Coach Joe's #mytransformation - Varsity House Health & Performance

“My Transformation” Lucky Number 15.

Time to get focused! Summer used to be my time to focus on training and put some hardcore work in. Now being the gyms busy season and having a 1-year old at home, there was little time to train.

As the dust has settles, and we are regrouping for the fall transformation, I have allocated some more time to get back to what matters most to me… Training.

I have always trained. I really cannot remember a time when I did not. Maybe that’s a clear indicator that I’m in the right business. It’s always been my hobby and my passion.

I started training when I was young, around 10 years old. I had a friend who lived on the same street who was four years older than me and his older brother.

We used to follow the older brother around like a pack of puppy dogs and do whatever he was doing. This went on for a couple of years. A few years later the oldest brother was enlisting into the Navy and started training for his PT testing.

This was my first taste of training “hard.” We had to do a two-mile run followed by 100 pushups, followed by as many pull ups as we could do. We did this nearly every day for an entire summer! Not what I would call good programming by today’s standards, but we got fit.

After that I was hooked. I begged my mother to buy me my own weight set for my 13^th birthday. I got a Joe Weider Incline/Decline bench with a squat rack attachment! I was in heaven.

She got me a book to go along with my weights in which at that time cold have no idea the magnitude if it’s influence. That book was profoundly simple and easy to follow and gave me the foundation for what would be a lifelong passion for strength & conditioning.

The book was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Body Bodybuilding for men, and it still sits in my personal library to this day.

Whatever your goals are, no matter where your passion lies. The 6-Week Transformation is a great way to set a higher bar for yourself for a short period of time.

Think if it as kind of a “In Season” for your fitness!

Just like many of the athletes we work with there is a time to work hard and a time to just work. You cannot train at 100% max all year round. That’s impossible and would surely lead to injury.

6-Weeks is the perfect length of time for most people to put 100% of their focus into something. Short enough to stay on course, but long enough to see some real progress.

For this transformation I’ll be calling my training the “Jacked Old Dude” method as it will be a combination of strength, power and body building. I want to continue to stay strong and athletic but without putting any unnecessary pounding on my body…After all I still have to go home every night and play Super Dad!

Less is more. Contrary to popular beliefs training hard every day can be counterproductive, especially when over 40. So, I’m only going to train four times per week with weights to make sure my body gets the rest it needs. Two hard days and two lighter “pump” days. The other two days will just be some very light cardio and mobility work. One day per week I will take off altogether.

This is my 15^th 6-Week Transformation, here are my goals:

Don’t miss/skip any workouts for the entire 6-Weeks. That’s 24 total training sessions. Even if I’m traveling or have a commitment my first commitment is to train.

Rebuild my core/lower back. In the past year I have had a rash of lower back issues. Nothing that has completely sidelined me but aggravating nonetheless. I’m going to put a lot of focus into this area as a top priority.

Conscious Breath Work. If you see me in the corner of the gym doing some weird Shaolin Monk like breathing techniques don’t worry. Breathing is one of the most basic things you can do but we have lost the ability to breath properly. Focused breath work for even 5min a day can have profoundly positive effects on your health.

Less Barbell More Bodyweight work. Since I come for a Martial Arts background we always did a ton of calisthenics. I want to get back to doing some of that type of training as opposed to always grabbing a weight.

Track My Training and Nutrition. Because this is what I do all day every day for my clients doing it for myself has become a bit of an afterthought. Most of the time I train intuitively by feel and eat “mostly” clean. However, to really dial it in this time around I’m going to write myself and actual program and stick to it!

I hope this “#mytransformation” inspires some of you to think hard about your own training. Set some goals and join along with me. While you’re in it 6-Weeks can seem like an eternity but, it’s a small price to pay for great health.

Let’s make this transformation our best one together!

Stay Strong,
– Coach Joe