December 2009

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The Big Hairy Audacious Goal- what it means for you in 2010.

December 29, 2009 in Fitness, Motivation, Tips and Tricks by Dave | 1 comment

Who is this post for?
If you’re in decent shape. You’ve reached you initial goals that got you off your butt in the first place. You’ve been training for a while maybe even a long while. You’ve got a handle on your eating and while training isn’t exactly easy you’d like a bit more motivation. Lets call it the “what’s next?” question.

It’s time to set your Big Hairy Audacious Goal(BHAG). I stole the BHAG from business management but it works for individuals too. The BHAG is something far from easy but reachable with much effort. You’ll use what you have now and build upon this foundation to get to the BHAG.
Examples of BHAG’s-

1.Triathlons: any distance is a challenge. Combine Swimming, Cycling, and Running and you’ve got a goal you can believe in. Type A+ personalities do this at your own risk of addiction.

2. Road Races: 5ks- Marathon’s(Cowtown Marathon is right here!) to Marathons in Europe(couple of clients did these in 2009 and loved! the travel and adventure).

3. Ultra-Marathons: got a marathon under your belt? Go longer like 50k or 50 miles to start. The El-Scorcho 25k and 50k is right here in Fort Worth during the summer. I do this one myself. And I get nausea just thinking about it! Good Times!

4.Trekking, Mountain Climbing- You can put these trips together yourself or go to a trusted provider like Backwoods Adventures(Fort Worth) and hike Yellowstone National Park or Utah parks or Trek on one of 4 different Continents.

5. Adventure Vacations: where you have to show it off like Hawaii. Or a Vacation where you have to use it or lose it like Scuba Diving, Skiing, or Snow Boarding

7. Adventure Racing, Mud Runs, Urban Races: all different terrains and all require you to adapt to ever changing environments and challenges.

Two big factors actors make the BHAG so effective to reaching the next level.

First you have to tell others about the event or trip. These type of events can’t be done in private. This is the accountability factor. In a good way. “I’ve already told everyone” will get you out of bed many many mornings.

And the second big factor is the deadline element.It’s the forcing mechanism behind the goal.You’ve made the investment in registration, travel and hotels.
You cannot move the date of the trip or the start of the race back. It’s your deadline. You will surprise yourself at what adjustments you’ll make to be ready on time.

Chose your BHAG. Set the dates. Make the reservations. And tell your friends.

BTW you will never “be” ready. And there never is a “right time”.
So
just
do
it
NOW.

Hope this helps some of my veterans and those coming in that need that extra motivation. 2010 is your year baby. Let’s make it a good one!

Dedicated to Your Success,
Dave

P.s. I know you’re thinking “What about the cost?” A very smart friend of mine says “Collect Experiences Not Things”. With this philosophy he lives a life most people only dream about. Because he got it right. This is an investment in you. To see how good you can really be. I think you’ll surprise yourself.

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My Wife Likes to Travel on the Heaviest Travel Days of the Year. I don’t know why.

December 24, 2009 in Fitness, Motivation, Tips and Tricks by Dave | 1 comment


Out of town for the Holidays!

If you can’t tell from the pics above We (Tracy, Baby Girl, Gracie, and The Boy) traveled overnight to meet-up with family for Christmas.

Travel events to date.
1. Left an entire suitcase! in the car at DFW.
2. One Stuffed Dog left at luggage pick-up.
3. One GPS unit destroyed.(Don’t ask)

Not a bad start all and all.

What’s this have to do with fitness?

Well if you want to travel with small children. You better be in good shape . Because it’s Exhausting!

Seriously combine travel and the Holidays and you get all kinds of workout consistency problems.

I can give you a couple tips for pulling off flying and travel and not destroying your progress.

(Pro-Tip: plan where you’ll train before you leave town. Google your destination address and the word fitness or gym. That will give you the closest facilities available. Call ahead and get the details on visitor passes and holiday hours.)

1. For a flight, stock up on healthy snacks for the road. Air. Whatever. While you might love your airline pretzels, they aren’t going to hold you over for long.

2. Flying will dehydrate you. Carry an empty water bottle through security and fill it on the other side. Drink plenty of water. Pass on sodas, and especially alcohol(that’s for later), and opt for sparkling or regular water when the drink cart comes around.

3. Best tip is the simplest. Workout before you head to air port. Travel can be, even for the best prepared, stressful. Getting your workout in early can help you deal with airline stress, and help make your trip a smooth one. It will be one less thing to worry about. And you’ll have done at least one thing to preserve your health that day.

Here’s to your safe travel!

I Hope You All Have a Great Great Holiday!

Dedicated to Your Success,
Dave

Weekend Post: Tabata Aftermath.

December 20, 2009 in Uncategorized by Dave | No comments

How Dedicated are YOU!?

December 17, 2009 in Uncategorized by Dave | No comments

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One of the biggest predictors of success, in any area of your life, and especially in area of fitness/weight loss, is dedication. How bad do you really want results and how much work are you willing to put out to see those results? How are you going to overcome obstacles in your life that will inevitably pop up?

Ken is exactly the type of Hard-Charger who DOESN’T let obstacles get in the way of him and his workouts. I’ve had the privilege of working with Ken the last 4 years. He’s one of the original clients of The Body Firm! Ken’s a legendary local attorney, highly in demand and keeps a booked schedule. Yet he never lets lifes demands on him become an excuse for not working out. His consistency is also one of the reasons in his 50’s he has the muscle and body-fat level of a 20yr. old athlete! You can find him training at the Founders Activity Center 8am M/W/F usually with Scott G. Like clockwork.

Long story short. Ken ended up with a torn meniscus in his knee after stepping of a treadmill at a bad angle. This type of injury requires surgery and a good 6-8 week recovery. Surgery was scheduled for Mon. Dec 14th. at 1pm. Most people would take at least two weeks off after surgery.

Ken Hates to miss a workout. Hates it. So he let me know he’d be there Monday 8am. Remember he couldn’t eat or drink after midnight Sunday. So Ken trained 8 am Monday. Had surgery at 1pm. And that photo above was taken after his 8am Wed. workout. Stitches and leg wrapped hip to calf. He still knocked out a blistering 50min. workout. That my friend is Dedication.

And Yes. Ken is the Real Deal.

I’ve been in this game a long long time now. And just when I think I’ve seen just about everything a Fitness Pro could see. This surprised and inspired me!

I would hope we could all aspire to the type of dedication he shows. With it you’ll hit and exceed all of your highest goals. Guaranteed.

Talk to You Later.
Dave

Client of the Month-Shelly Smith

December 15, 2009 in Club News, Fitness News, Giveaways and Contests, Motivation, Q and A, Uncategorized by Dave | No comments

One of the best stories of the year! So good.

I don’t consider myself an emotional guy. But I got choked up when we shot this video.

Shelly had to get rid of so much head trash and excuses. If you don’t know “Head trash” is the accumulation of excuses, past failures, negative mindset, and current circumstances that hold you back from your goals. Shelly had to dump a ton of that. And it’s painful to do in the beginning.

You either have ton of excuses or a ton of results. No one has both. She overcame the “time excuse” the “money excuse” the “it’ll be uncomfortable to start” excuse. Man, she had everyone in the book and she beat them all. She beat them into submission.

And here’s the thing. She got her life back.

She got the ability to what she wants when she wants. No limits.

It’s my hope that you get some ideas of what’s possible for you this New Year.
You can’t let head trash or excuses get in your way of Living The Rest Of Your Life on Your Terms. Living your life truly happy.

It’s my hope too that you watch the video. And if you feel like Shelly did. That you take action. Fill out the Consult Request in the upper left on this page and I can meet with you to discuss your goals.

Now watch the video. And have a great day!

Oh! and Great Job Shelly!

Talk to you later.

Dave

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Week End Post: The Dirty Half-Dozen

December 13, 2009 in Uncategorized by Dave | No comments

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Working out last week on the coldest night so far.
I kept everything moving along nice and quick.
So everyone could stay “warm”.
I’m a giver you know.

Study Shows the More You Drink, The More You Exercise

December 10, 2009 in Fitness News by Dave | No comments

alcohol

So here’s something interesting:

According to MSNBC.com, a recent study found that people who drank more often, tend to exercise more often as well.  Moderate and heavy drinkers were more likely to report vigorous exercise than non-drinkers, and logged in 10-20 more minutes of exercise per week.

Its an interesting link, as exercise is a healthy activity, and drinking, as a whole, exercise is thought to be unhealthy.   Generally, we think people make primarily healthy or unhealthy decisions- which is why it always blows me away when I see people leave the gym and light up a cigarette.  Researchers attributed the connection to drinkers looking to counteract all those mojito calories with exercise, and that those who exercised more often tended to be people who were out going and adventurous, which leads to a more social and active lifestyle.

I think it would be interesting to know the motivation: if it truly were because they are trying to counteract the calories of drinking, or if they are two completely separate issues.  I would think that after a night out, the last thing most people want to do is go for a run, but then again, its all about balance and the way you live your life.

So what about you? What kind of drinker (or non-drinker) would you classify yourself as, and do you exercise out of consequence, or do you just live a work hard/play hard lifestyle?

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Fort Worth Running Company: Run Strong Presentation

December 9, 2009 in Club News, Fitness, Q and A, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized by Dave | No comments

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Great night last night!

Thanks to Jim and James for letting me speak to their training groups last night.

Thanks to Ryan Valdez for talking about what the program has done for him and his running.

Here’s the bottom line for runners and resistance work.

To be a better runner, the first and most important element is to run more.

The question isn’t whether to do resistance training or do more miles. The reason to strength train is to be able to do more miles without injury. And then to use that strength to run faster and/or farther than before.

Dedicated to Your Success,
Dave

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Operation: Don’t Eat it

December 8, 2009 in Motivation, Nutrition, Tips and Tricks by Dave | No comments

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You’ve tried your best, and you’ve done well: you’ve kept all the crap out of the house, you’ve been making your workouts consistently, making smart choices when away from home, and clued in all your friends and family that you are trying to make healthy changes.

You’ve done everything right, but then somehow something sneaks into your house.  Maybe its come cookies left over from your kid’s school party, a jar of candy canes from the office, or a yule log the neighbor pawned off on you brought over.

Great, no it is in your home, probably staring you in the face on your kitchen counter, and tempting you at every turn.  What do you do?

Depends.  Is it there because no one else wants it and is hoping someone else will eat it?

If yes:

Give it away. Pawn it off onto someone else, pronto.

Throw it away. Junk food is a waste anyway, so you can waste it by eating it and ruining your efforts, or you can waste it by throwing it out.  The last one? Calorie-free.

Ruin it. If the cookies on a paper plate wrapped in cellophane is too tempting, even in the trash (it didn’t touch anything!) ruin it.  Pour water on it.  Or coffee grounds. Or crumble them up in make sure they fall deep into the trash.

If no, and it’s something the rest of your family wants, if you don’t devour it first:

Make it hard to get to. Wrap it up extra tight.  a few dozen times. Then  put it in a tupperware.  Each layer is a second chance to say no.

Out of sight, out of mind. Put them in a high cupboard, deep in the pantry, or under some crap in a drawer.

Individually package everything. You can allow yourself one treat, but where people usually get into trouble is when they go back for another one.  And then eat the crumb that dropped which means you have to eat the next one it touched, etc.  If you want one, grab one, but just ONE.

Freeze it. Frozen cookies or brownies are still good if you let them defrost- it just takes a little time and patience. Patience is the enemy of an impulse snack, so the longer something takes to prepare, the less likely you are to inhale it.

Just say no. To someone else.  If you think you might eat it, tell your significant other to keep you away from it, or rather, keep it away from you.  Why should you be in charge of something that is going to tempt you?

Never say “oh well” when temptations try and trip you up.  Get rid of it, or do your best to keep as much distance between it and you as possible.  The occasional treat is fine, if you really want it, but never ever eat something just because its there.

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Fort Worth Running Company Tonight

December 8, 2009 in Uncategorized by Dave | No comments

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Anyone that’s interested in “Running Faster, Farther, and More often while looking Better Doing It!” should come out to the Fort Worth Running Company tonight.

I’ll be giving a presentation on how to do all of the above. Quickly and without missing a single training run.

We’ll start at 5:30 and be done by 6:00. The Marathon and Half-Marathon training group has to get their run in tonight.

I’ll blow-up the 5 Myths that hold runners back from getting the maximum results from Resistance training they deserve.

Show the 3 Essential benefits that my Run Strong program delivers quickly to runners.

And give you the Run Strong handbook with 3 Done-for-You workouts and a DIY training template is included. Just for showing up!

If you’re struggling to run off extra weight this presentation will reveal why you’re stuck. And what you can do about it to get the fat off. For good.

Hope to see you out there tonight. 5:30 Fort Worth Running Company.

Dedicated to your Success,
Dave
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