Tag: Keynote Speaker

The tiny gluten-free hinge that swings open BIG health doors

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Just a thought, but this might be the most valuable note I post all year.

(I like to peak early – then coast.)

What if you could make a single commitment that would instantly remove MOST obstacles to weight loss?

If you did, that would be to embrace gluten-free living.

Gluten is a protein found in many grains.

It’s also used as a consolidating agent.  It fluffs up our burger buns, danishes, and pizza crusts, and helps them hold together.  It’s everywhere.  Even in ketchup.  We’re so heavily glutenized that more people are developing a condition known as Celiac’s Disease, an outright allergy to gluten.  Sufferers can’t tolerate even a bite of the stuff.  But among those of us who don’t have Celiac’s, at least 40% are intolerant to some degree.

Gluten is also the common denominator in many autoimmune disorders.

(If you have anything autoimmune going on you should immediately pull gluten out of your diet to see if it helps.)

Even if you’re not doubled over in pain at the first bite of a croissant…AND you don’t have any direct intolerance to it, regular consumption of gluten-y grains leads to a condition known as leaky gut, in which the junctions of your intestinal walls loosen and let microscopic food particles escape.

Your immune system reacts to these tiny rovers as foreign intruders and revs up the machinery of inflammation.

When inflammation is persistent, insulin resistance and cortisol resistance are likely.  This at best makes it nearly impossible for you to burn fat, and at worst, can render you foggy-headed, depressed, and unable to sleep.

But we do love our grains, don’t we?

You can love ‘em, but you don’t have to love what they do to you.

Like any other abusive relationship, there comes a time to strap on your walking boots.

And here’s the magic…

ONE decision, i.e. to nix gluten, eliminates so many fat loss hazards.  Pizza, baked goods, pasta, breads…adios, muchachos!  An adjustment to be sure, but all that’s left is to organize yourself around a single unifying principle.  No complicated learning curve.  No time-wasting.  Go for the jugular.

Rip out fat’s beating heart.

You’ll be tempted to think, “sounds good in theory, but hard in practice”.  Don’t.  If anything, it’s easier.  The beauty of doing things this way is it wipes out 80% of the thinking you’d need to do otherwise.  That creates a giant surplus of willpower reserves.

If you don’t believe me, try it.

Take 30 days.

Plan ahead, do whatever you have to, but for 30 days, not an ounce of gluten.  See how you feel.  Then decide if I’m right.

(By the way, that’s not carte blanche to load up on sugary gluten-free treats.  All the other rules of good eating still apply here.)

One choice – so many problems solved.

No need to thank me…

It’s all in a day’s work.

Happy Single-Choice-Making,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

P.S. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel.  My latest oratory masterpiece is about a famous TV show’s trademark success secret:

==>Click here to watch The Biggest Loser Rule.

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How to get more AC/DC into your nutrition program

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Before I got into lifting weights, my one big obsession was playing guitar.

I had two electric guitars, a bass, and an acoustic. I was basically gonna be Slash from GNR, but without the top hat, or the cigarette dangling from my mouth.

My first guitar teacher, Jean-Marc, taught me the pentatonic scale, and many others, both minor and major. He made me practice each one hundreds of times until they were hardwired into my brain.

In the beginning, I really resisted. Running scales felt repetitive and boring, like homework.

I’d be like, ‘I don’t want to learn scales. When are we gonna play some AC/DC?’

I knew I could crank out a decent rendition of *Back in Black*. But I’d really hear it from Jean-Marc if I didn’t practice my scales. Because HE knew, if I nailed the basics, I could play anything. He was right. I went on to win awards for both rock and classical performances. I was voted Best in Music at my high school graduation.

When I started coaching people on nutrition, I found the process was very much the same.

The #1 complaint I’d get is ‘not enough variety’. But until you establish the habits that are the foundation for your success, narrowing it to 1-3 options for each meal is the way to go.

It simplifies everything. Meal prep. Grocery shopping. You learn to identify portion sizes. You discover what foods you like that also work best with your plan. You find a system that’s effective, and also easy to stick to.

People always want new or different. That’s what’s exciting. But the truth is, when you really break it down, success is routine and boring. It’s mechanical. It’s doing the right things well, and doing them repeatedly. In my experience, people who need a lot of variety from the word ‘go’ rarely develop the consistency to make the right nutrition a habit. But when you understand the basics, trying new things becomes second nature. You’re just expanding your repertoire.

Once I had every scale known to music at my fingertips, not only could I play AC/DC with more accuracy, but I could easily pull off new musical genres whenever I felt like it. If I’d never invested the time to “get my reps in” and play scales, I wouldn’t have accomplished most of what I did as a musician.

Get your reps in too. Learn the basics of whatever you want to be good at, and do it a thousand times over. Stick with simple, straightforward and repetitive until you get it right.

Once you master the basics, branching out is a logical next step you can enjoy without compromising your results.

Happy Transforming,

Conor Kelly

Put first things first

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When I worked at Extreme Fitness, the company was a world leader in personal training sales.

Part of their sales process was to make you feel physically inadequate, so you’d realize you need a personal trainer.

Here’s an example:

The *consultant* as he or she was called, would ask you to squat while standing on a Bosu ball.  If you were shaky, they’d explain that this meant your stabilizers are weak.  You’re therefore (a) vulnerable to injury and (b) unlikely to progress much in your workouts without first addressing this problem.

Alas…this particular game is RIGGED.  The house always wins.  Everybody shakes.  That’s because it’s got little to do with your stabilizers.  Bosu ball squats are a skill.  Unless you’ve practiced them, you’re not going to be very good at them.

You probably can’t do the trapeze either.

That doesn’t mean you need the $3,000 Cirque Du Soleil package.

I can’t do a back flip.

I’ve lived with this handicap my entire life, and strangely, I don’t feel as though it’s held me back.  It hasn’t cost me any jobs due to discrimination.  I can legally marry.  And somehow, I even managed for many years as an elite strength athlete despite this glaring flaw – go figure.

Where am I going with this?

Your inability to squat on a Bosu probably hasn’t hurt you either.  It’s almost 98% irrelevant to your fitness goals.

Yet it’s human nature to fall for such gimmicks.

That’s IF…we’re not firmly rooted in PRINCIPLES.

Habit #3 of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is *put first things first*.  Bob Proctor says, “The main thing…is to keep the main thing, the main thing.”  In other words, if you want to lose fifty pounds it’s not about, e.g., what are the best kinds of yoghurt to eat.

Instead you should recognize that this change – if it’s going to last – has to begin with massive shifts in both your internal environment (thoughts, beliefs, emotions), and your external environment (which includes everything in your house or workplace, and in between).  These are shifts that need to be harmonized into enduring habits.

It’s about changing your lifestyle.

It’s setting priorities.

It’s committing to working on YOU, the person behind the body armor.

And this has more to do with THINKING and PLANNING than people generally realize.

I know, I know…you don’t want to think.  You’re too busy for that.  You just want someone to tell you what to do.  Or maybe you want me stop at what kind of yoghurt is best to eat.  But getting ever clearer on your intentions is the process of permanent change.

It’s the anatomy of transformation.

Make time for it, and your life will never be the same.

For more help with this, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel:

=>Click here to visit The Conz’ YouTube Channel.

I’ll be posting easily digestible 120-second clips thrice each week.

My latest includes a few examples for how to put to new patterns on auto-pilot.

Check it out.

And note to my industry: personal training is POWERFUL.  Own it.  If you’re purposeful about it, you won’t need gimmicks to convince your buyers.

Happy Back-Flipping,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

Video: Conor explains how people change

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“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; make the iron hot by striking.”

There are three ways people change.

Usually the person is experiencing a symptom of some kind (like being overweight), or has a desire to do something like make more money.

The first type, are merely try to change it by willing themselves to.

They say they’re gonna go to the gym more, or start a new business.  But there’s no real plan so they don’t gain very much traction and eventually it’s status quo and the whole idea is history.

This is what happens to most new year’s resolutions, for example.

The second type will have a breakthrough of some kind.

This is usually something external.  They get a stern warning from their doctor about the health consequences of their current lifestyle.  They get fired from their jobs.   And of course you hear stories of people who say when they lost their job, they thought it was the worst thing ever, but it was a blessing in disguise because it forced them to go start the business they’ve always wanted to.

And as a trainer, I’d often get people who had a recent health scare or bad diagnosis.  They’d commit to a program, go through a period of what I call massive re-organization, but they soon find themselves in a “new normal” or plateau.  They’re definitely better off, but they never really take it any further.  They’re the person who needed to 70 pounds, but lost 20 and never really made past there.

Then there’s a third type.  This type might experience the initial breakthrough or not.  But they find a way, at every plateau, to do the reorganization stage so they can keep progressing.  They keep finding new ways of reinventing their lifestyle until they achieve total transformation.  They lose 50, 60, or a hundred pounds.  They go on to build huge businesses from scratch.

So what’s the person in the third category doing that the others are not?

They are in fact orchestrating their own breakthroughs.

change3

They’re reversing the order of breakthrough and organization.  By not waiting for a breakthrough, but instead consistently doing re-organization, they’re taking charge of their own transformational destiny.  They’ve hired a business coach.  They’ve committed the first hour of every day to marketing their services.  They’ve committed to eliminating certain foods from their diet, and don’t keep them in their house.  Ever.  They don’t suffer plateaus for very long.

The rule is the re-organization stage is where most of your energy needs to go.

Don’t wait for life to give you the breakthroughs.

Chip away at life until it’s forced to give itself over to your desires.

Happy Re-Organizing,

Conor Kelly

P.S. Subscribe to my email tips by clicking the “transformation” graphic in the right side bar!

Why is The Conz preparing to take candy from the mouths of babes?

conorkelLeave a comment

I’m about to relaunch my YouTube Channel, and I’ve made an important discovery.

It all started when I brought home a new tripod for my camera.

My daughter wanted to understand what it’s for.  I explained to her that as part of Daddy’s work, I make videos where I tell stories.  Of course, the second she heard that, she wanted in.

So we took a few vids for fun.

In one, she’s sitting on my lap, and as the camera starts rolling I ask “what do you think we can do for the people watching?”  To which she answers: “we can sing a song!”  From there it deteriorates into about two minutes of cuteness the likes of which would inspire more “awww’s” than a video reel of frolicking puppies.

As I watched, I realized, dammit – not only is she cuter than me but I have maybe one tenth of her personality and charisma.

And THAT’s my competition on YouTube.

What’s little ol’ me gonna say that’s captivating enough to steer views away from viral videos of uber lovable babies and kids (not to mention pets).

Not sure yet.

But I’ll figure it out.

Then I’ll crush the little bastards.

And hopefully the result for you will be both entertaining and enlightening, as I intend it to be.

For now, mosey on over to YouTube, if’n it’s to yer likin’, and subscribe to my channel:

=>Click here to visit Conor’s YouTube Channel.

Let me know how I’m doing in my noble mission to steal the spotlight from innocent youngsters.

Happy YouTubing,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

Yet another unexpected benefit of exercise

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It’s said that Edison, when he needed an answer to a question, would take a nap.

By the time he woke up, he’d usually have it.

You see, he understood that by NOT focusing on a problem, you find creative solutions.

Whether suspending conscious judgment rouses the subconscious, which then serves up previously unnoticed connections, or the ideas come from the ethers, God, or the Universe…no matter what you believe, many of the world’s greatest thinkers have used a similar tack through the ages.

So here’s another suggestion…

Go workout.

That’s where I get most of my best ideas.

(Including the one for this email.)

If you do anything creative, ever, or you’re simply uncertain about how to handle a personal issue, take off the ol’ thinking cap and instead hit the gym (or the yoga mat, or the living room floor).

Get a pushup infusion.

Uno, the act of devoting your attention to something different frees your mind to send forth some of its best inventions.  Dos, a wee bit of sport provides the oxygen your brain needs for optimal function.  Tres, research shows exercise stimulates the production of neuronal growth factor BDNF, which plays a crucial role in the re-shaping of synapses.

There you have it…

Staying in tune with your breath, flexing your muscles, and getting your body into movement all have the potential to be the fiery spark that ignites fresh thinking.

It’s not like you needed any more reasons to exercise…

Just thought I’d lay down a trail of bread crumbs for you intellectual types.

To get ye olde ball rolling with such creativity enhancements, call (416) 826-4844 to request your personal training consultation.

Your Mona Lisa…your Statue of David…your War and Peace is in there.

Let’s beat it out of you with squats and dumbbell presses.

Happy Creating,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

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The defeat of Mega Man

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In 1995, a future World’s Strongest Man winner, Sweden’s Magnus Samuelsson, made his debut in the contest.

The event was arm-wrestling, and the athletes were going head to head.

Magnus’ opponent was the largest man in the lineup, the six foot ten Australian, Nathan Jones.

They called him Mega Man.

(If you remember the opening scene of Troy, he played Boagrius, the giant who steps out to challenge Brad Pitt’s Achilles.)

Mega Man was a bit like the character he played in the movie.  He was mean.  Often angry.  And had clear intentions to steamroll anyone in his way.  At six foot five with a thin build, the Swede was considerably smaller.  But Magnus was no slouch.  He was a former arm-wrestling champion.

They clasp hands.  The referee signals start.  You can see the look of determination on Mega Man’s face as he throws his might into flattening Magnus’ hand against the table.  But Magnus is stronger than expected – and a much more experienced arm-wrestler.  He holds steady as Mega Man grunts and puffs.

Soon, Magnus has him in what arm-wrestlers call the *arm-break position*.

When the moment is right, he pounces.

Shifting his weight, he allows the full force of his well-practiced arm to plow through his adversary.

In a final, all-out effort to resist, Mega Man uses his own strength to induce a spiral fracture in his arm, snapping his oversized humerus like a twig.  The bone is dust.  He reels backward, aghast, and screams in shock as his arm hangs at an impossible angle.

Needless to say, that was the end of his campaign.

And it was the beginning of Magnus’ legend.

(I should point out that everyone was horrified by the terrible injury – Magnus most of all.  It was also the last time arm-wrestling was contested in World’s Strongest Man.)

Why do I share this story?

Think of it as a cautionary tale.

A common mistake – one with fitpocalyptic consequences – is trying to do too much, too soon.

I see it all the time.  January rolls around and weary holiday over-eaters attempt a one-eighty by cutting out their favorite foods, and pounding the treadmill with gusto, four or five days a week.  By February, 90% are injured, burned out, or discouraged because life ain’t fun no mo’, and they’ve managed to lose a grand total of three pounds.

Just look around your gym Feb 1, and behold the wasteland that once was a thriving fitocracy.

Most people are allowing themselves to get caught in a deadly arm-break pose.

They’re leveraging their own enthusiasm to destroy their efforts.

So don’t be the giant…

Be the giant-killer.

Acknowledge that results take time, conserve your energy, and your path to victory will soon become clear.

For help with how to do this in stages, call (416) 826-4844 for your personal training consultation.

Until then, stretch yourself…but not too thin.

Heed my words, young Skywalker, lest you suffer the same fate as Mega Man.

Happy Patience,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

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The TRUTH about commitment

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“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” – Marianne Williamson

With REAL commitment, there’s no debate.

There’s no longer equal opportunity for DO or DO NOT.

The decision’s been made.

(The root of the word “decide” is the latin decidere.  It literally means to kill any alternatives.)

All that remains is the steady forward march of implementation.

That’s why commitment is the ultimate ZEN.  It silences the chorus of opposition, and clears the path for unobstructed and pointed action.  It’s like water running downhill; it effortlessly curves to the configuration of the terrain.

I’ve experienced real commitment only a few times.

Not because it’s hard.

Because it’s so easy it scares me.

There’s so much power in it, so much real-ness to our potential that I deign to use it only sparingly.

But I wonder sometimes where my life would be if I wasn’t afraid.

What if every decision was a FINAL decision?

Sure, you could re-evaluate long-term commitments to determine if they still serve…or make short-term commitments, and periodically re-commit…but what if, for the most part, that was that?  What if, in the Viking warrior tradition, you could burn the ships as soon as you land in new and unconquered territory? Could you gaze up the beach and know that beyond it are only two possibilities – victory, or death?

All great *gut check* questions I’ve been asking myself as I hang up my calendar for another year.

As human beings, we’re capable of so much, yet we squander our powers.

For what?

Security?

It’s an illusion…a mere shadow of Mother Nature’s attempt to protect her children from an unpredictable ecosystem.  Safeguards placed into our brains by DNA.

We are no longer children.  We are the part of nature that is coming to know itself, and we stand face to face with the unboundedness of our existence.

We are free…

2017 will be a year of massive reinvention.  Anything is game.  There is NO certainty.  Trust me; you don’t need it anyway.  NOW is the time to find your center and live from that place.  Not fear, but opportunity.  Not what anyone says (much less what the media says), but what inspires you…

The future belongs to those who create it.

Let’s make it good.

Happy Committing,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

Get fit in 2017, start here

conorkel2 Comments

Few things in life are more certain than the holiday *hangover* (for some, a literal term) that compels people to clean up their diets and start exercising.

Sure enough, getting in shape tops the list of New Year’s resolutions.

Job numero uno, in my opinion (which makes it fact) is to pick apart roadblocks to success.

One example is detoxing.

Why, you ask?

Most of us have at least some fat loss resistance due to toxicity.

Toxins take up residence in our bodies and cause inflammation – a screw driver in the cogs of an otherwise healthy metabolism.  Fat cells, in particular, become storage ports for these buggers.  This increases the stickiness factor of any stubborn fat.  Adding to the mix, if your liver is laden with toxins, it’s got fewer resources to devote to fat-burning.

Yup, detoxing es mucho importante.

There are a ton of programs out there for you to choose from, ranging from the somewhat palatable, to the downright horrific.

I’d recommend you start with the Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox, based on the following clever considerations (not to toot my own horn or anything):

One, it’s 12 days.  Even the most discipline-impaired person can navigate the relative short-term-ness of this protocol.

Two, you eat regular food (with a few significant changes…no sugar, nothing processed, no dairy, no alcohol, no yeast).

No fasting or juicing required.

The handy nutrition guide shows you how.

Three, it’s gentle – perfect for newbies.

The herbal concoction mostly helps you go the washroom more often.

Empty colon = happy colon.

But most of all, it’s a short-term commitment to cut out trigger foods that spur cravings.

When you make it through the 12 days…and you will…it’s not that you won’t want your favorite foods any more, but the need is gone.  Your *new normal* will be a big improvement on your pre-detox habits.

And that’s a victory you can build on.

Here’s the link again:

The Conz’ Herbal Protocol That Drives Out Evil Toxins

Get it from any health food store.

By the way, I get absolutely nothing for recommending this.

I just think it’s the perfect kick start to your 2017 fitness ambitions.

Happy Detoxing,

Conor Kelly
conorkelly.com

P.S.  Hire me to speak to your group or meeting in 2017!  For a list of speaking topics, head over yonder:

Click here for a list of speaking topics.