Ahwatukee StrengthLab Personal Training 480-612-7726

You will not find a less expensive – better tasting bread – with 5 grams of fiber per slice – with no artificial ingredients!

Kirkland Signature (Costco Brand) Multi-Grain Bread

Life-long fitness is often most rewarding and successful when “subjective training” is intelligently employed.  Subjective training being best defined by daily exercise goals that are determined primarily upon how you feel; coupled of course with pre-established longer term goals and plans.  For instance, just because you’re scheduled to execute a long endurance run on a particular day doesn’t mean that you necessarily should.  Perhaps your body is presenting signs that a shorter day is in order or discarding the run altogether is most needed.  And re-working muscles for instance that are sore and damaged from a previous workout, just because they’re scheduled again, is often a recipe for setback or worse.  These are subjective decisions based upon biofeedback that no long-term plan can account for; but certainly can accommodate with the right amount of afterthought.  Granted this type of training is not for everyone.  Those who have trouble sticking to training plans in the first place don’t do well with too much discretion here… and those who lack fitness experience often misread the signs of biofeedback. 

But if you know your body and you really know your stuff… there’s no better way to stay healthy, motivated and fit for a lifetime!

This is a free national service brought to you by law enforcement called RAIDS Online.

Type in your location and it will provide you with daily feedback on all the crimes in your area (up to 5 miles).

Stay involved in your community and be aware. 

As provided on the site:

http://raidsonline.com/

***A well established local way to see what’s going on in your neighborhood can be found below.  It’s provided by the Arizona Republic Newspaper for free on their website:  http://www.azcentral.com/CrimeMaps/

Costco now has Chobani Greek Yogurt available in a 12 pack. 

All natural and twice the protein as regular yogurts!

http://www.chobani.com/products/c/nonfat

From the hand selected commercial machines… to the myriad cable attachments… to the varied bar designs, StrengthLab has the best fitness equipment and accessories available today.  Researched carefully and maintained meticulously, StrengthLab Personal Training Services takes fitness and the tools necessary, to get the job done, to a higher standard than any club of any size.   Furthermore, when purchasing fitness equipment and related accessories, no short-cuts are ever taken or even considered.  All of the equipment is purchased brand new, from the best vendors in the industry, with the necessary requirements and correct specifications to meet the needs of the owner and his long-term clients. 

Fitness and exercise may not be serious business to many – but it is to StrengthLab.

Regardless of the media messages that we may be bombarded with daily… the past was certainly not simpler and the world was not a more peaceful place.  From vastly improved and widely available medical care, to an abundance of nutritional resources and employment opportunities, we’re very lucky to live in the United States and more specifically here in Arizona.  From the open azure skies, to the varied terrain and climate, we certainly have it all.  Excuses don’t hold much credibility when you’re living out here. 

You have two legs and two arms, so if you want it – go get it!

4 Mile Race – Starts at 6:30 AM – at the Rio Vista Park in Peoria, AZ

See you there!

http://arizonaroadracers.com/Calendar/ARR_SummerSeries3_entry_form.pdf

If you don’t read… read one book before the end of this year!  And, even better yet… select a book that’s NOT fiction! 

Non-fiction is more amazing, more weird, more unexpected, more dramatic and more enlightening than any book of fiction.

Read as much as you can, as often as you can, as varied as you can… and let the ideas, precepts, paradigms and epiphanies roll around in your head a while.  Try them on, compare them, tailor them, use them… and at the same time – improve your life.

The Mind-Body method of running by feel…

http://www.amazon.com/RUN-Mind-Body-Method-Running-Feel/dp/1934030570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277699883&sr=1-2

It’s a Comparision of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence by Rory Miller

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Violence-Comparison-Martial-Training/dp/1594391181/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277467109&sr=8-1

Eating a piece of pie with real ice cream a la mode, following a fried chicken dinner, is okay once in a while, right?  A large prime rib steak or large hamburger with cheese, matched with a basket of french fries is just fine, “I don’t do it all the time, this is a special occasion.”  Right?  This is where the slippery slope of nutrition now requires a parachute!  The danger is in the acceptance of consuming food that’s so heavily rich with calories and fat, that even an intense bout of exercise that same day will not recover all the calories that were just consumed at this one point in time.  Furthermore, consuming large amounts of fat or calories at one time is enormously taxing on our entire physiological system; potentially leaving trace amounts of damage in our blood vessels each time this occurence is experienced (much like lying in the sun for too long each time we sun bath damages our skin in trace amounts).  In addition, we’re at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke while our body releases all those free fatty acids into the blood stream following the heavy meal.  All those free fatty acids have a tendency to thicken our blood increasing our health risks for an acute time period of 3-5 hours after consumption.  This is much like smoking a cigarette puts us at a higher risk of death for 2-3 hours after their consumption while the drugs affect our physiology.  Avoid the cigarette in the moment – you avoid the acute risk.  Never smoke again – you avoid the long term risk.  Avoid heavy calorie consumption much the same way!

At some point in our lives, the majority of us experience resignation… we simply stop actively trying to improve ourselves.  The continual wave of challenges that we face as human beings can be quite daunting and the accumulation of life-long losses that we’ve suffered along the way can be quite debilitating as well.  Yet the personal challenge for all of us, is to push forward constructively, yielding to nothing less than our very best.

It’s easy to become enthusiastic about fitness for a month, six-months or even a year for that matter.  But to stay enthusiastic about fitness for five years, a decade, even a life-time… is a matter altogether different.  To purposely and intelligently drive yourself through the grind of fitness, at a passioned pitch, with deep dedication and life-long fortitude… well that’s simply where the very serious separate themselves.

It’s been said that pride is the sign of a foolish man… yet, in my opinion, pride used wisely is the sign of a healthy man. 

There’s been plenty of things done in the name of pride that surely were better left undone.  But, when used as a valuable tool and powerful motivator… it’s been the influence behind numerous accomplishments and memorable performances.

The power of pride should never be abused or underestimated… it should only be used to your greatest advantage and treated carefully like a sword.

We all go through changes or phases in our lives.  Sometimes the changes come quickly and sometimes the phases come slowly… but they never fail to materialize.  To effectively deal with change it’s important to know yourself… and to know yourself takes great effort and dedicated discipline.  We have to challenge ourselves and study ourselves with a focused awareness that’s meant to provide and allow for growth.  Regardless of the changes or the phases in our lives, it’s important to be interested in growing mentally, spiritually and physically stronger.  Any other objective – or lack of objective – will only lead to weakness.

I’ve grown to appreciate – if not outright love – high intensity workouts with shorter duration! 

My newest tool in this quest – a bike model called “Pugsley” made by a bicycle company out of Minnesota called “Surly”. 

The wheels and tires of the Pugsley are the biggest in the bicycle industry. 

They were initially made for snow and sand… but I have other plans for them. 

Heavy and really quite cumbersome “Pugsley”will get plenty of exercise out here in the hills of Ahwatukee.

(With the rear bag full of tools, the bike weighs over 50lbs).

Re-visiting a helpful and laconic book on nutrition.

Worth a read at (least once to) understand nutrition in short form.

http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-Optimum-Health-Essential/dp/B0006V3Q9U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276966018&sr=8-1

As a life-long personal trainer and fitness coach my training paradigm is much like a steel structure; rigid and solid in actual form but flexible in essence.  I approach the largest concepts and the smallest of details with an open mind because I consider fitness to be an art form.  I’m constantly considering, pondering and refining the techniques, methods and approach.

To wake up slow, with just your thoughts and a good cup of coffee – it’s quite a treat. 

To be calm, centered, with no immediate objectives.  To appreciate, ponder and show humility.

To be here – where you are and wanting to be no where else. 

To experience slowness and deliberate thought for a just a few moments – right before jumping back into your life. 

Balance is a beautiful tool… exercise both ends frequently.

A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting by Sam Sheridan

http://www.amazon.com/Fighters-Heart-Journey-Through-Fighting/dp/0802143431/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276644059&sr=8-1

Scientific evidence for the majority of popular health supplements today are negative in results… or even nonexistent! 

For example: antioxidants (molecules capable of slowing or preventing the aging process) are complex molecules that are not very well understood in their original form nor in their relationship to other antioxidant molecules.  Yet, that hasn’t kept myriad capitalists from making and marketing powders, pills and liquids exulting their human engineered benefits. 

The difference between snake oil and antioxidant supplements?  Generally nothing… 

Save your money and purchase inexpensive and widely available antioxidant sources such as fruits and vegetables instead.

The biggest nutrition mistake that many make is eating out too much.  

You can be careful… and you can try with diligence to make artful choices when dining out but the full disclosure of what you’re eating is rarely revealed – except to maybe your metabolism after the fact.  The majority of restaurants don’t care about your health… they care about your money!  And your money is easier to get the more caloric the food. 

To take control of your calories – you need to know the ingredients of the food that eat.

Several times each year, I’ll get a phone call from a perspective client, that’s best described as an interrogation.

I certainly don’t mind answering questions concerning my services… but to reject a perspective client after only one short conversation is common enough, that I thought I might share my thoughts on it here. 

Before you inquire… know that I have nothing to prove – yet I have much I can give. 

Be prepared to convince me, why we should train together.  While I share with you… why I think you should train with me. 

This is a mutual interview and we both have something to gain here – so put your best foot forward.

The Best Stories From Runner’s World Magazine Compiled in a Book!

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Long-Oddballs-Comebacks-Adventures/dp/1605295337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275427900&sr=8-1