So, I was gonna blog today about a very interesting book I have been reading called The Devil in the Milk. But it’s been such a busy week that I thought I deserved to kick back and relax a bit.
Instead of blogging, I decided to make Friday come early. Why not!
In today’s early edition of Friday Fun Day, Brett Klika, author of The Underground Workout Manual, takes me through some Med Ball Madness.
As Brett says, you don’t need fancy equipment to exercise. You can use anything. Just Work Out!
Brett’s masterpiece includes:
* 12 weeks of workouts
* 5 days a week
* Never do the same workout twice
* Instructional videos for every single exercise
* Cardiovascular exercise program
* Cool-down/stretching routine with videos
* Printable exercise log to track your progress
* Simply awesomeness!
If you haven’t ordered The Underground Workout Manual yet, click HERE to learn more!
It seems like just yesterday when I first sat down to write a book. That was almost seven years ago. It was a survival guide for college students looking to avoid the Freshman Fifteen. I got about 6 or 7 chapters deep, and for some reason I just stopped writing. I always said I would go back and finish it but I never did.
Then, a couple of years ago I began writing a new book. This one was called Why You’re Fat, Tired, and Sick. Same thing happened. I got about 50 pages into what I thought was some of the best writing. But I couldn’t finish. There was some kind of block on my brain that would not allow me to finish what I had started. It was the epitome of self-sabotage.
My dream of becoming an author goes back to my childhood. My Mom and Dad took reading and education very seriously. I can recall being 6 or 7 years old and getting books in the mail about Abe Lincoln, Louis Pasteur, and The Civil War. As a treat, Mom would take my brother and I on trips to the library. And as I got older I would always find myself wandering around the local Walden Books store absolutely mesmerized by the many shelves of books, titles, and names. I knew that one day I would have my own book – that I would one day become an author.
Today is that day.
Writing a book is not easy. As my writing coach Luke Shanahan says, writing is like a heavyweight boxing match. It’s long. It’s grueling. And it will knock you out in a split second if you don’t keep your guard up.
The last 5 months have been an all-out war. I took plenty of lumps and learned a lot of lessons. My respect for authors has grown exponentially. Writing is a lonely, arduous process. It will kick your butt all over the ring. But like Rocky Balboa says in one of my favorite movie scenes, “you take the hits and keep moving forward.” Once the fight is over and the final bell rings, the triumph of finishing far outweighs the punishment taken.
The biggest lesson this journey has taught me is that there is seldom a goal that can ever be reached without the help of others. In the past, my failures were not only due to an inappropriate mindset but also a lack of teamwork. I had been trying to do everything by myself. Life doesn’t work that way.
Between every round of a boxing match, the boxer returns to his corner where his team awaits to give him the advice and encouragement he needs to keep moving forward.
The Dark Side of Fat Loss isn’t just my book. Yeah, my name is listed as the author, but it would have never come to being without a strong team. I owe these people so much for their hard work and tutelage. The people in my corner included:
* Luke Shanahan – Writing Coach
* Carrie Medeiros – Graphic Designer
* Dr. Marla Brucker – Peak Performance Coach
* Stephanie Matos – Research
* Allyson Drosten-Brooks – Underground Cookbook Coordinator
* Brett Klika – Author, The Underground Workout Manual
* David Sinick – Marketing
* Karl Cossio – Web Design
* Andy Anderson – Underground Workout Manual video filming/editing
* Denise the VA – Underground Workout Manual assistant
* Evelyne & Nathalie Lambrecht – Proofreaders
* The Real Foodists from around the world who submitted recipes/videos
The people above were the difference between winning and losing. I am very grateful for everything they put into this project.
As elated as I am right now, it is not over yet. Yeah, I know I’ve got this fight won, but the final bell has yet to sound. That happens tonight at 5pm PT/8pm ET on UW Radio when we launch DSFL, make the website live for orders, and take you on a journey to The Dark Side.
Thank YOU so much for your support. Without you – the readers, listeners, and viewers – none of this would have ever happened.
My dream will come true. In a matter of hours, I will become an author.
In the meantime, I’ll just keep dancing around the ring with my arms held high.
I know! I’m a day behind with this one. My Friday was tied up with moving into a new apartment. Love my new place!
Today’s (or yesterday’s) Friday Fun Day is a lesson in isometric creativity, as Brett Klika, author of The Underground Workout Manual, challenges my core, balance, and toughness.
Be sure to do this one with a friend. Doing it by yourself would be, well, interesting…
Last week, I had the good fortune of having the opportunity to see the sights in Washington, DC and to hang out in Gainesville, VA with my main man Tony Lewis of Designer Fitness and Wellness Center.
Tony was celebrating the 10th Anniversary of his awesome facility. We partied with his clients and, of course, we got our fitness on!
In today’s Friday Fun Day episode, I get a crash course in slosh piping.
What’s a slosh pipe? Well, it’s a PVC pipe with about 25 pounds (or more) of water in it. It seriously challenged my balance and core strength. MUCH harder than it looks. Trust me.
Slosh pipes are super cheap to put together. Looking forward to having a few of my own.
Check out the video below! Lemme know what you think.
Oh! And be sure to check out last night’s UW Radio broadcast with our favorite fats and oils expert Dr. Bruce Fife. Click HERE to learn all about The Coconut Oil Miracle. Allyson is working on a video clip. We’ll have it up shortly.
With Quentin behind the camera, Josh Trent and I took it upon ourselves to turn the IDEA World Fitness Convention into a workout.
Man, was I sore! I’ve definitely been neglecting a few muscle groups.
Every year, the IDEA convention is like one big family reunion. We got a chance to hang out with some of best friends-in-fitness including Todd Durkin, Brett Klika, Linda LaRue, Josh Henkin, Marc Coronel, Jon Ham, Greg Mielle, Mike Robinson, and more.
Can’t wait for next year, when it will be held right in my own backyard in sunny San Diego. Learn more about IDEA at www.ideafit.com.
Click the video below and check out the latest in fitness and health.
Don’t miss Brett’s BIG announcement at around the 4-minute mark. So excited!
A few weeks ago, our friend Jenn Culver of My Travel Fit and I shot this super-creative backpack workout.
All you need is a backpack and those old college textbooks the bookstore wouldn’t buy back at the end of the summer. You know, the ones you thought you’d hold onto for “reference”.
Yeah, I know it’s Wednesday! But we can just act like it’s Friday.
Today, I’m getting caught up with posting the latest YouTube videos to the UW website. After a couple of months of writing my upcoming e-book The Dark Side of Fat Loss: Lessons from the Underground, I’m really excited about getting back in my groove and doing some blogging and shooting videos. Expect the book to be available in late-July or early August. The feedback so far has been phenomenal.
In this episode of Friday Fun Day, Ryan Gallop of EZIA Human Performance returns to UW for a pretty grueling medicine ball workout. Here are the movements:
* Med Ball Burpees with Slam
* Single-Legged Quarter Squat with Rotation
* Single-Legged Deadlift with Overhead Press
* Oblique Sit-Ups with Slam
* Indo Board Close-Grip Pushups – ORDER your Indo Board HERE!
You can do these one at a time or go back-to-back for 2-4 circuits. Do what you can do!
Join us for a LIVE question-and-answer session with our Day 2 SexyBack Summit presenters, including:
* Paul Chek - Restoring Sexual Vitality: A 4 Doctor Approach
* Jane Bennett - Natural Birth Control Alternatives
* Yuri Elkaim - Super Foods for Super Sex
* Matthew Sanders - What’s So Sexy about Vulnerability?
Register to attend this FREE weeklong online event at www.sexybacksummit.com.
by Sean Croxton & Brett Klika
by Sean Croxton
by Sean Croxton & Brett Klika
