Brand New Services from Warrior Fitness!

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Jon

Warrior Fitness is going mobile!!

You may have heard the news that I am closing the physical location of Warrior Fitness Gym this week. This is not a bad thing. The Warrior Fitness Training System existed prior to the gym location (I wrote the original Warrior Fitness book in 2008), and it will go on after it.

Now that I am no longer shackled to a brick and mortar location I have the ability to expand my global reach and provide even more coaching, teaching, and results to you.

This change allows me much greater adaptability and mobility to train my local clients here at home and also frees me to teach more workshops, seminars, and classes in other locations, both here in the US and abroad.

With that preface, I am introducing 3 brand new services from Warrior Fitness:

1) Local Warrior Training.

There are 3 new options here: Weekly Warrior Bootcamps in the park (see Class Schedule HERE) and Warrior Personal Training at your home, office, or other location. Corporate Warrior Training is also available – short, intense, highly effective workouts for the busy executive and employees to train both mind AND body!

Email me for details on scheduling and pricing.

2) Seminars and Workshops.

Topics include:

Warrior Fitness Training,
Building Martial Power,
Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu,
Building Power and Flow in Taijutsu,
Women’s Self Defense,
Combat Conditioning,
Introduction to Internal Power for Bujinkan Martial Arts.

Email me for details on scheduling and pricing.

3) Online Coaching Opportunities.

I will put together an individualized program specifically tailored to you and your training goals. Check HERE for all the details.

How to Avoid Ankle Injuries

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Jon

How many people do you know just in your own circle of friends and family who have broken, sprained, or otherwise injured their ankle(s)? A pretty significant amount of people, right? Continue reading →

Lunchtime Warriors

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Jon

During my 15 year stint in the confines of cubicle hell, otherwise known as Corporate America, the lunch hour was always my time to escape from the office and do some training. Depending on how densely packed my meetings were scheduled for the day, and if the boss was around or not, usually dictated how long I could escape for.

When only a brief few minutes was available, I’d get outside and go for a quick walk. Moving and deep breathing outside in the fresh air do wonders to clear your head and fortify your energy reserves for the second half of the day.

When the day allowed, I’d plan my 60 minutes of lunchtime like this:

15 minute drive home
15 minute super intense workout (usually a HIIT training session)
10 minute shower/change
5 minutes to make protein shake for lunch
15 minute drive back to work

Doing this even just 2 times a week, combined with my brief walks on the other days was a great way to fit extra training into an otherwise super busy day.

Obviously not everyone lives in close enough proximity to the office to be able to drive home at lunchtime, but there are many other viable alternatives.

Bring a change of clothes and go for a run.

Head to a nearby park and do a bodyweight workout.

Keep a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in the trunk of your car and use it whenever opportunity presents itself.

Or, you could be like the ladies in my 12 noon Fit Bodies Bootcamp for Women who all work together at a nearby business and make super-productive use of their lunch hour by coming to the gym 3 times a week. Not only do they get an awesome fat-burning, strength building, body toning, workout but have the companionship of like-minded, motivated friends who support and push each other to achieve greater results.

These ladies rock an awesome workout and then head back to the office with the satisfaction of knowing they kicked a$$ for the day. Now they can attack the 2nd half of the work day with renewed vigor and determination. Bravo!

So how about you?

What do YOU do on your lunch hour?

Leave A Legacy of Strength

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Jon

This is for all the Dads out there.

Our kids depend on us for all sorts of basic survival needs – food, clothing, shelter, etc. But what about one of their most critical survival needs? The need to grow up with a role model who will teach them through example. Continue reading →

Why Sitting All Day is Slowly Killing You

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Jon

There’s more to leading an active lifestyle than just getting in a workout a few times a week. Check out this Men’s Health article on Why Sitting All Day is Slowly Killing You. Think your 45 minute exercise session 3-4 times a week is protecting you from heart disease? Think again.

For some ideas on how to add beneficial movement to your sedentary office worker life, check out the Corporate Warriors section of Warrior Fitness.

Morning Wake Up Routine

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Jon

Ever have one of those mornings when you have to be up early for work or school, but simply can’t summon the energy to start your day? This is a routine I have been using successfully for years to shake out the cobwebs and get me moving on the mornings when just a cup of coffee isn’t going to do it. It’s not your fault, and bear that in mind – some people just aren’t morning people.
Back when I was travelling for weeks on end and putting in long hours every day for consulting work this routine was my morning staple in the hotel room before meeting my colleagues for breakfast. I find it most effective on the mornings when I am most tired. Just as an aside, it doesn’t have to be used in the mornings, it has benefits any time of the day when you need a little pick me up. One caution, and although this should be obvious I’ll say it anyway, don’t do it before going to bed – you won’t sleep!

The Routine

Joint Mobility

This has the effect of increasing synovial fluid to lubricate the joints while at the same time increasing blood flow to the surrounding muscles. For the quick version we will concentrate on the neck, shoulders, hips, and spine.

Neck:

Up/Down – lift up from crown of head; slide down along plane of jaw for 3 to 6 repetitions.
Left/Right – turn head as far left as possible without pain, turn as far right as possible for 3 to 6 repetitions.
Full circles in both directions.

Shoulders:

Roll both shoulders – lift shoulders up towards ears, roll backward fully articulating the range of motion (ROM), drop them down as far as comfortable for 3 repetitions, then repeat by rolling forward for 3 reps.
Alternate shoulder rolls – roll left shoulder back as described above while pushing right shoulder forward then switch. Perform 3 times each.
Swing both arms as fast as possible windmilling them forward for 20 seconds then backward for 20 seconds.

Hips:

Circle hips clockwise and counter-clockwise 10 times in each direction.

Spine:

Keep the spine straight and fold forward at the hips, then rotate around to the left and back to center, then forward and around to the right.
Keep the spine straight and fold backward at the hips, then rotate around to the left and back to center, then forward and around to the right.

Energizing Breath

In this breathing exercise we will utilize a protocol founded by yoga and improved upon by Russian sport science and martial art. Here the breath is divided into 3 levels: clavicular (upper level), intercostal (mid level), and diaphragmatic (lower level). This exercise will focus only on the clavicular, or upper level. For more information on breathing exercises, please see Evolve Your Breathing.

Exhale through the mouth in a short, quick burst by compressing the upper chest.
Do not actively inhale. Allow the inhale to happen by relaxing the muscles in the chest.
Repeat rapidly 20 to 40 times.
Build up to where you can perform continuously for 60 seconds.
If you become dizzy, stop and sit down!

Slap Yourself Silly!

This is actually an ancient Qigong exercise designed to improve circulation and disperse stagnant energy. The execution is pretty simple. You may want to avoid practicing this in public though!

Gently, but vigorously, slap your shoulders, upper back, and lower back with the palms of the hands.
Then slap down the inside of one arm and up the outside. Switch arms.
Slap down the outside of both legs – you can slap a little harder here – and up the inside.

Enjoy and Wake Up!

8 Ways to Fit in Your Fitness

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Jon

It’s often been said that if you want something done you should give it to a busy person. While this may be true of some busy people, namely the ones who are highly motivated, highly productive, and highly efficient, what about all the other busy people?

What about those who are busy through poor time management skills, or maybe those who are simply overwhelmed? How about them? Does the task they are given merely get thrown on top of a growing pile of “To-Do’s”, or even worse, shuffled to the bottom? What if the task they are given, or give themselves, is directly related to increasing their quality of life and most likely longevity as well? What if that task will help them be more productive at all their other tasks by reducing stress levels, increasing energy, and their overall sense of well being? What if that task would help them to reduce, remove, or otherwise prevent a host of daily aches, pains, and illnesses that are stoically (or sometimes not so) suffered as things that “just happen” as we grow older?

Here’s a list of 8 ways for these busy people to fit in their fitness and reclaim a healthy lifestyle:

1. Plan it out.

Scheduling is the key to successful time management. Look at your weekly calendar and plan to exercise just as you would plan an important client meeting, a lunch with an old friend, or coaching your kid’s Little League team.

2. Exercise wherever you are.

Joint mobility sessions can be done at your desk – see here.

3. Take the Stairs.

Work in an office building? Take the stairs instead of the elevator. See how fast you can make it to your floor – beat those lazy suckers in the elevator to your floor!

4. Get outside.

Have a lunch break? Go outside and go for a walk. 10 minutes in the fresh air will do wonders for you. Eat at your desk while you work and then go for a walk. Want to make your walk more productive? Try inhaling for 5 steps, holding you breath on the inhale for 5 steps, exhaling for 5 steps, then holding the breath after the exhale for 5 steps. When you can comfortably do that for the entire duration of your walk, increase to 6, 8, 10 steps!

5. Get up earlier.

Get up earlier and workout **warning – this one requires effort and commitment!!**

6. Exercise together.

Spend quality time with your kids. Exercise together – see Warrior Fitness for Kids.

7. Brief workouts.

Got a spare 15 minutes? Bring the intensity and lose the long, boring workouts. See the Warrior Fitness WOWs for some ideas.

8. Isometrics.

These require very little time to be effective, need no equipment, and can be done literally anywhere.

Obviously, this list is neither exhaustive nor all inclusive, but I do hope it has helped you and sparked some ideas to help you fit in your fitness no matter how busy you are. What ideas do you have?

Applying Six Sigma Principles to Your Fitness Plan

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Jon

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that has its origins in the manufacturing business. It has been adapted and expanded to cover a wide variety of business products, services, and help foster solutions in terms of reducing costs, removing defects, and continuously increasing efficiency.

Today, we are moving from the boardroom to the gym and looking at ways to apply a scaled-down version of Six Sigma methodology to improving your health and fitness. Right now, you are the product and we are looking for ways to foster continuous improvement in you!

What is DMAIC?

Let’s look at one of the basic methodologies for Six Sigma projects called DMAIC and see how it can be applied to improve your fitness program.

DEFINE the problem and project goals specifically.

What are your fitness goals, right now, today? Whether it’s to lose a certain number of pounds in an allotted time-frame, or be able to do a one-arm push-up at 40, it doesn’t matter. Here is where we define our objective.

MEASURE key aspects and collect data.

What is your current weight or dress size or waist size?
How many push-ups can you do in one session?
How many calories, carbohydrates, and grams of protein do you eat daily?
How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you eat daily?
What is your resting heart rate? Blood pressure? Cholesterol numbers?
How fast can you run a mile?
Or, any other measurements that pertain specifically to the goal you outlined in the Define section above.

ANALYZE the data to investigate and verify cause and effect relationships. Determine the root cause of the problem.

Do you have 3 sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches from Dunkin Donuts daily and notice that your cholesterol has sky-rocketed, your blood pressure is too high, and your waist line has expanded?
Do you run out of breath climbing a flight of stairs?
Or, not have enough energy to play with you kids in the park?
Do you aspire to run a marathon this year, but can’t get motivated?
Look closely at the data you gathered above and figure out what is holding you back from achieving your goal.

IMPROVE or optimize the process based on the analysis.

Here is where all the real work gets done, but also where you may encounter a stumbling block. You’ve defined your goal, measured key aspects as they relate to your goal, analyzed all the data and determined the root cause of the problem, but what do you do now?

This is where having a knowledgeable and highly experienced Coach comes into play

(Book a Strategy Session Call with me HERE).

You need someone who can review the findings above and determine the best possible solution for you. This includes:

Knowledge and understanding of exercise methodologies and how to apply them on a case-by-case basis.
Ability to design an individualized fitness plan for you.
Ability to effectively and efficiently get you the maximum results in the minimum amount of time.
Ability to communicate, break things down, and respond accordingly to questions and concerns.
Ability to motivate and keep you on the path.

CONTROL future state process to ensure any deviations from the target are corrected before they result in defects.

Here is where your progress is charted and tracked to make sure slippage does not occur. If slippage does occur, it can be noticed and corrected for immediately to assure the project – a fit and healthy you – remains on track!

Many companies and organizations have applied these principles to better their businesses, increase production, reduce costs, and improve their overall business processes. Why shouldn’t you be able to take the same ideas and apply them to your health and fitness?

Warrior Fitness Executive Coaching Program

Book a Free Strategy Session call with me HERE to see if you are a good fit.

Fitness at Work?

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Jon

This proves to be quite difficult for many cube-dwelling corporate warriors. This article will provide the reader with concrete examples of ways to increase health, energy, mobility, and core strength all while seated (or standing) at your own desk. Fitness at Work will only require about 10 minutes a day which can even be broken up into shorter increments and done throughout the work day. And, for those concerned with being stared at, most of these can be accomplished surreptitiously!

Before we get started, let’s take a look at some of the specific impediments to our health, vitality, and fitness that may be exacerbated by sitting at a desk, working on a computer 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week:

General fatigue
Short-range stiffness
Stiff neck, neck pain (pain in the neck?)
Low back trouble, ruptured/herniated/bulging discs, etc.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Expanding waist line
Lack of good overall muscle tone

Try to perform the following exercises a few times a day to reduce tension from the daily grind!

Neck Mobility

Up/Down (Lift up from crown of head, slide down along plane of jaw)
Left/Right (Turn head as far left as possible without pain, turn as far right as possible)
Side/Side (Tilt head down to left, move from corner of jaw, repeat to right)
Full circle

Shoulder Mobility

Roll both shoulders backwards (Lift shoulders up towards ears, roll backward fully articulating the range of motion, drop them down as far as comfortable)
Roll both forward
Alternate shoulder rolls (Roll left shoulder back as described above while pushing right shoulder forward then switch)

Wrist Mobility

Hold both hands in loose fists, make circles clockwise and counter clockwise with wrists
Begin with left wrist, hold in fist as above, lift wrist up, to the outside, down, to the inside, reverse direction and repeat with right wrist

Finger Mobility

Begin circling fingers with thumb (5 times) then continue with each additional finger
Circle fingers from pinky in the opposite direction

Core Strength

Tilt the pelvis up slightly while rolling the shoulders down, creating a “scooped out” concave with your torso. As you do this exhale and tighten all the core muscles and muscles around the core
Hold the tension for 5 – 8 seconds, then release allowing the breath to rush in as your abdomen naturally expands out again
Repeat 5 to 10 reps

Remember, just a short 10 minute break a few times a day will do wonders to increase your concentration, productivity, and mental health!

Let me know how these exercises work for you. Also, how do you relieve stress at work?

Want to know more? Check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts!

5 Ways to Help Decrease the Stress

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Jon

Today’s corporate warriors are often besieged with too many tasks, meetings, email, cell phone calls, pagers going off, Blackberrys buzzing, etc. Individually, these things are not significant, but when combined together in a constant barrage, all day long, they produce a cacophony of stimulation which, if not addressed through specific countermeasures, can cause a significant stress response in the brain. This stress response emanates from our primal, survival oriented center of the brain which, in times of crisis, can overload and over run the higher brain functions – i.e., those that allow us to plan, prioritize, manage time and people, and be creative.

Article in Harvard Business Review

According to an article in Harvard Business Review, when busy executives begin to experience symptoms of this stress response in the brain, they often forget important details, lose the ability to prioritize tasks, and generally feel overwhelmed. Overall tension in the body increases, as well as other important markers such as heart rate and blood pressure.

The ability to reduce and manage stress is a key issue in the overcoming of these symptoms in busy workers. Stress can be reduced in various ways such as relaxation, meditation, vacation, diet, and exercise. It is the last two, diet and exercise, that I am focusing on in my recommendations today.

5 Ways to Help Decrease the Stress

Begin to increase complex carbohydrates at every meal. (Complex carbohydrates are whole wheat, multi-grain, etc.)
As you increase complex carbohydrates, begin to eliminate simple carbohydrates. (Simple carbohydrates are white flour, white sugar, and white rice)
Eat protein and vegetables (or fruit) with every meal.
Exercise at least 3 days a week for a 1/2 hour or more.
Daily short exercise breaks – this can be done at your desk or standing up in the office. It is a quick “10 Minute Recharge” for stress reduction and to increase energy throughout the day. This consists of moving all the joints in the body in circles or waves to increase mobility, increase blood flow in muscles and prevent stagnation. These joint mobility exercises coupled with active exhalation breathing aid in the reduction of stress and help to lower blood pressure.

These exercises can be taught quickly and easily, but the benefits are enormous.

For all the aspiring Corporate Warriors out there, how do you deal with stress?