Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Josh Graves from Fitness On Fire TV, who created a channel for anyone who’s passionate and on fire for fitness and wants to help you ignite that with a variety of topics and interests. We shot what was mostly a sit-down & chat interview, which is kinda nice to be honest, and not always be blasting through “workouts” for the sake of create a metabolic disturbance. I’ll post the link when the interview goes live.

I’ll be frank with you also, I had a fun topic to discuss today, but I completely forgot the topic and am at a loss for inspiration. So, I’ll leave you with a short shameless promo for the book, and an observation at the gym this morning that everyone can benefit from, which is 180º from what I am trying to accomplish daily, or my fitness peers alike . First, the eBook is slated for release on October 22, 2014. That’s 8 short days away! I hope I can get it all on time and look forward to everyone’s reviews on Amazon. This is important work, labor intensive and time consuming, self-published and I invested a lot into promotion, SEOs and more, but time is my most previous commodity. It’ll be priced ridiculously low, so please spread the word so I can continue bringing more information like that to you, as I have two more books slated for release in January 2015, parts II & III of the Practical Guide to Physical Education.

Now, there is also something to talk about when it comes to fitness. So, there’s this “new” (sic) fitness program that’s being tested on a focus group at the gym. Typical: high energy, loud music, super motivated lead trainer, people pouring buckets of sweat and participating essentially in an exhausting game of “Simon Says”. No one will come out of it moving better, more athletic or with any measurable mark of fitness. The goal is, once again, weight loss. The process: non-sustainable exhaustion and severe caloric reduction. 99% marketing, 1% fitness, 0% innovation. I understand we live in a society with ADD that thrives on going after the newest shiny object (that’s why I made the SmartFlex™ black. Just kidding…). These kinds of programs no longer upset me. I don’t have time or enough cortisol left in my body to dwell on that. What does bother me is this one gentleman who is part of the focus group.

Mind you, people are getting paid to participate. Humans are the least reliable test subjects (will power, or lack thereof if you will). Attrition rates are high and compliance is usually mediocre. A free fitness program just ain’t cutting it, being healthy and the promise of a better life has as much value as a discarded tissue these days. No one is thankful of the opportunity.

Back to the gentleman; one of my friends happens to be in charge of filming and documenting. She saw this poor sap move as is his spine had been invaded by a telephone pole, his legs swell to weather ballon proportions and make a grimace that would make Mona ‘Hatchet-Face” from Cry Baby look like a Maybelline spokesperson. So, she kindly brought him over to me and introduced us so that he could get proper care and training for his back (and everything else that may be wrong). This was Thursday last week. Today, who do I see back in action and again, sporting the same painful face, movement and dysfunction? Yup, that guy. And afraid of eye contact too. I normally don’t bite, and anyone who knows me would not qualify me as intimidating (at first glance, thin sliced Gladwell style). Thin-slice back at you buddy: you’re what’s called “uncoachable” in my book.

Instead of focusing on jamming a square peg into a round hole finishing the program and trying to lose weight, what he should be doing is: improve his mobility, assess his movement dysfunction, find a sustainable program to maintain beyond the duration of the test group, and by moving more at an appropriate fitness level (not high impact sadism), moving better, eating better,  and being able to do this DAILY. In just a short week or so, there’s going to be a $1.99 practical guide. Just follow the layout of a session, ask questions when needed, and for Pete’s sake, you’re getting paid to work out, spend a little and get the opinion of someone seasoned. Doesn’t have to be me, I can send you to someone near you!