FLO FITNESS

The Necessity for Growth

2012-03-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

The Necessity forGrowth

I would liketo tell you a story to begin this blog:

When I first opened FLO, a littleover two years, ago a friend of mine named Allie had given me a plant. Theplant was in a small little vase filled with rocks. There were three stems withabout one leaf growing on each one. At the time I really didn’t think anythingof the plant. I just put it on my desk and would water it when I felt it neededwater. Today, I noticed that the tips of some of the leaves were dying. It occurredto me that the plant had outgrown the vase it was in. This was so symbolic tome because FLO Fitness has almost outgrown its current location. The funny part is I never noticed that it hadgot any bigger; I just kept watering it and would move it from spot to spot.

Once I removed the plant from thevase I noticed that the roots had grown and it looked like they had fusedtogether. This also was symbolic because the family at FLO is like the roots ofthe plant. We have all grown with each other and our paths are fused together.We are all separate people and have separate personal goals but we all share acommon home (vase).

To me it was such a monumentalmoment because the plant sort of symbolizes what has been going on at FLO. Weseem to be growing and getting bigger to the point that we may need a biggerspace. I have taken the same approach to FLO that I took with the plant. I justkeep watering it and nurturing it and really haven’t stop to take notice of howmuch it has grown. Our blog has over 5,000 views, our YouTube channel hasalmost 400 subscribers and over 150,000 views, our Facebook group has over1,100 members, and our family seems to be growing every day. Soon we will needto make some changes, which brings me to my last point.

There is a necessity for growth. You are either growing oryour dying. Nothing can stay the same forever. Once you refuse to grow youbecome stagnant, stale, outdated, and BOOORING! Imagine if you never decided totry and walk. You would be the only person crawling around and it would takeyou forever to get anywhere. We must maintain the same level of wanting togrow, that we had as children. It is a vital part of life and a part that manyof us are missing. We need to learn to not settle for the vase (life situation)we are in. As we grow and evolve as people we must change our surrounding. Oncewe change our surrounding to a bigger world it will allow for more growth, andas I said at the beginning of this blog. Growth is Necessary!

-FLO

The "Pro Athlete Trainer Myth"

2012-02-13T10:51:00.001-08:00

The Pro Athlete Trainer Myth

I wanted to start this blog the same way I started my youtube video on this topic. I want to start by saying I am not trying to offend anyone who trains pro athletes. I have many close friends who have worked with pros and trained pro teams as head S&C Coaches. The video and blog are meant to educate parents and youth coaches on the “Myth of Pro Athlete Trainers”.

To often people who train “Pros” come to a town and charge outrageous prices to work with youth, in the hopes that the youth will gain some insight on how to make it to the pros. There is no short cuts to being a Pro Athlete. It takes hard work and proper genetics. There is no way around it. No coach will come to your town for a weekend and transform your child from Joe to Pro. There are just too many variables involved.

The analogy I used in the video is as follows: If I am driving a Lamborghini and Dale Enhart is driving a 84” Corolla, I will be able to beat him in a race. Does this mean I am a better driver than he is? No Way! I just had the better tools to beat him. In this example, the Lamborghini is the pro athlete and the Corolla is the youth athlete. Just because someone works with the pros does not make them a better trainer, they may just train a genetically gifted person. I again want to stress that there are some Amazing Trainers in the pros. However as in all professions there are those who are great and those who are not so good. My issue here is the, not so good, trainers coming to a town an ripping people off by promising to deliver “Pro” level training to youth.

My other big issue is that, what works for a 30 year old pro may not work for a 15 year old child. Just because they play the same sport does not mean they should do the same exact programs. There are many developmental skills youth need to work on before they can progress to “Pro” Level training. One example of this is running with resistance bands or weighted vest. These may be great for pros but for a youth who has bad running form, this exercise should not be used. They must learn basic movement patterns before they could be progressed. There is no cookie cutter way to train youth or pros. Programs must be altered when dealing with younger athletes.

This is a very touchy subject for many trainers. The purpose of this blog is not to bash anyone who works with pros. It is to educate parents and youth coaches on the manner. Be careful what you pay for. Do your research and find out if what you’re paying for is worth the training you are getting. This blog could be many pages long but we will cut it off here. This is just food for thought. Hope you enjoyed.

-FLO

Here is the video link for our youtube video on the subject. http://youtu.be/kLdRt_JkP9Q

Concussions 101 for Fitness Pros

2012-02-09T13:01:00.001-08:00

Concussions 101 for Fitness Pros

This blog is inspired by a conversation I had with a good buddy of mine who is a Strength Coach. He called me about a client who wanted to work out at his facility but was not cleared by their school from a concussion. I was happy that he called before he trained the Athlete and made the symptoms any worse. I then realized that many fitness professional do not need any continuing education on concussion. I feel it is an extremely important topic and just wanted to give a brief overview on what things you should look for and how to protect yourself from potentially being sued. There are many factors to a concussion but we will keep this as SIMPLE as possible.

WHAT IS A CONCUSSION ( SIGNS/SYMPTOMS):
Let us start by talking about what a concussion is. A concussion is a Brain INJURY. Therefore we treat it like any other injury. If an Athlete breaks their arm you will cast it for 4 weeks and when the cast is off you would slowly return them to play. There is a process involved. The same caution, if not MORE, should be taken with a Brain injury. The brain affects all functions of the body. Below is a list of symptoms that an Athlete might display while having a concussion:

Common signs and symptoms of a concussion:

Signs (observed by others)

· Athlete appears dazed, stunned, or disoriented

· Forgets plays

· Unsure of the game, score, or opponent

· Difficulties with balance or coordination

· Personality changes

· Responds slowly to questions

· Cannot remember events prior to or after the hit

· Lost of consciousness (any duration)

Symptoms

· Headache

· Nausea/vomiting

· Dizziness

· Double vision or changes in vision

· Sensitivity to light or sound/noise

· Feeling of sluggishness or fogginess

· Problems concentrating

· Problems remembering

· Irritability or agitation

· Depression or anxiety

· Problems sleeping

HOW DO YOU GET A CONCUSSION?:

There are many ways to get a concussion. It is not just from a blow to the head. An athlete can fall on the ground and get a concussion from the force of the fall. Think of the brain as an egg in the shell. Any outside force or trauma to the body can cause the brain to be bounced around and the athlete may get a concussion.

WHAT DO YOU DO IF A CLIENT HAS/HAD A CONCUSSION:

You should do NOTHING. They must have a note from a qualified doctor. I say qualified because many doctors are not welled versed in brain injuries.

WHEN DO THEY RETURN TO TRAINING?

This is the protocol we use at my school. An Athlete must be 1 week (7 days) symptom free. After the week is up, they must follow a strict 4 day return to activity protocol. Below is the protocol we follow:

Date Started: _______________

Rest until 1 week asymptomatic _________________________

Day 1)Aerobic exercise 60- 80% of Max Heart Rate _________________

Day 2)Treadmill, jogging 60-80% of Max Heart Rate _________________

Day 3)Sport –specific exercise __________________________

Day 4)Non-contact practice or drills ___________________________

Day 5) Return to full contact practice or game __________________________

*If at any point doing the return to play protocol symptoms return you must stop and return to day 1.

One of the many dangers of a concussion is Second Impact Syndrome. This occurs when the person gets a second blow to the brain while still not recovered from the first concussion. For more details and how deadly this could be, watch the link below.

http://youtu.be/f0xJT53SZqQ

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to concussion. My theory is, when in doubt sit them out. If you are training someone who is returning from a concussion be sure they have proper documentation. I would also contact their schools Athletic Trainer to be sure they are cleared for activity. If at any time during the workout they feel any of the symptoms listed earlier, they must STOP the session immediately. If you have any questions feel free to email me at flofitness@gmail.com. Hope this can help you out.

Sling Shot Theory

2012-02-06T10:18:00.001-08:00

Foundation First

Sling Shot Theory

The Sling Shot Theory is something that we thought of at FLO. It may be a real Theory but we haven’t read about it before. So we are sorry if anyone else already coined the term. The basic principle is that with a Sling Shot, the base needs to be stable in order to pull the band back far enough to generate a large amount of force. In this scenario the base of the sling shot will represent the Core of the body. Too often trainers load their clients before they build a solid foundation. This most times leads to them loading a dysfunction, which is a fast road to injury.

Our saying at FLO is Foundation First. We are firm believers in regression before progression. Many of Athletes come in with bad motor habits that we focus on fixing. We also focus on developing weak areas of the Athletes bodies. For example, many of our baseball Athletes have weak inactive posterior chains. With them we work on scapula stabilization, retraction and hip extension. By working on these movements with them it reduces many of the shoulder impingement injuries as well as the hamstring pulls that are commonly seen in baseball Athletes. Obviously, there are many other factors that we work on but this is just some of the basics. Foundation First.

We can also apply this theory to our everyday life. If we are not stable in our core values we will be unstable people. I define core values as principles, values and beliefs. Without these you may be lost as a person. There is a saying, If you don’t believe in something, you will fall for anything. You are easily swayed when you don’t know who you are. People will determine how far you can go, rather than you determining your own success. When you have a solid foundation, you can achieve anything. You know who you are and there is a calm about you that others will recognize. With a solid foundation you can become a leader because there will be a reason to follow you.

The bottom line here is that we all need to build our base. If its fitness or everyday life, you must develop a foundation first and the rest will follow.

Here is the video link about this blog: http://youtu.be/Q6ugtM4cJk0

-FLO

Leading with Discipline. Part 6 otf 10

2012-02-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

All essentials are taken from the book: Leading with Passion by John Murrphy.
Essential #6
Leading with Discipline
        What do you think when you see the word Discipline? For many people the answer would be military. Some of the greatest leaders in the world are in the military. Therefore, I believe we could learn a lot from studying them and what makes them so successful. I am sure if you asked a military leader what made them successful the word Discipline would be top of their list. So what is Discipline?
        When thinking of a definition for the word, all I could think about is the Movement my friend Greg Miele has started called "Self - Discipline". To learn more about the movement go to www.selfdiscipline.com. Basically the whole site is about digging deep within and gaining some structure and control in your life. I wear a chain from the site that says on it "Self-Discipline - training of oneself.". I wear this chain as a reminder that I must be disciplined enough to make the best decisions I can for my team and my self.
        In order to Lead others you must have Discipline over yourself. People will not follow a reckless leader, at least not for a long period of time. Being disciplined requires initiative, action, commitment and much more. It means being able to resist the temptations of selling out for the loyalty that comes with showing love to your people.
        Some of us will be stronger in some areas of discipline than others. For example you may be very good with exercise but bad with nutrition. This is why it is important to have a team of people. All the members of the team should be disciplined in areas that you lack as a leader. This way everyone will benefit from each other and the team as a whole will have the combined discipline to be successful at any task they choose to take on.
        Take time out to find where you lack discipline. Once you have made a list of what you are lacking, look for others who are strong in those areas. Find ways in which you can help each other be more disciplined.

Lead with Integrity. Part 5 of 10.

2012-01-31T06:45:00.001-08:00

All essentials are taken from the book: Leading with Passion by John Murrphy.

Essential # 5
Leading with Integrity

When I see the word Integrity I can't help but think Integrate. This may be because I feel integrity is the integration of your inner soul and your outer action. When someone has integrity there is no difference from what they say and what they do. They live and breath their beliefs. People with integrity walk their talk.
Unfortunately we live in a world that is lacking in this department. Many have learned the "right" thing to say to people in order to get them to believe in them. Many times it is for the pursuit of profit. How many times have you seen an infomercial that sells a product that will change your life? The speaker says all these great things and talks with such conviction. Then next thing you know that same person is busted for doing drugs and arrested for lord knows what. Many of our politicians fall victim to this. People like this lack Integrity. They know all the right things to say but lack to soul to embody it.
If you want to lead people you must have Integrity. You must be YOURSELF. People will feel this and they will connect with you on a different level. A leader with Integrity is someone who is Free. They are free because they are not faking or hiding any part of them. They are authentic and truthful. These are traits that they embody and will make others what to follow.

"Integrity is a leadership essential that provides great competitive advantage because it it most difficult to copy."
-John Murphy

Why most people are in bad Shape

2012-01-30T07:40:00.003-08:00

How many Squares are in your Circle?

Most people don't realize how the people around them really effect their life. At any given time you are the sum of the people you are around. This is extremely important to keep in mind. You can not achieve great levels of success if you have to many squares in your circle.
Let me define who I consider squares first. A square is an unproductive friend, an unhealthy relationship, negative coworker, etc. Squares are people who want to drag you down or talk you out of trying to achieve more. Some people like to call them haters. Their job is to hate.
This is why you need to keep a close circle of like minded people. The people in your circle should help you progress in life and challenge you to be a better person. Your circle should consist of family, role models, mentors, productive friends, etc. These are the people who make you a better person just by being around them. You know who they are because when you are around them you feel great about yourself. They motivate and inspire you to chase your dreams. Find more of them and you will attract success to you.
Get rid of the squares and keep your circle positive. Start today by looking at who you spend most of your time with. Write it down if you have to and look at who helps you in your life and who holds you back. The haters have to be erased and replaced with enablers. The moral of this is to surround yourself with great people and you will be able to achieve great things.

Here is our Chalk Talk video discussing this blog topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLjky7t-YUs&feature=colike

-FLO

Leading with Attention: Part 4 of 10

2012-01-26T18:54:00.001-08:00

All essentials are taken from the book: Leading with Passion by John Murrphy.

Essential #4
Leading with Attention

This to me is the hardest part of business. This is ALL the details of the business. This is the numbers, profit, income statement, etc. This is where most business owners FAIL. I personally have hired a business coach to get me on track with this part of my business. Many people open a business because they have a passion for something. They do it out of love, but this does not always conquer all. If you want to lead people they must have a path to follow. If the path is just filled with love and passion they may not be able to follow. You need to give them some kind of detailed direction on where to go and which steps to take to get there. I personally have done a poor job in leading my people with details. I have guided with passion and love but have missed the detail boat. Because of this my business has not grown to where it can go. I recognize this and understand that if we are to grow we must map out our path. Once the process is mapped out we can then help others to follow our path to success. That is the ultimate goal. Map out a plan for others so that they to can enjoy success as well.

Leading with Heart. Part 3 of 10

2012-01-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

All essentials are taken from the book: Leading with Passion by John Murrphy.
Essential #3
Leading with Heart
I know growing up in the Bronx people use to always talk about having Heart. If you were ever scared of someone or something, they would say you had no Heart. This is probably the reason inner city kids appear to be tough. I think this is an important lesson to teach kids. The Wizard of Oz teaches about Heart with the cowardly Lion. He is searching for heart. I to equate Heart with Courage, if you fear something, chances are your heart is not in it. When your Heart is into something you begin to lose fear. Nothing can stop you because you feel in your heart that what you are doing is right. Sometimes others will not be able to understand because they do not feel the same way. But with heart you will not be scared to go alone because Leading with your Heart Leads to Courage.
If you ever want to lead people you must believe in what your message is. You must believe with ALL of yourself. You must believe with your Heart that what your doing will work. It is not something that can really be expressed verbally. It is a feeling. The best way I can describe it is if you think about when you hear your favorite song on the radio. You get a certain feeling, you can't explain it but you know when you feel it. This is also the reason you say you know the song by heart. Not only do you memorize the words but you can feel the message behind them. When you speak to people they should get the same feeling while you deliver your message. They should feel that you are being honest with them and that you believe and feel what you are telling them.
"The Heart has Reasons that Reasons cannot Know"
-Pascal

Wisdom of Wolves.

2012-01-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

An excerpt from
Wisdom of Wolves
by Twyman Towery

The attitude of the wolf can be summed up simply: it is a constant visualization of success. The collective wisdom of wolves has been progressively programmed into their genetic makeup throughout the centuries. Wolves have mastered the technique of focusing their energies toward the activities that will lead to the accomplishment of their goals.
Wolves do not aimlessly run around their intended victims, yipping and yapping. They have a strategic plan and execute it through constant communication. When the moment of truth arrives, each understands his role and understands exactly what the pack expects of him.
The wolf does not depend on luck. The cohesion, teamwork and training of the pack determines whether the pack lives or dies.
There is a silly maxim in some organizations that everyone, to be a valuable member, must aspire to be the leader. This is personified by the misguided CEO who says he only hires people who say they want to take his job. Evidently, this is supposed to ensure that the person has ambition, courage, spunk, honesty, drive - whatever. In reality, it is simply a contrived situation, with the interviewee jumping through the boss's hoops. It sends warnings of competition and one-upmanship throughout the organization rather than signals of cooperation, teamwork and loyalty.
Everyone does not strive to be the leader in the wolf pack. Some are consummate hunters or caregivers or jokesters, but each seems to gravitate to the role he does best. This is not to say there are not challenges to authority, position and status - there are. But each wolf's role begins emerging from playtime as a pup and refines itself through the rest of its years. The wolf's attitude is always based upon the question, "What is best for the pack?" This is in marked contrast to us humans, who will often sabotage our organizations, families or businesses, if we do not get what we want.
Wolves are seldom truly threatened by other animals. By constantly engaging their senses and skills, they are practically unassailable. They are masters of planning for the moment of opportunity to present itself, and when it does, they are ready to act.
Because of training, preparation, planning, communication and a preference for action, the wolf's expectation is always to be victorious. While in actuality this is true only 10 percent of the time or less, the wolf's attitude is always that success will come - and it does.

-The reason we posted this is because of the message behind the book. The pack lives for the pack. It symbolizes that we should live for eachother. No one person is more important than the whole. If we all thought this way we would all have much more success. Working as a team is the only way to ensure you will have success.

Leading with Vision: Part 2 of 10

2012-01-19T05:27:00.001-08:00

All essentials are taken from the book: Leading with Passion by John Murrphy.

Essential #2
Leading with Vision

- This is key for getting where you want to go. If its business or life you must have a clear vision of where you want to go. Imagine getting into a car and just driving in any directions, then being mad because you ended up a place you didn't want to be. It would be all your fault for not having a clear vision of where you wanted to be. You can not lead others if you have no idea where you are headed yourself. A true leader is a leader because they have a clear vision and others know their vision. By sharing in the vision they embody it and become one with it. They call you a leader because you created the vision however once they share the vision, they become leaders themselves. As they say, a great leader creates other leaders.

- Map out where you want to be. Decided the vision for your life or business. Once you have the destination you can sit back and enjoy the journey.

Leading with Passion. Part 1 of 10

2012-01-17T06:58:00.001-08:00

All essentials are taken from the book: Leading with Passion by John Murrphy.

Essential #1
Leading with Purpose

- This is an extremely important part of leadership. To me, purpose is the "Why" behind "What" you do. This sounds like a simple question to ask, however it is one of the most difficult things to answer. The "Why" is the feeling and emotion of what you do. Most times it can't be put into words. With that being said, you must still know it to lead with purpose.
When you understand your "Why" of what you do, you will feel it. You begin to be filled with Passion and everyone around you will feel it to. They say, One match can light many candles. When you discover your "Why" you will become that match. The funny part is you won't even know you have become it because you will be so filled with passion that it will seem like your doing nothing.

- Sit down in a quite room and start to write down why you think you do what you do. Don't hold back just write what pops in your head and what you feel. Eventually your "Why" will reveal itself. Most times is hidden in all the noise of your mind.

Health Industry Building

2012-01-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

“We’re in the same building but we got different views.”

-Drake

What is the goal for any Health Professional? It should be to provide the best care possible for their clients or patients. Therefore everyone in the health profession is in the same building. They are in the building of getting results for costumers. However, everyone in this building is not on the same floor. They all have different views and opinions on what works best. In this blog I will describe three types of people in this building: Basement People, Balcony People and Elevators.

Basement people are your rookies, freshman, and inexperienced folks. They are not bad at what they do, they just lack experience and sometimes education. We were all at this point when we started. It is important to note that you can also be a basement person at a certain topic even if you have tons of experience in the field. For example, I had been in fitness for over 10 years before I learned about Fascia. It took two years to get the information I have now on the subject. I went from a basement person on the topic to a Balcony person. But it took time, hard work, and the help of an elevator.

Balcony people are your “experts” , veterans, gurus, etc. They are the ones who have been doing it for years and have all the experience. They have all the information that the basement people need. Sometimes they are willing to share their experience and other times they hide what they know in hopes they could make a profit by selling it. What they do is up to them, but the point is they are the ones with the info. You can also be a balcony person on a subject and also be a basement person on a different subject, all within the same industry.

The third type of person is an elevator. These are your coaches, teachers, mentors, etc. They are the ones who help to elevate others to new heights and knowledge. They may not be a guru at something but they are willing to teach others what they know. They are the leaders that help others go from basement to balcony. Elevators are also connectors because they help link the two levels of people together.

We are all one of these types of people on any given day. No one type is better than the other. The important thing to know is that they all exist in all of us. It is up to you which type you want to be and if you want to change or remain there. The health industry is constantly changing and we have to continue to adapt to it. Today’s balcony bunch can be tomorrow’s basement crew. So recognize where you are at this point and decide where you want to be.

Here is our youtube video discussing this topic. http://youtu.be/PtK71upXk78

“People not giving you your props? Worry NOT!......Mediocrity will never congratulate excellence.”

2012-01-09T16:05:00.001-08:00

“People not giving you your props? Worry NOT!......Mediocrity will never congratulate excellence.”

-Dr. Murdock

I got this quote from Rev Run on twitter and it inspired me to write this blog.

It appears to be a common trend when anyone begins to achieve a certain level of success that people are going to hate on you. One of the prime examples now is Tim Tebow. Love him or hate him the man knows how to inspire a team to win. However, now that he has achieved success everyone wants to bash him and talk smack. First everyone said he would never make it in the NFL, and then they said he would never win. Now that he has proved everyone wrong, they still want to bash him. Why not except his excellence. Give him his props.

Why is everyone so quick to pick out our faults? They are so quick to tell you when you are wrong but say nothing when you are right. Is it because they are jealous that they don’t have the courage to do what you do? Is it something they see in you that they wish they had in themselves? Do you represent a part of them that they can’t tap into? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I can speak from personal experience. The people I have been jealous of all had or have something that I wish I had. I have recognized this and have learned to except the feeling of jealousy and dismiss it. I find what it is that I don’t like in a person and most times it is a part of me that I see in them, that I either don’t want anymore or wish I had. Drake said it best when he said, “Jealous is just love and hate at the same time.”.

There is always going to be critics or those who say you can’t do something. They see limitations where you may see opportunity. They may never give you the props you deserve. All of this is none of you spiritual business. You must continue on your path and ignore the comments. If it feels right, DO “IT”, whatever “IT” may be. They may never congratulate your excellence and that’s ok. You shouldn’t be doing, “IT” for the recognition anyway. Do “IT” because “IT” is what you do. Don’t ask for permission asks for forgiveness.

-FLO

Side Streets, Main Roads and Highways

2012-01-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

Side Streets, Main Roads and Highways

“There are many different paths on the road to success. It doesn’t matter which one you take, just enjoy the RIDE!”

-FLO

This blog has been inspired by what I have been seeing in our industry in the last few years. It appears that everyone has their own “new” plan or “program” to help people achieve their goals or results. This is a positive thing, everyone is bringing something different and creative to help others. The only issue I am seeing is that people are saying their plan is “better” than others. This may or may not be true but the point I want to make is that there are many different ways to achieve the same results. Some may take longer for certain people but if the end result is the same, who really cares? It’s really all about the client achieving what they came to you for.

I will use weight lose as the main topic to explain my point of view.

We all operate from our perspective and level of education. Therefore, if you are a new trainer and a client wants to lose weight, your knowledge might be limited right now. You may tell Client A to just do cardio. This is what I will call a “ Side Street”. The client will eventually get the result they want but it will take much longer. The information you gave them is based on what you know NOW.

A few years of training goes by and you learn some new techniques. Client B comes to you for weight loss and now you recommend cardio and weight training. You are not using a “Main Road”. Client B will get the results they want faster then Client A did. With more education and information you have helped your client and now have more tools in your bag of tricks.

More time passes and you increase your education. Client C comes to you and wants to lose weight. You now tell Client C that they must do Cardio, Weight Train and meet with a Nutritionist. You are now on the “Highway”. Client C will get results even faster then Client B did. You are now a much more valuable trainer and people would want to work with you more because of the speedy results you get. All your clients got the best service you could provide for them at that moment in time. As you learn and grow you will only get better and be able to provide better service.

I hope you see what I am talking about now. There are many different ways to get results you want, however it is important that the trainers who are using the “Highway” not forget that they once used the “Side Street”. As a community we must help each other to improve what we do. Nothing upsets me more than a veteran trainer making fun of a younger trainer. You were once in the same place as they are. Nobody comes into any industry knowing it all. We must educate and mentor “Side Street” trainers, so that they can utilize the same “Highways” as the veteran trainers. One industry with one mission, help clients achieve whatever goal they are after.

-FLO

Here is the video link for this blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMBPOc6hgDA&feature=colike

" Monitor where you get your advice from. Neve take financial advice from a homeless man."

2011-12-26T17:47:00.001-08:00

" Monitor where you get your advice from. Neve take financial advice from a homeless man."
- FLO

I know that quote may sound like common sense when you first read it. So lets take it away from the financial world and put it into fitness or life. Would you take life advice from someone who is a failure?
Would you take fitness advice from someone who has never worked out a day in their life?

I hope you answer NO to both of those questions. Once again these seem like common sense answers,however common sense is not always common. There are many people giving their opinions and advice online. You must monitor who the advice is coming from. I have clients all the time tell me what they read online. They tell me all different kinds of websites that they get info from. The old saying holds true; opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has one.
So where can you get solid and legit information from?
This is a loaded question because things are always changing in health. One day its no carbs ,the next day its only certain carbs, one day its light weights for toning, the next day its heavy weights. It goes on and on and on. There is always people proving and disproving theories. The truth is you will learn everything you need to know thru experience. I know it sounds simple but it will never fail you. The best part is it doesn't even have to be your own experience. Speak to someone who has done what you want to do and ask them how they did it. That's the person who you need to take advice from.
When I want rehab advice I call people who deal with rehab patients , when I want performance advice I ask someone who works with performance athletes. It is really that simple. If you don't personally know anyone who may have the info you need than you have to find them. Search for them online and email that person.
I am not saying there is no great website or great information online. I just want to caution you to be careful where you get your info from. Do your research and don't believe everything you read.

A trainers story. (Balancing feeling and thinking)

2011-12-20T18:57:00.001-08:00

A trainers story. Balancing Feeling and Thinking

As a fitness industry it appears that many have become way to Heady about their training and are losing touch with the real reason they started training. Passion and purpose. I think the best way to discuss this is to tell the story of what happens to most of us.
One of the main reasons I love working with new trainers is that they still have that spark in their eye about training. They are pursuing a passion and want to help others. A feeling of wanting to do something bigger with their lives has brought them into the fitness industry. They are all feeling and No Thinking.
They get certified and get a job at a big box gym. Time to change lives, Right? Nope. They can't sell a package and get no clients. Now its time to learn 'Sales'. Their PT Manager throws numbers in their face and teaches them about quotas. Sell, sell, sell. This is the new motto. Their passion slowly begins to die. Now instead of asking the client how they can help them, they are just flipping thru rebuttals on how to close the deal. They have sold their passion for profit. They are all thinking, no feeling.
This last for awhile and they get bored with training, so they start to read up on how to be a better trainer. They venture out and learn all these "new" training methods. They learn about metabolic training, tabata, FMS, dynamics warm ups, functional training, corrective exercises, pyramid, HITTS, fascial lines, foam rolling, twist conditioning, combine 360, crossfit, etc. etc. etc. All of a sudden a new world has opened up for them. This is what they have been searching for. After each cert they come back and switch their whole way of training. They are like a ball of energy running thru the gym. It doesn't matter what the client says, crazy back flips and wild routines for all. They are back to all feeling and no thinking.
This last for a while but a few weeks after each cert the high dies down. So they look for more "education". They begin to follow this guru and that guru and now everything they ever learned was wrong. This person says it must Always be this way and that person says, you should Never do this. The trainer now dismisses all they ever felt and listens to One way of doing it because the "Guru" said so. Every time you ask them a question they always start their answer by saying, "Well the Guru says this is the way to do it". They have again gone to All thinking and No feeling.

For many of you, this is THE END!

So what do we do? Is following someone wrong? Should we not get certs? Do we not seek more education? ????????

Here is my advice based on what I have experienced in the past 13 years of training. You must always be a student, but it doesn't mean the teacher is Always right. We need to continue to learn and grow but you must also maintain your OWN way of doing things. Following someone is not wrong, but you must also maintain you own opinion on subjects. There is a voice in all of us that has ideas and new ways of training. Listen to that voice. Step outside of the box your in and try something new.
Last but not least, NEVER lose touch with the original feeling that got you this far. Remember we are all here for the cleints. They are our bread and butter. They are the reason we have jobs. They are the ones who really matter when all is said and done. Stop bickering and argueing about whose training style is better and who writes better programs. Results never lie. If your cleints love you and leave thier session happy and motivated for the next time, you have done your job. I dont care how you set up your session as long as your training is safe and effective. There must be a balance between feeling and thinking. Once you find that place you will find your success.

-FLO

Butterfly Effect

2011-12-18T15:57:00.001-08:00

Here is an excerpt from
The Butterfly Effect
by Andy Andrews

There are generations yet unborn whose very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make and the actions you take today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.
Every single thing you do matters.
You have been created as one of a kind.
On the planet Earth, there has never been one like you ...and there will never be again.
Your spirit, your thoughts and feelings, your ability to reason and act all exist in no one else.
The rarities that make you special are no mere accident or quirk of fate.
You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world.
Know that your actions cannot be hoarded, saved for later, or used selectively.
By your hand, millions—billions—of lives will be altered, caught up in a chain of events begun by you this day.
The very beating of your heart has meaning and purpose.
Your actions have value far greater than silver or gold.
Your life...
And what you do with it today ...matters forever.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What does all this mean to you?
To me it means that we must be more cautious of our interactions with others. What we say or do to them can effect them for the rest of their lives. It can also effect their interactions with others. Most of us have no idea what power we possess. I am not saying that we need to be super happy all the time and jump for joy everytime we speak to someone. However, we do need to increase our level of awareness and realize the impact we could make on others.

You must keep chasing dreams.

2011-12-06T19:20:00.001-08:00

Love never fails; Character never quits; & with patience & persistence; Dreams do come true. -Pete Maravich

I had posted this quote over the summer and felt I needed to explain why it's one of my favorites. First off is the part about love never failing. I am a firm believer in people doing what they love. Learn to lead with your heart. I feel it will never lead you wrong. It may not please others but you must always be true to yourself first. Everything else will fall into place.

Character never quits! It amazes me how many people try to break the character of others. When you are an individual, people try and break your character and make you fall in line with the rest. You must be true to your character and never quit. It's only a matter of time before others recognize what your made of.

The last part of this quote is so important to me. One thing about dreams is that they take time to come true. Every dream must be tested for authenticity. If you don't really want something, you will quit before you make it happen. You must put the work in to make it come true. Then one day when you have grinded and put all your heart and soul in it, it will come true. So keep chasing it and know that it's only a matter of time before you have everything you ever dreamed of.

Our Dare to You

2011-12-06T07:45:00.001-08:00

"History is being read but also being written by those with imagination."
-Les Brown

Create something new today. Make up a new exercise, a new program, a new way of teaching, etc.. The people who criticize today will be following tomorrow. Anyone can be ordinary, I dare you to be different.

Greatest Compliment in FLO's History

2011-12-01T20:20:00.001-08:00

Got the greatest compliment tonight and I decided to share it.

I was at our Girls Soccer Banquet tonight and the coach had some very kind words to say about the Family at FLO Fitness to the entire audience. It was great to know that he really appreciated our work with the team. However, after the banquet was over we spoke for about 5 minutes and he said he was sorry he forgot talk about the teams lack of injuries this season. So he said this is the first year in his history of coaching that he has never had a SINGlE muscle pull or ligament injury the ENTIRE SEASON. I was like, WHOA! no way. So I looked at our injury reports for the season and there it was, Not a single ACL injury, MCL injury, Hamstring Pull, Quad Strain, Nothing. I was shocked. This is by far the greatest compliment I have ever got in my life.
Coach has been the first person to let FLO Fitness control their entire lifting and warm up programs. From off season lifting, preseason weight room session, pregame and practice warm ups, and inseason lifting. He trusted us to do a great job and our family stepped up to the occasion. The best part is seeing how happy the girls were to lift, and how much they began to have fun and enjoy working out.
To often in this industry we look to our peers for acceptance and we forget the real reason we do what we do. It is for the client. Keeping them healthy and on the field is what we do. You can agree or disagree with our methods but the bottom line is they work. We stand behind what we do, how we do it, and most importantly, why we do it.
Thank you lady blue devils for trusting us and believing in our system of training! Can't wait until next year.

There is only 1 way to train clients.

2011-11-28T19:47:00.001-08:00

If there was only one way to dress, we would all look the same.
If there was only one way to speak, we'd all sound the same
If there was only one religion, we'd all believe the same thing
If there was only one way to write music, it would all sound the same
If there was only one way to build, all cities would look the same.
If there was only one way to walk, one way to stand, one way to laugh, one way to act, one way to think, one way to paint, one way to love, one way to live.
If there was only one way to train, I would not be a trainer!

Life = Diversity

If you're not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original
-Ken Robinson

Part 1 of our story of FLO.

2011-11-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

'You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.'

I know this is a saying that has been used over and over again but is it so true that i must say it again. You need to take action! Chill does not pay the bills. You will never achieve anything if you do not go out and get it. I will tell you a quick personal story that demonstrates this.

Back in 2008 I had the idea of a place called FLO Fitness. At the time I was working at Ballys and didn't like it. I wanted to freedom to be creative and not be forced to sell, sell, sell. So I started the process of getting my business name. Once I got the name, I had no idea with to do with it. I didnt have money, I didn't have a place, I didn't know what to do for a business. I began to research what my next step should be. I wrote a business plan and started shopping to get a loan so I could open a place. The business plan was terrible and no bank would lend me any money. I heard a bunch of no's from every angle. I started looking for studio space anyway. I figured that if I happened to get money I should have a place ready. I found a few nice spots but had no money to put down. All the banks said that i needed to be in business for at least two years before they would loan me money. My thought was that makes no sense. Why would I ask for a loan if I was already in business. I got so fed up that I just decided to take out a cash advance from my credit card for as much money as possible. BIG BIG Mistake, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I got enough to open up and buy some equipment. I also had enough for the first few months of rent, but that was it. Anyway the rest is history. I am still in debt because of it but it is worth it to me. The ability to work in and relaxed fun environment is priceless to me. I wouldn't change a thing on this journey.
The reason I share this story is to show that sometimes you must take the road less traveled. Just take action and every step will reveal itself. I am no where near the level I want FLO to be but I am a hell of alot closer then if I would have never pursued the idea. There have been some dark times where I don't know where the rent money will come from, but there are also wonderful times when our whole family just has fun. You must take the good with the bad. "Flowers need water to grow, it has to rain. In order to experience joy, you need pain."

I hope this can help anyone out there who wants to pursue a dream but is scared to fail. You must learn to fail forward. I make mistakes at FLO everyday but we learn from it and instead of going thru it , we grow thru it. One day we will be as big as we have dreamed. We know we must crawl before we run. You can never go wrong when you follow your heart.

-FLO

Quality Care

2011-11-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

I have this special client; she is 60 has a benign heart condition and works like the rest of the population at 8am. However she shows me something that they don't; dedication to her life, without the excuse of not enough time. Working out for her is almost like medicine. My father once told me she should pay you more for getting up that early! I said why? And punish her for her amazing discipline? I should pay her! For that reason the night before I try to go to bed at 930 so I can be eager and fresh to give her what she needs. Do as my 430 alarm; (which is a harp sound amazingly soft and not traumatizing at that hour) chimes, I force myself to immediately get up and put on the clothes I laid out the night before. Because I only have less than 30 mins to cook a nutritious breakfast brush my teeth and get out the door for her 530 appointment.
Some mornings it's tough but what she doesn't know, is she actually motivates me.
Such discipline, dedication should be rewarded with your utmost attention so embrace those early clients, they have the vigor you want. Pay them back with a killer work out!

Amazing Poem by Rudyard Kipling

2011-11-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

-Rudyard Kipling

Share, Care, Be There

2011-11-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Stop judging younger trainers by your level of experience

One issue I see to often in this industry is trainers making fun of younger trainers for not knowing as much as them. Lord knows it took me 12 years to learn the little bit that I know about this industry. I can't imagine what it must be like for these younger trainers coming into the industry. Their heads are spinning with all the information out there. It is difficult to say who is right and who is wrong. Blogs, websites, books, dvd's, seminars, etc.... Its almost like an information overload to some of them.

So how can we help?

My belief is simple, SHARE,CARE, BE THERE. If you care about the industry, you would want it the thrive. So share your information with the younger trainers. Instead of picking on them for not knowing, you can take them under your wing and teach them. This will help you better understand the information and at the same time you will be helping out the industry because this kid will one day be the future of it. Share your experience and stories of how you got to the level you are at. Most people think you just appeared on that level out of nowhere. We all had a journey to get to where we are. Mistakes are definitely part of that journey. Share with them your pitfalls, so hopefully they can avoid them.
Care about their success. I remember hearing from Dr. Miles Monroe, that true leaders create leaders. You should care about the success of those around you. When they achieve something, you should celebrate it with them and be happy for them. We never do anything alone, and if we do, im sure its something really boring. Success is a team effort but if you don't care about your team, they will definitely not care about you. Put them first and watch how well the team grows.
Be There. This one is the most important in my book. When someone wants to talk or needs advice, you better be there for them. I have met many people who are cheerleaders and talk a big game in public but when you really need them they are not around. The other night I had an issue and needed to vent about the issue. I called my mentor Dr. Perry up at like 10 at night and he actually answered the phone and spoke to me until we resolved it. He was willing to listen, even when he was busy doing 100 other things. Another example of this is my best friend Denise. I have called her with many issues and even with her busy schedule, she is willing to give advice or words of encouragement. You have no idea how just listening can help someone who is having trouble finding their place in this crazy industry. We are all in this fitness world together so we must do a better job of helping each other, rather then bashing each other to try and get ahead. We have a choice, we can be crabs in a bucket just pulling each other down and get nowhere, or we can chose to be candles and light the way for a brighter future.

This is food for thought, you do the dishes.

-FLO

The Importance of Sleep

2011-11-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

So we live in a society of "Go, Go, Go", but what about the slow down, rest and recover? There is only so much we can do in one day. I know I can stand by that statement because I try and cram everything in one day. I would teach spin in Livingston, have clients in Westfield, then drive into Hoboken to train more clients. Oh, not to mention the fact I also do Bikram Yoga right in the middle of all that. I would get home around 9:30/10pm, just to pretty much do the same thing over the next day. Your body will only let you do this for so long. I started to burn out. I always denied the fact that I would never, but you start to actually feel it coming on. I thought 5/6 hours a night of sleep was ideal, but the amount of stress I put on my body, being up at early hours (5am), then training, workouts, etc takes a toll on you. I needed to slow down and recover. I changed my schedule around so it was more convenient and less of a run around, I get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night, and now I am able to appreciate my time to myself when I workout. Making time for myself allowed me to enjoy cooking again, watch a documentary, read a book, write, etc.

There are so many benefits to getting enough sleep that are overlooked. But what if I told you about all the health benefits that come along with getting quality amounts of sleep? It's all about the R&R!
So some of us may know that strokes and heart attacks are more likely to happen in the early morning hours of the day, and not getting enough sleep negatively affects your blood pressure and cholesterol which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Your heart will be healthier and stronger getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
Sleep helps to keep our hormones under control! This means less cravings, stress, depression, keeps your metabolism up, keeps you young & our stabilizes our mood! Lack of sleep causes changes in our glucose tolerance and endocrine function. I know how frustrating it can be to try and figure your body out. I used to ask myself, "What the hell is missing from my program or my diet to get the last bit of results I am looking for?" The answer was SLEEP! My body was able to recover so I saw results faster, and I had way more energy. Sleep may help you lose weight because of the balance of hormones which affect your appetite. Memory is also affected by lack of sleep. Get that extra couple of hours, and you will feel and be more alert.
If these aren't good enough reasons to get more R&R, then not sure what is. This could be that missing piece of the puzzle to get the results you are seeking. Now as for me, IT'S NAP TIME! (Not really cause it's 10:20am and I have a client in 10 minutes.) Make this a new goal.

What is "proper form" for exercises?

2011-11-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

What is "Proper Form"?

I recently had someone comment on one of my youtube videos. He was complaining about how bad my form was for a certain exercise. At first I was a little upset by this but then I watched the video and realized he was right. I didn't have "proper form". This got me to thinking about exercises and how we always correct people on form. I also began to think, what is "proper from" anyway? Who are we to say that the way another person moves is right or wrong? How can we judge the mechanics of someone else? Everyone is different, so maybe what is right for one person is wrong for another.
I do believe that when someone is in pain and you see a bad movement pattern causing it, then you should try and correct it. Also if someone does an exercise and they feel pain, then we should correct it. I also feel that maybe what someone does could just be a variation of the workout. For example, I am sure the first person to do close grip bench press was picked on for not using "proper form". I think we need to get off our high horses and stop calling others wrong or right. Fitness is an art. Use creativity and try different ways of doing exercises. You never know, you may invent the next great core exercise or leg workout.
I know at FLO we will continue to post videos whether people like them or not. I know we have helped many people with our videos because we have received so much positive feedback. We do know that when you post stuff on the internet you must be prepared to except the good with the bad. There will also be people who don't like what you stand for. We are firm believers that if you are not prepared to be wrong, then you will never come up with anything Original.

Life will meet you at your level of Expectation

2011-10-21T06:03:00.003-07:00

Life will meet you at your Level of Expectation.

To often people set themselves up for failure. Its crazy how many people walk into FLO and before we even assess them, they are telling us what they wont be able to do. They look at the TRX, FreeForm Board and other great toys and say, "I am never going to use that.". They are so quick to argue for their limitations. In my last presentation at the N.E.T seminar I used a quote from Les Brown and it was, "When you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them. ". Start really listening to people and you will begin to realize how many of them quit before they even start.

How can we combat this? I believe we need to start expecting more out of ourself and others. It's always funny that people tend to do what you expect from them. Ever notice that when you tell a client to do 15 reps of something, they just make it to 15. Then next set tell them to do 12 with the same weight and they can barely get to 12. And then tell them to do 20 for the last set, they will give you a look like "c'mon son", but somehow they make it to 20. Its like magic. What changed? It was what you expected out of them. Treat them as if you have the highest expectations for them and watch how they succeed. This is part of the reason I feel schools in urban areas don't do well in test scores. We expect them to fail, so they live up to it.

This same concept of expectations should be applied to you in your life. Expect greatness and it will come. Do things that are outside of your comfort zone. Expect to win that radio prize, expect that the person you want is also into you, expect more out of life. Don't aim for what you know you can get, aim for what you really want. You may lose some people in the shuffle and per suit of higher expectations. That is part of the game. Remember it is Your life and it will meet you at your level of expectation.

True GAIN of a true INVESTMENT

2011-10-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

My heart is still beating high, (just broke my record), but I can’t take a moment to cool down and stretch because of a conversation with Chris which sparked something in me. Since when did fitness become only for the monetarily elite and not a day to day necessity? When did pushing yourself migrate toward physical appearance and away from your body’s efficiency to function?

When the day was referenced by the sun, and not by the clock, man was different. Take a look around at the reality we live in. Clocks, meetings, commuting, smart phones (I know they are creepy right), health insurance, life insurance, malpractice insurance. All of these things are in place to get us to that happy, healthy place. Rewind it a few years back. Think about the stories that your parents tell you about walking 10 miles, up hill to school, in the RAIN! Yes an embellishment I’m sure, however the truth of the matter is, we become less and less self reliant and less and less active. As a race, we are no where near our level of peak performance because society (and ourselves) do not allow for that kind of challenge. So as we become physically in debt, the health care system flourishes. Pharmaceutical companies, jeeze...you know, I’m not even going to get started on them. I am on both sides of the fitness industry along with Mr. Flo so we see things happening. We can both fix and prevent injuries, but as athletic trainers, there is only so much that is being done after rehab-ing and individual from an injury. As both ATCs and personal trainers, we can break the confines of reality. We can rehab a person back from injury, then train them to be better, faster, stronger, and really encompass the term ATHLETIC TRAINER. Personal training is about sport enhancement, body enhancement and most importantly, when done properly, about health care.

Fitness is your best investment of your health care. Getting physical and staying fit are your Life’s Ensurance. Look at the reality of it. Fitness is not only for the elite, it should not be about the money. Train yourself, or get a trainer but DO NOT think about the cost, think about the exponential benefit. Fitness is something that is ALWAYS worth your time, effort, and paper. Every minute you spend huffin and puffin is a true investment into your future, and makes for a better future for those around you.

NOT ALL INVESTMENTS HAVE MONETARY GAINS. INVEST IN YOURSELF TODAY.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster Documentary

2011-10-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

My thoughts about the Documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster"

This was such an eye opening documentary and I highly recommend everyone in the Fitness Industry should watch it. I must be honest and say that I never really saw steroids as such a big issue. I know people who have taken them, but I never really cared about them. I might be one of the very few people who can care less if someone does it or not. I always say , "what you eat doesn't make me sh$t". So since it has never directly affected me I never really leaned either way on the issue. My only issue is when kids under the age of 18 do it. I think that is the only time I am 100% against it. Kids at the high school age are still growing and I don't think it is a good idea to mess with hormones during these tender years. While on the subject of teens and drugs I personally don't think they should take anything, this includes A.D.D meds or any other crap doctors prescribe for them. The only way they should take anything is if it is absolutely necessary.

One of the subjects that the movie kept bringing up is that the use of "performance enhancement" drugs is cheating. I don't know how true that is. Is it unmoral? Is it cheating? etc. All these questions can only be answered by the individual. It all depends on your perspective. It appears to make you bigger and stronger, but I have also seen people with some freaky genetics that gives them an advantage. Should we band genetic freaks from sports because they are better? I bet you if they came up with a drug that made people taller, there would be a line of people waiting to buy it. We purchase stuff that makes hair grow, is that unfair to bald guys like myself. The list of opinions and arguments can go on and on with this issue. But it all hides the bigger underlying issue in my opinion.

The larger and understated issue is that we place way to much trust and admiration in our pro athletes. We expect them to be unflawed and model citizens. We want them to show our kids the right way to behave. We want them to be something they are not meant to be. Their job is to play sports and entertain the masses' not to teach us how to live our life. They are not suppose to raise our kids for us. I know many people may feel different and that is ok to. I just feel that I don't let Barry Bonds decisions in life effect me at all. I remember in the movie Bronx Tale when Sunny told C about Mickey Mantle. He said that Mickey Mantle doesn't pay your bills or put food on your table, so why should you care about him.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that we are so quick to judge our pro athletes. We need to see them for what they are and not make them out to be better or worse then everyone else. We can't be mad at them for taking supplements when so many americans are on some kind of pill themselves. Make up your own mind. Be a leader. Look inside and decide for yourself. There is so much more that I would want to say on this topic but I will stop here. I look forward to hearing what others have to say but I will not change my opinion on the topic. After all , at the end of the day it is My opinion and I am entitled to it.

Are you driven by Outcomes or Income?

2011-10-04T18:23:00.001-07:00

I recently posted a status that got a lot of comments, so I have decided to write a blog about it to further discuss the reason for the post. The post was, "Are you driven by your outcome or are you driven by income? Provide a great product for others and success will follow."

I will like to start by using a line from Fabolous where he said, "Money can't buy happiness but its a good down payment." . There is nothing wrong with wanting to get paid for what you do. I am not against making money. I think it helps to provide for a comfortable lifestyle. The issue comes in when the money is your only drive. The reason I say this is because eventually the money will no longer be enough. If you make 10 your going to want 20, then 30 and so on. If the only motivator is cash, you will soon have tons of cash and have no one to share it with.

As trainers I feel we should be driven by our outcomes. We should be focused on getting the clients to achieve their goals no matter what they might be. Clients will be able to tell if we really care about them or if we just want their credit card info. To often I hear stories of trainers who talk a great game and have a great sales pitch, but when it comes to getting the job done they drop the ball. I have also heard trainers who care and work hard for the first few sessions but then get comfy and slack off as the session progress. We must always keep our focus on our outcome. I feel each session should have its own set of outcomes. This will keep you on point every session.

With a great product, great success will follow. Notice I said success will follow; I did not say Money will follow. You must determine what the word success means to you. If my clients achieve their goals, that is success to me. Nothing makes me feel more successful then getting a text from one of my college athletes telling me how well they did in their last game, or an athlete telling me how they are now pain free from the treatments I gave them. That defines success to me. I may get more and more clients because of these successes but that is not my drive. The increase in clients is a by product of caring about the clients, just like a great body is a by product of working out hard. You must find what drives you. You must define success in your own terms. Only you know what makes you happy and what makes you tic. Find Your drive and Your success will follow.

-FLO

Real Functional Fitness

2011-10-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

Real Functional Fitness

Many people have a hard time finding motivation to workout. I personally enjoy it but at times I will admit that I don't want to go to the gym or come up with excuses not to workout. Usually what keeps me going is finding a reason why I train. I can come up with many reasons but today was one of those eye opening days that I will always remember. Today was a day that all the hard work in the gym paid off. Today made all those long hours worth it. Today will keep me focused for months.

You're probably wondering what happened today. Well............................................ today I helped my cousin and his family Move out of their house.

To the normal person this is the worst day ever. Who likes to move out of a house? Nobody enjoys it and I must say it is not really all that fun. However it is probably the most FUNctional thing you will ever do. I must have done over 100 deadlifts, squats, rotational exercises, isometric holds, shoulder presses, and every other movement you can think of. Imagine balancing on one leg on the steps while pushing a mattress with one hand and holding the railing with the other hand. If you did that in a gym you will be looked at like a crazy person. I am not saying you should bring a mattress with you to the gym next time your there or become a professional mover. The point is there is so much debate on "functional training" and how people should train. Meanwhile the reality is we are all different and will be placing different demands on our bodies all the time. We should always change up our training routines. Challenge yourself.

The reason I am writing this blog is because I was able to be a huge help to my family today because of my level of fitness. If i did not train on a normal basis I would have not been able to move so many boxes or be the go to guy for all the heavy crap nobody else wanted to move. This may seem like a stupid thing to most people. To me this was great motivation. To be able to contribute to my family. To help them achieve a goal in their life.

To often we focus on training for a marathon, sporting event, competition or something else. What about just training for Life? Life comes with enough physical demands. All you have to do it pay attention. My mother would never want to deadlift in a gym but i bet you she will deadlift a 32 pack of Poland Spring off the floor in Sam's Club or shoulder press a box of summer clothes on to the top shelf in the closet. That is "functional fitness", that is what our clients need from us (Depends on the population of people you train). If we are here to improve lives, lets start out by Improving Everyday Lives.

-FLO

Reality Check

2011-09-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

The time is now!

The time is changing!

Time is not to be wasted!

There is something to be said about taking your time doing something. I’m not talking about dawdling or procrastinating, but good things really do take time. Remind yourself that when you are on your smart phone looking up the weather, a definition, or ordering an electronic book . Kids these days are not of the same mindset as even young adults. Media is rewiring the way we do things. As a trainer, stand firm in your methods and take the proper steps to reign in your hot wired athletes or clients. Injury is on the rise and why? More and more athletes are expecting quicker results, doing things past their skill level. It is your responsibility as the trainer to ensure that the proper foundation is laid out. Don’t rush to bump up in weights if their form is not correct or because the athlete is getting bored with the exercise. Just because the client can do something, doesn’t mean they should. Athletes especially, are in high gear, running to the third practice of the day. Just the mere fact that they are lifting will give them the advantage they are looking for. Pace your athletes, especially while they are in season. This is something that the 5 Levels of Flo has taught me and aided me while training my clients. Have a system, stick to it while being flexible and educated with current training techniques and watch your results come organically!

Take a task a day and do it the proper way, it may be longer but time really is just relative anyway.

If not You, then Who?

2011-09-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

If not You, then WHO?

The purpose of this blog is that I meet many fitness people who want to start their own business. Its not always fitness studios, some have business ideas for products, restaurants, apparel, and other great ideas. Unfortunately I always get the same response from most of them. They always feel like someone else can do it better, they wont make money, or that they are not ready to pursue it. I am here to say, IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?

If you don't open that training studio, then who will
If you don't open that fitness food restaurant, then who will
If you don't release that fitness clothing line, then who will
If you don't make that DVD, then who will
If you don't create that new training program, then who will
If you don't follow YOUR Dream, then who will!

There will never be a perfect place, perfect time or perfect situation. The time to pursue you idea is now. You have to believe in yourself and what you can accomplish. I hate when people see a product and say, "I had that idea 5 years ago." . I always want to say, well dumb ass you should have created it then. Some people say the place with the most creative ideas is the graveyard. Think of all those people who didn't follow their dreams or tell others their ideas. They robbed the world of that great idea. If you are reading this now I pray that you don't become one of those people. There is a reason you have that idea in your mind. Its because you were meant to make it appear in the physical form. I want to leave you with this last statement and I want you to say it to yourself until you Feel It.
IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?

-FLO

My 1st day using the CPrime Band

2011-09-22T21:03:00.001-07:00

My 1st day with CPrime

Let me start by saying I live my life by the following quote, "I can only speak for the things that I've been thru.'. I hate when people try and sell me anything. It drives me crazy. I believe if you have never lived it, done it or been thru it, you can't talk about it. I pride myself in keeping it real and being a straight shooter, especially in business. My clients know this and so do my co-workers. This is the reason it took 6 different reps to speak to me before I decided to give CPrime a fair try. Here is my story of my first day using the band.

So today the rep from CPrime came to FLO and talked to me about the company. The guys energy was great and he was honest with me about what to expect from the product. He put me thru some of the test to show me how the band worked. He also had scientific studies and testimonials about the product. This was my 6th time hearing about it and I thought to myself, "this is a bunch of B.S.". This is the same thought I got every other time I heard about it. But then I heard another voice in my head saying, "if all these smart, successful people believe in it, there must be something to it. ". So I made a choice to try it and if all else failed, I would only be out $200. I have spent way more on dumber things.

My friend Patrick was in the room when I signed up. He is super big into energetics and he put the band on and felt an immediate spike in his energy ( You have to know him to understand what I am talking about). I to felt a little different after putting the band on but I thought it must all just be in my mind. So I went about my day and really didn't focus on the fact that I had the band on. Nothing really felt different until 3pm hit.
Now, this next part is totally personally but I feel it is necessary to tell. Everyday around 3pm I feel super tired. It's like clockwork, no matter the day, food intake, exercise, sleep or no sleep, i just crash everyday around that time. Today was like every other day in rehab. Tons of kids came in for tape, evals, and rehab. I ran thru all of them and before I knew it, it was 4:30 and I finally sat down for the first time. I wasn't tired and had not crashed all day. I looked at the band and said to myself, "Holy SHIT! Maybe it does work".

This story may not mean anything to you. To me this was something huge. I have tried coffee, monster, red bull, NO Xplode and all other energy tricks to get over this crash. Nothing has worked for me. There is def something in these bands that works. My advice to people is to go out and buy just one and see for yourself. It may or may not work for you. As I said in the beginning, I can only speak for the things that i've been thru. The band worked and I am glad that I gave it a chance. I say, do your homework and check it out. www.mycprime.com/flofitness.

It's funny how this also reminds me of a few years ago when I started using TRX. Most people laughed at me and said the product was just some new fad that would go away. I have always prided myself in following my gut feeling and not being afraid to try a new product. I think we all know how much TRX has grown and how many people now are no longer laughing but rather ask for help on how to use it. You gotta dare to be different. Thanks for reading. This whole blog to me can be summed up in the following quote:

"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original"

-FLO

Site vs Vision

2011-09-20T21:00:00.001-07:00

Site vs Vision

At the N.E.T. Seminar on saturday I did a speech on goal setting. Part of my speech was talking about site vs vision. I got so much feedback from that part of the speech that I decided to write about it for those that could not attend.
One of the quotes I used to talk about this topic is from Myles Monroe. He said, "Your eyes show you what is, your vision shows you what could be". The reason I always use this quote is because to often we let our present circumstances determine our future outcomes. The example I used in the speech was that I drive a Honda Fit right now, however in my mind it is a Bently. My eyes see the Honda everyday but my vision shows me more.
Some people call vision their "Minds Eye", I think this is a great name for our vision. It is what keeps us going when we have nothing. I remember not that long ago I walked into an empty store front that use to be an eye glass store. When I walked in my eyes saw and pink rug and some ugly paint. My vision saw a place where young athletes and wanna be athletes can come and have Fun while getting in great shape for their sports. Fast forward 3 years later and FLO Fitness is on the way to that vision. At the time if I would have let my sight take over, I would have walked out.
Another quote I used on Saturday was," If what you see is not what you saw then what you see is only temporary.". To me this means no matter what is going on now, it will pass if you have a solid vision. Bad times don't last always. Our current situation is only a temporary thing. We must keep our focus on where we want to be and eventually we will get there. It helps every once in awhile to close your eyes and picture yourself where you want to be. If its going to a D1 school for sports, picture yourself on the field playing, picture yourself scoring the game winning point. See all of this happening before it actually happens. Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then the physical form. We must allow our vision to become reality.
Once again this blog, just like the others, was random and just some ideas floating in my mind. What i want people to take away from this is, there are ideas in our mind for a reason. We must learn to embrace them and let them out. No matter where you are NOW, it is only temporary. We have infinite potential to do anything and we must stop letting our current situation dictate our futures.

-FLO

You Set Your Limitations

2011-09-12T04:44:00.000-07:00

"When you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them." - Les Brown

When I first heard the quote above it really made me say, "DAMN!, That's Deep.". It is so true and to the point. People you talk to always say what they can't do. They talk about how hard it is to achieve anything they want. It appears that most people have given up before the race has even started. They have set their own limitations.

This made me wonder where all of this has come from. Think about when you were a kid, if anyone asked you to do something you would try it no matter what. If you ask a 6 year old to lift up a car, they will most likely try it to see if they can. But somewhere along the line we lost this ability to be limitless. I believe to often we let others impose limitations on us. We believe someone when they say we can't do something. We believe that we are not good enough and that certain levels of success are meant for other people. This is so far from the truth.

For some reason the saying, Aim for the moon because even if you miss you may hit a star, always plays in my head. Why not think big? Why not reach for higher levels of success? What is the worst thing that can happen? Failure!! Are you scared to fail? Think about how many times a child falls before they learn to walk. Imagine if you had the same mentality you have now, when you where a child. You would probably still be crawling everywhere because you would be to scared to try and walk. Your fear of failure would keep you on all fours. We need to get out of this mindset and develop a new way of thinking.

Here is an experiment I want to try. For one week I want you to ask yourself two questions everyday. When you wake up ask yourself, How can I reach for a higher level today?
Then before bed ask yourself, Did I fear failure today or did I reach for success?
You can create your own version of these questions. These are just examples. This may sound cheesy but I want you to try it out. What do you got to lose besides your limitations? Email us at flofitness@gmail.com or post on our facebook group. We would like feedback on this experiment.

-FLO

Is Fitness you Lifestyle or your Right Now?

2011-09-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Is fitness your Lifestyle or your Right Now?

   I hate when I come back to my hometown and people ask me stupid questions like, "Do you still lift? Are you still training people? Do you still go to the gym?". I am a peaceful person so I just smile and say yes, but my internal voice is saying, " Are you fu&$king kidding me!!!!?". This is what I do! It's like me asking them, "Do you still eat food? Do you still sleep with your eyes closed?".
   When I use to work at corporate gyms I remember people getting in shape for certain events. I remember guys who would train like animals for a few months just to look good for the summer. I also remember women who would get in amazing shape just for a wedding. There is no problem with wanting to look good for a moment in time, but there is a problem when you forget about working out after that moment. We get one body in life. I read a quote today that said something like, treat your body like the most expensive piece of jewelry because it's the only one you will always wear. Im not saying you need to go to the gym and workout like crazy all the time. I'm just saying you should do some form of exercise and maintain your body for life.
   Getting back to my original rant; Yes I still train and Yes I still workout. My grandfather always said a man should do three things, Work Hard, Eat Good and Exercise. I live my life by this advice from him. Exercise and Training is not something I do for the moment, it is a part of who I am. However it does not define me ( I will save this distinction for another blog). I will continue to make fitness a part of me until the day I die, and even then I will leave the world with videos, blogs, workouts, tweets, books,inspiration and everything else as a piece of my heart that will live forever.
-FLO

Real Recognize Real!

2011-08-31T19:37:00.001-07:00

People know the truth when they hear it. Its always funny to me when someone lies to you and after you find out it was a lie you say to yourself, " I knew something wasn't right". Your probably wondering what made me think about this. Well I just got back from a meeting with the FLO Family, and as I was driving home I thought to myself, what would make people want to meet at 8pm. I remember when I worked for a gym I would be pissed when we had meetings. So what's so different about meetings with FLO?
   I thought for awhile about a this topic and could only really come to one conclusion, people know bullshit when they hear it. When you keep things real with people they want to listen. It is really that simple. People can see thru your BS. They know when your selling them or trying to push something that doesn't benefit them. Real recognize real! One of my favorite DMX lines is , "I say what's in my heart and you call it a style." . They know I feel what I say and the second that I don't they will call me out on it.
   When our fam meets its for a reason. We don't just have meetings just to have them. We meet when we NEED to. The rest of the time everyone does what they do best. To many business owners babysit their staff way to much. The reason you have others work with you is because you believe in them and trust they are fully capable of doing the job. If you have doubt in their skills, you should let them go. No need for monthly or weekly meets if everyone is operating on the same belief system.
   I know I jump around on my blogs, but it's for the same reason my speech is scattered. I feel what I write or say. The purpose of this blog is to tell you that your crew knows if you are not genuine in what you say. Be open and honest with them and they will return the favor. Be fake and they will be fake to you. Where I was raised they would always say, "In order to get respect you must give respect." I live by this principle and I wish that more people would.
-FLO

The road to Mastery as a Trainer

2011-08-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Setbacks are inevitable on the road to Mastery

   In the book DRIVE by Daniel H. Pink he talks about the three Laws of Mastery, we will touch upon them but I strongly recommend that you read the book.

   I believe I should first tell a definition of mastery before getting into this blog. Mastery is the desire to get better and better at something that matters. It is important to note that mastery is also an Asymptote. Meaning you can approach it, get close and maybe even touch it but you will never reach it. So why even bother trying to reach for something you can never get ? Because the joy is in the pursuit more than the realization.

   I believe that being a trainer really matter. I believe we have the power to change lives and help people. This is why most people get into any business, those who do it for money or other extrinsic reasons will never be happy.

   To often I hear the term Master Trainer and I want to vomit. What the heck does that mean? True mastery of any subject is knowing that you will never know everything. Society and school have taught us to learn for credentials and then we are done learning. It seems once people get an A in a class or get a PHD, they stop learning and feel that they have mastered it. They seek performance based goals rather then learning goals. We need to change our mindsets, we must shift to learning for the sake of learning. Trainers go to conferences to collect CEU's and forget that they are there to learn rather then just keep their credentials.
   Look at your mindset and think of this statement from the book DRIVE : "Begin with one mindset, and mastery is impossible. Begin with the other, and it can be inevitable.".

   Another law of mastery is that it's painful. Not in physical sense of pain but in the sense that there will be setbacks on the road to mastery, just like anything else in life. When things come easy we tend to not appreciate them. It requires hard work and determination. It takes what the military calls "grit" - "perseverance and passion for long term goals". There is so much information in the world of health that we may feel we are doing something right and then learn later on that we were way off. This is no reason to quit. We must learn from these situations and get better because of them. I feel Julius Erving describes this best, " Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.".

   As a society there needs to be a shift in the way we think. There needs to be less of a focus on how much we make and more of a focus on how much of a difference we can make. If you love what do you will never work a day in your life. I love learning and practicing my mastery of my professions. I know I will never learn everything but I am having fun with the journey of trying. I want my life to be one long autotelic experience, meaning the goal is self-fulfilling; the activity is it's own reward. I will leave you with two sentences from the book that have changed my mindset and hopefully you can get something out of them.
" The joy is in the pursuit more than the realization. In the end, mastery attracts precisely because mastery eludes."

-FLO

Do you suffer from 'Functional Fixedness"?

2011-08-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

Do you suffer from "Functional Fixedness" ?

   One thing I have noticed more and more is trainers suffering from Functional Fixedness. What this means is that you look a something and only see one function for it. For example you see a preacher curl bench and only think it can be used for curls, but if you use you imagination you realize that the pad is perfect for pushing. You can load a bar on the preacher curl bench and push the bench like a prowler sled. (FYI, doing this exercise is one of the reason I got fired from a corporate gym)

   Thinking outside the box is something that many people talk about but not many people do. As trainers we tend to go to workshops and learn a few exercises on a piece of equipment. Then we never learn any new exercises with it, so we get bored and move on to the next cool toy. For example most trainers only use kettle bells for swings and Turkish get ups, however there are countless exercises you can use them for if you would just use your imagination.

   One piece of advice I can give people is, don't wait for science to tell you what works. Theories are created first and then tested by science. Create an exercise or a form of training and see if it works. I normally test my ideas on myself before I try them with clients. I try to not let research or others opinions limit my creativity. Remember people always try to place their limitations on you. Most people don't see things how they are, they see things how they are ( read that last line out loud. It will sink in).

-FLO

Are you a Light Bulb, a Mirror, or a Candle?

2011-08-16T20:04:00.001-07:00

Are you a light bulb, mirror or candle

   I know what you are thinking, "Chris must be crazy!" , but I this idea just popped in my head and I had to share it. I feel there are 3 types of people, Light Bulbs, Mirrors, and Candles. Some can fall into different categories at different times but most times are dominated by one category.

   So what do these 3 things mean?

   Most people now and days are Light Bulbs, these are people who suck the life out of everyone around them so they can shine brighter. These are the ones who take credit for the work of others, the kind of person who doesn't care what it takes as long as You get the job done. They give very little but expect a lot. The problem is that they shine so bright that we tend to overlook the destructive path that they leave. Look at most of the famous celebs, they have innocent kids and people all mixed in Their scandals. My mom always said that everything that glitters is not gold. This is so true in the case of Light Bulb people.

   There are also many Mirrors out there. You most likely never notice them because of the fact that they are mirrors. These are the people who don't really help or hurt anyone, they just reflect everything on to everyone else. They are motivated and positive around motivated and positive people. They are also lazy and negative around lazy and negative people. They piss me off the most because they have so much potential, yet they lack the ability to think for themselves. They are the background noise in the elevator. Sometimes they are boarderline light bulbs because they can be draining to be around.

  The last group is very hard to come by but somehow I have been blessed to be surrounded by them. This is the Candle group, they are willing to sacrifice themselves, to light the way for others. This is the type of person who goes above and beyond in order to make sure others get what they want. You can always tell when a Candle walks in because they light the room up. They are the polar opposite of the Light Bulbs but because of their nature, end up giving so much to them. Like I said before I have been blessed to be around so many; Jannel, Sandy ( my boss at westfield), Denise (TRX ), the FLO Family, and my Parents. This is just a few that popped in to my head, bur the list goes on.

  As I have said before, be careful of the company you keep. At any given time you are the sum of the people you are around. Like attracts like, so be sure you surround yourself with the right people!

-FLO
" I say what's in my heart and you call it a style" -dmx

Preseason Survival Tips

2011-08-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

This blog was written by our students that assist in the training room. I think it is very helpful for all high school athletes to read. It is direct and to the point.

Preseason Survival Tips

With the start of fall sports upon us, bad habits are resurfacing. These behaviors, however, are easily avoidable. The athletic training staff at the high school has compiled a list to prevent said bad habits.

1. Hydrate-Drinking 5 bottles of soda before practice is NOT hydrating. At a minimum, athletes should be drinking 4 water bottles a day. Drinking a giant bottle of Gatorade doesn’t count. You can have it, but it doesn’t count towards your water intake.

2. Stretching- Stretching doesn’t count as one, two, three done. It’s important to properly warm up before practice and stretch after practice. You can even watch Jersey Shore and stretch, it’s that easy!

3. Nutrition- Do you really think eating a Big Mac before running around in the hot sun is good for your body? Well, it’s not. You need to have a balanced meal 90 minutes after practice. Protein and carbs are extremely important to your recovery meal.

4. Rest/Sleep-Chatting to your gf all night on Facebook before practice is not a good idea. You need at least 8 full hours of sleep to repair muscles and restore cognitive function.

5. Proper Equipment-If you need a mouth guard, bring it. Make sure all the equipment fits properly and is in proper working order. Simple as that.

Follow these 5 rules and you will be on your way to a healthy, injury free preseason!

The 5 Levels of FLO

2011-08-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

5 Levels of FLO

The purpose of this article is to introduce everyone to the 5 Levels of FLO. This is a system that we have developed to train our Athlete’s both physically and mentally. Obviously we have not placed our exercise library on here due to the fact that it would be entirely too long. So instead we placed our level system for the Athletes below.

For each new level the Athlete gets a new exercise library to chose from, a new color band and a book to read (this is the mental part of training). The goal is for the Athlete to reach the highest level of training as you would a black belt in martial arts. The exercises progressively get harder and more intense with each new level.

So where is there room for the Fun training at FLO?

Many clients come to FLO because the amount of fun they have during each session. We still include our wacky FLObata’s and 5 min of Fun into our training sessions. Our goal was to find a way to be efficient and fun at the same time. We believe we have done just that. So here is the brief description of the levels:

Level 1:

You are dedicated to working on correcting muscular imbalances, developing basic lifting skills, and setting personal goals. In this phase you will develop a solid foundation that sets the tone for the rest of your training.

Level 2:

Your focus is on Improving all the moves you have Developed from level one. You will also look to Improve in all areas of life (school, relationships, sports,etc). As you Improve physically be aware of the mental changes that occur as well. This thirst for improvement should stay with you throughout your training. Prepare to Compete.

Level 3:

You have Developed the tools, Improved your skills and are now ready to COMPETE. Your mindset will be that of a Competitor. The workouts and exercises will get harder at this level so you will be Competing against yourself. You should view all life challenges as Competition that you will overcome. Prepare to Excel.

Level 4:

By this point you have Developed the ability to Improve and Compete. It is now time to Excel. Being ordinary is no longer an option for you, you want to be Extraordinary! At this stage you will Excel at all exercises and aspects of training. You are one step closer to Conquering all Challenges!

Level 5:

At this point of training you have Developed skills, Improved on those skills, Competed using those skills, Excelled with those skills and you are now ready to Conquer. Nothing can stand in your way now. Once you are done with this level of training, you will have the confidence, self discipline, and mental focus to Conquer any challenge in your way and Finish Strong! It is now your duty to be a Leader and help others get through the levels. We never achieve anything alone.

Dynamic & Crazy Then Back To Basics

2011-08-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

Dynamic & Crazy Then Back To Basics

So as well all know, we don't take workouts lightly here at Flo Fitness or any other fitness facility we visit and workout at. We use fun and interesting equipment, performing functional movements in our training. We have a purpose when we train, not to just work on our triceps so our fist pump looks better when we hit the clubs. (Which we don't.. lol) We work out as a family here at Flo and mastermind different ideas to come up with movements and exercises to keep challenging our bodies. For example, TRX plyo push ups, TRX pistol squat jumps, FreeForm single leg curl, etc. and then we also have the crazy sandbag and kettle bell exercises, including our new addition, The Arc.

After training this way, your body learns to adapt to that type of stressor, even though it is a very tough workout, but eventually the muscle responds the same way. This morning I went back to the oldies, doing push ups, dips, barbell rows, bicep curls, just to see how my body responds. The response is almost immediate. It is about 30 minutes post workout, and my shoulders want to give, and thats why I am leaning on this desk right now typing up this blog. It is a different type of stressor on the body, performing exercises your body has not done or recognized in some time.

Your training program should change every 4-6 weeks to see changes and results. You learn by listening to your body. Take note and log your workouts. If you ever have to ask yourself, what I am not doing, look back at your workouts, change it up, try a different exercise, or just make it more challenging. Go deeper, add that weight. Push yourself to become better.

-Allison Thibault

One Size Fits All Fits No One!

2011-08-08T10:06:00.001-07:00

“One Size Fits ALL Fits No One!”

(thank you Frank Putcher for the quote)

Some may believe that All men and women are created equally, this may hold true in the court of law but in the world of fitness this is very far from the truth. No one person is the same, no one day is the same and therefore no one program should be the same.

Before I get into this and explain what I am talking about, let me first address some exceptions. If you are a strength coach that deals with hundreds of athletes a day or a group trainer obviously it will be impossible to make programs for each person in a group. So therefore most of what follows will not apply to you. There are always exceptions to rules. This blog is geared to the trainers who make up one program and make EVERYONE they train do the same EXACT thing.

If we are truly “Personal” trainers then we must learn how to train each person. At FLO we mostly deal with High School Athletes. Our main focus is injury prevention and designing individualized programs based on that one athlete. So each training session is build around the person. We have a general format we follow but the exercises and tempo is focused on the goal of that one Athlete. It doesn’t matter if they play the same sport as someone else. Each person has there own set of physical abilities as well as mental blocks that need attention.

Different physical abilities in people are basically genetics. There is only so far a persons genetics will take them. Some people are built with more fast twitch while others are more slow twitch. In our athletes some kids are hitting growth spurts while others still look like little kids. It is not uncommon for an Athlete to grow an inch or two over the course of three months we are training them. This must be taken into consideration while designing their program. One day they may come in with joint pain from growing so everything we do has to be modified.

Different mental blocks is a Large part of our training “FLO osophy” at FLO Fitness. Some Athletes we get are super motivated while others lack confidence and motivation. We really do our best to empower the mind while training the body. We give our Athletes motivational material to read (go to www.simpletruths.com for examples). We have a “questions of the Day” that we ask them to try and pull out their inner truths about what they really want from their sport. The social demands on our Athletes is insane and we must be aware of what they might be going through in their personal life. Overloading the body on a day when they are mentally drained and depressed could be dangerous. On days like that we must cheer them up and empower them, so that they leave happy and ready to take on the world. Everyday is different and that’s why we can not design one size fits all programs.

As I said earlier we deal with a unique population that is normally neglected by trainers. High School Athletes are not an easy group to train and it is a shame how so many top level training centers neglect the needs of these Athletes. Every training center has their own theory of training and stands behind what they do. We believe in how we train and have seen great mental and physical changes in our Athletes. Everything begins and ends with the mind. Empower them mentally and you will be amazed at the results you get. Better Athletes and most importantly, Better People!

-FLO

A day with Joe and Dos

2011-08-07T18:10:00.001-07:00

Peak Seminar. A day with Joe and Dos

   If I had to sum up today in one word it would be, AWESOME!

   It started out with the FLO family going crazy in the FLOmobile. Jannel was in a super gitty mood, OZ was starving and stood outside of whole foods until they opened and Allison was complaining about her SCM hurting. So it was a crazy mourning to say the least.
   Once we got to Peak it was like a home coming. Over the course of a year or so our family has grown close to many of the peak trainers. It's like Cheers, everyone knows your name. They have a great staff that we really relate to. There was also a host of other close friends that were taking the class so I knew it was going to be FUN!
   Dos got things started with his presentation. He is one of the realist presenters I have ever seen. It was a no BS, straight to the point and funny as hell speech. He gave us the ins and outs of how he trains and why it works. You could tell he had great passion for what he does by his delivery and honesty.
   Then we had to the Dos workout. It was intense, fun, and practical all wrapped in one. Mike Piercy and I teamed up to kick some a&$. Dos gave us some great tips and cueing points during the session which I know I will use at FLO.
  Joe was up next with his talk on modified strong man training. This presentation was jammed full of great information and cool training ideas. I will definitely be looking over my notes for a few days to get all the info down. He also made me want to go out a buy some cool toys to train with. I may just need to sneak into Peak and use all the strongman equipment.
   Finally it was time for joe's workout. I had been waiting all day for this because the night before I met up with him, Dos, Denise and others at a bar, and he spoke about how hard the workout was going to be. Let me tell you, he was not kidding. He put us through a series of crazy lifts and exercises. Everyone in the room was huffing and puffing. Even the people who were watching had sweat dripping.
   My favorite part about the whole event was that everyone cheered each other on. It was a group of trainers who really cared about learning and working together. All egos were checked at the door. It is rare in this industry to have a group that gets along so well and is so willing to share.
   My other favorite thing was getting some drinks afterwards and having some fun with the crew. I will save that for another blog.

-FLO

Know Your Roll and Shut your Mouth

2011-07-29T07:34:00.001-07:00

What Kind of Trainer Are You?

I was listening to an interview and one of the trainers made a great point in the interview. She commented on what kind of a trainer do you want to be. I never really gave that much thought but it is very key in our industry. There are many different types of trainers and depending on what you want to achieve will depend on what kind of trainer you want to become. It will also dictate where you want to locate yourself.

Here are some of the types of trainers that I see and think are out there. This is no scientific study, this is just my opinion. I’m sure I have left some out but here is my list. These are the areas people “specialize” in.

Sports Performance

Movement Patterns

Flexibility

Speed and Agility

Power Lifting

Weight Loss (10-60lbs)

Weight Loss (60-up)

Elderly

High School Athlete

Celebrity

Pro Athlete

Wellness

Rehab

This was just a quick list. The point is, there are so many people out there doing different things. We need to stop judging each other by our own standards. If i see a person doing an exercise “wrong” with a extremely overweight person, I have No grounds to say anything to them because I don’t work with that population. Maybe there is a reason they are doing the exercise “wrong”. Just because you “specialize” in speed training doesn’t mean that everyone in the world should be doing your speed program. This goes for any form of training. We train “People” and we are all made different. Mind, body, and soul; no two of us are the same.

The great trainers out there have an understanding of All forms of training and continue to learn. I know about tons of different forms of training but I know my heart and passion lies in working with High School Athletes. So i go after that market. Can I train overweight people or celebrities?.... Yes. Do I want to?..... No. I am not judging people who do, I am just saying personally its not what I want to do. There are people who love it and I will refer those clients to those people. I think The Rock said it best, “Know your roll and shut your mouth”. If you dont know about a certain clientele then you should not speak about it.

My advice to new trainers is to find your market and your passion. Find who you want to train and go after that area. If you like city people, then you should move to the city. If you like hockey then go to Canada. Go where you need to go in order to train the way you want to. It may be scary at first but you will be happy you did it. A quote i always liked it, “You must do what you have to do, in order to do what you want to do”. I hope this blog helps trainers follow their market and decide the trainer they want to be.

-FLO

Difference between Athletic trainers and athletic trainers training athletes

2011-07-27T13:34:00.001-07:00

Do athletic trainers train athletes? Heck yes! Is that all they do? Heck no! Although my teachers would frown on this statement, here goes; basically we are a combo of an EMT, PT, and personal trainer in one.

To become an athletic trainer (ATC), you must have either four years of your bachelors in athletic training, or four years in a health science and then generally two years of your masters. You also need a certain amount of clinical hours (a lot); both with a team (on field) and in a rehabilitation setting. Once that is complete you must take the board of certification exam to become a certified and licensed athletic trainer in your state. Our job description is: from the Bureau of Labor;

"Athletic trainers help prevent and treat injuries for people of all ages. Their patients and clients include everyone from professional athletes to industrial workers. Recognized by the American Medical Association as allied health professionals, athletic trainers specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of muscle and bone injuries and illnesses. Athletic trainers, as one of the first healthcare providers on the scene when injuries occur, must be able to recognize, evaluate, and assess injuries and provide immediate care when needed. Athletic trainers should not be confused with fitness trainers or personal trainers, who are not healthcare workers, but rather train people to become physically fit."

That's the text book definition for you, but if you are a football fan just think of the medical personnel that runs out on the field when an athlete goes down, that is an athletic trainer doing what we do best, emergency care and assessing the injury at hand. Or when you see an athlete with tape or bracing they saw an athletic trainer before there competition. Now when do athletic training duties and personal training duties converge? Well it starts in school with our rehabilitation classes. We are taught different modalities for treatment like electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, laser therapy and much more. We also go into specific exercises for rehab from an injury. These exercises specifically are targeted toward expediting the healing process of an injury and preventing another from occurring, or reoccurring. However to truly fix an athlete or an individuals problem it requires more than just a few weeks/months of therapy. Some athletic trainers out there are catching the drift and either taking a personal training certification or just progressing the athletes naturally into more challenging exercises that will help correct improper form, bad habits and muscular weaknesses and imbalances.

Here at FLO one of our main focuses is keeping the athlete sound biomechanically and helping them become the best they can be in their sport. Being both an athletic trainer and personal trainer I feel stronger in both fields and a better all around health care professional. Also at FLO, a big emphasis of ours is the mental toughness of our athletes. Being an athletic trainer you spend all of your time rehabing athletes and watching their practice and games, this gives you an edge as a personal trainer; spending countless hours watching the athlete perform, you can evaluate them as a whole; physical strength, movement analysis and even see where their mental toughness lies.

Two are better than one! Spend time making yourself better, pull from your resources and apply it to making your clients healthier and make yourself more marketable!

-The ATCs from FLO

Thoughts after filming our first DVD

2011-07-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

So today we filmed our first DVD with Rich Mejias from Leverage Training. At the start of the day I had a mix of emotions, mostly being a little nervous but also feeling great that after 13 years of training and complaining about weak DVD's I finally was ready to put out some quality stuff. Once we got to leverage to film the feeling of knowing that something special was going to happen began to creep in. I can't explain it but something just felt right.
OZ showed up pumped and ready to go. Then Allison came with Terrel and they were fired up. Alex came with his camera and started shooting photos. Kevin showed up looking like a scruffy director/camera man. Last but not least Mr. Energia (Marc) walked in and it was go time!
At first we stumbled over words and had to get some jitters out. Once things got going it just flowed (no pun intended). It's like Jay-Z once said, "You put the right artist with the right track, and let God in the room". As I sat back and watched it unfold it was surreal. We knocked it out in like 4 hours.
Every once in awhile during the shoot I would sit back and just watch everyone. It was amazing to see everyone there, not for money or fame, but out of love for one another. I have been blessed to be surrounded by some of the greatest people around. We truly love helping each other. We laughed and joked the whole time. It was probably the most fun I had working in my life.
In this business it seems that everyone is looking for the quick buck and trying to exploit others. If we would have asked others to be in our DVD they might have asked us to pay them or give a percentage of what we make. This was not the case. Our family came out with no questions asked a gave it their all. It truly was a magical experience and I couldn't ask for a better group to share it with.
In one of the pictures on Facebook, Rich put a caption that we are the next generation of fitness. I do believe that but I also believe we are unique. We are coming from a place of love rather then profit margins. Les Brown once said, " A career is something you love to do so much that you would do it for free, but you do it so well people pay you for it.". I think that showed today. Even if the DVD never sells a copy, the memories we had from today are priceless. I want to thank everyone who was there. Love you all and look forward to being the future of this industry.

-FLO

Trainers are suffering from OCD! Stop it!

2011-07-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

One big problem that I have noticed is that trainers seem to go from one extreme to the other. They either know nothing and do not cue during a session or they suffer from OCD (over cueing disease). I know people are happy when they learn new techniques or ways to train but keep the cueing to a minimum. No client wants to hear you yap for the whole session about how to do the exercise. They just want to do it. My theory is talk for no more then a minute on how to do the exercise and then cue a few points during it. You might not be able to fix everything in one session. The key is to fix what they are majorly doing wrong and fix the finer details later on.
The next issue I want to address is along the same line of the OCD trainers; it is talking over the clients head. I believe every trainer should study anatomy and physiology but most clients do not know the name of every muscle, origin, insertion, nerve innervation, fascial line, ligament, tendon, aponurosis, process, foramen, etc. So why as a trainer would you use these terms to cue them, other then to show how smart you are. I live my life by the KISS principle and this is how I cue clients. Keep it as simple as you can. Save the medical talk for when you talk to doctors.
Trainers also need to learn how to balance the amount of cueing with praises as well. What I mean is that if you tell them what they are doing wrong while you cue,you must also tell them things they are doing right. No one wants to be corrected all workout long on how bad they are doing. Remember you are there to empower them, not make them feel like they can't do anything right.
If I had to sum it all up in one sentence it would be; Watch the OCD, keep it simple and show Love.

-FLO

Are you living a Treadmill Life?

2011-07-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

"Most people are living a "Treadmill Life". They increase the speed/difficulties and inclines/challenges they face, but yet get nowhere fast". -FLO

It appears that recently I have been viewed as a "Life Coach" by some people. I think they trust my judgement and feel comfortable telling me things. I have been blessed with this gift that people trust the advice I give them. It is something that runs in my family. I remember my grandfather always having people at his house asking for advice and also my father always being the go to guy for help and guidance. I truly do love helping others, but I have come across one big problem, and that is the "Treadmill Life"
The "Treadmill Life" is the lifestyle that so many people are living now and days. People are busy doing a million things, yet nothing they do is actually helping them achieve their goals in life. Clients say they are too busy to do this or that, and they are honestly busy but they are busy doing things that aren't helping them get closer to their goals. STOP wasting time doing unnecessary things. Set a goal and don't let other distractions get you off the course. There are thousands of things you can occupy your time with so make sure they are all leading to a specific goal, set by you.
If you are not where you want to be or not doing what you want to do in life, I got news for you, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. Stop saying you can't do something you love because you are busy doing something you hate. Nothing is worse then a person who appears busy, focused, and moving forward only to realize that they are in the same spot they started at. Get off the treadmill of life, become a trend setter rather then a trend spender. There is no parking in the road of life, either get in gear or get out of the way.
This is not meant to offend anyone. If you realize that you have been living a treadmill life there is still hope for you. Hit stop, jump off, go out and live the life you want. Life is waiting for you right beyond your comfort zone, GO GET IT!

-FLO

Put Five minutes of Fun in your day with FLO Fitness

2011-07-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

People always ask what separates us from most other fitness places. It seems to be a long list of things that makes our training center unique. Today I will talking about out 5 minutes of Fun in each workout!
At FLO we train many High School Athletes and they always seem to be stressed about school, sports and life in general. The pressure of today's Athletics is 10 fold of what it use to be, not only is it pressure from their coaches but there is also an expectation from the family and community. Most have forgotten how Fun sports are suppose to be. It has become a full time job to play a sport. This blog is not meant to give you an adolescent psychology lesson. We want to tell you how personal trainers can help ease the stress rather then add to it. So we introduced the Five minutes of Fun to our workouts.
Basically what we have done is added a Fun and off the wall exercise to every workout. This helps to relax the Athlete and make them smile. You can literally see the tension released as they attempt one of these exercises. The other aspect that is also cool is that these exercises teach them how to challenge their bodies and use them in ways they haven't before. Essentially we are boosting their confidence while having fun, which directly translates to better sports performance. The best athletes are always the ones that can find a way to keep cool under pressure.
When an athlete has finished one of our workouts they will have accomplished the following: self-myofascial release, corrective exercises, dynamic warm ups, strength/power/speed/agility or metabolic training, proprioceptive exercises, flexibility and FUN! It's like wrapping vegetables in candy. It's good for them and tastes great too.
Next time you train, try this out and you will notice how much smoother some of your session will run. Email us and let us know how it goes.

-FLO

Practice Gait Analysis

2011-07-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

   I was in Hoboken last night by the water and was happy to see how many people were outside exercising and enjoying the nice summer weather. I love to sit and people watch. It is just habit for me at this point to analyze peoples gait patterns as they walk past me. Some of the things I was were surprising to me. I was amazed to see all the different types of running form people had. Some people looked like they had never ran in their life while others looked like seasoned marathon runners.
  I thought it would be a great idea for young fitness professional to use a park were people run as a practice tool. As the people ran by I tried to guess what pain issue they would have by the way they ran. I also looked at what pain issue they most likely currently have. In my head I began to develop a program for each person that ran by. Some people looked like they needed more core stability training while others needed basic strength training to correct form. The key is to go out and practice your skills at gait analysis. It is not enough to do it once in a while at the gym or in a controlled environment. Being able to do things like this is what will separate you from the other trainers at your gym. Bring a pen and pad to the park if you have to, nobody will know what you're doing, just don't stare at anyone to long because they might think you're a creeper.
   Its funny how these types of things have become automatic for me to do and while I sat there I wondered when it all switched in my head. I use to be able to sit and not think of this stuff at all. Now I can't go out without thinking how I can help someone's mechanics or how I can turn anything I see into an exercise. I guess this is the difference between something being a passion or a job (or I'm just crazy).

-FLO

Accountability

2011-07-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

To piggy back on Chris' post on balance, I want to highlight the importance of accountability. Accountability is the acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility toward an outcome. This is a huge concept to grasp and apply to your everyday living. In the realm of fitness, you must hold yourself accountable for creating the proper framework for your client to reach their fitness goals, (because SURPRISE your client probably holds you more accountable for their improvement than they do themselves).

I think most personal trainers do this to a point, but have you ever not written down the exercises you did with your client? The sets, duration, reps, or work load? The modifications you had to make for them to complete the exercise? I know I have...and I've see the result of this action. You start guessing what you did your previous session, and from that point you cannot properly progress your client. Instead of building a multi-story house; it stays on the ground level. Writing down what you have done with your client is one of the most simple ways to stay accountable and keep your client on track toward get stronger, faster, more flexible and healthier.

So atop of keeping a balanced workout, make sure you are a good book keeper, remove the guess work and create a plan of progression to move your client to the wellness goals as efficiently as possible.

Balance Your Workouts

2011-07-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Balance Your Workouts

This blog was inspired by Martin Rooney’s newest youtube video. If you have not seen it check out the link below and then finish reading our blog:

http://youtu.be/H6P7U176yhI

The video is great for many reasons, but I feel the deeper issue behind it is lack of education. The problem is that most trainers get a cert and learn one way of training and that’s all they ever do. I love the TRX but it is not the end all be all of fitness. It is a tool like everything else. I tell trainers that you can not build a house with just a hammer. I approach each client as a new house and find out what tools I need to make it a great house.

This blog is titled, Balance your workouts, because so many people have one sided ways of training. As you see in the video there are guys doing balance training with one leg and foam on their heads. Can that be used in a workout? Yes, but not the whole darn workout. Can a shoulder press be used in a workout? Yes, but not 20 sets of them. Can foam rolling be used in a workout? Yes, but not for the whole session. The point I am getting at is that there is NO COOKIE CUTTER way to train people. Each session or workout should have a purpose and should be balanced.

The other issue I find is that people believe everything they hear or read. So if an article comes out saying, WATER IS BAD FOR YOU, people will believe it and stop drinking it. Trainers need to start doing their own research and looking at where some of these studies come from. I hate when a trainer tells me that you should NEVER do a bench press or that you should NEVER do barbell squats. Are you serious, I do these exercises often. They are the meat and potatoes of my programs. We need to be careful on how we use words like, Never or Always, because they are very powerful words.

So what is a balance workout look like? It all depends on who you are training. If it is elderly people you may need to spend more time on balance and movement. If it is a high school kid who has camp in a few weeks you may need to focus more on lifting and building strength. It seems people want a written answer for everything but training is an art form and can be viewed in many different ways. But for the sake of making everyone happy here is an example of an “normal” workout at FLO, so you can get an idea of what we consider a balanced workout.

Foam Rolling (calves, quads, glutes, hams, back, pecs) 10min

Correctives 5-10 min (depends on the phase of training)

Dynamic Warm Ups 8-10min

Strength/Power/Metabolic/Speed/ Agility 30-40min (depends what we are working on that day)

Cool Down/ Flexibility 10min

*remember all of this is subject to change depending on a large number of factors

There needs to be a common ground that we should all agree on in this industry. It just feels like it has turn into a dog eat dog environment. Many of you new “functional” trainers need to learn about good ole weight lifting and some of the dinosaurs need to learn about movement and flexibility. The best trainers know about each world and how it applies to each client. I hope this blog inspires you to go out and learn about a subject that you currently do not know about. The application of new knowledge is where all our power lies.

-FLO

How bout dem apples?

2011-07-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

Ever hear an apple a day will keep the doctor away?

Truth of the matter is, it can help great amounts. Evidence suggests that a diet high in fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. They have been found to have very strong antioxidant activity, inhibit cancer cell proliferation, decrease lipid oxidation, and lower cholesterol.

In the United States, as well as in most industrialized countries, cardiovascular disease and cancer are ranked as the top two leading causes of death. The causes of both diseases have been linked to lifestyle choices, and one of the most important is diet. The problem with that is most diets are "S.A.D". The StandardAmerican Diet. Which is poor in nutrition, lacks minerals, vitamins, and necessary proteins vital for human growth.

Apples contain a wide variety of phytochemicals, many of which have been found to have strong antioxidant activity and anticancer activity. In general, storage of apples does not greatly affect apple phytochemicals, but the processing of apples for juice results in a very significant decrease in phenolics. Processed apple peels retain their phenolics and flavonoids. So again, when an apple is juiced, and then processed it looses it's natural power to help the body. Not to mention that general "Apple Juice" is borderline liquid sugar.

And the age old question goes....

"Does an apple have more sugar than a typical cup of coffee?"

Presuming you put one to two sugar packets in your typical cup of coffee, and that each sugar packet contains -- as most do -- about 4 g of sugar, the answer is yes, a typical apple contains more sugar than a typical cup of coffee. However, if you compare the glycemic index of apples and typical table sugar -- the glycemic index being a measurement of how quickly an ingested glucose load finds its way into your bloodstream, and hence a measure of how quickly you feel the effects of ingestion -- you'll see that apples, at 38 out of 100, are about half as strong as table sugar, at 68. So if you're looking for a quick energy kick, a cup of coffee is likely to get you there faster. However, an apple is probably your healthiest option.- Alex Folkl

So the common misconception comes to light. Apples DO NOT have caffeine in them. They have lots of natural sugars that take a while to burn in the body. Now in comparison to coffee apples won't give you that gnarly kick your looking for in the morning. HOWEVER, all the associated health benefits that come along with an apple GREATLY outweight the potential health benefits from a cup of joe.

In short-

The good: This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.

The bad: A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Share the knowledge. Help others learn. Improve vitality. Live a long and happy life.

Be well,

-Oz

The Jersey Shore Body

2011-07-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

So I finally went to Tiki Bar for the first time ever, after my buddy Terrell has been begging me to go for like two years. We got thru the crowd and found a spot to chill and relax. While there I was speaking with my friend Tracy and she pointed out that every guy had the same exact body shape. It was insane! Big chest, arms, shoulders and some traps. It was mirror muscle central. Now I must make one thing clear, dudes looked jacked and I am not hating on them. I just fear that they are not being taught how to train the body as a whole. Doing sooooooo much anterior chain exercise is bound to cause injuries in the future. I wondered how many people had some form of impingment in their shoulders.
The second thing that was said and the reason I am writing this blog was from Jannel. She said, "When did being in shape become a fad?". I thought that was so powerful. People got jacked, not for power or for sport, but to look good at the shore. I think it's sad that people don't train for health, I know looking good is great and we are all guilty of posing in the mirror and flexing. However, most fitness professionals train for LIFE. It is part of what they love to do and not just to pick up chicks.
I also hate when people compare these guys at the beach to actual body builders. I know a few REAL body builders and they are insane when it comes to the entire body being evenly built. They train and build the entire body and don't just focus on the chest and arms. So please don't degrade the sport of body building by comparing them to beach bodies. It is two different worlds.
I will just like to point out that I am happy when people show interest in their bodies and workout at health clubs. I just don't want having an in shape body to be a fad that people do now and will dismiss later. Train because you care about your body, because you only get one. So you might as well treat it right.

-FLO

P.S.- I wrote this at like 1am. So I'm sorry if it's a little scattered brained.

How do you equate success?

2011-06-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have been attending many seminars and workshops for "personal" training and something has come to my attention. How do you equate your success as a personal trainer? It appears that all these seminars are saying money=success. They preach about boosting revenue and filtering clients thru the door, big group sessions with predetermined workouts and a one size fits all attitude. So where is the "personal" part of all this? Where is the soul, the connection, the passion, the love?
Before I get any deeper into this I must clear some things up. If you are training a group of athletes who all play the same sport or adults with the same level of fitness, group sessions is the best way to go. It is a smart way to make money but it is not the ONLY way to make money. And while we are on the subject, what does money mean to you?
I know this is all over the place but I'm just tired of people getting up in front of us and deminishing what we do to numbers. I don't know about you but I am in the business of empowering people. When my client leaves a session they should feel like they can take on the world. I don't look at my clients and think " ok here is an extra 300 bucks in my pocket". I truly care and want to see them succeed. I judge my success by how many clients play a whole season pain free or by the person with chronic back pain who finally feels relief for once in their life. Success is more then numbers, it's more then how people you can fit in a 1000 square foot place. I personally enjoy my one on one sessions. Building a relationship with my clients keeps me going most days.
As a business owner I know the numbers are important. We need to be paid for our time and effort. I feel there has to be a way to balance both. With technology the way it is we are losing our ability to form and keep personal relationships. Again, I am not saying group training is bad, we do it at FLO and the people have a great time. If you love training groups then stick with it. But don't do it just to get money that apparently = success. Take a look in the mirror and decide what you love to do and why you do it. Make up your own mind and follow your own path, don't get brain washed by self proclaimed "guru's" who say their way is the best way. What works for one person may not work for everyone. I think many in this business need to do some soul searching and find out why they are here. If money is the only reason then keep it real and say so, dont pretend that you have others best interest in mind. If I offended anyone then good, if the shoe fits wear it.

-FLO

Our Training 'FLO'osophy

2011-06-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

FLO Fitness Training Philosophy

The training philosophy at FLO Fitness is simple; “Training you NEED for the results you WANT”. Everyone has fitness goals, but the most real challenge lies in knowing how to achieve them. Our clientele is predominantly composed of high school athletes looking to excel in their sport and elevate their play to the Division 1 level. We also serve the general population looking to improve their wellness and vitality. Our trainers at FLO fitness assess the movement mechanics for each new client through our functional mechanical assessment. This helps us determine the following about our client: improper movement mechanics stemming from; muscular imbalances, including inflexibility and weaknesses, strength disparities, core instability, balance issues, and more. This is what FLO FITNESS considers the “need” part of their training. Through this assessment we can develop and implement a program based off what the client needs, to set them straight on the road to getting what they want. We initially dedicate ourselves to developing proper movement efficiency and a sound basis of strength before we challenge the client to any advanced exercises. This ensures for both the client and us at FLO that we have created a solid foundation which will allow them to reach their fitness goals free of injury. Next is where the ingenuity and creativity begins. We utilize new training tools, implement unfamiliar maneuvers, and challenge the body in all directions to elicit the best gains possible. We emphasize multi-planar training to remove the client from standard up and down, front and back movements. They gain a new awareness to their bodies capabilities, allowing their bodies to function as a cohesive whole. This is the part of the training that keeps people coming back and loving each workout. FLO fitness believes there always has to be a healthy ratio of the “Needs” and the “Wants” in every workout.

-FLO FITNESS

Positive Attracts Positive

2011-06-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ever hang around some negative people or in a negative environment? How did you feel during and after you had left? Did you feel drained of energy and just not happy about the situation you were currently in?

Guess what.. your attitude, drive and passion effects others around you. If you create that positive energy and always surround yourself with positive, upbeat, driven people, you can only find more success in life. Being surrounded by my Flo Family along with everyone else such as Patrick Lerouge (www.revivetm.com) or Paul Newell (www.balancedwellness.org), I started to see my true potential and what I am truly capable of. They bring out the best in me because of their positive energy. They believe I can do it and push me to my limits. Even when I feel so uncomfortable with doing something, such as speaking in front of a group... they pushed me knowing that I could do it. I would have never seen myself get this far into my career without the Flo Family. I have learned so much, met so many people, and found where my passion is. We all help each other out through thick and thin and just tell it like it is. I'll be the first to say, I have made some DUMB choices, and yes, they say it right back to me without any shame. That is true family, to know that they will pick you right back up when you start to fall.

The networking and connections we have made has led us to meet so many great people. You start to notice how many people could use help to open up their minds. We need to get out there and try new things, meet new people, and just explore. That is how we grow. I was just recently at a networking event in Westfield with Patrick last week. I was THE YOUNGEST (by far) person there. I felt so uncomfortable and out of place. I was doing something at my age of 23 that these other professionals are starting to do in their middle 40s +. Patrick saw how uncomfortable I was. I was fidgeting with my phone, drinking my bubbly water, and just writing down some things I heard from the speaker. He looked at me and just told me to Stop and pay attention. He covered my phone or just slapped my knee to make sure I was listening. About half way into it, the speaker grabbed me (not literally, her topic did). From that point, I realized, what the hell am I nervous about.. why should I feel uncomfortable. I want to succeed and was brought here for a reason. What the speaker was saying made total sense. I started to jot down some more notes and think about what she was saying and applied it to my own life. The thing that she had said that grabbed me was that "Our personal life affects our work life and our work life affects our personal life." I know it may not sound like such a big deal or it's just an obvious statement, but think about it. Ever just start a day off bad and just let it drag to the end of the day instead of stopping it? If your a trainer and you're in a bad mood, do you think that your clients want to be around you? Non-the less get motivated from you? You are probably going to ruin their day! Spread the happiness and joy. Always be and stay positive and let the good times roll. What you long for and worked hard for will come.

All in all, positive attracts positive, so take out the negative.

Some wise words:
"Bring the Goodness to the People" - Paul Newell
"Energia" - Marc Coronel
"If You Want to Work, You've Got to Work It" - Chris Flores
"Real Recognizes Real" - Chris Flores

- Allison Thibault "Tebow"

Father's Day Salute

2011-06-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's cool hearing so many people saying "Happy Fathers Day" to all the dads out there, but I just want to express my opinions about today. First off, just because you have kids it does not make you a father. There are so many kids out there growing up without a Real father, and it makes me sad. Any man can create a child but only the Real Ones become fathers. Here are a few thoughts of what a Father is to me.
I have said before that I am blessed to have my father and grandfather as blueprints of what a real father should be. They have been role models to me and I pray that one day I can be just like them. They are protectors of their families from any form of outside harm. They are the rock that everyone in the family will go to if they need help. They know something about everything, my grandfather would read the paper everyday and he was a walking history book. Even into his 80's his mind was sharp. They hustle hard to provide for the family. I never remember my father only having one job, he made the means justify the ends. They command respect by the way they walk into a room. It is something about their swag that makes people listen. While they are kind and loving, they are also feared. Nothing in this world scared me more then when my mom would say, "wait until your father gets home!". They have what I call "man strength", it is different from being strong from working out. It is strength that comes from a life of hard work. They have a side to them that only those close to them know about, it's what makes you special from everyone else they know.
I could go on for days about the strengths and qualities that a Real father must have, but I just want this to be a short blog for fathers to read. This is just a thank you to them and so they know how much we admire all that they do. So to all the fathers out there we thank you!

-FLO

Multifaceted Motivation

2011-06-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

Just to piggy back onto Chris' statement; "Having trouble with and unmotivated client? You must find out the real reason they want to train with you. Build emotion and find out ways to motivate them through a session".
This sparked something in me... While you are the educated one on the body and how to get it to yield results you have to make sure that what YOU are trying to achieve is what your CLIENT wants to achieve. There's nothing more boring than pouring energy into something you don't want. Additionally, if your client does not understand what they are doing then their effort or motivation may directly be effected. As a personal trainer you must understand that motivation is not exclusive to a elevated level of energy, yelling and counting down the exercise. DEFINED: motivation is the act of motivating- inducing incentive to do something. Each client will respond differently to different types of motivation. After all- we are called "personal" trainers. This week I dealt with an array of different people. Knowing a little bit about each one and what they wanted really helped me succeed in training them. They left feeling like they were heading to their goals. As a personal trainer you may feel pressure to constantly be verbally motivating your client, (showing your level of attentiveness) but this week I had a client that would much less rather here me counting and motivating than counting and focusing their efforts in their own head. For this person they just liked to learn the exercise and then be guided through their execution. Another client I had this week was so eager to learn about the body and know anything there is to know about training it. They would rather hear what muscle they were working out then what repetition they were on. So with this person I chose certain things to share with them while they were exercising and with each set I would repeat what I told them. Again here- Be careful with eager minded clients not to overload them with information because then the integrity of the information may get lost and the client may end up muddling concepts and not truly getting them. This goes back to the old mantra: quality not quantity.
Make sure as a personal trainer you can curb YOUR wants for the client into a concerted effort with the goals of the CLIENT in mind. Hopefully from there you will find a motivated client effectively reaching their fitness (and personal goals).

Morning motivation: My brother wanted me to time him in his two mile, so I hopped on my bike and just biked a little in front of him, yelled out his time at 5 and 10 minutes. His record was 13 mins, well we just finished the run and his time was 11.02 minutes AWESOME BROTHER!! All he needed was a visual motivation.

MY goal: to truly motivate two people a day to help them reach their goal.

- JANNEL

Finding Our Inner Potential

2011-06-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

Finding Our Inner Potential

I want you to think back to when you were a kid. We all believed that we could be whatever we wanted. President of the U.S., Fireman, Ninja, Robot, the list goes on and on. No one could tell us that these things were impossible. However somewhere along the way we lost the ability to dream and unlock our true potential.

I was listening to a CD by Dr. Miles Monroe the other day and he made a statement that made me think of this blog. He said everything we will ever need to be successful is within us. Fish do not need to attend swimming lessons, birds do not need to attend flight school, all of these things are born into the animal. So why as humans do we have such a hard time accepting this concept? If its in all of us, why do we not see it or access it?

This is what made me think of the seed. You see,every fruit or tree started as a seed. The seed alone is useless, but when planted, nourished, cared for and loved, it can grow to be what it was always meant to be. People have infinite potential but if nobody takes the time to nourish us and help us see our potential we will turn out like that useless seed. This is another reason why you must be aware of who you spend your time with. Your inner circle should be filled with people who nourish you and help you discover the potential in you.

Just like the tree and grass you could also be healthy one day and if neglected you could shrivel up and die. There are people we all know who were filled with life and excited about reaching their potential and then something happened that ruined their spirit. For example an injury, divorce, bad grades or loss of a loved one. These are all tragic events in their own way but bad times will not last forever unless you let them. Look at the grass in the winter time, it disappears like it was never there and then somehow in the spring it comes alive. When times are hard you just need to surround yourself with people who boost your spirit and pull your potential out of you.

We are all filled with soooo much potential! Now is the time to look within and find it. Once you find it you must use it. Stop wasting your time and energy on crap that does not fill you. Life if not a test run, we only get one shot at this. Enjoy it, love it, live it to the limit that YOU set!

-FLO

REAL Men and REAL Women

2011-06-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

REAL Men and REAL Women
(I wrote this about two years ago but I felt it was important to bring it back)
   Before I get into this I know the percentage of people who don’t understand this will be higher than the percentage that do. Take a look at yourself and see what percentage are you.
The other day at my grandmothers 80th birthday celebration a couple of my family members asked me why I am still single. So I thought for awhile and people always seem to ask me that. So I think I have come up with the reason. I am a REAL Man and need a REAL woman to make me settle down. Before I go any further I feel I should define what I feel makes a real man.
   I have been very blessed in my life to have two GREAT Men as male role models for me. First is my grandfather and second is my father. Two of the REALEST Men you will ever meet. The traits I found in them are those that I try to mimic myself. To me a REAL Man is a provider for his family no matter what happens. A REAL Man will make things happen, he doesn’t complain about what was not given to him. A REAL Man will not sit at home and watch TV and complain about not having a job, a REAL Man will go out and find a job or create one. A REAL Man will protect his family and take care of them. He will die before he lets any harm come to the ones he loves. He won’t cheat on his women or stray in search of lust with other women. He is loyal and knows where his home is. He is simple. A REAL Man loves his family but doesn’t need to display it for everyone to see, he is deep and you can tell he loves you by his action. He will never leave his kids or divorce his wife in search of selfish gains. A REAL Man will build a shed, patio, or deck and all he will ask for is a helping hand, peanut butter sandwich and some ice tea. A REAL Man can only be happy once he has found a REAL Woman.
At my grandmothers birthday celebration I realized something. I saw this 5 foot 90 lbs frail women stand up and speak. Her energy was so strong and she demanded attention. Even the little kids who never met her before had no choice but to listen, because her presence was bigger than anyone in the room. Respect was given to her, not because she asked for it, but because something about her demanded it. It was at that moment that I realized how REAL she was.
   I have been SUPER blessed to have 3 REAL Women in my life. My two grandmothers and my amazing mother. In my opinion a REAL Woman is very rare to come by now and days. A REAL Woman is also a provider for her family. She will stop at nothing to make her children and man happy. She is stronger than any man in the world could ever be. Not in the sense of physical strength, but emotional and mental. A REAL woman is Sexy without being slutty . She will stand by her man and support him. She will lift him up when needed and slap him down when he gets to full of himself. She can fight when pushed but also be the most gentle and loving person in the world. A REAL Women doesn’t have to speak to be heard, you can tell by the look in her eyes if she is happy or sad. She can cook for a whole family, clean the house and do laundry all while dancing salsa and smiling. She is beautiful in every sense of the word and gives her all without asking for anything in return. A REAL Woman is the foundation of the family . Her love and affection can not be bought. You must earn her love and respect. A REAL Woman does not have to call her man all the time, she is confident in herself and trust he will not stray. She is not impressed by the material things other men posses. She will believe in you when no one else does. She will do anything for her family no matter how messed up they are. She puts the needs of her family before her own. And until you give her reason not to, she will LOVE unconditionally.
   With all this said, it brings me back to the reason I had this epiphany. I am single because there are so many weak girls out there. No confidence and just shallow. I have only had one girlfriend in my life for a reason. There needs to be a REAL Deep connection for me to be truly happy. REAL recognize REAL and so many people look unfamiliar to me. Don’t be fooled by how I appear. I may smile and joke but I am truly a Deep person and refuse to settle for less than REAL. But to know the real me you must earn it. So I will like to give a shout out to the REAL Men and Women out there.
   This rant is not aimed at anyone and is not meant to offend anyone. If you are not real I’m sure you can change. If you feel offended by this, I really don’t care. If you shoe fits wear it and shut up.

-FLO

Anything the mind can conceive the body can achieve!

2011-06-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

Its overtime; all the lights are on you, the crowd is cheering, the coach is yelling. Your legs are weak, there is heaviness in your chest and the sweat is starting to burn your eyes. The onslaught of fatigue sets in and the pressure is mounting. How do you handle it? Are you mentally prepared to push your body and mind to the limit, to get that takedown, to score that goal, to get that winning touchdown?

I often find that confidence is a key factor in the outcome of any athletic competition. The brain is the most powerful muscle in the body and it tends to get underworked. You must feed it, nurture it and exercise it just like you would the rest of your body. You should know what your goals are and know that if you work your hardest they can be achieved. As a competitive wrestler for over 17 years I found that any time I entered a match timid or scared of an opponent I did not wrestle to my potential. By the time I was a senior I knew that every time I stepped on that line I was ready to go 100% and jump any obstacle in front of me, even if that meant getting carried off the mat by the end. I felt as if I could run through the hulk himself when the ref blew his whistle. But I also knew I had done everything in my power to prepare for that moment.

The will to win and the will to prepare are two separate entities. You can love to win but if you're cutting corners inside and outside of the gym you may not be getting the results you desire. You have to want to go that extra mile. Are you going to make those double sessions? Are you willing to stay before and after practice to get those extra reps? If you know you have prepared correctly and to the best of your ability you should go out on that floor, pitch, mat, field or whatever knowing you're the biggest and baddest MF'er out there.

Sacrifice is also a huge part of preparation. Having a clean diet, going to an extra practice instead of staying out late with the boys and waking up early on a Sunday morning may all be part of proper preparation. I know if I go to sleep knowing I've done my best that day and wake up in the morning ready to conquer all obstacles I will not be unsatisfied with the results.

This year I got to witness something truly special. A student of Westfield High School and long time wrestler Christian Barber won the NJSIAA Individual State Championship. The epitome of hardwork pays off. Working with Christian over the past 4 years I have watched him, his work ethic, and his goals grow exponentially. Christian set his mind on a state title and breathed, ate, and slept wrestling. He made the sacrifices necessary to succeed and it payed off. Not the most talented kid in the weight class, his hard work and never quit attitude along with his calmness under pressure brought him to the finals in which he won by decision in triple overtime. He came, he saw, he conquered.

In conclusion, your mind is the x-factor in athletic competition. It is the power behind the physical component of sport. Push yourself to the limits. There is always going to be someone bigger, stronger and faster than you, but if you have the correct mindset there is no one that can beat you. Nothing is unachievable if you commit yourself, body, and mind 100%. Get confident! Know you're the best and walk with a swagger. You are YOU and nobody can stop you. Reevaluate situations in which you make mistakes and pat yourself on the back for doing well. Know that anything the mind can conceive the body can achieve. Impossible is NOTHING.

-Colin Mackay

How Steroids Almost Took My Life

2011-06-14T03:52:00.000-07:00

The ability to move again
March 12 2005, a regular Saturday afternoon at the gym; getting ready to get pumped to do a heavy chest workout. Just like everyone else, trying to follow the muscle heads that we see in our society. My workout buddy, Fred, who is going onto his 60s and happens to be a huge guy, arrives 15 minutes prior to gym closing. Working out takes control over everything. My blood is pumping, and I’m feeling great. I happen to be in the midst of having a conversation with my buddy about how much I hate hospitals; without even knowing that in less than 24 hrs, I was about to be submitted into one.
Almost 3 weeks prior to that night, I was feeling “Too Skinny,” had great mobility and agility patterns with my body, was able to move and do pretty much what I had wanted to do, except for what I wanted it to be… to be big and solid like a rock. I found myself with the solution in my hands, Steroids. I started doing something my body did not need, leading me to be big, but in a hospital bed with half of my body paralyzed. I guess when we are young all we want is looks, so we will do whatever it takes to get there. Forgetting how healthy we should and could be, forgetting how precious our body truly is, and how important basic movement throughout a regular day can be. So I thought, “Hey?! Why not? It’s only 3 little pills a day!”
After my chest workout, at the beginning of the third week into my cycle of steroids, I headed out to my favorite coffee shop to meet up with a few friends. At around 9pm, while waiting for my friends, the right side of my body started to lose feeling. I remember it beginning at my foot. I had no ability to move it, with the feeling traveling upwards to my leg. I felt small feelings of panic, but nothing serious. I felt the tension at the stretch point but no mobility. After my friends arrived, my right leg was pretty much numb, but once again instead of making the right choice, I decided to go home and have “a few drinks” with some friends.
After a fun night of drinks and jokes about how I was not able to move my leg, my right arm became about 70% weak, but I was having fun so it didn’t really matter. The next morning after I woke up (more like just after opening my eyes) and felt hung over, I was not able to move the muscles from my shoulder down. I was barely able to reach out from the bed to try to get my friends attention to tell them to take me to the hospital. So at that time all I had thought about and was wishing for was the mobility to get out of bed, to have the function our body needs to move and to just do the things we do the basic things we do in our daily lives.
Arriving at the hospital, it took about 10 minutes to get a bed in the red zone of the emergency room (funny because it usually takes hours just to check in). I was submitted to get a CAT Scan of my brain. The results? A small arterial venous malformation, that led to a hemorrhage that was approximately 2.5cm in diameter on the left side of my brain, because my blood pressure was so high from being on steroids. It was like having a golf ball on the left side of my brain. That’s why the right side of my body was paralyzed; it put pressure on the motor unit that controls my arm and leg. A rough Monday morning started with seizures on my leg, later on moving to my arm. The cause for all this was one word: Steroids.
Thankfully, after 4 months of rehab and learning how to walk again, the bleeding ended up going away without having to cut my head open. I then realized that to be in peak shape all you need to do is to move, be active, and to train the right way. I wonder, was it really worth putting my body through such a rough time when all that is needed is to be able to function and to move injury free on a normal basis?
All I can say is that I was lucky. Since I was able to move and be active before, I was able to recuperate fast. So my message to you, not as a trainer, but as a person from experience, is that in most cases the shortcut will take you the longest way.
Steroids are not the answer, train to live not to be hurt.

-Alex

Living up to Expectations

2011-06-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

After watching the Heat lose last night I had to address something that was on my mind after the game. Living up to expectations! We all have them and most times they are given to us by other people. But when are they to high for us to achieve?
I am a Lebron fan and I do admit he really did not show up for these finals, or rather the Lebron we EXPECTED did not show up. He played at terrible game and did not take over when everyone EXPECTED him to. I went on facebook after the game and everyone was bashing the guy with comments like, "so much for being the king, he will never be better than jordan, lebum sucks" and the list goes on and on. This got me thinking about what he has done in his career.
As far as I know he never anointed himself the King, he never said he was better than Jordan, he never bashed Kobe or talked trash about any of his competitors. It seems to me that the MEDIA created all the hype about him, we all called him king, we all made him out to be the second coming of Jordan, we all read the articles about him (that he did not write himself) and his future greatness. WE CREATED HIM! The Media made us believe this and now that the EXPECTATION has not been met WE are all turning out backs on him.
We do this to all the great talents that come around. Society is all Fucked Up (sorry for cursing but it is true). Jay-Z said in a song, "They never really miss you until your dead or your gone" this is so true. Look what the Media and everyone did to Michael Jackson. The poor guy had no life, we build him up to break him down, to build him up again. Now that he is gone everyone talks about his greatness. While he was here you showed him no love and labeled him a freak meanwhile his genius came from his inability to be "normal".
Really people, what do we EXPECT from our top level athletes. If you look at the numbers Lebron has lived up to the hype. Should we question his heart or desire to win, maybe. Or should we be looking at ourselves and the crazy expectations we place on others, meanwhile we are just ordinary people.
I think this is a good time to turn this blog around and lets take a life lesson away from this. Look are your life, have you placed unreal EXPECTATIONS on your kids, relationship, wife, girlfriend, friends, co-workers, boss, job, etc. I know I have done this plenty of times, mostly with relationships. We tend to think we are perfect and look at the flaws of others meanwhile the problem is coming from us. Ghandi once said, "whats missing from situations is what YOU fail to bring". We really need to look at what we are not doing and be very careful of what we expect from others.
People also do this with weight loss and getting in shape. You can't go 10 years without working out and then EXPECT to get in shape in two weeks. You can't go outside and just run 10miles when you haven't run in a long time. Set real goals and follow thru with them. When getting into fitness you can not EXPECT to be in top shape overnight. Everyone wants a quick fix. People who get into fitness or being a trainer and EXPECT to make 100,000 a year their first year are out of their minds. (Sorry this rant will have to be dealt with in another blog)
I also want to be sure and say that this does not mean you should have super low EXPECTATIONS of others or yourself. The point I am trying to make is that we must be realistic on what we expect. I hope this is not taking the wrong way by people. Be sure to comment if you agree or disagree with me.

If the shoe fits wear it and shut the hell up
-FLO

Where is the disconnect?

2011-06-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a lifting injury that I had ignored for quite some time finally became too painful to handle. I sucked it up and had the surgery that I had been dreading for years. I was out of commission in terms of lifting, any vertical movements and all forms of my regular conditioning. I was at a loss of what I could do to keep those hard earned gains I had made. This is far from the point of this little golden nugget I have been sitting on for a while that I have wanted to get off my chest.

So what did I opt for to retain what I had gained, for it to be minimally invasive you ask??
That's right, I returned to our "conventional" friend Mr. Elliptical, the greatest low impact invention ever!?? Or is it?

Here is what I noticed in my many, MANY hours of riding that devil's contraption. First off, the manner that these machines are used is so lackadaisical that it's no damn wonder these people have to ride them for hours to still not see any improvements! Men, women, kids are all texting on their phones, chatting with each other about this, that and the other thing, and 95% of them have yet to break a sweat after riding these cyclical mind game machines for endless periods of time.

Now as I understand it from my clients and anyone I have ever spoke with about exercising, the biggest problem with it is a problem of time constriction. So let me get this right…. you think you need hours on the elliptical in order to elicit the best possible gains from your body? Did you listen you your self when you said that out loud? Say it again, "DO I REALLY NEED HOURS ON THIS MACHINE TO GET INTO THE BEST SHAPE POSSIBLE"??

HELL NO! Is my answer. You need less then 30 minutes if you know how to work your body. Train it to move, make it feel uneasy in the angles it's on, jump, dip, slide, push, shuffle, and chop your way to a better you in less time. If you don’t know how to do it, there are tons of people in the wellness community just chomping at the bit to show you all these amazingly effective and fun techniques to do so. There is also this little thing called YOUTUBE! Hello??? Come on people, we need to wake you up! Get you lively! Make you MOVEEEEE!

I bet each of you will smile more when you finish a movement session like that then you WILL EVER GET WATCHING DAYS OF OUR LIVES/TMZ on the elliptical.

You think that you have to do the same generic motion thousands of times because that will change your body into its optimal composition? You think that kicking the treadmill to the highest angle it can go on, holding on for dear life, and reading a book is a way to get a sufficient workout? Come on now...you must be crazy!!

WHERE IS THE DISCONNECT?!?!?!

There is no reason that you should have to spend countless hours training your body to not see the results! Did you know professional body builders only lift 45-60 minutes MAXIMUM at a time.. and that's their job!

What are they doing that your not? Think about it? The lackadaisical approach that is being taken by 99% of those in the gym IS NOT helping you meet your needs to get you the goals you want.

The wise words of Chris FLO simply put, "In order to get what you want, you have to train for what you need". If you want to be a body builder, then train in the way a body builder would... HEAVY, HEAVY, and uhhh? Oh yea HEAVIER!
If you want to be a great athlete (Yes. there’s a difference between bodybuilders and athlete lifting styles (shhh don't tell anybody ;)), then you must train your body in harder then you would exert in sport. Train your body on proprioceptive skill building, handling loads at different vectors, absorbing and exploding instantaneously, challenging the body in the air, or on one leg. This will train you to be a better athlete, not curls for the girls or a million crunches.

This whole little blurb all comes full circle dedicated to the women, men, and children exercising in an archaic fashion. As a society, we always look to become more efficient. Cars to planes, Boom-box to Iphone. Simply put, its human nature. Why not train your body in a way that is efficient, effective, and gives you what technology is based upon which is the FREEDOM TO DO OTHER THINGS? Now you’re getting back the one thing in this world that once it's gone, it's gone. That my friend is TIME.

Now that you have lots of time on your hands, lets talk about why its good to get off the elliptical, spin bike, and those other treacherous isolation machines. Impact is our friend. However impact can also be an enemy. Too much impact breaks ligaments, tendons, cartilage, muscle and bone. On the other hand, just enough tells our body that we need to remain vigilant, strong and ever ready to tackle uncertainty that lies ahead in our daily life. By doing this we have just created an internal janitor position for our body (Body weight exercise, Plyometrics, Suspension Training, ect.), sweeping away cobwebs, keeping our halls squeaky clean(Veins, Arteries), and ensuring that our structural foundation (Bones and Muscle) is solid and ready to take on the forces of gravity and wear and tear.

This part is specifically designated for you women out there. As you get older your BMD (Bone Mineral Density) decreases. So what do you do for it? You take "Boneva" or one of those pills to help retain that ever important BMD. Wrong!!!!

As I said before you need to impose demands/stressors on your body so that it changes for the better! You need to step away from that zero impact elliptical and start moving around on all planes. Induce stressors onto your body so that it realizes it must adapt to handle the forces put upon them. MANY, MANY, MANYYYYYY studies show that strength training is the most optimal way to have women retain and gain bone mass. SO, why are you doing the lowest possible impact exercise for your body and then polluting it with "doctor prescribed" pills?

I don't get it! Why do you repeatedly do the same workout time and time again? Yet you have no changes in your bodies composition, be it Lean mass gain or fat mass loss? Come on now. We are on the precipice of a brand new frontier in the wellness industry. SOOO many new ways are available to train the body that were not before. There are much better ways to decrease your workout time, increase the changes in your body and optimize your lifestyle! So why are you not doing it?

Be well my friends,
-Oz

Why do you Train? For Looks or Life?

2011-06-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Driving my sister to school this morning, I had forgotten the high school days. While I was wearing a cut off tee and some old shorts, my little sis was wearing this adorable sundress and sandals. I caught myself thinking jeeze, this looks just like a fashion show...my father was right when he used to tease me about it! The girls and guys alike parading around in the newest trends, hoping to be noticed.

In reality however, these mannerisms transcend the age groups, not just high school and especially into the fitness world. We are all well aware that a large influence on the physically active is purly vanity, while worrying a bit about strength and performance here and there. But when it comes down to it, vanity reigns. We want to look better, be better, faster, and stronger than our peers and even those that we should not be competing with in the first place! What we must realize and commit to is the only worthy competition is to ourselves.

Be active and eat healthy to boost your wellness and quality of life. When people ask what you are training for, respond; life! Sure go ahead and let vanity contribute to survival, but understand that the importance of vanity will fade, and with that, your intensity about exercise and nutrition cannot. Be wellness minded not just appearance minded. This will help support you in the most vital 'fashion'. Stay healthy and strong, and in that vitality, be happy. Live long, live strong!

- Jannel

My Burger King Story

2011-06-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

No, I did not have Burger King..although I know many of you would pay to see me eat that stuff. That's right.. it's stuff, not food..but anyway..

I was getting gas and while I was sitting in my car waiting, I started to eat some Fage yogurt. Some random guy rolls down his window and says "Are you really eating yogurt and getting gas?" I looked at him as he sticks his hand into his Burger King bag and reaches for a french fry and I replied back, "Are you really eating Burger King french fries and getting gas?"

I think it's funny that eating something that is actually nutritious and beneficial for your body is looked at so differently and almost strange to some people, whereas they are eating processed, junk crap, and it's looked at as natural to them. This comes to show we are lacking the proper knowledge of how to feed ourself something that our body can actually use. The way people eat and treat their own body today is a form of abuse.

-Allison Thibault "Tbo"

Improve your results NOW!

2011-06-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

"The only way to improve your results is to increase your level of awareness" - Bob Proctor

I would like to start this off by defining "results". There is no such thing as bad results or good results, there are just results. Our thinking and purpose is what makes them good or bad. For example, I gained 1 pound last week, for me that was a good result for others that would be a bad results. Everything is what you make of it. Our mind and thought process is what determines how we feel about our results.
In the beginning quote it says we must increase our level of awareness in order to increase our results. The best way I can describe this is by using personal examples. When I first started personal training I did what most trainers do, I trained my clients just like I trained myself. I would never stretch them out or do a proper warm up except for walking on the treadmill. This is all I knew. Unfortunately for my clients they were forced to do these workouts which were mostly bodybuilding based. Their results were due to my level of awareness as a trainer. So to me I was doing things right but I was unaware of how wrong I was. Most people are like this in any job. They do what they have learned. This is not bad or good; if you are getting the results you want then there would be no reason to change.
In the world of personal training the funniest thing is that there are trainers who have zero education but great personal skills, and have tons of clients. Then there are those who are super smart but lack personality. For each of these kinds of trainers their results will depend on their awareness of what they lack. In my opinion the only way to increase awareness is to increase education. So for someone who is all brains and no personality I would recommend they go out and purchase books on personality and selling techniques. For those who are all personality and no brains I would recommend they purchase books to training techniques and basic anatomy. Once they become aware of what they are missing they will begin to increase their results. I guess you could say awareness and education go hand and hand.
This concept of increased awareness works in all aspects of life. For example I am trying to learn how to work less hours but increase productivity. There are also things in my personal life that as I get older I am becoming more aware of and I know I need to change them in order to get the results I want. People need to take a step back every now and then and look at their life. If you are not where you want to be in life, not in the kind of relationship you dreamed of being in, or not doing the job you wanted to do, then you must increase your awareness of what you are doing to attract these things and change it NOW! Life is not a test run, you must do the things you need to do now, in order to have the results you want NOW!
I hope this explains the concept of increasing awareness to improve results. If not feel free to email me with any questions.

- FLO

Who do you Know?

2011-06-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

"Who you know decides how far you get; what you know decides how you long you stay there."
- 50 Cent

You always hear the saying, "It's not what you know, its who you know.". I think this is sooo true in life. Most people graduate college and can not find a job because they do not know anyone. If nobody knows who you are, how can you find a job or move forward in life. You have find people on the other side of the fence, if that is where you want to be. You must talk to someone who is where you want to be and find out how they got there. No need to recreate the wheel.
So, how do you meet someone who has made it to where you want to be? The best way for me to answer this question is to tell a story. Two years ago I met Denise, and in those two years she has changed my life forever. First of all she visited FLO Fitness one day and she lives all the way in San Francisco, I was in complete shock that a rep from a big company would come to my little shop. She made me feel like I was running a big time business. The moment we met, we clicked and I felt like I have known her my whole life. Over the span of a few months we became best friends. One day she invited me to join her in NYC to visit some gyms and talk to trainers. After visiting and few cool spots, we ended up going to Tortilla Flats in NY. She invited all these trainers she knew and one by one more and more trainers started to show up. It was the first time I had ever met so many trainers in one place. At the end of the day I went home with like 15 business cards from all these awesome people. From that day on our Networking Group was born. I also learned a life lesson, Its all about networking!
I can not stress enough the importance of networking, for anyone who wants to start a business or increase a current business. Networking with other people in my industry has made all the difference in the success of FLO Fitness. The more people you know the more people you learn from. The more knowledge you have the more you can give to your clients. It is a win, win. I honestly owe all my success to Denise and her teaching how to network.

Here are some rules to networking that I have come up with thru the years. They are in no particular order.

1) Never talk to 1 person for to long of a time. You must get around the room and meet everyone.
2) It is not Hook Up Central. Try and stay away from hooking up with everyone there. It will only make this weird later on (TRUST ME!)
3) Carry around business cards at all time. Nothing is worst then forgetting you business card and people may forget who you are.
4) Don't talk about yourself to much. There are a ton of ego maniacs out there. Find out about everyone else.
5) Ask questions and find out what people are really about. Talk shop but also find out about there passion and who they are as a person
6) Don't get to drunk! You may say or do something really dumb which will not get you invited to the next event
7) Don't name drop the whole time you speak to someone. Nothing is worst then a person who talks about all the famous people they worked with. Its ok to drop a name here and there. But when your whole conversation is about names, it gets boring.
8) Don't BS. If you say your going to call someone or you want to help them, you must do it. Nobody likes someone is going to BS them to death and never follow up
9) Integrity! Ask Denise about this word. She will school you on what it means and how to live with it.
10) Be yourself. No matter where you go, you are who you are.

I hope this post can help you. If you have any questions on networking events in NYC or in New Jersey, feel free to contact us at flofitness@gmail.com.

-FLO

1 Big Beautiful Web of Life.

2011-06-02T19:12:00.001-07:00

Everything effects everything when it comes to living in optimal health. It's all one extravagant intertwined system that CAN'T be separated!

The environment/company you keep is directly responsible for your mood, feelings and outlook on life(think of your DIFFERENT groups of friends and how you feel when you hang with them).

Your mood dictates what you feel like eating through subconscious programming.(Ever get the late night sugar cravings when your feeling down??)

That food is directly responsible for your hormones and enzymes balances in the body (how about when you eat a nutritionally crappy meal and feel sluggish/fatigued from doing nothing?).

Those hormones and enzymes speak directly with your neuromuscular system in a high speed conversation at all times (Like a smart phone text conversation between two 16 year old girls(NON-STOP).

That system is in direct contact with your muscles( like your boss and you).

Those muscles of yours do the pull, push, leverage and multi-planar rotations of the bones in your body(Just like the steering wheel of your car manipulates what direction you go in).

You see, it's all interconnected and one continuous entity. Look at your body outside of the physical structure and see what makes you feel the way you do! This change in thought can radically alter the way you feel, how you move, and your quality of life.

If this doesn't clear it up how about this one. You may drive a $100,000 dollar Mercedes. Along with driving that car comes the gas that needs to go into it. You never put regular in a machine like that. It ruins the motor, clogs the gas lines, causes oil gunk to build up, making the engine work harder, making your car work harder, making you put more gas into it and so on and so forth. Then comes time for the mechanic, who opens you up, costs a shit ton of money and could of been preventable from the beginning!

YOUR BODY IS THE BEST MACHINE EVER MADE! TELL ME A BETTER ONE THATS MORE COMPLEX?

Why would you put low grade food into your body when you can run on premium CLEAN foods at all times making your entire being last longer, run better, break down less, need less outside assistance??

Take it from an FFK that this is a way to improve your health, physical wealth, and overall life long vitality! Make the change to feel the difference!!!

Please reach out to me at any point in time if you need ANY HELP! That's what I'm here for, and that's what I love to do. If you feel anyone you know can benefit from this please shoot it their way! It's all about helping others!

Be well my friends,
Oz

Special thanks to Kris T. for the inspirational thoughts!

Fantastic Fascia

2011-06-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is a must read article for everyone. It talks about fascia but keeps it very simple so that everyone can understand. This has been the focus of my research for the past year and I think this article is the best yet for the average joe who wants to learn about it.
The link is: http://runningtimes.coverleaf.com/runningtimes/201106?pg=30#pg30

Best Assessment Tool Ever!

2011-06-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

So I had someone email a question about "The Best Assessment Tool" for testing clients. With all the information out there this blog could turn into a 1,000 page book on what assessment tool is number 1. I will do my best to keep this short, simple and informational.
There are tons of assessments out that look at our clients mechanical issues. Each one has its own grading scale and pin points on what to look for. At FLO we use the overhead squat assessment, one leg squat assessment, straight leg test, push up test, pull up test and box drop test (if you have questions on anyone of these assessments be sure to email me). There are other popular test out there but this is what we use. The question now is why do we use this and why is it better then all the other test?
In fitness it is important to know that it's not what you use but how you use it (don't get any dirty thoughts). Any assessment test is the best if you are the best at using it. Pick an assessment test that you are 100% comfortable with. I have used some of the FMS stuff but I am not 100% comfortable with it all, so I use parts of it that I can speak confidently about. You must be able to speak to your client with confidence about the results of the test. There can be no "umm, ugh, hmm, maybe, not sure". The client must feel that you know where they are lacking and that you are the person that can help them fix what is wrong.
I also believe that the assessment NEVER ENDS! What I mean by that is, every time the client walks in I am watching how they walk and how they move. I am ALWAYS assessing to see what progressions are being made and what needs to be changed. When people are being assessed they tend to be super strict with form and want to pass the test. Its like when kids in school behave super nice when the principle is around but go crazy when he/she leaves. So many times your assessment has crappy findings anyway because they know you are looking for some weakness. This is why I make it a point to never cue during the assessment. Just tell them to do what feels natural.
If I had to pick the best assessment tool, what would it be? Since I train mostly athletes, I would have to say the best tool is.............(drumroll please)............. GO TO THE GAME AND WATCH THEM PLAY!!!(On a side note, they will also know you care and they will be happy that you came out to support them) I will bet you will be surprised at how they move on the field, court, pitch. All muscular imbalances and everything you want to see will show if you watch close enough. To me, ONLY using the assessment you did in the gym is like trying to assess the strength of a Lion by watching them in the zoo. You wont be able to see anywhere near the strength they have until you watch them in the wild. Watch you clients do what they do best and you will get your assessment.
I hope I answered the question. If not feel free to email me. Also be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel for workout videos, join our facebook group and follow us on twitter. Thanks for the love and support

-FLO

Give to give, not to Get

2011-06-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

So today we just finished our 3rd Mentor Program and FLO Fitness. It has been an awesome experience to work with motivated trainers looking to get better at training. It inspired me to write todays blog on giving for the sake of giving. We always here the saying, "Give and you shall receive". This is very true but it does not mean, give and wait and demand that you get something back. When we started our mentor program we wanted to help trainers not make the same mistakes that we/I made in this industry. To often people who become trainers are self absorbed and think they know everything. I know because I must admit thinking this a some point in my career. However the one thing I have learned is that the more you learn, the more you realize you know nothing. I have met soooooo many smart people who make me feel dumb all the time and it is humbling and awesome at the same time. It gives me something to look forward to learning.
I heard Dr. Miles Monroe say, "A true leader is someone who makes himself increasingly unnecessary." I do believe this is true. If you give enough of yourself and help people realize their greatness you will no longer need to be around for them to shine. Once you have reached a certain level in life you should become a candle. Meaning, you sacrifice yourself to light the path for others (I forgot where i got the quote from but I love it). I know in my life I am blessed that my parents have guided me and put some of their dreams on hold so that I could shine. They planted the seeds and now I am the tree and one day my children will be the fruit. So remember Give To Give, Not to Get!

-FLO

Importance of Personal Development

2011-05-31T04:15:00.000-07:00

   As fitness professionals we tend to get so caught up in learning all there is to know about the body and training. This is a great quality, being hungry for knowledge is something that we should all take pride in. However most people forget about the mind and soul in this industry. I believe everything begins and ends with the mind. No matter how great you may look, if your mind is not right you will always be in bad shape. As I said before most of us study fitness books to improve our health, we also write our workouts to track progress. How many people have tracked how they have grown as a person in the last year? We need to research self and how we can improve self.
   Its always a weird feeling when you see someone you haven't seen in years and you talk to them about what they have been up to and their response is a depressed, "Same old, same old". Its like life has been drained from them. Its like they are stuck in a time machine. We never stand still in life because the universe is always moving forward, so if you think you are standing still you are actually moving backwards and life will pass you by. I know for a fact I am not the same person I was 2 years ago, shoot I'm not even the same person I was two weeks ago. We should always seek to get better everyday.
   This brings me to the whole point of this blog and why FLO Fitness is going to start blogging from now on. There is more to this game then just knowing body parts and how to train them. We must also build ourselves as people. In the last two years I have read more books on personal development and it has helped more then anything else I have done. If you would like a list of some of the books I have read feel free to email me at flofitness@gmail.com
   It would not be fair for me to tell you the good without the bad. When you start building yourself as a person you will also start becoming aware of the negative people around you. Not everyone will be happy with the change they are going to see in you. I have gained some wonderful friends in the past few years but I have also lost many. People want you to do the same thing they are doing. If you ask most friends they will say they want whats best for you but sometimes what is best for you is to get away from them.
   Growing is natural part of life. Seeds become plants, and boys become men (sometimes). It is in our nature to want to grow and progress. Nobody tells a baby to want to walk but something inside them makes them want to walk and explore. We were never meant to stand still . I think this is why most marriages fall apart, if you don't grow together then you will grow apart (this is whole other blog).
Anyway to get back on track, we need to focus on growing our mind, body and soul. If we can get those inline we can do anything. I hope you guys enjoy the blog and stay tuned for many many more. Be sure to share this on facebook and tell a friend to tell a friend.

-FLO