Tag: fitness
Transformation Update
Back on March 1st, I posted an article here titled “Transformation on Demand.” It was about Bill Phillips and his 12 week program, called Transformation, which I entered at the time.
Recently I completed it. It took focus, energy, sacrifice and commitment. I feel better about it than I do all my books, albums, movies or much else.
I'm a winner!
I received a medal, certificate of completion, and t-shirt for my 12-week accomplishment. I’m continuing on with the program, as I love the results I’m getting.
I feel GRRRRRRREAT!!!
As I said on March 1st, I fully endorse Bill Phillips and his Transformation Challenge. I am not an affiliate for anything he offers, but I fully recommend all of it.
For more details, go to http://www.transformation.com/ or send an email to [email protected]
Go for it!
Ao Akua,
joe
PS – I interviewed Bill Phillips in-depth about his life and career and Body-For-Life movement for my March 20th podcast. See https://www.mrfire.com/podcast.html
PPS – My “Transformation on Demand” original blog post about Bill Phillips and his Transformation Weekend is at http://blog.mrfire.com/transformation-on-demand/
Click here to receive book free
Transformation On Demand
How do you transform?
How do you make such a dramatic change in your life that the new you is clearly different than the old you?
How long does it take?
Is it even possible?
Some people have to hit bottom before they change. Some never do. Others do it spontaneously. Still others do it intentionally.
I’m interested in the last group; those wonderful souls who choose to transform. If you’ve been wanting to make a change in your life, this subject might interest you, too. So let’s explore it.
Three weeks ago today I completed the Bill Phillips Transformation weekend. It’s a three day kick start on a twelve week program to transform your life, focusing on your health. I love the program, have already had dramatic results, and see principles in it that you can use to transform your life in any area.
Let’s talk about it…
Bill Phillips and wife Maria
I’ve been a fan of Bill Phillips since he started the famous Body For Life fitness contests back in 1996. I entered and completed five of them in a row back in 2004 and 2005. It took discipline and commitment and I gave it my all.
I lost 80 pounds, received five certificates of completion, and won an honorable mention for my success. I’m still proud of those five certificates of achievement. I’ve showed them off to everyone who visits my gym, including actor/bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno.
The Great Lou Ferrigno in my gym
When I met Bill Phillips the first time years ago, I told him how he influenced my life. He flattered me by saying he had studied my marketing materials and that I had influenced him, too. It was an unforgettable moment for me.
My Certificates of Achievement for completing five consecutive Body for Life contests in 2004 and 2005
But that was almost ten years ago. Bill Phillips moved on. I grew older. I lost touch with him and his wisdom. As I approached the age of 60, and felt my body age and my waist line grow, I wanted his help again.
I had tried low cal, no cal, low carb, no carb, high protein, veggie, juice, HCG, cabbage, low Glycemic, blood type, kitten food (kidding) and other diets. They all work in the short term.
But as Bill Phillips says, dieting is like holding your breath. When you come up for air, you’ll devour everything in sight.
Been there.
Not good.
Or healthy.
I knew you had to change the inside before your outside would change. After all, that’s the core of my message these days. For that reason, I’ve gone through a long list of self help processes, including personal work with the amazing Morty Lefkoe.
And now I wanted and was ready for the complete package. I wanted the dramatic and long term results I had gotten on the Body for Life program, only with any updates in transformation since those days long ago.
So I did the only logical thing: I Googled Bill Phillips.
Bill Phillips showing you can eat well (here devouring a turkey burger) and still be fit
Turns out Bill is doing great, looking great, and still inspiring others through something he calls Transformation Camp and the Transformation Challenge. It didn’t take me long to decide to register for his three day weekend and be trained personally by him.
Bill trained Clint Eastwood, Sly Stalone, Whoopie Goldberg, the Denver Broncos and other celebrities and athletes. Having the chance to train with him personally would be worth whatever the investment. I’ve met movie stars and super stars and worked out with their celebrity fitness trainers, but I was more excited about being with Bill than anyone else.
And I wasn’t disappointed.
Bill is warm, wise, relaxed, supportive, inspiring. He loves scientific research and quotes it as easily as others quote sports scores or jokes. He’s also a great storyteller, and openly shares his personal struggles.
For example, Bill had a near death experience when he almost drowned in Hawaii. It shattered his world view. It triggered a quest for him to study esoteric literature and ancient spirituality. He traveled around the world, visited healers and mystics, and probed for the secrets of the universe.
He also fell down the stairs in his home and broke both his legs. That experience caused him to put all his life research and life experience – everything from fitness and spirituality to psychology and metaphysics – into an entirely new program. It’s what he today calls Transformation.
Maria Phillips lost 65 pounds
Bill’s insights are mind opening:
- He said focus on process, not perfection.
- He said he doesn’t care to avoid death, that he instead wants us to live long enough to complete our life mission.
- He said he’s seen dramatic transformation right after people take total self responsibility.
- He said he’s seen 225% better results in achieving goals when people have group support.
- He said lives transform after people experience forgiveness and let go of resentment.
Of course, Bill’s seen these transformations firsthand and been the catalyst for a staggering amount of them. Not a few hundred, but a few hundred thousand.
His earlier book, Body For Life, influenced a million people. His later book, Eating For Life, is still a bestseller. His latest book, Transformation, is picking up where his earlier work left off.
Bill Phillips' latest book
I’m used to Bill’s evidence based approach to proving his methods. I still recall flipping through the pages of his popular magazine from a decade ago, Muscle Media. It was packed with pages and pages of before and after photos of people who had dramatically transformed their bodies and their lives, in only twelve weeks. Bill’s gym in Denver, Colorado also has before/after pictures.
The evidence that change is possible is overwhelming.
Today Bill focuses on a more all encompassing transformation. Health and fitness are still a focus, but not the only ones. He’s less concerned about muscle building and more focused on inner life building. His whole being approach to transformation is about taking control of your entire life, not just what you see in the mirror.
And today Bill is offering it on a smaller scale. Once a month he personally trains, inspires, and guides thirty people in his Transformation Center in Denver. Every weekend camp sells out in advance. Besides the three day intensive, Bill’s team offers ongoing support by email and on Facebook for another twelve weeks.
It’s clear to me that Bill is on a life mission. He doesn’t appear to care about financial reward. He cares about you. And me. He’s donated over two million dollars to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This is a man who cares about people.
And that’s why I joined his Transformation Camp three weeks ago. I’m going to respect the privacy of the thirty people in the weekend with me and Bill. I’m not going to describe our experiences. They were personal, and my group is now a support team. I love them.
Let’s just say that when I walked in the door for the first day of Transformation, and was met with Bill’s sister making me pancakes, I knew I was in the right place. (They were protein pancakes, tasted delicious, and the recipe is in the book, Eating For Life.)
Bill Phillips and my new book and new music
But let’s go back to the questions I asked about how people change. Since the other questions were answered in this post, let’s just look at the key one: How can you transform?
There are five key steps to transformation:
- A decision. You “demand” transformation by choosing it. Your conscious intent to go in a new direction redirects your life flow and aims you where you want to go. It all begins here.
- A plan. You control circumstances when you are prepared for them. Having information on what to do, how and when, will guide you down the path to transformation.
- A vision. A clear picture of the end result you want will help you attract it into your life. A great way to accelerate that transformation is to step into the end vision and live from it right now, today.
- A why. The more reasons you have for wanting transformation, the better and faster will be the results.
- A support team. When someone believes in you, odds are you will boost your own opinion of yourself. When you are in a group of people who want your transformation as much if not more than you do, you will go in the direction of speedy transformation.
Finally, let’s hear from Bill Phillips —
“No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change, and no one can take that away.”
The path is clear for you or anyone to begin their own transformation.
It all begins with step one — a decision.
What’s yours?
Ao Akua,
joe
PS — I fully endorse Bill Phillips and his Transformation Challenge. I am not an affiliate for anything he offers, but I fully recommend all of it. For more details, go to http://www.transformation.com/ or send an email to [email protected]
PPS – Here’s a bonus for you. It’s Bill Phillips giving some advice. Enjoy.
Member BBB 2003 - 2013
Dinner with Lou Ferrigno
About four months ago I had breakfast with the incredible “Hulk,” actor Lou Ferrigno. We hit it off so well that we kept in touch, and had a three hour dinner when he returned to my area. That was the other night. And I’m still so excited and inspired that I still can’t sleep.
Lou is an inspiration. He looks better now at 61 years old than he did earlier in his life, when he was a three hundred pound bodybuilding giant who won awards and inspired millions. Today he is fit, healthy, and as gentle and loving as a kitten.
Posing holding the Steve Reeves Mr. Universe trophy of 1948, the very trophy that had inspired Lou as a teenager
But don’t let that warm smile fool you. He’s iron willed, focused, dedicated and moving forward like a Mack truck stuck in high gear. He’s a force of nature.
Still, he took great interest in my life and work. He wanted to know about my current projects. I told him about my two books coming out in early 2013, my four music albums with two more on the way, the Wealth Trigger Live seminar planned for February in Austin, and my idea to end homelessness.
In my gym with the rare Animal Trainer machine that Steve Reeves used to overcome a shoulder injury. (Lou's friend Brad Taylor standing behind machine.)
He loved it all, was impressed, and congratulated me.
Of course, he’s not sitting around. He’s been on 45 planes in three weeks. He’s traveling, speaking, meeting the fans, working on a new movie and possible television series, has his active website and fitness consulting going on, and plans a huge Ferrigno Fit movement he’ll be announcing in 2013.
In my private gym with the Steve Reeves Universal Machine to Lou's left and the Nexersys behind me
Lou met me due to our mutual admiration for legendary bodybuilder and first action movie figure, Steve Reeves. So he came to my home to see my private gym, my Reeves collection, and more. He loved it all, but I think he was most impressed with my office and all the books and guitars. He sat in my office chair and surveyed the area. He looked right at home.
Lou loved my office
Lou asked surprisingly in-depth questions, such as, “What is your greatest fear?’
I spent so much time thinking about my answer that he nudged me by saying, “You know what it is.”
After I told him about fear of failure, he confessed he doesn’t know how to swim. He fears going down in a plane over water.
Lou's autobiography signed to Steve Reeves, now part of my collection
He also asked, “What’s your biggest dream?”
I told him about Operation YES, my idea to end homelessness, and the book on it coming out in a few weeks. I thought he would ridicule it, but instead he said, “That’s beautiful!”
He was very supportive of my health and fitness dreams, and said I was doing the right things. He watched what I ate and drank and complimented me on my choices. His references to my living past 100 years old made me feel I could live that long, or longer. When I told him about the five fitness contests I had been in, and showed him the certificates I got for each, he was as proud as me. He knows all so well what it takes to discipline yourself to win.
He asked me about my collections (guitars, books, Reeves, and more) and said he buys two of everything he loves as he fears losing one of them. And when he buys something, he buys the best.
Lou hugging Nerissa
This amazing man still works out several days a week, an hour a pop, and prefers lifting iron to anything else. He loves fitness equipment, though, and collects it. He had never seen The Burn Machine before, an exercise tool I love so much I bought several for myself and more to give as gifts to friends. He wants to buy one — probably two — for himself.
Lou with "The Wall," the actual chalk board with the fitness routine Steve Reeves used when he was a teenager
I’ve been around a lot of celebrities and movie stars, but have rarely met one so at ease with himself. He said he likes me because I “don’t have an ego.” Well, everyone does, but some of us keep it in check. Lou does.
Nerissa was a bit star struck to be with him. She’s met several celebrities, too, but Lou is so present with people, that you can feel him paying attention to you. She asked him for exercise advice. He said to take it easy and do what you enjoy. He got up and walked across the room, moving fast, with a determined stride, to demonstrate what he meant. She promised him to start walking more every day.
Lou with the 13 children of the Collie family, and parents Bruce and Holly, in Vitale Cigar Room, where we had a three hour dinner
A truly emotional moment was when Bruce Collie – former NFL Super Bowl football star, father of 13 beautiful children, owner of Brewster’s Pizza and the Vitale Cigar Room where we met – met Lou and told him how the great actor had changed his life when he was young and troubled.
Holly and Bruce Collie with Lou
I can’t say enough great things about Lou Ferrigno. When you get a chance to meet him, you’ll know what I mean.
His website is right here.
Ao Akua,
PS — My breakfast with Lou Ferrigno was posted here on my blog on June 27th. You can read it at: http://blog.mrfire.com/breakfast-with-lou-ferrigno/
Member BBB 2003 - 2013
Believe: The Fitness Model Diet
Celebrity fitness model Jennifer Nicole Lee is not only beautiful, but inspiring. She credits me with inspiring her, but it sure seems the other way around these days.
We met almost one year ago when she signed on for my Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind, which ABC News* filmed.
I found her charming, funny, sexy, smart, and eager to learn. Within minutes we were talking like old friends and brainstorming new ideas to increase her business, while ABC News* kept the cameras rolling.
Recently Jennifer sent me a bobble head of herself, as well as her new book. Even the bobble head of her is sexy.
While the bobble head is fun, Jennifer’s new book is beyond good. It’s great. It’s high-quality, hardcover, packed with information and (of course) pictures. It reveals her fitness secrets. Since she’s a woman who has transformed herself from fat and unhappy to award-winning fit and contagiously happy, her wisdom is worth our time.
I like the book so much I placed it in the window at the top of the stairs in my new office. I see it every time I enter the room, which puts a spring in my step. 🙂
Jennifer signs almost everything with one word: “Believe!”
When I asked her about it, she explained that belief is the secret to transforming yourself and achieving all you desire.
I believe her.
Ao Akua,
PS – Here’s a YouTube video about Jennifer Nicole Lee’s new book on the fitness model diet:
Note: I am not an affiliate for anything Jennifer offers. I’m sharing what she does because I think it’s worthwhile. Check it out.
* Six months later ABC News shared this (you’ll have to watch an ad for a drug first): http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/video/joe-vitale-takes-clients-ride-11038944
Member BBB 2003 – 2011
The Hercules Cookbook
How did Hercules stay fit?
What did the greatest bodybuilder eat to stay healthy and win all those awards?
What can you and I learn from the nutrition secrets of the man who influenced more superheros than anyone else?
You may or may not know that I’m a fan of Steve Reeves, the actor who played Hercules, and the bodybuilder who won so many awards — Mr. Amercia, Mr. World, Mr. Universe — before steroids.
I have everything from Steve’s car (1976 Jaq XJS) to his home gym (commercial grade Universal).
Recently I teamed up with Reeves’ friend and business partner, George Helmer, and wrote an unusual cookbook about what Reeves ate as an actor and bodybuilder to live a long and healthy life.
It’s called The Hercules Cookbook: The Recipes and Nutrition Secrets of Steve Reeves.
This is far more than a cookbook. It’s packed with full-color photographs of Reeves on and off the movie set, and contains terrific stories about Reeves. It reveals what the world’s first film action hero ate to stay fit — before fitness was considered cool.
We are going to offer this collectible book as a downloadable e-book very soon. But I wanted you to know that if you wanted a limited-edition printed copy, signed by me and George Helmer, that we only have 250 available.
It’s just $29.95 (a screaming deal) but there are strictly only 250 copies being printed (and I’m keeping a box of them myself to give out as gifts).
This book has great stories from people who knew Steve best, great color photos, information on how he became an expert on nutrition, and what he ate during his years in bodybuilding, starring in films, and on his ranch. We have had this information for many years and now want to share it with you.
The book measures 8′ x 10′ inches and has 108 pages of little-known information and amazing color photos. You’ll love thumbing through the book, reading the stories, looking at the pictures, and trying out the recipes.
And don’t think Steve only ate nuts and bananas. He wasn’t a monkey. He enjoyed normal food made in special ways – including brownies!
We are now taking orders for this limited-edition printed book and will not charge your credit card until we ship your book. The books are due to ship on December 11, 2010, so you’ll get yours in time for the holiday season (assuming you order today).
Order by clicking right here. (If the link doesn’t work, go to http://www.stevereeves.com, click on the online store, and search under ‘books’.)
The book is a historic work, perfect for anyone interested in cooking, eating, nutrition, health, fitness, movies, classic bodybuilding or of course the great Steve Reeves.
Ao Akua,
PS – Remember, there are only 250 copies of the printed, collectible, signed book. To get yours, go to http://shop.stevereeves.com/store/viewItem.shop?idProduct=273 or go to http://www.stevereeves.com, click on the online store, and then search under ‘books’.
Member BBB 2003 – 2011
