Stag and Doe

So tonight is going to be a good night. I am a groomsman in my good friends wedding in a few months, and tonight is his Stag and Doe. I am going to be passing out jello shooters and harping on about supportive nutrition all night. ACF has been nice enough to donate a consultation with me, along with a few other items, to be given as one of the prizes tonight. There are going to be around 250 people there, so i's going to be good to get our name out... Even if all of the people there are going to be half in the bag.
My training is going a lot better now, I am a lot more focused and am also trying a new program. I have a few clients that I am VERY excited about as well. Wait, who am I kidding, I am excited about all of my clients.
Have any of you ever had a job where you can honestly say there is no aspect of said job that you hate? Honestly... the only part of my job that I don't like is changing the garbage at the end of the night.. and that takes about 40 seconds.. It's kind of weird. I know, I know, you are jealous.

Robot Monkeys... ppffffft.

Now one of my clients just made me google "Squirrel Launcher". .. now THAT is a video.

Montreal!

So I was in Montreal this past weekend for a wedding and I forgot how nice that city is. I went with a couple of friends and we decided to take the train. It only takes 5 hours on a train... that is awesome. What's not so awesome is that you don't get to pick who sits around you. One guy loved Bon Jovi. I mean he LOVED him. He had his ipod turned up so loud that I could make out every word. But the worst part was that he decided that maybe Jon needed a backup singer, so he piped in.. Wow. I would have to compare that sound to someone who has been trapped under building rubble for at least 13 hours, has his legs crushed and is loudly whimpering for help.. . while being lit on fire.
Other than that, the trip was awesome, I can't say I ate very supportively, but it was a vacation and how can you turn down bacon wrapped shrimp kabobs.. seriously. I saw some really good friends that I hadn't seen in a while, and made quite a few new ones. (I also passed out a few business cards. .who knows?)

But now I am back on track, fully recovered and ready to get some clients their BEACH BODIES! I wish someone would help me find mine, I think I lost it..

P.S - My daughter is walking now, and constantly screeching as lous as she can, for absolutely no reason. Being a dad is fun, I wish I could be in my daughter's head, just for a minute, so I could know why she decides that screaming at a box of wipes is the right thing to do.

New workouts are fun.

It is going to take me a long time to write this blog entry.. mostly because I have to correct almost every word, due to my hands shaking. That's when I know it's been a good workout, my hands are shaky and my legs don't walk in the direction I want them to.

Contrasts. Try them. www.t-muscle.com has an amazing article on what they are and how to destroy your body doing them. It's basically based on the idea that your muscles can be confused. Same idea as if you were to pick up a glass of water that you though was full, but had no water in it. Your mind would tell your muscles to exert more force to pick up the glass, so it would come up fast.

So start with a heavy exercise with a weight you can do roughly 6 times, followed by the same exercise, but unloaded and explosive. This is how my sets with Jeff went. (Ernie's brother-in-law that I work out with at the studio. . he is the one that makes sure I do these workouts and not go half-assed.)

Squats - Heavy 3 sets - 6 reps
After your first set is over, jump to
Explosive jump squats 3 sets - 15 reps

Deadlifts - Heavy 3 sets - 6 reps
Kettlebell Swings 3 sets - 15 reps

Bench Press - Heavy 3 sets - 6 reps
Explosive push ups 3 sets - 15 reps

Bent over row - Heavy 3 sets - 6 reps
Explosive pull ups 3 sets - 15 reps

By then, it's time for some good old fashioned hand tremors.

I love my job.

5 am ain't so bad

So I did bootcamp twice this week. I'm not bragging, is was incredibly tough. Congratulations to all of these women. All full of smiles (well, most of them) and some of them even laughing this early.
Wednesday was awesome. I arrived to find Ernie standing in the middle of the parking lot with a sheet of paper and a finger on his chin. These ladies didn't know what they were in for. The entire pier had just become an obstacle course.
From 5:45 until 6:35 they had to do 6 different sections of this obstacle course, with each of them either a strength or cardio station. I am still amazed at what they did. I can't get over it honestly. The ladies show up, no make up on, sweatpants and a t-shirt, ready for a workout.
If anyone is reading this that isn't in the bootcamp yet (I actually don't know if anyone reads this at all) get your butt out there. The first day is the hardest, but I found myself getting kind of excited as I ate my oatmeal at 4:45am on Wednesday morning.

Youe energy is contagious ladies! Keep it up!

Big Shiny Tunes 4

Ok, so this has nothing to do with that cd, but I am listening to it now and it is bringing me back. .Oh Serial Joe, where has the time gone..

It's Saturday morning and that means I am at the gym. I know Sheila and Ernie have already talked about it in their blogs, but man, that ti-cat training camp was fun. And the one thing Sheila forgot to mention is that when she wanted a break from all of the testosterone filled, 6'3, 230 pound men, she came over to stand by me... damn it. Do I not emit testosterone?
Bah. These guys were tough. And they were also surprisingly down to earth. Nice fellows, joking around, introducing themselves. . I liked it. It started out being pretty intimidating though, showing them how to exercise. You would assume these giant men would know exactly what they were doing in the gym, but at every station they were asking for advice, making sure form was right.. I guess it isn't really their job to know how to do these lifts, that's why we are there.

My knees are beginning to get a bit better, more tests at the end of July. I'm crossing my fingers at tendonitis. Oh, to be young and in shape again with soft, supple joints .. what I wouldn't give.

Wait, I'm only 24... damn it.

I just don't get it.

I will admit, I am quite a happy fellow. But there are things out there that frustrate me and make me shake my head in disgust.

It started this morning at 6:15 when I woke up with my daughter. I turned on the television while we ate some breakfast, and of course, the early morning infomercials are running. I catch the middle of an episode (I wont tell you what the name of the product was) that had to do with "Electronic Muscle Stimulation" for your abdominals. For anyone who hasn't seen these machines before, it is a belt. .. FILLED with electricity.. that people CHOOSE to wear around their waists. Now, I have worn one of these belts before, my friend's dad had owned one, and in my early high school years decided to put it on and turn it up to the highest setting. I felt like a giant man had grabbed my core and squeezed it as hard as he could for three seconds. I couldn't breathe or even scream. It was truly uncomfortable.
People are BUYING these things to wear all day to, "stimulate abdominal contractions" and "get the belly they have always wanted!" And my favorite line, that I couldn't get out of my head all day was, "and you don't have to do ANYTHING AT ALL!"


Is this what we have come to? A culture of lazy, lazy human beings who would rather wear a belt that zaps their insides, then come to the gym and lose some weight? I've got news for you people out there.. These will not help you lose weight.. Sure, they will contract your abdominals, but seriously, it saddens to to think that someone out there could be so misinformed to believe that this power belt is the answer to their flabby prayers..

Even while I write this post, I shake my head. If you show me one person who has gotten the "6 pack of their dreams!" from this machine, I will purchase one and wear it on my face for an entire day. Hopefully it will get rid of my chubby cheeks.....

We are just like you..

As of late, I have been feeling. . I wouldn't call it un-motivated, but just not quite into my workouts as much. I get this way once a year or so, I'll ome to the gym, ready to go, then halfway through my workout, I will just stop. And this has nothing to do with lack of energy, I just stop.
Sometimes I feel like I need a trainer. I see my clients reaching all of their goals (which is awesome) and I wonder if I just need someone screaming at me and making sure I do all of sets..
I am going to start coming to the gym with someone else I think. I've had workout partners in the past, but they just haven't had the same goals, or motivation that I have had.
Hmmm. ..

Sort of on the same note, we have started the ACF annual "Train a Trainer" charity auction, and the bids are already coming in. No big surprise, but Sheila has the highest so far at $150. hehe.
Unfortunatley, I wasn't here to take part last year, but I did see a few of the videos.. wow. You clients can be a little bit cruel.
So once the bidding is over, I guess I will find out if it's just a kick in the butt I need to go on with my own training. . . I am kind of excited.. Is that weird? I guess weird is sort of a pre-requisite to working here...