Take a look around you and find people who are 10, 20 or 30 years older than you.
Some are going to look healthy and fit. According to recent statistics more are going to look fat and unhealthy. Which one are you going to be? What plan do you have in store if you want to be that healthy slim man who plays ball with his kids? If you don't care then read no further. Because the article accompanying this summary is the cold hard truth about how you can be that person. And I suppose the best way to sum it up would be œif it were easy, everybody would do it.

The Cold hard facts about getting into the shape that you want to get into.

I carry a photograph with me that I show new members of the gym. Unfortunately, or perhaps I should say, fortunately it shows me in a suit sipping on a beer. If you go by a scale it was probably about 35 pounds ago. I'm 180 right now and was about 215 then.

But scales are a really, really bad method of measurement. And here's the reason why. In my gym I bet 50% of the guys could proudly say that they are pretty close to the weight they were when they were in college. And quite a few of them can honestly say that they still fit into jeans from 10, 15 or 20 years ago. If their wives allowed them to!

So if there was ever a great application of Mark Twain's quote œthere's lies, big fat lies, and statistics¿ men claiming that they are still the same as they were in college is a dandy! I hate to be the harbinger of bad tidings gentlemen. You're not the same. You're fat! Which is exactly what you say to yourself when you look in the mirror and see the rolls hanging over those jeans. Or what you would see if you were to stand on a body fat machine instead of a scale.

So back to how I looked when I was 38. I was fat. I was probably 10 percent fatter than I was when I was 28. Now at 48 and a different way of life I'm 30 percent thinner than I was at 38 and 20 percent thinner than I was at 28. I remember what my dad looked like when he was 38, 48, 58, 68 and now in his mid seventies. In a way my dad was really unlucky that he had to spend 30 plus years working down a coal mine. In another way, I really think that it kept him alive for as long as it has. I suppose he is one of life's true conundrums. What he had to do to support a family will ultimately take him to his grave. Yet, what he did also kept him in relatively good physical condition. I won't frighten you by detailing a 'day in the life of a coal miner.'

So let me describe my dad's transformation. At 38 he was as strong as an ox with arms like Popeye. And a little bit of a beer gut! At 48 he was a very strong man who could keep up with workers half his age. His arm strength and size was beginning to wane. But his beer gut was definitely on the rise. Conversely his pants and belt were sliding closer to his nether region!

At 58 he'd been retired for 5 or 6 years “ it was a forced retirement. And his arms and legs were disappearing bit by bit. His health, balance, agility and stamina were deteriorating quite rapidly. But by now his stomach was as big as a 6 month pregnant female! Fast forward 10 years and his circulatory problems had increased. He had a tough time walking to the end of the street. And he looked 9 months pregnant. On the body of a runway model! He had swapped his muscle for fat. His weight has not varied that much over the last 20 years or so.

I love my dad. He's the greatest man I've ever met. I hope that one day I'll be able to write all the brilliant stuff about him that needs to be told. But for now I use him as an example of how you, whomever you are, will end up if you continue your path of no exercise and poor nutrition.

I really wish it were possible for me to express the sadness that accompanies some of the writing I do. For the most part I offer words of wisdom and encouragement and inspiration. Or at least that's how I see it. And then occasionally I have to put on a different hat. I have to become that disciplinarian that you had in your life who made you do the things you didn't like or want to do. But knew you had to do. Because that was the only way you were going to improve.

To this day I still have the greatest respect and admiration of my French and German Teacher. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Colvin. As they cajoled, and pushed and pulled me screaming for mercy through those language classes, I hated them with complete and abject passion. Why couldn't they be like the easy, sqeazy teachers “ who's names or subject matter I have zero recall? Because they knew in their hearts that they and only they, at that moment in time, were the people who knew what I NEEDED in order for me to better myself. And they were fully aware that there were other teachers out there who were quite happy to let me do what I WANTED.

Having me as a personal trainer is just like the relationship I had with my French and German teacher. I'm going to tell you what your body NEEDS. And I'm going to use all my powers of persuasion to help you complete what you NEED to do on a daily basis. What I'm not going to do is rubber stamp a workout or nutritional intake because it's what you WANT to do.

I offer this information now because I don't want us to start a relationship under any false pretenses. If you look through my site you'll see so much solid and often scientific proof behind how I coach. I can give you testimonial after testimonial endorsing my coaching techniques. Look at some of the results my clients have achieved. And a common thread among those clients of mine was a desire to improve. And the realization that when it comes to health and wellness, there are not shortcuts. There isn't a magic pill. It's purely a matter of finding a balance between what you eat and drink with your exercise regimen.

I look forward to helping you create the body and mind you know is available to you.