Real Functional Training!

So, my family and I went to the circus this past weekend. Very Cool! Many of the things that they did incorporated tons of functional training. I highly doubt they sit down on machines and push and pull a bunch of weights around as we see in almost all gyms on every corner.

Functional training gets you the results you really want. One of the highest levels of functional training is in gymnastics. Picture a gymnast up on the rings. His strength comes from his core, not from his big biceps, not from his powerful legs, but from his core. He got his strong core from flipping around, holding his own body weight up, while twisting and turning in every direction. He got it through functional training.

In my studio, this is how we train people, through functional training. No we don’t do flips or floor routine or even the high bar. We have rings in our studio though, not for doing great routines on, but everyone of all ages use them. We do movements, not exercises. We train the body the way it was supposed to move. We train with exercise toys like stability balls, BOSU balls, free weights, cables, bands, tubing, medicine balls, tires, rope, ladders, and much more. The best piece of equipment we have and the one we use the most is our own body. Using our own body weight for resistance is the absolute best thing we can do to strengthen our core.

We don’t have a leg press machine, or a seated row machine, or a chest press or biceps curl machine. They were built for the individual person that designed them, not for you and me. We still do those type of movements, but in a more functional manner.

Do you know how to make getting in and out of your car easier? Do you think sitting on a leg press machine will help improve that? I tell you what will…perform side lunges. No weights needed. Just step to the side and bend. We do this everyday, without thinking twice. So this is how we should train our bodies, with the movements that we do day in and day out.

I had a great video of some elephants standing on one leg doing tricks and a woman doing a rope trick 40 feet up in the air, but I couldn't download it. Sorry!

Cardiovascular Training - Mixing It Up!

Weight loss has three very important key factors…

1. Resistance exercise
2. Proper lifestyle eating
3. Cardiovascular exercise

Without one of these the results you are looking for just won’t be what you thought they would be. All three must be done to get the full results you want. You CAN have that lean, toned, sexy look again!

Today I want to focus on only one of the three aspects of weight loss, cardiovascular exercise.

I’ll put it as simple as I can for you. If you are trying to lose weight, no matter how much, the average person must do at least 30-60 minutes of any exercise that gets you breathing heavy 4 to 5 times per week. This is on top of eating healthy and doing your resistance exercises.

I’m sure this sounds like a lot, however, it’s really not! What you don’t want to do is continue to do 60 minutes every time cardiovascular exercise is performed.

MIX IT UP!

One day go for a 30 minute power walk. The next day turn your resistance exercise routine into a cardiovascular exercise routine. Simply add short bursts of cardio exercises in between your resistance exercises.

Example: Squat in place 20 times (resistance), push-ups on your knees 20 times (resistance) jumping jax for 30 seconds (cardiovascular). Repeat this a few times, then pick three others such as walking lunges 20 times (resistance), crunches on a stability ball 20 times (resistance), walk fast up and down your stair case for 60 seconds (cardiovascular), then repeat this a few times.

Try adding little “heavy breathing” exercises to your resistance days and there you go, you just did another cardio day while doing your resistance exercises. You just saved time! WOW!

Try adding short cardiovascular exercises during each resistance day to combine the two and to save time in the long run. It honestly doesn’t take much. Then the days you’re not doing resistance exercises is when you go for your longer power walks. Over all you can save up to three days of working out per week if you do this.

If maintaining the weight you have is your goal, try combining the resistance and cardiovascular exercises three times each week and maybe add one long cardio only day, if needed.

Try this, and see how fast the fat melts off of you! It Flat Out Works!

The 100 Calorie Diet

Everyone is doing it! Everyone is looking for that 100 calorie signature on the front label of every item. Why is this so important to so many people? Why do people think that by eating fewer calories will decrease the size of their waist? It is simply not true, I say, or is it?

Let me explain… I like to use the example of a wood burning fire. If you keep adding one piece of wood to the fire, the fire will continue to burn at a strong pace, for a long period of time. In fact if you keep adding a piece of wood every hour or so, the fire will NEVER stop burning. Are you following?

Let’s use this with the human body, except use food to replace the wood. If food is continuously added to the body, the body will never stop burning. We want our body to have a continuous amount of long lasting energy. We don’t want to feel a crash of any kind. We all know what that feels like.

So, normally, I would say stop cutting calories to lose weight, because if you eat less calories, the fire will stop burning. However, If you continuously eat about 100 calories every hour, your metabolism will be so fast, the fat will melt right off your body! Normally I tell people to eat 5 to 6 times per day, eating about 300 calories each time, but if you plan on revving up your metabolism as fast as you possibly can, start eating about 100 calories every hour during your waking hours. This will get you maximum results and fast.

By the end of each day you should be putting in 1500 to 2000 calories. Just in case you didn’t know, if you plan on losing any weight, you better be eating no less than 1500 calories per day! This is a FACT, not just my suggestion.

Here are a few great 100 calories or less “healthy” snacks:

Apple…60 cal
Bean salad…88 cal
Banana…65 cal
1 cup blueberries…80 cal
bran cereal…65 cal
cottage cheese…96 cal
whole grain total ¾ cup…97 cal
All Bran ½ cup…80 cal
Fiber One ½ cup…60 cal
Pear…65 cal
Raisins 2 Tbsp…57 cal
Post Bran Flakes 3.4 cup…99 cal
Poached egg…75 cal
Hard boiled egg…75 cal
String cheese 1 ounce…80 cal
New England Clam Chowder 1 cup…95 cal
Chicken noodle soup 1 cup…75 cal
Half English muffin…78 cal
5 Ritz Crackers…80 cal
Orange…72 cal
Carrots 1 cup…50 cal
Broccoli 1cup…25 cal

Time To Head To Dallas

Have you ever believed in something so much, you’re willing to drop everything to do it. This is the way I feel about why I’m going to Dallas February 20-22. About a year ago, my wife and I started a second business, still helping people lose weight, still helping people get healthy, still helping people achieve their dreams. I also added the component of helping people achieve not just health goals, but also wealth goals. That’s right, I have the ability to help others get healthy and wealthy, including you if you need it. How does that sound to you? If you had the chance to help others become healthy and get out of debt, how great would that truly make you feel? And help yourself at the same time! To me that’s the ultimate feeling!

Where am I going? To the AdvoCare Success School. Last year was my first attending this conference, and honestly I was completely amazed, astounded, astonished, I was just in awe of the entire possibility of helping others achieve their dreams. I saw some unbelievable things happen at Success School last year. I’m telling you, my jaw was in my feet most of the weekend. I also had tears in my eyes, happy tears, from the whole experience. It was honestly a life changing experience for me. I have never been the same since.

Check out these two video to see how AdvoCare has changed the lives of others (Sorry, I had technical difficulties getting these video's downloaded, so just click on the links)…

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97sKTQMLGRs&feature=related

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFPd-h-buWk&feature=related

AdvoCare is many things to me…a way to improve my health, a second income coming in (especially during these hard times), a back-up plan (how many of you out there have lost your jobs, with no back-up plan?), a way to help others achieve their dreams of health and wealth, and more.

AdvoCare has changed my life and it can change yours too. If you are interested in getting healthier, bring in a second income, helping others do the same, please email ctcannon@hargray.com . To see all that AdvoCare has to offer, women check out this video http://www.presentation4women.com/ and men go to http://www.presentation4men.com/.

Last year I met people that didn’t have a cent to their name and needed AdvoCare’s opportunity so they sold their car’s to get to Success School. Just CRAZY! This is how powerful AdvoCare can be to you. Don't wait to check it out!

Fighting The Emotional Battle

So emotion is a very hard thing to work with when trying to lose weight. We will go through our ups and downs, feel like it’s very possible, then not possible at all. We’ll feel like we are being bombarded with too many things to do. We’ll feel like nothing can stop us at times. So many emotional feelings overtake us during the weight loss progress. This is so very normal. This is as normal as they come. This is also very normal that even I feel these things. It’s not just for people losing weight, it goes along with everyone. I’m also in a constant battle with my weight.

I am a very fit health professional, personal trainer, fitness business owner, and I am in a constant battle with my weight. If I ever quit what I’m doing…exercise, eating pretty healthy, guess what will happen to me? I go through the same things that everyone else goes through. The only difference is mine is maintenance, and improving myself, my endurance, my strength, my strong will to get better. To me there is a never ending limit to my goals. I simply want to improve every aspect every day.

But you darn well bet that I go through the same emotional feelings as everyone else. We are all in the same boat here. Some people are paddling faster than others, and then emotions will change, and those paddling fast, are now slower, and visa versa.

Emotion is a constant thing. And emotion is the most important thing in my life. If I lost my emotions, I would never have any drive to improve.

Fact is, we control are own emotions. Just know that there will be bad ones along the path to achieving any and all success.

It Was So Popular...

It was so popular the first time I put a 4 minute workout on here, so I decided to do another. This 4 minute (approximate) workout is done with a few inexpensive pieces of equipment that anyone can get anywhere. Try it out. I'd love to hear some of your comments on it. I have used this particular workout as a circut going through it 4-6 times, making t a longer workout. But that's totally up to you. (make sure each time you go through you switch sides with the band exercise.) Enjoy!

Cutting Costs?

On New Years Eve my beautiful wife and I went out for a very nice and relaxing dinner together (thanks to my mother-in-law for babysitting our two wonderful and exhausting kids). My dinner cost $25. It was very nice and pretty healthy (Grouper, green beans and potatoes with lots of water). As I said before, it cost only $25.

Not bad right?

Did you know that my dinner was only $5 less than a one-on-one personal training session with me at Shaping Concepts? Did you know that’s my dinner was only $1 more than what it will cost for a partner session with me? Did you know that my dinner was actually $7 more than what it would cost to do a small group training session (3-5 people at once) with me? Did you know that my dinner was $13 more than what it would be to do one get sexy boot camp session with me?

The average person eats out 4 times per week. The average person also complains that they cannot afford to have a personal trainer. It’s just not the case! Don’t give me the same old crap that you cannot afford to have a personal trainer. The fact is, you can’t afford NOT to have one these days.

Most trainers across the country are charging about the same as I am. Getting help in losing weight, becoming healthy is much more affordable than you think.

You just can’t use that "can’t afford it" excuse any longer.

No Better Way To Start Off The New Year Than How I did!

So I am a very competitive person. I was in sports for the most part of my life, even ran track in college and after. I always have to be the best at everything I do (although I know I’m not). The fact is, I can’t stand it when I have the chance to achieve something great or prove to myself that I can accomplish something, it’s hard, I mean very hard not to give it my all.

Well, last Thursday, New Years Day, I talked a few clients of mine into running a 5K road race with me that morning. These two women, Liz and Charlene, had never done anything like this before. In fact Liz says she has never run in her life until last Friday when I made her do it after her training session.

I met both at the race last Thursday, a 34 degree, very windy morning. They were both bundled up. I told Liz I would run the entire race with her and was hoping that Charlene would tag along with us.

I recorded both of them before the race as well as after. Check out the video’s…
Just Before Race Time…

Shortly After The Race…

I honestly have to say that there really is no better way to start off the new year than helping two people achieve something they never thought they could do. I ran the entire race, step for step with Liz and helped her finish the race in just over 36 minutes (under our goal of 37 minutes) and then ran back to help Charlene finish in about 39-1/2 minutes, breaking the 40 minutes mark. They both thanked me and said they could not have finished if I were not with them. I can’t tell you how good that felt. Even though, after listening to the results, knowing I probably would have been in the top three in my age group, it felt much better helping other people finish rather than achieving something for myself.

Thanks ladies for giving me a great start to a great new year!

Not The Same Old Resolution...

Every Year millions of people across the globe set themselves up for absolute failure. Even though most intentions are strong minded, the vast majority come up very short on setting reachable resolutions for the next 365 days.

Unfortunately, most settle for "Getting healthy and losing weight" or Losing weight and exercising more".

I hate to tell all those that have set one of these two as their resolutions, you are doomed to fail!!!

Becoming healthy is not a resolution. Losing weight is not a resolution. Exercising more is not a resolution.

Resolutions are much more specific - if you want to achieve any of the above. Better examples of more specificity would be...

1. I'm going to exercise 30 minutes, 4 times per week, every week with a mix of cardiovascular and resistance exercises, so I can lose weight and become healthier.

2. I'm going to eat 5 times per day while combining a protein and complex carbohydrate every time I eat, so I can lose weight and become healthier.

3. I'm going to replace all white breads and white pastas with whole wheat breads and pastas so I can become healthier.

By setting a more specific resolution for your health related goals, you will be 100% more apt to achieve them. Don't cut yourself short by making a bad choice to start off the new year.

Your Christmas Eve Day 4 Minute Workout

Don't forget to get a workout in on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I know that you are spending time with family and enjoying great moments of holiday cheer, but it doesn't take much to get a good workout in. In fact the above video is a 4 minute total body, resistance and cardiovascular workout for you that EVERYONE can do.

IT'S ONLY 4 MINUTES!!!

All you have to do is hit play and follow along with me.

You will feel better about yourself that you got your exercise in on the days where you know you just might not be eating the best.

Again, IT'S ONLY 4 MINUTES!!!

Enjoy!

Watch Your Mind Movie Here...

Motivating You

I’ve been talking about motivation the last couple of weeks. Any idea why? I’ll tell you… Because it’s December, and in this month of great holiday cheer, there are more people than ever that become depressed.

Motivation is a key factor in helping many get through this great time of year. Motivation comes in many different forms…friends, loved ones, music, family, movies, book and many, many more. Take time out for yourself to get motivated again for the future. Forget what has happened in the last 12 months, and focus on what’s ahead, on what can be accomplished in the next 12 months. What haven’t you achieved yet that you wanted to achieve in 2008, but didn’t? What new goals do you have for the upcoming year? These goals are yours for the taking! Anything can be accomplished if you want it bad enough!

Everything takes work, and everything is achieved with help, so accept all the help that is offered. No matter what…go get what you want. Just go get it. Make it happen.

I highly suggest listen to or reading motivational books, surrounding yourself with the kind of people you want to be and soon you will be one of them and others will want to be like you.

Here are many motivational sources you have to help you get started…
http://www.AndyAndrews.com
http://www.straightfromthegut.com
http://www.DanKennedywebsite.com
http://OgMandino.com
http://www.johnmaxwell.com
http://stephencovey.com
http://www.gitomer.com

Enjoy!

Check Out Shaping Concepts in the Bluffton Christmas Parade!

Thanks to everyone that helped in making this happen!
A special thanks goes out to Tom, Emily, Tim, and Dave!

I Had The Worst Day Of My Life!

Back in 2001 I was working at a plantation activity center doing basically janitorial work and only training about one time per day as an assistant director. I absolutely hated it! I mean I felt like puking just driving to work. Not kidding! Few things are worse than doing janitorial work when all you want to do is train people to become healthier, stronger, leaner people. So after one particular crappy day, I mean really crappy day (more than normal), I decided I was going home early and also took the next day off to think about what I was going to do for the rest of my life.

That next day just so happened to be a day that totally changed my entire life, as well as most other people. You see that day was 9-11. I know everyone’s life was changed that day, but mine was a little different. Because I was home alone watching everything unravel on TV, I realized something. I realized my life was meaningless and going nowhere, as far as my professional career.

I was still in my first year of my marriage, had no kids, was in a brand new house I had just built, and had no clue where my professional career was going with the job I was in.

Watching everything that happened on TV that day did not let me think about my future as I wanted to that day, however, what it did do was clearer and much simpler. It made me realize I had to make a change in my life, immediately!

The next day I went in to work, quit my job on the spot and became my own boss as an independent contracted trainer for hire. I didn’t know anything about business, about getting a lot of clients off the street, but I did it. I had to! I had no other choice. I must have been really bad, because my wife backed me 100%!

I completely took the leap. I took a chance on myself. A chance to become something more, something better. A chance to help me grow as a person, inside and out.

Well, needless to say within 3 years I was named as one of the top 100 personal trainers in the nation. I educated myself more in those 3 years than what I learned in all my years of schooling. I went to clinics, seminars, met some of the best fitness pro’s in the world. I was completely driven to make it on my own and improve my life, and I did!

Today, I own a successful fitness studio. I’m a great copywriter, speaker, educator, entrepreneur, as well as being an expert in the fitness field. I’m also married to the best women ever to walk the planet (in my opinion). I have 2 wonderful, healthy kids, have built our second home, and much, much more. I have grown so much as a person. Much more than I would have in that crappy job I used to be in.

Trust me, things didn’t change over night, like I wanted them to. There were good times and many hard times. But I know for a fact that I have worked my butt off since that unforgettable day.

The fact is, I made my life what it is today. I went out and got it. I never gave up. I never quit!

If you’re having one of those days, where you feel like you are at your lowest point, I’m here to tell you to get your butt off the couch and go make yourself a new life! If you’re depressed about your body, your weight, the way you look and feel, your energy level, your health, if you’re pissed off at how you arrived at this point, I’m here to tell you to do something about it. NOW!

Don’t tell me you cannot afford to eat right or to join a gym or to hire a trainer. Don’t tell me that it’s the economy. It’s not circumstance. It’s you! It’s the decision you make.

If you simply want to make a change, a lifestyle change, if you want to do more, be more, like now, then the fastest and most certain path for you is here:

http://www.shapingconcepts.com/
and
http://www.advocareconcepts.com/

Make your own destiny!

A True Client Testimonial! Congratulations Emily!