We've been using striking as a fun cardiovascular workout. Here is Professional Football player A.J. Hawk of the Green Bay Packers implementing it into his workout. 

Exciting news Kaizen Fitness Fanatics! We’ve added a new training tool to our repertoire. The slide board!  We will be incorporating it into your workout out programs over the next few weeks. We wanted to give you some more information about it and its training benefits. Those of you who have already tried it out know the challenge that it presents, but for those who haven’t here’s what you have to look forward to.

The slide board is exactly what the name implies, a board that that you can slide on with either hands or feet. There are two fixed blocks on each end of a slick white board surface. Our first board is 8 feet long and 2 feet wide giving you plenty of room to work with. The slide board is utilized by hockey players, speed skaters, and figure skaters to mimic the skating stride mechanics off the ice. It develops strength, power, and stability in the hip joint. The board can be used for general fitness for those same benefits mentioned above as well as providing a great low to no impact cardiovascular workout, by combining exercises in a circuit or setting them up as intervals. 

The slide board will mainly focus on lower body exercises but with a little creativity there are some upper body and core exercises to boot. The most basic exercise on the slide board is the skaters stride. Starting in an athletic stance with one foot on either end block, the athlete will push themselves with enough force to get them to the other side of the board, essentially recreating a skating stride. When they reach the other side they repeat, pushing themselves back to the other side. Maintaining a deep knee bend with the hips back, the chest and head up, this will keep the weight over the balls off the feet helping keep balanced during the slide. Using the arms in conjunction with the legs will help generate more force as well as get the athlete in a rhythm to perform the slide repetitively. 

That’s just the beginning. We already have progressions for that exercise including sport specific training. We hope after reading this you are as excited as we are about our slide board!

It's WEEK 2! (for those of you who got started last week). For many New-Year Resolutioners, motivation and excitement are peaking. Will power is at an all time high, and they're riding the wave of possibility with the excitement of thinking, "This could be my year!"

It can, and will be, if you remain DEDICATED. Too often, promises are broken. Whether they're made to yourself or others, the story plays out the same way:

• Week 1 = Make promise. Everyone's happy.
  
• Week 2 = On a motivational high. Keeping with promise. Feeling great!
• Week 3 = Uh-oh, speed bump. Didn't realize how much work this would be. Getting kind of tired.
• Week 4 = It's confirmed, I'm tired! Feeling guilty about breaking promise, so it's kept....for now. Hello frustration.  
  
• Week 5 = "Motivation", where are you? "Why do I do this every year? Okay, that's it, next year my resolution is to not make any promises EVER!"
• Week 6 = Look-out, obstacle. Just got into an argument. Sweet! This may be my way out!
  
• Week 7 = Reconciled....damn! Back to trying again.
• Week 8 = Road Block: An unpredicted event occurred. Didn't plan ahead. Major deterrence from keeping promise. Besides, I'm tired & frustrated.
• Week 9 = What promise?

Polls indicate that nearly 50% of resolutions (i.e. promises or goals) are broken after the first month. Only 20% or less are maintained & accomplished each year. With these odds, it's no wonder why resolutions are often looked upon as a joke.

However, there still remain the few who are DEDICATED. This minority accomplishes what most fail to ever realize in their entire life. They do so because they're DEDICATED. The commitment they make to themselves and others is a promise. It's a contract with their personal character. They understand that challenges will exist along the way, so they plan ahead and prepare accordingly. They remain focused and consistent, never letting any excuse or unforeseen obstacle take them completely off course. They meant it when they said, "No matter what." Did you?

It's now back to the daily grind of work & trying to get back into your routine of LIFE. Well, along with that comes resolutions! You're probably already hearing plenty about them in your household, at work, in your personal circles, etc. If you're like me, than you'll be excited to make these resolutions and discuss them with others. If not, then I'm sure you're already fed up with the term "resolution". Regardless, I encourage you to read on.....

According to Wikipedia, a resolution is a lifestyle change that a person commits to throughout the entire year. Put simply, it's a GOAL! Coincidentally (or not), many decide to make these goals around the end of the previous year or beginning or the new year.

Why Set Goals? 

• Motivation
• Focus
• Direction
• Accountability (Personal/ Public)
• Efficiency
• Measure of Progress (Milestones)
• Success

...Need I go on! When you decide to set your goals this year (which I encourage you to take the time to do so sooner rather than putting them off for later…which really implies NEVER!) make sure you set SMART goals.

How To Set SMART Goals?

Unfavorable Goal (Example): "My goal is to be healthier?"

Favorable Goal (Example): "My goal is to eat 3 balanced meals each day and exercise at least 4 days each week for at least 3 consecutive months."

1. Specific: Make it a clear-cut goal with no ambiguity. 

• Unfavorable Example (from above): What does “healthier” mean to YOU, as this can be interpreted quite differently with many people? Unclear goals have no meaning and no importance. You need a goal you can take ownership of and recite off the top of your head: What do you intend to accomplish?
• Favorable Example (from above): This goal is very clear what you intend to accomplish. Now you just need to define the remaining variables.

2. Measurable: You should be able to count, compute, or estimate your progress and success. It'll help you set specific checkpoints along the way and determine what modifications (if any) you may need to implement to keep you on the correct course of action.

• Unfavorable Example (from above): How would you calculate becoming “healthier?” What is being measured and how? Without any way to determine progress, there’s no way to determine if you’re heading on the correct path to success. A lack of direction can easily lead to inefficiency, a lack of focus, frustration, and no motivation.
• Favorable Example (from above): You can easily count each how many meals you consumed each day and the number of times you exercised each week. Now you can track progress!

3. Attainable: Is the goal something that can, in fact, be accomplished? Is there an endpoint where you would reach success? Unattainable goals are an immediate setup for failure.

• Unfavorable Example (from above): Becoming “healthier” is an infinite goal. This is something you can spend the rest of your life trying to accomplish and therefore will never be successful b/c there’s always something you can do to become even “healthier”.
• Favorable Example (from above): Although it seems far-fetched at times, it IS humanly possible to consume 3 balanced meals per day, exercise 4 days each week, work a full-time career, run a household, have a social life, and lead a fulfilling life. Granted it’ll take a consistent amount of committed effort on your part, but it’s attainable!

4. Relevant & Realistic: Is this goal important to YOU? Is this something YOU'RE capable of achieving and willing to commit to seeing through? Is this attainable for YOU? Remember, your goals should motivate you. The greater the importance, the greater the attachment & desire to achieve the goal. If the challenge is too far-fetched motivation, along with attachment will be lost. Goals should be simplistic (not easy!) personal challenges; meaning you should challenge yourself, but the path undertaken should be one that is realistic and capable of being broken into smaller, simpler steps designed specifically with you in mind.

• Unfavorable Example (from above): A daily goal is much easier to manage than a weekly goal, just as a yearly goal is much easier to commit to than a lifetime goal. Committing to becoming “healthier” is a great lifestyle modification, as long as you’re not solely committed to achieving this goal within a year! It’s an impossible goal for anyone to achieve in a year. You would need to decide what you interpret as “a healthier YOU”. Does that mean you quit smoking? Does that mean you receive regular medical check-ups? Does that mean you incorporate a healthy weight-loss regimen? Even after you determine what “healthier” means, you’ll need to then decide if it’s a realistic commitment you can make AND keep. You would also need to be able to understand WHY you chose this goal. What importance does it have to you? If you're struggling to answer these questions, you can imagine the struggle you'll encounter with trying to accomplish the goal itself.
  
• Favorable Example (from above): If this is something you've been frustrated with because of your lack of consistency and how it has affected your daily performance, than the stage of importance is already set. Given that many individuals can consume 3 balanced meals per day and can make it a priority to exercise at least 4 days per week you can determine it's realistic for you to do as well. This goal can be broken down into the following 5 steps: 1) Week 1, eat breakfast everyday & exercise at least 2 days in the week. 2) Week 2, eat breakfast and lunch everyday & exercise at least 3 days in the week. 3) Week 3, eat breakfast, lunch, & dinner each day & exercise at least 4 days in the week. 4) Week 4, eat 3 balanced meals/ day & exercise at least 4 days/ week. 5) Keep this a consistent part of my lifestyle for at least the next 3 months while monitoring progress each week.
  

5. Time-Bound: There needs to be a deadline; a realistic & meaningful deadline. Whether or not you’re a procrastinator or someone who is extremely proactive, deadlines instill a sense of motivational pressure which place your goals at the forefront of your priority list. Deadlines compel performance and performance drives success.

• Unfavorable Example (from above): Without a specific goal, there is nothing to measure. Without anything to measure the deadline is meaningless. How would you know if you succeeded by the set deadline, or was it just a random date with no justification? Again, there’s no commitment to achieving such an ambiguous goal with an arbitrary deadline. No commitment = No motivation = No success.
• Favorable Example (from above): It’s realistic to make this goal a habit within 6 months. It’s said that old habits can be broken and new habits can be created within 3 weeks. After 6 months the new habit is said to become a part of your new identity. Making it a habit to consume 3 meals per day & exercise 4 days per week for at least 3 consecutive months can reasonably be accomplished by or before June 30th, 2013. Setting a shorter (vs. longer) deadline also stimulates action to be taken sooner rather than later. 
  

-Happy Goal-Setting!

Benefits (convenience, really!) of online training. Take it from someone who has been involved in the online program for over 2 years!