Many of you may be aware but on February 17, 2013 I will be competing in The Garage Games-One in Suwanee, GA. This competition will bring out some of the fittest athletes in the country that will not just be competing against each other but against themselves and how far they have come within the past year.

Personally I have seen tremendous gains in this kind of training and lifestyle and am looking forward to seeing how I perform with my team in February.

As a result of this training and way of life over the past 3 years I have learned MANY valuable lessons that have helped with not not my physicial fitness but life in general.

The biggest lesson learned is that working out does not have to be long or take hours but needs to be of high intensity and shorter durations. Remember that this Tuesday, January 22nd from 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM we will be hosting a workout class that will explain how to use these techniques and get fit in only 12 minutes a week. Yes, only 12 minutes a week!

 1) You Can Workout in 4 Minutes and Get Fit – A style of working out called Tabata is designed to get your body in high intensity training levels and burn fat. While you are working out your body burns sugar and 24 hours following your body burns the fat. Here is a great video explaining how Tabata works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym7d2MzZ96I.

In the past 3 years the longest workout I have done is about 20 minutes and usually my workouts are between 3 – 9 minutes. I can honestly say I am in the best shape of my life and this is proof that it is not about the quantity of the workout but the quality.

Here is another link to how to perform this workout and if you have specific questions please post them under comments or come out to the workshop this Tuesday night.

http://www.shape.com/fitness/cardio/tabata-4-minute-fat-burning-miracle-workout

If on December 31, 2013 you were to tell me that this was the best year of your life, what would have had to happen? Instead of starting the year with a laundry list of resolutions, begin looking at what needs to happen in order for this to be your best year ever.

Be specific on what exactly you want by the end of the year and start taking the action steps for it to come to pass.

If you want to improve the relationship with your spouse by the end of  2013 then how many dates do you need to plan ahead? Does technology need to be turned off by a certain time? Do you need to read some books on communication?

If you want to lose weight then how much do you want to lose? How often will you work out? How often will you cook your own meals? How often are you allowed to have cheat meals? Are you reading books on nutrition?

Here are my top 3 tips to help with your health goals and make 2013 your best:

1) Eat like a hunter and gatherer

For 90% of human life on Earth we were known as a hunter-gatherer society and would hunt our wild game and pick our own vegetables. We were not walking into air conditioned supermarkets and picking up pre-packaged foods that can last on the shelf for months or even years.  Think about how our ancestors ate and look into a diet based more on what they were doing or what people in the Blue Zones do. There was primarily no grain, sugar, dairy, or legumes. If dairy is something you would like to eat or consume then be sure the source is from grass-fed cows that are humanly raised, otherwise begin to look at almond milk or coconut milk as other sources.

Check out my favorite way of eating known as The Paleo Diet. I have personally gone from 10% to 5.4% body fat and went from 175 to 165 pounds. I would add reading the book “Paleo Solution” to your reading list and understand the science of how the body breaks down certain foods.

2) Burst Train

21st century research all points that high intensity interval training is great for helping people burn fat and get fit. When we workout for quick bursts and take short breaks we put our bodys into sugar burners during the workout but put ourselves into fat burners post workout. I used to go to a Globogym where I would see people working out for hours but never losing weight or even worse they would get bigger. They never knew how to properly workout and once I explained to them about burst training they ended up saving time in the gym and losing more weight. The technique is named after Dr. Tabata who has proven that by working out intensely for 20 seconds then taking 10 seconds to rest, we can increase our VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption) and get fit.

The way the workout works is you pick 1 movement to do for 4 minutes and perform 20 seconds on then 10 seconds off for a total of 8 sets. Here are some examples of workouts that can be performed: treadmill, bike, jumping jacks, air squats, push-ups, sit-ups, or pull-ups. Here is an example of 1 workout:

20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill
10 seconds rest
20 seconds @ 100% on the treadmill

3) Get Your Nervous System Working

When many people in our culture think of a chiropractor they think it is only used for car accidents, neck pain, back pain, or headaches. This may be the most common reason people see chiropractors but it is only 10% of what chiropractors do to help their clients be their best. Unfortunately we live in a culture that lives a reactive life, meaning they wait until problems occur before they take action to better their health and life. The nervous system which is comprised of the brain, spine, and nerves controls and coordinates all functions in your body including digestion, reproduction, circulation, and everything else. Since today’s lifestyle has an abundant amount of stress chemically, physically, and emotionally, our body can give us signals that there is an error or malfunction happening. One of the biggest signals or last warning signals it gives us is pain which is only 10% of our nervous system. This means you can have 89% nerve blockage and feel no symptoms which would be true for almost every disease.

We all know people who feel great one day then get diagnosed with cancer the next. Some people are playing tennis one day then the next they drop of a heart attack and get diagnosed with heart disease. We cannot live a life of chasing symptoms and must take care of ourselves before we are in pain or diagnosed with a disease. This is where chiropractic care and your nervous system become very important, making sure our brain is communicating with our organs at 100% which means our body is functioning at an optimal level and we can handle stress much more easily. The best way to know how your nervous system is functioning is by seeing a chiropractor to have them check and detect for vertebral subluxation (misalignments of the spine causing dysfunction in the nervous system). If you need any recommendations for a great chiropractor please follow me on twitter @AtlantaChiro or e-mail ACohenDC@Gmail.Com.

Over the past few years I have participated in many different company health fairs and each time there is so much confusion as to what a health fair is supposed to be. When I think of health fair I think of a place that has healthy vendors for their employees to come get great ideas and products towards living a healthy life.

Unfortunately what I find is food (real picture) that could give someone diabetes, flu shots, blood pressure checks, bone density scans, cholesterol readings, and other different vendors that have no clue what health is about. Most of the vendors are there to share with people they have high blood pressure and cholesterol so the next step would be talking to the MD to get on medicine. I get so frustrated with these health fairs because I keep seeing sick people getting checked with these early detection devices and unfortunately they keep going down the rabbit hole.

My vision has always been to create a TRUE Health Fair that actually helps people become healthy without the use of drugs or surgery but through creating better lifestyle habits. On December 15th from 9 AM to 12 PM our clients and their guests will have the opportunity to participate in Atlanta’s ONLY real Health Fair. Here are some of the vendors who I suggest you look up before so you have a better understanding of what to expect:

Mobile Thermography

EVERY FEMALE between the ages of 30 – 50 years SHOULD do this! Here is a great link about Thermography and how it can SAVE your life.  I have had way too many women cry on my shoulder because they were diagnosed with breast cancer and this non-radiation can detect inflammation within the cells YEARS in advance. You must e-mail me or Samantha to let us know when to reserve your spot. The times are 30 minute slots between 9 AM – 12 PM and this is first come, first serve.

Beyond Organic

The guys from Beyond Organic will be coming down to talk about some of the new products on the market. Jordan Rubin (founder of Garden of Life supplements), created Beyond Organic with the vision to deliver health and fresh food right to your doorstep. I order a case of SueroGold (cultured whey) and probiotic rich dark chocolate every month on an autoship so I can keep those items stocked in my fridge. They will have raw milk, raw cheese, and some other healthy products to share.

Standard Process

For the past month my wife and I have been taking the Daily Support Packets and are HOOKED. We will have the Southeast Representative at the office on December 15th to share more about these products and how they can help you be healthy. I am now on an autoship for the daily support packets as it is saving me money since now I separately don’t have to buy a fish oil, vitamin D, B12, and multivitamin as the packet contains everything. This is also the first time I have ever felt different from taking supplements (hence why I invited them out to the office)

West Coast Hormone Creams

We will have some more information about this and for those that are looking to anti-age and are between 35-55 then these creams are perfect. We have already sold out our first order of Testosterone and have a new shipment in the mail.

As many of you are aware the Summer of 2012 my wife and I went to Thailand on our honeymoon and had many revelations during this trip. I have been very fortunate through life that I have done a lot and seen a lot but there is something about this trip that is making everything more memorable.

On July 3rd we booked an excursion to have breakfast with monks and in their temple there are rescue tigers where we had an unbelievable opportunity to play with them. We fed them, washed them, and went into a large playing area with them to give them their daily exercise which may have been one of the scariest things in my life. When I was in the tiger cage I remember pausing for a minute and becoming very present to that moment and realizing that this is all we have.

That moment was the only place I could be and what I was gaining was an unbelievable experience with someone I love, my wife. I was realizing that all we have at the end of this life are the experiences we gain every second of every day. They don’t always have to be extreme such as playing with tigers in Thailand but it opened my eyes up to the fact that these experiences are always happening. Some questions you may want to ask yourself to see if you are banking these experiences are: How observant am I in life? Am I present to experiences and my life right now? What stories am I creating to block me from being present to those experiences?

I used to be someone who would care what people thought about me and making sure I look good. I used to be someone who would get frustrated with people if they were not living my lifestyle and eventually push them away. I used to be someone that would get upset with my clients when they did not get chiropractic care and the value of it and irregularly come in for adjustments. I used to be someone that would be focused on the next moment and not the NOW moment. I used to be that guy and now I realize that at the end of this life NONE of those things matter and I have no control of other people choices or decisions. What I do have is an INFLUENCE over their decisions by being present and living in action. All I have are the moments I am in right now and being present to them. The things that matter to me are experiences and I have never been more present to this then I am right now.

*** The list goes on and the fact I am more present to it means that these experiences will be of an abundant supply.

I would love to hear from all of you the experiences you are present to in your life and how these are creating an impact.