Fat loss for women, its what I do
brawny7878
I am a fitness professional who is certified as an Adventure Boot Camp instructor, personal fitness trainer, sports nutritionist, and health coach. I have a B.S. in Health Promotion with a Minor in Business from Auburn University. Currently I am the owner and operator of Joe Martin Fitness LLC, a fitness company that specializes in fitness boot camps, youth fitness, and on-line personal training. I was voted Huntsville's Healthiest Male, Huntsville's Healthiest Trainer, and Huntsville Adventure Boot Camp was voted Huntsville's Healthiest Place to Workout. As a writer, I have written the best selling book The Wellness Code, The 21 Day Tight and Toned Transformation, the Army MWR Sports and Fitness Newsletter, and I am a frequent contributor to the Huntsville Times as a fitness writer. I had been a lifelong athlete, until one day I woke up and realized I was 50 pounds overweight, depressed, and injured. It was a turning point in my life when I got fed up and realized there had to be a better way. From that day on I have dedicated my life to studying health and fitness and using it to help others achieve their goals. I have used this passion to train all populations but my specialty is fat loss for women.
Home page: http://www.HuntsvilleBootCamp.com
Posts by brawny7878
Turn it off! Watching TV is making you fat
011 hours
Watching TV. We all do it, whether we admit it or not. We watch too much TV. Does this routine look familiar? Get home from work, change clothes, eat dinner, settle down on the couch for a few hours of TV.
It happens right? You’re exhausted from the day and all you want to do is relax. Unfortunately, I have a few disturbing stats for you.
-People eat 71% more while watching TV. Mindless TV watching, leads to mindless eating. Focus on enjoying your food, not the TV.
-That ties into this stat. People who watch more than 19 hours of TV a week increase their odds of being overweight by 97%. That is just crazy!
-This last one is the most troubling to me though. For every hour of TV beyond 80 minutes that you watch daily, your chances of developing Alzheimer’s increases by 30%! The brain, just like your muscles, needs to be exercised. If you are turning your brain off for hours at a time during TV viewing, you will not be as mentally sharp.
We got rid of our cable several months ago and have not missed it one bit. Yeah, I’m “that guy”. Hundreds of channels and nothing to watch. It is amazing how you can fill your time with more worthwhile activities when flipping through channels or catching up on DVR’d shows is not an option. And an extra $100 in the bank every month doesn’t hurt either.
If you are watching too much TV, try this. Take 30 minutes out of your TV routine and go for a 30 minute walk. It takes burning a little energy to have energy. The more active you are, the more energy you will have. Break out of the couch potato cycle!
Weird tips to brighten your day
12 days
by brawny7878
in Health
Switching it up today and giving you a few things that are pretty weird, but can be helpful as well.
“Boil” eggs in the oven
This one has been around for awhile, but it is tremendous. There are some people in the world that mess up boiled eggs every time. Me being one of them. This way never fails.
Put your eggs in a muffin pan, bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Done.
Help with balance
If you are doing stretches or maybe even one legged deadlifts, you might have some trouble balancing. There are certain things you can do. Stare at something that doesn’t move to give you an unmoving reference point. Keeping your ab muscles braced helps as well. But give this a try. Pull on your ear. Sounds silly, looks silly, but it works.
Slow down your eating
One of the tips I learned from the Emotional Eating seminar we had while back, was to chew your food 50 times. That really does help. My record is 38 chews, still working on it. Something I learned from being in a cast for 6 months is to eat with your weak hand. My right arm was in a cast, I’m right handed, so eating with my left hand was very inefficient and slower.
Stop the sweating
You know that “I’ve already showered, got dressed but I can’t stop sweating” feeling? It’s not so great. Try running cold water on the inside of your wrists. Because of the high concentration of blood vessels in that area, it can help cool your entire body.
Getting claustrophobic?
I’m slightly claustrophobic. I’m not sure I could ever ride in a smart car. But if I did, I would make sure to bring a green apple.The Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation of Chicago found that smelling a green apple can help soothe feelings of claustrophobia.
Use the express elevator
You didn’t hear this one from me if you get in trouble. But next time you’re in a rush you can try this and see if the elevator is programmed this way. If are in a hurry you can make the elevator go to your floor first without waiting on all the other floors. Push and hold your floor number while also holding down the close door button. Keep them both held down until the elevator starts moving.
I always enjoy hearing about weird tips that actually work. What’s your favorite weird tip?
Boot camp sale for single moms
05 days
by brawny7878
in Giving back
Happy Father’s Day weekend! One of the greatest honors I have ever received was the day I got to be a dad.
I was also blessed to be raised by what science has discovered was the best dad ever. Scientists may have discovered the same about your dad.
My wife did not have the same luxury though. She was raised by an extremely resourceful and strong single mom. It is truly amazing some of the things my mother in law has been able to accomplish.
So as a tribute to all the single moms out there who are tasked with the incredible responsibility of being mom and dad I want to offer a special deal. For our boot camp that starts on July 1, all single moms can get a month of unlimited boot camp for $99. The last day for this deal is Monday June 17th 2013.
To take advantage of this deal, just e-mail info@HuntsvilleBootCamp.com I will set it up for you.
Rocket City Yoga Week
27 days
by brawny7878
in Exercise
Have you ever wanted to try yoga? This is the first year I’ve started doing yoga and I have really enjoyed it. I’m not counting the awful experiences I had with P90X yoga back in the day. To me that yoga was boring AND painful. I can take one or the other, but I can’t take both in one workout. And it lasts an hour and a half!
Sorry, I was scarred by that DVD. Mitzi Connell, my yoga instructor, is organizing Rocket City Yoga Week as part of Healthy Huntsville 2013. It is a week of all sorts of different styles, instructors, and settings for yoga. The best part is that it is completely free. All you need to bring is a yoga mat and it starts next week, June 17-23.
There is yoga for beginners, yoga for teens, hot yoga, flow yoga, restorative yoga. There is even a night of yoga and chocolate. Just putting that out there. These are all classes taught by Huntsville’s best yoga instructors, so this is a great opportunity.
If nothing else, you should plan on attending the finale of Rocket City Yoga Week. Yoga underneath the Saturn V Rocket at the Space and Rocket Center. How many times do you get to do that? Should be pretty cool.
Tips for emotional eaters
09 days
by brawny7878
in Healthy eating
We hosted an Emotional Eating Seminar this past weekend. The session was led by Holley Porter-Wright, who is a certified Health Coach and accomplished yoga instructor at Yoga Hom.
For the people who attended it was a wonderful and mind opening experience. One of the biggest things they got out of the class was that they are not alone in their struggles with food. Everyone there had very similar hold ups and sticking points with food.
Below are some of the tidbits I picked up and thought you might benefit from reading:
- A big step to conquering emotional eating is when you can distinguish from being physically hungry or just mentally hungry
-Emotional eating occurs because we are not meeting our needs
-Ask the question, “What do I need?” from the following areas of your life:
1. Body
2. Mind
3. Emotions
4. Higher Self
-You can’t eat compulsively if you are aware of your food and if you are enjoying your food
-Sit down when you eat (very important)
-Have you ever made a lasting change from berating yourself? Probably not. Long term change comes from having self compassion.
-There are no forbidden foods
-Emotional eaters tend to be huge givers who take of everyone but themselves
-Food is not a place for moral judgements. You aren’t good because you ate good that day and you aren’t bad because you had an off day
-Have built-in strategies that are non-food related in place to be ready when emotional eating starts. (Exercise, reading, music, dancing, etc…)
-Try to stay away from “I’ll be happy when _____.” statements. That is the carrot on the stick that you will never reach.
-An exercise to try and slow your eating down and improve your digestion is to chew your food 50 times before swallowing.
-If it’s a matter of will power, it’s only a matter of time until you give in.
That is just a few of the insights she gave us. The main theme Holley really drove home, is that you should listen to the signals your body is giving you. If you would like to get in touch with Holley and learn more about her health coaching or yoga services, her e-mail address is holleypwyoga@gmail.com
Bare Bones Boot Camp
010 days
by brawny7878
in Exercise
Your wishes have been granted! We have had several requests to have another Saturday morning class. We will be starting a brand new class on June 15th called Bare Bones Boot Camp. No weights, no mat, just bring some water and be ready to work.
This class will be high energy and fast paced, so you will be burning a ton of calories and having a great time doing so. This class is for people looking to:
-burn some fat;
-get in better shape for a 5k or other races
-just looking to get your Saturday started in a healthy way
Here are the details:
Where- Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville
When- Saturdays 8-9am for 8 weeks starting June 15 and ending Aug 3.
How to sign up- go here —>Bare Bones
Also, don’t forget about our Healthy Body Image Teen Camp starting on Tuesday June 11th. Really looking to change some lives with that one.
We design our programs and services around what you want. So if there is something you need help with or would like to see, please let us know!
“We can’t all be successful”
314 days
I was speaking to a group not too long ago and I came to the potentially dangerous “Are there any questions?” part of the talk. I have had some blush inducing moments there, so I always get a little nervous.
But this time, it was not blush inducing. It was more anger/frustration inducing. He actually had a comment and he said “Well we can’t all be successful.”
What? Why not? It drives me crazy when people say stuff like that. You may not be able to have 6 pack abs when you are 60 years old or run a 5k in 15 minutes, but you can do better than you are now.
If you start with that attitude, then I guess you are right. You won’t be successful, walking around with a self defeatist attitude all the time. Things are not that bad!
My wife is a nurse and she mainly deals with older patients. She met a patient yesterday that has let herself go to the point that she will probably be bed ridden for the rest of her life. This person is not that old, but she is facing what I would consider a nightmare because she neglected her health for so long.
Don’t you think she trade anything she has to be in a body that could move? A body where she can take care of herself? I’m sure she wishes she would have taken a few more walks and made better food choices, while she still had it in her to do so.
Don’t let that be you. Are you healthy enough to move? Then you can be successful and you can reach your goal. Someone in a hospital bed is wishing they could do the things that you take for granted. Stop doubting yourself and start helping yourself.
Here is your action step. Do one thing today that gets you closer to your goals. Whether it is big or small, do something to move towards your goals. Repeat this process every day and imagine where you could be in a month, a year, ten years.
If you need help coming up with your action step, please let me know how I can help.
Spice, Spice Baby
016 days
by brawny7878
in Healthy eating
Just in case you have ever needed a picture of tumeric
Let’s face it, eating healthy can get boring. So why not spice things up? Using the right spices can not only make your food more exciting, but it can also give your metabolism a little boost. Here is a list of spices you should give a try:
Garlic-One of the sticking points for fat loss is the body holding onto toxins. Let the garlic clear out your some toxins to get you ready to lose the fat. You may lose some friends along with the fat if you don’t bring a toothbrush with you.
Ginger-A certain ginger haired man can help you lose weight, but so can the spice. Ginger gives food an Asian taste, plus gives you a fat loss boost.
Tumeric-Sounds like a terrible chemical , but is actually really good for you. The main way this helps is by lowering your blood sugar and cutting down on cravings.
Cayenne pepper-A study found that some of the participants increased their metabolism by 25% by putting cayenne pepper on their food. The study did not say if it was due to the subjects sprinting to get something to drink or not.
Cinnamon-Another good way to get rid of toxins and improve digestion. Null and void if you are getting your cinnamon through Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Black pepper-Another great metabolism booster, plus the positive sneezing side effect clears out your sinuses.
Chili powder-Has a similar effect as cayenne pepper. Great for fat loss and a good way to cook thinly sliced carrots.
What are your favorite spices?
Burn your ship! The motivation of desperation
019 days
by brawny7878
in Mindset
Have you ever heard the motivational tactic used by 16th century Aztec conqueror Hernando Cortez?
Upon landing on the coast of modern-day Mexico in 1519, he ordered all the ships to be burned before they started their attack.
This was a way to get his army completely focused and ready to do whatever it took to be victorious.
Retreat was not an option, there was no going home. They were either going to win or die trying.
Have you ever burned your ship? I have and it was one of the scariest, most exciting things I’ve ever done.
I started my fitness business on the side while working for the government. It was a tough decision to leave a job with benefits, steady income, and one I actually enjoyed. But if I wanted to take my business to the next level it was something I had to do.
There is a big difference in having extra income from a side business and having it be your sole income source. You go from “Hey that’s nice.” to “Hey I need to make this work or we can’t pay the mortgage.”
There is a saying that I was definitely living. “To be a success you need desperation or perspiration.” It was a mindset shift that resulted in me picking up my game in everything I did.
Have you ever been in a situation where you HAD to do something? There is very little you couldn’t accomplish when you have to. Ever had to finish a huge research paper that you had the whole semester and you miraculously finish in one day?
Change this over to fitness. Imagine if you had to do a swimsuit photo shoot in 6 months. I saw you physically flinch when you read that 
How hard would you work out? How disciplined would your eating be? You would be desperate to not embarrass yourself.
What if your doctor said you needed to lose 50 pounds or you were going to die? That is slightly more motivating than wanting to fit in some skinny jeans.
I want you to do something right now. Write down your goal. Not in your phone, not typed on the computer. Use actual and paper to write it down. It will connect you to that goal in a way electronics can not.
Whatever it takes, burn your ship and stop being “half in” on your goals. If you don’t have a goal that puts a fire in your belly every day to reach it, then you need a new goal!
Raising Healthy Teenage Girls
021 days
The teenage years are an extremely hard time for girls. We want to make them a little easier. We are offering a Teenage Girls Boot Camp this summer starting on June 11th. They will not only learn about exercise, but also about proper body image, the dangers of fad diets, proper nutrition without restriction, and much more.
Our goal is to stress the importance of being healthy, over the unrealistic and unhealthy images they are bombarded with through TV, the internet, and magazines. This will be an accepting environment, free from judgment and ridicule.
The class is twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville for 8 weeks. Registration is open now to the first 15 who sign up.
We have had a few donors sponsor teens who could otherwise not afford it. If you are also willing to sponsor a teen, please let me know.
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