What is L.I.F.T.?

Yesterday I released the first announcement of the new L.I.F.T. certification. It didn't take long for me to get a great deal of emails asking many questions in regards to what is L.I.F.T.? It is very difficult to sum up L.I.F.T. in just a few paragraphs or words. I can tell you L.I.F.T. is not about just learning how to lift sandbags or cool new exercises to perform. There are plenty of programs that are willing to show random exercises. That isn't my goal, I want to teach trainers and coaches how to take their programs to the next level!

So, what are you going to learn.....?

How to improve mobility and flexibility within seconds

Reduce shoulder, back and knee pain with just a few cutting-edge exercises

Discover how to create programs that will both motivate and challenge your clients

Learn what true CORE strength is and how it applies in all aspects of movement

Greatly improve how you market to your clients and create a more successful training business

This is just a few of the key things we will cover over the two days. Two days almost doesn't seem like enough time to cover all the great material that we are going to review. Over the next few days I will discuss further some of the more detailed concepts we are going to teach and how they all come together. Check out the video below though to see how you can create highly effective metabolic circuits and improve shoulder health in one training sessioins!

Don't Be Like The Rest

Either be part of the solution or the problem, that old saying rings so true in my ears. In fact, it is that type of thought that keeps me pushing through many of the challenges that bringing my Sandbag Fitness Systems has faced. This isn't about my programs rather my growing frustration with those programs out there. There is an increasing number of certifications that make promises to fitness professionals that are just LIES!! It isn't only the mainstream associations, there are more and more individuals running "educational" programs that are simply failing today's fitness professional. Worst of all is the fact that many of the programs are now just marketing hype to get people in the door.

It has been almost twenty years since I attended my first seminar in the fitness industry. Through those years I was exposed to so much, both theory and training concepts. Each one of these certifications and programs I considered an educational process because I would always try to apply what I learned with my clients. Some concepts seemed to make the foundation of what was going to become my training philosophy, however, a great deal ended up being impractical and unhelpful to my clients. In fact, I remember one program I went through almost ten years ago I paid $3000 for! In the end, I may use 1% of the information.

Was this a failure? Financially maybe, yet, I had to try and experience these ideas to decide whether or not they had validity. Now, almost ten years later these ideas are being recycled as new and there is a new host of coaches trying to cash in on these ideas.

The same goes for the business side of training. For years there were no programs to teach trainers and coaches actually how to make money in the industry. I learned many things the hard way having to go through many of the most common mistakes along the way, simply because there was no one telling me otherwise.

Today the last thing there are is too few certifications! However, many are put on by trainers and coaches are scrapping by themselves, or have trained less than 50 people in their careers. They have found a clever way to market and actually make an income by wowing people with what appear to be new techniques that are simply recycled ideas they learned from others.

I decided I could sit back and just whine about what is going on in my industry or try to become part of the solution. I have been working on my concept of L.I.F.T. (loaded integrated functional training) for a few years. Unlike most certifications this wasn't born out of a book or an idea trying to make clients fit a program. Rather, this program was the result of all my years working with a huge variety of people. This program was developed to address the needs of the client and the coach/trainer working with a client. I wanted something that could fit this criteria:

1. Would be interesting and motivating to both the client and trainer/coach

2. Would be unique to help market new business to the coach/trainer

3. Could produce results faster than almost any other program available

4. It could be easily adapted to any fitness level

5. Founded in well established training concepts

I really believe L.I.F.T. fills all these important points and has the potential to reinvent the fitness industry. Three tools help teach the important movement concepts that are laid out in the L.I.F.T. programs; the Ultimate Sandbag, Jungle Gym, and Strength Bands. These three implements bring very different methods to the training table and while they are powerful by themselves there is an even more impressive synergyistic effect when you combine in the way I have laid out in the L.I.F.T.

L.I.F.T. is designed to help the modern trainer to be as successful in their business as possible. We will even spend some time during the program covering common mistakes in running your own training business (a special guest will help with this part!).

I was so excited when just letting people know what I was expecting to do that we had people ready to host immediately! I wanted this week to be special as we already have three host cities for our launch of the L.I.F.T. program. Motala, Sweden, Avon by the Sea, New Jersey, and Atlanta, Georgia! All the dates are now listed on our site for September. With the time coming fast I wanted to start with a bang!

For this week only you can sign-up for the L.I.F.T. certification for just $599.99. Don't worry, if that still seems hard to make happen we have payment plans set-up on the site as well. We want to have as many great individuals involved to turn the fitness industry on its head and help all of those that find fitness to be their passion be rewarded for their hard-work and dedication.

I will be discussing topics of L.I.F.T. all week long, but don't miss the opportunity to get an amazing deal that will become the leader in the industry.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/6kbof7 to learn more!

The 5 Best Exercises You Aren't Doing!

What five exercises will go a long ways in helping you champion the "3 Rounds of Hell"? They may not be the one's you were thinking of. Watch today's video and let me know how your progress of the "3 Rounds of Hell" is going. Next week we have some exciting announcements!!!

What a Navy Seal Has to Say...

Since I first talked about the "3 Rounds of Hell" I have had so many great emails from people telling me how brutal it was and how almost impossible it seems. I began to think if I had made the challenge too hard as I had yet to receive an email or video about anyone accomplishing it. Then the challenge got its own test! 

A former Navy Seal and current special operations soldier "Tim" came back to Arizona after some recent military training. "Tim" is absolutely no stranger to hard workouts, the times I have worked with him it just simply amazes me his mental toughness, it is just from another planet! However, after catching up with "Tim" for a bit he asked me if I had anything new for him. That is when I thought I would unleash the "3 Rounds of Hell" on him. To say he was excited was an understatement! 

The next day Tim dedicated his whole workout to trying to accomplish the "3 Rounds of Hell". I was very intrigued to see if someone could get through it or would I have to modify some of the criteria? Tim weighed in at 215 so we figured out he would use the large sandbag loaded to 150. After a brief, but focused warm-up Tim tackled the challenge. The first round seemed almost easy, the second you could tell some fatigue was coming, the third he almost looked mortal!!! He did it!! Yes, Tim completed the "3 Rounds of Hell", but laid on the ground for a good ten minutes. 

Tim thought it was a heck of a challenge because it tested not only his strength, or endurance. It tested his willpower, his hands, his upper body, lower body, EVERYTHING! Sad thing is he was contemplating a "5 Rounds of Hell"! Well, until more mortals accomplish this goal I think I will stick with the three rounds, but that doesn't mean I don't have some tricks up my sleeve.

I am going to start launching a video series on how to train for the "3 Rounds of Hell". Most people would assume that simply trying to do more and more work with shouldering would be the best route, but that isn't so. There are many supplementary exercises one should employ that will greatly enhance your ability to get through the challenge. 

The first mistake people make is they don't realize that the upper body is heavily involved with repeated bouts of heavy shouldering. Often it is the hands, upper arms, and upper back that fail people. The gripping and shifting of the weight can seem as though it adds severe weight to an already heavy implement. What can you do? These are exercises I like to implement and will talk more about in later videos:

1. One-arm shouldering

2. Bent-over row grabbing on the sides

3. Bear Hug rowing

4. Bear Hug walks

The next most common mistake is that people don't have good enough flexibility in their hips to keep the repeated hip drive going. When people are tight and try the challenge they will find that they start using their low back as a prime mover and they move very inefficiently and become tired VERY FAST!

What can you do? These are some of my favorites...

1. Hurdle Zercher Squats

2. Overhead Lunge

3. Heavy Bear Hug Squats

4. Overhead Chops

Of course you also have to be strong in the hips and low back. What can you do besides just shouldering? 

1. Shouldering Suspended Lunge

2. Zercher Goodmornings

3. Get-up Bridge

4. No Pivot Half Moon Snatch

So, you see there is far more than just shouldering over and over. These twelve supplementary exercises will go a long way in building that foundation. Next time I will show you some of them in action and we will go more into how you put it all together into a program that will let you dominate the "3 Rounds of Hell" like Tim did!

Quality is the Proof

I was so shockingly (but pleasantly) surprised when I opened my email today and saw a video link by New York based bootcamp instructor, Nii Wilson. It wasn't that Nii emailed me, in fact, he is a incredibly enthusiastic trainer. The surprise was the video he made completely unsolicited by me. Nii had spoken to me some time ago about how excited he was in regards to the quality of our sandbags. While I always appreciate the kind words, Nii's perspective was very unique.

Unlike most people, Nii had spent time in the military and in their logistics department that was in charge of materials for soldiers. This meant that Nii was more than familiar with the concept of army duffel bags and their use for training. There are a lot of people that still try to argue with me that a homemade version of their sandbag is the same as our Ultimate Sandbag. Others believe that it is close enough that the extra money isn't necessary. Well, after Nii's video I was even more amazed how our research and development had created such a unique training tool. 

Making a perfect product is pretty tough, but we stand behind our Ultimate Sandbag and often help people out if anything seems wrong. This is far more than most companies that won't even write back. Check out Nii's well done video though and see if the Ultimate Sandbag is for you!!

Lessons of Adversity

I was laying there in bed, just wishing that I didn’t have to get out of bed because my head was pounding, my right arm throbbing, and oh feeling  a little nauseated doesn’t help. No, it is the flu, cold, or any new disease. It is the normal process of dealing with oral reconstructive surgery that I have been going through for the past year.

Why tell you this? I find every injury and situation has taught me a lot about training, attitude, and how to coach people better. It is also my hope to share my own challenges because I know many of you are facing similar situations and you are putting forth everything you can into finding motivation to train. 

Trust me when I tell you I understand the such challenges. Coming from someone who absolutely LOVES to train, push themselves, I have found the last year extremely challenging. However, I have found some techniques that have made it a little easier.

1. Train! That may seem weird or easy for me to say, but there are days where I feel like it is an accomplishment getting out of bed and being able to work with my clients. Yet, I feel so much better to train, but how do you get to that point? My first rule is to find anything that allows you to train, that might be simply going for a walk, do some biking, yes, get on the horrid cardio equipment at the local gym. More times than not simply doing a simple workout will improve both your physical and mental well-being. 

That also goes for your strength training. The sandbags have been a great means for to do a lot with very little energy. Performing brief circuits very frequently has been an important way for me to keep my metabolism and strength gains stable. In fact, recently I was in Chicago for a conference and was able to train with my good friend Nick. Nick is one strong guy, especially for his bodyweight. I felt less than adequate because Nick always displays amazing energy and enthusiasm and lately I have been working hard for both. 

Barbell back squatting was on the menu for the day and to be honest, it was one of the last things I felt like performing. At a bodyweight of 180 Nick was performing clusters with 335, most impressive! Me on the other hand? 335 for most my size should be a relative easy weight. However, I hadn’t barbell back squatted probably in six months or so. I had to move to sandbag squatting variations to take pressure off neck and hoped to take this time to strengthen my trunk with the sandbag variations. In addition, I moved to more single leg work as my form of keeping my leg strength up. 

I was inspired by Nick’s work though and although I could tell my body was more than off I wasn’t going to let him completely show me up! Getting underneath the bar I was a little bit nervous about what the results would produce. It wasn’t just about my body, but what if all this other work really didn’t transfer, after all much of my ideas weren’t practiced by elite or very experienced lifters. When I walked out of the rack though I felt strong, stronger than I typically had with this weight on my back in the past. While I didn’t have the endurance to perform many repetitions, I was extremely excited about the transfer that I had experienced and that when this surgery was done I would reach new heights in my training. 

1. Nutrition is MOST Important: This can be equally as challenging, food often tends to be emotionally based as well. Think of when you have been most down, MOST people will often let their nutrition go. This is also a challenge considering when you aren’t well only certain foods sound good. Yep, there are days where the only thing that sounds tolerable is crackers or soup. So, what do you do? What you have in the house is of utmost importance. For me, that meant having flaxseed based, gluten-free, crackers on hand. It meant having homemade vegetable soups ready to go made out of the crock pot. Don’t worry though, I am not perfect either, but making these plans will go a long way in making you not fall into many of the common pitfalls.

Nutrition isn’t important for the reasons you may be thinking. Sure keeping yourself in shape is important (especially for those that are going to be having to deal with surgery), more important is avoiding the cycle that often occurs with feeling horrible (both mentally and/or physically). The cycle usually follows feel bad>eat badly>feel even worse. Poor nutrition increases inflammation in the body and can keep one’s mood low. This is a recipe for disaster!

Good nutrition can do exactly the opposite. Various foods can act as an anti-inflammatory, improve healing, help mood, and keep your conditioning from getting poor. As I mentioned it isn’t always easy, but if you are determined to stay on the right path you can always make better choices. 

1. Set new goals: Yes, sometimes new goals feel like “getting out of bed”, “being able to workout”, or a host of others. Realistically, new goals can be created and progress can be made. For me the opportunity to focus on some new sandbag training goals have been very helpful. That is really where the “3 Rounds of Hell” originated. There is incredible value for so many with this challenge, but for me it was about developing a goal for myself to keep improving my power and stamina. This leads me to creating new programs and testing these methods to continue the growth and evolution of this system of training. 

This isn’t about making anyone feel sorry for me, rather, hopefully giving inspiration to others that may be going through their own personal challenges. One of my biggest inspirations was my step-mother that fought Stage IV breast cancer for seven years. No matter what came her way she had a positive attitude. Even when it was obvious the cancer was winning she never showed a poor attitude, in fact, she was doing charitable events for breast cancer awareness till she could no longer get out of bed. That type of persistence and attitude has given me the perspective that no matter how lousy I feel day to day, that is is all temporary and the majority of my life will be spent feeling great and hope to help other find methods that help inspire them to live healthier lives. 

Limited Edition Women's Sandbag

Who are the most willing, open-minded, and likely to get involved in a coaching program? WOMEN!!! Having coached for 15 years I can honestly say how much easier women are to work with than men. Why? Firstly, women are primarily interested in results and feeling better. Typically, women don't come into a training situation trying to pretend they are still in their high school football shape or demonstrate how tough they are (even though these guys haven't moved from their office chair in 20 years!) 

Women are open to new ideas and if you actually listen to what they want, sandbag training is perfect for them! Sandbag training is a highly athletic and a graceful form of training that stimulates strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. Possibly the most important, it isn't that typical iron weight that can often be a big turn-off to many women. 

That is why I wanted to create something specific for all of our women. Too often women are forced to adapt into men's programs or follow cheesy women's infomercials. That is why I created the "Femme Fatale Fitness Program". The programs are the same ones I use for my female clients at my facility. Programs that have helped numerous women go from 50 pounds overweight to wonder women! 

Alright ladies, you too have your challenges though. You can fall into the traps of marketing or our "social norms". However, it doesn't mean you have to be perform bad fitness programs to try to conform. Your problem areas are different from guys, but don't think cheesy machine exercises are the way to go. Very dynamic, fun, and effective exercises can be utilized to deliver much better and faster results. Yes, that is the basis of the "Femme Fatale Fitness Program". 

To launch our program I wanted to do something exciting and fun! So, we created a limited edition women's pink camouflage bag. A very cool looking sandbag that is the same dimension as our small sandbag, but with handles on the ends as well to be more versatile for women. This isn't a sales pitch. I only have about eight bags, so this is truly, first come, first serve. In fact, you will have to email me for the special link to purchase the bag. 

This is going to be an experiment for us of sorts as well. Not only did we create a limited edition sandbag, your response will determine if we make more!!! However, I wanted to move away from people just focusing on the bags themselves, so we are going to give you two secret workout programs that I demonstrate to start getting results today! Lastly, we are going to offer two options for payment, you can pay in full or try our experiment of a payment plan to help those that are dying to get their hands on the bags, but just getting hit hard with the current economy. 

So, if you are ready to jump on our NEW "Femme Fatale Fitness Program" email me directly at jsandbags@hotmail.com, remember we only have 8!!!!