Summer Swoon?

It's been a slow July client-wise since many are taking vacations around this time. While it may seem I've taken a vacation as well (from blogging), that couldn't be further from the truth. This extra time has given me an opportunity to really work ON my business as opposed to working IN my business. I've read the E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber a couple years ago, but it hasn't really sunk in until now (I'm a late bloomer, always was). Basically, the E-Myth refers to the idea that most businesses fail because the founders are technicians that were inspired to start a business without knowledge of how successful businesses run. A successful business is sustainable even when you're not there like a franchise (think Mcdonald's, Starbuck's, Subway, etc.).

So right now I've been reading up on marketing and business building principles to really get out of the "worker bee" mentality, and start to own my business. The marketing aspect is really important, I think, not only to promote my business, but for potential clients as well as existing clients to see. Sure, you can read my bio and see that I've got experience and a pretty decent certification, but since I've been so focused on training clients (working IN my business), I've neglected to organize and put up testimonials and other stuff like videos (pictures just don't do justice anymore in this tech age) of the results/success stories of my clients. People really don't care how many certs you have or who you are. What they care about are the results you can produce (Social Proof). I'm now armed with a trusty camcorder, shooting some video (still a work in progress), gathering testimonials, and re-organizing my website. Man, with reading about exercise protocols AND marketing it seems a little over-whelming, but it is exciting at the same time!!

What I'm not neglecting, however is my daily hour (or two or three) of power of exercise information readings. I just read a great blog post from the Diesel Crew website. I've been influenced by their training methods early on which I think helped mold me into the trainer I am today. I like their approach which is to learn the basics first, keep it simple (but definitely not easy!!), and just get after it hard!! If the majority of people can apply two of the eight ways, the world would be a better place!!

Baaaaa Baaaaaa

Whenever I work out at a commercial gym, I see people doing the same ineffective things over and over again!! I'm talking about things like reading a magazine on the elliptical, going around from machine to machine without a purpose, or lifting very light weights for "the pump". It's called the sheep mentality, which is basically following the herd or blindly doing what everyone else is doing. This is especially prevalent in the fitness industry with all the myths and resident gym "gurus" who think they know it all.

Getting the body you want isn't as easy as the informercials and Muscle and Fiction magazines make it out to be. Let's face it, look around any commercial gym (which the majority of people work out at), and most just don't bust their ass and work that hard. When you set a goal, also realize that to get to that goal is going to take some effort and intensity. A good rule of thumb is to look around the gym and do the exact opposite of what "the herd" are doing. If your goal is worth anything to you, pick the exercises that no one else are willing to do. There's a reason the pull up bar and squat rack are usually empty or that you rarely ever see anyone sprinting on the treadmill. It's because they're damn HARD, but it's those physically and mentally challenging exercises that will produce unbelievable results!

A good example was this weekend when I took a couple clients out to the track for some circuits with the prowler, sandbags, and running stairs. One client finished before the other, and said she was gonna "jog" around the track a few times while waiting for my other client to finish (It was that client's first time doing this workout and she caught a case of the "prowler flu"). The sheep mentality was in full effect since there were plenty of "joggers" out that day. Now my client wants a" Jessica Beil esque" body and I've read her workouts which does not include "jogging" (click to read why jogging sucks imo). So I just said, no, no ,no, NOOOO, and had her do some sprints (50m sprints, walk back, repeated 6x's) to finish her off, muahahahaha!!! Jessica Biel does not "jog"
Biel again, WOW

Ok, Ok, back to today's topic. Let me say this again, to get the body you desire takes hard work! Success is when your inspiration meets your perspiration. Don't follow the herd, think outside the box, be different than the norm. Be the person everyone else stares at for going against the grain and pushing the pace!!

Gotta Love Mondays

I know some (maybe even most) people dread Mondays since they have to go back to work. I, on the other hand enjoy Mondays even though it means training clients at 6 am. I have the most energy on this day for my clients as well as my workout. I make sure my weekends are relaxing with some treats, er, cheats on Saturday (some good drink and food!!) and sleeping early on Sunday night. Before I get into my workout today, just wanted to congratulate Fitness Tech athlete Andres "I.J.H.S." Salas on his victory Saturday night to win the West Coast cruiserweight kickboxing title. The win was bittersweet though, because his opponent was disqualified in the first round when he kicked Andres in the groin AND again in the shoulder while Andres was on the mat!! He injured his shoulder pretty bad with that illegal kick and will have an MRI tomorrow. I have no doubt Andres would have put on a great show since he trained so hard for this title shot. Being a fierce competitor, I know Andres is disappointed with the way things went down, but let's hope his shoulder injury is not too serious so he can get back and defend the title.

Now on to today's workout. Fitness Tech athlete Alex Buzon joined me in the gym for some lifting. Most of the pics on my blog show outdoor workouts, but don't be fooled, I utilize all the tools available and the gym is still a staple of my workouts. Got in a total body workout with some weighted pull ups, incline presses, Zercher squats, an advanced plank movement, and some renegade rows. Here's some pics from today:
Alex (155 pds) pulling up with 50 extra pds attatched to the belt
Me (175 pds) performing a chin up with 50 pds attatched to the belt
Zercher squat - Great for the legs, but also the core, form is same as the squat, chest up, back flat, sit back
Bottom position of the Zercher
Advanced plank - knee to opposite elbow (alternate for 1 min)
Renegade row - great "finisher" to the workout. Here's a video to better explain:

Beat the Monday Morning Blues by getting proper rest during the weekend and hit it hard in the gym to jump-start your week!

It's Tiiiimmmmme!!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, had a little writer's block, but now I'm back and focused! Speaking of focused, Fitness Tech athlete Andres "I.J.H.S." Salas is fighting this Saturday night in Redwood City at the Fox Theater. Not only is he trying to continue his perfect record (4-0), he's also fighting for the West Coast kickboxing title belt. Andres has been working hard as always in the gym and with the Fitness Tech workout crew running sand hills, pushing the Prowler, and carrying sandbags. Since it's for a title, it's a five round fight, but with the conditioning he's been putting in, he has the cardio and the competitiveness to go ten rounds if he needed to. Andres has his eyes on the prize and is ready for war come Saturday!!!

I'll also be recording the UFC 100 mixed martial arts event to watch later. These are the professionals and as you can see from the website, pretty jacked (i.e. ripped/muscular) and some of the most well conditioned athletes in sports. This is where strength and conditioning becomes a deciding factor in a win or a loss imo. Since these guys are very technically sound in their fighting discipline relative strength (strength to body weight ratio) can have a direct impact on the outcome of a fight. I see a lot of amateur muay thai and mma events, and most of the fighters don't look like they spend much time on that aspect of the fight game. Yes, they are in great condition, but they don't look strong. They can get away with it now, since they may have better technique than their opponents, but keep moving up the ladder, you can bet that they will face guys like in the UFC and will wish they had spent more time in the weight room. I'm talking about the simple stuff like pull ups, push ups, bodyweight squats, and of course squats, deadlifts, and bench pressing. To be great, you have to go that extra mile.