Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
– Alfred A. Montapert, American Author

I chose this quote, because today, as I sat for a moment between clients, I realized how many people just haphazardly go from one movement to the next with what appears to be no rhyme or reason.  Their workout appears largely machined based.  But darn it if they don't typically LOOK busy.  Interesting enough these also tend to be the same people that complain of making little progress to their goals.

I'll Keep It Seriously Simple.  If you are serious about getting ready for bikini season with the little time we have left before it starts getting crazy hot, here are a few tips that I guarantee will help you shed those extra pounds quickly.

1.) Don't skip your core/ab workout.  Do it first while you're fresh and focused. It serves the purpose of getting the body ready for exercise and brings your mind into focus for the task at hand.

2.) Put on your headphones and focus on what you came to do.

3.) Pick 4-7 exercises that involve the total body or an upper body exercise followed by a lower body exercise. Do all movements in that cycle before resting for 2 min. Then do it again.  Repeat 3-4 times.  Then pick a different group of exercises again, 4-7 movements that utilize the entire body or alternate upper lower.

4.) Utilize leg movements that force you to support your own body weight.  Sitting on a machine is fine if you're just starting out or in the midst of rehabing an injury. But by and large, your leg movements should include things like good old fashioned squats, lunges and deadlifts. There are literally hundreds of variations you can do that still fit the criteria of functional movement.

5.) Utilize upper body movements that force you to utilize your core as well as the muscle being worked.  For instance, one-arm rows utilizing a dumbbell or cable, push-ups, pull-ups, bicep curls coupled with either lateral raises or shoulder press all on 1 leg (7-10 reps per side).

6.) Plan your meals ahead of time.  Do NOT wait till the last minute, find yourself starving and make a poor choice in nutrition. Heck you're going to the gym, why not see the results.

7.) Before you start any of the above steps, take your measurements.  Get a body composition done. Take your waist, hip, chest, and shoulder circumference measurements.  You're going to the gym, might as well be sure you;re getting the results of all that time.

As always, let me know if this information was helpful.

PS.  Be sure to print this out so you can get the benefit of all 7 secrets.

I guess I'll have to be the Bad Guy this week. 

I am often approached and asked about such and such exercise or cardio routine. The individual is usually very excited and has high hopes that THIS specific program or exercise is THE answer to whatever has been sabotaging their success.

I hate to break to you, but there are no magic exercises, there are no bad foods and you don't have to run for hours to achieve a good cardio burn that burns crazy calories.

Marketing is the aspect of business whose goal it is to SELL you something, typically for their benefit, not yours. Ask yourself if it make sense before you purchase it or build your expectations up.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Think about it, if it were that easy wouldn't everyone be wealthy, fit, and stress-free.

What I can tell you is that you will have to make a serious commitment to your goal to make it happen.

Let's take the good old idea of cardio. For ages now people have been under the impression that slow, or "fat-burning zone" cardio is the ONLY way to do cardio if you want to burn fat.  Now if you listened to my audio on the 20 Most Asked Fitness Questions, you know that, slow, "fat-burning zone" cardio is for those of you just starting out on a fitness plan or do not have clearance from your doctor. Otherwise, interval training provides the ultimate results in body fat loss.  There's no magic to it.  

What about nutrition?  Conventional thinking says you have to starve yourself or eat like a bird in order to reach your weight loss goals. Most of my clientele, especially when I first started with them, were eating too little and throwing their body into starvation mode.  Since the body is a survival machine, it hoards all the calories it can to avoid starving. You need to eat 3 regular meals and 2 snacks per day in order to lose weight quickly and keep it off.

I also recently heard the statement "I only do cardio because I don't have time to do resistance (weight) training". Guess what? Circuits would accomplish both goals.  Doing 5-7 resistance exercises in a row that involve/require your total body to work will burn FAR MORE calories than cardio alone.  Don't believe me? Google it. You don't have to spend hours upon hours at the gym unless you want to. There are effective ways to train your body to get the results you want and still leave time for a fulfilling life.

Don't be misinformed. I WILL provide you with accurate information and products that WILL get you results quickly.

Sorry to be the Bad Guy, but someone had to dispel the myths, rumors, and magical thinking.  Besides, none of those ways of thinking will ever get you to your goals.

As always, let me know if this information was helpful.

I was reading an article this morning that talked about success and what it takes to achieve financial goals.  But as I read it I realized that the rule it suggested for success in the financial world can be applied to being successful in any realm of life; As it relates to my posts -- health, fitness, and wellness.

It actually got me thinking about my own 'list' of traits or habits necessary for success.  These are basically things I've picked up in my reading or observations I've made about successful clients and friends over the years.

I thought about what separates those that achieve their body transformation goals quickly, from those who make only a little progress or those that take 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

Here is # 1 on my list.

Regardless of your advantages or disadvantages you can be successful in whatever you choose if you have "Time Perspective". Time Perspective refers to the amount of time that you take into consideration when planning your day to day activities and when making important decisions in your life. It works to create success with finances, body transformation, and just about anything else you Really Want to Change. In short, HOW YOU SPEND YOUR ENERGY F/X YOUR RESULTS.

Take the time to plan for your success, whether its making your meals in advance, putting time in your schedule for self-massage and stretching, or time to be still and allow those creative juices to flow for inspiration and achievement.

Don't just be busy, be productive.  And sometimes being productive actually means being still to reflect, get clarity, and modify your plan to increase your chances of success.

As always, let me know if this info is helpful.

HELP!

 

I’ve been blog posting largely based on the experiences I have had or presently have with clients.  So far I’ve shared information on using self-massage techniques to help get you out of pain, information on carbs and generally how to create meals that will keep you on track, how to get rid of painful wrists and shoulders, and how stress may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts, and finally I shared with you how to assess the magic bullets that the media is constantly trying to sell you.

 

What I realized however is that while I may think the information is valuable and important, that doesn’t mean you do. So I thought the best way to improve the quality of the post that I put up is to ask you, “Is anyone experiencing pain issues I have not addressed, or has a nutrition question that might assist you with?"

 

I believe this whole social media thing is a great opportunity to share valuable information and network at levels never seen before.  Though I realize that this is often the case, I would like to use this social vehicle to inform and empower as many of you out there as possible, to assist you in getting out of pain, get into your best shape, and improve your overall quality of life.  Yeah, I know it’s sounds kind of corny, but hey, it’s the gift I have and I want to share it.

 

Let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

I’ve had it!

I’ve sat quietly by and politely smiled when I’ve heard people speaking about the huge success of using this potion ‘X’ or make claims about this pill ‘Y’ or tonic ‘Z’. Commercials, magazine ads, and advertorials (when a company writes an article that appears to be informational or educational in content, when in fact it is an advertisement for their product) are making all sorts of claims about what we all NEED in order to be healthy.

I was watching TV the other day and noticed several ads came on about a product that was touting the health benefits of a certain drink. I remember yet another one that talked about the lack of nutrients in our soil, so people should start taking these pills to assure their health. Then of course there was the exercise DVD's that tell you how amazing your results will be by doing their 'special' program.

Needless to say I am all for health, fitness, and wellness. But is it just me, or has the marketing and snake oil selling gotten way out of hand?

I don’t deny that the quality of the soil is depleted, and that we probably all take in more toxins than is healthy for us. What gets under my skin is the shear outrageousness of the claims and the backwards thinking that is used to sell the products.

If you have the discipline to take product ‘X’ 4 times per day with meals and every other weekend, couldn’t you use that same discipline to prepare your “real food” meals prior to each day and receive even more benefits from consuming actual food instead of a pill or drink?

The same idea applies to your health. There is no magic exercise program out there, only the one that you commit to doing on a consistent basis.  If you’re consistent and improve the way you eat, you will get results. Now for some people that may be hiring a Fitness Coach, or purchasing a set of exercise DVD’s, but you have to utilize the information and motivation if you want to see a result from your investment.  Just showing up and going through the motions won't give you the results you want.

I don’t know about you, but it sounds like some old fashioned reality is what is needed to me.

1.)    Your body was built to move. Because we spend so much time inactive,  exercise is a way to give your body what IT NEEDS – challenging physical movement that gets the blood pumping and produces and some perspiration. Remember Not All Movement is Good Movement. First get proper instruction.

2.)    Watch what you put in your body. Garbage in, Garbage out. Take the time to prepare your meals ahead of time so you don't make poor food choices because your starving. NO amount of special antioxidant drinks or pills will cure inactivity and poor food choices!!

3.)    Make time for consistent fitness in your life, if not daily then 3x/week minimum. Many of us are stressed out beyond belief. How well you take care of your physical body, or fail to, will dictate how long and how well you live and enjoy your life.  Energy drinks won't fix the problem.

4.)   Make a Plan. If you really want to see a change in anything in your life, make a plan with 3-4 realistic short term goals and 1 long term goal, and get to work.

It is my intention to use these blog posts to assist you in achieving your health, fitness and wellness goals, by providing reliable, practical information that when you use it consistently, you will get the results you need.

Make a commitment to yourself Today to Get Out Of Pain, and Get In Your Best Shape.

Here’s a FREE BONUS to get you started.

WELLNESSTOFITNESSIN4EASYSTEPS.doc

You know that old saying “sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees”?  This morning I was reminded of just “how deep in the trees” I am. 

 

One of the guys I see at the gym quite often approached me this morning and asked me about some nagging knee pain he’s been experiencing.  He said it’s been going on for 4 weeks now and getting progressively worse. I asked him the usual questions and he told me that there hadn't been any impact to the knee itself, he hasn’t felt any decrease in stability, mostly that it’s just been a growing problem over the past several weeks.  It’s gotten to the point now where he is unable to enjoy his usual cycling and running.  In addition, after sitting for long periods of time, standing up is quite painful, though the pain decreases after moving around for a bit.

 

I asked, “Do you do any self-myofascial release”?  He said, “What’s that”?  I said, “Let me show you."  I then proceeded to demonstrate how to do it using my Energy F/X Tube so that he would feel a decrease in the knee pain he was having.

 

While I was demonstrating the techniques it hit me...

 

I take for granted that many people don’t know about the benefits of self-myofascial release.  In a nutshell, self-myofascial release is a type of self-massage using a hard roller, tube or ball.  It helps break up scar tissue and increases blood flow to the affected area.  Not to mention it can increase your range of motion and improve performance.

A lot weekend warriors and sedentary people end up feeling stiff and hurting, and mistakenly believe there is something wrong with their joints that might require surgery.  In fact, most of the time all they need to do is regular self-myofascial release.

 

Before you give up hope and think the only alternative to being in pain is surgery, check out the videos I've posted on my website that demonstrate how to use self-myofascial release techniques to get out of pain.  It's simple to do, and literally doesn't take more than a few minutes a day.  

 

As always, let me know how these techniques worked for you.  And if you need to buy the Energy F/X tube, go to http://energyfxfitness.com/_product_78512/Energy_FX_Tube to order it.  

Just this week I had the opportunity to work with a client that was suffering from painful wrists. Her wrists were so painful in fact that holding a fork to eat a full meal was a difficult task at best.

As usual, I went through my assessment, asking about her daily activities, type of work, how long the problem had existed, as well as the usual gait analysis, posture analysis, etc. What I found was that she worked in an office where she sat at her desk for most of the day. She spent a good deal of the day in her chair at her desk, even eating lunch at her desk on many occasions.

Her posture showed the damage that hours at a desk can do. Her shoulders and head were slumped forward, and her hip flexors were tight causing her glutes (butt) not to activate properly when walking (or running, her choice of exercise).

So I went to work to first open her chest muscles and get the shoulders pulled back into position.  I shared with her the "shoulder stretches" I posted for you all in a previous post on shoulder pain.

I then went to work on her wrists, after all, though that may not be source of the pain, I had to get some movement back in her stiff wrists while at the same time working on her tight shoulders.  Below I've included the sheet I provided for her.

Try the stretches out if you're having wrist pain or if your wrists are just sore and stiff. 

As always, let me know how they work for you.

WristandFingerStretchSheet.pdf

Let's face it, being in PAIN SUCKS!!

I've had it and know first hand how uncomfortable it can be.
 
Being in PAIN puts you in a crappy mood and affects darn near everything -- from how you interact with your partner, friends, family, and even your co-workers.

Plain and simple -- being in pain makes you a PAIN to be around.  Sure you could take some aspirin or other "pain masking" agent, but that doesn't really solve the problem.  What you need is to kick that pain's butt and get it out of your life so you can back to doing what you enjoy doing.  Chances are your friends, family and co-workers will thank you for it.

The first thing I would ask you to do is figure out as close as you can, where the pain is located; is it in your lower back, shoulder, neck, the knee.  Now, the next I'm going to say is really going to throw you for a loop.  Chances are very good that the place where you are feeling the pain is not the actual problem.

Today, I'd like to use the shoulder as an example. Do you spend most of your day sitting at a desk hunched over? Do you stand hunched over? If you stand with your back to the wall so that your heels, buttocks, shoulders, and back of your head touch the wall, is this position REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE or challenging to do?

If this sounds like you chances are you having what known as Upper Cross Syndrome, where the chest and shoulder muscles have become so tight from the poor posture of leaning over that they've shortened. These muscles may even be pulling on your neck.

Here are some movements you can do while in your office to help you GET RID OF THAT PAIN NOW!


Let me know what you think. . . . did they work for you?
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	This is Stretch#1. Begin with your head, forearms, shoulder blades and butt against the wall.  Heels should be about 6-8" from wall. Make sure there is minimal space between lower back and wall
	Extend arms up and out into a "Y" position. Be sure to keep forearms and hands in contact with wall at all times. Repeat movement 7-10 times
	Stretch #2. Begin the same as Stretch #1.
	Keeping arms (elbows at same height), rotate hands towards floor. Be sure to keep elbows and shoulder blades in contact with wall at all times. Repeat 7-10 times
	Stretch #3. Standing straight, clasp hands behind back.
	Tuck hips underneath you, move clasped hands towards floor. This should create erect posture. Be sure not to arch-- keep hips tucked. Hold for 7-10 breaths