If someone were to stop you while you were exercising and ask “why are you doing that?”…could you tell them?

Do you know why you are doing what you are doing?

Does it work?

Aesop’s fable The fox and the cat.

A fox boasted to a cat on day about how sly and wily he was. “I’ve got all kinds of tricks,” the fox said.  “Whenever I hear the hound coming, I know 100 different ways to escape.”  Of course, the hounds were the dogs that used to chase the fox and the cat.

The cat was impressed and humbly responded, “Your cleverness is amazing, dear fox.  But as for me, I only have one way to escape and that is to climb up a tree.  I know it’s not exciting as all of your ways, but it works for me.  Maybe someday, you can show me some of the escape routes you have, and I can learn from you.”

At that, the fox smiled smugly.  “Well friend, perhaps I’ll have some free time one of these days, and I can show you a trick or two.”

Shortly after this discussion, the fox and the cat heard a pack of hounds baying nearby.  “They’re coming this way,” the cat shrieked.  Suddenly, in a flash, she scaled up a nearby tree and hid herself in the leaved in safety.

The fox just stood there because he was trying to decide which of his many escape routes would work best.  Paralyzed with indecision, the fox waited too long to make his escape and the hounds pounced on him and took his life.

The moral that Aesop teaches is that on good plan that works is better than 100 questionable ones.

This New Year begin your fitness quest with a program that works.  Try not to get caught up in the latest infomercial fitness trends and the fly by night exercise system that will just leave you frustrated.

Move the body as it is designed to be moved.  Three planes of motion, loading and unloading with the proper butt to brain connection.

Work out with purpose, have fun and let’s talk often.

Thanks for playing,

John

Heard on the TV (background noise as I was working around the house), that the average person needs 6-7 hours of sleep per night.   Those who get less than that have a higher incidence heart disease and cancer and I believe even Alzheimer’s.  Seems as though resting our brain is important to our health and fitness. 

We’ve all heard the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff”…Mental fitness is definitely an important spoke of the fitness wheel

I should listen to this advise myself.  I seem to be running on all cylinders at all times.  I like to stay busy and ” stopping and smelling the roses” is something I rarely make time to do.  I don’t like to waste one minute of my day.  Even if I accomplish everything on my “to do” list I would rather add to the list than stop and take a break.  Can’t remember the last time I sat on my porch swing just to be swinging and relaxing. 

Slowing down can make you more fit? 

When I do take the time for solitude or a personal “breather”, it refreshes me.  It stimulates my mind to new levels of creativity.  I believe the brain is against constant stimulation…it needs a break.  I believe it could actually help get you where you are going if you just take a breather once in a while. 

One of my mentors Vern Gambetta talks about planning his recovery or rest sessions for the teams he works with before he writes the actual strength and conditioning program.  Recovery is that important. 

Now here we are at the end of another year and the holidays are knocking on the door.  So much to do, shopping, programs, planning, meeting and greeting…this is on top of everything else we have going from day to day.  So how do we take a break?

I’m sure if I would as Vern this question he would say you have to put it in your plan first.  In other words, you must make time for rest, smiling, laughing and just plain slowing down along with everything else.  Don’t we all make time to do things that are important to us?  This is just a matter of placing importance on smelling the roses. 

Excuse me while I take the time to plan for this.  In fact, I just may kick my feet up right this second…feels pretty good. 

Happy Holidays.  May your “feet and head” find the best place to rest.   

Thanks for playing,

John

Join the Revolution!!!

Everyone wants rock hard abs and the latest information on how to them.  However our ab workout is usually the last thing in our workout or left out completely.

Why is this?

Do we hate to do abs that much?  Is it because we don’t  get the results we want quickly?

Here’s a quick tip on how to work abs into your routine.  Work them as part of a circuit.  Remember my circuit blog post a few weeks ago?  Just make 2 or 3 of your stations ab work.  For example

Lateral lunges> lateral lunge to press> V-Ups> squat turn and press> bent over rows> 4 point holds> push ups> single leg reaches foot and hand> standing med ball twists. 

Repeat each exercise 10x, 2-3 rounds with 1-2 minute rest period between rounds.

Have fun sneaking your abs into your workout.

Thanks for playing,

John

I watched Barbara Walters special a few nights ago.  While she interview the most “fascinating” people of the year.  The celebrity/ media personalities are all successful in their chosen field. 

Notice I said the word “chosen”.  It appears that they realize and become aware of their talents, and find ways to leverage themselves and their talents. 

It isn’t always easy for them on the road to success.  If you’ve ever watched one of these interviews you’ll notice most of them have major struggles at some point in their life.  Because of their passions and a clear picture of where they want to be they continue to move forward and ultimately have success. 

Even with the obstacles, their success is seemingly effortless.  They enjoy what they do, and have no doubts they will get to where they are going.  I watched as 5 people were interviewed.  Not one had their “grip” on.  They didn’t stress over completing day to day, month to month or year to year tasks.  Each was on their path of passion and they were allowing all gifts and blessings (maybe success) to come their way. 

Will Smith, for example talked about how he loves what he does and can’t get enough of it.  No complaints, no looking back at mistakes and longing for “do overs”.  When Barbara asked if he thought he could become president if he chose to do so, he replied “absolutely, if that’s what I wanted to do”. 

Barack Obama in a recent interview states how he never stressed about being elected.  He simply stated that he had a plan that he thought would be a benefit to the country and if the American people agreed then he would infact become the next president of the United States.  It didn’t seem as though it would be the end of the world to him if he had not been elected. 

When it comes to losing weight and being fit, do you have your “grip” on? 

Do you go through cycles of overwhelm and worry about shedding pounds and looking good? 

If we can learn anything from others success we see that they do everything within their power to position themselves for success (learning, asking questions, networking, finding mentors, experimenting).  They will then allow the right circumstances, events, gifts/blessings to come to them as appropriate. 

Finding the right fitness information and learning from the right instructors/mentors along your fitness journey will position you for success.  At this point the increased energy, creativity, vitality, weight loss will come as appropriate. 

Eliminate the daily…standing on the scales, posing in the mirror, pinching the fat and negative self talk concerning eating habits. 

Take a deep breath, enjoy your surroundings.  Position yourself both mentally and physically for fitness success…and if you do this success will surely come.

Thanks for playing,

John

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!!! 

I am the proud father of two young girls, ages 10 and 6. One of the great opportunities that comes as being super dad is being able to coach your children in sports.  I am currently coaching my 10 year olds  basketball team. 

We had practice last night.  Few insights from the practice. 

First, It’s great to see the smiles and giggles of 8-10 year olds, especially around this holiday season.  As we coaches attempt to teach them the fundamentals of basketball, it definitely brings out questions, laughter and mishaps. 

Secondly, what really stands out to me, is kids at this age have already forgotten how to move.  In my book, Hip To Be Fit,  I have a line where I say “when I was a child I moved as a child, I wish I could remember how I moved”.  Without sounding too mean, these girls are lacking coordination, fluidity of movement and proper reaction skills. 

I realize it is not their fault.  Most likely they have never allowed their brains, nervous systems and body to practice these skills.  It is tough to become coordinated while watching tv and playing video games.   Playing, ” for the sake of playing” does not involve the start/stop, load/explode and other movement awareness benefits that play possessed when we were children. 

To make a long story short, practice involved teaching basic athletic movement skills and ignoring the basketballs for right now.  Why practice skilled movements such as dribbling and shooting on top of less than adequate movement abilities.  We would just be adding insult to injury…literally. 

So why and I discussing this with you today? 

This Christmas and New Year season, will you buy the latest fitness gadget in an attempt to use it on a bad movement foundation (your body)? 

The smart thing to do might be to teach your body ( and your kids) how to move as it is designed to move.  Teach your body how to move in 3 planes of motion, to load and explode with and against gravity/ground reaction forces and to get on you feet vs. sitting on non-functional equipment. 

Hopefully you wont begin another year “adding insult to injury” with improper information and “poor practice habits” while trying to improve your health and well being. 

My plan is to make these girls better athletes and improve their overall health…then they can be whatever they want to be, basketball players or not. 

To your health this holiday season.  Visit me at www.hiptobefit.com for proper movement exercises.

Thanks for playing,

John

JOIN THE FITNESS REVOLUTION…ONLY DAYS AWAY!!!!

It has been an exciting 08 for me with the book coming out in April.  I have had the great opportunity to meet many fitness enthusiasts through book signings, live speaking events and this web site. 

One common theme I have heard over the past year is the desire for a fitness blueprint.  Many of you have inquired about a “what, how, when and why” formula.

Even though the book and DVD cover these areas, I have listened to your requests and am putting together a monthly newsletter both in written and video form.  The monthly newsletter will cover the mental, physical and nutritional fitness areas. 

So what we at Hip To Be Fit are doing is putting together a Christmas package that will help eliminate excuses and turn your new years resolutions into a Hip To Be Fit Fitness Revolution.  If you are a subscriber to my weekly tips, you will become aware of this package through emails.  I will also post the information when available on this blog. 

Thanks for all of your feed back in 08. We look forward to hanging out with you in 09. 

Thanks for playing,

John

JOIN THE REVOLUTION

Happy Thanksgiving,

Hope your 4 am bargain basement sales when great this am. 

I did not do the early morning shopping trip this morning.  But have gotten my workout in, sent a few emails, and wanted to share a lesson from yesterdays festivities. 

Normally Thanksgiving consists of two meals, one at noon, the other at 6pm.  By the time I eat, sit and watch football, swap stories I feel like a fat pig with no energy. 

So yesterday, I did an interval training session at the high school between 8 and 9.  At about 3 o’clock ( between meals), I cleaned the gutters and played with my girls. 

At about 9:30pm instead of being worn out and stuffed to the gills, I felt good. 

Moral of the story: Good preparation and consistent movement throughout the day made Johnny a happy boy. 

I will remember this Christmas day…good planning makes all the difference. 

No excuses. 

Thanks for playing,

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!!!  Coming very soon

You’re busy.  I’m Busy.  Yep, we are all busy all year long and the holidays take it up another notch. 

It’s about your big rocks.  No, I’m not talking about the lumps of coal some of you will receive from Santa.  These rocks are a metaphor for the things that are important in your life. 

When filling your jar (your time each day), if you start with sand(low important and/or little return activities) you do not have room for your big rocks( high importance, high return activities). 

Let’s look at big rocks that will help you fit fitness in this holiday season. 

1. Get out your PDA/Datebook/Calendar.  Write down all activities that you will be involved with (school programs, church programs, shopping trips, volunteering etc.) Once you have this written down, you can decide where your workouts will go.  Write them out now, and not make last minute decisions or whether to fit this into your busy schedule.  It is like having a date with health over the holidays and you will not feel as guilty when splurging on sweets and treats.
2. Let family members and friends know your schedule.  This way they will know you are putting them first and will not try to steal your time when you are trying to exercise. They also know you are serious about fitness and will respect that during this season.
3. Move more, especially after dinner.  Thanksgiving dinner is a great time for catching up with relatives.  However, sitting down with them after a big meal would not be the best approach.  Think about taking a walk around the neighborhood and catch up them.  Walk the dog or help clean up the kitchen.
4. Sweets.  Get tactical and develop a sweet eating plan for the holidays.  This may mean surfing the net, looking through magazines etc. and choosing 3-4 “must have” desserts.  Then you can a) make them yourself b) request from Mom or Grandma and have that particular dessert and not sample the entire dessert table.  It is a dessert strategy and has worked well for many of my clients.
5. Put together a vision board.  On this board place goals, wants, desire, and passions for the upcoming year.  Think of it as a wish list for you, the sky is the limit.  Clothes, cars, house, people you would  like to meet.  There are no rules.  This will help catapult you into your new years resolutions/passions.

Place these big rocks in your day/week and you will have a happier, healthier and stress free holiday season.

HO HO HO

Thanks for playing

John

JOIN THE REVOLUTION