The Power to Change

Life Ain't Always Beautiful

2010-03-24T19:53:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is, "I'll do it later." This statement frequently pops up when we encounter a situation that does not fall into our pre-defined day. I've spent most of my life, and I do mean life, battling this little voice in my head. Since I was a young child, any moderate deviation from my preset plan triggered the, "I'll do it later", response. Now in my case there

Time for a Change

2010-01-31T17:37:00.001-05:00

Okay, so you are four weeks into your workout program. You are getting comfortable with things. Guess what? That means it's time to look at making a change. When you are starting a workout and nutrition program it's important to set up a good framework that will help take you forward through a lifetime of health and fitness. One part of that framework is understanding the value of changing up

Saturday

2010-01-24T19:09:00.001-05:00

Since getting down to Texas, I've been a bit slow in indulging my inner tourist. I've been to Dallas and Houston. I've gone out exploring a bit in the Hill Country. I've even done a little wandering around downtown Austin. I have not quite gone out and really started poking around. That changed up this weekend. Saturday I went down to San Antonio with a friend. After finishing up a small errand,

Better Days II

2010-01-16T17:13:00.000-05:00

Better Days II-In 2005 New Orleans and the Gulf Coast was devistated when Hurricane Katrina hit the area. None of us can forget the horrible images from that storm. The impact was magnified when it became apparent that we could not get help to people in a rapid manner. For days, people suffered as public services struggled to return some sense of normalcy to New Orleans. On January 12, 2010, a

Moving On

2009-12-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

Moving ranks as one of the most stressful things you can do in a calender year. Having done a cross country move, I can vouch for that. I'm finding moving is a bit like a break-up where you both still love each other, but things just needed to shift up. You both grew in different directions, there's no hate, no ultimatums, just a moment of realization that a change needs to happen.So you move on,

Giving Gifts

2009-12-07T14:57:00.002-05:00

After a little bit of bumpy air I'm settling into a more holidayish feeling here in Austin. There was an...incident with the fake Christmas tree. The less said there, the better. ;) Just remember, hammers are not normally tools you need to assemble a Christmas tree. I've started pulling together the Christmas card list. That should be done this weekend. I've also been reviewing my list for Santa.

Feeding America

2009-11-19T11:48:00.001-05:00

"Are there no prisons...and the union workhouses? Are they still in operation...The treadmill and Poor Law are in full vigour?" --Scrooge, A Christmas CarolI overheard part of a conversation this week regarding donating to charity. The two folks in question were talking about the food stamp program and how unfair it was that they were forced to subsidize "deadbeats". The Supplemental Nutrition

Read Your Label

2009-11-02T18:56:00.000-05:00

Read Your Label- Learning how to correctly read a nutrition label is a critical step towards lifelong health and fitness. When you take the time to read labels on food you start to gain a better understanding of what you are putting into your body. Now there are a wide range of pieces of information on a food label. You have total number of calories, macronutrient breakdowns including carbs,

Thinking

2009-10-26T22:02:00.000-04:00

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.--George S. Patton Consider this- the "average" American thinks they can't lose weight and keep it off. Are you thinking they way they are? Deep down, do you believe that it's possible to make lasting change? Are you one of the people who is truly thinking, and not just walking lockstep with "everyone"?There's a time to walk with the

Learning to Be Okay

2009-10-20T22:48:00.001-04:00

Learning to Be Okay-As a trainer, a considerable amount of time is spent pushing people past the limits they impose on themselves. Often times the limits have been set so low, it's a challenge to help these individuals realize what they can do if they push that little bit harder. For people who have spent a lifetime doubting their skills or abilities, pushing to be extra-ordinary is hard. It's

The First Step

2009-09-19T18:19:00.003-04:00

(I participated in the EAS Body for Life Challenge in 2006. As part of that process, I was keeping an online blog. I've been reviewing some of those blogs recently, and find they still hold relevance 3 years later. So periodically I'll put them up here. They are unedited, so there may be some odd references. The deeper lessons hold across the board.)I think it's very easy for people who are

Entitlement 101

2009-09-14T20:20:00.001-04:00

The other night at the MTV Video Awards, we were treated to a rather spectacular example of the "me me" generation. Rapper Kanye West hopped up onto the stage during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. He took the mike from her and proceeded to say that Beyonce Knowles should have won the award. Typical Hollywood you say? Sure, until you factor in the fact that Swift is 17 and as of today it

Keeping Faith

2009-08-22T10:31:00.000-04:00

Keeping FaithIt's got to be incredibly frustrating some days to be starting Body for Life for the first time. Here you are, trying to figure out which way is up and you are surrounded by people telling you, be patient, no don't do that, yes I know it's hard, hang in there. You seem to be battling for every ounce you lose, and you know something is wrong.Yet around you people keep saying, "have

Thoughts on the fitness industry-

2009-08-20T11:50:00.000-04:00

Thoughts on the fitness industry-One of the greatest challenges for those of us in the fitness profession is getting folks to actually follow the advice we give. Between years of misinformation, partially accurate information, and the medial tossing out fitness soundbites there is a ton of poor information to cull through. This is exacerbated because "experts" forget a key point. What we know

Intensity

2009-08-10T23:01:00.001-04:00

Intensity- One of the keys to a successful physical transformation is intensity. Think about it. You've spent years bringing your body to the place it is right now. That's years of inactivity and lethargy leading to your current job- slug. You don't look your best and you sure as heck don't feel your best. All that mass, both physical and mental needs a lot of energy to get moving. Now starting

Duality

2009-08-06T13:14:00.001-04:00

Duality- I was out at a local track the other night to do a workout with some friends. While they set up for some sprint intervals, I settled in to a slightly longer warm up so I could tackle some stair repeats. As I walked the track I watched my friend Michelle putting in a big effort on her sprints. Michelle's lost over 100 pounds and kept it off over the last 5 years. As she ran her intervals,

What Do You Know

2009-07-31T13:09:00.000-04:00

"It's not always the fact that you need to learn more, or learn new stuff. A huge component of getting results either as a trainer or trainee is properly applying what you already know." - Mike Robertson, Robertsontrainingsystems.comWhat do you know?Do you know that you need to eat better? Workout harder? Stop making excuses? Look for reasons to succeed, not reasons to fail?You know what's

Life Full of Can

2009-07-26T21:23:00.001-04:00

A Life Full of Can-This weekend I decided to start reassembling my mountain bike. It was broken into easy to ship components when I moved back in March. It's since been sitting in one of my closets. I've used this bike for the last several years as an exercise bike. It hasn't gotten much road work. Now there's work that would need to be done in order to get road worthy, and for that a visit to

Courtyard

2009-07-16T19:38:00.001-04:00

Courtyard-There's nothing quite so nice as being able to sit out front of your door enjoying the breeze of a late spring evening. It's something I missed living in DC. An eight story apartment complex with no balcony isn't conducive to sitting outside. Here it's me sitting on my new deck chair with the Minions of Chaos and Destruction rolling around on the concrete and feeling the breeze cross

Backstop

2009-07-11T11:40:00.000-04:00

In the game of baseball, backstop typically refers to the high fence or screen located behind the catcher. The purpose of the backstop is to stop a missed catch from rolling away from the catcher. The catcher is responsible for every ball that comes his way. He's also responsible for ensuring that a run doesn't score either. It's a very demanding position with little room for error. In baseball

I Dreamed a Dream (Why Susan Boyle Matters Part II)

2009-06-19T12:51:00.000-04:00