Tony Horton: The man behind the success of P90X

Why did I get involved in Beachbody and P90X? Like many, I was skeptical of the infomercial. But there is a money back guarantee. And I figured if this nearly fifty year old guy named Tony Horton could do it, then why not me. And it did work, even surpassing my expectations.

If you want to know anything and everything about computer software, then you want Bill Gates. If you want to know all there is to know about fitness and how you can use it to improve your health, physique, and lifestyle, then you want Tony Horton. For over 17 years, Tony has acquired, perfected, and shared his fitness expertise with countless individuals across the country.From major movie stars and recording artists to the average Joe and Jane, Tony has helped people turn their lives around with the perfect mix of encouragement, humor, and discipline. Quite simply, he makes every workout uniquely challenging and fun.

His expertise includes post-rehabilitation training, advanced stretching, yoga, weight and resistance training, cardiovascular/aerobic training, boxing and kickboxing, plus circuit, cross, and interval training. Aside from operating ASH Fitness, a state-of-the-art training facility in Santa Monica, California, Tony has been published in various health and fitness periodicals including Men's Fitness magazine.

Tony Horton wasn't always a Beachbody. Born in Westley, RI, and raised in Trumbull, CT, Tony preferred fast food to his mother's healthy home cooking. As a kid, he hated exercising and didn't particularly like sports. He describes himself then as the "quintessential 98-pound weakling," and had all the insecurities that go along with it.After attending the University of Rhode Island, Tony moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. He found himself working long hours, which didn't leave time to exercise or eat right or so he told himself. Although his ambition was high, his physical health was at an all-time low. With some urging from his talent agent, Tony realized that to make it in showbiz, he needed to get fit.

From that point on, Tony says his life changed forever. He joined the renowned World Gym in Venice, California, where Arnold Schwartzenegger and Lou Ferrigno worked out. He watched them, and asked questions and read every book he could get his hands on. But Tony didn't like the bulky, stiff, bodybuilder look, so he focused on exercises for speed, flexibility, and balance that would give him a more streamlined appearance. He learned cardiovascular training from world-class triathlete Mark Sisson, who introduced him to exhilaration drills and interval training.

As Tony got in better shape, he noticed that other things in his life were shaping up too. He felt better, his brain was sharper, and he was more productive in everyday life. Tony had hit his stride and his world opened up. He started rock climbing, in-line skating, and doing yoga, Pilates, and plyometrics. The more he learned, the better he looked and felt.Friends and acquaintances were blown away by his physical transformation and started asking him how he did it. Before long, word got around that whatever Tony Horton was doing, he was doing right! Word soon got to musician Tom Petty. Tony helped Tom get in the best shape of his life, and then went on to train some of his rock 'n' roll friends. This began Tony's career as a sought-after fitness trainer.

Over the years, Tony built his training career, establishing ASH Fitness in Santa Monica. His acclaimed fitness techniques appeared in Men's Fitness magazine, and Tony established an on-camera presence as the spokesperson for NordicTrack. In the late '90s, Tony was retained by a major Hollywood studio to condition the entire cast of the motion picture The 13th Warrior.

In 1996 Tony met Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler through one of his clients. Tony and Carl hit it off immediately and soon became friends. Before long, Carl hired Tony to be his personal trainer. After three months of Tony's instruction, Carl was in absolute disbelief. In just 90 days, he saw changes in his body he never thought possible. Carl knew Tony had hit upon something truly revolutionary.

In 1998 Tony collaborated with Beachbody to create the Great Body Guaranteed! workout series. But it was the launch of the Power 90 in-home boot camp in 1999 that made Tony a Beachbody celebrity! Tony distilled years of fitness experience to develop the routines for Power 90, which promises optimal body transformation in just 90 days.Since the introduction of Power 90, Tony has helped to develop the Power Half Hour workout series, a yoga and stretching routine called Ho' Ala ke Kino, and P90X, the most extreme home fitness training system yet.

Tony continues to work as a personal fitness trainer in Santa Monica, California. He remains dedicated to helping people get in the best shape of their lives, including lecturing, participating in live Beachbody chats online, and developing new fitness breakthroughs.

Workouts are half the battle the other half is Nutrition

Here's ten ways to save money and buy smart at the supermarket:
1. Make a list of items you know have good nutrition and stick to the list.
2. Never shop hungry. Eat before you go.
3. Splurge a little on good nutrition. It is worth more if it's better for you.
4. Shop the edges. This is where the fresh stuff is, not all the processed and canned stuff in between.
5. Check yourself out. It causes you to pay attention to the prices of each item and re-think it.
6. Choose fewer ingredients. The less processed and added to the better.
7. Read the labels. If you don't understand it, most likely it's not good for you. Ever looked at how many things listed on a label are another word for "sugar?"
8. Avoid quickies. Do not throw that extra candy bar and magazine in at the last minute just because it's taunting you as you wait in line at checkout.
9. Bulk up. You save money when you buy in bulk. Everything from TP to Dog Food.
10. Stop retail therapy. Try not to shop when you're sad. Studies show you will spend more as a subconcious way to make yourself feel better.

Oh and one more; Don't take the kids with you. A guaranteed way to have less junk food in the basket at checkout.

Now that we've got good food in the house, let's go workout. Go to www.randysfitnessspot.com log into WOWY and you'll be working out with hundreds of others from all over the country. And you have a chance to win daily prizes just for logging in, working out, losing weight, and getting in great shape. Where else can you go where it pays to lose!

P90X Round One Done!

I just finished up my first time through P90X. Wow, I didn't expect to get the results I got from this program. I must have been dreaming a little bit thinking I was already in pretty decent shape, but this program will really kick it up a couple of notches. I guess that's why the call it the X because it is Xtreme! Here's the stats:
Body fat: Down 5%
Weight: Down 12 pounds
Chest: No change 41"
Waist: Down 3"
Hips: Down 1"
Resting Heart Rate: Before 63 After 57
Pull ups: Before 7 After 17
Vertical Leap: Before 12" After 13"
Push ups: Before 27 After 35
Overall Weight: Before 167 After 155
Body Fat%: Before 23 After 18
Check out the Before and After photo at www.randysfitnessspot.com

With the New Year arrival I hope to inspire others to join in the Fitness Revolution and get into the best shape of your life, no matter what age you are. Let's set some new goals and go for it together! I'm here to help you and committed to continue to strive for even better results in 2009. Let's do it together.

Week 10 is done

I've just started week 11 of my P90X body transformation. Feeling so much stronger and leaner with super energy. I've lost 12 pounds and over 4% body fat with abs showing that I haven't seen in years. In the home stretch and can hardly wait to do the Fitness Test I took at the start to see the differences. On my website there are pictures that show the difference after just the first month of this great program. And anybody can do this with very little investment, and no extra equipment needed.

A new product from Beachbody is also now available called Chalean Extreme. Geared for those who also want to use free weights and add a little bulk even while shedding lots of body fat. More great products from a great company that I'm proud to be an indendent fitness coach for.

There is also a new product called Project You Type 2. It's the first product of its kind to be endorsed by the American Diabetes Association and has in the box everything a person needs to battle Type 2 Diabetes.

Just head over to my website and check out the demos on these and many other Beachbody products.

www.Randysfitnessspot.com

Why do people go on diets?

When people diet they may temporarily lose weight. If they don't excercise to at least maintain muscle mass at the same time, what they lose is muscle as well as fat. Eventually they fall off the diet and the weight comes back. And they ask themselves why it comes back even faster than it went off. Well you wind up with less muscle, and a slower metabolism. So it's easier to gain the weight back and more and you wind up with a higher body fat % than when you started this yo-yo process. You have got to realize it takes effort, eating right, and exercise. I have never been on a diet, but I did come to the point where I chose to make a lifestyle change.

Here are some basic differences between a diet and a lifestyle change:

Diet: The goal is self-limiting.When you get to your goal weight, you stop the diet

Lifestyle: The goal is open-ended.Weight management becomes part of your daily life, with strategies that vary as circumstances, priorities, and needs change.

Diet: A diet is a surface level change.It involves simple changes in behaviors you are already doing (or not doing). You take in fewer calories from food and (maybe) expend more calories on activity. Foods are "good" or "bad" based on calorie content.

Lifestyle: Lifestyle changes are made on many levels.In addition to healthy changes in your relationship with food and exercise, you will challenge the basic attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings that made you overweight (and unhappy) to begin with.

Diet: Progress and success are measured by the scale.Anything that results in weight loss is considered acceptable, even if it poses potential problems or risks. Failure to lose weight as fast as desired is very upsetting, and the process feels like a constant battle. High stress is constant.

Lifestyle: Progress and success are measured in terms of satisfaction & quality of life.Weight loss and maintenance continue to be important, but are put in perspective as one way you can move towards larger, more rewarding goals. Daily ups and downs become much less stressful when you realize that you can replace the fat with muscle and even if the scale doesn't always move you're improving your body in so many ways.

Diet: Results don't last.Even if you manage to stick with all the unpleasantness of a diet long enough to reach your weight goal, your odds of keeping it off permanently are less than one in twenty.

Lifestyle: Results are lasting.Your lifestyle change is an open-ended, ongoing process with goals that continue to expand and grow. There is no reason to go back to the habits that got you overweight in the first place.

Coach Randy
http://www.randysfitnessspot.com/

Losing fat actually makes you smarter

New research shows shedding pounds can make you smarter

You already know that losing weight is good for your heart, adds years to your life, and even eases depression, but a new study proves it can also make you smarter.Researchers at Stanford University found that patients who had undergone gastric bypass surgery showed improvement in memory, problem solving, and attention to detail. Belly fat contains harmful chemicals, which, when released into the bloodstream, trigger inflammation and cloud the mind. You don’t need expensive surgery to test out this theory: Experts say losing weight through diet and exercise has the same effect. Do you feel intimidated by those folks in the gym. Or hate waiting on your turn for equipment at the gym? Are you bored with the same workouts, or stuck on a plateau? Check out the muscle confusion techniques available through a variety of BeachBody products at my website at http://www.randysfitnessspot.com/. And, of course, always remember that the workout plan isn’t effective if you’re not eating clean. Stick to whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and pack a lunch so you won’t be tempted by fatty takeout. Lose weight, and you might find you’re wittier and more productive.

Home is where good health begins

You don't have to go to a gym in order to get a great workout. In this tough economy a lot of people are looking for ways to save some money. Between the cost of gas over the past year, and gym membership costs on the rise, there has been a recent growing trend toward working out at home.

The idea of a home gym can be very appealing. There's no drive time, no parking, no line for equipment, and no membership fee. Many folks didn't go this route before because they didn't feel they had enough equipment. Did you know that well over 90% of U.S. households have a DVD player. With a variety of excellent workouts now available on DVD, you can get full hard core guided workouts with a lot of variety that will sculpt your body and build solid muscles on a limited budget with DVD's and a few bands or dumbbells. I know, because I haven't had a gym membership for several years, and have packed on lean muscle by consistently pushing play.

Check it out at www.randysfitnessspot.com