Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

Lots of cool stuff happened this week. Just can't tell you about it...yet :).

Remember I said you are apart of a community here at Gym Superstar?

Well, we have a member of the community now helping me with Recipes of The Week.

Subscriber Joan (soon to be sports nutrition advisor) has agreed to help us out.

So every week you're going to be given a brand new, healthy recipe to try out and use
towards accomplishing your health goals.

The first recipe of the week is Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers.

You can go see the recipe here:

http://www.gymsuperstar.com/myths.html

And Lisa (another subscriber) will have her interview she did with me released to you this
week. Tons of awesome advice in it so be on the lookout.

Let me know what you think of the recipe :)

Keep ROCKIN' IT!

Dan Grant
The Vitality Coach
http://www.gymsuperstar.com

What's Been Happening At Gym Superstar?

It's been a busy week here at Gym Superstar. The website is about 90% done (it's done enough that I'm going to send you there to check it out anyways). We are planning and organizing our spring bootcamps to begin in april. We are setting up a date for my High Performance Health Seminar. And we are getting ready to do A LOT of travelling in May.

I'll be in D.C and Virginia for about a week and then at the end of May I'll be in New Jersey for a Conference. There's a lot of stuff to do in a short amount of time but that's why Justin and I sat down and wrote out what had to be done and by when.

Just doing that is going to help us make sure we stay on track and get it all accomplished.

Have you been planning and writing down what steps you need to take to reach your goals???

Side note: I've gotten such good feedback from Step 1 and 2 about changing your 'reality' it kind of caught me off guard a little bit. I knew people would be interested, but i didn't think you'd be THAT interested. I LOVE getting those emails from you. And don't worry, more steps are coming.

Anyways, I've been getting a lot of emails about cheap ways to workout. (ie. not paying 50 bucks a month for a gym membership, and not paying a personal trainer...i still hate being called that sometimes....a bazillion dollars for lack luster results).

So there are two things I wanted to tell you about today.

ONE: The Gym Superstar In-home program is READY and it's extremely affordable and it's not 100's of pages of crap to read through, just the plan and some cool audio interviews that will help. I just put it up on the homepage of the new website at http://www.gymsuperstar.com

TWO: People have suggested I start a coaching program. I don't know how much it would cost (it would be a lot less then hiring a guy who got his certification over the internet....our industry is idiotic...seriously). The only thing I'm asking if there is interest for it. That's all. So please let me know if you'd be interested in it and if there's enough I'll go ahead and figure out how we can make it win-win for everybody.

I learned a couple new exercises last week that I'll be filming in the next week and will make those available on the blog as soon as they're done.

So, not really a lot of teaching or learning in this email...sorry...I just wanted to make sure you were up to date on everything and if you have any questions or such just let me know :).

Keep ROCKIN' IT!

Dan Grant
The Vitality Coach
http://www.gymsuperstar.com

PS - follow me of twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dgfitness

Interview with Newsletter Subscriber Jo Anne Burns

As I've said in my OPERATION: Burn Fat FAST! E-course, I want this newsletter to be a community group. There are even some subscribers getting involved with helping me out with information for my sites.

I've actually interview 2 amazing women from this list and I will be giving you both interviews (both very inspiring).

Today's interview is with Jo Ann Burns from Minnesota. Enjoy and if you have any questions for Jo Ann let me know and I'll make sure you get your answers :).

Interview with Jo Ann Burns



Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you're so involved in fitness?

I truly believe that how fit you are is a reflection of your self-respect for yourself. I also believe there is a direct correlation, obviously, to how well you live your life.

We are given one body - why not respect it and give it 110% everyday? I grew up loving fitness - I was big into basketball and was an all conference player - and really have always been intrigued by the entire facet of eating well and training hard.

I coached JV basketball for 2 years - and loved working with kids and instilling in them the "champion chant"....Now, with 2 small girls - who are 5 and 9, I watch the state of our world and fitness has become an even greater purpose in my life - trying to instill in kids the importance of fitness and controlled meals.

I am 42 years old and am an active competitor in figure bodybuilding. I love the discipline and results that come with training so hard - and being so determined about where I am going.

How many days a week do you workout?

I train 6 days a week - I saw a quote once - that said - girls workout - women train. I definitely consider the time I spend in the gym as training. My trainings are 60 minutes max and I work extremely hard and I'm done....the key is remembering that 80% or more of your results happen outside of the gym....yes, I certainly train hard, but I eat succint, smart, controlled food that compliments my training. Once you get the combination down - it's so simple.

What are your goals and why are they important to you? My goals are to "get better every single day"....positive attitude is a must. I am one of those people that wakes up every morning and I, quite frankly, talk to myself.

But my mantra is this - I tell myself how lucky I am to be where I am right now and how fortunate I am to have the discipline to know where I am going. I tell myself that I will train harder than the day before, be more focused and touch every life I can to empower them to be more healthy.

I will continue to compete every year - this year I'm competing at least twice, if not three times....next year I'm planning on going to the Cayman Islands to compete......and possibly go for my pro card.

I also am proud to say, I know I'm a great role model for my girls. They train with me, they watch me - they eat healthy foods - they understand the difference between foods that feed your body and those that really don't....I am setting in place for them my legacy and that is truly the most important part for me.

What's your training philosophy?

I have so many quotes I live by - "get better every day" - "if you believe it you will become it" - "lift heavy or go home" - "be the miracle".....I believe it's my job to inspire others...and, I know I do that everyday.

There is not a day that goes by that people don't ask me - "how long did it take you to get where you are at and how do you train"....I have to say most are skeptical when they hear my regimen. Women, by nature, are cardio queens.

My training philosophy is - lift heavy and hard, supersets and dropsets - smart cardio which is short sprints and intense and you're done. Cardio and too much of it - especially steady state just eats your muscle - which you need to burn fat - any so many don't realize the more cardio you do - simply you just become good at it and you need to do more...who has time for 2 hours of cardio???

I sure don't - and I would not look the way I do if I did that much cardio. I love having muscle - I love being super strong - and I love the fact that my training is less than 60 minutes.

My best advice is "stop the cardio" and "start lifting weights and heavy" - there is no such thing as bulky and heavy weights....and if you are getting bulky there is no correlation to the weights - it's the amount of carbs you are putting in your mouth - so check out your diet.....

Train hard - no looking back - no regrets....just living life incredibly fit, happy and fulfilled!

Thanks Jo Anne!!!

Remember, if you have any questions for Jo Anne you can email them to me and I'll get those questions to her.

Next week I will release the other interview with Lisa.

Keep ROCKIN' IT!

Dan Grant
The Vitality Coach

PS - Do YOU have a story you think will inspire the list? Let me know and we'll set up an interview with you too.

Step 2 in Changing Your 'Reality'

Another enormous response from you guys about Monday's email. I got a lot of great answers as to what the first step in changing your 'reality' should be, but almost all of them boiled down to the basic need to have a healthy and positive self-image of yourself.

So what's step 2?

In my books, the next step is getting a CLEAR VISION of what you want.

Your 'reality' is based on what your purpose is. If your purpose is mixed up and not very clear, then your 'reality' will seem scattered and unorganized. That's frustrating.

If your purpose is exact, then your 'reality' is filled with precision and useful action.

A clear vision of what you truly want gives you the ability to know exactly what your priorities are.

A client of mine and I had this exact conversation this morning. She was training for a fitness competition and while away on vacation she tore her rotator cuff. That's when she came to me for rehab and training advice. This week, everything was feeling a lot better, until Monday when she seemed to reinjure it while teaching a fitness class (she's very motivated...and admitebly doesn't listen to rehab advice sometimes).

She was very frustrated and in pain. Today we sat down and went over why this has been so frustrating to her and what her TRUE priorities are.

As a result I found out that the only reason she was really doing the fitness competition was because everybody told her she should. (Tip: If you're going after a goal that doesn't give you a burning desire to complete, then you're wasting your time)
I then asked her about her priorities. What was more important to her.

She said priority number 1 was her business. Priority number 2 was being able to teach her classes (she absolutely loves teaching her fitness classes, at this point, the tears started to come out). And her third priority was the fitness competition.

Once we pinned down the priorities it was clear to her that the fitness competition wasn't as important to her as she thought. She HATED dieting for one thing, she's does not want to shelf out a thousand bucks on supplements (when she told me this, I was a little annoyed that her dietition was going to make her take all these crazy things), and this WASN'T her goal.

INSTANTLY, after our half hour talk, the weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, she was a lot happier, she had a clear vision on now what needed to be done, and she stopped craving peanut butter :).

In a matter of a half hour of thinking and talking, she changed her 'reality' from one of frustration and agony, to one of hope and happiness.

It's amazing what you can do if you have a clear vision of what you want.

Sit down and write out what your priorities are in your life. Figure out what is stressing you out and if they really should be (where are those stresses on your priority list?)

When people are frustrated and lost because they are overwhelmed, a lot of negative thinking occurs.

When people realize what they want and have a clear focus on it, it brings nothing but true positive thinking, because the more clear the vision, the more 'real' it has become.

What is your VISION for yourself?

What are your priorities?

Please, let me know.

Keep ROCKIN' IT!

Dan Grant
The Vitality Coach

PS - I'd love to hear from you. I read all of my emails everyday. And, although, I cannot answer then that very day sometimes, I will get back to you if you'd like...just give me a couple days :).

Step One In Changing Your 'Reality'

WOW!

First off, THANK YOU for all the kind words from
the last email. It's an amazing feeling knowing
the true impact that some of my emails have on
people. You guys are the best.

I got a pretty consistent question from the mass
of emails I did receive so I want to try and
answer it to the best of my ability.

"How can you change your current 'reality' into a
new 'reality'?"

There's no clear, do this and you have a
different reality I don't think. Obviously, it's
a change in mindset that brings you the new
reality, but I feel if you want to change it for
good you need steps to make that new mindset a
habit (or the way you always will now think).

I think the first step is learning to have a
positive self-image.

We were born with a choice. A choice we still
have today. Are we going to be successful or not?

I've struggled with positive self-image in the
past and still slightly do today. There were
times where it really held me back from doing
something that could have made my career a lot
more successful.

I'm 6'3" and about 210 pounds, so I'm not a small
guy, but sometimes I get 'skinny' syndrome where
I think I'm too skinny and for some reason I
think people won't listen to my advice because
I'm not packed with huge muscle. And it's
RIDICULOUS that I think that sometimes.

At those times I have a poor self-image of myself
and it stops me from sharing my thoughts and
opinions with people sometimes.

Why do I think that way sometimes and why do I
let that hold me back sometimes?
Growing up I was very skinny. When I went to
college I was 6'2" and 168 pounds. First thing
coaches told me, "You're way too skinny, we need
to bulk you up."

A lot of things said to me about my size where
about me being too skinny.

Well, that's negative. It makes it sound like
being skinny is a BAD thing. So all of a sudden I
think less of myself because of my size. How
stupid is that?

I understand why I needed to get bigger (I wanted
too...I always wanted to be bigger), but the
constant barrage of information being sent into
my mind about being too skinny gave it such a
negative undertone that in my head, I was too
skinny and that was my 'reality'.

I now know that my 'reality' is that my body size
is FINE and what's important is that I live a life of
good health and the information I use that helps
people.

Because the more you help people get what they
want, the more you get of what you want.

I do this to help people. The more people I help,
the happier I am, and the more confident I am in
my abilities.

I'm very successful at what I do, because I have
the up most confidence IN MYSELF to be able to
deliver those results to people. There were
choices involved in me becoming that confident.

It was a choice for me to read and study all of
that research. It was a choice for me to read all
those success books. It was a choice for me to
apply and try out the information I learned from
those success books. I'm not exactly re-inventing
the wheel here. I'm applying what has worked for
people in the past, using it myself, and then
passing it on to people who don't know about it.

It's then THEIR choice whether they use it or
not.

Sometimes when I talk about training philosophies
and what I teach, I sometimes get someone saying,
"well, that's not really news to me, I've heard
that before."

"Have you applied it with your training then?"

"No"

"Well, then why are you asking me for advice? If
you've tried and failed with that information,
then you would have gained knowledge as to what
might not work for you. If you didn't try it,
then it was like you never heard that news,
because NOTHING happened."

I think I'll stop here, before I get off track
and start rambling.

There's obviously a step 2. But step 1, is
getting a positive self-image of yourself and
accepting the fact that the choice to succeed or
fail is YOURS and YOURS alone.

Again, I WANT to hear your thoughts. Please email
them to me.

Keep ROCKIN' IT!

Dan Grant
The Vitality Coach

PS - The new site is getting there. Since the
crash we've obviously had a lot to do. Justin (my
manager) is doing a great job getting all the
information back and on the site.

PPS - just click 'reply' and let me know what you
think is the the first step in changing your
'reality'.

What's 'REAL' to you?

Depression is become rampant in our society. With all this economy crap going on plus all the unfulfilling messages that advertisements are pushing on us, we just don’t really have a lot of self-confidence left in us.

Or do we?

I used to be clinically depressed during my latter college days but instead of give you that whole story here I’d like to tell you what I’ve learned from that experience and what I continue to learn today.

I have clients who are depressed and there’s hardly a day that goes by where I don’t get an email from somebody who’s extremely depressed about their physical body and/or overall circumstances.

This is why I decided today to email you about a very deep subject (too deep to cover in one email), and give you my perspective on what helped me ‘get out’ and ‘get in’ to a world where anything is possible. A world that can be yours, as well.

To me, it’s all about REALITY.

What’s REAL to you?

When I was depressed, the only way to have fun and make friends was to go out and get drunk was ‘real’ to me.

Not being able to satisfy my family with my baseball career was ‘real’ to me.

Thinking that the world was a never ending struggle and all it will do is take my dreams away from me was ‘real’ to me.

Believing that the only way I could make it through a baseball game was to take a couple Vioxx pills (yes, the one they took off counters a few years ago because of the dangers of it) was ‘real’ to me.

What’s ‘REAL’ to you?

Is your health being impossible to conquer ‘real’ to you?

Is it just not happening that you can’t go out one weekend without drinking?

Is having absolutely no time to exercise ‘real’ to you?

Is being the person everybody stares at when you go to the gym ‘real’ to you?

One big thing I know about all this is that your surroundings play an amazingly HUGE role in determining how you think and what you do.

If most of your friend’s party on the weekend, then it wouldn’t be hard to figure out what you’re doing, would it.

If your family grew up feeding you KFC as your protein source then it wouldn’t shock me that KFC is still apart of your life.

Why do you do things that are bad for you, even if you know that they are bad for you?

I think it’s because you BELIEVE them to be the truth about you and they’ve brought you the COMFORT of your current situation.

And just because you’re comfortable doesn’t mean that you’re happy and loving life. Usually being comfortable is what makes life monotonous, boring, and unhappy which brings along depressed feelings and a negative attitude that your world sucks.

I know I’m going to have a lot more to talk about this subject so I won’t make this a marathon email.

I want to hear your thoughts, as well on this subject so email them to me.

What I wanted to get across today though was that YOU have FULL control on what goes into your head and what you believe to be ‘REAL’.

Everything around you has an effect on what you actually believe to be ‘real’. It’s up to you to decide if those things about actually ‘real’ and what you’re going to do to make your life the best life that you can possibly imagine.

Keep ROCKIN’ IT!

Dan Grant
The Vitality Coach

PS – we had a website crash last week, so the site is slowly getting back up, so if you go there and it’s all ‘crazy’ looking that’s why.

PPS – I want to hear your thoughts on this last email. Just click the reply button and let me know.

25 Random Things about me...

Hi,

There’s a fitness community I usually go to see what other fit pros are up to. One post the other day got a huge response and I wanted to share it with you and get you involved.

It’s called 25 random things about me…some literally nobody knows until right now.

Here are mine…

1. I was born in Thunder Bay, ON, Canada, November 12, 1981.

2. I don’t think my brother and I ever got through a video game when we were younger without any punches thrown.

3. I can’t watch horror movies…hate them so much.

4. my favorite singer is James Taylor

5. I was told I was clinically depressed and suffered from major social anxiety January 2003 by school doctors. That November I took my final pill and vowed to never take one again. I never did and now help people who suffer with depression themselves.

6. There’s nothing like watching the Toronto Maple Leafs play hockey on a Saturday night.

7. In 2002 my Junior College baseball team won the NJCAA World Series and I was name Series MVP and 1st team All-American.

8. One Mother’s Day I dislocated my elbow playing Frisbee with my dad. The very next Mother’s Day I almost cut my finger off. Let’s just say I was under very close watch that next Mother’s Day.

9. My Grandpa Grant died of cancer September 27, 2005, the same day as my mom and dad’s 24th wedding anniversary. He was the greatest man I ever knew.

10. My Grandma Grant died after a stroke in March of 2001. Before flying back to Illinois after the funeral my dad told me to hit a homerun for Grandma. The very first pitch I saw back in Illinois I hit over the wall for my very first college homerun.

11. I bought my very first car in September ’08. A trusty ’09 Toyota Corolla.

12. I made my baseball comeback last summer and somehow pulled off one of my most successful playing summers ever and won MVP. I’m now retired…again.

13. I have never done any type of illegal drug.

14. My full name is Daniel Charles John Grant. People usually think it’s cool I have 4 first names.

15. I’m a very emotional person. I tear up very easily at the site of someone reaching their dreams or falling short of them.

16. I believe that everybody’s purpose on earth is to be happy.

17. I almost died on the baseball field when a hard ground ball jumped up and hit me in the throat. I couldn’t breathe for minutes and the doctor said if that ball hit me 1/8th of an inch to the right it would have broken my trachea.

18. My sister not only takes amazingly cool pictures, she’s also the best writer I know.

19. I now wish I didn’t quit learning the piano when I was 11.

20. My favorite movie of all time is ROCKY. I ran the famous Rocky steps last January, it was awesome.

21. My favorite place to go shopping is a book store. I have way to many books I haven’t read yet because of that.

22. I say a prayer to myself every single night before going to bed. I ask God to bless my dad, mom, mark (bro), Ashley (sis), grandpa, grandma and all my uncles, aunts and cousins. I also say hi to my dog Baron. He passed away 11 years ago this month.

23. My favorite date to go on with my girlfriend (when we actually see each other since I’m in Edmonton and she’s in Virginia) is going to the movies. Our first date together was going to see Terminator 3…I’m very romantic :).

24. I love telling my clients that they “aren’t paying the price of good health, they are enjoying the price of good health.”

25. I’ve always been a fairly quiet guy and don’t usually share lots of information about myself, so this is actually really inspiring for me writing all this.

What are 25 random facts about you?

Keep ROCKIN' IT!

Dan Grant