BALANCE CORE EXPLOSION

I've told this story a million times, when I first started working out I literally tore Dorian Yates(former Mr. Olympia) workout out of FLEX magazine and went to the gym. I'm not being modest when I say that I was pretty horrible. Boy workouts have changed since then. Hell, gyms have changed since then. When I was 18 ,gyms were essentially "meat markets" .Chalk, big leather weight belts, spandex, and Otomix were the norm. Now gyms are "fitness centers". All kinds of people come in. The rich ,the poor,the super fit, the not so fit, the beautiful, and the not so beautiful all workout side by side.

I'm always in search of new ways to make people miserable. It helps when you have clients willing to do it. Take Adam here. There is no better way to feel bad about yourself than to stand next to Adam. No body fat, can compete in a triathlon, can add muscle just by saying"add muscle", and can do just about anything I throw at him. Oh and by the way a beautiful wife and two amazing children. Life just isn't fair.

Anyway, after I miserable workout I had Adam perform 6 of these pikes on the swiss ball combined with a plyometric clapping depth push up. Sick!

I love core exercises and I believe more people could benifit by adding core strength into their workouts. What I have been doing lately is taking plyometric movements and combining them with stability and core work. While this might be a tad advanced(that's right I said "tad") this exercise can give you some insight as to what you may be able to accomplish. Good luck!

WHAT A GREAT YEAR

I love a good story! I'm a sucker for romance. I cry these days over just about anything. Sometimes the very best stories are right in fromt of us. They don't need to have movie stars or big budgets. Just the people we know.
I wrote about Patti a few months back. In October of 2008 she found out that she had cancer. 2009 was to include 6 chemotherapy sessions, and 3 very invasive surgeries. In October of this year Patti and many of her friends and family ran/walked the Race for the Cure in Austin. It was amazing to see so many shirts that said "survivor" on them. What moved me the most were the shirts that said "in memory of". As I said before, I lost my Aunt to cancer . I think about her everyday. She was my inspiration to make fitness my career when others told me I was stupid. Everyday I go to work, I walk in with her in my heart.
Patti and her family have had a remarkable year. As I write Patti is at home recuperating from her final surgery. I'm so proud of the lessons that everyone has taught me this year. I may teach people how to get in physical shape , but in many instances my clients show me how I want to live.
I'm fortunate to have all these amazing people around me. So for Patti, Michael,Kathy, Brent,Jean,Anne Marie,Maureen,Ted, Chela,Norman,Geoffrey,Tim, Mark,Kendra,Michael, Susie,Hayden,Shallon,Sharon,Tim,Bridge,Alex,Annie Tate,Wendy,Heather,Kevin,Kathy, Charles,Angela,Pierre,Margaret,Mary,Big Dan,Matt,Brent, Nancy,Carrie,Rose,TJ,Becky(and baby),Teresa,Owen,Scott,Meg,Lee,Bob and Chere' Thankyou for opening your hearts and lives to me. I love you guys and hope you all have a wonderful Holliday. Be safe. And don't over indulge too much.

I got introduced to the swiss ball about 12 years ago. At first the swiss(stability) ball was used primarily for abdominals. The swiss ball has morphed into one of the best pieces of fitness equipment. You can do just about any exercise on the ball as well as a few new ones. One of the first things I tell my new soon to be moms is to get a swiss ball. At the very least, sitting on one will help your back. The swiss ball ranges in size from small to extra large. The following exercises are designed to engage your shoulders, chest and abs. Remember to try to keep your back flat(tuck your naval to your spine), and get your balance before you "slowly' start your exercises.

I was sitting down reading a womens health magazine while i was waiting for a client the other day and happened to overhear one of our trainers talking with one of their clients. I often people watch and listen to conversations. What i heard was a common question amongst clients. "How do I get rid of this?"(pointing to the tummy). What sparked my curiosity was two things. First this person did not need to lose "this" She was in phenominal shape. In her 40's and working full time, she had a physique most would aspire to have. Not too skinny, and deffinately not fat. She had great muscle tone. Regardless of all this she had it in her head that she needed to lose 10 to 15 pounds. Insane! But, this a common problem that reflects our(womens) morbid obsession with weight loss.

The second thing that caught my ear was the trainers response. I overheard a plethora of muscle groups named. The transverse abdominus, the rectus abdominus, the serratus. Pushing fat to the front with muuscle gain. Only this exercise can help spot reduce. WOW! What impressed me the most was not this verbal regurgitation of muscles , but the fact that the client bought it. Hook, line and sinker.

For the record there are NO exercise that spot reduce. Fat can be taken off your body one of two ways. Either control what you consume(your diet) so you don't overstuff yourself. Or increase the intensity of how you burn your calories. So hear are my suggestions:

5 small meals a day

10 glasses of water a day

Cardio 3 to 4 days a week(no more than 20-30 min)

resistance training 3 days a week

One complete day off

ANd do th circuit above

So lets talk about...Sugar. A trainers #1 enemy when it comes to helping people loose weight.Sugar is almost impossible to hide from. So what is sugar? Any carbohydrate that is not fiber is sugar.

The word "sugar" is like a double edged sword. On one hand sugar, in it's natural state, is arguably the most important food for all humans, because that's the only thing that the body burns for energy(glucose) . So important is glucose to the body that even if not supplied with sufficient ammounts of carbohydrates(which are transformed into glucose), the body has a built in mechanism to use fat reserves and turn them into glucose, and can actually, if need be ,turn protein to glucose. On the other hand elevated sugar levels mean elevated insulin levels. When insulin levels are elevated the body won't burn fat. In many cases it will store fat.

So the key is to consume enough carbs that the body can perform work but not so much that the body stores fat. It is a fine line to walk.

One thing to keep in mind is that during an intense interval workout, the body will burn a certain ammount of calories during the workout as well as significant ammount of calories post workout. Now one thing I have always said is that weight training can be aerobic and anaerobic all at the same time. Example: jumping jax with 8lb dumbells.

Included in this video is in my personal opinion one of the most complete weighted movements availabale. Holding a weighted olympic bar at waist level, perform a squat thrust with a pushup at the bottom. Once you tuck your knees up to your chest perform a powerclean in one swift movement, pause ,and than press the bar above your head. Perform 10 of these exercises in a row. Take a 30 sec. break and continue for 4 more sets. you will find that this movement works all your muscles and also elevates your heartrate.

So how many different ways can you do a pushup? Well there are several. The pushup has been around forever. I did my first one when I was 6 in P.E. class and I'm actually doing 100 of them right now. Blindfolded. with one arm tied behind my back. Seriously, with the many variations of pushups you can literally work almost every muscle in your body. so here is a sample of me "yes me" doing several pushups in sequence. Try doing 10 of each of these back to back with no break. It stinks, but I promise you'll feel miserable.....in a good way.

In your quest for the ultimate workout, wait that's my quest, don't forget that so many exercises can be done with out any fancy equipment. Just you and some floor space. Every week I am going to bring you variations of bodyweight exercises that you can do in your home. At the same time I'll discuss some current questions that get thrown at me.

ok, so it has been a while since I posted. But now I am recharged and undistracted. We find ourselves in the holliday season which has so many of us playing catchup when January 15th rolls around a we realize that maybe we shouldn't have indulged as much as we have. Two things to keep in mind:

Moderation

It's all about doing things in moderation. There is no rule that says you have to drink all the red wine. Just nurse a glass for a while. And once you've had a plate of food, think to yourself "seconds...realy?" Enjoy the food, just don't eat "all" the food. Make sure you leave time in your schedule the following day to do a workout.

It is the Hollidays

Don't be that one person at the party who says "I'll just have salad" Don't leave an event early or worse yet not go at all because all they are serving is corndogs and ice cream.I know, horrible combination. Plan ahead. Eat early and enjoy your friends and family. Don't try to make people who do eat feel guilty. And if you are a man with a brain don't look at your girlfriend,fiance,wife and say "are you realy going to eat that?"

Look forward to the next days workout. Speaking of which, I am always in search of fast efficient, challenging workouts.

Try this for your legs:

10squats

10left leg lungs

10 right leg lungs

10 in and out jumps

10 scissor jumps

10 tuck jumps

Back to back no break! Give it a shot. It is far and away one of the most miserable things I have ever done or had someone do.

Let's talk about what's really important........Fashion? As the fitness industry has changed over the years, so to has the fashion industry that caters to it. No more sweat pants and hanes t-shirts to work out in. The fitness industry now has several options to workout in. Nike doesn't make just shoes anymore. Armani has a line of fitness clothes. So what is the best? Well what ever you feel comfortable in for starters.Here's my 2 cents worth:

Nike: much like polo the Nike brand never goes out of style. Often copied, never replicated. Nike provides different styles for men and women. I love their shoes. Nike is no longer just running shoes. With the explosion of Michael Jordan several years ago Nike has marketed itself to all sports. running,tennis,football,baseball,basketball,golf,swimming,soccer,cycling, and jsut about everything else. I like Nike clothing. Sometimes it doesn't last so long. My fiance tells me they make the best jog bras.

Stella McCartney: Well..............it's expensive. Sometimes clothing designers overcomplicate things. It's workout clothes afterall. Who really needs all those zippers and pleats? I'm told their workout bags are amazing but the clothes never fit quite right.

Puma: I actually think Puma has some real stylish stuff. Their clothes are made a little more for fashion then they are for working out. Puma has made some good shoes. Bold colors and very sleek lines.Very affordable.

UnderArmor: I love the UnderArmor story. Started by a bunch of young guys out of the back of their car. They made spandex look tough. They are geared a little more for men but I have been seeing some Under Armor clothes for women out there. UA makes their clothing for practicality. If it's usefull they include it. One drawback. They will start retain that"sweat smell" after a while.Also if you don't like spandex, UA has made sure to include some nice dry fit loose fitting options.

LULU Lemon:I gotta say I wasn't a big fan of this stuff in the beginning. LULU Lemon was more geared towards yoga. On top of that they were expensive. One visit to the LULU Lemon store changed all of that. Aside from kickboxing and MMA shorts and shirts, LULU Lemon is the only , I repeat only fitness clothing I wear. I love it. It fits perfectly. It's made out of all natural fibers. And I swear it will never stink. Their clothing is built for,style,comfort,and support. Yes they still make yoga clothes. They also make so much more. I literally physically walk my clients over to LULU Lemon to get clothes sometimes. I have never had a disappointed client. Even the frugal men have to admit the clothes are the best.

Now back to that whole fitness thing I do. No gym no problem. Karen is demoing a leg routine that anyone can do in their home. Starting tomorrow You'll actually see some posts of me getting tortured. And yes I'll be wearing LuLu Lemon shorts.

A CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE

I love a good challenge. In my quest for the ultimate burn I came across an idea based on MMA(mixed martial arts) conditioning. An MMA fight usually last 3 or 5 rounds of five minutes per round. Take that time frame and there lies your workout. 5 minutes.

Take 5 different exercises and perform them for 1 minute each at full intensity with no break. 5 minutes that's all.

Now lets expand on that concept. First 5 minute round; Nothing but push movments. Five different push exercises performed for 1 minute each. No break.

Meg performs each exercise here for 30 seconds. No break. I'm telling you she is a badass. She makes us all look bad.

Round 1

1. decline spiderman pushups
2. depth plyometric pushups
3. side to side(stiff arm)
4. dips
5. alternating shoulder press

Two minutes after I filmed this Meg did all exercises for 1 minute each and then washed it all down with a 5 mile run. Completely insane!

Many years ago there was a movie called "Perfect" that came out. It starred John Travolta as a Rollingstone reporter doing a story on dating in and around the then gym industry. Jamie Lee Curtis starred as an aerobics instructor. Word is they tried in vain to get Olivia Newton John to do it(she had just released the song "physical") but she turned it down. The point of my little reflection is that the concept behind "aerobics classes" has changed so much in the past 20-30 years. At the very least leg warmers are out! So to is the unitard. Thank God.

These days you aren't limited to a few choriographed moves on the step to get a good workout. At the same time using the step can be benificial to anyone. Could you imagine 25 years ago if Arnold was usuing a step to get his legs in shape. Blasphemy! Only weights can get your legs in shape. Untrue. Very untrue.

I love the step. I make all of my clients men and women alike use it to some degree. You can buy an aerobic step at any walmart,target, or Academy these days. I highly suggest getting one if you have ahome gym.

Karen is shown doing a plyometric leg circuit here. try doing 1 minute of each exercise she does in succession without any break. Miserable!

How fast is too fast?

About 15 years ago I started seeing a ton of people wearing heartrate monitors while exercising. You can pretty much buy them anywhere these days. I actually saw one at Randalls in their health isle. What I get asked a great deal is "what should my hearrate be when I'm exercising?" Two questions you need to ask yourself.

What's your resting heartrate?

What's is your fitness level?

If you get winded walking up a flight of stairs I would suggest seeing a doctor before you start plugging in numbers to a heart rate training program. If you are a competitive athlete your numbers will be slightly different.

So lets take someone who is 36 and in good physical conditioning.(LIKE ME!!!)

Max Heart rate: This is the maximal ammount of times your heart can beat in one minute. There are a few factors to this (age,gender,fitness level). The rule of thumb for this 220-age for those who are fit you can try 205-1/2age. With both of these formulas in mind a MHR for a fit 36 year old can be 220-36=184 or 205-18=187

With that number in mind you can set your training into 1 of 4 training zones.

Very Light or Daily activity zone: 50-60% of MHR This is a great zone for beginners,people recovery sessions, or someone comming off a layoff. This zone should be easy and shouldn't leave you out of breath

Exercise for Health zone:60-70%of MHR This is typically called the "fitness zone" This zone will help strengthen your heart. It will also increase the sum total of small blood vessels in your extremities. It increases metabolism by increasing the enzymes in your muscles.

Aerobic Or Exercise for Fitness Training zone: 70-85% of MHR. This is the zone that is commonly referred to as the Target Heartrate Training zone(THR). This zone improves overall endurance as well as raising the speed your body can exercise at without building lactate.

Improved -Performance Training Zone:85-100% of MHR. At this point you are training at a level that is between you're aerobic and anaerobic zone.A very fit person will be training at or near their anaerobic threshhold. This is the zone used for sprints,hill training,breakaways,and time trialing. This style of training will increase your muscles tolerance to very large ammounts of lactic acid.

Think about these 4 zones and where you want your specific training to be. When all else fails try doing pushups for a minute........or run a hill.

Variety! If you are as old as me you remember the old step classes where about 30 people in unison did the same workout. It was a well thought out program that looked amazingly choreographed. These days the concept behind group fitness has changed a little. sure you can still do that same kind of class where everyone is doing the same thing or you can try a class where you use several different stations to mix it up. Much like a circuit. Circuit classes started off as weight machine classes where clients went from machine to machine in order to get a full body workout. Now, these classes resemble obstacle courses. In Austin Fitness Extreme I take that circuit concept and blow it up a little. If you look at this picture you can see the varying exercises that half of the class is doing.

What Else Can You Do?

You've got to be kidding me! Seriously? Where the hell did you come up with that? That's just twisted. I hate you. These are all the remarks I get from people I tell to do the seemingly impossible. Mind over matter. You're only as tough as your last workout. Ok that is silly. The truth is some hurdles are meant to be jumped over. We all have that hurdle that we hesitate 1 extra second longer than we should. Ok maybe this is a metaphor for lfe.

When I first met Lee he was as gym member. He worked out regularly but nothing special. You know, push ,pull,squat,crunch. he always wore these horrible wife beater tank tops. One day I grabbed him and few other guys and said "lets try something new."

Lee is a bonifide maniac now. He is doing things that I find difficult. He has watched his diet, become inventive with his workouts, and just blazed past me in cardio conditioning.

What's his motivation? Maybe to make me look bad. Whatever it is , it's working for him. On this day I caught Lee after he had done an hour workout and asked him to try this simple task. It goes to show that with a willing mind and capable body...........Tom can convince you to try anything.

Try this at home

5 squat thrust with 12lb weights

10 squat thrusts with 10 lb weights

20 squat thrusts with 5 lb weights

No Gym No Problem

I have been personal training for almost 13 years now and one of the things that has become very clear to me is although my work revolves around the gym, most of my clients don't. Many often travel out of town on work related business. It always seems to happen as we are making headway. A little discouraging? Sure. However even the busiest of schedules can accomidate a workout from time to time. Now I don't expect my clients to travel with a kettlebell in their suitcase.(amazingly some actually do) Nor do I expect them to call me in hopes of motivation.(yes some do) What I would like everyone to do is what I like to refer to as a "Fitness Daily 1" . No gym in your hotel? It's snowing outside so you can't run? I don't understand the hotel gym machines? I have heard it all. What it all boils down to is.........................I'd rather do something else. I'm with you on that. So my "Fitness Daily 1" programs are designed for people that don't haver much time (10 min tops) when they are traveling. It doesn't take long at all. Take a series of exercises that you can perform with no weight. Just you and the floor. For the most part if you ever see a "boot camp" that has millitary calisthenics , these are the exercise they are alluding to. I was in the Navy and can tell you that at no time did we ever get physical training with any type of machine. It was just our bodies and some space(and not always much of that). It's very doable.

Take the exercises that Karen is doing. Very simple. For this demonstration Karen is doing 10 reps of each exercises. Take that numer and increase it to 20. Do these exercises 3 times through. That should take about 6 min(maybe longer). Remember "It's your only body. Take care of it." I know, kinda Cheesy.

Ahhhhh The hill. Every once in a while I drag Austin Fitness Extreme to the "ToysrUs" hill. Aptly named because it is located behind ToysrUs. It's about a quarter mile long. Pure misery. We start the morning off with a few exercises(pushups,squats,curls,crunches,jumping jax) and then work our way down to the hill. First we do a few short sprints. We culminate by doing suicide runs up the hill. I'm demented. As I videotaped this I kept wondering what is it that makes some people push themselves and others not. Is it desire? A heightened need for torture? Maybe it's guilt over the pizza they had yesterday? Or maybe it's the fact that they don't want to waste the 200.00 they plopped down for the workout. Who knows. I do believe that misery not only loves but needs company sometimes.

Group fitness classes have increased so much over the years. In the beginning they were "aerobic classes" then "step classes" then "tae bo" and last but not least "boot camps". Living in Asutin, I've watched as bootcamp classes have increased significantly over the years. There used to be only 2 or 3 outside of the gym sponsored camps. Now when you go out to town lake it looks like a asylum for fitness enthusiasts. I see group t-shirts, kettlebells, Gillberts Gazelles,rubber bands, a few tires, sprint groups,triathlon groups, mommy workouts, mommy with baby workouts, I see it all. And the truth is ......I love it. While they may not all want to workout with me , it's good to see so many people taking an interest in their own personl fitness. At the very least get in shape so you can chase after your kids.

I look forward to the months and years ahead where I can motivate groups of people as well as individuals. Misery does need company sometimes. It's helpfull to look to your right and see someone who hates the instructor just as much as you.

Ps. I saw Inglorious Basterds. Loved it.

All you men out there watch Shakira's new video La Loba. Need I say more.

Ok so I have been asked to post a few videos of pregnancy workouts. As strange as this may seem I had to wait for several ladies to actually look pregnant. The main thing to keep in mind is that as pressure on your back increases you need to find a way to support your back during exercise. No deadlifts. No deep leg presses. Try to keep in mind that your hips will expand so you should widen your base to accomidate that. Keep very aware of your form and breathing.

One thing I didn't mention before is that it is very important not to undertake any brand new style of working out during pregnancy. Not the best time to run your first marathon. Watch this video and look how she supports her back through the range of motion.

I've been personal training all kinds of people for the past 11 years. I would probably say that 60% of those are women. It has given me great insight to women . I still dont have it all figured out....Let's be honest, I'm not even scratching the surface. One thing I love watch is women as they go through the change of pregnancy. It still amazes me. I watched as my exwife went through the stages of pregnancy and in turn have watched as no fewer than 15 current and past clients have done the same. The first thing I did was go out and buy a ton of books on pregnancy and fitness. It is possible to continue with a workout regiment during pregnancy. The three most important things you can do is : first, ask your doctor if he/she has any guidlines for you as it pertains to fitness. Your blood work may show certain restrictions. Second ,tell your personal trainer. We actually need to know. It will change our approach. First off I wont scream"what the hell...10 more reps!!" Third and most important, listen to your body. Listen to your body. Listen to your body. If it hurts..STOP! A few warning signs to be on the lookout for once you have a doctors clearance to workout:

1. pain in the abdomen,chest,legs
2. Nausea
3. Abnormal bleeding
4. Heart palpatations
5. Overheating,especially during the first 6 weeks

Remember that your body changes. Don't beat yourself up about it. Your uterus grows to about a thousand times its normal size. This puts pressure on your diaphragm which can cause a change in your breathing during cardiovascular exercise. Kepp this in mind and slow down your pace. The growth in your uterus will also put pressure on your bladder so make sure a bathroom is close by. The extra weight you will be carrying will also put added pressure on your back,knee and ankle joints. You may get some swelling in those areas. Make sure your back is supported and try to widen your stance during certain exercises like squats. Go get yourself a swiss ball(big blow up ball). Use the bosu.

Overall you can continue with any workout program. Just pair it down. It is better to be over cautious. Even circuit training is still very doable. Take your weights down about 10 to 20% and cut your interval time in half.

Listen to your bodies ladies. You're beautiful no matter how you feel. Try to rest as much as possible and...........consider the name "Tom" . Seriously.

So the Saturday workouts continue. I overheard a new gym member tell one of our managers that she realy wanted work on her core. "do you have anybody who specializes in core work" To my disbelief this manager actually pushed them toward a certain trainer. Ok, so what is "core strength?" Very loosely put core strength, is the direct relationship in strength and balance between your back and abdomen while doing work. So, if you do a shoulder press while balancing on one leg while standing on a bosu you engage your core? Sort of. The reality of this movement is that it is not realistic. If you flip the bosu over so both of your feet are on the flat portion and then perform a shoulder press, you are actually going to engage your core in a more benificial way. So why over complicate things? I'm not completely sure. Let me say, that I love seeing people get inventive. However, you do need to be practical. Any trainer worth his weight can teach a client how to engage their core. If you are doing pushups and I tell you to pull your abs in tight then boom! your are engageing your core. What I am getting at is that all trainers know how to show clients how to engage their core. Correct form? core work Good posture? core work Keep your balance? core work. Like I've said before, don't overcomplicate things. Now if you want to try balancing on one leg ,while blindfolded, on the bosu, doing a shoulder press than have at it. Just understand it may hurt your knee and ankle. But your core will be ripped.

The Best Part of My Life

   Ocasionaly,  in the midst of working and going about my daily routine of training and listening to my clients, I forget the reason why I get up every morning. At 2:00pm when I'm done for the day it all comes back to me. At 2:01 I become Daddy. No more reps, no more weight, no more water breaks. It's now all about homework,swimming,riding a bike,drawing pictures,fishing and the art of fort making.  

   When  I found out my exwife was pregnant I was scared out of my mind. I had no idea what to do. I was afraid that I would miss out on something if I became a dad. I was a complete mess. I had just begun earning a living at personal training and in my selfishness I though having a child would somehow change all of that. I was an only child. I had no cousins that lived close. Babies were those annoying creatures in church, movies, and restaurants that made you want to get up and leave. I had an epiphany a month before Tommy was born.....My life was going to change. Well, it did. 

   I still have a great amount of passion for what I do. I wear shorts and tennis shoes all day long and get paid very well. I help people discover their inner athlete(I know it sounds cheesy). I watch people regain their self confidence. I watch people change their lives. Most importantly  my life in fitness has given me the ability to spend time with my son. I pick Tommy up everyday from school. I live to watch him come down the hallway with his class wearing a backpack bigger than his little body. I get to hear about his day. In these past 7 1/2 years the craziest thing happened. I became a "daddy". I never go out anymore, and I never feel like I miss out on anything. On the nights that Tommy is with his mom I'm restless. I can't sleep. I find myself in his room holding his pillow. It's humbling to love something so much that when your near it you are complete and in it's absence you're empty.  

    This Sunday is Fathers Day. The greatest day of the year! As it approaches it reminds me of how I got here. Doing what I love has given me the opportunity to spend time with the ones I love. So for Jenn(my savior) and Tommy(my angel) thank you for making this journey the best part of my life. 

   

Real men Use the Bosu. I know it looks like a giant blue boob. But try this: flip it over, do a push up and when come up pull the Bosu to your chest, stand up and repeat. After doing 10 do 10 pullups as well. We did this after an hour in the Austin sun doing kettlebells,pushups,hurdles and weighted jumping jax. It's all about finding new ways to push yourself. Give it a try.

So I always get asked about our saturday class. Is it realy hard?Depends on who you ask. I started the saturday class by just walking in the gym one day and grabbing a couple of guys and asking them if they wanted to try some new stuff. As the weeks have progressed a few people have come and gone.

As you can tell, I realy like the circuit style of workout. While I do enjoy doing the traditional lifts(bench,squat,curls,tri extension,bentover rows,dead lift,power clean) I have found that taking several exrecises and stringing them together has given me the best results in terms of performance.

When I first started working out I would stare at the guys in the muscle mags , and wish I could get that big. Muscles meant strength. Strength meant respect. Respect meant awe. I still see those guys in the gym whose sole purpose in hitting the gym is "getting huge". As the years have progressed a new meaning of fitness has come to light. Bodybuliders aren't considered the picture of health anymore. A new "hybrid" athlete has come to light. An athlete that can bench his bodyweight 20 times, do 20 pullups, run a 7 minute mile for 3 miles straight, swim for 1/2 a mile, and jump on a 36 inch high platform 20 times. This athlete looks fit, not bulky or skinny. This athlete can adapt his/her body to any sport they chose. They are complete athletes.

This style of workout is completely adaptable to any level of fitness. It's all a matter of degrees. In one minute will you do 10 pushups on your knees or 50 on your toes? It's up to you how hard you push yourself.If you show up on Saturday though, it is up to me. Come by.

So summer is here, and I consistantly get asked what exercise will help you get that beach bod or boat bod. We all know how important it is to feel comfortable with a swimsuit on during summer.

First off "watch that diet" don't expect to feel or look slim and trim if you are feeding off of beer and nachos all day long. Yes, I am still do the "Engine 2 diet". No ammount of exercise can make up for the horrible things we put in our bodies. So eat in moderation. Drink in moderation.

Second, make sure you get some good cardio in there. I'm not saying you have to run 5 miles a day, but get your heart rate up for an 20 to 30 minutes at least 5to6 times a week. This can be running,swimming,biking,kickboxing. Remember to mix it up a little . Jog for a minute and sprint for a minute.

You've heard me say this a ton of times. I like circuit training. I realy feel like stringing together several exercises for a minute each to realy push you bodies muscular endurance is one of the best ways to train. Now if you come in and say"Tom I realy want to be able to bench press 2x my bodyweight" than your workouts will be different. For most people however, being fit is more about feeling good about how your body looks and how it performs.

So for your workouts , try the above circuit to push your lower body in conjunction with your upper body. You can substitute exercises, and don't forget to do all exercises for at least 1 minute. This weekend I did the following workout:

bench press with 135 for 25 reps

pullups 25 reps

bicep curls with 60lb barbell 25 reps

dips 25 reps

jumping squats 25 reps

4 times through 100 reps total per exercise. Give it a shot!

A guy walks in to a doctors office holding his knee, he walks up to his doctor and says"hey Doc it hurts when I do this." He jumps up and down. His Doctor smiles and says"don't do that."

So a couple of weeks ago I watched one of my favorite workout partners come running back to the gym. She had a grimace on her face. She had been out running around town lake. As she hobbled up, I noticed she had Therapy tape(commonly used by physical therapist) running up and down her calf muscle. Obviously in a great deal of pain and in no mood for my jabs, she gave me the look. You know the look that says ......Don't even open your mouth. I get that look from my girlfriend when I've pushed it just a little too far. Anyway, so it leads me to this whole idea of why we miss the obvious. Listen to your body. Don't ignore that voice that screams................GIVE ME A BREAK!!! STOP RUNNING!!

I see so many people come to me and tell me that they're current running,cycling,lifting etc. activity is starting to cause pain in their bodies. I always try to steer them in an alternate direction. If running hurts, try to swim to break it up. If traditional lifts hurt, try balance and stability work to break it up. This deoesn't mean you can't come back to your previous routine. In fact, I encourage it. Give your body and mind a break. This doesn't mean you have to come to a screeching hault. Just take a different path. If your regular path to work is shut down do you just stop working? No, you find an alternative. Treat your body the same way. I love to mix things up. I use to (and still do sometimes) get serious tunnell vision. I'll turn around and find that I've been doing the same workout for the past 8 weeks. What helps me these days is a group people that I workout with on saturdays. I just come in a throw up a crazy routine and we go for it. I get cursed at, glared at, and laughed at. I'm telling you, I'm a little mental. Anyway , try one day a week to take a a few steps off the beaten path. Trust me. Try this routine that Jackie is doing. Try doing each exercise for 1 minute each(burning it out the last 10 seconds)

13 years ago when I started kickboxing, I walked in to the gym the day after a hard sparring session. I walked up to my coach Maurice Smith(UFC champion) and said "Mo, my head hurts today, what should I do?" He looked at me and rolled his eyes."try ducking" he said.

I love circuit training if you haven't already guessed. I believe whole heartedly that circuit training is one of the most effective ways to design your workouts. Look at p90x....circuit training. Crossfit................circuit training. Bootcamps................circuit training. There are so many differnt versions of circuits that you can do. Jackie once again is my test subject for a miserable circuit. Here she has abreviated a circuit that would normally be done with 1 minute intervals. When performing intervals, have a high and a low. The high can be plyometrics and the low can be abdominal exercises. The high can also be resistance based exercises and the low can be aerobic exercises. More than anything just mix it up. Look at what Jackie is doing and give it a shot. She wanted to kill me after this.

Ok so it's been a while since I've posted. Work,end of Tommys school year, old age.... you name it. Well to update, it has been nearly 5 weeks since I last had meat. And to be quite honest I feel better. I feel healthier. So about this NAGA tournament. There was only one other guy in my division and he deiced to fight up a weight class. In retrospect I realy should have been watching my weight. Dan on the other hand got 2nd place in his division. Dan has been my "frankenstein project" for the past 9 months. The first time I met Dan I thought he looked like a former football player. In reality he played basketball. He can actually dunk. Crazy. On top of that he's actually a gamer. Dan owns Redfly studio. He makes video games for a living. About 9 months ago Dan started training with me. In all of my years of training Dan is far and away the most gifted athlete I've ever trained. When he told me he wanted to grapple, I thought "here we go. Another guy who wants to say he's tough" What Dan became was an incredible student. He consistantly fed his mind the sport of jiu jitsu. He moves like a 135 pounder yet possesses the power of a superheavyweight. Wrap that into 245 pounds of pure agression. We have this saying when we roll. No Dan Smash!!!!!!!!!!!! that's a reminder to him not to kill us. Next up for Dan and I Grapplers Quest in Vegas July10th and 11th. I can't wait. Check big Dan out. I'm just glad he's not throwing me around.

8 days and no meat. I feel good. Honestly the hardest day was the first one. Now it's just a matter of filling up on my greens. Right now I'm 4 days a way from my tournament. We'll see how it goes.

So this week on top of preparing myself and "big Dan" for NAGA, I've got my sparring partner Nick"The Ghost" Gonzales in town getting ready for Bellator fighting. I have this theory on"active rest" that I have always believed in. Rather than take a break in between your exercise sets, keep your body active and moving . There are varying degrees of this theory. Take something as simple as running. Let's say you go on a 3 mile run. At mile 2 you are completely fatigued. Would you stop running and just sit down? Or would you stop running and walk for a while? I know I would probably walk a little and then go back to running. So why not train your body in a similar way? During Austin Fitness Extreme, I tend to go from a circuit of high intensity exercises to a small circuit of abs to bring their heartrates down a little. This repeats several times over the course of an hour.

with my own personal training and with Nicks fight preparation, I take the concept of "active rest" to a different level. 3 minutes of grappling ,sparring, or bag work with a 1 minute break of plyometrics or abs. Performing my workouts like this has always amped up my caloric burn as well as my overall muscular endurance. When I train fighters, I prepare them for the intensity of combat and the reality of a small break. To do this I keep their bodies moving during their breaks. They find it easier to pace themselves when they compete.Nick is demonstraing 1 round of intense bag work followed by an active rest of box hops. During our sparring rounds, aside from treating my body like a human pinata, Nick performed jumping squats or "full body plyometric" pushups. Check this round out and think about the variations you can perform at home or at the gym.

CORRECTION!!!

Rips websites are www.engine2academy.com  this will offer recipes and videos that you can follow along with for free.  and www.theengine2diet.com is a great sight that you can actually purchase the book from. 

Call me a skeptic by nature. I've always thought if it existed, then we would have seen it or found it by now. I hate to "I'm going on a diet". That very phrase implies a short term venture, and if you truly want to change your life you need to change your lifestyle. That  includes your diet. I've read a million diet books. I always get asked about them. A little over a month ago I heard that local Austin athlete, Rip Esselstyn had written a book called "The Engine 2 Diet" . I had met Rip several years ago when my ex-wife was pregnant with my son. Having not grown up in Austin, I had no idea who he was. What was very apparent, was that he was highly respected. I later found out he was 3 time All American swimmer and an Olympic trial qualifier, and a professional triathlete.  The book he wrote,  proposed a diet consisting of nothing but fruits,vegetables,whole grains,legumes,nuts, and seeds. Now before I go on, let me say I am a meat eater. I love steak. I love pepperoni pizza, bacon, eggs, cheeseburgers. I could go on. But, I have a great deal of respect for Rip. So I contacted him, and asked him if I could interview him regarding his book. He agreed and we set a time. As  preparation, I purchased and read his book. I was impressed. Very impressed.  One thing that impressed me the most was that Rip kept it very simple and wasn't quick to bash any other diet. What he offered was facts and case studies and recipes. He started off with a very inspirational story that captivated  you and then turned it into a book of health and awareness. But I still had to talk with him.

     First, I must say I got lost. Got there  about 10 min late for a 30 min interview. Rip , as always was very understanding. We caught up real quick and I proceeded to the interview. Our 30 min interview turned into nearly and hour and a half talk about the book. Rip could tell I was concerned about the concept of not eating meat. "if it has a face or a mother, it has muscle, which always contains fat and cholesterol" Rip pointed out that plants contain antioxidants and phytochemicals. Meat contains 0. Of course plants contain fiber which will keep you regular and take toxins and carcinogens out of your body  through your intestines. To  be honest Rips book points out so many benifits of plants that I would literally have to write several pages for this blog to accurate. I did ask Rip to give me his top 3 fruits and vegetables and sources of omega-3 fatty acids

Fruit

Banana

blueberries

mango

Vegetables

Kale

Sweet potato

Broccoli

Omega 3 fatty acids

ground flax seed

walnuts

soy beans

leafy vegetables

One thing, I do want to point out was that I crossed referenced everything I could in Rips book as well as everything he told me in our talk. Rip is dead on accurate.  Our talk went on to compare how a plant based diet could be applicable to the performance based athlete. Again, not only did Rip give me several examples, he also "practices what he preaches". A crazy thing happened at the end of our talk. Rip, having had a long day himself, prepared a plate of food for me. I was hesitant but..............boy I could have had three plates it was so good. beans,corn,peppers,squash,onion,and sweet potato. No meat! None! And you know what? I didn't want any afterwards. So I did a little experiment  of my own. For the past 5 days I have eaten 0 meat. None. How do I feel? BETTER! I've lost 6 pounds. How's my energy? As high if not a great deal higher. My stomach feels better. No headaches. On the 9th I am competing in a jui jitsu tournament. I will keep everyone posted how this affects my performance. 

   I hope you all consider the benifits of this lifestyle. Check out 2 websites www.theengine2academy.com  and www.theengine2.com  I am a big believer in Rip and his book. Sometimes you miss the forest for the trees. I always wanted to say that!

   Rip, you have made me a convert. Now I'm working on my son. I'll tell him that Spiderman eats plants. It could work. Thankyou so much for taking time to talk with me.

Everyday I see the same group of people come walking through the gym in the morning and evening. They are usually in flipflops, and carrying rolled up mats. It's our yoga crowd. For years I have heard of all the different types of yoga. Hot yoga,cold yoga, hatha yoga, ashtanga yoga. And that's just the ones I remember. I think the impression has always been that I don't appreciate yoga. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Not only do I like yoga, but I encorporate yoga into my own personal workouts as well as those of my clients. I think I have 10 books about yoga. I love yogas fluidity and harmony. I know what I've said..."I don't take yoga classes because I can stretch at home for free". Well that mindest would put me out of business in a heartbeat. I want people to find an inner connection with their own bodies. Don't laugh, I'm serious. When your body and mind gel into fluid motion there is no greater feeling. Remember resistance training is essentially completely stretching your muscles out and then adding varying resistance to that muscles contraction. The more you stretch, the more you contract. How can I get more flexible? I used to be able to do the splits. My back is always sore. My hamstrings are tight. What do I do?STRETCH! Take a yoga class. Every morning most of us have a daily routine. Wake up. Pot of coffee. Breakfast. Brush teeth. Shave. Comb hair. As part of everyones daily routine , we should all do an assortment of stretches. Nothing to fancy. No headstands. Just some daily stretches to keep our bodies flexible. Every morning I stretch for about 10 minutes. If I didn't, I'd never be able to stand up straight. To help with this video I called up my favorite yoga instructor Gioconda. Gio is performing some basic yoga stretches and transitions. I will hopefully add some more sport specific routines as the months progress. Please feel free to contact her at http://www.giocondayoga.com/ she is amazing.

When I decided to pursue personal training as a career all I really wanted to do was spend most of my days in shorts, tennis shoes, and a t-shirt. I loved working out and I hoped people would want to workout with me . To this day, I love walking in any gym. I get a little excited still. I knew I'd meet all kinds of people. What I never counted on was the relationships I would develop. I had been personal training for about 3 months when an older man named "John" came in to the gym. As we talked he revealed to me that he had AIDS.  I immediately did as much research as I could about his condition. I talked to his doctor and he informed me that John needed to stay as active as possible. Within  a few months John was hospitalized for the flu. He died 4 days later. I went to see him the day before he died and what affected me the most was that he was alone. No family. No friends. I bought him some flowers and a balloon and told him I would check in on him. When he passed away I was devastated. 

   As the years passed I would meet clients, who would become friends. I watched people go through the loss of loved ones, births of their children, marriages, divorces you name it. I developed very strong connections and attachments. When my clients were upset or hurt, it affected me. 4 years ago when I went through my own divorce, the same people that had confided in me over the years were now there for me. One family in particular gave me so much guidance, love and support. Patti  and Maurene(sisters) always believed in me. They told me to fight for my son and never give up. As grueling as my divorce was , I pushed forward. It was the support of my close friends that got me through those times. The day before Halloween last year, I got a phone call from Patti. She wanted to tell me that she had cancer and she wasn't going to make her thursday appt. My heart sank. I drove home, canceled the rest of my day, sat on my bed and cried. My Aunt had died of cancer. She was the one person in my family who told me to believe in myself and do what I love. Patti and her family had always meant so much to me. I was heart broken. It was hard to look at her. Why do bad things happen to good people? Patti has two beautiful children and the most amazing husband. I often told her that I strove to be like her and her husband Michael. They always seemed to "do it right". I would have fallen apart. For all my talk, I'm just not that tough. As the months passed, Patti endured 5 chemotherapy treatments. She struggled at times, but made it to every workout. She always smiled. Always made me laugh. She doesn't know this, but after each appointment I had to break down a little.  What moved me was her determination. This thing wasn't going to define who she was. She walked in that door with so much love, strength, courage and honor. She left me inspired everyday. Tomorrow Patti endures her final chemo appointment.  True champions push themselves. True Champions fight. And true champions get up when they have been knocked down. Tonight I'm sending much love to Patti, Michael, Ethan, and Zoe. 

   Patti, you are a true champion, and I am honored to call you my friend. 

 

When I first started personal training I always regarded classes as the easier way of working out. Step aerobics? I made fun of it. circuit classes? They were silly. If you realy wanted to workout you needed to man up and lift some weights. Right? Wrong!!! The concept behind the circuit class is pretty simple. Take several exercises, different body parts, varying weights, and string them together in a "circuit" to optomize the overall burn. These circuits can be done so many different ways. Bodyweight workouts:

20 pushups

20 squats

20 crunches

20 jumping jax

20 supermans

with dumbells:

20 dumbell shoulder press

20 dumbell squats

20 dumbells curls

20 dumbell stiff legged dead lifts

20 dumbell chest flies

or even machines:

20 chest press

20 lat pull down

20 leg press

20 tricep extension

20 cable bicep curls

Of course you can mix and match all of these and even throw in some 5 minute spint intervals on the bike and/or treadmill to realy spice it up. For many of my clients I start with a simple circuit of 3 exercises (1minute each exercise) and then add an exercise at the start of each new set. By the end I have strung together 7 to 10 exercises performed back to back with varying intensity. These exercises can be anything from the above to heavy bench press, dead lifts, and /or kettlebells. Crossfit has become the flavor of the month lately, and for all points and purposes all Crossfit is, is circuit training. No more, no less. Just because you lift sandbags, kettlebells, medicne balls, and heavy ropes doesn't mean you are doing anything other than circuit training. I do suggest that you get some guidance on kettlebells before you start throwing them around. Jackie is shown demonstrating a very basic circuit.

coordination. Not my strong suit. I've been working out for years and coordination just doesn't always work for me. Take something as simple as jumping rope. I've had kickboxing instructors pull their hair out trying to figure how I can be so ungracefull. I was training a 12 year old boy about a year ago for soccer and his parents biggest concern was his footwork. They knew he wasn't going to be a phenominal athlete, they just didn't want him to seem like he was falling all over himself. Most kids go through an awkward phase. We all know what it was like. Some of us, like myself, will always have a problem with certain things. For this particular young man I brought out an agility ladder. I had him do some basic footwork drills over and over again. Twice a week we worked on footwork and it gradually improved. When I first started using the agility ladder, I thought it looked very similar to hopscotch. I have used the agility ladder in my personal training to help "mix it up" as well as help improve clients footwork and speed skills. There are a ton of things you can do with these ladders. I've let Kristen demo a few simple maneuvers. To make this miserable put a resistance band around your ankles. Or even try doing these movements with your hands. Pure misery. Good luck.

One of the first things i did when I decided to start Austin Fitness Extreme was look at the growing trends out there in the fitness world. Many years ago, when I was stationed in Everett, Washington while in the Navy I had the good fortune to spend a weekend with three Russian MMA fighters. They had just opened up a new fitness facility that had these horrible things called Kettlebells. Up until then the only pictures I had ever seen of kettlebells were in old bodybuilding books and magazines. The circus strongmen were using them. I was more sore than I had ever been after an hour with these "bowling balls with handles" . 7 years later here I was trying to look for something new and the only thing I could think of was kettlebells. The ironic thing is that kettlebells have been around since way before the first americanized fitness facility. When I bought them I had to order them from Pro Performance and have them shipped here. Now they are everywhere. Target sells them. At Academy I saw a rubber kettlebell for women just yesterday. Who knew. The gym I work at, gave me crazy looks when I started bringing in kettlebells 3 years ago. Just 2 weeks ago they bought a set for the gym. Again, who knew? Much like any resistance based exercise, I have a number of women that ask me if doing kettlebells will make them get bigger. Like I've always said, you have to eat a certain way, and lift a certain way to get "big" Kettlebells done in a circuit can give you an amazing cardio workout. One of my favorite beginning circuits is:

2 handed kettlebells swings 45 seconds

right arm kettlebell swings 45 seconds

left arm kettlebell swings 45 seconds

alternating arm kettlebell swings 45 seconds

jump with and jump without the kettlebell 45 seconds

try that on for size.

If Kristin can do it, you can do it.

What do you do when you've hit a plateau? It happens to all of us. We've reached the a sticking point. We don't feel we're improving anymore. It's happened to me. What do I do? I mix it up. I change tactics. For myself I try to train 4 days a week. I keep my workouts pretty intense. I tend to take 3 circuits and perform them three times through during any given workout session. As I've gotten older I've realized it's more about the quality of your workout than the quantity of your workout. You need to be efficient. I like to do cicuits that encorporate my upper and lower body. I realized I can keep my overall heartrate elevated while I move from one body part to another. For instance I'll perform 10 reps of side to side pushups on a medicine ball and than go straight into plyometric box hops. If I'm feeling real sadistic I'll throw in a set of pullups, kettlebell swings, bicep curls, and dips. All done back to back no break. What I've found is that my overall conditioning goes up and my 1 rep max turns into a 3 rep max. I do put several of my clients through similar workouts. I tend to subscribe to a "time" based way of training. Rather than count reps, I watch the clock. 1 minute last exactly 60 seconds no matter how you cut it. You can't rush the clock. My circuits tend to run 3 to 5 minutes from start to finish. At the end I've been running at a 12 incline for 5 minutes on the treadmill. When I'm done, I am completely spent.

If you feel like you've hit a sticking point try mixing it up as much as possible. Do all body weight exercises for an hour. Mix up the order of your sets. Take one day to do nothing but plyometrics. And thank God that you're aren't Dan is this video. I'm telling you, I'm sick. Dans a little bit of a freak anyway. And can you believe, he's actually a gamer. Dan owns Red Fly Studio and makes video games for a living. Go figure.

I get so many groans when I tell my clients "TOYS R US  hill tomorrrow" It is by far one of our more miserable days. Behind Toys R Us  is a (1/4 mile) hill that even cars have a tough time getting up. On the days that I feel twisted, I bring Austin Fitness Extreme to this hill. We start off with 10-20 minutes of full body conditioning and then go straight to the hill. Sprint,jog,run backwards,lunge,suicides you name it we do it all. By the end, we're completely wiped.  Like I said before, I hate running, but I love the misery.

     With this misery comes the ever present muscle soreness. I have always been a big proponent of stretching. When asked if I do yoga I always say that I stretch for free. My body takes a hell of a beating on a daily basis. Between grappling, getting hit, and working out I usually look like a 80 year old when I get up in the morning. I usually take about 30 min in the morning and 30 min in the evening to stretch out. I use a foam roller to help push out my back muscles and roll out my IT band. 

   So, is stretching good or bad? I believe stretching is very good for your body in general. I don't believe you should ever bounce when you stretch. Post workout is a big concern. In theory, your muscles will be pumped full of blood. Your body has been fatigued. Stretching could push your muscles too far and your joints could be stretched to far.  There has been recent studies that have raised this very arguement. I can't say that I disagree with this. I am a big believer in stretching at the end of the day. Before you go to bed get a good long stretch. Massages are great.  Yoga, while I don't do it myself, is very good for the fluidity. I love the transitions in yoga and incorporate those same movements into my morning and evening stretches.

So I always get asked these two questions: "what is the best way to lose weight?" and "is running good for losing weight?" Well lets start with the first one.

   In My opinion the very best way to burn fat (with regards to exercise) is to do high intensity intervals. Let me give you an example. Say you are on a 1/4 mile track. Jog half a lap, sprint half a lap. Repeat for 4-8 laps. "Sprint intervals", as I like to call them can kick you butt. The thing I always tell my clients is that you can take that jog/sprint principle and apply it to any exercise. I repeat ANY EXERCISE!  Take bench press. You do a bench press with 1oo lbs  for 20 reps. You then do abdominal crunches for 20 reps. Repeat 4 times. As your chest,shoulders and triceps fatigue, you give them a break with crunches. You are still keeping your overall heart rate up and your exercising another body part. Just as you chest has started to recover you hit it again for another 20 reps. By the end of 4 rotations your entire body feels fatigued. Again you can take this "sprint interval" system and apply it to any exercise. Spin Class, a very popular form of group exercise, is essentially one big sprint interval class. Austin Fitness Extreme incorporates the "sprint interval" system.

Running! BLLAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH. I hate running. With a passion! I would rather have my nose hairs pulled out with flaming tweezers than run.................but, I still make myself run.  I love to run in the heat. If I'm going to be miserable , I may as well just be full on miserable. I'm a little sadistic. I have run 3  half marathons and 2 full marathons(one of which was Pikes Peak marathon) and I still dread the trail.  I must admit running is a wonderful form of exercise. With that said , I am a firm believer that you can over do it and injure yourself. While our legs are designed for travel, our joints need a break from time to time.  The pounding that your body takes from running can cause a multitude of problems as time goes on. Knees,back,hips,feet can all suffer from constant running. Not to mention those nasty blisters. My suggestion for you runners is to periodically take some time off. Try swimming to keep your cardio conditioning up. Swimming will increase your cardio and never give your body the pounding that running some times can.

What if I want to do both? Try this. Grab a pair of 15lb dumbells. Now bring those to a treadmill and set them down next to the treadmill.

run at 5.0 speed and 5.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

shoulder press with dumbells  for   1 1/2 minutes

run at 5.0 speed and 5.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

pushups                                          for 1 1/2 minutes

run at 5.0 speed and 5.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

squats with dumbells                   for 1 1/2 minutes

run at 5.0 speed and 5.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

curls with dumbells                      for 1 1/2 minutes

run at 5.0 speed and 5.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

squat and press with dumbells  for 1 1/2 minutes

run at 5.0 speed and 5.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

mountain climbers                       for 1 1/2 minutes

run at 6.0 speed and 6.0 incline for 1 1/2 minutes

squat thrusts with dumbells       for 1 1/2 minutes

Good Luck

"Guaranteed to work or your money back!" I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. So I always get asked about fitness products,equipment, supplements,books,videos etc.  So lets start with what I think started it all:

Body For Life

Body For Life was a book written by Bill Phillips (founder of Muscle Media 2000) that started the whole fitness contest craze. It was simple. Take a before picture . Use at least one EAS product and take an after picture 12 weeks later. The winners were featured in the movie Body For Life and then the book Body For Life. The book was very simple. No great secret here. If you burn more than you take in, you lose weight. Add 3 days week of resistance training and you will improve your physique. What I really like about this whole thing was that it got everyone excited about fitness. The result, Body For Life spent 200 straight weeks on the best seller list.

Total Gym

You gotta love Chuck Norris. Seriously, if Chuck told me that eating cat food would turn me into a better fighter I probably would have to try it. Throw Christie Brinkley in there and you have got a recipe for success. I actually like the Total Gym. It is based on the principal of using portions of your body weight to perform exercises. The pulley system adds an element of instability. Get the delux version it is more stable and not as shaky. I recommend the Total Gym to maintain you body. You can also get some very original Pilates like movements on this machine.

The Bow Flex

I loved the infomercial for this thing. It was comical. Yet very accurate. This is actually one of the most complete pieces of equipment I've ever seen. No real drawbacks. I like the"power rods". While I've seen a number of these machines in the garage collecting dust, I have yet to hear a complaint. Like the Total Gym , the rods add an element of instability. 

P90x

I get so many people that say Austin Fitness Extreme is a great deal like this DVD. I bought it a while back and was very impressed.  I love the concept. Work every body part and never rest. The exercises are very  smooth. The transitions are flawless and the workouts are diverse enough to keep you interested  and motivated. I like P90x. 

The Power Plate

I'm gonna get myself in trouble here. Every now and then a piece of equipment comes along that makes too many claims for it's own good. The Power Plate is  a platform that vibrates at varying levels of intensity. The user can perform varying exercises and/or poses to engage their stabilizing muscles and core. I am not a fan of this machine at all. While it does cause you to engage stabilizing muscles , it does so in a way that doesn't address the users individual lack of balance or stability. The plate vibrates at an even rhythm. Conversely if you get on a balance board, you find out real quick which side you favor, and how you need to correct your own stability. The power Plate doesn't do that. The claim that it improves strength has been disproven by The Cooper Clinic and Harvard Medical School.  However, if you are sore it does offer some relief much the same way a massage chair would. 

So What do I like? 

I love kettlebells, plyometrics and my new set of gymnastic rings. More than anything else, keep your workouts new. try new things. Just be logical about it. Like I said a while back, "Does balancing on one leg ,on the bosu,holding a weight in one hand, closing one eye,   while doing a squat realy do anything?"  Not so much.

Before I start, several people have said...."so would you encourage Tommy to fight professionally as you have?" The answer is..... I would discourage it. If he did choose to pursue fighting I would make sure he was prepared and focused.  Even so, you can prepare 4 hours a day, 6 days a week and still be unsuccessful. 

 Now on to some fun stuff. I love working  sitting back and watching people workout. I try to figure out what is driving them . I also look at what they are doing or who their training with.  I read enough fitness magazines and fitness books that I can tell who has a subscription to Mens Health. I also can tell who is obsessed with "youtube". Myself included. I love to watch old Duran Duran videos. 

   What amazes me these days is that so many people try to reinvent the wheel. 

  So here is my question to you:

If you stand on a bosu(blue boob) with one leg and do bicep curls what exactly are you accomplishing? 

Better yet, if you do an incline chest press with a medicine ball between your legs what exactly are you accomplishing?

Core? Blah Blah Blah Balance? Blah Blah Blah

 So lets talk about fitness. Fitness is your bodies ability or inability to do work. Now that is different for all of us.  Last year I got a chance to roll(jui jitsu) with a Hawaian ironman participant. Dimitri is in phenominal shape. He does ultra marathons in his spare time. When I got him on the mat, he lasted about 3 minutes before he completely gassed out. At the same time, he would kill me running. So who is more fit? Well, we both are, for our individual sports. I do some grueling workouts that are designed to prepare my body for combat in the ring. Not everyone needs to do those types of workouts.

  Dimitri had his workouts designed around running. Those workouts made sense for him. 

In return he was a successful at his sport.

   So what is your goal? I know ,the standard trainer question. Lose weight? Get stronger? Run faster? Run longer? Play with your kids? Only you know. When I design workouts I like to work "top 2 bottom" if my clients goal is to get more overall  fit and lose weight. I suggest they do these workouts 3 days a week. So for those of you who want to mix it up. Try this (no silly bosu or power plate nonsense)

Incline dumbell chest press 20 reps

Single arm dumbell row(right) 20 reps

Single arm dumbell row(left)20 reps

Scissor jumps 20 reps

cross body crunch 20 reps

Shoulder press 20 reps

Weighted squats 20 reps

Crunches 20 reps

Squat and Press  combo 20 reps

Single leg dead lift(right) 20 reps

Single Leg dead lift(left) 20 reps

Bicep curls 20 reps

Dips   20 reps

Crunches 20 reps

This is 1 circuit. No break in between exercises. Upon completion of  the full set, take 2 minutes and then repeat the whole set.

Good Luck.

I always get asked if I'm going to let my son kickbox or do jui jitsu.  Ever since Tommy was a baby  he has been around the fight game.  When he was in a  carrier I would bring him into the kickboxing gym and give him a bottle in between sparring rounds. He has watched every fight known to man. He usually reads or draws during the UFC. He actually has his own Thai boxing shorts and gloves. For his 7th birthday, the boys from Tapout made him shirts and shorts.  He knows how to kick, punch and do a few submissions.  I'm just waiting for that first phone call" Mr. Krausz your son triangle choked some in the playground. He kept saying tap or nap." If his mom doesn't already hate me she will then. 

   Last year in Vegas while training at Extreme Couture , I watched Josh Hayes teach a kids MMA class. It was awesome. There were 16(4-7) kids all in mma gear working on technique in the octagon.

     Here in Texas it's all about Football. If a kid can throw a football, their parents automatically think he is going to be the next Vince Young. That sport turns into an obsession for..........the parents. They buy them the best gear. Make them watch football. Posters or Brett Favre on his walls. And then they get them a personal trainer. This all happens by the time they are 10 years old.  By the time they are 12 , the parents are sending them to "football" camps during the summer. What was once a kids sport has turned in to a full time job for these young boys.  I watched an interview with Troy Aikman and Emitt Smith  on HBO's Real Sports last year. They were asked what a parent could do to improve their kids chances of getting into the pros. Their response surprised me. They both said  1.) make sure they are capable of getting into college 2.) don't put them in summer football camps.  I was shocked. They both explained that playing college sports required getting in to college. Even the slowest player needs to  be able to get into college.  They both also said that many of these sports camps are ruining young athletes. These kids get no breaks and it doesn't allow their bodies time to build,get stronger , and get better. In the end many of these young athletes get burned out and injured long before they hit college. This actually made sense to me.

    So, what is my advice to the parents that want their kids to be the next Deon Sanders, Eli Manning, David Beckam, Mia Hamm, or Nolan Ryan? 

First Let them be kids first. Make sure they get a good education. If they are gifted, rather than overuse and damage that gift ,reinforce and protect it by incorporating stability movements into their workout regime. Pay attention to their core strength. Everything starts in the center. So make sure that the relationship  in strength between their abs and lower back is proportional.  And by all means, if they can swim, get them in a pool. Trust me.

    It is finally starting to warm up again in Austin. It's about time. Those outdoor workouts are calling my name. 

    I was in Eisteins yesterday getting myself a bacon, egg, and cheese on toasted wheat bread and i noticed the person in front of me getting a box of bagels for work(at least I hope it was work). This person got themselves a bowl of fruit and blueberry bagel caked with creme cheese. They washed it all down with a diet coke. What caught my eye was that they were filling out a diet log as they ate. I am all about the diet log. Later in the day I sat down with one of my clients who was concerned about their weight loss.  I tend to be pretty blunt so I broke it down for them very simply. "There are 168 hours in a week. I see you 2 of those hours. A great deal of what your body looks like will depend on what you do with the other 166 hours."

     You need to :feed your body,test your body ,and rest your body. If you skip out or overindulge in any of those it can truly affect your energy and progress.  So what is the hidden danger out there? 

First off: Fat free doesn't mean calorie free! Stay away from saturated fats! Look at your sugar intake. Sugar raises your insulin levels. When your insulin levels are elevated your body doesn't burn fat.  So for all you smoothie people out there. Be careful. I know it sounds healthy, but many of those smoothies are loaded in sugar. 

     As the weather gets warmer take some of those workouts outside. Sprints are wonderful. Here in Austin we have several hills I love to torture my clients with.My favorites are the 7th street hill and the spicewood and 360 hill. Try sprinting up hills. Watch for traffic. Take a medicine ball with you and do side 2 side pushups for 30 seconds and then sprint up the hill. Do this for 6 sets. Take a 2 minute break and then do squats with the medicine ball and then jog up the hill backwards. Try that 3 sets. When your done get some food. NO SMOOTHIES!!

About 5 years ago I tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) while I was sparring with my training partner Nick Gonzales. While I went to kick Nick in the head with my right leg, he simultaneously kick my left leg. Normally my leg would have just gone out from underneath me. This time however, my leg  locked and my ACl was sliced in half. The purpose of the ACL is to keep your femur and tibia stable. When my ACL tore, i lost all stability in my left leg and when I went to balance on it it just collapsed. 

   I had a great surgeon here in Austin(Don Davis). I was a completely annoying patient. I asked way too many questions, and even wanted to videotape the surgery. I know, I'm a little sadistic. During some of our discussions, Dr. Davis told me that over the years he has seen an influx in ligament surgeries for young athletes. Why is this?

   One thing I've noticed while watching young athletes train, was that very few of them incorporate stability and injury preventative exercises. Yeah they all squat,dead lift,bench press, and do sprints. Coaches want you to max out those lifts and the minute you get injured  there is no shortage of kids to take your place. 

   So here is some advice: Perform stability exercises in conjunction with your traditional lifts. Single leg squats. Squat on the bosu(blue boob) or a balance disc. Try bounding from side to side . Don't just do a regular plank, perform a side plank and lift your top leg for 1 minute. We all know what a squat thrust is right? Balance on your right leg and perform a single leg squat thrust. Single leg dead lifts are amazing for your core and hamstrings. Remember, you can benefit from your traditional movements as well your stability movements. It doesn't have to be one or the other.  A good schedule for this week is shown below.

Monday

Full body Power Circuit

15 min moderate cardio workout

Tuesday

Full Body stabilzation and core work

10-15 min sprint interval cardio

Wed

Off

Thurs

Full Body Power Circuit

15 min moderate cardio

Friday

Full Body stabilization and core work

10-15 min sprint interval cardio

Sat/Sunday

Plyometrics upper/lower

Good luck

I got a confession for you guys. I love reality TV. Seriously. I think I have an addiction. It started with the bachelor. It was completely insane. We as a coulture are obsessed with seeing heartache on Tv as well as getting the chance to be on TV. No matter how horrible,despicable,gross, or nasty. I myself tried out for season 3 of "The Ultimate Fighter".  Sometimes you can't help but watch a train wreck. Don't lie people, "Rock of Love" is a little entertaining. If for nothing other than checking out all the different ways you can rotate"Every Rose Has It's Thorn" into 60 min.

     When I heard of The Biggest Loser I was intrigued. Once I found out they kicked people off when they didn't lose enough weight , I was completely turned off.  But, I was finally convinced to watch about 2 years ago. After crying like a baby for more than half of the hour I realized I was officially hooked.  The Bigggest Loser shows all of us that being overweight is much more than just being lazy. 

   Once the participants on the show are able to focus themselves it's amazing what they can do. Our bodies can do some incredible stuff.  About 13 years ago while working out at the Chicago Fitness Center, I saw some guys doing a series of jumps onto platforms. It was crazy. They weren't basketball players, or football players, or even fighters. They were actually in the ballet. I tried jumping up on a 24 inch box and racked my shins as well as bruised my ego. These guys were jumping on top of 36 inch platforms for 10 reps at a time.  I was determined to master this thing called plyometrics.  The explosive movements involved in plyometrics is designed to create explosive power and strength. One of the great benefits of this is that plyometrics gets your heart rate elevated and helps you burn calories at a much higher rate. 

The draw back is that much like my shins and ego, you can hurt yourself. It's all about moderation. Anyone can do plyometrics.  Last week on The Biggest Loser, I saw people jumping on top of a  24 inch platform for reps. Impressive!

   Every morning I make Austin Fitness Extreme jump in one form or another. If you get a chance try this out at home or in the gym

5 jumping squats

5 clapping pushups(as you push your upper body up clap your hands together)

5 crunches

10 jumping squats

10 clapping pushups

10 crunches

15 jumping squats

15 clapping pushups

15 crunches

20 jumping squats

20 clapping pushups

20 crunches

Do all reps with no break. Once you do your last set rep of 20 crunches, take a 2 minute break, and then go in reverse order(20 reps,15 reps,10,reps,5 reps) back down.

Good Luck

I was watching one of my fellow trainers put one of their clients through a workout a while back and something struck me a little odd. I had seen this before.   I went home and looked through all my fitness magazines and low and behold there it was.  Muscle and Fitness Hers   center fold out workout. Almost the exact same workout exercise for exercise. I was perplexed. I payed attention to this trainer for the next few weeks and I saw the same trend. All but one of their clients received this exact same workout. I was amazed  that a client was paying $65.00 and hour for something they could have gotten for $3.99 at the local HEB. 

   I'll be the first person to say that personal training isn't rocket science. In fact I think sometimes we try to overcomplicate it. I actually heard someone say that standing on the "power Plate" can rid your body of toxins. You've got to be kidding me. Don't even get me started on the "power plate".

       I've always tried to make things new and inventive for my clients and for Austin Fitness Extreme. About 6 years ago when I was just beginning my first small camps I decided to spy on all the "other camps" out there and see what was going on. For the most part they all did similar things. Some were more intense. Some seemed like a social hour. And some just seemed as though the class was leading the instructor not the other way around.  I knew I needed to be different. I went out and bought 40 kettlebells , 40 resistance bands, and 40 pushup handles. It was a gamble. Every other month I would add something new. Eventually I couldn't just bring everything. I brought one item a day . On friday I started doing stations of 15-30 different exercises.  I also included days of nothing but military calisthenics . Now our list of supplies has grown to

 kettlebells

dumbells

weighted bars

resistance bands

pushup handle

plyometric ladders

plyometric benches

hurdles

sandbags

medicine balls

kickboxing shields

cones

gymnastic rings

I'm sure as the months pass that list will increase. I've constantly tried to think outside my own comfort zone.  I want to learn new things. At the same time I don't want to find myself doing the same workout everyday. One of my frequently asked about workouts is "the Deck Of Cards" so check it out.

Take a deck of cards

Diamonds:   pushups

Spades     :    curls(resistance bands)

Hearts     :    squats(with med ball)

clubs        :    crunches

as you draw from the shuffled deck  do 4 counts of each number. Jacks are 15 Queens are 20 Kings are 25 and an Ace is 30. A Joker is a minute of mountain climbers. Go through the whole deck.

Good luck!

For those of you who know me, you know how much I love MMA.  I started Kenpo Karate when I was much younger and went through the belt systems. After a while I switched to Tae Kwon Do to learn how to do all the aerial kicks. The thing I loved the most was sparring. I loved competition. When I joined the Navy I competed in a bare knuckles karate tournament in Chicago. It was on payperview, and espn. I got my butt kicked but I fell in love with the sport of kickboxing. When I got my first duty station, in Everett Washington, I looked for kickboxing. Luckily Maurice Smith had a school close by. Mo was the current ISKA heavyweight kickboxing champion, Extreme fighting Champion, and UFC champion. Mo and and I became great friends and he led me into MMA(mixed martial arts). Since then I have extensively studied muay thai and jui jitsu and have dedicated my time to living and breathing MMA. 

   About 9 years ago I picked up Tapout as a sponsor. They were always generous with me. I got free clothes and in turn wore them every chance I got.  For years I got strange looks from people wondering what the heck I was wearing.  Now, with the UFC being mainstream and fighters now being celebrities, those stares have turned into questions. "hey man , do you fight?" Tapout has become part of my wardrobe. 

   Last night Charles Lewis(the founder of Tapout) died in a car wreck. I knew Charles. He was a friend of mine. I'm heartbroken that he is gone. He nearly singlehandedly took a brand ,and in just 9 years went from selling it out of the back of his car to generating 10 million in revenue . No matter how big Tapout got, Charles always had time for everyone. Including me. I miss him already. Tonight I'm going to have a drink for my friend.

"Charles, tell the big man upstairs I said hello"

Today put an end to my "warm weather is comming" theory. This morning within the course of about 30 min the temperature dropped from 71 to 49 . Not only that, but that sudden drop in temperature was followed by rain.  I'm sure by now everyone absolutely hates the word....pushup. This morning we did absolutely every variation of pushups known to man. It's bad when your body is begging for weighted jumping jacks. 

  So how is it that we can talk our bodies into doing the impossible? One thing is for sure, your surroundings have a great deal to do with what gets you moving.  At Austin Fitness Extreme misery loves company. At the very least, everyone is cursing me under their breathes as I tell them to do "spiderman pushups". Large groups help motivate eachother. As long as there is no mutiny I'm all about it. One thing I do is play a wide variety of music. Everything from Ludacris to Franz Ferdinand to Vampire Weekend to Slipknot.  Music can help push you. Try working out to the soundtrack of Yentl. See how that works for you. Get a good mix before you take a run.

   I thought of this as I prepared for my own personal workout this morning at 8am. I had an empty hour so I decided to workout. For 10 minutes I played old Guns and Roses and then I was ready to go. Believe me, if I would have had a VCR, I would have popped in Rocky 4 and got completely psyched. 

   They should sell a mixed VHS tape containing nothing but training sequences from Rocky,1,2,3,4,5,6 and from Vision Quest, and Pumping Iron.  I'm telling you, I'd be the first person in line to get it.

   Get motivated people. Summer is almost here. For anyone who is curious, Below is the workout I did today

45 lb olympic bar squat and press  10 reps

70 lb two handed kettlebell swing  10 reps

side2side pushups on medicine ball 10 reps

60lb barbell bicep curl      10 reps

dips on bench                      10 reps

4foot plyo bench jump     10 reps

overhand pull ups             10 reps

45lb olympic bar upright rows   10 reps

jumping with and without 70lb kettlebell 10 reps

Around the world and back with 45lb plate

I did this circuit 5 times.  Friday I'm thinking the "deck of Cards". I better get some good music ready.