The Map

My son yesterday went on a school field trip to Kings Island Theme Park for a school field trip.  He came home rather disappointed.

As I dig a little deeper to his disappointment in the trip, he pulled out the map and pointed at all the rides they rode and all the rides they didn't.  While he rode some of the "good ones".  He stated how  is group where a bunch were too scared to take on The Beast or The Diamondback. Some of the fiercest coasters Kings Island has to offer.

This morning as he rolled out of bed, he had the map of the park in hand surely re-living the moment made and the moments missed.

This got me thinking, how many of us have a map like that?

And how many of maps have more moments unlived than lived?

Fear is a crippling killer of experience.  Fear keeps us from leaping, but fear also keeps us just from taking the next step.

While it is just a simple thought, maybe we need to put the map down and just get in line for that coaster, that experience. If I had to guess most of us live with the regret of things missed.

Whether it is starting a new fitness routine or a new job.  It could be going on your first run or first date.  It might signing up for a spin class or a math class.  Don't just look at the map and wonder what it would have been like.

Start.

My why...the two things I want to do rest of my life

5 Tips to Starting Your Fitness Journey

Every race has two places - a finish line and a starting line.  So I wanted to share my 5 quick tips to starting your fitness journey right.

1. Pick a plan -- 
Just like in any other area of your life, you are by far more successful when you have a plan.  Here are couple ideas: join a class, using a walking/running app with a plan or use a home based program like one from Beachbody.

The struggle for some many who join a gym for those starting out is the lack of knowledge on the exercises needed to achieve their goals.  So if you join a gym, meet with a trainer to set up a program to help you accomplish your goals.

2. Never Alone --
The journey is going to get tough, tougher is you do it by yourself.  Don't do it alone.  Find a partner or group to join you in your journey.  Support is the one three keys to success in reaching your health and fitness goals.

3. Use Visual Reminders -- 
Keep your goals in front of you.  Right it on the mirror in lipstick.  Make a vision board.  Pull out those skinny jeans and keep them in visible sight.  These visual reminders will serve as constant reminder to be consistent.

4. Set a Workout Alarm --
Seriously, set an alarm or reminder on your phone. Schedule your workouts in your calendar.  These become set in stone (well, digital stone) times for you to get off your backside and get going.

5. Have Fun! --
If your workouts are not fun, you will not keep doing them.  Find a workout plan or program that you will fall in love with.  If you don't like doing it odds are increasing less likely that you will continue doing it.  Have fun, have fun, have fun!!!


 No matter what you do, START!  You will never regret getting started on your journey of health and fitness.  You will never regret improving your life.  Just START!

If you are looking to start and don't know where to begin, leave me a comment.  Or if you have a great recommendation on where to start leave a comment too.

The Lie The Church Told Me (A Response)

I wanted to take a few minutes and respond to the response.  First it has been quite unexpected.  I am glad I am not the only one who sees and feels the way I do.

To those in the midst of the struggle, I write this.  Have HOPE!  Despair keeps us where we are.  The belief that it can never get any better is a lie.  Don't believe it.  Change is not only possible it is within your reach.  It is completely possible to become a healthier version of you.  I was that guy once upon a time.

To those who might not understand, I ask you to be GRACEFUL.  We are not trying to become "sexy" we just want to be healthy.  We want to be healthy for our spouses, for our children, for our families, for ourselves.  We are just trying to reach a point where we look in the mirror and am proud and happy with the person we see looking back at us.  Have grace.  Just because you don't understand doesn't make you right and us wrong.

To those wanting to start, I say START.  Do something.  Start walking, running, a class or even a at home program (I recommend a few, haha).  Trade your COKE for water.  Trade a Pizza slice for apple slices.  Just begin.  Surround yourself by people who will encourage your new journey.  Find an exercise that you will enjoy.  And do it for you!  Do it because you deserve it.

To Pastors and Leaders, this is a real issue.  ADDRESS IT.  First address it in you.  Pastors pay one of the highest insurance premiums due to the stress of they jobs and the overall unhealthy nature of how they live.  Address in your congregations.  Encourage people to live healthy.  Encourage your sheep to be more active.  Encourage your body of believers to become healthier.

To the guy writing this blog, KEEP GOING.  You have battled to become healthy, some days winning, some days losing.  KEEP inspiring and sharing.  There are those inside and outside of the kingdom who need  your help.  KEEP believing that HOPE is not something to be lost like car keys and that everyone needs a little more of it.  KEEP working on being authentic.  People don't expect perfection, they just want you to be you.  So on emotional greasy cheeseburger, double stuff Oreo days, don't be afraid to ask for help and share in your struggle.

To everyone, we win best when we FIGHT together instead of against one another.  So let's keep FIGHTING.

The Lie the Church Told Me

Read this post at Pitts Fitness new page

I grew up in little small churches.  By small it means I was related to over half the congregation.  There was an expression that was tossed around like the horseshoes at a church picnic, "I am just fat and happy."  With that expression we would chew on another piece of fried chicken chased down by some cobbler and homemade ice cream.  All in the name of fellowship!

I understand the psychology of food and beverage and the comfort it allows and community it creates.  I also understand the greater mission of the church of reaching lost people.  I am not criticizing the method.  I am sure a scoop of ice cream helped melt the hearts of many.

My rub is with the above expression and held belief by so many in the church - "fat and happy".  That might be one of those ironic statements like "jumbo shrimp" that are cute quips, but don't make a whole lot of sense.  Here is my challenge, if we are to spend our lives spreading the good news of the gospel why would we intentionally sabotage the longevity of our mission with self induced sickness.

Obesity has been linked to over 70 diseases faced in the United States.  Which means that many of the illness that we face are completely preventable.  The CDC reports that obesity has been linked to reduced worker productivity and chronic absence from work.

So here is my logical right brain that floods in like a chocolate fountain past my creative left brain -- if we lived healthier physically as followers of Christ we could 1) live longer lives, therefore giving us a more time on this Earth to love people to Christ; 2) I believe (and just opinion) show a better example of our faith.  Let's face it, we say not to judge a book by it's cover, but people look at the cover long before they read the pages.  This is not a statement on physical beauty as much as it is a statement on appearance and the perception of others. 3) Be more productive with the time we are given.

Here are the benefits of exercise as it relates to our faith.  One exercise makes you feel better.  The God of the universe designed your body so that as you exercise a chemical is released in your brain to make you feel accomplished and happy.  Often referred to as a "runners high".  We got drugs in our body God put there.  We just have to sweat a little to experience that euphoric feeling of happiness. Why would you not want the feeling?

Two, exercise is a community thing.  Fitness is often done in groups and in church we love our groups - small groups, large groups, mom's groups, men's groups, singles groups - we typically have a group for it.  Fitness can be a and should community based event that brings people together.

Third, living a physically healthy life affects you inside and out.  Oftentimes, a negative self image or self perception is derived from outward physical appearance.  One of the emotional byproducts of weight loss is self confidence.  It may be a reach, but people who are more comfortable and confident seem to me to be more fulfilled.  They seem willing to tackle task, step into their gifts and callings placed on them by God.  Maybe it's just me but what if exercise cause people to exercise their gifts?

Andy Stanley in a leadership podcast addressed health and fitness to his audience this way "you can either tell your family 'I am going to take care of me now or you can tell your family you are going to take care of me later.'"

Remember those small churches I grew up in, well there was a traveling minister who sang and preached.  While the individual will remain nameless his ministry brand was build around his obesity, it was right there in the name.  As he sang for 30 to 40 minutes then preached for another 40 he sweated profusely.  At times he seemed to struggle to have enough air and I feared he was going to have a heart attack right there on stage.  (It was a Pentecostal church, we would just laid hands on him and pray for his resurrection).  But mostly it saddened me.  I believe his heart was in the right place but eventually his body was not going to be able to keep up.

The cause of Christ is great.  We would not send a soldier into battle without making sure they were fit to fight.  So why then as soldiers in God's army is it okay to not be physically ready for the cause?  I am not so sure God's design is for us to be "fat and happy" I guess that was just the lie the church told me.

I would love to hear your comments below.

* (the asterisk)

In the annals of sports history are *s.

They wanted to put one next to Roger Maris' 61 homeruns.

I would like to put one next to Barry Bonds 762 (for obvious reasons).

The asterisk is used to indicate that the record is somehow tainted by circumstance.  That something about that record is invalid or corrupt. (Hence my disdain for Barry Bonds 762 home runs).

I think in our journeys we place an asterisk by a lot of things.

"Well that one pound was just water weight." *
"It's easy to lose weight the first week."*
"It is only a few pounds." *

I think we are the biggest asteriskers of ourselves.  Instead of celebrating our successes, we find ways to discredit them.  Instead of recognizing ourselves for staying disciplined with our nutrition and fitness, we somehow consider our results tainted.

If you have lost 1 pound this week or 5 pounds this week and have done it the right way (fitness + nutrition), then celebrate that.  Don't hang an * on it with some lame excuse.  Feel good about the work you put in.  Raise your hands victorious like an Olympic champion (who tested negative for Perfomance Enhancing Drugs).

Don't * you results in the record of your success.  Whatever level of success you achieved you deserve it!

A Standing Ovation

I wanted to share a simple lesson I learned yesterday at a middle school honors band concert.  Sidebar: Despite all my athletic prowess, I am a band dad.

There were three bands, one for each grade and it was the 8th grade band director that did something that caught my attention.  The previous two bands stood up after their final of 5 pieces, took a bow and sat back down.  With each of the previous bands the audience stood and celebrated these fine young people.

But the director of the 8th grade band did something different.  After the very first piece he had the entire band stand.  As they stood, the polite applause grew to an ovation.

Then the band sat back down, played their next piece and exact same thing.  The band rose and as they rose so did the ovation.

While not an entirely new phenomena I took something away for you and me.  Each time the band rose, so did the applause.  With the rising applause so did the confidence of the band.  With rising confidence came a better performance by these young musicians.  And by the end of the 5 musical selections a standing ovation was in order!

I realize as we workout, run, exercise, eat healthy and make good choices that there is not an audience of proud parents and grandparents standing there cheering you on to eat your broccoli or finish your burpees.  But what if we imagined there was.  What if at the end of that sweaty push up filled workout when we pulled our hotself of mess off the floor we heard applause?  What if as you finished that last 100 yards of a run in weather that the mailman even refuses to deliver in you raised your hands as if finishing the Boston Marathon in front of thousands of people?  Maybe they are not there, but what if you imagined them there.  In your head heard them cheering you on.

What I have learned in my short time with my own fitness and helping others is that the body is ready to give more, it is our minds that get in the way.  The applause even if just imaginary frees you up to push past the mental barrier that is truly far short of your limits.

It is a thankless job getting healthy and fit, but one that should be celebrated.  Even if your audience in imaginary, I honestly believe the principle holds true.  That with each time your hear the applause your confidence grows.  Each time your confidence grows you perform better.  And with better performance comes better results.

So for you, here is your STANDING OVATION!!!

A Dreamer, His Music and New Dreams

Disclaimer: this might read more like a journal entry than a fitness blog.  You've been warned!  Enjoy!

12 years ago I met a very determined young man named Warren Barfield while we were both working a week long summer camp.  Warren was a dreamer unlike any I met.  At the age of 20 he quit college packed up his mid 90's green Ford Mustang and started traveling to any church, camp, retreat or event that would have him play and sing.  To be honest, Warren is one of the most talented songwriters I have ever heard.  And I knew it was just a matter of time before he hit it BIG!

Admittedly, I envied Warren, knowing success was just around the corner.  It had to be and it was.  Long story short the music business for Warren happened.  Which meant a record deal and red tape.  It meant getting promoted and projects getting shelved.  And if I were to ask it was probably not quite the dream fulfilled he shared with me while sitting on a deep freeze at 2 AM at summer camp 12 years ago.

I know you are asking yourself, why are you sharing this story.  This is not fitness or health related.  Bare with me dear friends, there is a point.

I saw Warren this week.  He is traveling out on the road, but not really playing music like he used to.  He is out promoting Food for the Hungry - a child sponsorship program on the tour of another successful artist.  He played 2 songs rather than 10.  He spent more time telling a story than strumming his guitar.  And he is by far happier with his current role.

This caused a lot of reflection in me.  In an honest transparent conversation in the backwoods of summer camp off the Ocoee River Warren and I shared our dreams.  But dreams have way of changing.  The end game of that dream once we get there may not always be what we thought it would be.

I too have had dreams come to life only to realize that my vision for that by far was better than the reality that came to life.  I am not being a "Debbie Downer" and saying don't dream.  Instead, I am challenging you to be open to dream new dreams.

My friend Warren is one of the leading voices for Food for the Hungry.  In his time with Food for the Hungry he has helped get more than 30,000 children sponsored.  30,000 families have clean water.  30,000 parents are learning a trade or skill.  30,000 families are been offered the love of God.

There is an often quoted verse from the Bible that says "your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."  What I have learned and what Warren's story teaches is that dreams will shift and change from time and seasons of life.  The dreams you once dreamed as young man or woman may not have been realized or once you did it was not really what you dreamed it would be.  Then dream a new dream!  See a new vision!

This blog while geared around health and fitness is really just an extension of my heart to offer people HOPE!  Hope is the expectation of a good ending.  What Warren taught me this time is that the dream you once pursued might just be the thing that leads you to the next dream that has a much bigger impact than you ever first envisioned.

Keep dreaming!  Keep hoping!

**if interested offering HOPE to children through Food for the Hungry click this link**

I Can Only Imagine

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

Walt Disney

A golfer will visualize there shot before hitting it.  A shooter in his mind has already made the free throw before it ever leaves his hand.  Award winning actors have rehearsed their winning speech hundreds of times before the movie was ever shot.  

That is the power and the fuel that comes with imagination.  The first steps toward success - in health and fitness, in business, in sports, really in any avenue of life - starts with the ability to believe you will be successful.

I have been given the gift of imagination.  I am creative.  I am one of those people that have unfiltered ideas of grandeur. My left handed self thrives in these moments.  I have written #1 songs.  I have penned the screenplay for the next Oscar Award winning movie.  I at one point starred in 13 straight All-Star Games and finally brought the World Series back to the Chicago Cubs.  (I told you I had a big imagination.)

So it leaves you asking, "Jeff, why have you not ..."

That answer is simple.  The power of the imagination gives the dream.  The athlete, artist or person has to believe in it.  They have to sell out to that dream.  It is one thing to see the impossible happening for a brief moment.  It is an entirely another to continue to see that dream as a reality despite set back, despite obstacle, despite failure.  

There is a story of Walt Disney's brother, Roy at the opening of Walt Disney World.  Prior to the opening Walt had passed away.  A guest at that grand opening said to Roy "what a shame Walt was not here to see it."  Roy's response "He already had."  The only way the Happiest Place On Earth ever came into existence was because one man in plane ride over some swamp land in Orlando, FL saw something that did not already exist.  And then pursued that something passion, fervor and tenacity.  

For me, it is not a problem to see swampland as the world's greatest amusement park.  I have the imagination for that.  My struggle is taking what I imagine and believing two things:

1) that I am able to bring the dream to reality

and 

2) that there are others who are willing and wanting to share in the dream.

While Walt gets the majority of the credit, others like Roy stood by him.  

So when I fly over the swampland of my life what do I see?  I see a guy with a successful Team Beachbody business impacting 1000's of lives.  I see a guy with the ability to take his family to the Happiest Place on Earth whenever.  I see a guy on a stage in front of thousands sharing a message of hope and change.  

What do you see for your life?  Maybe you imagine yourself 10 pounds lighter.  Maybe you imagine yourself debt free.  Maybe you imagine yourself wildly successful in your giftedness beyond what others believe.  

It is time for you and I to not only imagine,  but to come alive.  

A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive. ~ Roy Disney

Seriously?

Seriously?

Every just start your day feeling that way.  I have a Saturday morning routine.  Get up, grab a banana, make some coffee, drink said coffee.  Today, my 7 year old coffee pot decided it had enough.  Routine ruined, morning ruined.

This got me thinking, how often do we let one set back, one poor food choice, one missed workout ruin our progress.  I am amazed how quickly I can spiral back to poor choices due to one small thing.  It's that thinking "oh, well, I didn't workout anyways.  Might as well eat a dozen cookies."  I hope you are not like me, because that is totally ME!  

Life is full of speed bumps that slow us down, but are not intended to bring us to a stop.  We just roll right over them and move on to the next point.  My hope is that you have kept moving forward past the speed bumps.  Rolled right past and on to bigger things.  

Yet, I also know that the speed bump, in our eyes, become insurmountable.  I heard a great illustration about momentum.  When a train engine is at a complete stop, it only takes a 2 inch peice of wood to that train at bay.  The difference of momentum is that when that train is rolling at even minimum speeds, that wood is no match for the train.  

The coffee pot is just a Saturday morning speed bump.  Don't let a little thing keep you from your goals!

Good Saturday Morning (even without coffee)

6 Reasons to Stay Home

We know the terms like gym rat or gym junkie.

We know the people – bulking up guy grunt, princess pink on a slow walk on the treadmill, weird creepy guy just walking around talking to everyone. 

We know what gyms have to offer.  There are some great fitness centers and gyms here in Lexington and I am sure in the city where you live.  And gyms and fitness centers do a great job at helping people get results.  Yet, we also know or have been that person who buys a gym membership, pays monthly and never goes.  The alternative to hitting the gym is pushing play at home.

 So here is the question I want to pose, why workout at home?  Here are 6 reasons: 

• No drive time.  When I was going to the gym I would get up early, drive 15 minutes across town just to get to the place that I was going to run on a stationary treadmill for 30 minutes.  Then drive 15 minutes back home.  So it adds up that I spent an hour to get in a 30 minute workout.  Bad math!
•  Your own shower.  This mostly applies to those of us that get our workout done first thing in the morning before we go to the office.  While the shower smells like that funky fresh cleaning stuff,  I am not sure how clean it is.  Factor in shaving for us guys and hair drying, curling, crimping and product necessary for the ladies, this is just done better from the comforts of our own vanities.
• The equipment battle.  This is the 10 minutes you spend on that “one” machine  working a muscle group that you are not sure exists because the exercise machine or the equipment you want to use someone else is on.  So you kind of put in effort all the while ready to sprint to that machine once that person gets off.
•  Any time.  Here is what I love about my home based workout programs, it is always open!  I have a world-class fitness expert available on my schedule.  I pop in a DVD and press play and I get step by step instruction on an amazing workout.  No need to schedule a time with a personal trainer.  I have several on standby.
• Gymtimidation.  One of the fitness companies coined this term about the all the grunt, mirror posing meathead and dolled up princesses at the gym that emotionally detract us from wanting to enter the doors.  At home, you get to come as you are.  And fall dead on the floor of your own house after you get your rear handed to you in a great workout.  There is no Barbie in corner or Arnold in the front of the mirror flexing. Just you focused on you.
•  Something for everyone.  What I love particularly about Beachbody and the array of programs is that there is something for all fitness levels.  If you want dance off the pounds, we got that.  If you want to punch and kick your way to fit, we got that.  If you want to get INSANE results, we got that too.  If you have not worked out since your senior year gym class in the 70’s, we got something for that too.  Beachbody has put together an amazing collection of fitness programs that deliver results and help you reach your goals.

I still hit the gym from time to time.  I will still pop into a fitness class.  But for me the time saved, the schedule flexibility, the options I have and level of training I get, I will keep pushing play at home!

The Measure of Success

We have all stood there.  We put in a great week of work.  We watched and tracked what we ate.  And then the scale reads....no change!!!!  This is when we start with the explicatives...

Don't get discouraged.  Let's take a look at what we are truthfully measuring as success.  While most of us have a number we want to see on the scale, our goal should be more about living a healthy and fit life.  Still, you want to see the numbers move.  But when they don't, lets look at the what else we can measure to see if we are being successful.

- Body Measurements
We have all seen the picture of 1 pound of fat versus 1 pound of muscle.   So I won't re-post that viral image.  But measuring your body let's you know where the change is happening.  So when the scale doesn't move, take a look at where you are losing.

Measure these areas: chest, waist, arms, legs, hips and neck.  Compare those numbers and look to see where change is happening.  I recommend measuring every two weeks.

- Clothing Test
This is simple enough, how are those clothes fitting?  Are you noticing a difference?  In honestly, we all have those "skinny" pants hanging in the closest.  Check and see how those are fitting.

-Before and Afters
We look in the mirror everyday.  We see ourselves everyday.  There is an incredible visual evidence in comparing side by side pictures of yourself.  These are best done either every 2 weeks or every month.  Take front poses, profile poses, back poses, and one where you flex those guns!

-The "DANG" wat cho been doin' effect
 Sometimes other people take notice when we don't.  So take the compliment and share what you have done to reach those amazing results!

So when the scale is not going the right way, measure these other areas to find success!

Focus T25 Review

Beachbody, the world leader in home fitness, took it to a whole new level!  As a Insanity grad, I was anxious to try Shaun T's new program Focus T25.  While I loved, loved Insanity, that second month of workouts lasting up to an hour were physically demanding and tough to always squeeze into life.

So what excited me most about Focus T25 is that workouts were just 25 minutes, 5 days a week.  Fridays on the calendar are double workout days.  You can, if desired, move the second workout to Saturday and take just one rest day, instead of 2.  Included and to be used on the rest days is a 25 minute stretch video which will improve flexibility and stretching.

Now admittedly, I was a skeptic that just 25 minutes would deliver the results, but I know Beachbody does everything with excellence and would not put out a product that did not deliver the results.  And Focus T25 DID JUST THAT!

Here are my 10 week before and after photos.  I lost around 6 pounds but the proof is in the pudding, my body was totally transformed. I finally saw some abs show up.  My arms no longer looked like spaghetti and my overall shape was better than when I was 16 years old. In full disclosure, I was running on Sundays as well.  The weather was just too nice not to run.  

Why do I love it?  25 minutes, 5 days a week and results like this!  What's not to love?

The first 5 weeks is the ALPHA phase.  This is a building phase.  Workouts build on themselves, no equipment required and the bonus is the modifier.  A modifier is a person demonstrating a lower impact way to do the exercise and still get great results.  I saw a lot of fat loss during this first 5 weeks. 

The second phase is BETA.  BETA builds on ALPHA.  Some of the same exercises are carried over, now with increased intensity. Additionally, this phase will require some equipment either the resistance band included or dumbbells.  What I saw in this phase was increase muscle building, especially in the upper body.  

Here are the workouts included:

Your FOCUS T25 program includes:

ALPHA Cycle 25-Minute Workouts:

• Cardio. 25 minutes of calorie-burning, sweat-drenching cardio.
• Speed 1.0. Ignite your quickness. Burn the fat. Fast-paced for fast results.
• Total Body Circuit. Focus on strength and resistance—without lifting a single weight.
• Ab Intervals. Cardio and ab intervals that shred the fat from your midsection.
• Lower Focus. Focus on your lower-body muscles—the key to burning fat and kicking up your metabolism.

BETA Cycle 25-Minute Workouts:

• Core Cardio. Get your sweat on! This progressive cardio-core workout is about you getting shredded fast.
• Speed 2.0. Rev it up with Shaun's calorie-scorching, core-focused speed drills.
• Rip't Circuit. Cardio … upper body … legs … abs ... repeat! This is how you get ripped in 25 minutes.
• Dynamic Core. You'll go from vertical to horizontal and back again in this dynamic, crazy core routine.
• Upper Focus. Shaun will help you develop the upper body of your dreams. All you have to do is FOCUS.

Plus T25 Nutrition guide:

Meals are quick and easy to fix with just 5 ingredients in most meals!

Beachbody has an upgrade third phase called GAMMA.  GAMMA steps up the game one more level for increased results! 

This is perfect workout for everyone, even those just starting out on their health and fitness journey.  When put together with Shakeology you will get the results you desire!  

Are you ready to focus?

Les Mills Combat Review

Beachbody unveiled their second program from world renowned fitness trainer Les Mills -- Les Mills Combat.  Combat is an mixed-martial arts style home based fitness program that packs a punch!

Let me just get this out of the way, probably one of my favorite aspects of the program where the Aussie and New Zealand accents of the trainers Dan and Rach.  Okay, I said it!  

Now to the program.  The base kit came with 7 different workouts.  Five of them were primarily cardio based fighting workouts.  The workouts pull from several different areas of the world of martial arts including Muay Tai, kickboxing, karate, tae kwan do and traditional American boxing.  The mix of moves target your arms, shoulders, legs and core all the while peaking out your heart rate.  

In addition to the 5 fighting workouts, there are two HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts.  These work a blend of upper and lower body areas.  As well as targeting that core.  With these workouts, you will need a dumbbells, a weight plate or a resistance band could be used as well.  

What makes this program a great choice for any fitness level is the use of a modifier.  With every workout is one member of the cast reducing the impact of the moves but still maximizing the results you are going to get.  While not an incredibly difficult program, there is lots of challenge and delivers on the results.  

The calendar of the program is 10 weeks long (63 days) with a 6 day/1 rest day schedule.  The calendar is also modifiable for different fitness levels mixing in a longer workout for those looking to maximize their results.  Workouts range from 30 to 60 minutes.  There are also a couple upgrades that will include additional workouts and weighted gloves for increase results.  

Here is list of the workouts:

• LES MILLS COMBAT: THE BASICS. Master the techniques and mixed martial arts moves, guards, and stances you will use throughout all the LES MILLS COMBAT workouts.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 30: KICK START. A low-complexity but high-intensity workout, introducing you to the basic LES MILLS COMBAT combination moves.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 45: POWER KATA. This workout combines speed and power with cross-training for complete calorie scorching.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 60: EXTREME CARDIO FIGHTER. Challenge your endurance with a high-repetition sequence of moves that will have your muscles firing on all cylinders.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 60 LIVE: ULTIMATE WARRIOR'S WORKOUT. Upper body . . . legs and butt . . . core and cardio . . . this workout hits every muscle hard.
• LES MILLS COMBAT: POWER HIIT 1. High Intensity Interval Training uses short bursts of maximum effort followed by recovery to push you into muscle-conditioning overload.
• LES MILLS COMBAT: SHOCK PLYO HIIT 2. Uses propulsion exercises to improve athletic power and endurance, pushing you into peak performance mode.

I love the results I got !

The Speed of the Pack

Last the improbable happened...

Three Olympians from the same country captured Gold, Silver and Bronze in the same event - 500M Speed Skating.

While admittedly, I know little about speed skating other than these folks have the largest quad muscles I've ever seen, I do understand a key principle that makes this rare event more likely to have happened.  Certainly, this is not the first time these three men have been on the ice together.  For sure not, because two of them are twins. (Can someone say sibling rivalry?)  More than likely for some time these men have been training together, skating together and pushing one another.  The result - three Olympic Medals.

We have long been told by motivational speakers, personal development folks and even pastors that our success and rise (and fall) is built around those we spend the most time with.  I think this coronation is further proof of that.


In fitness you tend to run faster, lift more and work harder with a partner or group.
In business you compile the best of each person, pooling them together for further success.
In life you gather those around you that will not hold you back but propel you forward, push you to be the best version of you and elevate you to person you desire to be.

As the 3 Dutchman took their skate around the rink, hands raised, flag waived and tears being shed, I asked my son "why do you think all three from the same country won?"  His answer (as a typical 12 year old would say) "they were the fastest."

While on the money with his response, there is bigger lesson to be learned in how they became the fastest.  My theory is due to the speed of the pack.  The day one got faster it pushed the others to speed up.  If one got one one-hundreth faster, than the others had to work harder to get there. The synergy of the group created the three fastest men on ice last night and a crowning moment for the Netherlands.

I believe it was the power of WE and the speed of the pack that launched these men to the medal stand.  So who have you gathered around you to improve your speed, your business or your life?

Post your comments below.

Saw Rock City

I once heard John Maxwell say "Sometimes the place where we quit is on the edge of success."

I think a lot of us find ourselves at the edge of our lives -- the edge of our weight loss, fitness, business, relationships, career.  We stand face to face with quitting or continuing.  We are at the point of giving up or going on.  We are at an edge...

If you have ever been to Rock City in Chattanooga, TN you had the opportunity to walk out onto Lover's Leap.  Lover's Leap is a rock ledge that hangs out hundreds of feet over a valley below.  Off to one side is a waterfall crashing to valley floor.  If you look straight down it can be a frightening veiw point.  But if you look out aheaad you will have the opportunity to see something spectacular.  From that one piece of ground, you have the vantage point of seeing 7 different states.

What I have learned about health, fitness and even life is that we can either look straight over the edge at the potential fall or lookout over the possibilities.  If you are like me, your edges have caused you too often to quit.  The fear of the fall and overwhelming vision of what is immediately below captured my attention more than the great things that lie ahead.  If you simply look down, you never see Georgia, Alabama or the Carolinas.  Alll you see the potential fall...

We all come to the edge at some point.  The choice is yours...do you simply see the potential fall or can you see the great things that lie ahead?  I got my eyes set on what lies ahead!

Live with hope!

The 3 Places We Look...

We all have those spots...the places we look when the keys are missing or the remote can't be found.

The go to spot when we need to find that extra $0.27.

In life there are similar spots. I call them the 3 places we look.  Each of these spots hold incredible benefit for us, but if not careful each can hold you back.

BEHIND

Looking behind is a great tool to remind us where we have been, where we have come from and how far we have come.  It is a measuring stick of success.

You can only know how far you come by measuring it against where you've been.  This gives a clear sense of exactly how far in life you have come.

Yet looking behind can be like walking in quick sand.  It's full of remember whens, the good ole days and it will never be like that again.  It can become a mental trap to move forward.  Every "there will never be another" creates a mental mile marker that what is ahead of you can not compare to what is behind.

What's behind is behind and great reminder of the...

PRESENT

This moment is happening.  Now is now and will never happen again.  Whether your in the midst of the storm or life is pool side at the Ritz Carlton, it is happening.  Embrace the moment, stop and smell the proverbial (or actual) roses.

Too often we get caught on the bookends -- looking behind or ahead -- that the moment is lost.  So go ahead and YOLO it!  Because you really only do live once.

As modern day poet MACKLEMORE said,

Can we go back, this is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight 'til it’s overSo we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold usLike the ceiling can’t hold us


Embrace the here and now.  But don't live this moment captive to what's BEHIND and not satisfied because you are looking too far...

AHEAD

Benjamin Franklin said "A failure to plan is a plan to fail."  Looking ahead requires making plans and plans to achieve those plans.   Goals setting is key to success.  Having dreams and the desire to chase them is essential to living a fulfilled life.

Looking ahead is all about creating a plan for the future.  Understandably, life is going to throw you curve balls.  There are going to be moments that you will not be able to control the circumstances.  But have a clear destination picked out allows you realign your path and stay on track.  So looked ahead with expectation of great things.

Looking ahead can cause amnesia about where you have been and you are.  Don't let what is ahead of you hold you back from celebrating past success and winning in the moment you're in.

Oh and your keys are always in the last place you look. (That's because the last place you look is where you find them.)

Where do I begin?

Here is what I don't doubt, the fact that you want to change.  

Here is probably the question you may find yourself asking: "Where do I begin?" 

Begin by asking a different set of questions.  Let's start by defining the change into smaller portions.

- What do I want to accomplish in the next 6 months?

Now smaller.

- What do I want to accomplish in the next month?

Now smaller.

- What do I want to accomplish this week?  

The daunting part of changes is that it seems so big.  And truthfully, we tackle the biggest elephant in the safari thinking we can eat the whole thing in one big bite.  But the adage is still true, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. (Although, I have never eaten elephant and don't plan on it, but you get me.)

My heart is bent toward helping people move closer to their potential - it comes in the form of their personal, spiritual and health and fitness.  But this reverse thinking applies in every situation.  

If you want to graduate college, it starts with taking a class.  Then by getting this weeks homework done.  

If it's weight loss, well let's start by setting fitness goals for this week and planning meals for the week. 

If it's to become an accomplished public speaker.  Then start small, speaking to church groups, non-profits, business groups.  

You only start at the end to work backwards to find a clear starting point.  

But get started!  If it's your dream, goal or ambition don't let it pass!  Start!

Risk, Reward & Reality

There is a parable that Jesus tells in Matthew commonly called the Parable of the Talents.  The parable tells of 3 servants who were given am certain amount of money - one got 5 bags, one got 2 bags, and one was given just 1 talent.

The man with 5 invested and got 5 in return.  The man with 2 put his to work and got 2 in return.  The man with one dug a hole and buried the talent.  Long story short, the man with 5 and 2 got a return on their investment and were rewarded for their efforts from the master.  The man with one who had buried the 1 bag of talents (money) was punished.  He was stripped of his bag and put out.

Why do I tell this story, well for a long time I read this story and identified with the guy with one bag.  I thought to myself, nothing wrong with that, at least he did not lose anything.  I have lived my life burying my talents, limiting the risks I take, and living the middle.  The middle is no place to live.  The middle is risk free, the middle is fading, the middle is no place to live.

The middle class is fading.
Mid-size cars are boring.
And nobody in the NBA can make a mid-range jumper.

The middle is disappearing...

I have lived like the guy who been captivated by fear that if he lost his master's talent he would be punished.  The "one bag" of talent guy did nothing with what he was given not for selfish reasons, but out of fear.  Fear of failing, fear of risk, and the fear of taking a chance caused him to do nothing with his talent!

Without risk there is no chance at reward.  My reality is that I have lived comfortably in the middle, risking little, gaining little and losing most everything.  Without taking risk you are really losing.  The man with one bag was stripped of his talents and kicked out!

I am working at being a risk taker.  I am working at changing my reality.  Without taking risk there is no chance of knowing what reward you may find.

Risk is scary.
Risk require facing fear.
Yet, risk has the potential reap reward and change reality!

Learning to take a risk with my talents!

Letupicitis the dream killer

It is a common disease that strikes many quickly and suddenly.

It has destroyed the strongest of men and the bravest of women.

It is a silent, decimating killer.

It's Letupicitis!  Commonly known as quitting, letting up, slowing down, pulling back and backing down.

It is the moment you taste the start of success in your goals and instead of hitting the gas you "let up".  It the day you step on the scale to see you have dropped 3 pounds and reward yourself with a Big Mac and a day off, instead of pushing play.  It is the moment after you have posted your third blog of the week and decide to cool the keys and wait on inspiration.

Letupicitis is rooted in the bacteria of disbelief.  It is contracted on the microbe of a poor self perception and spreads on the virus of a poor self perception.

It is known as the dream killer disease.  It slowly infects the dreamer and keeps him/her from pushing past barriers to new levels.  At one point or another we will all contract this silent killer of imagination, passion and conviction.  If you let it, it will infect your heart and keep your from achieving the dream you set out to.

Know the symptoms, recognize the signs, and push past letupicitis!