Archive for January, 2011

June 13th 2006 Alwyn 2.0 arrived on the scene.

Let me backtrack for those of you who don’t know the whole story…

In early 2006 I was diagnosed for the second time with Stage IV cancer. There is no Stage V.
The first go-around I was treated with high dose chemotherapy. It put me into remission but the disease returned, with a vengeance about a year later.

This time I would undergo a very aggressive treatment protocol that involved a bone marrow/stem cell transplant.
Essentially, I was given enough chemotherapy to destroy almost every cell in my body. At that point, the doctors pulled the chemo and gave me a stem cell transplant.

Pretty much every cell in my body was reborn from scratch. I was rebooted.

—-

So what does this have to do with fitness or your business?

Well, about two months ago, Rachel, myself and the Results Fitness Programming team (Mike Wunsch and Craig Rasmussen) sat down and decided to completely reboot our program design methodology.

Now, it wasn’t because our methods had cancer! We just hadn’t sat down and really looked at what we’d do if we were to start over from scratch.

Let me break it down — Results Fitness has been open for more than a decade. I first started training people (teaching Taekwon-Do) in 1986. My first fitness client was 89 or so.
Our programs have evolved over time as we learned more.

Our last major revision was in 2006 when I was in the hospital and had some time on my hands.
Since then we’ve always tweaked and modified what we did.

But it was always that – tweaking – it was never a complete “tear it all up and start over”.

Basically we have to revisit our programming and start from scratch every so often because we learn so much.

In the last year I’ve read maybe 15 training books, been to 15-20 conferences, watched a bunch of DVD’s and met a bunch of interesting guys.
Five or six years ago we weren’t using kettlebells, sandbags or the TRX. Of course we’ve added them – but sometimes it’s good to go back to basics and just start from square one

Add my staff to that learning curve.

Our team go to multiple seminars. They each read a book a week and watch at least one DVD a week each.
We bring in experts to train our team regularly.

Multiply that learning curve by over 250 clients as our “in the trenches” results filter.
And then multiply by three to four years since our last “programming reboot” and it gets pretty exciting!

I’m actually amazed and excited at how many changes we made. We already get better results than any of our competition.
This will take our clients to a different level entirely.
—-
So how can you take this idea and run with it?

1) Ask yourself if you could go back and start over – would you be doing different things now. If so ….
2) Just don’t be scared to start over now. If it’s education, your career, your life, your fitness program – don’t be afraid to continually grow so much and so quickly that you need to stop and rethink everything you’re doing.
3) Every so often sit down and start over again. Don’t stop tweaking and growing – but don’t let your current methods leave you in a box.

Starting from scratch might just allow you complete liberation to take everything in your life to a new level.
Reboot occasionally :)

–
AC
PS – keep an eye out for our new programming principles seminar where we’ll explain the evolution of our methodology.

Guest blog from my good friend, colleague and fellow Perform Better Speaker Todd Durkin

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2011 – Your Best Year Yet

By Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS

I am a true believer. Each Christmas I notice everything printed with Believe or I Believe. Cards, calendars, ornaments, pillows – you’ve probably seen as much as I have or more. Well, I do believe. I believe in positive energy. I believe in persistence and mental toughness. I believe in myself and in others. I believe in YOU.

Each January brings the opportunity for a fresh start. We’ve passed through the gate of the New Year and have the chance to make 2011 YOUR BEST YEAR YET. Grab hold of this chance and run with it. So what if the first day of the year has passed. It’s never too late to start getting better. Whether you’re looking for dramatic change in your life or the chance to get 1% better each day, now is the time to be renewed in the spirit of new beginnings.

Keep reading for my personal list of actions and reminders that pack a potent punch and are sure to make a positive difference for you. Read each one. Implement a few or many. Find your favorites and go deep to discover the secret buried within. Then get ready for your best year yet!

83 Ways to Make 2011 Your Best Year Yet

• Be the most positive person you know.
• Get 1% better everyday.
• Define your “game-changing” move in 2011.  Then get it done!
• Take more risks.
• Do something that scares you everyday.
• Be a team builder, regardless of your title at work.
• Remember that business is about relationships and connections.
• People need motivation, accountability, and know how. Deliver it.
• Write your eulogy and then live your life backwards.
• Know your Big 5: the 5 most important things that need to happen by the end of the year to make 2011 feel like it truly has been the best year of your life.
• Read your Big 5 every morning.
• Post affirmations on your bathroom mirror.
• Don’t focus on making money – focus on creating value.
• Lead by executing and getting results. No excuses.
• Strive to be ‘World Class’ in all you do.
• Read The 4 Agreements by Dom Miguel Ruiz.
• Train like a pro athlete – exercise more.
• Eat higher quality foods.
• Get a massage once a week.
• Attend a destination spa vacation each year.
• Have at least one other “dream” vacation each year.
• Remember – no one has ever regretted a great workout.
• Be obsessed with learning.
• Join a Mastermind Group. It will accelerate your results, improve your mindset, and provide you with fertile soil in which to grow.
• Be impeccable with your words – don’t complain, gossip, or be negative.
• Be careful with whom you surround yourself. Just as much as the right people can pull you up, the wrong crowd can bring you down.
• Plan as if you will live forever but live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
• Say please, thank you, and I love you more.
• Give someone a massage.
• Write love letters like you used to.
• Call someone you always wanted to talk to but never thought you could.
• Call an old coach or teacher and thank them for positively impacting your life.
• If you want to resolve a conflict, use the phone instead of email.
• Write a hand-written note to a client or customer.
• When you travel, send letters to your kids on hotel stationary.
• If you want more, GIVE more.
• Do or do not – there is no try.
• The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
• Journal. What are you thankful for? What are your intentions for the day? Who is in need of prayer today? Where were you outstanding today?
• Clarity precedes genius. Find clarity in writing and solitude.
• Track your success.
• Slow down in order to speed up.
• Be willing to fail. It’s the price of greatness.
• Spend at least 10 minutes every morning in quiet time, prayer time, or meditation time.
• Listen to inspirational music. Create your favorite play list for chilling out as well as working out.
• Listen to books on tape and podcasts.
• Read The IMPACT! Body Plan.
• Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.
• Read The Leader Without a Title, The Greatness Guide, and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma.
• Watch a Rocky “marathon” with your kids on a rainy day.
• Do what you do best and hire the rest.
• Sometimes good is good enough.  Don’t let “perfectionism” rob you of getting things done.
• “Color code your life,” says my mentor, Wayne Cotton.  Green machine, blue sky, red tape, and mellow yellow. Visit www.nobrowndays.com for more information.
• Complete a 90-Day Wonder. What have I accomplished in the last 90 days? What are my current challenges? What will I accomplish in the next 90 days?
• Remember the 10,000-hour Rule. It often takes about 10,000 hours or 10 years to be recognized as an expert.
• Success takes time. Be patient, but continually invest in yourself.
• Work on your business, not in your business.
• Your big ideas typically come when you are sitting on a beach or skiing in the mountains.
• Hire only “A” players to build a winning business.
• Replace the bottom 10% of your players each year.
• Everyone in an organization should be considered a “leader.”
• Always believe in your dreams, even when they seem impossible or others doubt you.
• Focus, focus, focus!
• Water people everyday – lift people up instead of tearing people down.
• One quick “No” is better than 10 “maybes” or “I don’t knows.”
• Win the day!
• Remember what Walt Disney said, “Everything speaks!”
• Be more spontaneous.
• Block out the noise and focus on the signal.
• Develop a hobby.
• The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
• Run your own race – be authentic and original.
• Speak more. Write more. Read more.
• Turn OFF your TV!
• Eliminate excuses.
• Organize your time more effectively.
• “Eat that Frog,” says Brian Tracy.  Do the things that you don’t like to do or want to do but have to do early in your day.
• Get your mind right!
• Do more of what you love to do.
• Action is like gas in the car. Without it, you will not go.
• Be humble…be hungry.
• Create IMPACT everyday.
• Live by the mantra, “… And then some.”

Implement any single item on this list and you will create change. Combine a few to really rock your world and the world of those around you. Explore, experiment and find your favorites. But remember, there’s more to it than implementing a list of action items. YOUR BEST YEAR YET will require something deep within YOU.

You’ve heard me talk about the power of  “theme-ing” a year. In the days and weeks ahead, spend some time alone with your thoughts to find the theme that’s right for you – the single most meaningful, overarching and powerful pledge you can make to define who you will be and what you will do in 2011. Find it and treat it like an oath. It will deliver.

For weeks now, I’ve been doing this kind of thinking. I searched for and found my theme for 2011. Ironically, when I looked deep enough within and examined my soul, I found it there. 2011 is my year of “S.O.U.L.” I am making a very public pledge to nurture and go deep with my Spiritual development and inner life, to seek Outrageous fun and adventure, to create Unbelievable value and innovation in my work, and to step up and Lead in all areas of my life.

It’s January 13^th my friend. We’re through the gate and ready to run. Lace up your shoes and let’s go. After all, 2011 is going to be YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

Peace and love,

Todd

2011 – THE YEAR OF S.O.U.L.

S = Spiritual development and inner life

O = Outrageous fun and adventure

U = Unbelievable value and innovation

L = Leadership in all areas of life

2011 – YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

–
AC

PS – print out those 83 ways to make 2011 your best year ever and stick it on the wall.
Don’t forget to check out Todd’s latest book – the Impact Body Plan

I was talking to my mentorship attendees at my gym last week and we got on the subject of programming.

They pointed out that what we actually do at Results Fitness and what people have seen me write (in terms of programs) are not always all that similar. They were right. The programs at our gym can be somewhat different than some of the stuff I write about.

For example – when we write a program at the gym -it’s based on a thorough health history, postural evaluation, range of motion assessment, functional movement screen and possibly some performance measures. We review this material with the training time availability, prioritize what’s needed given the client’s time line or deadlines and design the program.

An article is usually an assignment where I have none of the above. For example – A magazine will tell me that they need a workout with dumbbells only, and a max of six exercises (as that’s all they have room for). You’d see that and without knowing the parameters of the assignment – you may think that’s what we’d do if you joined our gym.

I recently wrote a workout for an article that was based solely around chins and dips – no other exercises. It’s unlikely that I’d come up with that as a program if I assessed someone in person.

Books and articles tend to be more generic. Real programming is more customized.
Now obviously any program written by a skilled professional is useful, as going from not having any plan to picking up one of these books or articles and following the plan laid out is an excellent start. Especially since the average person shows up to the gym without any kind of plan at all.

Other misconceptions

I think people often read something I or one of my team have written and think that they know what we do with all our different clients. For example, people think that we don’t ever use aerobic training – but we have several triathletes and other endurance athletes at Results Fitness. Or that we only use full body workouts — we don’t – we actually usually use primarily split routines (just not split based solely on “body part”). We’ve had a ton of figure and physique competitors as members of our gym.

People also assume that the article or book that they just read is “all we do”. So if they read a metabolic conditioning article – they assume that’s all we do and we never use traditional heavy lifting. (Not true btw). Or because steady state aerobic work is not our number one fat loss choice with a time-challenged client that we don’t ever recommend it. (Also not true).

I actually read something recently where someone thinks that we don’t do any isolation training or direct arm training. Guess they’ve never been at a seminar of mine, read many articles I’ve written or been in my gym…

If you want to really take your results to the next level – it starts with a solid needs analysis and evaluation. Program design needs to be based on an assessment and a system. If you’re not assessing – you’re just guessing.

–
AC

One week gone already in 2011….

This was a busy week for me at Results Fitness. Not only is our gym busy, I’m finalizing my talk for next week’s Perform Better seminar in Los Angeles, and we had four days of masterminding with our Results Fitness Business Coaching group.

Nevertheless, one of my goals for January was to get twenty training sessions done. At the end of week one, I’m on track.

Here’s what I did this morning:

Dynamic Warm Up

Core:
Plank
Side Plank

Resistance Training:

Dumbbell Split Squat paired with Inverted Row (3 sets of each)
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift paired with Push ups (3 sets of each)

Metabolic Training:
15 mins interval training

Total workout time was just under 50 mins and according to my HR monitor, I averaged 134bpm, peaking at 163bpm and burned approx 550 calories.

–
AC
PS – This workout was adapted from phase one of the New Rules of Lifting for Abs

What’s your educational half life?

I read once that the average doctor are so busy that the “half-life” of their education is around ten years. In other words – ten years after graduation, they only remember half of the information they knew at graduation – and are essentially only half as “qualified”.Now, part of that is just forgetting or not reviewing material, part of that is not knowing it in the first place, and part of that is that the field changes constantly and if they are very busy – the just can’t keep current.

We’re in the same position. Our field moves fast and is constantly evolving. The business practices in today’s economy have changed dramatically. Fitness programming itself has changed. We need to stay current.

But most of us are busy – you can come back from a seminar and you put your notes away because you need to get back to work, and suddenly it’s been three months and you haven’t even picked them up again. The “self help” program quickly becomes “shelf help”

As far as re-reading – I think it makes sense to review old books and DVD’s at least once a year. Make notes in them the first time and you can at the very least review your notes.

It’s actually shocking how much stuff that you miss the first time around.
It’s also fair to say that you’re in a different place or level when you re-read material , so some stuff wasn’t applicable the first time you read it, becomes really significant upon re-reading the material.

Beyond that

But the real key is – are you continuously sharpening your own tools and attending seminars and reading books?
Do you have a business coach who helps you with the vision and implementation of your business (this is something a lot of people are lacking)?
Are you involved in a coaching group or mastermind with like-minded individuals?
Are you retaining information and growing – or are you forgetting?

It’s a constant flux – either more material is getting in and you’re growing, or no more material is getting in, and you’re shrinking.

You need to mastermind with those who attract wealth, not those who attract poverty. People who want to get to the next level. (Statistically, your income will become the average of that of the 5 people you hang around the most ).

The definition of “mastermind” from Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is “an alliance of 2 or more mind that create a friendly environment to gather , classify and organize new information for fast and effective implementation. You can’t do it by yourself.

7 benefits you get from Masterminding:

1. Brainstorming with likeminded thinkers and achievers.
2. Being listened to and helped.
3. Being motivated and challenged.
4. You’re accepted.
5. You’re recognized for your achievements.
6. You have a safe environment to share information.
7. Fresh eyes and objectivity.

It’s a good rule to review material you already have regularly as well as study new material and be involved in a coaching group or mastermind.

This week I am meeting with my own Fitness Business Mastermind group here in Santa Clarita.
2011 is here and it’s time to get to work !

–
AC