As a personal trainer/coach, much of my work deals with helping people look better, feel better and move better. Lunges, squats, deadlifts, pushups, and pull-ups all involve various muscles of the body working together to resist force. However, our muscular system is not the only system responsible for resisting force, our skeletal and nervous system also resist force. Together, the three make up the kinetic chain. Understanding this, I decided it was time for me to learn more about the nervous system so that I could help myself and others move better. My curiosity led me to enroll in Z-Health, located in Tempe Arizona and run by Dr. Eric Cobb, who specializes in brain-based training. Cobb recommended reading The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle as a prerequisite to his courses, and so here I am today writing about this book. (more…)

I love Daniel H. Pink’s book Drive because it provided me with some solid reasoning as to why my career change from corporate sales to Personal Trainer has changed my life. At the forefront is what psychologist Harry F. Harlow of the University of Wisconsin described as “intrinsic motivators.” Intrinsic motivators are the things we do because of the satisfaction we feel on the inside and have nothing to do with rewards. In 1949, in one of the first laboratories to ever study primates, Harlow created a puzzle that he put in front of 8 monkeys and without any assistance, they each solved the puzzle within 14 days. No rewards whatsoever for solving them. (more…)

The Impact Body Plan by Todd Durkin, M.A., C.S.C.S.

“The Impact Body Plan” is a 10-week total body conditioning program designed by one of the world’s best and most successful fitness coaches, Todd Durkin. This is a comprehensive plan that is broken down day-by-day and week-by-week to make it easy to follow. It covers everything from mindset to nutrition and strength training. His formula is a 7-step approach to training called, “The Muscle Matrix,” and it includes the following: dynamic warm-up, joint integrity, core conditioning, strength training, plyometrics, movement training and flexibility. Each step of the matrix is discussed in full detail with pictures of each exercise and a full description on how to execute them properly. You will use several different pieces of exercise equipment including foam rollers, medicine balls, resistance bands, TRX, dumbbells, and barbells. (more…)

“TED is where brilliant people go to hear brilliant people share their ideas” said Oprah Winfrey. Not only that, it is also the place where author, Carmine Gallo, discovered the 9 public speaking secrets used by some of the most brilliant presenters in TED’s history including: Amy Cuddy, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Bryan Stevenson. Each of whom has had his/her eighteen-minute presentation viewed over 2.5 million times. Since I had never seen a TED before, I watched all of the above as an indoctrination of sorts to acclimate myself to TED. I did so only after reading the entire book. I thoroughly enjoyed them all, but was upset at myself for being late to the party. A client told me about TED about five years ago and suggested I take a peak. I never took that peak. However, I think having read this book prior to watching a TED allowed me to identify the “9 secrets” Gallo discussed in his book and he was “spot-on.” (more…)

“People are always trying to tell you how they feel. Some of them say it outright, and some of them, they tell you with their actions. And you have to listen….Listen and don’t ignore what you hear.” Sam Halpern

And this is exactly what you must do to fully understand the man behind the words, Sam Halpern. A man who is known for his humor, aggressive attitude, and swear words, Mr. Halpern says a lot of shit in ways that make you laugh out loud and shake your head. His words are so full of comic relief, his son, Justin, author of this book and often the butt of his dad’s jokes, started posting his old man’s statements on Twitter. 1 million followers later, Justin penned this book, which has now been written into a hit sitcom. (more…)

As the largest single site employer in the world with 59,000 employees, 25,000 acres of land, 32 hotels with 31,000 rooms, and a 167 miles of roadway, Disney World Orlando VP of Operations, Lee Cockerell, understands leadership at its highest level. He shares his vast insight and know-how in “Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney.” (more…)

Influence by Robert Cialdini

Having read many outstanding sales books during my 10-year corporate sales career, I never read one as interesting as “Influence,” by Robert Cialdini. A psychologist by trade, Cialdini brings to light the many ways in which we may be “influenced” by anyone looking to take advantage of our own “fixed-action” patterns of survival. Compliance techniques such as reciprocity, commitment, consistency, social proof, authority, partiality, and scarcity are all ones that have played a major role in human survival, and have practically been ingrained in our psyche since the beginning of time. All of these compliance techniques can be used by salesmen, marketing companies, or anyone looking to exploit our inability to turn off our psyche and think constructively. (more…)

Best suited for elite performers who want to take their athleticism to the highest level, “Every Day Is Game Day,” is the philosophy of world-class strength and conditioning coach, Mark Verstegen. Best known for his work with hundreds of National Football League players, he was also behind the scenes improving the skills of the German Men’s Soccer team, who won the World Cup in 2014. The U.S. Department of Defense also trusts him to shape-up their most highly touted strongmen, Special Operations. The philosophy deals with the daily requirements, some might say sacrifices, that must be met in order to be the best version of yourself. My list included afternoon naps, breathing practices, drinking less, strengthening my core more, and creating an “IT” statement. I had a weakness in all four “pillars” that must be mastered to be elite: Recovery, Mindset, Movement, and Nutrition. (more…)

212: The Extra Degree by Sam Parker

I must admit that I was a little disappointed when 212, by Sam Parker, arrived at my home and I learned that it was nothing more than a very short story in a very small book. Three-by-three to be exact. I had heard such great things about it and I was hungry to sink my teeth into it, but I learned that this book didn’t offer much meat. Less than 100 pages in length, with quotes and statistics that take up an entire page or two, this motivational book is centered around one key phrase, “at 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And with steam, you can power a train.” As powerful as this message is, I use it often with body composition/weight loss clients, I had heard it before. Since I had already spent my money on the book and it was a short read, I decided to continue reading to see what else I could learn. (more…)