Tag Archives: fitness

Do You Know the Enemy?

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Do you know the enemy?

I do.  It inhibits peak performance.  It makes you lazy and keeps you unmotivated.  It cajoles you into seeking comfort.

It distracts you from your goals and dulls your mind. The enemy sells you on an “easy” lifestyle and lulls you into a false sense of security.

It conspires to sabotage every move toward a healthier diet or consistent workout program.  It will aim to destroy any action or activity that moves you towards bettering yourself, be it education, a new job venture, a move towards a more spiritual life, or writing the great American novel.

Ultimately, it weakens your spirit.

What is The Enemy?

The enemy comes in many forms and assumes many guises.  It may tell you that it’s alright to sit down on the sofa and watch Lifetime Television with your wife after dinner; you can get to that workout later.  It may convince you that just one brownie bite is okay, after all, they’re just “bites”.  You may feel tired from a busy day at the office, and rightly so – the enemy will whisper in your ear that you can begin your fitness regimen tomorrow and that will be good enough.  What exactly is this enemy who kills our motivation and procrastinates our calling (sometimes indefinitely)?  Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy as “Resistance” in his excellent book, The War of Art.

“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work.  It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole… If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get.  Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.”

Sometimes the most insidious form the enemy can take is the form of knowledge.  We fall into the trap of, I know what I need to do, I just need to do it.  Knowledge comforts us.  It allows us to rationalize that since we are in possession of it, we can carry out the action at any time.  We don’t need to do it now.  Tomorrow is fine.  Next week is OK to start.  So, why worry?  One of my favorite quotes (just ask my daughter, she’s heard it often enough!) on this subject is:

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

How Do I Defeat The Enemy?

In his book, Awakening Spirits, famed wilderness survival guru, Tom Brown Jr., gives the enemy a different name, calling it the “Demon of Distraction”.  No matter what you call it, if you call it anything at all, it’s the very same impersonal, unrelenting force pushing us away from our calling, deferring our goals to a “better time”, or for when “conditions are just right”.

Here’s a hint – conditions are never perfect.

There is no better time than right now.

How do you defeat this omnipresent enemy?  By doing your work.  By starting right now.  Don’t delay.  Don’t defer.  Begin.  Do the work(out).  Trade  the 3 o’clock junk food snack for an apple.  Skip McDonald’s on the way home from work and prepare a healthy meal.  Don’t allow yourself the luxury of excuses.  Be firm.  Be strong.  Get it done.  Be resolute and committed to your health and fitness goals.

 

Get the First 2 Weeks of Training from My NEW WarFit Program for FREE!

This Program is Designed To Build Whole Body Strength, Power, & Insane Endurance!!

Applying Six Sigma Principles to Your Fitness Plan

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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:

  1. Knowledge and understanding of exercise methodologies and how to apply them on a case-by-case basis.
  2. Ability to design an individualized fitness plan for you.
  3. Ability to effectively and efficiently get you the maximum results in the minimum amount of time.
  4. Ability to communicate, break things down, and respond accordingly to questions and concerns.
  5. 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.

Jack Hoban on Fitness

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The interviews conducted here at Warrior Fitness will highlight people who have significantly influenced my thinking and training on fitness, who are leaders in their particular fields of expertise, and whom I admire.  Jack Hoban happens to fit all three.  Through his unwavering commitment to martial arts and fitness, Jack has inspired me to keep going over the past 20 years down the dual path of martial arts and fitness.

 Jack Hoban is a former active duty U.S. Marine Corps Captain and long time practitioner of martial arts.  He is Shidoshi Senior Instructor in the Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu systems under Grand Master Masaaki Hatsumi in Japan and has authored three books on warriorship.  Mr. Hoban also holds an MBA and is an executive in the healthcare industry.    Jack’s full biography, and further information, can be found on his website here. 

 

1.  Can you please describe your current philosophy on physical fitness?

I have been serious about physical fitness for most of my life, first as an athlete in grammar school, high school and college, and then as a Marine, and martial artist.  That hasn’t changed, just become more refined and age-appropriate as the years have gone by.  Humans are physical beings and have been so for millions of years; I think we should acknowledge and honor that fact by maintaining a high level of physicality in our lives.  That’s my philosophy.  Until fairly recently, being physically fit, for most of us, was just a part of being human—and staying alive through hunting and gathering, farming, work, or other physical endeavors.  That has changed, and there is a greater risk of falling into a sedentary lifestyle today.  But our basic nature as physical animals has not changed.  We have to be careful not to stray too far from our nature, or certainly unhappiness and ill health may result.

2.  How has your outlook changed over the years?

It really hasn’t changed.  It has just become more refined.  I have tried some of the new fitness technologies—for example I run barefoot now using the new Vibram footwear.  I also think I use cross-training more effectively than in the past.  But I pretty much do the kinds of things I have always done.  I do have to worry more about “overdoing it,” because injuries take longer to heal.

3.  Do you have a daily fitness regimen that you follow?

Yes and no.  I have a range of things that I do, but it changes according to my schedule, the season, the weather and how I am feeling.

4.  Can you briefly tell us what it consists of?

Again, it is not a daily thing in that I don’t do the same thing every day.   But over the course of a week I typically fit in a few runs (45 minutes to an hour), I lift weights, I do a lot of core training, and I do various calisthenics.  In the winter I use the gym for the rowing machine, treadmill and elliptical.  In the summer I swim in the ocean almost every day.  I practice martial arts daily by myself, and have a class between 2 and 5 times a week.

5.  How do you think fitness and budo (martial arts) are related?

Inseparably, although martial artists might take care to explore a regimen that is complimentary to martial arts—one that increases strength and endurance, but also promotes flexibility and relaxation.

6.  How has your being in excellent physical condition enhanced your martial arts training?

Simple, it helps me to “keep going” longer and more consistently without being tired or sick.  And by the way, real fights are very physical—tiring and punishing. 

7.  How does your being in excellent physical condition help your work with the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)?

When I first meet a new class of students, the unspoken question is “Is he one of us?  Can he do what we do?  If he can’t, why should we do what he does?”  That’s just the nature of young, competitive men.  Because I can pretty much keep up with them “for an old guy,” I gain a certain measure of respect.  That way, they are open to the other physical and ethical lessons I am there to share.

8.  Has the Marines Combat Conditioning program influenced your personal exercise program, and if so, how?

Yes, in at least two ways.  It has made me more aware of the value of cross training, and two, it has made me more creative in using training aides of opportunity.  By that I mean, you can design your own training regimens and make your own training apparatuses just by using your brain and common items and structures.  You don’t need fancy equipment; an old tire works just fine as an exercise apparatus.

9.  The last, but most important question, how do you keep going?

I enjoy it!  Find a method of physical exercise that you enjoy and pursue that.  Find other people who like it as well, and do it together.  That will help too.

Thanks Jack!

Motivation

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Everything sounds like a great idea when you are thinking about it and planning it out. The problem, as they say, is in the execution. Sunday afternoon you are superbly confident of your plan to get up at 5 AM Monday morning and do your prescribed workout. However, when that alarm goes off, suddenly your mind finds every excuse in the book to hit the snooze button and sleep “just 10 more minutes….” How do you remedy this? What do you do in the early hours of the morning to drive the demons of laziness out of your head and get up to get that workout done? Well, there really is just one way. Force yourself. Drag yourself. Make yourself get up and do it. I know, that’s not what you wanted to hear. You expected something magical, something logical, something practical, something that wouldn’t require you to exert any effort to make it happen. Me too. I used to think the same way. Why isn’t there some sort of crazy mental trick I can use to motivate myself? Why does it have to be so hard to force myself to get up and get the workout done? There actually is a trick, in a way. It’s called the law of accommodation. Whatever you keep doing over and over again becomes easier. If I’m lazy and unmotivated, then as I repeat that action of hitting the snooze alarm, it becomes easier for me. If I drag my lazy ass out of bed and make it to my basement gym just one day, it becomes slightly easier the next. As I keep pushing, prodding, coaxing, cajoling myself to get up at 5 AM and workout, it becomes habitual. It becomes easy. My body and brain naturally “accommodate” me. Don’t just do it. Get it Done.

How do you get and stay motivated?  Discuss!

Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #1

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For 15 minutes, perform the following:

Chin Up

 

  • Chin-ups
  • Hindu Push-ups
  • Jumping Jacks
  •  Ichimonji Jump Squats (can be replaced with non-jumping squats as fatigue levels rise)

 

Hindu Push-up

 

Ichimonji Jump Squat

Do them in any order for any number of reps at a time as long as you continuously move for the full 15 minutes.    

Modifying Your Workout

Not quite ready to jump into the full 15 minutes yet?  This workout can be modified depending on your current level of conditioning.

For example, you may break up the 15 minutes into 5 rounds of 3 minutes each and include a rest period of 1 to 2 minutes between rounds.  As your conditioning levels increase, begin increasing the length of the rounds and decreasing the rest period.  Remember, the goal is to exercise for 15 minutes straight.    

Additionally, if you do not have a chin-up bar, you can try  towel pulls instead.  Wrap a towel around a pole in your basement, or around both door knobs of an open door, sit all the way back until your arms are straight and pull yourself forward.  You can make this exercise more difficult by grasping the towel with one hand which also provides a great grip workout to boot!

Enjoy!    

Notes: Make sure you warm-up with brief joint mobility session prior to the workout.  Remember that when you sign up for our mailing list you receive a free sample chapter on Joint Mobility from my Warrior Fitness book!

For further information on the Workouts of the Week, please see our User Guide here.

The “I Don’t Have What I Need to Start” Myth

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So many people want to begin a diet or start an exercise program, but labor under the false pretense that they can’t start because they don’t have what they need yet and therefore have to wait.  For example…

“I want to start my diet, but I didn’t get to the grocery store, therefore I have to wait.”

“I want to start working out, but I don’t have a gym membership, so I have to wait.”

“I want to start working out, but I don’t have the right equipment yet, so I have to wait.”

Or, one of my favorite ones, “I want to start an exercise program, but I don’t have time right now so I have to wait.”

None of these things are true!

They seem like such insurmountable hurdles only because the people who subscribe to them are looking for excuses. They somehow believe that if the excuse is good enough, then they are, well, excused. That they are off the hook. They tried. Better luck next time. Maybe things will be different – NOT!

The problem is that things will never be different unless you actively do something to make them different. You want to lose weight? Start now. You want to be in better shape? Start now. You want to improve your athletic performance or martial art skill? Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t let those excuses become so entrenched in your psyche that you actually start believing them. Start right HERE right now.

5 Ways to Help Decrease the Stress

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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

  1. Begin to increase complex carbohydrates at every meal. (Complex carbohydrates are whole wheat, multi-grain, etc.)
  2. As you increase complex carbohydrates, begin to eliminate simple carbohydrates. (Simple carbohydrates are white flour, white sugar, and white rice)
  3. Eat protein and vegetables (or fruit) with every meal.
  4. Exercise at least 3 days a week for a 1/2 hour or more.
  5. 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?

Warrior Fitness Book FAQs

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1. Are the Warrior Fitness workouts applicable to beginners?

Absolutely! The workouts in the Warrior Fitness program are completely scalable based on your level of fitness.  Each exercise is explained step-by-step.

2. Is nutrition covered in the book?

Nutrition is an important aspect of a complete, healthy lifestyle, but is not discussed in the Warrior Fitness book. My own personal ideas about nutrition can be summed up fairly simply though. Eat lean proteins, lots of fruit and vegetables, and some complex carbohydrates. Eliminate or reduce white sugar, white rice, and white flour from your diet. Drink plenty of clean water and green tea.

3. Does the Warrior Fitness program teach Amatsu medicine , a traditional system of Japanese Natural Medicine taught by Hatsumi Soke?

No. I have not been taught any Amatsu medicine within the context of my Bujinkan training.

4. Is this program just Junan Taiso (basic stretching exercises used as warm-ups for martial arts practice)?

No. The Warrior Fitness book provides a comprehensive program consisting of joint mobility, flexibility, strength, conditioning, breath work, and recovery. Much more than simply junan taiso exercises.

5. Do I have to workout every day?

You do not need to do a full workout, but I highly recommend doing some movement everyday! Joint mobility work, combined with breathing exercises can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes in the morning. It’s a great way to start your day!

6. How much time do the Warrior Fitness strength and conditioning workouts require?

The workouts contained in the Warrior Fitness book are designed to be fast and effective. You can achieve a quality workout in 15 minutes, if you are short on time. Longer workouts can also be programmed, depending on how much time is available.

7. Do I need a gym membership for this program to work?

Definitely not! Warrior Fitness workouts are designed to be done anywhere with little to no equipment necessary.

8. How do I fit in working out and the skill training for my martial art?

Excellent question. This is where scheduling and time management skills come in handy. Time will not simply appear out of thin air. You must make time. However, the most important advice I can give on this topic is that if you do not have time for both skill work (martial art training) and conditioning, skill work must take the priority! You are training to be a martial artist after all.

9. Is this book applicable only for those training in the martial arts?

No. This book is certainly not just for people in the martial arts. The exercises and ideas contained within are applicable to anyone of any range of fitness and ability. Pick up a copy today and see for yourself!

Please feel free to email me here with any additional thoughts or questions concerning the book.

Not a Warrior? Not a Problem.

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Although Warrior Fitness has it’s origins in the martial arts, you do not need to be a martial artist to benefit from my program. Since it’s inception, I have continued to test and refine the Warrior Fitness methodology to work with and help almost any level of fitness from couch potato to high ranking martial artist, and everyone in between.

The only real requirement is the certainty that you have a greater capacity, greater capability, and greater purpose to your life than you are living right now.  You must desire to improve yourself for the better and be willing to fight for it.  I only work with those who are willing to take massive action!

Awaken Your Inner Warrior!

Here are a few examples of how Warrior Fitness can help you to awaken your inner warrior….

  • For the father who wants to be in the best shape of his life in order to play with his kids and set an example of a healthy lifestyle that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives,
  • for the mother who, after a long day at work wants to de-stress with a brief, but intense workout that won’t leave her exhausted,
  • for the businessman who finds his waistline expanding, his health lacking, muscle sagging, and wants to do something about it,
  • for the performer who needs to control her breathing and nervousness before getting on stage,
  • for the amateur athlete or weekend warrior who realizes that the daily aches and pains are getting worse as they get older and want to be stronger, healthier, and more capable as he gets older,
  • for the regular people who have lives and families and other hobbies and don’t want to spend all day in the gym yet are ready for something more in their lives,
  • for the unconventional fitness enthusiast who doesn’t desire the globo commercial gym scene, and is looking for a low-tech/high yield approach to fitness,
  • for the fitness nut who’s tired of the same old treadmill and is looking for something extradinary,
  • And, of course for the martial artist who wants to get back into fighting fit shape while enhancing their martial art’s effectiveness by increasing how efficiently they move…

My objective in sharing Warrior Fitness is to help you meet your goals.  To transform your life and share my passion for training with you.  I honestly enjoy teaching people and helping them to realize their health and fitness goals; I simply love to see people “get it”.  Allow me to help you reclaim your fitness and awaken your inner warrior!

Jon Bottoms upPS – Sick of being average?  Ready for extraordinary?  Let me know how I can help you… 
If you are ready for a Warrior Life, click HERE <<===

Goals for 2010

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Happy New Year!

Welcome to Warrior Fitness in 2010. This year, like every year, is full of potential. It’s a new beginning, another opportunity to change, to reinvent yourself for the better. To make improvements by forging your body physically, challenging yourself mentally, and growing spiritually. There is a sense of excitement at all the possibilities that lay before us.

How will you change yourself this year? What goals have you set? What do you want to accomplish in your training and in your life? Whether the goal is to improve your fitness levels for martial arts training, to enhance your performance in those martial arts, to lose weight, to gain muscle, to improve mobility and increase flexibility, or just to be a healthier, more fit you, Warrior Fitness can help you achieve all these goals and more.

January is the busiest time of the year for gyms and health clubs, but guess what? In February, those places are ghost towns. How do all those well meaning goals become unsustainable for so many, so quickly? How can you assure yourself that your motivation won’t quit, that your will won’t weaken? One way to do this is to have someone else hold you accountable for your goal setting, progress, and accomplishment. Motivation is a funny thing. When we think no one is watching, it becomes much easier to slack off or make an excuse to ourselves as to why we can’t workout today, or why those cookies are better for us than that salad. When you must hold yourself accountable to a third party, it’s much harder to stray from the goals you have set.

Warrior Fitness offers personal training services, both in person and online, to help you hold yourself accountable. Together, we will set goals, create a step-by-step plan to meet them, and work toward achieving them. If you would like more information, or want to get started now, please email me here. and reinvent yourself this year!