I Say Hypocracy or #boycotteliteseating

First off, I have to give a couple of disclaimers here, as follows, in no particular order.

I love being a Beachbody Coach and by extension the Beachbody company. I've met the greatest people, made incredible lifelong (I hope!) friendships, and throughout have helped a lot of people reach some incredible goals and have grown personally as well. The company itself is simply focused on helping people reach their health and fitness goals so they may lead healthy, fulfilling lives. They've done it without compromise which shows in the incredible quality of their products. Of course, there's stuff I don't agree with but that's true with any company. (And that's the subject of another blog!)

I respect and admire the leaders in the company. I've met most of them and they are probably the most genuine and...well, nice people you'd ever want to meet. Even if you're not part of their team, organization, or downline coaches, everyone I've run into is happy to answer questions, give advice and tips, and just plain want to help. I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule but I haven't experienced it!

Now the meat and potatoes.

Invariably, at the annual coach Summits or at big meetings throughout the year, awards are given, people are recognized, accolades are showered. And please believe me, I am in no way begrudging anyone's success. They worked hard to get where they are. But, what kills me, they get up and say, "I would never get here without my team" or "My team worked so hard" etc. etc. Meanwhile the team is cheering away for them while they pass the box of tissues around to wipe their noses cause they're sitting in the nose-bleed section while you walk down 5 steps and sit in the roped off floor seats. Again, you worked hard to get there but when you say it wouldn't be possible without your team...

If your team is good enough to get you there, aren't they good enough to sit with?

It shouldn't bother me, but it just angers me to no end! I know you have meetings with them, you'll take a few to dinner, I know you know each and everyone of them, their names, what they do, what they want. You'll hang out with them and then go sit in the "I'm a Star" section, separate but not equal.

Again, I know you worked hard but when you say you couldn't do it without them, then go sit without them...well...I call shenanigans. If you're getting an award, or being called on stage or what have you, sit with your team, then go down a few minutes before you have to go up there, get your whatever, then sit with your people. I challenge you to do so.

For my part, I state now and for the record, whatever rank I achieve, whatever award I may receive, that I will not sit in elite seating for any longer than it takes me to accept it. If they're good enough, worked so hard to get me there, then those are the people I want to be with. Nose-bleed section? I'll supply the tissues.

Oh...and #boycotteliteseating

What I Believe I Do.

I'm a Beachbody Coach.

That just means I'm an online fitness coach for Team Beachbody. We're the people who create and distribute home-based workout programs like P90X, Insanity, Focus T25, P90X3, 21 Day Fix, and a host of others. Unless you've abstained from television for the last 5 or 6 years, you've seen the infomercials at all hours of the day and night.

So, yes, I sell fitness programs. We also have supplements, equipment, workout apparel and Shakeology, what I think is the best health shake of it's kind on the market today. (It's a dense daily dose of superfood nutrition, you know!)

But that's the surface of things. I was thinking about this a few days ago and then the other day read this quote by John Maxwell in his book "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" - When you make a commitment, you create hope. When you keep a commitment, you create trust. That's a great quote. It's something to live by. But then I realized something -

I don't sell fitness products. I sell hope.

People come to me and want to get into shape. They want to get healthy. They want to feel better, have their clothes fit better, be more comfortable in their skin. I tell them they can. Not because I want them to buy some workout or drink, but because I know it. I believe it. I did it and, really, I'm nothing extraordinary (I am adorable, however) and I know that if I did it so can they.

It will take work on their part. I know they can do it. It will take sweat, a little confusion, a lot of swearing at the trainers on the tv but I know they can do it. I believe it.

I believe in them before they believe in themselves. I have hope. I have enough hope so that they'll begin to hope to. "That this time it will work." "This time I'll stick with it." "My coach believes I can do it." "He has hope...now I do to." "I trust him."

That's what I do. I sell hope.

And I just realized I'm completely wrong. I don't sell hope.

I give it away. And I think that makes me a pretty rich fella.

10 Misconceptions About Death-Rays

 

If you’re an aspiring super-villain or already have a bit of experience under your nefarious utility belt, you’ve probably already completed several advanced degrees in the disciplines of physics, engineering, medicine, philosophy, as well as some training in the mystic arts and realms. You have also already found space for your criminal lair and are stockpiling equipment, computers, research, and all manner of weaponry. 

 

One of the staples in the super-villain repertoire is, of course, the Death-Ray. And as many types and sizes they come in there is also a lot of misinformation concerning this standard piece of equipment. What follows is a brief, and I hope helpful voyage into the one weapon no evil-doer can be without. So without further ado, please note 10 misconceptions about death-rays. 

 

1.       “The Death-Ray must cause death.” False! The Death-Ray can and should be used to cause all manner of discomfort! From the comical maddening itch beam all the way to the projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea ray, make each weapon your own! And don’t forget the unrelenting orgasm ray – you are a super-villain, after all!

2.       “The Death-Ray should be a certain size.” The death ray can be as large or small as you desire. A garage door opener sized handheld device, a traditional ray gun, or even a massive device that takes up the roof of a skyscraper! It’s your death-ray!

3.       “The Death-Ray should only be used against the hero.” Negative! The neighbor who lets his dog poop in your yard is a prime candidate for the death-ray! Rude people, government offices (the DMV comes to mind), and simply anyone who rubs you the wrong way are all targets for your wrath.

4.       “You must have a working Death-Ray to hold the city hostage.” No. You can always assert you have a working instrument that can kill thousands but only have an untested prototype. You’re a super-villain. Lie.

5.       “You need millions of dollars to build your death ray but you need a death ray to get millions of dollars.” As a super-villain you must develop and, more importantly, use out of the box thinking! Rob a bank or two, poison the city’s water supply, build a tiny death ray and kill a few dozen people, kidnapping, ransom, blackmail, etc. are not beneath you. Please note the super in super-villain. I mean, we’re talking about death-rays here…we’ve already established you’re not a nice guy.

6.       “The Death-Ray should be powered by fissionable material.” Untrue! Your death ray can be powered by whatever material you decide! Nuclear, electric, hydrogen, hydro – it’s up to you! And it doesn’t even have to be stable! Imagine the fun when the hero defeats you and the death ray blows up anyway! Good times!

7.       “It takes too long to construct a Death-Ray.” One word – Henchmen. They’re easy to hire, cheap, not the brightest bulbs (let’s face it – if they were criminal geniuses they’d be higher on the villain food chain) and, as an added bonus, they die – frequently. I mean, they’re even more death-prone than red shirted security men on Star Trek!

8.       “The super-villain must be there to activate the Death-Ray.” Perhaps in the past but in this digital age one can set off a very satisfying beam of death from thousands of miles away. Timers, remote control, and good old fashioned mental telepathy are all viable methods. And remember your henchmen! They’re happy to press the button you’ve plainly marked ‘lights’ on the Death-Ray panel thereby activating the ray and destroying the eastern seaboard.

9.       “My girlfriend, wife, other-dimensional lover will hate me if I use the Death-Ray to kill millions.” Possibly. But, chances are she knows you’re a super-villain already so I think one can be certain she likes the bad boys. Using the death ray may just make her frisky! I would, however, incorporate more leather into your super-villain costume and even the death ray itself. Chicks did leather. And scars. Get a scar.

10.   “I’ll get captured if I use the Death-Ray.” Well…it is a death ray and you’ve just killed hundreds of thousands or even millions. They will be looking for you, they won’t stop, and chances are they will capture you. Don’t worry. I suspect you’ll be a legend before you get to prison. Also, you’ve built a death ray! The first one is always the hardest – I suspect now you’ll be able to build one using a paperclip, the cardboard in the middle of a roll toilet paper, and a rubber band. And a little plutonium. But you’re a super-villain in prison. Plutonium is a dime a dozen there. And don’t forget – prison is full of henchmen!

 

I hope this short essay has allayed your fears and answered some questions about your death-ray. I look forward to reading about the mischief you’ve created soon.

 

Happy Death-Raying!

 

Goals: If It's Write, I Guess I'm Wrong!

I'm an advocate of personal development books, or tapes, or mp3's, or videos. I've gleaned a bit of insight into myself and others and have had several "ah ha" moments. The thing about all that stuff is that its pretty much variations on a theme. If you've read Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, John Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins...well, it's worthwhile, insightful, and each puts their own spin on things.

One thing, however, that's pretty much the same, is how they approach goals. Basically, to achieve a goal, you've got to write it down, every day in some cases, read it every day, write the steps you'll take to get there, make it personal and timely; for example, "I am a senior vice president on Dec.31, 2014" or "I own a Corvette Stingray on Jan 1, 2015" or "I earn $50,000 a month by Aug 31, 2014." You get the idea.

And I did that. For a long time. And I know I'm going to catch a bit of flack for this but - I have never achieved a goal that I've written down. There. I said it (or typed it).

You see, in my case, it seems that as soon as I write it down, there's a great big subconscious "Yeah...right!" that comes calling. No matter how much I want the thing, writing down that goal is pretty much a sure sign I won't achieve it. And I've tried. Everyone says this is the way to do things. In fact, just last week in a meeting it was said that if you don't write down a goal its just a wish that will never happen. I let that stuff go. Dream boards, written goals, etc...well, I always wondered when does it go from being a goal to a constant reminder of continual failure.

I thought there must be something wrong with me.

Then I read "Start" by Jon Acuff and he wrote a whole section about this. How goal setting in that manner worked for the author, and you have to do it this way, so you give it a try. How everything about the previous thirty of forty or fifty years you've spent on Earth indicates you won't do well with this approach but they say do it this way, this is the only way. And you try for a week or a month or a year and it doesn't take and you (I) assume you're lousy at goal setting and quit. He says its like you're a bird reading a book about how to be a fish.

And that's me. Right there. So I thought about the things I did achieve and how I did that. When I set out to buy a sports car I knew there were things I had to do so I was mentally focused on it...every day. Didn't write a thing down but I knew I had to save this much money, I had to make sure I worked these hours. And I did. When I started my weight loss and fitness journey I never wrote that goal down but I was focused on doing the work every day, eating better, getting it done and lost 50 pounds.

So, for some of us, writing these things down is the worst possible thing to do. Some of us know where we want to go and get there without having a scrap of paper or a dream board. Some of us just have a daily mantra of "Do. Go. Do. Go." It may not conform with the goal-setting mainstream but it beats feeling like a failure.

So. There it is. Now here I go and do.

Maybe Your Why is Big Enough

Invariably, when you read personal development books or listen to self help tapes (or Mp3s! You young people and your kryptonite-like technology...) the author will get to a part about finding your Why. Why you want to change your life. What's the big reason? Is it life changing? Is it so big you'll lay awake at night consumed by it?

They make you think that it has to be in neon flashing lights, in an insanely garish font about the size of a building, right there guiding you like a lighthouse! This is my WHY!!!

But recently I've had an epiphany of sorts. Maybe your why doesn't have to be all that huge. Maybe your why can be this small tiny little thing that's always in the back of your head. An itch you have to touch. Its not life changing, at least at the moment. Maybe your why just has to be a start. Maybe it can be something like why.

I'm going to let you in on a secret. That tiny why was me. That little thing was why I started on my fitness journey. It's what has led me to lose over 50 pounds and, as of this writing go from a 44" waist to a 35" waist. It's what's let me to be passionate about inspiring and helping others believe that "they can." And it was a tiny, even ridiculous, why. And I can remember it like it was yesterday, even though it's been over 6 years now. Ready?

I got sick and tired of having to pull my man-boob out of the way to look at the iPod on my belt.

That's it. That was the entire reason I started my fitness journey.

Man-boob. iPod. Belt.

That's all.

So my thinking is this. If you have a grand idea, a huge why, that's fantastic. Change your life. Reverse the young deaths of males in your family. Beat diabetes. Don't be obese any longer. Healthy cholesterol. Cure your depression. Be there to walk your daughter down the aisle. Incredible. You can do it. I believe that.

But maybe all you need to start is a tiny little why. Walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing. Fit into those pants. Go on that roller coaster ride.

Just something small. Something small that changes your life. That will change the life of others. That serves to eventually give you a new direction. A little, tiny, insignificant why that leads to massive change.

What was it for me? Funny you should ask.

Man-boob. iPod. Belt.

The "I Can't" Crowd

I’m finding, as I find my own fitness, and as I get older, I have very little patience with the “I can’t” and ‘woe is me” school of thought. I suppose it’s because I think everyone should have the same attitude I had when I had my health issues – “This is terrible, I’m a freak, what’s going to happen to me, why me, this is awful, why me, why me, why me?” I had my pity party…then I got over myself, realized this is the hand I was dealt, let’s go. But not everyone does that, and that’s their bag. But it is aggravating.

Case in point: on one of the groups I belong to for people who had or are going to have the surgeries I had, there was a post from someone basically complaining that they had gained around 50 pounds since their operation and nothing they tried could get the weight to come off. They described how they ate like a bird and couldn’t lose weight. They talked about how they only really ate a handful of fruit and maybe some nuts, hardly anything at all and couldn’t understand why they were still, well…fat.

Right away I say they’re not eating enough. Sometimes you have to eat more to weigh less, you know. But I was at work and couldn’t answer right away. Others stepped up and explained a few things and made suggestions. Apparently, several people are having success with the paleo diet and here is where things went south for me.

The person answers, “Oh I’ve looked into that and have a bunch of cookbooks for it but it’s too expensive and too much of a lifestyle change.”

And that simple statement told me everything I needed to know. No matter what advice or ideas I could give, it’s not their time to change yet. They haven’t reached that point…what Anthony Robbins says is the “No More, Not Another Day, Not Another Second” point where they’ll be ready and do what’s necessary to change.

And…there’s nothing I can do about that. Will I abandon or stop trying to advise and help? Of course not. Will I continue to be an inspiration to people? Of course. (Although, truth be told, I am still uncomfortable with that. To me, as I’ve stated, it’s just the hand I was dealt. But if I can be, I will be.) It’s a hard thing for us fitness people to understand that sometimes the only thing we can do is wait.

I’ve got the answer to a lot of stuff but until and unless someone is ready to hear it…I can’t do anything about that. They’ll continue to “I Can’t” their way through until they either hit that point or realize the “I Can” side of the street looks a lot better.

And that’s up to them.

I Remember Why Insanity is called Insanity

I decided to do the Insanity workout again about a month ago, just before the 2014 Beachbody Coach Summit, so I could build up my stamina and endurance to keep up with those young whipper-snappers in the group workouts. It worked! I'm 54, felt 24, unfortunately I feel so good I think I still look 24, which explains the odd looks from the hot, young, fit, Beachbody ladies. (I'm sure they were wondering why is this guy as old as my dad talking to me like that!?!)

When I returned I decided to just keep on trucking and finish a round of Insanity. It's only 4 more weeks after all. Yes...4 more weeks of the MAX workouts. Each about an hour long. Each a sweatfest. Each trying to kill me.

I'm only a couple of days in and have burned a total of over 1900 calories. It's amazing to me that one can burn that many calories simply by being on their knees in their garage workout space, in a pool of their own sweat, repeating over and over, "I can't breathe!" Did I mention I'm 54?

Well...I'm in it now. I often say there's no quit in me. I realize that, while I may never be able to finish one of the workouts in its totality with out pausing it, watching the DVD with a "you want me to do what now who?" expression on my face, and stopping to get more water, at the end of this month I'll probably be in much better shape than I was at the beginning. And that consistency will pay off.

But I swear when I see Shaun T in person, I'm gonna smack him in the head!

Immediacy vs. Reality

We are, or have become, a culture that expects everything right now. Immediate gratification seems to be the watch word of the day.

If you order at the drive thru, you expect it now.
If you play a game, you expect to be great now.
If you work out for one day, you expect to see abs now.

No time for preparation. No time for practice. No time for diet and exercise.

Ain't nobody got time for that!

But, the only way to get where you want to go, to reach your goals, is to try...and fail...and fail again...then take a step forward...and fail...and then, once you've done that a few times, and learned a little bit of why that happened..success, after success, after success.

The fit bodies you admire or say, "I'm going to look like this," didn't happen overnight. (Although, there are some people who it seems just look at a weight and grow!) Everyone started right where you are right now. They may have been fatter, or thinner, I doubt they were smarter. They just kept going and knew that they weren't going to get it now.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky, when asked how he was able to set or break nearly every record in professional hockey answered simply, "I went to practice."

It takes time. But always remember - Goals combined with Discipline AND Consistency lead to Achievement.

And that's reality.

The workout is only half the story!

Experience or.. I've Done Stupid Stuff

I do give advice, mostly when I'm asked, and sometimes when I must...usually when someone is doing or saying something I know a little about. And even then its because I've done the same thing and know it doesn't work.

It's a slippery slope. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a personal trainer. I'm not ripped to shreds and I'm not overtly muscular. But I am knowledgeable and fairly well read. I've worked out for years, done pretty much all the Beachbody workouts (P90X, Insanity, Asylum, etc.) so I know what I'm talking about. I've lost near 50 pounds and almost a foot from my waist.

In other words, all the things you think will work and haven't...I've done because I thought they'd work...and didn't. So there's a lot to be said for doing stupid things that don't kill you because you know what won't work and you can save someone else some wasted time.

That is...if they listen to you. But that's another story.

The Scale - Get It Out Of Your Head

Let me reiterate something I've said before: the scale is not your friend.

By that I mean it's not the true arbiter of your health or fitness. You must go by how you look, how you feel, how your clothes fit rather than obsess about every ounce or pound. That's a sure path to unhappiness and possible insanity ( the condition, not the exercise program!). I weigh myself maybe once a week and if I'm up or down a pound or two, or 5.8, I don't worry...I just resolve to work a bit harder, tighten up my diet, and just keep pushing play.

So don't beat yourselves up if you go on vacation and gain a little weight. Your body needs a rest and that time you take to recharge, reset, and recouperate will lead to greater gains and better results!

A Philosophy of Sorts, Part 2

As promised, part 2 of the two axioms I try to follow. So in addition to the previous:
To be Young, Do Young Things, I give you part 2:

To have energy, be energized.

Well, what does that mean? I hear many times from people they want to workout but they have no energy. Or they're tired. Or they just can't get themselves up to workout.

The truth of the matter is sometimes I don't have energy either, and I'm tired, and there are times when I can't drag myself out of bed to workout. So you know what I do? I get up and workout.

Occasionally I have to force myself but when you form the habit of doing this, even of you don't feel like it, you still go do it! And 99 times out of 100, as soon as you start the workout - there's your energy!

So, again in my rambling way, I have to say something seemingly ridiculous - You need energy to exercise but you get energy from exercising!

In other words, Nike was right - Just Do It!

A Philosophy Of Sorts, In Two Parts - Part One

I'm often told, "Oh, Joe, you've been through so much. How do you do these workouts?" "Where do you find the energy?" "I'm too old, I could never do that." and so on and so on.

If you've read the side over there (-->) you'll see what I'm talking about. Some say I'm an inspiration, a term I'm unconfortable with, but it is what it is. So after hearing those comments, and getting some questions, I'm going to tell you two axioms that I've adopted that serve me pretty well in dealing with a bunch of stuff.

Part One, because, to my mind, this is the more important:

To be young, do young things.

It sounds simple enough, but at 53, I see the cards stacked against me. Not with how I feel, but with society...especially the media, at the forefront! I'll give you an example: I was watching American Ninja Warrior and of course most of the competetors are in their 20's-early 30's. They had a few guys who were 41, 47, and 54. To hear the announcers you'd think these guys were at death's door! "How brave they were to even be out there!"

Screw you, buddy!

I haven't gone through the Ninja Warrior course but I walked through fire at an Anthony Robbins seminar. In Germany a while ago, in the Bavarian Black Forest Park, they have a structure called The Egg that you climb up and at the top you can see for miles. Did that. They have zip lines you can take down but we had a toddler with us so...next time. At recent Beachbody Coach Summits I'm among the oldest in my team and of the attendees. Went to the workouts, ass was kicked, had a good time at the afterparty. And don't tell anyone, but I still have a pull at my local comic book store!

I guess what I'm trying to say, in my usual long-winded fashion, is age is a number. It doesn't control you. I often say I'm 53, feel 23, act 13. I.m not saying to go out and be ridiculous but be young. Young at heart at the very least! Because 1) you'll be amazed at what you can really do and 2) it'll make you feel good!

The Program: Don't Reinvent the Wheel

If you've been doing P90X or Insanity or any of the Beachbody programs you'll know they come with an exercise schedule - what DVD to do on what day in what order. These are in the order they're in because the research that went into the program found that to make the greatest strides and achieve the greatest success, this is how it needed to be done. So, I'm here to tell you:

Don't reinvent the wheel!

What I mean by that is simply follow the program as best you can. I know from experience that sometimes a workout comes along that you just can't do for some kind of physical reason. I, personally, cannot do the yoga workouts. I have one bad foot that makes some of the workout insanely painful...and not in a good way - in a "I literally can't walk" way. So I do the other stretching DVD in the program.

If you're doing a workout and decide "I don't like this workout," "I'll skip this DVD," "I'm do this one later and switch this one," and then complain that you didn't get any results...well...this is kind of harsh...but that's on you! So, keep pushing play, follow the workouts as best you can, follow the schedule as best you can, use your coach (that's me!) and you'll be rockin' swimsuit season!

I know it!

As I Remember

I was with her for a very long time, many years, in fact. We were so different she would often remark how odd it was that we were together. But we fit. We were like a comfortable pair of thick fluffly slippers. I can't explain it any better than that, we just fit. We never married but I'd be lying if the thought never crossed my mind. As I say...we fit.

Then a few years ago, she got sick. Very, very sick. Oh, at the beginning she tried. Tried to keep on doing the things she liked but soon things just became a litany of "Why me's", time took its toll and she passed out of my life. A blink, you're here then gone, there then simply not there.

I remember her. How she would curse like a drunken sailor on shore leave and I would always say, "Such a lady!" until she would let loose with some depraved profanity and say "Such a lady" before I could. Or how she would get this look on her face and I would know that, momentarily, some part of my anatomy would meet with the otherworldly cold of her hands or feet. Or how she would ask some inane question just to see if I would answer. Of course I would, launching off into some detailed explanation and look over to find her shaking with laughter.

She was not a picture person, never wanting to have her photo taken and that is one regret I have (among many I've collected.) The only picture I have of her is on an old inactive cellphone. She was sitting with her little dog on her lap, scratching it behind the ears. The dog had a little doggy smile, the light was behind them and she looked so beautiful. I remember taking it. It exists only in my minds eye now.

As I remember her. No matter the time that passes she will always be beautiful. Always have long wild curly dark hair, always be straight and tall, never age and never go.

I don't really know what I'm trying to say to whoever is reading this. I suppose it could be when you see that someone you have in your life to tell them what they mean, to fix them in your memory, to hug them just a little more.

I suppose I could be telling you women who run from the camera to stop. Take the picture, no matter how good or bad you think you look. Truthfully, its not for you but for us.

I suppose I could just be saying I'm a little bit lonely, especially around this time of year. Or maybe I'm hearing a voice with a Staten Island accent in my head and feeling an otherworldly cold hand on my back, giving me a little push.

I've almost deleted this about five times now, its a little raw for me to see. But maybe it'll have some value to others and maybe it was just a bit cathartic for me.

The Bravest Person In History - Revealed!

Through painstaking research which required spanning the globe, flying in coach class, and hours of combing through musty parchment, records, and paintings, I have at last determined the bravest person in history.

It is, of course, the first person to ever drink milk.

Come with me now to those days of yesteryear and imagine, if you will, two cavemen gazing across the velt, or tundra, or whatever it was cavemen gazed across. Listen, as one says to the other:

"Hey! You see that weird looking animal over there?"
"Yeah?"
"No,no...the other one."
"Right?"
"You see that freaky looking thing underneath it?"
"Uh huh, yeah?"
"Well...whatever comes outta there, I'm gonna drink it!"

I rest my case. You're welcome.

The Sweat That Makes The Sexy

I like to sweat. I'm not talking about the Florida "go outside and have your shirt stick to your body humidity" sweat. Nor am I speaking of the Las Vegas "standing at the pool and fearing that your calves may burst into flame" sweat.

I'm talking about the sweat you get when you push yourself to do that last rep. When you run 5 miles when you thought you could only run 3. When you're doing some new workout and you reach that "quit" point and say, "Oh, hell no!" and keep going. And then you're out of breath, maybe you're shaking a little, and the sweat is just rolling off you. Dripping from your nose, dripping from your fingers cause it's picked up speed as it rolled from your elbows, down your forearms, and now its pooling on the floor beneath you. That's the sweat that makes the sexy. When you've given it everything and then just a bit more.

I know I'll write this and people will think its odd. Perhaps it is. But I'm betting there's a few of you who read this and are nodding your heads. We're the same people who get excited over buying a new pair of workout shoes...and post pictures of them! We get excited over a new workout program coming out. We post pictures of ourselves in varying levels of sweaty pain.

And think it's fun. We never used to think that way, at least I didn't. Now I'll watch a video of a Spartan Race and see the finishers getting pummeled by guys dressed up as spartan soldiers and think, "That looks like fun!" Or see people getting muddy and climbing over logs or jumping over fire and say, "That looks like fun!" It didn't happen overnight.

But I just suppose it's another by-product of the sweat. That...and the sexy.

Time Marches On

I'm 52 years old. I feel 25. I act like I'm 12.

I seem now to be making more "urrumph" sounds when I sit down, or stand up, or have to bend over to pick something up. If I'm on the ground for a while, doing some kind of exercise or putting something together, it takes me a bit longer these days to get to my feet. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but I realize now...I'm getting older. I just have to accept the fact that time is catching up to me.

Unfortunately for time, I'm going to put it in a headlock and beat the crap out of it! I...Feel...Great! I do, truly. I'm doing things now that I never thought I could. And the best part is I see other people my age, or younger, who look like they're 10 years older than me!

Secret? I work out..hard. I eat right. And, I think most important...I do young things! Age is number. Mr.P90X, Tony Horton, is 54! A woman at the most recent Beachbody Coach Summit, won his impromptu pushup challenge - she's 58! Geez...read my story - I've had my insides removed and reconstructed and I'm still trying to crush it!

Have I slowed down? I have to admit, yes, a little bit. Am I leaps and bounds ahead of others my age? Absolutely! Why? I keep trying.

I'm 52 years old. I feel like I'm 25. I act like I'm 12.

In other words - I feel young!

Time for a Vacation!



The family plot!

I've been in Germany for the last two weeks, more specifically Bavaria. My dad comes from there, way down south in the Black Forrest region. I always say when you're driving, you're in the forrest, in the forrest, in the forrest, then it opens up and its like a post card. Then you're back in the forrest.

I saw my relatives, saw some new babies, ate a lot of food and drank a lot of beer. And managed to gain 5.8 pounds in the process! It could have been worse, but I at least made sure I got out and walked just about every day...uphill...both ways! (Well, that's how it seemed to me...sidewalks on a 30% grade. Good times!)

The thing is, I'm not really too upset about the weight gain. I know a lot of other people would be completely freaking out but, after all this time as a Beachbody coach, helping others reach their health and fitness goals, I've learned enough to help me reach my health and fitness goals. I'm not worried about it, so much so that I'm confident I'll have that weight gone within a week, two at the most!

I suppose what I'm trying to say is if you go on vacation, or a trip, or travel, don't beat yourself up if you gain a couple of pounds, or eat a few pieces of chocolate cake, or have a few liters of beer (not at one sitting, please!). Enjoy yourself! You're out of your routine for a few days and that's a good thing.

Recharge and then get back in and hit it hard! Often times, that rest is what your body is craving and when you reset, recharge and hit it again, the gains you'll see will be astounding.

Flashback - Day 1 of P90X

I come across and talk to several people on social media sites saying things like: "Day 1 of P90X in the books!" or "First week P90X done" or things to that effect and it caused me to remember my very first day doing the X.

The first disc, in the Classic version, is Chest & Back. So I pop that in and I'm marching in place. Not too bad, I say to myself. Then I'm jogging a bit. Ok, I say. And then I'm doing jumping jacks and run lunges, 30 seconds of each which to me, at that time, seemed like for-ev-ah! I was sweating like Dom at the beginning of Plyo! We get into the stretching and I'm back to feeling better about things. Really, how tough can it be -reachers, arm circles, swimmers, press your hands together, clasp in the back...good times.

And now it's time for Push-ups! Tony asks the kids in the video, "What's your goal? How many are you going to do? Bobby?"

Still working hard!

"30."

"Scotty?"

"30."

"Maren?"

"30."

So I say to myself, again, "Well, that sounds ok...I'll do 30 too!"

I did not do 30 pushups. I did not do 10. I don't think I got to 5. Annnnd the tone was set for the rest of the DVD. Pull-ups...maybe...maybe 1. And the horror continued. Wide front, military, close grip, and don't even get me started on Diamond pushups and Divebomber. Then I hear, "Most workouts would be done by now...NOT OURS!" Oh, thank you, Tony Horton. Mind you...this is Day Freaking One!

This is also what I call the "Wakeup Call Workout." Now you know what kind of shape you're really in. And you have a choice to make - stick with it or give up because its too hard. If you're serious, if this is something you realize you have to do, you stick with it. And by sticking with it you progress so that now when the man himself asks, "How many are you going to do?" you can say 30 and do 30.

Believe me...its a great feeling to be able to keep up with the P90X kids now. If I had given up, I couldn't say that.

Maybe one of these days I'll talk about my first day doing Insanity (Oh My Gawd...This is the warm up?!?)

Joe