JOESBLOG.FITTERSTRONGERFASTER.COM

What Is Really Important

2011-07-28T12:24:39Z

So let me first say that this is not my usual post.

But this is something that I came across and I just had to share with you all.

This is deep and moving...I challenge you all to watch all of this video and reflect on what is important to us.

Please leave your comments below on what you thought and what is important to you all.

Keeping Motivated

2011-07-27T03:36:29Z

Hi all,

So its the middle of winter and people are starting to drop off. As much as you would like to think that you arent getting slack at all, i think that we are all guilty of succumbing to the winter comforts of sitting inside in the warmth, watching tv and having some winter comfort food.

So as I have said in my previous blog entry, how bad do you really want to achieve your goals? Do you really want it or do you think that you just want it?

So I have put together some of the main things that normal people do in winter and what you should do instead to make sure that you really do achieve your goals.

Keep Working Out

At this time of year most people will think that because we cover our bodies with layers of clothing that we really dnot have to keep up with their workouts....well because lets face it, we can hide those extra few kilos with clothes and no body will be none the wiser....but then what happens?

It becomes spring and slowly into summer and all of a sudden you have to spend the first 3 months or so getting back to the point where you left off because you were toio lazy to keep working out.

So what you are going to do is keep up with your workouts and keep up with getting your results. Imagine how great you are going to lookl and feel when spring and summer roll around and everyone is complaining about how out of shape they are....just don't let yourself become one of those people.

Manage your time

We have all hear the excuse "I dont have time to exercise". My response to that is "bullsh&t". What you really meant to say was that you cant be bothered to find the time to exercise, or it is not the most convenient time to work out. You will complain about work commitments, family commitments, holidays etc; truth is that all you have to do is to make your workouts a priority and you will find the time.

Lets face it, you can get up earlier to do a workout if you really wanted to. It is not convenient for me to get up at 4.30am to workout, but I do it because it is not convenient for me either to end up unfit, unhealthy and not be able to do the fun things in life!

If you are serious you will find time. Also if you are going to use the excuse that you cant get to the gym when the gym is open....don't forget the hardest workouts are sometimes by using your bodyweight and nothing else.

So stop the excuses and start managing and using your time effectively

Keep up the fluids

So ok it is not 40 degrees and you are drinking loads of water, and because you are cold you don't want to drink your water. Well most people will use this an excuse and start drinking coffee instead of water or other hot drinks....because it makes them feel good.

Well not you, you are going to suck it up and realize that the body doesn't care if it is winter or summer, day or night...it needs to be hydrated no matter what. It will make yolu feel better, your digestion will be better, your organs will function better, you will recover better, your skin will look better, your muscles will be more defined...do I really need to go on???

So suck it up people and start sucking down that water during the winter.

Don't Stuff Yourself

What most people do during this time of year is to start gorging themselves on food. They start eating loads of bad comfort food and when they eat they all of a sudden get the urge to eat 3 times more the amount of what they really need. They use these foods to make themselves feel good.

What you are going to do. You are going to concentrate on grazing throughout the day and make sure you are getting your 4 - 6 meals a day and that way you will always feel full and you wont have the urge to stuff yourself silly.

Be smart with your food and don't over do it! Just realize that you will continue to eat properly.

Keep Up Your Immunity

We all know that during winter people tend to get more sick than usual. So you are going to combat this with keeping your immunity up. Firstly you are already doing your regular workouts so that is a given, and that will help a lot.

But you are also going to keep up your nutrition. You are also going to not get complacent on hygiene. You will make sure that you wash your hands reguarly, and that you throw away tissues and things like that.

I know that I may sound likke your mother by saying this, but she does have a point when it comes to keeping yourself free from germs that will get us sick.

Most of all guys, the thing to do is to avoid the temptation of being a slob! Most people will go home after work to get their workout gear thinking that they will get straight to the gym or their class. Come on, we all know why people do this...its because they can sit on the couch and go..."I will go tomorrow...its too cold outside now"

Stop being one of these people. Instead of doing this, take your workout gear with you and instead of going home go straight to the gym or your class.

Stop and identify what it is that stops you from getting the exercise that you need during the winter. Once you have identified this, then remedy it straight away.

I have said it before, and I am going to say it again....but how much you will do this will depend on how badly you really want it.

What Others Say..

It is easy for me to preach all of this, but sometimes the best advice can always come from other people that are in the gym and still working out day in and day out....so here is a just a few bits of advice from others in my gym on how they keep motivated during the cold weather.

"First is that training has become part of my everyday routine. Simple as

that. I need to train. If I don't I am very moody, and I don't like to be

moody, so I train.

Second is, I don't know about everyone else, but all I seem to do in winter

is EAT!!!! And it is not always the right food, so if I don't keep training"

"YOU NEED TO WANT IT AS BAD AS THE

NEED TO BREATHE. EVERYONE CAN REACH THEIR GOALS! SOME QUICKLY AND

SOME SLOWLY, BUT EVERYONE CAN DO IT! NOTHING IS TOO HARD OR OUT OF

REACH! YOU JUST HAVE TO WORK HARD TO GET IT! NOTHING WORTHWHILE IS EASY!"

Now go and get it and tell the cold weather that it can stick around if it wants but it will not do anything to stop you from getting your goals.

Until next time, train hard but train smart.

Joe

How Bad Do You REALLY Want It!

2011-07-11T11:27:59Z

Ok All,

Time for some hard hitting truths people.

I hear it time and time and time and time and time again...well you get the picture.

"I am not getting the results that I want. " they all say it.

The reason most people are not getting their results is because they dont really want them...they only think that they want them. They will use any excuse to justify why they havent got them.

People, time to man (or woman) the F*&k up and start realising that if you really want your results...I mean really really want your results...you make no excuses for nothing and you do EVERYTHING you can to get them.

I wanrt you to watch these clips. Please watch them all the way through and then ask yourself are you really doing everything you can to get your results??

Until Next Time

Train Hard, But Train Smart

Joe

Training in our 30's and beyond!

2011-07-07T11:40:37Z

Hi All,

I hope that you are doing great and that you are training hard even though it hard with this freezing cold winter that we are having...make sure you dont skip your warm ups guys

Anyway, I am digressing.

Well in a few weeks I will be turning 35. Besides the fact that has me thinking that I am getting on the wrong side of 30 (hey the kid in will never want to grow up!), it has also made me think about how my workouts have changed and evolved since i was in my 20's

I hate to admit it, but there was a time in my early 20's when I thought that it was all about training to make your muscles grow big and that in turn would make me really strong....boy was I really naieve and wrong about that! But I guess I was just like any other young kid...I didnt know much about the science of getting really strong and powerful so I thought I would start copying the "big" guys in the gym....because I thought that "they must know what they are doing".....wow what a mistake....but a good one in a way because it made me into what I am now.

So ok, I did build up, but then I got bored of just training and I wanted to actually train and compete in a sport that I really had a passion for and give me a more definitive purpose for my training.

This is when I discovered the world of Muay Thai. I can honestly say without hesitation that this was the best thing in my life to happen to me. The only regret I have is that I wasnt able to start the sport when I was a little kid.

Not only do I have the upmost respect for the sport and it has taught me so much, but it did teach me very quickly that size does not equal power, speed and strength. All of a sudden, the years spent in the gym were wasted. I may have been a lot bigger than some others, but I had nothing on them in terms of speed, power and strength....these smaller guys could throw me around like a twig!!

So I knew I had to do something about this, then I discovered the art of kettlebell and bodyweight training. The other best thing that ever happened to me...this is where things changed very quickly. I may have leaned up a little, but all of a sudden I was a little lighter but way more powerful, a lot quicker and a hell of a lot faster!!! It was like discovering the silver bullet of training....but it did come with a price....the price is hard work...extremely hard work..but worth every drop of sweat!

So now that I am turning 35 soon, I know that I have to be a lot more smarter with my workouts. I now structure my workouts to be more functional, use a lot more kettlebells than heavy weights, use more odd objects and work on using my whole body in everything that I do.

Doing this is what keeps my body feeling fit and young every day and feeling like I can take on anything I need or want to. Lets face it, my body isn't what it used to be 10 years ago and I have to take care of it even more now. I am not concerned with breaking any bench press records (like all the other body builder sissys out there), but I am more concerned that my body is strong and functional for every day life and also for the fact that I can keep doing my Muay Thai!

So if you are heading into your late 30's or into your 40's and beyond...really have a good look at your workouts and really ask yourself "why am I training like this?" if you cant come up with a reason on how it will positviely affect your overall health and wellbeing then that is a good indication that you need to stop and start thinking about using your bodyweight a little more as well as things like kettlebells, sleds, kegs, tyres etc;

But if I had to choose only one thing to use, it would be my own body! Especially now, preserving my body is the upmost importance to me and it should be to you as well!

Until next time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

Learning from prisoners!

2011-07-05T16:18:00Z

Hi all,

Well I wanted to talk about something that more probably than not will offend some....so what else is new I guess

General society may think that we that there is nothing that we can learn from people that are in prison. Well I tend to disagree.

Granted they have made mistakes in their lives and they do have to pay for their crimes / mistakes. However, one thing I prersonally am learning from prisoners is that they have a great knowledge in buidling the body to be extremely strong and powerful. Infact I would say that majority of prisoners are more stronger than any of the pussy, jacked up steroid taking bodybuilders that you will see in any of the current pussy commercial gyms. And not only are they way more stronger and powerful than most people on the "outside" they achieve this without any gyms or real weight equipment......they do this by using their own bodyweight.

Let's have a look at why and how they do this

WHY

well in prison your survival really does depend on how strong and powerful you are. If you are weak you will not survive in prison. Respect is given to those who have proven that they are the guys who are as strong and powerful as all hell.

HOW

Well as you would imagine, prisons don't have the best gym equipment around....in fact most prisons have little or none weight equipment and if they do then they are extremely old. So how do these guys become insanely strong? How do they have physiques that would be the envy of any try hard wussy commercial gym goer? How do they posses the strength that would put any jacked up steroid abusing bodybuilder to shame?

Well easy, they use their bodies! What is the point of being able to do a bench press of over 200kg if you can't even pull your own body weight?

Lets just quickly define (well in my opinion) what being strong is. Being strong is not about having the biggest muscles of anyone else. It is not bragging rights of how much you can bench press or bicep curl, it is about how quickly and effortlessly you can move, pull, squat, throw, run etc your own body weight.

So prisoners use their own body to get strong by doing routines of push ups, pull ups,square, handstands, ab work, flexibility and so on. You may ask what do they do when they can do push ups all day or the same with pull ups? Well they use only one arm to do their push ups or pull ups or only squat on one leg or even more impressive they use their fellow prisoners as weights they can lift.

It really sadens me to think that people are so nieave that they think that they can not learn from these pepole in the way of fitness and strength. Today there are to many "pretty boys" jacking themselves up on steroids to think that they are getting strong. In fact they are making themselves weaker with every workout they do....why? Because they never use their one body weight. They use machines or benches or weight belts or any other piece of crap that the bodybuilding world tells them that they need to use.

So what happens they never work the body to build itself to be able to support the stupidly heavy weights that they try to lift. They destroy their ligaments, cartilage, supporting muscles and end up down the track leading a life that is full of pain and weakness!

Not so with these prisoners, their bodies are being used the way that man was designed to move, and hence they make EVERY PART of the body strong. These guys will well into their 70's and still be stronger than any of your 20 something steroid abusing body builders.

Still not convinced? Ok last example. Take a look at the body of a professional male gymnast...especially one who specialises on the rings. Their bodies are extremely impressive. They have arms the size of people's legs, and yet they achieve this by using their own body weight and no weight programs what so ever!

So if you want to get super strong, then take your ego out and start hitting bodyweight routines.

Hey, if you ever come across anyone who has been in prison, and has a very impressive physique and a lot of strength, the most valuable thing you could do is to pick their brains on how they trained on the "inside". Heck I would happily pay for this type of information.....that is how much I value it!

Ok that's enough from me, until next time

Train hard but train smart.

Joe

Are Hard Workouts Losing Their Stigma??

2011-05-30T12:48:00Z

Hi All,

Well before you start saying it, Yes it has been a while since the last blog....my apologies on this for the people that have been waiting for the blogs to come out. To be honest, things have been so out of control crazy at the moment that unfortunately the blogs took a hit for a little while....good news is that it is back and it is staying here for good!!

Ok now, I have been MIA for a little bit so obviously I am going to have a backlog of things that have been annoying me or things to share with you all.

So this one is going to be talking about something that has been annoying me for a while. It is this whole stigma that people put on with bootcamps! These are now becoming so popular that every other trainer or gym is starting to do them....the problem is that they have no idea on how to do a real bootcamp.

Unfortunately most of the people that are running bootcamps now are a joke. I think that if they put on a pair of army pants and yell at people that it is all of a sudden a bootcamp! Um no it isnt. They make the bootcamps easy...run, pushups, squat, situps....then do it again!

Bootcamps used to be tough, not just physically but mentally. Now too many want to be bootcamp trainers but they have no idea on how to push people mentally, and this is what makes the real bootcamps tough.

Because initially there was a stigma associated with bootcamps. It was initially only reserved for the armed forces, so you knew that it was tough and that you would have to be the best of the best to be able to get through them.

Now you can put anyone in a so called bootcamp with a wanna be hardass trainer. Seriously, it is all a joke. They are no longer hard, they are becoming a fad....and this is what is pissing me off. Now everyone just wants to say that they "go and do bootcamp"....seriously do you think that you are special because you go to a mediocre bootcamp? Get a grip on yourself if you think that you do.

I dont do bootcamps, and if I do end up doing bootcamps I will not be calling them bootcamps thats for sure. But I do train hard, and I mean hard. I have had all the people come in telling me that they have been doing bootcamps and they "think" that they are fit....and 10 minutes later theyy are struggling just to finish the warm up of my routines. Seriousl?? WTF?? Basically they are telling me that my warm ups are harder than their bootcamps...what the hell have they been doing at these so called bootcamps?...I am not sure, but I can guarantee that they arent working hard.

So lesson for you people, just because you do something that is called "bootcamp" doesnt actually mean that you are working out hard. In fact you have no idea what working out hard is!

Have you ever noticed that the people that get the best results are the ones that never really talk about what they do and the ones that are always talking themselves up about what they do are usually in crap shape? Well there is a reason for this...the ones that are getting the results dont need to brag about what they are doing because it is visible and they work so hard that it would floor the mediocre people of the world......while the rest of the people have to brag to others to make themselves feel good.

So in short, just stay away from all the fads. Get back to basics and work hard, eat right and never ever quit! You do this and you will get everything and more you set out to achieve.

Until Next Time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

Me A Weirdo?? You Bet!!!

2011-05-03T12:29:00Z

Hi All,

Well I was leisurely reading the weekend paper and I pulled out the health section.....I couldnt believe what I was reading.

For one there were so many ads for therapies that practically involved no effort on the persons behalf...what a joke!!

Then there was a full article on some stupid machine which you lay in and it is supposed to shift your fat cells and they just magically disappear....or some crap like that!

Are you serious?? How about this idea on making those fat cells shift....put the food down, get off your ass and actually move and exercise! That will have a better effect.

The even more ridicoulus part of this was that it was marketing the people who are time poor....but it takes about the same time as a quick workout! So basically it makes no sense.

So lets get real here...its basically a machine where you lay there and dont mess up your makeup because you dont sweat or mess up your perfectly waxed hair with sweat!

Seriously people, if you end up doing this sort of crap and think that is is beneficial then I have no trouble in calling you a first class IDIOT!!! Because you deserve to be called that.

If you have been reading my blogs for any length of time you will know that I am a big believer in using your own bodyweight and other old school objects in your workouts. You should be working to your hardest and sweating bucket loads.

Yep you will hurt, hey you may even feel like vomiting! But that is what it takes to be fit, strong and healthy!

Todays fitness business has lost the plot! It is just all about making money and not actually delivering anything worthwhile for their so called "amazing life changing products"....which obviously dont work!

I am all for fitness professionals making money out of the skills and craft, but they have to deliver a service or product that delivers excpetional results and adds value to a persons life. This is something that the majority of fitness companies are NOT doing anymore....it is all about putting a dollar value on a person and not about actually improving their health!

If this is the way the fitness industry is going then I am more than happy to not be associated with them and be one of those "weirdos" that they all talk about.....hey at least I am giving my clients real results and not just making them physically strong but mentally strong as well.

A saying I like is that you are either leading the way or you are getting in the way!

So if you want to be first class idiot and spend all your money and time on these phony products, then go ahead. You are lazy and mentally weak......just get out of the way of the people that are actually going for their real fitness goals and becoming one of those "weirdos" that you all talk about!

Yep you got it, I would much rather be a "weirdo" than conform to the crap that the rest of the lazy populations way of ill health!

So if you are with me then lets all be "weirdos" together and start a new revolution

Until next time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

So You Think That You Are Fit....

2011-04-26T23:06:00Z

Hi All,

Hope you are all doing great.

Everyone wants to get fit and healthy....but the problem is do you really know what that means?

Do you really know what it is to be overall fit? Do you think that a marathon runner has a great overall fitness? Most people would say yes, and if you did well I am going to tell you that you are wrong.

A marathon runner is only fit to run a marathon. Have you seen how skinny they are? Do you ever see a marathon runner with a well built body? Of course not, they are designed to run long distances and nothing else....what if they had to lift a heavy object at the end of the race? Do you really think that they could do it?

I am not having a go at marathon runners here, I think that they deserve a lot of credit to be able to do what they do, but I am just using this an example.

Basically athletes are fit for one thing...to do what they compete in and nothing else. And that is fine if that is what their dream and goal is. But they will never be fully overall fit for everyday needs or emergencies.

Now take a firefighter, these people are what I consider to be fully overall fit. Same as a SAS soldier etc; These people need to be able to do everything...they need to work in extremely unfavourable conditions, they need to be able to run, jump, lift, throw, pull, sprint, have incredible endurance...and all the while being able to maintain a clear and focused mind! This is what I consider fit to be.

This is why I train the way I do, and why my clients go through some extremely tough workouts. I train myself and my clients to be everyday fit. They run, jump, sprint, pull, lift, push, go for endurance, I push them mentally and the end result is that not only do they obtain incredible bodies, but they are overall fit and extremely mentally tough. This is what is going to help them in their everyday life, or if an emergency comes up.

I have been critiscied again and again by so called "experts" about the way I go about my training. These experts are pretty much scientists....they study how to get the optimum benefit out of the body and how to train each of the systems within the body. So they tell me that I am only supposed to push people hard for 90sec and then they need to rest for 3 minutes and then they can go again...or some other so called perfectly calculated numbers that they need to work and rest for.

And this is where they have a go at my training, because I dont do it their way! You know what, these so called "experts" probably have never done anything that they are preaching anyway. But they have the right to have rubbish my training methods because I dont allow people to rest after 90sec of work.....to those people I say "save your breath and go tell your opinions to someone who actually gives a damn!"

So my methods may be a little unorthodox at times, but they are tried and tested and it works! When you do something that not everyone else is doing you are going to have your haters....my theory is, bring them on. The more people that hate what I am doing means the more that it is working.

Ok here is an example of your everyday fitness. Lets say someone you care a lot for is trapped under a heavy object and they may possibly be over 1km away and you have no mode of transport. What are you going to do? Are you going to start running, then stop after 90sec so you can rest for another few minutes and then start going again....and then to finally get there and you are too tired and weak to lift anything?

Or would you rather have trained past your limits every time and know that you are physically and mentally capable of running the full distance and still being strong enough to lift objects?

I am not going to tell you which to choose....but I know which one I would want to have!

So next time someone tells you that they think that they are fit, chances are they are exactly that....they "think" that they are fit!

I know what I do works, I know that it is extremely hard and most people dont want to do it because it is so hard. But those that do, are heads and shoulders above 99% of the population in regards to fitness!!

Until next time
Train Hard but Train Smart
Joe

CG + FT = Joke!!

2011-04-25T10:04:00Z

So you all know my take on commercial gyms!

If you dont know about them well go and have a look at some older posts and you will see what I think about them and all the reasons of why they are basically a load of crap!

So what does the formula at the top mean? "Commercial Gym + Fitness Test = Joke!"

So I have come across another reason to add to the list. And strangely enough it is about them not letting people achieve their maximum fitness! Who would of thought that a gym would let you push to your absolute fitness levels...what a joke!!

I know a woman who is 60. I will admit that she is not an elite athlete at this age, but she has just done the Kokoda trail (if you do not know what this is then look it up and see how tough this trek actually is), she hikes probably over 20kms each week, riding a bike most days of the week and keeping pretty fit.

So she wants to get fitter so she joins the local gym....who are only to happy to take her money and then charge her extra for a comprehensive fitness test....seemed like a good thing to do to see where her fitness was at....well so she thought.

She goes to this fitness test and they once her heart rate hits 135 they say that they have to stop the fitness test?? What The F*&^

She wasnt even breaking a sweat, told them that she gets her heart rate up to around 170 and it is fine. But no they say that she is too old to get her heart rate that high.

So way to go on boosting someone's self image and keeping them motivated to go to their gym. In reality she was probably more fitter than the person giving the test!

If commercial gyms were serious about peoples well being and health and not just about the money, they would encourage older people to get fitter and push them to their limits. They should be professional enough to know when and how to push someone to their limits and when they havent....the problem is that the person who was giving the fitness test was probably not even qualified!!

If you think that every one that works in a commercial gym is highly qualified....you need to think again. Most of the times they will have no qualifications and if they do they will have no experience!

I believe that age is not a hindrance when it comes to fitness. Anyone has the capablilities of being fit if they want.

I have people around their 50's in my gym, and I can tell you that they are probably more fitter than 80% of the 20 something year olds that are walking around at the moment.

Todays gyms are a joke. I see it time and time again with people that go to commercial gyms. They walk into my gym, tell me how fit they are because they used a personal trainer for months on end and they told them they were really fit....10 minutes later they are struggling to keep going...and the warm up hasnt even finished yet!!

The people in my gym are awesome! They work hard, I push them hard regardless of their age. In fact the older they are the more I push them. They would reach their max heart rate probably several times in our workouts and they are perfectly fine....so why cant other gyms allow older people to push themselves...maybe its because they have such inexperienced people working there that they have no idea on how to push them properly....for the commercial gym it is all about bringing in as much money as possible and spending as least possible on staff....not a good formula!!

I know that this is going to piss off a few people. But hey, I will always tell it like it is and if I am not offending at least a few people then I know that I am not doing my job properly.

So if you are getting towards the 50 mark and people tell you take it easy and that you cant workout too hard, then tell them to take a hike and not only will you work hard, but you will show them all up while doing it!

And if your young, you better keep working at your best..because if you dont these people will show you up quick smart!

So until next time
Train Hard but Train Smart
Joe

Sometimes All You Can Do Is Shake Your Head!

2011-04-22T02:05:00Z

Ok so you all know what my take is on laziness....well if you dont then let me refresh your memory.

Basically, you either do it or you dont. There is no in between! If you dont do it, stop making excuses for yourself to try to make yourself feel better for your own laziness and stupidity....and for god sake we dont want to hear you complain to every person with all of your excuses.

So the other night, I am with a group of people they are watching another fitness weight loss reality show....ok so it was the biggest loser.

Lets just get one thing straight with these shows. They are for pure entertainment and nothing else. And if you think that it is "reality" then you better get a "reality check". They dictate the show so that it is entertaining. If you think that a person can lose 15+kgs in a week and it is also safe and healthy then you need that reality check sooner rather than later.

The other thing that annoys me about these types of shows is that it actually sabotages peoples efforts when they try to lose weight because they realise that they are not losing weight at the same rate as the people on the show...of course they arent....thats because the people on the show arent either....they just manipulate it so that you believe it (but I digress....maybe that should be a topic of another blog )

Ok so the people watching are obese (i was around these people not by choice), have had heart attacks, have had multiple heart by pass surgeries etc; and yet do you think that this motivates them to get off their ass and stop drinking the beer and actually do something about it? Nope! But these people will be the first to complain about their health and how sick they are and how it is always someones else fault.

One of actually asked me "how can I lose weight", after talking for 30sec, the response is "Oh that is too hard. I havent got the time for that. You dont understand that I cant do that...whinge whinge!"

But at the same time they are getting all excited about someone else losing weight and doing all sorts different challenges etc;

So here they are watching people changing their lives but to them it is all entertainment. They dont get that if they want to make the same differences in their lives that they have to actually get off their butt and make some changes and do something about it!

So when these people are in hospital with their next heart attack (or 6 feet under), I wonder if they are going to wish that they had done something different, or actually made some changes in their lives? But I guess it is all too hard for them.

It is this mentality that really drives me nuts!

Seriously, can you get excited over someone losing weight and getting fit and healthy while sitting on the couch downing another beer? I may be different to others, but I just cant fathom this for the life of me!!!

What I have to learn is that there will be people in life who will always whinge, they will always complain, they will moan about all their diiificulties....but then when presented with a solution they will much rather lie down and try to seek attention from others telling them it is ok that they are the way that are because of all their problems!!!

These people can not be helped, they will keep our medical professionals in business because they will always be wanting / needing another pill for something else that is wrong with them

So if you are serious about your training, about reaching your goals, about being healthy....then please please avoid people like this. They will frustrate you and maybe even worse their stinking attitude will end up rubbing off!

So flick these people off as fast as you can and go hit a hard workout and keep feeling great about yourself.

Until next time,

Train Hard but Train Smart
Joe

Working The Physical and Mental

2011-04-06T00:02:00Z

Hey all,

Hope you all had a great weekend, and you are preparing for a bit of a break over the Easter break.

This is kind of what I wanted to talk about today....the issue of losing motivation during different times throughout the year. This can be anything at all, can be coming up to holiday periods, or having a bad day or even just for no reason at all we lose some motivation.

Yesterday was a good example of this for me. We all have days were dont go our way. So yesterday some events happened that got me pretty irate....and for those of you know me that it takes a lot to get under my skin and get me a little angry.....so I was already not in the best mood.

It would have been easy to let this get the better of me, but I wasnt going to let it.

So I headed for a hard work out.....I am just about to hit it hard and I get a phone call which pretty much made my blood boil....things were definately going my way yesterday....so as easy it was to just admit that I wasnt going to work out, I took the anger and frustration of the day and hit the workout harder than i have for a long time....the problems of the day was a blessing in disguise! I pushed harder than I had for a long time.

And this is point that I am trying to make about working out. It does take hard work...but it also takes a strong mind to keep pushing when you dont want to. You will always feel better after the workout when you finish...I will guarantee that...but you got to keep your head about you ALL the time.

So when things seem to be getting hard, take all the issues that are getting to you and use it as your motivation to do one of your best workouts!

You will be amazed at how great you will feel after you have finished the workout.

Some people think that the key to getting good results is just hard work....well that is partly true. You also need the strong mind to go with it.

Not just for the reason of what I talked about, but also after you have been doing this for a while, your results dont come as quickly or as often as you would like and this is when your mental attitude will need to take over to keep pushing yourself to disregard what is going on and just keep going and going and believe that you will get past the "stale period" and will get the results again soon and then all the motivation will come back.

Ok time for me to share something that I know that I am going to get paid out about, but hey its funny and it keeps me going at times.

If anyone is into animated movies (I love them, but I use the excuse that I watch them with my son). Well one movie I like is "Finding Nemo"....if you have watched this a few million times like I have, then you will know that there is a scene where they go "Just keep swimming..Just keep Swimming...Just keep Swimming". Well this is what I say to myself in my head sometimes when I need the extra motivation to keep going through the workout. Check out the scene at the bottom for those of you that havent seen it before...or just need a reminder....

It doesnt always have to be something about training...it can be as silly as that...as long as it gets you going!

No go and find your motivation and hit the workouts hard....ALL the time!

Lookout For Workouts...Anywhere, Anytime!

2011-03-28T21:58:00Z

Hi All,

Well I have been away for a little bit on a relaxing family holiday to Kangaroo Island. Was great break away, and we all had a fun.

Something that I, and my wife as well, are doing is that we will always be on the lookout for a workout when away.

Lets face it, if you have been to Kangaroo Island before, you will know that there isnt anywhere that you can go to have a workout. But as I keep preaching, you all know that I am a big fan of doing outdoor workouts and using your bodyweight.

So here was the deal.....we were driving along the highway and we passed this lookout called Prospect Hill. We both looked at each other and said "now that would be a good workout". Not that we were out to do a workout, but we couldnt miss the opportunity.

So turned the car around, and off we went. You can see by the picture that it is a fairly steep climb.

The great thing about this was that not only was it a steep climb, but the stairs were not the greatest and you really had to test your mental awareness as well.....which was great. So you would get tired, but you still had to be mentally on the ball so you didnt let your feet slip through the steps!

All in all it was a great workout. And it was something that was done on the cuff and not planned.

This is something that you should always be on the lookout for! This is what is going to keep you better than the rest. This is what will make you get your results quicker than others. This is what people who succeed do.....they see an opportunity and take it.

Most people, would see it and go "well maybe another time".....but seriously, if you dont take advantage of it you are never going to do it.

So guys, always be on the lookout on when your next workout will be.....because chances are the most unexpected workouts are the ones that will be the most fun and challenging.

Until Next Time,

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

The "F" Word

2011-03-23T00:31:00Z

Well you may be thinking that I am talking about a "bad F" word, but not really.

What I am talking about is FITNESS. To some that can be a very misguided and misunderstood word.

So what is fitness? Is basically all about looking good, or is it about being fit for a particular sport or something else?

Well I can tell you that it definately is not just about looking good and muscly that is for sure. If that were the case, then bodybuilders would be the fittest people on the planet....and if anything they are the most unfit people on the planet! If you know me well or have been following my blogs, you will know what my position is on bodybuilding...if not go through some older posts and you will find out....basically I am not a fan and body builders are the most functionally weak and unfit people around.

Anyway, so what do I believe that if real fitness? Do i believe that an olympic athelete is fitness and has a high level of fitness? Well yes and no.

No question that athletes are extremely fit, but they are specifically fit for their sport. For eg, lets just take a swimmer...sure they have a great aerobic capacity, but on the other hand they do not also posses real strength as they spend so much time in the water. Or on the end of the scale, what about the 100m olympic sprinter...now here is a person that has a tremoundous fitness that involves strength and explosive power....but they have no endurance. So what should we be doing?

Well if I had to put my opinion on any particular occupation or sport that would have the best fitness, I would be saying something like a SAS soldier or firefighter. These are the types of occupations that they need to be fit for anything. They need to be strong, but they also need to be explosive and fast, but they also need to have an endurance that can see them keep working hard and keeping a mental alertness for very long periods of time. And to make it harder, they usually have to do all this up while wearing loads of heavy equipment.

So this is what I believe is real fitness. Real fitness is a fitness level that can see you undertake any challenge that is thrown at you.

Ok so you may not be the fastest person in the world, or the strongest....but you will definately be able to survive anything that lifes situations throw at you.

And how do we get this fitness? Well if you are a member at my gym, you wouldnt be asking that question because you are already doing it. But if not, you should be doing lots of body weight movements, full functional strength work, combined with aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

In essence, if you cant run, squat, do push ups, or pull ups....then dont even think that you are close to being fit or strong.

So next that pretty boy guy starts bragging that he can bench press 200kgs, ask him to do just 2 or 3 pull ups...and then you will see how strong he really is! I will bet just about anything that he cant do more than 1...if that!

Oh and if you think that this type of fitness is just reserved for SAS soldiers or firefighters, then you are wrong. Everyone needs to be ready for anything that may get thrown at them in life!

So go and take your workouts hard and become the fittest you possibly can!!

Until next time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

When Something Great Can Be Bad!

2011-03-15T00:51:00Z

Well if you have been following me for any period of time or even better you are one of my clients, you will know that I am a big fan of Kettlebells.

For the uninitiated, these things are basically cast iron balls with a handle which will wreck you in no time flat....but they are great fun and one of the ultimate tools for fitness, fat loss, muscle gain, aerobic capacity, strength, conditioning etc; yep this one little thing can do all that.

So I have been using these before anyone knew about them...back in the days when it was hard to find a distributor to buy them through in Australia.

Now they are becoming popular. People are realising how effective these things are! You would think that I would be happy that more and more people are embracing the kettlebell...well to be honest yes and no. There is something that is really annoying me at the moment (well for a while now), about this new found popularity of the kettlebell.

This is basically the fact that every trainer is now going out there and training their clients with them, trying to make themselves look like they really do know what they are on about and that they are "really good" at training people.

The truth is, that it takes A LONG TIME to master the kettlebell. Hell I have been doing this for the best part of 10 years and I am still learning.....yet these "so called trainers" think that they can spend 20minutes watching another "so called expert" on youtube and think that they are experienced enough to teach other people...and think that they are "cool"

Trouble is, I struggle to find really good instruction of kettlebell use on youtube and the internet....there is not a lot of it around. The worst part is that big name trainers, such as the ones that appear on the biggest loser shows, are seen using kettlebells. Problem is that they have such poor technique that it is a wonder that they havent done any real serious damage to anyone yet (well that we know of)

And then there is all the fitness manufacturers getting in on the act and making kettlebells look "pretty", so they can sell them to the "pretty boy" gyms and make a bucket load of money!

Hey kettlebells werent designed to look pretty! They were designed to be effective, and all these new manufacturers wouldnt know how to build a kettlebell if they had Pavel himslef (the god of kettlebells) instructing them.

If you havent already gotten the hint, this really pi****s me off to no end. It takes year of practice to master the kettlebell, let alone to teach the technique of it.

Lets get one thing straight here...kettlebell training is not a new concept....although if you look through all the fitness magazines, gyms etc; they will say differently. Kettlebells have been around longer than you or I have been training, so dont think that this is a new way of training....in fact, the training has had to be "toned down" from how the real men and women train with them because the mass public would not be able to handle the intensity of full kettlebell workouts.

So this is the issue i have. Too many wanna be trainers out there looking for the next best thing to try and make them look good. The other problem is that too many people dont know the difference...so ask yourself, if you have been training in kettlebell training, where are you getting your techniques and methods from?

If it is from the internet...this is a big no no and you will be injured very soon.

If it is from a trainer who looks as though they havent even matured properly, well the above thing will happen to you as well.

It is the same with anything people. If you want the best training, you need to find the best and be willing to pay for it!

It is frustrating the hell out of me seeing all these people get on the kettlebell bandwagon who have no right to be there! Hell I have seen people on the internet offering kettlebell certification, and they cant even do a swing properly....where the hell are they getting their certification??

Just because someone says they are a guru, doesnt mean that they are. Find out for yourself.

And if you do find someone who is really good at kettlebell training, your results will skyrocket like you wouldnt believe!

Ok thats enough ranting from me for now....I am sure I will have more to say soon about something else that I will need to get off my chest!

Until next time

Train Hard, but Train Smart

Joe

What Inspires Me?

2011-03-08T23:24:00Z

Hey All,

I know that I have written about things to motivate you in your fitness goals, but someone asked me a question not long ago which I wanted to share with you all.

The question was "what do I use to inspire me?" Thats a good question because it made me realise that I havent shared what I use to motivate me. So what is it? Well it is a combination of things.

I obviously have a handful of fitness guru's who I admire and learn a lot from. These guys inspire me all the time to achieve the best knowledge I can and to deliver the absolute best training methods to all of you who read my blogs and train with me.

Then there is always the inspiring story of famous people who overcome adversity to achieve their goals. Some of them are:

Sylvester Stallone

Muhammed Ali

Lance Armstrong

Oprah Winfrey

Rodney Dangerfield

Michael Jordan

Henry Ford

Colonel Sanders (Yes the KFC Guy)

There are a whole heap more, but this is a start of my top list. If you dont know the stories of these people, go and google them and read their stories. All of these people could have quit at any time as they had adversity given to them time and time again, but they just kept on going and pursuing their dream....No matter what life threw at them!

Then there is something else that truly inspires me. And that is the every day person just getting over their own problems to get on with life and working for their dreams.

This could be anything from raising a family on welfare and still having a positive attitude and raising their children with positivity and moral values. Or it could be the person who overcomes a terminal illness, or watching the kid in the park practicing his footy skills with his dad with the dream that one day he will be the best! This sort of stuff inspires me the most, and it is because it is all done behind closed doors...they dont have the world watching them and willing them on, they dont have fans, they dont have millions of people telling them how great they are....but they do what is right and they use their inner belief to achieve the extraordinary and knowing that no one will really ever know the massive achievement that they achieved.

Then there are a whole heap of quotes I love to go over and over that get me going all the time. So here are some of my favourite quotes

"If you think that you can or you think that you cant, either way you are right"

"To be extraordinary you have to do what the ordinary will not do"

"What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve"

"Getting knocked down is a setup for a comeback"

"A real decision is measured by the fact that you have taken new action. If there is no action then you havent truly decided"

"Success is something you attract by the person you become"

"Losers quit when they are tired, winners quit when they have won"

"Pain is temporary, It may last a minute, an hour, a day or a year, but eventually it will subside. If I quit then it will last forever"

Finally I cant end this without saying that my wife (Jo) inspires me every day. She lives her life by her values and there has not been a day she has steered away from this. She is passionate about her family, her beliefs, her goals and life. She is a real person that will never go against what she believes in, no matter what....and with that I want to leave with you a an old parable which I came across a long time ago and have just rediscovered it again.

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied,
"The one you feed."

So there you have it. That is what inspires me.

So I want to know what inspires you and leave comments on what does and what some of your favourite quotes are.

Until next time

Train Hard, but Train Smart

Joe

Get This and You Will Succeed!

2011-03-03T00:51:00Z

Hi All,

Last week I posted about some tips for getting real success in your fitness goals and what to do with your training and nutrition.

A good question I was asked was, "So all I have to do is follow that and I will achieve my goals?"

Well the answer was yes and no. Yes you do have to follow the tips, but no in the sense that the tips given are a waste of time if you dont have the most important part. This is the part that will determine if you will achieve your goals, or get dumped on the curb with so many other people with the intention of doing something about the fitness and health goals.

So what is it? How much is going to cost? Where can I get it? are the usual questions.

Well the good news is that you have had it with you all the time and it wont cost you a cent......I am talking about a determined mind!

Yep thats right people. If you dont have a determined mind you will NEVER and i mean NEVER achieve what you want!

How badly do you want to achieve your goals? That is the question you need to keep asking yourself every single day!

Some people say that they are doing all the right things but not getting their results. They tell me that they are eating right and that they are working out 5 sometimes 6 days a week, but still not getting their results. Once I observe these people I know why they dont achieve their goals.

The reason why they dont is that they quit or give up as soon as the workout becomes a little uncomfortable or they need to push themselves a little more.

Here is something to keep in the front of mind every time you workout. The body is capable of doing about 20x more than the mind thinks it can! What does this mean exactly? Well I am saying that when your mind starts saying "we cant do this anymore, it is hurting too much", that is when you tell your mind to shut the hell up and just get on with it......because the body will be capable of doing more than you could ever imagine! All you need to do is tell your brain to keep quiet and tell it that you are going to push yourself the end limits whether it likes it or not!

So are you at the point where you are wanting to throw up after a work out? No? Well you didnt push hard enough. Are you dripping in sweat after your workout? No? Well you didnt work hard enough. Are you physically incapable of lifting your own limbs let alone a weight? No? well you didnt go hard enough!

We are fast becoming a society of pansies! I know you may disagree but we are. We dont like to feel discomfort, we dont like to feel pain, we dont want to be doubting ourselves...so on and so forth! This is for the weak. This for people that will NEVER achieve what they want! This is for the people that will constantly go on and on about why they cant achieve their goals. You know what? Get out of my way and go and whine to someone else who wants to not achieve their goals.

So to get your results you need to pushing yourself and your mind. This will be an ongoing battle every workout, but if you win the battle, you win the war and you will get the success.

This is everything to achieving your fitness success (and any other success).

Push yourself hard, then go and push a little further! Then you will know what it is to win!!

Make sure you do this every single time you workout.

Till next time

Train Hard but Train Smart
Joe

Monday Motivation

2011-02-28T01:23:00Z

Hey all,

I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to tear up the weekend. I know that I am!!

Well I have to admit it but lets keep it to yourself...there are some reality shows I get sucked into and actually enjoy. At the moment I am sucked into American Idol (my wife may tell you a whole heap of others, but she is just trying to embarrass me, so we know that they arent true....dont we )

Anyway, back on to what I wanted to share with you. If you have been watching American Idol you may have heard of a guy called Chris Medina. I am not going to give anything away, but this really touched me (and I dare you to say that it doesnt touch you either!)

To me this is a guy, at only 26 mind you, can conquer anything. He is a real man. When someone asks you next time what a real man is, go and tell them to check out this guy. He is an amazing person, full of integrity, honesty, compassion, love, mental toughness, never say die attitude, commitment etc;

Not only is he an amazing singer, but he has the mental toughness to take on anything in life and win no matter what. Do you have this in you? I really wish that most people could say yes, but people like this are very few and far between. This is a guy you should admire.

Take the passion, the toughness, the integrity, the never say die attitude and the will that this man has got and go and get all of not just fitness goals but also your life goals. Never give in and always stick by what you love....this is what he did.

Watch the video and please leave comments, because we really need more people like this guy!

Until next time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Tips For Success

2011-02-23T01:45:00Z

Something that I get asked ALOT is about the topic of weight loss. Everybody seems to be caught up on how much they weigh and not the real numbers of how your body is composed.

At my gym I do a monthly weigh in of all my clients, but I do this to track their progress and it is also a way of them seeing how they are going and if there are any changes that they need to make to their routine based on what their goals are.

So the first thing that I want to clear up is this definition of weight loss. It has nothing to do with how much you weigh. This is why I hate it so much when people start saying that they lost X amount of kg's on such and such diet.

I dont care that you lost so many kg's on such and such diet (by the way, the word "diet" should be banned as there is no such thing as a good diet program). Tell me how much of that weight you lost is of pure fat? My guess is that with 99% of people who go on diets the amount of fat they lose is not a lot!

What they end up losing is muscle mass, water weight etc; All the things that are important to the body. They body is a very complex thing and it will lose fat as a last resort. It will hang on to it because it can survive on it if you starve the body. This is why it is extremely hard to lose pure body fat.

In my opinion you should be losing body fat, and increasing lean muscle mass. This is what scales should be showing...and not the amount you weigh....because quite frankly I dont give a toss how much someone loses if it is not just pure body fat.

My methods of training are designed to lose just pure body fat and increase lean muscle mass. I would be a lot more impressed if someone said to me that they lost 5% body fat, put on about 5kgs of pure muscle and actually weighed a little heavier....that is a real and great result.

You might think that I am crazy, but I will guarantee you that even though this person may not have actually lost "body weight", their measurements across their body will be a lot smaller than what they were before!

And this is what you want to be achieving. Sure it is hard work, and it is a slower process, but it is a lot more healthier for the body and I will guarantee you that you will feel great....better than the person who says that they lost 5kgs of body weight in the same time....mainly because their loss will be mainly muscle and because of this they will be feeling very tired and weak.....even though they may not admit it!

Ok so how do we do this? Well here are my tips for succeeding in losing body fat while increasing muscle mass.

Eat only Organic foods as much as possible
Cut out all refined sugars in your diet
Cut out all soft drinks and caffeine
Cut out all alcohol
Drink LOADS of water. However, you should only be drinking small quantities at one time. You should be sipping water all day.
Do not eat anything that is processed! That means white breads, white pasta, white salt....basically if it is white and it wasnt grown from the ground then it is BAD!!
Eat only wholemeal grains only. Basically, the darker the grains the better it is for you.
Eat EVERY 3 HOURS!! This is a MUST! If you are not eating every 3 hours you will fail in achieving your goals.
Ensure you are getting a good source of Protein, Carbs and Fats in every meal
Workout at high intensity at least 3 times a week.....yes this means getting to the gym or at least getting off your butt and doing some intense workouts.
Invest in someone to show you how to train properly and guide your nutrition as well. They may be expensive, but they are worth it!

Also before I end up I want to try and tell people to stop trying to make excuses for themselves for why they cant do all of this! The best excuse I hear is that "I have to work", "I have to work late", "I was in a meeting all day", "I am tired and had a long day and just want to relax infront of the tv" etc; etc;

I have heard it all before guys. You are kidding yourself if you think that these are valid excuses.

If you think that they are then you are going to become a very unhealthy person and cut short your time on this earth and spending time with the ones that you truly love and value. You want to be fit and healthy so you can enjoy what is important to you.

Let me leave you with something to think about. Have you ever heard of a person who was on their death bed and said "I wished I spent more time at the office" or "I wished I spent more time watching TV"??

Go out and take these tips and achieve all of your health and fitness goals.

Until next time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

Your Body Is NOT a Machine

2011-02-21T02:44:00Z

Hi All,

Well if you have been reading my blog for any length of time you will know my take on the traditional gyms that are out there these days. If not, in short I call them more of "pretty gyms". You know the ones that are all flashy that you would feel guilty if you actually got any sweat on any of the equipment (maybe this is why the people that go there dont actually sweat during their so called workouts!)

Anyway, I cam across an article the other day in which I truly believed in and it has been something that I have been saying (and arguing with lots of people) for years!

This is the issue that exercise machines that you see in the gyms these days do more harm than good.

I have always been a believer (and I have proven this over countless times) that machines will not make you stronger, or fitter, but they will make you weaker in every day movement and also will increase your risk of injury.

So here is the thing, the article I read went into how the scientific experts (the guys and girls who study how the body moves during certain movements) have finally proved that machines basically hinder a persons results. They have proven that they do produce a lot of injuries because these machines put a lot of stress on joints that should never have that amount of stress on them.....and the reason why they have so much stress on them is because they make the body move in a very very unnatural way.

Here is the thing about machines and the new pretty gyms. Basically the gyms these days are getting more and more like a nightclub. They are full of TV's everywhere, the place has to be immaculate and appealing on the eye, all the people in there seem to be wearing the latest fashions in gym gear. The machines all now have TV's, radios, digital displays showing you everything except telling you to stop wasting your time and go do a real workout.

Basically, gyms these days are trying to be more about entertaining people and making them feel like that they are not really working out...which they arent.

Here is the real reason machines are in gyms.

They make the place look "state of the art" with all the techno gadgets they have on them these days. It makes people think that if they are using state of the art equipment then they must be doing the best workout possible. In reality, these machines do the same thing that the machines from 10 years ago did as well. They just look prettier.
It enables gyms to get people into the gym and then they push them onto machines so that they dont have to pay much attention to them and they can worry about signing up the next person who they wont care about as soon as they hand over their money. It is a known fact that gyms factor in the fact that only 35% of people that they sign up will attend reguarly. They dont care about the person until the person wants to leave and they no longer are getting their money.
Machines are self explanatory. This way it enables the baby faced "trainers" and I use that word loosely with majority of these kid trainers who have no experience, to look like that they are training the person. In reality these inexperienced trainers use these machines because they do not have clue on how to properly train themselves let alone their clients.
It gives people a sense of being stronger than they actually are. This all for the people who love to brag about how much weight they used!
Make it clear that the machine is either for doing "weights" or "cardio"

These machines can never train the body properly because they isolate the muscles. The body is not designed to work in isolation with itself. It is designed to work in perfect motion with all the other muscles in the body. A machine will NEVER EVER be able to do this. The only thing that can do this is doing full functional training using body weight, free weights, and using other odd objects that create instability within the body so it can train itself to get stronger.

Probably one of the worst machines out there is the leg press. This should actually be banned in my opinion. Not only does it generate an immense amount of force on the knees, back etc; it also gives the illusion to the user that they are really strong.

I have seen people leg press over 200kg. Theoretically is they are that strong they should be able to put 200kg on their back, squat all the way down and then back up again....I guarantee you NO ONE could do this....and since when are you sitting down in a 45degree angle pushing weights with your legs?? Seriously! People who do this exercise are doing it for their ego and nothing else.

These people who leg press hundreds of kgs, cant even squat and press a pair of 20kg kettlbells on their chest. What the?? How strong are they really?

I hate to say it, and this may seem harsh, but these "pretty" gyms are part of the obesity epidemic that we have in this country. They have all fancy equipment that makes you think that you are working out but you are not even breaking a sweat, they are more concerned with the amount of members that they can get money out of, and they sell their gyms by being more of a club or cafe than a real gym. If a member stopped going or wasnt there for a week, they would have no idea at all.

I pride myself in having a gym in whereby I personally know every single person in the gym. I keep my membership numbers small. I know if they miss even 1 session, and more importantly I care if they are not getting their results. I want them to succeed more than they want to succeed sometimes.

My gym has NO machines in it. And it never will. I train my people hard, they sweat ALOT! Its not pretty inside my gym, there is chalk everywhere, equipment that looks like it has been used and not like it has just come out of the box, people flipping tyres or throwing sledgehammers around etc; In short my people work hard and get results...it truly is an inspiration to watch. I still get inspired by the people in my gym, and I doubt that I will stop getting inspired by them.

So people, if you are thinking about joining a gym because it has the latest equipment, or are thinking of buying the latest treadmill because a young guy or girl told you it will get you fitter than you have ever been and will lose weight from it.....DONT! It wont work, I have seen it too often.

Save your money. Find a good trainer...someone who really knows their stuff. Invest your money in good food and nutrition and then you will have all the results and more coming at you quicker than you thought.

So if you just remember one thing.....the body is not a machine, so dont train it on one!

Until Next Time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe

Supplements, Diet Pills, Detox...The Real Truth!

2011-02-16T02:18:00Z

Hi All,

Something that you cant really escape at the moment is the huge amount of supplements, or detox diets, or diet pills, or shakes etc;. No matter what you are seeking to achieve, there seems to be a powder, pill or shake that you can take to help you achieve it....all without doing the exercise or eating right.

So what can we make out of all this? Simply it is all crap! And that is putting it nicely.

If you think that taking a pill, or doing a detox or taking some form of shake will help you lose weight, gain muscle, get lean etc; well then you are an extremely delusional person then you may as well stop reading now. Mainly because you dont want to do any hard work and if that is the case I am not sure you are going to like what I have to say next.

Firstly, all these "wonder products" come with a disclaimer of "must be used with a healthy diet and regular exercise"...well derr....that is because the product does nothing and by doing regular exercise and eating right is what you need to do to get any results.

Well what about the detox's or products that flush you out so you lose weight. Well yes, your body weight will go down....mainly because of the crap that is in these things makes you scared to be more than a metre from a toilet. What you are losing is just liquid and muscle, believe it or not the fat in your body will stay....mainly because this is what the body can survive on if you starve it from proper nutrition. So while your body weight may be a few kilos lighter, are you really healthy? Do you really know what that orange stuff you just put in your body is doing to you?

Oh and there is another one that claims to fill up your stomach with some sort of absorbent type foam or something so you dont feel hungry and dont eat as much. Seriously? Are we supposed to buy this? Are we really that stupid?

This would be the same as putting some polly filla down your throat. And then not eating is ridiculous, because how are you supposed to get all the nutrients from good wholesome foods that the body needs?

Then on the other side there are the muscle proteins, all making sure that they have some form of the words steroids, or testosterone, or muscle or some meat head ego word! All claiming to put on lean muscle...seriously, people do you really believe this? All this is going to do is to make you fat...but hey if that is what you want then go ahead and dont let me kill yourself.

So is there anything that I do believe in or promote for healthy well being? Well yes there is.

Due to the type of workouts that I give to my clients and for myself as well, they are intense and they do hit the body hard. Which means that the muscles are taken to their limits and as a result they tear (which is exactly what you want). For this reason I recommend that people take a HIGH QUALITY protein supplement immediately after their workout..and I mean immediately after it! This will help the body with the repair process.

However outside of this I believe that the rest is just a whole heap of crap. You are wasting your money, and destroying your body in the process.

If you feel like you need to detox or anything like that then that means that you have been abusing your body with your diet and lack of exercise....want to fix it? Get off the couch and exercise and start eating properly!

I still cant believe the amount of people that are looking for a quick fix. There is no quick fix. If you want results then be prepared to work for it.

Here is the harsh reality guys....if you want to lose weight, feel better, etc; then get off your butt and do something about it. Exercise hard...that means working out really hard....not going for a leisurely walk and think that you have done something. And have a healthy diet. Sounds simple doesnt it? Well it is if you just do it.

So if you have any of these types of products in your cupboard at home, go and throw them out and spend your money high quality organic food.....I guarantee you that that will work out better for you.

Until next time

Train Hard but Train Smart

Joe