Have a Safe and Happy New Year!!!

Earlier today I finished my last workout of the year. I wore my new Vibram 5 Finger KSO's. Since today was deadlift day, I felt they would be ideal since the deadlift is optimized when you are completely grounded--meaning little or no cushion from footwear to interrupt power transmission. Earlier this morning I weighed in at 249.5 lbs, my first foray under the 250 lb mark in approximately 10 years. I also won another hole from my weightlifting belt--only one more left and it's time for a new belt. Despite hitting new benchmarks in reduced body mass, my deadlifting today was excellent. I exceeded my repetition goals and completed work sets of: 455x5, 455x5, 455x5, and 455x4. My previous two deadlift workouts were much more difficult sets of 455x3 for 4 sets. My overall workload increased by 7 reps and 3185 lbs.

The only other thing that I've changed since my last deadlift workout 2 weeks ago was the introduction of 100 mg of CoQ10 in the morning. This particular supplement has been reported to increase energy levels and came recommended on a couple of websites that I review on a regular basis ( www.raysahelian.com and www.t-nation.com) I don't know if it was the shoes, the CoQ10, or the relaxing week I spent visiting my family in Boulder (Mom, Dad and Missy are in the photo above) but I was capable of deadlifting significantly more today than I was two weeks ago.

There's nothing like setting a new benchmark in the gym to generate optimism and excitement with one's workout program!!

Looking back at the year, it's been quite an eventful 12 months. I've regained my health after almost weighing 300 pounds, transitioned out of a 17 year career in management with Enterprise Rent A Car, re-started my personal training business, and started competing in powerlifting again. As far as life-changing events go, 2008 was full of them.

I'm really excited for what 2009 will bring because I am approaching the year with successes under my shrinking belt and passion driving my actions. I have an excellent network of business associates, a healthy family, and amazing clients. I have a lot to be thankful for and even more to be optimistic about in the future.

I wish for all of you a very safe and happy New Year!! May 2009 be your best year ever!!

A new soccer training DVD!

My buddy Josh Hewett of Top Form Fitness has just completed a soccer training DVD. If you play soccer or have a child who does, check out the DVD by clicking the product link above.

Nice to Have vs Need to Have

As the end of 2008 nears and the beginning of 2009 looms, I find myself re-evaluating expenses and material possessions. I do this by applying the ubiquitous 80-20 rule to "Nice to Have" vs "Need to Have". As I consider my inventory of expenses and material possessions, I realize that most of what I have or spend falls into the "Nice to Have" category. When I categorize the things that fall into the "Need to Have" column, I find that over the past year, I've let the ratio get out of whack. That is, the ratio of Nice vs Need has risen over the past year to closer to 90/10 instead of 80/20.

Now obviously housing costs take up a larger portion of almost everybody's budget than 10 or 20 percent but I consider the "Need to Have" requirement for housing to be the average cost of renting a room in an inexpensive part of the city--that's the minimum I'd "need" to survive. Add in the expense of a downtown, two-bedroom apartment and most of my housing costs fall in the "Nice to Have" category. Since I'm not ready to sacrifice where I live nor am I ready to give up my three cats (don't ask, long story), I need to de-clutter and also get rid of some expenses that I find "Nice to Have".

Some early candidates for the heave-ho: cable tv--at least my HD box with PVR, all of my extra golf clubs, lots of old clothes I don't wear, my land-line, an extra 27" TV that I haven't even plugged in for 3 years, and old bills that I still need to shred so I can store new ones.

The moral of the story is, it's hard to build your vitality when you've got unproductive "stuff" lying around and money being spent on things that return little to no value.

Don't reinvent the wheel, use it!

One of the most effective tools to help strengthen your core and your shoulder girdle is a device that's been around for at least 50 years. In its basic incarnation, it's called the "ab wheel". That's not as exciting as calling it the "abdominizer", the "super crunch-o-matic", or the "super washboard making, bounce a quarter off your belly, six-pack maker" but it works and it's been working for decades.

What is it? It's just a wheel with handles. A newer version called the "Power Wheel II" adds foot pads so you can also work the front of the core from the feet as well as the hamstrings.

The basic version of the ab wheel exercise is a roll-out from your knees. You'll notice immediately whether or not your core, triceps and lats are weak or strong by how far you can go without falling on your belly. If the roll-out from your knees is not enough of a challenge, you can graduate to the advanced version and roll-out from your feet.

Either way, it's a terrific way to strengthen your core and shoulder girdle. Basic ab wheels can be picked up at most any fitness or sporting goods store and cost $15-20. The Power Wheel II adds foot pedals for even greater exercise versatility. The best price I've found for the Power Wheel II is at Allegro Medical.

Have you stretched lately?

No, this entry isn't about flexibility or mobility even though they are critical components to a vital lifestyle. What I'm asking is, "have you forced yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and try something that wasn't just new but also required you to muster up some courage?"

The other night I ventured onto a dance floor for the first time in many years. This wasn't an alcohol-fueled, Dr. Jekyllian episode, I was sober but I decided to do it anyways. For many people, especially women, going dancing is as natural as looking both ways before crossing the street. For me, not so much. I have a tremendous fear of looking like a dork on a dance floor. It's warranted. I do look like a dork. Still, dancing is fun and I love music so I finally decided the other night that I would throw vanity aside and let myself have fun.

As I reflected back on that night, I realized that many people feel the same way about stepping foot inside a fitness club or gym. It can be scary, all beginners look like beginners and usually there are members of both sexes at the gym or club who are clearly very experienced at exercise.

Whether you're a fitness professional, avid exerciser, or rank beginner, it's important to stretch, to reach out and try things that are outside of your comfort zone. There's a good chance you'll have fun and trying new things is good for mind and body!

Read this post if you have fat loss goals!

Now and as it was before, I hear an endless stream of completely misguided nutritional strategies from clients and members at the club. Some have simply been over-influenced by product marketing and have a pavlovian response to anything labeled "low-fat", others heard from a friend that a friend lost X amount of pounds by drinking nothing but dirty dishwater and eating one prune a day with lemon juice--or something to that effect.

I will always defer to an expert rather than try to re-invent the wheel and I think Dr. Jonny Bowden is one of the most credible and effective nutrition coaches in existence. Some "gurus" list a Ph.D or other fancy letters after their name but they were earned in nothing resembling the gurus' current enterprise, Dr. Bowden actually received his Ph.D in Nutrition so it's not a "for show" set of post-name letters. I list his book, "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth" as one of my favorites and if you really want to learn how to lose weight effectively and for the long-term, I strongly, strongly recommend his DVD, The Truth About Weight Loss DVD .

The beauty of that DVD is it costs roughly the same as a book but you don't have to read anything, you just have to watch and listen. He sells other more comprehensive products on his website but the DVD is a perfect starting point for improving your vitality whether you have fat loss goals or just want to optimize your body composition.

If you buy the DVD, drop me a note and let me know what you learned!

Finished the Level II Kettlebell Certification last week

We learned all sorts of new kettlebell moves and now have really full toolboxes of kettlebell exercises for our upcoming client programs. I was sore for a couple of days after but nowhere near as sore as from the certification class. Chris (the man-mountain wearing the Jordan jersey) and I are excited about the new kettlebell training class we're going to roll out at the Parkview Goodlife. It will be an awesome class for anyone interested in strength, mobility, and incredible fat loss.