PLYO Box

My first creation ever...an plyometric box that i will use...I will post pictures tomorrow...stand by.   Show me you homemade exercise equipment.

I'm Back

Its been awhile since my last post, but want to keep everyone abreast of what I have been up to.  I really taken a liken to running.  My goal is to run a marathon after I become a father as a present to myself.  Wife is due in late October or early November.  Just moved to Virginia and starting to get use to the place.  At work we are all part of the presidential fitness challenge.  About 3 weeks ago I was in last place (new guy).  Today I have moved up to ninth.  My nutrition has really going well also.  I have managed to gain a few pounds despite my high activity levels.  Not sure if its because I am doing something right or because I am getting older.  Whichever it is I will take it.

Why Education is Important for Athletes

In a society where money controls decisions, athletes are choosing to forgo an education for the fast cash.  Why do you think we see so many former pro athletes failing at life after sports?  We have been brought up in a society where we are taught to get all you can now instead of preparing yourself for the long haul.  Kids are being pushed by parents harder today than they were in the past because everyone wants to be the next big star. 

NEWS FLASH

NEWS FLASH

Only a small percentage of youth and/or amateur athletes go on to become professionals in there chosen sport.  Yes, you will make a lot of money, but there are always the what if.   In my opinion it’s always better to be prepared and have a plan than not.  I know it’s hard to walk away from money especially if we are talking about a lot of money.  You have to look and dig deep into your own heart and determine your morals and decide what’s important you and your family. 

If you do chose to go to school and get an education, please decide on something that will benefit you in your life after sports.

Getting back to a high fitness level

So today I went back to the gym for the first time in two weeks.  Its amazing how long it takes your body to get back into good physical condition, but at the same time it seems as though it only takes a couple of days to feel like you are out of shape.  So today I went to my base gym to get a work out in.  I have system where I do random workouts each day similar to crossfit WOD's.  Today I ended up doing 3 rounds of:

8 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches @ 45 lbs
8 Wall Balls
11 Strict Pull-Ups
10 Burpees

The workout took me a total of 15:36 to complete.  After that I went for a 2.31 mile jog at a pace of 8:34 per mile.  One of my goals is to eventually get enough running in to run a marathon. 

Answer the questions below

What do you do when you feel like you have gotten to a point of being unfit?
What do you eat help you keep yourself at optimum performance?
What are your fitness goals?

Initial Consult Questions

So its been awhile since my last post, but now I am back and looking for input.  Please help me in finding out some initial questions that may be asked of potential clients when it come to the area and fitness and nutrition.  As we all know this nation is under attack by obesity and I along with every other personal trainer, nutritionist and dietitian would like to do out part in helping people change to a healthier lifestyle.  Please submit your input for what you would ask of someone who came to you for help if they were overweight or obese.

Respect and Exercise Tips

Today, we will talk about 2 subjects.  First I want to talk about respect.

Respect is one of my keys to being successful.   Most people believe that respect is something that is given to you based on your position in life.  Well, I am here to tell you, that’s not true.  Respect must be earned no matter who you are.  Respect that is given is not real or honest respect.  It does not have the needed emotion that needs to accompany the actions.  We here a lot about respecting your elders, respecting your teachers, respect your parents, etc, etc, etc.  I am here to tell you that if your treat people as though you are above them and they are beneath you, then you will never earn that persons respect.  You must give people that same attention, and treatment you would deserves no matter their age, race, religion, sexual preference or any other stigma.  No matter the situation, respect has to given and earned.  You will respect your kids differently that you respect your parents.  You will respect your boss differently than you respect your friends.  But none the less you must respect them.  Once you give them your respect, you will in turn earn their respect.  With respect you will be able to accomplish things easier, trust me.  I have noticed that when respect is not mutual among two people then, the communication between them suffers.  Without communication we will be lost.

Our second subject is exercise tips.

Any successful exercise program must begin with a plan.  Any successful endeavor in life for that matter must begin with a plan.  I am going to give you 5 tips that you should follow to help your own exercise plan.



    

SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE

Check with your medical provider prior to beginning any fitness regimen.  Especially if you are over the age of 40, have any prior health conditions or a family history or cardiovascular disease.  It is just as important that you know when and how to exercise just as much as the exercise itself.

SET S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

Any successful endeavor should include goals.  Exercise is no different.  Your exercise and fitness goals should be SPECIFIC – MEASURABLE – ACHIEVABLE – REALISTIC –TIMELY.  You need to determine how often, how long, when, where and how each activity will be performed.  Being specific with your goals allows you to know when you are on or off track.

START SLOWLY

Staring slowly and gradually increasing your intensity, frequency and/or duration will go a long way in keeping you healthy, motivated and on track.  Not to mention it can also help to prevent injuries.

CREATE A BALANCED PLAN

Every exercise and fitness plan should include a warm-up, cool-down, aerobic activities, strength training and stretching.  Each element provides different benefit and when applied properly and really assist in maximum body performance.

SCHEDULE EXERCISE

When developing your fitness plan, exercise should be taken just as serious as any other event on your daily schedule.  Make exercise an important part of your day by putting it into your daily calendar of event and/or appointments.  If your include exercise in your schedule, you will be more apt to make sure it happens.

Discipline

I try to use this blog to inspire other to do and want more from themselves.  Today I want to hint on the subject of discipline.  Discipline means you have a goal or make a decision and see it through until the end.  I remember when I was coaching youth football, I had to instill discipline into the players before I could teach them anything about football.  Having discipline means you are committed to what task you have in front of you, no matter what it is.  N ow we are all human so there will be time when we do not give discipline to the matter in front of us.  But, have discipline means you will be able get yourself back on track.  Each individual has to make their own rules and guidelines to follow.  These rules and guidelines will be your guide to remaining disciplined.  Without it, your mind will wonders and your actions will not be consistent with what your ultimate goals are.  If you obtain your discipline you will obtain your goals and be successful.



Pet Peeves "vs" Obesity "vs" Schools

I remember when I was growing up back in the 80's and 90's (yeah I know it was a long time ago) We looked forward to Physical Education class at school.  In today's society, children are so spoiled that exercise is thrown right out the window.  Each morning when I walk my 3 dogs, it is usually around the time when the school bus is picking up the neighborhood kids to take them to school.  Society has changed so much that kids do not even have to leave their front door to be picked up by the school bus anymore.

One of my pet peeves is seeing an obese kid who is perfectly able, that gets picked up at their door. Better yet another one is seeing and obese or overweight kids having to walk about 10-15 yards to get to bus, but they refuse to hustle, run, jog or walk any faster even though traffic is obeying the laws and waiting for all the kids to safely get on the bus.  It reminds me of when I was a kid and we had to walk 4 blocks just to be picked up by the school bus.

We enjoyed this time, walking to school with our friends and having fun before we got educated at school.  It was our morning playtime.  Sometimes we would even leave earlier so that we can get to school and play with everyone at school who didn't live in our neighborhood.  Those were the days when school cared about what happened to the kids attending.  We had nutritious lunches with healthy snacks.  If we as Americans don't get back to this, then we will live in an environment of obesity.

Inspiration

Every now and then you find inspiration in some of the most unthinkable places.  I am really into sports, fitness and nutrition and today I happen to looking over twitter and came across the twitter tag fANNEtasticfood. I decided to send this person a message  asking about running.  I got a response and decided to send a friend request and look at her page.  Turns out she is very inspirational for me and seems to be inspirations for many others.  If you get a second take a look at this page and tell me what you think. 

http://www.fannetasticfood.com/

Family Time

How important is it to spend time with your family.  I know for me it make all the difference in how close I am to my wife and my unborn child.  Spending quality time with family allows you to bond and build meaningful relationships with the ones you love.  My wife and I use to have date night every Friday.  For about 6 months we knew that on Friday night we would spend time together.  After a while we started taking it for granted and starting letting work and other life issues get in the way of our time.  What I noticed is that when that happened we started to grow apart from one another.  So to fix it, we started spending our weekends together, starting with Friday night date night, followed by Saturday afternoon events and then Sunday morning church service and some afternoon lunch. 

Spending time with the one or the ones you love should not be taken for granted.  Although family will always be family, you still have to treat them as though they will not be around forever and try to take advantage of every moment you can with them.

I hope this short read inspires some to get back to spending quality time with their wife, husband, child, children or any one they feel is important to them.