Parkers Place Total Fitness

total confusion

2012-01-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

I was talking to a member just yesterday and we were discussing her goals and what it would take for her to achieve them. Her biggest goal was to LOSE WEIGHT and after listening to her for several minutes I chimed in and said that losing weight was not a goal and her eyes lit up like she had seen a ghost. After several minutes of trying to tell her why I said that, she folder her arms and stated that she did not believe me and then gave me her argument. It was the following:

1) She had a lot of weight to lose and once she lost the weight she would feel better
2) Her weight is what is keeping her from doing anything
3) Her weight has given her diabetes
4) Her weight has given her low self esteem

Now it in of themselves these are valid points, but only points. After listening to her I asked her about what she did in high school and college and she told me that she was an athlete and a good one at that. She showed me pictures of herself just 10 years earlier and I have to say… what a difference a few years have made. I then asked her what she thought had changed and she told me that when she was really active she ate like a horse and now that she is not as active she still eats like a horse. I then told her that she was right with that statement. Our bodies get accustom to the fuel we give it to support the activity we are presently in and when we slow that activity down unfortunate we don’t slow our eating paterns down.

Then I asked her a big question… “Say you achieve this goal of losing the 50 pounds you want. What next? How will you keep it off?” She looked at me as if I were speaking a different language, thought about it and said, “I don’t know I guess I will not be able to eat certain things any more, which I am not looking forward to doing. But I guess I will no longer be able to eat like I do now and become very cautious at what I put in my mouth.”

Now that statement she made is a true one but I said something to her that made her take notice and caused her to think… “All food is good and God gave us food for our consumption. Without it we won’t live. There is nothing wrong with having a hamburger or two with fries.” She was shocked to hear that come from me but then I went on. “The problem is not the food; it is you and your inactivity. By focusing on your weight, you make food the enemy and it is not. By focusing on your weight, now you say to yourself… I can’t do this or I can’t have that and in the end research shows that you put a lot of stress and tension on yourself and eventually give in and do what you said you weren’t going to do. You restrict yourself of the food when in essence you don’t have to and shouldn’t. Your correct response when faced with a dilemma should be that you choose not to indulge in that food because of a specific reason outside of our weight issue.”

The problem we are facing as a society in inactivity and wrong focus. The media wants us to believe that it is about our weight so that we will buy their products. It is not about our weight and if we just began to get active and plot activity based goals, we would feel much freer and much more in control of our ultimate outcome… better fitness. Your goals should be activity based and not weight based. Weight is the end result of you achieving an activity based goal. As an example, take the person who can run a mile in 12 minutes and after a few months can now run a mile in 8 minutes, do you think they lost some weight? Now if they want to stay at that level of activity, 8 minute miles, do you think they will maintain that new weight? Or take the swimmer or walker or biker, whatever, plot your goals in an activity then and only then will you finally LOSE THE WEIGHT you were looking for and keep it off. There is the real answer to the dilemma on how to lose the weight you want and keep it off.

Supplements

2011-11-30T13:02:00.001-08:00

I know that you have heard that there are certain supplements that are really suppose to be good for you. I have had many people over the last several months ask me about what I do in the nutritional area and I have told them that I take glucosamine and omega 3 everyday and it has done wonders for me. However the purpose of this blog is not to tell you what I take but it is to give you some information on how much is truly enough and what I would recommend to you for your individual issues.
Here is the problem as I see it, many of you feel as though when it comes to supplements, if a little is good for you then even more is better and that is so far from the truth. The bottom line is that our bodies can only take but so much before it has no effect on your system. There is a reason why they put the percentages of daily allowances on the bottles. More is not better and you are wasting your money if you think so.
Now I will not tell you what supplements you should be considering depending on your situation of course.
For those that are having weight problems. You are trying just not to lose weight but keep it off, there is a product called Bios Life Slim that is on the market that can help you with that. This product does the following: Reduces your appetite, Absorbs and Removes Fat, Promotes Fat burning ability, Decreases Leptin resistance, Lowers your Triglycerides, Improves your Cholesterol levels by decreasing your LDL and increasing your HDL. This product comes in packets or canister and is dissolvable in water. I have many people on this product and everyone has told me about the results they have gotten from it. From increased energy to weight loss, everyone has told me that they should have gotten it months ago. I have many people that have lost more than 20 pounds in two months on this product.
For those that have knee and joint issues: You have tried everything and now you are seriously considering surgery or a cortisone shot, there is a product called BM&C Plus. This regenerative herbal formula helps reduce tissue inflammation, nourish ligament and tendons, and strengthen the body against infections. There is also a product called Osteo Essential. This propriety blend of glucosamine, calcium, manganese, and other nutrients helps support and rebuild cartilage and bone.
For those that need daily Nutrition: You have been telling yourself that you need to begin to take some sort of multi-vitamin but you just don’t know which one. Well the first problem with a lot of the vitamins on the shelf is that the body ends up excreting them out no more than a few hours after taking them. So in essence you are wasting your money on something that the body won’t use 90% of. However there is a product called CoreHealth Basics which replenishes low mineral, vitamin, and electrolyte levels with Core Health Basics to keep your body in optimal condition. The body absorbs 100% of this product and uses 100% of it, I know I take it.
There is also another product on the market called PowerMeal. This natural super food features the best and most nutritious organic ingredients- harvested and prepared in order to allow the natural enzymes, vitamins, proteins and amino acids to remain intact and easily absorbed by the body.
For my athletic friends that are looking to enhance their athletic abilities there is a product called MYoCap. This is a post workout recovery blend containing an exclusive blend of nutrients that promote recovery after training and exercise and help support the recuperative process. Designed to be taken after exercise, this special formula provides the nutrients release energy for cellular regeneration and provides antioxidants to fight against the free radicals that result from workouts. There is also Power Generation. This product has an effective herbal blend to boost your athletic performance while promoting optimal physical energy and mental focus.
For those that have heart and cardiovascular issues: There is a product called Vascular Complete that I recommend. This unique product has been specifically formulated with nutrients known to optimize the health of blood vessels by promoting blood vessel elasticity, strength and efficiency. Vascular Complete provides nutrients and cell repair factors to optimize the function of blood vessels and the entire cardiovascular system.
I recommend any of these and they work. I know this because they are all in the Physicians Directory especially the Bios Life Slim. That is huge because most supplements are not.
Now the question still remains… how much should a person take? I would recommend taking only as much as the product tells you. Don’t double to dosage or triple the amount just thinking that you will be really giving your body extra. The body will only take what is needs and can absorb and nothing more. I really recommend these supplements and I know they work.
Now the one thing I don’t want you to do is just go and buy them blindly just because “I recommended them”, however try them for one month and see if you feel or see a difference. If so you may have just found what you have been looking for. Please go to my website myunicity.net/ParkersPlace and once there go to where it says “shipping” and learn more about the products I told you about, then order one month… just one month and see what happens.
The New Year is quickly coming upon us… let’s start it right. Our bodies will thank us for it in so many ways.

Preparing for the holidays

2011-11-11T03:43:00.001-08:00

Well Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming upon us very quickly and with those holidays, comes the four F’s and they are, family fun and festivities and one other things…lots of food. Now don’t get me wrong, eating with your family and your loved ones is a great thing and I am not trying to keep you from enjoying your time with them however, here are a few things that I want to share with you.

1) Statistics show that the average person after high school graduation gains about 1 pound per year and most of that weight is put on around the holidays. If you don’t believe me count the number of years from the time you were 18 until now. Now step on a scale. Read it and weep! Now this does not go for every person but for the average person it works.
2) Statistics show that more heart attacks and strokes occur during the holiday times
3) The average person consumes enough food so that if they were to try and work it off they would have to burn 5000 calories and that is only thanksgiving dinner
4) There are more turkeys killed at Thanksgiving than at any other time in the year (poor turkeys what did they do to us)
5) The average retailer looks for this time of the year because 40% of their revenue is made in just this next two months (amazing the deals you can get. Just goes to show you that during the year everything is marked up big time)
6) The average consumer does the majority of their purchases in retail stores in these next two months
7) The average man, if they are like me, spend less than 10 minutes doing their Christmas shopping (probably not true, but I know I do)
8) As we become lazier internet sales increase exponentially and every year.
9) Fast food restaurants located in malls do 60% of their business in just these next two months
10) The Green Bay Packers will repeat as Super bowl Champions next year 2012 (Just had to throw that in, sorry my New York friends, still love ya though)

Getting serious again, here are some helpful tips to keep those unwanted extra pounds off during the holidays.

1) When you go to do your shopping, walk and at a faster pace than normal. Get your heart rate up a little and why not kill two birds with one stone. Get your exercise in and shop at the same time. This will add new meaning to the term “shop till you drop”.
2) Be very mindful of what you are consuming daily and try this. Before eating or after eating instead of sitting around, immediately get some exercise
3) Remember you want to burn off at least what you have eaten
4) Stay away from the excess alcohol. I did not say do not drink. I said stay away from too much drinking
5) After your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals go for a fast pace walk and take your family and friends with you and enjoy each other’s company as you sweat those unwanted extra pounds away
6) If you find yourself at a mall park further away than you would normally. This will force you to at least walk a few extra steps before you walk into that fast food restaurant and order those cheeseburgers.
7) Watch your soda consumption. Soda is not filling and it was designed that way purposely. You need to be very mindful of this.
8) When you are watching television during the holidays at every commercial drop to the floor and do some sit-ups and or push-ups. You only need to do 10 reps each commercial and no you don’t need to drink a gallon of water after each set.

Here is a true story, one that just happened to me a few weeks ago. I had a person join membership at my gym. Now this person is grossly overweight and it is very noticeable. Every Tuesday they would get weighed in at Weight Watchers and she noticed that her weight was beginning to go up even more and just walking up the stairs was impossible. Well I started her on a low intense workout that even after 10 minutes on the treadmill she was done and she kept this workout up for the whole week. The next week she goes back to weight watchers and I just knew she was going to like the results. Well she comes back to me and tells me that she gains 2 pounds. TWO POUNDS! I thought to myself, “How can that be. She must be doing something and not telling me”.

Well for the next few weeks as I intensified her workout and she kept coming back to me and telling me that she was gaining weight. After a month of this I asked her to come into my office and have a little chat with me. As soon as she sat down, she started to cry and she told me that she has been working so hard and she asks me why she can’t lose any weight. I knew in my heart of hearts that she had to be doing something because she was so heavy that just walking in a circle should help her lose a few 20 pounds. I was getting as frustrated as she was until one day as we were talking she noticed that I was drinking some tea. She asked me how many cups of tea I drank a day and I told her that the tea I make in the morning lasts me all day and that is about 16oz. I followed up with my question to her, “So how much tea do you drink?” She them tells me that she drinks at least a gallon of coffee in the morning and a second gallon in the afternoon.

I looked at her and I think steam began to come out of me ears. I then asked her when she drinks this coffee and she tells me about an hour before she goes to weight watchers but after she works out. If my gym were on the third floor of a building I would have jumped out the window! There was the problem. She was sabotaging her own efforts. I told her this and now two weeks later she is down 30 pounds. Hello! How could she not know that? Well it doesn’t matter case solved.

Anyway back to the thought at hand…this year let’s be very mindful of our eating habits and let’s keep exercise at the forefront of our minds. Remember this… exercise makes the body and mind happy.

How fast and how far can you walk?

2011-10-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

I find this very interesting. The researchers asked how far you could walk and not run. At first I thought about why they would ask such a question and the answer came pretty quickly, because most people don’t like running and everyone walks (with the exception of the disabled). Walking and at a quick pace over a length or period of time can give a person the same results than if they ran that same distance.

Now to test this theory, I walked two miles at a very hard brisk pace. The question I wanted to answer was if I would feel the same fatigue as if I had ran that same distance and the answer was a resounding yes. Now don’t get me wrong it was a much slower time but the end result was pretty much the same, leg fatigue. The hardest thing to do during that walk was keep the same pace going. On so many occasions my body wanted to naturally slow down that I found myself really concentrating on my foot cadence to keep the same pace up. At the end of the walk I evaluated myself to figure out if my cardio conditioning for the first two mile walk and this gave me a bench mark or base line. The next day a ran that same two mile course at a moderate pace, 7 minutes per mile and remarkably at the end of my run, whereas I was breathing a little heavier, when I went to take my pulse rate, it was lower than when I walked the day before.

Here is my thought, I am a believer that running isn’t for everyone and in the end, for the general public, whether you run or walk at a fast pace, doesn’t really matter. You can achieve the same ultimate goal using either method. Now I know some of you are shaking your heads and saying that you are walkers and not runners, but have you ever done a study comparing to two and which one really gets you in the best shape? Or are you just saying that because you “feel” that running is too hard and difficult and it is too uncomfortable? Is your statement “feeling” of logic based?

Did you know that there is a big difference between running and walking fast pace? With running you are using your mid foot and rolling to your toes (with the exception of sprinters that are always on the balls of their feet) and with walking your are rolling from your heal to your toe. With walking you are using much more of your Tibialis anterior and much more of your Illiopsoas muscle than you do when running. Your legs are more engaged while fast paced walking compared to running. One foot is always on the ground with fast pace walking and with running you spend more of your time in the air than on the ground. I can honestly tell you that fast walking was much harder than it first appeared and much more taxing on my legs.

Now try this as an exercise. For two weeks find yourself a one mile or two mile course and time yourself. Then over the next two weeks try and better that time. Every time you finish I want you then to take your pulse and keep record of it. Then compare when you first started to your 14th day. Then I want you to run (at your own pace) that two miles and do the same thing, take your pulse when you finish. See if after your walking there was a noticeable difference and after you’re running there was a noticeable difference. After you first walk that will give you a baseline as to the amount of beats per minute your heart rate was at. Chart it and look at the progression for the 14 days. Then do the same with the running. Now once you finish both exercises then compare them both and see which discipline gave you the best overall results. Numbers don’t lie nor are they emotional.

Now how you base your final results is on looking at your first initial pulse rate and then charting your progress throughout the 14 days. As an example let’s assume you started your first day after walking with BPM of 118 and after 14 days of walking that same course at that same time, it went down to 108 beats per minute. Then you started the running and after your initial run your BPM was 118 again but this time after 14 days your BPM was 112, then the best way for you to get into good general condition would be by fast pace walking. Why? Well when you started the walking your BPM was 118 and you lost 10 BPM compared to running where you only lost 6 BPM over that same amount of days.

Well from that you can begin to plan out how you will get yourself into better cardio condition. Hey a one other thing, remember this, the better condition you are in the lower your resting heart rate… the longer you will live. Now go do it!

Shoes, Shoes, everywhere

2011-09-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

So many people have asked me over the past few years about running shoes and I have told everyone of them that it really doesn’t matter what type of running shoe you get, but what matters is that they invest in a good pair of orthotics. I have told so many of them that all they need to do is go to the local bargain store and buy a reasonably cost effective pair of shoes but invest in a good pair of orthotics.

However, every person that I have told that to has never taken my advice seriously. In the end they would go to some specialty store and spend hundreds of dollars on shoes thinking that they have the “right” pair for them. I remember when Air Jordan’s came out and every basketball kid in America just knew that if they got those shoes they would play like him. Since that time every good basketball player has their brand name shoe and we spend hundreds of dollars just to be like “Mike”.

Over the past several years I have seen shoe commercials come out talking about their latest and greatest find and how much research has come out to support their newest findings. Recently a shoe that looks like a rocker has come out and a friend told me that every time she goes walking this shoe helps strengthen her legs because of the design of the sole of the shoe. It could never have anything to do with the fact that she is walking now when she wasn’t before? But I could be wrong. Just for giggles I found myself in one of those specialty stores just to find out what was the latest and greatest thing on the market. I was met at the door and greeted like I was a king and as an ex-sales person, for you to be able to make any inroads with anyone you need to treat them like royalty. Moments later they had me up on a treadmill and they were looking at my running style. They told me that by looking at that, they could get me the right shoe for my foot.

Well they had me running at 5.0 with no incline and they took film of my running ability. No one asked me if I was a long distance runner or a sprinter. I personally don’t think they cared. I think they just wanted to sell shoes and the more “information” they could get from me would make them seem smarter and I would just rely on them and buy whatever they suggested. Before I knew it they were having me try on these $200 shoes telling me that this is what I had to wear to correct my foot issues. I let them go thru their sales pitch as they told me that I would probably lose about 2 minutes off my 5k mile time which I thought was really funny being that they never asked me how fast I’ve run it in and I am a sprinter not a distance runner what do I care about running 3.1 miles. Give me 100 meters any day. But I listened not asking any questions until the end. My only question was if they thought that I should get orthotics and their response was that I could but did not need it with those $200 shoes.

I took the shoes off my feet and looked inside them and felt around to see if there was any arch support in them… there was none. When I asked about that they said that the arch support was on the side of the shoe and the shoe would be good for about 300 miles of running. I graciously thanked them for the information, handed them back the shoe and left. Then I went to the local bargain store and bought the same shoe for much much less and invested in a good pair of orthotics. Instead of me spending $200 I ended up spending $40 plus the orthotics of $35 my total was $75. Now since that time (6 months ago) I have bought one other pair of shoes but I still have the same orthotics. I will spend no more than $40 for any pair of sneakers and I truly believe no one has to spend any more than that… but that is my opinion and I could be wrong.

This morning I was watching television and there was a report on Reebok and their “Easytone” sneakers. I am not making this up, these shoes are suppose to reshape your glutes and strengthen your legs and how they do it is by these bubbles they have on the bottom of the shoes. From the beginning many people have been skeptical about this new shoe so there were two independent studies done and one of those places that did a study on the shoe was University of Wisconsin Lacrosse and what they found out is that there was no difference from wearing those shoes or not wearing them. It has been found according to this report that Reeboks advertising was misleading and deceptive. No really! It couldn’t be because they are using 20 something year old models who have never been pregnant and probably work out their whole life. Or that 20 something year old guy how just finished playing some sport at some university? Hey, let’s use that 40 something women who had 3 kids or that average man who is in his 40’s. No, that wouldn’t sell! Now it has been found that there has been deception going on. Hello!

In a nut shell, there is not one shoe out there now on the market that has good arch support nor are really good for your feet. You won’t find it. They have taken the arch supports out to save money. Whether it maximizes profits or not I don’t know, all I just know is that they have taken them out. (Remember Sam Goody and their shoes? Oh now that was a good pair of sturdy, foot pleasing shoes.) However, I am going to try and help you all who read this blog out… If you want good pair of running or walking shoes and your feet are hurting, don’t go out and spend $100 dollars on a pair of sneakers. Don’t do it! Invest in a good pair of orthotics to support your arches then go out and buy a pair of sneakers within your budget. They problem are the arches for most people and orthotics will definitely take care of that.

Now I could get really scientific and explain to you why your arch is so important and how with a weak arch you will displace your right foot strike and compromise your walking and running gate, but I won’t just know go out and buy so flexible orthotics and enjoy walking again.

Thank you

2011-09-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I have not been myself and I know that some people have suffered because of it. Just last week, as many of you knew, I buried my mother after a long bout with cancer. Some of you have read my first book and if you recall I mentioned that back in august of 2009 she started the fight of her life and little did in know what affect it would have on me, my family and my community here in Wisconsin and your patience has really made me appreciated even more how blessed I am to know you all.

A special thanks goes out to my Parkers Place members who really stepped up to the plate and took over the business while I was gone. Once again you blessed me with how you took control and took care of “your” gym. I even heard that we have a few new members that have joined while I was gone, wow!

Special thanks goes out for all those that braved the weather and came out to the viewing and funeral. It was good to see you all especially those I haven’t seen for a long time. Thank you also for all the prayers that went out on behalf of my family. I truly believe that God heard you and now my mother is comforted in heaven and my father’s rehabilitation is going quicker than even the doctors thought. Please continue to pray for a quick recovery for my father.

Thank you Spring Creek Church for you many cards and prayers. I believe they were heard and felt by my whole family and because of your prayers even in the midst of a hurricane, an earth quake and power outages my mother’s final burial time was peaceful and will never be forgotten.

Well the story is not over yet. My wife is still fighting the good fight and my prayer is that she concurs her fight against cancer. The future is uncertain, however I know one thing… I have a support network that even in my most lowest point will help me thru anything I may go thru. With that I can rest my head on my pillow at night and sleep well. Thank you all for you help and support.

Depression

2011-08-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Everyone at some time in their life goes through it. No one is exempt but how we react and deal with that state can determine the path of one’s life. But what is depression. Depression to me is when our expectations of life are not met and we fall short of some goal we thought that we would achieve now understanding that the probability of achieving that goal is small at best. As an example the marriage that breaks up. You went into that marriage with the idea that you both would grow old together and watch the grand if not great grand children play. Now the marriage has ended. Or that business person who wanted to be a millionaire only to find out that their dreams of becoming a millionaire are a pipe dream at best. Or the woman who desperately wants to have a child only to find out that she or her husband cannot because of physical reason. Or the dream job that you had now has been cut either in pay or termination and now you need to find another job to make ends meet. All of these plus others can and do lead to depression.

Life is like the stock market. You watch it go up and up and you think you have mastered it. You watch your stock portfolio get higher and higher and then one day without warning it crashes and begins a downward spiral that seemingly feels out of control. Most people at this point begin selling things off to keep from losing everything, but is that the real time to do that? Quite the opposite, you should be buying more shares as prices drop so that you can purchase cheaper shares so that over the long term your portfolio will appreciate that much more when the market begins to go up again. Most people just sell off and take their losses never to invest again.

Isn’t life like that? For weeks, months or years you are riding high on life. Everything seems to be going really well. The kids are doing well in school. Your health is perfect. Your job couldn’t be better. Your friends look at you in awe and see you as the perfect person and their idol. Then one day the bottom begins to fall out. You lose your job do to downsizing. You get a real bad report from your doctor about your health or the heath of a loved one. A child has done something that will have an altering lifetime effect on their life or maybe the perfect storm happens where you have your business and personal life crash all at once. Depression sets in and you begin to ask yourself the question why. You begin to doubt the people around you and you wonder if you will ever get out of the situation you are in. You get so low you begin to doubt life itself. Now what do you do?

What I can tell you is that just like the stock market problems are temporary and how you deal in the situation will determine the course of your life going forward. Now I said “deal in the situation” not “deal with the situation” understand that. Dealing in a situation is much different than dealing with a situation. A positive way of dealing in a situation is our attitude telling us that this problem is only temporary and that in the end everything will work out. Now that is not to say you don’t try and work out the problem which is “dealing with” that particular situation. To consistently have a stress-less demeanor we must realize that whatever the problem, we have a higher being that has our back and that what we are going through, in the end, is really temporary and that there is a greater good that needs to and will come from this situation. You need to look past your current issues and focus on your end goals whatever they may be.

I know how depression can get you down. I know how you begin to doubt everything including life itself. Trust me I know. However here is an idea you can use that worked for me. Surround yourself with people who really love and care for you. These people need to love you “unconditionally” and it may not be those who you think it should be. In most cases it is someone that you least expect. Open your heart and don’t close down. So many think that in the case of feeling depressed they need to go into a closet and hid never to be seen until they can be happy again and I need to tell you that that is the biggest lie one could ever tell or believe. We need each other and it is your turn to get the physical, mental or monetary help you may need.

Someone once told me that if you help another person out, it makes your problems seem much small or manageable. I don’t know how true that is but what I do know is this, while in your depression state so many things are going through your mind that you need to not trust your own thoughts and feelings. This is the time when they will lead you astray, but rely on the people you trust around you to give you good advice and follow it. Remember only those with no added ulterior motive. By doing this you are giving yourself the ability to replenish and think about the future. In a depression state our eyes are clouded with confused thoughts and feelings and every decision you make will be more for pleasure in some way more so than common sense.

Depression is an emotion we all go thru. How we handle it can determine many things in our life. If you are in a depressive state find those unconditional friends to come along side you and help you. Don’t rely on yourself but trust in that higher power and know that what you are going thru is temporary and he that higher power has got your back.

What type of exercise are you doing?

2011-05-20T03:36:00.000-07:00

Webster defines exercise as an activity that requires physical or mental exertion, especially when performed to develop or maintain fitness. With this said I want to talk about how you know what type of exercise you are doing and for some this may not sit right and it may hurt some feelings but in the end I hope we all have a much better understanding of what we are doing.
I know you have heard that Americans are getting fatter every year. Why is that when we are “exercising” more now than we have every exercised before? Are we just not doing enough or what? Is it our dietary habits? What is it and how can we stop this trend.
Well we are getting fatter as a nation and we are exercising more than we ever have in history but are we really? Absolutely not and this is when the definition of exercise needs to be explored. Once again exercise is an activity that requires physical or mental exertion. You see there is a difference between physical and mental exercise. Here are some questions that I just want you to think about and answer and in my next blogs I will give you my opinion own what I feel they are.
1) A person in their daily routine walking up a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator. They have never taken the elevator before and walking up stairs is just common place. Is this physical or mental exercise?
2) A person sitting in their easy-chair and reading a good book. Is this physical or mental exercise?
3) A person working in their garden weeding and planting. Is this physical or mental exercise?
4) A person putting in long hours at their job. Constantly in meetings and meet new people and at the end of the day they are just tired. Is the physical or mental exercise?
5) A person going for a brisk walk at a really fast walk. Physical or mental?
6) A person taking their dog out for a walk. Physical or mental?
7) A person taking a friend out for a walk and they are walking for a few hours while talking and solving each other’s problems. Physical or mental?
8) A person running miles outside preparing for an upcoming event. Physical or mental?
9) A person who runs every day at the same pace and same distance and now that distance has become very easy for them to run but they just don’t want to increase speed or length. Physical or mental?
10) A person riding their bike at a slow pace avoiding as many hills as possible and when they come to a hill, they walk up the hill instead of riding up the hill. Physical or mental.
11) A person going to the gym to workout. They get there and run into some friends and strike up a great conversation while working out a little. Three hours later they leave not feeling tired or muscle fatigue. Physical or mental?
12) That same person going to the gym and really hitting the weights hard. Sweating like they never sweat before and in the end feeling totally spent. Physical or mental?
13) A person doing exercise but only to the point where they almost begin to sweat. At that point they stop activity to get water and check pulse rate. They don’t want their pulse to get above 100 beats per minute. After thirty minutes they are finished and on their way home after stopping at the grocery store for food. Physical or mental?
14) A person who starts running but once they get to the end of the block and they begin to breath heavy they stop and walk the rest of the time at an easy pace. They do this for 3 miles. Physical or mental?
15) A person who goes to the gym once or twice a week and exercises their full body. Physical or mental?
16) A person who goes to the gym five days a week to exercise and exercises their full body. Physical or mental?
17) A person who teaches aerobic classes three times a week at the local gym. They teach entry level classes and have been doing so now for a few years. Physical or Mental?
18) A person who hangs out with really well built people. They don’t dear to walk into a facility but they like hanging around people who do. Physical or mental?
19) A person who runs a mile a day. They run the same mile everyday and have been doing it for a few years now never intending to break that routine. Physical or mental?
20) Person who goes to the gym one time a week for about one hour. The other days they work in an office at a desk behind a computer. All the activity they get is that one day. Physical or mental?
IN my next few blogs I will be giving you my honest opinion on whether these activities fall into the Physical or Mental categories. I would love to hear what your answers are.

Out of the mouth of Babes

2011-05-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

My wife calls me into the computer room at our house and says that she wants me to read something my son had just finished writing for school. She seemed really excited about it so I felt as though I needed to read it. The paper he wrote had the title “Childhood Obesity” and as soon as I saw that it caught my attention.

The first sentence jumped out at me. It was really powerful. It said, “Parents are slowly killing their children.” Wow, what a way to hit adults between the eyes. Out of the mouth of Babes comes the truth. I have never had a talk with him about this nor had he ever spoken to me about how he really felt about this subject. In his second paragraph his opening sentence was, “Parents are to blame for childhood obesity because of what they teach their children during the first years of life.” How true is this?

During the first five years of your child’s life is when they learn the most about you. You are around them all day and most of the night. You are telling them what to do and how to do it. They are learning their right and wrong from you. So imagine if you, as the parent, are clueless what you will be bringing up.

I was at a water park a few weeks back and I was sitting by the pool area with my ten year old daughter just people watching and along came this couple and sat right beside us and we drummed up a brief conversation. Well no more than a few seconds into the conversation the guy started using words that I thought were not appropriate for young ears to hear and I asked him to chill-out as well as his wife but he kept on sucking down his beer and thinking it was funny. This guy turns to his wife and says, “He sooner or later they will all hear this stuff anyway so what’s the big deal.” At that his wife got out of the pool and walked away and he followed. While sitting there in this awkward moment I was trying to find some teachable moment and did not want the time to go by. Then she looks at me and asks me, “Is that what alcohol does to a person daddy?” I said, “Absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt. It really messes you up and that is why your mother and I don’t drink.”

In this paper my son wrote it talked about our appearance and how they only see what they see. He says that we can talk to them until we are blue in the face but in the end it is our actions that speak louder than anything else. If we eat bad food and drink bad drinks they will think that it is ok to do the same. Hey what is good enough for mommy and daddy should be good enough for me, right? If we ourselves are obese and in poor condition, well it must be OK because mom and dad are that way, right? If my parents come home and watch television all night, isn’t that Ok then? Our children are only splitting images of who we are threw and threw.

In his paper he quotes Michelle Zive how wrote the book “Parents should play a role in fighting Childhood obesity”. In this his book Zive states, “It is critical that parent’s model and practice those eating habits that they want their juveniles to learn.” Does this need to be explained, I think not. We need to model what our kids should grow up to be period. We need to fight the obesity first with ourselves then even without you trying our kids will join suit.

I am proud of my son and the paper he wrote. It is good to know that all that my wife has been preaching and all we have been actually doing is sticking and not going on deaf ears. My hopes are that your children feel the same way and that my son’s first statement never comes true. Let’s not slowly kill our children but make them stronger and faster than we were and have ever been. First we need to start with us.

Being a Parent

2011-05-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

John walks into my office one day and he is visibly upset. John tells me that he is both concerned and upset with his son. He tells me that his son has been very lazy and his son, in the last few months, has gain a lot of weight. He tells me that every time he tells his son to do something it always ends up in a fight and he is just sick and tired of fighting with him. While John was tell me all of this I just kept my mouth shut because, well, it sounded like how I felt about John.

I remember seeing his son just a few days prior to John coming into my office and I remember telling myself that he was beginning to look like his father. I think John is beginning to realize that too subconsciously and just not aware of it consciously.

Sharon has been a smoker her whole life and after smoking for over forty years her doctor tells her that she has some spots on her lungs that need looking at. Now she is fifty four years old and for years she has been preaching to her kids not to start smoking. Well one day while going thru her daughter’s room she finds a pack of cigarettes and she gets very upset. Sharon tells me that she has told her daughter on so many occasions not to start because it is a bad habit with no really good benefits. Sharon’s daughter is fourteen years of age.

Mike has been a member of my gym for a few years now and his resume is extensive. Since he was six years old he has been into athletics and healthy eating and it shows. He is forty eight years old but looks like he could be early thirties. He tells me that everywhere he goes now he looks for alternative ways to keep himself in shape and always prepares for that next competition. One day while at church I see Mike with his kids. I knew that we were going to be a long while at the church and I was wondering what he would have his children doing while they were with him.

At first I see them just sitting in the pews reading but after about thirty minutes of that they began to well, act like kids and at first it was fine with me but then he did something that I thought was very cool. He gets up from his seat and goes over to them. I could see him telling them something and he is pointing at the stairs. As soon as he finishes I see his kids begin running the stadium stairs. Just not once but each isle seven times. Wow! I asked him why he had them do that and he said because they are getting ready to get into their track season and need the extra time to get in better condition and what better time to do it but now instead of get in trouble. Now when you consider that each isle is three stories high and there are eight isles and they are running each isle seven times, you do the math, it is over one hundred flights of stairs. For the rest of rehearsal his kids were no problem and they finished just as we finished our practice. Then I saw something even cooler, I saw Mike begin to run the stairs just like his kids did. That next week I brought my kids and you know what happened next.

After John was finished airing out his frustration I sat with him for a few minutes not saying anything and he looks at me and says, “Don’t you have anything to say? What should I do?” I looked at him and smiled. I asked him to follow me out to the all purpose room where all the mirrors were. We stood right in the middle of the floor and I said, “For a few months now everything that I have tried to get you to do to better yourself his fallen on deaf ears. You always seem to have an excuse on why you can’t do certain things or you find some sort of an alternative because in the end you think my way is too difficult for you to accomplish. For the last month I have not even seen you here. I am not shocked that your son is acting like he is.” Then I stopped and had him face the mirrors. “You see that person in the mirror? That is who your son WILL turn out to be. Mike it starts with you. You cannot tell your son to do something if you are not willing to do it yourself, period. Our kids are only and extension of ourselves. So as long as you are the way you are and as long as you want it YOUR way and as long as you continue in the life style you are in, well nothing will change but one thing, your frustration level. Mike it starts with you.”

He looks at me shocked at what I just said. “What do I have to do with my son and his attitude? I was never that way when I was his age.”

“I don’t doubt that Mike. But you are that way now and that is all he knows” I responded.

He walks out of the room and out of the gym. I have not seen him since. Mike is leading by example, unfortunately.

After listening to Sharon for a while I stop her and ask her a question, “Hey when did you start smoking?” her response was, “Well when I was fourteen and this is why I am so concerned. You see what is happening with me now.”

“Yes I do and I am not happy about it, however, have you confronted your daughter about this?”

Of course she said “no” but that she was going to talk to her tonight. I asked her to do something for me. “Instead of confronting her and causing a scene tell her about your personal issues and what is now happening to you and ask her to help you stop smoking. Don’t even bring up the fact that you found those cigarettes in her room. Ask her to help to keep you accountable because you cannot do it by yourself.”

Well, Sharon and I parted company and I thought that I would never see her again but something happened. Six months later I see Sharon in a Mall walking around with her daughter and she tells me that my method worked like a charm. Not just for Sharon but without her saying anything her daughter quit the habit. Sharon is leading by example.

When Mike was in high school he became an All American in track and field and well his oldest son is on his way to becoming that also. His oldest son is a freshman this year and he is running Varsity Track and he is one of the fastest kids not just on the track team but in the conference and state. Mike has lead by example and it is showing.

It really stinks to be a parent because, who we are our kids will someday be. How we act around others our children will emulate. We lead by example and not by our words. Our kids don’t know any other way to act but how they see us act. We need to fix ourselves first before we can fix them or lead them in the right way. If you are a drinker and they start, don’t get mad at them but if you don’t like it you stop and soon enough they will also.

I remember one day when I was driving my oldest son to soccer practice and he tells me that he can’t wait until he is twenty one because then he can start drinking. Now I was really surprised to hear that from him because I don’t drink. But after questioning his statement he tells me, “ Dad, mom drinks so why can’t I try it.” I told her about this conversation we had and since then she has not touched a drop of alcohol. A few months later, while in the car with him, he tells me that he has reconsidered and doesn’t think that it is wise for him to drink.

If you don’t want your kids to turn out like you are today. If you want your kids to be in much better shape than you are in right now. If you don’t want your kids to grow up obese, then it starts with you. Show them and get yourself into condition and they will follow your lead. Parents the future of our children are dependent on who we are today. If you don’t like it… then change it.

My Penn Relay expereince

2011-05-05T11:19:00.002-07:00

Its 4/28/2011 and 6:15pm and I am sitting in the airport wait to board my flight to Philly to run in the Penn Relays. So many years prior I ran in this meet and never really appreciated it for what it was. Just three weeks ago if you had asked me if I was going to run in this event I would probably said absolutely not. I had no intention in running in this meet. I was going to wait until I was 50 years of age where I would be the youngest in that age group.
Then in the beginning of March I went to visit my mother and father. It was good to see them but not in the condition my mother was in. Cancer has really taken a big time toll on her body and she is in a lot of pain and always sleeping because of the medication they have her on. My mom and Dad have done so much for my sister and I that I felt as though I just needed to do something for them. In that same week my mother had to quit her dance troop and quit the track team. The two things that she loved to do the most and looked forward to doing while in retirement but now she was physically unable to continue and she made that hard decision to resign in both things. This was a very hard thing for her to do and I could feel her sadness. Just staying alive was all she could do and I felt helpless watching her suffer as she was.
Then three days into my visit with them I got an idea. My concern was giving my mother something to look forward to. To give her hope and reason to fight and live so I began talking to her about my kids and how well my oldest son was doing in Track and Field and she began to cry. “I am so proud of you and your kids. You all give me the fuel to keep going even when I just want to give up.” For three hours, while she was awake, we talked and cried and talked some more. Then about three hours later she fell back asleep in her chair. A few moments later I get a text from a friend asking me if I was going to run in the Penn’s this year and at first I was going to text him back, “absolutely not” but then I thought about it some more and asked myself, “ why not run in the Penn Relays?” This could be the last track event my mother may see me in.
I have been running everyday and in Wisconsin any way I have not lost a race and was looking for a higher caliber of competition so why not. I decided on that day that I would begin my preparation for the event. The only problem was, I was not invited and did not fill out an application as of that date. I immediately got onto my computer and went online and, well what do I see here, an email from the director of the meet asking me if I would like to attend this year’s one hundred meter race. Well you don’t have to hit me over the head with a two by four I replied back by filling out the application and emailing it to him.
Now I still did not get my hopes up because they only take the elite runners. The runners who are ranked in their age group and most likely in the world are usually the only ones that get to compete at this event. I knew I had a really good indoor Champaign, I was number one indoors at that time in the 55 meters, running a pretty quick time, but that doesn’t guarantee that I was going to get in. Well now it is a waiting game.
A few hours later, well six to be exact, my mother wakes up and she looks up at me from her chair, “What’s up Kevin? You have very big smile on your face. What did you do now?”
“Actually I did nothing wrong but there is something that I am going to do and for you.” I said to her.
“What?” she said to me trying to lift up to relieve the pain in her lower back.
“What if I said I was running in the Penn Relays, would you go?”
All of a sudden her whole demeanor changed. She began to smile and tried to lift herself out of the chair. “You made the Penn’s! That is great! Of course I would go! I am so proud of you!”
The energy now that she had reminded me of the mother I use to know. The fire was back in her eyes and her voice was now not cracking but filled with energy and hope. I know I had just put my application in but I just could not bring myself to telling her that I had not been accepted yet. I did not want her to loss hope or a reason to continue and fight. “Oh lord I pray that I make it.”
However I wasn’t going to wait for the acceptance I began my work outs as though I had been accepted and was running in them.
Now it’s the day before the big event at 6:15pm and I am at the airport. My workouts were ok but not the best. Just two weeks ago I strained my left hamstring. I stopped in enough time not to pull it but it really put a damper on my preparation. It was kind of a weird injury though. I could still run and while running I had no pain. However stretching on it was and is very hard. I was afraid to go all out and work speed but when I did I would feel a little twinge and I would have to stop. Then just the other day while doing block work, I tweaked my lower back and had a problem just standing up. This problem ended me in the Chiropractors office. Then at that same time my neck has begun to hurt. Is this nerves? I don’t know. All I know is this, I am doing this for my mother and father. I don’t want to do this… I need to do this.

Being a Parent

2011-05-05T11:19:00.001-07:00

Valid concern but don't worry

2011-04-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

I have thought about this for a long time and I think I may just have an explanation. Many of my female members have asked me a question that I want to address and that is what happens to men as they get older? At one point when they are in High School and even into College they are active and in some cases very sports oriented. While back in the day you remember your husband being fit and trim and let’s admit it ladies you were attracted to him because of that. You probably say to yourself, “What happened to that man that I once knew and loved to look at?” So you have taken it upon yourself to mention to him that he may need to go to the gym and workout… hint, hint, hint and all through this process of nagging him he rebels and in most cases ignores you. Well let me see if I can shed some light on this issue.

Besides the obvious physiological things that happen to us as we age there is something else that we have tend to over looked. As I have written in the past, what is important to a person, they will concentrate on and become successful at. I have also stated on many occasions that without a clear cut objective and goal any efforts will be futile at best and very short lived. With that said, back in the days when you were dating your husband he might have been on some sports team like track and field, football, soccer, swimming, rugby, baseball or even tennis and at that time their focus was on one thing… winning and becoming the best at their sport. They wanted to see their name in lights so they spent countless hours practicing and sweating. Sports were their motivation at that time and because of that they were fit and trim.

Now you are asking yourself, what happened? Well it is simple and not an excuse… life. Yes, most men have gone from thinking about themselves and achieving goals for themselves to becoming the provider of the family and satisfying the needs associated there. Their whole world has changed from self centered to family centered. It’s what men do, they provide for their families and because of that what use to be takes a back seat. Yes, that means at the end of the day they will gain unwanted weight and they will lose there once sculpted bodies.

Now with that said, women are very sensitive about their environment and especially their health and the health of their family. I can see where a wife would become concerned about her husband’s health especially if he was very attractive at one point. But ladies look at it this way, once you had children; those kids became the focal point of your life and existence. You put yourself on hold until they were able to pretty much fend for themselves. In some cases for women it is around the time the last child enters kindergarten and then that is if they are not involved in extracurricular activities and in that case then it could be many years before you began to take care of yourself as you once did.

Well if you are taking care of your kids and your husband is taking care of the family now do you understand why he is the way he is. His focus is on providing and not looking fit. Now this does not mean he should use that as an excuse. No quite the contrary. He should be doing something to help himself and by doing that he in turn is helping his family for eternity.

How you may ask. Well, have you heard the saying the apple never falls far from the tree. Well it’s true, very true. Who you are… your kids WILL become. If you are a sedentary, out of shape, diabetic, smoking and drinking person, guess what, so will they become. If you are a go getter with an “A” type personality so will they be. If you are an athletic person and you kept your conditioning up and they see how important it is to you, they will only know that and it will become important to them.

As an example, I had something happen to me that, now that I look back it was funny but in the moment it was actually unnerving. I was officiating an under 14 indoor soccer game and the game was really tight. Everyone just knew that team A was going to beat team B and on paper this should have been a slam dunk for them. In the past I have seen both these teams play and to say the least they knew how to work the officials so that they could get the calls their way. Well I’m sorry but in my years of officiating I have never been persuaded by any one coach and I have sent coaches packing, which I am not happy about doing especially in front of their players. Well what I have learned over the years is that how the coach is so will his players be. If the coach is a quite person only making observations now and then, so will his players be. If the coach is obnoxious and irate, well so will his players be. Now throw in the attitudes of the parents and you can imagine what their little angles are like to be around. I have seen many times when the parents were cursing at the top of their lungs and I can assure you that junior has said or will say something profound by the end of that game.

Well, while officiating this game I made a call on a kid that he did not like and decided that he would tell me his opinion on the issue. After listening to him (a 14 year old) for about three seconds I decided that he needed to have an attitude adjustment and sent him to the bench for the rest of the game. Did in mention that this was a championship game and the game had just started? Well to make a long story short at the end of the game I was approached by his mother and she had a few “nice” words to say to me. After she was done I looked at her and said the following, “I can see the apple has not fallen far from the tree” and I turned around and walked away. My point is this, who we are… our kids will be, so fitness and conditioning should always be on the top of our list even when life seems to get in the way. So to answer the question whether or not you should be worried about your husbands, the answer is a resounding “Yes”. But remember he is doing his primary job at this point, providing for his family.

1.5 mile run WLC 2011

2011-04-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

As spring approaches we find our selves getting busier and busier running around like a chicken with our heads cut off. We, by this time, have losdt our focus on what we thought was so important in the beginning of the year and we don’t even use excuses anymore on why we don’t so things to get in better shape, we just stopped doing it.

Well Saturday just to jump start the Weight Loss Challengers, their task was to run 1.5 miles. This was s flat course and the goal for them was just to finish and finish well. This challenge was done to give them all a bench mark that they can shoot at and improve upon. How many of you still use weight as your fitness goal only to lose some weight and then put that weight back on plus an extra couple of pounds for measure? Well now and for the rest of their challenges my goals is for them to begin to understand that losing weight is a byproduct of them achieving a goal, a tangable goal. Something that at the end of the day can be improved upon. Once that goal, what ever it may be, is achieved then they can shoot for a better faster, quicker, stronger goal and only then will your conditioning and fitness become fun and enjoyable. They are slowly learning that.

Because of the success that they are having outside of thinking about losing weight. Because of the gaols they are achieving by their running and weight training, their weight is dropping and this week was a clear indication of that when everyone of them lost at least 1 pound this week. One of the challengers came up to me this week and said that this has become fun for her because she now knows that she could do certain things that she thought she could never do and by trying new exciting things, her weight is dropping. You all should try it.

Now for you all that think that you are too busy to get yourselves in better condition, hog-wash. I told one of the challengers the other day that it was amazing how we make time for the things that we see are most important to us and not give anytime to the things that either we don’t care about or don’t see the reason why we should improve on them. In most cases as I see it, it is not that you don’t care about your health it is that you just think it is going to be there for you, whenever you need it. Well unfortunately sooner or later for all the abuse you have put your body thru, for all the smoking or drinking you did. For all the hard fun you had (football, Rugby, Basketball, etc), at one point you will have to pay the bill and you know just as well as I, the bill never comes due when you are ready for it, it just comes.
Begin to refocus yourself just as the Weight Loss Challenge people are doing and get back to achieving the goals you set for yourself in January trust me you will thank me in the end.

I DO

2011-04-05T11:53:00.001-07:00

Over the past few months my eyes have been open to how powerful those words are and how important family is in a person’s life. I remember when my wife was walking down the aisle and how nervous I was when we were saying our vows. At that time if you were to ask me what I just did I would have probably told you that I just got married but I really had no clue on what that really meant nor what affect it would have on the rest of my life.
In my nineteen years of being married I have come to believe that there are so many deeper aspects to love that, well, until you experience it yourself you have no clue. At first when you get married you are totally “in love” with that person. You just can’t stop being around each other and you have great dreams of a life that will be filled with happiness and very few problems. But as time goes on “love” begins to take on different forms and the definition of love changes from infatuation to commitment.
For those that have gotten married, do we really understand what the words “I DO” really mean? Do you truly understand the depth of just those two words? With my parents and my in-laws I believe I have a bit of a clue on what those words truly mean.
When you look at those two words, the word I is pretty explanatory. It is referring to you in the present and future tense. You are making a statement that is saying that YOU are going to do something and you are aware of and are will to take on the consequences of your actions. That word “I” in itself in the context of marriage is telling the other person that you are fully aware o and are of sound mind and body at the time the vows were spoken.
Then there is the word “DO” and this is an action word referring to you taking on the responsibility to do something in a non-selfish manner. Just look at the phrase “for better or for worse”, whoever put this in the marriage vows was deeper than you think because there is a lot more worse than there is better the closer and closer you get to the end of our lives and this is when that two word response is put to the test.
• When you spouse is suffering from an incurable disease, will you be there to help them thru it (I Do)
• When you’re faced with financial burdens will you both stick thru the hard times when just getting groceries becomes a chore (I Do)
• When you find out that your spouse has had an affair will you forgive them and stay in the marriage (I Do)
• When your kids act up and discipline needs to be given will you both work together to give out the discipline needed (I Do)
• When for whatever reason you or your spouse can no longer perform in an intimate way will you stay with them and love them anyway forsaking all others (I Do)
• When, because of an illness, your spouse keeps you up all night for weeks on end will you love them thru it (I Do)
• When you are away and temptation is all around you will you not give in (I Do)
• When you just don’t “like” that person anymore will you stay with them because of the commitment you made to them (I Do)
• When your spouse isn’t the same person physically you remember in high school that brought you two together will you stay with them (I Do)
I am finding out that as we age and grow older, life and love takes on a new and different meaning, the two become one. Now this is a process that takes years and I mean years to achieve and it is not done easily. Think in these terms; the reasons why most people argue in marriages is because we have our OWN wills and we want to push our will on the other person. We don’t want to give up anything we think or have for that other person. But the longer we are married the more of our will we give up because we begin to find out that in the end does that whatever really matter. Then and only then when we begin to let our will go and begin the process of selflessness do we begin the process of two becoming one. This is something that when you first get married does not exist in any form trust me I know this.
I now see that in both sets of parents. Now life isn’t easy for them. My In-laws are in the final stages of life and my mother-in-law is suffering from Dementia in a big way. They both live in a nursing home and my father-n-law may see his bride, wife of 56 years, maybe twice a week. They live in separate sections of the nursing home and after living in a 2500 square foot home their whole lives together now they have two separate dorm style rooms and no worldly possessions. I asked my Father-n-law if he still loved his wife and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “Kevin I love her more now than I ever have loved her before”. Now that is powerful
With my parents, my mother is suffering with major cancer and is fighting for her life. Most of the day now she spends in her chair fast asleep and at night she spends in their room crying because of the pain she is in and every night my father rubs her back until she falls asleep . My dad doesn’t get any more than 2 hours of sleep a night at best now. While I was home I witnessed him in the middle of the night fighting sleep and rubbing her back as she laid there in pain. This went on for hours at a time every night and every night I would watch this happen. Sleeping for him has only become an option, His first priority, my mother and his wife. Just the other day she was in her chair sleeping and he looks at me and says, “There is my wife, there is my wife. I love that lady”. Wow, I was blown away with that statement and it gave me hope and understanding that as bad as it may seem on my end, life does prepare you for the worst.
Hollywood has got it wrong in a big way. Marriage is not about what you can get out of it but marriage is what you can bring to the table for the other person. It takes years for a marriage to grow and it take even more time for you to separate, independent, selfish people to become one. Go to your spouse tonight and look at them and just say, “I do” but this time really mean it.

ForeverYoung

2011-03-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was just watching a program on television that I found very interesting. The question they were discussing was, is age a state of mind and personally they think it is. In this program they said that there was a survey done that suggested that most women believe that they are getting old at age 29 or when they see their first gray hair while men have no problem with grey hair or age but they begin to feel old when they cannot perform in the bedroom. The question they wanted to tackle was what can keep us from feeling old and these were the answers;
1) Have younger people you hang out with. You should have friends your own age but you should also have friends that are younger than you. This is good because they help you by giving you energy that ordinarily you would not have and you help them by giving them your wisdom and life experiences. I have seen this at my place. I have a lady that, well if you saw her and watched her you would not think she was 79 years old. She comes in every morning at 7am to work out and her work out partner is 55 years old and they really work well together. One day I asked Shirley (my 79 year old) what keeps her thinking and feeling young she tells me that it is the company she keeps. She has no friends over the age of 60 and her best friend is 52 years “young”. She tells me that they keep her feeling young and in return she gets to share her life experiences and wisdom with them so everyone wins.
2) Exercise every day. Now weight training is important when you get older however in most gyms there are aerobic classes like Zumba and step. Now you don’t actually have to go to a gym however. Go outside and do outside activities. Find yourself outside more than inside during the day and fill your day up with activities you love to do.
3) Allow your mind that think of the possibilities you can achieve and let no one, including your family stop you from achieving it. It is true that we love our family but sometimes to death. We are so protective of our parents that we sometimes smoother them and stifle their ability to dream big dreams and continue to achieve what they feel they can still do. We need to allow each other to be and feel free.
4) Stay positive. This is important because anything negative in our lives can and does bring our emotions and feelings down. We need to surround ourselves with people that are positive in nature only.
5) Every day have an activity goal. It doesn’t have to be big it can be as small as getting out in the garden or taking a walk around the block. But each day have a goal in mind and then go out and do it.
6) Eat a balanced diet and cut out those foods that can do you harm. This is self explanatory and needs no more further explanation.
Taking these steps can keep us forever young. Have a great healthy day.

challenge 3/12

2011-03-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Today we did not have a challenge but we did something that was much more valuable and that was we talked. Well, actually I talked and they listened and then at the end they had great questions.
One of the biggest concerns they have been voicing to me over the past few weeks is the ability to make this weight loss a lifelong thing and not just a shoot in the dark only to repeat it over and over again. The question I have been asked revolved around the concerns of falling back into old habits and what to do to keep from letting that happen. The ultimate answer to that is “focus” but today I will elaborate on that.
First I had them write down what their goals actually were. One thing though, they could not use losing a specific weight as a goal. Goals had to be something that once met could be improved upon or maintained. Once you hit a goal weight, you cannot stay on that weight or better it. If you could, what you would go down to zero?
Well once they completed that task, I then asked them to think about the reasons why they choose those goals and write them down. The reason why we do things is important. There needs to be a reason or you won’t do it for a long time. Remember this is to be a life style changing process not a shot in the dark. I also shared with them that if they were doing this with the thought in the back of their minds that they would go back to the way they were after they lost the weight , that they have already set themselves up for failure and they might as well leave now.
Once they completed the “why” portion, I then asked them to write down what it would take to get them there and only the first two steps. This is important because it gives them direction and plots a certain course of action to begin to achieve those goals.
Now once that was completed, we discussed how, by following that formula, their goals will be achieved and how after a while they will become or should become a passion (I will discuss what I mean by “a passion” at a later date) in life. But what I will you is that regardless of what is happening in their world, nothing will or should stop them from achieving their goals. When life gets hard, your drive to succeed is still there. When you get injured, your drive is still there. It doesn’t waiver and it doesn’t matter about your external situation, you just get it done and focus.
I believe that this time was very valuable to all and my hopes are that they have walked away from this with a better focus and understanding and a renewed sprirt.

Basketball for the Challengers

2011-03-05T08:53:00.001-08:00

Well today we had some fun. Today the challengers played basketball. As I enter the court I looked at some of them and they seemed to be a little nervous, but in the end all had fun.

How many of your have thought about doing something like that but have told yourself that because of your age, build, or physical condition you just can’t do it or just don’t want to do it. Well here is an example of people who are doing it when ordinarily they would have talked themselves out of it.

Now the purpose of this event was to again give them options on things they could continue to pursue and get better at. Some of the people playing today told me that they had played in high school and just that little pickup game kind of got their juices back up and thanked me afterwards.

Many of you have asked me about how one can maintain their conditioning, well here is another option. Join a league and then better your skills. There are many master’s events that you can join and have fun with people your own age. There are millions of people that are looking to get involved in something that they can do and have fun doing it. Well even with the business of the day, as adults we can do this. There are Basketball leagues, Soccer leagues, baseball leagues, track and field, wrestling, swimming, and so many other competitive leagues for people over forty now it is incredible. I truly believe that forty is the new twenty because of all the options we now have at our disposal.

So now go out and find that sport and go for it!!! Congrats to all the weight loss challenge people for another successful event.

Lose weight or Change Lifestyle... that is the question

2011-03-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

It is not the weight that needs to change in reality it is your lifestyle. Anyone can lose weight, just stop eating for a while but the real challenge is keeping it off and not just for a little while but for the rest of your life. Most people who say that they want to change their life is really stating that they want to lose weight so that they can go back to what they were doing prior, which got them where they are today. “If I only lose ten, fifteen, twenty… one hundred pounds, my life will be better and I will change”, I hear so often. However that is the wrong attitude to have because you are approaching the problem the wrong way. Yes I agree that you need to lose the weight. But where I disagree is that once you lose the weight you would have gone thru a life altering experience.

I was talking to a bunch of people that other day and they were telling me how frustrated they were about trying to keep those unwanted pounds off. How do you keep those pounds off? Here were their answers:

1) Reduce your calorie intake
2) Stop eating between meals
3) Eat only three meals a day
4) Portion control
5) I don’t know (at least this person was honest)

I then asked them, assuming that they reach that magic number, what they would do to maintain that ideal number and they all looked at me like I had three eyes. They then asked me what my opinion was on the subject and my response was; plan an active goal and then go after it. Once you achieve that goal plan another active one and go after it and keep going until you cannot reach any more milestones then just maintain that level of activity.

Notice how I said nothing about food, eating or portion control? In the end, whereas that stuff in important to have under control, there are other pieces of the puzzle once understood, it will make your life much easier.

There are some basic understanding one needs to have before they can truly understand what I am saying so lets start with understanding what a calorie is. When I asked them that question they looked at each other as if someone had the answer or at least collectively they could figure it out and none of them could do it. I got answers such as:

1) Three thousand calories equal a pound of fat
2) Calories are evil
3) I know I eat too many calories

Of course at this point, after listening to them jabber on for some time, I finally chimed in and told them what a calorie was. A calorie is a measure of heat energy (it is a little more complicated than that but in a nut shell that is what is was for my example). Then I asked them another question, assume we gas our cars up with gasoline to go on a trip. At first we can put our hands on the engine and it is relatively cool. Burt after a while isn’t it impossible to put your hand on the engine because it is too hot? How did it get so hot? Was it the gas that caused it or was it something else? Well after talking about it for a while it was understood that it was not the gas but the friction from the engine that cause a lot of that heat. Now the gas is the fuel that the engine needs to work and the heat is what is formed so that the gas could be used in its proper state to make to car run. Isn’t that heat considered calories? Think about it. Yes it is.

Well with that said I then went on to discuss their first answers about how they were going to maintain or reduce their weight. You see it is not the food that is the problem but the lack of activity. Most of us just need to get a little more active and allow the body to work as it was designed to do.

Now is the calories in the food or in does our bodies generate them? Remember our example of the gasoline for the car. Well food does not have calories. Our bodies generate the calories to break down the food so that it can use it in its purest form. The more food you eat, the more the body has to work to break it down. Now let’s get back to our car example. Now let’s assume that on Monday we fill the car up because we are suppose to go on a long drive. However after filling the car up we only end up traveling 1 mile. Now we did not use a lot of gas so we still have a lot in the tank. But the next day you go back to the gas station and refill with the same amount as the previous day. Now what happens to that excess gas? Where does it go?

We do this to our bodies. We have become very sedentary in our lives but we eat like we are going on a long, very long hike. We eat like a champion and the next day after not doing a lot the day before we repeat the cycle. Now our bodies did not use the energy you gave it yesterday because of your inactivity so what it does is now take what you are eating and store it for a “rainy day”. You see what is happening here. It is not the food’s fault that you are getting heavier, but your inactivity so start getting more active.

Now with that said as I stated in the beginning it isn’t the weight that you need to change it is your lifestyle. Does it make sense now? If you just begin to get a little more active and plan goals, tangible goals, goals that once achieved you can better. It will make a big, no huge difference in the way you look at life and then weight won’t be the issue anymore.

It is not the weight that needs to be changed, but you lifestyle. Now go do it.

The Weigh In

2011-02-28T06:03:00.000-08:00

A few things happened at this weigh in that I think some of the Challengers finally may be getting a clue. I was approached by one of the challengers and she was totally frustrated.

“Kevin you know I worked really hard this last week and I only lost two pounds, but the week before I did not work as hard and I lost five pounds. Why is that? What did I do different?”

Then another comes to me and says, “Are you sure that was right? How could this be? I did not work any harder than the week before and I had a six pound loss, what’s up with that?”

I have heard this time and time again only to remind them that in the end it should not be about the weight because that will fluctuate, but the total changing your lifestyle. Now I know I have said this before but let me see if I can further explain.

If you follow your weight, if you constantly weigh yourself, you will get frustrated and after a while just give up because you will find it almost impossible to first achieve that goal of whatever magic number you are trying to hit, then try to maintain it. You will give up. However if you took your mind off of the numbers and began the process of creating tangible active goals here is what will happen;

1) Life won’t be has hard and difficult. You won’t be living under the umbrella of the “I can’t have syndrome” and replace that with the “I could have… because it will get me to…” syndrome
2) Your goals will now become much more tangible and now fun to go after
3) You will feel more confident achieving little mile markers
4) Your consistency will improve and you will hold your level of conditioning longer. You will no longer have those ups and downs and now they could be visually measured
5) You could know where your conditioning level is on a more consistent basis without ever getting on the scale ever again
6) You will be able to maintain you fitness levels much longer and always have something to strive after or to improve upon.

I think some of them are beginning to get a clue and I am happy for that. Well here are the numbers for last week’s weigh in after 7 weeks:

Matt (-32.0), Sharon (-9.2), Linda (-8.2), John (-29.0), Jessica (-9.8), Kati (-6.4), Kate (-11.4), Susan (-9.6), Maureen (-4.8), Dan (-24.0), Melissa (-10.2), Roy (-31.8), Kathy (-9.2), Jackie (15.0), Mary (-2.6), Mike (-17.8), Dawn (-2.6), Cori (-4.4), Sara (-22.2), Ken (-10.8).

Roy is our overall leader at 10.53% lost followed closely behind by John at 10.08% and Dan at 9.47%. The leading woman is Sara at 7.27% and currently in fifth place overall. They are all doing well.

Goal Weight or Ideal Weight

2011-02-22T11:10:00.001-08:00

Goal Weight, Ideal Weight

What is your goal weight? How is it defined? Who determines it anyway?
When picking a weight for yourself, checking the federal government's standard guidelines for adults can be helpful. Don't just land on one number; choose a range of three to five pounds. After all, body weights naturally fluctuate, especially among women, and it's unlikely that your weight will stay exactly the same day after day, no matter how diligent you are about your diet and exercise program. There's no point in setting yourself up for psychological disappointment, and if you allow yourself a range of a few pounds, you'll still be able to monitor how you're doing, and catch yourself in plenty of time if your weight starts creeping up past that acceptable limit.
Note that the ranges are for both men and women, with the higher numbers in the range intended for men. Also note that the heights are measured without shoes on and the weights taken without clothes on.
Height Weight
19 to 34 years 35 and older
5'0" 97 - 128 108 - 138
5'1" 101 - 132 111 – 143
5'2" 104 - 137 115 – 148
5'3" 107 - 141 119 – 152
5'4" 111 - 146 122 – 157
5'5" 114 - 150 126 – 162
5'6" 118 - 155 130 – 167
5'7" 121 - 160 134 – 172
5'8" 125 - 164 138 – 178
5'9" 129 - 169 142 – 183
5'10" 132 - 174 146 – 188
5'11" 136 - 179 151 – 194
6'0" 140 - 184 155 – 199
6'1" 144 - 189 159 – 205
6'2" 148 - 195 164 – 210
6'3" 152 - 200 168 – 216
6'4" 156 - 205 173 – 222
6'5" 160 - 211 177 – 228
6'6" 164 - 216 182 – 234

Now looking at that chart above what does that tell you? I believe the message it is conveying is poor at best. I personally don’t believe that there really is an ideal weight or as I stated above a goal weight. I believe that it should be determined by the activity you are taking part in. Now with that said, DON’T USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT GET YOURSELF IN BETTER CONDITION! I know some of you will begin to relax and use the fact that you cannot lose weight as your ideal weight even though you are still suffering from overweight related illnesses. So don’t go there.
Depending on the activity we are doing our bodies need to prepare themselves for the load or stress we will be putting on them. As an example take a 6’6” football player who plays the offensive line, do you think that he should be no more than 234 pounds? I would hope not. However the opposing defensive line would love that. What about a 6’3” marathon runner, think they should be 216 pounds? Well if you want to take all day to run the course, why not.

My point is this, we need not to look at the “guide-lines” the federal government puts out because it is just impossible generalize over such a great population of people. However, this is what you need to gage your “ideal weight” with;

1) How are your blood numbers? Cholesterol (HDL, LDL) if your HDL is over 60 then it really doesn’t matter what your total cholesterol is. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS). Medications really doesn’t make you better, it just stabilize you. Your true numbers are those without the drugs in you.
2) Are you physically able to perform the duties you need to on a daily basis and if called upon go above and beyond what you normally do? Conditioning is the key here. Being able to push yourself without feeling as though you are totally fatigued.
3) Can you walk 5 miles in less than seventy five minutes? This is a fifteen minute mile. The average American can walk a 12 minute mile while sipping on a cappuccino and talking on their cell phone.
4) What are your measurements? (Hips, Abdominal, Chest, Neck, Upper Arms, Upper Legs) Very important because if your body is out of proportion you could be doing some damage to your skeletal system. As an example, men with protruding stomachs tend to complain about lower back issues.
5) How are your sleeping patterns? Do you snore so loud that you wake up your neighbors? Do you only get one or two hours a sleep at a time? Do you wake up tired and then can’t shake it throughout the day? Can you get to sleep without medications?
6) How’s your sex drive? Well I won’t go into detail, but studies show that a body that is well taken care of has no problem with response time. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS GUYS)

These are just a few of the questions you need to answer. If all of these questions are answered in the positive then you are in good condition, now just try and constantly improve on it. Soon I will discuss what I mean by that but I will tell you this, by trying to consistently improve on your health, you will slow the aging processes down and you will stay and feel younger longer.

Well enough on that now. Remember get your mind off of what they say YOU should be or look like. If that were the case, I would be considered grade 1 obese.

Good News

2011-02-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some research on people and our ages. Did you know that age forty is the new 20? Well let me be more specific, I have been trying to answer in terms I could understand if we are truly living linger lives and what evidence we have to prove it true or false.

I personally believe we are living longer and this is my reason why. I have seen a huge surge in the population that are now exercising regularly and understanding that exercise is an important lifelong ingredient. Science and the medical industry has also stated the exercise may increase life expectancy. I have been part of the Masters Track and Field Circuit now for several years and I have noticed a upswing on the amount of people in their seventies and eighties that are beginning to get back in the game again. I have seen them running 1 mile and even half marathons and running well, very well. Just the other day a friend told me that he was running in a 5k event and right at about the half way mark this person goes passing him like he was standing still. After the race he went over to that guy just to find out that the person who passed him and came in third overall was 61 years old and ran the 3.1 miles in under 18 minutes. That’s right 18 minutes.

I have been working at a nursing home helping the seniors there exercise and I asked one of my 90 years old plus people why they keep on exercising, and they told me because it has given them a great quality of life and the alternative is not an option. Age is quickly just becoming a random number and really having very little effect on ability. Just this last week I was at a track meet and the meet director gave an important message about drug testing and screening on Masters Athletes and when it would start. Besides the fact that I believe any athlete that uses any type of sports enhancer is stupid and needs their heads examined. Anyway, I have noticed that there has been an up-surge in people understanding that our fitness levels are very important to just quality of life issues.

I was just reading an article the AMA and heard on PBS television about dementia and one of the things they said was an important ingredient to fending it off was “exercise”. They said that , “Regular exercise stimulates production of chemicals called growth factors that help neurons survive and adapt to new situations. These gains may help to delay the onset of dementia symptoms. Exercise also may reduce the risk of brain damage from atherosclerosis.” That’s huge and makes sense. Think about it constant blood flow and a more efficient working body leads to less health issues and a much better quality of life in the end.

The good news… no the great news is that so many more Americans are getting a clue. I have noticed that people in my age group are competing against people much younger than themselves and winning. I am noticing that people are not retiring at age 65 but starting new careers and becoming even more successful than they were years prior. I am noticing that people in their older ages are now beginning to live their lives as they wanted to. My mother is a prime example of that. After she slowed down in her first working career, teaching, (some call it retirement but not her she still coaches the track team there) she decided to try out for a professional dance troop and made it and now dances in front of thousands while the Nets basketball season is on. Here is the great part; she is not the oldest member. She is one of the youngest members of the troop. The oldest is 80 and oh boy can they hip-hop!

Hey, let’s take a lesson from them and instead of waiting until we are old and gray and cannot move, let’s do something about it now and start a program that will last you a lifetime. Forty could be your new twenty the decision is yours.

Did you know that....

2011-02-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Did you know that:
• 80 percent of Americans say that during the past few years they have become more aware of how mental health and emotions can affect their physical health and vice versa (APA 2005)
• Two-thirds of all office visits to family physicians are due to stress related symptoms (American Academy of Family Physicians)
• 43 percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress (“The Stress Solution: An action plan to manage the stress in your life”, Lyle H. Miller, and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.)
• 93 percent of Americans say that perception, thoughts and choices affect physical health (APA 2005)
• 58 percent of American believe that you cannot have good physical health without good mental health (APA 2005)
• High levels of hostility, Smoking, obesity and high cholesterol have been found to cause heart disease ( Health Psychology November 2002)
• Men in high optimism were less than half as likely to develop heart disease then the men who were much more pessimistic (Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study)
• 64 percent of Americans are saying that they are trying to reduce the amount of stress in their lives (APA 2005)
• Employees that work out on a regular basis are less likely to end up in a doctor’s office (APA 2005)
Did you know that there is a link between physical health, mental health and longevity of life?
• Stress is one of the leading causes of so many physical and mental issues. However when you are in better condition your body can handle the stress loads much better and you tend not to have long lasting physical issues. When you are out of shape your body has a hard enough time trying to keep alive and together. Now add on the stresses of life. Whereas if you are in shape the stress load on your body is minimized and you are able to handle the stresses of life much easier. (“The Stress Solution: An action plan to manage the stress in your life”, Lyle H. Miller and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.)
• People that are out of shape and obese and have high levels of anxiety (stress) have between two and seven times the risk of heart disease. ( “Emotional Longevity: What really determines How Long we live”, Norman B Anderson and Elizabeth P. Anderson, 2003)
Did you know that there is a link between fitness and productivity?
• In the work place physical conditioning has shown that those people tend to have a higher productivity rate (American Institute of Stress, A.M.A.)
• Those that are in good condition tend not to be absent as much as their colleagues who are out of condition. (A.M.A., A.P.A 2005)
• Medical costs are much greater on those that are out of condition and the cost to companies can be staggering. In some cases up to ten time greater. Many companies have been ruined because of one or two major claims. (A.M.A., A.P.A.2005)
• In 1999, stress related disorders cost the U.S. $42 billion dollars in work related medical costs (National Institute of Mental Health)

The Challenge of the week

2011-02-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

I have always told people that the three most important things that a person can do every morning are push-ups, sit-ups and chair squats. Did you know we do these things everyday and are just not aware of it? How many times do you get up from your chair from work or at home to get something or complete a project? How many times while laying down do you sit up to get out of bed or a chair? These are everyday exercises that if concentrated on can help you elevate your fitness levels.

Last weekend this is what the Weight Loss Challenge people did. “I never thought that sit-ups could hurt so bad. But they were worth it in the end. I need to do these every day.” One person told me after the challenge. “I never thought that I was going to be able to complete the chair squats and just one month ago this would have been impossible. Today I can do them and even though they hurt I welcome the pain.” Another told me.

In reference to the sit-ups, there was no swinging of the hand allowed. The fingers had to stay by the ears and the elbows forward and you had to touch your knees with your elbows. When I said “come up” you had to come all the way to a sitting position and then I would say “down” and you would go all the way down. In the end the winner did 94 total sit-ups.

In the push-up challenge, everyone started flat on the floor with their hands to their sides. You were not allowed to go up and then have your glutes sticking straight up in the air like a tee-pee. Your back and your hips had to stay flat. The women had to decide on what position they wanted to use and they were not allowed to change half way thru the challenge. When I said up, you would come up and lock your arms out and wait for me to say down in which case you would go all the way to the floor. In the end the winner did 50 total push-ups.

Now with the squats you were not allowed to use your hands at all to get you out of the chair. You could only use your legs. You had to sit down perfectly with back straight and then when you get up you could only use your legs. When I said up you would come up and when I said down you would have to go all the way down. Your glutes would have to firmly touch the chair. In the end the winners did 331 chair squats in less than 5 minutes. After all of these challenges were over, walking truly became an option. Good job to all.

The glue that holds everything together

2011-02-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

When it comes to changing a lifestyle, what do you think holds everything in place? Let’s go thru a check list of things you may have already been doing.

1) Cardiovascular work. Now this is important to get you sweating and losing those unwanted inches. It is also best and most efficient way to lose weight. It can be hard on the knees but in the end it is the best way to lose weight. Most people find this very hard to do but necessary because they know that the results will come much faster and much more often if they go out and run and walk. This is something that you have to do in your program for your program to have any effect at all.
2) Weight Training. Now that we have the lungs and heart are going, we now need to get the muscles all tuned up and burning those excess calories. As we lose the weight we need to tighten up our muscles so that we can get them running efficiently and hopefully cause less flab. There is no such thing as turning muscle into fat or fat into muscle, it is impossible to do but by you not working on your muscles they may stay weak and you could hurt yourself doing anything that could require any type of stress load.
3) Diet. What you eat is very important. What you drink is especially important. You could do the first few things and then mess everything up in this category and ruin the whole program. If you eat 3000 calories but burn 2500 calories you have an additional 500 calories just hanging out and they will be stored. Now do that every day and you can see how the numbers add up. Whereas this is one of the most important pieces, it is not the glue that holds every thing together.

So what do you think it is?

It is the mental aspects associated with your new life. For a long time you have thought in a certain way. You have acted and reacted in situations in a certain way. Now you are asking your whole being to change and pretty much at a moment’s notice. For the first month is real easy, but then going into the second month and beyond your old life begins to creep back in and now the fight begins. What do you do when your old friends start putting pressure on you to get back with them and go drinking or to take a smoke break and you don’t want to do that stuff anymore? Well this is when decisions get harder and know there will be some stress with your changes. You will lose some friends and you may feel very weak at some points. But this is the time to buckle down and stay focused because these next few months will make or break your new life changes.

In the Weight Loss Challenge, I constantly stress understanding the “why” and the “How” of it all. How did I get this way? Why am I this way? How long will it take to change? What got me this way and am I willing to change what needs to be changed to correct it? These questions and many more are constantly asked and reviewed by the challengers.

Ask yourself those questions and be realistic about the answer. Sometimes, no most of the time change may be good but it is harder than it looks. Ask the person who stopped smoking for years and then picks up the habit again or the alcoholic drinkers who picks up their habit again. The scariest thing one can experience is making these life changes and then feeling that no one is supporting them. I am finding out that this is a major problem with my challengers, the fear of the unknown. What will really happen if I do this and make these changes? Who will accept me? If I am not accepted my by old friends can I get new ones? Am I doing the right thing? Will I be accepted for my new me?

The mental aspect is the glue that holds all this together and once you work thru your fears, there will be no stopping you from changing your life for the better. Now go and do it.

Indoor Relay and Thw Weigh In

2011-02-07T04:19:00.000-08:00

After the snow fall last week it pushed a lot of things back, but not the weight loss challenge. Still it went off without a hitch. This challenge has them riding 2 miles on a spin bike and then doing a half mile run. Now the winners would be the ones who could do the course in the fastest time. There were two winners in the bike race, one individual and the second team and in the shuttle run only the team would win (with each team member running a half mile).

Now at first this may have seem boring, especially after last week’s totally pumped up Jodi’s Challenge, but in the end all felt as though they accomplished something they had never done before. Here are you winners;

Riding the 2 miles in 6 minutes 44 seconds and coming in third place was Mary. Riding that same two miles in 6 minutes 19 seconds Ken and riding the winner of the two mile challenge was John at 5 minutes and 56 seconds.

In the shuttle run, each team member had to run half a mile and then the total combined time was taken. In third place with a combined time of 12 minutes and 22 seconds, Kathy and Sara. In second place with a combined time of 11 minutes 30 seconds, Jackie and Sharon and winning the shuttle run with a combined time of 11 minutes 20 seconds Roy and John. Congrats to all who competed.

THE WEIGH IN

There is a change in the leader board this week. Some names have moved up and some have moved down. Some are now in the black while some have just not moved much. Here are the results for the top ten people.

Roy is now our new leader with 9.62% or 18.8 pounds lost
John lost the top spot now at 8.28% or 23.8 pounds lost
Matt dropped to third still at 7.88% or 29.6 pounds lost
Dan is now in forth position at 6.55% or 12.8 pounds lost
Sara is in fifth place with at 5.63% or 11 pounds lost
Melissa is in sixth place at 5.32% or 10.4 pounds lost
Kathy, after a very slow start, has moved herself up to seventh position at 4.40% or 8.6 pounds lost
Kati is in eighth position at 4.30% or 8.4 pounds lost
Jil is now in ninth position at 4.05% or 9.6 pounds lost
Linda brings up the top ten at 3.61% or 7.4 pounds lost

Now everyone, all 22 people are now in the red and have lost some weight. As I told them and will continue to tell them, after the first month this becomes real hard. The first month is always the easiest. Now life gets in the way and you need figure out what you need to do to continue on that life style changing road. Now this is where the rubber meets the road. Stay focused!

Short Workouts

2011-02-02T09:18:00.001-08:00

I was talking to a guy one day at the beach and he asked me how many hours a day I worked out. I told him that I may get in 45 minutes a day and he looked at me like I had three eyes. He looked perplexed and questioned what I must be taking to look the way I do. He told me he works out 3 hours a day and still he has excess stuff he could get rid of.

“I am still 30 pounds overweight and can’t seem to lose it. How is it that you can just workout for 45 minutes a day and look so good?” he asks me showing a bit of frustration and unbelief.

A few weeks later he comes into my place and signs up and asks me to help him one on one. Well, as you can imagine I did help him and he could not believe the results he was getting with only a 30 minute workout. He lost that excess weight in two months and became a true believer in the fact that you don’t have to be in a gym for 2 hours to get everything done.

Now at this point some of you may think that I am crazy and don’t know what I am talking about. Well here is my argument to why I believe that short intense workouts may be much better for most people. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each.

Long workouts: I have been in too many gyms and noticed that in most cases there is more socializing than there is working out. With long workouts you do get a caloric burn but it is much more methodical in nature. You don’t ever get your heart rate up to its maximum and keep it there for a long period of time. In most cases you may break a little sweat but not one where it takes you a long time to recover from. While you work out you are burning calories but because you never maximize your heart rate, once you stop, for the most part so does that caloric burn. Your heart rate goes back to normal quickly and your breathing pattern slow down, assuming it was up to begin with. In most cases the next day you really don’t feel the work out you did the previous day and the area of your body you worked out is not sore at all.

Short workouts: These workouts last not more than 45 minutes and are real intense. There are no breaks and usually multiple things are done at once. These people usually get up a sweat and then maintain it for the whole workout. Their heart rate is maximized and maintained at that level throughout the whole workout. Socializing with other people is done after the work out is over. Their body is usually sore the next day and usually last two days. The D.O.M.S. (delayed onset muscle soreness) effect happens to these and they look forward to it.

Here is an example of short term versus long term. I have an abdominal exercise that I do with people that only take 2 minutes. I call it the 2 minutes abs. With this exercise your laying on the ground on your back and your legs are posted up on a bench with someone holding your ankles to give you some support so that you can do the sit ups. Your hands are cupping your ears with your arms bent and elbows straight up in the air. Now when the timer starts you are to bring your body up and have your elbows touch your knees for two minutes. Trust me in 1 minutes you will feel those abs working and by the end of the two minutes you are toast. The maximum amount of sit ups you will probably do in 2 minutes is maybe 50. The best of the best can only do 90 to 100. A few days later you are still feeling that burn.

Now compare that to a 30 minute abdominal workout. Most of the time you will be doing crunches and then when you are done you feel it for a while but then shortly after you are done that feeling of accomplishment or that tightness goes away. The caloric burn ends shortly after the exercise is complete. Please note that with a short intense workout you could be burning those calories even a few days later (if anyone has question about that please leave a response and I will give you more info on why I say this).

For those that need to lose weight or really trim out or those that are looking to elevate their fitness levels, there is nothing better than doing 45 minutes workouts 5 times a week rather than doing 2 hour work outs 3 times a week. Think of the time you save from being in the gym and all that extra time you will have to go on with the rest of your life. Remember this is only my opinion.

The Weigh-in for Weight Loss Challenge 2011

2011-02-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

These guys are doing real well. This week I was a little concerned about a letdown but that did not happen. They seem to be and stay focused. This week the average weight loss was 2 pounds and the leading people for the week were Matt (6.6 pounds) and Kathy (3.4pounds) at 1.87%. After a full month here is where everyone is to;

Name Lost weight Percentage

John 25.4lbs 8.83%
Matt 29.6lbs 7.88%
Roy 17.0lbs 5.63%
Kathy 8.2lbs 4.39%
Jil 9.6lbs 4.05%
Jackie 8.2lbs 3.98%
Kate 7.0lbs 3.58%
Melissa 8.4lbs 3.50%
Ken 9.2lbs 3.37%
Susan 5.8lbs 3.31%
Julie 7.0lbs 3.24%
Dan 8.0lbs 3.16%
Sara 7.8lbs 2.56%
Jessica 7.2lbs 7.2%
Linda 4.0lbs 1.95%
Sharon 3.2lbs 1.95%
Mike 6.2lbs 1.84%
Maureen 2.8lbs 1.56%
Kati 2.8lbs 1.54%
Dawn 1.2lbs .68%
Cori +.2
Mary +.6

This will be a very testing month. The second month in any one person’s life style changing is always the hardest month. Why? Well this is when life and all its demands get harder. There will be more demanded from you on your job and at home. Your kids will need to go to their sporting games and you will have to get them there. Everything is going to seem as though it is a good excuse not to continue down the road of better health and fitness for you. Now you have to prioritize and schedule time for yourself and keep it. Trust me guys it does get easier, but this month will make or break many people. Where will you be at the end of the second month? Will you still be doing it and creating new fitness levels for yourself or will you use excuses on why you haven’t achieved anything and are going back to the same person you were in December? It is your choice.

Jodi's Challenge for 2011 Weight Loss Challenge

2011-02-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Last year Jodi comes into my office and tells me that she doesn’t feel challenged any more , then she walks out. I personally took offense to that and immediately put a workout together that, in the end, would make her throw the white flag in and surrender. (Of course keeping her goals in mind.). That next week I had her do that particular workout and after words she told me, well really the next day, that she almost threw up and spent the rest of the day sitting at her desk not moving. We talked about it and decided to try it out on last year’s weight loss challengers and it went over really big, so we decided to do it again in this year’s weight loss challenge and this, I believe raised every ones game and showed them where they really are.

In this challenge, you have two minutes at each station to do certain disciplines. They are Olympic Bench, Leg Extensions, Bent over rows, Squats, Military Press, Sit ups, Curls, Pec Deck, Tri pull down, and Lat pull down. In these disciplines you must lift until you can’t lift any more within that two minutes. How one wins is by most repetitions. Here are the winners in each one of those disciplines and the weights they lifted.

Olympic Bench: Mary 45 pounds lifted 71 times, John 95 pounds lifted 67 times
Leg extensions: Kathy 40 pounds lifted 65 times, John 60 pounds lifted 112 times
Bent Over Rows: Jil 45 pounds lifted 89 times, John 95 pounds lifted 50 times
Squats: Matt 185 pounds lifted 69 times, Mary 90 pounds lifted 77 times
Military Press: John 65 pounds lifted 47 times, Dawn 45 pounds lifted 32 times
Sit ups: Matt 71 sit ups and Kathy 57 sit ups
Curls: Mary 10 pounds lifted 58 time and John 20 pounds lifted 47 times
Pec Deck: John 80 pounds lifted 88 time, Jil 40 pounds lifted 68 times
Tri Pull down: Jil 45 pounds lifted 74 times, John lifted 70 pounds 57 times
Lat Pull Down: Jil 50 pounds lifted 81 times, John 90 pounds lifted 52 times

Now in the individual challenge, taking all the lifts and adding them all up, Jil had the most lifts of all the women in all the disciplines with 616 total lifts and John had the most for the men at 631 total lifts. IN the team challenge Mary and Sharon won with 1036 total combined lifts.

In the end they all had a great time and gave it their all. Stay tune for next week. It may be even more challenging.

The pacer test...

2011-01-24T05:32:00.000-08:00

When we were in grade school every year we would have this fitness test that tested our conditioning. We always dreaded that day. How wants to run and get sweaty? What was the purpose anyway, it’s a dumb little test, right?

Well this week the Weight Loss Challengers went back to junior high school and relieved those days in gym class but now they are a little older and a few pounds heavier. The purpose of this test for them was to give themselves a base line on where they are right now in reference to their conditioning. I have preached over and over again that it isn’t about the weight but if you plan out goals and get your mind off the weight you will become much more successful for the long term.
The pacer test is a 60 yard course that, as you go thru it gets increasingly faster. When the beep goes off you are to run to the other side and then wait for the next beep. You keep going until you can no longer keep up with the beeps. If you do not make it to the other side before the next beep you are done. This test is a grueling test that demands good cardio if you want to really do well. Now they all have a bench mark to start at.

This week I talk about the pitfalls they can encounter this weekend. With the Packers and the Jets playing and the parties they may be going to they may, no will, have a tendency to eat much more than they should. They will drink more than they should. They will consume things that ordinarily they would not consume and not really be aware of it until it is too late. When you are around your friends and having fun watching the games and socializing you are not necessarily thinking about your nutrition. Well we talked about that and I told them to be mindful of the fact that they just had a good week and try not to ruin it.

This week’s weigh-in was a new record at Parkers Place. Every challengers lost weight this week. This week’s big loser was Kati. After having an off week last week she came back strong this week with a 6 pound loss. In the lead still is John at 8% total weight loss (23 pounds after two weeks) but right behind him is Matt coming on strong at 6.12%. It is still early in the challenge and all the challengers are doing well, very well. Next week is another week and they need to stay focused and get it done. Good luck to all.

Thank you Mr. Dinini of Silver Lake Middle School for let us use your facility.

What really is the problem...

2011-01-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

I was watching a show the other day and there was a guest on the show who was talking about gastric bypass. He said that there was new and exciting news he wanted to share with the public. So that kind of peak my interest so I stayed tuned waiting for this news.

Well, here is this doctor on public television talking about Gastric Bypass surgery and the benefits of having it. Here was this doctor talking about the “success stories” he has encountered and how they have “changed” their lives. (Well the one argument you will not get from me is that their lives are changed forever, but success stories that’s another issue.). Here is this doctor throwing out all these medical terms to the public trying to show us that he was really intelligent and knew what he was talking about. Then at about half way thru the segment he hits us with the news. “THEY WILL NO LONGER JUST BE DOING THIS SURGERY FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE MORBIDLY OBESE BUT THEY WILL GO DOWN TO PEOPLE THAT HAVE A BMI OF 30 NOW”. As you can imagine if I could jump thru the television and land in the studio I would have. How lazy have we really become? How much more brain washing do we need to endure? Help me with this!

Ok, I will agree with something thing that he said. Any person who has this surgery will have a total life change. Now let me be more specific about the life change that will occur. You will never be able to have the freedom to enjoy food as you once could. You will have to eat in a different way. Now at first this doesn’t sound so bad but here is the kicker. What are you going to do when you gain a lot of that weight back? Now what? Don’t kid yourself you will.

Guys, let me be straight with you. The problem is not the food. For most people the problem is much deeper than that and just by losing the weight doesn’t make the problem go away. In most cases it is a mental issue that needs to be addressed and finally put to rest. Maybe it stems back to a childhood problem such as you getting laughed at for some reason. Or maybe your parents were always overweight and it has been common nature for you to be that way. Maybe it was that you were never accepted in any circles and because of that you are depressed. Then you began to gain weight and people began noticing you and you liked that. Whatever it is, it needs to be addressed and finally dealt with.

I don’t know if I shared this with you all before but when I was in high school many things happened to me and most of them were bad. In my senior year I had one goal and that was to be MVP of my track team. I worked hard that whole year. I ran when it was raining, snowing, hot or cold and night and day. That summer prior to my senior year, I joined a city track team just to get more experience with running. Well that year I went undefeated in the 100 meters all the way up to the State meet, the final meet of the season. I had won more events that year and broke more records that year than I had in previous years. Well the awards night came and I just knew that I was going to get it. No one had gone as far or gotten as much as I had that year. To my disbelief someone else got it. I was devastated and could not believe what I heard. To add insult to injury I was asked to give the coach his award for that year.

Here is where I am going with that. For years, well 26 years to be exact, everything I did revolved around me proving to him that I was worthy of that award. The sales jobs I took. The track meets I ran in. The house I bought. The position I held at my church. Everything I did I did with one thing in mind, I am important. I even ran for a public office and won.

Now for that 26 years that I was going thru this, I really had no idea that that was the reason why until one day when everything came to a head and I went thru a major crisis. I was at church and the pastor was talking about past things that may have happened in one life that have molded us to who we are today. He stated that for those who have done wrong to you, you must forgive them so that you can move on. He said that 9 times out of 10 they have forgotten about it and all you are doing is killing yourself constantly thinking about it. He said the best thing to do was to write a letter to that person forgiving them. However he then said not to mail the letter but throw it out never to be revisited again. Well you know me, I did write the letter, but I mailed it to him. Once I finished that letter and it was gone and he received it (I sent it certified) I felt worlds better. I felt that a weight had been lifted from me and I could not go one with life. I have had conversation with him since and we are friends now.

Guys, for those that have weight issues, don’t blame the food. God made it for us to eat. Something else is going on. Find it and deal with it. I tell my weight loss people that same thing. As you lose the weight things are going to come up. Issues are going to surface. Deal with them once and for all and then move on. Don’t try and bury them. It will only get you right back to where you are today.

My final word is this. This does not just happen with overweight people but those that are under weight too. On either end of the spectrum it is not healthy. Find someone that can help you help yourself. Ask yourself the question, why are you the way you are? Then once answered… fix it.

Be careful of where you get advice

2011-01-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

“My friend tells me that because I am big boned that I can never get down to a size 6.” Mary said to me the other day.

“Oh yea, who is she?” I asked

“Oh she is a friend that I was talking to the other day about weight loss and fitness stuff.” She says to me looking very confused and depressed.

“Is she a doctor or a trainer?” I asked trying to figure out who this lady was and her credentials.

“No she works in day care and we are just friends. She tells me that she works out every day in the morning for about 2 hours at her house.” She says to me.

“Well what does this lady look like?” I asked trying to get more information about her.

“Well she is a little shorter than I and about my build. She says that I probably won’t get any thinner than I am right now and I am a size 14 now.”

“Oh really?” I said with the biggest smirks on my face. I was thinking to myself at this time that the blind is leading the blind. “Tell me more.” I said to her trying to hold back my opinion, which you know is quite difficult for me some times… Ok all the time.

“She thinks that you push me too hard and that I don’t need to be pushed so hard. Hey, do you think I can get down to a size 6?” Mary asks me as if looking for some sort of positive reinforcement.

“I don’t know. Can you get down to a size 6?” I asked her looking for some sort of a response.

She pauses for a brief moment and then says, “I just asked you that question. Do you think I can get down to a size 6? Everyone tells me that I can’t because of my size and bone structure. I just want to know if you agree with them or not.”

“So if I hear you right you are asking if I think you can get down to a size 6 from a size 14 as you are now. Am I right?”

“Yes I am. What are your thoughts?” She asks me.

“What does it matter what I think. Do you think you can do it?” I told her looking at her in her eyes.

“I don’t know I am so confused. I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Mary says to me with tears beginning to swell up in her eyes.

“Ok let me put things into perspective for you here. Here is a lady who is about your height and about you size who works out 2 hours a day, everyday…” then I stopped and said, “will you be seeing this lady tomorrow and if so at what time?”

“I should be seeing her at around 8am. Why do you ask?” Mary asks me with a very confused look on her face

“I want to invite her to Parkers Place for a general work out. Just us the three of us spending a little quality time together.” Yea there was a reason why I was doing this… read on.

That next day they both come bounding into Parkers Place and I was introduced to her friend. Well Mary was right just about the same height and build. “So I hear you work out 2 hours a day. That’s excellent! I think you could be a great inspiration for your friend and this is why I wanted you here to work out with her and to get an idea of her routine.” OK so I told a half truth. But I was serious about the inspiration part though.

“Thanks. Yea I work out just about two hours a day. Mostly on cardio stuff such as treadmills and bikes. I don’t do much with free weights though.” She says to me.

Well to make a long story short after she told me that I decided to give them a cardio based work out emphasizing cardio conditioning. It consisted of lots of running and lots of jumping jacks, squats and push-ups as well as crunches. As we started this work out, it became increasingly obvious that someone was lying to someone. After the first 10 minutes her friend was spent. After 20 minutes she was sweating profusely. At 30 minutes she made a b-line to the women’s room holding her stomach and mouth. Mary was shocked and amazed at the fact that this friend of hers was so out of shape.

“Hey, I think you should check on your friend and see if she is OK. She has been in the bathroom for 10 minutes now.” I said to her and yes I was concerned.

Well a few minutes later Mary comes out with her. “She is ok, she threw up.” Mary says.

“I think you should go take her home now. We will call it a day.” I said to Mary.

“Kevin, I’m just getting warm, let’s finish up. How much longer is the work out?” Mary says to me.

“It is only about 10 to 15 minutes that all.” I looked at Mary in astonishment. I was surprised that she wanted to finish it but we went on and she completed the final series while her friend sat in a chair looking pretty tired. After she was done they left. “See ya tomorrow Kevin same time.” Mary yells to me as she is leaving. I waved and told Mary and her friend to have a great evening. I just knew I was never going to see her friend again.

The next day Mary comes in to work out. She walks right up to me, “Thank you for yesterday. I had no idea on how out of shape my friend was and how much more in condition I was compared to her. We had a long talk yesterday in the car when I was driving her home and she told me that she thought you were a terrific trainer. I did learn one thing though. I learned that I have to be very careful on what advise I take from my friends. After working out with her yesterday, can I tell you something that has to stay between us?” Mary comes closer to me.

“Yea what?” I asked

“There is no way she could be doing 2 hours a day. That workout you gave us yesterday was not even close to any of the other workouts you have given me in the past. That was a very easy work out. Thank you for the eye opener.” She then squeezes my right arm with her left hand. “Now to answer the question you asked me the other day. I now know that I can do anything I put my mind to doing. I can get down to a size 6. I can get in better condition. I just have to stop listening to my friends and get it done.” When I looked at her the focus she had was motivating even to me.

I guess now we will see what happens.

Remembering Bernice Johnson

2010-11-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

When I was 4 years old and living in New York my mother enrolled me into a program that to this day has colored my world and given me a drive that without those experiences I don’t know where I would be today. I ask myself why I do what I do. Where does my drive come from? And who really influenced me? Of course the obvious answer is that my parents influenced me the most but you all know just as well as I that outside influences have a great influence on your upbringing and for 15 years Bernice Johnson Dance School of the arts most definitely effected me and the way I live today.

I remember one of the first times I actually got on a stage in front of people and sang at Lincoln Center. I was 5 years of age and the song I sang was “I’ve got rhythm”. I remember when my sister and I were partnered up and I had to carry her across the stage. I remember the late nights I stayed there dancing away and sweating like there is no tomorrow. At the age of 12 I stopped dancing and did something that changed my world back then and to this day has affected many in a positive way.

At the age of 12 I began to learn how to play the percussion and not just any percussion by African Drums. When I took my first lessons I became hooked and haven’t turned back since. Learning new patterns and rhythms became a thrill to me. Every Friday and Saturday whether rain, snow, in the heat or in the cold I played and learned from the best. All thru that, I did not know it, I was learning some very important lessons about life and hard work. I learned that thru hard work and perseverance one can achieve and become successful in an endeavor even when the world says that it may be impossible. I learn that positive mental toughness is a key to concurring most if not everything life has thrown at us. I learned that family is important and true friendships are forever and not just a flash in the pan.

I would watch BJ (Bernice Johnson) from a distance and see how see acted and reacted in so many situations. To me she was firm but gentle, a leader and always looked up to. A motivator because no one ever said no to her but that they would try and in most cases succeeded at what she wanted them to do. A successful business woman, in my eyes Oprah has nothing on her, nothing at all. She was very patient and knew how to delegate and did that well. She knew talent and knew how to get the best out of everyone she touched. But most of all she was a Christian woman that believed in love and never did she ever give up on anyone or anything, especially me.

I have taken the BJ model and put it into my everyday life and it has made me who I am today. I wish so many of the people I have interaction with on a daily basis could have met her then they would understand why I am the way I am today. She cared about others and not just herself. She did not understand the word no or the words “I can’t” but what she did understand was that you would “try” and try we did. In this society today so many have watered everything down. We no longer hold people accountable for anything. Our attitude has become, “Oh, it’s OK… you tried” instead of,” No, now get back at it and get it done this time.” This is missing in society and because of that America is becoming soft in so many ways. I believe that BJ understood the power of the mind and its ability to overcome any obstacle. We have lost that understanding. We have more excuses now than Carter has liver pills.

As I see it, BJ influenced so many. There were many of her students that went on to professional careers on television and on stage that for me to name them all this blog would go on for another thousand words. I can think of one person that BJ teaching influence and now he is dead but his music and dance will remain with us forever, Michael Jackson. Now I don’t know if she knew Michael Jackson but one of his choreographers, Michael Peters was a dance instructor from BJ’s and helped with choreographing some of Michael Jackson’s greatest pieces. This is the influence her organization and she had on the world.

I think we all can learn a lot from her life. She is missed.

new place for blogs

2010-06-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

My blogs can now be viewed at www.wisn.com look under "u local" which will be on your left side or you can scroll down and find my name. Thank you.

Here is the last blog I wrote... http://ulocal.wisn.com/_John-is-back/BLOG/2401059/63262.html?widgetId=363280

Enjoy.

Jorge's obsticle course

2010-04-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and it was raining out. Boy was it raining out. My grass loved it, my trees loved it, and I really loved it. Why? Well this Saturday was a challenge for the Weight Loss Challenge people and George wanted it as wet and rainy as possible. Why? Today he was going to give the challengers a taste of the military marine style. I loved it! I knew it would bring back good times.

Today there were four stations that they had to complete. Each station was 1 minute in duration and in between the stations there was a discipline that needed to be accomplished before moving on. The Challengers were put in teams of 2 and they were told that they had to use their partners and not leave them behind.

• In station #1: 1 minute of Squat Jumps followed by a Wheel Barrel walk to station #2
• In station #2: 1 minute of Knee Strikes followed by a Shoulder roll to station #3
• In station #3: 1 minute of Punches followed by high skips to station #4
• In station #4: 1 minute of Team sit-ups followed by Bear Crawl to station #5
• In station #5: 1 minute of Squat & Thrust followed by Low crawl to station #6
• In station #6: 1 minute of Sit-ups followed by Shoulder roll to station #7
• In station #7: 1 minute of Team push-ups followed by lung walk to station #8
• In station #8: 1 minute of Elbow strikes

All started and all finished in one piece. Yes it did rain and they were muddy as the pictures show below. Today I will highlight all those that have gone 30 or more pounds in total weight loss in 13 weeks.

Rick A. 32.2 pounds
Vicki D. 37.8 pounds
Barb J. 34.0 pounds
Dawn S. 33.0 pounds
Gina S. 30.0 pounds
Cindi Z. 31.0 pounds

The average weight loss is 25 pounds to date.

2010-04-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

due to the spring vacation time of the year many challengers did not show up.

Scavenger hunt, weigh-in
And over view of first three months

Well, this week the weather was so nice that we decided to do a scavenger hunt with the Challengers. With this hunt there were three courses. The long course which is 2.50 miles and the second course which is 2.25 miles and the third course is .49 miles. In this game I gave them a maximum amount of time that they could be on the course. For the first course I gave them 45 minutes. For the second course I gave them 30 minutes. For the final course it was 30 minutes. There were 10 questions that needed to be answered and for every wrong answer the penalty was 5 additional reps of each exercise at the end of the game. In the end each person had to add an additional 15 reps to each of the following exercises.

1) 25 push-ups
2) 50 crunches
3) 50 right over left and left over right
4) 50 crunchy frogs
5) 25 crunches on the big ball
6) 25 1/2/3/4
Then just to warm them down, they did 50 hill climbers and 50 jumping jacks.

It was a get time had by all. Here is the best part about it. The long course is 2.5 miles and they all finished it in less than 30 minutes. The short course is 2.2 miles and they all finished it in less than 29 minutes. And the half mile course was also finished in a very quick time. This could not be done at the beginning of the year. These guys are doing really well.

Now, what we also did was take their first measurements and then wait 3 months and then take their second measurements. The results are really good. We measured the neck, chest, waist, hips, arms, legs, and calf’s and the average amount of inches lost is 14 inches and the average weight loss over the first three months is 25.22 pounds per person. They are all well on their way to losing at least 50 pounds in six months. We now have two new participants in this year’s weight loss challenge that joined us late. At this time over the last 3 weeks their average weight loss has been 6 pounds a week.

The one thing that I have stressed to my Challengers is to begin to create long term goals because this weight loss challenge will be over soon and they need to begin to make this their own. We have given them many workouts and now that the weather is getting warmer we are forcing them to start going outside more and look for opportunities outside. Today, as I am writing this, they are running around the 2.5 mile course and running up nature hill. In these next couple of months there will be many opportunities for these challengers to be competitive outdoors with all the running events coming up. Wish them all well.

As a side note… I have my 5k/10k walk run coming up on may 22nd. Come join us and celebrate life. The registration fee is $10.00. The 5k starts at 8:30am. The 10k starts at 7:30am and the 1 mile run starts at 9:30am. You can also walk in these events.

Challenge 3/27/2010 THE HILL

2010-03-29T03:42:00.000-07:00

This week at the Parkers Place weight loss challenge that challengers walked and ran Nature hill for the first time this year. The challenging part of this hill is that it is long and at ecery step it gets steeper and steeper. This is a great way to get your heart rate up and keep it up there. Thanks to all those that helped while I was away. Thank you Sue, Jodi and Kathy for your leadership.

By the numbers

2010-03-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

Weight Loss Challenge
By the numbers 3/20/2010

This week we had a record broken. For the first time we had a women lose more than 10 pounds in a week. Yes Cory lost 11.5 pounds this week. First time we have had 19 people in the class. This week we had another change in the overall lead and those that were on the bottom are no longer on the bottom. Below are the results:

Name, Initial weight, 3/20/2010 weight, Percentage

1) Vickie D, 208.0, 184.6, 11.25%
2) Barb J, 231.4 205.6, 11.15%
3) Dawn S, 299.0 268.2, 10.30%
4) Bill W, 256.8 230.6, 10.20%
5) Donna H,197.4 179.6, 9.02%
6) Jayne S,211.4 192.6, 8.89%
7) Ann S, 205.4 187.6, 8.67%
8) Lynn D, 249.2 227.8, 8.59%
9) Sue I, 246.8 226.0, 8.43%
10) Gina S, 244.8 225.0, 8.09%
11) Cindi Z,230.6 212.8, 7.72%
12) Rick A, 340.6 315.2, 7.46%
13) James B,389.2 363.8, 6.53%
14) Amy R, 211.6 192.6, 6.52%
15) Christy, D196.0 186.6, 5.10%
16) Cori T, 376.6 361.6, 3.98%
17) Michelle M,238.0 228.8, 3.95%
18) Kay H, 256.8 248.0, 3.43%
19) John L, 240.2 238.4, 0.75%

In Pounds lost our top 5 are (11 weeks)
1) Dawn S 30 pounds
2) Bill W 26.2 pounds
3) Barb J 25.8 pounds
4) Rick A 25.4 pounds
James B 25.4 pounds
5) Vicki D 23.4 pounds

Challenge 3/20/2010

2010-03-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

There are now 19 people in this class the most people I have ever had in 1 class

This week’s challenge consisted of running and weight training. Some of the challengers have reached a point in their new fitness life where running is a possibility where as others have not yet gotten there because of physical issues.

In this challenge there were 5 people per team and there were 4 teams. Each team had to have 2 people that were designated weight lifters and the other three people runners. In this relay the first runner had to run 200 meters and pass it off two weight lifter person two. Once the 50 reps of shoulder press were complete, then person two passed it off to person three who ran 200 meters. Once they completed their 200 meters, person three passed it onto person four who then had to do bouncy ball off the wall 100 times. Once person four was done with that, then person five ran 200 meters. Once that was complete then person five passed it onto person two who then did chair squats, once person two finished 50 of those then they handed it off to person one who ran 200 meters. Once that was complete they handed it off to person 4 who did bent-over rows with their head on the table. Once 50 of those were complete they handed it off to person three who then ran 200 meters. Once they completed that they immediately handed it off to person 5 who finished by running the last 200 meters. Pictures are below of each discipline. In the end Rick’s group won in a time of 7:31 minutes. But all did well.
Running at the start

Shoulder press...

Running 200 meters

Bouncy ball of the wall 100 times

Running 200 meters...

Chair squats 50 times

Running 200 meters...

Midrow 50 times with head on table

Running 200 meters...to the finish

WLC weigh-in 3/13/2010

2010-03-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

This week was another good week at WLC. We now have 7 people over 20 pounds in 8 weeks. We now have 19 challengers. We also have another lead change. Here are the numbers.

Name Initial weight 3/13/2010 LOST
Rick A 340.6 318.6 22lbs
James B 389.2 360.8 28.4lbs
Vicki D 208.0 185.4 22.6lbs
Lynn D 249.2 231.2 18.0lbs
Christy D 196.0 186 10lbs
Donna H 197.4 178.6 18.8lbs
Kay H 256.8 249 7.8lbs
Sue I 246.8 226.4 20.4lbs
Barb J 231.4 206 25.4lbs
John L (new) 240.2 237.4 2.8lbs
Michelle M 238.2 227.8 10.4lbs
Amy R 211.6 198.8 12.8lbs
Dawn S 299.0 272 27.0lbs
Jayne S 211.4 193.6 17.8lbs
Gina S 244.8 225.0 19.8lbs
Ann S 205.4 186.4 19.0lbs
Cori T(new) 376.6 372.8 3.8lbs
Bill W 256.8 232.8 24.0lbs
Cindi Z 230.6 211.2 19.4lbs

We have two new challengers John L. and Cori T.

Weight Loss Challenge Jeopardy

2010-03-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Weight Loss Challenge 3/6/2010
Jeopardy Challenge

The purpose of this challenge is to test their knowledge when it comes to nutrition, working out and realistic life. There were multiple choice questions and true and false questions. The winner was decided by the amount of questions they got right. If there was a tie… the tie was broken by some physical activity (in this case a shuttle run). This challenge did go to a tie breaker and James and Sue won running the 36.11 seconds. The losing team had to do 2 sets of chair squats with explosions (30 each set and only a 1 minute rest in between). Trust me it is hard than you think especially after working legs to day before.

The Weigh-in

This week we had a change in leadership. Everyone did really well but the top three have changed. Here they are in descending order. What you see below is there over all loss after 7 weeks.

16) Kay 6.2lbs 2.41%
15) Michelle 8.6lbs 3.61%
14) Christy 9.6lbs 4.90%
13) Amy 12.8lbs 6.05%
12) Gina 17.0lbs 9.94%
11) Bill 18.4lbs 7.17%
10) James 28.8lbs 7.40%
9) Lynn 19.4lbs 7.78%
8) Donna 15.5lbs 7.80%
7) Ann 16.2lbs 7.89%
6) Jayne 16.8lbs 7.95%
5) Dawn 25.8lbs 8.63%
4) Cindi 20.2lbs 8.76%
3) Vicki 19.4lbs 9.33%
2) Rick 32.0lbs 9.40%
1) Barb 21.8lbs 9.42%

Welcome John L. to the Weight Loss Challenge his initial weigh-in weight is 233.5lbs. Welcome to the first day of your new life.

Keith Zwahlen

2010-02-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

It was brought to my attention that a dear friend of mine has passed away. Over the last year I have had a lot of issues in my life but compared to Keith... I have had no problems. You see, my friend Keith had Cerebral Palsi (CP). I remember him in High School. He play with me in the marching band, he was a very hard working guy. Nothing and I mean nothing came easy to him. Guys we take so much for granted... Imagine going thru your whole life fighting and battling a disease that in the end you will die from it's complications.

To me and so many other people Keith (aka Pete) was just another person and when you talk to him he just conveyed himself as a normal person and you know what... you believed he was. Imagine going to band practice and marching for 5 or 6 hours. Imagine playing an instrument while marching in cold or hot weather. Or standing at attention for an hour so that someone can inspect your uniform. For the average person that would be hard. Well Keith did it and enjoyed it. I had and will always have a lot of respect for him.

I remember going to Atlantic City with Keith because The Lakeland Regional High School band was playing and this was really big to us. We just didn't do well... I believe we won. There were so many times, while in high school, when we would be in a marching band contest and I remember all those wins and all those good times after. Pete, I never told you this but you inspired me to do as well as I did my senior year in track, and now if I could give you anything, it would be my perfect Senior year season. Thank you Pete.

I remember graduation and when you went up to get your diploma if you recall... you were the only one that got a standing ovation. The whole class, all 300+, were proud to know you and your accomplishments. You walked up there so proud and we were proud of you.

Pete, I know that your final years were not good ones. I know that life got really hard for you. I know that you felt as if you were dealth the "crapy hand of life", but just know that I truly love ya guy. I am sorry that I did not have much contact with you after gradutaion, but you have been on my mind. You will always be on my mind. Thank you for your friendship. May God rest your soul. See you on the other side Pete.

The Weigh in 2/27/10

2010-02-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

Ok today lets do this a little different. I will give you their rankings in decending order. it will consist of their percentage of weight lost and total weight lost since the beginning 1/9/10.

1) Rick A 9.40% 32lbs
2) Vicki D 8.75% 18.2lbs
3) Dawn S 8.63% 25.8lbs
4) Cindi Z 8.24% 19lbs
5) Barb J 8.21% 19lbs
6) James B 8.17% 31.8lbs
7) Jayne S 7.28% 15.4lbs
8) Ann S 7.28% 14.8lbs
9) Bill W 7.01% 18lbs
10) Donna H 6.99% 13.8lbs
11) Lynn D 6.34% 15.8lbs
12) Amy R 6.14% 13lbs
13) Sue I 6.00% 14.8lbs
14) Gina S 5.56% 13.6lbs
15) Christy D 4.08% 8lbs
16) Michelle M 3.27% 7.8lbs
17) Kay H 0.78% 2.0lbs

Most of them are doing really well... We have some though that are really struggling with the Nutrition thing as you can see. This wekk will be their week to get on the board and begin kicking their habits... Stay tuned!

The general workout

2010-02-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Doing a shuttle run and leaving it there. All the challengers did not want to lose so they all left it here at Parkers Place.

Now "LET THE WORKOUTS BEGIN..."

In the end all were glad they did it. They all have come so far. Even in just 2 months. Yes it has been 8 weeks now. We have done 7 weigh-ins and all are in double digits now.

nutrition and Weigh Loss

2010-02-24T04:51:00.001-08:00

60% of our fitness can be made or broken by our eating habits. Here at the weight loss challenge we come along side the challengers and help them with their nutrition by providing them with good health alternatives. Here Nancy is share some ideas on a way to get the vitamins and minerals in your system in a healthy way. This could also be used as a breakfast substitute.

Running Shoes... What to wear?

2010-02-23T03:38:00.000-08:00

(This is only 3 pairs of the 5 pairs of shoes I currently have. At one point I have over 10 pairs.)

What is the one thing that shoe companies have in common... To sell as many shoes as possible and at the highest price possible. All over America I see new shoe companies popping up all over the place stating that they have the "LATEST IN TECHNOLOGY" when it comes to running shoes. When in the end... They don't. It is just another way to squeeze more money out of the consumer.

90% of Americans do not compete at such a high level that they need really expensive shoes. All you really need is something that is comfortable and durable. Without getting into specific brands this is what I look for...

1) What does the shoe look like: Can I wear it outside without attracting too much attention to me.
2) How heavy is the shoe: When I put it in my hand it should almost feel as thought I have nothing in my hands. Heavier is not better. The shoes today are being made lighter which will take the strain away from the legs for those that run long distances.
3) Does the shoe have arch support: Most shoes today don't. Especially the really high priced ones believe it or not. I have found that the lower more economical shoes have enough arch support for my needs and most of Americas needs.
4) Is it the latest make in the market: If so I put it back. Today's shoes are not made well and are just too high priced.
5) How much does the shoe cost: Have you ever found that a 25 cent pen , in most cases, out lasts a really expensive pen? Well the same with shoes. The more expensive is not better in most cases it is the opposite. You can get shoes for $45 or $50 dollars that will wear very well and out last your $125 pair of shoes.

Did you know that even the athlete that competes on the highest level possible doesn't even buy their own pair of shoes. And those are usually custom designed for them. Take your track runners, especially your elite sprinters. You would think that they would spend $1000's of dollars on shoes. Nope... not even close... THEY ARE FREE. You spend more money on your shoes then they will ever.

My point is this... If they are not spending a lot of money on their shoes and they wear them much more than you will ever, why should you spend a lot of money on shoes. My experience has shown me that the shoes that can be bought off the rack at your local Kmart is just as good as going to a shoe store and buying those $150 pair of shoes and in the end much more economical.

Life and its problems...

2010-02-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

"Kevin, You just don't understand... I have so much going on right now I don't have for myself. I have a family crisis that needs my undivided attention. My mom is on her death bed and my finances are in trouble. I don't have time to think about fitness!!!"

I have heard this so many times, that I can recite it by memory. I understand stress more than you think. I have dealt with more stress over the last 12 months than most have dealt with over their lifetime. What I have found out guys is this... You need time for yourself. You need time to rewind. You need time to refuel yourself. What better way of doing that then working out. But before we look at that, let's look at some other possibilities.

You could...
1) constantly complain about your problems to everyone. At first it may get you sympathy but in the end those same people will begin to rebel against you because they will sense the same old same old coming from you. At first you may feel good but in the end you will becomes a burden to those people or you may begin to get frustrated that what once made you feel good no longer does.
2) drink yourself into a stupor. Now do I need to go here. There is nothing good about this. All you are doing is feeling sorry about yourself and remember alcohol is a depressant so you will get even more depressed.
3) you can eat. Some people call this comfort food. Well, at first it is but then a few weeks later when you look in the mirror, what do you see... more of you. Then you get really depressed because you are bigger than you were just a few weeks ago. Which can cause a whole other group of health problems.
4) you can workout. Now I am not talking about Olympic training type workouts. What I am referring to is something in the morning or during the day that will give you the ability to just spend time with yourself and give you body something good to remember. Working out is a great stress reliever. I know that in my life every time I get stressed I find myself fighting the urge to hide or eat or complain and find myself going to do even just a little workout. After I am done with it... It is not that the problem has gone away.... It is however, that I can think thru it much better... and in some cases find out that in the end everything may just be OK.

Put 30 minutes aside for yourself... you won't regret it. That I guarantee!!!

challenge 2/20/2010 Step

2010-02-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

The purpose for this challenge is to see how long you can continue to step up and down on an 8 inch box at various speeds. It starts out at 126 beats per minute and increasing speed every 5 minutes and in most cases ends up at 184 beats per minute after about 30 minutes of stepping. Cardio endurance and consistency is the key and they all did very well. Here are some pictures of this challenge. The winner ended up at 184 beats per minute.

Kevin keeping the step time and pace

It's OK girls... you gave it your all just try and do better next time

Second and third place winners Jayne and Vickie. Sport Authority Gift cards for you both.
Your eventual winner at 184 beats per minute. She was even talking while doing it. Good job Christy.Enjoy your gift cards.
Great Job to all who participated...

this weeks weight numbers

2010-02-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well they had a good week... Some set backs... but the level of activity is going up or at least staying constant. Here are the numbers

Rick A Started at 340.0 and as of 2/20/10 he is 310.8 for a total loss of 29.8lbs
James B started at 389.2 and as of 2/20/10 he is 360.8 for a total loss of 28.4lbs
Vicki D started at 208 and as of 2/20/10 she is 192.2 for a total loss of 15.8lbs
Lynn D started at 249.2 and as of 2/20/10 she is 237.8 for a total loss of 11.4lbs
Christy D started at 196 and as of 2/20/10 she is 187.4 for a total loss of 8.6lbs
Donna H started at 197.4 and as of 2/20/10 she is 182.4 for a total loss of 15lbs
Kay H started at 256.8 and as of 2/20/10 she is 253.4 for a total loss of 3.4lbs
Sue I started at 246.8 and as of 2/20/10 she is 231.4 for a total loss of 15.4lbs
Barb J started at 231.4 and as of 2/20/10 she is 214 for a total loss of 17.4lbs
Michelle M started at 238.2 and as of 2/20/10 she is 230/8 for a total loss of 7.4lbs
Amy R. started at 211.6 and as of 2/20/10 she is 200.2 for a total loss of 11.4lbs
Dawn S. started at 299 and as of 2/20/10 she is 275 for a total loss of 24lbs
Janye S. started at 211.4 and as of 2/20/10 she is 198.8 for a total loss of 12.6lbs
Gina S. started at 244.8 and as of 2/20/10 she is 234.8 for a total loss of 10lbs
Ann S. started at 205.4 and as of 2/20/10 she is 193 for a total loss of 12.4lbs
Bill W. started at 256.8 and as of 2/20/10 he is 237.6 for a total loss of 19.2lbs
Cindi Z started at 230.6 and as of 2/20/10 she is 210.4 for a total loss of 20.2lbs

Each and everyone of them are doing well. I am not as concerned with the numbers as I am the activity and gaol setting. Thru the process of creating and then achieving their goals...ultimately the weight will come off.

On too many occasions I have had people try and concentrate on the weight number and pretty much determine their day on how heavy or light they are. Guys you cannot live and die by that number. What should be important to you is the level of activity and whether or not you are on the right road to achieve the goals you set for yourself. Trust me as you start going down that path... the weight will fall off.

The hardest thing that the weight loss challenge contestant have to concur now is the 2 and 3 month blues. Most people at this time start letting life creep back into their schedules and begin to fall off of any program they start back in January. This is the time not to do that but revisit why you began the journey in the beginning and then keep on keeping on.

Good luck guys...

Exercise

2010-02-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

“ I want to exercise, but I just don’t want to hurt.”

Well then you need to know that you don’t really want to exercise. What you really want to do is mentally exercise. Let me be more specific…

For argument sake let’s say that there are two types of exercise, physical and mental. Physical exercise can be defined as running, jumping, etc… something that is going to leave you very sweaty and tired and wishing that there was a better way, less painful. Mental exercise, for our discussion, is all the above but not to the point of tiredness or getting sweated up. It is for the “feeling mentally better” aspect not the feeling physically better aspect.

As a personal trainer I have come to a point where I disassociate myself with people who just want to mentally feel good. Why? Well, it is because these people never really amount to much nor achieve anything that gets them to another level physically. As a trainer, you want the person whose mind is already there and now it is time for the body to catch-up. This person is fun to work with because they know what it is going to take for them to get to the next level and that is why it is a joy to work with them.

Guys’, “real” working out is not joyful. At first it is painful, but in the end the benefits out way the struggle you went thru to get to where you are at now. So go exercise!

Are fathers important

2010-02-17T07:25:00.001-08:00

There have been some people that have said that the role of a father can be played by a mother. Is this true? I tell you that they are not right. Fathers are important.

Now I am not a psychologist, nor am I a family counselor, but what I am is a person who has seen how important the role of a father is to their family. Whereas the role of a mother is primarily geared for nurturing, the role of a father is to protect the family goals and help bring up the kids to be model citizens. The problem is not that fathers are not existent. The problem is that “good” fathers are few and far between.

Statistics have shown that those family that have a stable family, their kids tend to do much better in society (school etc). There seems to be less stress on each parent because the burden of the family is distributed evenly amongst both parents and not just one. The kids tend to be less spoiled and more grounded. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of dysfunctional families out there and even some families that both parent have done or are trying to do the right thing and their kids still turn out screwed up. There are two sides to this coin. However, your kids will have more of a fighting chance if fathers step up to the plate and there is strength in numbers.

The problem that I see with fathers today is that they do not take responsibility for their role in the family and they let society dictate to them who and what they are. There lies the big problem. Society will never give anyone a far shake especially fathers. Fathers, we need to step up to the plate and take back our families away from society. Let’s hold ourselves to a higher standard and thru that our families will thrive and be successful.

2/13/10 Challenge for WLC

2010-02-15T04:55:00.000-08:00

Let the workout begin...

waiting for the rest to get back so we can start the workout...

Yes it is 7 degrees out... but if you dress warm enough you can at least get a few miles in.

yes it is cold out but worth it... in the end

Kevin's challenge

2010-02-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

In this challenge there were 8 disciplines that the challengers had to go thru. They were, Leg Curls (men had to curl 70 pounds, ladies 40 pounds), Olympic Bench (men had to lift 135 pounds, ladies 65 pounds), Chair Squats, Bend Over rows (men had row 95 pounds and Ladies 65 pounds), Single leg kneel downs, Triceps pull down (men had to do 70 pounds and ladies 40 pounds), Leg Press(men had to do 230 pounds and the ladies 160 pounds, and finally Biceps curl(men had to curl 20 pounds and the ladies 10 pounds.

Each event was 5 minutes long and each person was paired up with another person for support. You could take as long or as short as you needed but no more than 5 minutes combined per team. What you will see are the reps that each person did in each discipline. They are impressive.

Rick A: Leg Curls 102 reps, Olympic Bench 44 reps, Chair Squats 45 reps, Bend Over rows 62 reps, Kneel-downs 19 reps, Triceps Pull Down 110 reps, Leg Press 30 reps, Biceps curl 66 reps. total reps completed 478

Kay H: Leg curls 79 reps, Olympic Bench 45 reps, Chair squats 30 reps, kneel-downs 9, Triceps pull down 74 reps, Leg Press 56 reps Biceps curls 30 reps. Total reps completed 317

James B: Leg curls 104 reps, Olympic Bench 40 reps, Chair squats 50 reps, Bend over rows 43 reps, kneel-downs 40, Triceps pull down 50 reps, leg press 45 reps, Biceps curl 30 reps. Total reps completed 408.

Gina S: Leg Curls 80, Olympic Bench 30, Chair squats 50, Bend over-rows 43, kneel-downs 40, Triceps pull down 75, leg press, 56 and biceps curl 45. Total reps completed 407

Vicki D: Leg Curls 111, Olympic Bench 31, Chair squats 38, Bend over rows 65, kneel downs 26, triceps pull down 95, Leg press 44, Biceps curl 39. total reps completed 449

Jayne S: Leg curls 106, Olympic Bench 50, Chair squats 42, Bend over rows 70, kneel downs 33, triceps curls 75, leg press 55, biceps curl 50. Total reps completed 478.

Lynn D: Leg curls 134, Olympic Bench 23, Chair squats 42, Bend over rows 55, kneel downs 28, Triceps pull down 175, Leg press 104, Biceps curl 71. Total reps complete 632.

Bill W: Leg Curls 8, Olympic bench 6, Bend over rows 63, Kneel downs 35, Triceps pull down 94, Leg Press 100, Biceps curl 41. Total reps completed 347.

Christy D: Leg Curls 53, Olympic Bench 45, Chair squats 62, Bend Over rows 60, kneel downs 34, Triceps pull downs 67, Leg Press 57, Biceps curls 85. Total reps completed 463.

Ann S: Leg Curls 50, Olympic Bench 37, Chair squats 46, Bend over rows 50, kneel downs 33, Triceps pull downs 44, Leg press 33, biceps curl 50. Total reps completed 343.

*Sue I: Leg curls 120, Olympic bench 73, chair squats 161, Bend over rows 95, kneel downs 29, Triceps pull downs 81, Leg press 63, Biceps curls 92. Total reps complete 714

Michelle M: Leg curls 90, Olympic Bench 60, chair squats 155, Bend over rows 61, kneel downs 24, triceps pull down 60, Leg press 50, biceps curl 120. Total reps completed 620

Amy R: Leg curls 73, Olympic bench 55, chair squats 55, Bend over rows 75, kneel downs 21, Triceps pull down 65, leg press 70, biceps curl 63. Total reps completed 477.

Cindi Z: Leg Curl 110, Olympic Bench 31, Chair squats 60, Bend over rows 44, kneel downs 24, triceps pulled down 66, Leg press 46, Biceps curl 60. Total reps completed 441.

This is very good. I know afterwards they were very tired. Good job guys keep up the good work.

After 5 total weeks of weign-ins

2010-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

(not all the challengers are in this picture)
Well after 5 weeks of weigh-ins and the challengers are doing really well... here are their numbers.

Cindi Z. started at 230.6 and after 5 weeks 211.2 total loss 19.4lbs (8.41%)
Sue I. started at 246.8 and after 5 weeks 234.8 total loss 12lbs (7.52%)
Vicki D. started at 208.0 and after 5 weeks 193.2 total loss 14.8lbs (7.12%)
James B. started at 389.2 and after 5 week 362.6 total loss 26.6lbs (6.83%)
Dawn S. started at 299.0 and after 5 weeks 278.6 total loss 20.4lbs (6.82%)
Rick A. started at 340.6 and after 5 weeks 318.2 total loss 22.4lbs (6.58%)
Bill W. started at 256.8 and after 5 weeks 241 total loss 15.8lbs (6.15%)
Ann S. started at 205.4 and after 5 weeks 193 total loss 12.4lbs (6.04%)
Jayne S. started at 211.4 and after 5 weeks 198.8 total loss 12.6lbs (5.96%)
Donna H. started at 197.4 and after 5 weeks 186.2 total loss 11.2lbs (5.67%)
Lynn D. started at 249.2 and after 5 weeks 235.6 total loss 13.6lbs (5.46%)
Amy R. started at 211.6 and after 5 weeks 201.2 total loss 10.4lbs (4.91%)
Sue I. started at 246.8 and after 5 weeks 234.8 total loss 12.0lbs (4.86%)
Gina S. started at 244.8 and after 5 weeks 234.2 total loss 10.6lbs (4.33%)
Christy D. started at 196.0 and after 5 weeks 189.6 total loss 6.4lbs (3.27%
Michelle M. started at 238.2 and after 5 weeks 230.6 total loss 7.6lbs (3.19%)
Kay H. started at 256.8 and after 5 weeks 253.4 total loss 3.4lbs (1.32%)

They are all making great lifestyle adjustments. As I have told them... Take one day at a time and each day make it a good healthy one. My goal for them is to remember these days and at the end of 26 weeks to continue on their new life journey.

the weigh-in

2010-02-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well here are the numbers.

Rick A total loss 22.8 pounds 6.69%
James B total loss 20.2 pounds 5.19%
Vicki D total loss 13.4 pounds 6.44%
Lynn D total loss 7.6 pounds 3.05%
Christy D total loss 7.4 pounds 3.78%
Donna H total loss 12 pounds 6.08%
Kay H no weigh-in
Sue I total loss 12.6 pounds 5.11%
Barb J total loss 14.4 pounds 6.22%
Michelle M total loss 5 pounds 2.10%
Amy R total loss 8.2 pounds 3.88%
Dawn S total loss 20.4 pounds 6.82%
Jayne S total loss 9.6 pounds 4.54%
Gina S total loss 5 pounds 2.04%
Ann S total loss 9.6 pounds 4.67%
Bill W total loss 14.2 pounds 5.53%
Cindi Z total loss 13.4 pounds 5.81%

All this in 5 weeks... Keep it up now and get focused. It is about life style changes and you all are doing it.

MTV and Parkers Place

2010-02-09T04:43:00.001-08:00

Over the last month I have seen how a program is put together and I have also seen how dedicated some trainers can be to really helping others achieve their goals. Thanks again to MTV for doing this project in Oconomowoc and using Parkers Place as the workout facility of choice. Ashley did well on the slopes and I know she learned a lot about goals and goal setting.

I have always known that for you to be at the top of your game you need to always look for oppertunities to improve your trade. Excuses should not be present in your world. It is a hard lesson to learn but one that a true athlete needs to understand. You play thru the pain and hurt all the while keeping your eye on the prize what ever that prize is. Congrats Ashley, I hope this was a good learnign experience for you.

Rob (shown in the picture above), me and you have a lot in common. Great meeting you all. Keep up the good work and thanks for the advise. I am looking forward to working with you guys in the future when I come out to your place.

The Cold Challenge

2010-02-06T12:15:00.001-08:00

How many of us when asked to do something that we were a little afraid of would not do it if that other person promised to pay you 1 million dollars? How many of us have allowed our fears get in the way of us achieving certain things in life that could have gotten us to another level in some way? How many of us have allowed other peoples fears dictate to us how we feel about something or someone?

Well this weeks challenge dealt with just that. I know it may seem simple at first but when you think about it, it wasn't as simple for some as it seemed in the end. When I met with the Challengers Saturday I told them that they were going to walk around Silver Lake, on the lake. I walk I wanted was 1.5miles around. Simple? Of course but now add in frozen water and in some parts after about 12 inches of ice 30 feet of water. It got more difficult for some. While I was talking I even saw some of their demeanor's changed from this should be fun to, heck no I can't do that.

Here was the spin though... Everyone had to do it together and everyone had to finish together. If someone fell they were to be helped up. If someone lagged they were to be helped along. In the end everyone finished and everyone enjoyed it.

What type of athlete are you?

2010-02-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

I was speaking to another trainer the other day and we were discussing sports and defining what an athlete is. He stated to me that there are really two types of athletes. Those that are just in it for the fun and don't really care about the win and then those that do care about the win and don't see fun in coming in second. One is a recreational athlete and the other is serious athlete.

Websters define an athlete as a person trained to compete in sports. If we really look at the finer details of that statement the question that come to my mind is, Are you considered an athlete if you compete in a sport and have done minimal training for the event? This is where the separation occurs between the recreational athlete and the serious athlete.

The serious athlete is one that takes his sport serious and trains to be the best at it. They, if necessary gets a coach or reads a book, will dedicate much time to perfecting his sport and they do not settle for second best in any way. If they really masters their sport, at whatever age they are at, than have the potential to become an elite athlete. Whereas the recreational athlete just does that sport for the fun of it and really has no desire to get better in it. If this person becomes a little more serious about their sport(s) then they have the potential of becoming a serious athlete.

What is the difference between a serious athlete and one who is not? The answer is simple determination, drive, and discipline. The three D'S. What type of athlete are you?

Saturdays workout what a blast

2010-02-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Working out, while doing it, should not be fun but afterwards it benefits make you forget about the pain that you went thru. If you are having fun exercising then... you are really not exercising. The purpose of exercise is to get your body back in better condition than it was in or to maintain a high level of fitness. But anyway you look at it, it should hurt. For the next 26 weeks these challengers are going to go thru a lot but in the end it will pay off. Ask anyone that has been thru the program... they will tell you... they hates it but now, no medication, they can wear a bathing suit on the beach and not look like a beached whale, no more big and tall cloths, no more sleep apnea, better self esteem, marriages saved, able to do much more than they thought they could ever do... I could go on. There is no bad benefit to working out and working hard at it. now take their example and just do it!

anotner week at WLC

2010-01-31T15:17:00.000-08:00

So here are the results in week three for the weigh-in: This is in order...

1) Dawn S on 1/9/10 weighed 299.0 on 1/30/10 she weighed 279 weight loss 20lbs(6.69%)
2) James B on 1/9/10 weighed 389.2 on 1/30/10 he weighed 364.8 weight loss 24.4lbs(6.27%)
3)Cindi Z on 1/9/10 weighed 230.6 on 1/30/10 she weighed 217.3 weight loss 13.4lbs(5.81%)
4) Rick A on 1/9/10 weighed 340.6 on 1/30/10 he weighed 321.2 weight loss 19.4lbs(5.70%)
5) Barb J on 1/9/10 weighed 231.4 on 1/30/10 she weighed 220.2 weight loss 11.2lbs(4.84%)
6) Bill W on 1/9/10 weighed 256.8 0n 1/30/10 he weighed 245.0 weighed loss 11.8lbs(4.60%)
7) Jayne S on 1/9/10 weighed 211.4 on 1.30/10 she weighed 201.8 weight loss 9.6lbs(4.54%)
8) Sue I on 1/9/10 weighed 246.8 on 1/30/10 she weighed 235.8 weight loss 11lbs(4.46%)
9) Vicki D on 1/9/10 weighed 208.0 on 1/30/10 she weighed 199.8 weight loss 8.6lbs(4.13%)
10) Ann S on 1/9/10 weighed 205.4 on 1/30/10 she weighed 197.0 weight loss 8.4lbs(4.09%)
11) Donna H on 1/9/10 weighed 197.4 on 1/30/10 she weighed 189.8 weight loss 7.6lbs(3.85%)
12) Lynn D on 1/9/10 weighed 249.2 on 1/30/10 she weighed 241 weight loss 8.2lbs(3.29%)
13) Amy R on 1/9/10 weighed 211.6 on 1/30/10 she weighed 205.4 weight loss 6.2lbs(2.39%)
14) Christy D on 1/9/10 weighed 196.8 on 1/30/10 she weighed 190.8 weight loss 5.2lbs(2.65%)
15) Gina S on 1/16/10 weighed 244.8 on 1/30/10 she weighed 239.4 weight loss 5.4lbs(2.21%)
16) Kay H on 1/9/10 weighed 256.8 on 1/30/10 she weighed 252.4 weight loss 4.4lbs(1.71%)
17)Michelle M on 1/9/10 weighed 238.2 on 1/30/10 she weighed 234.8 weight loss 3.4lbs(1.43%)

The rankings are done by percentage not weight. They are all doing well. This years weight loss challenge is about lifestyle changes more so than weight loss. The problem with people in America today is not the food we eat but when we eat, why we eat, and what we do before and after we eat. Think about it...

Midwest Regional Track and Field Championship

2010-01-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well today I ran in the Midwestern Regional Championships. I ran the 60 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters and won all three events. This whole year I have been preparing for this meet and a fdew others. Over the next few months I will be in championship events concluding with the Masters Championships in Boston whre I have never won but the best I have done in 3rd in the 60 meters.

Weight loss communication

2010-01-29T03:57:00.000-08:00

Kathy is seen here talking to a weight loss challenger. She was a past challenger and she, herself, lost 100 pounds during her time in the challenge. This year she is a trainer for them. Good job Kathy.

Weight Loss Step Class

2010-01-29T03:47:00.000-08:00

Well, They had their first step class and they did well. Their workout consisted of 15 minutes of step, then 15 minutes of weights, then 15 minutes of step, then 15 minutes of weights. Thanks Vickie for leading the class. Tonight is their last chance workout before tomorrows weigh-in. IT WILL BE A BIG ONE. IF NOT TONIGHT... DEFINITLY TOMORROW. Stay tuned...

Being on the top

2010-01-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

I was speaking to a friend today and her and I were very puzzled. What we can't figure out is what is wrong with today's youth. You see she was a past participant in the olympics chile basketball team and has been in sports her whole life. She has always preformed on a high level in everything she does. I am the same way. No, I did not make the chile basketball team(actually I suck at basketball) but I am a runner and everything I do I do with a purpose and at 150%.

Here is the problem as I see it. Our youth don't know what it takes to get them to be number one and successful in whatever endeavor they choose. It does not have to be in sports. It could be in a vocation and anything else. Our youth is lazy and there is only us to blame.

In the age of the computer, we have made our lives too comfortable and too many things at our finger tips. If the computer doesn't give us the answer in a nano second or our food (let's not even go there) isn't ready in less than 3 minutes we get pissed off and think something is wrong. We are teaching our youth to find the easy way out. I had someone ask me the other day what was the least amount they could do and still achieve their fitness goals. I looked at them and walk away. I did not want to say what I wanted to because they would have been very upset at my answer. But now that I am writing this... Let me tell you that if you try and get thru life doing as little as possible ... you will amount to NOTHING. You will live for a brief time... Get pissed off at the world because you will feel as though you are or were mistreated... and then die, and no one will know that you existed.

People want America to be nubmer one in everything. Well guys, I hate to tell you this but we are number one in very few catagories one of which I will is OBESITY. Shall I say any more? Are you proud of this? You may ask yourself where this obesity comes from. Well it comes from our laz-a-fair attitude about life and working to strive for something higher than average.

I had a conversation with my wife the other day about our children and the fact that I hold the bar very high in their lives. I expect them to do the very best in everything they do. My son, when he enterd the 7th grade, came home with his first report card. It was 7 A's and 1 B+. I looked at him and asked if this was the best he could do. Did he try his very best. He said "yes" to me so I accepted that and told him that this is where his bar is now. He placed it there and since then he has maintained it very well. All three of my kids are doing well and are very respected in the public eye because of it.

My wife has always lived by the notion that you try your very best but if you only get average grades it is OK. Of course if you read the first part of this you would know that I don't think that way. The problem with America today is that we think that average is OK. This is why we are failing in the field of medicine (there are more indian doctors than American ones. Just go to the hospitals and look at who is there). We are failing in sports (let's not mention what happened in the last olypmics or on the soccer field).

Guys, we need to step up to the plate and begin to take life serious again and start striving for excellence. Hold our kids to a higher standard and dont' accept excuses any more and then ond day our kids will see there success and catch the fire.

The Weigh In on 1/22/2010

2010-01-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

This week went very well. Everyone worked very hard last week and it showed in the numbers. Now please remember what we are looking for at The Weight Loss Challenge is consistancy and long term goal planning. We really don't care if someone loses 15 pounds in a week but we applaud that person who loses 1 to 2 pounds each week and can consistantly keep it off and better their health because of it. Here are the results of this week.

* Rick A lost 1.6 pounds this week and his 2 week total is 15 pounds
* James B Lost 7.8 pounds this week and his 2 week total is 17.6 pounds
* Vicki P Lost .2 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 5 pounds
* Lynn D lost 2 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 6.2 pounds
* Christy D lost .8 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 4.2 pounds
* Donna H lost 3.8 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 6.8 pounds
* Kay H gained .6 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 2 pounds
* Sue I lost 2.2 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 8.0 pounds
* Barb J lost 2.2 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 7.8 pounds
* Michelle M lost 3 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 4.2 pounds
* Amy R lost 5 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 9.2 pounds
* Dawn S lost 4 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 11.6 pounds
* Jayne S lost 1.4 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 5.8 pounds
* Gina S lost 3.6 pounds this week and her 1 week total is 3.6 pounds (first one)
* Ann S lost 1.4 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 5.2 pounds
* Bill W lost 5.4 pounds this week and his 2 week total is 6.6 pounds
* Cindi Z lost 1.8 pounds this week and her 2 week total is 8.8 pounds

The big winners this week by percentage of initial body weight are:
1) Amy R at 2.41%
2) Bill W at 2.11%
3) James B at 2.06%

The overrall winners so far are:
1) James B at 4.52%
2) Rick A at 4.40%
3) Amy R at 4.35%
Congrats to all and let's keep up the work. Remember it is consistancy you should strive for.

Second challenge for the weight loss challenge

2010-01-23T09:36:00.001-08:00

This week was a relay. There were three teams of 5 people and the ladies were to go around the 160 meter track twice and the men 3 times. Only the first leg had to run in lanes for the first lap then they could break into the first lane. This year there is no red team or blue team. They are all one team. So I broke them up into 3 seperate teams. Here is the kicker. They were not allowed to run. They could walk as fast as they could but they were not allowed to run. This relay was done twice. In the end they all got a good workout.

I also want to thank the last years weight loss challenge people for helping me make this a great time for all. Thanks guys.

Second week for Aurora Health Clinic

2010-01-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

I feel so blessed to have both Aurora and Pro Health coming along side Parkers Place and sending me their members to help them get fit. This week with aurora here are the weigh-in results:

Please remember that this is a 12 week program. Their total loss this week is 54.9 pounds. The average weight loss this week was 4.9 pounds. Pretty good guys.

Second week at WLC

2010-01-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ok so this wee was a really good week for all of the challengers. In the end we have 17 people. That is an excellent start and I am looking forward to changing some lives. Here are the numbers for the first week:

Rick started 340.6 and is now 327.2 for a loss of 13.4 pounds
James started 389.2 and is now 379.4 for a loss of 9.8 pounds
Vicki started 208.0 and is now 203.2 for a loss of 4.8 pounds
Lynn started 249.2 and is now 245.0 for a loss of 4.2 pounds
Christy started 196.0 and is now 192.6 for a loss of 3.4 pounds
Donna started 197.4 and is now 194.4 for a loss of 3.0 pounds
Kay started 256.8 and is now 241.0 for a loss of 5.8 pounds
Sue started 246.8 and is now 241 for a loss of 5.8 pounds
Barb started 231.4 and is now 225.8 for a loss of 5.6 pounds
Michelle started 238.2 and is now 237.0 for a loss of 1.2 pounds
Amy started 211.6 and is now 207.4 for a loss of 4.2 pounds
Dawn started 299.0 and is now 291.4 for a loss of 7.6 pounds
Jayne started 211.4 and is now 207.0 for a loss of 4.4 pounds
Gina is new and weighed in for the first time at 244.8 stay tuned!!
Ann started 205.4 and is now 201.6 for a loss of 3.8 pounds
Bill started 256.8 and is now 255.6 for a loss of 1.2 pounds
Cindi started 230.6 and is now 223.6 for a loss of 7 pounds

In total for the first week they lost 82 pounds! Average weight loss of 5.125% for the first week. Their life changing has now begun. Wish them well.

We find time for those things that are important to us.

2010-01-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

A man once told me that he could not find the time nor resources to get themselves in any good shape. He stated he was too busy with work and life. The next day I saw him in Best Buy purchasing a 50 inch plasma for his rec-room. Help me here guys, he can’t afford a $65 membership to get himself healthy but he can get a $3000 TV to entertain himself. This was the same guy who, in church asked for prayer for his failing health and the medication his doctor was putting him on.
Every day we have to make choices. Some are easy and some are hard. But every choice has a consequence. Our health should be our first choice. The problem as I see it is that we are lazy and don’t want to put the effort forth to maintain good health. It is much easier to take medication and complain then it is to do something about it. The question should be, what would it take to reverse that thinking? The answer is in the next paragraph below.
Ask yourself this question, why do you work for a living? Most of us would say, to support our families and you would be right. However really think about why you work for a living. When you think about it, it is to support the life-style you are accustomed to. The goal for working is to accumulate as much money as possible to support your life style. If you had all the money you needed, YOU WOULD NOT WORK. Ok so the goal is good life style and the means (Mechanism) to getting there is working .
Now let’s look at our health. Everyone wants good health but they just don’t know how to achieve it. Well you have to goal set. Ask yourself this question, what is the end result? It is good health is a good life style just as working out is the mechanism to get there. You can’t use weight as a goal because that is like the money in the bank. Some days you will have a lot of money and be happy (lower weight) and some days you will not have a lot of money in the bank (heavier weight) and not be happy. You need to get your eyes off the weight and put it on something more visual and let the weight just by the by-product of your efforts. This in the end will lead to great health and a more consistent lifestyle change.

training the trainers

2010-01-12T18:47:00.001-08:00

Training the trainers. I am glad that they are here.It is great to share ideas and learn new ones. These guys are really cool and they have given me a new perspective on the winter sports. Thanks guys I hope I helped you out too. Enjoy the workout 300 workout video and share it with everyone.

2010-01-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

Here is the Weight loss challenge spin class. Joni Hoffman is instructing them. I heard it was a good class.

WLC 2010 Weight Loss Challenge

2010-01-10T12:21:00.001-08:00

So here we are again...and this years class is here all 3721.6 pounds of them. Wish them luck. In six months they WILL look much different. Check it out 25 more weeks to go then their life begins. Success is achieved one step at a time.

Todays youth... what is wrong with them

2010-01-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well this saturday was the first track meet of the season for me and I think I did pretty well. I did not run in the masters catagory but in a D3 colloge meet. These guys are 18 tp 22 maybe 23 years old and to say the least I was very discouraged at the times I was seeing. It just seems as though the "eye for prefection" does seem to be around any more. I have noticed that there are may people over 40 competing with their sons and daughters and just not competing with them well but beating them. What do we need to do to get our youth to realize that they need to step up to the plate? Help me with this one guys. help me.

This next year I am going to do...

2009-12-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

I have heard this so many times. How many of you have said this just to be disapointed in the end. Going to a gym and signing up for a year membership and then only using three weeks or three months adn then having this membership that you can't get out of and just forget about after a while. If you are that type of person and just don't care anymore... then stop reading from this point. But if you are sick of being that person and want to know what really works read on.

In my research I have found out that most people just don't know how to create goals. Goals are what is going to get you to ultimatley were you want to be. I have heard so many people say that they just want to lose 20,30 50, 100 pounds and I politely tell them losing wieght is not a goal but a by-product of you achieving a goal. I would then ask them dream about something they have either done in the past ( high school or college) or would like to do in the future. Once that was established we would then put a program together to get them to the point where they can achieve those goals. Once those goals have been achieved then we need to improve on them and continue to get better. Oh yea, all this time they ( you ) have been losing weight.

Guys, don't let weight be your goal you will never achieve it. think out side of that and get with a trainer and let them help you get there. If they can't find someone or some group that can.

Stress and life

2009-12-29T07:14:00.000-08:00

A man once told me that what doesn't break you makes you in this life. For the longest time I had a real problem understanding that concept up until recent times. What does that mean and how does it pretain to my life?

In our lives we go thru a series of ups and downs. In some cases it seems as thought we have more downs then ups but never the less ups and downs. Each experience good or bad is there to teach us a lesson in some way. Everything we do in this life has a purpose for a better good. Even in the bad times good lessons can come of them.

I have also learned that in each person we have two personalities. One that we show our friends and the public and then the second one is our true inner personality. In good times and less stressful times we can maintain our first personality pretty well. But the question is what happens when life really begins to suck and everything is and has gone wrong. Well, our try personality comes out.

If you are a very giving person when you are under a lot of pressure and stress you tend to give more. If you are a very selfish person you tend to become even more selfish. I have found in my own life that your inner core is magnafied ten times in times when out life gives us big problems. Cancer, seperation, divorce, death, economic, or any other issue will bring out the very best or worst in a person. This is were the lesson could lie for most people.

Who really are you and how has life really effected you?

Goals, Money and Fitness?

2009-12-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

I have spoken with so many people over the last few weeks that I just need to write my thought out here. I know that this economy is not the best in the world. As a matter of fact more people are being laid off and most companies, besides those in the financial sector, are not giving year end bonuses. However please remember that YOUR HEALTH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO YOU.

I am just not saying it because I own a health club but because it is true. I know lot of people that have a lot of money and have neglected their health for years. Either they were smokers, drinkers, or just plane did not eat right and healthy and it is now really catching up with them. Yes, they still have all the money in the world but now what good is that when your doctor says that you have months to live or your not able to teach your kids how to ride a bike, or you are not able to partake in an activity that if you did you would have fun doing (dancing, etc).

Three summers ago I was faced with a situation where I wanted to teach my youngest daughter how to ride her bike without training wheels Age 4). For me it was a breeze. I held her seat and pushed her and ran right next to the bike and then at one point I let the seat go but kept running and she had know idea that I had let her go until she noticed both my hands were no longer on her bike. Less than 5 minutes she learned,so did my other kids.

My neighbor on the other hand, even with all the money in the world had to get me to help his kids learn to ride. I saw him out there trying and not succeeding. He was stooped over with his hands on his knees gasping for air while his child after falling down laid there thinking that they would never learn. After watching for a few minutes I went out to help him and within a period of time his kids learned. He was very embarrassed and promised that he would never put himself in that situation again and would get himself in shape. He never did his job was just too important to him and he had every excuse in the world why he could not get himself started. He has never come out and said it but he is lazy.

I heard of a lady that sued the school system because her daughter got a letter from the school stating that her daughter was at risk for things such as high blood pressure and diabetes. When her daughter read the letter she was devastated and her mother got very upset. Now instead of doing something about it she decided to blame the school system for her own issues. When the news showed them side by side, the daughter looked just like the mother. I don't think the mother was upset because of the letter as much as she was upset that because she did not do anything about it for herself it has now hit her daughter. She was embarrassed, period. When asked why she did not anything about it she sited money...

Guy,s have you noticed that in most poor areas of the country, there are a lot of fast food restaurants, movie theatres, Walgreen's(just had to throw that last one in for laughs). Have you also noticed that most poor individual are very over weight. It is well known that where you find poverty you will find obesity. Only if they focused their money on instead of Fast food,.... Fitness. I guarantee they would feel better about themselves.

Guys, don't let money stop you from getting in much better shape. Yes money can pay the bills but it cannot but you good health. I will have more to say on this soon.

Why is it so hard?

2009-11-27T03:32:00.000-08:00

Well, lets just get to the problem at this or any other time of the year. People don't set goals or the goals they set are not realistic. I was watching the "Biggest Loser where are they now" and a few things popped up at me.

1) The ones that have been semi successful have stuck to a program and made life changing decisions
2) The ones that have not been successful have not developed a plan for after the show and just took it as a game and not something that they could or wanted to do after. I my eyes they were just in it to be on TV.
3) Those that were successful truly changed their life, literally. When they got back from being on the ranch they even changed occupations.
4) Those that didn't, never made the life changing jump.

I have found out that in life when we want to do something, we let nothing stop us from accomplishing whatever that task may be. When you have questions or when you are just not sure, we tend not to consider it a priority so we tend to lose interest very quickly. I have also noticed that those with short term and then long term goals tend to stick to the task much longer than those that are "just throwing something up against the wall to see if anything sticks". I see that mentality does not work at all. Not even "good intentions" work well. You need to have a passion for it so that it will work for the long run.

I think that there is a lesson we can learn from one of the winners of the show and that is without a consistent program and proper goal setting, it will not work. Guys, here is a dose of reality, you never make it to a point were you don't have to do something to keep fit. This is why goals are so important. We need them in life so we must need them in our fitness journey.

Ask your self this question, why do you work for a living? What is the point? Well when you really think about it, it is so that you can reach your life goals. A new home, a good retirement, a new boat, a new car, etc. For you to be able to get these things and then maintain them you must work to make the money to get them. Think if you could just go to a store and just get what you wanted and you did not have to pay for it and money did not exist. Would you work? I think not. Look at your lottery winners. They said that they would not stop working but then when they got that money that job they had just doesn't seem to have that same luster it had just a week before and they end up quitting. Why did they quit? Lose of meaning and drive.

Let's remember that in our fitness journey. Create goals and then go after them and remember losing weight is not a goal but a bi-product of you creating and achieving the goals you set. If you follow this advise, one day you will thank me for it. If you have any questions about this or anything else I have written please call me at 262-567-0362.

Born to be Big

2009-10-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

I just read an article from Newsweek that I want to bring to your attention. Here is the issue according to this article: Is early exposure to common chemicals the problem on why our kids (4 months and younger)are getting fat or being born fat.

This very lengthy article goes on to say that "the prevalence of obesity in infants under 6 months has risen 73 percent since 1980." It then goes onto says according to Robert Lustig of the University of California that "it (infant obesity) poses a problem for conventional explanations of the fattening of America. Since they're eating only formula or breast milk, and never exactly got a lot of exercise, the obvious explanations for obesity doesn't work for babies, You have to look beyond the obvious."

This article goes on to site other well learned scientist and there thoughts on this subject. Reth Newbold of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in North Carolina states, "Exposure to environmental chemicals during development may be contributing to the obesity epidemic." Her argument was that "you eat no more than your skinny friend, and exercise no less, yet you are still unable to shed pounds."

There are many other arguments that are given for chemicals being the culprit to our obesity problem but here are my thoughts.

Whereas I can believe that chemicals do and have an impact on our health I don't believe that it is the only culprit. The bottom line here is that we are lazy Americans. We eat the wrong foods at the wrong time for the wrong reasons and then don't exercise. We use excuses like our work-life, or a sick relative (immediate family), or we mentally use our own physical issues from doing something to get our bodies moving.

Now don't get me wrong I am not saying that everyone needs to go out a run 5 miles a day and eat rabbit food washed down with 8oz water. But what I am saying is that we as adults have settled for second best in our lives and where it is showing ultimately is in our children. We are fatter thus they become fatter. Did you know that if you are a smoker that the likelihood of your children experimenting with it is 100%? Did you know that the alcohol you drink will someday also be drunk by your lovely children? Who do we blame then? Yes, they may be old enough to make their own decisions, but what example did we give them to follow? Yes, "the sins of the father will visit the son".
I remember watching a program on TV where a mother was suing a school district because of a letter her daughter (who was in HS) got in reference to her daughter's health. You see the school was taking an initiative to help their obesity problem by spotting those children that need help in that area and trying to help them. When the girl received the letter of course before she got home she opened it and read it and then cried when she got home. The mother was upset at the school stating that her daughter had the potential of being Obese. The mother was outraged and went to sue the school system. What made this report funny to me was that when they showed pictures of the mother and daughter next to each other, SHE WAS A SPLITTING IMAGE OF HER MOTHER! The question you should ask was is the mother upset at the letter about her daughter or was she upset that the mirror was turned to her and she was embarrassed for the position she put her daughter in by their way of living. I don't know the answer to that question.

In summation whereas I do believe that chemicals have had an effect on our health but I don't believe that it is the "means to and end". We need to stop looking for excuses on our short comings and just get it done. Start eating right and stop using our busy lives as a crutch. Get out and exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Yes rain or shine. 30 minutes will not hurt you. Get out of your comfort zone (God bless America) and get it done. Look for opportunities to exercise instead of opportunities to sit on your butts and complain while eating cookies and ice cream. Trust me it will make a world of difference in our kids and articles like this one will not be written.

Still doing it

2009-09-22T04:08:00.000-07:00

I am very proud of Mary and Rick. After the challenge was over their biggest concern was not going backwards. They asked Sally and I many times what they needed to do to continue on the path of better and improved health and fitness. Well guys you are doing it. After the challenge was over it would have been easy to stop doing what got you to lose 115 pounds (rick) or 70 pounds (mary) but you didn't/ You kept it up and for that you are reaping the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Keep it up.

For those that are reading this blog take their lives as an example of you ability to change. 9 months ago this would not have been possible. Trust me, it wasn't in the cards for them to do. But now they can and somewhat enjoy it. What we as people do is that we get ourselves to a point where we lose a lot of weight and then we go back to what we were doing before that got us to be so heavy and out of shape to begin with. Then you have to start again heavier than you were in the beginning. Once you begin the journey, DON'T STOP! Keep it up. Life will become much sweeter.

If you have any questions please e mail me at parkersplace1@sbcglobal.net or call me at 262-567-0263

Obese people have 'severe brain degeneration'

2009-08-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

I read this article about obesity. I DID NOT AUTHOR IT! So don't blame me. Read it and give me your opinion. There are a lot of truths in this article.

A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.
Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged prematurely by 8 years.
The results, based on brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, represent "severe brain degeneration," said Paul Thompson, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of neurology.
"That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain," said Thompson. "But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control."
The findings are detailed in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping.
Obesity packs many negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. It's also been shown to reduce sexual activity.
More than 300 million worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization. Another billion are overweight. The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods.
Obese people had lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes, areas of the brain critical for planning and memory, and in the anterior cingulate gyrus (attention and executive functions), hippocampus (long-term memory) and basal ganglia (movement), the researchers said in a statement today. Overweight people showed brain loss in the basal ganglia, the corona radiata, white matter comprised of axons, and the parietal lobe (sensory lobe).
"The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of those who were lean, and in overweight people looked 8 years older," Thompson said.
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI over 25 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30 as obese.
The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, and the American Heart Association.
• 10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp
• Never Too Late: 5 Bad Habits You Should Still Quit
• More Obesity News & Information
• Original Story: Obese People Have 'Severe Brain Degeneration'
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America is out of shape

2009-08-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

I was watching the TV the other day and I notice on "Good Morning America" a lady who was talking about America and our obesity problem. She is their expert nutritionist and to say the least very truthful.

She showed concern on how fat we have come as a nation and the ramifications that it will have on us as a nation. She stated that with the obesity of today this could have a profound effect on our national status as a "Super Power" in the world. She stated that unless we wake up we will find ourselves looking in on what we use to be.

I both agree but disagree with her.

I agree that we are getting heavier every year. I agree that this obesity, for the majority of people, can be stopped. But because of our laziness it hasn't happened. I agree that we know what we have to do we just don't have the desire to do it. I agree that Diabetes (type 2) is up big time and High Blood Pressure is also up and both of these in most cases can be avoided just by exercise. I agree that we eat way to much and at the wrong times and for all the wrong reasons. I agree that we have too many diets and diet plans and this is confusing so many on what is good from what is just a fad.

However I don't agree on our "Super Power" status and this is why. You see she left one major important thing out of her equation, GOD. He gave us that status and no one but him can take it away from us, NO ONE. Yes, we have fallen as a nation and run( and for some walked) far away from God in so many ways. But in the end we are still a Christian nation and a freed people and with this in mind our "Super Power" Status is still very strong.

Remember, only God can take away something that he gave us freely.

For my weight loss challengers 2007, 2008, and 2009

2009-08-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

I saw this the other day and I wanted to share it with you.

Dieting may not be fair, but I have two choices: I can feel sorry for myself, stop following my plan,never reach my goal, and contiue to be unhappy with myself. Or I can sympathize with myself but go ahead and do what I know I need to do. Everyone experiences some kind of unfairness in life. This is one of mine. Besides, the greatest unfairness to me would be if I let this excuse prevent me fromreaching a goal I strongly want to achieve.
Please remember that slow and steady wins the race. Stay the course and in the end you will live a better quality life.

thank you

2009-08-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

DEAR GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me;
I am thanking you right now.
I am not going
to wait until the pain in my body disappears;
I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves;
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet;
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job;
I am going to thank you right now.
I am not going to wait until I
understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief;
I am thanking you right now.
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed;
I am thanking you right now.
I am thanking you because I am alive.
I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties.
I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles.
I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better.

I'm thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.

my daughter winning

2009-08-05T04:05:00.000-07:00

She won everything but the uneven bars. But she won the overall. Good job Peanut Butter.

my daughters gymnastics

2009-08-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

Lemons into lemonade

2009-07-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

I cannot speak for either family nor would I ever attempt to do so. I believe the letter that Mark Benson wrote was one that he needed to in his mind, set the record straight. As difficult as it has been for the Bukowski family it has been as difficult for his family. Jennifer, Courtney, and Sofia have passed and as difficult it is for the family to get their heart around it they will go on never forgetting but always remembering the good times that they shared. However, Mark Benson’s family will forever live in exile. They may forever be looked at in the social eye and media as bad people.

I don’t believe that the public really looks at his family as bad people but people that fell into a bad situation. I do believe that over time people will forgive but never forget. Mark, for what you did and then by owning up to it, I believe that the public will have much more respect for you and your family.

The healing process for the community has come and now gone and is complete. Here are the positive things that have come from this tragedy.

1) An Awareness of the issues surrounding OUI and DUI
2) An Awareness of people beginning to take responsibility for their actions
3) An awareness of people now asking for help
4) New programs emerging to help those that want help
5) Tougher laws being looked at by Congress
6) An understanding of where the danger really lies (alcohol and prescription medications)
7) Zero Tolerance

We must never forget but not relive. We must look at this as an experience (bad as it may be), but most of all, we must go forward, remembering all of those that have passed away and now start the process of celebrating their lives and what they meant to us.

It is not as easy as you think

2009-07-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

I consider myself to be more in shape than most. I don’t run everyday but I can still run a comfortable 7 minute mile and hold it for 8 miles easy. I lift weights at least once or twice a week and I eat pretty well. But even I know my limits.

In today’s society we as a nation are not getting thinner but much fatter. Yes, much fatter and still we don’t have a clue! I was once at a car show and way in the back was the military. They were, I guess, recruiting and they had a chin up bar set up. As I was reading their sign it said, “5 chin-ups receive an army pen, 10 chin-ups receive an army hat, and 20 chin-ups receive an army shirt with the words “pain is weakness leaving the body” written on the back of it. There was a father with his little girl standing in line right in front of me and she wanted one of those shirts really bad. When I looked at him though, he was at least 30 pounds overweight and at least 3 months pregnant. I thought to myself, “Who is he kidding?” Well he gets up there and makes a total fool at of himself. He got a total of 2 done.

What concern me was not that he did something that his body was not ready for but that he thought he could just bang out 20 with no problem. I think he got a rude awakening. We have a tendency of thinking that we are ready for something when in reality we are not. Why? We don’t practice enough and we don’t put the time in to totally prepare our bodies for that activity. I just heard of a man who died trying to complete a triathlon. Yes, he died doing the swim, the most demanding and hardest part of the competition. I can’t speak for him nor was I there but I was told that he looked really out of shape and not prepared for it in any way. My condolences to his family and I hope this teaches us a lesson. We should not take any of these athletic sports for granted and we MUST practice before and get ourselves in some sort of condition before competing.

Competitive sports are not to be taken lightly and if you do take them lightly the consequences could be devastating. Prepare yourself and take it serious.

Kevin Ellis CPT

Workouts 300

2009-07-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

My new DVD is out. It is called Workouts 300. It will give you ideas for your chest, back, arms, legs and shoulders. There is also a home workout on there. Coming in the fall I will have a second DVD for those that travel a lot. The price is $19.95 plus shipping.

At Parkers Place many people have used my methods and many have had great results. Just look at my blog over the last 3 years and look at the testamonies. Try it. It iwill give you instruction on how each move should be done and the tecknique behind each move. You can request a DVD and mail your check or money order to Parkers Place 125 North Fowler Street, Oconomowoc WI 53066. Or you can call Kevin Ellis at 262-567-0362 for more detail.

The bonus part is that I will do it with you!

She is right!

2009-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

I was watching the morning news today and there was a doctor (Nancy Snyderman on NBC) that was talking about where we are as a society today. She is so right! We are not getting thinner and more fit we are getting fatter and more out of shape. Because of this she says the “we are going to ultimately lose our super power status as a nation”. Think about this, back even 50 years ago we did so much in reference to our daily living. We walked more, we road our bikes more, we played out in the streets more. There was more farming done so we worked more outside.

Now look at us. Whereas, it was very hard for me to stay inside, especially during the summer, I always wanted to go out and play with my friends. Now they just want to play on their X-box or even worst yet, they do go over to some ones home and they still stay inside that person’s house and PLAY X-BOX. We drive everywhere. Even to the point where I know some people that drive to get their mail in their mail box.

We have become so lazy that we will pay dearly for it. Remember when we where in high school and we wanted to see a friend, did we not get on our bikes and ride to their house? We did not care where they lived we just needed to get out and go. Now, look at us, we find excuses on why we don’t do that now.

With technology at our finger tips we have become much more impatient and much lazier. A great example of that are computers and the microwaves. Right now we can get anything we want on the internet in less than 1 second. If by chance it takes 10 seconds we begin to complain and threaten to take the unit back. Or what about our foods? Now we just microwave them in half the time. In both cases the computer is making us lazy and the microwave is taking all the vitamins and nutrition out of our food which is making us unhealthy.

The bottom line here is that we need to get back to the basics. We need to put on our shoes and go exercise. So many of you are so lazy that you feel that as long as you take medication you will be fine. Medication, for some, should only be a temporary solution to the problem. In most cases with proper exercise and diet you can stop taking those pills and begin to live again. Yes, there are some that need medications, such as type I diabetics (not type II), but for most you don’t (I am even referring to HBP and High Cholesterol). If most doctors were honest with us they would tell you that with the right regular exercise program 90% of medications would not be necessary.

Guys do you really think that it is attractive walking around with an alcohol gut looking like you are 9 months pregnant? Then you complain about back problems to your spouse (who just came back from the gym). So you take a pill to make the back problems go away and then when it does you think you are OK. No, you are not OK, you just deaden the pain. The problem is still right out in front of you.

Women do you think it is really attractive when you walk around with hips that when you walk, if you walk in the woods on a dry day, could start a forest fire? Then you complain when your spouse goes out and looks at other women.

In both cases with the proper discipline you can concur these issues and become better people for it. The funny thing is that we, as Americans, know exactly what we should be eating and we choose not to. Then when we gain weight we complain. Then when someone comes along side you to help you, you use every excuse you possibly can to fight the person helping you.

Guys you have two choices here;

1) You can turn from your ways and begin a good exercise and nutrition program, which we know will put you in much better shape or
2) You can continue the way you are and live a miserable existence (admit it). Or let me put it a different way, living second best.

Anyway you look at it, it is your choice and what you choose will ultimately determine the fate of this country. Yes, YOUR COUNTRY!

The Final Weigh in revisited

2009-06-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

The weigh-in is over and here is a brief recap of this year.

We started with 16 people and 12 finished. Here are their results.

Place, Name, Starting, Ending, Total, Percentage

12) Josh F., 380.8, 353.2, 27.6lbs, 7.25%
11) Steve F , 328.4, 289.4, 39.0lbs, 11.88%
10) Marsha H, 175.4, 151.8, 23.6lbs, 13.45%
09) Krista O, 287.0, 238.2, 48.8lbs, 17.00%
08) Debbie L, 312.2, 259.0, 53.2lbs, 17.04%
07) Mark M, 285.2, 236.2, 49.0lbs, 17.18%
06) Darcey L, 189.0, 156.4, 32.6lbs, 17.25%
TOP 5
05) Josh B, 326.0, 241.4, 84.6lbs, 25.95%
04) Tracie B, 245.4, 177.4, 68.0lbs, 27.71%
03) Rich A, 395.0, 279.6, 115.4lbs, 29.22%
02) Vic G, 326.4, 221.4, 105.0lbs, 32.17%
WINNER
01) Mary S, 209.6, 140.0, 69.6lbs, 33.21%

Those that did not finish were;

Joe T, 420.4, 376.6, 43.8lbs
Jennifer L, 315.0, 292.8, 22.2lbs
Pete W, 265.2, 258.0, 7.2lbs
John S, 356.8, 314.0, 42.8lbs

Congrats to all who finished. Now you have a second chance on life. Make the best of it.

The Final Weigh-in

2009-06-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Well it is finally over. No it is not, it has only begun. In January we started with 15 people and in the end 12 lasted the full 6 months and for that they have reap a benefit that will last them a lifetime. They have a new start on life. Whereas some have completed their goal and now need to maintain, and still some need to still lose weight, all have gained an experience that one day they will tell their grand children changed their life forever.

My goal and desire (as it always has been) was to give them an opportunity to begin a new life much better than their past. To get them off of their medications or at least reduce them. To let them feel better about themselves and to dream and have those dreams come true. Some told me that they haven’t felt so good since their high School years and others told me that they had never been so fit, but all pretty much agreed that the experience was well worth the time in the end.

Some (if not all of them) had some question about how certain things were run this year and I would not give them an idea on how and why I did certain things. Well, now I will tell why I did what I did.

Over the last few years my eyes have been opened to the fact that we have become a very overweight society. Well, let’s call a spade a spade; we have become a very FAT and lazy society. Now not just in the sense of being overweight but also in our attitude to settle for second best in everything we do. When we fall short of our goals we can always find someone that will say that is was “ok” but very few will say “No! It is not OK, you are better than that so now get out there and get-it-done”. Of the three people that quit, that was their problem, they had people that would enable them to settle for second best instead of challenging them to stick it out and finish.

On several of the challenges as soon as the challenges got a little hard (i.e. The Obstacle Course) I would have people coming to me to change that challenge in some way. I never gave in, why because I knew that you could complete whatever task I put in front of them and I was not going to enable them to fail. Then when they did complete it they were a better people for it. We have become too nice to those that, at this point in their life, we should be challenging. Unfortunately, my job was to and is to challenge you to become better people. For some it is working but for most it is not.

I can say that those 12 who finished are better people for it.

Marsha H 175.4 151.8
Debbie L 312.2 259.0
Josh F 380.8 353.2
James F 328.4 289.4
Krista O 287.0 238.2
Josh B 326.0 241.4
Vic G 326.4 221.0
Tracie B 245.4 177.4
Darcey L 189.0 156.4
Mark M 285.2 236.2
Richard A 395.0 279.6
Mary S 209.6 140.0
They just have not finished the task in front of them; they have begun a new life a second chance, a chance to tell a story but this time with a good, happy ending. Now to those that did not finish and quit before the end, yes you failed, but it is not too late. You can still change your life but it will take a strong effort for you do to that. Get with a person that will not let you settle for second best and will hold you accountable and get rid of all those people who have gotten you to where you are today. Those bad influences are just that bad for you get rid of them. No it is not “ok” to be on medications that you really don’t need to be on if you lost the weight. No it is not “ok” and you are not “just think boned” people. You are made in the image of God not a “cream-puff” or a “hamburger” and don’t let anyone tell you any different. I am here for you and can help you.

Now to all, may God bless you and keep you. May he shine his face upon you and may you never, never, never forget the blessing He has given you…..LIFE.

AAU track and field

2009-06-29T07:37:00.001-07:00

My kids are the greatest gift I have ever gotten. They have made it to Regionals.

The final challnege

2009-06-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last year’s challenge was very hard and took over 2 hours to complete. They took a whole bunch of dirt and filled a hole 10X10X4 then after that was done they took 3 tons of rock and move it into a truck by hand. This whole year some of the challenges were the same and they just knew that because it was going to be at the same location, the challenge was going to be the same. Well, surprise surprise, they were very shocked when they found out it wasn’t what they thought.

This year they had to take two pavers weighing over 200 pounds apiece and run them in a relay. Only one person could move it at a time and they were to pass it, like a relay to their team mate who would them pass it again until everyone on that team had run with it 30 meters.

Then when that was done they had to move a 700 pound bale of hay another 30 meters, end over end, in relay style. This time two could only go at a time. Once they got to one side they had to turn the bale of hay around for the next two people.

Once that was complete, they then had to take 3 tons of wet lime stone and move it 50 meters passed a line. Every bit of that lime stone had to be moved before a winner could be declared. Vic’s team won the final challenge but it was close. Congrats to his team.

As I had mentioned to the challengers, this may have been a final challenge but it is not THE FINAL CHALLENGE. That challenge comes as soon as they put on their regular cloths and go back to their life every day. What are you going to do when life starts throwing you curve balls and the excitement of the competition is gone? This is the real challenge. I hope I have prepared them for that time to come.

Volleyball

2009-06-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

It is one thing to play volleyball in a gym on a hard floor and it is totally something different when you are playing on sand. I found out the sand moves and to get your footing for a spike is almost impossible.

This week the WLC played volleyball. They broke into two teams and for giggles I had another team which consisted of Sally (WLC trainer), Jodi, Kathy (WLC trainer), Sue and me. We went against Vic and his team, Mary, Mark, Marsha, Steve, and Darcey and Rick and his team, Josh B, Josh F, Debbie, Tracie and Krista.

This was a round robin game were you can score points both on offense and defense and each game was to 15. In the end Vic’s team had the most wins at 3 followed by Rick’s team at 2 wins and bring up the rear Sally’s team with just 1 win.

Then we came back and had the weigh-in. If I told you that this was getting interesting I would not doing it any justice. At this time for the first two years we pretty mu knew who was going to be the clear winner. This year, over the last four weeks we have had different leaders. We have had Rick as the leader than Mary than Tracie. Here is the latest top 10

Name Pounds lost Percentage lost

10) Steve Foust 45.2 pounds 13.76%
9) Mark Meinhardt 40.2 pounds 14.10%
8) Debbie Lorenz 49.8 pounds 15.95%
7) Darcey Lowerre 31.8 Pounds 16.38%
6) Krista O’Brian 55.2 pounds 19.23%
5) Tracie Brasch 65.4 pounds 26.65%
4) Josh Branham 88.4 pounds 27.12%
3) Richard Andrus 107.8 pounds 27.29%
2) Vic Glassey 91.2 pounds 27.94%
1) Mary Schiefelbein 61.2 pounds 29.20%

The Yellow Brick Road

2009-06-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

How many times in your life has someone told you that you could not do something either because of and physical or mental issue? How many times have you heard that you were too old to do something or you were not smart enough to do something?
Over the last four months these challengers have run miles, lifted more weight than ever before, gotten a mental hold on their eating habits, Kayaked over a half mile, played indoor soccer, and now run a 5k (3.1 miles) in under 45 minutes. The fastest time was 28 minutes which turns out to be about 9 minute miles. This is after I was told that she could never and would never run that consistent.
Take into consideration that some of them are suffering with ACL issues and lower back pains, physical disabilities which after the challenge is over could lead to surgeries, with all that said they put that aside and GOT IT DONE.

I hope over the last 5 months they have inspired you all to GET IT DONE. This is the last month and it is heating up now. Stay tuned for THE FINAL WEIGH-IN. Who will win, nobody knows.

The Kayak Challenge

2009-06-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

Last year at this same time on this same weekend the Weight loss challenge people were to hold their water challenge. It is was to be a quarter mile lake course that they were to kayak. It never happened. Why? That same week we had a flood of rain come upon us that flooded the lake. Last year WLC went and did service work.

This year, however, we got it in. At first it began to rain but when they hit the water for the challenge the sun came out and the water was calm. This was an individual event that can only be won by the fastest time over the half mile course. The winner this year was Rick who finished the course just ahead of Mary by 1 second. Each challenger competed and did their best. Some who had never kayaked before said that they really enjoyed it. It was grueling for them but in the end they did well and all finished.

Welcome Kathy our new Personal trainer for the blue team. She was our runner up weight loss challenger in 2008 and she lost 100 pounds and has kept ALL of it off.

Truck Pull

2009-05-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

The dreaded truck-pull. So many were afraid of it, so many told me that they could not do it, but in the end all did it. All of them had heard that it was going to be a hard challenge. I had two of them come up to me and tell me that they just could not do it. One excuse after another, from a bad foot, to a blown knee. But together they could do it and they did. My goal here was to show them that, yes they are right; in it of themselves they cannot pull the 6500 pound truck up a slight incline 300 meters. In it of yourself they would probably hurt something. But with a partner, with a person that can come along side them and help them in the task YOU CAN DO IT AND ACHIEVE HEIGHTS THEY THOUGHT WERE IMPOSSIBLE. Below you can see their effort and their times. Please note this was a 300 meter course and they are pulling a 6500 pound truck up an incline.

Mark and Krista 2:55.00 seconds

Rick and Mary 2:44.00 seconds

Vic and Marsha 3:04.00 seconds

Josh and Tracy 2:53.00 seconds

Steve and Darcey 3:28.00 seconds

Special thanks to Auto Connections for the donation of the truck, to the Oconomowoc school system for the use of their driveway and to Vic Glassey for donating his pull-ropes. Thanks guys this challenge was successful because of all of you.

Lowering Expectations

2009-05-11T08:45:00.001-07:00

Lowering Expectations

Someone comes to you and tells you what they are looking to accomplish. They are very specific and have a time line in which this goal needs to be achieved. After working with them you come to find out that their goals may be achievable but they will be very difficult to attain. What do you do?

In this society today we have this notion that if YOU feel as though YOU cannot achieve it we have to reduce our standards to make US feel better. Look at our school system. For many years WE were held to a certain standard for our academics. WE knew that if WE did not achieve that standard there would be consequences so we tried and in most cases to achieve those standards. WE would consider our teachers and parents evil and bad for holding us to a high standard of achievement. However, at the end of the day, were we not better people and better citizens for it?

Look at those that did not grow up with discipline and where they are today. A friend said to me that if WE don’t train them when THEY are young he would have to when they were older. Imagine if our teachers gave us a test and then after the test said that she felt really sorry for us and that she was going to just give us all A’s. How much would we have learned? We would have learned NOTHING!

Yes, you can feel sorry for a person or group of people, but lowering the standards for them in a challenging event does not make them better people, it just makes YOU(US) feel better and keeps them right where they were originally. Tough love is tough, but just remember, many of them put themselves in the position they are in today. Let them work to get out if it. In the end, they will be better people for it.

The First Three Mile Run

2009-04-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

If I had told these challengers back in November that by April they would be running their first 5k, they would have laughed at me. But guess what…… they did it. It is my understanding that there was a bet on the table that anyone that ran it under 30 minutes would get a steak dinner (one of the trainers said this) and it was very close. Mark came in at 30:17 seconds. The slowest person came in at 45 minutes and the quickest 30 minutes. Not bad. This goes to show you that what you put your mind to do you can achieve. Below are some pictures of the challengers coming in after running 3 miles.

Nice hill at the end! Just my signature and way to say that I love them all. Great job guys.

Step Challenge and the Challenge of Challenges

2009-04-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

The first time we did this challenge we started at 96 BPM (beats per minute). The winner ended up at 184 BPM and 34 minutes. This time I started it at 126 BPM. The top three finishers were Mary, Tracie and Josh, and the winner was Mary. She stepped for 40 minutes and at her final BPM of 200 or 2 minutes. Great job to all!

Two weeks ago, our challenge was not to schedule a sporting event for the challengers, but to get them in their own worlds and begin to deal with their everyday lives without supervision. It was a challenge that the average person could not complete. Just look at how many people start in January at a health club and by February 90% of them are gone. At Parker’s Place and as part of the Weight Loss Challenge we emphasize Life-Style Change, not weight loss. We understand that weight change is a byproduct of life changes. We knew that after the last two weeks we would be able to tell who the real life changers were and who were not.

Over these last two weeks many of the challengers came in and got a lot done, but some did not. I also saw some of them go through a tremendous amount of soul searching and dealing with problems that would have still been there even at the end of the 6 months. I saw some start out with good intentions and end up just as they started if not worse. Some say that after three months a person can make life changes. As this goes to show you, unfortunately some do not. The attempt was there but in the end for some of them, their old life won out.

Changing one’s life is a long hard process and it starts with the person whose life needs to be changed. They need to want to change and not just emotionally but through a process of logical reasoning. In this process, their old life and its problems become magnified and what would have seemed small a few months ago becomes even bigger while going through this process. New temptations begin to creep up and old issues begin to surface again crying out for the attention they need. What do you do? When life gets hard we tend to run away from those things that in the long run can help us and try and find that comfort zone we used to be in again (good or bad).

One of the biggest problems the challengers have had is food control. I have been baffled on how to help them through this trial. Then one day a member told me that “If you focus on something, you empower it. It becomes all consuming.” This makes sense. Think about it, if you tell yourself that you will not eat this or will not eat at a certain time, what ends up happening is you begin to set yourself up for ultimate failure. Why, because you are thinking about it. However, if you focused your energies on some other thing or project the time would fly by and would have forgotten about eating during that time.

Now I am going to give you my conclusion on how to make life changes regardless of who you are and where you are at this time of life.

1) Plan your goals, little ones. Baby step.
2) Make a plan to get there and stay with it. Do not let excuses deter you from achieving.
3) Focus on the final prize, whatever that may be.
4) Do reward yourself for little success but remember to strive for your final destination
5) While going through the process of achieving your goals, think about all of those negative influences and begin the process of getting rid of them. (Even if it is people in your life)
6) Do not settle for second best or just making it. Instead, always strive for your best effort. Ask yourself a question in the end, “Could I have done better? Could I have gotten to this place sooner (whatever that place is)? Did I really do my best?”
7) If you can answer “yes” to #6, you are not settling for second best and you did do your best.
8) Once you achieve that goal then don’t quit. Set new goals and achieve them. This is what makes life fun and worth living.

I have said this before and I will say it again. Weight Loss is not a goal. Weight Loss is a byproduct of you achieving goals. Goals are such things as:
• Reduction of medications
• Running not for the first time but faster than the previous time
• Getting better at a specific sport
• Being able to physically do things that you were not able to do before( i.e. bad knees, bad back, bad joints, etc)

These goals are not weight loss itself. As you work to achieve your goals your weight will decrease until you are at the peak of your conditioning. Stay in it guys, don’t quit. You can do anything you put your mind to doing. Yes, it may be hard at first but nothing worthwhile is easy.

Special thanks goes to the 2008 class (Matt, Kathy, Sue, Donna, Craig, Nicole)and Jodi for coming alongside the 2009 class for that two week period and holding them accountable. You guys did a great job.