FLO FITNESS

I have been attending many seminars and workshops for "personal" training and something has come to my attention. How do you equate your success as a personal trainer? It appears that all these seminars are saying money=success. They preach about boosting revenue and filtering clients thru the door, big group sessions with predetermined workouts and a one size fits all attitude. So where is the "personal" part of all this? Where is the soul, the connection, the passion, the love? Before I get any deeper into this I must clear some things up. If you are training a group of athletes who all play the same sport or adults with the same level of fitness, group sessions is the best way to go. It is a smart way to make money but it is not the ONLY way to make money. And while we are on the subject, what does money mean to you? I know this is all over the place but I'm just tired of people getting up in front of us and deminishing what we do to numbers. I don...

FLO Fitness Training Philosophy  The training philosophy at FLO Fitness is simple; “Training you NEED for the results you WANT”. Everyone has fitness goals, but the most real challenge lies in knowing how to achieve them.  Our clientele is predominantly composed of high school athletes looking to excel in their sport and elevate their play to the Division 1 level. We also serve the general population looking to improve their wellness and vitality. Our trainers at FLO fitness assess the movement mechanics for each new client through our functional mechanical assessment. This helps us determine the following about our client: improper movement mechanics stemming from; muscular imbalances, including inflexibility and weaknesses, strength disparities, core instability, balance issues, and more. This is what FLO FITNESS considers the “need” part of their training. Through this assessment we can develop and implement a program based off what the client needs, to set them straight o...

Ever hang around some negative people or in a negative environment? How did you feel during and after you had left? Did you feel drained of energy and just not happy about the situation you were currently in? Guess what.. your attitude, drive and passion effects others around you. If you create that positive energy and always surround yourself with positive, upbeat, driven people, you can only find more success in life. Being surrounded by my Flo Family along with everyone else such as Patrick Lerouge (www.revivetm.com) or Paul Newell (www.balancedwellness.org), I started to see my true potential and what I am truly capable of. They bring out the best in me because of their positive energy. They believe I can do it and push me to my limits. Even when I feel so uncomfortable with doing something, such as speaking in front of a group... they pushed me knowing that I could do it. I would have never seen myself get this far into my career without the Flo Family. I have learned so much, m...

It's cool hearing so many people saying "Happy Fathers Day" to all the dads out there, but I just want to express my opinions about today. First off, just because you have kids it does not make you a father. There are so many kids out there growing up without a Real father, and it makes me sad. Any man can create a child but only the Real Ones become fathers. Here are a few thoughts of what a Father is to me. I have said before that I am blessed to have my father and grandfather as blueprints of what a real father should be. They have been role models to me and I pray that one day I can be just like them. They are protectors of their families from any form of outside harm. They are the rock that everyone in the family will go to if they need help. They know something about everything, my grandfather would read the paper everyday and he was a walking history book. Even into his 80's his mind was sharp. They hustle hard to provide for the family. I never remember m...

Just to piggy back onto Chris' statement; "Having trouble with and unmotivated client? You must find out the real reason they want to train with you. Build emotion and find out ways to motivate them through a session". This sparked something in me... While you are the educated one on the body and how to get it to yield results you have to make sure that what YOU are trying to achieve is what your CLIENT wants to achieve. There's nothing more boring than pouring energy into something you don't want. Additionally, if your client does not understand what they are doing then their effort or motivation may directly be effected. As a personal trainer you must understand that motivation is not exclusive to a elevated level of energy, yelling and counting down the exercise. DEFINED: motivation is the act of motivating- inducing incentive to do something. Each client will respond differently to different types of motivation. After all- we are called "personal" t...

Finding Our Inner Potential  I want you to think back to when you were a kid. We all believed that we could be whatever we wanted. President of the U.S., Fireman, Ninja, Robot, the list goes on and on. No one could tell us that these things were impossible. However somewhere along the way we lost the ability to dream and unlock our true potential.  I was listening to a CD by Dr. Miles Monroe the other day and he made a statement that made me think of this blog. He said everything we will ever need to be successful is within us. Fish do not need to attend swimming lessons, birds do not need to attend flight school, all of these things are born into the animal. So why as humans do we have such a hard time accepting this concept? If its in all of us, why do we not see it or access it? This is what made me think of the seed. You see,every fruit or tree started as a seed. The seed alone is useless, but when planted, nourished, cared for and loved, it can grow to be what it was a...

REAL Men and REAL Women (I wrote this about two years ago but I felt it was important to bring it back)      Before I get into this I know the percentage of people who don’t understand this will be higher than the percentage that do. Take a look at yourself and see what percentage are you. The other day at my grandmothers 80th birthday celebration a couple of my family members asked me why I am still single. So I thought for awhile and people always seem to ask me that. So I think I have come up with the reason. I am a REAL Man and need a REAL woman to make me settle down. Before I go any further I feel I should define what I feel makes a real man.      I have been very blessed in my life to have two GREAT Men as male role models for me. First is my grandfather and second is my father. Two of the REALEST Men you will ever meet. The traits I found in them are those that I try to mimic myself. To me a REAL Man is a provider for his family no matter what h...

     Its overtime; all the lights are on you, the crowd is cheering, the coach is yelling. Your legs are weak, there is heaviness in your chest and the sweat is starting to burn your eyes. The onslaught of fatigue sets in and the pressure is mounting. How do you handle it? Are you mentally prepared to push your body and mind to the limit, to get that takedown, to score that goal, to get that winning touchdown?     I often find that confidence is a key factor in the outcome of any athletic competition. The brain is the most powerful muscle in the body and it tends to get underworked. You must feed it, nurture it and exercise it just like you would the rest of your body. You should know what your goals are and know that if you work your hardest they can be achieved. As a competitive wrestler for over 17 years I found that any time I entered a match timid or scared of an opponent I did not wrestle to my potential. By the time I was a senior I knew that e...

                                       The ability to move again March 12 2005, a regular Saturday afternoon at the gym; getting ready to get pumped to do a heavy chest workout. Just like everyone else, trying to follow the muscle heads that we see in our society. My workout buddy, Fred, who is going onto his 60s and happens to be a huge guy, arrives 15 minutes prior to gym closing. Working out takes control over everything. My blood is pumping, and I’m feeling great. I happen to be in the midst of having a conversation with my buddy about how much I hate hospitals; without even knowing that in less than 24 hrs, I was about to be submitted into one. Almost 3 weeks prior to that night, I was feeling “Too Skinny,” had great mobility and agility patterns with my body, was able to move and do pretty much what I had wanted to do, except for what I wanted it to be… to be big and solid like ...

After watching the Heat lose last night I had to address something that was on my mind after the game. Living up to expectations! We all have them and most times they are given to us by other people. But when are they to high for us to achieve? I am a Lebron fan and I do admit he really did not show up for these finals, or rather the Lebron we EXPECTED did not show up. He played at terrible game and did not take over when everyone EXPECTED him to. I went on facebook after the game and everyone was bashing the guy with comments like, "so much for being the king, he will never be better than jordan, lebum sucks" and the list goes on and on. This got me thinking about what he has done in his career. As far as I know he never anointed himself the King, he never said he was better than Jordan, he never bashed Kobe or talked trash about any of his competitors. It seems to me that the MEDIA created all the hype about him, we all called him king, we all made him out to be the...

A few years ago, a lifting injury that I had ignored for quite some time finally became too painful to handle. I sucked it up and had the surgery that I had been dreading for years. I was out of commission in terms of lifting, any vertical movements and all forms of my regular conditioning. I was at a loss of what I could do to keep those hard earned gains I had made. This is far from the point of this little golden nugget I have been sitting on for a while that I have wanted to get off my chest. So what did I opt for to retain what I had gained, for it to be minimally invasive you ask?? That's right, I returned to our "conventional" friend Mr. Elliptical, the greatest low impact invention ever!?? Or is it? Here is what I noticed in my many, MANY hours of riding that devil's contraption. First off, the manner that these machines are used is so lackadaisical that it's no damn wonder these people have to ride them for hours to still not see any improvements...

Driving my sister to school this morning, I had forgotten the high school days. While I was wearing a cut off tee and some old shorts, my little sis was wearing this adorable sundress and sandals. I caught myself thinking jeeze, this looks just like a fashion show...my father was right when he used to tease me about it! The girls and guys alike parading around in the newest trends, hoping to be noticed. In reality however, these mannerisms transcend the age groups, not just high school and especially into the fitness world. We are all well aware that a large influence on the physically active is purly vanity, while worrying a bit about strength and performance here and there. But when it comes down to it, vanity reigns. We want to look better, be better, faster, and stronger than our peers and even those that we should not be competing with in the first place! What we must realize and commit to is the only worthy competition is to ourselves. Be active and eat healthy to boost your ...

No, I did not have Burger King..although I know many of you would pay to see me eat that stuff. That's right.. it's stuff, not food..but anyway.. I was getting gas and while I was sitting in my car waiting, I started to eat some Fage yogurt. Some random guy rolls down his window and says "Are you really eating yogurt and getting gas?" I looked at him as he sticks his hand into his Burger King bag and reaches for a french fry and I replied back, "Are you really eating Burger King french fries and getting gas?" I think it's funny that eating something that is actually nutritious and beneficial for your body is looked at so differently and almost strange to some people, whereas they are eating processed, junk crap, and it's looked at as natural to them. This comes to show we are lacking the proper knowledge of how to feed ourself something that our body can actually use. The way people eat and treat their own body today is a form of abuse. -Alliso...

"The only way to improve your results is to increase your level of awareness" - Bob Proctor I would like to start this off by defining "results". There is no such thing as bad results or good results, there are just results. Our thinking and purpose is what makes them good or bad. For example, I gained 1 pound last week, for me that was a good result for others that would be a bad results. Everything is what you make of it. Our mind and thought process is what determines how we feel about our results. In the beginning quote it says we must increase our level of awareness in order to increase our results. The best way I can describe this is by using personal examples. When I first started personal training I did what most trainers do, I trained my clients just like I trained myself. I would never stretch them out or do a proper warm up except for walking on the treadmill. This is all I knew. Unfortunately for my clients they were forced to do these workouts...

"Who you know decides how far you get; what you know decides how you long you stay there." - 50 Cent You always hear the saying, "It's not what you know, its who you know.". I think this is sooo true in life. Most people graduate college and can not find a job because they do not know anyone. If nobody knows who you are, how can you find a job or move forward in life. You have find people on the other side of the fence, if that is where you want to be. You must talk to someone who is where you want to be and find out how they got there. No need to recreate the wheel. So, how do you meet someone who has made it to where you want to be? The best way for me to answer this question is to tell a story. Two years ago I met Denise, and in those two years she has changed my life forever. First of all she visited FLO Fitness one day and she lives all the way in San Francisco, I was in complete shock that a rep from a big company would come to my little shop. S...

Everything effects everything when it comes to living in optimal health. It's all one extravagant intertwined system that CAN'T be separated! The environment/company you keep is directly responsible for your mood, feelings and outlook on life(think of your DIFFERENT groups of friends and how you feel when you hang with them). Your mood dictates what you feel like eating through subconscious programming.(Ever get the late night sugar cravings when your feeling down??) That food is directly responsible for your hormones and enzymes balances in the body (how about when you eat a nutritionally crappy meal and feel sluggish/fatigued from doing nothing?). Those hormones and enzymes speak directly with your neuromuscular system in a high speed conversation at all times (Like a smart phone text conversation between two 16 year old girls(NON-STOP). That system is in direct contact with your muscles( like your boss and you). Those muscles of yours do the pull, push, lev...

This is a must read article for everyone. It talks about fascia but keeps it very simple so that everyone can understand. This has been the focus of my research for the past year and I think this article is the best yet for the average joe who wants to learn about it. The link is: http://runningtimes.coverleaf.com/runningtimes/201106?pg=30#pg30

So I had someone email a question about "The Best Assessment Tool" for testing clients. With all the information out there this blog could turn into a 1,000 page book on what assessment tool is number 1. I will do my best to keep this short, simple and informational. There are tons of assessments out that look at our clients mechanical issues. Each one has its own grading scale and pin points on what to look for. At FLO we use the overhead squat assessment, one leg squat assessment, straight leg test, push up test, pull up test and box drop test (if you have questions on anyone of these assessments be sure to email me). There are other popular test out there but this is what we use. The question now is why do we use this and why is it better then all the other test? In fitness it is important to know that it's not what you use but how you use it (don't get any dirty thoughts). Any assessment test is the best if you are the best at using it. Pick an assessment ...

So today we just finished our 3rd Mentor Program and FLO Fitness. It has been an awesome experience to work with motivated trainers looking to get better at training. It inspired me to write todays blog on giving for the sake of giving. We always here the saying, "Give and you shall receive". This is very true but it does not mean, give and wait and demand that you get something back. When we started our mentor program we wanted to help trainers not make the same mistakes that we/I made in this industry. To often people who become trainers are self absorbed and think they know everything. I know because I must admit thinking this a some point in my career. However the one thing I have learned is that the more you learn, the more you realize you know nothing. I have met soooooo many smart people who make me feel dumb all the time and it is humbling and awesome at the same time. It gives me something to look forward to learning. I heard Dr. Miles Monroe say, "A true le...