SEE WHY AMY HADDAD IS OUR FMU GAMECHANGER OF THE MONTH

One of my favorite new songs  (a head-banging song as some of my clients would call it, even though it's nowhere near headbanging music) must have been written with Amy Haddad in mind. The lyrics go like this:

Cause I'm a fighter inside the ring,

a champion of suffering,

I'm a warrior, I'm a conqueror.

I'll dance my way through the darkest night,

I'll find my joy in the morning light,

I'm a warrior, I'm a conqueror

So bring on the night.

Bring on the night.

It's by a Christian band named Estoria and it's fitting that the title is "WARRIOR." 

If you haven't heard it yet, you may want to check it out here. It may make it to your workout playlist too:

If you know Amy and her story, I'm sure you would agree that's definitely what she is, a warrior.

I first met Amy at my book signing last spring. I then saw her in action at our Hitman Challenge in August of 2014. I was blown away by her performance. She came in 8th place for the female division, in a division stacked with extremely fit women!  Somewhere along the way we became more connected and now over the last few months she's been an official FMU member!

After seeing her slash her 5k time by three minutes this past weekend at Smiles For Sophie Forever, she pretty much sealed the deal on this GAMECHANGER status.

Let me just point out the obvious first:

• Amy shows up at 5:30am five days a week to workout.
• Amy doesn't get tired.
• Amy doesn't slow down.

If you know what makes up a big chunk of her workout regimen, you would probably understand why. She has a trainer named Shane who makes her work hard outside of this gym! Shane is her 9 year old son. He's in a wheelchair which means when he wants to go running, mommy is pushing! And he likes it so much that three miles is considered their short run. Just because Amy already worked out that day doesn't get her off the hook either. "He still makes me push him all over Rocky River!"

If you don't know about superhero Shane's story, here's a tiny snippet:

"Shane was diagnosed with brain and spinal cord cancer called Pilomyxoid Astrocytoma in 2010 when he was almost 4 years old.  He is now 9 years old.  Shane underwent surgery to de-bulk the large tumor in his head.  He tried many different chemotherapy treatments for a year and yet the tumors continued to grow.  Therefore, he had to have radiation treatment everyday for 7 weeks.  After radiation, he underwent another surgery to de-bulk the large tumor again.  This treatment has keep his tumors from growing.  The tumors are considered stable now.  They are still present but not growing.  As a result of treatments, Shane has experienced seizures as a side effect.  He had brain surgery in hopes to eliminate seizing.  Unfortunately, he had a stroke during that surgery and has lost movement in his left side and is still seizing."  

Shane is an amazing kid. If you ever meet him you'll love him. He came into our Rocky workouts during the school year with his mom and would hit the boxing bag the entire time.

So look, here's your checkpoint. You can't make an excuse anymore.

Amy could come up with plenty of them. She could skip morning class when she's up with Shane all night. She could complain about being too tired after carrying him up and down the stairs. She could say that the hospital visits and daily regimen wears her out too much. She could also say that her other two kids (11 and 7) are keeping her too busy also.

But yet, she still shows up bright and early packing her bubbly positive attitude with her every time she walks into FMU.

She has a bigger reason.

"Shane is a true miracle and a blessing from God!  Our hero!  He keeps me going and is the reason I started working out.  I had to get strong to be able to carry and move him every day." 

I always say you can stand in the same room with someone and have no idea what their world is like. And then you get to know them, and their story completely changes the way you look at them and most importantly, yourself. 

If you don't know Amy Haddad yet, get to know her today.  

Then you'll see why she's an absolute game-changer to us and everyone in her life.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

THREE COMMON MISTAKES YOUTH COACHES ARE MAKING

Being a youth training coach is my biggest passion and why FMU was started in the first place.

I work with hundreds of kids each week ranging from ages 5 years and up. A very important factor to take into consideration each training session is, "what are you guys doing outside of here?" As you know, some of these kids are in a lot of sports and activities each week! Well, sometimes I hear some crazy stuff that their coaches are making them do and quite honestly, it makes me cringe!

ATTN PARENTS: Be on the alert and yes, your gut is right. They probably shouldn't be doing that.


HERE ARE THREE COMMON CONDITIONING MISTAKES THAT YOUTH COACHES ARE MAKING:

1. THEY MAKE KIDS DO A CRAZY AMOUNT OF BOX JUMPS
Unfortunately, any coach can just pull up a fitness forum and steal some workout ideas, which possibly prescribes a ridiculous amount of box jumps, for adults. And then unfortunately, we use box jumps as conditioning and encourage our kids to do a lot of them.

What I commonly hear from kids: "Our coaches made us go really fast when jumping on the box." "We are told to jump back not step back."  "We had to do as many as we could in 1 minute." "We did 10 reps in the circuit, and then as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes."

SOLUTION:
I think boxes can be great, just like any other implement in the gym, but WHEN DONE RIGHT. At FMU we teach landing skills more than anything and proper vertical jump technique. The box is used obviously because kids think it's fun and they like to challenge themselves. But no matter what, you must use LOW REP schemes (6-8) and constantly encourage and ensure proper technique.

• We tell them to land on the box like a ninja, super soft so no one can hear them. 
• We also tell them when they land on the box with two feet at the same time, land in a squat position then extend into a standing position. 
• We also tell them to step back instead of jumping back. Jumping back down to the ground can cause a lot of wear and tear on the achilles and ankles. 
• When we jump down from the box it's always into a ninja landing position. Again, with a soft deceleration into a squat position--pushing the butt back and feet flat. 

2. THEY PUNISH KIDS WITH PUSH-UPS
This is a huge concern of mine. It is very rare for me to meet a child under the age of 14 who can do 10 solid perfect push-ups in a row before form starts to break down. I would say maybe 1 out of 10 kids can do it. So when I hear how my kids are being punished to do push-ups because they lost a game or they misbehaved at practice, here are three main concerns that pop into my head:

• I know that those 50-100 push-ups were so sloppy that they are lucky they didn't get hurt. 
• I know that they probably just developed a negative association with push-ups now because they were used as punishment.
• I know those push-ups didn't really teach them much about how to become a better athlete, or fix their mistakes they made in the game, or develop discipline to not misbehave again, because there's really no relationship between push-ups and the issue at hand.

SOLUTION:
I would stop using push-ups as punishment.

When we do them let's teach them. Start with the push-up hold in the top position. I can't tell you how much progress I've seen kids make from getting stronger here first. Push-ups take a lot of core strength. As my kids' core strength and control develops, so do their push-ups. Here are a few starting points and progressions you can use:

• Hold for :10-:30 seconds.
• Then hold for :10 seconds then add in one push-up.
• When they're ready, or for older kids (11-14 yrs), hold for :10 seconds then add in 3 push-ups.
• Then hold for :10 seconds then add in 3 push-ups and do that 2-3x. 
• Or for fun challenges, work on push-up walks for 10yds, 2-3x (lateral, forward, and backward. Add spins, add a push-up at the end of 10yds, the variations are endless). Try these yourself, they are very challenging but awesome to help kids develop total body systemic strength.

3. THEY TURN LADDER DRILLS INTO EXHAUSTING WORKOUTS

I understand the desire by many to get faster but we gotta be careful here with these NFL ladder drills we're throwing out there. One of my kids told me they did a 45 minute ladder workout during practice, and it wasn't technique building with instruction and plenty of breaks either.

Why is this a problem? 
Well if we're not focusing on quality movements then we're just training bad movement patterns. The focus should not be about harder and faster but more about BETTER. "When you can do the icky shuffle better than you can go faster." "When you can do that fancy back foot crossover with finesse than you can go harder." The other main problem is the wear and tear on our kids' feet and ankles again. Remember, what are they doing outside of here? If they are playing multiple soccer games each week and on the club team and the travel team practicing a few days with each team each week, then pounding their ankles and legs again after all that wear and tear can absolutely crush them.

I love to use ladders and think they can be a phenomenal way to enhance coordination skills and good rhythm, but they're actually such a small part of my training program, not a main focus.

• We mix them into games and obstacle courses. 
• We usually stick to basics like running both feet in each step, two feet in and out hop scotch, one foot hop scotch, lateral in and outs with both feet, robots, etc. 
• We tell them light and smooth.
• We tell them try not to the hit any part of the ladder. 
• We tell them to go slow at first and then pick up the speed gradually as they get better at flowing with the movement. 
• *For our little kids we usually just let them explore and play with it to see what they come up with. For ages 5-9 it's more about seeing if they can figure it out, not drilling them. 

4. THEY MAKE THEM DO INSANITY
I want to throw in a bonus here. You know that INSANITY program you see on infomercials? It's never a good idea to make your kids do that workout. 

These are just a few common mistakes I'm hearing that youth coaches are making. It's usually not their fault. Some just don't know any better. That's why I'm putting this out there. I'm here to help coaches in any way possible to make sure we're doing things right with our kids. We want them to move better, we want them to feel better, and we really want them to love what they're doing.

Now, there are some coaches out there with so much ego they don't want to hear it. For them, I'd like to run them through one of my Coach Theo Adult Training Camp Workouts to humble them a little bit! 

It's not about me,

Coach Theo

*Coach Theo holds 6 youth certifications from the IYCA (International Youth Conditioning Association). He was also nominated as a Top 8 Finalist for the IYCA Coach of the Year. 

RACE WEEK PREP FOR SMILES FOR SOPHIE, 6 DAYS OUT

It's time for one of our favorite 5k's this weekend, Smiles For Sophie Forever Bash N' Dash on July 4th in Avon Lake, Oh!  

Some of you have been training hard with us for the last few weeks to run your FASTEST 5k!  You really want to make sure you do the right things this week leading up to the race.

I used to think that tapering the week before would help me freshen up and perform better, but I've actually found the opposite to be true. I peak during my second week back from a taper. So I've found that keeping my workouts the same during race week helps me feel strong and powerful on race day.

Below are a few of my race week DO'S and DON'TS that will help you maximize your 5k performance this weekend:

1. DO RUN 30/30's ON WED.
If you've been following my TO THE MAX FASTEST 5K PROGRAM and have done these before, then do them again on Wednesday. You run fast for :30 seconds then you rest for :30 seconds and you repeat for 20 sets. Your leg muscles will remember this speed on Saturday and you'll feel like you can maintain this power the entire race.

2. DO RUN 10 MINUTES AT A MEDIUM PACE ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
This is a secret I've been practicing for a few years now. On Friday night, usually sometime between the  4-9pm window, I'll head out for a nice medium paced 10 minute run. It's not fast but it's not slow. It keeps my muscles loose, blood flowing, and my heart primed and ready to go the next morning.

3. DO MIND-MAP YOUR RACE FOR 3 MINUTES.
I personally believe that thinking too much will hinder your performance. However, you do have to spend at least a few minutes visualizing your game plan. Here's what I want you to map out in your head:
a. The start. Where are you placing yourself? How fast are you starting off? When are you settling into your pace?
b. The wall. How will you push through when you hit it? For me it's the start of mile 2. I'm always like how the heck am I going to keep this pace for another 2 miles!? And the response has to be, just do it.
c. The finish. You better believe you are finishing this race strong. You've trained your butt off to run your fastest. I know it's painful but in a few more minutes you're done and you get to enjoy the day. Crush it!

4. DO SLEEP GREAT.
It's especially important to get your sleep this week. I know it's hard but be honest, some of you do it to yourselves. If you have kids, I know it's not very likely. But fight for those 7.5-8 hours/night as much as possible this week. I'm convinced that if you spent some time learning the vital role that sleep plays in your performance and results, you would be convinced to do whatever you could to sleep more.

5. DO JOG YOUR JITTERS OUT BEFORE THE STARTING BLOCK.
It's really hard to run fast from a cold start. I spend even just three minutes jogging a little bit about 10 minutes before the race starts. I even do a few short sprints to get my heart jump started. Being loose, being warm, and breaking a sweat helps prepare your mind and body big time.

6. DON'T WEAR NEW SHOES AND TRY NEW GOOS. 
Unless you've worn your shoes a few times and are used to them, don't put a brand new pair on for the first time on race day. It's not guaranteed that you'll get blisters or they'll feel too awkward but you are definitely taking a big chance. Race day is not the time and place to test out new footwear, nor is it the right time to try out new goos or energy blocks. If you haven't tried them before, your stomach may not respond well and you'll end up with discomfort and GI tract issues (i.e. standing in line at the port-a-potty or slowing down during the race from stomach cramps).

7. DON'T CHANGE YOUR DIET NOW.
Unless you are cleaning it up, I wouldn't try any new tricks that you read about on that performance nutrition article that just came across your Facebook feed. Carb loading? I wouldn't go that route either. Keep your diet lean and clean and balanced as usual.  I will point out that energy will most likely come from what you ate a few days before rather than that pre-race big pasta dinner the night before. Replenishing glycogen stores is a process and doesn't happen overnight. Peak performance is more about what you're doing days, weeks, and even months leading up to an event, not what you're cramming in last second. It's fun and ok to mix in some carbs as a tradition, but don't stuff yourself! It will slow you down.


8. DON'T DO NEW WORKOUTS OR RUN FASTER THIS WEEK.
Kind of like the premise above in number 7, there's nothing you're going to do this week that is going to enhance your performance other than being smart about your training and keeping things regular. If you've never cycled before, now's not the time to try that new spinning class to see if you like it. And I know your adrenaline is pumping for race day too, but turning up the Rocky tunes as you sprint faster than ever before during your workout this week, isn't going to anything but possibly wear you out and leave your legs feeling trashed. Save it for Saturday.

9. DON'T THINK TOO MUCH.
As I said before, thinking too much can slow you down. Worrying doesn't make you run faster. You've trained. You are prepared physically. Just show up and do your thing. Drop your expectations because honestly, you don't know what to expect. You may wake up too sick to even run that day. Expect only one thing, what we always chant with our kids. "I WILL, BE THE BEST, THAT I, CAN BE." The rest is HIStory.

10. DON'T THINK IT'S THAT BIG OF A DEAL.
Look, of course we want you to rise up and do your absolute best. We should all strive to reach our greatest potential. But think about the bigger picture, is it really that big of a deal? It's a race. There are way more important things in life to be worrying about than our PR times. Remember why we are really there. Sophie has a story. She passed away and now leaving a legacy through her story. Being there on Saturday is bringing us into her story. We contributed to her foundation that will benefit cancer research and other families that are affected by cancer. We are joining together as a community to be apart of something greater than ourselves and show that It's Not About Us. But then we gotta ask ourselves, how will we use Sophie to change how we live out our daily lives?  That's the bigger deal we should be worrying about.

Now that I said that, show up and run your heart out.

It may be an absolute game-changer for you and everyone in your life.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

MY FOUR WAYS TO BE A BETTER FATHER

If I make it to 99 years old one day and get the chance to lie on my death bed with the time to reflect on my life, the 4th thing I want to be remembered for is being a great business owner. The third thing I want to be remembered for is being a great coach. The second thing I want to be remembered for is being a great family man. And the first and most important thing I want to be remembered for is being a great Christian man.

So why would I spend more time focusing on the 3rd and 4th thing on my list, instead of the 1st and 2nd?

This past Sunday I was sitting in church listening to a phenomenal sermon on Father's Day. My son Gio wanted to sit with us in big church instead of going into the kid's room. While sitting their together I began reflecting on being a father to him (I only tuned out the sermon for a few minutes).

It's such a great responsibility being a dad. Am I being a good one? What would my kids say about it? Later on in life when they're older, how do I get them to say that I was a great dad?

I absolutely love being a dad. It is the best thing that's ever happened to me. But I mess up a lot and I'd like to reduce my mess-ups as much as possible.

So I sat there in service and decided to take a few minutes to jot down some action steps on what I need to do to step up my game. Just like writing up a training program or a vision map for our business, I know that if I do these things, then I can only continue to get better as a father.

HERE ARE MY 4 WAYS TO BE A BETTER FATHER

1. PLAN TIME WITH MY KIDS DAILY
I used to think this was ridiculous. Plan time in my schedule to be with my kids? No way, that should just happen. I shouldn't have to plug that into my daily regimen. Well, guess what? I failed. I get caught up in other things and before you know it, I'm a distracted parent not spending quality time with my kids. I plan meetings. I plan training sessions. I plan my own workout time. I HAVE to plan play time with my kids. So if I say that from 3-5pm today I'm #ALLin with my kids, then I know nothing else is allowed to be done during that time. We can go for a walk, we can play legos, I can paint my daughter's toe nails (which I did the other day by the way), but I cannot do anything else but be fully in the moment with them. It's so much harder than it sounds. Watch.

2. PLAN DADDY-SON AND DADDY-DAUGHTER DAYS
Sometimes our kids just need some one on one time. Two weekends ago Gio and I stayed at a hotel together. At first it was going to be a family thing, then we realized the baby wasn't going to let us sleep that night. So it ended up just being Gio and I. He loved it. It was at the Cambria in Avon by the way---a sweet hotel, thanks to a friend's husband who owns it! He was so excited to watch a show before we fell asleep and eat breakfast in the morning together.  He even said, "we gotta do this again next week daddy."  It doesn't have to be staying away for long, even just a movie or meal.  My daughter will need this too.  I don't know how often it should be, but I know it should be often.

3. ASK MY KIDS THESE TWO QUESTIONS EVERY NIGHT
How was your day today? Is there anything that you wish you could have done?  I need to sit with them before they go to bed and actively listen to them and genuinely care what they have to say.  I've been surprised a few times by what Gio has said was his favorite part. Sometimes it's simple things that you wouldn't guess would be his favorite, like sitting on the ground at the corner store eating a popsicle together. It's also a reality check if he says well I want to play more with you because you were on your phone a lot for work today.

You might not think this is powerful but by taking at least a few minutes each day to reflect with each other can help put meaning behind our daily grind, instead of just making it another day that goes by too quick. Plus, when they see that you're making changes based on their feedback, they know you're listening, and they know you care.

4. PLAN WEEKLY DATE NIGHTS WITH MOMMY
I've been talking about this challenge for a few years now and we still can't get a rhythm. What does this have to do with our kids you're asking? Well they need to see that mommy and daddy love each other, A LOT. So much that we know how important it is to never lose US-time and that we'll actually devote a time block each week to it. Amber and I talked about it yesterday. We need two hours a week, even in the middle of the day after work to go grab a bite to eat or whatever it is, and just be in-tune to one another. Gio and Alana may not get this right now but I know they will later on in life. Our children are a part of our lives, we're not a part of theirs. They have to see that husband and wife come first. So if we lead by example, they're more likely to follow later on in life when they are married and have kids, and they are going to say my dad was a great dad, he loved my mom!

I was listening to one of my favorite speakers Bishop TD Jakes in his sermon a few days ago, and he said something that really hit home with me. He said something along the lines like, "Each day I have many roles to fill. The role of a pastor. The role of a business owner. The role of a father. And the role of a husband. I have to know that because I'm human, each day I'm going to flunk at one of these roles."

I'm going to add that not only am I human, but I am a man!  I'm not going to be 100% in all my roles each day. I'm a husband. A father. A business owner. A coach. I'm going to flunk at at least one of these, because my gender isn't wired to get it all right!

BUT, I've seen how detrimental it is for kids with distracted parents. As a social worker I saw kids literally dying inside because of the absence of a father.

So if I'm going to flunk at one of my 4 main roles each day, then I don't want it to be my 1st and 2nd.

My prayer is that I wake up each day with my first intention dedicated to succeeding at being a great father and a great husband.

For today and hopefully everyday, a great business owner and a great coach will have to stay 3rd and 4th place.

Be a better father today. There's no doubt that this will be an absolute game-changer for you and everyone in your life.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

*Please excuse any typos or grammar mistakes. I did not edit.

TOP 10 HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL BODY SHRED ATHLETES

Do you do these 10 things?  If not, let it be encouraging, because that means there's room for improvement.

1. KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL 
Maybe not always, but at least occasionally to checkpoint yourself.

2. PLAN OUT YOUR WEEKLY MEALS. 
You might not stick to it exactly, but you should have a guide of what you're eating every day throughout the week. This includes planning a "free meal" when/if you know you're going to let loose. 

3. GO GROCERY SHOPPING OR HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DO IT FOR YOU.
If you're not buying groceries then you're probably not eating good food most of the time.

4. EAT PROTEIN WITH EVERY MEAL.
Aim for 20-25 grams of protein each meal. Recommended basic guidelines are 3/4 of a gram per your bodyweight each day. 

5. EAT GOOD CARBS FROM FRUITS AND VEGETABLES and sometimes brown rice, quinoa, etc. 
No carb diets don't work, at least not for long. When people say they aren't eating carbs they're probably talking about breads and pastas and junk food. You need carbs, just good ones. 

6. EAT GOOD FATS AT MOST MEALS. 
Back in the day people used to be so scared of fats, which is why food companies started producing all kinds of "low-fat" and "no-fat" processed garbage. We know the human body needs fat. Fat is a big source of energy. You just need GOOD fats. Again, olive oil, avocado, salmon, and some nuts if you're body responds well to those. 

7. SUPPLEMENT WITH AT LEAST A MULTI-VITAMIN AND FISH OIL.
Oops, I've been forgetting to tell you to take fish oil---omega 3's and 6's. From what I've researched, we are all deficient in omega's and this is usually a main supplement recommended for all human beings. *NOTE: You should always try to get your vitamins and minerals from FOOD sources. I'm not trying to push supplements. If you eat ideal, then you don't need them. I know a lot of people are skeptical of supplements, which I still am as well. But just by seeing the difference in the way I feel, they are helping. And high quality ones are much better (Amber and I are researching and testing a new product that seems promising, we'll keep you informed afterwards). For good fatty acids, if you like fish, aim to eat fish high in DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids two to three times a week.

8. DRINK WATER AND MOSTLY WATER.

9. SLEEP 7.5-8 HOURS A NIGHT.
People without kids have no excuse, but when you're a parent, it's not going to happen most nights. Just know that you should fight for it and take it when you can get it.

10. REDUCE STRESS.
You gotta give yourself down-time. You can't worry all the time. You have to eliminate negative things, situations, and people. You can't do so much. You get the picture. 

AND HERE ARE MY PERSONAL BONUSES. THESE ARE MY OPINION. TAKE THEM FOR WHAT THEY'RE WORTH. I firmly believe that people that do these next five things are way ahead of the game.

11. ELIMINATE OR GREATLY REDUCE TV AND RADIO STATIONS.

12. READ QUALITY BOOKS.

13. PRAY.

14. HAVE A SUPPORT GROUP, A HEALTHY FRIEND, OR MENTOR TO REGULARLY CHECKPOINT THEM.

15. MAKE NO EXCUSES AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR LIFE AND HOW THEY LIVE IT.

If you read that scripture above, don't take it the wrong way.

It's about living with INTENTION and not just going through the motions. 

Your body doesn't own you.

Make it do what you want it to do.

People are watching and following.

If there's one question to ask yourself today it's this:  "ARE YOU LIVING EXACTLY LIKE YOU WANT TO?" 

If not, then keep making changes. 

Trust me, I don't have it all right.

I have so much work to do to be a better husband, father, coach, owner, speaker, athlete, etc.

I'm willing to rise up.

Are you?

It may just be an absolute game-changer for you and everyone in your life.

It's not about us,
Coach Theo