What's Hot

It's been quite an interesting week and a long, fun, wild weekend to top it off. There were many highlights, but I want to talk about a few new fitness experiences this week. I'm lucky to be working as a trainer at the best gym in America, and it definitely has its perks. I've recently begun my own fall/winter cross-training program, and in order to help make it complete I've decided to include a weekly regimen of personal pilates training as well as yoga. Thursday I had my pilates session, and it was awesome. If you haven't tried pilates, I urge you to do so. Pilates is a total-body experience that I can foresee will help me to stabilize with my core better, improve my posture, and in turn, will help me in other areas of athletics. Yoga has been a similar experience for me, but one major thing with yoga is the mind-body element. Yoga, besides helping with flexibility, stability, balance, strength, and breathing, instills patience and trains your mind as well. Yesterday I tried "hot" yoga, or Bikram Yoga, for the first time, and it was quite an experience. (Click on the title to this blog to link to the studio I am going to.) I urge you to round out your fitness with yoga and pilates, and definitely work with your trainer to implement safe and appropriate routines.

What I really want to highlight is the satisfaction of witnessing my clients' excitement for their own fitness. I mentioned above about perks of training, and I am actually training my pilates instructor in exchange for her service to help me. Awesome deal! Anyway, she is a dancer and is admittedly detrained as far as strength and endurance go. I trained her yesterday for the first time, and we were able to work through her weak points, avoid aggravating old injuries, and challenge her in a different way than she is accustomed to. At parts of the strength segment as well as the cardio intervals, I saw this look of excitement on her face that really pumped me up. She looked so happy to be getting a good workout in, and she really kicked butt, too!

Of course we can translate this into your job/career, too--if your job seems boring, remedial, or unexiting and if you are unmotivated, then adjust your thinking. Try something new and think about the people you are helping. A sales call is not just a sales call. Don't sell products at all. Instead, solve problems. Look at those presentations and consultations as opportunities to help someone reach a goal. You have the chance to profoundly improve the quality of someone's life every day, even if it's not a client or customer. Maybe you can brighten a co-worker's day with a compliment or a show of consideration. Bring an extra coffee back for someone or say hello to the person you join in an elevator, and get excited when they respond! Simple things like these can not only help them but in turn, may help you feel re-charged and more focused and positive throughout the day. Please post your thoughts, have a great week, and Happy Halloween! Thanks for reading!

One Pushup At A Time

It's been a full week since I've shared my thoughts on this blog, and I appreciate the time I've gained as it is needed. That said, this week's message is about making changes--one pushup at a time.

I've been working closely with one of my regular clients over the past few weeks. We've been establishing strength and preconditioning as our focus for this cycle, and the struggle, like many, is in range of motion. Take the pushup: a seemingly basic exercise, it is everything but. Executing a single pushup demands upper body strength, shoulder girdle mobility, core stability and strength, balance and coordination. Many people can start and finish a pushup or do a half range-of-motion version, going halfway to the floor and back, but it is a full range-of-motion pushup that I'm really after in a solid test. Going back to the client I began talking about, she is the same way...or has been for the past few weeks. She has been working diligently outside of sessions and trying her best all the time. It is truly the hard work put in outside of our training sessions that has really been paying off. The other day in our routine, my client did one, two, three, four...and more...full range of motion pushups! She stopped around five or so, took a break, then did some more. The realization of this milestone drove her to try to keep doing more! I know it was awesome for her, but I have to admit I had to hold my excitement in myself.

I am finally to the point now in this business that I am witnessing more and more results which means I am doing my job! What I also know from experience is that the mindset changes are the biggest and most profound. Positivity and confidence is replacing negativity and apprehension, and those are just a couple examples. For me, it will be a constant challenge to get people in the game and keep them there, and for all of us in fitness, business, and in life, we must continue to conquer these challenges and realize our own milestones, one pushup at a time. Have a great week, everyone, and thanks for reading!

Work And Play

Yesterday many of my colleagues participated in the Men's Health Urbanathlon, a athletic event featuring runs and city-themed obstacles. I am still coming off of the Marathon from last week, so I did not participate this year, but a bunch of us went out last night to hang out and consume a few alcoholic calories...ok a bit more than a few! I'm still a newer member of the team at work, so this was the first time I've really hung out with people outside of the gym. My wife came out with me, and we all had a great time. Are you the type to hang out with people you work with? If not, why not? Most likely we all spend more time with the people we work with than our own families, so it is actually very important to nurture interpersonal relationships outside of your normal work environment. Not only does it help build bonds of trust and provide more insight, it's fun, and it will make your workday and professional relationships better as well. Work hard, play hard, and have some fun!

That's it for me for today, and this is the official end of the "daily dose". Moving to a weekly blog most likely with perhaps a few extras during the week, depending on what I think is relevant to share. I'll be changing the name of the blog and maybe even the look, and I welcome any suggestions. Thanks so much for reading, responding, and for making a commitment to yourself, your health, and your life!

Moving Forward

One of my clients gave me a valuable piece of feedback yesterday. He told me that from trainers he's worked with, I have helped him to progress. "You force me to progress," he told me. Apparently, other trainers would have him perform the same exercises at the same weight each time. That may or may not be exactly true, but surely it explains how he didn't really see much results. What I aim to do with all of my clients is to challenge them each time, whether that means more weight, a few more repetitions, or simply by tweaking exercises with small progressions in complexity. His partner even made a comment about seeing more muscle and how my client appears to be getting stronger. He certainly is on paper! If you are struggling to make improvements, I urge you to continually challenge yourself. Regarding weight training, shoot for a number of repititions, but don't stop! Most people stop at a specified number such as 10 when they might have been able to push out a few more. Those extra repetitions to failure are what will help your body the most to increase endurance and strength, allowing you to progress all the time. When it seems your progression is slowing, known as the "plateau effect", it's time to take a break in your routine and adjust your focus for a period of time. Switch up your individual exercises as well as your overall approach, and you will go through the process again and see more and more consistent results. The most important thing is your attitude. If you are optimistic and ambitious, you will surely have greater results and success. This obviously translates to your life outside of the gym as well, and it is one of the only things a trainer or someone else can't provide for you. Moving forward, keep...well...moving forward! Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

Gearing Up

Planning for fitness training can seem like more work than the actual fitness routines themselves. I am planning to begin my offseason training starting this coming Monday, and I'm making sure I'm ready. I've already started tracking my nutrition and macronutrient breakdown to see how close I am to the desired ratios and levels I had planned. Also, I've been putting some foam roller time in as well as rest and sleep, all of which seem like sedentary activities, however they are actually more important for rebuilding, repair, and recovery than anything else. I've ordered my appropriate supplements, and now all that's left is getting the individual workouts designed appropriately and with a level of relevance. I suggest for all of you the same: plan well, plan early, and schedule everything. You will be happy you did because you will find it is much easier to stick to a plan than it is to "wing it" or to get it done in the last minute. Sounds like this advice could surely translate into your other activities and endeavors in business and in regular everyday life, doesn't it? So gear up, everyone! Thanks for reading, and have a great day! Happy Friday!