HOW TO STAY IN SHAPE WHEN ITS FREEZING

Today  here in Massachusetts  it is freezing right now.. literally!!!!  The weather report said it was like 15 or something but felt like 1 degree with wind chill.  This is the time of the year when hibernation is on the mind and we are still saying “When am I going to get my christmas shopping done, I haven’t bought anything yet”  With all the chaos of the holiday season as well as cold ass weather depending on where you live, things can get away from you.

A great strength and fat burning exercise can be the cure to your sickness though, I am talking about complexes.  Don’t know what a complex is?  Pick 4-5 exercises that will cover the whole body with a weight that can be handled with good form throughout the entire set try shooting for about 8-12 reps each exercise.  And all you do is perform them all in 1 set with no rest, may sound easy but believe me you will be humbled.

Below is a video of me doing them with a sandbag, there is no excuse why you can’t do these.  They are affordable and take up very little space.  What I am using in the video is just a 50lb sand bag wrapped in 2 contractor bags duct taped shut.  The sand bag was less than 3 bucks, contractor bags were about 10 but you get like 20 of them so sounds like a good deal to me and who does not have duct tape kicking around the house.  Duct tape is king.

This should eliminate any excuses for not exercising when it comes to the cold long winter months.   

Complexes can also be done with many other things as well, maybe all you can handle is your own body weight that will work for a while.  If you need more of a challenge find a heavy stone outside or anything taking up space in the garage/basement you have to have something in there that has some weight to it.  Rip it off the floor, press it over head use it to squat it does not matter what you use for weight as long as it can be done safely.

So check me out in action and come up with some cool ideas of your own.

Stay Stong,

Let me know what you come up with

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Whats Up Guys,

Busy, Busy , Busy, who isn’t busy I know I am, right now I am working to start my own training business I am still working my 9-5 and I have 2 boys one is almost 3 and the other is 2 months.  Busy is an understatement, for instance it is football season right now and people ask questions or talk football and sometimes I have no idea what or who they are talking about.  A couple years ago this was not the case, I still watch on Sunday and know who won games but I am not as consumed.  I cannot be.

But that is alright because this means I am doing something, but there are always things that cannot be neglected the same way football stats can.  I am talking about my physical condition and health.  Basically anything from March of this year on training wise has been a train wreck, I hurt my shoulder, and my wife was pregnant and other useless excuses came into play.

And none of them were valid, no excuse ever is and you know it every time one pops into your head.  Bottom line I have been pissed at myself for falling into this rut.  So my shoulder was hurting but my legs were fine, I could squat, run, jump etc…. but I didn’t.  So my wife had a tough pregnancy I still have arms and legs, what else do you need to train?  Put your hands in the ground and do some and do some damn pushups that would have kept me strong and those can be done ANYWHERE.

Well it is time for that to end, I am going to take you with me on my comeback.  This way you can see how I get back in the swing of things and you will also see how I train with little time and sometimes minimal equipment.  Hopefully you can learn some things here because that is my goal. 

I never thought I would end up in this rut but I did and it is time to climb out, these things can happen we just have to make sure we catch ourselves before it gets too tough. 

Below is an example of some of the things I do with little time, the video is real chopped up to keep the length down but you will get the picture.

That was a recovery/cardio work out for me I got the blood flowing, muscles stretched and I was able to play with my son.  Stay tuned for more.

LAUGH, THINK AND CRY

What’s up Guys,

I saw something on TV today I had to share with you, now this was not my first time seeing this and it may not be yours either.  But, it has been years since I have seen it in full and this time around it really hit me.

What I am talking about is the Jimmy V speech at the 1993 Espy awards where he received the Arthur Ash Courage and Humanitarian Award, this is where he announced the formation of the Jimmy V Foundation which I am sure we have all heard about.

There is no doubt that the most popular quote out of this speech is "Don't Give Up... DON'T EVER GIVE UP".  But what stuck with me this time is when he mentioned the 3 things we should all do every day which are Laugh, Think and Cry.

After watching this I realized that I did all three during the speech, I did not burst out in tears but I came as close as I have in a long time.  That is a very powerful thing to be able to do to someone.

Jimmy died within 2 months after this speech, but besides the assistance he needed to get up and down the stairs you would not be able to tell how sick he was.  Not only were his words powerful to me but his action was even more powerful. 

He was on a whole other level with what he was trying to accomplish and the way he looked at life.  He knew he did not have much time left but nothing stopped his determination and passion.  He will live on forever because of this, and that is highly motivational. 

I am not saying I want to live on forever but, I want to make a positive impact where ever I can.

I do not know what it is about speeches and quotes that mean so much more to me now than in the past.  Is it because I am a Father now, is it because I am getting wiser with age or maybe because of the new path I am taking in life.  Whatever the reason I am glad that Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer ended when it did and I had a chance to revisit this amazing speech.

I knew as soon as I finished watching it I had to share it with you.  Whether you have seen this or not set aside the 11 minutes it will take to watch this video.  I am guarantee it will not be a waste of your time.