It's Not About The Gym, It's About Life!

I've been out shoveling snow for two hours already and I'm only 2/3 done! This is a photo I took this morning with my iPhone from my kitchen, overlooking the deck into my back yard. We got about 15 inches of snow!

When I came in to take a break from shoveling I was dehydrated and my tee shirt was soaking wet. Wow, what a workout! BTW, I made a point to switch hands and shovel on both sides of my body so as not to over work my dominant side. I have learned from many years that this is the best way to not hurt yourself and to help prevent muscles imbalances. And trust me, I have burned a LOT of calories this morning.

So what does boot camp and shoveling snow have in common?

1. For starters. If you come to boot camp, you'll have no reservations about shoveling snow in the future. If you think shoveling snow is an activity for "hired help" then you are clearly missing the big picture.

You see, our bodies were built to work and function at a high level. Technology has allowed us to change the way we work, but most importantly it has changed the way we think about work. As a result of this type of thinking we make choices about what we are going to do, and what we are not going to do based on the
way we think.

The take home point I want to leave you with is this. If you desire change, you need to change the way you think, because ultimately you will then make changes about what you will do. In the end, it's the daily habits and choices we make that move
us forward.

We're getting older with too many aches and pains because of what we DON'T do. Shoveling snow is a great activity and great way to get your body working the way it was meant to. But, if you are a sedentary individual, be very careful as shoveling snow is hard work and there are statistics on the amount of heart attacks people get from snow shoveling.

2. Boot camp prepares you for strenuous activities.

3. Boot camp builds your confidence about what you can and can't do physically.

4. Boot camp teaches you how to move correctly, i.e. squat, lunge, push, pull, etc.

5. Boot camp gets your body moving in dynamic ways that you would never most likely not experience.

6. Boot camp will allow you to grow older yet maintaining a great range of motion, flexibility, extensibility, and strength.

In addition to shoveling snow, don't overlook carrying groceries and laundry baskets, chopping some firewood, raking leaves, cutting the lawn, washing your car, etc. Any physical activity you can do will help you help yourself and keep your body fit.

Boot camp class tomorrow morning, 7:30am. Please RSVP. In spite of the low numbers from Meetup, our classes are full from other sources. If you want to get in, don't wait! There's only room for 5 Meetup people this week.

http://www.meetup.com/Body-Basics-Fat-Blasting-Boot-Camp/

Be careful out there today!
Larry

Where Are You?

It's a simple question, but let me be more specific.

Where are you...

• in your fitness,
• in your diet,
• in your personal commitment,
• in your self discipline
• in your LIFE?

Where ever you are, are you where you want to be?

Here's an interesting view of human nature.

There is one's "intention" and then there is one's "action". Everyone has good intentions. For example, nearly everyone I know has started a diet or a fitness
program at one time or another. That part is easy.

You might say to yourself, "I'm going to go to boot camp and finally get fit". That's the having good intentions part. But having good intentions won't get you in great shape. That part takes action.

ACTIONS are very different. Let's say you intend to take a Free Trial Boot Camp class, or come to a Saturday morning boot camp, or join us on a Sunday morning hike, but week after week, you never make it to an event.

So what happened?

On Saturday morning you couldn't get up, or just decided to sleep in. Perhaps you wanted to do something else altogether. Perhaps you live farther away than you realized. What ever your reasons, there is a "disconnect" between what you intended to do and what you actually ended up doing.

There are many of you who have attended boot camp and some of you have traveled from a great distance to do so. I am so very appreciative of your energy and drive and I wish you much success in all of your fitness endeavors. In short, you rock!

Many of our Saturday boot campers have been dedicated and solid athletes too. Always a pleasure to have you join us when ever you can. And many of our daily boot campers are long term dedicated members that are also my friends and "family" at this point.

For those of you who have been intending to come to boot camp, but have not yet taken action I have a small favor to ask of you. Write to me. Yes, please write to me and tell me any or all of the following.

1. Why you have never attended a boot camp.

2. What you expect or need from a fitness program.

3. What can I do to help you?

I have two main objectives. First is to get people into awesome physical shape. Second is to have them become raving fans about our program and tell the world!

But I can't do that unless you show up. So let me hear from you! To our newest members Jessica, Ricardo, Denise, Amy Arup, and Domenick, I want to hear from
you too!

I want to share with you something from my own life's experience. You see at one time I was a mess.

I was 35 pounds "over fat" with bad knees, a bad back, and a bad disposition. In short, I was miserable. You see, life had not turned out as I expected and I blamed

people and circumstances for everything. I was also a complainer. BTW, have you ever complained or blamed someone else for something? Right, silly question.

One day it dawned on me that no one was going to show up, take me by the hand and lead me to a solution. I eventually developed enough pain in my mind and body
that I absolutely had to change. I could no longer go on living this way. I was terrified when I realized that it was up to me and only me if I was going to change my life.

Common sense told me to get some exercise, so the first thing I did was join a gym and begin to work out. It was a slow and painful start, but within a few months
I began to feel better. Boy was it hard. My shoulders felt like they were 90 and my knees were on fire. I injured myself multiple times too. But the one thing that kept
me going was that in spite of the pain, I felt good inside. I had a renewed vitality. There was something chemical going on in my body and my brain and I wanted more of it.

Here it is 12 years later. I am a full time fitness professional with my own business and connecting with people. I'm far away from where I started and life gets better all the time.

You have a story too. Maybe you are where I was, or worse. Maybe you think no one cares. Some one does care and that someone is the most important person in your life. IT"S YOU SILLY! And BTW, the person who looks me in the eye and says, "NO Larry, I really don't care" is either lying to me, themselves, or both.

The next thing you need to do is make a decision, a decision to change once and for all. No more BS. It's time to stop making excuses and start getting BUSY getting

results. Making a decision is HUGE! Don't underestimate the power of it. It's also an "action" :-)

Once you make that decision, send me and email and tell me that you have once and for all decided to stop and get off the merry-go-round. I'll read your email and I'll personally write back to you. I really do care that much.

Then, plan on coming to a Free Trial Boot Camp or a Saturday morning boot camp. Plan on it being challenging. Plan on being sore and feeling uncomfortable at first.
But also, plan on transforming your health and your life.

Think you've got it tough?

Our new trainer Andrea was once 310 pounds. I kid you not. Now she is a force to be reckoned with. She is also training to be a body building competitor! How awesome is that? Talk about doing a 180!

Andrea's journey is one of triumph. She is a strong willed and determined woman who has faced her fears and found the courage and tenacity within herself to
change her life. Her story is nothing short of amazing.

I'm not trying to impress you, I'm trying to impress upon you that Andrea is just like you. I am just like you. If we can overcome our adversities, so can you. And now you will have the benefit of our experience to help you along the way.

A good place to begin.

- Believe in yourself.

- Believe you can do this. (because you can.)

- Believe that we have a system that works, (because we've proven it over
and over again)

- Begin and follow through.

If you want our help, we're here for you. As we move into 2010 our members will be comprised of individuals who want health, a dynamic life, and an awesome body.

So now where are you?

Press on!

What Do Happy Hour and Boot Camp Have in Common?

"Happy Hour is so much fun, you get two drinks and you pay for one!"

I don't know where I first heard this, but for some reason it stuck in my head. It's a little diddy about "happy hour". And yes, there's a tune that goes with it, but you'll have to make up your own for now.

Silly? Absolutely. But it perfectly symbolizes the " 2 for the price of 1" or what we have come to refer to as the "Two fer".

And that brings me to boot camp. We have a "two fer" also. If you are a new member you can join with a friend and "split the cost" of a one month membership. Two people, half the price, the perfect "two fer".

Register Here For "Two for One" Boot Camp

What's really great about this is that it gets people excited for "two" reasons. First, everybody loves a deal and to save money. By getting a perceived value, they feel good about their purchase and that's also a good thing. Second, they have established a low barrier of entry into boot camp.

First time boot campers are often tentative. They don't know what to expect and they have some reservations that they might fail or not be able to keep up with the group. It's easy for us veterans to know that their apprehensions are just FEAR or what is referred to as

False Evidence Appearing Real.

But within a week or so, their fears are gone and they know how boot camp works. Aside from some sore muscles everything is hunkey dory.

But then by the final week, they are beginning to feel awesome and their energy levels pick up. Many are getting their nutrition dialed in and their clothes are a tad looser. And many begin to realize that boot camp exercise works. I live for is the look on people's faces when they talk about how their lives are changing, how amazing they feel, and that they can do things they never could before.

But, they also begin to realize the appreciate the value of boot camp that is far beyond the price.

Here is a recent testimonial I received from a boot camper.

"I was getting ready to leave my office and head over to Boot Camp when I received a call from my boss advising me that our offices were going to be moving and I would have an hour-long commute. While I was driving to Boot Camp I could barely hold back the tears, I was a complete wreck at the thought of such a grueling commute. I got to Boot Camp and Larry put us through another great workout, which is always different and and fun, and always kicks my butt (in a good way though). Got back in the car to drive home and started thinking about work again, and realized that I was in such a great mood that even the thought of that commute couldn't bring me down. I just felt a sense of contentment that wouldn't go away. I was totally amazed that the power of a great workout had changed my mood from being completely miserable to being very happy, and changed my outlook to make a bad situation seem not so bad at all, or at least fixable. If I can change my body to make it better, then I can change anything."

Boot camp is about life. Everything we think and do adds up to the experience we call "our life". It's not complicated, but it is about our thoughts and our actions.

So let me get back on point. If you want to change your life, then you need to start working towards creating the life you want. Fitness goals should not take over your life, they should enhance every other part of it. Your body, mind, and diet aren't stand alone islands. Everything interacts and weaves together.

And boot camp is a place where all of this comes together. It's here for the taking if you want it and if you are willing to do the work.

And we're making it easier than ever because now you can join with a friend for half price. (new members, one month only).

Register Here For "Two for One" Boot Camp

Press on!


P.S. Please forward this blog post to anyone you know that might be able to benefit from our program and this New Year's Special.


Register Here For "Two for One" Boot Camp

Should You Stay Or Should You Go?

One of my favorite bands from the 80's is The Clash. They had a slew of great songs and one was titled, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" The song is about a personal relationship, but the title makes me think of many of you who joined our MeetUp.com "Burn the Fat Hiking Group."

I have to admit that I am deeply disappointed that too many peoeple have joined this group and have never been on a hike, not one hike! Hmmmm. But many of our blog readers live all over the world and couldn't come on a hike if they wanted to. So for everyone else think of the hikes as anything you feel that you want to do to improve your health but don't seem to get to, like going to the gym, eating healthier meals, etc.

What's that you say? You have a good reason why.

Maybe so. Do any of these "excuses" resonate with you?

- The hikes are too early in the morning (8:30am)
- I have to work
- I have church at the same time
- My kids have sports
- I live too far away
- Larry, it's Sunday morning for cryin' out loud!
- My pillow wouldn't let me go
- I stay out too late on Saturday nights

I hope these make you chuckle. But then again the truth is that you really just don't value our hikes as something that is important to you. I get that. I just want to make sure that you get that too. Stop pretending that "someday" is going to come and that you will eventually come join us. When you state things in the "future" they tend to always stay in the future, and the futre never arrives.

Be honest. If you can't attend a hike, why join in the first place? Well there's a reason for that too. The reason is because joining makes you feel like you at least made the effort. We all have two things in common. One is our intentions. The other is our actions. So joining a gym or a hiking group means you have good intentions, but actually going is a whole other story.

Let me appeal to your emotional side for a moment. Do any of the following situations fit your life.

- I'm at least 15 lbs over-fat
- I lack energy throughout the day
- I drink 3-4 cups of coffee in the morning to "get going"
- I generally skip breakfast
- I lack motivation
- I'm afraid to start
- I don't know where to begin
- I'll just go back to Weight Watchers...AGAIN?
- I know what to do, I just have to start doing it.
- I work out 3-4 times a week, but I can't lose fat.
- I think I eat healthy?

I could come up with many more, but I think you get my point. Many of us are stuck, but not in what we're doing so much as in what we are "thinking". If you are over fat, it's because of what you are "doing". What you are "doing" is determined by what you are "thinking". You just need to change the way you think. Knowledge is power and applied knowledge is off the hook!

That's what you'll get at a hike. You'll get the information, the motivation, the inspiration, and you'll burn some fat on day one! Get out of your own head. Stop making excuses (okay you call them reasons) but in the end they are excuses. Change your values and make your health a higher priority.

Larry, how can I make my health a higher priority than my kids?

That's a tough one. But if you were stricken with a life threatening disease like CANCER, you'd have to prioritize your health over everything else. I'm just giving you the idea that if you continue on a path of poor habits, one day you may not have a choice.

So choose health now and realize that you ARE actually giving your family a healthier and happier YOU! That's the most loving thing you can do!

So in answer to the question, "Should You Stay or Should You Go?"

The answer is two-fold. YOU SHOULD STAY (in this group) AND GO, (on a hike that is!)

I'll see you on the trails!

Trick or Treat? Your Body Will Follow Your Brain

Hi Boot Campers!

First things first. Saturday Morning Boot Camp is Moving: Time and Location Change. Please go to the Meetup site and review the changes that are coming. We're going indoors and starting at 8am at Warren Health & Racquet Club. Beginning on November 14th.

http://www.meetup.com/Body-Basics-Fat-Blasting-Boot-Camp/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Happy Halloween!

Sure is a dreary and rainy day, and not good for Trick or Treaters. Although the truly determined will done their costumes and go for the bounty! Think about that. It's worth reoeating. The "truly determined" will get their candy today. Maybe not little kids, but 5th, 6th, and 7th graders will get out if they possibly can.

When you think about it, the amount of will and determination one has for trick or treating in the rain is very similar to what one needs to get in great physical shape. Either way you've got to be willing to put up with obstacles, be it the weather, a challenging schedule, or anything else that causes your brain to send you a message that gives you permission to not follow through.

Attitude is everything!

The secret to having a great attitude is having strong reasons why you want or need something. A Halloween trick or treater sees the sack full of candy as the grand prize. When we were kids, my brother and I would walk further and longer than any other time of the year, going from house to house in pursuit of chocolate bars and other delicacies. Yumm! We would start right after school, go home for a quick supper and head right back out after.

The only difference between being grown up and being a kid is that we often lose sight of our passions. With so many responsibilities on our shoulders it becomes difficult to get your motor revved up to go out and do something that requires physical energy. Halloween is also special because it's only one day of the year. Keep in mind that to get in great shape, you'd have to keep that same energy going day in and day out. You have to want great health and a great body as much as my brother and I wanted to see our pillow cases become full of candy!

So where do you find your reasons? In other words, what is it that will help you have that passion? The answer may surprise you. It's your pain. By pain, I mean your emotional pain. Perhaps a better word would be "disturbed". Every day we do things that put us on a potential collision course with being upset about our bodies.

If you step on a bathroom scale in the morning and you
don't like the number you see...Whammo!

If you look in the mirror at yourself just before
you get in or out of the shower and you

don't like what you see...Whammo!

If you get dressed and nothing fits the
way you want it to...Whammo!

There's three opportunities to feel really bad about yourself. What's really "disturbing" is that all three scenarios can occur in the morning back-to-back before you've had breakfast. In fact, you might feel so crappy about yourself, instead of eating a healthy breakfast you just say "screw it" and head for Dunkin Donuts!

It's time to change all of that. It's time to reverse the downward spiral and find your "passion" once again. Make your enemy your friend. Your enemy is the way you feel about yourself.

Get good and mad about the number on the bathroom scale.

Get good and fired up about the naked body you see in the mirror.

Get good and fed up with the way your clothes (don't) fit.

AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

FoodRenegade.com

Stop the old cycle and start a new positive cycle. Remember the passion you had as kid on Halloween, Christmas morning, or when you got a new bike? You still have that passion, you just have to let it out. SO LET IT OUT! The kid in you is alive and well and wants to run and play. It's the tired and frustrated adult in you that is making all the excuses. Find your passion once again and begin to change your life.

My passion is helping people get fit. If I can help you, it would be my pleasure. Please visit one of my websites and see if there's a way I can help you feel and look your best.

Committed to your fitness success,
Larry Wasserman

bodybasicsbootcamps.com
imtiredofbeingfat.com
healthyfitkids.com
bodybasics.blogspot.com

What Are Your Fall Fitness Goals?

Okay, so this could be a tough one. I mean "Three" goals? Isn't one goal enough? Well, that depends on what your goals are. If you had one goal to lose 50 pounds, that would be quite significant. But having multiple goals is more in line with human nature. I mean, do you only ever want one thing and "only one thing"? Exactly.

So ask yourself, "what are three things that I could work on to improve myself or my health?" Please know that I am well aware that you might also be motivated to help someone else. And as much as that would be generous and honorable, this exercise is about YOU!

My Goal #1
Last Winter I had a goal to do 100 consecutive pushups without a break. I worked up to 74 and then had a set back as I hurt my shoulder. And as it often happens, within a few weeks I let go and focused my attention on other things. I started that goal at Thanksgiving setting New Years as my target. It's been haunting me ever since. So now that is goal number #1 - 100 pushups! Only now I'm going to start earlier and I'm giving myself eight weeks to complete the task.

My Goal #2
My second fitness goal is to nail 20 body weight pull ups. I can currently only get a clean 10, so twice that is going to be a real challenge. One thing is for certain, I'm going to get a lot stronger as a result and that's not only exciting, it's driving me to want to do it!

My Goal #3
My third fitness goal is to go surfing more often. Although this is a recreational activity, it's about taking time to enjoy life. (I work way too much). There was a period in my life where I spent a lot of time chasing waves along the east coast. My goal is to get out more, enjoy the Fall weather and waves, and share my passion for surfing with my sons...the next generation!

Once the weather gets cooler like it is now, it gets more difficult to be outside and for some reason the Fall is always a busy time of year. I hope that you'll give this some thought and come up with a few goals for yourself.

Consider the many events of the fall season and see if you can't associate a goal with an activity. From football games, holidays, kids sports programs, and how about all those falling leaves? Make a goal to do your own yard clean up this year!

Leave A Reply ~ Go ahead and post your Fall Fitness Goals below!

Not sure what goals are for you? Here's a few suggestions.

- Run a 5 or 10K road race
- Train for a triathlon
- Train to ride a bicycle for 100 miles (a "century")
- Commit to release 10 pounds of fat in six weeks
- Quit smoking
- Learn to prepare healthy meals
- Take up a new sport
- Walk your dog every night after dinner
- Eat breakfast every day
- Join Body Basics Boot Camps (The #1 goal to rule them all!)

This list could be huge if you let your mind go. The point is to "focus on change" and to make progress from where you are now. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks and you never eat breakfast, then eating oatmeal for breakfast every day will also help you drop those extra pounds of flab. There's two goals that have a synergy between them.

Keep your eye on the prize and find reasons to be 100% committed.

Don’t forget to Leave a Comment
Post your Fall Fitness Goals below!

Just think - by taking action NOW you will be MORE than ready with a new, fit body once the holidays arrive!

Boot Camper in the Spotlight

Do You Know Joe?

At first glance Joe Hirschman is just an average guy. But there's a lot more than meets-the-eye with Joe. He joined Body Basics Boot Camps last January and has been a regular ever since. From day one Joe understood what boot camp is all about. He is always the first one to arrive at 6am and starts his own warm up whether it be running a lap or doing light calisthenics. I imagine Joe's a self-starter in all that he does.

Like many men his age, Joe had let his diet and exercise take a back seat so-to-speak to his work and family. It happens to the best of us Joe! I wouldn't be here today if I didn't have my own story to tell.

But unlike many people, Joe decided to change his life, and man is he is on a roll! Below is Joe's story in his own words. As you read Joe's narrative, imagine what you would challenge yourself with. What makes Joe so special? Well, in two worda, "Joe does", and that makes him our boot camper in the spot light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Joe's Story

As a prefix to this story, I realized at this point in my life I want and need to challenge myself. Most people reach a point and everything becomes routine or work-related, but they are unchallenged on a personal level. Last September I took on 3 distinct and new challenges.

In no particular order:

1. To perform 35,000 pushups in one year.
2. To start exercising on a regular basis and drop 20lbs.
3. To learn a second language.

I started doing 25 pushups each morning and night. Soon after a co-worker told me I inspired him to do 75 a day. Doing this many push ups a day would really add up and I decided I would do 100-a-day for an entire year or 35,000 pushups. One hundred a day would be a bigger challenge and just seemed so much more impressive.

Forty-five weeks later, I have now done over 32,000 pushups and I am now shooting for 36,000 to 37,000 total pushups for the year.

This takes determination and a some effort. In addition I train four days-a-week at 6am. I have greatly improved my diet and I am in better shape than I have been in for quite a few years. Our 6am workouts with Larry Wasserman at bodybasicsbootcamps.com are an even bigger challenge with bigger results. Not only am I reaching new goals, but I am taking better care of myself.

My third goal is also a work in progress. I have been taking Greek lessons for the last 6 months. I am able to read and write in Greek which even impresses me! I have a decent vocabulary but stringing together more than a simple sentence and conjugating verbs is very complex.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. My message to you is to ask you to challenge yourself. Every day we are challenged professionally and invest a huge amount of time in our family lives, but we don’t create personal challenges since we are so busy at home and at work. There is much more time than we realize. Turn off your TV and turn that time into something more productive. You just might amaze yourself.

- Joe Hirschman

Can You Do 100 Push Ups?

My good friend and fellow fitness expert Scott Colby (www.theabsexpert.com) posted a personal challenge last October where he was going to strive to achieve the following by Thanksgiving.

- sub six minute mile
- bear crawl the length of a foot ball field
- 20 pull ups
- 100 push ups

I was pretty impressed by these goals and even more so that Scott put himself on YouTube to make it or break it. Scott's challenge inspired me and I got to thinking. What can I do?

We'll I've always been pretty good at doing push ups, but I've never considered doing 100! How many people do you know that can do 100 push ups? Okay, now how many of them are over 50 years of age? I thought so.

Well, I'm closer to 51 now, so I want to use that to motivate and inspire you to join me. I certainly have no excuses. Do you? If you do I've got a six week program that I found on the web that will help you get to 100 push ups. I can imagine without seeing your faces that some of you don't believe me. That's cool. Go to this site.

http://hundredpushups.com/index.html

I don't know who the author is, and there's nothing to buy. There's just this great program for you to use. It's broken down into simple steps and it doesn't matter if you can do two push ups right now or 50, there's an easy to follow scale that will show you what to do and where to start.

Think about how amazing it would be to be able to say that at one time in your life you could do 100 push ups. As an incentive they've got a web page where you can add your name and the date of your accomplishment. There's also a "badge" that you can proudly display on your website or blog. To help you train, there's also an online site to log your workouts. I think this is fantastic and is a great way to stay motivated.

My goal to do 100 push ups is New Years. It's a little over two weeks from now. If you start this week and you are at beginner level 1, you might be able to make 100 push ups by Valentines Day. And what better way to say I Love You! Okay, that's "pushing" it a bit too far. Still, Valentines Day will come and go. It's a real date with a real beginning and come February 15th it's over. I like to set goals with real deadlines like that. Goals with teeth!

I hope you'll join me in my quest. If not, I hope you'll support me. Please comment at the bottom of this post. I'd love to hear from you. I'll put up my next "progress" video in a week, and we'll go from there.

Yours in health and excellence,
Larry