#1 Predicted Fitness Trend of 2011?

QUESTION: What is the #1 Predicted Fitness Trend of 2011?

ANSWER: A customer base searching for a more qualified and educated trainer/coach to work with.

I think that's a huge statement regarding how people are starting to take their health, it's importance, and the overall cost of it. More people are reading food labels now more than ever, TV shows like "Biggest Loser", "Heavy", "Made", etc are gaining popularity with each and every passing moment; and mix that all in with a somewhat challenging economic struggle for some Americans, and 'POOF!' you've got a customer base that is more interested in who exactly is training with them, their friends, and most importantly their children!

In this day and age of fitness, health, and overall appearance, I truly believe that most people are looking for a qualified personal trainer to get the job done. Whether it's trimming some inches of your body, improving your young athlete's speed and agility, or having the ability to finish your first 5k race without stopping; people are making sure that they aren't simply signing up with the program or company that is the most convenient.

For those of you that are searching for a program, coach, or instructor of any sort, but are having trouble how to decide on one, take a look at a list of appropriate questions to ask when meeting with a potential fitness instructor for you or a loved one.

1. Simply ask what their credentials/qualifications/educational background in fitness is. An fitness professional should have at least 1 nationally recognized certification or license on Personal Training, Biomechanics, or Exercise Sciene, along with at least 3 years of experience with training people. This is a great lead in question to begin with. You want to work with someone who didn't just check out "Top 10 Exercises for your Abs" on YouTube in the last few months.

2. Ask for a success story where the trainer has improved someone's life in a particular way(s). Simply saying "Well this one lady lost ALL this weight in a matter of no time!" just simply doesn't cut it. A quality trainer will tell you the person's name (maybe just first name), their goals and how they attained them, as well as talking about something that changed within the client such as self esteem, gained confidence, they shared their experience with their family, etc.

3. Ask for a free week of training. Yes, a week. Not just one session, consult, or walk-through. Have the trainer actually work with you and TEACH you something. I stress this so that you can see if you are going to have a good personality match with the trainer. Ask yourself, "Did I learn anything from this experience?" A good trainer will actually teach you something about your body, a foreign piece of equipment, or maybe even a skill (throwing, catching, reaching, bending, etc).

So now that I've completely exposed what to look for in a quality trainer, I hope you take the time to get to know me just a little bit. Head on over and see what training at MEYER FITNESS can do for you!

Serious Training. Seriously FUN!

Bill

Take A Little Time Out...

Today I took a little time out:

To say "thank you" face to face to a client/friend who is helping me connect the dots with my business venture..

To play with the kids next door in a small sided game of soccer....(they won 10-9)

To make sure I provide a good hearty meal for my fiancee when she walks through the door from a long day at work....

To myself for a play-based workout for 30 minutes, swinging around an oversized mace from my good friend Ryan Pitts....

To spend a little extra time showing love to my favorite pets in the world; Scip, Brutus, and Tough....

Although today was super-productive in my career; the focus was more on taking a little time out for myself and my loved ones. Upon going outside for my fun workout with the mace, after 8 minutes of swinging, the kids next door hopped off the bus and ran over to my fence with the soccer ball begging if I'd play with them. Usually I'm a bit too busy with some type of work, but today I paused before answering my usual answer, and instead came out with a "Yeah, I think that sounds fun guys!".

30 minutes later of running, kicking, cutting, and diving; sweat was pouring from my forehead and my headache from the last 2 days was gone and positive energy was flowing through my veins. After the kids squeaked out a victory (maybe aided by some accidental slow running at crucial moments by yours truly) I returned to the Monster Mace and continued to swing about for 15 more enjoyable minutes.

It was a nice day to take a little time out from the daily grind to show a little love to my lovely lady, the kiddos next door, and last but not least my overall health and mood. I'll take that over any workout you out there might have had today, I'll get back to that tomorrow. For me, it's time to shower and get the rest of dinner prepared.

What have you taken a little time out for today?

Finish With Action,
Bill

Parents: Be a Tribe Leader, Not a Friend

So it's my fiancée and I's new favorite "must-see TV" series on MTV, and it's turned out to be quite the "blog producer" for me in the topic of health, fitness, and family relationships. MTV showcases teens that are overweight and looking for a change before heading off to college, or in last night's episode, culinary school. The show is called "I Used To Be Fat" and it comes on at 10pm EST on Wednesday nights, you should check it out and see it for yourself.

The premise is MTV's version of "The Biggest Loser", only that the hour focuses on troubled teen who has had a life full of tortuous eating patterns and enabling parents that seem to not know exactly how to have a positive relationship with their children. Just like "T.B.L.", MTV throws a personal trainer into the life of the teen, in an unrealistic and unsustainable environment where training takes place almost every day of their summertime. In the previous 2 episodes, I've seen some of the biggest examples of parents caring more about being friends with their children rather than actually guiding them through their first 18 years of life. Let's focus on last night's episode: Dominic.

Google Search "Italian Family" and 75% of the images come up with this.

Dominic comes from a food-addicted Italian family that loves to eat for comfort and for reasons of bringing the family together. It seems like there wasn't a scene that the elderly grandmother (insert stereotypical Italian vision of a sergeant leading it's younger troops), was walking in the door, instantly helping to prepare some type of food while simultaneously complaining about something. At one point in the show, the grandmother exclaims "What!!?? Why do I have to change my diet now!?" You get the point.

Dominic's mother plays the buffer role. She is trying to appease her traditional mother while also trying to stick up for her "routine-breaking" son. This is where the "friendship" role is taken a little too far. The most notable moment of the show was not seeing Dom losing all of his weight, or throwing up during his first ever workout, or even learning how to stick up for himself to his family. Nope, none of those ground breaking moments did it for me as much as what I'm going to say next.

While cleaning out their pantry at the beginning of the episode, the mother's level of focus on being friends with her children instead of being a leader shone through. Out comes a box of cookies from the pantry, and after discussing that the cookies were originally bought for Dom's sister, the mother begins to cry with the task of throwing them away, saying "This is really tough for me. I know that my daughter loves the cookies, and buying them for her is my way of showing that I really care about her and that I want to make her happy."

Hmmmmmmm.....This is where I have the issue with the "friend vs parent" role. My feelings about a parent are quite simple. They should be the tribe leader. The tribe leader is responsible for maintaining the health, safety, and well-being of the tribe, making decisions that are sometimes very difficult to ensure the livelihood of the family. Back at the beginning of our country's existence, when Native Americans were roaming freely, they went where the food was. Meaning that no matter how comfortable they got in a certain area, when it was time to move due to lack of food, or because invasion from a neighboring tribe was looming in the near future, the tribe leader made the tough call of unsettling the reservation, not focusing on their initial comfort and happiness, but looking more towards their long term health and benefit of safety.

The Tribe Leader always knows what's best for his people.

In the world of "I want everything right now!" and "What I do now won't affect me 5 years from now", how can we teach the parents of today that creating an atmosphere of long term health is the more important role that they should play, rather than letting the child have whatever they want, not thinking that their actions now will probably create a landslide of negative choices in the near and far future. Here are a few ideas of how we can create a more healthy family structure:

1. Exercise together - building a relationship with your spouse, family, or just your children at a young age shows them the importance that you "the tribe leader" puts on exercise. Children are impressionable and pick up on the stuff that the parent deems important or even necessary.

2. Grocery Shopping as a Tribe - take a monthly trip to the grocery store as a family, learning how to read the labels on items, and deciding together if certain things are healthy enough to make it into the cart or not.

3. Plan Park Days - As a tribe, meet up in the kitchen on a Saturday morning, dole out responsibility to each of the family members to pack up a picnic basket. Take the basket, a frisbee, and a deck of cards or board game, head out to your local park and have a nice, active day together as a family unit.

Families that play together, stay together!

These are just a few ideas that a parent can connect with their children on, to better improve the health of the family, and the structural role of the parent as the "decision making tribe leader" and the child as the "learner that follows the positive lead of the parent". Help change your community and its outlook on family structure and health. Don't be afraid to step outside the box and hang out as a family!

Finish With Action,
Bill

Part 2 of 3 in my "Pick 3" Single Leg Stability Exercises from Hyper Wear!

Check out www.HYPERWEAR.com for the great products used in this video! 

Check back in next week for Part 3 of this month's "Pick 3" from Hyper Wear!

Finish With Action,
Bill

"I Just Want My Daughter To Be Perfect"

On a recent episode of the new MTV show "I Used To Be Fat", a young woman named Gaby was trying to lose weight during the summer before heading off to college; and while being vigorously (and unrealistically) trained each and every day on an apparently endless MTV budget of training sessions, Gaby was continually being berated with verbal criticism, both direct and indirectly, from her mom.

"Disturbing Perfection: All I see is UGLY"

The highlight (and lowlight) of this episode was the moment where Gaby's mom emotionally exclaimed that "she just wanted her (Gaby) to be perfect". After picking my jaw up from my chest, I was pretty speechless for a few minutes. However, after those moments passed, I realized the solution was pretty clear: the pressure the mother puts on her daughter to lose the weight, combined with the enabling of the mother with nutrition choices, was the key to her failure.

Now, I'm not a father just yet, but I have worked with probably over a thousand adult parents in my career so far and have learned tidbits here and there, listened to some pretty shocking stories, but most of all, I have heard more "my child can do this already" and "my child is already reading in the 90th percentile" and "my 9 year old's 40 time is the fastest on the team". Our children are capable of understanding the so-called importance we are placing on them. They simply feel the pressure (and the subsequent heartbreak) to STAY in that group as if it's their job.

We are talking about them to our peers and treating them as if they are adults trapped in a small body. I'm all for being a "proud parent" when the time comes, but I don't plan on tracking my child's progress in all aspects of development from homeroom to the hockey rink, making sure that he/she can keep up with what a "9 year old is supposed to be doing". I plan on simply keeping a watchful eye. I will watch my child develop. I will participate in their development and when I notice something that is noteworthy (no matter how big or small) they will be commended for it with a simple smile and a high five.

Simply put, I want to create an environment for my child and the children I'm able to work with through my career, where making sure they are developing at the same rate as everyone around them is not the ONLY yardstick available to them. I will let them know their strengths and weaknesses, but not hone completely in on what holds them back. Putting so much focus on something like that only shines the brightest of bright lights on it, making it even more difficult to overcome.

Earlier in my coaching career, one of my favorite phrases was: "I'm going to figure out your weaknesses, and focus in on them until they are your strengths." I still actively enjoy that phrase, however, I use it much more sparingly than I used to. I'm basically saying, "Okay Johnny (9 year old), you suck at lateral movement completely, and every time you see my face you will be reminded of that fact."

Now, I simply don't spotlight the negative message so much. Even if it's indirect. If my client says, "Well I look like a whale and people make fun of me", my response is, "I bet you can squat more than they can."

Frank Forencich of Exuberant Animal leads the gang through "physical happiness."

My new phrase that I have become very confident and comfortable with in training people goes as follows:
"I bring a 50/50 relationship to the table. For the most part, 50% of what we do together is stuff that you enjoy and brings sweat and a smile to your face, and the other 50% is going to be the stuff that you don't necessarily know you need to work on."

No one is perfect. And it seems to me that society tends to dislike people that come across perfect, so what's the rush to get to this so-called "Perfection"?

Be possibly the one person in your client's life that brings them joy, confidence, and physical interaction. What we do is 'personal' training, so be personal. Interact. Lead. Encourage. Move Together.

"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing".  - Harriet Braiker

Finish With Action,

Bill

Adversity, Focus, Discipline

These are just a few of the words that come across my mind at this very moment. I'm lucky enough to be able to spend my life with a woman that has an equal if not greater passion for health and fitness as I do. We just finished a training session, and although with different programs and different goals, we still enjoyed sharing the same space and working to better our lives.

A month ago, after purchasing her a couple kettlebells (10lb and 15lb) I began teaching Lauren the technique of the kettlebell 2-hand swing, a skill's success, which in my mind, is determined on 3 things:


1) efficiency of body's movement
2) breathing pattern
3) confidence in your own strength

A natural athlete she is, however, she had trouble with the timing of the movement and her grip strength (due to prior injury in the thumb). This frustrated her greatly. She is used to being great at everything upon the first few tries, or in this case, swings.

Knowing that she was already strong enough to handle the 15lb (as I continued to watch her swing it waaaay high in the air over and over), I had her try to feel what "heavy" for her felt like, handing her the 16kg that I have in my arsenal. She struggled and got even more frustrated, saying that "there's no way I could EVER do that". The word "ever" had a little bit of her Sparrow 'swag' to it, thus the emphasis.

I recently signed her up to Lisa Shaffer's 10,000 Kettlebell Swings in January challenge, knowing that through her discipline and ability to overcome obstacles, she'd find nothing but success.

For the first few days now, she's knocked out each workout designed by me to get her to the goal with her 15lb kettlebell, while grooving a great pattern of swinging and tempo.

Today, she decided to take on a different challenge. After completing 7 rounds of 50 swings with the 15lb'er, she declared to me during a quick water break that she was going for the 16KG for the last set of 8. I told her to be careful and focus on technique and even break up the 50 into smaller sets.

Yo Sparrow! Great job eh!!

Needless to say, she cranked out 50 reps in a row with great technique, finished her treadmill intervals, and walked into the living room with hands thrusted high a la Rocky Balboa. 

As I finished my set, I came in and watched her knock out yet another set of 50 reps with the 16kg. 100 total. Her choice, not mine.

So proud of my baby bird today for what she's accomplished.

What have you always thought you "just couldn't do"? Whatever it may be, go give it a shot, you never know how it might turn out.

  

Finish With Action,

Bill

G.T.L.

Not that I watched the season premier of "Jersey Shore" last night, but sitting in the office here with the training staff listening to our favorite front desk girl, Mandy, giving us the 5 min rundown on what went down was mind-blowing, but really it wasn't that strange after all....

Mandy is a 22 year-old friendly, rambunctious, and talkative girl who LOVES Jersey Shore. Sometimes I even think she will somehow find her way on the show in a matter of weeks. Every time I walk into the fitness center, I hear a story of how late she stayed out, or how hard she partied with her friends, or what new club is opening up near the beach. Ahhhhh, youth......

At one point, Mandy was describing the characters to Jen, the fitness director, who apparently doesn't watch it at all, saying "You know Pauly D, he's the one with the hair (shaping his famous do' with her hands)", with Jen responding with a silent deer-in-the-headlights stare.

I then told the story of last night lounging around with my fiancée' Lauren, who struggled to know what the phrase "It's T-Shirt time" was, as it was plastered all over the Facebook pages last night. I somehow knew what it was, explained it to her, with her giving a classic response of "Well........that's pretty dumb."

Point is, our society has shifted. Its morals, its values, and who it deems as its' heroes. Well, at least some of our society.

Let's just say I have added respect for my fitness director just a tad bit more after this conversation in the office, and I love my fiancee even more than I did yesterday because of her ignorance towards "The Shore".

At least one of their clichéd phrases revolves a little bit around health and fitness: "G.T.L." = Gym.Tan.Laundry......

Finish With Action,
Bill

Single Leg Stability - My "Top 3"

Here is a video I recently produced for Hyper Wear, a training equipment company that makes some pretty fantastic stuff for people of all walks of life. Each Monday, I produce a "Monday Morning Muscle" for them, and showcase their products in all forms of exercise.

This week I kicked off the new year with a 3-part series I call "Pick 3" on my favorite single leg stability exercises using Hyper Wear products.

Stability of a joint is often overlooked by many strength coaches around the world and through a few simple exercises that don't take a great amount of time, you can truly improve an athlete's ability to stay healthy on the field of play.

Enjoy Part 1 of the "Pick 3" from Hyper Wear!!

Finish With Action,
Bill

Get PUMPED!!!!

Quick laugh for all of you today:

Sunday was the first day of the new adult soccer league at the Virginia Beach Field House, where my fiancée and I work with the Legends Softball Club on their pre-season strength and conditioning. I arrive about 30 minutes early and notice that the parking lot is PACKED. I had already spoken to Lauren earlier in the day and she had informed of how busy the place was today due to the new season.

So I drive up and am forced to park a good hike away from the front doors of the building, no big deal at all, I actually prefer it that way in most cases. Bee lining to the entrance, I would estimate that I passed by 50 parked cars on the way to the door, with this being the scene of the humorous story of the day.

While walking this specific 60 second walk, I passed by 3 parked cars where the driver had all windows up, doors closed, and music PUMPING at full volume, with the look of pure focus and determination flooding through their faces. I found this to be such a true example of men trying to find that "locker room" feeling again, but it also brought me a little smile and a slight chuckle as it reminded me of my music jamming drives to the clubs back in Austin on nights that I was DJing.  Here were the selections that day, and I've also added my take on each one.....

1st Car- "Not Afraid" - Eminem - Obvious choice before preparing for athletic battle. Eminem  repetitively convince you that even as a 40-something year old man, your knees hamstrings ARE still good enough to sprint relentlessly up and down a field without the need to properly warm-up and then wonder why you spend the following 72 hours in sheer pain and agony. Score - 8 out of 10 on the PUMP UP SCALE

2nd Car - "Teach Me How To Dougie" - Cali Swag District - Strange to me, as it seems to be more of a song to pretend you're walking in slow motion down a city block crowded with people that you think you know, simultaneously pointing and nodding your head and hoping the recipient responds or even simply knows who you are; because we all well know that not having a response to the "point and nod" is quite possibly the most embarrassing public act ever. Score - 4 out of 10 on the PUMP UP SCALE



3rd Car - Some type of Chicano Reggae-ton song that unfortunately goes unrecognizable. I almost cannot comment on this whatsoever as it's not a genre I know too much about, however, the tone, instruments and tempo of this particular selection did not scream out "Get out there and kick some A**!!" Score - 2 out of 10 on the PUMP UP SCALE

Now I love music, and most of the time I require it during my workouts, but the essence of "pump up" music  simply brings out the best in people.

What is your choice of "Pump Up" Music??

Finish With Action,
Bill

My "Top 5 of 2011" - #1

#1 - To Be Married

As I've always stated in this blog and in other entries I've written in my lifetime, I feel the greatest accomplishment in life is to create yourself to be a strong, loving, respectful human being, find your best friend and soul mate, and be lucky enough to share your life with that person.

I am lucky enough to have found that person, and at 6pm on June 4th, 2011 in Virginia Beach, Virginia I plan on standing proudly at the end of the aisle, open my hands and heart to her, and truly begin to share my life with her from that day on.

Since the day we met, we have developed a great friendship, a bond beyond belief, and a love more satisfying than anything I could have dreamed of. To be fortunate enough to take her hand in mine and begin the journey that awaits is a blessing that God truly has delivered to me and I thank Him daily for that.

I made a decision several months ago to pick up my life in Texas, to drive away from all the people and places that I know; to ensure that I would wake up next to her each and every morning and be able to share this journey together. You see, I am a free spirit in many ways, enjoying being in new places and meeting new people and seeing what this beautiful Earth has to show me; but this journey away from my comfort zone was for something different, something lifelong, something that won't shift, bend, or break.

I did it for you baby, and I will not and won't ever regret that. You have been such a rock in my life as I hope that I have been in yours, and will always love you and protect you in any way that I can and more. I look forward to our growth together through Christ, through our family both near and far, and through our undying love for each other.

Thank you for helping me take the next necessary step in my life. I couldn't be prouder than to be able to meet you at the end of the aisle on that day where you will look more beautiful, angelic, and radiant than any rainbow in the clouds or star in the sky.

You're my best friend and my soul mate, and I look forward to accomplishing my greatest goal of 2011 with you, my love, Lauren Sparrow.

Always "Proving It",
Your William

"Begin With Reading, Finish With Action"

My "Top 5 of 2011" - #2

#2 - Opening "Meyer Fitness"

So, this blog was supposed to be posted yesterday, alas, we had some great friends of ours from Austin, Texas come into town to celebrate the new year, and as usual, one thing led to another and the laptop never graced us with its presence throughout the afternoon and evening. As my dad would say, "Well, son, you're a day late and a dollar short." Story of my life haha....

I have always been asked if I would ever own my own business, and in the back of my head I suppose, if I was to be completely honest with you, the answer would be yes.

So this is the year. It's the year to take the plunge, put my best foot forward, and put my heart and soul into the family business. (Side note, how many more cliches can I put in one sentence?) Upon deciding to move forward with this goal, my excitement level as never been higher professionally speaking. The research it takes (still taking), the decisions to make, the conversations I've had with fit pros that have experienced what I'm venturing into, and the meetings with my real estate agent, Paul; all of it has made me more and more excited about this stage of my life.

Starting with the name of the studio: Meyer Fitness; the strength of the name pours over me as I am extremely proud of my family, as vast as it is, and extremely thrilled to put it in lights and do them all proud. Not all of my family that is important to me owns the name "Meyer", however, I feel as if I am representing all of them with this venture, and the pressure that comes into play by choosing that name is welcomed.

Timing; the timing of the business opening couldn't be better. I credit my good friend, Jude Howe, for sealing the deal with when the business takes flight. Before leaving Austin, Texas, I went down to train with Jude at his Underground Strength Academy off of South Congress, spending the better part of 2 hours with him, working out, shooting Hyper Wear video, and talking business possibilities. Standing in his small bit of a parking lot outside his garage-like, rustic studio, he said to me,

"Bill, don't wait until you're "ready", because you'll never be ready. Do it now when you're sure that you're not ready, because you will indefinitely work harder for it each and every day."

These words have bounced around my head for the last 3 or so months and have probably made the most difference in my decision-making since then.  Thank you, Jude, for inspiring me the take the hardest step: the first one.

Why open my own business?

I wish to take my career into my own hands. I wish to make a permanent mark of improved health and fitness in the community that I live in. I want to feel that satisfaction of knowing that when the business succeeds, and I know it will; it was because of the hard work that I put in and the effort and support of my fiancee, friends, and family. I wish to provide stability and freedom to my family and have a place that anyone in my family can always feel welcomed to come work, play, and stay at anytime of the year. I want to take my dogs to work and let them walk around and be the mascots of the studio, watching the smiles they put on the faces of the wonderful people that walk through the door.

Overall though, I want to feel the pride of ownership. Looking back on these blogs, there is one consistent theme of taking control of my life in 2011, whether personally or professionally. It is time. I will succeed. I will take control of the outcome of my life from this point on and my business will be a large part of that.

Stay tuned in for my #1 goal of 2011, coming up tomorrow!!!

Finish With Action,
Bill