Drawing Motivation from Sorrow

You see last week, Thursday the 19th was the 2 year anniversary of my father’s death. It was a very hard time, a hard day to get through for many of my family members. Although it was a hard day, I got a lot of things accomplished, and I even made a short video for you to show you how I draw a positive in my entire life, from my every movement to training others all stemming from my fathers passing. Watch the video below.

Don't Watch This Inspirational Video If You Don't Want To Cry!

WAIT! I have to set it up for you. If you don’t feel like crying, don’t watch this! I’m serious. This video is so emotional in a happy way. This is a video that completely describes the way everyone should reach forward towards their goals, their dreams, and how you should just CARRY ON with your dreams (LOOK FOR THOSE WORDS IN THE VIDEO-CARRY ON). After watching this video you will feel inspired to go out and carry on in achieving your own dreams. PLEASE, post your comments on this blog and tell me what you thought. Seriously, don’t be one of those people that does not post comments. That just shows me that you are not serious about your own goals. Tell me what you think!

Slim Pact National Weight Loss Challenge!

Okay America, this is your chance to lose weight, be healthy, be happy and live the life you dreamed of! This is the time. Click on the link below to find out more information how YOU TOO can join the Slim Pact - Slim Down America Challenge

https://www.advocare.com/08031736/Slimpact/SlimpactIntro.aspx

Lose Up To 5 Pounds In A Week!

That's right, you too can lose 5 pounds in just one short week, and do it in a very healthy way, GUARANTEED!

Let me tell you how...

It all starts with nutrition. If you are not eating healthy, you're not losing anything! Eat 5 times every single day, starting as soon as you get up and every 3 hours after. Each time you eat have a palm full amount of protein and 2 palm full amounts of complex carbs (higher fiber carbs).

Also drink 2 swallows of water every 10 minutes starting when you wake up until you go to bed. DO NOT MISS A DAY! NO ALCOHOL AND NO SUGAR!

Do this workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday...

-10 minutes power walk with A LOT of POWER!

-Perform 20 Jump squats with no rest!

-Perform 20 push-ups either on your knees or toes with no rest!

-Climb up and down a set of stairs 3 times as fast as you can, with no rest!

-Pick up a 1-2 year old kid (about 10-15 pounds) and press him from chest to as high as you can 20 times, with no rest!

-Perform walking lunges 40 steps worth (20 each leg), with no rest!

NOW REPEAT ALL THAT TWO MORE TIMES!!!

On Tuesday and Saturday go out for a 45 minute POWER walk as fast as you can without running! Do not run! The more hills the better!!!

On Thursday and Sunday go out for a 30 minute walk/jog! Every 30 seconds go from a very fast power walk to a jog for a total of 30 minutes.

Try this for 7 days. I guarantee wight loss! What do you have to lose?

I Never Do Abdominal Exercises!

I'm telling you I hardly do any abdominal exercises, yet I have a very nice strong, toned six-pack under my shirt.

So how is it that I have six pack abs, but don't do any abdominal training?

Easy! I do a complete total body program almost every time I workout. This is done by doing "functional type exercises, which incorporates my abs. I always do a minimum of 3 hours per week of cardiovascular exercise, many times incorporating it into my resistance workouts. I also eat consistantly pretty healthy, combining a protein and complex carb every time I eat and go no longer than 3 hours without eating. Always!

This is what I don't do...

*Crunches

*Any isolated abdominal exercises

*Use sit down strength machines where you push and pull

*Stress if I eat bad every now and then. I just improve the next day!

*Diets

*Fast

*Low Carb eating

*Stress about getting a six pack

The Promise List

This is a promise list I personally use and live by.

Maybe you can use this list too.

The Promise List

I will always help out a hurting client, workout partner, friend or someone in need.

If I need to rest during a workout, I will rest no longer than one minute then start again.

I will never, ever give up in a workout on any exercise or movement. I will give every bit of my energy every workout on every exercise, on every repetition to do the best I possibly can.

I will trust in the trainers I work with as they are pushing me during my workouts and off. I will trust in my knowledge in fitness and nutrition to keep me lean and fit and most of all healthy.

I will always take care of my body during workouts and not during workouts, such as eating correctly, drinking enough water, stretching, icing aches and pains, proper warm-up and cool-down.

I will always finish an exercise and a workout. Pain is temporary, giving up last forever. You will remember every time in your life when you give up. Always! Don't Quit!

Eat"complex" Carbs to lose weight!

So my wife, a teacher, came home yesterday from work and proceeded to tell me about all of the teachers in her school that are overweight and completely out of shape that just complain that they can't eat this and they can't eat this. I guess there was one in particular that said her doctor told her to stop eating carbs. Now this person completely believes that "carbs" blows her up. She told my wife that she just can't eat carbs cause it'll just add more pounds on her.

Keep in mind that a professional doctor told her this. I'm sorry, but I know that doctors (family doctors) do not take even one nutrition class as part of any of their education. I'm so fed-up with so many doctors prescribing the Atkins diet and other low-carb diets, when they don't have a clue what carbohydrates do for the body. Therefore I'm going to tell you right now!

For those of you that just use the word carbs, you better start telling me what kind! Because there are complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates.

LEARN THE DIFFERENCE if you are going to talk about them!

The fact is carbs don't make people fat in todays society, sugars make people fat.

Now all carbohydrates are made up from sugars. There are a number of different types of sugars but in the body all carbohydrate metabolism converts sugar to glucose, our body's preferred energy source. Glucose is the main sugar present in many foods but some contain different sugars, such as fructose in fruit, lactose in milk, galactose as well as others. Most sugars are digested and absorbed and converted to glucose, some cannot be digested, we call this fiber.

Complex carbs are basically those in wholegrain form such as wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice (foods with higher fiber). Complex carbs are broken down into glucose more slowly than simple carbohydrates and thus provide a gradual steady stream of energy throughout the day. Natural carbs are also a better choice when losing weight.

The food list below shows many natural complex carbohydrate foods that are frequently used to produce food products or meals. Most foods or products that contain a large portion of these staple ingredients are usually a good high complex carbohydrate source. The best way to provide the diet with complex carbohydrates is to consume foods in their most natural state such as oatmeal, bran and brown rice.

Bran
Wheatgerm
Barley
Maize
Buckwheat
Cornmeal
Oatmeal

The food list below shows good sources of complex carbohydrates.

Whole wheat Pasta
Macaroni
Whole wheat Spaghetti
Brown rice
Red or sweet Potatoes
Other root vegetables
Wholemeal breads
Granary bread
Brown bread
Pitta bread
Bagel
Wholegrain cereals
High fiber breakfast cereals
Porridge oats
All bran
Wheetabix
Shredded wheat
Ryvita crispbread
Muesli
Cassava
Corn
Yam
Oatcakes
Peas
Beans
Lentils

Weight loss progress often slows due to a lowered metabolism. Increase the metabolism before cutting calories (by adding calories), then very low calorie diets wont be necessary.

Simply put if you are not getting AT LEAST 1500 calories per day in your body, you will NEVER lose weight if you want to do it in a healthy manner. Simply try to eat 300 calories 5-6 times per day with a combination of complex carbohydrates and protein. Get's some fats in your diet but only unsaturated fats, from olive oil, butter and dressings.

A good complex carbohydrate intake is essential to exercising effectively and makes each workout more effective in losing body fat! Digestion of complex carbohydrates takes longer. The slow absorption of sugars provides us with a steady supply of energy and limits the amount of sugar converted into fat and stored!

Why are carbohydrates important?

Carbohydrates are the body's primary source of fuel. The energy can be released quickly and easily to fulfill immediate requirement within cells. Carbohydrates do not require oxygen to burn therefore they fuel most muscular contractions, meaning our carbohydrate intake is very important for regular exercise sessions. If carbohydrate stores are low exercise will seem like a real effort!

Mentorship

So Sunday afternoon I received a phone call from someone I have not heard from in 4 years.

Let me take you back...

I was a track and field Coach at Hilton Head High School from 2000-2004. During that time period I spent a lot of time mentoring student athletes. Not just in track, but in life situations. In 2004 Bluffton High School opened it's doors and I became a coach there. Meanwhile a few of my fellow Hilton Head athletes also went to Bluffton High.

One person in particular, Let's call him Justin, was a good kid, but was a follower, a playa, and needed guidence, in school, in life, in everything.

I coached and tried to guide Justin as if he were my own kid, as I did all my athletes. During Justin's senior year, he became inelegable to compete on the team and I never saw him during the season. After that season I stepped down to open my personal training studio.

I always wondered what happened to Justin...did he ever make it to college, is he not in jail somewhere, is he even still alive? Well, as I said, Sunday I received a call. Guess who it was from? You're correct...Justin! He got my cell phone number from Henry, another one of my former athletes that I keep in touch with. Henry goes to school at Coastal Carolina. It turn out that Justin had transfered from a school in New York to Coastal Carolina, and found Henry. Justin called me for one reason...

He wanted to know what he had to do to qualify for the Olympic trials, because he has been training hard, and is trying to get a scholorship to run for Coastal. He said to me... "Coach, I need help and I'm turning to those who helped me in the past". Then he said..."I learned that from you", and this is why he was calling me.

Do you have any idea how good that made me feel? That is the reason why I coached in the first place, for times like that. This is also why I help transform people's lives now, both inside and out. It's not about the workouts I take you through. It's not about how I make you do this exercise and that exercise. It's simply about helping you, molding you, mentoring you to become the person I know you truly want to be, inside and out.

Everyone needs a mentor. I had many myself. Unfortunately many of mine are gone. But they all died as good people. To name a few...my father taught me to always help others. Coach McGarvy, my 8th grade track coach, taught me to never give up and go for whatever I believe in. Coach Smith, someone I had the honor of coaching with at Thomas Worthington High School in Ohio, taught me that there is no limit to goals and to never stop reaching for them.

These are just a few. Everyone needs mentors! Everyone. No matter what age you are, we all need them to help us grow.

So I ask you...who are YOUR mentors, past and present?

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!

We're In Our New Studio!!!

That's right. We are all moved in. Still have a few things to put together, but we are a very usable space. And it's AWESOME!!! I've put together some pictures for you below. The first is what our outside sign will look like in a week or so. Come by and see for yourself!

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!

A Movie Worth Watching...

If you want to be inspired, there is one particular movie I highly recommend watching…

It’s called Peaceful Warrior.

It came out in 2006 and has Nick Nolte in it.

It’s kind of a sports movie, but more a movie about how you think, how you perceive things, how to block things out and focus on the moment, not what you are doing 10 seconds or 10 minutes from now. It’s about living each moment to the fullest, blocking everything else out and focusing on what you love doing. It is also a true story, which I love.

I just happened to come across this movie on TV and right away it hooked me in. It was like I was meant to watch it at that particular time in my life. I needed a little focus in my life at that time and this movie certainly gave it to me.

I can’t tell you how inspired I was after watching it - in making me better and making my business better. I’m at a peaceful place right now because of this movie. And whenever I leave this place, I’m going to turn that movie back on, until I’m back in that peaceful place.

One of the main lessons I learned from this movie is…Make sure you love what you are trying to accomplish in life. I mean really and truly love it. Like you were meant to do that particular thing.

For me…I realized how much I love what I do. I knew it, but I had forgotten it for a while. I was focusing on the future and not what I was currently doing. I have to think about the future a little being a business owner, but I need to live in the now, not in the later. I was living in the later for a long time, and I realized it was not a good place for me. Now, since watching this movie, my life is much fuller and more in-depth. I’m much more aware of everything, and I truly love helping people reach a better place in their health.

If you want to be in a better place in your life…go rent “Peaceful Warrior”.

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!

34 Healthy Gift Ideas!

It’s that time of year. In just a matter of weeks, we will be celebrating Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year’s. While many people are typically in a festive mood, it is also a very stressful time for many others. The hectic pace, the shopping, the holiday parties, the travel, and all that goes with this time of year, makes it a rather interesting time.

Being in the fitness field, I try to keep pumping up my friends, family, and all my clients with lots of positivity. I try to keep them motivated to continue with their workouts, and just because there are two big holidays within a month doesn’t mean to stop eating healthy. I also try to make it easier and a little less stressful by giving many holiday healthier gift ideas, so here are "34 Healthy Gift Ideas" for you to give to the special people in your life.

1. Motivational books or books on tape (CD) such as any of Andy Andrews books.
2. Massage gift certificates (at Shaping Concepts)
3. EatWell Magazine subscription
4. Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar – great for healthy salad dressings!
5. Sessions with a nutritionist or fitness professional about healthy eating habits
6. A healthy cooking class
7. Fitness boot camp sessions (at Shaping Concepts)
8. A crock pot, rice cooker, or steamer
9. Workout clothes for indoor and outdoor activities
10. An outdoor bicycle
11. A week with an "Expert" fitness trainer (with me at Shaping Concepts)
12. A phone coaching session with an "Expert" fitness trainer (with me at Shaping Concepts)
13. A Pedometer
14. Subscription to a healthy magazine such as Shape, Health, Self, Men’s Health, Women’s health, Wellness, Prevention, Men’s Journal.
15. A fancy Water Bottle
16. Sport Bag
17. Boxing Gloves (great gift for women!)
18. Punching bag
19. Heart rate monitor
20. Gift certificate to a healthy restaurant
21. Gift certificate to Barnes & Noble
22. Gift certificate to I-Tunes
23. I-pod
24. Wii-Fit
25. Healthy organic food basket
26. Light weighted medicine balls
27. Small free weights
28. Massager seat
29. Jump rope
30. Individual trampoline or Rebounder
31. Stability ball
32. Workout Bands
33. Karate or boxing lessons (another great gift for women)
34. Bottle of favorite wine

Okay, you are completely set and now know what to get everyone on your list. Happy holiday shopping!

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!

Inspiring Movie You MUST See...

I was watching a fantastic, very inspiring Christmas movie with my daughter over the weekend. You might not normally think it is an inspiring movie, but there were parts in this movie that I needed myself, to push even harder in business, with my fitness goals, with many of you to reach your fitness goals and more.

The movie I’m talking about is "Polar Express".

I highly recommend everyone see it. If you don’t have it, go rent it, barrow it, whatever, just watch it!

Tom Hanks stars in it. He plays a train ticket collector. He punches words in the kids tickets at the end of the movie according to what has happened to that particular child.

One ticket he punched had the word "Learn" on it, as in lesson learned. Let us all keep learning more and more about ourselves.

Another ticket had the words "Depend on, Rely on, Count on", as in you can count on me. Let us feel safe about counting on others to help us through all different times in our lives.

Another ticket had the word "Lead" on it, as in leader or leadership, or leading the way. Let us be leaders in what we believe in and strive for.

The entire movie was based on the word "Believe", as in believing in Santa and the Christmas spirit. There was a bell that was given to a child by Santa, and he could only hear it if he truly believed in the Christmas Spirit and Santa himself. Let us all believe that we can reach the goals we set, whatever they may be. Then many more of those goals just might be accomplished.

There was one thing in the movie that struck a huge chord with me. I’ve used the phrase before, but when you hear it in another way, it makes you think a little. The phrase was "One thing about trains, it doesn’t matter where they are going, what matters is deciding to get on."

I’m the conductor of this fitness, weight loss, healthy train, whatever you want to call it, and I’m going Full Speed Ahead, with or without you. If you decide to not get on, not to take the ride with me, that’s fine, and I wish you well, but if you want to hop on and go on the ride of your lifetime, I’m very happy to have you on board with me, cause I’m going, and I’m going Full Speed Ahead and I’m taking everyone who joins me to a new and exciting place in their lives!

You decide!

What really matters is deciding to get on!

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!

Sometimes Your Own Family Secretly Wants You To Fail!

Even though you have made the decision to become a better person, to improve your health, your body, your appearance, your lifestyle, sometimes it may be more disheartening when trying to get the support needed from your family members, especially a spouse.

Many times a family will be the cause of going back to the way it’s always been…eating fattening, sugary foods, not exercising, feeling lazy all the time, and blaming yourself again and again.

So there are two questions I have for you…

One, why do our own family members secretly feel this way and how do they secretly sabotage us?

Two, what can we do about it to help you in your success?

Let’s start with question one…Why do our family members secretly feel this way? That’s easy. They are simply put…Jealous! They have not built up the strength to do what you have started. Everyone drives themselves (in a health conscious manner) from their personal emotion. Your husband cannot and should not drive emotion to lose weight because you are unhappy with your body. Your husband needs to be unhappy in some way to make a change. If he simply tries to make a lifestyle commitment to improve himself from your emotion, it just won’t last. He has to have his own emotional feelings to make a personal change. Therefore, he may want you to succeed, but deep down, if he knows he doesn’t have the strength and willpower to make a change himself, he doesn’t want you to succeed. That will make him feel very weak and lonely himself.

So not knowing what he is doing, he will bombard you with uncontrollable emotional breakdowns, like bringing home donuts, or always having candy in the house. He might even give you something as a present for doing a great job, but secretly knowing it could help break you down, like a box of chocolates.

Your spouse doesn’t really want you to fail. They do love you and want the best for you, but they don’t want you to have success unless they know they can too. If they are simply not emotionally ready, they will secretly bombard and sabotage you, not really knowing that they are doing so.

Okay, so what can we do about this to help us achieve our successes we really want to have? We have obviously come to some kind of understanding that we need a change in order to feel better about ourselves. We understand that to be healthy, we must eat better than we used to. We must exercise more than we used to and in a proper way. We must take care of ourselves emotionally in order to maintain all this. We had some kind of emotional setback in our lifetime that scared us enough to do something about it. So keep this in mind that you have already made the commitment. It is there! That has not changed. Your reason for making an improvement is still there right in front of you.

The only thing that is different now is the lack of support from certain people. (the people that have not yet had that emotional breakdown, which is no fault to them. They just have not had it yet.) We need to make these people understand that even though they are not going through this, that these changes you are trying to make, to make yourself better, are very hard, emotionally, physically, even spiritually sometimes, and you will need all the help and support you can get.

You need to make these people understand that you cannot have junk food in the house. So if they have it, it’s got to be stored somewhere else. They must also understand that you need extra time now, time for your exercise, time for preparing healthy meals. By the way, you are only taking care of you, and no one else. If they want to be a part of it, they must tell you. Don’t make your family members eat healthy meals just because you have made the change. They must want to for a reason, an emotional reason they have themselves.

I'm not Perfect, How About You?

Thanksgiving week is next week. I'm sure many of you are trying to save room for the great feast. Trust me, I love all those fabulous foods as well. Yes, even the pumpkin pie (with cool-whip of course).


I'm definitely not perfect by any means, especially when it comes to the holidays. Most of you think that I don't cheat at all, that I eat perfectly all the time. The truth is, I cheat quite a bit. But for the most part, I eat pretty healthy. (I'm not trying to lose weight either).


I know I'll eat pretty badly this Thanksgiving, so I've been working out a little extra and a little harder the last few weeks. I know that during dinner I'll be fine. It's the deserts that kill me. You see if there are sweets in the house (cake, pie, candy, etc.) I'm a goner! That's why I don't keep any of that stuff in my house most of the year. If it's not there, I won't eat it. But this Thanksgiving, the pumpkin pie, the cherry pie, cookies and more, uhhggg. It's just as hard for me as it is for you!


So let's make a pact this Thanksgiving - a pact we'll do together, you and me! I'll only have one serving of everything at dinner, then one piece of desert. 4 hours later, I'll do it all again, but choosing a different desert this time. I might do this 3-5 times over a 2 day span, but at least I won't stuff myself all at once and make myself feel like crap! This way I get to have every desert there is (just once).


If I can do it, so can you! Come on, take the challenge with me. We are not perfect, nobody is! So let's both eat a healthier way this Thanksgiving. Enjoy you feast!