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Bowing Out
6 years ago
Friday, July 14, 2023
Will you put in a good word for my business?
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Hello all, changed the name of this blog to better suit my evolving vision with how I'd like to help you, the reader, to get a little better everyday. The following post addresses the many problems I have found the maturing male has with their health goals.
Problem #1:
Your life is busier than it’s ever been. Some interesting things start to happen as we exit our 20’s and enter our 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s:
We tend to get less sleep and wake up tired and sore. Our sex hormones peak… and then start their slow decline. Our crackling ankles, knees, and wrists remind us that we’re getting older. We tend to snack and overeat more often, especially in the evenings. We do less binge drinking, but more consistent drinking. Polishing off a bottle of wine or drinking a few beers each night becomes an ordinary routine.
Of course it’s not all negative. Lots of positive things start happening too: If we’re lucky, we get a good career that’s challenging and rewarding. We make more money than when we were younger. We develop long-lasting relationships with people we love. We start building and nurturing a family. We become (presumably) smarter and more experienced. While every guy’s life experience is different, there are a few things that remain consistent no matter who you are. For most guys, getting older usually means: increased responsibilities at home, increased stress from work, less time to take care of themselves.
This is how we end up with a gym membership we rarely use, a healthy cookbook we rarely open, and a body we’re not particularly proud of.
Sure, we want to drop some fat and look more muscular and fit… but we just don’t have the time or energy. Someday, we tell ourselves, we’re finally going to get our ass in gear.
The only problem? “Someday” keeps getting postponed.
According to the research done at Precision Nutrition, (one of the companies I am certified with), lots of guys are so stressed out with work and family obligations, that they don’t feel like they have the time or energy to “really commit” to a nutrition or exercise plan.
But what if you didn’t have to dedicate a huge portion of your life to getting in shape?
What most guys do when they feel busy and stressed: Let their busy schedule overtake their health.
Set huge fitness goals they don’t have a miracle of hitting. Continue to add body fat and beat themselves up for not making a change.
What you can do to be successful: Embrace exercise minimalism. Identify the biggest gap in your nutrition and work on fixing it (while ignoring everything else).
You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get in better shape. That’s why in my Remote Nutrition Coaching Program, I give my clients four workout options: Full workout At-home workout (minimal equipment) Quick workout (don’t have much time) Do your own workout.
I also allow room for clients to modify their workouts, with more difficult or less difficult exercises, depending on how they’re feeling that day. That way they’re always doing something rather than nothing. (Because let’s face it: the gym is the first thing to go when we get busy and stressed at work.)
So how do you embrace exercise minimalism on your own? If you’re looking for something to try this week, here’s a simple plan. It’s a simple, strategic way for busy guys to get their weekly exercise in without stressing out about missing the gym. And the whole thing takes less than an hour per week.
Day 1 15min 10 push-ups + 10 inverted rows + 10 kettlebell swings then rest 1 min, repeat 5x
Day 2 2 min walk then 15 sec sprint on the treadmill @8mph & 10% grade rest 15 secs with feet to side of treadmill, repeat 5x then walk 2 min.
Day 3 15 min 10 push-ups + 10 reverse crunches + 10 goblet squats with a kettlebell or dumbbell, rest 1 min and repeat 5x.
Day 4 15 min pedal a fan bike (airdyne) or row or swim 3 miles while focusing on maintaining steady nose breathing.
the focus should be to make each workout more challenging every time you do it.
For strength workouts, this means doing additional repetitions or reducing the rest time between rounds. For the sprinting workout, this means increasing the incline, the speed, or the number of repeated sprints. And for the 3-mile bike ride you can try to do it faster than the time before, or you can go a little longer (like 3.1 miles).
It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as you do one thing more than the last time.
Identify the biggest gap in your nutrition and work on fixing it (while ignoring everything else)
Most guys I’ve talked to know how important nutrition is for looking and feeling better. And they know they need to follow some sort of nutrition plan. However, they don’t know where to start. (Or they start a new diet and try to change everything at once, which usually fails).
Instead of trying to change everything about the way you eat right now—which will just add to your stress levels—we encourage you to follow the advice I give to my clients: Pick one thing about the way you eat—the thing you think will make the biggest improvement to your nutrition—and focus on it exclusively for a couple of weeks. Once you’ve been consistent for 14-21 days, then you can pick another thing to try. The goal is to practice simple, strategic actions that build over time.
So how do you know what thing to pick? Easy. Just ask yourself this question:
“What’s the one thing I could do right now to feel better about my nutrition?”
Chances are you have a good idea on what you need to do. Here’s a short list of what some clients have focused on:
Goal: Drink less beer and alcohol.
Action: Instead of drinking two beers every night, have one beer.
Goal: Eat less junk food / fast food.
Action: Instead of stopping in for a burger or taco for lunch, go to a grocery store and get a pre-made salad with chicken on it.
Goal: Reduce carbohydrates.
Action: Instead of ordering fries at dinner, get a salad. Instead of having a breakfast sandwich, order scrambled eggs.
The idea here is to pick the one nutrition practice that will make the biggest impact on your body and health right now.
If you need help deciding what that is—or if you just want to follow a proven nutrition plan—well, that’s what I can help with. A good first step would be to learn more about my coaching.
Problem #2:
You know what to do… but you’re just not consistent. This is the motherlode of all problems. According to research, roughly 65 percent of guys (and likely a lot more) report that they struggle with staying consistent. And it’s not like they’re complete exercise beginners. Here’s what most guys have tried before getting results with me: P90X, Insanity, and other workout DVDs, Boot Camps and other group workouts, Fitbit, Apple Watch and other wearable fitness technology, popular diets, Workout books and magazine articles.
Of course, these aren’t “bad” options. They end up working for some people. But eventually most of these methods and tools begin to break down and fail over time.
Why is that? It’s because they’re surface solutions. They help solve a surface-level problem.
Don’t have a gym to train at? Now you do.
Want to track how many calories you eat? Here’s an app.
Want to know how many steps you’re taking? Wear this bracelet thing.
The only problem with surface-level solutions? They only work for a little while. They don’t account for the ups and downs of everyday life. They don’t adapt to your life. And because of that, they don’t help you stay consistent.
What most guys do when they fail to be consistent. Pick another surface solution to follow.
What you can do to be successful:
Make yourself accountable to a program.
Make yourself accountable to a person.
Make yourself accountable to a program.
Ideally, you want a program that covers a few bases:
It’s been tested with lots of people (so you know it actually works).
It’s customizable to your lifestyle (so you can stay consistent and do it even when you’re busy).
It’s something you actually enjoy doing (who’s going to exercise if it’s not fun?).
There’s something big and positive to shoot for (a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow).
The first three are incredibly important; they’re the cornerstone of a solid exercise and nutrition program. But the fourth one—having something big and positive to shoot for—is often overlooked. In fact, most programs do the opposite: They make you feel guilty and bad for “slacking” or for not being a paragon of health and fitness. But we don’t need any more negativity in our lives, and I'm sure you don’t either.
Make yourself accountable to a person.
This tip isn’t for everyone but it can often make the difference between consistently getting great results or falling off the wagon. Personal accountability is more important than personal motivation for one simple reason: no one always feels motivated to go to the gym or make healthy eating choices. But if we have someone who’s checking up on us to see how things are going, we’ll likely do better because a) we don’t want to disappoint the person who’s helping us and b) we don’t want to look or feel lazy. If we’re accountable to another person, we’ll actually do the workouts and eat the food we need to look and feel great. And we’ll do it over and over again, even when the going gets tough. That’s why the most successful guys become accountable to another person. It could be a friend or workout partner. It could be your spouse. It could be a local personal trainer or fitness expert.
Or if you want to join my coaching program, I can help you too.
The important thing is that you make yourself accountable to somebody.
-By Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D.
Problem #1:
Your life is busier than it’s ever been. Some interesting things start to happen as we exit our 20’s and enter our 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s:
We tend to get less sleep and wake up tired and sore. Our sex hormones peak… and then start their slow decline. Our crackling ankles, knees, and wrists remind us that we’re getting older. We tend to snack and overeat more often, especially in the evenings. We do less binge drinking, but more consistent drinking. Polishing off a bottle of wine or drinking a few beers each night becomes an ordinary routine.
Of course it’s not all negative. Lots of positive things start happening too: If we’re lucky, we get a good career that’s challenging and rewarding. We make more money than when we were younger. We develop long-lasting relationships with people we love. We start building and nurturing a family. We become (presumably) smarter and more experienced. While every guy’s life experience is different, there are a few things that remain consistent no matter who you are. For most guys, getting older usually means: increased responsibilities at home, increased stress from work, less time to take care of themselves.
This is how we end up with a gym membership we rarely use, a healthy cookbook we rarely open, and a body we’re not particularly proud of.
Sure, we want to drop some fat and look more muscular and fit… but we just don’t have the time or energy. Someday, we tell ourselves, we’re finally going to get our ass in gear.
The only problem? “Someday” keeps getting postponed.
According to the research done at Precision Nutrition, (one of the companies I am certified with), lots of guys are so stressed out with work and family obligations, that they don’t feel like they have the time or energy to “really commit” to a nutrition or exercise plan.
But what if you didn’t have to dedicate a huge portion of your life to getting in shape?
What most guys do when they feel busy and stressed: Let their busy schedule overtake their health.
Set huge fitness goals they don’t have a miracle of hitting. Continue to add body fat and beat themselves up for not making a change.
What you can do to be successful: Embrace exercise minimalism. Identify the biggest gap in your nutrition and work on fixing it (while ignoring everything else).
You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to get in better shape. That’s why in my Remote Nutrition Coaching Program, I give my clients four workout options: Full workout At-home workout (minimal equipment) Quick workout (don’t have much time) Do your own workout.
I also allow room for clients to modify their workouts, with more difficult or less difficult exercises, depending on how they’re feeling that day. That way they’re always doing something rather than nothing. (Because let’s face it: the gym is the first thing to go when we get busy and stressed at work.)
So how do you embrace exercise minimalism on your own? If you’re looking for something to try this week, here’s a simple plan. It’s a simple, strategic way for busy guys to get their weekly exercise in without stressing out about missing the gym. And the whole thing takes less than an hour per week.
Day 1 15min 10 push-ups + 10 inverted rows + 10 kettlebell swings then rest 1 min, repeat 5x
Day 2 2 min walk then 15 sec sprint on the treadmill @8mph & 10% grade rest 15 secs with feet to side of treadmill, repeat 5x then walk 2 min.
Day 3 15 min 10 push-ups + 10 reverse crunches + 10 goblet squats with a kettlebell or dumbbell, rest 1 min and repeat 5x.
Day 4 15 min pedal a fan bike (airdyne) or row or swim 3 miles while focusing on maintaining steady nose breathing.
the focus should be to make each workout more challenging every time you do it.
For strength workouts, this means doing additional repetitions or reducing the rest time between rounds. For the sprinting workout, this means increasing the incline, the speed, or the number of repeated sprints. And for the 3-mile bike ride you can try to do it faster than the time before, or you can go a little longer (like 3.1 miles).
It doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as you do one thing more than the last time.
Identify the biggest gap in your nutrition and work on fixing it (while ignoring everything else)
Most guys I’ve talked to know how important nutrition is for looking and feeling better. And they know they need to follow some sort of nutrition plan. However, they don’t know where to start. (Or they start a new diet and try to change everything at once, which usually fails).
Instead of trying to change everything about the way you eat right now—which will just add to your stress levels—we encourage you to follow the advice I give to my clients: Pick one thing about the way you eat—the thing you think will make the biggest improvement to your nutrition—and focus on it exclusively for a couple of weeks. Once you’ve been consistent for 14-21 days, then you can pick another thing to try. The goal is to practice simple, strategic actions that build over time.
So how do you know what thing to pick? Easy. Just ask yourself this question:
“What’s the one thing I could do right now to feel better about my nutrition?”
Chances are you have a good idea on what you need to do. Here’s a short list of what some clients have focused on:
Goal: Drink less beer and alcohol.
Action: Instead of drinking two beers every night, have one beer.
Goal: Eat less junk food / fast food.
Action: Instead of stopping in for a burger or taco for lunch, go to a grocery store and get a pre-made salad with chicken on it.
Goal: Reduce carbohydrates.
Action: Instead of ordering fries at dinner, get a salad. Instead of having a breakfast sandwich, order scrambled eggs.
The idea here is to pick the one nutrition practice that will make the biggest impact on your body and health right now.
If you need help deciding what that is—or if you just want to follow a proven nutrition plan—well, that’s what I can help with. A good first step would be to learn more about my coaching.
Problem #2:
You know what to do… but you’re just not consistent. This is the motherlode of all problems. According to research, roughly 65 percent of guys (and likely a lot more) report that they struggle with staying consistent. And it’s not like they’re complete exercise beginners. Here’s what most guys have tried before getting results with me: P90X, Insanity, and other workout DVDs, Boot Camps and other group workouts, Fitbit, Apple Watch and other wearable fitness technology, popular diets, Workout books and magazine articles.
Of course, these aren’t “bad” options. They end up working for some people. But eventually most of these methods and tools begin to break down and fail over time.
Why is that? It’s because they’re surface solutions. They help solve a surface-level problem.
Don’t have a gym to train at? Now you do.
Want to track how many calories you eat? Here’s an app.
Want to know how many steps you’re taking? Wear this bracelet thing.
The only problem with surface-level solutions? They only work for a little while. They don’t account for the ups and downs of everyday life. They don’t adapt to your life. And because of that, they don’t help you stay consistent.
What most guys do when they fail to be consistent. Pick another surface solution to follow.
What you can do to be successful:
Make yourself accountable to a program.
Make yourself accountable to a person.
Make yourself accountable to a program.
Ideally, you want a program that covers a few bases:
It’s been tested with lots of people (so you know it actually works).
It’s customizable to your lifestyle (so you can stay consistent and do it even when you’re busy).
It’s something you actually enjoy doing (who’s going to exercise if it’s not fun?).
There’s something big and positive to shoot for (a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow).
The first three are incredibly important; they’re the cornerstone of a solid exercise and nutrition program. But the fourth one—having something big and positive to shoot for—is often overlooked. In fact, most programs do the opposite: They make you feel guilty and bad for “slacking” or for not being a paragon of health and fitness. But we don’t need any more negativity in our lives, and I'm sure you don’t either.
Make yourself accountable to a person.
This tip isn’t for everyone but it can often make the difference between consistently getting great results or falling off the wagon. Personal accountability is more important than personal motivation for one simple reason: no one always feels motivated to go to the gym or make healthy eating choices. But if we have someone who’s checking up on us to see how things are going, we’ll likely do better because a) we don’t want to disappoint the person who’s helping us and b) we don’t want to look or feel lazy. If we’re accountable to another person, we’ll actually do the workouts and eat the food we need to look and feel great. And we’ll do it over and over again, even when the going gets tough. That’s why the most successful guys become accountable to another person. It could be a friend or workout partner. It could be your spouse. It could be a local personal trainer or fitness expert.
Or if you want to join my coaching program, I can help you too.
The important thing is that you make yourself accountable to somebody.
-By Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Hello...again :-)
I took a break, sabbatical from the Self Defense training while I put energy into family and CrossFit West Chester. The box, as they call CrossFit Affiliates, is in it's 3rd year and my partners and I just sealed the deal for our 3rd move. The new space is awesome! Look for pics and info on the open house.
While taking time away I've continued my own road to improving my self defense options, learned lots as a coach and trainer and am looking to bring this new vigor and experiennce to seminar offerings. My next training opportunity will be in Wilmington Deleware at CrossFit Riverfront. GO HERE TO REGISTER as spots are limited and will fill up fast!
Along with still offering the Personal Defense Readiness program seminars, I'll be doing Bully Prevention worskshops, Child abduction/prevention education, basic and Advanced Firearms courses and more!
Friday, November 13, 2009
PDR Seminar
November 14th 11:15 to 3:15 at Crossfit West Chester. 306 Westtown Rd. in West Chester.
This will launch an ongoing combatives program at the CrossFit West Chester location. Classes will begin next week Saturday November 21st 9-10am every Saturday. The schedule will grow with attendence.
This will launch an ongoing combatives program at the CrossFit West Chester location. Classes will begin next week Saturday November 21st 9-10am every Saturday. The schedule will grow with attendence.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
CrossFit King of Prussia Hosts
Tony Blauer’s PERSONAL DEFENSE READINESS & S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Bridgeport, PA 10-3PM
Personal Defense Readiness™ Seminar: …Is based on the S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™, which is the first genetically, and behaviorally inspired self-defense course. It is the only self-defense method that fully integrates the body's reflexive responses and instinctive survival mechanisms making S.P.E.A.R. the easiest, most natural way to protect yourself. This 1-day seminar is open to the public and will challenge, and enlighten everyone who attends.
PDR seminars are dual track (learn at your own pace) classes for both experienced and new attendees. New participants will receive an introduction into Tony Blauer’s renowned mind-set & fear management strategies that include important components from the Cerebral Self-Defense™, Cycle of Behavior™ and Be Your Own Bodyguard™ programs. Understanding F.E.A.R. is the key to overcoming any obstacles in life.
Time permitting the training will also feature High Gear™ training related to the seminars theme. This course will not interfere with any prior training and can be used to augment any personal toolbox. No prior experience is necessary.
Details:
Date: August 1st, 2009
Place: CrossFit King of Prussia, 1010 DeKalb Street, Bridgeport, PA 19405
Times: Saturday 10:00-3:00pm
Tuition: $55 for Advanced Registration, $65 at the door.
Contact: 484-955-9879 or (973)885.8728
Dress: Comfortable clothes & clean sneakers
Who can attend: Ages (13 yrs & up), and all public safety officers/officials.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Ed Freeman...A Hero's Passing
You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is out numbered 8-1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come in.
But he's coming anyway.
And he drops it in, and sits there in a hail of machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the doctors and nurses.
And he kept coming back again and again, 13 more times and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at the age of 80 in Boise, ID. May God rest his soul.
I'll bet you didn't hear anything at all from the media about this hero's passing, but we sure were told a lot about some entertainer who died of a drug overdose
THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER ED FREEMAN!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What Are You Waiting For?
How many times have you ever seen something that invoked an emotional response that I don't want that to happen to me, or I should really do that, or I don't want that to happen to me. It happens to all of us, about getting "in shape", losing weight, learning to use a firearm, shopping for better car insurance. We experience a stimulus and respond. We dig through our summer wardrobe to find that last years shorts are too tight. We get that monthly bill and think I can do better. We watch a video, read a new clipping, or worse have someone we care about fall victim to violence. I should really take some 'self defense lessons' or get a gun, etc...Unlike taking some time to loose some weight, or research how to save a buck violence is something none of us can afford. You can bury your head in the sand, you can put it off but that doesn't make you safer.
Look deeper and how many times have we walked through an area where are senses were heightened, we see an unfamiliar face coming towards us, the uncomfortable feeling starts, we're not sure what to do, the heart starts beating faster, our body 'perceives' some type of threat, it picks up and we feel 'anxious'. This approaching figure 'looks shady' what else are you thinking? We hope nothing happens to us, we pray, or we tell ourselves we'll be fine. It happens to all of us it's called fear. Do you understand fear, the power of it and that it can be your friend if you have the tools to manage it. Come and learn more about fear, fear management, and have some fun doing it. What are you waiting for?
View Gavin Debecker world famous author on fear.
Is money an issue? For about the price of a nice meal out, two oil changes, or a pair of pants you can learn to be safer. It is time? I can teach you to be safer in an afternoon. Too old? Injuries? I'm too this too that. I've heard it all. I've had people attend a seminar with back injuries just wanting to 'observe' and had them participate the whole event without an issue and thank me. I've taught a person who lost their leg in a climbing accident. What's your excuse?
Let me show you what you can do with a little time an effort Saturday, July 18th, 10am - 2pm at CrossFit South Philly.
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