1.  Veritas Trainers

2.  People’s State Bank

3.  FAE (Fire Apparatus and Equipment)

4.  Kandell Insurance and Financial Services

5.  Growing Healthy Churches

6.  Jelly Belly’s Pools & Spas

7.  JMR Siding

8.  Horse Lovers Tack & Apparel

9.  Dr. Gutierrez, DDS

10.  Mind, Body, Spirit of Waldwick

11.  Exotika Floral Designs

12.  In the Clear

13.  Eric Nash Attorney

14.  G Freight

15.  American Crisis and Disaster Aide

For those of us that did the IWSPA (I Want Six Pack Abs) Program, we didn’t have a personal trainer.  Granted we had Arnel’s video journals and those that are just starting have the abs forum (wasn’t around for me when I started); but we did not have someone in our ear reminding us to workout or pushing us to go an extra minute or do an extra rep.  What kept me going when it wasn’t the most convenient, or when I was too tired or sick?  For me,  I realize it was pictures. It’s the difference maker in achieving your fitness goals.  If you’re starting out on your 16 Week IWSPA journey and haven’t taken your before pictures yet, what are you waiting for?  Everytime I felt discouraged, I would look at my before pics and remember why I was doing the program in the first place.  I would also get inspired by jumping on Arnel’s myspace group and viewing progress pics of other people that did the program.

As you are going through the program take pictures every week like I did.  You’ll notice changes in your physique that you wouldn’t notice from just looking in the mirror every day. And as you see changes, you’ll realize that your hard work isn’t going unrewarded, and it’ll push you even further along in your goals. When you hit the 8 or 9 week mark, post your progress pics on the abs forum so you can inspire others.   Just a side note, don’t try to compare your pictures to others; compare your progress pics to your own before pics as everyone has different pasts and body types.

The NBA will be looking to do more outdoor games in the future, along with holding more events in countries like England and China, to further promote basketball to reach different audiences.  Dallas Maverick owner, Mark Cuban, had this to say about outdoor NBA basketball:

“I’ve been trying to get permission to do a late-September charity tour for years,” Cuban said. “I think it would be great PR and fun to take several teams and play a tour of outdoor football arenas in non-NBA cities to build the popularity of the game. As successful as we’ve been in building the popularity of the game around the world, the same efforts across the country would benefit the NBA as much, if not more. How much fun would it be to play in front of 50,000 to 100,000 people and build marketing momentum leading into the season? Hopefully the Phoenix game will be a first step.”

Read more on ESPN

Although a lot of people left in the 4th quarter because they couldn’t stand the cold, we beared through it to see the Nuggets win 77-72.  I can’t wait for the regular season to start.  This is going to be a great NBA season!

Indian Wells Garden

TNT sign - my attempt to get on national tv

TNT Sign Close Up

4th quarter wid chill

What Else You Could Spend $700 Billion On
In the new issue of TIme magazine coming on Friday, the magazine crunches some numbers and reveals what people could do with $700 billion:

• Give every person in the U.S. $2,300, or give every household $6,200
• Pay the income taxes of every American who makes $500,000 or less a year
• Fully fund the Defense, Treasury, Education, State, Veterans Affairs and Interior departments next year, as well as NASA
• Buy gasoline for every car in the U.S. for 16 months
• Buy every NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball team and build each a new stadium—and pay all your players $191 million for a year.
• Create the 17th largest economy in the world—roughly equal to the Netherlands’
• Buy gasoline for every car in the U.S. for 16 months.
• You could finance the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s premier medical research institute, for 20 years.
• You could pay the salaries of 22 million average Americans for one year.
• For one year, you could pay the health care bills of the more than 85 million seniors, disabled people, children and low-income Americans enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.
• You could pay off all the outstanding student loans in the United States (from both government and private lenders) and still have $150 billion to give to current college students.
• You could pay off 7% of the $9.8 trillion (and growing) national debt.

“…I have shown a few people from work about your results and on is definitely inspired to start training again.  All the best.”

That moved me.  I could not let my injury transform me back into what I was before I started Arnel’s program. Although limping and in pain, I decided to hit the gym yesterday for some upper body work.   I couldn’t do any leg work or HIIT, but it did feel good to get back in there.  My muscles aren’t saying that right now.

I received a lot of questions from how to get started to nutrition to alternative exercises.  Although the program is relatively easy to start and did I mention FREE!, I did have to jump around to find the right information.  I’ll try to give you step by step guide on how to get started including links.

1. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxlzhk-ygY0&eurl=http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com/ watch the video, get inspired and subscribe to Arnel’s videos on You Tube.
   
2. Go to http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com/ and sign up for the newsletter (it’s free!)  Arnel’s newsletters are really valuable and includes links to new workouts and videos.
3. There are three important aspects to the IWSPA (I Want Six Pack Abs) program:  Resistance Training (3 times a week), Interval Training (cardio), and proper Nutrition.  READ, READ, READ the information Arnel talks about on the Interval Training and Nutrion links.  Everything you need to know is on there.  The Resistance Training portion is on a very easy to follow video journal format.
4. Join http://www.theabsforum.com.  Go to the Goals and Motivation section and see pictures of regular people’s progresses.

Here’s some adivce I posted on a forum:

1. push yourself – there were so many times I felt like throwing up but kept at it
2. invest in yourself – spend the money on the bodylastics, protein shakes etc. you’ll be glad that you did in the end.  ill do another post soon on what you should buy.
3. don’t reinvent the wheel – follow the program best you can
4. ask questions.  you can comment or email me if you have any.

Good Luck!

swollen left foot

A friend of mine joked around and said I would go from 6 pack abs to 6 pack flabs.  I seriously doubt that because 1) I’m hoping for a speedy recovery and 2) walking around in crutches is a workout in itself.  I feel like i’m working out my core a lot more from just trying to balance, and putting more pressure on my upper body including my shoulders and triceps.

Crutch & Wrapped Ankle

Anyway I go to see my primary care doctor today to make sure everything was okay with my ankle.  He told me that it should heal over time and that I should use RICE to help it do so.  Okay so I’m Asian, that should be easy right?  What he actually meant was R.I.C.E., an acronym that doctors use to treat sprains which stand for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

• Rest – Keep pressure and weight off the area of the sprain
• Ice – 15 minutes of cold therapy every 1-2 hours to reduce the swelling
• Compression – wrap with a splint to keep the muscle/body part properly aligned
• Elevation – keep the sprained area elevated also to reduce swelling

He also added anti-inflammatory drug like Advil or Aleve to help with the pain and swelling.  Although I don’t wish a sprain like mine on anyone (intense pain and discomfort), if you ever get one remember R.I.C.E., it’ll help you to heal quickly.

34 inch waist

I had just turned 32 years old,  I was lethargic, I constantly ate fast food like it was going out of style, and I sat in front of a computer for more that 10 hours a day.   I was disgusted with how I felt and looked physically and it carried over mentally and socially.

Out of shape

I decided I needed a transformation, but I needed a plan to do it that was proven and didn’t require me to shell out lots of cash.  I needed a plan that wasn’t a gimmick.

The “I Want Six Pack Abs” program came at the right time.  Here was a guy on the videos that looked like an average joe and not someone you see on a boflex commercial–someone I could relate to.  He wasn’t pitching a fad diet or new end-all workout equipment.  You didn’t have to pay for a membership to his site, although after the results I got I would’ve paid for the valuable information I learned.  On www.iwantsixpackabs.com, Arnel Ricafranca (fitnessvip), mapped out his 16 week plan that he did himself to get the ideal body he wanted via daily video journal.   All I did was follow his journal along with other valuable tips like eating 5-6 smaller meals per day and high intesity interval training that he discusses on the site.  I started the 16 week program on June 2nd, 2008 and concluded on September 22, 2008.  And here are my results:

Start to 8 weeks:  (lost weight, gained muscle, and hair!)

Start to 8 weeks

After the 16 Weeks(6-2-08 thru 9-22-08) I Want Six Pack Abs Program :  (got a tan and new tattoo)

16 weeks flex

16 weeks abs

back flex

I am so amazed with the results. There was a theory that I heard while working through the program. It was that if you have never had 6 pack abs in your life, you will never have them even if you work out hard. Abs are genetics. I just debunked that myth.

I hope to be an inspiration to other people that struggle with their weight, that want to transform their lives. If the program worked out for me who never ever had abs in my life, who is 32 years old (so called slower metabolism as you age), and who has a job sitting at a computer for 9+hours a day, and who was weak physically as I was, it should work for anyone.