Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts

Thursday, January 6, 2022

LGBT CEO Gregory Cole's Fitness Journey Featured in 'Men's Health'


The wellness journey of Gregory Cole, CEO and Co-Founder of the niche fragrance brand The Bubble Collection, is featured in the January 2022 edition of Men's Health. After a health scare coupled with a battle against obesity, Cole was inspired to lose 100lbs and achieve optimal health in his 50s - even winning his first bodybuilding competition.

“I always enjoy having the opportunity to share my story in hopes of inspiring others who have battled the same issues,” said Cole. "I, like many people, began that diet every Monday morning, only to sabotage myself that same afternoon. Now I'm living proof that not all weight-loss journeys end in failure. And it wasn't only obesity that I was up against, but I was also battling depression, fibromyalgia, tinnitus and several food intolerances. I even crowned myself "ReinventionKing" and started a wellness blog to inspire and motivate people on similar health and fitness journeys."

Just like launching a fragrance brand or a start-up, Cole credits his success to determination and following a plan, but also being able to pivot when necessary. “I did my research and sought advice from those who have achieved similar success. And I always saw the bigger picture which allowed me to overcome minor setbacks rather quickly. And as an entrepreneur, I'm already a self-starter which came in handy when I had to force myself out of bed and hit the gym!"

Cole’s last bit of advice is to surround yourself with like-minded people. “I learned whether you’re launching a fragrance or setting out on a life transformation, that bubble-bursters will set up roadblocks to your success. Don’t let anyone stand in the way of your dreams!”

Monday, December 13, 2021

New Year's Resolution to Get Fit? Get a Rock-Hard Body One Minute at a Time with '60-Second Sweat'

For the past 15 years, one of Shape magazine's "50 Hottest Trainers" Patrick Striet has run a fitness training facility where he has worked with hundreds of everyday men and women—working moms, college students, senior citizens, middle-aged men… plus a few elite athletes! Through this experience, he has identified the significant barriers people face when it comes to exercising consistently—lack of time, lack of results, injuries, boredom—and specifically designed the 60-SECOND SWEAT to address them.

Now Reader's Digest and Patrick Striet have teamed up to transform this HIIT and MRT training program into a book to help readers at home enjoy the same benefits Mr. Striet shares with his clients. The 60-Second Sweat is:

  1. Efficient: The 60-Second Sweat combines HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) with MRT (Metabolic Resistance Training) to build strength along with cardiovascular fitness in one comprehensive workout.
  2. Effective: Research has shown that HIIT is more effective than traditional steady-state workouts for building cardiovascular fitness and shedding fat, while MRT builds muscular fitness, which is key for boosting metabolism.
  3. Safe: Keeping in mind the cranky knees, aching backs, stiff shoulders, and sore necks that many desk-bound adults face, the 60-Second Sweat gives equal weight to every muscle group.
  4. Varied: You will never perform the same exercise or activity for more than 1 minute, so you will never get bored. Every exercise, set, rep…every minute…will help develop the best and fittest you!

Bottom line: the days of inefficient, archaic, time-consuming, unsafe, and impractical fitness workouts are over. Based on the most up-to-date principles in modern exercise science, the 60-Second Sweat is a program, not just a workout. The programs in this book will help you attain phenomenal and sustainable fitness, safely and realistically—1 minute at a time! If you want to be able to hit the slopes, play in your company softball tournament, feel confident in your swimsuit… or just keep up with your kids and get up off the floor without a challenge… then you need the 60-SECOND SWEAT.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Stonewall Fitness: Turning Haters Into Motivators

By David Smith

My freshman year of high school I had an encounter with a senior I will never forget. I had joined the marching band that summer and spent the first of 4 summers training and practicing as a member of marching band. As the school year went underway we were preparing for our first band competition. I was excited and as a freshman, perhaps a bit naive but for the first time in my life I really felt like I was apart of something, however that didn’t last very long.

As we were warming up and preparing our equipment for the competition, one of the more popular upper classman had randomly come up to me and casually said, “The world would be better off if you had just killed yourself.” I was left stunned. I wasn’t depressed or in any kind of negative mindset. I was just your over enthusiastic, high school freshman kid excited to be at my first ever band competition. Inevitably I broke down crying and couldn’t understand how someone could be such a bully and say something so mean. Especially someone I never really talked to or even knew.
There I was in my band uniform, by my instrument, sitting down and crying, to the notice of some of the parents and even our director who came up to comfort me. By that point my enthusiasm and focus for the competition was gone. Later on, under pressure he had come up and apologized to me. I accepted it and moved on, regaining my focus for our show and forgetting that it had happened. Except that I didn’t and for the rest of the time I was in band with this individual I never really talked to him or went out of my way to interact with him. I didn’t care anymore and perhaps that even set the stage for the rest of my 4-year marching band career in high school.

That incident was so long ago and I ask myself, why does it matter now? I was most certainly a naive kid then and maybe I am now. I’ve always felt socially awkward and really struggled to find my place fitting in. I never had any problem standing out however, and not always in a good way.

I’ve made no secret of my goal to one day compete at the Olympic Games. Is it a long shot? Sure, but I one thing is certain is that I am not afraid to try. I have encountered my fair share of bullies and in general people that would just pass me off as irrelevant because I didn’t matter in their grand scheme of the social status. I most certainly felt rejected but it had never stopped me from achieving what I set out to do and just as quickly as I was rejected, I found my place in a community I really did belong.

Motivation comes from many places and for me one place I draw motivation from is those bullies and irrelevant people. I don’t have anything to prove to anybody, but I do see myself as being able to rise above these people and showing the world that I do matter, I belong and most importantly that the world would not be better off if I were dead.

#FitwithPRIDE David Smith is an exercise professional, athlete, blogger and owner of Stonewall Fitness. He is a certified personal trainer and holds a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Nutrition. He is an active athlete and Gay Games medalist training and competing in triathlon and swimming. He is passionate about bringing the LGBT community together through exercise and fitness. Help support David with his athletic endeavors! Visit www.gofundme.com/bttrflyr and Read more here..