AL Health professionals Marketing Mastermind Group

I posted awhile back regarding my invitation to join a Mastermind Group for Health Professionals. What is a Mastermind Group? It was first defined by Napoleon Hill (inspired by one of my favorite risk takers Andrew Carnegie) as a coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.

Purpose.....as I grow older I like this word more and more. When I was an inexperienced businessman and naive graduate student/teacher I had joined groups and affiliated myself with people that talked a lot of inspiration but lacked that product delivery. Growing into my late 30's I realized that it wasn't my affiliations that lacked purpose, it was me. I brought nothing to these relationships but a lot of inspiration; inspiration that was too cowardly to deliver a product with a purpose. You can't rely on people to do your work for you; also, you can't rely on a particular affiliation to an individual or group to do your work for you.

Mastermind Meeting Notes
This meeting was very worthwhile; as our meeting mentor stated: Everyone needs a coach. There was plenty of discussion regarding meeting times, definition of the group, number of member invitations/limitations, and how each member would present the meeting agenda at future meetings. There was a sharing of ideas from the start; marketing ideas that worked and ones that were not so hot (I have plenty of these in my briefcase). The meeting concluded with each member developing their needlemovers.

Needlemovers
Needlemovers are similar to goal definition. I was in agreement with the mentor that goals do not work; what happens when you reach that goal? In the ideal situation, the needlemover is always progressing upward, like the volume button when the stereo is cranking that familiar jam. Think of it this way...your business is not going to stop when a goal is attained, you must keep working.

Our mentor asked us to define and provide short term (1 month), moderate term (2 months), and long term (3 months) needlemovers. It took me about 5 seconds to develop all of my needlemovers. Each one of my needlemovers had a connection with some form of work already in progress or completed to attain that next level.

Failing to plan is planning to fail
During the long drive home from Birmingham I meditated through the previous 4 hours. My mind reverted back to an ESPN special (viewed earlier in the week) commemorating the life of the great coach, John Wooden. In a segment which included Bill Walton and his three sons it was mentioned how Bill would write messages and include them in his boys' lunches for them to read at mid-day. The message one of his boys' mentioned was "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail". A message delivered directly to Bill from Coach Wooden during his playing days at UCLA.

Define your needlemovers. How long does it take you? Is your needlemover already a work in progress? If not, get busy and define your needlemovers on a set date in the near future.

Volume

A tad of strength followed by pressing volume. When performed correctly with tension and stability the press becomes a total body experience

1. Ladder - 3 X (1, 2, 3)

a. Double Clean and Press (32 kg's)

b. Tactical Pull Up (Hollow Rock; chest to bar; 1 second pause at the bottom of the movement)

*2. Volume Press w/ Double Squat

5 Blocks!

a. 1 Arm Press 4 X 5 e @ 24 kg

b. Double Front Squat 1 X 5 @ 24 kg's

* Treat this as a challenge. Performing 100 presses each side in 5 blocks of 20 reps. Complete 5 presses each side on the minute; after the 4th minute, rest 10 seconds and follow with 1 set of 5 double KB squats. Rest 1 minute between blocks. Pick a weight that is manageable, yet challenging.

Man versus Food

Back in my party days I was a food challenge guy....mostly hot wing challenges. Most memorable was at a bar called the Noisy Oyster in Merriman Valley, Ohio. Their suicide wing challenge was tingly but left my brow dry, even after the 10th and final wing. I was deemed "the man" by several friends who couldn't believe what they saw. The cook had to have held back some habenero sauce from the mixture. Who knows?

Today I am no longer "the man" but "the food czar". I like this nickname; it was given to me by Tiffany who also proclaims that I have job security every time a spread of bad grub makes an appearance on special occasions. This name is announced whenever I make an appearance from the dungeon to the office. Phrases like "What did the Czar say when he saw you with that doughnut?" has been heard on many occasions.

Everyone knows the Czar is not a fan of restaurants and the excessive eating outside of the home that American society is attracted to. I am constantly being invited to lunch, which I appreciate, however do not believe in. Yesterday was my first time eating lunch in a restaurant during a given weekday in over a year.

Bart has been bugging me to go to eat with him at a burger joint called Joe Mommas and at the Thai Place in Millbrook, Alabama. I love Thai so finally I caved and we set our lunch for Friday the 11th. I further enhanced this lunch by boasting of my younger food challenge days, knowing that Bart has the gregarious personality that pours fuel on the fire. He challenged me to their 6 star (the hottest sauce on the menu) spice and I agreed.

When we were ordering the waitress indicated that the hottest is not on the menu and is an 8 star spice. Bart did not know this and proceeded to nag me into the eating the 8 star. Why not?
I still got it as if I were in my 20's. The spice was good, you could taste the food but was not close to the hottest food I had ever eaten. Bart was impressed and indicated that he did see my eyes water a little bit.

My meal came with chicken, vegetables, rice, and a small spring roll. I ordered the meal minus the rice and offered my spring roll to Derek, another eating companion. You see, even when you fall off the wagon and eat in a manner that you do not believe in or conflicts with your eating plan, you must limit yourself. If you are on a business lunch you do not want to be the sap that orders a salad without dressing because you don't want to ruin your diet; but you can modify your order. This is the key to living a life of restaurant eating. Rice and a spring roll provide me with nothing that enhances my day but sluggishness.

Fridays workout

I had time for a brief one:

21-15-9 of:
1a. KB Snatch
1b. Push Ups
* Perform snatch reps on each side...21 e; 15 e, and 9 e; to make this workout more effective perform all snatch sets with one hand transfer and do not set the bell down until all reps are completed.

Nutrition Education and New Mesocycle

In the 1/2 Get Up the reps stops with the bridge and you reverse the movement downward. An ideal alternative for those with serious joint issues.

A large part of what I do is nutrition; really more than 50% of my business is nutrition. A portion of that is nutrition education. This is a class where we meet to discuss important topics and concepts in nutrition.

Some months' topics mirror the introductory nutrition class I taught while I was a doctoral student at Auburn while other months' topics center on controversial issues and real life situations. In my opinion this facet of the Old School Training Systems Wellness Program is the most important and has been the most productive in getting our employees to make modifications toward a healthier lifestyle. If you are thinking of starting wellness lectures or a program of your own then this is a great place to start then build from.

Here are some examples of recent topics:

1. Reading Food Labels
2. Competitive Eating
3. Fast Food
4. Essential Nutrients
5. Serving Sizes
6. Tobacco and Alcohol
7. Inflammation

On a personal note, I completed the 6 week RSR for the deadlift (DL) and will tell you I am officially retired from heavy deadlifting programs. Three times per week training DL at over 80% is a crusher on the arthritic knee. Over the last 6 weeks I have had more people ask me why I was limping, if I had a hitch in my giddy-up(our rodeo clients), or if I needed surgery. Knowing this, movement is the most important aspect of my training from here on. I will continue to lift heavy, just not 3 times per week.

Here is a tester program for the next 4 weeks. If it meets my approval I will continue this program through the summer. Each workout will include 15 minutes of movement/mobility; on Wednesday and Thursday the mobility will be closer to 30 minutes.

June 7- July 2

1. Monday - Heavy Press/Pull Up; Farmers Walk/Double Swings (24kg) for conditioning
*This program is outlined in "Return of the Kettlebell"; I will "borrow" it for 1 day of my workout week

2. Tuesday - High Intensity Kettlebells and Bodyweight Circuit (20-25 minutes)

3. Wednesday - Lower Body Extensive Joint Mobility; Grip and Skill Practice

4. Thursday - Upper Body Extensive Joint Mobility; Presses for Volume; Trunk and Shoulder Work; 1/2 Get Ups, Get Up Sit Ups, and Windmills

5. Friday - Underground Strength - Hammers, tires, and sandbags for strength

6. Saturday - Kettlebells and Bodyweight circuit for reps


Mark