Eight years ago today, on April 1st, 2005, I met the woman who was to become my wife.

And on March 30th 2010, our little girl Sophia was born.

Yesterday was Easter. And for us business-folks, today is also the first day of the second quarter. So it’s a good time to reflect. With that in mind, I’d like to share two stories with you. They are stories of challenge. As you read them, you’ll likely be reminded of times in your own life, or times you are going through now.

My main message in sharing these stories is not to give up on your dreams. 1st story:

It’s 2006. My business relationship with the health club that had brought me to South Florida a year earlier had just ended. One of the owners had suggested that I move back to Ohio and find a career that was more suitable for me. Ouch. Being the stubborn bastard that I can sometimes be, I immediately went into survival mode. Once my expensive apartment lease ended, I subleased a room that was about 8X10. My bed took up about 80% of the floor space. My closet was packed with dissambled furniture. I had one foot of space between the foot of my bed and the dresser that was up against the wall. On side of my bed that wasn’t against the wall, I had about 3 feet of walking space, most of was taken up by a table and computer. The reduced housing rent cost, along with a few personal training clients who stuck with me and did in-home personal training,gave me the breathing room to stay afloat and survive for about 12 months until I moved into a normal apartment again.

2nd story: From November 2008 until February 2009, again in business transition, I turned my apartment into a personal training studio. Emily and I had just married the previous July and I think she was about to kill me for creating major instability in our lives so quickly.

Wedding complete – check. Honeymoon – check. Turning our home into a personal training studio – check.

I moved our coach, dining room table, and other personal items into storage. In the living room, I set up a squat rack, dumbbell rack, and elliptical machine. In what was our dining room, I had a multi-function FreeMotion strength training machine. Emily and I had the kitchen and our bedroom to live in. I would train from 7am until 5pm. She’d get home at 5:15, we’d make dinner, and basically live in our bedroom the rest of the evening. It was lucky that we lived in an area where we could go out and take a nice walk around the neighborhood to keep our sanity.

Fast forward until today. I’m sitting in my office at our small, but now very professional, personal training studio. It’s been a little over four years since we moved the exercise equipment out of our apartment and opened up my vision of a personal training studio in a small strip center in Plantation, Florida. Every piece of equipment purchased, each new-hire invested in was another tiny step. Every week there are decisions made which may determine whether we can keep our daughter at the higher quality pre-school. For those of you ‘in the arena’, you know that things are rarely handed to you.

So my message to you, my reader, is two-part. First, thank you for reading. If you are a client, thank you for believing in the services we provide. Thank you. If it was not for you, none of this would exist. Many of you are part of my continued inspiration, because many of you have similar stories. And for those of you who still have a dream… Keep moving forward.

There’s been many times I’ve thought about quitting. Saying, ‘Is it really worth the sacrifice?’. There’s no right answer for all of us. But here’s how I know to keep moving forward… Quitting would leave me dis-spirited. Partly broken. And that’s no way to live. No way to honor all of those who have bet on me. My daughter will not have a father who has been beaten. If you have a dream, go after it. You have one life, you are living it. Make each day count. Are you working towards where you want to be? Every day, do something that’s going to help you live life just a bit better.

Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS

 

A: I am a Trusts & Estates Attorney in South Florida.  I am originally from the North Suburbs of Chicago, but as a young youth I decided to attend the University of Miami.  I obtained my B.B.A. in Finance along with my J.D./M.B.A from the University of Miami.  This is also where I met my wife, Rachel Roth Fleischer.  We have three beautiful children and reside in Weston, Florida.

 

A: My practice is almost exclusively estate planning and probate. I chose this area of the law because it gives me the opportunity to have intimate and long lasting relationships with my clients and their families. I make sure that their assets are protected and that their affairs are in order. I typically help my clients with their estate planning documents or in the event a loved one has passed away.  I do this by meeting with them and discussing with them strategies of how they can accomplish their goals.  Normally I draft a Last Will and Testament, Revocable Trust, Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Surrogate, and a Living Will for my clients.  These documents help my clients while they are alive to potentionally protect their assets and help avoid guardianship in the event of incapacity.  Unfortunately over the years, I have had clients pass away as well and this part of my practice is called probate or trust administration.  This is when I make sure that the estate plans that were drafted are properly implemented.

 

A: The most common mistake that I see in my practice is that the client does not have any idea what he or she has just signed.  I make it a point in my practice to review every document wtih my clients before they sign them.  I try and take out the legalese in the documents and explain things to my clients. 

 

A: Most of my clients that I receive are through referrals.  I typically offer a complimentary consultation where I meet with the client and review their documents or in the event they do not have any estate planning documents ask them questions what they would like in their estate plan.  If I have all of the proper information I can usually send out drafts of their documents in two to three weeks for their review. 

 

A: My favorite hobby is working out.  Pretty ironic, right?  I love to workout because it makes me feel better during the day, and if I feel better I usually perform better.  There is no better place to get a great workout than the Personal Fitness Advantage because you have experienced people telling you how best to workout and not hurt yourself.

A: My favorite food, unfortunately for me, is Pizza.  My favorite pizza place is probably Pizza Time in Coral Springs, but I do love Casola’s near downtown Miami.

50 Strength Training Mistakes Exercisers Make That Slow Results and Increase The

Chance of Injury.

By Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS

A Note from Doug:

Learning about the body and strength training is a never ending process for me. But after strength training for sixteen years, earning a Masters Degree in Kinesiology, and personal training for eleven years, there are some general rules that hold true for strength training programs. I love strength training because of its power to change and improve your life. But done incorrectly, it can also lead to injuries that can cause chronic pain.

I’ve put together a list of fifty common strength training mistakes to be aware of as you improve your own strength training program. My hope is that this easy to read list will serve you as an ongoing reference. It will help you recognize potential mistakes you are making with your strength training program and allow you to fix your strength training habits so you achieve better results, in less time, with less chance for injury.

I’ve broken the list into the categories of mistakes in strength training program design, mistakes in biomechanics, and mistakes in nutrition, rest, and other variables that effect strength training results and safety. The mistakes are listed in no particular order.

If you find this list valuable, I invite you forward this list on to others who would benefit and to follow my work in the following ways:

1) Sign up for my email newsletter at:  www.PersonalFitnessAdvantage.com

2) On Twitter at handle: @jackson_doug

3) Our Personal Fitness Advantage Facebook Fanpage:

www.Facebook.com/personalfitnessadvantage

4) If you live in South Florida, give us a call at 954-472-2115 to set up a time to visit with my team and I at our Plantation-based private personal training studio.

Mistakes in Strength Training Program Design

1.  Thinking that strength training can only be done through traditional weight lifting and resistance machines.

2.  Weakening the body with excessive stretching prior to strength training.

3.  Fatiguing the body with excessive cardiovascular exercise prior to strength training.

40. Not drinking enough water throughout the day.

41. Not checking your resting blood pressure at least once per year.

42. Strength training in the morning on an empty stomach.

43. Not differing between ‘good pain’ and ‘bad pain’.

44. Not adjusting workouts when generally fatigued or under-rested.

45. Not including at least 15-20 grams of high quality protein in a post-workout meal.

46. Not eating enough fruit and veggies (especially veggies!).

47. Not eating enough carbohydrates (especially during the post-workout window).

48. Not being consistent enough. Two weeks on target, one week off doesn’t allow for measurable progress.

49. Not setting clear goals and an action plan (including a timeline) for achievement.

50. Not hiring a qualified trainer to guide you if you read through this list of mistakes and it seemed like a foreign language to you.

Lists like this have always been valuable for me. I put them up on a bulletin board and re- check how I’m doing every so often.  If this list is helpful for you, I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an email at doug@personalfitnessadvantage.com and let me know how your are doing with your strength training program.

Dedicated to your success,

Doug Jackson

Contact Information:

Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS Personal Fitness Advantage

13242 W. Broward Blvd.

www.PersonalFitnessAdvantage.com

doug@personalfitnessadvantage.com

work phone: (954) 472-2115

fax: 954-337-2792

I hear a lot of them.

Sometimes it’s direct. Often times, it’s indirect.

Maybe the person saying it doesn’t even realize it’s an excuse.

People face an obstacle and blame someone else for the obstacle
and expect someone else to fix it.

I beg you to think differently.

Take ownership of your obstacles. They are an opportunity.

It’s the overcoming of obstacles that makes us truly strong…

…what we could call ‘deep strength’.

Be careful with viewing others who have been more successful
and thinking they got to where they are because they just
got lucky in some way, shape, or form.

Maybe they did get lucky. But far too often, people use that
explanation as a cop-out.

Usually there was a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ blood, sweat, and
tears that happened before the lucky person ‘got lucky’.

Obstacles are your pathway to success because the overcoming of
them is the ONLY way to develop deep strength.

There’s no other way about it.

No one can buy you deep strength or give you deep strength.

You earn it. Through trials and tribulations.

Through getting back up.

After wiping off the blood and the tears and taking that obstacle to that
mat (wrestling reference) and putting it into a stranglehold until it
submits.

Now let’s face it. It seems to me that our culture is heading in a
direction where it’s okay not to accept responsibility. It’s okay to
expect others to fix your problems.

But that attitude is a recipe for your personal failure.

Do not fall into that trap.

Embrace the challenges you face. They are the equivalent of a workout
that will make you stronger. As long as you don’t give up.

Failing doesn’t destroy the spirit. Giving up does.

So whatever challenges you are facing, keep moving forward.

Choose to move forward, one step at a time.

Choose strength.

As you choose forward action and overcome obstacle after obstacle,
you will develop deep strength. And you will know you have
earned it. That it wasn’t given to you.

You can sleep comfortably at night.

No matter what is thrown at you, accept it, face it, and be
the best you can be.

In Strength,

Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS

1.  When setting goals, pay attention to your personal energy. The right goal should get you EXCITED. It should keep you up at night – not fretting with negative stress, but thinking of the possibilities.

2. Drink a glass of water immediately upon waking. Before you do anything else. It’s a fantastic way to start the day.

3. Become a student of your own body. During workouts, know when it’s time to push up the intensity and make some progress. And when it’s time to back off and avoid potential injury. When you are exercising, don’t just go through the motions. Pay attention to what muscles are working.

4.  Win as a TEAM. Work together to accomplish more. There are different teams I’m a part of. There’s the Personal Fitness Advantage staff team. There’s my family. I think of us as a team. There are the trainers that I stay in touch with throughout the country and discuss best practices with. I consider that group a team as well. Likewise, I view the trainer/client interaction with a team approach. Whoever has the best team wins.

5. Get to know the foam roller. It is a tool that can help you loosen muscles, move better, and feel better.

6. Most of us need 8 or so hours of sleep per night.  Find out how much sleep and rest you need to perform at your best and aim for it. It’s hard to perform your best when you are not rested.

7. Appreciate physical activity beyond heavy-duty workouts. There’s value in doing things like taking a hike, going fishing, shooting some hoops. Activities like those let our minds relax. And relaxing is something that more of us need!

8. The Bible says to rest on the 7^th day. Whether you are religious or not, I think it’s good advice.

9. Eat more fruits and veggies. I don’t believe any amount of scientifically designed pills can replace the overall health benefits of ‘real’ food.

10. We all get in bad moods. I believe the key is to be aware of it, and accept that we ultimately control our mood. And to accept that a bad mood does nothing good for us. I find physical activity is a fantastic way to ‘break’ a bad mood. Other ways to relax and start seeing life in a better way are to get a massage or watch a comedy.

11.  Try to avoid judgment. It’s easy to judge when you haven’t walked in someone’s shoes.

12. Eat small frequent meals throughout the day. If the majority of these meals focus on ‘whole’ foods rather than things that were designed in a chemistry lab, both your physical and mental energy levels will improve and fuel your success through the day. Some snacks I like to eat between the three traditional meals include apples, bananas, low-fat string cheese, raw nuts, and protein shakes (especially before or after my strength training workout).

13. In some way, shape, or form, you are a professional. Maybe you’re an attorney, CPA, trainer, teacher, or homemaker. To be the best you can be at any of these, keep learning.  Find people who do it better than you do and learn from them. In our Plantation, Florida personal training studio, we improve something on a daily basis. Maybe it’s an improved exercise. Maybe it’s a better way of teaching the exercise. Maybe it’s an improved relationship skill. Maybe it’s a newer piece of equipment. Constantly improve.

14. If someone has done you wrong, let it go. It’s not worth the emotional energy you’re wasting on it. It’s like a never-ending drain of your energy bank account. Instead, go invest your energy is something that will give you a positive return.

15.  If you want to be great at something, you’ve gotta obsess over it. And you’ve gotta keep obsessing until you’ve reached a point where you are satisfied with the result.

16. If you are trying to maintain or lose weight and are eating out, here’s a couple simple rules: First, simply replace fries with veggies.  You can do this in most restaurants. Second, eat half of what’s on your plate. Take the other half home for a second meal at another time. This is a BIGGIE for weight management because many people eat good most of the time and then blow it when they are eating out. These two rules solve most of that problem.

17. Schedule your exercise AHEAD of time. If you are busy, your exercise needs to be pre-planned or it’s more than likely that something else is gonna come up and you gonna miss your workout. You’ve gotta find what works for you. For me, I like to look at my calendar prior to the start of the week and plan in my exercise at that time. Other people with less flexible schedules will need to have a more structure plan where they know what days and times they are exercising a month in advance. Whatever planning approach you take, you should know before going to bed on Sunday night what days and what times you are exercising during the upcoming week.

18. Cut out the sodas, beer, and liquor. When it comes to juice and wine, try cutting your quantity in half. A lot of trainers will disagree with me on this. They’ll say absolutely no alcohol (including wine) and no juice (because of the sugar). And you know what? That’s optimal for fat loss. But I’m talking real-world. I like having a small glass of juice every now and then. And we have a lot of clients that like having small or moderate amounts of wine. You know what? For the most part, they are still extremely fit. The key, with the wine and the juice is to manage the serving size, and remember that those calories count to your total intake for the day. And if you do want to get extremely lean and ripped, yes, you’ll probably have to cut out the wine and juice too.

19. For optimal weight management, keep a food log. You can keep an old-school, hand-written journal, or you can use an app or computer program.  Most of our clients are opting for apps nowadays. The programs our clients at Personal Fitness Advantage use are Vitabot (which we purchased a license for so they can use) or MyFitnessPal (which you can download for free on your smartphone). I like the Vitabot program because it’s better for meal planning and the measurement of vitamins and minerals. The MyFitnessPal app is more convenient, but lacks the meal planning and measurement of vitamins and minerals. Both programs measure total calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

20. To hit a nutrition goal, you need to know what you are aiming for. That means instead of just saying you are going on a diet to lose weight, you should know what calorie range you are aiming for.  Cutting your calories in half from 2,000 to 1,000 will work for a few weeks. But in the long-term it will backfire. Cutting your calories from 2,000 to a goal range of 1,500-1,700, and then measuring your calories to hit between 1,500 and 1,700 day after day, is an approach that works. The same goes for proteins, carbs, and fats. Know what general ranges you want to be in and then measure your food intake to achieve those ranges. If you want impressive results, guessing doesn’t cut it!

21.  To advance in your professional life, look for ways to add value! Value to your client, customer, colleague, boss.  Don’t we all like people who give us value? Give value and you will be liked in return. Think outside of the box to look for opportunities to give value. The best way to figure out what to aim for is simply to listen! People will tell you what they are struggling with. Find solutions to those problems and you will increase your level of success!

22. Every month or so, review your ‘contact list’. That will mean different things based on your profession, age, etc. But it’s good practice to review your contact from your database, personal phone/address book, Linkedin profile, or Facebook friends. Reach out to someone you haven’t spoken with in a while. Look for someone on that list that you can give value to. My guess is, the person you reach out to will enjoy hearing from you.

I sincerely hope you apply at least a few of these ideas to make yourself healthier, more fit, and even more successful in the coming year.

For more valuable health, fitness, and success tips from Doug, become a fan at: www.Facebook.com/PersonalFitnessAdvantage

Or Follow on Twitter at: @jackson_doug

It’s a story I’ve debated sharing because it’s embarrassing.

But maybe it’s also inspiring.

I find that sometimes when I send out an email like this,
I get responses back from folks saying, “This is exactly what
I needed to get up and keep fighting…”

So here goes…

It was early 2009 and we had just opened our 1,500 square
foot personal training facility in Plantation.

I was trying to build some momentum for the growth of our
facility and wanted to launch a city-wide fitness challenge
with the help of the mayor.

I somehow convinced the mayor to meet with me and I pitched
her on my idea.

But on the 10 minute drive back to our facility, I ran
into a problem.

In my focus on having a successful meeting with the mayor,
I didn’t realize that my gas tank was on empty.

I literally wasn’t going to make it back to the studio.

No problem. I’d drive into the nearest gas station on fumes.

Pulled out my ATM card. Declined. Ooops. As a fledgling

business owner, I didn’t manage cash correctly and over-drew
my checking account.

Okay, in times of emergency, that’s what credit cards are for.
Right?

Right. But I had maxed out my two credit cards to be able to get the
doors of the facility open.

I clearly remember digging through the seats of my Jeep, scrounging
together about a $1.50 or so. It bought me less than a tank of gas,
but got me back to the studio.

At the studio, I had a container of change totaling $20 or so that
allowed me to fill up my tank enough to get me through a few days
before I made our next sale.

It’s now 3 1/2 years later. And although it’s not always bright
and sunny, with the investment in our services through clients
who believed in us, we survived and are moving forward.

This story is more about entrepreneurialism and perseverance than
fitness, but here’s my message:

Whatever you want, keep fighting for it.

Do not quit on your dreams.

Do not quit on yourself.

Find your place that you want to make a difference and go after it.

If you are like me, the video clip below will send shivers down your spine.

Might sound silly to someone who hasn’t been at the edge, but it brings tears to my eyes.

I invite you to leave a reply to this post. If you like this post, feel free to post/ share with others.

We’ve been BUSY here….

So busy that I haven’t always done a good job communicating
some of the evolving specialty programming we’ve been
recently doing at Personal Fitness Advantage.

Here’s 3 new programs that you may like to know about:

1) Man Strength: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we do

a ‘Strength/Power’ small group at 6:00am. Truth be told, it’s not for

guys ‘only’, but there are strength requirements to get accepted.

And other than maybe one or two of our female clients that are just

ridiculously STRONG, it’s pretty much for the guys. It’s mostly guys

between 35-45 that are busy professionals that want to keep in top

shape and get it done before work. If that sounds like you, give us a

call. We currently have openings for 3 additional participants.

 2) Sunday Pilates with Stacey Berube: 

Stacey is a well-known Pilates instructor in Broward and we’ve arranged

to have her do a 10:30am mat Pilates class for us on Sundays. We’ve

been running these for five weeks now and it’s pretty much always a

packed house. This workout is a killer for the core and is a fantastic 

compliment to our personal training programs here at PFA. We currently

have openings for 2-3 additional participants.

3) Teen Strength: Wednesdays at 4:00pm. This is a circuit-based

functional strength training small group program that will strengthen,

tone, and burn fat. Right now we have females between the ages 13-16

in the group. This program teaches good technique, gives a great workout,
and builds confidence. Although we only do this programonce per week,

several participants also do our Sunday Pilates program. We currently have

openings for 3 additional participants.

If you have an interest in any of these, give us a call at the studio at

954-472-2115.  If you get our voicemail, leave a message and we’ll get back to you.

We’re dedicated to your fitness success!

Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS

Will you be closer to reaching your goals this time next month? Will you
be closer this time next quarter?

Are you on Defense or Offense?

Here’s a montage of Rocky training scenes that I thought you might enjoy.

Watch and get inspired. Take action.

A recent Time magazine article by Alexandra Sifferlin focuses on a

Danish exercise science study with surprising results.

The key finding in the study was that participants who exercised
30 minutes per day lost more weight than participants who exercised
60 minutes per day.

Although this is counterintuitive, the lead researcher Mads Rosenkilde
provides some interesting theories as to why the results came out they
way they did.

Of note, researchers found that the participants who exercised 60 minutes
were sedentary through the rest of the day.

In contrast, the participants who exercised 30 minutes were more active
throughout the rest of the day.

Researchers hypothesized that the 30 minutes of exercise gave people
an energy boost, whereas the 60 minutes of exercise fatigued the
participants. Throughout the rest of the day, the energized group
was burning extra calories whereas the fatigued group was sedentary
and burning less calories.

In addition, researchers found that the participants exercising 60
minutes also ate more calories through the rest of the day.
Researchers hypothesize that the workout stimulus, tied in with the
fatigue associated with the longer workout, encouraged the 60 minute
group to eat more.

Here’s a few comments from my perspective:

1) The idea that the harder one works, the more they feel inclined to eat
to replenish fuel stores is very interesting. I’ve personally experienced
ravenous appetites after hard training.

Would less training (less intensity/shorter duration) be good for weight loss?

This research seems to indicate it might.

However, there’s no doubt that, up to a point, more intense training is
needed for high levels of fitness.

So really it comes down to weight loss verses fitness.

Yes, you can do both.

But maybe the message is this:

1) If your primary goal is weight loss and NOT fitness improvement,
it likely makes more sense to focus on focusing on good nutrition, managing
your calories, and doing moderate amounts of exercise.

2) If your primary goal is fitness, you have to train hard. And
as a side effect of that training, you may find that your body
craves more food and nutrients to replace those lost during training.

3) As a sidepoint within the Time Magazine article alludes to, there are likely
long-term fat loss benefits that occur when you have added muscle from
intense training. This is due to the metabolic increases associated with
additional lean muscle.

For our part at our Plantation, Florida personal training gym, we lean more

towards the intense fitness side of things.

Our one-on-one training is done in 30, 45, or 60 minute sessions.

Our small group personal training programs last 60 minutes with 40-45 minutes
of strenuous training and 15-20 minutes spread between the warm-up and cooldown.

My message to PFA clients is to be aware of the difference between weight loss and fitness.

Challenging fitness training, while necessary to achieve higher levels of fitness,
may stimulate the appetite. And if you are trying to decrease body fat, you’ve gotta
keep that appetite in check.

And on the other side, assuming that you are doing a few days of strenuous exercise

each week, it makes sense to have a couple other days of less intense exercise. The

Danish study suggests that these less intense days are still beneficial, will give you an

energy boost, and won’t stimulate your appetite the same way the more intense exercise days might.