In 2019 I Will NOT Let YOU Fail!

After a devastating personal loss in 2016, I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to helping as many people as possible. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to go about this, or what I had to offer. I decided to reflect upon my life, and try to remember the things that hurt me. I focused on the difficulties that life had presented me, and what I learned from these challenges.

I think you’ll find, if you look at your own life, you will realize that you have learned a great deal. You know how to overcome obstacles and get through tough times. For me, reflection lead to a revelation. I have a ton of valuable experiences to share. I struggled to overcome many things in my 54 years. (Many of these challenges were fitness related.) These struggles rewarded me with knowledge and understanding.

Through struggle, I learned how to overcome my obstacles. What is more important, I realized that many others are traveling down the roads I have come to know so well. I know where the hazards can be found. I know how to avoid them. I know what to do when you come across a detour. I know how difficult the journey can be, but I also know the joy of reaching your destination. The question then became, what do I do about it?

I decided to share what I have learned. I have broken this information down into two main areas. 1. Fitness and 2. An overall approach to achieving your goals.

In 2018, I wrote two books, one on each of these subjects. (You will see them in the right margin of the desktop version of this blog.) If you are interested, these books are here for you. They are both available on amazon and each is available in both Kindle and paperback formats.

However, I will continue to share what I have learned, for free, in these blogs and in my YouTube videos.

Blogs:

1. “Phoenix Fit”

2. “You Are Stronger Than You Can Possibly Imagine"

YouTube:

“Phoenix by Wade Motivation”

I am writing this blog post to you today as a promise to help you succeed in your fitness goals in 2019. You can achieve your goals and I will do what I can to help you. I will continue writing these blogs and I will create my videos to help you along your journey. In fact, I am restarting down this road myself.

Click Video Link Below:

Fitness Motivation: You can do anything. Let me show you!

If you truly want to succeed with your fitness goals this year, please check in regularly. Read my blogs and watch my videos. I will share the best ways to create great eating, and training habits which will lead you to success more quickly than you thought possible. It will be a challenge, but once you begin, you will get hooked! Most people do!

Creating these changes may seem difficult, but I will help make this transformation: 1. Successful, 2. Enjoyable! And 3. PERMANENT!

Yes, you can make your fitness gains permanent. This is not a temporary quick-fix. I want to give you the methods to make your life better, healthier and more enjoyable from now on! I don’t want to see you reach your goal and then fall back to square one. I want to help you make real and meaningful change.

One more thing, I can better help you if you let me know what you need. Please feel free to leave comments and ask questions. Help me to serve you better.

If you find this blog helpful, share it with anyone you think may be interested. I am interested in their feedback as well.

Now, let’s attack 2019 and meet all of our goals!!!

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Available in both Kindle and Paperback formats.

Diets Suck

I wanted to expand on my last blog post, “How to Succeed at Weight Loss & Fitness Pursuits” to help you eat better on a permanent basis. Most people fail at dieting because they start off all wrong. 

If you want to drive to a vacation destination which is 100 miles from your home, and you turn left on the highway when you should’ve turned right, you’re going to have trouble getting there. Dieters do this all the time.

What is this wrong turn? How do people start of incorrectly when they choose to go on a diet? Simple. They choose to go on a diet, which is what I explained in my previous post. The idea that dieting, or working-out is a means-to-an-end is a flawed approach, is examined in that post. The point is, don’t go on a diet, change your daily eating habits permanently. Dieting to reach a goal fails.

This approach fails because it is too difficult, a scam, and/or just too hard.

Creating new eating habits you can live with is easier, more effective, and will last over time. The problem most people have with this approach is, it’s not a quick-fix. There is no “30-Day instant reward” promise. May I just say, “30-Day Diets are pure B.S. You will read this in many of my blogs. (Quick-fix lies really tick me off.)

How do you begin?

As with everything I share, this may sound counter-intuitive. Begin your new eating habits by adding food first. (Hey, you want to succeed right? Stay with me!) Your goal should be to transition completely into a healthy, sustainable diet. This is better than being super-focused on short-term success which will ultimately send you back to square one. That would be awful, right? Read on.

In the beginning, rather than making this transition a negative thing, by making you give up the foods you like most, you will make this a positive thing. For instance, add some steamed vegetables to your diet. Make sure you eat at least 2 portions of healthy, steamed (or raw) vegetables each day. Learn healthy ways to serve the vegetables. Do not add butter or cheese! This defeats the purpose.

Next, add 1 new lean protein source. I use baked, skinless chicken. If you have dietary restrictions, use your favorite, healthy, substitute. Replace any garnishment, i.e. cheeses or rich sauces, with spices. This is the fun, and positive part. You get to delve into new and interesting recipes. Explore and have fun with this. I was surprised to find that simple seasonings, like Creole seasoning, sprinkled on chicken is delicious! I also use salsa and other hot sauces for flavor.

My point is, you will be adding high-quality, tasty and healthy foods to your diet. This will be a positive thing. Remember, this is a lifestyle change, not a quick-fix. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

The change-over

Here’s the interesting part. As you begin to add these new, healthy foods to your diet, you will begin transitioning the unhealthy foods out. This may be subtle at first, but I know from experience, this will happen. Rather than torturing yourself through the denial of everything you want all at one time, you will slowly move from one way of eating to another.

As you see this happening, you will be able to consciously increase the pace at which this transition occurs. You will have more, healthy options now, because you have been adding them a little at a time. You won’t want to spend all day shopping, cooking and eating. Something will have to go. Start with junk food. Then slowly, but methodically, remove more unhealthy foods from your diet.

The secret to sustained success

Now, I want to share with you a great way to make sure you don’t “go off the wagon”. I want you to cheat. Yep, I said it, cheat! The problem with “Diets” is that they are too restrictive. You shouldn’t have to give up all of your favorite foods permanently. That’s too hard. If you try to do this, (How did this work for you in the past?) you will eventually eat something you like, feel bad, then quit the diet, thinking you failed. Let’s not do that.

I have found that, if there is an end in sight, you can get through tough challenges. If you eat right most of the time, but you also get to eat the foods you love, in moderation, you will be much happier and more successful nutritionally. The trouble is, moderation can get out of hand. To combat this problem, I added structure to my moderation.

After slowly transitioning to a healthy diet, I added cheats. I would allow myself two cheats per week. A cheat cannot be a “binge”. It will merely be a food you enjoy, which is not normally a part of your diet. For me, this would be a slice (maybe 2) of pizza, or a burger. I might have a doughnut (or 2), instead. I would only do this twice per week. I would schedule these cheats ahead of time.

In order to maintain consistency, I would schedule one cheat on Wednesday, and one cheat on the weekend. The weekend cheat could come anywhere from Friday afternoon, to Sunday night. The reason for this, was that all my weekends are different and I didn’t know where I might be, or what I might be doing, or who might offer me something delicious.

Using cheats in this way, makes eating a healthy diet easier. You no longer have to give up your favorite foods permanently. There will always be a tasty treat just over the horizon. No more gluttony. No more starving. Now you have a plan to create the eating habits which will lead you to a happier, healthier, and more-fit life!

How to Succeed at Weight Loss & Fitness Pursuits

The wrong method

The reason most people fail when they set weight loss, or any fitness goal, typically comes down to one thing. They treat the diet or exercise plan as a means-to-an-end. For example, someone will decide they want to lose 20 lbs. They will then typically, go on a diet and join the gym. (Sound familiar?)

Once they begin their journey, they will begin to weigh themselves about 10 times per day. (Also familiar?) This is why they fail. They are 100% focused on their goal. It is good to be focused on your goal, but if all you care about is reaching this goal, and all you think about is how far you have yet to go, then every second of your journey is about what you haven’t achieved.

During this process, everything is negative. Everything seems so hard and your goal seems to somehow be moving farther away from you. You become impatient. The process seems awful and you quit. It happens all the time.

The right method

The right method, the one that works (for me anyway) is to make this process a lifestyle. Let’s take the scenario above and apply it here. You want to lose 20 lbs. You go on a diet and you join the gym. Good. Now, instead of working toward you goal of losing 20 lbs. lets focus on creating a new healthy lifestyle.

Diet

Rather than worrying about the scale and working on your weight, begin to slowly, but consistently add healthier foods to your diet. Rather than abandoning all of your favorite foods at once, add good foods first. Learn some new and interesting recipes. You will notice that as you begin to add the good foods, you will begin using these foods to replace the unhealthy foods.

As your diet gets better, you can consciously begin eliminating the foods you know to be a problem. Here’s a good trick that can help you to stay on your healthier diet. Allow yourself 2 cheats per week. Have one thing you like, which is not on your diet, on Wednesday and one at some point on the weekend. This will help you stay on track. You will always be close to having a goodie soon!

Exercise

Threat your workouts the same way. Schedule them into your life. Ease into them. Don’t expect so much from your workouts, or yourself, right away. Make sure you create a habit of going to the gym at the same time each weekday, and stay for one hour, no matter what. Your training will become an automatic habit. You won’t think about it. You won’t expect it to bring magic results instantly. What you will find, is that you WILL indeed get real results.

This method works very well. You don’t need to constantly step on the scale. There is no hurry. There is no rush. Consistency will always win. Think of it like gardening. You plant the seeds, and you water them. The seeds need nourishment, water and time. You can’t force the plants to grow faster by watering them more. Does this make sense?

Last image: The tortoise and the hare. Got it?

You can do this.

The Surprising Truth About Your Abs

It seems that everyone wants “nice abs”. I put that in quotes because, everyone has a different idea about what “nice abs” are. Some like a flat stomach, some want some nice lines through their midsection and some folks want abs that really “POP”! You know, the kind that inspire you to do laundry. Anyone out there old enough to remember washboards? No? OK. Let’s move on.

You have nice abs

Whether you know it or not, you have nice abs. I know some of you just grabbed your midsection in disbelief. Others are wondering how I can see them. (It’s that little lens above the screen). Sorry. Time to get serious. The reality is, we all have nice abs. The problem is, many of us have covered them up with excess body fat. In order to see these beautiful, physical attributes, what we need to do is, reveal them.

It occurred to me today that abs are like talent. It’s true. We all have talents of some type. We may not even know what our talents are, and those around us will not realize we have these gifts either. No one will ever know what talent you have, until it is revealed.

Reveal what you were born with

I don’t want to get off subject here, but this is one of the reasons I always preach, getting out of your comfort zone, when I give motivational talks. Trying new things, especially things we are afraid to try, can often reveal to us talents, passions, and joys that we never knew were out there, or inside of us. Once we find our talent, it will take time and effort to reveal our talents in their truest form.

This is how it will work with revealing our beautiful abs. You see, our abs already have the natural shape that we find so appealing. We just need to be patient enough to take the time and do the work to bring them forth. This is what we would do if we found we had the natural ability to, let’s say, play the guitar. We wouldn’t expect to be able to play a full song after only one or two lessons, right? (With the exception of “Smoke on the Water”.) Likewise, we can’t expect to see our abs after a few workouts.

How do we bring forth those vaunted abs?

Click Image:

Now that we know we already have nice abs (in there somewhere) how do we get to them? Well, let’s look at our situation. If we know the abs are there and we can’t see them, then something must be in the way. As stated above, that something is, stored body fat. OK. We have identified the problem. And, the solution is . . .? Burn off the fat.

Great. In what way is this information helpful? (I’m glad you asked.) This is important because knowing this, will prevent many frustrating and painful hours doing the wrong exercises. Here’s why. Most people, spend hours doing sit-ups or crunches and all manner of ab exercises to get to their abs. The problem is, what they are doing is working the abdominal muscles. That’s great, but the effect will only be, strong abdominal muscles.

They are attempting to create “spot reduction”. This does not work. You cannot train fat off of a particular area of the body by training that area. That’s not how the body works. Working out, burns calories. When we burn off the calories taken in as food, then the body will begin to burn stored calories (AKA Body Fat). Your body, not you, will decide where that fat comes from.

So, with all of this in mind, what we really need to do is simple. We need to burn off more calories than we take in. This can be done by doing the kind of workouts that burn the most calories. It doesn’t matter what muscles are at work. We just need to burn as many calories as possible. (Spoiler alert, legs burn the most calories. We’ll discuss that another time.) We need to continue doing this on a regular basis for as long as it takes. Eventually, there will no longer be any body fat covering up our beautiful abs. THEN, we can work our abs to shape them as we like.

I will go into the myth of spot-reduction and the values of target training in future blogs. I will also give you great tips for burning fat faster than ever (legs) and eating a healthy diet without starving yourself.

Check back often! I love to share!
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Why is Losing Weight so Difficult?

You can achieve your fitness goals. If you want or need, to lose weight, I know you can succeed. If you have struggled in the past, I understand. It breaks my heart to see so many people working so hard and struggling to lose weight, yet not having the success they deserve. I have heard many stories of dieting and exercise failures.

I have talked to many people over the years about their fitness and weight loss goals. These people have tried so many things that didn’t work. They want to make a change so badly, yet after repeated attempts at losing weight failed, they began to think that it just wasn’t possible for them. They feel that they are to blame. Why is it so hard?

The reason weight loss is so hard

There are many reasons that diets and exercise methods fail. Maybe the person looking to lose the weight fails to make a real commitment. Yes, that does happen. Often, people have unrealistic expectations. Sometimes, they are impatient and go at this half-heartedly and then give up too soon. These are certainly possibilities.

However, after hearing their stories, I know that many of these people have simply been misled. The reality for many, is that they wasted their time on flawed strategies. Fad diets and improperly designed exercise routines have drained their energy, their wallets, and their confidence. It’s time for something completely different.

We need a new weight loss strategy

Before we create a new strategy, we need to understand why the previous strategies did not work. There are a few issues I would like to address. The first issue is unrealistic expectations. You cannot spend 20 years sitting on the couch, eating junk-food and watching T.V. and then suddenly live the life of an Olympic athlete on January 2^nd. This will not work. The change is to drastic.

The second issue I want to address is the problem of impatience. If you spent 20 years getting out of shape, you cannot expect to get into shape in 30 days, the way most fad diets and exercise plans promise. Do not fear however, this does NOT mean that it will take you 20 years to get into great shape.

I have designed a way to get you the results you seek more quickly than anything I have ever heard of, and it makes sense. My methods are logical and reasonable. As it turns out, people really enjoy these methods too!

A smarter way to lose weight

I wrote “The Ultimate Secret Weapon of Fitness for Women” to solve these problems. I have been using variations of these techniques in the gym for over 40 years to achieve whatever results I wanted. I have learned the fastest and most efficient way to burn calories and lose fat. My methods are safe, smart and off-the-charts effective!

These methods have helped so many people effectively achieve their own fitness goals that I decided to share them with everyone. This book was 40 years in the making. You are going to learn everything you need to know to achieve whatever fitness goal you set.

You will learn why diets fail. You will understand why many diets cause the yo-yo effect of gaining the weight you lost back (and often more). You will learn how to burn calories, speed up your metabolism, lose fat, build or tone muscle, increase your endurance, and create wonderful new habits which will make all of this come naturally to you.

This is reality

This is not a trick, a gimmick or a quick fix. I don’t believe in that nonsense. I will merely show you how to use known exercises in the most efficient ways to get the greatest results. I will show you the proper way to create a training routine that you will look forward to rather than dread. Plus, I will help you with your diet.

Remember when dieting was hard? Well, it won’t be any more! There is an unbelievably easy way to create healthy new eating habits which allow you to enjoy all of your favorite foods while losing weight fast. You won’t believe how simple all of this really is.

Once you read “The Ultimate Secret Weapon of Fitness for Women” you will laugh at its simplicity and wonder why you haven’t heard of anything like this before.

Isn’t it time?

Honestly. What are you waiting for? You can change your life for the better. It can all start today. You are in control of your fitness future. You deserve better than what you have been through. You can achieve your goals. You have what it takes and now you will have the information you need to bring it all together.

Don’t you think you deserve your best, and healthiest physique right now? If so, click on one of the images below. Take a look. You just might like what you find. I know you will like your new sexy physique!

          In Kindle    OR    Paperback

 

How to build a better bottom. Tips from the “Booty Doctor”

Glutes! It’s all about the glutes. Everyone wants to have a round, firm buttocks. There are many exercises out there to help you accomplish this goal. A friend of mine and I were discussing the techniques for firming and toning the buttocks. She asked me for some exercises she could do to sculpt her derriere.

I gave my friend 3 exercises to try. 2 months later she told me her mother asked her if she had gotten a Brazilian butt-lift (Whatever that is). This is when I was given the nickname, “The Booty Doctor”.

I want to share with you the 3 simple exercises I gave my friend, so that you too can create the bottom you seek. These are the exercises which earned me my oh-so-distinguished moniker. They are simple to learn and easy to incorporate into any training schedule. All you will need is a pair of dumbbells and a bench, (or a step) and the desire to turn your back porch into a work of art.

Exercise # 1. Straight-Leg Deadlift

I start with this one for safety reasons. This exercise is simple, but requires strict attention to form. I recommend doing this one before you begin to get fatigued. This exercise really targets the glutes and the hamstrings (Back of upper leg).

To execute this simple exercise, simply pick up the dumbbells and hold them at your sides. Your feet should be a little less than shoulder width apart. Now, keeping your head up and your legs straight (DO NOT lock your knees!) bend at the waist until the weights nearly touch the floor.

Keep a good arch in your back throughout the motion. Push your chest and butt out at the same time. This will help you keep your back arched (not bent) for safety.

Exercise #2. Deadlift

This is a great exercise for targeting your glutes and quadriceps (Thighs). You will find this exercise easier to do (technically) but also challenging, because you can use heavier weights. The heavier weights will add more butt-sculpting muscle to your increasingly firmer rear. This exercise also burns the most calories because it is so demanding.

Once again, your feet will be a little less than shoulder width apart. Simply bend down (always keep your head up and your back arched) and pick the dumbbells up off the floor. Stand up with the dumbbells at your sides.

Now, bend at the knees and waist, lowering the dumbbells (which are still at your sides) until they are nearly on the floor. (Lower your buttocks, like you are sitting in a chair.) Your thighs should be parallel to the floor at this point.  Stand up. That’s it!

Remember to always keep your head up and a good arch in your back. This will protect your back and keep the pressure where it belongs, on your glutes!

Exercise #3. Step-Ups

Here is another simple exercise, but this one is deceivingly challenging. Grab a pair of light dumbbells and stand in front of a bench or step (12 to 18 inches high). Holding the dumbbells at your sides, step, with your right foot, onto the bench. Use your right leg to pull yourself up until you are standing, with both feet, on the bench. Step back down to the floor, right foot first.

Do this for ten repetitions then, without stopping, do ten repetitions starting with your left foot. That is one set. You will be out of breath. This one is good for cardio as well.

Deploy this gluteus assault

Do three sets of ten repetitions of each of these exercises twice per week and you will begin to create the firm, round bottom that everyone will envy. Once you get used to this workout, it will become enjoyable. As with any workout, don’t allow yourself to become stagnant. Keep increasing the weight you are using. If the exercise is not challenging, it is not effective.

Give this plan your best effort, and within two months, you should be making real progress! Now go get those killer glutes!

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Silly Sets, a Serious Workout

Are your workouts getting stale? Have you hit a training plateau? If so, here is a simple way to re-energize your workouts and get your blood pumping fast!

Over time, any workout can become mundane. Even if you can handle the monotony, your body needs a jolt. Doing the same workouts week after week may be a comforting routine for you, but if done for too long, your body will stop responding. When this happens, you need to shock your body and force it to respond favorably.

With Silly Sets, you will find just the jolt your body needs. Over the years, there have been all sorts of new approaches to working out and even shaking up your workouts. A long time ago, someone decided to pair two exercises together to work muscle groups in tandem to create a great pump. These were called Super Sets.

Later, naturally, somebody decided to join three exercises and call this grouping of exercises, Giant Sets. I assume you can guess what’s coming?

I had used the routines above, long before they had names. This was simply the byproduct of living in the gym in the 1980’s. You get bored, you try things. Eventually someone gives these methods a name and sticks them in a magazine and, a trend is born.

I came up with Silly Sets in 2012. I was preparing for my first mud-run (at the age of 47) and I needed a way to prepare my muscles for endurance demands. I needed a way to work as many muscle groups as possible in the shortest amount of time. I wanted to improve my cardio endurance, and I needed to burn-off the last of my body fat. I found the answer I was looking for!

Now, if someone out there has come up with this method and given it a different name, I am not trying to take credit or step on any toes. I just thought of this method and gave it the appropriate name. And, here we go!

Silly Sets are a simple training tool that you can alter greatly for your needs. This is simply the grouping of 4 exercises, done back-to-back, in order to train as many muscle groups as possible all in a few simple sets. This is simple, but it can be as challenging as you want to make it.

The exercises are done with a set of dumbbells and a flat bench. That’s all you need . . . and a good bit of energy. The 4 exercises (in order) are; flat-bench dumbbell presses, straight-legged dead-lifts, one-arm dumbbell rows (I call these lawn-mower starters), and dead-lifts. Are you ready?

Simply grab a set of dumbbells which you can easily handle for at least 10 reps of chest presses. Go to the bench and do 10 reps of the following exercises, in order, for 4 sets each. Do NOT stop once you begin. Keep going without setting the weights down, except for your one-arm dumbbell rows.

1. 10 Reps Flat bench chest presses

2. 10 Reps Straight-legged deadlifts

3. 10 Reps (Each arm) One-arm dumbbell rows

4. 10 Reps Deadlifts

Do these sets one after the other, without stopping, and repeat 4 times. Never stop the entire time. This will take you about 9 minutes. You can use this to warm up before your workout, or as a great way to finish-up after a workout. Your body won’t know what hit it.

Used as a shake-up for a stale routine, you can do these two or three times a week for a month. This should help you get past your plateau. Or, if you are really ambitious and want to challenge yourself, you can try what I did. (I only did this once to prepare for the mud-run). It was very tough for me.

Do the Silly Sets as described above, but add this twist. Start out with Dumbbells at a weight that will challenge you. Do the exercises for 4 sets without stopping, then, still without stopping, grab dumbbells which are 5 lbs. lighter and do the sets all over again. Then, drop 5 more pounds and continue until you get to dumbbells which are too light for this exercise.

In my case, I started with 45 lb. dumbbells and kept going from 45, to 40, 35, 30, 25, 20. This was brutal. When I finished, it looked like someone had a water balloon fight at that bench.

I only did this once. I think I’ll try to get back to that again. This is a good challenge. I liked it, and I hope you will too. I will continue to share my gym thoughts, techniques and ideas.

Feel free to leave comments, questions or ideas. Everyone has something to share.

Stay fit my friends!

"Click to get fit!"