Scam of the week, volume 1: Kevin Trudeau

So, a friend on facebook who happens to also be a health and fitness professional showed me this. I hadn't heard of the guy before but apparently in the Americas he's sold a lot of books about "health" and stuff. Eh, just watch...



So... it's like I keep saying. The more outlandish and outrageous the lie, the more people will buy into it. So you come out with some book or some ridiculous product (and I'll posting all of them too!), you can get rich because people will buy it up hoping for a quick fix or easy answer. But just point out the simple common sense stuff that's actually true and useful... I dunno, it seems to be harder to get people interested.

Why is that, people?

Anyway my mission is to bust every myth, scam and lie in the world of health, fitness and weight loss... and I'm still putting together my new package "No Bullshit, No Excuses" which is just the simple, logical stuff that can't possibly fail. And that boils down just "eating the right amount, and doing some resistance training".

Simple, right?

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Hardcore Holistic: Priorities and Responsibilities

That's me being a good uncle!

This series of entries is about making “an uncompromising commitment to health and happiness” and what I mean by this is that people need to make their health and happiness a top priority in life, and take a hardcore, uncompromising attitude towards it.

A main priority in life that we still need to give attention to is our financial security. We need a roof over our heads, shoes on our feet and food on the table, especially if you are a parent. It's hard to be happy and healthy without your finances in order. With that being said though, it's a great misconception in western societies such as ours that more wealth (money + material positions) equals more happiness. Working long stressful hours just to amass more wealth (or quiet likely to have more money to waste on toys) at the expense of time with your family and friends and while neglecting your health is surely NOT the way to create a great life.

The “work : life” balance is critical and while being a productive and contributing member of society who works hard and earns an honest living is an essential part of achieving our goal of a great life, it's important to keep it in perspective. Remember as well that when you are healthy and happy, your performance at work can only improve as you require less time off due to illness, and have more energy and enthusiasm to get stuck into it. You are far more likely to excel at your job if you see it as an important aspect of your amazing life, than as a burden that is holding you back.

For this reason I would say that health & happiness should be a higher priority even than career, and if anything, making health and happiness your top priority can only help your career.

Similarly some people out there reading this might be thinking “I'm sorry, but I have children and they are my top priority”. Well, good! So they should be! However, being a great parent is about setting a great example. If you are determined to live a happy and healthy life and refuse to settle for anything else, doesn't it seem more likely that your children will follow the same path? Conversely if we set the example of being unhealthy, poisoning ourselves with cigarettes, alcohol, junk food and stressful situations, then our children may grow up thinking this is a normal and acceptable way to live.

Rather than having children being a reason to put your own health and happiness on the back burner, it's all the more reason to be determined to do everything right to ensure that not only do you have an amazing life, but they do too. Remember, better health and fitness means being able to spend more quality time together, not less!

Ultimately the message I hope I can get through to people is to step up and take responsibility for your own health and happiness, and absolutely refuse to settle for anything less. It's not always going to be easy, but when the option is to give up and settle for a miserable or mediocre existence, what choice do you have but to dig in and be all the more determined? It's easy to find excuses, or pass the buck to other people but in the end it is up to each and every one of us as individuals to choose the courses of action that will lead to a happier life over the courses of action that will lead to poor health and depression.

Lau Tsu said “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step, seemingly the hardest step”.

That single first step is in making a decision to take control of your life, and sensible eating habits combined with healthy exercise is the next step from which success in all avenues of life flows from.

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Hardcore Holistic Training

You still gotta train hard!

What's great about the holistic approach to training is that as you might expect, it implies that factors such as good nutrition are considered vital, and that the desired outcome is for general well being on all levels encompassing physical fitness, mental health and emotional stability. Indeed you could say that the holistic philosophy views these three factors as inseparable, with each being unattainable without the other two.

This would probably be a rather extreme interpretation, but it is certainly true that nutrition plays an important role in achieving any physical fitness goal, and both nutrition and fitness greatly influence mental and emotional health in a positive manner.

More cynical body builders might view the idea of holistic training as just a way to let people feel good about themselves, going through the motions of an exercise program but without actually pushing themselves to increase their performance or improve upon their physical limitations. I've worded that a lot more politely than how it has been stated in some discussions!

That's rather cynical and judgemental, but in some cases they might be quite correct. Look at the websites or advertising for most holistic training centres and you'll see clean cut trainers in nicely ironed white shirts, everyone with a big smile, no one looking as though they're straining with effort or breaking into a sweat from the exercise... from the perspective of your average heavy lifting, grunting & sweating weight lifter, this really doesn't seem like much of a work out.

And this is where the concept of Hardcore Holistics comes in. Don't get me wrong, though. I am all about supportive environments, positive self talk, positive energy and good vibes. However when it comes to training, the benefit comes exclusively from getting out of your comfort zone, breaking a sweat, and pushing yourself to a new level. As personal trainers, our job is to ensure that a client makes real physical progress and continually sets new standards of performance.

In Hardcore Holistic training, the attention to good nutrition and the goal of positive self image and self esteem is still paramount, but the actual workout does not take a back seat. Deep down, I think everyone knows that self respect does not come from doing what is easy, it comes from doing what is hard!

Training hard provokes a physiological response of the brain releasing more of the feel good chemicals such as endorphins, serotonin and adrenaline, which are responsible for that awesome “post workout rush” that only those who truly train hard can experience. On the psychological level, there should also be that sense of pride and achievement from sticking to the program, making progress, looking more attractive and surpassing your previous concept of your own capabilities.

This is where true self esteem and self respect comes from, and it is the opposite of that feeling of “I know I should look after myself better and get into better shape, but I just don't have what it takes” that a lot of people are stuck with. And compared to the softer, gentle & ineffective approach to holistic training... getting into the gym and physically proving (to yourself) that you do have what it takes is worth more than all the positive affirmations in the world.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

Oh, just climbing a mountain, you know.

The concept of physical exercise having beneficial effects on emotional health is nothing new, as the old adage “a healthy body and a healthy mind” suggests. This was well known to ancient Yoga practitioners, Shaolin Monks and Japanese Samurai. Perhaps most famously, Miyamoto Musashi who wrote the Book Of Five Rings believed he could achieve spiritual enlightenment through continuous practice with the sword. The practice of Yoga and Martial Arts forms is in many cases considered a form of active meditation.

As we have discussed, it is reasonable to expect the majority of personal training clients to have goals related to weight loss, cardiovascular fitness, increasing strength or muscle mass and so forth.

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What IS Holistic Health And Fitness?

The word “holistic” comes from the concept of Holism, which could be described as viewing any system in it's entirety as a whole, rather than as the sum of it's components. In modern usage the word is mostly used in the context of Holistic Health, as well as in relation to so-called New Age philosophies which view the Mind, Body & Spirit as a singular concept rather than three separate ideas. Similarly a Holistic Health practitioner would be concerned with a patients overall lifestyle, for example investigating factors such as stress levels or nutrition as possible sources or contributors to a problem, rather than just treating the symptoms of a particular complaint.

There has also been a shift towards Holistic imagery within the Fitness Industry, which I believe is appropriate and shows a greater understanding of the motivation of many clients. This in turn has lead to the industry attempting to rebrand itself somewhat with “fitness” taking a back seat to “wellness” in many cases. Similarly there has been a slight shift away from the term “Personal Trainer” (which might imply sports performance related training programs) towards “Wellness Consultant” which has a softer vibe perhaps more suited to the average personal training client.

If you've seen my business card, you'll know that I've got one foot in each world as my business name is “Dave Hargreaves Personal Training”, and I'm offering “Health And Wellness Consulting”.

Rather than sports specific training designed to improve performance on the field, the majority of Personal Training... sorry, Wellness Consulting clients just want to feel healthier (and perhaps look more attractive as well) and many of them will also understand the holistic idea that by being healthier, they'll also feel a little happier as well.

As with most things associated with New Age types, the term Holistic often implies a softer, gentler approach with the primary goal simply being to feel good about yourself. And if you ask me, there's not much wrong with that! After all, this book is all about “an uncompromising commitment to health and happiness”. I think “Wellness Consultant” fits in more with this imagery... it certainly does not conjure up the image of an athletics coach clutching a stop watch and barking out orders.

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Hardcore Holistic Health and Fitness, introduction

I'm about to post some new articles here, taken from an e-book I wrote some time last year about "The Uncompromising Commitment To Health And Happiness". Really, what else is more important than your health and happiness?

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

First; an introduction, and a little bit about the author.

Hi everyone and thanks for your interest in reading my book on the Hardcore Holistic philosophy. As it says in the subtitle, this is all about taking an absolutely uncompromising approach to creating a happy, healthy life, and being committed to making it happen. We'll discuss the concept of Holism and the seemingly paradoxical idea of taking a “hardcore” approach to it.

In brief, we'll be discussing how a holistic approach to training will produce greater results, and is also beneficial to all aspects of life – not just physical fitness. It is my belief that making health and happiness our number one priority in life is the foundation for being successful in all of our endeavours, and it is necessary to take a uncompromising attitude towards this goal.

We'll be talking about getting hardcore with our training, and hardcore with our commitment to having a happy and healthy life.

First off, a little bit about me for those of you don't know already!

I'm Dave Hargreaves and I'm a Personal Trainer and founder of Hardcore Holistic Health & Fitness. I have several years experience as a trainer, having worked in corporate fitness clubs, independent gyms and personal training studios, and now in my own studio. I had trained with weights from my late teens and begun studying martial arts in my early twenties, and resumed training in my mid twenties after a few years of inactivity (during which I got quite out of shape and eventually was diagnosed with thyroid cancer) while I was more focussed on my music career.

I've released a total of 6 albums at last count, and I've also worked for about 9 years in the security industry. So, in case you haven't picked up on the irony already, you are currently reading a book on Holistic Health, written by an ex bouncer / heavy metal guitarist. Who could possibly be more qualified on the subject?

I hope you're starting to pick on my sense of humour a little bit by now, as I'll be trying to inject a little of it into the text as we go, to keep things from getting too heavy and serious.

Watch for the next instalment very soon!

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