Some Updates

Haven't posted in awhile so just wanted to fill you in on some exciting stuff I'm working on. Been busy writing/collecting my info for my website which should be up by the end of this week. Huge thanks to my bro who's putting it together. It's actually his final project for his web design class he's taking to improve himself and his business,PhotoDoctorGraphics. It's taken awhile to get my info just right, since I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to these things.

Also, I took the time to design some Fitness Tech fight shirts which I, and a few others will be wearing to support my client, Cliff Fua who has a muay thai title fight this Saturday at Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco in The World Combat Sports Challenge. Cliff is one of the hardest working guys I've trained. What's best is that he's quiet, doesn't complain, and just gets after it. Before I started working with him, Cliff's conditioning was terrible. If he could just improve his conditioning, then he wouldn't have to worry about holding anything back like he did in the past. Once I got my hands on him he was running hills/stairs, dragging the sled, carrying sandbags, using the sledgehammer, doing bodyweight exercises, getting back to the basic, old school, Rocky-style training as opposed to his in-effective "bodybuilder"/long slow jog type workouts in the gym. Not only have I seen a big improvement in his stamina, I also keep in close communication with his fight trainer, Mark Tabuso, and he's telling me Cliff is looking good, in fight shape, and ready to take that title belt!

The Game Changer

Tonight the Denver Nuggets take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers are the favorites not only to win this series, but also have been picked to win the NBA title. Now, being from Northern California, my team is the Warriors, but since they sucked this year, I can't talk much sh*t about the Lakers even though I don't like them or their "fair weather" fans (with all due respect to true Laker fans, ones who've actually lived/are from SoCal, or been a fan since the Magic/Kareem era). I've always rooted for the underdog maybe because I am or at least always think of myself as that. It just makes you more hungry, more determined, more mentally tough.

Which brings me to a great article I read about Nuggets starting point guard Chauncey Billups. Billups, a 12 year veteran, spent his first 5 seasons in the league bouncing around to 6 different teams until finding a home and winning a championship ring with the Detroit Pistons. Now playing for his hometown Nuggets, he brings a veteran savvy and leadership that was cultivated through his past trials and tribulations. It's a long article, but well worth the read. Here's some "nuggets" of wisdom that I pulled from the article that can help us all:

Minnesota T-wolves teammate Sam Mitchell telling a young Billups: in order to lead he must learn to follow. He tells him he must be coachable, that he can't be a know-it-all. If you take care of the person to your right and the person to your left, the person who benefits most is the one in the middle.

(Nuggets coach George) Karl calls a meeting to introduce Chauncey, who tells his new teammates, "Look, I'm here to win. I ain't here to do a lot of talking. I'll walk the walk, and hopefully y'all be the same way, and we'll be on the same page."

(Nuggets talented, but inconsistent guard J.R.) Smith asks Chauncey why he only shot six times, and Chauncey tells him, "I read the game. I don't play for stats. I don't play for none of that no more. I play for the win." Smith's reaction: "Damn. Makes sense."

You can take your game, whether it be in sports, fitness and/or life, to the next level if you adopt a selfless attitude like Chauncey.

Friday Fun

The weather was beautiful in San Bruno today which made for a grueling outdoor workout. It was a great, hard-working group with the muay thai fighters Cliff, Andres', and Alex, my bro, and a fellow trainer, wrestling coach, and mma fighter Eric Sorenson. All the fighters have bouts scheduled in the next months with Cliff fighting for a title May 30th, and Andres' and Alex due up in July. Oh yeah, Eric too has an mma fight next week as well.

They pulled and rowed the sled, carried heavy sandbags, ran the length of the field, carried weight plates around cones, did push ups, burpees, and bench jumps.........until they saw Gawwwwwwd!!! Muahahahaha!!! Great job today fellas, but never get complacent (this goes for everybody), there's always going to be someone better so you gotta keep pushing and never lose your EDGE!

The Eye Of The Tiger

Remember in Rocky III when Rocky lost his title to Mr. T (a.k.a. Clubber Lang)? Rocky was the champ and he defended his title 10 or so times before that, but against tomato cans (weak opponents). He was living the good life, big house, nice cars, and even holding his training camp in a fancy auditorium with a live band to prepare for his fight with Clubber!! Meanwhile, Clubber was by himself, training in a dingy, grimy gym sweating and working out hard. Rocky gets knocked out in the second round by the more aggressive, determined, Lang. After his defeat, Rocky is seen moping around at his old gym, when an old nemesis, Apollo Creed comes in and offers to train him to beat Lang. Apollo then takes Rocky back to his gym, back to the basics, a hardcore, dirty, sweaty gym with mean looking fighters. He tells Rocky to look into their eyes, they all have IT, that look, that edge, the fighting spirit, that, "Eye of the Tiger" and Rocky needs to get that look back.
I really feel that "eye of the tiger" mentality is so important when trying to achieve a goal, whether it be in the ring, on the court, or with yourself trying to lose that extra weight. There's no need for fancy workout programs and a cushy gym with shiny dumbbells and those "hollywood" trainers. To get to your goal, all you need is a willingness to work hard, put forth an effort, basically bust your ass. For me, it's getting back to the basics, old school workouts which means outdoors, running hills til your lungs are about to pop, lifting, carrying sandbags, dragging a weighted sled, bodyweight push ups, squats....etc.....I still go into the gym a couple days just to throw some dumbbells and barbells around, but since doing these outdoor, old school, outside the box workouts, I'm in better cardio condition, have gotten stronger in the gym, and it's given me (as well as my clients) a mental edge, just knowing not many people put in that kind of work.These guys put in the work!!! Light Weight baby!!!

Get that "Eye of the Tiger" mentality and all your dreams and goals will become a reality!!

Warning! A New Flu Virus

Looks like the swine flu hysteria has subsided, but I'm here to warn everyone there's a NEW strain of the flu virus. Move over swine flu, enter The Prowler flu!!! I've just purchased this new "virus" and, all kidding aside, from what I've read, heard, and seen, the The Prowler is vicious. It's a great tool for increasing total body strength and conditioning. If you want to blast fat, strengthen the lower and upper body, AND get your cardio in all at once, then this is for you. It isn't easy, the Prowler will be tough! But, getting the body you want or performing well in your sport takes effort. If you want to succeed, you'll need to contract The Prowler Flu coming to the Bay Area in a couple weeks.

An example of "Prowler Flu"

Tomorrow, We Dine In Hell!!!

Just finished making some more sandbags for tomorrow's workout with the fighters. I had to make a few more since there will be 9 guys training including myself. A couple more canvas duffle bags haven't arrived yet, so right now I have 2 duffle bags each weighing around 60 pounds, and 5 loose sandbags weighing approx. 25-30 pounds each.I've talked before about how lifting odd objects such as sandbags and running hills can greatly improve strength, conditioning, and mental toughness, and, when combined, can make for a brutal, but effective conditioning session. I found our new workout spot last week when I worked out with mma/muay thai fighter Cliff Fua who has an upcoming muay thai fight at the end of this month. He couldn't make our regular group session, so the next day I went to check out his conditioning spot at a park in San Mateo. He showed me the hill he usually runs when not with me which is about 150 yds with an ok incline (not the greatest, not the worst). Then he showed me some stairs that were on the other side about 100 yds away and a short, but steeper hill right across from the stairs, and with that, my imagination started running wild!! I asked him if he's run those stairs or that steep hill before and he said no, so, with an evil grin on my face we did 5 sets of each and on that steep hill carried a 25 pd sandbag up it. Cliff was tired, to say the least!

So tomorrow, I came up with (hope I don't offend anyone) the 666 or "Devil's" workout. 6 sets of sprints up the "ok" hill, 6 sets of stair sprints followed by some push ups and bench jumps, and finally 6 sets of sandbag carries up that steep hill (sandbags range from 60-25 pds). If anyone has anything left after that we'll do some sled dragging to really go to Hell!! Muahahahahaha

Influential People

Author and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn has said that, "You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with." The same can be said when it comes to achieving your fitness goals. Tonight I lifted weights with my friend Sue, who's very intense when it comes to working out. It was a tough, full body workout that included heavy front squats, walking lunges, push presses, lat pulldowns, and a brutal "finisher" which called for 10 jump squats, 10 reverse lunges, and 10 regular squats for 5 rounds. After the 4th round, Sue said that was enough, but I, (with my newfound conditioning brought on by my weight loss and circuits with the boys) said we needed to complete that 5th round like her workout called for, and we did! I'm sure if she wasn't there, I would've just packed it in after that 4th round and vice versa because it WAS tough, but just having someone there that I knew worked just as hard, pushed me to do a little more, and that's why we completed the goal.

I can't stress enough the people who you hang around with the most have a direct impact on whether or not you achieve your fitness goal. You can have the perfect workout program, the perfect meal plan, but it's worthless if you don't push yourself. Having a great training atmosphere can mean all the difference in achieving your fitness goal!

Stop The Insanity!!!

1990's self-help guru, and motivational speaker, Susan Powter coined the term in her motivational speeches, and that can be directly applied to people who think going down to GNC and buying out the store will help them achieve the body of their dreams. There are so many supplements out on the market today, I can't even keep up with the "supposed" latest and greatest weight loss or muscle building pills and powders out there.
This, my friends can get you committed to the funny farm!!!

I've read another top trainer, Alwyn Cosgrove say that supplements are progress enhancers, not progress starters, meaning they are a "supplement" to your training and diet. If you're not making progress in your workouts and/or changing your eating habits, then those "magic pills" won't do much for you except lighten your wallet!! Get your eating in check first and foremost, make sure you're getting the most out of your workouts (if you're not sure, find a qualified trainer to show you the ropes), and finally, stay the course, meaning give your workouts and diet a chance to work, stay committed to it for 6 weeks and then you can re-evaluate if it's working or not.

There are some supplements I take and recommend to people that aren't really "supplements" per se since they come from real food sources. All of these supps can be eaten through whole food sources, however, taking these supps can be a quick way to achieve your daily nutritional requirements as well as take into consideration your busy lifestyle when there's no time for food.

Here's my "starter" supps anyone can begin with:
A multivitamin, Protein powder (recovery, building/preserving muscle), and Fish oil caps (heart health/reduce inflammation).

When it comes to either losing fat or gaining muscle, simple is always better.