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| Here it is, straight from the trainer's keyboard...the ultimate workout...the absolute best, the one that will help you accomplish all of your goals, free up hours of your schedule, save you money and make you popular....ready?
Of course not...am I the first one to tell you this is not going to be easy? After decades of new products, infomercials, modified designs, fitness gurus, internet training programs and the like, it seems like every single problem in the fitness industry has been answered, and by now it should be easy to figure out who is the best, what is the best, and what gets the best results.
One problem with that...everyone progresses at a different rate...everyone has a little different performance curve and learning curve...everyone has slightly different motivators and slightly different goals. The basics are all the same, but the small differences are the ones that make it hardest to tell YOU what is perfect and right for you.
BUT...
That doesn't mean that we can't help you find out a great place to start...and keep you on track so you can avoid plateaus...and introduce new exercises or more difficult or effective variations when you have progressed appropriately...or introduce you to specific training mesocycles and microcycles so you can vary the intensity based on specific goals and learned recovery behaviors...
We may not be in the bodybuilding world or competitive figure world...we are not professional athletes who live and die by our sponsors products...we are not beholden to any supplement companies...and we will be the first to tell you that a lot of the times, the old guys had it right...and a lot of the times, the new guys figured it out better.
The big difference in all this: The Chile Pepper Approach to Wellness and Fitness. No, you are not required to eat hot peppers to make progress (but it can help...a little)...but what WE help YOU do is match YOUR unique ability to tolerate "heat" (work) and YOUR unique recovery ability (how long it takes you to fully recover from a workout preventing burnout but re-stimulating the muscles before they get a chance to lose some progress) coupled with exercises that are designed to maximize YOUR range of motion, goals and limitations to create a balanced, thought out, optimized program.
All you have to do is....get started! |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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| Interesting topic this afternoon...Dr Oz had a couple experts on talking about whether food is addictive or not. We'd like to weigh in with our thoughts. They may not answer the actual question, but we hope it will help people understand why they react the way they do.
As far as the classical definition of "addictive", we cannot see that any natural foods can meet that claim. Foods as they are found in nature are satisfying, good for you, and contain micro-nutrients that can be of great benefit. But there is nothing in naturally occurring foods that we can see that qualifies as addictive, implying a chemical need or dependency. If you discontinue eating natural foods, you may miss the way they make you feel energized and satiated, but your body probably will not "crave" the foods chemically if they are out of your diet for too long.
Processed foods, on the other hand, DO trigger certain "cravings". Not necessarily chemical dependency cravings, but the type that makes people more suggestive to desiring them when they are deprived of them...using all sorts of clever tricks...nutrient combinations (lots of sugar and fat together makes it very satisfying on the tongue), additives, artificially enhanced colors, fragrances, clever marketing using music and images that stay in your mind and are easily triggered by similar images...lots of things.
The reason we say they are NOT truly addictive is that you will not suffer conventional withdrawal symptoms if you cannot have the foods. You may be angry, you may be disappointed, but unlikely you will have severe headaches, psychological pressure, etc. (we are not saying it is impossible, but we are saying it is unlikely). In most cases, there are a couple simple steps to take to see if you are really addicted or simply craving something. We will introduce one idea in today's blog, more over the next few days.
Number one. Think back to your goal sheet. (You DO have a goal sheet that you carry around with you, right??) Put that image in your head, and think hard about what it is you are craving...will that craving make it harder for you to reach your goal? Is there something you can have in place of that craving that will help you move towards your goal? Give it a try. If you feel okay without it, make a note and remember that the next time you feel that way. Remember, while 300 calories may not sound like much, it can add up to 30 lbs in a year...and you KNOW you don't want that! If you really feel like you HAVE the item, try to plan it in to your meal plan for the following day...make room for it, and enjoy it as part of your plan, not an obstacle to derail your efforts.
We'll be back with more tips tomorrow. |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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What do you want from your exercise? Not an easy question answer...sure the basic "I want to tone up" or "I want to lose weight" answers usually pop up, but that is hardly ever the REAL reason people exercise. That is one of the benefits, to be sure, but what do you want from your exercise?
When we ask clients and prospects this question, they usually struggle for an answer...they want to tell us what they think WE want to hear...but not necessarily what THEY want to say.
As far as what we want from our exercise? Simple. We want to give our body a reason (and a stimulus) to change something. That's it. Plain and simple.
We want our body to think that it has to make a muscle a little stronger, or work more efficiently, or be able to endure more work before it gets tired. We want to make sure we feed our body exactly what it needs to meet its' energy demands, and we want to exceed those demands and force our body to look elsewhere for the energy to accomplish it. We want our body to become efficient by looking at stored bodyfat to supplement the energy consumption. Does that help simplify things?
Think about it when you head out to your next workout...what message do you want to send to your body? that it is just going through the motions? That you just need to move around a little so you won't feel guilty about not tracking your eating like you thought you would? Do you want it to break a little sweat?
Or do you want it to think that it is THIS close to being the efficient machine you need it to be...and that it has to learn through small but significant struggles and effort that it is capable of more than it thought it was yesterday...and who knows what wwe may think of it tomorrow? |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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It's Winter...but it doesn't feel like it...! here in Michigan, we are seeing unusually warm weather for this time of year...as a matter of fact, we have only seen a couple days of snow..the ground is dry and the grass looks confused!
Days like these make it very tempting to get outside and run, jump, play and act like it is spring...but before you do, let's think about a couple things...
Number one...it is not really that warm out...and just because it LOOKS warm, that doesn't mean you're body wants to act like it's warm. When the air temp is around 35-40 degrees, even if it is sunny, it acts like an ice pack...it restricts blood flow and constricts blood vessels, which can lead to limited mobility and reduced range of motion on initial movement. In other words, your body is going to act like it is being cooled down with an ice pack, so you have to EASE into your activity...an extra couple minutes of light activity can make a big difference here. Ask anyone who has experienced a career ending achilles tendon tear in cold weather...
Number two: your body will lose heat faster in cold weather. While that may not be a bad thing, it does mean that you have to pay attention to your fluids. Drink a little more than you would if you were working out indoors...you may not feel like you are sweating as much, but you lose a lot of heat through respiration...it all adds up!
Number three: Combine active movements with active recovery...stopping to catch your breath or sitting down causes a rapid pooling of blood back to the abdominal cavity, which may signal to your body that you are done exercising...getting back up and moving around could cause a drop in blood pressure and surface temp resulting in lightheadedness, dizziness, light sensitivity.
Those are the three big ones to think about...when we get some snow, we'll open up another thread altogether...! Get out and keep working on those goals! |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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Is it january 4th already...? We can hear the groans...and the soft patter of little feet trying to climb back up on their resolution plan...
Relax.
Don't beat yourself up.
Get up...dust yourself off...look at your goal sheet...and hop back on. it's that easy.
So you think missing one workout is going to be a good enough reason to give up? You think one extra slice of pizza...or a candy bar gives you permission to call it a day and go back to your old ways? YOu think that, just because you didn't work out like the "Biggest Loser" you aren't worthy of experiencing success?
We don't buy it. Life happens. All the time. And to ALL of us.
Here is something to think about...there are basically four ways that you can come into a workout...
You can feel great...and have a great workout.
You can feel great...and not have a great workout.
You can feel not-so-great...and have a great workout.
and
You can feel not-so-great...and not have a great workout.
But you can still move forward. Listen to your body. Tell it what you want. make it listen to you. Make it work. Then let it recover.
even if you don't feel all that great when you go to hit the workout, you can still give your body something it can learn from...you may not set any personal records or shatter any illusions, but you can still work within your unique "recovery window"...it's just a matter of knowing what your heat level is, at that moment, and after.
That's what the Chile Pepper Approach is all about. We'll be introducing you to more in the next post....stay tuned...and have fun with your workouts!
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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2012...it's here. Did it sneak up on you, or were waiting for it instead? More important, are you ready to make 2012 your best year ever, or is it going to be another year of missed opportunities and unfulfilled wishes?
The best way to look at 2012 is probably the same way you started 2011 (and 2010, 2009, 2008, etc). Make some goals, fire up the motivation and hang on...!
But, seriously, how did that work for you last year or the year before? How did you REALLY do on your goals? Did you really stick to your plan and make some great things happen? Or did you fall back into old habits when you realized that your goals may not have been the right goals for you...or that you had obstacles you did not account for that prevented you reaching them...or did you just not make your goals a priority like you know you should? At the end of the day, when you review your year, do you look at the year as a major step forward, a fall back or a "stuck in neutral" year...?
Let's commit to making 2012 a year of no excuses...a year of lofty goals accomplished...a battle we go into, expecting to win...and a chance to raise your flag proudly for not letting the year get the best of you.
We know the obstacles that can make goals nearly impossible....we know the science that can get in the way of progress...we know the common sense that flies in the face of what we are being told...we know how to set seemingly ridiculous goals and make them happen...and this year, we want to help you do it...over the next few days, we will be telling you what we set for ourselves last year; what we did and did not accomplish, and our plans on how we plan to fix those issues for 2012...and it is all about understanding our unique Chile Pepper Approach to Wellness...and it is a model you can use, starting day one! Stay tuned...and welcome to 2012!
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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Making the big transition in a business is never easy...you can read all the articles, talk to all the experts, and sign all the forms, but the actual transition to "change" our business is going at a slower pace than we expected!
We have added Wellness Coahing to our list of certifications and accomplishments...we have been applying the principles and showing our clients that it not only works, it is MUCH eaier than we expected...so why are we NOT making the same transition in our business model? What could possibly be our excuse for why we are slow to "pull the trigger" on changing Houston Fitness Consultants?
Because we are still doing well with what got us here: The highest level of research, consistent results, fighting childhood obesity, teaching people how to eat and ENJOY their food, stimulate their metabolisms, and reach for new heights in their goals and their dreams. We do not want to walk away from what has helped literally thousands of people...
BUT....
We are almost there. Adding the high level of Wellness and Lifestyle Coaching fills in the last piece of the puzzle. It gives us the tools we need to make to make life changing programs for more people, and to walk more people towards the results they have fought so hard to achieve.
We live the active, healthy lifestyle we teach our clients...we do it by enjoying food, family, work, and having hobbies that allow us to be creative and tap into our inner artists. We live this way because it is what we want; we do not go around telling other people what they are doing wrong and try to force them to change, we do it by partnering with them and helping them find their way. We do it by staying healthy and strong, working the type of hours our clients have to work, showing them that it is not only possible, but absolutely achievable!
Keep watching...we are looking at a new, simpler website, more immediate contact, more seminars, more information we can share with YOU to help you make 2011 the first year of the best years of your life! |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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I read a statistic the other day (and looked further into it to confirm the validity of it over the last few days), and the article said that the world, at it's current rate of growth and consumption, will have to produce more food in the next 40 yrs than we have in the previous 8000 yrs to feed everyone.
Yikes. Think about that...
Due to increases in world population (especially in third world and under developed and developing nations), decrease in healthy water supplies, increased water consumption, more poor people, potentially drier and hotter summers, increased dis[parity between the wealthy nations and the poorer nations, it presents a bleak picture...
It has also been said that roughly one third of the world's population is overweight or obese, one third are starving, and the balance is fed close to correctly (it didn't get into whether the nutrients and quality of the food was good, but that uis a point for another discussion...).
Do we see part of the problem here? Too many without...too many with too much, and not enough ways to tilt the scales to a level playing field...this is not a political situation (although it always seems to turn out that way), but we could solve a lot of our problems if we ate the RIGHT amount, and kept ourselves from wasting the rest...it would be even better if the energy we saved by NOT wasting all that food and all those resources was used to help create better conditions for people that are starving for food and resources...this is not about sharing the wealth, or the redistribution of wealth..this is about not eating more than you need and then busting yourself out at the gym to try to burn it off just so you can break even on the scale...
It makes a lot more sense to eat 100 less calories a day than jog an extra mile, doesn't it? Especially when you start increasing the calories (300? 500? 1000?), and increasing the exercise (1 hr a day? 2 hrs a day? More...?)...makes paying attention to calories make a little more sense, doesn't it? |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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Some days just cause you to reflect more than others...
With Valentine's Day coming up tomorrow, it is easy to take certain things for granted...our relationships, our health, our families...it has been a stress filled year for most of our clients, and a lot of that stress has found it's way into our families...we are fortunate to have an outlet to deal with it. A lot of people, however, do not.
Do you have a plan for a sudden change in a family member's health?
Do you have a plan if there were a sudden change in your own health?
What are you doing about it? What are you doing for your health?
We had the opportunity to do a number of print and radio interviews this week, a guest speaking event, and even were recognized at the State of the County address by the County Executive, Mr L Brooks Patterson. We are fortunate that we have learned a lot, become epxerts in the fitness field, and have been able to help others take care of themselves in a more efficient and healthful way...but sometimes, no matter how well it seems like things are going, some days just cause you to reflect more than others.
Days like these make us realize we have to do more to help others...life is too short to not try to do everything you can... |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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It's 2010...and that means a new year, and another look at the goals and accomplishments...how did you do for 2009?
We spent too much time training...and not enough time teaching in 2009. We aim to change that this year...what does that mean to you?
More information, more product reviews, more answers to your fitness questions, and more info to help you make 2010 YOUR year.
We have a ton of things planned and in the works...speed camps, senior fitness programs, kids fitness, ebooks, downloadable posters and tracking guides, podcasts, video demonstrations, and comparisons...mentoring programs, conrinuing education programs...every one dedicated to helping you use the Chile Pepper Approach to Exercise to help you reach the goals that have eluded you...and discover new things about your abilities and set new limits for yourself.
Welcome aboard! |
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Posted by Dan Houston at
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