Finding Inspiration

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Hey there!  John here and I hope you are kickin butt with your fitness and fat loss goals.  Enjoy the post on finding inspiration and if remember to forward and share it with friends and family with the links at the bottom!

A lot of times people will ask me, “John don’t you ever relax and not work out? Don’t you get tired of it sometimes?”

My answer: “Of course I relax sometimes and occasionally hit a lull in workouts.” (contrary to popular belief I am human just like you :-) .  Even me, the San Jose personal trainer has his moments from time to time.

For example, after vigorously training last year for an Olympic Triathlon, I took a full week off of exercise…partly to let my body recover and partly because I was a bit over it. :-)   However, I did keep my nutrition in check during my “off” period and took care of my body in other ways such as foam rolling and PNF stretching.

So the question is, how do you find inspiration to continue to do your workouts and your quest for your ideal figure?

1) It all starts with what you really want. 

No I’m not talking about “Hey I want to lost 15 pounds.”

I’m talking about “I want to lost 15 lbs and tone up my body so I can fit into my jeans I used to wear before I had kids.” That’s what I’m talking about.

2) Then you need to dig even deeper….

WHY do you want to achieve these goals?  What is it going to do for you?  How will you feel when you obtain them?  Will it change anything for you?  Is there any reward when you achieve it (like maybe a shopping spree :-) ??

Be specific about this and uncover all the emotional attachments you have to not only GETTING into great shape, but STAYING in great shape.  Sometimes, once people achieve their goals they don’t feel as excited to continue on maintaining their great shape and fitness and this can be dangerous as it could lead to regressing right back to where they started.  As a bootcamp instructor and personal trainer for San Jose and Campbell I have seen this many times so don’t let this happen to you.

Instead, think more about all the great benefits exercise gives you in terms of energy, maintaining that great figure you have achieved, more self-confidence and perhaps even the ability to indulge in some finer foods every now and then :-) Not to mention that sometimes you just feel like wonderwoman or superman!

3) Get Creative!

Another way to stay pumped up with your fitness and fat loss goals is to stay creative!  Keep your workouts fun, challenging and changing.  This is one of the main things we do in Fast Action Training! (which if you would like to try for a week free, you can click here!)  You can even get out on the weekend and do a kick butt outdoor workout!  (For some additional hints on exercises you can do on a playground check out the “PlaygroundWorkout” I created.)

4) Sign up for an event!

One of the ways that I like to keep myself inspired to do exercise is to challenge myself with various events.  For example, after signing up for the San Jose Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon, I also signed up for the Wharf-to-wharf.  This allowed me to train and get ready for a 10K and then keep my training up for the big 13 miler!  And for those of you that know me, I’m not the biggest fan of running! :-)

So go online and find an event that you can start with.  Maybe it’s only walking a 5K but it is something!  And something to motivate and inspire you to exercise more frequently and hopefully with a bit more intensity ;-)   Who knows, maybe I’ll schedule an official Fast Action Training race and we’ll all sign up and stay inspired together!

Good luck and stay motivated!

Dedicated to your success,

John

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments below and perhaps what inspires and motivates you to exercise!

Monday Motivator 7-26-10

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Good Morning!  John here, and I hope all is well and that you’re kickin butt in your fitness and fat loss goals!

Do you have a lot of people that you’re responsible for?  Whether it is at home or at work sometimes it feels like you’ve got too many things to do and that the list keeps growing.  How can you even find any time, let alone 4-5x/week to exercise??!

That being said, I think this quote by Mr. Bill Cosby will really hit home.  Bill said this:

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.”

Sure there are a lot of things that we must do (I’m not telling you to leave the baby’s dirty diaper on :-) but there are a lot of things that we say “yes” to when we really don’t want to.

Remember that although it is important to help people, make a difference and please people, YOU still come first.  Without your health, where would you be?  You couldn’t help anyone.  This is your life and you have to make sure that you take care of your body so you can enjoy life to the fullest.

You have to understand that it is ok to “just say no” from time to time.

Try these phrases when you encounter the next situation where you really want to say “no.”

1)      “I’d love to be able to help you but I’ve got so many things on my list I feel I might not complete it and I don’t want to let you down.”

2)      “Kathy’s b-day party sounds like so much fun but unfortunately I’ve got some previous family commitments I have to attend to.  I hope you have a great time!”

3)      “I’d be happy to help you with this project but I would not be able to start until next week at the earliest.  I’m currently working on a project for Jim and as I take a lot of pride in my work, I have to give it my fullest attention.  I’m sure you would want me to do the same for you.  So would next week work for you?”

Start taking care of yourself first.  Make exercise a routinely scheduled part of your day that gets done without fail.  You will feel better, more energetic and achieving that fitness goal will be a cinch.

Have a terrific start to your week and I’d love to hear your comments below!

Dedicated to your success,

John

Superset Your Workouts Like Lebron James

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Hey there!  John here and I hope you are kickin butt with your fitness and fat loss goals!

With all the recent hype about “King James” I wanted to see if I could find a little something about the big man’s workouts.  I must tell you I was excited to see the intensity at which he trains and would expect nothing less.

Lebron does supersets of various exercises which means he performs them back to back without rest.  Afterwards, he will rest about 45 seconds before moving on to his next set.  He’ll perform about 3 sets per “superset” before moving on to his next series of exercises.  If you’re in my Fast Action Training indoor san jose bootcamp sessions this will sound very familiar.  We do supersets by combining a resistance training exercise with a plyometric or other bodyweight type of high intensity interval.

This not only saves time, but makes you much more efficient in your workouts and can help ignite your metabolism to burn off that unwanted bodyfat.

Now Lebron plays enough basketball to really hit is cardio hard so here’s a snippet of what he does in some of his weekly workouts in regards to his resistance training:

Monday:

Superset 1

Pushups – To failure

Pull ups – 10 reps

Superset 2

Dumbbell Snatch – 5 each arm

Single Arm Cable Row – 10 each arm

Friday:

Superset 1

Single Leg Squat – 5 reps each leg

Single Leg Stability Ball Leg Curl – 10 each leg

Superset 2

DB Side Lunge – 10 each direction

Unstable Jump Rope – 45 sec on soft surface

He also does a variety of other exercises including Floor Bridges for glutes, Quadrupeds or “BirdDogs” for Core work, Reverse Lunge with DB front raise and more.

Although I’m getting a little tired of all the hype, I will tell you that this guy is not only the talent, but that he trains with intensity even off the courts.  Check out this video of a pre-game routine to see some of the exercises I described.

With some intense superset workouts incorporating total body movements just a couple times per week, you can really kick up the calorie burn and feel great!  Not to mention your endurance will go through the roof.  Depending on how hard you workout you can toss in some HIIT cardio sessions 1-2 additional days or switch it up with some longer duration hikes, cycling, swimming etc.  It’s summer so get out there and enjoy the weather!

Till next time everybody!  By the way, I’d love to hear your comments below!

Dedicated to your success,

John

Monday Motivator 7-19-10

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Hey there, it’s John and I hope you are kickin butt in your fitness and fat loss goals.

Enjoy this week’s Monday Motivator via video!

I’d love if you leave your comments in the section below!

Dedicated to your success,

John

The #1 Fitness Program Killer

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Hey there, it’s John, hope you’re kickin butt in your fitness and fat loss goals.

I wanted to talk today about the #1 Killer of Fitness Programs for everyone across the world….wait for it….the tension is mounting….

Yes, it is Procrastination.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever uttered any of these phrases:

“I’ll start next week”

“If I only had more time”

“I’ve got too much ____(fill in the blank) to do”

“When January comes, I’m hittin it hard” (wait a second, it’s July?!  you going to wait 6 months to start?)

Procrastination is single-handedly the biggest underlying cause of why people just don’t get fit and don’t get the results they want.  Everyone is much more content keeping the same bad habits, not going outside their comfort zone and eventually just giving up completely on fitness.

And I hope you’re not one of them!

If you enjoy being “le couch potato” then right on, go for it, especially if you want to look forward to cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and a myriad of other health concerns.

For those of you that want to start MAKIN’ IT HAPPEN, here are some tips to overcoming procrastination.

1) Write down your goals and be specific!

You want to lose how much, by what date, fit into what size clothes, be prepared for what reunion or wedding, etc.

2) Create an action plan!

How many days per week of exercise?  How much cardio or weight training?  What will your nutrition be like and how can you make improvements on it?  Will you do it on your own or with a friend or a personal trainer?

3) Set up a “Fitness Only” exercise calendar

This way you can mark, schedule, and track all of your workouts AS WELL AS your achievements!  How many calories did you burn?  How was your nutrition?  Make it a game and give yourself some big shiny stars on days you did well.

4) Get some accountability

I mentioned this in a previous post, but the fact remains….if you have someone holding you accountable, whether it be friend, group, or trainer, you will get better results.

5) Stay consistent for at least 1 full month and give it all you’ve got.

Most studies show that it takes about 21 days to build/create a new habit so stay consistent and give yourself a fighting chance.

6) Reap the results and repeat!

Once you start seeing some changes….increase in energy, feeling more self-confident, losing weight, feeling more fit, feeling like your muscles are tightening up and any other benefits you obtain, you will automatically be programmed to continue!

Good luck!

I’d love to hear your comments in the comment section below and if you think it helped you, then be sure to share it with a friend!

Dedicated to your success,

John

Monday Motivator 7-12-10

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We are officially almost a full month into summer and past the first half of the year.  Now can be a good time to take a step back and put all of your fitness goals into perspective. 

How have you done?  Are you fighting the good fight and obtaining the results you wanted?

As you reflect, take aim, and chart your course to achievement over the next 6 months of the year, I want to share a quote with you by Les Brown.

Les said this:

“Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

Too often we sell ourselves short, second guess our commitments, and self-sabotage our efforts. 

So I’m challenging you to throw away all those negative thoughts and give it all you’ve got!

Remember all the successes that you have had thus far whether it be losing weight, going to the gym more often, being more active on the weekends, completing a 5K or fitness event, improving on your nutrition, and whatever else you can think of.

Get fired up about all the positive changes you will make over the next 6 months and how you can make 2010 one hell of a year!

Have a terrific start to your week and I’d love to hear your comments below on what YOU will do to make the best of the next 6 months!

Dedicated to your success,

John Heringer

Changing Your Fitness Goals From Dreams To Reality

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Hey there, I hope you are kicking butt in your fitness and fat loss goals.

So during my 5 mile jog this morning, I had some time to think.  And I got to thinking how I know a lot of people struggle with taking the first step in their fitness program.  How it can seem extremely daunting and how you’re just not sure you have “the time” for all of it.  How you have tried in the past and been unsuccessful so it just isn’t worth it.

The issue is that you’re telling yourself all the bad things associated with your workouts.  I had the same choice this morning.  Tuesdays tend to be a bit easier for me so I could have chosen to sleep in.  I could have layed in bed and thought and thought about all the reasons why I really can’t go on a run or exercise at all.

Instead, I was up at 6 and on the road, which was actually pretty serene as there were not many cars out.

My point is that there is always going to be a feeling of being uncomfortable.  You’ve got to dig down deep and find the courage to make the time and make it happen.

Take Fast Action Training for example, the indoor bootcamp that I lead in San Jose/Campbell.  I know it took some courage for my clients to come in for the initial workout.  Even with some accountability they still have a lot of the same thoughts about whether or not they can handle the workout, whether they will be able to stick with it, etc.

It really is all about taking that first step!  Here are some things I have found that can help along the way.

1) Set the alarm 30 minutes earlier

- And once that alarm goes off, do not give yourself the chance to hit snooze.  Throw the covers off and jump out of bed like a madman/woman!  Have your workouts clothes layed out the night before and get out there and start walking or jogging.  If you don’t give yourself the option to “get out of it” then you will do it!

2) Exercise with a friend

- Team up with a friend so you have someone else holding you accountable to the morning or even night-time workouts.  That way you can call each other and if at least 1 of you always feels motivated, then both of you will always get some exercise. :-)

3) Schedule active weekend activities!

- Go on a bike ride with the family, do a 5K as a family and walk it, or even go to the park and play some games.  While you’re there be sure to do some the exercises I talked about in the Playground Workout video!

4) Get some extra accountability and hire a personal trainer!

- Of if you want to save some dough, meet some awesome people and get some great workouts, come join us at Fast Action Training.  Just find the link to the right to activate a 1 week free trial and at the very least, I’ll help you take care of 2 or more days/week of some great bootcamp style exercises.  Sessions times are held throughout the week to meet that busy schedule of yours and we are conveniently located near Campbell, San Jose, and Willow Glen.

Hope these tips and streams of thought help you organize your fitness plan of attack!

I’d love to hear your comments below!

Dedicated to your success,

John

Monday Motivator 7-5-10

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Remember, today’s motivator requires you to do an exercise so open up a document or grab a paper and pen and let’s do this. :-)

1) List all the things that you are unable to or just plain “can’t” do such as:

I can’t drink that much water

I can’t cook my meals

I can’t make it to the gym 3x/week

I can’t write down what I eat

I can’t do 3 more reps, etc. etc.

2) List out the reasons why you can’t do the above things.  Are they really valid?  Or are they just blockades that you are putting up yourself?  Are they really just excuses or procrastinations that could disappear whenever you decide to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

3) Read the following quote by Tommy Lasorda

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”

4) Create an action list from your above “can’t” items and plan ways that you CAN do all of them!  Get determined!

5) Seriously, do this exercise and you will reap the benefits.  Sometimes you can get caught up in life, work, family and other commitments and you and your fitness and health fall to the wayside. 

However, with an action plan by your side, you will get PUMPED UP to make things happen, schedule things that need to take place, destroy the habit of creating excuses and procrastinating and get some GREAT results!

Rock n roll ladies and gents!  I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend and let’s go get em’!!!

Have a terrific start to your week!

Dedicated to your success,

John Heringer