You always hear me talk about the mindset of success and how to have a warriors motivation. It sounds easy when you think about it, but how many people do you know who have a successful mindset or a warriors motivation.

And to top it off now a days its not enough to have both of those, you have to have a passion for the goal you have. All those 3 things put you in what I call “hemi mode” (not your normal drive but an unstoppable drive for success).

I know tons of people that have goals or talents that nobody else has but they lack that drive and they never reach their goals.

The other day I saw a show about a guy named Dave Smith. He weighed 650 pounds and in 26 months lost 410 pounds. Without surgery or medical assistance he just ate better hired a trainer and busted his ass. He had a goal that he set and he wasnt gonna stop till he got there. He had a passion and a drive that got him there. Yeah his passion was he didnt wanna be a virgin anymore but as funny as that sounds, it was enough to put a fire under his ass to get him there.

You hear about these people all the time. Amazing and rare stories. You wanna know the real reason there are only a few of these stories? You wanna know their secret?

Their in “Hemi Mode”!!

Take at least 10 minutes each day to find something that motivates you and when you get that feeling, hold on to it all day. Whether its a song, a book, a video. Take the time to meditate on it. I remember before I would do a powerlifting meet I would watch some of the rawest and strongest lifters on youtube and that would JACK ME UP!!! Put sticky notes all over the place or wherever your mostly at to remind you of things (tip: dont write it on the walls, it doesnt come off as easily and especially if your moving to a new apartment). This is one of my favorites. Put this in front of your fridge and im sure youll think twice.

Theres motivation everywhere. If you havent read the book “The Secret” yet its a must read. It opens your eyes a bit. If you havent seen Randy Gage’s blog read it, he has an affirmation of the day that keeps you in the success mindset all day.

And if thats not enough, hell, call me! Ill fire you up to get you on track to whatever goal you wanna accomplish!

P.S. So far there are 8 spots left for new campers

P.S.S. New Dallas Cowboy Victor Corbett will be at the G.N.C on Huebner Oaks this sunday around 1:00 pm! Yessir ill be there!

Hey Everybody, Just wanted to share this awesome testimonial with you.

This is what lights fire under my butt and this is what I live for.

April, thank you so much for the kind words and I really appreciate your friendship. Keep up the good work.

A few months ago I decided I really needed to get back into shape. I knew that with my crazy work and home schedule that I needed someone to help motivate me into the gym. I was tired of making excuses for getting bigger.  I read Jonathan’s articles on mysa.com and decided I liked his attitude.

Jonathon has wonderful way of taking a subject and making it not only understandable but easy to apply to a busy life style.  He also seems to speak to everyone and doesn’t minimize his audience when he has something to say about fitness and nutrition.  I was really excited when I had a month to dedicate to getting back on track. 

I joined Jonathans bootcamp in June and have had awesome results.  I lost inches, weight and the belief that it is ok to get bigger just because I am getting older. I really look forward to working out and can’t tell you how much better I feel. I never walked away from a workout feeling like I had a light day. Jonathan, encouraged, supported, pushed and truly motivated me during every workout. He was just as excited about my effort and results as I was. He also opened my eyes to the mistakes I make with nutrition. I was always the person who didn’t eat enough. I didn’t realize it was the cause for my weight gain because in the past living on salads and water was an expectable strategy for loosing weight. Jonathans nutrition guide helped prove that I can eat and not gain weight. Now I am eating better and I don’t feel guilty when I eat. For anyone who needs a push, a shove or a piece of dynamite under their butt this is the young man to go to. On top of all this I am very proud of Jonathan. He is a wonderful young man with a true gift, which he uses to help others. Now a warning,  look out when he starts the day with ”THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN ”. 

April Titus      

Thanks again April!

P.S. If you are new to the bootcamps, email me about how to get a year of the camps free but only to the first 22 people. Thats all I have room for and Im giving you all the first sneak peek. So once I spill the beans about this to everyone Im sure those 22 spots wont be there anymore.

P.S.S Finally got a haircut so I dont look like cast away anymore.

I had the toughest workout in a while! While celebrating a birthday! Went to Port A thinking ok cool ill get a little relaxing time while im here. Well I decided to go for a jog on the beach since I never really get the chance to, and thats when it hit me.

Running in the sand is a hell of alot harder than running on grass. My lungs were on fire! I thought to myself if I was a triathlete id never make it! Its funny how you train your body for certain things and you get really good at it but then you make a 180 and try something different and your like a newborn. So I put myself in endurance athletes shoes and decided to try a mini triathalon (sorta) . I jumped in the water and swam for about 5 min then ran out and ran on the beach.

About my 18th step I colapsed! I looked like a seal or something. People were staring, but I didnt care I felt like my chest was gonna explode. I probably looked funny trying to flop around back into the water.

Im not cut out to be an endurance athlete. But there are plenty of people who are and thats awesome, I give yall a high five cause I now know firsthand (sorta, I dont really think my mini workout counts) that its harder than it looks.

After about an hour of recouperating I finally got up and hobbled away. On my walk to the car I couldnt stop thinking how cool our bodies are. On one end you have an endurance athlete whos great at long distance and on the other you have a sprinter whos great at shorter distances. The endurance athletes body changes for his sport. His muscles get smaller so they wont take up too much energy, his is oxygen output is top notch, and his body fat drops down low. While the sprinters body changes to be explosive. His lower body develops into legs that should be on a magazine and powerful enough to explode off the blocks. But only for a short distance.

If your an endurance person I give you a high five! Thats not an easy sport and like any sport you need a plan to succeed. Thats not my field of expertise so whenever I need any endurance, triathalon, or cyclist help I turn to here.

Be sure to check out the end of the video. Its the funniest thing ever! Meanwhile ill stick to my type of workouts

P.S. While in the ocean I almost caught a fish in my hand. They were jumping all over the place and I almost caught one in the air! That was the coolest thing ive ever done!

Im gonna let you in on a little secret. This one tool can help you in many different ways and has been my favorite since ive started using it.

I think its the best thing ever invented since Pez dispensers ( you know, the one with a character that spits out candy,awesome invention, bad nutrition). Anyways, this single tool alone has allowed me to cut all my cooking time in half and have awesome tasting food.

I love grilling! But to be honest im lazy and hate having to put the charcoal and waiting for it to light, then for it to burn a bit, then finally cook, and I especially hate the cleanup.

Well a friend of mine got me into this and I love it. If already havent guessed it. Its a…….

Yup a George Foreman indoor/outdoor grill. This things awesome, not only is it easy to clean but its easy to cook too without all the mess and smoke. And I love that the food comes out tasting like if you actually grilled it. It also has the same fat melting features which gives it a little health boost

Sundays I usually cook all my meals for the week and it used to take all day if I wanted to grill it and now im done in about 2 hours. Its a great investment if you really like grilling and love food.

All right im out for the weekend. Time to relax for a bit.

So this is something thats been on my mind for a while. Now a days peoples mindset has gone from one end of the spectrum to the other.

We went from SUPER SIZE ME to I’LL JUST HAVE A SALAD TODAY.

We went from over filling the bucket to not even having it half full.

I dont know how many times I have overheard people excited because they have lost 10 lbs by running for 2 hours and eating a salad and cheese all day. Just so they can fit into a dress or bikini for a certain occasion. Its great there is a goal in mind but there should always be a long term goal. What happens after your certain occasion passes and you start eating normally? Ever seen the biggest loser contestants after they leave the show? Im not picking on the biggest loser, but now alot of people have that “biggest loser mentality”.

I talk about starving you body all the time in my eyes its worse than overfeeding it. When you starve your body it breaks down muscle for fuel. Who the hell wants that!

Heres some tips to keep you on track and balance in between too much and too little.

1. EAT!
2. EAT every 3-4 hours ( portioned meals)
3. Keep high glycemic(sugary) carbs to before and after your workout
4. Think about how much you workout, If all you do is cardio then you should be doing resistance training too.
5. Now that your doing resisitance training think about your body as a machine, you have to fuel it right, no more salad only meals.
6. Stick to HIIT( high intensity interval training) cardio. The old school mindset of more is better and spending hours in the gym running is outdated.
7. For maximum fat loss stick to full body interval workouts
8. High protein is always key! For people who dont workout its ok to just eat a bowl of fruit and maybe a veggie but for the person that works out they need the protein to repair
9. Have a short term goal and long term goal. If your short term goal is going to interfere with your long term goal then throw it away and make a new one.
10. Dont take advice from magazines, If you buy them do it just for the pictures.
11. Ask questions! If you need help or have a question, ask somebody who knows dont turn to a magazine or a book.
12. Write all over your house! Ok well in sticky notes, write down your goals or things you need to like affirmations and post them where your at the most. Mine’s the kitchen
13. Give yourself room to breathe but listen to your body. Its ok to cheat at least once a week but if one week you find yourself not craving it, dont and skip it for the next week.
14. Eat greens and fruits.
15. Take multivitamins
16. Try to drink tea like green or white tea at least 2-3 times a day. The antioxidants will help drive out all the free radicals and in turn help your skin, nails, hair, body!
17. DO LEGS! Doing legs helps your total body, im sure women dont have a problem doing legs. But the fellas, for some reason think its alright to just work my upper body and leave my legs like twigs. Nothing is worse than seeing a guy with a great upper body but his toothpick legs can barely hold him up. Not only are they good for looks but they play a big role in cardio health.
18. Plan ahead. If you know you usually have meetings at work and cant eat then take a protein shake or bar. cook most of your meals the night before so you wont have to be in your kitchen for most of the day.
19. If you have to go out to eat research the restaurant and find whats healthy. If you dont have time than you can never go wrong with a lean protein and veggies. Usually alot of places offer salmon and veggies.
20. Find healthy alternatives to your favorite foods. I love bacon egg and cheese tacos. So Ill get turkey bacon, low fat or feta cheese, and whole wheat tortillas. No reason to give up your favorite foods
21. I know people have said dont eat after 7pm. Well if you dont go to sleep till 12 or 1am, then you still need to eat something. Shoot for just a protein source. A great one would be a cup of cottage cheese.
22. Eat fats! Theres no reason to cut out all fats. Just the bad ones. Keep good ones like omega 3,6, and 9’s and CLA. They help regulate hormones and actually help burn fat.
23. When your craving snacks always carry around a protein bar, beef jerky, nuts. Something that at least benefits you and your goal.
24. Check the food labels, if it has more than 5 ingredients than put it back on the shelf. Try shopping at sun harvest, its a great health food store
25. Workout with a partner or group. Motivation is always something people struggle with so why not have someone there to keep you in check.

Like I said earlier ASK QUESTIONS, feel free to ask me anytime if you need help or answers. Thats what im here for

 4th of July weekend is here and everyones heading out for a good time!

With that ill leave you with 3 little pieces of advice

1. Most of the time 4th of July calls for grilling, and I LOVE IT! Stick to lean meats and chicken and youll be fine. It doesnt mean to stuff yourself though
2. Try your hardest to eat at least every 3 hours still
3. Have fun enjoy your friends and family and a couple of good beers! (When I say a couple I mean a couple, limit yourself to about 2)

Let me tell you why, alcohol brakes down into acetate and acetaldehyde which automatically tells your body to stop burning fat. Remember everybodys body is different, but generally Your body can only effectively process up to 1 ounce of alcohol per hour. If you drink 5 beers (each about 0.6 oz of alcohol) your body will be shut down from burning fat for up to 6 hours. More than likely you will be storing fat in those 6 hours! Why set yourself back from almost a weeks worth of progress. What would be worse is drinking alcoholic drinks with sugar in them. They will promote even further fat gain due to the insulin surge of the sugar.

So if you must, choose wine, hard liquor (my favorite is tequila), or “lite” beer

Have a safe and happy 4th of july