Marcus Hicks- Tribute to a REAL champion

Marcus Hicks fights for the 155 pound World Extreme Cagefighting(WEC) world championship on August 5, 2008. He has an undefeated 8-0 record, with an incredibly well rounded game consisting of slick submissions, dominating ground control and devastating striking. Marcus is an inspiring example of persistence, determination, work-ethic, and championship mindset. I am one of the lucky ones who has been able to see his MMA career from its beginning to the brink of his August 3rd championship destination.  I can remember rolling around on the mat with Marcus in the year 2000 when he weighed an admittedly “over his ideal weight” 245 pounds. I knew there was something different about Marcus at that time, something special, but I had no clue that he would become one of the best MMA fighters on the planet. Marcus probably knew the greatness he was destined for and began to relentlessly pursue his dream. Endless hours of boxing and jiu-jitsu were practiced with a burning desire to be his best. He worked 80 + hour work weeks to pay for his Jiu-Jitsu classes, working in the day as a Wal-Mart department manager and as an overnight manager at Toys R Us the rest of his waking hours.

Now he is almost 100 lbs lighter, has earned the ever elusive black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a full time professional fighter while owning and running his own Mixed Martial Arts school. Marcus is admired and respected by all that know him, not only for his awe-inspiring MMA skills, but also for the humbleness he displays at all times and the kindness that he demonstrates to all he comes in contact with. In an age of athletes who are often self-centered, spoiled ego-maniacs, Marcus is a breath of fresh air. He is what you would you hope your kid grows up to be like. And he is an example of WHAT A REAL CHAMPION TRULY IS.

Marcus, good luck, God bless, and “go gettem”! I know I speak for many in saying how proud I am of you.

 
Joel is a Certified Self-Defense Trainer. Joel teaches the Self-Defense in 12 Lessons program as well as group, family, and corporate self-defense seminars. Visit his website at www.JoelLucky.com .

What is Circuit Training?

Wow..this is personally my favorite way to exercise! Circuit training is a great way to do resistance training and aerobic training in one workout. You select a certain number of exercises, and go from one exercise to the next with little or no rest, until you’ve completed all of them. A circuit can be set up any way–it’s fun to be creative. You can do a full body circuit, a lower body circuit, core circuit, upper body circuit, etc. By doing the exercises consecutively, your heart rate stays in the aerobic zone, at the same time developing lean muscle tissue. You can also add in exercises like jump rope and step-ups to make it an anaerobic workout.Circuits are great for all levels, beginners up to advanced. A circuit of 6-8 exercises is usually a good beginner level, working up to 12-15 exercises done twice for advanced. As you can see, a circuit can last as short as 10-15 minutes and go up to 60 minutes.

Books worth reading

There are many times that people request recommendations on good books to read related to fitness,sales, and self-improvement.  I love reading and sharing books that I find to be very helpful.  You can rest assured that if I recommend it, it is something I find to be very valuable in helping you reach your full potential in ALL areas of your life.

One workbook I would recommend for ANYONE who is interested in improving their life is The Dream Book by Billy Cox. This is the first place I would start before trying to achieve any goal in life. It will give you clear direction on how to achieve your dreams. Whether you are looking to get fit, make money, or improve relationships, this is a STARTING POINT! My life has changed because of this book! I filled the workbook out about 2 years ago, and it is absolutely amazing the things that I have accomplished in such a short period of time.  Everyone needs a plan for their life. Sometimes people spend more time planning a birthday party than they do their life. Start now so you that you will have no regrets!

Why do I need to drink more water?

The body is made up of about 70% water.  A few benefits of drinking water are:

• flushes toxins and wastes
• hydrates skin promoting a youthful complexion
• muscles look more toned
• reduces constipation
• reduces stress
• suppresses appetite
• regulates body temperature
• metabolizes fat
• prevents water retention
• lubricates joints
• helps with concentration and focus(our brains are made of 90% water)

There are many more benefits than the ones listed. Water is essential to any wellness ,weight management/loss program so start drinking more water today if you haven’t already done so! You need about 1/2 of your body weight in ounces.

I just started exercising to lose weight, but I have gained weight instead! Why?

Sometimes people can gain weight or not lose any weight when they first start an exercise routine. It is not uncommon for the first 4-6 weeks.  Why?  The extra weight is usually water because your body starts storing more fuel in the muscle cells so that it can be utilized during your workouts. The process of converting glucose(carbohydrates) into fuel that your muscles actually store and use(glycogen) requires three molecules of water for every molecule of glucose.  As your muscles are building up glycogen stores, your body has to retain extra water for this purpose.  That is what causes most of the initial weight gain or lack of weight loss. 

The extra water retention will stop once your body has adjusted to its new activity level.  At that point, you will start noticing the scale moving down.

The best advice is to stick with your exercise routine because every time you stop and restart exercising, (meaning you work out a few weeks consistently, then quit exercising-then start exercising again a few months later)you make it harder and harder for your body to respond to exercise in the form of weight loss. So every time you start back exercising, your body will not respond as well as it did previously.

Can You Really Learn Martial Arts in 12 Lessons?

I get this question quite often about my 12 lesson program.  The truth is NO, you won’t be able to learn a martial art in 12 lessons.  Martial Arts require years of practice, huge amounts of memorization and thousands of repetitions in multi-step techniques.  However, self-defense skills are SIMPLE, EASY TO LEARN and INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE.

Learning a martial art is about self-perfection, building character, and creating positive mental and physical change.  Learning real-world self-defense is about surviving an attempted assault which could end up in rape and/or homicide.  It is doing what you have to do to make it home to see your family.  Self-Defense employs brutal techniques done in a manner that most martial artists are afraid to teach (or don’t know how to teach).  Devastatingly effective gross-motor movements are utilized that even a 4 year old can learn.  Twelve lessons in an effective self-defense system can provide the base for all of the methods and techniques you will ever need.  You can practice on your own from this point, putting together your own training routines, combinations, and self-defense workout schedules.   From here, you can continue to teach yourself and STAND ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET.

Even though you can’t learn martial arts in 12 lessons,you CAN learn self-defense.

What is Basal Metabolic Rate?

How Do You Create a Caloric Deficit?

Understanding “calories in vs. calories” out will always be a true measure of how to create a caloric deficit.  First you need to understand that one pound of fat is made up of roughly 3,500 extra calories. So in order to lose one pound of fat, you need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories.You can create a deficit of calories in three different ways:

1. Eat fewer calories than you burn each day. Keep in mind that your body burns calories all day long as part of your basal metabolic rate (BMR), because it takes energy (calories) for your body to perform basic physiological functions that are necessary for life-breathing, digesting, circulating, thinking and more. On top of that, physical activity (bathing, walking, typing and exercising) uses even more calories each day.

Example: If you eat 500 fewer calories each day for a week, you’ll lose about one pound of fat (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

2. Burn more calories than you consume by increasing your physical activity. If you eat enough calories to support your BMR, but exercise more, you’ll create a caloric deficit simply by burning extra calories. This works only when you’re not overeating to begin with.

Example: Regardless of your BMR, if you exercised to burn an extra 500 calories each day, you’ll lose about one pound of fat in a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

3. A combination of eating fewer calories and exercising to burn more calories. This is the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off. It’s much easier to create a substantial calorie deficit when you combine dieting with exercise because you don’t have to deprive yourself from food, and you don’t have to exercise in crazy amounts.

Example: If you cut just 200 calories a day from your diet and burned just 300 calories a day by exercising, you’d lose about one pound per week. Compare that to the other examples above-you’re losing weight at about the same rate without making major changes to your diet or exercise routine. Some people hate to cut calories, while others hate to exercise, so a combination approach allows you to do more of whatever comes easier for you.

As long as you are consistent, your calorie deficit will “add up” over time, and you’ll slim down.It’s also important to note that although this math seems relatively simple, our bodies are very complicated and you might not always see the results you expect based on equations alone. Many other factors can affect your weight loss rate along the way.

8 Reality Based Self-Defense Assumptions

Any truly realistic approach to personal survival in the context of a real-world violent attack must be based on several fundamental assumptions.  These assumptions should be considered the “measuring sticks” used to validate and prioritize how you train, what you train, and why you train. 

They include:

1. You will be facing more than one attacker (whether you see more than one attacker or not).

2.  The attacker you will be facing is superior to you in terms of skill, experience, size, youth, and strength. 

3.  Any attacker you face will be armed (whether you can see a weapon or not)

 4.  Anyone willing to touch you or verbally threaten you is very capable of TAKING YOUR LIFE!

5.  Your efforts to verbally de-escalate an attack may not be successful.

6.  Your attacker will violate your personal safety zone(will get within touching distance) and you will have to STRIKE IMMEDIATELY.  IF YOU WAIT, IT IS TOO LATE!

7.  Your attacker will no longer be a threat to you until they are TOTALLY UNABLE TO GET UP OFF THE GROUND.  This will be achieved when you strike first, strike fast, and KEEP HITTING.

8.  ANY and ALL self-defense systems, techniques and tactics will only be “workable” if they can be utilized  in situations where you are injured, tired, protecting a third party, under conditions of poor visibility, littered or uneven terrain, or in a unfamiliar environment.

One MUST assume that any practical training regimen will take into consideration “worst case” scenarios.  To not do this is utter foolishness and could COST YOU YOUR LIFE! 

Roger Brown’s testimony

In the Spring of 1997, I decided to begin a weight training and conditioning program to improve my performance in the martial art of ju-jitsu. A friend of mine who was a personal training client of Joel’s had made tremendous progress in muscle growth and fat loss and suggested that I contact Joel about his services. After a complimentary workout with Joel in his private studio, I knew that I had found a personal trainer that would ensure me of improving my sports performance.

After only three months of training under Joel’s guidance, I increased my bodyweight from 160 to 184 lbs. while simultaneously decreasing my body fat from 11.5% to 7.8%! My strength and cardiovascular endurance improved dramatically, allowing me to “tap out” heavier and higher ranked Jiu-Jitsu stylists on a consistent basis. (I’d also like to add that Joel has an incredible knowledge of “read world” self-defense with his expertise in Reality Street Defense and Jeet Kune Do and I have learned much from exchanging martial arts techniques with him. He is equally versed in both personal training and martial arts instruction.)

Joel’s knowledge of health and human performance is awesome, and his magnetic personality wins over all who meet him. He pays close attention to detail, provides “extras” to his clients that other trainers do not, and is a master motivator. I cannot imagine a personal trainer any better well rounded and result producing. Whoever he is employed by will never regret hiring him.

Sincerely,

Roger Brown