So yesterday after my bench press and kettlebell training session I decided to go for a run since I missed it on Tuesday and I still had a good half hour before my next group was showing up at the gym to train. I decided to do a 20:00 interval run.
I usually head off the main road and run through the back streets of the neighborhoods behind my gym. I put the iPod on cranked "The Pledge" by Michael Masterson - the business audiobook I am currently listening to -- I know, I know.. My running jams rock! It is a great book so far though...
On this run I saw something I never see, mainly due to typically doing my runs on Tuesday, Thursday and/or Sunday, the recycling bins. In my town trash and recycling is picked up every Wednesday morning.
As I'm running I'm kind of peeping everyone's bins out of the corner of my eye, then it hits me.
This is why we are a fat, lazy and out of shape country. This is why overweight and obesity rates are climbing, even though more people are focused on exercise now more than ever. This is why cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are becoming the norm.
In everyone's bins, well at least the 10 or 11 houses in a row I paid attention to, were empty boxes of cereal, empty bags of Chips Ahoy cookies, Oreo boxes, empty soda bottles, and more shit than you could imagine. Not just a recycle bin here and there, every one.
This is how people eat every day, not just as an occasional treat or weekly cheat, this is every day.
I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say I never eat cookies, or cheesecake or some chocolate every now and then-definitely it's sometimes more now!-but this shit is seriously out of hand.
We're a bunch of sugar addicted, trans-fat consuming, lazy fat asses.
C'mon people, eat more good clean food-we all know what we're supposed to eat-just do it now and stop making excuses about it's too hard, it costs too much, it's not convenient. I'm just as busy as the next person and I can do it, so save the excuses. Keep the focus on fresh, raw and whole. Drink water, not soda. Exercise daily. Enjoy a cheat or a snack occasionally. This shit isn't rocket science-it's common f*&$ing sense. Let's get our heads out of our asses and get healthy.
Stay Strong AND Healthy!
-Scott
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Training-what it's all about...
Man with all the food talk lately I felt like it was time to get back to what's important-training!
Last year my training was kind of up and down with the shift to running my gym full-time, plus all the other business deals, projects and products we had rolling this past year training took a bit of a backseat as did competing.
I managed to keep a fairly regular training schedule, but bounced around too much programming-wise which led me to do a lot of reflecting on the important qualities of training at this point in my life.
Right now my training business and the other ventures I have going on are the most important things, if I am focused on this I can't focus on training for competition - so a strict kettlebell sport or strict powerlifting program is out.
Since cleaning up my nutrition my weight is down tremendously - 35 lbs - and I began studying Qigong and Taiji, so I wanted to improve my flexibility and mobility as well as make sure I am practicing Qigong / Taiji and meditating daily.
Now for the weights. I gotta' say, I miss powerlifting competition-the intensity, training and focus plus there is NOTHING like a powerlifting meet! It's awesome. However I'm not into being fat, bloated and out of shape just to lift heavy weights anymore. On the flipside, I don't thing I need to pack up my barbells just yet. I have to keep the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, chins and rows-the basic lifts-in my training but balance it out with some non-linear forms of strength and conditioning - my favorites? Kettlebells and Indian clubs. I'm pretty convinced that the clubs and kettlebells are my favorite forms of training and sometime down the road I can see me doing my daily sessions with these two exclusively - my body feels like a million bucks after them; healthy and full of energy, not run into the ground. It's great for restoration too.
What's left? Conditioning. No treadmills. No ellipticals. Running, pushing the prowler and dragging the sled is where it's at-and will probably throw in some heavy bag and jump rope work in there too.
At the end of 2011 this is where I was at with my decision - no competitions, just a well rounded balance of strength, conditioning and energy work - bringing balance back to over all physical development-not just developing the body-but developing the body AND mind and spirit.
So end of December I tested my maxes on my main lifts to set my training %'s, set my training goals and got rolling! As of this week the first 4 week cycle is in the bag and I'm starting the 2nd - so far so good!
Here's the outline of the plan:
Every morning - Qigong, Taiji and meditation (works out to be 3-5 days a week)
Taiji class at the Shaolin school I belong to (Shi Deru Shaolin Institute): M & W nights and Sa mornings
Daily - LOTS of stretching and mobility work -- I have already seen HUGE improvements in my flexibility (but being down 35 lbs helps considerably too!)
Tu/Th/Su - running and / or other conditioning, about 20:00 - 45:00 total.
M/W/F - strength training; indian club swinging, primary barbell lift(s), accessory work, kettlebell conditioning and more club swinging. Monday is squat and accessory work, Wednesday is bench and accessory work, and Friday is deadlift + overhead press and accessory work. Starts out with 5:00 or so of club swinging; barbell work is Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program; kettlebell work is lighter weights-higher reps and generally not setting the bell down (usually 5:00-15:00 of work) and finish with another 5:00 or so of club swinging -- total training time is about 45:00.
That's it - simple, sweet and well-balanced; nothing extreme just some type of daily work, just as real physical culture should be.
Stay Strong AND Healthy!
-Scott
Last year my training was kind of up and down with the shift to running my gym full-time, plus all the other business deals, projects and products we had rolling this past year training took a bit of a backseat as did competing.
I managed to keep a fairly regular training schedule, but bounced around too much programming-wise which led me to do a lot of reflecting on the important qualities of training at this point in my life.
Right now my training business and the other ventures I have going on are the most important things, if I am focused on this I can't focus on training for competition - so a strict kettlebell sport or strict powerlifting program is out.
Since cleaning up my nutrition my weight is down tremendously - 35 lbs - and I began studying Qigong and Taiji, so I wanted to improve my flexibility and mobility as well as make sure I am practicing Qigong / Taiji and meditating daily.
Now for the weights. I gotta' say, I miss powerlifting competition-the intensity, training and focus plus there is NOTHING like a powerlifting meet! It's awesome. However I'm not into being fat, bloated and out of shape just to lift heavy weights anymore. On the flipside, I don't thing I need to pack up my barbells just yet. I have to keep the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, chins and rows-the basic lifts-in my training but balance it out with some non-linear forms of strength and conditioning - my favorites? Kettlebells and Indian clubs. I'm pretty convinced that the clubs and kettlebells are my favorite forms of training and sometime down the road I can see me doing my daily sessions with these two exclusively - my body feels like a million bucks after them; healthy and full of energy, not run into the ground. It's great for restoration too.
What's left? Conditioning. No treadmills. No ellipticals. Running, pushing the prowler and dragging the sled is where it's at-and will probably throw in some heavy bag and jump rope work in there too.
At the end of 2011 this is where I was at with my decision - no competitions, just a well rounded balance of strength, conditioning and energy work - bringing balance back to over all physical development-not just developing the body-but developing the body AND mind and spirit.
So end of December I tested my maxes on my main lifts to set my training %'s, set my training goals and got rolling! As of this week the first 4 week cycle is in the bag and I'm starting the 2nd - so far so good!
Here's the outline of the plan:
Every morning - Qigong, Taiji and meditation (works out to be 3-5 days a week)
Taiji class at the Shaolin school I belong to (Shi Deru Shaolin Institute): M & W nights and Sa mornings
Daily - LOTS of stretching and mobility work -- I have already seen HUGE improvements in my flexibility (but being down 35 lbs helps considerably too!)
Tu/Th/Su - running and / or other conditioning, about 20:00 - 45:00 total.
M/W/F - strength training; indian club swinging, primary barbell lift(s), accessory work, kettlebell conditioning and more club swinging. Monday is squat and accessory work, Wednesday is bench and accessory work, and Friday is deadlift + overhead press and accessory work. Starts out with 5:00 or so of club swinging; barbell work is Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program; kettlebell work is lighter weights-higher reps and generally not setting the bell down (usually 5:00-15:00 of work) and finish with another 5:00 or so of club swinging -- total training time is about 45:00.
That's it - simple, sweet and well-balanced; nothing extreme just some type of daily work, just as real physical culture should be.
Stay Strong AND Healthy!
-Scott
Monday, January 23, 2012
How my daily nutrition has changed in a year!
I was just reflecting back on how my nutrition has changed over the past year in an email to one of my good friends who was light-years ahead of my on this aspect of physical development.
Ok, one year ago this time:
-coffee w/ cream, almond milk & raw sugar
-blender drink: raw oats, whey protein, regular cows milk or almond milk, honey
mid morning
-protein bar or greek yogurt and fruit
lunch
-deli sammich (like jersey mikes) either turkey w/ veggies or meatball- and sometimes YUK 1/4 w/ cheese at MCD's w/ fries and diet soda
mid afternoon
-coffee at SBUX w/ cream and raw sugar and whatever chocolate treat appealed - usually dark chocolate grahams
dinner
-pizza,or MCD's, or if Lisa cooked usually a healthy'ish pizza made with veggies, org cheese, pepperoni from whole foods, or sometimes we'd go out and have sushi, or steak, and usually a beer or two to drink or diet soda
post training
-32oz of organic chocolate milk
late-night
-usually cereal and milk or almond milk
total h2o intake probably 1/2 - 3/4 gallon
BW fluctating between 210-225 lbs
TODAY
1st thing after waking:
-32oz of clean water with a whole juiced lime and raw apple cider vinegar, 2g blue green algae
-shot of wheat grass juice I juiced
-fresh organic carrot apple juice I juiced
-32oz of clean water
breakfast (pre-workout)
-3 figs
-1 apple
-1 orange
-goji berries
-puh ehr tea
(post training)
-blended drink of: almond milk, honey, mixed berries, banana, rice protein powder
noon-time
-walnuts and coconut water (straight from a young thai coconut I extracted myself)
-32oz glass of clean water
late afternoon ("dinner")
-blended drink: kale, rainbow chard, collard greens, dandelion greens, parsley, bok choy, 1-scoop of vitamineral green superfood powder, 2 apples, 1 carrot
-homemade vegetarian chilli: tomatos, 3 colors of peppers, 3 types of org beans (black, pinto, kidney), seitan (in place of ground beef), tomato paste, garlic cloves, chilli powder, sea salt
-sprinkled a bit of shredded organic cheese and had two small slices of sprouted grain bread
pre-taiji class
-icelandic skyr yogurt, walnuts, puh ehr tea
post-taiji class and a bit of a cheat
-1/2 an apple lisa didn't finish, a few chunks of homemade raw chocolate, and a small serving of whole foods brand frosted mini wheats I still had in the pantry with almond milk
total fresh water: 3x 32oz. mugs + about 3-4 16oz bottles from gym
other supps: 2g vitamin C, 2 caps of D3, digestive enzymes, magnesium, bee pollen / propolis, fish oil caps, probiotics
BW - fluctuates 180-185 lbs
Dude about 20 servings of fresh / raw fruits and veges and NO meat?!?! Who the hell have I become?!?!?!
In the past year I've gone from junk-food carnivore, to no meat-only fish and eggs + vegetarian fare, to predominantly raw vegan foods (60-80%) and the rest cooked vegetarian plus a little fish, yogurt and eggs - consequently my body fat has dropped tremendously, my energy has increased and I feel about 1000% better. I typically don't keep a nutrition log-just a training log-but it was interesting to see a comparison between my normal daily nutrition today vs. one year ago!
Here's the copy and paste of the email I sent my friend:
-coffee w/ cream, almond milk & raw sugar
-blender drink: raw oats, whey protein, regular cows milk or almond milk, honey
mid morning
-protein bar or greek yogurt and fruit
lunch
-deli sammich (like jersey mikes) either turkey w/ veggies or meatball- and sometimes YUK 1/4 w/ cheese at MCD's w/ fries and diet soda
mid afternoon
-coffee at SBUX w/ cream and raw sugar and whatever chocolate treat appealed - usually dark chocolate grahams
dinner
-pizza,or MCD's, or if Lisa cooked usually a healthy'ish pizza made with veggies, org cheese, pepperoni from whole foods, or sometimes we'd go out and have sushi, or steak, and usually a beer or two to drink or diet soda
post training
-32oz of organic chocolate milk
late-night
-usually cereal and milk or almond milk
total h2o intake probably 1/2 - 3/4 gallon
BW fluctating between 210-225 lbs
TODAY
1st thing after waking:
-32oz of clean water with a whole juiced lime and raw apple cider vinegar, 2g blue green algae
-shot of wheat grass juice I juiced
-fresh organic carrot apple juice I juiced
-32oz of clean water
breakfast (pre-workout)
-3 figs
-1 apple
-1 orange
-goji berries
-puh ehr tea
(post training)
-blended drink of: almond milk, honey, mixed berries, banana, rice protein powder
noon-time
-walnuts and coconut water (straight from a young thai coconut I extracted myself)
-32oz glass of clean water
late afternoon ("dinner")
-blended drink: kale, rainbow chard, collard greens, dandelion greens, parsley, bok choy, 1-scoop of vitamineral green superfood powder, 2 apples, 1 carrot
-homemade vegetarian chilli: tomatos, 3 colors of peppers, 3 types of org beans (black, pinto, kidney), seitan (in place of ground beef), tomato paste, garlic cloves, chilli powder, sea salt
-sprinkled a bit of shredded organic cheese and had two small slices of sprouted grain bread
pre-taiji class
-icelandic skyr yogurt, walnuts, puh ehr tea
post-taiji class and a bit of a cheat
-1/2 an apple lisa didn't finish, a few chunks of homemade raw chocolate, and a small serving of whole foods brand frosted mini wheats I still had in the pantry with almond milk
total fresh water: 3x 32oz. mugs + about 3-4 16oz bottles from gym
other supps: 2g vitamin C, 2 caps of D3, digestive enzymes, magnesium, bee pollen / propolis, fish oil caps, probiotics
BW - fluctuates 180-185 lbs
Dude about 20 servings of fresh / raw fruits and veges and NO meat?!?! Who the hell have I become?!?!?!
That's it-what a change over the past year. I can honestly say I've never felt better. I still have some cheat meals here and there-a little too much chocolate, coffee, beer, lobster mac n' cheese (when at the House of Blues in Vegas), etc. but that stuff is a lot less than in the past and as time goes by I can see shifting closer to a 100% raw vegan nutrition plan, in the meantime I'm quite happy with dropping 30-35 lbs, having a ton more energy and just feeling better overall.
Now-let the onslaught of hate mail from my carnivorous friends begin!
Stay Strong AND Healthy!
-Scott
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Travelling Is No Excuse!
Who says you can't workout while travelling? Scott catching a quick squat workout at the Luxor in Las Vegas!Since I'm chillin' in the Vegas this week-playing the tables and drinking some beer-I decided to write a working out on the road inspired blog...
Over the past couple of years I have found myself travelling more and more. Fortunately if I am having to travel to speak or do a presentation it usually revolves around the fitness and strength and conditioning industry-so catching a workout isn't a problem.
When my wife Lisa and I travel for vacation, working out and eating well becomes a little more difficult-but not impossible.
Due to a mutual love for Las Vegas, we end up visiting about 2-3 times a year. Fortunately the hotel we stay in has a great fitness center, it has a real squat rack with many 45 lb plates, adjustable benches, and dumbbells up to 100 lbs. Plus a chin up bar and dip station not to mention plenty of cardio machines, medicine balls, and various nautilus style machines. I've never had a problem getting a good workout in while staying here.
When we travel by car-we usually either go to the beach or Penn State for the Arts Festival every year, I try to sneak a kettlebell plus a pair of indian clubs and sometimes some bands in the car.
Vacation is not the time to be setting personal records or experimenting with new workout programs. Heck, some people tend to use vacation as an excuse not to workout at all-I can't. If I don't exercise my body feels bad and my back starts to lockup-particularly if I am not stretching.
If I have access to a fitness center or weight room while travelling I tend to make these deload or backoff workouts-I only go about 60% in the main movements and do some lighter, higher volume "bodybuilding" stuff for accessory work, plus some cardio and stretching/mobility.
If we're travelling by car and I can drag along a kettlebell and clubs I do nothing but really high rep kettlebell lifting, lots of club swinging and mobility / flexibility work - a nice break from the barbells for a bit while still keeping active and feeling good. When Lisa and I are at Penn State or the beach we also do quite a bit of walking - particularly a good thing after big meals like the delicious ones we encounter at the B&B in State College we always stay at!
Speaking of nutrition - this is the biggest hang up for most people when travelling. The key is to enjoy yourself without over-doing it.
I quit eating meat a year ago, but still eat some fish and eggs in addition to a mostly vegetarian diet. It has made eating while travelling a little difficult but not impossible. It's very easy to find fish-and Lisa and I both enjoy sushi. Eggs are easy for breakfast. The hardest things are fresh fruit and vegetables and I definitely miss my green smoothies, compliments of my Vitamix blender, I usually make at home when we are travelling.
However I still enjoy my favorite cheat foods when I travel - again, it's vacation-not a time for personal records and dieting. I just try to do my best, eat healthy as much as possible and do not end up crying into my pillow if I have some beers or fried fish and chips (which I'll be having for lunch this afternoon at an Irish Pub in Mandalay Place!)
One thing I try to do when travelling is stay hydrated - I drink a ton of water at home and try to drink as much as possible, especially when we are in Vegas.
Vacation and travel should not be an excuse to give up your health and fitness goals - just do your best to exercise and eat healthy while still enjoying your time off and save the PR's and intense workouts for when you're back home and in your gym!
Stay Strong AND Healthy!
-Scott
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Hydration - the Ultimate Sports Drink? Water!
I think hydration is one of the most overlooked aspects of health and fitness. Especially now when everyone is worried about what energy drink to take before training, what supplements to take, what pre- peri- and post-workout beverage is optimal, blah blah blah..
Here's a clue - forget high sugar, high caffine energy drinks -- water wins hands-down everytime.
Take it from a self-proclaimed iced coffee addict. In the past couple of months I have taken to filling my awesome 32 oz. beer mug (don't sweat it, on the weekends it gets filled with a good Belgian ale or Magic Hat!) with clean, filtered water and drinking it first thing in the morning. I usually squeeze the juice of an organic lemon or lime in it and throw a tablespoon or two of raw apple cider vinegar in there as well (the lime / lemon juice and raw apple cider vinegar help to alkalize the body among other things), and use it to wash down the 2g. of blue green algae I replaced my generic multi-vitamin with.
Usually, after downing the 32 oz. glass of water with the lemon and raw apple cider vinegar, I refill the mug-this time with filtered water only-and drink as I am finishing getting ready to head to work.
This simple method ensures I start my day with a half-gallon of clean, fresh water and get the benefit of some organic lemon juice and raw apple cider vinegar as well.
Try it! You will notice a HUGE difference in what starting your day off properly hydrated instead of dehydrated does for you!
Say no to the man-made energy drinks and yes to the nature-made energy drink; clean, fresh water!
Stay thirsty my friends...
-Scott
Here's a clue - forget high sugar, high caffine energy drinks -- water wins hands-down everytime.
Take it from a self-proclaimed iced coffee addict. In the past couple of months I have taken to filling my awesome 32 oz. beer mug (don't sweat it, on the weekends it gets filled with a good Belgian ale or Magic Hat!) with clean, filtered water and drinking it first thing in the morning. I usually squeeze the juice of an organic lemon or lime in it and throw a tablespoon or two of raw apple cider vinegar in there as well (the lime / lemon juice and raw apple cider vinegar help to alkalize the body among other things), and use it to wash down the 2g. of blue green algae I replaced my generic multi-vitamin with.
Usually, after downing the 32 oz. glass of water with the lemon and raw apple cider vinegar, I refill the mug-this time with filtered water only-and drink as I am finishing getting ready to head to work.
This simple method ensures I start my day with a half-gallon of clean, fresh water and get the benefit of some organic lemon juice and raw apple cider vinegar as well.
Try it! You will notice a HUGE difference in what starting your day off properly hydrated instead of dehydrated does for you!
Say no to the man-made energy drinks and yes to the nature-made energy drink; clean, fresh water!
Stay thirsty my friends...
-Scott
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Ten Things to Make 2012 Your Healthiest Year Ever!
With the new year approaching we usually look at making resolutions, changes, and overall a fresh start on a clean slate. This is good if we actually take action and make changes that benefit us.
Improving our health and fitness is a great place to start as I believe this carries over into all aspects of our lives.
If we are healthy and we eat better, we have more energy, we carry around less fat, we are less prone to disease and sickness, we have greater mental clarity, we are more relaxed, we manage stress better, and overall we just feel better. This carries over into our professional lives, our personal lives and affects not only us but those around us.
Greater health begins with the decision to change-but doesn't stop there. The next step is to take action. While taking action is very important-and sadly a step most never take-it is not the most important aspect of making a change. The most important aspect is taking the second step, the third step, the thousandth step and to keep going. To keep on keeping on is the key to success in anything.
With this in mind here are ten things you can do to ensure 2012 is your healthiest and happiest year ever.
1. Take Responsibility
In my opinion Jack Canfield's best book is "The Success Principles". In it Jack's first principle of success is to take 100% responsibility for your life-and he's right. Too often people blame others, circumstances, not being dealt a "fair deck", the weather, the market, and so on and so forth-yet I've never heard anyone blame themselves. This might be a little rough-but where you are now is the culmination of all the decisions YOU made. Period.
Are you sick? It's because of what you ate, what you did or didn't do, what you breathed, what you thought, what YOU did.
Are you overweight? It's because of what YOU ate. It's because of the workout YOU decided to skip. It's because you decided there wasn't enough time in the day to make healthy foods and exercise. No-one else did this for you.
I'm sorry-but save your "It's too hard to eat healthy" excuse. It takes the same amount of energy to put an apple in your mouth and chew as it does a cupcake. The difference? YOU made the decision what to pick up and put in your mouth.
Addicted to sugar? Ok-here's a radical idea. STOP eating it, make the decision and do it.
Are you not happy with your body, with your energy levels, with your career, with where you live, etc? Then change. Move. Start an exercise program. Buy and eat healthy foods. Change careers. It's simple, but most people are too afraid to make changes.
If you want to improve something, continuing to do the same thing that is not currently working for you is the absolute worst thing you can ever do. Make a small change today. Then make another tomorrow and the day after. Continue doing this and taking a step in the direction you want to travel and eventually you will get there. AND don't forget to enjoy the ride!
2. Exercise Every Day
Don't tell me you don't have time to spend 30-60 minutes a day on yourself. You do have time. Make the time. Cut our an hour of TV. Get up earlier. Say no to friends, family or happy hour occasionally. We give so much of our time to other people already-it's ok to be a little selfish for your health, fitness and sanity.
By exercising daily you don't need to run yourself into the ground every workout. Just polish yourself a little every day. Strive for perfection of your body and mind a little every day. Don't try to do it all at once.
3. Do Strength Training and Cardiovascular Training
Lift weights, walk, jog, run, swim, bike - it's all good. Don't neglect one area. Focus on developing all of the bodies' systems.
4. Stretch - Gain More Flexibility and Mobility
Do you want to feel better almost immediately? Stretch. Do joint mobility. Improving your flexibility will help you relax, will release tension in your muscles and help reduce the chance for injury. Do it today and you will feel better tomorrow.
5. Eat Better
Your body rebuilds it's self on what you eat and what you do. If you eat well and exercise you will have a healthy body to show for it. You do not have the same body you had last year or the year before. The body you have now is a reflection of what you did in the past.
Want a healthier body tomorrow? Do healthy things today.
Every day are cells die and new ones form. What type of fuel are you providing for the rebuilding process? Healthy, fresh, raw whole foods? Or processed, sugar and trans-fat laden crap? Look at where and what you eat then look in the mirror. There is a direct correlation. Change it. Now.
Forget diets-eat fresh, raw, whole unprocessed foods whenever possible. Don't count calories-just don't overeat. If you are eating the correct things you won't get fat.
Eat live foods whenever possible, I recently switched my nutrition to 60-80% raw vegan foods, and the other 20-40% vegetarian foods with the occasional cheat meal and in two months I lost just over 30 pounds, have a lot more energy and overall just feel better. It is a good idea to fuel your body with higher quality nutrients.
6.Enjoy Your Life
Occasionally enjoy whatever it is you want-just don't use it as an excuse to binge. Have a beer, a slice of pizza or a piece of cheesecake without feeling guilty. Enjoy it then get back to eating healthy.
7. Drink More Water
You will feel a difference if you drink more water. Forget energy drinks, sodas, or other high calorie crap. Drink clean fresh water and your body will thank you for it.
8. Relax More
Going balls to the wall on a fitness program will wear you down fast-particularly the older we get. At 30, 40 and 50 years of age we don't recover like we did when we were in our teens.
Make sure you are taking time every day to focus on energy producing activities like Qigong, Tai Chi, meditation, relaxtion, prayer, breathing fresh air, long deep breathing exercises-whatever floats your boat-just do it.
Learn to breath into your belly-focus on the area about an inch and a half below your navel. The Chinese call this the dan tien-our center of qi or life force energy. Don't know how to breath into your belly? Watch a newborn baby-they do it perfectly.
9. Read Less-Do More
Stop reading and watching about fitness, the latest fad diet craze, and what the celebrities are doing. None of this will improve your health and fitness. The only way you will make changes is by doing. Start doing now.
10. Make a Lifestyle Change NOT a Resolution
I think resolutions just doom you to failure. Sure we must set goals and have an idea of where we are going and what we are trying to accomplish-but look at it as a lifestyle change-something you do every-day to bring you closer to your goals.
Do something daily that will bring you a step closer to living the healthy lifestyle you want to live. Start now and don't stop.
Make 2012 your healthiest and happiest year, set and accomplish all your goals and allow that momentum to build and carryover into the rest of your life!
Wishing you nothing but health, happiness and success in 2012!
-Scott
Improving our health and fitness is a great place to start as I believe this carries over into all aspects of our lives.
If we are healthy and we eat better, we have more energy, we carry around less fat, we are less prone to disease and sickness, we have greater mental clarity, we are more relaxed, we manage stress better, and overall we just feel better. This carries over into our professional lives, our personal lives and affects not only us but those around us.
Greater health begins with the decision to change-but doesn't stop there. The next step is to take action. While taking action is very important-and sadly a step most never take-it is not the most important aspect of making a change. The most important aspect is taking the second step, the third step, the thousandth step and to keep going. To keep on keeping on is the key to success in anything.
With this in mind here are ten things you can do to ensure 2012 is your healthiest and happiest year ever.
1. Take Responsibility
In my opinion Jack Canfield's best book is "The Success Principles". In it Jack's first principle of success is to take 100% responsibility for your life-and he's right. Too often people blame others, circumstances, not being dealt a "fair deck", the weather, the market, and so on and so forth-yet I've never heard anyone blame themselves. This might be a little rough-but where you are now is the culmination of all the decisions YOU made. Period.
Are you sick? It's because of what you ate, what you did or didn't do, what you breathed, what you thought, what YOU did.
Are you overweight? It's because of what YOU ate. It's because of the workout YOU decided to skip. It's because you decided there wasn't enough time in the day to make healthy foods and exercise. No-one else did this for you.
I'm sorry-but save your "It's too hard to eat healthy" excuse. It takes the same amount of energy to put an apple in your mouth and chew as it does a cupcake. The difference? YOU made the decision what to pick up and put in your mouth.
Addicted to sugar? Ok-here's a radical idea. STOP eating it, make the decision and do it.
Are you not happy with your body, with your energy levels, with your career, with where you live, etc? Then change. Move. Start an exercise program. Buy and eat healthy foods. Change careers. It's simple, but most people are too afraid to make changes.
If you want to improve something, continuing to do the same thing that is not currently working for you is the absolute worst thing you can ever do. Make a small change today. Then make another tomorrow and the day after. Continue doing this and taking a step in the direction you want to travel and eventually you will get there. AND don't forget to enjoy the ride!
2. Exercise Every Day
Don't tell me you don't have time to spend 30-60 minutes a day on yourself. You do have time. Make the time. Cut our an hour of TV. Get up earlier. Say no to friends, family or happy hour occasionally. We give so much of our time to other people already-it's ok to be a little selfish for your health, fitness and sanity.
By exercising daily you don't need to run yourself into the ground every workout. Just polish yourself a little every day. Strive for perfection of your body and mind a little every day. Don't try to do it all at once.
3. Do Strength Training and Cardiovascular Training
Lift weights, walk, jog, run, swim, bike - it's all good. Don't neglect one area. Focus on developing all of the bodies' systems.
4. Stretch - Gain More Flexibility and Mobility
Do you want to feel better almost immediately? Stretch. Do joint mobility. Improving your flexibility will help you relax, will release tension in your muscles and help reduce the chance for injury. Do it today and you will feel better tomorrow.
5. Eat Better
Your body rebuilds it's self on what you eat and what you do. If you eat well and exercise you will have a healthy body to show for it. You do not have the same body you had last year or the year before. The body you have now is a reflection of what you did in the past.
Want a healthier body tomorrow? Do healthy things today.
Every day are cells die and new ones form. What type of fuel are you providing for the rebuilding process? Healthy, fresh, raw whole foods? Or processed, sugar and trans-fat laden crap? Look at where and what you eat then look in the mirror. There is a direct correlation. Change it. Now.
Forget diets-eat fresh, raw, whole unprocessed foods whenever possible. Don't count calories-just don't overeat. If you are eating the correct things you won't get fat.
Eat live foods whenever possible, I recently switched my nutrition to 60-80% raw vegan foods, and the other 20-40% vegetarian foods with the occasional cheat meal and in two months I lost just over 30 pounds, have a lot more energy and overall just feel better. It is a good idea to fuel your body with higher quality nutrients.
6.Enjoy Your Life
Occasionally enjoy whatever it is you want-just don't use it as an excuse to binge. Have a beer, a slice of pizza or a piece of cheesecake without feeling guilty. Enjoy it then get back to eating healthy.
7. Drink More Water
You will feel a difference if you drink more water. Forget energy drinks, sodas, or other high calorie crap. Drink clean fresh water and your body will thank you for it.
8. Relax More
Going balls to the wall on a fitness program will wear you down fast-particularly the older we get. At 30, 40 and 50 years of age we don't recover like we did when we were in our teens.
Make sure you are taking time every day to focus on energy producing activities like Qigong, Tai Chi, meditation, relaxtion, prayer, breathing fresh air, long deep breathing exercises-whatever floats your boat-just do it.
Learn to breath into your belly-focus on the area about an inch and a half below your navel. The Chinese call this the dan tien-our center of qi or life force energy. Don't know how to breath into your belly? Watch a newborn baby-they do it perfectly.
9. Read Less-Do More
Stop reading and watching about fitness, the latest fad diet craze, and what the celebrities are doing. None of this will improve your health and fitness. The only way you will make changes is by doing. Start doing now.
10. Make a Lifestyle Change NOT a Resolution
I think resolutions just doom you to failure. Sure we must set goals and have an idea of where we are going and what we are trying to accomplish-but look at it as a lifestyle change-something you do every-day to bring you closer to your goals.
Do something daily that will bring you a step closer to living the healthy lifestyle you want to live. Start now and don't stop.
Make 2012 your healthiest and happiest year, set and accomplish all your goals and allow that momentum to build and carryover into the rest of your life!
Wishing you nothing but health, happiness and success in 2012!
-Scott
Saturday, December 17, 2011
From Band Geek to Business Owner - How I Started my Career in the Fitness Industry
I have a couple of new books and products / programs coming out for 2012 and decided to share the introduction of my new book on the business of health, fitness and personal training in this blog post. Enjoy!
From Band-Geek to Business Owner
The story of how I came to choose the fitness industry as a career path is far from exciting. I grew up in the very rural town of Austinburg, Ohio-just outside of Geneva in the northeast corner of Ashtabula County. I played a little baseball at a young age and was a pretty decent pitcher, but chose to hang up my baseball glove in favor of a BMX bike and a drum-set around age 11. At that point conventional sports took a backseat and I started launching myself off of vert ramps and dirt jumps in addition to playing drums in my school’s various bands and jamming on my drum-set to all of the heavy metal and punk bands I grew up on through my headphones.
I was always skinny and by 10th grade I was barely 135 pounds soaking wet. It was also around this time that some of my friends were starting to experiment with lifting weights and starting to put on a little muscle. Finally after being laughed at by my girlfriend and a friend of ours (thanks for the motivation Stephanie and Erica!) for owning a set of thighs that didn’t touch when I stood with my feet together, I ordered a bodybuilding training course from the back of one of my Spiderman comic books. I started doing push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats and sit-ups and chugging milk. I even put on a few pounds and started to build a little muscle.
At this point I convinced my mother to let me join my local YMCA and began my journey into the world of the iron, little did I know at the time that it would one day pay my bills and offer me the freedom from having a “regular” job.
Stepping into that weight-room at the Madison, Ohio YMCA was a turning point in my life. There was something so primal and awesome about this weight room. It sat on the second floor over top the swimming pool. This made the weight room extremely hot and humid, but I didn’t care.
The old barbells and weight piles were rusty and hardcore looking. It was really nothing more than an old squat rack, some benches, barbells, dumbbells and a few machines-but this place became a temple to me.
Massively muscled guys trained in there and were kind enough to take me under their wings, at least to the point I didn’t look like a complete idiot while working out in there! I was hooked on the iron and there was no turning back for me.
After graduating high school I looked for the fastest ticket out of Ohio, for me that ended up being the US Navy. I continued my obsession with lifting weights on and off throughout my enlistment and started to pay closer attention bodybuilding.
After I got out of the Navy I came back to Ohio and attended Kent State University, and honestly I cannot remember a time in which I was without a gym membership from that point on. However, that does not mean that I always used it. Around age 21 or 22 I had really let myself go. Some people put on the “freshman 15” but I’m pretty sure I put on the “freshman 30”. I guess living off bacon double cheeseburgers and 32 oz. draft beers from Mooney’s Goose will do that to you.
It was at this point I was visiting my family for the holidays, and my aunt-who was always so complimentary of what good shape I was always in-told me I was fat. She was right; I was in my early 20’s with a huge gut and pain in my lower back and hips. It wasn’t good, and I decided that was the time for me to get serious again and get back in the gym.
This time I started studying about nutrition and supplements and could very well have been a spokesperson for MetRx or EAS, and I subscribed to Muscle Media 2000 magazine. I followed the bodybuilding programs recommended by Bill Phillips and the other writers of MM2K religiously. It was at this point I had really started stripping away body-fat and building a decent amount of muscle. People at the gym kept asking me what I was doing and I ended up coaching and assisting everyone who asked. I remember thinking “man, it would be awesome to do this for a living”.
It was then that I started learning about personal training, different certification organizations, strength & conditioning coaching and started to explore job opportunities in the health and fitness industry. This led to me getting a personal training certification and landing a job at the downtown Akron YMCA.
A year later I packed up and moved to Atlanta to work as a full-time trainer for a private fitness center in a country club while finishing my Health and Physical Education degree.
I ended up staying at the country club for a little over 12 years, the last 6 of which I served as the director of the fitness center.
As I was finishing my degree I was faced with deciding the path I wanted my career to take. I had developed a huge passion for training athletes, so naturally I thought I wanted to be a collegiate or professional strength and conditioning coach. This all changed after visiting a professional football team’s strength training center and after watching their workout, as well as with a little helpful prodding from my wife, I decided that the private sector was the way to go. This way I could operate on my terms, set my salary cap (of which I believe there is none) and set my working conditions. I could run the programming and develop plans specifically for the athletes and clients who paid me for my services and not have to follow anyone else’s model.
I started small and operated part-time in addition to my full-time training job at the country club fitness center. I started training and consulting for clients and athletes out of my basement all the while furthering my education by learning about the science of coaching and training, as well as business, marketing and networking. Skills I am still learning to this day.
In addition I continued to spend time training myself which led to a very brief stint in bodybuilding and eventually competing in the sports of powerlifting and kettlebell sport, to finally studying internal martial arts, particularly Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong, and meditation. I still lift weights, albeit not competitively, and can't imagine a time in my life where I will ever give up my barbells and kettlebells. Once the the iron bug bites you the addiction spreads and it's tough to let go!
Eventually my business grew to the point I had to move from my house and into a private commercial facility. I continued to train clients and athletes from numerous sports (football, boxing, mixed martial arts, powerlifting, kettlebell sport, and many others), wrote and published numerous training books, and am still developing programs and products.
After a couple of years of running my own personal business while simultaneously working as the director of the country club fitness center, and after some planning and encouragement from my wife / business partner, I finally “burned my ships” and resigned from the country club choosing to operate 100% as a self employed business owner and haven’t looked back. It was one of the scariest, most exciting and most liberating decisions I’ve ever made and I couldn’t be happier!
Every year my business becomes more successful and I have had numerous other ventures and business opportunities present themselves as a result of the work I’ve done in the health and fitness industry.
Along the way of building my business from the basement of my house to a private training center, I had been contacted by numerous other trainers and professionals in the industry. Most of them saw what I was doing and were inquiring as to how to apply what I had learned through my experiences to their businesses and careers.
At this point not only was I working as a trainer to my athletes and clients, but I had become a Trainer for Personal Trainers. I really enjoyed this type of networking and was pretty honored that people viewed me as someone they wanted to seek advice from.
My passion for helping people achieve their goals is what fueled my career in the fitness industry; and now my passion for helping other fitness professionals and prospective fitness professionals achieve their career goals has fueled the idea for this book.
If you are ready to begin, or further, your career in the health and fitness industry you’ve come to the right place. It is my sincerest hope that the experiences I have encountered and learned from in my career will help you accelerate your career and avoid some of the inevitable pit-falls and adversity you will encounter along the way.
Now let’s get to work!
-Scott
From Band-Geek to Business Owner
The story of how I came to choose the fitness industry as a career path is far from exciting. I grew up in the very rural town of Austinburg, Ohio-just outside of Geneva in the northeast corner of Ashtabula County. I played a little baseball at a young age and was a pretty decent pitcher, but chose to hang up my baseball glove in favor of a BMX bike and a drum-set around age 11. At that point conventional sports took a backseat and I started launching myself off of vert ramps and dirt jumps in addition to playing drums in my school’s various bands and jamming on my drum-set to all of the heavy metal and punk bands I grew up on through my headphones.
I was always skinny and by 10th grade I was barely 135 pounds soaking wet. It was also around this time that some of my friends were starting to experiment with lifting weights and starting to put on a little muscle. Finally after being laughed at by my girlfriend and a friend of ours (thanks for the motivation Stephanie and Erica!) for owning a set of thighs that didn’t touch when I stood with my feet together, I ordered a bodybuilding training course from the back of one of my Spiderman comic books. I started doing push-ups, pull-ups, bodyweight squats and sit-ups and chugging milk. I even put on a few pounds and started to build a little muscle.
At this point I convinced my mother to let me join my local YMCA and began my journey into the world of the iron, little did I know at the time that it would one day pay my bills and offer me the freedom from having a “regular” job.
Stepping into that weight-room at the Madison, Ohio YMCA was a turning point in my life. There was something so primal and awesome about this weight room. It sat on the second floor over top the swimming pool. This made the weight room extremely hot and humid, but I didn’t care.
The old barbells and weight piles were rusty and hardcore looking. It was really nothing more than an old squat rack, some benches, barbells, dumbbells and a few machines-but this place became a temple to me.
Massively muscled guys trained in there and were kind enough to take me under their wings, at least to the point I didn’t look like a complete idiot while working out in there! I was hooked on the iron and there was no turning back for me.
After graduating high school I looked for the fastest ticket out of Ohio, for me that ended up being the US Navy. I continued my obsession with lifting weights on and off throughout my enlistment and started to pay closer attention bodybuilding.
After I got out of the Navy I came back to Ohio and attended Kent State University, and honestly I cannot remember a time in which I was without a gym membership from that point on. However, that does not mean that I always used it. Around age 21 or 22 I had really let myself go. Some people put on the “freshman 15” but I’m pretty sure I put on the “freshman 30”. I guess living off bacon double cheeseburgers and 32 oz. draft beers from Mooney’s Goose will do that to you.
It was at this point I was visiting my family for the holidays, and my aunt-who was always so complimentary of what good shape I was always in-told me I was fat. She was right; I was in my early 20’s with a huge gut and pain in my lower back and hips. It wasn’t good, and I decided that was the time for me to get serious again and get back in the gym.
This time I started studying about nutrition and supplements and could very well have been a spokesperson for MetRx or EAS, and I subscribed to Muscle Media 2000 magazine. I followed the bodybuilding programs recommended by Bill Phillips and the other writers of MM2K religiously. It was at this point I had really started stripping away body-fat and building a decent amount of muscle. People at the gym kept asking me what I was doing and I ended up coaching and assisting everyone who asked. I remember thinking “man, it would be awesome to do this for a living”.
It was then that I started learning about personal training, different certification organizations, strength & conditioning coaching and started to explore job opportunities in the health and fitness industry. This led to me getting a personal training certification and landing a job at the downtown Akron YMCA.
A year later I packed up and moved to Atlanta to work as a full-time trainer for a private fitness center in a country club while finishing my Health and Physical Education degree.
I ended up staying at the country club for a little over 12 years, the last 6 of which I served as the director of the fitness center.
As I was finishing my degree I was faced with deciding the path I wanted my career to take. I had developed a huge passion for training athletes, so naturally I thought I wanted to be a collegiate or professional strength and conditioning coach. This all changed after visiting a professional football team’s strength training center and after watching their workout, as well as with a little helpful prodding from my wife, I decided that the private sector was the way to go. This way I could operate on my terms, set my salary cap (of which I believe there is none) and set my working conditions. I could run the programming and develop plans specifically for the athletes and clients who paid me for my services and not have to follow anyone else’s model.
I started small and operated part-time in addition to my full-time training job at the country club fitness center. I started training and consulting for clients and athletes out of my basement all the while furthering my education by learning about the science of coaching and training, as well as business, marketing and networking. Skills I am still learning to this day.
In addition I continued to spend time training myself which led to a very brief stint in bodybuilding and eventually competing in the sports of powerlifting and kettlebell sport, to finally studying internal martial arts, particularly Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong, and meditation. I still lift weights, albeit not competitively, and can't imagine a time in my life where I will ever give up my barbells and kettlebells. Once the the iron bug bites you the addiction spreads and it's tough to let go!
Eventually my business grew to the point I had to move from my house and into a private commercial facility. I continued to train clients and athletes from numerous sports (football, boxing, mixed martial arts, powerlifting, kettlebell sport, and many others), wrote and published numerous training books, and am still developing programs and products.
After a couple of years of running my own personal business while simultaneously working as the director of the country club fitness center, and after some planning and encouragement from my wife / business partner, I finally “burned my ships” and resigned from the country club choosing to operate 100% as a self employed business owner and haven’t looked back. It was one of the scariest, most exciting and most liberating decisions I’ve ever made and I couldn’t be happier!
Every year my business becomes more successful and I have had numerous other ventures and business opportunities present themselves as a result of the work I’ve done in the health and fitness industry.
Along the way of building my business from the basement of my house to a private training center, I had been contacted by numerous other trainers and professionals in the industry. Most of them saw what I was doing and were inquiring as to how to apply what I had learned through my experiences to their businesses and careers.
At this point not only was I working as a trainer to my athletes and clients, but I had become a Trainer for Personal Trainers. I really enjoyed this type of networking and was pretty honored that people viewed me as someone they wanted to seek advice from.
My passion for helping people achieve their goals is what fueled my career in the fitness industry; and now my passion for helping other fitness professionals and prospective fitness professionals achieve their career goals has fueled the idea for this book.
If you are ready to begin, or further, your career in the health and fitness industry you’ve come to the right place. It is my sincerest hope that the experiences I have encountered and learned from in my career will help you accelerate your career and avoid some of the inevitable pit-falls and adversity you will encounter along the way.
Now let’s get to work!
-Scott
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