28 days later…..

(big deep breath…..and exhale)

So it has been 28 days since I last had a beverage that contained alcohol and it feels like forever. While there have been mostly hard days, for the most part, I have come out this far unscathed. There are good days and I actually had one of my best days in probably 5 years a week or so ago.

Just like any other tough ordeal one has to go through, there were almost breaking points. A couple nights ago actually, I had a glass of wine in my hand and was ready to drink, but I didn't. I just sat there and stared at it thinking about all the people I would disappoint if I continued. So I did something about it; I got up and walked into my kitchen and poured the glass and the entire bottle down the sink.

A small victory, but a victory none-the-less.

The good thing is, is the cloud of fog is starting to clear. I am thinking more clearly, more precisely but most importantly not irrationally. You don't really realize how much a drug can affect your thought process.

My diet has gotten dialed in and my training right now is focused and intense. My powerlifting meet has totally consumed my thinking and I am hell bent on reaching my goal of a 1,400 pound total.

What's even more crazy, is how much better I am able to train because my body feels in tuned with what I am trying to accomplish. The work I am doing with my clients has taken on another level as well. I am pushing them harder, changing their programs to keep them fresh and they are noticing the effects.

All in all, things are moving forward. I am taking small steps daily and really only focusing on half a day at a time. I am focused on my body, my business and my competition. If it doesn't fit in any of those three categories, it's not a priority to me.

Time to go coach some athletes…..

My Name Is Chris And I’m An Alcoholic

I never thought that those words would ever come out of my mouth, but events over the past 3 months have made me re-evaluate my relationship with the sauce. According to Wikipedia, an alcoholic is "the drinker's inability to control such compulsive drinking, despite awareness of its harm to his or her health." Now that isn't what people think of when they think of an alcoholic but given the recent circumstances, it is what defines me and my problem.

Every major incident that has cause myself or someone else pain in any shape or form has come when I have been drunk and it's usually when I have been blacked out and don't remember. After realizing this, I finally admitted to myself that I have a problem.

I have been arrested 3 times in my life and all three are alcohol related; one of them I hurt myself badly and caused damage to another vehicle. Most recently I caused property damage and in all likely hood, got someone evicted from their residence all because I was drunk and acting like a complete idiot.

One of my dear friends told me the other night that when I drink, I don't stop; that I have no remorse for what I say or what I do and that not only have I hurt her and most likely others, but I have no care for what I could do to myself.

She is right.

I have been drinking since I was 13 years old and I have never really stopped. Sure there were times where I would go maybe 7-8 weeks between having a drink but in the big picture of things, I was always a drinker and a drug user. About 2 ½ years ago, I kicked to major addictions of mine: nicotine (I smoked for the better part of 15 years) and cocaine. While going through this life changing experience I never once thought about quitting drinking. Honestly, at the time I didn't think I had a problem.

Times have changed.

Nobody wants to be with someone who can't control themselves, whether they are under the influence of a drug or not. It is not easy to be respected and loved by your friends when you embarrass them and yourself to the point where it is hurtful. You can't be a father figure to a child when you get drunk and do something that they have been taught is wrong.

Life has a way of teaching you hard lessons and you would think that the more mistakes you make, the more one would learn. Apparently I like to learn things the hard way.

I have never been taught a lesson like this, ever. I have also never felt so ashamed of me as a person in my entire life. Alcohol has caused people to look and act differently around me; to think of me in a different way than the way I would like them too. Not only have I lost respect for myself but I know I have lost the trust and respect of a lot of people who I love and care about.

The road in front of me is scary as shit and I honestly am afraid to take that first step. Alwyn Cosgrove always said that if you jump, the net will appear. For the sake of this next journey, I wonder how long I have to fall before it appears because right now I don't think I can fall any further.

Standing at the bottom and looking up is an all too familiar spot for me. I have done it once and I now have to do it again. The first time around wasn't too hard though, but this time will be different. This is going to be the biggest challenge of my life so far.

I'm alone and scared to death.

Still, I am going to take my first step towards change.

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.