Monday, December 31, 2007

Health and Kids

We went hiking the other day on Stone Mountain outside Atlanta. It's not long but pretty steep. My twins are 4 1/2 now and can hike the whole 1.25 miles on their own to the summit. My daughter Ronnie simply amazed me yesterday as she literally ran up much of the steep grade. She was so excited about being a "good hiker." I'm realizing that both Ronnie and Cade are really getting this whole health thing now. They intellectually understand that eating healthy foods and exercising is good for their bodies and health. Ronnie told me on the hike that eating zucchini makes her fast--I'm going to quote her on that one! It's so rewarding to see them developing with great health behaviors. They are healthy, lean, and very fast. When they go to parties or school functions, they can eat less healthy choices but choose to eat fruit instead of the donuts and candy. Don't tell me little kids don't understand health and fitness! Give them a try. You might be surprised. We are forged by fitness. Are you? I finished my last day of exercise today--number 365. I never missed a day all year. Tomorrow, I start all over again! I have learned that exercising every day is better than sitting around taking days off. If I want to rest, I'll just go for a walk, but I'm going to keep moving. Not going to the Peach Drop in Atlanta this year, but we'll be out closer to home in the 'Burbs of NE Atlanta. I hope y'all have a Health New Year. A lot of depends on you. Make it happen. Coach RJ.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Soreness

I'm sore as hell today. I kicked my own ass the other day with Tabatas and Olympic squats! Actually, this is a good thing. I wanted to start the New Year "feeling it" rather than rusting away. There is nothing wrong with being sore. I'll push myself a bit further with soreness levels than a typical client; however, if you are not sore once in a while, there is probably not much happening differently that would promote improvement rather than maintenance. Don't be afraid to push it a bit. If you need inspiration, come back to Jack LaLanne that says, "Better to wear out than to rust out!" Still pushing, Coach RJ!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Dreams...

I had a weird dream last night that I was flying in an jet fighter plane with Jonathon Davis the lead singer for KoRn...how wild would that one be?! We took off from his place near Malibu. When he accelerated, we hit 18,000 MPH in about 2 seconds...there was this lull as if time was trying to catch up with our acceleration. Then we went back and picked up my brother and took off again. A 3-seater fighter plane no less! Craziness. Then I awoke worrying about money. Today we went to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We had lunch. I looked down the tables at what families were eating. It is so bad. No colors. Mostly fried and very processed. It's sad. More than enough information on health and news on obesity--and people still either don't get it or don't care. So, what were the Joneses eating you ask? For our family of four including 4-year old twins Ronnie and Cade we had: 3 bananas, 2 yogurts, PB&J for Cade, Mac and cheese for Ronnie, turkey breast sandwiches on whole wheat with no mayo for me and Candas plus a round of waters for all. Not bad for an outing meal on the go. The others? Nothing worth trying with my family. Alive and well in the South today, Coach RJ.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Strength & Hibernation

Well...I went from hitting an all-time bench max last week to hibernation this week at home in Atlanta. Last week I put up 85 pound DBs on my final set. Started off with a warm-up set of 65s then up to 70s, 80s, and finishing with a 4-rep set of 85s. Pretty good for a 165 pound enduro athlete. This last week I haven't done much more than walking around the neighborhood for my basic 30-minute minimum until today. Wife Candas insisted upon me working her butt off in the gym--and mine. Nothing like a wake-up call with 3 rounds of Tabatas! I was sore after only 8 minutes. The good news? I'll be sore before New Year's Day! Nothing wrong with being a little sore--better than being dead or rusting away. Looking forward to a New Year's Day run around Stone Mountain in Atlanta to mark the end of my 2007 journey to exercise every single day for at least 30 minutes--I'm going to make it! 365 and still alive! From A-Town, Coach RJ.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Mobility & Speed

I was out and about the other day in public, and I was struck with the amount of mobility problems people had simply moving around. I couldn't believe how many people were hobbling around, struggling to get out of their friggin' cars, barely able to step and down, etc. It's a crying shame! I am absolutely stunned at times at what is going on in this country...it's really a shame because most of it can be prevented with just a few minutes of exercise per week and some reasonable eating! On a more upbeat note, I interviewed my wellness Bro Kevin Rail today for my January newsletter. I got so pumped about the pending interview that I blazed a new PR on my MTB course! I haven't even been on a bike in about 10 days and was thinking I'd be slower--but was 2 minutes faster clocking a 1:28. Must have been the MAJOR chi hit from Rail's incredible energy for common sense non-PC health! God knows we can use more of that message! Might even help a few of those folks above that can barely walk from lack of exercise and healthy food! Keepin' it real and Railin' today with Kevin, Coach RJ!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Z Fast Lane...

I'm flying this week! My God...the pace of life today is too much at times. Finishing my new DVD this week on the RJ protocol for some righteous lactate threshold warrior training I've developed for college football and other athletes or people needing to kick some serious ass. It's been about 4 years in the making of my system, but it is working very well and adjustable at many levels. Should be interesting to some and mind blowing to others. Stay tuned on that one. Had some breakthroughs this week that were nice--clients, business, etc. Hit my bench max of all freakin' time this week dudes! Feeling good about it. Makes me think of Jack LaLanne's, "Any stupid ass can die. You have to work at living!" I'd say there are a lot of people in this country not working much based on that view--and pretty damn stupid if you logically think about what they are eating and doing to their bodies by refusing to get with the program...oh well...it's their life--and death if they choose. Workin' it this week bigtime from my end, Coach RJ!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

RJ Fitness myspace!!!

I finally got the RJ myspace account operable today after a year of messing around with it. I hired my graphic artist to finish it. Got a few more updates to make before New Year's. I'd like it to be a fun place--straight up chi--shaken and not stirred in classic RJ style if y'all know what I mean. Just keepin' it real baby--that is all. Check out the new RJ myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/ronjonesfitness Been ripping the gym lately. At my all time max bench and row marks now. Taking a shot at putting up a set of reps with 75 pound DBs next week when I get with my workout bud Lucas in Paso. Current max sets are 70s @ 12, 10, 6, 4 reps. I've never even attempted 75s. Doing 15-20 reps with 55s and 25 reps with 50s, so 75s should go if I get them off my chest in the roll off. Football is over for me this year...kind of strange now. My boys lost the playoff game last week...oh well. From a windy and cold LA today, Coach RJ!

Monday, December 3, 2007

On the road...

In Washington DC early this week presenting at a health conference. Travel has been wild this last week! Flew out to LA to see Van Halen on Thursday and see my football team play. We finally lost! 12 victories in a row this year, but we lost the playoff game to Mt. Sac College...oh well. They were fit for the task--I made sure of that, but despite all the months of mental skills training with them, the damn game still game down to sport psychology and some of our guys dropped this ball and tanked. We got beat--a lot of it we did ourselves. I tried. Some of the guys were in the Zone--but not enough. Then back to ATL for a layover last night before heading out to DC for a friggin' 2.5 hour holding on the runway to get fuel at Dulles before heading over to RR airport...too much flying this week! Back across to LA Wednesday night! I did my workout yesterday while waiting for the next flight in ATL. Walked for 30 minutes dragging around my luggage switching arm positions every five minutes. By the end of the 30 minute "airport" walk, I had sweat running down my face and down my butt, so it was worth while! NO EXCUSES! As my Bro Steve Ilg says, "Your workout is everywhere!" Got legs? Use them. From the Capitol this week, Coach RJ

Saturday, November 24, 2007

BC Wins Again! 12-0 Baby!

OMG! My boys just won again in double overtime! BC Collegiate Football is now 12-0. One more victory and we'll be in the CA community college playoffs! I had to listen to the game on the web because I'm in Atlanta this week. I'm so proud of my guys. We've been busting our asses since June to cut a razor's edge in both mind and body. GO GADES! I'm so proud of you guys and our coaching staff! Heartpounding in ATL, Coach RJ!

Monday, November 19, 2007

This and that...

Well my collegiate football players won again--they are now 11-0!!! I've started to realize that I'm really part of something special, even more than before...we are entering such a zone of tribal passage...a special place that few people ever experience. Since 2004, I have worked with this program to get them in position for a state championship in CA. Two more victories, and we'll be at the State Game...one game at a time for now. I've been trying to get more sleep lately! I have not done well on this the last couple of years--constantly working and traveling. I went flat at times. Sleep is good for production and rejuvenation! Speaking of which, I've been taking more photos lately for fun. It lets me take a break from the 24/7 world of saving America and wellness. I enjoy photography. Much of my photo art has nothing to do with health or fitness--which is probably a good thing so I can relax and let down a bit. Atlanta is still dry. So is Cali. Interesting. I never thought I'd say that someplace like Bakersfield had more water than Atlanta, but this is how it's stacking up! Ready for THANKSgiving, Coach RJ

Monday, November 5, 2007

My Newsletter!

I finally kicked out my first e-Newsletter today. My God...I thought that thing was going to be the death of me at one point! I'm going to have some fun with it though--just keeping it simple and straight up like I do best. Technology can be frustrating. Months of dealing with it then I couldn't get the sign up icon to work correctly. I got plenty of the CCC (convoluted cryptic crap), but to no avail. The newsletter company couldn't help me. When I tell people to keep it simple, it stumps them. It's simple. I can't get my button to show on my site; therefore, most people won't know about my new newsletter! While I'm no techno geek by any means, I'm also not a complete tech moron. I have to think that if I'm struggling this much, so are a lot of other people. My affiliate programs are the same way. They are so complicated with the HTML coding into the product icons that I don't even hardly participate. It shouldn't be that damn complicated. I don't think technology has made things that much better--worse in terms of stress I think. I was longing for the old school pencil and rotary dial phone today! You can sign up for my Health e-News here. Teched out for the day, Coach RJ

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Ecotherapy by Hike

I took a group of ladies from the office hiking this weekend--call it "ecotherapy." I've been amazed at the effect that hiking has on not only a person's health, but their spirit. There is something to be said about getting out on the trail in some fresh air with the sounds of nature instead of the sounds of urban noise. John Muir knew what he was talking about. Try the trail...you'll probably like it. On an easy Sunday, Coach RJ

Friday, October 26, 2007

Begin again & again...

My good friend and tribal ZenBro Steve Ilg reminds us to "begin again and again." It seems here in the Santa Clarita area, that people are doing their best to begin again and get back to some normalcy. Cruised the bike path last night, and unlike a few days ago, there were actually people on it again with their families. It's weird going through something like the SoCal firestorm...it changes you...or at least should. Still smoky though. Had to relocate my corporate hike for this Saturday further North to get out of the smoke and bad air quality. No complaints though...I didn't get burned or lose any property. Thankful today to begin again, Coach RJ

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Calm...

Tonight there is an eerie calm in Santa Clarita Valley where I'm located. I went for a walk on the bike path about 9PM--not a single siren tonight, no flames on hillsides in view, clear skies overhead...a sharp contrast to last night's horrific scene of visual and auditory devastation. Over a million are displaced in SoCal, yet tonight in my area, just ironically calm. The gentle desert winds were warm and soothing--deceptive--last night they were fierce. It is so warm tonight you could lay by the pool in a swim suit and be comfortable. I can't imagine what my neighbors are going through that lost their homes...it's depressing...what has happened to the California I knew and loved as a child...thankful tonight for safety, Coach RJ

Eruption...The Perfect Storm

There are sickening sounds to death and mayhem...the thud of crashing cars followed by silence then screams, the sounds of bodies hitting the ground after people jumped from the Twin Towers on 911, and last night for me while photographing the SoCal fires in Santa Clarita via mountain bike access was the sickening and hollowing sounds of people's homes and cars exploding into flames...much of their lives exploding as well. Thankfully, no one was killed here last night...amazing when you think about it. The Fire Fighters are kicking some serious ass...you can't even imagine unless you are seeing it personally just how immense these fires have become. If hell is like this, you don't want to be there! Nearly everywhere I looked last night from the top of the mall parking structure, I could see flames and smoke, then after I got back yet another fire erupted near where I took last night's photos. Things seem to be settling down in my area today. Fires are moving West towards Oxnard and Ventura...we'll see...one thing is for sure...you can't really say anyone here is out of danger yet with these kinds of fires and winds...from the fires...Coach RJ

Monday, October 22, 2007

FIRES!!!

I'm on lock down today at my California apartment in Santa Clarita. One of the biggest fires is just a few miles away. In a matter of a few hours, SoCal completely exploded in flames. I've never seen anything like it even though I was born and raised in Cali. Last night at sundown, I jumped on my MTB and road up to a ridge summit to get some photos of the large Agua Dulce and Castaic fires on the other side of the valley...absolutely incredible experience. The winds were blowing so hard it nearly blew me off my bike. Blinding dust, smoke, and ash. I rode down in near darkness along a deserted fire road listening to explosions from nearby homes going up in flames...very eerie...apocalyptic is how I've been describing it. More updates later today. If I can, I'm riding up to the top of the East Canyon ridge again for more sundown photos. For last night's comments, go to my Fire Update Page. From the SoCal flames today trying to stay cool, Coach RJ

Friday, October 12, 2007

Are We Really This Stupid? YES!

So, I'm watching the Today Show this morning when Tyson comes on with their newest product ads for "Any'Tizers" snack crap--and I do mean CRAP! They've got these three teen boys hypnotized on video games when the loving Mom comes in and plops down some of these nasty fried processed globs that to me resemble a large cat turd rolled in the cat box a few weeks! Of course, none of the kids were obese, so we know right there this is not reality in the true America today. Let's think about this! The name and slogans imply to eat these things "any time" desired. They state on their website, "...There is no limit to the amount of fun" for eating, blah... How about no limits to the amount of obesity and illness! That's a concept! If you're stupid, you'll believe this slick marketing and waste your money feeding crap to your kids. If you're smart, you'll intellectually THINK about what they are trying to get you to believe--that eating these things often for snacks is perfectly okay for your kids and family. I wouldn't feed these things to my dog let alone anyone I loved in my family! Give me a friggin' break...I cease to be amazed at what is going on in this country. Daily child obesity warnings in the media then in the same hour of viewing ads for feeding horrible food to your kids. Get a clue! Give your kids health and fitness--now that IS fun without limits! From the front and keepin' it real, Coach RJ

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Dad Day @ Doctor Office

So, I had a typical "Dad Day" yesterday. My little girl Ronnie had a small hernia. The Pediatrician referred us to the Pediatric Surgeon for evaluation. Some might be interested to hear what I see and feel in a typical "Dad" day. We loaded the twins into the car and headed to downtown Atlanta. Found the doctor (easier said than done in Atlanta!) and waited for a while. I picked up two issues of WebMD Magazine--a publication designed for medical waiting rooms. I love the WebMD site and use it often. I thought the magazine would be pretty good. I was disappointed. I looked at two issues. One only had ONE page on fitness--and this was finger exercises for arthritis! The other only had a couple of pages on fitness tips. The rest was clinical stuff and a whole lot of advertisements for prescription drugs. How ironic! Consider that most of the drug needs in this country would be cured or prevented by healthy eating and exercise! You would think with this in mind there would be more on exercise--but NO! One page! Give me a break! On a more positive note, the doctor walked in and was not fat and even athletic. We chatted about sports for a minute. He examined Ronnie's small hernia and basically said her body should be able to heal itself and that surgery was not recommended by him even though many other doctors would do surgery. What a breath of fresh air! My God! A healthy doctor that didn't recommend surgery--what a concept! We are thankful. The biggest worry to me with Ronnie was not even the hernia itself, but the dangers of bacterial infections with surgical procedures these days. That is worse than the hernia! So, we headed for lunch then took them to one of Atlanta's MANY wonderful park playgrounds. Stay tuned because I'm going to start writing more about community health and Atlanta as an example of how to do parks and recreation the right way. In A-Town, Coach RJ

Friday, October 5, 2007

Vegas!

Just rolled in from Vegas last weekend where I attended the 2007 Mr. Olympia Body Building Championships. It's funny, but I've only been to Vegas three times, and all three visits were for fitness related activities! What a crazy juxtaposition when you have thousands of fitness people next to obese, drinkin', smokin', and gamblin' mofos! Funny in a way. Second hand smoke aside, I had fun in Vegas at the events. Met some really nice people--even though their biceps were bigger than Coach RJ's thighs! :o) Doing my post-Vegas workout at gym last night in LA. Two little kids 4 and 5 were there with their Daddy. The little girl was running all over the gym like a wild woman! She watched me like a hawk as I did my warm up and got into my Spinning bike workout. They came over and started doing yoga and stuff. I finally asked them what they were up to. They were doing "gymnastics." Then they wanted to show me ALL of their moves! It was really cute. I enjoyed their gymnastics show. Quite fit and VERY excited about exercise and activity for little people. I thought how cool. They are being raised as physical culturist--to value and respect physical activity and fitness just like my twins Ronnie and Cade. There are two choices as I see it--raise your kids to be the next sloth at Vegas gambling on their fat asses or raise your kids to be healthy and physically active. If you do not make an ASSERTIVE and AGGRESSIVE effort to raise your kids for health, the Fat Food Nation will take over the job for you! Don't be passive...kick some serious ass for health and your kids! In Proactive Health--ALWAYS! Coach RJ

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Beacon of "Light"

So I'm ripping through the end of my body weight beach workout the other night and three young dudes come up to me. One guy who was a beach lifeguard says, "So sir, is this what you do to stay into it?" Of course, it doesn't take much of an opening for me to start talking up health--or any opening for that matter! We had a great conversation about health stuff. He's got a new daughter being born this week. I urged him to make sure she didn't become obese like so many other kids. He got to thinking about all this and after walking away came back to ask more questions about core training. In a few seconds I was able to assess that he had some significant inflexibility in his low back and hamstrings. I gave him some homework. He was happy as a clam. I'm proud to say at this point in my life that I KNOW I can make a huge impact on someone in just a few minutes--I strive to be a beacon of LIGHT in the sinking abyss of obesity that so many suffer with daily. I'm great at getting into people's heads--even if they don't like it! I just tell the truth about health--that is all. Simple. Straight up. Bottom line. That's how I "role" as my good friend Kevin Rail would say...now Kevin is another story I'll save for later. This guy is ON FIRE for health man! Are you? Seaside fit this week and on my MTB, Coach RJ

Friday, September 21, 2007

Box Gyms

So I went to the "Box Gym" in Huntington Beach as planned last night (on Main Street). I don't like going into this place. It's so crowded with equipment that I could hardly find space to do my own warm-up! Newer gym designs have a lot more open floor space for the functional stuff that requires more moving around on balls, with tubing, plyos with body weight, etc. This place is also a filthy environment even though it's a "major" gym chain which freaks me out because of today's MRSA infection issues--NASTY! Regardless, I've been in an iron mood the last week. Now, I of all people don't need ANY equipment to get a great workout, but, sometimes I'm just in the mood for old school iron. Nothing wrong with that! It's all good! The gym is a weird place in a way. I think it is actually good for me to get into these big box gyms once in a while to see what is going on. No wonder people get confused! Hell, I had to scratch my own head a few times. Example! A guy goes over to the Smith Squat Rack machine which if you don't know helps "track" the bar up and down in a fixed position--let's say a "stable" position and movement. But! He gets under it with a Stability Ball and proceeds to do a chest press. I found this puzzling...the Smith Machine "stabilizes" but the Stability Ball actually "destabilizes." It was an oxymoron exercise--or maybe he was an oxymoron! Maybe there was no flat bench available and the guy was forced to use the ball for his chest press--so he had no other choice. Who knows! There was a trainer training an obese guy. The client was doing multiple Olympic bar shrugs. I found this puzzling. When I work with obese people, I try to rev their metabolisms with interval workouts and working more of the larger muscles along with smaller stabilizers that keep their movement patterns clean so they don't get hurt. The shrugs are pretty old school--not a whole lot of functional or metabolic benefit to an excessive amount of shrug strength. Great for body building competitions, but most people are not body builders even though they use that general program design. Weird to me, so probably very confusing to others that know enough to think about it! Alas, it was all good though. Everyone in there was moving, and that is the main thing. Back to SIMPLE tonight! Heading to the beach to do a body weight only workout! Old school Jack LaLanne stuff--lots of push ups with some of the cool core stuff I do. No more Box Gyms this week! From my own "Muscle Beach" tonight, Coach RJ

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Where's RJ? Watching!

Well I'm in Huntington Beach this week. I was at PickUp Stix, my favorite "fast food" place eating my usual Buddha's Feast veggie lunch with tofu, and one of their employees walked by with a back belt brace. Not a medical brace--but one of those over-the-counter models that was a craze about 10 years ago. Not be be redundant, but those things don't prevent your back from getting hurt! She was also morbidly obese, but that's another topic. If you want to protect your back from injury, do some core exercises targeted for your deep spinal stabilizers instead of slapping on a belt over flapping flesh! Continuing on outdated stuff, someone jogged by me the other day wearing one of those rubberized sweatsuits. Now if you're cutting weight as a wrestler, I guess this is one thing, but if you're trying to lose "real" weight, take that damn thing off! You're just going to dehydrate which slows down your pace which gives you less metabolic benefit which means you'll lose less "real" weight that you can actually keep off after you drink more water! Plus it was hot in Cali this week, and those things can be dangerous! Off to the Box Gym tonight...been doing a little more lifting this week. From the Beach, Coach RJ

Saturday, September 15, 2007

We're #1 in the Nation!

Well my football boys became #1 in the NCJCAA polls this week! A bit nerve wracking after months of conditioning them physically and mentally...but the hard work paid off, and now we are off and going strong. It's great to work with young men and a program that still values character, good sportsmanship, and a blue collar work ethic. Special congrats to Seth Damron for that game winning endzone catch in the final seconds! This week, I'm very proud to say from the gridiron that I'm "Coach" RJ. GO GADES!!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Stevie Vai

I saw Stevie Vai at the Wiltern Theatre in Hollywood last night. What an incredible guitar player this guy is! No one can do with Vai does with a guitar. It's refreshing to see someone so dedicated and passionate to their life's purpose. As Vai said, he brings ALL people together with music to make the world a better place. God Speed Stevie as you finish your world tour in the US and South America. If you like guitar, check out Vai one day...sit...listen...feel...IN-joy. Rockin' in Hollywood, Coach RJ

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

9-11

On the morning of 9.1.01, I was getting ready to leave and teach my college exercise class when I heard the first plane news. We didn't know at 5:30 AM in California that it was a major airliner or that it was intentional. I announced to my class that a plane had hit the towers. A student got a call minutes later that it was a LARGE plane. By September 12th, it was painfully obvious. My first reaction as usual was to resort to fitness and health. The way I see it, when you are weak or perceived as weak, someone somewhere is going to kick your ass. When you have a nation in general that is fat and out of shape, then I'd say that is weak. It was no surprise we got our asses kicked. My message on the 12th was and still is to Get Fit and Be Strong. Actually, it was because of 9-11 that I began using this tag line on ALL my handouts and ALL my webpages. It's a reminder of what can happen when you are weak--you get your ass kicked. My oldest daughter Alicia was also a student at Barnard College and Columbia in NYC that day. I did not know if she was dead or alive for hours, and when I did find out she was out of the Ground Zero area, did not know for days if she was still going to be in immediate danger of being killed. These are my reflections today. Alicia is alive and well. I'm still telling people to get off their fat asses and get in shape before we revisit 9-11. America is still fat and horribly unfit--and weak in many ways. Some things have not changed much. I hope some things DO change and quickly. I hope you listen. From the frontlines of corporate WELLness, Coach RJ

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Believe.

You know I've caught a lot of crap for doing what I believe in over the years. I do what is best for American wellness--period. It's not always popular or politically correct. This method has NOT always been the best career move. In fact, it has literally cost me thousands of dollars and financial security; however, I have pressed on for what I believe in, and finally things are coming around and "fast" (about time after 10+ years!). Before I moved to Atlanta, the local high school district in Cali wouldn't even give me an interview as a Health/PE instructor despite all my credentialing. When I moved at Atlanta, after a whole year of trying to find a good teaching job, the best offer I had was sharing a freakin' trailer and half day English teaching job with another teacher. Not ONE of the Georgia coaches or admininstrators would let me help the PE or sport programs. Last night, the California community college football team I've been working with since 2004 beat the #1 team in the Nation in the final seconds of the game--a game in which many old timers said was THE BEST game they have ever seen. BC Renegades @ #2 Nationally vs. El Camino @ #1 and being the defending California State Champions last year. So who's laughing now? I can tell you it has been damn frustrating at times pursuing my passion for what I believe to be optimal health and wellness and the best way to fitness condition both athletes and corporate clients...but by God it's working. You have to BELIEVE. There is a spiritual strength that keeps a warrior getting up off the mat until they are dead. I'm not dead yet. I still believe in what I'm doing and how I do it. Thanks to everyone that has been with me over the years doing all my "crazy" exercise programs. People that don't know my programs and me laugh it off and don't give me a chance. So who's laughing now? Me. From the anaerobic threshold "Zone" in Cali this week, Coach RJ!

Friday, August 31, 2007

"Marketing" Health & 180

So I was flying home to Atlanta the other day working on my new Child Obesity Prevention Workshop I'm doing this fall in California. And of course, there was an obese guy sitting next to me. Now...I could have NOT pulled up my CDC Obesity Trends slide show and my presentation as to not offend him, but instead, I pulled it and made sure he saw it. Yo! It's called marketing HEALTH, and I do it anyway that I can!!! You can bet the people behind me were watching those slides too--absolutely incredible visuals if you haven't seen them. I just posted my Obesity Update slides on my website...you can see them under my Handout section. I've got a really different way of thinking about things--THANK GOD! Because otherwise I'd be joining a whole generation of obesity and inactivity problems! Example: My lower back was really bothering me last week. My driving schedule was very intense in August. I felt like my back was hurting for two reasons. 1) I was driving a lot which is horrible for your back. 2) I have not been doing enough multi-planar strength training. I've been training--and hard. I'm doing my Dynamic Warm-Ups, bridging, heavy strength sets, and more bicycling, but I realized (thanks to my back pain) that I pulled too much of the twisting and turning out of my program. Now, most people do less when their backs hurt--WRONG! That's one of the worst things you can do for a back ache! Spinning 180 degrees from the herd, I attacked the multi-planar in my gym last night ripping on some tubing chops, medicine ball throws, bike crunches, etc. to jump start my rotational back strength again...and guess what?! My back hardly hurts at all today! DAAA! Want less pain in your back? MOVE! Going diagonal and fighting child obesity in Atlanta this week, Coach RJ!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Culture of Crap! What Legacy?

I was eating the best veggie omelet on the planet at the historic Paso Robles Inn amidst the Central California wine country getting ready to head back to LA when a father walked through the parking lot this morning smoking a cigarette in front of his little boy. They came inside and he ordered a coffee to go. He put SEVEN half & half creamers into one medium cup of Joe. In comparison, I would have used about 1/3 of the creamer just to add a slight flavor without getting carried away on fat calories. I couldn't help but think what a shitty example this is to the kid. If you want your kids to have a fighting chance in life with health, you can't teach them the Culture of Crap i.e. The American Way I'm ashamed to say. Soaring obesity, plummeting health, and adults still don't get it. And the worst part is that their kids are being given a death sentence of ILLness instead of a legacy of WELLness. Simply amazing...I hope the little kid makes it out alive. Health is all good. Try it. You might like it! Namaste'...Coach RJ

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

XXXXXXXXXXCess!

Well, I've got horrible news y'all. I've been getting some quotes on custom shirts and found out the major shirt manufactors will begin making 10x size shirts next year! They already have 6x which I was not even aware of. I saw a 6x at the shirt shop--IT WAS HUGE! I swear to God at times I feel like this is the beginning of the end for this country! And to follow the blog theme of the day, I was sitting at a bar eating my seafood salad last week before heading back to LA, and the bartender was telling everyone how his teen daughter had 35,000 text messages on her phone account in ONE MONTH! Then! I got back to LA and was watching the local news and they were talking about a new $70,000 TV that requires partial dismantling of the house in order to make room for the screen and crane required to set it inside. Gee...do you think there is a coorelation here?!!! 10x shirts, tens of thousands of text messages a month while sitting on one's fat ass, and TVs so big they require a crane! As I write this message, the LA news is reporting behind me about high blood pressure problems with today's American teenagers. So you tell me...is it the beginning or the end? I'm afraid to know the answer. From Supersized LA this week, Coach RJ

Monday, August 13, 2007

RUUUU READY!!!

Just saw KoRn's Family Values Tour in Atlanta Sunday. This was one of the rare occasions when it was actually cool to be from my hometown of Bakersfield. It's hard to believe that a band from Bako can become one of the world's super groups of hard rock. I love going to concerts. It's one of few times I can totally (well almost) get my mind off the business of wellness and health and just let go. I've always been a HARD rocker...and always will be. I think keeping up on music helps a person stay young at heart. Good times...the crowd was into it, the ATL provided maximum heat index, and the venue was an easy in and out compared to big shows out in California I've been to this year. It's all good though. In "Hard Rock" Health, Coach RJ

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Heat and Comfort

Whew! The heat index in Atlanta is around 105-115 this week! Last night we went out for a veggie pizza. The restaurant's air conditioning was broken! I think I lost half the calories of the pizza before leaving in sweat! Interestingly, and a nice comment on Southern Culture, not one person seemed to be complaining about the broken AC. In California, people would have been bitching, griping, stomping out, not paying! Here, people just deal without being rude. I like that. It was hot. So what. Sweating is good for your health anyway! The universe provided a small lesson last night...we seem so "addicted to comfort" as my friend Steve Ilg would say...on the grand scheme of things, not having AC at dinner is not a big deal and not worth stressing out over. In sweat, Coach RJ

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Yo! Back in the Saddle!

Skidding back into my blog at the speed of sound! I switched my blog address recently. I originally had two blogs. One was supposed to be more corporate--Coach RJ. The other was more me with the more direct approach--Ragin' RJ. I like the Coach RJ title better and never used the corporate blog site because it was too boring, so I just went to the Coach RJ as the only and primary blog. The Ragin' RJ stuff is still there though @ http://raginrj.blogspot.com/
So much to say! Every single day I make an observation about wellness, fitness, and health. I need to write these up more! Yesterday, I was cleaning my gym in Atlanta getting ready for a meeting with some Georgia Wellcoaches. Under one of my weights was a large lizard. I was chasing the lizard around the gym trying to get it to run out the door back outside. Have you ever herded a lizard before? It was an interesting experience! I kept thinking this thing must be a mosquito eating machine! I thought about leaving it in the gym for eco-friendly pest control, but decided to herd it outside since the family might not appreciate the lizard as much as I did. Cool lizard though...really smooth skin with stripes all the way down. It looked FAST even thought it was not moving faster than I could herd.
It's been HOT in Atlanta! Punching about 100 degrees with high humidity. I rode at Stone Mountain Park two days ago for about 1:15. It drained me. I didn't even start riding until 7:00 PM! I like it though. Sweat is good. The air has not been good, but even on a "bad" air day in my part of Atlanta, it's way better than what I have been used to in California.
From the ATL in Southern Sweat...Coach RJ

Saturday, March 24, 2007

IHPM Orlando Presentation

I just returned from Orlando where I presented with colleagues from the Wellcoaches Corporation, Intel, ABB Inc., WellCorp, and other corporate wellness leaders at the Institute for Health and Productivity Management. The message was clear--accelerate wellness and decelerate illness! I was so inspired by the processes in place to keep employees well by Intel, Dell, Toyota, Dow, and others. I didn't arrive until about 8PM on Thursday. Despite my jet lag, I immediately pressed to the gym to continue my exercise ritual of exercising 7 days a week for at least 30 minutes. If you want to lead your company, family, friends, and community in the "High-Performance Health" of wellness, you must first lead by example yourself! Reflect and MOVE by this maxim of Jack LaLanne, "The essence of decay is inactivity." See you on the front lines of corporate wellness...Coach RJ