AFEX

So it was not to long ago that in the middle of writing posts about overcomming Cancer that I signed off with a very simple saying"Don't just Survive...thrive" It stuck on many levels and has become my signature. As time passed I looked into possibly getting funding for a Fitness video and writing a book. Well I wrote the book which was more about fatherhood than anything else. The Fitness Videos peaked with P90x and Insanity but time and technology has seemed to catch up with that. You can get everything on line these days. I still do think a Fitness website can be a very viable commodity. Interestingly enough in the middle of this process I had the idea of putting together some tshirts that had inspirational and funny sayings on the back with the AFEX logo on the front. So here are the first 2. We have a few more in development. Here are some quotes that we are working on:


Concieve, Believe, Achieve
(in red)(This is a basic saying that I've heard for the past 20 years. It's so simpke and it rhymes.)

You Riding...or hiding?- Bike Austin
(in green)( I live in a community that loves bikes. I see groups of people on a regular basis riding their bikes on the streets and highways here in Austin. They all seem to acknowledge themselves)

Want to surf?
Move to Hawaii
Want to Ski?
Move to Colorado
Want to play Football?
Live in Texas
(in burnt orange)( The thing I like about this quote is that it applies to all of Texas. I never realized how big football was here in Texas until I moved here my junior year in highschool)


Deffinition of a Grapefruit:
a lemon that had a chance and took it

(in purple)(When I was a sophmore in high school a senior left this as her quote in the yearbook. I loved it. It has stuck with me all these years.

H20  the benefits are clear

( I always loved the marketing for milk. I'm constantly encouraging my clients to drink more water. One of my clients gave me this quote. I loved it.)
 


  So there is my start. For all of you here from kickstart a few words on the shirts. All are printed on a coton poly blend high quality tshirt at Aztec printing here in Austin. All shirts are light charcoal. Lettering font right now is up in the air. Considering some new options for our font style so please give me some feedback. Our ladies shirts come in v neck babbydoll style. I want to make a push for the "football" t shirts to get here by football season, sold at games and hopefully soon at some of our local co-op stores. All our initial orders will be Med,Large and XL for men and XS,Small and Med and LArge for women. Please contact us for any specific requests. Kids shirts...we can do it. I beleive in this and know we can be sucessful.

Nicole

Every now and then the fitness industry puts out something worth it's price and weight in gold. 10 years ago a Houston gymnastics coach was visited by one of the strength and conditioning coaches from the Saints for ideas on how to build strength , balance, and conditioning for his football players. Gymnast have long been looked upon for their physical excellence. Their bodies and very realsitic sculptures of attainable muscle as well as having the grace of ballet dancer and power of a sprinter. In esscence they represent the perfect physique. To many at least. Anyway, what the coach observed was handmade device consisting of 2 heavy duty straps. One acted as an anchor and the other was suspended by it.Attached on either end were 2 gymnastic rings. A couple of years later the TRX was introduced to the fitness world with a some great celebrity endorsers. Drew Breeze,Laird Hamilton,Gabby Reece, The Hamm brothers, and Brandon Vera to name a few. For the cost of 5 dollars to make and an average price of 115.00 to purchase the TRX has made huge waves in the fitness industry. And here's the kicker............it works!! I got my first TRX about 7 years ago as a promotional tool. I love it and have encorporated it into many of my training sessions. The TRX suspension system can be used to work every body part all while encorporating your core. The catch is that your stabelizing muscles get engaged from the minute you start any movement. The clue is to use this piece of equipment to balance out your other movements not take the place of the others. Here is where we as trainers make our biggest mistakes . We get a good routines or new piece of equipment and we beat it to death. Does anyone remember the swiss ball. The other day at the gym I watched a guy try to do a 60lb chest press on the ball. A bit much. ambitious though. Try this abdominal routine for starters.

How much is too much?

I hate to admit it but I love gossip mags. Sure I can blame it on my clients or even say I'm getting them for Nicole. The truth is they're damn entertaining. With the success of the Biggest Loser and other similar contest it seems as though every couple of months my gossip mags have the latest rash of fat loss stories from celebrities to the common every day folk. Some are very inspiring. I myself was at one time very overweight. I'm not the tallest of men and the day I joined the Navy in 1994 I was 204 lbs. Needless to say I was taunted from day one. Over the course of my time in the military I developed a love for fitness and made up my mind that when I got out I would pursue a carreer in the fitness industry. Now some 18 years later I weigh about 160 and am doing just that. What I knew I could bring to the table that other trainers couldn't was an empathy for those that struggled with weight loss.
So as I read these stories I ask myself "What is realistic?" I've heard a pound a day. A pound a week. Who's to say for sure. Your weight loss or lack there of will be directly related to 2 things . First the ammount of time and effort you put in. Second , the ammount of distractions you give up. Well we know what that first one means right. You need to workout. Be active at least an hour a day. That second one is the killer. "What do I need to give up?" I hear this all the time. "I know what I need to be doing." So if you know , than what is the problem? The reality is most people don't realy know. I have a line that I use with all my new clients. "There are 24 hours in a day . 168 hours in a week. I see you for 3 of those hours. A great deal of what your body is going to look like will depend on what you do with the other 165 hours." In other words: What you're doing is not working. Lets try something new.
So realisticly what can you expect to lose? Well it all depends on how much you give up. If you give up a large portion of your current counterproductive diet and replace it with healthy lowfat,low starched,low sugar meals in conjuction with 3-5 high intensity workouts a week, The sky is the limit. Well maybe not the sky , but deffinitely some clouds up there.
So here is my own personal little tidbits:


ditch the diet coke
stay away from anything fried.
green=lean
eat high fiber
drink 6 glasses of water a day
don't eat after 7pm
allways have breakfast
jog for 30seconds followed by a 45 sec to a min sprint 10 times
lift weights 4 times a week
stay away from alcohol 5 days out of the week.

The Birth of Bootcamps

When I first started personal training some 15 years ago, Body for Life was the big thing. It was the simplest of concepts. Get people into a competition to see who could lose th most body fat and gain the most muscle in the shortest ammount of time. Prizes were given away. Gym memeberships were sold. EAS and Muscle Media 2000 became a household name. We all in the fitness industry owe a bit of grattitude to Bill Phillips. You youngins don't know who he is? Look him up. Body for Life the book , written by Bill Phillips, stayed on the best seller list for a record 154 weeks!!!! A fitness book for God's sake. And to be quite honest it was a very simple fitness book. Nothing new here, he just broke it down into very easy to follow instructions. Now , most gyms have their own workout challenge. The biggest Loser is a hit TV show. So what is the current trend? Well about 11 years ago a very simple concept started picking up steam. Let's take the model of an aerobic class and apply it to a "blue collar" crowd. We'll model it after the millitary. And we'll call it ......wait for it.......Bootcamp. I started teaching my first civillian bootcamp in 2001. It was the year I started Austin Fitness Extreme. I started off small. When Austin Fitness Extreme launched in 2001 I was one of maybe 3 camps in Austin. There was a Navy Seal bootcamp and a marathon running group. Over the past 11 years around every corner is a bootcamp of some sort. They're running up hills,down hills,up stairs, down stairs,pushing ,pulling,lunging,squating and jumping everywhere. So how do you pick a good one. Hmmm. Pick mine! No seriously. Think about what you want to get out of it. A good bootcamp will constantly evolve, much like the fitness industry. When I started I need a schtick of some sort. I went out and bought 40 kettlebells. A small fortune at the time. However, I was the only bootcamp with them at the time. Now everyone has kettlebells. Since my early days I have added just about every mobile piece of fitness equipment known to man to make myself and my camp more marketable. Most good camps will have aerobic based days and anaerobic days. The concept is to get the best of both worlds and house them under the same roof. Bootcamps should build you up more than they break you down. Don't get me wrong they should be tough , but they should be very doable. Beware of the bootcamp instructor who probably can't do the workout he/she is dictating. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Also beware of any bootcamp that tries to sell you supplements. Like I said pick mine!!!!!!!!!

I need AGILITY

The agility ladder is on of my favorite pieces of tourture. I'vebeen using it for the last 6 years. I remember the first time someone put me through a training plan designed around the agility ladder. Needless to say I tossed my cookies. These days you can encorporate the agility ladder with pretty much any exercise routine. Remember the key here is to always try something new and always challenge yourself . Take John here. In his forties, runs his own company, dad,husband, and he kinda looks like the "Brawney Man". John needed some new ideas for working out outside the regular push/pull/squat routine, so I had him encorporate this with some good ole fashion high knee hurdles. You gotta love it. Not only did he do this several times but we mixed up variations of the exercises to keep his mind and body guessing. At the end of the workout John's heartrate was elevated which gave him the ability to burn more calories post workout. That's key here. Keep your body burning calories. The other key is to not consume bad calories afterwards. I am hoping John didn't make a trip to Burger King when this was done. Keep you're body hydrated. Seventy degrees in Texas during the winter can still be miserable if you don't have enough fluids in your system.

Sports Films

I love a good sports movie. There have been some amazing ones over the years. I think what makes a good sports movie is one in which you care about the characters. Lets see....... Rocky is an amazing sports movie , but when it comes down to it, it's a love story between Rocky and Andrian. In the end it doesn't matter if Rocky wins, you want Adrian to fall in love with him. That theme surrounds all the sequels. For all the boxing, Rocky is a love story. One of my other favorites is Hoosiers. I can't imagine living in Indiana or making high school basketball interesting, but from start to finish you care about the characters. Hoosiers is a movie about ,well.....transition...moving on.....overcoming the past. A coming of age film if you will. I challenge you to not love this film. The Program is a football film about ...........testosterone. It's a film for all of us who never played football in college but wishes we could have hung out with the team. You guys all wanted to be Joe Kane or Lattimer.
With all that said I hate mixed martial arts films. They are horrible. For the record if Kimbo Slice is in the film ....it sucks. Just sayin. The movie Warrior is amazing. Yes it is surrounded by the world of MMA, but man it's about family. Two brothers fighting in a tournament for two different reasons, but both trying to shake the shadows of the past. It's amazing. I almost cried..........but hell no I didn't. Instead I did 70 pushups and shadowboxed afterwards. Just like when I watched Rocky. Do yourself a favor ......watch it.

The Couple that works out together...stays together

You know, I've been training people for the past 15 years and the thing I've realized is that when it comes to couples and exercise, the couples that share fitness as a passion and/or workout together tend to be the happiest. Why is this? Well for starters you're both taking an interest in each others health. The other big thing is that watching or just knowing that your spouse is working out is well.....attractive...dare I say sexy. I'm a very solitary person by nature, but I love working out with Nicole. Now does she want to be a Thai boxer. Hell no! Does she want to do a cage fight? Definitely not. She's a trained ballet dancer. I just love it. Our strengths are different. Our goals are different. But, she is very fit. Very balanced and very strong( and not just strong for a girl). What I find attractive about all this is that we share a passion for keeping our bodies healthy. Once a week she does ballet classes by herself, and I roll and or spar with people several times a week. What I look forward to , is our workouts together. When we took a vacation together this past summer we worked out everyday. I never thought I'd say this , but my girlfriend is my favorite workout partner.

As I've looked around this past week I've watched couple come in to the gym together. Some share a trainer, some have different trainers. Some just workout on their own. It has become so apparent to me that the couples that seem the happiest both workout . Date nights are great, but what about scheduling some workout time together. Release some of those endorphins. Get rid of some of that stress. Nicole and I are running a half marathon this year. I hate running. I've already run a half marathon. It's horrible. The thought of running it with Nicole makes it not just bearable....but an adventure. I know .....I've gotten sappy. ......Wait I'm still tough. I'm a hard ass....who am I trying to kid? I'm whipped. In the meantime try this:

squat and press 5 reps(10lb weights)

scissor jumps 5 reps (10lb weights)

front should raise 5 reps(10lb weights)

push ups 5 reps

mountain climbers 5 reps

v-ups 5 reps

do this circuit 4 times through. no break. increase by 5 reps each time through.....good luck!

But I have a Certification!

Certifications are like flies these days. There allways seems to be one flying around. It amazes me how many people think that a certification makes you an expert on something. So think about this. Most certifications cost us about 100-300 dollars and we sit in a class for 2-3 days at most. DOes this make you and expert? Hell No! I've seen women who never had children explain they are experts in pre and post natal fitness because they have a certification. I 've seen a spin instructor that has never competed in a race say he is a certified competition instructor. I've seen people that have never lifted a weight say they have a dumbell certification. Insane. So what should you look for instead of a certification?.......hmmm.........How about experience. You can train a woman pre and post natal? Have you had a baby? How many women have you trained through pregnancy? Dumbell certification? Can you properly lift a 30lb dumbell above your head? Kettlebells? Is this all you do? DO you think you're a physical therapist or have you been to school and have a liscence to practice? I see this every day. It's a pet peve of mine in the fitness industry. We certify everything . Unfortunately experience is the key here. Most of us who have been training at least 10 years don't need a certification to teach us how to use a kettlebell or TRX.
A "good" personal trainer will have experience in not only training themselves(you'd be surprised how many don't) but also training different groups of people from all walks of society. I watched one of our"kettlebell" instructors have a 58 year old man with a history of back and knee injuries start swinging a 20 pound kettlebell. Seriously?!?! But she had a certification. Unfortunately she lacked a certification in common sense.
Fitness isn't rocket science. I will say this. Look for experience more than anything. On a side note , if you're under the age of 30 ,you're not an expert on anything. Just sayin.

The Cross Fit phase

So several people have asked me why I am not the biggest fan of Crossfit. Well, here it goes. Cross Fit much like Taebo and Kravmaga have made a name for themselves based on a "hollywood" push. Off of that they manufactured their own facility and then put out their own certification process. So what's wrong with that? Capitalism at it's best right? First some "real" history on Crossfit. Crossfit is the loose translation of the Russian based gym. It was started by former Russian power lifters and gymnasts to give their off season athletes a facility in which they could maintain their bodies strength while not competing. It worked. They key word here is off season. Like anything else The originators off crossfit realized that they would have to periodically give their athletes different workouts to maintain their flexibility and keep their bodies from getting injured. Sound familiar? At the time Hammer strength and Nautilus were making these new state of the art machines, crossfit didn't have the money to manufacture let alone buy anything. So they got ropes, sandbags,used tires,kettlebells,bars,benches and pull up bars. They incorporated a great deal of power lifting moves into their movements in conjunction with kettlebell movements to build dynamic and explosive strength. Nothing new, just on a much smaller scale. The first crossfit in the US was introduced in Seatle(not California) .They started with firemen, a small group of local powerlifters, and a military presence as it's main focus. One of it's early patrons was a man named Jim Jones. Jim jones(founder of Gym Jones) was tasked with getting the actors in 300 into shape for the movie. While using several of the Crossfit exercises , Jim also encorporated sprinting and stretching to keep the actors from getting injured. When the movie 300 came out Jim Jones took credit for the actors and Crossfit took credit for Jim Jones. Interestingly enough Jim Jones is in no way affiliated with Crossfit nor does he support Crossfit. Why? Who knows.
So here is where Crossfit exploded . Off of the movie 300 Crossfit packaged their name, franchised it, and created a certification process. What exactly are they packaging? Kettlebells? They've been around for 100's of years. Bench pressing? Box jumps? Plyometrics?Ropes? Tires? Sledgehammers?Did anyone see the first Rocky? Oooh maybe it's the whole "circuit" aspect of it? Well years ago circuit training was the wave of the future. Except they were done with machines. Going from machine to machine for several reps or time until the entire body was worked. These "circuit " classes were deemed too easy for the serious gym patrons and soon they faded away. In reality it's all the same thing. A press is a press. A jump is a jump, and a swing is a swing. Full body workouts were not invented by Crossfit.
So, save yourself the money. Buy a kettlebell from Target and do some jumps, pushups and pullups for free. Most gyms these days have kettlebells , plyoboxes,pullup bars, and bench presses.
Be wary of any fitness craze that suggest "this is the only way" to workout.

The Other Side

I remember the day I got the news I had been diagnosed with Cancer. It was surreal. I got in my car and sat for a minute or two. Why me? Was this karma for all the things I'd done wrong in my life? I felt very alone. I took a deep breath and drove home. I made a list of all the things I needed to do. I started writing a journal for Tommy. This was my "just in case I die" journal. Nearly 9 months later I sat in front of my oncologist again as she gave me the news that the cancer in my body had metastasized to my stomach and intestines. I had now been upgraded to stage 3. This time was a little different. I had recently broken up with my fiance and had discovered that much of our relationship was an illusion. I was at an emotional crossroads of sorts. My body was being torn apart and my personal life was a wreck. I felt so much guilt. As the years have passed I've realized how much I want a family. I was orphaned as a baby and later adopted. My childhood was abusive to say the least so I've always longed to have a family that I knew would never leave me and I in turn would never leave. My divorce from Tommy's mom left a large hole. As I sat there being told about the spread of the cancer in my body and the chemo treatments that were to come , I had this horrible thought. I was going to die and in turn abandon my son the way I was abandoned. While I put on a brave face, I slowly slipped into a depression. I was angered and hurt over the loss of my relationship. I had been lied to and led down a path that was very one sided. As I settled in to my once a month chemo treatments I came to an inner peace. I was going to fight as hard as I could. I was going to workout as hard as I could and strengthen my body as much as possible in spite of what the chemo was doing. I pushed every day. Probably a little harder than I should have. More than once I've been found by the side of the road struggling to get back to the gym after a poorly planned out run. I gained a great deal of clarity during the workouts. I closed the door on part of my life and opened my heart to what I felt was my true purpose all along. Beating cancer and being the best father I could. Strangely enough , something very funny happened. Time and Life threw me a line. I had lunch with a close friend who made a very insightful observation. "Tom, Have you ever considered dating a single mom? A single mom will get you. A single mom will appreciate the time you spend with your son. A single mom will view your willingness to provide for you ex wife as a positive. A single mom will look at you with maturity." Two days later I met Nicole. We had both spent enough time in nonproductive relationships and were certain of what "we didn't want" in lour lives. She had 2 beautiful children. I've heard the Phrase"I just knew" before and to be quite honest, I've never bought it. Silliness I thought. But, as I sat across from Nicole I just knew. It's an earth moving feeling. I felt as though I had just been punched in the gut. At the same time I felt as though I had just been given a huge breath of air. It was almost as though the world got a great deal brighter.
So here I am on the other side of a very tough year. I'm stronger. I'm so much happier. So much more full of life. I'm invigorated. I'm inspired. I'm more than a little .....energized. So here's a thought. If you could join a the best fitness facility in your town for the bargain price of 1000.00 a month would you do it? Probably not right. What if you got 50.00 off your monthly dues every time you came in. So if you came in 20 times in a month your membership was free. Now ....would you do it? Just a thought. Stay strong. Stay fit. Burn more calories than you take in. Crossfit is just a fad(don't buy into it), Yes pilates works, don't go to yoga class...stretch at home for free, group fitness is the wave of the future, of course Clemens did steroids, The NFL team owners make so much more money than the players, MMA fighters are the best physically conditioned athletes in the world, fat free doesn't mean calorie free, conceive believe and achieve, and .......don't just survive...thrive.

It is so interesting to me how much kids can pick up. This passed year has been challenging year at best. I've been told I have cancer. I've been told I have diabetes. I have been told that a friend of mine has passed away after enduring a bout of throat cancer. While I consider myself very emotional person, I tried to face all of these with little emotion. If I admitted it to myself I was somehow losing the fight.
Well last week my son was having problems with his spelling words. He was getting a frustrated and he was so worried about not doing well. "I'm just never going to get this right." he said. All at once my childhood flashed before my eyes. I hated school growing up. Not because of the kids, because of the pressure my parents put on me. Lets put it this way, I didn't get a ton of "positive support". So faced with my little man at age 37 I took a whole different approach. "believe in yourself." "Be positive." "This is just a spelling test. I know you can do it." I kept repeating these words and he mentally came around.
So yesterday sitting at home, I was thinking about the challenges of the upcomming year. The list of goals that I wanted to accomplish and all at once it seemed an unattainable . I started feeling defeated. I want to add an extra bootcamp, write a book, film a video, take a few trips, and I want to fight one more time. I had these things written down as I was sitting on the couch planning my strategy. Tommy cam over sat doiwn next to me and asked me what was wrong. I told him I just had "too many things to do". I didn't know if I could do them all. "believe in yourself dad. Be positive." Wow. I'm not gonna lie , I cried a little bit.
It was the kick in the shorts I needed. I tell people all day to focus on the horizon not the miles of ocean they have to cross to get to it. I'm starting a new chapter in my life these days. I am living much healthier. So here is my tip . Feed your soul positivity. Get rid of anything negative. At the same time feed your body clean niutrition. It will work wonders for you. Every moring I have the following shake. I cut pieces of brocolli,bell peppers,sweet potato,squash,blue berries, and carrots, freeze them and than blend them with carrot juice and whey protein. Not bad. Ok , it is not a vanilla milk shake but I know my body is using everything in there. Give it a shot. Trust me.

Well, it has been a while since I posted a blog. So here it goes. In the months that have passed I have ........found out that I had stage 1 colon cancer, found out that I was diabetic, started a cancer cleanse diet, had a minor surgery, gone back to the doctor and found out my protein levels are still elevated, told that I have swelling in my brain, reduced the swelling, scheduled an exploritive surgery to look for stomach cancer, and had a good friend pass away from throat cancer, .........but hey I'm still kicking.

So what has all this taught me? Life is short. Life is what you make of it. Love the ones your with. Appreciate and cherish what you have , don't keep complaining about what you don't have.

We are heading into the holliday season. As we all know this means one important thing................presents!!!!! No, actually I was thinking of moderation. Have one less glass of wine, one less piece of pie, and one less scoop of stuffing. And try and do something active that involves the family.....The Turkey Trot for example. Maybe a pick up game of "touch" football. Two years ago while spending the hollidays with Jenns family , we all went in the front yard and played football. We were all dressed with our church clothes still on. Jenn looked amazing in a skirt, I must say.Anyway a thought did come to me as I was being clotheslined by my beautifull ,skirt wearing fiance on the way to the goal line, "I'm sure glad I'm in shape". It makes doing things like this a great deal more fun.

So as you workout and deny yourself that one extra piece of pie, don't think about fitting into your clothes, think about how much more fun it will make your life. It simply gives you more options. We can all sit on the couch with the best of them right? However, only the very few can go out and run a 5k. Why is that? It's time to set the bar higher. Expect more from you body. Put in the work , indulge in moderation, and you will see and feel the difference.

As for me ....cancer sucks. It realy pisses me off. So I'm going to practice my zig zag running so my lunatic fiance doesn't clothesline me in two weeks. I'm also going to watch my diet, workout hard, hug and kiss my son a little more (he hates it), and push to thrive in this world not just survive. I love you guys. We are running the Toys R Us hill tomorrow... BRING IT!!!!!!

I remember the first time I got put through a circuit workout. I was at Maurice Smiths kickboxing gym back in 1998. I had worked myself up to a level that I was allowed to train with the other high level pro fighters. I had lifted weights and regularly ran 2-3 miles a day, so I felt I was ready for the workouts. Well, after about 10 minutes I was staring at the bottom of a trash can while I puked my guts out.While not everyone realy wants,or needs to train like this I found myself in the following years tweaking my normally stale workouts by adding high level cardio routines to weight routines and vice versa.

Two years ago while I was at Extreme Couture in vegas, Tyson Griffin(UFC fighter) asked me if I wanted to do cardio with him. I stupidly said sure. "go grab a pair of 20's." he said "and meet me by the treadmills". What the hell had I gotten myself into?

"Set your treadmill to a 7 incline and 7.0 speed" Seriously!? "a minute and a half on the treadmill and then jump off and grab the dumbells and do a minute and a half of shoulder press,curls,upright rows,squat thrusts,squat and press, and reverse flies. 18 minutes total. You up?" Unbelievably I said yes. What followed is kind of hazy.

I've used this workout since to torture myself as well as my clients. I've also tweaked the concept a little. Adam is always up for silly stuff like this. So think about this:

10 high knees

10 pullups

10 high knees

10 staggered pushups

10 high knees

10 curls

10 high knees

10 scissor jumps

10 high knees

10 mountain climbers

Seriously!? Oh hell yeah

"So what is the best exercise for......legs? "Squats. "What about chest? "Pushups. "What about biceps? "Curls." Triceps? "Dips." And back?" Pullups.

" But I can't do pullups. "I don't know what to tell you.

And so goes the conversation I have at least once a month. We are all looking for that perfect exercise. The one that stands above all the others. The one that we can point to and use as a benchmark for our strength. It still amazes me how many people can't do a pullup. I love pullups. It's one of those exercises you can't fake or cheat. You either go up or you don't. Simple. When I joined the Navy, I had this dream of being a Navy Seal. Seriously, don't laugh. When I enlisted I weighed 201 lbs. I could barely run a half mile let alone do the 8 required pullups. Pullups became my mission in life. I would learn how to do pullups. Books would be written about my pullup abilities. People would travel from miles around to watch me do pullups. Ok maybe I've gotten ahead of myself.

So now at the age of 36 , nearly13 years after the Navy, I teach people how to do pullups.(amongst other things)

It was ironic that a young man came in to see me a few months ago with the same dreams I had at his age. Wade wanted to become a Navy Seal. "You don't say." I told him. Wade is a clean-cut nicely manicured young man, who looked more like a boy scout than a Special Warfare operative. He was.......too nice. So in my typical "Evil Tom" fashion I decided to see what this kid could do. Well, I must say, Wade has become a beast. I still think he is too nice, but he can probably do about 30 pullups nonstop.

So I gave him this drill.

1 regular pullup, transition to a close grip pullup, and then transition to a chin up. Three times through no break. It's miserable. Give it a shot.

I love Misery

I started Martial Arts when I was 5 years old. Ever since then I've been a closet martial arts geek. My fiance will tell there is no closet. I am a full out in the open martial arts geek. I started with Kenpo Karate, then went to Tae Kwon Do. When I first heard of the UFC in 1995 I put in an application. God was watching and I didn't get in. Something about not being big enough.Go figure.

I entered my first pro bare knuckle karate tournament in 1996. I then had my first Thai Boxing match in Canada in 1997. Ever since then I have been either competing or teaching MMA or Thai Kickboxing. They truly are two of the most exhausting sports you can compete in. A few years ago Lance Armstrong was working out at our gym. He joking looked at me after one of my sparring sessions and asked"When can I get you on a bike?" I smiled and said "the day I get you on the mat." I've had triathletes almost pass out after being on the mat for 2 minutes. At the same time, I don't even want to think about sitting on a bike for more than 30 minutes. To each his own I guess

I love training. As much as I love teaching, it's fun to mix it up with people who are a great deal better than you. Nick Gonzales, my sparring partner and good friend of 7 years(not to mention Renegades and XFC champion) has always been there when I need to get my butt kicked. If I can make it through a full round without getting tapped , I'm doin well. Here I made it out with maybe 1 second to spare.

I remember when I first started training, one of the questions I always encountered from women was "if I lift weights will I get big? I dont want to get big." My response was always then and is now.

To put on mass you have to eat a certain way and lift a certain way. Weights by themselves wont put on mass.

That being said I have noticed the new craze which is Crossfit. I have always said that Crossfit is a gym not a style of working out. They advocate circuit training which has been around for years. Kettlebells, powerlifting, plyometrics, and bodyweight exercises have been around forever. Nothing new here.

So this weekend I was at "The Crossfit Games" in Austin. I'm a people watcher by habit, so I sat and watched. I noticed a few things. First off the womens division was huge. And I mean in size. These girls looked like powerlifters. And no wonder, they were performing powerlifting movements. Now the workout in itself was impressive. thrusters, single arm kettlebell cleans,double under jump ropes,kettlebell swings, and powerlifting clean and press. Impressive. However, not a ton of variety.I know the day before encorporated concept 2 rowers, hand standpushups, pullups etc.

Crossfit advocates pushing maximal weight, for max reps, for time limits. I agree that this can get you much stronger, and faster. However, is this the only way? Hmmmmm. The answer is no. In fact, is kind of a restrictive way at best. What I have noticed is that the workouts that Crossfit advocate can be hard on those with prior injuries, older, and women. I havent seen any pregnant crossfitters yet. I havent seen any 60 year old crossfitters yet. Are they out there? Im sure they are. However as an experienced, educated personal trainer. I would never, ever advise a pregnant, former injured, older than 45 or younger than 15 client to perform powercleans, handstandpushups, or thrusters to get more fit. That's just me.

So in closing be carefull what you choose to follow. It's not the only option. Just a popular one right now. Kind of like Tae Bo.

I always get asked What is better; cardio or weights? Well, why can't you have both. One can support the other. We have a ton of runners and cyclist at our gym and I always see them do exercises that don't support in intensity or rhythm their chosen sport. I'll watch a marathon runner do some machines and think "How does that support running?" Sure it is overall fitness, but having your movements mimic the intensity with which you pedal or run I believe can help you improve your run time and ability to finish stronger.

Open your minds. Think about this. If you were a powerlifter and you had a big meet comming up, would you do a step aerobic class? Probably not. So why would you do a bench press and lat pull down in preparation for a marathon?hmmmmmmmmmmmm

So mix it up a little. You can lift weights and do cardio based exercises to get the results you want. In fact, follow a cardio based exercise with a pure weight bearing exercise. Here I have Larry doing a cardio based exercise followed by pullups. ....4 times through. No break. I know. I suck.

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.