About the author
You don’t know me. I have never been on Oprah, Dr. Phil, or ESPN. The study and practice of exercise and nutrition has always been a passion of mine, but only occasionally a commercial interest. My objectives and priorities regarding fitness and health have also changed several times during the four decades of my involvement in these fields, which gives me an even broader understanding of the different processes involved here.
I am definitely not one of those goody-goody, never smoked, never touched alcohol, don’t like junk-food, just love to punish my body for hours every day, can’t wait to wake up and run 5 miles in minus 10° weather, exercise freaks.
At certain times in my life I have consumed too much alcohol. I have smoked cigarettes. I have lived on fast-food, and although I always loved practicing my chosen sports, I have always hated to exercise. And no…sports and Quality Exercise are not the same things.
This history gives me a unique insight, as well as a more realistic outlook, when it comes to exercise and nutrition for average (read: non-fanatic) exercisers as well as other people like me who just don’t like to exercise.
I started out weak and skinny, trying to gain strength and muscular weight. Later in life, due to bad choices on my part, I allowed myself to become overfat and out of shape. I then had to struggle to lose my excess body-fat and regain my health. I have been successful at both. More importantly, for more than four decades I have helped countless other people to do the same, not for monetary gain, but simply because I enjoy helping people and sharing my knowledge.
As I write this (2007) I am 60 years young. Three years ago, I decided to finally retire from my profession of the past 30+ years as a professional acrobat. From my gymnastic and acrobatic careers…plus the occasional automobile or motorcycle accident…I have one leg and one arm shorter than the others, an elbow and a knee that don’t quite straighten anymore, scoliosis, and chronic neck and low back problems. I have bad knees, neither of which can bend all the way anymore, and one shoulder that isn’t too good either. I have torn one pec (a chest muscle) completely in half, have partially torn one bicep, and one hamstring as well. I have dislocated both elbows and a collarbone, broken several ribs, and had a beauty of a compound fracture of one of my femurs (thighbone). I don’t even count strains, sprains or injuries to fingers and toes anymore.
With this kind of list, I have had to learn how to train safely, efficiently, and effectively. I would never have made it for 30+ years as a professional acrobat if I didn’t know how to keep my body strong, flexible, and healthy. So if you, or someone you know, are using an old injury or a sore back, etc, as an excuse to give up exercise…or not to start exercising at all…read the above paragraph again.
Other excuses I often hear are: “I can’t afford to join a gym.”, or, “There is not a good gym in my area.” or, “I don’t have room to train at home.” Sorry, but I just don’t buy it. I have exercised in good and bad gyms all over the world. I have exercised inside and outside, in hotel rooms and small apartments. I exercised in a 6 foot by 6 foot storage compartment on a circus train in Africa for an entire year, and I have even built my own gyms in small trucks a couple of times when there was no other possibility for me to exercise.
I have exercised with primitive equipment and with modern equipment. I have bought equipment, borrowed equipment, and built my own equipment in order to continue exercising. Once again, if you are genuinely serious about creating a strong, shapely, and healthy body…you will find a way. It may not be easy and the conditions may not be optimum, but those are just bad excuses that unsuccessful people like to use.
Successful people are successful because they are willing
to do things that unsuccessful people are NOT willing to do!
If I could manage to exercise under the circumstances I have mentioned above, then you can certainly find a way. Lack of time is also not a valid excuse. If you can’t take 3 hours out of an entire week for your own health and well-being, then your life is really out of control and you need to take a reality check of your priorities. 3 hours is less than 2% of your week. Don’t try to tell me that you use more than 98% of your time efficiently. I won’t buy that either.
I have been fascinated with strength and health since I was a young boy, because I had neither in abundance. Strength manifested itself with an interest in exercising with weights and my interest in health became a lifelong study of the medical sciences. I originally wanted to become a doctor and was accepted to the University of Iowa on the honors program in pre-medicine. I have studied anatomy, kinesiology, physiology of exercise, biomechanics, nutrition for health purposes, and performance nutrition…and I continue to do so. I spend a fortune on books, reading everything I can get my hands on concerning exercise, nutrition, fat-loss, and health. My attitude has always been that if I can learn just one thing, or get just one new idea from a book, then it was worth reading the entire book.
This viewpoint…combined with my education, sports background, and 4 decades of personal experience…enables me to quickly and accurately determine what has possibilities, what is pseudo-science, and what is just pure crap.
In addition to my extensive studies, over the past 45+ years I have personally tried almost every exercise, nutrition, and fat-loss system which has shown any possible merit whatsoever…and even some that didn’t.
Of course there are other people out there who have also exercised for many years and also have excellent academic credentials, but there are 4 other reasons why I am very good at this.
- I have always been really enthusiastic about helping people. I love it. Helping other people to succeed gives me a real kick, as well as inspiring me to do better myself.
- I am…and have always been…lazy. However, I am “functionally lazy”. I am an achiever, but I want to achieve with the least possible effort on my part.
- Of course, being lazy…I hate to exercise. I exercise for only three reasons….so I don’t feel like, function like, or look like people who don’t engage in Quality Exercise.
- Last…but hardly least…I love to eat. On top of that, my wife is a fabulous cook which makes not overindulging nearly impossible.
You will have to agree that hating to exercise, loving to eat, and having a wife who is a great cook is a very dangerous combination if you also want to be the proud owner of a strong, healthy, shapely body of the low-fat variety. Therefore, my only recourse has been to learn as much as I can about exercise and nutrition so that I can eat as much as possible, and exercise as little as possible, without becoming a blimp. That is exactly what I have done and, with this book, I can help you to do the same. The following are some of my qualifications.
Education
University of Iowa
- Accepted in the Honors Program for pre-medicine
- Bachelor of Science in Physical Education
- Teacher Certification from the College of Education
Indiana State University
- Master of Science in Public Recreation
- Emphasis on Therapeutic Recreation
Sports Accomplishments and Honors
- From age 8 until age 14, won many age-group gymnastic championships, predominately in trampoline and tumbling
- Voted Most Outstanding Gymnast…every year…by fellow teammates at Georgia Military Academy
- Voted Most Promising High School Gymnast by university gymnastic coaches
- Member (alternate) of USA vs. Mexico gymnastic team at age 17
- Entered University of Iowa on a full athletic scholarship for gymnastics
- 1967 Big 10 Gymnastic Team Champions
- 1968 Big 10 Gymnastic Team Champions
- 1969 NCAA National Gymnastic Team Champions
- Co-Captain of the 1969 NCAA National Championship gymnastic team
- AAU All-American
- USGF All-American
- NCAA All-American
- Nominee for the George Nissen Award (the “Heisman Trophy” of gymnastics)
- Member of numerous All-Star gymnastic teams
- Invited participant at the first World Cup of Gymnastics
- Member of the 1968 United States Olympic Gymnastic Training Squad
- Member (alternate) of the 1972 United States Olympic Gymnastic Team
Coaching Experience
- Certified to teach beginning trampoline at 10 years of age
- Instructor at several private gymnastic clubs
- Instructor at dozens of national gymnastic clinics
- Instructor at 2 different international summer gymnastic camps
- Organized and directed a gymnastic program for the Muscatine YMCA, Iowa
- Assisted with the men’s gymnastic program at the University of Iowa
- Organized and directed a gymnastic program for 6-16 year olds at Indiana State University
- Men’s Program Director at the Indiana Summer Gymnastic Camp
- Assistant men’s gymnastic coach at Indiana State University
- Helped to coach many All-Americans and NCAA National Champions in gymnastics
In addition to the many gymnasts I helped to coach during these years, I have more recently worked with people young and old, male and female, in many other sports and occupations, including acrobats, trapeze artists, dancers, martial artists, members of the police, SWAT team, and military commando forces, fitness professionals, physical therapists, doctors, All-Americans, National Champions, European Champions, World Champions…and many “normal” people as well.
Many of the athletes I have worked with are involved in sports which use weight classes, or where bodyweight plays a major role. This means that I am not only responsible for keeping them at their competition weights, but also insuring that they are always able to compete at the highest level of their abilities. These athletes have to maintain minimum body-fat levels combined with maximum strength levels…and also avoid getting sick…all at the same time. This is definitely not an easy task.
In order to be able to do this, I have to really understand how different types of exercise and different kinds of foods truly affect the human body. This type of personal training is very complicated and time consuming, but I enjoy it immensely. It involves doing a lot of research and analysis, but I learn something new every time I do it.
All these different individuals have varied goals and individual problems, such as: body fat loss, gaining muscular weight, increasing cardiovascular endurance, gaining strength, preventing or rehabilitating injuries, recovering from illnesses as quickly as possible…or a combination of these factors.
If I can help all these different kinds of athletes, professionals, and show-biz people…I can certainly help you as well.
