The Garage

After years of training in a small climate controlled building filled with selectorized machines, I have officially moved to a more functional facility...my GARAGE!

After 6 months of testing it out, we have found the results to be profound. These workouts don't require a lot of equipment or take a long time yet are more effective than anything you have ever done. Give me a month and you won't want anything else. It becomes ADDICTIVE! All it takes from you is a desire to better yourself and the humility to do that in my garage. A recent client, who is a long term runner, said it best when she said, "You think you're in shape until you do this."

You can find out more information about Trinity Fitness by clicking on the Personal Training link.

Comfort Zones

As a full-time teacher, I get a pretty good glimpse of our future and the differences between my generation and future generations. One of the alarming differences with our kids today is their inability to handle challenges. I understand that things are different now than they were 20-30 years ago but I definitely see that we can't afford to neglect passing on some of the important lessons we were taught as kids. One of those lessons that our kids need is the lesson of being uncomfortable and how to handle it.

Recently I had a 16 year old student refuse to walk home, although he had already been given permission from his parents, because he thought the walk was too far and it might make his feet hurt. I ask more questions as to where he lived and it was just under 3 miles. This student chose to wait 4 hours before his parents could pick him up rather than take a 3 mile walk on a beautiful 60 degree day that would probably have taken him less than an hour.

Life is not always going to be La-Z-Boys and video games. How do we expect ourselves or our kids to handle life's challenges if we don't train outside of our comfort zones? I believe exercise is one of those ways that we can train our kids with how to handle being uncomfortable. Before long, we can actually become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I recently starting my own children on a workout program. What was interesting is that while they were uncomfortable temporarily during the workout, they had a since of pride and accomplishment when the workout was over. They are always asking when they get to workout again. I can't help but think that they will handle life's challenges better than had they not learned to leave their comfort zones.

My advice: Take the stairs sometimes. Park further away from the door. Hand-wash your car every once in a while. And when you workout, get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Leaded vs Unleaded

Some of my clients have been asking about their diets in relation to their new workout regimen with me. We follow a high intensity, functional way of training that burns a lot of gas in a short period of time. So with that being said, I will once again compare our bodies with our cars.

This particular client is concerned that her diet is sabotaging her gains from this new way of training. She has been a jogger for years. Our type of training is basically the opposite of that. She is now craving more food and is worried about calorie consumption.

Along with our analogy, this person has been driving her car like an old couple taking a Sunday stroll home from church - steady-state, consistent, and very fuel efficient. Now all of the sudden, she is taking that same car and racing it like a 16year old with a new drivers licence.

It is real simple. If you want better performance from your car, especially on race day, you have to give it better fuel than leaded gasoline. The same goes with the food we eat. We need to eat as clean as possible to get the best performance possible from our bodies. If you are topping off your fuel tank with high calorie foods, you can't eat as many and it will definitely hinder your performance. The best part about eating the right foods is that most are very low calorie which means you can put more fuel in the tank.

I learned this lesson by actually writing down everything I ate along with the nutritional facts. I found that I could load my plate with lean meats and vegetables and still reduce my calories compared to when I ate half of that portion size in pasta, breads, and fattier meats. You could basically eat a plate of good food for the same amount of calories as a soft drink.

So the next time you are ready to fill your tank just remember what my football coach from high school used to tell us, "You can't drive a Cadillac on leaded gasoline."

Personal Information/Liability Release Form

Before beginning any workout program with Trinity Fitness, you will need to complete the form below. If you are unable to complete the online form, email me and I can send you a copy via email or have a hard copy available the first night of training. 

Client Information / Liability Release
 

Cheetah vs Lion

I was watching a documentary on Animal Planet the other day and I saw some video that was very interesting. The video was of a cheetah actually being chased by a lion. The videographer said that he had never seen a lion so aggressively pursue a cheetah for such a long distance. What I found almost laughable was the fact that the cheetah was clearly much faster and it kept looking back at the lion as if he were crazy. It was almost as if the cheetah was thinking, "Uh, you realize I am a cheetah don't you? You have no chance of catching me. You may be stronger and bigger but when it comes to speed, I am King of the Jungle!"

I immediately thought about some of the athletes I have trained recently. They are high school kids who spend the majority of their training working on getting bigger and stronger. Getting stronger is good and essential to being a great athlete but what was missing was speed development. Speed is arguably the most important factor for any sport from grade school through high school. College and professional sports is where speed must be matched with strength and power.

The fact is that on a football team for example, you really want a balance of lions and cheetahs. You may want to throw in some buffulo as well but my philosophy hasn't changed since high school, "I don't care how big and strong you are. If you can't beat me to the endzone, I WIN EVERYTIME!"

My advice to athletes is to train to be better athletes. That means to not focus too specfically on one thing but to become good at many things. Speed training needs to be one of those focus points. Being big and strong will help you but being fast will make you King of the Jungle.

My Fitness Journey Part 1

I think that you are probably born with it but I have been a passionate fitness and athletic enthusiast my whole life. It started with the greatest movie ever made, Rocky. My parents still laugh about seeing me outside shadow boxing at the age of three after seeing Rocky for the first time.

I first started competing in small races at the age of four. As soon as I started school, my annual schedule of sports included Baseball, Basketball, and Track and Field. I started playing Football in 3rd grade. I was blessed with speed which allowed me to excel in most sports. I loved the training aspect as much as the competing aspect of sports. I remember in forth grade listening to the Eye of the Tiger in my room and then going out and jogging down the street and doing a burpee at every other house I passed. I would then come home and lift those plastic, cement filled dumbbells and do push-ups. I remember thinking that they should invent something that allowed you to listen to music while you ran. The walkman came out about a year or two later.

I loved how it felt to feel strong and fast. The results were seen in the sports I was playing. Very little has changed to this day.

Life Lessons

One of the great benefits of physical training is how it mimics life. Some workouts are long and tedious whereas some are fast and intense. Some workouts will test your strength and stamina whereas others may test your endurance and flexibility. The same goes with life. Life will throw obstacles at you that will require you to dig your heals in and tough out the situation. It requires endurance, strength, stamina, speed, and a strong faith to make it through many of life's challenges. I have found that physical training can be a great tool for life training.

When you are doing everything you know to do but are still waiting on circumstances to change, keep running. When the world keeps throwing hurdles in your way, keep jumping. When the doors to your dreams won't budge, keep pushing. And when your workout seems to hard to finish just know that you are training for more than a smaller waist but for the victory of living a better life.