For weight loss the scale and body fat tester are good to make sure that there is no overcheating. A little weight gain may be acceptable but exercise can be used to counter act the cheating gains. Try doing things outside over the holidays. Many people have been outside running, walking, and biking. Since many people know use kettlebells, you can take a couple bells to the park to lift and practice your kettlebell techniques for an hour.

Here are some tips to so you don’t take your weight loss and fitness too seriously. Keep it Simple.

1. Workout 5 days a week and don’t worry about doing it perfectly just do it.

2. Combine strength and cario.

3. Drink allot of water.

4. Take flax seed oil, olive oil, and fish oil.

5. Eat at leat 3 meals including, protein, good carbs, greens, carrots and fresh juice.

I came back from my injury and got my best fitness score ever but I see now that I was compensating. Compensation builds muscle imbalances, poor posture, sorry flexibility, weak core strength and the individual will be prone to a new injury. Some people will fall into the trap of the cumulative injury cycle, injury time off back to hard training with poor form( just wanting to sweat and feel the burn). Others will just quit all together, get fat, weak and then as they get older, the degenerative diseases take over. Sounds sad, but that is the status quo, just look at our current health care problems. This is all preventable.

If you are coming off an injury, it is important to get cleared by a doctor or physical therapist. Then find a certified specialist in the Functional Movement Screen system. This will find your weak link and give you some personalized exercises and your own road map.

Another great method that has worked for me is evaluating my program and singling out the exercises that are causing harm, see if it is due to improper technique or sometimes the exercise is no longer right for me. Do not be an exercise addict. Cocaine feels great but it has terrible consequenses and the same can be true with improper exercises. There is nothing healthy when you use exercise like an addict uses drugs or food. Use good judgement.

The last 2 weeks, while I was in the VA hospital, I had to fight to be healthy. Sadly to say most of the vets there are not into healthy living like me. I started to get dizzy because they had me on a high carb diet. So I told them about my superfoods diet and the vitamins I take. I was switched to high protein diet, given fish oil and a multi vitamin. Eventhough I had a head and neck injury, I came up with a body weight routine in my room. My point is that the mindset is the key not a gym membership.

When I got out of the military, all I had was my will and 2 Army duffle bags. When I got back to California from Kentucky, my 2 duffle bags were gone but I still had my will. With my will, I have been able to investigate many martial arts and fitness systems. Then as I started to pay the price for pushing the physical limits too much ending up in bed whenever I wasn’t training. That pushed me into the nutrition and advanced certifications. Now I am at a point where I think I am developing my own system and I want to teach it to others.

Here are 5 simple tips for when you hurt but still want to train:
1. Find out from a doctor your limits.
2.Use ice to reduce inflamation.
3.Stay hydrated at all times.
4.Practice dyaphramatic breathing.
5.Eat anti-inflamitory superfoods. Some examples, salmon, spinach, olive oil, and blueberrys.

5 Exercise Tips for fat loss:
1. Workout out 5 days a week for at least an hour.
2.Lift weights, working the whole body, while using the big muscles to burn more fat.
3. Walk, run, sprint, or swing kettlebells for 20 min to 1 hour 5 days a week.
4.Work your core at every workout.
5. Keep your heart rate up and move from exercise to exercise to have a higher calorie burning workout.

5 Nutrition Tips for fat loss:
1. Remove white bread, chips, white rice, pasta, and potatoes from your summer diet.
2. Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks.
3. Drink more than 8 glasses of water.
4.Protein at every meal.
5.Eat plenty of fat burning fruits and vegetables. Also try fish oil or flax seed oil to aid in natural fat loss.

In the late 1980s and throughtout the 90s the buzz was using branch chain amino acids and, or protein drinks for recovery. Then in the 2000s, I began to here people talk about glutamine for recovery. Over the years I have tried many of the popular supplements for health, muscle gain, strength, and fat-loss. Most work to some degree but over the last 2 years, I have discovered that nothing beats eating as many superfoods as possible. Eventhough we all know this, most of us get caught up in the quick fixes and latest new miracle drinks and pills. Many work well but may not be worth the money when you can get the best results from real food.

Here is something that I have been trying for the last few weeks. I bought a mini juicer at Bed Bath and Beyond for less than $50, the Magic Bullet. What I like about it is that it is such a convient way to get fruit and vegetables. You also blend up the whole fruit or veggi so you get all the fiber and good stuff that you don’t get with regular juices. Also, do not be fooled about all the healthy juices. Many people will say that you want to avoid any of the juices that are not fresh. Some even say that juice from concentrate may not be as healthy as we are led to believe. The best way is to eat or drink a variety of fruit and vegetables from all the colors.

Agatsu- “Self victory.” According to the founder, true victory (MASAKATSU) is the victory one achieves over oneself (AGATSU). Thus one of the founder’s “slogans” was MASAKATSU AGATSU — “The true victory of self-mastery.”

I took The Agatsu Level 2 Kettlebell Certification on the 30 and 31st of January from kettlebell pioneer Shawn Mozen. He got certified in kettlebells back in 2003 under Pavel Tsatsouline when very few people even new what a kettlebell was. After getting certified Shawn popularized kettlebells in throughout Canada, where he is from. I met him through another kettlebell instructor, Alex King of Kettlebells USA. He told my about a course Shawn was instructing through Moni Aizik’s Commando Krav Maga called Elite Combat Fitness. This was back in June of 2008.
I trained with Shawn twice that year, first with the combat fitness course and then he was one of Moni’s instructors at the Commando Krav Maga’s Level 1 and 2 self defense course. What I liked about Shawn is that he is a martial artist and a trainer like myself. We both see martial arts and fitness differently than most people(more on this topic on my Ranger Fit Blog).
On the second day of his Level 2 course, Shawn asked us if we knew the meaning of Agatsu, his company’s name. He also said that he thought it strange that his students don’t ask the meaning of Agatsu. Maybe it is because they are all so mentally and physically exhausted from non-stop kettlebell lifting that they can’t think of anything else but getting through the course. I put allot of thought into this. Shawn spent time talking about things like, what is our intent with our own training and how we train our clients.He also talked about will and how it was his will that enabled him to bring kettlebells to Canada. He also spent time on his agatsu, self mastery.
So back to goals and how this relates to Redondo Beach Boot Camp. We are still in a brand new year. Many people have already quit on their new year’s fitness goal. National statistic is that 50% quit in the first month. So if you are still trying you are a success.
Since 2003 to the present each year the fitness industry tries to reel a new batch of people wanting to get in shape. Each year more people fail than succeed. The industry’s mistake is they market to the masses wants not needs and they try to dumb everything down and not tell people the truth. They believe that people will not buy unless you tell them what they want to hear. But the truth really comes back to agatsu, self mastery. My self mastery is going to be different than a 50 year old office worker or a busy mom. But we all must make a commitment to work the same basics, nutrition, cardio, weights, core, flexibility, mental(stress reduction and focus) and spiritual(attitude and outlook on life). Without these we will limmit our success or worse fail miserably. Many people want to omit some of those basic but all of those are inter-related. Self-mastery does not sound appealing but results and success does.

This is based on my own experience with the Master Cleanse and has
proven successful for me, my wife, and others who have tried it. More
info on the Master Cleanse can be found here:
http://www.recipezaar.com/79145 and with a little research on Google.

ONLY USE ORGANIC INGREDIENTS FOR EVERY ASPECT OF THIS CLEANSE!

Days 1-4:
Follow the Master Cleanse protocol. Purified water with lemons, grade
B organic syrup, and cayenne pepper only. No other food. A pinch of celtic sea salt
is also ok.

Day 5:
You can add up to 3 hard boiled eggs to the diet.

Day 6:
You can still do the hard boiled eggs AND add in 1 or 2 cups of RAW nuts.

Day 7:
Hard boiled eggs, salmon, and nuts are now allowed.

Day 8:
Time to switch to the sustainable part of the diet. Your system is
clean now and you should easily realize how little food you really
need to feel great and have tons of energy.

You can now start getting creative with your drink. Eliminate the
Grade B syrup and blend any variety of fruit together each morning and
mix in a gallon container with water. Drink this throughout the day
while eating ONLY PROTEIN. Choose only organic fruits, blend in a few
leaves of Swiss Chard or other heavy green leafy vegetable for the
added nutrition and ALWAYS INCLUDE THE CAYANNE PEPPER (to taste) and
LEMONS (juice from 2-3 is usually enough).

Fruits and vegetables that I have used in various amounts and
combinations include: lemons (of course), peaches, pears, apples,
nectarines, plums, grapes, apricots, watermelon, blue berries
(wild/frozen from Trader Joe’s), strawberries, raspberries, cucumber,
carrots, dates (great for taste), figs, coconut, mint, basil, swiss
chard, kale, celery, mango and pineapple. I’m sure there are others
but this is what comes immediately to mind.

Mandatory disclaimer for any nutrition related advice: Check with your
doctor before trying anything new with your diet. Listen to your body.
Proceed at your own risk.

–
Jae M. Sabol
Holistic Health Professional
Licensed NLP Master Practitioner
CHEK IV, HLC III, CPT: NASM, ISSA, NCEP
CHT, NMT, MT, Reiki III, Matrix II, NLPT

Last post we talked about specific goals and this week we will discuss measurable. If my goal is to lose weight, a measurable goal would be to to lose a pound a week. If my goal was to run a marathon, my measurable goal would be make sure I got my daily milage. If I wanted to go to a kettlebell certification, I would need to complete a certain number of exercises a week.

5 Tips for a Measurable Fat Loss Goal.

1. Keep it Simple

2. Try to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week

3. Have a daily calorie goal.

4. Have a certain number of workouts a week.

5. Shop for fat loss friendly super foods once a week

Everyone is different so what works for you may not work for me. I use the Marine way of getting something accomplished which I call taking the hill, which most likely would only work for someone with a military background. Antoher thing, fitness is very different. I see many successful people have a difficult time achieving their fitness goals.
I will start off by expaining SMART Goals:
S- be Specific
M- Measureable
A- Have an Action plan
R- Have Realistic goals
T Have Timed goals

Lets work with specific for the next week. Really put some thought into what you want to accomplish. Lets think about the most common, I want to loose weight. Problem, too general. Those are the people who will sign up at the local gym and 4 years later look the same as they did when they set their general goal 4 years earlier. Do not waste your time and money.
Be Specific!
See you soon with your specific goal.