia at 5:10 am and were off. At about 5:45 am I called the radio station like I usually do on Friday mornings. But this time I was headed out on my bike. I still made the call and did my interview. We arrived in Merced at around 6:30 am. I filled my water bottles, bought a few bars for the ride, sprayed the sunscreen on, pumped up the tires and was off. I was figuring the ride to be close to 90 miles, give or take a few miles. So my mind was ready and so was my body. I took off on J59 which is a tough road to ride on because of the limited shoulder. But since it was early the traffic was light. The first 15 miles were just about getting the legs going. Luckily I wasn't racing because there was a pretty heavy head wind right in my face. So I just began building my speed and marched onward. I told myself to not be stubborn and just stop at stores as I passed them. It turned out to help me quite a bit as I filled my bottles up with ice and gatorade and bought a bar if needed. I stopped at the 18, 38, 55, and 75 mile marks to re-fill and stretch the legs. As I would zone out, minutes would fly by and before you knew it I had made it to the half way point. Time was really flying. My energy and spirits stayed high the entire ride. Except for some light tightness in the lower back, my body was feeling good. As I made it to Highway 4, I knew that the ride was in its final phases. But just like a few stages of the Tour de France, my ride was a mountain top finish. I knew this all along. So as I reached the last 15 miles I knew they would be tough. But I kept a steady pace, kept my cadence high and pushed through the hills. I keep things positive in my head so that helps tremendously on long rides like this. I set small goals of making it to specific destinations. When I made it to Murphy's, a small town about 8 miles south of Arnold, the ride was coming to the end. THere were some climbing still left to be done but I knew this was it so enjoy and finish strong. I saw my destination and pumped my fist like I had just won a stage of the Tour. It was a big accomplishment. My ride time was just over 6 hours.
I woke up Saturday morning with some tired legs. I ate my normal pre-run meal of a cliff bar and banana and headed to the site of the race. I talked my good friend Ira into running the 5k race so it was good to have someone there competing with me. I had mentioned to the race director that I had rode 88 miles the day before. This wasn't the end of hearing about this during the day (you will see later). I definitely needed to warm-up to get my legs going. So I ran about 10 minutes, did a dynamic warm-up and did 5x50 yard striders, then ran back to the start of the race. The race started out fast because it was 90% downhill. We reached the 4 mile turnaround and knew we had to come back up that same hill. It was steady, not too steep but consistently climbing. My legs were feeling the ride. But again, I set small goals and this really helps a race go by quick. As I hit lap 2 I told myself 3 more miles, stay steady and zone out. They call the last 1 mile "Hernia Hill" because of the steep ascents through the Twisted Oak Winery. We had to do this twice so the second time around was tough. But I pushed though and before you knew it I was crossing the finish line. MY time was 1 hour and 35 minutes which was good enough for 6th overall and 1st in my age group. It wasn't my best 1/2 marathon but I was happy with this time because of what I did the day before. As the award ceremony began, the race director gave an award to the individual who put in the most effort to get to the race...well that was me. He announced to the crowd of what I had did the day before.
Overall a great weekend. Next up....Merced to Alpine Lake in August. That one is the same ride I did plus 38 miles and 4000 feet of climbing so a huge ride. Keep Rocking!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)