Guest post today from a legend…

Today's guest post today is from the one and only Mike Boyle. It's from his newsletter but it makes a great point regarding offseason training for children.

 

Last week I received the question below

 

Q- I need to put together a summer plan for my 9 yr old hockey team.

Obviously I don't want to look like a crazy person, but it would be

something that I think could be good for my own kids as well. Is it

too young?

 

My first reaction was to say "are you crazy"? Instead, slightly

tongue-in-cheek I developed the plan below.

 

Step 1- play another sport. Lacrosse is highly recommended as it

has similar skills to hockey although baseball is fine. This does

not mean another sport in addition to hockey. Summer is the off season.

 

Step 2- Cancel all hockey camp registrations except 1 week. Pick your

favorite that has the largest number of your friends attending and go

to that one. Ideally look for a camp that only has you on the ice once

a day. No need to get blisters. You won't get better in a week anyway.

 

Step 3- Cancel any summer hockey leagues you are scheduled for. The best

players in the world never play summer hockey and, they never have.

The only conceivable exception would be a weekly skill session lasting

one hour. Another exception would be "play". If ice is available and

the kids can play, let them. Please remember play means NO COACHES

or COACHING.

 

Step 4- Reread steps 1-3. Acknowledge that the key problem in youth

sports is applying adult values to children's activities.

 

Step 5- Go to the nearest bike shop. Get nice bikes for everyone in

the family

 

Step 6- Ride the bikes, not in a race. For fun. Maybe put a few

hockey cards in the spokes to make noise.

 

Step 7- Head to Walmart and buy fishing rods.

 

Step 8- Take the fishing rods to the nearest lake and fish.

 

Now That is an off-season plan for any nine year old.

 

Step 9- repeat steps 5-8 while continually rereading steps

The effects of life can lead to, well, more effects of life

It has been a while since I have posted and in all honesty, I can feel it. It is not like blogging is some magical pill or therapy to help one solve their problems, but it is a good way for me to get my thoughts out and share with people who don't think I'm completely full of shit.

Yet, life, as it always seems to do, has gotten in the way of my life and something's in my life have slipped and others have dropped off the face of planet Chris. But like everything we experience in life, it has takes a toll mentally, physically and psychologically on me.

I am a personal trainer and trying to build up my book of cliental and create a reputation for myself as the leading fat loss expert in my area. Sounds easy right? WRONG. See people don't value their health one bit. Trying to sell personal training is like trying to sell water to fish. That doesn't make sense at all. Oh well.

The problem I'm seeing is that people, while wanting to get in shape, while wanting to get healthy, don't want to pay to have someone help them. They are all under the impression they can do it on their own. WRONG. I see people spinning their wheels all day long but when you approach them to help, they turn away. See most people don't understand the definition of insanity. What is the definition you might ask? Well, it's doing the same things over and over again expecting a different result. That's what I see every day, people doing the same shit over and over again, expecting a different result.

There is one stress in my life.

Another lovely little bit of stress is my DUI. Yes, I am human and I make mistakes. I got caught and now I'm reaping the repercussions of them. The mental toll of this is unlike anything I have ever experienced. I don't drink and drive anymore. Not even one glass of wine at dinner. I try and tell other people to do the same thing but now I'm just a guy who got caught and am preaching some kind of mythical spell on them to get them not to drink. Not quite the case folks, but I have no energy to try and tell you what you think you might know.

Still, life itself is one ball of stress. I don't talk personal stuff on my blog's anymore but let's just say, the minute you think things are good, they aren't. The minute you think things are comfortable, they aren't. If you are feeling any of those things in your life, stop, look and re-evaluate what is going on because it's about to change; for better or worse.

I do have one refuge though and that's in my new training. I decided not to train for my traditional triathlon, but instead am focusing on a powerlifting competition over Labor Day weekend. I am now lifting heavy shit 4 days a week and I'm sore as hell because of it. And I love it! I will keep you up to date on my training as it progresses.

It really is as simple as oysters and wine

I have a client who is easily around 80 years old. She happens to be one of the most famous and most respected coaches in the entire world of opera; she even has her own display at Juliard. After spending the better part of 50 years living on Park Avenue in New York City, she now lives in a retirement community here in Santa Barbara.

And she hates it.

Still, she finds time to be happy. Despite her age, she trains with me two days a week and remains as active as she can in her spare time. See working with me gives her an escape from what she has deemed as "the move that has ruined my life". It gives her the opportunity to work on something (herself) and takes her away from what is bothering her. For 55 minutes, two days a week, she smiles the biggest smile, her laugh is louder and the aura that surrounds her brightens. The only other thing that can do this for her in this city, is sitting at a beachside restaurant, eating local oysters and drinking locally grown white wine.

The point is, that it doesn't matter what goes on in your life or what get's you down. By working with a personal trainer, you not only gain a new perspective on training and nutrition, you gain a new perspective on life. Personal training is not just about writing programs for people to lift weights or do track sprints; it is also about playing psychologist and helping people fight through their problems to see the good in life.

That is one thing that people don't see regarding hiring a personal trainer. Most think all we do is sell an intangible product, when 99.99% of the time we are trying to show you a solution to the majority of your problems. Yes personal training costs money, but so does driving your car. Want to hear something funny? People will pay $500 a month on a car payment but won't pay $300 on their health.

You figure that one out.

In the mean time, I will be on the beach with a dozen local oysters and a chilled glass of chardonnay.

Guest Post from Mr. Renegade Himself

Today's post is from Jason Ferrugia. Jason is someone whose work I have come to love and his message is always very clear and precise. While we differ on approaches, fat loss for example, the take home message from this should slap most people in the face and serve as a wake up call.

 

I hope….

 

"Not surprisingly, a lot of people get offended by the fact that I am not in the business of promoting fitness. When I post something to this effect on FaceBook or Twitter some people get very upset and even call me mean names. (I have feelings, ya know)

 

Now I know this may come as an odd statement, considering what I do for a living and the fact that I am a part of the fitness industry. But I really don't care to "give the gift of fitness" to people. I'm not going to be showing up at your front door dressed as Richard Simmons and telling you to pull your fanny of the couch because "it's time to get fit!"

 

I don't give a shit.

 

Before I go any further I should point out that I am not talking to most of my regular readers because, obviously you wouldn't be here if you fit the description. Rather, I am pointing out the fact that people have often mistaken me for the wrong guy and I am trying to clear that up.

 

If you want to sit around and eat donuts all day why would that possibly bother me? And why would I want to motivate you? I'm not Jenny Craig or Matt Foley the motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river. What you do is your choice. Sure I will make fun of you, laugh at you and encourage others to do the same; but it's your life, not mine.

 

If you are too stupid to realize that regular exercise and a healthy diet is a necessary part of life I'm not going to waste my time telling you. Get on some prescription drugs, order a sausage pizza and watch another episode of Friends.

 

People ask me all kinds of questions when they find out what I do for a living.

 

"How do I lose this?" (grabbing a handful of a 48 inch waist)

 

"I don't know."

 

"How long should I do the stair climber for?"

 

"I don't know."

 

"I can't give up carbs but I want to get lean. What should I do?"

 

"I don't know."

 

"I only have twenty minutes to train, twice a week. What should I do?"

 

"I don't know."

 

"I know you're into all that heavy lifting but I can't do that. What can I do instead?"

 

"I don't know."

 

"I'm a girl and I don't want to get too bulky so how should I lift?"

 

"I don't know."

 

"How do I get motivated to go to the gym?"

 

"I don't know."

 

You either want to do something or you don't. I'm not in the business of motivating people. Sure, I'll shout some words of encouragement to serious trainees before they attempt a new squat max, and may even question their manhood in an attempt to get them even angrier. And I'll cheer a guy on during a grueling conditioning finisher, but if you are not internally motivated already, you're looking toward the wrong guy for help. I just don't care enough to waste my time on those types of people.

 

Often times people will tell me that they want to train with me and that I if they hire me or come to my gym I really need to push them. No, I don't. You need to push yourself. You're hiring me for my program design skills which are based on 16 years of experience. I am not a cheerleader. Any nitwit can yell at someone like a drill sergeant. Just because a workout is hard doesn't mean it's effective. Just because a coach yells loudly it doesn't mean he's smart.

 

If you can't find it within yourself and are not driven to excel, there is nothing I can do for you.

 

I'll give hard working, motivated, intelligent people everything I have. But for everyone else I have no time or patience. I know this offends many people. But it's just me being honest.

 

If someone needs to lose 15 pounds of fat in order to compete at a higher level in a weight class sport I'm all for helping them. If someone needs to lose 150 pounds I don't have a clue what they should do. All I know is they shouldn't have gotten into that situation in the first place. And allowing themselves to do so shows me they are undisciplined and lazy. I have little tolerance for these types of people.

 

There's nothing I like more than helping guys get bigger, stronger and faster. Taking a new guys squat from 225 to 455 is a lot of fun for me. I know how to do that. But I don't know what fat people should do. I don't know what lazy people should do. And it doesn't interest me to find out.

 

I told some fat people recently that they couldn't out train a bad diet. Some were offended. They thought that as long as they trained hard on some high intensity circuit type workout a few days a week they would get lean.

 

They won't. Nobody gets lean from doing kettlebell swings and burpees. If you're eating clean, these will help, but unless your diet is spot on you aint losing an ounce. All the exercise in the world will do you no good without eating properly. These are the cold, hard facts, my friends.

 

So before you send me another email telling me that I am discouraging fat, lazy people from even trying to get fit in the first place, please realize that I don't care. These are not my kind of people and that is not my market.

 

You must have the wrong guy."

Simple is not fast and fast is not easy.

There is a quote by my friend and mentor Alwyn Cosgrove that I read recently regarding fat loss but I can't remember exactly how it goes. So instead of completely butchering a wonderful quote, today's post is all about trying to capture the idea of what he was trying to say.

When it comes to fat loss there are two ways: Simple and fast. Fair enough? Now let's really break it down so we can understand exactly what AC was trying to get across.

As a society, we are lazy and complacent. We don't want to work hard and we don't want to eat right…..we just want that magic little pill or that perfect infomercial to get us to our goals. Even Taco Hell is now jumping on the bandwagon saying that instead of eating their shitty normal menu, you can now order off their less than shitty menu to lose fat.

Whatever happened to doing it the old fashioned way?

I will tell you what happened, people finally realized that fat loss wasn't not simple, fast or easy. See, when it comes to fat loss, you can have one or the other, but not all three.

If you really break it down and get all scientific, fat loss is truly very simple: eat less, move more. Really, it is that simple. The problem is that people come up with these ridiculous excuses as to why they can't eat less and move more. The best excuse is "I don't have enough time". Let me be frank here, eating less takes less time and to move more does not take more time either. Try parking your car 5 spots further from the grocery store or take the stairs. Either will take 30 seconds out of your day. Think you can spare that?

Now, fat loss can truly be very fast, but it sure as hell isn't easy. Don't believe me? I have personally tried two of the, in my opinion, hardest diets on the planet. One is called The Velocity Diet and the other is called Warped Speed Fat Loss. Both are 28 day programs that will push you past your own psychological limits, as well as push your body to the limits of what you thought was physically possible. AND THEY ARE BOTH HARD AS HELL! They will both strip the fat off your body in less than 30 days and give you that shredded look you so desire. Again, these are two of the fastest diets around but they are also two of the hardest; fast but far from easy.

As for easy, when it comes to fat loss, there is no such thing. To lose fat, you must watch what you eat, you must do some high intensity interval training and you must lift weights. All of which are a recipe for hard work and determination. The good thing is, that when you are done, you CAN have that body you want and you CAN have that look you want. Just remember, if you want fat loss fast, it ain't easy, if you want fat loss made simple it ain't fast and lastly if you want fat loss made easy, go to some other trainer because he will be as full of shit as your excuses are.

The silent assassin strikes again!

I never really realized how much alcohol can play in the lives of people who drink until recently. I had an epiphany today. It hit me square in the chest while I was screaming in pain while doing the exercise formerly known as Bulgarian Split Squats. Sleep has not been coming to me lately and since I am now performance training (I'm training for a triathlon), I need my recovery sleep more than ever. Problem is, is that I can't get more than five hours of sleep a night and if I do, I wake up every 2 hours or so and can't fall back asleep.

I was looking at everything as a possible suspect and I started with my food intake. I wrote down what I had been eating just to make sure and after reviewing, it really wasn't off the norm of what I had been eating. It wasn't my training because I was kicking my ass in the gym and on the road running and biking, which had been leaving me exhausted at night. Still, that sweet feeling of going into la-la land was evading me.

Then I realized something: I haven't had a drink in 19 days. While that might not be earth shattering to some, I knew immediately that I had my culprit. See, the human body revolves around a 21 day cycle: it basically takes 21 days to either make or break a habit. Drinking had been a habit of mine for a very long time and I am trying to change that. Week one was easy as I was in the ether of happiness and my body was reacting well. Then week two hit and the grind began and sleep became a rarity. I would stare at the ceiling for upwards of an hour before falling asleep and then I would be up at the crack ass of dawn, before the birds.

Alcohol is a poison and that is how the body treats it. Your kidney's and liver will do whatever they can to rid the body of such a toxin and while doing so, the body starts to react in funny ways; mine started to reject sleep. It's funny how much of an effect alcohol can have on the body and on the mind. If you are in a fat loss phase, instead of focusing on using your body fat for energy, it will try and get rid of the alcohol first and the same goes for trying to build muscle.

Yet it's the psychological effects that alcohol has on the body that is now starting to intrigue me. My body hasn't felt right, my mind has felt right and even my girlfriend has started to notice a change in my behavior (sorry honey). With two days left to break my habit, I am hoping that my body will start to adjust to a time period without alcohol.

What a way to start the new year!

If you are having the same start to the new year as I am, than you can probably feel the excitement in my words because I am extremely fired up for what I am about to say. Now, I don't normally talk much about my actual business, which is training clients, because I like to keep what I say here to what I give my clients separate. See with this blog, I use it to help point you and guide you in the right direction. When you are a client of mine, I hold your hand to guide and help push you towards your goals. I am an agent of change and that is why people come to me; they want help, they want change and they want it now.

What all of you don't know, is that I haven't done what I am about to do in over 4 months. I like working with a small number of clients because from a customer service standpoint and from evaluating my core values, the attention I can give helps my clients reach their goals.

The good news is this: I can do more. After looking at my schedule and my life goals, I have made the decision to accept 8 new clients. Now let me say this: I am not for everybody. If you do not want to change the way you look, feel or perform, then don't waste your time.

I do not accept just anyone. I had only been working on a referral basis before I stopped taking on new clients and even then there was an application process. Well, nothing is changing with this.

For the next 3 weeks, I am going to be accepting applications for new clients. I WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTING 8 NEW CLIENTS! I REPEAT… I WILL BE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS BUT THERE ARE ONLY 8 SPOTS OPEN.

If you live in Santa Barbara, this is an opportunity that will not come open again soon. Please send all inquiries to chris@phoenixtrainingfitness.com. I will email you a copy of my application and other information regarding the process to become a new client.

Remember, this open application process is only open for 3 weeks. Please forward this message to your friends, family members, co-workers…..anyone who you feel needs a catalyst for change. Sometimes it's that little push that can help save someone's life.