Here’s my latest column at The Soko.

Be on the lookout for Inside Fitness Magazine if you’re in Canada. I have a 20 minute workout in there for ya.

 Just Want To Live A Little?

Human beings have fascinating psychological views and actions, in my opinion.  The food we know is not good for us, we still eat.  The workouts we know would help us get back into shape, we decide to not be consistent with them.

Some people realize that their health is what actually keeps them alive, but they’d rather spend their money on a monster television rather than a gym membership or a personal training service.

Why, though?

The typical answer I seem to get when I point out to someone that a chocolate bar isn’t exactly the best kind of snack in the world is this: “Why can’t I just live a little?”

Can We Break That Train of Thought?

I’m guilty of this at times too.  I mean, I’ve already confessed to you my love for hot dogs in a previous article.

My job as a fitness coach is to solve people’s fitness problems.  This whole ‘living a little’ philosophy is a rampant problem with many people, so I have to try and help them with it.

Just to make it clear right now, I’m not going to be telling you to never eat a bad thing ever again in your life.  That’s just stupid.  It’s okay to have cheat meals; you just need to be smarter and more organized about your choices.

I have here a list of a few possible solutions that may help you make better choices more consistently.

Understanding Your Top Priority

If you don’t have your health, you really don’t have anything.  If you’re sick from being drunk the night before, your health suffers, and it’s really hard to enjoy the next day with all the headaches and potential vomiting.  But in today’s society, that’s apparently the ultimate symbol of living a little.

Of course, that’s an example, and yes, I do drink alcohol on some occasions, but never like that.  I’ve realized my priorities on it.  In college I would drink.  When I tore my hamstring that threatened my baseball career, I actually started to drink fairly heavily.  The only priority I had was having fun and trying to run away from my circumstances.  Obviously that kind of attitude didn’t exactly help my recovery from the injury very much, because my health wasn’t my number one priority.

When I finally realized what my top priority should be, I quit drinking for a while.  And it was easy to do, because I had a new set of rules governing my life.

What’s your top priority?  It could be the difference between you buying that monster television or taking the steps to actually getting the body you want.

Surround Yourself With Your Goals

Put them everywhere.  Put them in your bedroom, in your wallet, in your car, on your mirrors, on the fridge, on the television and on your favourite junk food.  Get a bunch of those yellow post-it notes and write your goals on them.

Put them everywhere – literally.  Make sure your goals are always going to be fresh in your mind.  That will help when those ‘live a little’ decisions come your way.

Just ask yourself, “Will this decision HELP me towards my goals, or push me AWAY from my goals?”

Keep Visiting

Keep visiting sites like The Soko to try and find advice or tips that will work for you.  Maybe my stuff makes more sense to you than others, maybe not.

Organize your day so that you can read at least one article that relates to your fitness goals, so that you can learn along the way too.

This strategy can motivate you to keep working hard on your goals and not let those annoying decoys (the living a little decoys) get in the way of your goals and dreams.

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living a little or dying a little?

When you buy into the living a little philosophy, which I think we all should do sometimes, are you actually living a little or are you dying a little?  I mean, eating tons of sugary food isn’t good for you, and if you do it enough, you might be on your way to a shorter life when you think about it.

But the key thing here is doing it consistently.  Organize your diet or your life to the point that you can enjoy some cheat meals during the week, or if you really want that monster television, make sure you’ve accomplished conquering your top priority first.  Hell, you might not even want the television anymore with your new body and new-found energy.

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

SORRY! I’ve been on the road for what seems to be forever so posts have been limited.

Here’s my soon to be released article at The Soko:

There’s a lot of people out there who have used the information and programs that I have made for them and used them to great success. Yet, there as some that have gotten the same information and programs designed specifically for them but didn’t ‘believe’ in the program and got nowhere with it.

Those people, for whatever reason, now don’t like my ‘stuff’.

Some Success…

And that’s fine. I had a client who overcame double knee replacement surgery to lose over 20 pounds of fat in 2 months with only 60 minutes TOTAL of exercise per week. I’ve also helped a lady going off to Police College who couldn’t do a regular pushup to do 25 perfect pushups in 10 days.

And A Little Bit Of Failure…

I had a lady who paid me quite a bit of money for me to analyze her current program and then have me create a newer revised program because she wasn’t getting any results with her current program. The problem was that she never followed my program the way I wrote it out for her.

Why? Because it was ‘different’ from what she was used too. No kidding…

Anyways, this isn’t really a popularity contest for me, I just try to solve people’s fitness problem. So in this column we’re going to discuss a little bit of that.

I Don’t Hate Jogging…I Just Don’t Recommend It…Actually, I Do Hate Jogging

People who read my articles or decide they want to actually listen to me ramble on with fat loss advice often wonder out load, “Why don’t you like jogging? I thought that was how you lose weight?”

Yep, you can lose weight jogging and you can also lose weight by not eating for a week. Does that mean not eating for week should be recommended as fat loss protocol?

I used to work at a chiropractors office doing rehab work with people. I lost count at how many people came in with really bad knee, ankle, and/or ITB injuries. I probably don’t have to ask you why they kept coming in with these injuries, but I will just for fun anyways.

Do you know what the number one factor was that caused all of these injuries? Yep, you got it…jogging.

Do you know how many people came in to get treated for injury because they did sprint intervals (which many of the clients there did after talking to me)? NONE, a big ole’ goose egg.

I can keep bringing up examples and can continue to keep ranting but it would end up getting out of hand and I would probably never be allowed to write on here again. Well, that might happen anyway if this article gets a lot of people angry, but I’m willing to take that risk for the good of successful fat loss training.

Now, before I get totally anti-cardio on you, I will tell you that I do advise certain clients to do long cardio. And yes, doing something it better than nothing.

Interval training is just better for fat loss. It’s been proven in both clinical and real world studies. Plain and simple, you just burn A LOT more fat doing intervals then you do jogging for hours on end.

For more information on interval training check out one of my earlier articles, ‘3 Steps To Losing Belly Fat’.

“Yep, We Aren’t Touching The BOSU Ball”

You know what my new clients are usually most surprised about when they start training with me. That I don’t recommend using the BOSU ball (the half stability ball).

Why is the BOSU ball so friggin’ popular?

I know most people’s answer would be because it helps you ‘work’ your core too, but that just seems to be non-sense in my eyes.

For one thing, I see a lot of people doing a lot of bicep and tricep exercises on them, which if you read my articles you now know that’s not going to help your fat loss very much.

Secondly, this whole ‘working’ your core thing has gotten a little out of control in my eyes. Yes, you should do some ab exercise but you don’t need to bring in a BOSU ball to do it.

Squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushups, planks, ab wheel rollouts, sprinting, skipping, ‘work’ your core…just to name a few off the top of my head.

And i realize if you do a squat on a BOSU ball it will challenge your balance and you’ll feel a good ‘burn’, but it’s not going to have an optimal effect on your fat loss. Why? Because you aren’t really building any lean muscle…you’re just maybe improving your balance a little bit.

Now, remember we’re not talking about balance or performance type training here. But if you want to improve those things then the BOSU ball may be a good option.

I’m just saying lift some weight and stop worrying about this whole ‘work’ the core thing that comes along with stability equipment.

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different can be a good thing

Being different and not following the pack is almost always a good thing. You can realize that just by walking into a commercial gym. Typically, you can tell the difference between a fit person’s workout and an out of shape person’s. Here’s a hint, a lot of the people who are really fit with good looking bodies are the ones doing full body lifts and aren’t reading a magazine while doing their cardio training.

I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on this column post…and if you still like me or not.

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

Here’s my latest column article at The Soko:

Since I now have the honour of writing a column for The Soko, I thought it was about time to have a ‘get to know me’ kind of article. Since it’s baseball season, and since it’s the greatest sport in the world (Sorry hockey fans — I love hockey too, but it’s just not baseball.), I figured I should do a baseball themed article. I’m currently training to play pro baseball this summer, so this article is going to be a lot of fun.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Baseball’s famous song ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ is 100 years old this year. A lot has happened in 100 years, especially regarding nutrition and exercise. Have we learned anything? Of course. Has it made the industry any better at solving problems? Sadly, not really.

Let’s face it. A lot of trainers out there just don’t have a clue. There are many great ones, don’t get me wrong. Unfortunately, you really have to be skeptical these days about personal trainers, since it’s so easy to get certified. If you want to be a personal trainer, there is actually a way to become one in just a couple days. I mean, how scary is that?

In an industry that makes over $100 billion a year, while at the same time the results are actually getting worse, it’s probably time to rethink the strategy. But I guess I could be wrong. Maybe it’s not about the results anymore.

Just remember to keep your eyes open for some of the stupid stuff this industry gives you. A few examples would be any kind of pill that guarantees you significant fat loss, a diet that involves all your favourite foods and still helps you lose 30 pounds in 30 days and any advice Bob from The Biggest Loser gives you (sorry, I had to say it).

My Favourite Food Ever

I grew up playing ball. I played college ball. I’m going to be playing pro ball. I love being at the ballpark. You can’t help but love life when you’re at the ballpark on a sunny day in the afternoon whether you are playing or watching.

But before I get way too sentimental on you, I should probably get to my point. (Note: If you want to keep talking baseball with me just email me…I can talk forever about it). My point is my favourite food.

Hot dogs, of course.

I understand I’m a fitness professional and I shouldn’t be eating hot dogs or telling you it’s okay to eat them, but let’s be honest, they taste amazing. All those ‘trainers’ who tell you that you have to be on a crazy strict diet must be people who get all their meals cooked for them, and they also apparently want you to hate your life as much as they hate theirs.

It’s fine to have a cheat meal. It’s just not okay to have cheat days or cheat buffets. I’m a real person, just like you, and I like to eat some things that I know aren’t the best for me sometimes. Sue me.

I go by the 90 per cent rule. A lot of people can be extremely successful following the 85 per cent rule, meaning 85 per cent of your meals are nutritionally sound and will help you towards your goals. The other 15 per cent of your meals throughout the week can be meals of your choice. So sometimes I have a couple hot dogs, but not all the time. — just every once in a while in the summer.

So next time you’re enjoying watching the boys of summer (potentially me), go ahead and enjoy a dog and a beer…just don’t have one every second inning.

Slumps Are Part of the Game

Baseball players have slumps and so do people trying to get the body of their dreams. Sometimes the process might not seem fun anymore or the results seem to be stuck at a stand still. Maybe you go on a week vacation and you end up being less than healthy about your choices.

The best advice I ever heard when I was in a slump was, “just keep swinging the bat and they’ll start to fall.” I think that’s good advice for exercising too. Just keep working hard at it and the results will come.

Taking a week or two off isn’t going to destroy months and months of hard work. Sometimes going through a little bit of a tough streak gives you more momentum once you break out of it as well as new focus and excitement.

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persistence will pay off

I’ve had my share of ups and downs in my baseball career. I’m sure you’ve had ups and downs during your mission to get a better body. The only thing that will get you through those down times is persistence. There’s no miracle, quick-fix answer, unfortunately. It just takes a little bit of hard work. Every day is a new day to start or get closer to your dreams. Or as the famous pitcher Bob Feller once said, “Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.”

Want to keep talking baseball with Dan? Email him at dan (at) thesoko (dot) com.

Source:
www.bodytransformationcoach.com
ThinkExist
www.dangrantcoaching.com

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

It’s been a few weeks since you’ve heard from me consistantly for a couple
reasons. First my computer had a MAJOR meltdown and I lost quite
a bit of ’stuff’ so it’s been very time consuming getting everything
re-set up.

Another reason is that I’m currently in West Palm Beach, Fl on a
little mini vacation. It’s been a lot of fun so far and from a
combo of beach time and just walking around I’ve gotten a pretty
sweet sunglasses burn, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, sitting on the beach and looking at the ocean sure gave me
some good thinking time about a lot of things.

I LOVE to think…way too much according to some people, but
non the less I did some thinking.

One was about the fitness industry and how a lot of people are just
flat out tired of paying lots of money for fitness information.

A lot of my mentors tell me to raise my prices so I can make more
in less time…but I have a really hard time with that because that
would mean I would have less people to help.

So I’m actually LOWERING my prices. I’m not taking on new one on
one clients right now, but I do have time blocked off for phone
consults and program consults. If you’re interested at all in any
of them you can check those out here: http://tinyurl.com/2l5u8l

But let’s talk exercise now.

I’ve been getting great feedback on my previous emails about
critical thinking for fat loss so here’s another one.

The heavier weight you lift will give you a greater amount of lean
muscle gain, which will therefore boost up your metabolism.

So my question is this then.

Why is the BOSU ball (the half stability ball) so friggin’ popular?

I know most people’s answer would be because it helps you work your
core too, but that just seems to be non-sense in my eyes.

For one thing, I see a lot of people doing a lot of bicep and tricep
exercises on them, which if you read my last email you now know that
that’s not going to help your fat loss very much.

Secondly, this whole ‘working’ your core thing has gotten a little
out of control in my eyes. Yes, you should do some ab exercise but
you don’t need to bring in a BOSU ball to do it.

Squats, dealifts, lunges, pushups, sprinting, skipping, ‘work’ your
core…just to name a few off the top of my head.

And i realize if you do a squat on a BOSU ball it will challenge
your balance and you’ll feel a good ‘burn’, but it’s not going to
have an optimal effect on your fat loss.

Why? Because you aren’t really building any lean muscle…you’re
just maybe improving your balance a little bit.

Now, remember we’re not talking about balance or performance type
training here. But if you want to improve those things then the BOSU
ball may be a good option.

I’m just saying lift some weight and stop worrying about this whole
‘work’ the core thing that comes along with stability equipment.

I hope that made sense…

I’d love to know your thoughts on it. And if you’d like me to
expand my thoughts a bit just let me know.

I’m off to walk around the city a little bit and maybe try to work
on blending my permanent white skin sunglasses look to match the
rest of my burnt face :).

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

PS - If you do want to get a consult with me, you can sign up now,
and I will contact you by email or phone by this Friday or Saturday.
I’ll be giving a copy of my ebook True Weight Loss Revealed along
with some special audios as well to sign ups. http://tinyurl.com/2l5u8l

PPS - I’ve been getting a lot of questions about supplementation
lately. I’m assuming from all the commercials that I’m seeing on
TV. I will try and cover them next time and if you have any
specific questions about supplements and supplementation just
email me at admin (at) dangrantfitness.com.