You will never be lovelier than you are now, and we will never be here again.

You've felt it before... we all have: that swell of self-power.... the inner awareness of the things of which we are capable of. It's completely natural... and the feeling is indescribable. But what does it truly mean to reach your full potential? Well, what is "Potential"? Essentially, it means all the things that you are capable of doing and being. Obama had the potential to be the president of the United States... and someone saw that potential and pushed him to express it... and he's president of the united states. I've been thinking, and I feel that achieving one's true potential is not as glamourous as television and our friends and family make it out to be. For one, you have to realize that people have the potential for Great GOOD and EVIL. You may have the potential to be a great light in this world, or you have the potential to be a great boot on the neck of everyone. You may have the potential to be a star, or ... not Potential without the steps to actualize it is useless, like having a brand new BMW in your driveway that doesn't work. What things are you capable of? Just remember that, as far as we know, this life is the only life that we will ever have... or as Brad Pitt so brilliantly put it in "Troy": You will never be lovelier than you are now, and we will never be here again.

Always Remember The importance of "The Movement"

We are all individuals and we all have a varying level of Baseline Strength, a sort of "Strength Constant", if you can consider anything in this world we live in to be "constant"... Taking Baseline Strength into consideration, we all start we we start, in terms of resistance. Now, training for strength is important, because everyone wants to be strong. Also remember that when we do resistance training, we are stimulating our muscles to grow AND we are training our bodies to perform that specific movement. Now, taking a MOVEMENT like the squat for example: You most likely train in the Squat Movement because you want stronger legs, and that's fine, and too frequently do we forget that You Get What You Train For!!! You train the bench press, you train your muscles to perform that movement through space. Your body moves how you train it to move. Now, If you're an athlete and you're training your body with a particular movement, then you're probably training your body to learn that movement for your sport/activity. Here's what I'm getting at: It's perfectly fine to train your body with that movement, however, you want to use a resistance that will allow your body to perform that movement at a reasonable rate of speed, particularly at a speed that will help you move faster than the "other guys"... Let's say that you're training in the Bench Press: You're training that muscle group because your want to develop pushing power through your pectoral muscles. Here's where resistance becomes important: Heavier weights that only allow 1-6 to six reps cause you to train your muscle to maximally contract and do what is called "grinding", which is essentially squeezing maximally to control the resistance. Now, think about it: If a heavier weight takes longer to put up, and as a consequence, causes that muscle group to "grind", then is that a good weight for you to use? If you're in a sport/activity that requires you to push and shove for long periods of time, then you want to adjust the weight and train the desired muscles with that weight. At the end of the day, it all boils down to SAID Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands.... or in other words... You get what you train for/with. Amir

200th post!!!

It's been 200 hundred posts people... TWO HUNDRED!!! I'm so excited!!! Can you FEEL THAT? Can you feel the excitement>?!?!?!?! Thank you so much for coming back over and over again. As always, Write me and let me know what you're thinking!!! I actually care about what you're thinking:) Sincerely, Amir Campbell

Why you Absolutely MUST have a Personal Trainer

You have to have someone to play "Drill Sargent". You need someone to "crack the whip". A major part of Reaching AND maintaining your fitness goals is CONDITIONING. It's matter of developing the necessary HABITS to reach your fitness goals. All of our daily actions stem from habits that we have developed, whether through conscious effort... or otherwise. Neuro-scientists have discovered that the brain has the ability to create new neural connections, and this means that we have the ability, AT EVERY AGE to develop new skills and abilities. Neuro-scientists refer to this flex-ability of the neurons to create new connections as "Neuro plasticity". Now....

Now... what does this discovery mean for you and how does it relate to the need for a personal trainer? We, as Personal Trainers, are primarily Role Models. Our habits and daily lives are to serve as a model for those who want to become more fit, to follow and learn from. It's like the Greeks of times long gone and buried... The Greek women would keep in their bedrooms statues of perfectly sculpted men and women, because on a deep, subconscious level, they understood that the baby would gradually be "molded" somehow by the mother's daily gazing on the statues and be born in the same or a similar image... WOW. A awesome personal trainer serves as your own Model, which you are to "gaze" upon daily ( Read: get your ass up and make it to every session you're paying for!!!". So, at the start of your quest for fitness, you absolutely must have a personal trainer.... Ta-ta for now... Amir Campbell Proud Owner of "AC FITNESS SOLUTIONS"

Can a few simple changes REALLY help you Burn Fat and Build Muscle Right Now...

Yes, a few simple changes can help you Burn Fat easily and start to Build More Lean Muscle Today. Think about it: How many times have you found rotten, rancid food hanging out in YOUR refrigerator? Why do you sometimes find food rancid in Your refrigerator? Because it was HIDING. Or more specifically, it was HIDDEN. Usually hiding/hidden underneath/ behind other food. Its no fun finding these "science projects", as I so lovingly choose to refer to them... However, while going through my girlfriend's refrigerator today, although I hadn't discovered anything putrid, I could help but to stop and think about... Product Placement.

Many companies pay supermarket chains MASSIVE MOOLAH for optimal placement of their products on the store's shelves. By optimal, I mean to say that companies pay to have their products place at or as close to eye level as possible. And you better believe that it is NO CO-INCIDENCE that the things that children love to eat are placed at the eye level of children. This product placement is not even taking into consideration the layout of stores, in which you are seemingly WOW!!! It's simple human psychology: We can only SEE what is directly in front of us. If you can't see it, then it might as not even exist to your conscious aware-ness... Simple, but true... and VERY powerful. Now, How can the science behind Product Placement help you Burn More Fat Today? Easy: 1)Fill your refrigerator with lots of fruits, veggies, high protein snacks, and lean meats, and some of your favorite "guilty" pleasures ( why we feel guilty about having pleasure is beyond me... and a another topic for another time..." 2) Put all of the things that you know you like to snack on in the BACK of your refrigerator. Now, watch and see how Quickly you start to forget all about that stuff behind the Good Stuff... because it's not really that important.... so you can take that junk food, and put it in the back of the refrigerator in "Your Mind".... Like the owls say.... "Any.....whoo!!!!!..." When you Start Today to make these simple changes in the way you organize your refrigerator, you'll AUTOMATICALLY start to eat better and Easily start to Burn more Fat and Build More Muscle. Imagine how much more fat you can burn when you combine the "Interior Decorating" tip with 20-30 of vigorous (read: FUN!!!) activity a day... Sincerely, Amir C. PS. If you're ready to take your health and fitness into your own hands... If you're ready to become your own "fitness guru"... If you're ready to build the best body that is possible for YOU... If you're "Sick and tired" of feeling "sick and tired"...Then you owe it to yourself to Get my new Book: "Secrets of how to become your OWN Personal Trainer!!!" Write to me to find out more about how you can get this book filled with life changing information TODAY and be on your way to the healthier, fitter, sleeker YOU that you deserve to be!!! Write to me @ acfitnesssolutions@yahoo.com TODAY!!! When you write to me, please use the following title: "Amir, I'm ready get your book and use it to change my life RIGHT NOW!!!" (You can just copy this headline and paste it into your email's subject line) That email address again is acfitnesssolutions@yahoo.com

Don't sleep on Tae-Bo...

Now. Many of you may know Of Billy Blanks. I don't. I mean, aside from watching two of his movies, I really don't know him. They say he's a World Champion. Ok.... My girlfriend and I did a Tae Bo work out today, and despite the tape being about 14 years old, the fact remains... I HAD A BLAST!!! AND I WAS SHOCKED THAT I HAD A BLAST!!! Being NASM certified, the entire workout read like a properly structured cardiovascular training session - which it is - only you don't realize that until AFTER you're drenched in your own sweat... and possibly fecal matter... depending on your fitness level. I think I'm in excellent condition... and i was dripping in sweat by the end of the session, thinking to myself: " Did this B@#$% drug me?!?!?!" But isn't that how life is: the first time something doesn't make sense to us, we tend to blame our girlfriends... who may or may not have drugged us... 99.99 percent of the time, they have drugged us... with their estrogen levels... I digress... It starts with a decent warm up, with lots of dynamic stretches, which I sense are some of the Warm ups that Billy used as he was preparing for his training sessions back in the day. Not a problem, because as I did the warm ups, I learned a thing or two and my wheel started to spin Big Time. Speaking of tiny leotards... My ONLY complaint was the fact that Billy wears a leotard that is about 3 sizes too small, but I suspect that many of the women... and some of the men that watch the program don't mind it, which is ok... BECAUSE ITS AMERICA!!! AND I LOVE IT!!!! The tempo starts slow and gradually builds to a fever pitch, where you're punching and kicking and having so much fun that you don't even realize that you haven't heard your girlfriend for the last 20 minutes... because you knocked her out in the first 5 and you've been trampling her for the last ten minutes... Sorry baby:( I think I challenge myself pretty well during my training sessions... but I found myself digging deep when it came time to throw that last roundhouse kick in a set of 20. Very intense. I was slapped in the face as well, because here I am, this big strong guy... and i'm struggling to through 20 roundhouse kicks in succession. As for the self defense aspect, I wouldn't rely on the combos you're learning as you watch to defend your family: the punches and kicks are mainly for conditioning, and nothing more. Can you modify some of the punches and combos so that you can use them in a fight? Absolutely. But that takes us into the realm of Combat, and sparring with other live individuals in front of you. I love fighting, or Martial Arts, because even though neither one of the combatants in saying a word, there's a silent conversation going on. It's like a hurried negotiation, with tons of time constraints...That's for another post.... I'm gonna put on my Chinese Medicine hat for a moment and express the workout like this: Dynamic warm ups - yang Punches and kicks - yang Cool down - Yin Which reminds me: I've been on my Chinese medicine grind since recently and I have a theory in regards to dropping excess pounds: Yang is expansive and goes outward, like a fire. Maybe a person who has a slow metabolism is more on the Yin side, and therefore has their water and earth element rhythms overactive....? My observations so far: Earth Rhythms tend to be very... fleshy ( read: overweight). Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Water elements( yin, contracting, shrinking) to be on the slim side, as do Metal and Fire rhythms... Spring rhythms are tight asses.... In Chinese Medical theory, each person vibrates to a particular rhythm, and each rhythm has meridians associated with it, and each rhythm has a tendency to become out of balance and manifest a certain condition ( diabetes, heart problems, asthma, etc) Balance the rhythm and you balance the condition. Anywho... TANGENT!!! Tae Bo works. 3- 5 times a week, depending on your schedule and daily activities. Make sure you drink plenty of water before hand, and make sure that you take a rest when you need it. Like I said before, i'm exceptionally fit and I struggled with certain techniques, but then again, that is telling me that those muscles may have a imbalance, and concurrently, the meridians that feed those muscles may need corrections.... another topic, another post. Have Fun!!! Amir

What going in your mind in between sets can make the difference between awesome gains and No gains

Mind is the builder.. Whats going on in YOUR mind as your resting for the next set? What are you saying to yourself? What kind of mental pictures are you making? Read: are you mentally rehearsing yourself blazing through the set to come? Are you breathing deeply and exhaling powerfully so that you muscles are getting all the oxygen they need to work? (Note: exercise like the squat AUTOMATICALLY cause you to breath deeper... and thus automatically help you burn more fat easier and faster... cool right?) Are you paying attention to how your muscles FEEL vs. looking in the mirror or kissing your bicep because it pumped from the recent set? Are you keeping in mind your fitness goals? The reason I ask you is because when you keep your fitness goals in the front of your mind as you train, you'll have a constant remainder of where you want to be. The mind can be like a wild horse... like a untamed beast.... sometimes you need mental devices to .... keep focused on the outcome. Are you talking to yourself and visualizing the end result of your training session ie you're feeling stronger than when you started? If you're not doing any of these things, or anything similar, then... You're farting in the wind. Amir

How to make a really awesome wish!!!

Genies. They are awesome. how could a genie NOT be awesome: You rub their lamps, and they give you ANYTHING you want.

I myself have not yet encountered a genie... i've been waiting all my life and When that day comes, i'll be ready for his/her ass....

Now: how often do you a watch a movie where some people come across a genie( or evil le-pray-con), they ask for their "hearts desire", and then they get screwed, often times with the genie in the background laughing their asses off with that big ass golden hoop earring? It sucks, right? I would kick that genies' ass and then disrespect their lamp so bad that they would literally want to spend the rest of existence trapped inside it.... Now, it's taken me about thirty years to come up with a foolproof way to get exactly what I want from a genie. I've gone through every wish that I could possibly want granted and examined the result in my mind from as many angles as humanly possible. The worst wishes -and most dangerous - seem to be granted when the wisher is thinking Short Term, meaning that they are wanting a wish granted based on some incident/circumstances they are experiencing at the moment. That's dumb and could possibly get you an anus on your forehead.... You have to remember that life is constantly changing, and we are constantly changing... things will get better if you decide to do something about it... Its just matter of focusing on a better outcome for a situation.... or as Wayne Dyer says, you have to start to... Expect The Best. If you're gonna wish for a change in particular circumstances, then make damn sure its what you want.... Immortality is a common wish. This wish comes about from a fear of death, a fear of the unknown, a fear of life on the other side.... if there is such a thing.... Ok. Thats a waste of a wish and ill tell you why in a moment.... which is now: The dictionary definition of the word means " not subject to death". Now, to wish for immortality, you have to realize that you will continue to live on FOREVER. When the earth is finally swallowed up by the sun - which will happen - your ass is gonna be stuck floating in space with no oxygen.... your lungs bursting and healing, bursting and healing, forever..... you may come to a point where the pain from that becomes as normal as breathing.. which you also can't do in space.... Not to mention that you'll see all your loved ones pass away and you'll have nothing but memories of them... which will become distorted with time... and with a infinite lifespan ( actually, the word life span would not apply, because you can only apply a span to something thats gonna end), you'll become so many different people and see so many things and have lots of sex, with possibly men and women ( hey, you're immortal, so anybody that could have judged you is dust, right?) Also keep in mind that cancer cells are consider immortal, as they have a strange process by which they sustain their life... now, imagine being immortal... but with cancer... forever. So that wish sucks. Whats a better wish? Wish for a perfect body that doesn't get sick and stays string for as long as you live. That way, you can do everything you wanna do and be in perfect health, and then still pass away in peace. Your best bet when making a wish is to wish for abilities/superhuman powers. These are your best bet. With your superhuman powers, you can have whatever you want. So what to wish for? Flight? super human speed? Electricity? Telekinesis? Mind reading/thought control? Time travel? The list is literally endless, and the applications of said abilities are endless, so you can find a way to use your abilities to get what you want, without hurting others. I personally would use all three of my wishes on abilities, because I have everything I need right now and with abilities, i can easily get more of what I want.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO........ You wanna wish for abilities to be safe... or a some kind of magical servant who can do ANYTHING and is totally at your command.... however, wouldn't that be just like a genie? You'd have to sit down and really decide what abilities you want your genie like servant to have.... So in that case... "Bee" careful what you ask for. Amir

For best training results...

Leave the outside world behind... Put on your head phones... and totally allow yourself to get lost in the song your listening to... Focus your vision on the thing around you now... and allow yourself to get totally absorbed in what you're looking at... Tell yourself to focus on what you're doing... tell yourself to totally focus on what's in front of you... tell yourself to focus on the training... Take it one day at a time... Each training session brings you closer and closer to your goals... Just take it one day at time and you'll get results... How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time... and with patience and persistence. What is persistence? Persistance is to keep going, even if you have to take a break, Sincerely, Amir

Change the way you count your reps and you'll breeze through your sets

You may have already discovered this simple trick, but if you haven't, you can start using it now to breeze through your training sessions. We have a habit of counting "up" as we do our reps, or anything that requires us to count for that matter. Ex. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 Now, theres nothing wrong with this way, and in fact, your daily life would be seriously impacted, towards the negative, if you didn't count the way that 99.99 percent of the population counts. Now, if you know a little about hypnosis and how it works, you'll notice that hypnotists use a "countdown" method to help induce the requisite relaxation for communication with their client/patient at the deeper levels of mind, which looks like this: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 Now... While the two method may appear to be the same thing, they are NOT. And they both have different affects on your nervous system and mind state, believe it or not. You'll notice the difference as you use the 2 different methods as you train. Traditional counting forward/up method tends to make you feel like your going "uphill". The "countdown" method causes you to feel a sense of relaxation and creates in you the sense that you're going "downhill" Now... When you stop and think about it.... it's much easier to roll a boulder down a hill than it is to roll one up a hill, don't you think? If you been training in anything at all for any length of time, then you know how powerfully your state of mind will affect your performance. Now.... taking into consideration what we just talked about, doesn't it make perfect sense to you that when you start to use the Countdown method as you train, then you'll have an easier time with your training, especially if you are counting reps. Don't you find it totally fascinating that a simple change in the way you do things can make a dramatic impact on your performance? I do!!! Sincerely, Amir

I LOVE DRAGONBALL Z!!!!

Yeah, I'm a big ol' dork.... And so damn proud of it!!! In case you don't know ( but i'm pretty sure you have because, i mean, who hasn't?), dragon ball z tells the story of goku:

He was sent to earth as a kid to spare him from the destruction of his planet. (actually, the story starts waaaaay back in Dragonball, but that's for another blog.... which i'll write after this one!!1) He has many adventures... many battles, makes many friends.... and then he disappears. (Read: he dies FINALLY in dragon ball GT) Anyway... The show is centered around the Z Fighters, who protect the earth. They have lots of battles and laughs and memories. The Z series is broken up into "sagas", so you have: The Saiyan Saga - Where goku learns that he is a saiyan, and meets vegetal for the first time. The frieze saga - The writers expand the Dragonball Z universe a bit, and introduce us to frieza, whose a little purl girl with a tail that can fight....and the Super Saiyan:

Only people with saiyan blood can transform into super saiyans, even if you're a half blooded saiyan There's four levels of super saiyan: 1)First level:

They get angrier, and stronger, hair changes color and stands up, and they generate a golden aura around them, which can offer some protection against attacks. The aura fluctuates size wildly. Super saiyan 1.5 = This is the pinnacle of the 1st super saiyan form. The saiyan can stay in this form for weeks before they have to revert back to their base state. In this state, they use their energy conservatively, instead of wasting it all in anger. The difference between super saiyan and super saiyan 1.5 is seen in the personality and the eyes: They are very cheerful by comparison.... and you can see it in the eyes:

I Compare this state to a regular person who has their base level of strength, but when they get angry, they get a bit stronger, because of the adrenaline rush. 2) Super Saiyan 2:

They get even stronger, and angrier, and faster. They still radiate the golden aura, but now you can see flashes of electricity dancing in it. I have no idea what functions the electricity serves, if any. They can't be reasoned with, and the only thing on their mind is "kill kill kill". 3) Super Saiyan 3: Goku, trunks and gotten are the only characters to achieve this stage of super saiyan:

This form is extremely powerful ad the usage of energy is dramatically increased. To give a comparison: If a saiyan can stay in the Super Saiyan form for a few hours, They can only stay in the Super Saiyan 3 form for 30 minutes. The energy usage is phenomenal, but the increases in the strength, speed, and power are worth it. There's another form that's seen in Dragonball and Dragonball z frequently, called the Oozaru Form ( means "great ape"):

I actually think that this form is one of the coolest, next to the Super saiyan 2 form. The persons power level increase by a factor of 10, meaning that whatever their power level is in their human form, it gets multiplied by ten. They get to turn into a big freakin ape that can fly and shoot a energy beam from their mouths!!! Anyway, the saiyans are the only characters that can transform, but need two conditions to make it happen: 1) Must be looking at the full moon 2) Must have a tail There's something about the tail... i like to think that the tail houses some kind of hormone/enzyme that is only catalyzed (activated) when the person looks at the full moon, or more specifically, the light of the full moon strikes the person's eyes. Maybe the light from the moon affects their pituitary gland, which releases another enzyme that interacts with the supposed enzyme release by the tail, which causes/starts the transformation... thats how I would explain it at least... Now, the cool thing about this form is that the the person can produce a energy ball which is essentially a mini full moon, so that they can transform when the go to planets that don't have a full moon. Cool, right? Here;s vegeta making use of the "full moon ball":

The only way to stop a saiyan once they are in this form: 1) Kill 'em 2) Cut off their tail 3) Destroy the moon, like Piccolo does once or twice...:

Now, can you see WHY i freakin love this anime?!?!?!?!? There's other forms, like the fused forms and the super saiyan for forms, but that would take too long to explain and i'm hungry.... The beginning of Dragonball Z marks the BEGINNING of it all of a rivalry that goes down in history. Meet Vegeta:

He's the prince of all Saiyans, literally. He is one of the cockiest sons of b@##$ in the universe. But he can back it up. Him and Goku starts out as fierce enemies:

And at the end of Dragonball gt, they are still rivals, but they are besties:

Now, this is one of the reasons why I f@##$ing love this anime: The dynamic between the two, easily the two most powerful beings in the galaxy, both so opposite: Goku is the quintessential choir boy, who would literally not hurt a fly unless it threatened to destroy the planet. Vegeta, who would literally destroy the planet to hurt a fly. Two immovable objects, generating a irresistible force.... There are other characters:

Each one is very important and has a lot of depth and personality to them As a kid, I just liked the anime for the bright colors and the intense fight scenes. (Its like a soap opera, but for REAL men... like me obviously) The story lines are actually very good, and even looking back on them from my age, they're still freaking awesome... But, having lived life and having had experiences, I guess now I can look at the anime from a different perspective, a more "adult" perspective, whatever that means... I guess I can fully appreciate the show for all that it is... And I can't wait to see what i think about it 5 years from now...:) I guess one of the things that i've taken away from the series is this: People are people, and when you add energy blasts to the mix, you get lots of explosions and commotion.... Amir

Is your Grip ( or lack-there-of) making you seem like a weak, baby d@#$ loser?

Well, One of the things I appreciate in a person is a strong, powerful handshake. Whether a man or woman, a weak handshake is horrible, and makes people perceive you as, well... weak. I've had some women shake my hand and I couldn't believe what I was experiencing: It felt like a MAN... a really strong man - was shaking my hand!!! I was shocked and hence, IMPRESSED. I can still remember when they happened. Now, don't you think its amazing that a person can do something so simple as shake your hand and have you remember them for YEARS?!?!?!?!? Don't you find that to be amazing? I HATE when a person shakes my hand and the handshake is weak and flaccid. I think a part of why it is that turns me off is because when i shake a persons' hand with energy and strength, I expect at least some effort in the return grip. Stop and think about it for a minute: This person didn't even put any effort into the freakin' handshake!!! It's a handshake!!!! Now. Can a person be blamed for having a fish shake? Yes and no. A)Whatever a person is thinking and consequently, feeling, is transmitted through their body and communicated to the other person through their grip, whatever the level of that force may be. B) Some people want to be perceived as being submissive, deliberately hiding their strength, so as to fly under the radar, so to speak translation: "This guys handshake is like shaking hands with a corpse... he's not a threat..." Now, there's only so much "cloaking" a person can do, and there's something that can't be faked... like having a handshake like a corpse... C) The person may be tired, and that's okay. D) Person may not want to intimidate the person you're shaking hands with, so as to not be perceived as a threat and thus lose the opportunity they are being exposed to( Notice that points D and B are different, as the INTENTIONS behind the cloaking are totally different...) At one point in my life or another, I've fallen into all of the categories listed. Its cool:) i've been there with you. There's good news: You can fix it RIGHT NOW. You can stop shaking with with people like they have doo-doo on their palms and... Start Shaking Hands Like You Open Bear Trapped With Your Bare Hands for a Living!!! It's real simple to do... You just shake the persons' hand... HARD. First of all, take a deep breath and let go. 1)Shake the persons' hand like you have life and energy in you. 2)Smile when you shake their hand, no matter the look on their face. Emotions are contagious, and when you smile, other people unconsciously smile with you. A persons faces automatically match your own 3) Act As-if your spirit is going to make contact this other person spirit when your hands clasp... and that he/she can read you spirit in your handshake. Your soul is going to be laid open and bare to this total stranger. In a way, it is. Kinda makes you think of handshakes from a spiritual point of reference. Two spirits shaking spiritual hand and exchanging information/energy/communicating. Really deep stuff... 4) As you shake their hands, realize that this is a person just like you and me.. they have hopes, dreams, little "boxes" that comprise their lives, just a person, just like you and me. You'll find that when you realize this, you start to relax and feel much more confident. You level the playing ground mentally. Notice the responses you get as you make these changes. Have Fun and your welcome:)

Why I LOVE isometric Training!!!!!

Isometrics are F@#$-ING AWESOME!!! Why am I sooooooooooo in love with isometrics?!?!?! Well: 1) They can be literally done ANYWHERE 2) You can isometrically "Wake up" any muscles that you may be training that day 3) You can develop TYRANNOSAURUS REX like strength 4) You can get that ripped, lean look that everybody's fussin' over nowadays... 5) It is totally, absolutely... F.R.E.E.!!! 6) You can recover from injury AND get stronger at the SAME TIME!!! Are you starting to feel the same way about isometrics that I do... NOW. What are isometrics and how do you do it? Well: Isometrics are static ( maintained/held) contractions of a a muscle/muscles without moving the joint. An example of an isometric contraction is a squat, during which you hold your body in the squatted positions, thus contracting the muscles for as long as you want/can... Have you ever watched a gymnastics routine and notice how long the athletes ( male and female) can keep themeselves in the various positions for as long as they do? Those are examples of static aka isometric contractions. Now, you're wondering " how will isometrics help ME develop superman strength?" Here's how: The longer you can keep a muscle contracted, the more powerfully that muscle is able to contract. Now, one way in which you can cause you muscle to stay contracted longer is to use a heavier weight, which will AUTOMATICALLY force you to move slower and thus keep the muscle contracted longer.... However, that's not always an option, for whatever reasons. So what do you do when you can't lift heavy? You do isometrics!!!! Any muscle that you can train with heavy weights, you can train isometrically and get stronger. You can even take common movements and adapt them to train the muscles isometrically. Take the pushups for example: You can train your chest isometrically by adapting the time you spend in the up and down positions, like "Yours Truly" is doing below: And in case you missed it.... you can modify ANY and EVERY exercise to incorporate a isometric component, and like I said... It's FREE... Spelled F.R.E.E..... all capital letters..... In summary: * addresses the many faces in the forum, all looking on with delight and anticipation oozing from their eyes, all dressed in the garb of their day... as i look down at my toga... and noticed that it is soiled...* Now... always keep in mind what you want to get out of your training... always remind yourself of your training goals and what you want you body to look like... And you'll have a mental signpost, that will effortlessly lead you to the results and the level of fitness that you truly desire.... Sincerely, Amir c.

Do you realize that it is a BLESSING to be able to bend and flex?

When you see a little kid squat down and pick something up, you can't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder for the creator, whatever you want to refer to that Source as.... Notice how when a kid squats down, they don't just bend at the hip and try to pick up that heavy ass object... A child will: 1) Bend their knees 2) Get down as low to the ground as possible 3) Come back to the standing position by straightening their knees. 4) Have strong and healthy knees Now... notice how a adult will attempt to pick up the same object by: 1) Bending at the hip, 2) Grab hold of the object 3) Attempt to straighten themselves out by extending their hips ( coming back up the standing position), putting all the stress on their hamstrings, which now become tight and over-energized because of the load they are forced to carry) Can you see a big difference in how children and adults do the same thing? Now. You're wondering " what's your point?" Here's my point: As adults, we tend to get stiffer and stiffer because we stop moving in ways that are natural and healthy for us to move. We train our bodies to move in un-natural movements, which just makes us even more stiff. One example of a unnatural movement is the barbell back squat. The barbell back squat is very good at strengthening the quads, hamstrings, the lower back and the rectus abdominus. The only thing that sucks about the BBS is that is doesn't allow you to bend your knees to their full range of motion. The good news: You can get some "strong knees" from practicing the BBS regularly. The Bad news: You cam get some really STIFF knees from regularly practcing the BBS. So here's the conundrum: How the hell do you reap the benefits of the barbell squat while keeping the benefits you get from bending your knees through their full range of motion? Simple!! You squat with fewer reps and you spend more time bending your knees to their full range of motion. High rep squatting ( 20 rep squat routine, for example) can increase your potential for knee injury, due in part to the fact that as you squat with higher reps, your get tired and you start to lose proper form, which will cause your body to call on other muscles to help you complete the 20 reps. Makes sense? And I know that every on has different goals and adaptations that you want to get from your training... and that's fine. I'm simply offering my observations and advice to those who want to be young and flexible for the rest of their earthly lives... So, to sum up everything: 1) Squat with less reps and moderately heavy weight 2) Practicing bending your knees to their full ROM regularly (daily, optimally) Any Questions? Drop me a line here or just post a comment if you agree and/or disagree with anything I've said here. Sincerely......

What dos your your favorite movie character say about YOU?

Whose your favorite fictional ( or historical, for that matter) figure? What type of personalities from fiction or reality do you like most? Do you like the dark hero, the guy who oscillates back and forth between morally right and wrong... Or do you like the good, upstanding guy who is totally morally right all the time and whose values are unshakable... Do you like the good girl next door... the one whose innocent and sweet and would never harm a fly... Or do you like the bad girl... the girl who does what she loves doing, because it feels so damn good... More importantly, what does your favorite type of character say about what's inside you now??? Just one of those things that make you go "hmmm...".. Amir

It's Much Better to get full on healthy food... Don't you Think?

Think about it: Most people, when they eat, and feel themselves getting full.. or feel themselves full to the point of bursting, they feel a little guilty. They feel like they've eaten too much, and they feel like pigs. Do you think that's a good way to feel? Now, I personally believe that the difference between feeling good when you're full and feeling bad when you're full is... The type of food you're eating. Think about this for a moment: Would you feel better being totally full after eating: A) a S@#$ load of chinese food B) A Balanced meal consisting of Lean protein, Complex carbs, and Healthy fats like olive oil, and maybe a little treat, because you've been so good. It makes sense to me which one is the Obvious choice.... The really awesome thing about being being full from eating balanced meals is that you are more likely to maintain your weight and even lose excess fat, if that what you need. Eating foods with nutrients contained in them will give your more energy, and the really cool part about eating these foods is that... When you get hungry again, you can eat some more!!! Isn't that amazing and wonderful? Have Fun and Enjoy your summer!!! Sincerely, Amir C.

What's the weather like in your heart right now..

What's going on in your spirit, "Weather -wise"?

Cloudy with a chance of rain for the next day or so?

A heat wave for the next week/hour/day?

Monsoon? Hurricane?

The point of this post is this:

If you could describe the way that your feeling RIGHT NOW in terms of weather conditions, what would you say/describe?

Maybe it's possible that you can even imagine a different weather condition.... and change the way that you're feeling?

Remember that whole "mind-body connection" thing, where your mind and body influence each other, and by changing one, you can change the other?

What would it be like if you could change the way you feel in the blink of an eye?

Would this be a good skill to have for your life?

Would this be something that you can use as you're coiming home after a long day at work?

Could this be something that you use before you meet with a potential client?

Could this be something you use before you meet with your future in-laws?

It's been proven scientfically for many DECADES now that we can change our feelings and consequently, enhance our performance.

The key to taking control of your emotional states is to BREAK YOUR CURRENT STATE, if it's not productive.

The things that you do to break your state are INFINITE.

You can:

Get up and clap your hands.
Do some pushups/ jumping jacks
Run in place.
Move from where you're sitting now and find a different place to sit in.
Bang some pots and pans to make noise and shake off the mental cobwebs.
Go for a walk around the block.
Walk up the steps and walk back down.
Write a letter to someone.


Of course, some of the suggestions assume that you live on your own or you have a place where you can do them and not be thought of as a f@#$ing psycho....

Of course, if you're tired and you need to take a nap, you need to take a nap.

This is the type of thing that you do in the morning to walk out the door with a positive attitude and positive energy. It's something that you want to do before you meet with your loved ones.

It may sound too simple to work, but there are many successful motivational speakers making a s@$# load of money right now teaching others to do it RIGHT NOW....

So, think of all the situation in which you can change your state and start to get all the friends that you want.

Now....

Have Fun!!!

How to Scorch Fat and build Legs Of Steel... at the same time!!!

In this video, you'll see me demonstrate the lunge, which is awesome exercise to help develop and improve your balance, tone and strength all the muscles in your lower body, and help you burn stubborn body fat faster and easier.

If you find the free handed version of the lunge to be too easy, then you can add resistance to make it more challenging and work your leg muscles harder, and consequently, burn more fat ( active working muscles use stored fat for energy)

Enjoy!!!

If you could sit down with your 18 year old self....

Imagine that your 18 year old self is sitting across from you right now...

Imagine that you are going to have a deep, caring, heart to heart with your younger self.

What would you say to your yonger self?

Would you give your younger self eating advice?

Would you tell your younger self to be kinder to the people that you love?

Would you tell your younger self to meditate each night so that you can havea clear, focused mind?

Would you tell yourself to watch less television and play outside more?

Would you tell your younger self to be brave and FOLLOW YOUR PASSION?

Would you tell your younger self to write out your goals each night AND review them before you fall asleep, so that you subconscious can set into motion mysterious forces to help you achieve them?

Now, let's imagine that you're sitting across from yourself... from 6 months ago...

As you think about what your life was like 6 months ago, what advice would you offer your 6 months ago self?

If you wanna have a little fun, you can:

Take a chair and sit it across from you. Now, pretend that you are sitting in the chair across from you, and have that deep, heart to heart conversation.

Now, you may be thining to yourself:

"Man, that's crazy talk, I'm not gonna talk to an empty chair!!!!"

Well, stop and think about this:

Is it any different than the person who talks to them-selves in the mirror to help improve their confidence and psych themselves up???

Have fun!!!


Amir

Strength Training vs. Working out

Say those two things out loud to yourself right now:

Strength Training.

Working out.

Which one sounds better to you?

There's no "right" answer...

However, it has been scientifically proven that the words we use to describe things have an positive or negative impact on us, and they change the way we feel about the things that we are describing.

In other words:

It has been scientifically proven that our words can create our realties and feelings, something that many philosophers and metaphysicians have been saying for CENTURIES.

Now... back to the two terms above:

Which one make YOU feel better about getting into shape?

I'll make it easier for you:

It's the one that FEELS right to you....

I personally love the term "Strength Training" because it makes me think that i'm building my strength and muscles in a scientific way. It gives me more focus and I start to think of my body as a statue that can be sculpted.

The applications of using different words to describe a situation are endless. Think about how you can use this skill in other contexts in your daily life:

In your career
In your love life
In your home Life
In your persuasion processes

Think about the Possibilities and Potential....

Instead of focusing on PROBLEMS, let's break down the SITUATION and deal with one aspect of that SITUATION.

Instead of a SITUATION making you ANGRY, how's about you use the word CONCERNING?

Not too many people REALIZE this, but.

Life is always changing, everything is always "moving, everything has a point of HIGH ACTIVITY and LOW ACTIVITY...

There's no such thing as "solid" in this universe....

Anywho, changing the way that you represent situations and people to yourself works because when you speak to "your-self", you are literally speaking to your subconscious mind, the part of you that controls those unconscious, automatic processes in your body. All day long we have silent conversations with our Selves.


Neat huh?

Weight management is a BYPRODUCT of proper activity

Exercise never used to be called "exercise".

Here's how it used to be:

People used to go outside and enjoy the weather, no matter what it was like.

People used to swim and run and climb and jump.

We used to do these things until we got hungry, and then we ate food.

Then we would fall into a deep, restful, restorative sleep and wake up (god willing) the next morning.

Then we would do the same thing all over again.

Sounds a lot like what we now call "exercise", don't it?

Only thing is.... it was called something much, much different....


It was called....

PLAY!!! as in, go outside and play!!!


One thing that most people don't realize is that as we age, our APPETITE stays the same, as does our Muscle to Fat Ratio.

Put simply, what that means is that:

As we get older, we tend to develop store more fat and what muscles we have tend to get smaller and ultimately, disappear, if we don't use them.

On another level, what this means is that even though you may have weighed 180 ( a man) in high school, and the difference was that your body was producing tons of GH, which helped you AUTOMATICALLY put on muscle and burn fat.

Fast forward 20 years: You're 30 years old and you still weigh 180lbs (pounds), however:

1) Your production of GH has started to decline, which means that your body is gradually losing its ability to easily put on muscle and burn fat.

2) Your muscle to fat ratio may be growing in favor of fat tissue, so although you still weigh 180lbs, it's more fat mass than lean body mass.


It's natural, however and there are ways to produce growth hormone naturally:

1) Making sure you get deep, restorative sleep, which you can get by: PLAYING ALL DAY (if your life permits that...)

2) Regular resistance training with a challenging resistance so that you cause your body to build muscle and utilize fat for energy.

3) Avoid eating sweet foods a couple of hours before bedtime. Sweets cause your pancreas to release Insulin, which helps our bodies lower our blood sugar. This a good thing, because if we didn't have insulin to lower the sugar level in our blood, that sugar would wreak havoc and destroy our organs and limbs. Essentially, insulin interferes with our bodies production of GH.

If you're hungry, you want to eat something with Protein, which won't trigger the massive release of insulin that eating say, a piece of cake would. Chicken, turkey, even fish if you have it is fine.


Doing these 3 simple things can help you to maintain and build more - lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass uses fat to maintain itself.

It's common sense when you look at it like this, isn't it?


Sincerely,

Amir Campbell

If you;re having a hard time gaining weight, then you might wanna try something different...

There are just some people who have a difficult time gaining weight and as a result, adding muscle to their frames.

There are many reasons why this may happen:

1) That persons body is not absorbing/assimilating the nutrients from the food they eat

2) That person may not be stimulating their muscles to grow, possibly perform resistance exercises that are too easy.

3) That person may not be getting all the sleep they need. Did you know that your body does it's job of repair and recuperation while you sleep?

4) That person may to be eating the proper foods to help them add muscle to their frame i.e. eating lots of sugary foods and not enough protein.


Did you notice if you are committing any one of the above "crimes" against mass gaining?

Another common mistake that most people make when they are trying to gain mass is they don't eat after their workouts.

After a workout, there is a 30 to 45 minute time frame during which your body is craving nutrients the most - nutrient that it will use to repair your muscles and make them bigger and stronger.


Another mistake that most people make is eating the wrong foods at the wrong time. One example of this mistake is eating sugary foods close to their bedtime. This one is hard to avoid for some people, especially people that work in a field where they have a dedicated lunch time each day.

Many people starve themselves (knowingly.unknowingly) during the day time and when the get home, the hunger is grown so strong to the point where they want to eat everything in sight.

That sucks.

Eating at bedtime is not the problem; eating sugary foods is, or more specifically, eating foods with simple carbohydrates.

Whenever we eat carbohydrates, we cause our pancreas to release insulin, which helps our bodies lower our blood sugar. This is good, but...

The presence of insulin in our blood stream interfere with our bodies ability to release gh, OR Growth hormone which helps our bodies put on muscle mass and keeps our skin soft and flexible, and most importantly, it helps our bodies burn fat.

Now, that you know this, you realize why it sucks when you eat sugary foods before bedtime.

So, it's late night and you want something to eat... what do you do?

You eat protein. Protein won't cause your body to release insulin like eating a bowl of sugary cereal will. And don't get me wrong.... carbs are fine. Carbs are essential. You need carbs for energy. Simple and complex carbs have their function in certain contexts. If you truly feel the urge to eat some carbs, choose complex carbs, since they don't cause you body to release as much insulin as it would in response to your eating a simple carb, like pasta or or white bread with jam.... ( I like jam, btw... just saying...) I leave you with a paraphrasing of a pearl of wisdom passed unto my mother some years ago: "What you eat before you sleep, will stay on you..." Have Fun!! Amir

Take at least 1 day a week for rejuvenation and repair

If you're Like Me and you like to work out and push your body to it's limits - and then beyond them - then you owe it to your-self to take at least on day a week to rejuvenate your body and mind and evaluate whether or not your current program is getting you the results you want.


What kinds of things do you on your Recovery day?

Well, I usually:

1) Do static stretches for every major muscle group.

2) Do active stretching to offset the lengthening process.

3) Use my foam roller to roll out and flatten and adhesions that may have appeared/developed.

4) Perform specific yoga stretches to help my muscle recover quicker

5) Perform specific resistance exercises to activate any muscles that have been lengthened to the point of impairing performance ( i.e. focusing on muscles that may not have been activated during my specific program

6) Guided imagery to focus on specific movements that may be difficult for me at the time i.e. if i'm having a a hard time returning to the standing position PROPERLY during the barbell squat, i'll visualize and imagine myself performing that specific portion of the movement that is giving me trouble.

7) Focused physical and mental relaxation to speed up the recovery. I consciously relax each and every muscle in my body, and then, i mentally relax by focusing on a funny memory or a location that i feel relaxed in. I hear the sounds around me... i feel the the feelings that i feel when i'm there. I visualize the surroundings.

8) I sit down and evaluate my training program and I make any changes necessary so that I can achieve and MAINTAIN my fitness goals.


Here are some of the processes and activities that i engage in on my Recovery day...

What are some of things that you do on YOUR recovery day?


Amir

What can you do when you're bored?

Well, I can think of a few things:

1) Focus on those side projects that have been coming to the surface of your mind and being pushed aside by your daily life

2) Assess your current financial, social, and personal life areas. Are you where you want to be in those areas? If not, do you know where you want to be in those areas? If not, what can you start doing tomorrow to build the kind of life you want in those specific areas?

3) Give thanks for everything you have right now. Thank your heart and lungs for all the things they do for you, like pump blood and transport oxygen to your brain and your other organs.


There's a start for you. Can you expand this list?

Amir C.