I was browsing the web and have found some interesting websites via other people’s blogs and Google.

In a perfect world, this is the kind of gym I would love to own or train at. There’s a gym similar to that in DC, Balance Gym. The owner of Monkey Bar Gym has a great philosophy and outlook on fitness.

If you need help remembering the importance of patience when working towards your goals (as I did this past week, but that’s for another post), then read this one on Ross Enamait’s website.

For sports training, check out Dr. Yessis’ blog, where he covers so many aspects of sports training; this is an invaluable resource for those seeking performance improvements.

This blog focusing on healthy high achieving fits right into my philosophy on what’s important in life: achieving your goals in business and life without sacrificing your health. That, to me, is the key to happiness. Read this post to get an idea of what a healthy high achiever is.

Ok, I’m studying now, I really am!

Due to some changes in business practices, I’m leaving the studio I’m currently training in and will be going to Bally Total Fitness in DC. I’ve heard some awful things about Bally, but I have also heard some positive changes taking place after being sued, going through Chapter 11, blah blah blah. Anyway, I hope that this will be somewhat easier than working at a studio since I won’t have to stand outside every Saturday morning handing out flyers to people who aren’t interested just to try to get them into the door. At least I’ll be exposed to people who obviously care about their health since they are in the gym in the first place.

Making this move, particularly the interview yesterday, has given me the opportunity to reflect on my fitness philosophies and practices.

Last night, I stumbled upon the C.H.E.K Institute website, which has a unique perspective and approach to fitness, which includes the spiritual aspect of health. This led me to think about what health is.

What is health? At my old studio, it was a weight, a number, a percentage of fat. Sure, we emphasized feeling better, more energized, and happier. But I could only wonder if we focused too much on the numbers.

There are healthy weights, I totally believe that. I do believe that people with a certain percentage of fat should work to lose that fat because of the health risks associated with fat carried on the body. It is possible to be considered overweight, but not be fat or unhealthy. Take athletes for example. My teammate would be considered technically overweight, close to obese, due to her height and age. However, because she carries very little fat and a lot of muscle (which we all knows weighs more than fat), her weight is not an issue and doesn’t mean that she’s unhealthy.

Losing weight is not necessarily the answer to becoming “healthy,” but losing fat should be the focus of a program where becoming healthy is the goal.

So why do we focus so much on what we weigh? The way we determine health is often through weight. You can’t assume that because you weigh a certain amount that you are unhealthy. You have to look at the composition of that weight.

When I begin to approach people at Bally, I will ask them what they are working on today, what their goals are, and why. I want to know what makes people focus only on losing weight instead of losing fat and building muscle. You can still lose weight, and feel happy about reaching that goal, but still carry too much fat. Lose fat, build muscle. I don’t really care about what the scale says, just as long as your body composition improved to more muscle and less fat. I’m more concerned about getting you to be able to walk flights of stairs without getting out of breath. I want you to be able to toss your baby or toddler up in the air and catch them without difficulty and injuring yourself. I want you to be able to determine what a good food choice is. I want you to embrace the lifestyle that has given myself, and so many other people, the ability to enjoy life to the fullest.

So I guess I have examined my role as a personal trainer, and have accepted the fact that I am an educator. I personally help people change their habits and teach them how to live a healthy lifestyle. My focus will not be on weight, but on overall changes in health.

A Review of Soul Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred Gifts by Joan Marie Whelan

Writing about making your ordinary into the extraordinary, Whelan shows the reader how to tap into your sacred and spiritual gifts and how to live your best life. One of the major themes running through her writing is letting go of the negative emotions that only work to hold you back. By letting go of the negative experiences and emotions that come with it, you can accept the joy and beauty of yourself and free yourself for great opportunities and possibilities.

Whelan does not only write what we should do, such as focusing on your positive experiences, but provides exercises that she has used with her clients in order to help you change your thoughts. Spending time with self-reflection in front of a mirror is one of her recommendations. This simple, yet effective, exercise enables you to hear your thoughts, feel your emotions, and eventually let go of negative emotions and find your authentic self.

Although this book focuses on people who may have experienced negative and traumatizing events, especially as children, anyone who reads this will find some application to their own lives. This book does not focus on the law of attraction itself, but provides a way to make the idea work for you. To me, the most important factor holding people back from achieving their goals is negative emotions and negative self-talk. Reading, absorbing, and using this book will enable you to let go of the negative self-talk and free yourself to attract new, exciting, and fulfilling experiences.

It is important to note that changing your way of thinking and learning to accept your gifts does take work and commitment. But, as Whelan notes, “To me, it is work staying depressed, angry or frustrated.” Make the decision to let go of your self-destructive and negative emotions and experiences, and you will be able to find your happiness.

If you are looking for new ideas and are ready to regain control of your thoughts, and your life, this book is for you!

Go to www.joanmariewhelan.com for more information. This book was launched yesterday and is available for $24.95.

I’m reading a book by The Dalai Lama and I came across a quote that read: “All human beings have an extraordinary destiny!”

I have to say that I agree; I believe that there is an infinite power in all people to achieve their dreams, especially their health and fitness goals. It just depends if you want to work hard enough to realize your potential.

That is one of the reasons why I decided to become a personal trainer and pursue my goal  and passion of being an entrepreneur despite some of my mentors pushing me towards an academic path. Helping people realize that they are stronger than they think they are is one of my passions. I enjoy helping people find their strength.

We are designed to do great things, but for some people, they need a little help finding their own strength. I’m lucky enough to have been taught mental toughness from years of being an athlete, but anyone, regardless of what they do or where they are in life, can be taught to change their way of thinking in order to realize their destiny.

My best friend had an interesting, and long, conversation about this idea and the idea of self-esteem preventing people from reaching their goals, but that is going to have to be in another post. In other news, I will be taking my certification exam on 8/21, so by that evening, I will be a CPT I will also be posting a book review that is about unleashing our mental power very, very soon. Stay tuned!

We all know that Americans don’t get enough fiber in their diets. From the recommended 20-35 grams, Americans only get about 12-15 grams daily. But why is it important to get more fiber in our lives?

Fiber is the most abundant organic molecule on earth, and is a non-starch polysaccharide ( a long chain of carbon and is a complex form of carbohydrates). You can find fiber in bran, whole wheat flour, strawberries, blackberries, broccoli, and other plants and beans.

The consumption of fiber is linked to lower occurrences of hypertension, diabetes, intestinal disorders, some cancers, and even obesity! Fiber is essential to your gastrointestinal health because it decreases the length of time cancer-causing materials stay in the intestines and inhibits the activity of harmful materials. In less developed nations, fiber consumption is between 40-100 grams each day, and there is significantly less occurrences of “Western” diseases such as obesity.

Like other nutrients, it’s best to get your fiber from REAL food. Add foods high in fiber and you will see a positive difference in the way you feel and your energy level.

Jay, what’s the best exercise for your abs? I’ve done so many situps and crunches, but I can’t get my abs to look like yours! What am I doing wrong?

Ever since I started telling people that I’m a personal trainer, the first thing they ask me is if I can help them get rid of their tummy fat. Guaranteed.

Situps and crunches will only do so much for your core. True, they’re good at building strength and muscle, but they will not, I repeat, will not give you the 6-pack abs you covet. Why? Because these exercises don’t burn fat!

I am a great advocate for building strong abs, and you do that with targeted exercises such as bicycles, toe touches, and even crunches, for example. But to build truly strong and functional ab and back muscles, you must do exercises that engage the core as stabilizers.

What does that mean?

It means that you should have a steady routine that include planks, push ups, and pull ups! You must engage your core in everything that you do, from squats and lunges, to curls and presses.

To make your muscles “pop” (show off the 6-pack), you also need to have an effective cardio routine. Check out my posts on interval training here and here to get an idea of what kind of cardio I use with my clients.

We all know it’s bikini season, so get to the gym or wherever you work out and start paying proper attention to your core!

Hustling for clients is no fun. I’ve been MIA lately because I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to figure out more effective ways to get clients. Anyone have any tips they would like to share?

In other news, I got my cert materials from UPS today, and it’s going to be fun studying for my exam in August. Yay!

If you haven’t read this post about the food industry from McBloggenstein, drop everything you’re doing and go here and look at those videos. Mind-opening and thought-provoking is how I describe them.

I’ll be back soon with more thoughts on health and fitness news as soon as I start feeling less stressed about clients. I’ll be hustling really hard this Saturday at our open house. Send some clients my way with your thoughts; the law of attraction is bound to help me out.

Speaking of the law of attraction, has anyone read The Answer by John Assaraf, one of the men featured prominently on The Secret ? I’m reading it now and it’s pretty much amazing.

Now I’m off to apply the law of attraction towards getting clients on Saturday.

Today I had another session with my client. Since he does chemo on Wednesdays and is usually still recovering by Friday, training sessions on Fridays are light. We started off with a 10 minute warm-up, then went into a 20 minute yoga session. He really enjoyed the yoga, saying that he felt very relaxed once we were done. We then did a 25 minute brisk walk, and stretched after.

While we were stretching, I asked him about his chemo sessions and how he was feeling.

To my surprise, he said he was feeling great. He said that he’s usually not feeling better until Saturday, and, despite this week being a harsher dose of chemo, he felt better by Thursday morning! Although he has only done about a week and a half of sessions, he said working with me has already had a great impact.

Needless to say, this made my day and impacts like this one is why I wanted to be a trainer in the first place.

So I’m sure all of you have heard of the report that came out about obesity being a cause of global warming. I read a parody of that report on the Freakonomics blog here suggesting that because people who exercise actually burn more calories (energy), they should be taxed for their contributions to global warming.

I thought it was funny, especially because of the comments! Check it out and give me your two cents.

Have any of you read Good Calories, Bad Calories? What did you think of Taubes’ argument that exercise doesn’t help with weight loss?

The life that we lead is a result of the habits we create. Sure, environment plays a role, but if you choose to follow certain habits, environment becomes a nonfactor. For example, you could be going to the best private school in the nation, but if you don’t have good study habits, you won’t learn and succeed. The same is true for weight management, nutrition, and health!

Too many people say “I don’t have time to cook healthy” or “there are no affordable healthy options around where I live,” using these thoughts as crutches and excuses in order to continue living the way they do. The last one really gets on my nerves. Even in DC there are several weekly farmers’ markets across the city. People just choose not to find out when such markets are held and to attend them. I can’t tell you how many flyers I’ve seen for farmers’ markets. And farmers’ markets tend to be cheaper!

I digress.

If you truly want to change your life, you have to make the decision to do so first. You have to choose that you’re mad enough at your situation, whatever it may be, to change it!

One of the first habits you will have to change is your self-talk. You can’t continue telling yourself that the work towards your goal isn’t worth it, or that you’ll never reach your goal, or that there’s nothing you can do to change.

From the time you wake up, you need to have positive thoughts. Think about what you want in life, rather than what you don’t have. Once you change the habit of negative thinking, your life will change. Guaranteed.

Be disciplined enough to cook for yourself. I’m not saying go cold turkey and start cooking everything, but if you eat out many times a week, start with cooking for one night. Once you get comfortable with that, cook for two nights out of the week, and so on. Find the time to make healthy foods, even if that means spending time over the weekend to cook the week’s meals and freeze them.

If you have time to catch your favorite shows on tv every day, you have time to make a healthy meal. Make cooking a habit!

I’m sure there are other habits that need to be broken and created, but I can’t emphasize the power of positive thinking, and the amazing results that come from homemade, healthy cooking. It takes time to break bad habits, but if you tell yourself that it will be worth it, and think about how great your life will be once you reach your fitness goals. Start taking the time today.