Jeff Joined the Shaping Concepts Family...Why Not You?

Let me start off by saying this...I know you may be embarrassed or feel ashamed when you enter a gym or fitness center. We have all been there. Yes, even me. Let me be very honest with you. I opened up Shaping Concepts, a small, quaint fitness studio, for people that feel embarrassed, that don't feel totally accepted or part of the crowd when they enter a gym. I wanted to take that feeling totally away. I can honestly say that I have done that at Shaping Concepts.

In the video below, Jeff, who trains at the Shaping Concepts in Charleston, explain how he became a client at Shaping Concepts after trying the "gym scene", and all the results he has had and worked hard for in just over one months time.

Make sure you watch this entire video...






One of the main criteria I make for myself and my trainers is that we make everyone feel at home, and part of the Shaping Concepts family. Remember the old TV show Cheers? You know...where everybody knows your name. Well, when you walk through the Shaping Concepts doors, someone, if not everyone there will yell out your name. It's just something we do. It makes you feel comfortable.

You may have been able to relate with Jeff on some things he talked about in this video. Going to the gym and trying to workout on your own, not having accountability and structure, struggling to find the time with a busy schedule, etc.

The reality is a lot of people struggle with the same things. Creating the diet and exercise habits for a successful body transformation is not that complicated but it can be difficult when you’re going about it all alone, especially in the beginning.

The benefits of having a coach to hold you accountable and show you the way…

The hardest part of making lifestyle changes is sticking with your new routines until they become a habit. This is where a coach can pay huge dividends. We all know it’s easy to make excuses to ourselves and drift even with the best of intentions. But when you have someone vested in your success it can make all the difference.

I can’t over-emphasize the importance of accountability when starting out on a fitness and nutrition regiment to lose weight and transform your health. When you have someone waiting on you to workout you’ll be much more likely to show up, even more so when you’ve invested in that coaching.

When you don’t show up to workout at the gym on your own does anybody notice?

The littlest of details make the biggest differences with changing your shape. Having someone teach you the most effective way to workout to see results, reminding you daily of how important you said your goals were to you, following up on whether or not you did your cardio, etc.

The most successful people in any sport or business all have a coach or a mentor to help them achieve their best. They learned, often times through the school of hard knocks, that plowing through on their own without direction proved difficult and time consuming.

They understood that the quickest way to get where they wanted to go was to learn from someone who could help them. The same thing rings true for someone who wants to cut off the painful learning curve with losing weight and getting in shape.

Personal training and fitness coaching as an investment to get you where you want to go faster and without the painful learning curve…

When going to the gym or working out a home doesn’t produce the results you’re looking for, consider getting a fitness coach to show you the way. While personal training has the reputation of being expensive, you should look at it as an investment.

The investment you make in yourself in the beginning can more than pay for itself over time when you factor in all the wasted time, failed attempts, cost of programs that didn’t work, gym memberships you didn’t use, etc.

Not to mention the value you place on truly looking and feeling your best. How do you put on a price tag on your happiness, health, self-confidence, and quality of life? I don’t know that you really can. But then again it’s all up to individual and what’s really important to them on how they want to live their life.

Personal training and coaching for a couple of months can go a long way towards helping you see the results you want. The good thing about coaching is you tailor it according to your needs.

In the beginning you’ll want to work with a coach several times a week while you build habits and learn how to do the most effective exercises on your own. Once you’re ready to go do routines on your own you can meet with your coach only as needed.

We have numerous clients now working out at home or in the gym that follow up with their coach just when they want some additional routines to follow or help in a particular area.

The best fitness coaches will always look to teach you exercises and routines you can do on your own so you’re truly becoming empowered to make exercise a life-long habit.

Is it time for you to take action and stop living life accepting something less than the best for yourself?

If you’ve been putting off starting a fitness and diet routine I’d encourage you to draw that hard line in the sand and say now is the time. Enough is enough and it’s time to get serious. The first step is simply making a decision to take action.

You may have doubts on whether or not you could see results like Jeff achieved in his program. I completely understand if you feel that way. Most all of our clients had some uncertainty when they started due to past attempts with changing their shape that didn’t’ pan out.

I’m here to tell you that YES you can do it and I have no doubts you can transform your body and your life once you put your mind to it. Helping people make this change happen is what we do everyday here at Shaping Concepts. It’s the reason I get up every morning and work with so much passion on helping others.

Come take advantage of my FREE consultation and trial of my Bluffton personal training programs…

Make today be the day you decide to take action. I know I can help you and would encourage you to simply fill out the web-form for my FREE consultation and Bluffton personal training trial.

We’ll sit down and discuss what you’d like to achieve and I’ll provide you with my recommendations on the best course of action to take. If I can help you with further coaching, great, but if not at least you’ll leave with a better understanding of how to reach your fitness and weight loss goals.

You could be the next person I spotlight in a video when you join the “Over 20lb Club” at Shaping Concepts.

Hope to see you soon…

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studios. He can be reached at chad@shapingconcepts.com

A Different Point Of View...

“Hello everyone, this is Stephanie, some of you may know me as the bookkeeper here at Shaping Concepts and others know me as the crazy workoutaholic. For those of you who don’t know me at all, I am actually both, but I hadn’t always been. Now, I am a very private person and prefer to keep my private life just that, but daily I see so many people walking around where I used to be, not sure of where or how to start working out and then those riddled with excuses, so I asked Chad for this opportunity to personally invite and encourage those of you out there tired of where you are physically and those who are ready to make a change for good to jump in and take the first step and give us a call and schedule a consultation and enjoy a free session – trust me you will not regret it. I can say this because I personally have lost over 50lbs working out at Shaping Concepts and I cannot say there has been one day that I have not learned something new whether it’s about nutrition, injury prevention, or just an insight about myself.

I am currently doing one-on-one sessions with a sprinkling of boot camps and I will tell you I love them both. As I said earlier, I have not always been a crazy workoutaholic. I was a runner in school, but then entered the military, married, gained a little weight, gave birth three times, gained some more, divorced and gained even more weight (total gained approx. 80+). The weight crept on ever so slowly that between working in scrubs and wearing sweats all the time at home I really didn’t notice or didn’t want to accept it. Anyway, as long as my pants could stretch to fit, I thought I was ok; that is, until several of my patients started inquiring how far along my pregnancy was. I laughed it off a couple of times, but it really started to bother me that I had let it get this far. I started to notice that I was tired all the time which, at first, I related really to working nights and raising three kids on my own, but I also noticed that I couldn’t even climb the stairs to my room without getting winded. That is when I reached out to Shaping Concepts because I wanted a place that was small and non-intimidating unlike a gym. Face it, I didn’t know the first thing about working out in a gym and I was fat and did not want people watching me. With that said, I will tell you that it still took me a good six months to actually come in and meet Chad. Why so long? Again, I was embarrassed, I felt I needed to get in shape and maybe lose some weight first which; of course, did not happen on my own so my journey to weight loss and lifestyle changes began with Shaping Concepts. Now I don’t know where you are in your journey, but I will tell you that if it wasn’t for Chad chasing me down on days I overslept from working the night before or pushing me when I said “I can’t” I probably wouldn’t be where I am now which is comfortable in size 8 skinny jeans and training for marathons and triathlons. Thanks Chad! I can also tell you that if you want a kick-butt workout with a personal touch then Shaping Concepts delivers. Between Chad, and the other trainers at Shaping Concepts you will not miss a beat or a pushup – trust me. As you progress in your fitness they grow with you and continue to encourage you through, even when you don’t think you can. If you want camaraderie then try our boot camps, which really boils down to a bunch of friends having fun working out together. It is a great way to start or end any day. However, if you prefer to exercise alone or have specific defined goals and a clear-cut deadline then you might appreciate a more individualized program like one-on-one’s. Either choice you make will not disappoint you, I promise. Lastly, I will say that I am in the best physical and probably the best emotional condition I have been in since my divorce and if you decide to embark on your own journey do so with a journal of pictures and a timeline of your accomplishments, if for no one else but yourself, it will mean a lot later when you look back on where you were. Life is short – don’t put off till tomorrow what you should be doing today! Call me at the studio at 843-757-8626. I would love to help you.”

-Stephanie Griffin

Alright, so as I said in the video, I have a “Trial Offer” for you…

If you think you are interested in a private one-on-one training session personally with me
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE PRIVATE TRAINING TRIAL!

If you think you are more interested in a small group setting, then try out a Boot Camp & Circuit class.
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BOOT CAMP TRIAL!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studios in Bluffton, SC.

A Lack of Accountability Did Her In!

ACCOUNTABILITY...The key factor when it comes to losing weight, toning up, slimming down, leaning out, getting ripped, pumping up, trimming down, or whatever else you want to call it.

How many times have you tried to start a workout reamin only to quit before you ever got started? That's because there was no ACCOUNTABILITY!

The person in the video, Doreen, really thought she would be able to continue on her regular fitness routine. After years of training at Shaping Concepts, and even one other place before Shaping Concepts, Doreen thought she had enough knowledge to do it on her own. Fact is...she does have the knowledge! At this point she could probably train many of you out there. What she didn't understand was that she received something else at Shaping Concepts that she didn't even know she was getting...

Fact: You don't have anyone to keep track of you at a local gym!

• 
  
  you don't have anyone checking your weight and body fat regularly



• 
  
  you don't have anyone checking your nutrition log regularly



• 
  
  you don't have anyone saying " I want you to get in at least 45 minutes of cardio in intervals before I see you again."



• 
  
  you don't have a set appointment to see anyone



• 
  
  you don't have anyone calling you to see why you were late or why you didn't show up



• 
  
  you don't have anyone making you do 23 more repetitions after you want to stop at 10 just because 10 sounds like a good number



• 
  
  you don't have anyone giving you daily tips on fitness and nutrition to help you get even better results



• 
  
  you don't have anyone there to encourage you along the journey, especially during those hard times which we all have
  

Face it, even Luke Skywalker had to be accountable to someone...Yoda, the ultimate accountability Jedi!!

Why do you think there are so many private fitness studios now? Real fitness pro's that want to really healp people make a change and get them RESULTS don't work at the local gyms anymore!

That's why I got out...There was simply no accountability in the local gym scene. The people working there are personal trainers. The people that open up and work in private studios are fitness professionals! This IS what YOU want if you want to get

RESULTS!!

A fitness professionalSo what are you going to do now?

You can go on doing the same old routine you've been doing. But think about how you will feel and look one year from now if you keep doing that. What about two years from now? What five or ten years from now? How will you look and feel at that point if you keep doing what you are currently doing?

Now what if you get someone to hold you accountable, say a fitness professional, at a privately owned fitness studio to help you reach those goals that you have right now?

A place this this...

If you went to a place like this and got some good coaching by a real fitness pro, how do you think you would look and feel just one year from now? Two years from now? What about five or even ten years from now?

My bet is that you would look and feel great!!

So what is the lesson in this? Just like Doreen said in the video, ACCOUNTABILITY was the key factor she did not have when she tried to do it on her own. What should you do now?

Here's a little hint...

Trust me when I say that sometimes this is how you want to feel after a workout. Not all the time, but sometimes. Do you train as hard as she did?

Just because you have read this post and have now embeded the accountability thing into your brain, I'm going to offer you a "Get Started Trial". Your not going to buy a car unless you test drive it first, correct? So I'm giving you a "Test Drive" with No Obligation and No Pressure to buy. Just come in to see if this is something that you need to get you headed toward your goals.

YES! I WANT TO TAKE A TEST DRIVE

These people all took the Test Drive and found out that it was a good fit for them…
Rochelle C. lost another of 5 pounds this month. She also lost 5.5 inches. That's a total of 10 pounds in less than two months at Shaping Concepts and with the help of the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge. Great job Rochelle. Keep it up!

Amanda H. lost of 5 pounds this month. Amanda is making great progress! Keep up the great work.

Bob C. dropped 7 pounds, 4.5 inches, and went from 25.2% body fat to 23.5, and 27.7 BMI to 26.6 on the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.

Peggy A. lost 4 more pounds this month. That makes a total of 27 pounds now! Great job Peggy! Whoo Hoo!!!

Liz H. for losing another 4 pounds this month. That's 12 pounds total lost Liz! Way to go!

Joni G. did it again! Way over 100 pounds lost now Joni! You have transformed your life! I totally look up to you for all the hard work you've put in!!!!!

…And that’s just a few for the month of July


YES! I WANT TO TAKE A TEST DRIVE

ACCOUNTABILITY, thats the key to YOU getting the RESULTS YOU truly want!


Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studio in Bluffton, SC.

Rev Up Your Workout Routine

I'm a runner, because I love to compete against myself to see how fast I can finish a 5k, 10K, half marathon and even a marathon. I'm not a runner to keep the fat off my body. In fact by running long distances the body will actually gain body fat, and lose muscle. A person will need to put more energy into their body with more complex carbohydrates than the norm bacause that's where the energy comes from in order to have a sufficient amount of energy to do distance running (anything that takes more than 45 minutes).


You'll see this a lot in gyms where people will takes spinning classes everyday in order to lose weight, or get on the stair climber for 2 hours, five days per week...and gain weight. The people that do this will end up either eating more because they need the energy to do these long drawn out cardio routines, or burn muscle instead of fat because they have run out of all energy from a lack of food. Once energy is gone from the food you ate, the body starts drawing energy from your muscle. This increases the body's fat.


So how do we incorporate cardio into our workout routines without gaining fat?


Simple, it's called Interval Training. This can be done with a cardio based exercise like running, or biking, where there is a hard part, and a recovery part. An example of this would be running fast for 2 minutes, then doing a slow jog to recover for 1 minute, then repeating this for a total of 20-40 minutes.


Another way of doing Interval Training is incorporating it into your resistance training sessions. I personally love this way because it certainly saves time, as well as increases the body's metabolism with the addition of adding muscle at the same time. An example of this would be 20-30 body weight squats (which is cardio based) into 20-30 push-ups, then run for 90 seconds. Repeat this 5-7 times and your body will have burned more calories, gained more muscle, and lost more body fat than it would have with an hour of just running.

So if you are one that really wants to burn more fat calories, and not just push yourself, then try these Interval type workouts. You won't regret it as the fat will start dripping off of you!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC.

4th of July Family Fun Workout!

You can do this with a whole group of people, family and friends.

(If you are with a group of people, divide the group in half so you have 2 teams).

This would be REALLY fun to play with your entire family if you have kids.

You could play in the backyard after dinner on a nice summer evening before the fireworks begin.

===============
THE SET-UP
===============

Set up 4 cones in a diamond representing home plate, first base, second base, and third base.

At each base, you have to do a bodyweight exercise.

So here is an example:

Run to first base and do 10 pushups
Run to second base and do 10 jumping
lunges each leg
Run to third base and do 15 squat jumps
Run to home plate and do 15 squats

After you do the squats at home plate, that counts as one run. Continue on for 10 minutes and try and score as many runs as possible.

If you are on a team or going against a friend, try to score the most runs.

***If you are by yourself, you can challenge yourself by doing this workout for
4 weeks and trying to score more runs
at the end of the 4th week than you did
during the first week.

This will show you how much your fitness level has improved.

Have fun!

Have a fantastic and a happy 4th!


Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Studio in Bluffton, SC.

Burn 1000 Calories in this 60 minute Workout!

I want to talk with you today about "Burst Training" and how many fat calories you will burn off doing this type of workout.

Losing weight and body fat is all about burning off unwanted calories, and there are workouts that help you do that better than many others.

My Burst Training workouts are by far some of the best types of workouts there are for burning fat calories like crazy and do it in a very short amount of time.

In the video above, one of my clients had on a calorie counter and kept track of her burn status during this workout. After a 60 minute session she burned over 1000 calories. Honestly, that's hard to do in 60 minutes with any type of workout. But with Burst Training, it's VERY possible!!

Burst Training is a combination of 5-10 powerfull movements that combine both strength and cardiovascular fitness. You simply go through these few exercises, then keep repeating them. Each set is a short burst of high intese, high energy calorie burning!

Many times a combination of different types of movements, such as a squat and press will burn even more calories. So combining two or three exercises into one is even better.

Check out this video and see how it works.


Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studios in Bluffton, SC.

Liz Listens To My Newsletter...To The Extreme!

In my last newsletter I talked about getting out of your comfort zone. One of my clients, Liz, read it and got pretty inspired, and took what I said very literally and to the extreme. Liz is definately getting out of her comfort zone. Watch the video to see what she has done.

It's not always extreme sporting events that gets you to that uncomfortable state of mind. I just want you to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. It doesn't always have to be the this extreme, but hey, Liz is becoming a new woman for doing this. I give her a lot of credit! She has a goal and is motivated to change. Great job Liz!

What can you do to get out of your comfort zone?

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studios in Bluffton, SC.

Grow Emotionally Before Physically

The moment you let yourself settle for anything less than better is the moment you let yourself down.



It's very hard to push yourself to where you want to be in life. It's scary. It's a place we are not comfortable with. It's a time in our lives where we have doubt.

On the other hand, think of all the good that can come from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Doing things that we don't think we can is the best feeling in the world. Take sky diving for example. Not many people will ever have the courage to do something like that. But the fact is, many people have done this before you and me, and many of those people didn't think they could. Many of these people were completely out of their comfort zone. But they did it, and even though they were scared to death (literally), they still did it, and were just fine after it was over. And I'm almost sure that after they were done, most of them said, "I want to do that again".

It's the thrill of going through the experience, the build-up, the battle, the time fighting yourself and your courage. It's not about the end result, but totally about the change you personally go through emotionally during the climb to get there.

Take yourself out of your comfort zone in order to grow as a person. If you don't change mentally, the physical part probably won't happen. Getting yourself out of your comfort zone really helps you change emotionally, and fast.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Studios in Bluffton, SC.

How "Fit Smart" are you?

I have a fitness quiz for you this week. How smart do you think you are about fitness, nutrition, & weight loss?

Question #1
For an anaerobic workout, you would:

A) Walk/jog on a treadmill for about thirty minutes
B) Boxing on the punching bag for 10 minutes
C) Preform resistance training exercises such as push-ups, squats, dips, etc.
D) Walk fast on a treadmill at a 10% incline for 20 minutes

Question #2
To lose weight you want to eat a minimum of how many calories per day?

A) 500-700
B) 700-900
C) 900-1200
D) 1200-1500

Question #3
A carbohydrate is broken down into two parts, a complex carb and a simple carb. Whole wheat breads, brown rice, and oatmeal are in what catagory?

A) Complex Carb
B) Simple Carb

Question #4
Which is a simple carb?

A) pasta
B) apple

Question #5
Interval Training consists of:

A) long, slow workouts
B) switching from a bike to a treadmill to an Elliptical every 10 minutes
C) performing a cardio exercise fast, then slow, or hard, then easy over and over again.

Question #6
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because:

A) It increases the metabilism after a long night sleep
B) It's not the most important meal
C) It's good to have some simple carbs in the morning

Question #7
How many calories does it take take to burn one pound of fat?

A) 500
B) 3500
C) 1700
D) 350

Question #8
About how many calories will you burn either walking or running one mile?

A) 100 calories
B) 35 calories
C) 250 calories
D) 50 calories

Question #9
To make a change, or a body Transformation in the body, a person must perform how many resistance training workouts per week and how many cardio workouts per week?

A) 1, 3
B) 4, 2
C) 3, 4

Question #10
To burn off more fat, you must:

A) eat more protein
B) eat less calories
C) eat a complex carb and a protein each time you eat
D) do cardio for two hours everyday

Answers: (1) c (2) d (3) a (4) b (5) c (6) a (7) b (8) a (9) c (10) c

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC

Die Fat or Get Tough

• Fat people eat for pleasure...Fit people eat for health




• Fat people believe diets don't work...Fit people believe people don't work




• Fat people are waiting to be rescued from obesity...Fit people know no one is coming to the rescue




• Fat people eat emotionally...Fit people eat strategically




• Fat people give into cravings...Fit people prepare for cravings




• Fat people are controlled by food...Fit people are guided by vision




• Fat people believe there's a hidden secret to being healthy...Fit people know there is no secret




• Fat people are afraid of being fat...Fit people aren't afraid of anything




• Fat people expect weight loss without pain...Fit people know everything has a price




• Fat people see food as their enemy...Fit people see food as their friend




• Fat people make excuses for being fat...Fit people know their is no excuse




• Fat people see exercise as a chore...Fit people see exercise as fun




• Fat people expect results without change...Fit people expect results through personal growth




• Fat people believe they can always start over on Monday...Fit people know Monday is never coming




• Fat people are motivated by fear and security...Fit people are motivated by love and abundance

These are just a few of the differences in thinking of two completely different types of people. Die Fat or Get Tough - 101 Differences in Thinking Between Fat People and Fit People by Steve Siebold is one of the best books I've ever read. This book really tells the absolute truth about how the thinking is completely different in the two types of people.

I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to lose weight as it might just spark a different type of thinking in you than you've had in a long, long time.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Studio in Bluffton, SC.

One Thing Everyone Must Do To Lose A Large Amount Of Weight

There is one major factor that I think everyone must do in order to lose a significant amount of weight. It doesn't have so much to do with burning calories, although it does burn many calories. It has nothing to do with eating correctly, although it does make you eat significantly better. It has everything to do with self confidence and taking control of your life. Once you do this one thing, then do it again, and again, then accomplish something you never thought possible, all of the sudden your life goals change, your weight loss journey doesn't seem so hard anymore. Doing this just changes every aspect of your life.

What is it? It's not running, as many of you might think. It's doing something totally out of your comfort zone, such as a 5k road race or a 10k. Even a half marathon, or a full marathon.

If you've never done a road race and want to lose a good amount of weight, you've got to stop thinking about the weight loss and start thinking about changing your life, and getting out of your confort zone. Guess what? Doing a 5k road race, just finishing it, will bring you a sense of satisfaction you've never felt before, thus a new start to a new life.

Even if you walk the whole thing, which many people do, you will get so much out of completing it. There's really nothing like it.

Watch this video of how one person changed his life around. It all started with one step...



I will be starting a Shaping Concepts running club very soon called the SCRunningClub. Who wants to join me in changing their lives?

I'll be sending out more information very soon about my running club. In the meantime... get up and go for a run.


Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Studio in Bluffton, SC.

My Top Three Abdominal Exercises (For Now)

Everyday someone asks me "Chad, what are the best ab exercises?". I normally say something like eat 5 times a day, do cardio 3-4 times per week and a total-body resistance training 3 times per week. But I'll give you the answer you want to know.

You can do crunches all day long, which will eventually make your neck hurt, but there are three exercise I love that are 100 times more effective than uncomfortable crunches. Those three exercises are a plank, a side plank, and ball roll-outs.

Now of course there are many different variations and progressions of each, but I'm going to give you the basics.

#1 The Plank

Just holding a plank position works so many different muscles, it's almost impossible to name a muscle it's not working. This is by far one of the best abdominal exercises there are.

#2 The Side Plank

Basically the same as the regular plank, the side plank really works the "love handles" as we like to say. This exercise also works many other muscles at the same time.

#3 Ball Roll-Outs

Ball roll-outs are one of my favorate for hitting the lower half of the abdominal area, including many other lower and upper body parts.

As simple as I can get it, there are my top three (basic) abdominal exercises.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC.

Fitness and Weight Loss Myths…Exposed

The 9 Biggest Myths about
How To Lose Weight and Change Your Shape

Myth #1: Skipping breakfast will help me lose weight by eating fewer calories.

If you’re trying to “eat less” in order to “weigh less” sooner than later you’re going to discover that you’re only starving yourself fat. How can that be? Research has shown that people who eat all their calories in one or two meals gain more weight than those who space out their calories over several meals. Why? Because of hormonal responses in the body that make them prone to storing fat rather than burning it. We’ll talk more about this later…

Myth #2: You need to count calories if you really want to be successful with losing weight.

A recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association may indicate otherwise. Two groups were assigned meal plans. Group one was told only to eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, olive oil and foods typical in a Mediterranean diet. There was no instruction on amounts, calories, portions, etc, only to eat these foods until full. Group two was told not what foods to eat but specifically what amounts and percentages of nutrients to eat. You know like 50 percent carbohydrate, 30 percent protein and so many total calories, etc. What happened? You guessed it, without counting group one lost more weight and inches while eating fewer calories.

Myth #3: Not being able to stay on my diet is due to a lack of willpower.

Wrong, you can’t fight the biology of your body! If you try you’ll lose every time. When you don’t eat your body sends signals to your brain that you need food. For example when you’re hungry your body releases Ghrelin (a hormone produced by your stomach) that sends chemical impulses to your brain signaling it’s time to eat. The chemical impulses keep coming until you stop them by eating something. Willpower has nothing to do with it.

Myth #4: I should eat low-fat or low-sugar diet foods when trying to lose weight.

These foods are part of the problem. A primary culprit of weight gain in the US is the use of fructose, namely high-fructose corn syrup. This sweetener is used mostly in processed foods. We’ve gone from practically not consuming this substance at all in 1960 to now the average American eating 63 lbs of it a year! Foods with fructose turn off your body’s natural hunger hormones making it easy to consume excess calories.

Myth #5: Eating more fiber will only make you go to the bathroom more often.

Many of us associate fiber with something you’d only increase in your diet if you were constipated. In reality fiber is a bona fide weight loss super food. It slows down food moving through your digestive system, thus making you feel fuller longer. You’ll see recommended daily intake of 30 grams per day but I recommend 50-60 grams for maximum benefits. Besides controlling blood sugar and decreasing insulin levels, fiber also reduces calories intake for up to eighteen hours a day. Look to gradually increase you intake. Yeah sure if you’re not eating anything but processed, refined foods and you start eating fibrous foods you’re going to spend more time in the bathroom for a day or so. You’re body is helping you remove metabolic waste and toxic build up. This is a healthy process that will leave you with more energy and an improved efficiency for burning fat. Look for foods (breads, cereals, etc) that have >3 grams of fiber per serving.

Myth #6: I have to spend an hour or more working out in the gym if I want to lose weight.

Who made up this crazy one-hour rule that everyone seems to go by? Bodybuilders that’s who….and I’m guessing their goals are a little different that yours. Thirty minutes of resistance exercise done three times a week when combined with daily aerobic exercise and supportive nutrition will produce amazing results.

Myth #7: Low carbohydrate diets are the most effective means for losing weight

Everyone knows somebody who lost a lot of weight on Atkins or some other “no-carb” diet. But then again we all know the person who when they stopped the diet, returned to their original weight and got a bonus of a few extra pounds to boot. The first question you have to ask yourself is do I want to lose weight or body fat? There is a big difference.

When you start restricting carbohydrates from your diet your body will respond by pulling from its stored energy reserves. The first reserve it goes to is stored carbohydrate or “glycogen.” You were thinking you lose fat first didn’t you? Sorry, your body will hold onto fat because it’s insurance for future survival. Here’s the catch with using all your stored carbohydrate for energy. For every gram of carbohydrate you pull for energy you take approximately 4 grams of water with it. It doesn’t take much to start seeing a significant decrease in water weight if you follow this strategy. Looks great on the scale but what’s really happening in your body?

Unfortunately, there’s some more bad news. When your body starts to run out of stored carbohydrate you open up the door to muscle loss. Your body is looking for energy and it doesn’t know if this is a real “wandering through the desert” kind of shortage or that you’ve just decided to go on a fad diet. It simply can’t tell the difference.

Remember fat is your last line of defense and the insurance policy for preservation in tough times. This is genetic, hereditary stuff handed down from our ancestors. Your body will first respond to energy restriction by slowing down your metabolism. Guess what uses a lot of energy in your body and keeps your metabolism on high? Muscle tissue. Guess again what your body will start feeding off of in order to keep your metabolism low for energy conservation? Bingo…that’s right muscle tissue. Ouch this is getting painful!

Obviously you know it’s not a good idea to lose muscle but here’s something you may not know. The muscle cell is the ONLY place in your body where you can use fat for fuel. When you start stripping away lean muscle you in essence remove the fat burning furnaces in your body. It’s now harder to lose fat and you’ve got a slower metabolism that will make it easier to store fat once you start eating carbs again. The boomerang has made its return and it’s carrying some extra fat for your waistline. Double ouch!

Myth #8: A regimen of cardiovascular exercise will burn the most fat

This cardio myth ranks right up there at the top of misconceptions people have with exercise and weight loss. I see people all the time in health clubs running on treadmills for 5 days a week at 60 minutes a crack without ever looking any different. How is it that they don’t lose a bunch of fat from all that running? The answer lies in simple exercise physiology. Let me explain…

In order to burn fat three things have to be right with your body. Number one you must have an energy balance of calories in/out in order to send the right chemical signals to your fat cells that it’s ok to release energy. Remember our self preservation talk from above. Unfortunately most of these cardio die-hards have also cut calories in addition to doing hour long workouts. Their burning up a ton of calories but they don’t have enough energy coming in to meet demand. Their body holds onto fat and starts breaking down lean muscle.
Can you say “fat storing” mode?

Number two you must have metabolically active lean muscle. This is where resistance training comes into play. You must do resistance training to build and maintain lean muscle. Many people skip this type of training because they don’t want to get big muscles. Who ever said that weight training was going to make you automatically get muscle bound? This is another myth well talk about in a minute. Bottom line is you must work your muscles with resistance training if you want to become efficient at using fat for fuel.

Number three is you must follow the correct progression with your cardio workouts if you want to get good at burning fat. Without getting into too much detail here let me explain. Here are some facts. Your body can only use fat for fuel when you’re in what’s called an “aerobic state,” which simply means your meeting momentary oxygen demand. It is very important that you develop what’s called an “aerobic base” by completing low intensity cardio workouts at approximately 50-75% of your maximum heart rate. Most people jump right over this stage because they think the harder the workout and the longer they go, the more effective it will be. It simply doesn’t work that way.

High intensity cardio workouts (intervals) can be very effective but ONLY if you’ve first developed an aerobic base. Walking is very effective at helping people lose weight because it works your body in the aerobic energy system, thus allowing your body to use fat for fuel. The skinny on this matter (no pun intended) is you should start off with low intensity aerobic exercise for 5 x per week at 30-45 minutes each session for at least 4-6 weeks before even thinking about doing higher intensities. Contact me and I can help you build a cardio program that is personalized for maximum results.

Myth #9: Lifting weights will only make you big and bulky

I get this one all the time from the ladies who are afraid to lift weights because they don’t want to get big muscles. Here’s the truth. Muscle mass increase only occurs when there has been a significant amount of overload applied to the muscles in conjunction with a positive caloric balance (eating more calories than is needed) and the right amount of testosterone available for growth. In short unless you’re lifting very hard and heavy, you’re eating a lot of calories and you’ve got lots of testosterone, you’re not going to have this problem.

Resistance training done correctly can help you tone and firm, increase bone density, improve your posture and burn fat. If you’re serious about making a body transformation you MUST include resistance training into your routine along with aerobic exercise and supportive nutrition. Notice the key word “must.” It simply won’t work as well with just diet and cardio.

Weight Loss Secrets Revealed:
Four Secrets To Finally Achieving The Weight Loss,
Health And Fitness Results You Want....

1. The secret to making a simple Commitment to your exercise program. The big companies who are stealing your money want you to believe that an over the counter diet pill, fad diet or a special machine will solve all your weight loss and fitness problems. This is counter-intuitive and insults your common sense. But people still want to believe – because there’s so much PAIN. The real “secret” is quite simple and I’ll distill it for you right here: eat 4 to 5 small healthy meals per day and perform a combination of aerobic and resistance training exercise. Take out your calendar right now and mark off the time each weekday for the next 12 weeks when you will commit to exercising. Then do it. Your consistent commitment will bring you the results you want.

2. The secret of having a Coach. Almost every self-help book ever written talks about the critical importance of having a coach/mentor. A coach is an experienced and trusted counselor or teacher. It’s inevitable that you will come up against hard times on your path to losing weight and getting fit. A coach will guide, motivate, educate and support you – so you can easily and rapidly overcome these hurdles. A coach is critical to systemizing your exercise program for maximum results and assisting you in heightening your motivation and strengthening your commitment. And a coach becomes your “objective feedback system,” helping you see, understand and correct the problems that are interfering with your progress. Exercise and nutrition are bona fide sciences and learning everything you need to know on your own can take years of struggle – but not if you have a coach.

3. The secret of Progression. Have you ever met someone who says they exercise week after week, month after month, even year after year and aren't getting any new results? Believe it or not, doing the same workout over and over without expert guidance to direct your progress will actually decrease your fitness. You must learn how to progressively improve and fine-tune your efforts for maximum weight loss and fitness results.

4. The BIGGEST secret: Accountability. In a recent study at Virginia Polytechnic University, researchers divided people starting a walking program into two groups. Every week, each individual in one group got a phone call asking how their exercise program was coming along; the other group got no calls. At the end of 24 weeks, 45% of the individuals who got the phone calls were still walking compared to just 2% who did not receive calls. The results show that weekly accountability increases the likelihood of sticking to your exercise program by 2200%!

What you’ve just read is some of the most valuable information you will ever hear on how to lose weight and get fit. And having the RIGHT information is critical. But intellectually understanding what should be done, and actually doing it, are two very different things.

The truth is most people can’t get a grip on the three essential factors that separate those who achieve real and lasting physique transformations from those who don’t. Most people have difficulty with the commitment; don’t grasp the importance of progression; and lack the personal accountability to achieve their weight loss and fitness goals. Why? Three reasons:

1. Bad information
2. It’s easy to cheat yourself
3. No guidance.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studio in Bluffton, SC.

Top Nutritional Strategies For Maximum Fat Loss

So there are many things we can do nutritionally to burn fat. Of course you know that a good amount of cardiovascular and resistance training are also needed. However, speaking nutrition only below are my Top Nutritional Strategies For Maximum Fat Loss…

1) Increase meal frequency in order to stabilize blood sugar levels and thus minimize insulin secretion (the fat storing hormone). Eat small servings of food every 3 ½ to 4 hours instead of 1-2 larger meals during the day if you want to lose weight.

2) Increase fiber in your diet to reduce sugar cravings, improve digestion and provide a sense of fullness at meals.

3) Increase fruits and vegetables which contain phytonutrients and antioxidants that are essential for protecting and maintaining thousands of functions at a cellular level including fat burning.

4) Avoid the whites including white pasta, white bread, white potatoes, white rice, cakes, cookies and basically any food that is lacking color.

5) Increase the colors by eating more fruits and vegetables with a wide variety of colors. The more color in your diet the better.

6) Avoid foods which contain “enriched, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated” in their ingredient lists. These three words are a main culprit with today’s obesity epidemic. Stay away from foods that contain these ingredients as much as you can.

7) Avoid fried foods by choosing baked, grilled, broiled, seared, sautéed or other more healthy options. This is an absolute must if you’re serious about losing weight.

8) Use flax seed oil to increase the amount of healthy omega 3 fats in your diet. Taking just 1 tbsp per day can add 14g of healthy fat to your diet. When combined with protein and high fiber carbohydrates you’ll feel fuller longer, reduce sugar cravings and raise your metabolism for increased fat burning.

9) Minimize dairy products for best results. Yes they’re high in calcium but so are leafy green vegetables which will help you lean out much better. Bottom line is milk is for growth, that’s why we drink it as babies. Choose skim milk for your cereal or look at alternatives such as soy milk.

10) Increase water intake while minimizing or eliminating sodas, sweet tea, Gatorade, fruit juices and alcoholic beverages. Multiply your weight by .55 to determine the desired number of ounces of water per day to drink.

11) Keep a food journal to track your habits and discover what improvements can be made with your diet. People who journal their diet habits in the beginning are several times more successful than those who do not. Success leaves clues.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studio in Bluffton, SC.

Bathing Suit Season Is Just Around The Corner

Don't get stuck in a corner thinking it's too late to look good in a bathing suit this summer. It's not too late at all.

With a little hard work and good will power, the average weekly weight loss for women is 2 - 2.5 pounds, and 2.5 - 4 pounds for men. Think about how much weight you could lose in just one month of sticking to it. Now think about two months. You could be down 16 - 30 pounds in just 8 short weeks, right when bathing suit season hits.

How much different will your body look after dropping 16 - 30 pounds? My guess is a lot different.

I know, I know. You're saying right now..."I just don't know where to start". Let me tell you where to start...

First off, get off your you behind, and stop looking behind you. What's in the past, is in the past. Nothing effects you losing weight except what you do now, and in the future. Forget what happened yesterday. Do these three things for the next 30 days and see what happens:

1. PowerWalk for 30 - 45 minutes Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, & Sunday.

2. Do 30 repetitions of each of these execises (Body weight squats, toe or knee push-ups, walking lunges, tricep chair dips, and bicycle abdominals) on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday.

3. Eat breakfast, lunch, & dinner, each with a handful of a protein, a handful of complex carbohydrate, and either a handful of fruit or vegetable. Then eat a protein only snack between the three meals.

Just doing those three things dosn't seem like that much. That's because it's not. But here's the key factor in all of this that will get you those weekly results you are looking for...

BE CONSISTANT

If you are consistant, the weight will drop off like leaves on a tree in the fall. And then you WILL be ready for the bathing suit.

Chad Cannon is a weight loss expert and the owner of Shaping Concepts of Bluffton.

What is a Goal?

What are goals exactly? Let me change that question a little...What are the best goals for you?

Many times when I ask people what their goals are. More often they reply with something like "I want to lose weight". This is not a goal!

A goal must be something very specific. A goal should have many parts to it. A goal should have a specific "what", a specific "when", and a specific "why". The key ingredient is the "why".

Here's a great example of a goal instead of the average "I want to lose weight":

I plan on losing (notice I said plan on..., instead of saying I want to...) 8 pounds by Feb. 4th (notice I didn't say in the next three weeks - weeks just go on and on), because I am very embarrassed being naked in front of my wife.

Be very specific when it comes to setting goals. Be honest, how many of you have had that "I want to lose weight" goal for over 2 years now? There is no specification to it! Which means you have no reason or sense of urgency to attain it.

The key ingredient IS the reason why. The reason why is NOT "because I want to be healthy" or "because I'm fat", or "because I want to look better". You need to answer "why" you want to be healthy, "why" you are fat, or "why" you want to look better. Those are where you will find your reasons. Just keep asking yourself why. Once you get a little emotional about it, then you have found your reason.

The "real" key ingredient! There is one other thing that is an absolute must when it comes to goals. Two things MUST be done. And by doing these two things, achieving your goals will be 99% more successful!

• #1 Write down your goal...with all the specifics! Including the reason why.


• #2 Tell people, as many people as possible what your goal is. They don't have to know your reason, but by telling other people what your goal is, this makes you accountable to each and every one of them. Your goal will be much more attainable when there is accountability involved!

Don't forget to set goals. Everyday brings a new challenge and we need all the help we can get.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Studios in Bluffton, SC.

The Biggest Factor in Weight Loss

Alright, let's pretend you're driving across the country. You know you cannot do it in one day. It's going to take more than just a day right? Right! And it's going to be long, drawn out days in the car, where you will get stiff and very uncomfortable, because that's what happens when you sit in a car for a long period of time. Sooner or later it's just very uncomfortable.

So what you normally do is plan on stopping every couple of hours for a few different reasons. First, to loosen up those legs and move around a little. You've got to get that blood flowing again before you get back in the car for another few hours. You also usually refuel not only the car, but also yourself. The car obviously cannot go anymore unless you fuel it up. You will not stay awake unless you fuel your body with energy foods.

So every few hours, you keep doing this, stopping, loosening up, refueling. Then since you know you cannot make it across the country in one day, you have already planned on stopping for the night in a hotel. You planned this. You already knew you were going to stop and rest. You knew it was going to take more than just one day.

So you were okay with the distance you drove that day, and knew you had more to go tomorrow. Again, this was in the plan.

You did what you could that day. Then moved on to the next. You didn't try to get across the country in one day, because you knew it was impossible.

So why do we, as a population, try to deal with health related situations so fast. It's impossible to lose 200 pounds in one day. It's impossible to lose even 20 pounds in one day. Why not be happy with our efforts for what we did that day and know that we have to do more tomorrow.

My point here is that we need to think of weight loss in small steps, one day at a time, knowing that there are more days to come. It's going to be a long drive. Weight loss doesn't happen in one day. We need to stop being so disappointed when we don't lose 20 pounds each day.

I want you to think of TODAY, not tomorrow, knowing there will be tomorrow, but just get through one day at a time, doing all that you can TODAY.

Stop thinking about losing 200 pounds, and start thinking about losing 2 pounds...TODAY!

Stop thinking about the big picture (Stop looking at the map of the entire country). Just look at what you can do to be as healthy as you can be TODAY (pick a spot on the map only 8-10 hours away as a stopping point to find a hotel and rest).

The biggest factor in weight loss is not looking too far ahead, and doing what you can today!



Chad Cannon is a Weight Loss Expert and owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Studios in Bluffton, SC.

My Legs Are Killing Me!

My legs are killing me!
Before I tell you why, let me say that I have a problem! A Big one! However, it is a good problem to have…I think.

I, being a former athlete, feel like I consistently need to achieve new and bigger things, athletically. For some reason this motivates me more than you can imagine. Maybe I’m going through a mid-life crisis or something. I don’t know.

About a year ago I took up serious distance running. Now when I say serious, I don’t mean trying to make the Olympic team or anything. What I mean is trying to achieve more than I think I physically can do. Why? Because I know in the back of my mind it can be done if I just put my mind to it. I like to push myself to the limit at certain things, and then some, and really see how far and how hard I can push myself. Call me crazy! Most people do!

So anyway, about a year ago I decided to run a 5k on Thanksgiving day. Oh yeah, Thanksgiving day was only three weeks away and I had not run in over a year. I called up my uncle in Ohio and asked him to find a 5k for me ( and him) to run together since that’s where I was going to be during Thanksgiving. He called and said he only knew of a 5 mile run, not any 5k’s in that area, and somehow he convinced me to run it. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to finish it. I was truly thinking that I could struggle to finish a 5k, but 5 miles was an entire different thing. That’s 2 extra miles. To make a long story short, he convinced me that if we did it together, I could finish it, and guess what? I did. And I did it fairly easily, only after three weeks of training. By the way…Thanks Uncle Mac! I think that’s where this whole thing started. He convinced me to do something I didn’t think I could. And I did it!

So after that I joined a running club here in Bluffton. Why did I do that? Easy…to find a coach to help me train correctly. I started out wanted to run strictly 5k’s. And week after week I ran with this club and struggled through 4-5 miles. One day my “coach” said we’re going 8 today. I’m thinking 8 miles…are you kidding? Well I did it and felt okay. Ever since that day I have never once struggled through 4 or 5 miles. Never! Something clicked in me physically and mentally that 4 or 5 miles really wasn’t that hard anymore. So I started running some 8k’s, some 10k’s a lot of 5k’s and then I turned 39…

Yes, that’s old for my broken down athletic body that used to take beatings in sports for almost 28 years. Trust me, my body has suffered.

So yes, I turned 39 and I needed something else. I kept seeing something about a Mud Run with military obstacles and things. Finally I signed up even though I am totally scared of heights (the Mud Run had 4 or 5 15-foot walls to climb). This was something I knew I was going to not be able to do. However, just like before, I signed up, which was a big step for me, and got a few friends together, and did it. Oh yeah, you bet I struggled over those walls, but with a lot of encouragement and nudging, my friends helped me over each one. And I must say, that race was a blast. We didn’t go out to “race”. We just did it to finish and have fun and of course I did it to conquer a major fear of mine.

So my legs are hurting. Here’s why…

Finally! I know I tend to babble sometimes.

About 4 months ago, I didn’t something I really thought my legs could not handle any longer. I signed up for a half marathon. That is 13.1 miles. With all the punishment I put on my legs back in college sports and even after college, this would be a huge step for me.

When I signed up trust me when I say I didn’t think I could finish it. But I signed up anyway, because again, I wanted to prove to myself that I could. This would take some major training on my part and I knew I couldn’t slack off. I had one goal from the day I signed up…to finish. I followed a strict training plan as much as I could. Yes I waivered off every now and then, but I always got right back on track. I even had two injuries along the way. However, about half way through my training plan, I added another goal. No longer was it just about finishing. Now I also wanted to finish without stopping. 6 weeks before that I thought that was going to be impossible.

Now I was training not to stop. About 2-3 weeks before the race, I started thinking about another goal. I was training for running an 8:30/mile pace the whole time, which is about a 1 hour and 52 minute plus half marathon. Well I started thinking about breaking 1 hour and 45 minutes. That’s an 8 minute mile. Before this training started, I was barely running 7:30 pace during 5k’s. Now I had the thought of 8 minute miles. I am crazy? Yes.

So I went into the race saying I’ll be happy to not walk and to run an average of 8:15 pace.

Here’s how the race went and why my legs are killing me now…

It was dark, cold and dreary out at 5:30am when we had to be at the starting line. (even though the race didn’t start until 7am) I arrived there on time, ate enough in the morning to get me through the race, and even had pasta all day before the race. So I was fueled up, warmed up well and was ready to go. The horn went off and off we went (all 5000 people). I said to myself “don’t go out to fast, but don’t get caught in the crowd as well”. I came up to the 1 mile sign and the clock read 8 minutes and 52 seconds.

You really don’t want to know what I said at that point. But it wasn’t good. So I suddenly picked up the pace quite a bit thinking I’ve got a lot of time to make up now. I picked off people left and right and felt good until we came to the only hill in the race. I was already too tired to make it up the hill, so I backed off enough to make it up as many of those that I had just passed, passed me right back. Coming down the hill I just relaxed and let the decline take me. I passed many people again, but without using any energy, and found my groove. I passed the 2nd mile in 8:10 and found a nice couple to run with.

I asked them what their goal was, and they were trying to break 1:45. So I said “great! I’m going to stick with you guys if that’s okay”. Of course they said yes, and we chatted and chatted, and chatted. We were talking so much that my 3rd and easiest mile was 7:42. I just made up my time from the beginning, and now had others to help each other through. Guess what? My goal of 8:15 pace was no longer. I wanted that 8 minute pace and I wanted to break 1:45. We were running pretty much 8 minute pace from there on out, however…

At the 6 or 7 mile point, even though my lungs were doing just fine, my legs said to me “not today Chad”. They did…I heard them loud and clear.

My quads started to cramp up. Not sure why. As I said before, I ate well, was hydrating at every water station, yet it was still happening. The couple I was running with helped me through it, telling me to keep shaking them out and it will work itself out, just don’t stop. So that’s exactly what I did. That nice couple really helped me, but eventually got a little ahead of me with every step, even though I was still holding that 8 minute pace. I was really struggling. At mile 11, my legs just said “NO MORE”.

Well, I told my legs to shove it where it counts, and I kept going. I was not about to stop with 2 miles left. I was going to finish. I have no idea what my 11th mile pace was. I know it dropped off a lot. Probably close to 9 minute pace. Then…

With one mile left, I knew I had to do something or I was not going to finish. I had to change muscle fibers. So I stood up as tall as I could, got up on my toes and basically used my sprinting technique to change it up and get me through. My mind over-powered my body and I must have run close to a 7:30 minute last mile, because I crossed the finish line thinking I was going to collapse because of my legs, in 1 hour 45 minutes and 48 seconds.

And you know what? I was really proud of that. Not because of the time I ran, but because I proved to myself that I could finish it without walking, and to do that when my legs said “no” on that particular day was why I did it in the first place. I proved once again, that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. If you really want something bad enough, just go get it.

I’m not sure what my next challenge will be. But whatever it is, I’m sure it will be hard and I’m absolutely sure I can do it!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC.

You Get What You Pay For!

So this past weekend I was in Myrtle
Beach for a fitness conference. I want to discuss something I saw that was very disturbing to me, as a fitness pro.

I was at this conference for many reasons obviously...to get some continuing education credits, to learn some new good stuff, see some new fitness products, and of course connect with other fitness pro's throughout the country.

I was also running a half marathon the day after the conference, so I didn't participate in the usual physical classes I usually do. This time I sat back and watched others do it. While I was watching everyone kill themselves for two days, I noticed something I never noticed before...

...There are a lot, and I mean a lot of crappy trainers out there that have no clue how even their own bodies work. Yes, we get instructed as large groups in these conferences so the person in charge of that session can in no way, shape, or form walk around to each person and correct them if needed. But as a trainer, we should be able to listen, or watch a demonstartion and know how to do it ourselves because we're suppost to know how the body works. Man, oh man, did I see some bad, bad postural things going on. And if these so called trainers can't do a correct squat or follow from another example, my profession is in major trouble.

Don't get me wrong when I say there are lots of bad trainers out there. Yes, there are. But there are also many great ones.

Where am I going with this...?

Here's where... What is the perception of trainers you find in a typical gym, fitness center, or athletic club setting? Now what is the perception of a trainer that works in a personal training studio?

You should have completely different answers. A typical trainer in a gym is the kind of trainer I was watching do incorrect movements, the ones that didn't have a clue how their own body worked. Again, I'm not saying all of them...that's just the perception. Why? Because most of the time it's true.

The trainers that care about you getting results, that know how the body moves, and works, that knows what it takes to lose weight, gain more muscle, knows how to eat for better results, knows how to rehab someone from an injury...those are the trainers that open their own personal training studios, or work for someone that owns a training studio. It's the places that don't have a monthly membership, but where you pay for the service you need.

Remeber the old saying "you get what you pay for". Yeah, hows that $20/month membership helping you get those results you really wanted? Just sayin'!

I'm not trying to suggest that all gyms have bad trainers. I am suggesting however, that most bad trainers work in gyms and fitness centers.

Make sure you know what your goals are. Interview the trainers you talk to. Find out if they have helped others with the same goals? Can they show you, and demonstrate some of the things they will be having you do? Can they help you with the nutrition aspect of meeting your goals? Ask them what their last fitness conference was that they attended. Ask them what they do themsleves for their own particular workout. Ask them if you can watch one of their personal training sessions and really see how they move.

Here's the bottom line...

Make sure you get what you pay for. If you want a $20/month fee, don't expect to get much more than $20 worth of stuff. If you want good instruction, professoinal help day in and day out, nutritonal coaching, accountibility, access to articles, blogs, videos, tips and helpful hints everyday, the ability to email or call for help everyday, the ability to help you get results, then you will find this in places like a training studio.

Think about it, when is the last time you heard of a professional athlete training during the off season at the local health club? NEVER! It doesn't happen! They go to a real fitness professional because they know that's where results happen!


Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC.

Losing More Than 2 lbs per Week

I’ve given you the knowledge you need to lose 2 pounds a week; however, I know you want to lose more than that. Most people, unfortunately, want more than 2 pounds. So the question is...how can one lose 4 to 5 pounds a week?

Let me try to make it as SIMPLE as possible for you. It all comes down to calories in, calories out. It’s really just simple math. Now, I’ll be the first to tell you, I was a horrible math student, as many of my teachers will agree. However, I’m pretty good at it when it comes to weight loss. Here’s how it works: To lose a pound, you must burn 3,500 calories. We must figure out the how to burn more calories in the most effective way.

There are things we don’t want to do, like too much resistance training. Working muscles too much will damage them because they never get a chance to recover. You want the muscles to recover because that’s when they get stronger. So my suggestion on resistance training is total body workouts only three times per week.

You also DO NOT want to get the weight off by starving yourself. If you eat fewer than 1,200-1,500 calories a day, you will sabotage your optimal results. By eating, you are putting fuel on the fire or keeping the metabolism going. When food is not in the body, there is no energy for the metabolism to work off of, thus slowing it down.

Therefore, cardiovascular training (walking, running, elliptical training, rowing, biking) is weight loss extra credit. It allows you to burn additional calories without overtraining. This is why you see people on TV shows lose a tremendous amount of weight in only a week, even weeks into the program.

Think about the math: If you are eating 1,500 calories a day, assuming your BMR without exercise is 1,600, and you do two 1-hour cardio sessions that burn 500 calories each (one in the morning and one at night), the two sessions, along with your regular daily activity, will speed up your base metabolism to at least 2,000. As a result, you will have burned about 1,500 calories that day — that is, almost half a pound. At that rate you will be losing up to 3.5 pounds a week. But most of that is because of lots of cardio. Not extra strength training.

With that said, you are more apt to lose more weight during the first two to three weeks of any weight loss regimen because of the dramatic change in your nutrition and the loss of excess fluid. After that, it's all about crunching the numbers, and cardio is the key.

If you want to lose more than two pounds per week, simply do more cardio. But do LOTS of it.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC.

No more sabotaging! Eat to Lose Weight!

Why do people work so hard with their exercise, then totally blow it with their nutrition?

Here's a quick FACT for you:

Proper nutrition is just as important as the exercises when it comes to losing weight! In fact it's even more important than the exercise is.

You can workout all day, everyday, but the fact is if you're not eating correctly, results just won't happen!

So again I ask, why is it that people work so hard in their workouts, then totally blow it with eating like crap? Yet, most people know it to be true that eating is just as important, and the bad eating continues over and over. It's almost like sabotage! I hear from people, as I'm sure you have also "I workout so I can eat bad". No people! It doesn't work that way. Yes, you can cheat hear and there, but if you are wanting to lose 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 50 pounds, or even 100 plus pounds, you should be eating to make your workout better, to increase your metabolism. Not eating badly because you worked out. Like you feel you deserved something bad, because you did something amazing. No! All you are doing in that scenario is ruining what you just accomplished.

Eat to lose weight. That's the name of the game when it comes to weight loss.

Imagine what a workout could feel like if you ate really well for one week. Don't you think your energy level might be a little higher? Your stamina would last longer. You would have better strength. Your blood sugar would be in range. Your metabolism is faster. The list goes on and on. And with all this combined, you get a better workout, making you burn more calories, thus losing more fat!

No imagine if you did this for two weeks. What about one month? Is that so impossible?

No, it's not impossible! You CAN do it! I know you can. You know you can. You just need to make up your mind and do it. No more sabotaging!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC.