At the 3 Month Mark

Hmmm... I don't know... I guess Beachbody products work :)

Not bad for three months! *Click on each picture for a larger version*

First Day, May 8th, 2011:

Currently, August 8th, 2011:

 

First Day, May 8th, 2011:

Currently, August 8th, 2011:

I'm getting there! What a life changing experience. 

Now, here's just a stupid fun one:

If I can do it, anyone can!

Meditation and the Art of not Knowing how to do it

*ahhhmmm
*ohhhmmmm
*mpppggg
*llsssdddd

Or whatever the heck you're supposed to chant while meditating.  I know nothing of meditation but I sure could use a bit of quiet, reflective time for myself these days.  So I started taking 10 minutes before bed every night and just breathing and shutting up. It's amazing how your brain gets sidetracked in just a few seconds.

"Did I turn off the kitchen light?  Did someone just text me?"  Your brain thinks up of all kinds of reasons to stay busy and not just chill the heck out.  It's been a pretty cool experience.  Here's what I do and I recommend it to you to try:

#1. Turn off your t.v. cell phone, etc. and grab a pen and paper
#2. Sit upright, close your eyes and start to take slow, deep breaths
#3. every minute or so, ask yourself a life question (such as, how can I make more money in 30 days?) Mine usually center around my fitness coaching.
#4. Be still, wait a few moments and then jot down anything that comes to your mind, whether it's "get a job" or "purple monkey dishwasher"

Try this for 10 minutes a night.  Take some time for yourself.  Eventually your thoughts will become more in tune with your subconscious and you may get some surprisingly good answers to your questions in life.

Randomly Unrandom Stuff

My coach, Barbie Decker, the wonderfully awesome person that got me into the world of fitness has a great article on her website front page about her recent trip to France.  Beachbody (the company we coach for) recently took 10 coaches over to test the market for expansion and bike through the countryside.

I love learning about the cultures of new places!  Barbie has some great pictures and videos of her in France.  You can visit her page at: http://getfitwithbarbie.com/
_________________________

I went to Fright Night Film Fest/Fandom Fest this weekend in beautiful Louisville Kentucky.  I am not a big horror/comic/movie guy, so you may be asking why on earth did I go to the event?

Well, if you've never been to a Dragon Con or Film Fest or some other such nerdauchery (nerd debauchery?) you are missing out on the most important experience of your life!  God created Nerd Conventions on the 3rd day so it's more important that whatever he created on days 4-6 (Ice cream cones? Traffic cones? I bet it was a cone of some sort)

These conventions are an amalgamation of actors, writers, comics, movies, video games, toys, tattoos, cos play (people who dress as their favorite character from said comic or movie, etc.  The guys who dressed as the Ghostbusters had the proton packs and everything and they lit up when fired, insane!)  on and on.  There truly is something for everyone.  Vendor areas have the most random stuff you've ever seen.  I saw everything from movie memorabilia, pocket watches, old doctors instruments, UFC fighters... holy crap the event was crazy!

You have movie screenings, concerts, workshops such as "The 20 most important things when writing a fantasy novel".  You have chances to meet celebrities up close and personal.  I particularly liked Henry Winkler and Linda Blair. 

So I can go on and on but I think the best way to describe the experience is with an experience I actually had.  This is not a joke, this is an ACTUAL DESCRIPTION of an event that I became an unnecessary part of:

I watched Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in four Superman movies, engaged in learning a judo move from two random guys rolling around on the floor, and NOT the UFC fighters I mentioned earlier, while a little Japanese lady and a hotel employee, sprang from the shadows next to me and karate chopped my neck while yelling at me. 

Only at a nerd con!

Now, I do have to admit the food these poor people are offered is HORRIBLE!  They might as well just fry everything in the building, the actors and the everything.  Then they goop everything with gravy or sauce and that's supposed to be a great meal option.  Wow.  Maybe I can change this in the future :) 

Whole wheat Boba Fettucini, anyone?

My First Run in 14 Years

When I was playing football in high school, I really got into running and loved stepping out into the crisp winter air and running a few miles.  I was in pretty good shape so running a few miles was not a huge strain. 

Fast forward to 2011...

My hockey friend, Ken Hanley, is running a 10k for charity in the fall of this year.  I decided I'd gather some people and we could run with him.  Our location was Cherokee Park in Louisville Kentucky which is an awesome place to run.  It's full of scenery and other runners to motivate you, people are biking and playing sports.  It was a great location to start my first run in 14 years.

We set up a run/walk for 2.5 miles.  I figured I'd make it about 500 feet and I'd have to stop for a break.  I am in good shape now that I have been on Shakeology and doing P90X from Beachbody but I know that running is taxing and I really figured I'd wear out quickly.

Well, I made it about 1.2 miles, all jogging, without having to stop!  I was really proud of myself and happy that Ken took it easy on me.  So we then took a small break and started jogging again.  We made the 2.5 miles with minimal stops and did so well, we decided to go another .5 miles up and down a steep hill.

All in all is was a great day.  I pushed myself to go 3.0 miles instead of 2.5, Ken and I got to chat about current events in our lives and we ran in a beautiful park.  The next day, even though my legs and back tried to kill me with soreness, I got my P90X Yoga workout in and stayed dedicated to my normal routine.

It was a great time and I can't wait to run again!

(I was drained of energy but Shakeology helped me recover afterwards)

Are You Setting Specific, Detailed Goals?

What are your goals in life?  Do you have them written down?

Goals can be anything from paying a bill on time every month to making $500,000 a year starting your own business.  Anything your want in life, including those dreams you don't think you can achieve (you can, by the way!) should be written down and reviewed on a regular basis.

But... you have to make them SPECIFIC.  Here's what I mean by specific:

A non-specific goal would be this:

"I want to lose weight"

What's the problem with that goal? How can your train your brain and body to ever achieve a goal that is so vague?  Here's a better goal example:

"I want to lose 30 pounds by Thursday, September 7th at 8:00 pm and I will do it through committing to a fitness and nutrition system"

Now your brain can say "hey! I have a number and a date and a way to achieve my goal!"  It makes it much easier to reach.

Here's what I want you to do.  Send me an email at jfowlerfitness@gmail.com with five goals you would like to achieve for the rest of this year.  I will help you make them specific and we can work towards the result.

Now is the time to take time for yourself and reach your expectations!

Ken and Jason's DASH FOR DAD warm-up run! (A JFowlerFitness Fit Club Event)

Time	Saturday, July 16 · 8:30am - 10:30am
Location	Cherokee Park at Hogan's fountain
Created By	Jason Fowler
More Info	Join us for a 2.5 mile run/walk to raise money for Ken's DASH FOR DAD-The project to end prostate cancer! There is NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY, the event is FREE and anyone is encouraged to come out. We will have fun, meet new people and help Ken with a great cause! Ken will be running 13.1 miles in the fall to raise money for this great cause. PLEASE BE READY TO DONATE any amount you can spare. $1 or $100, anything helps! There is some great information on the website for the cause here: https://zerocancer.org/races/raise/?form_id=ODA Jason will have information on how you can he can coach you for FREE if you have an interest in fitness with Beachbody and we will have samples of a couple Beachbody products.

How to make P90X 'Kenpo X' a BEAST of a workout

If you have tried P90X in any capacity, you know it's a tough and rigorous workout program.  Kenpo X is one of the 12 workout DVD's that can be incredibly taxing and give you an awesome workout if you really bring the intensity.

Always looking to modify my workouts where I can, I chose to add in an off-ice agility drill for hockey into my Kenpo X routine.  I do it during the "breaks" (which are harder than the regular routine :).  I still do the 'jumping jacks' and 'X jumps' too.

Here's a link to the off ice training video (skip to 5:20 to see the drills performed)

Off Ice Agility Drills

Try it!  Give it a few times and you'll be surprised how your agility improves.