6 Things I Learned In 2008

This is a little late to be talking about the things I learned last year. But like they say, "Better late than never."

Man, I could probably fill up this blog post with thousands of "Ah ha" moments I had during the year but I'll just choose the best ones. The ones that I think will be beneficial for you!

1. A pain free body is just as important as a sexy looking body.

Okay so I learned this lesson in 2009 when I had a near debilitating back injury.

As I focused more and more on the tools of fat loss I started to neglect the things that kept my body healthy and pain free in the first place. Things that kept my body injury free like foam rolling, movement exercises, yoga and pre-habilitation were thrown out the window.

I could actually do a whole book post on injury prevention exercises but I'll leave that for next week.

In 2009 I am bringing the attention back to those things in addition to my fat loss tools because there is no point working towards a sexy body if it wakes up every morning in pain.

2. You can turn your body into a fat burning furnace using only your own bodyweight

You don't need fancy exercise equipment (I advise against using them in the first place) to get the body you want. Timed exercises such as Tabata's, 10 minute continuous training and circuits can still build the muscle you need to burn fat.

The best part about those exercises is that you can do it at home.

3. You are the sum average of the people you hang around on a consistent basis.

I'm beginning to see this more and more in my boot camp classes. All the women in the class pretty much have the same goal: Look sexy.

The one thing I didn't expect was that I was going to produce better fat loss results in group classes than in one on one training.

I realize that by putting all of these women together, with one common goal in mind, it makes the goal more attainable by putting them in a supportive environment with like minded people.

4. You need to get away every so often to recharge your mind.

I took a trip to Hong Kong and China this past fall for 3 weeks. I was so scared that I was going to take so much time away from my business that I almost considered canceling the trip.

Taking the trip was the best decision I made in 2008. When you take a vacation it's almost like all your worries go away. You also open up your mind to new possibilities by being in a foreign country.

Before I left for Hong Kong I was stressing over a lot of things. My mind was somewhere else. When I came back from my trip my batteries were charged and I was refreshed.

5. One on one personal training will become extinct very shortly

Yes, you heard me right. This is something I learned when I first started my boot camps. I couldn't believe that you could get the same if not better results working out in groups than one on one with a personal trainer.

Not only that but personal training is hella expensive. If I could provide you the same if not better results at 1/3 the cost would you take it? Of course you would.

Boot camps are evolving as the next form of personal training. I am thinking that in the next two years you will see a lot more pop up and a lot more trainers lose jobs.

6. The more I know, the more I realize that I don't know.

Everything I learned in 2008 just opened up more opportunities to learn more. You can't know everything and if you think you do it is born of pure ignorance.

I know that in 2009 I won't be the same person I was in 2008.

Well there you have it. I am sure I learned a lot more in 2008 those are the biggest "A-ha" moments I had. If you had some "A-ha" moments in 2008 please comment below. I would love to hear about them!

DG
http://Www.GoGirlBootcamps.com

The Greatest Lower Body Exercise Everrrr

It's funny that I'm talking about a lower body exercise when the past week and a half I was just sidelined from doing a lower body exercise.

That doesn't mean that it's not important!

Oh by the way, I'm all better now, thanks for asking :) First day back at the gym was on Saturday and I was sucking wind. Now I know how people feel when they take an extended period of time away from the gym and struggle to get back.

I only had a week away from the gym and I was already making excuses as to why I shouldn't be going:

- I was tired (verrrry original)
- My friends asked me to go to dinner with them
- I was just coming back from an injury, one more day away wouldn't hurt me...would it?
- Friends was on and it was the episode where Ross and Rachel finally hook up. I can't miss that!

Damn that is a lot of excuses. Now I know how hard it is to start a new routine, especially after a long lay off (trust me, a week and a half is a long lay off to me).

Anyways long story short, I'm back at the gym regularly and kicking my own a**. When you fall off the horse the only thing to do is get back on it and ride it out.

Okay so back to the main point: What is the best lower body exercise everrrrr?

As a fitness trainer I usually am asked by females (for some reason males don't ask me about leg exercises...go figure) about what I consider the best lower body exercise in my fat loss arsenal.

Today I’m going to share my personal favorite lower body exercise and all of its awesome variations. It’s called the Rear-Foot Elevated Lunge Variation (a.k.a. Bulgarian Split Squat). This exercise is so effective that you’ll pretty much make your body thunder-thigh proof once you master it!

Before we get into this, one thing I definitely don’t want to do is feed into the idea of individual body part training and spot reduction on certain areas of the body.

I am a big believer in total body training, meaning that we train the upper body, lower body, and core during every single workout. By training the whole body at once we stimulate lean muscle gain and boost up your metabolism to promote total body fat burning. I like to call this Rapid Fat Loss Exercise.

We need to do this in order to effectively eliminate the body fat that is hiding those areas that people are having trouble seeing; yep the stubborn fat areas that prevent a good body from becoming a great body.

Plus, a diet high in lean protein, fiber, and green veggies and low in unnatural fats and refined sugars and starches is of course a MUST DO if you want to see your muscles tone up in a good way.

It is also important to know that you lose fat in a genetically predetermined way. You can do all the crunches you want but without total body training, proper eating habits, and enough time to get to those stubborn fat areas you will never get rid of your gut, jiggly arms, or the junk in the trunk.


Moving onto the main event: the world’s greatest lower body exercise.

My favorite leg exercises are any sort of lunge variation because I prefer single leg exercise in lieu of their double leg counterparts for a lot of reasons. For people with back issues, single leg exercises allow them to safely perform lower body exercises without putting their lower lumbar spine in jeopardy of hyper flexion or excessive rounding that can cause back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run.

Also, I feel there’s often such a strength and/or flexibility imbalance between one leg and the other for most people that it’s critical to address one leg at a time to really shore up the weak links from the start.

My favorite lunge variation is called the rear foot elevated lunge. So basically we’re going to elevate the back foot on a chair, bench, box, or any other sturdy foot support, usually about 12-18 inches high.

You’ll put your front leg well in front of you in order to make sure that your front knee and ankle are lined up. In general, I tell people to exaggerate how far you put your front leg forward so that the front knee is almost slightly behind the ankle as this really helps reduce sheer force on the knees.

Initiate the exercise by loading the front heel and dropping your hips as low as you can in a pain-free range of motion while staying really tall up top with a proud chest and shoulders down and back. Finish the rep by explosively driving through your front heel to return to the top of the movement.

You can start with body weight only in search of front thigh parallel to the floor or lower depth and then progress by adding speed of movement or by adding dumbbells. You can even incorporate some very cool combination movements with this lower body exercise like adding a curl to press at the top of the movement or even by raising dumbbells overhead to really challenge your core and single-leg balance and stability.

I have yet to find an exercise that hits the legs as hard as this baby does. If you are looking for that apple bottom or just trying to tone up your legs, this exercise should be a staple in your workout program.

Go Hard or Go Home!

DG

My Pain Filled Weekend And 5 Tips To Shoveling Pain Free

So I am going to start off this blog by saying: I'm officially stupid.

Yup, thats right. "I'm stupid"

The reason why I'm stupid is that I tend to push the limits of my own body a little too far.

So here is what happened...

Sunday - Played ball for the first time in months with the best players I've ever played with in years. Made me feel like an old man.
Monday - Worked out a crazy Fat Loss circuit
Tuesday - Workout out again and played ball
Wednesday - Worked out AGAIN and played ball afterwards till 10:30pm at night.
Thursday 12:44pm- After doing a seminar I was feeling a bit off. My back was sore from playing too much ball and I was just not feeling it.

So what did I decide to do? I decided to be stupid and work out again. Even when my body wasn't feeling it.

So what happened? Hit the gym, did my mobility drills to warm up and lined up my first exercise of the day: Deadlifts

Picked up the weight, dropped my a** to get into position and when I was bringing the weight down.....

CRASH!

Sharp pains up my back, I started seeing stars and a ringing in my ear.

Needless to say...I was hurting.

To make a long story short, I got immediate treatment from John Sage at Apple Creek Sports Medicine (These guys are GREAT for rehab and very nice to boot!) but was bed-ridden for whole weekend. No partying for me :(

The moral of the story kids is to listen to your body. If it don't feel right then don't be afraid to shut it down. Thanks to the proper stretching techniques provided by John, I should be back to killing myself again by Wednesday :P

So ranting about my pain filled weekend has motivated me to release my 5 tips for pain free shoveling.

1.) Perform a Proper 5-Minute Warm-up Before Shoveling

Just as very few people properly warm-up before intense exercise, so do many people fail to get their bodies ready for the rigors of shoveling snow. Let’s face it, snow, especially when it’s wet, is a real beast to move around. And if your body is tight and cold then you will dramatically increase your chances of short or long-term injury.

I have created a great shoveling specific five-minute warm-up to get your body ready to rock. There is a special emphasis on opening up the hips and chest to save your back and shoulders, the two most commonly injured areas of broken down shovelers:

Perform each exercise in the following warm-up circuit at a slow, controlled tempo for 50 seconds with a 10 second rest and transition between exercises. Do this warm-up indoors to better increase core temperature and total body blood flow:

Exercise#1- Stationary High Knee Run
Exercise#2- Jumping Claps (modified jumping jacks with arms moving across chest level, palms facing)
Exercise#3- Alternating Forward Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist
Exercise#4- Alternating Lateral Lunge with Opposite Hand to Toe Touch
Exercise#5- Prisoner Squats (hands behind head with finger interlocked)

2.) Split Your Stance When Shoveling

Back pain is probably the biggest complaint for avid shovelers. In most cases, a sore or tight back stems from restriction at the hips (see the warm-up above to best remedy this).

More specifically, using a parallel stance puts your lower back at a greater risk of injury due to the greater likelihood of excessive flexion of the lumbar spine that often leads to back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run.

However, the simple switch to shoveling with a split stance, where one leg is forward and the other leg is back, will not only help prevent this hyper flexion while bending over and moving snow, but will also actively stretch and open up those tight hips at the same time. Be sure to keep things in balance by doing an even number of shovel strokes with both legs forward by alternating every 10 reps or so.

3.) Point Your Toes In Same Direction of Shoveling

This is a continuation of the last tip. Even when you split your stance, you can be susceptible to injury whenever you perform a rotating back extension (e.g. a shovel toss to your rear). So, to further bolster your body, be sure to always shovel snow in the direction that your toes point to minimize excessive spinal rotation that can literally wrench your back.

4.) Shovel EQUALLY to BOTH Sides

This is a further continuation on the last two tips. Another big mistake people make is that they always shovel to their strong sides causing further strength and flexibility imbalances that can put your body at greater risk for injury.

So, we now know you want to split your stance and shovel in the direction your toes are pointing, but you should also be sure do an equal amount of shovel tosses to your left AND right. Do 10 shovel tosses to your left with your left leg forward and then do 10 shovel tosses to your right with your right leg forward. Repeat until your driveway or sidewalk is crystal clear.

5.) Buy a Condo

This is my personal favorite, and no, I’m not joking. The great thing about a condominium community is that they do all of the outdoor maintenance for your home, including shoveling. This will save you so much time and stress. If it is a viable option and you live in a harsh winter climate, make the smart move and get a condo. It’s hard to get hurt shoveling if you never shovel.

The aforementioned tips will go a long way in keeping your body as bulletproof as possible during the next blizzard. Seriously, it’s not really cool to get hurt shoveling. It’s a sign of an even bigger problem: being overweight and/or highly de-conditioned.

And if you do get hurt shoveling, be sure to lie when some asks why you’re in a wheelchair. Just tell them you got hit by a snow plow truck, it makes for a better story and your co-workers or friends won’t rip on you for the rest of your days, ha!

DG

How To Hit Your New Years Resolutions And Make 2009 A Kick A** Year

"Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits."—Author Unknown

Now let's get one things straight....I HATE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS. I don't just "dislike" new years resolutions, I HATE them.

Why do I hate them? Let me count the ways....

1. The person making them usually never follows through past the first month
2. They are mostly about stopping bad habits instead of creating new positive ones
3. They give you a subconscious type of guilt every time you stray away from it until you just totally give up on it (see #1)

Now there is a reason I put "New years resolutions" in my title: That was the only way I could get you to read this blog post.

Simple but effective.

I started a habit 6 years ago that has stuck ever since. Every single new year I sit my a** down and write down the goals I want to achieve in the new year. It's much more different than having a new years resolution because I am focusing more on the positive (make more money) than the negative (stop my bad spending habits).

Since I started doing that I have been achieving things every year that I would have though impossible before.

Fact: People who write down their goals are 95% more likely to achieve them.

Here are some tips to help you make 2009 your BEST year ever.

1. Write down your goals and be specific about them. Easy enough. I mean write them. Do not type them on a computer or think about them. Write them down on a piece of paper. Do it now. Then put them in a place where you will see them every day. Every single day make sure you work towards them.

Also be specific. Want to lose weight? Don't put your goal down as "Lose weight". Be specific about the amount of weight you want to lose ie. "I want to lose 27 pounds in 2009"

2. Get rid of all negative influences in your life. This is a hard one. But if you have that one person that always puts your goals/dreams down make it a point to spend less time with them.

I had to do this a couple times in my life and it is tough. But you have to realize that this is your life you are living. If you want to succeed and be the person you are meant to be then the negative people have to go.

3. Study what you want to achieve and apply it. Spend the money on the education you need to achieve the goal you want. Want to own a business? Spend money on business education. Want to lose a ton of fat and get ripped? Spend money on the books that will get you there.

Someone has done it before. Take their knowledge and use it to your advantage.

4. Write down an action plan for each goal you want to achieve(at least the most important ones) You don't know if you are going to there if you don't have a map.

5. Stop being so damn hard on yourself. It's easy to get down and mentally scold yourself for screwing up. Heck I do it all the time. But sometimes you gotta just chill out and realize that this one screw up is not the end of everything. You can handle it.

Stop being so hard on yourself and realize that everyone screws up. We are human. Now if you are constantly screwing up, you really need to sit down and work out what the problem is.

7. Control what you can control and let go of what you can't control. What are the things you control? Your choices and yourself. What can you not control? Other people and outside influences.

Let go of what you can't control and you will relieve yourself of a ton of stress.

8. Take immediate action whenever possible. If you hear about a new fat loss technique then try it out at the gym the very same day.

If you learn something that you can apply to your life, do it immediately. I learned this concept by Anthony Robbins. When action is taken it creates momentum in your life.

And finally....

9. Have fun! Life is too short to be taken seriously. Helen Keller once said, "Life is a daring adventure or nothing." That is pretty profound wisdom for someone who was deaf, dumb and blind.

Have fun in 2009. I know I will :D

DG