The Nate Green Experience

Celebrity Trainer's Revolutionary Tool!

That headline got you didn't it? I bet you let out a "not-this-again" type of sigh. You know, the kind where you roll your eyes, breathe out through the corner of your mouth and punch kittens in the face?

Oh, that's just me?

Nevermind then.

The words "celebrity trainer" and "revolutionary" should put your bullshit meter to red alert for good reason: most of them have no freaking idea what they're doing or talking about. Trust me, I've met a few. My bed's headboard contains more knowledge and character. (It has something to do with osmosis and girls repeatedly banging their heads against it. Don't ask. It's complicated.)

That's why I was surprised and intrigued when I met
Valerie Waters. Val is incredibly intelligent and a true "celebrity trainer"; not one of those "well, I once saw JLo running on the treadmill" type of fakers.

Some of her past clients include Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Cindy Crawford, Jim Carrey, and Richard Gere.

I was at a conference with Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, Mike Boyle, Alwyn Cosgrove, and a bunch of other egg-head bad-asses when I saw her "ValSlide" for the first time.

My first thought - "why the fuck didn't I think of this?" - was quickly followed by "this is cool!"

The ValSlide looks like something housewives who watch "As the World Turns" would buy. You know, to keep underneath their treadmill, ab-lounge, ab-slide, and Gazelle.

Don't be fooled. This is one bad little piece of equipment. And I mean "bad" as in "good." (Keep up with the lingo, Jive Turkey.)

Alwyn Cosgrove showed me the full extent of their torture at this year's Perform Better Summit, making over 75 people do ValSlide lunges, mountain climbers, spiderman-pushups and freakishly hard front planks.

I don't take much with me when I go to the gym. Usually the dumbbells, barbells, and my bodyweight are enough to get the job done.

I think I may just add the ValSlide to my gym bag, though. I recommend you do the same.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Number One Networking Tip

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Turn “Oh Shit!” to “Shit Yeah!”

It’s Saturday morning and me, Jason, Tyson Vick, Elizabeth, and a handful of models and other stragglers are at the Loft – an upscale private club—preparing to take some photos for the Built for Show website.

As I’m assuring everyone that we’ll be alone and that no one ever really uses the place, 15 women walk up the stairs to start decorating for a baby shower. Apparently, they had booked it for the day, and didn't seem too enthusiastic we were there.

But instead of a) arguing with them, b) begging and pleading to use the spot, or c) giving in and leaving, I started phase one of “damage control.”

People are a lot more understanding and willing to help than you may think. All it takes is being firm, nice, and sympathetic to their needs to make a bad situation mutually beneficial.

Here’s what I did (in bold) and what you can do to take your next stressful situation and turn it into a positive. (Note: The below steps all happened in the first ten minutes of them arriving.)

- I asked them what areas of the facility they planned on using. (Luckily, it wasn’t the whole area.) I also found out the duration of their party (from 1-4 PM.)

Listen to their needs first. If you’re the first one to talk, ask them what they need, not what you want.

- I apologized for our intrusion, but then explained the importance of the situation and our time-table. (We’d only be using a specific area of the club for a couple of hours.) I then said “I think we can work around each other, and we’ll be out of here before you know it.”

Go ahead and apologize if you’re in the wrong. Make it quick and sincere. Be firm and let them know your situation and the specifics (how long you need the area, what time you’re leaving, etc.) Finally, don’t give them an opportunity to say “No.”

I then offered to help out as much as possible. While the photo crew and the models got ready, I helped carry food, coolers, and decorations from their vehicles, up the stairs, and into the club. I blew up balloons. I filled some ice buckets. And I did it all with a smile.

If you’re willing to ease the burden and help, it’s more likely you’ll be accepted. Do what you can to make it easier for them.

I then offered to have Tyson take a few group photos of the baby shower group (which they loved) and promised to send them the photos via email.

Plant the seed that if they put up with you, they’ll get a reward or some other type of benefit at the end. Again, be sincere and think of ways to help them.

So what was the result of my damage control? A great photo shoot with no hassle or hurt feelings and a chance for them to have their baby-shower memories documented by professional photographer.

Seems like a win-win to me.

++++

You can also try these steps with waiters, airline attendants, customer service representatives, co-workers, or bosses.

Do you have any “damage-control” tips?

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Functional Training for Bad-Asses

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Build Your Own Life

“Every night when I go to bed I want to like who I am. And I want to wake up the next morning like it’s a Saturday.”

That was my answer when asked what I wanted to do before I died. Sure, I dodged the specific question, but it was Craig’s fault for not giving me any time to think. But I’m pretty happy with it.

I’ve spent the past week surrounded by some influential and amazing people. (I also had to put up with a few douchebags, but hey, it’s to be expected. I think tight UnderArmour cuts the circulation to the brain and vital organs.)

After a long day of sitting, learning, jotting notes, and taking horrible pictures, I was sitting at Sevilla drinking red wine and talking with Craig, and my other roommate, Mark.

The topics of conversation drifted from women, mentors, travels, and now, “the perfect life.”

“I want to travel, start my own business, and have a family,” said Mark.

Craig wants to build a house and travel the world. Then again, Craig already owns two houses and has traveled the world. (So far, so good...)

When the waitress came by to check on us, we asked her the question.

And she was stumped.

We probed further. What was she currently doing? Where has she been? What does she want to do more than anything?

“I want to be a doctor. But I don’t want to go to school.”

Well, then, I don’t want you operating on me! I thought.

But her response was not uncommon. Many people have no idea what they actually want to do. They work dull jobs, lead dull lives, and have dull dreams.

But before I get verbally castrated, I want to make a distinction. If someone is truly happy with the way their life is and every day that passes, more kudos to them. But it’s been my experience that people just complain a whole hell of a lot without ever changing their situation. These are the people who need to help themselves.

After the waitress left, I told Craig and Mark about the “Perfect Day” exercise I picked up from Jim Labadie. You may have read about it before, but I bet you haven’t actually given it some thought and completed it.

Here are the rules:

1. Define what a perfect day would mean to you. We're going to fit a lot in. I want you to touch on every aspect of your life from social, financial, personal, and spiritual. That means no “I want to sit on my ass all day, watch movies, and drink beer.” Unless, of course, you'd be completely happy doing that.

2. Find ways to weave all of the qualities you want to exemplify and things you want to be/do/see into the exercise.

3. Be as specific as possible. What are your living arrangements? Do you have a family? Are you a bachelor who likes to play the field? What kind of clothes are you wearing? What time did you get out of bed? Are you going to the gym? How are you making money to meet your financial needs? Who are you spending time with? Are you planning any trips or vacations?

I do this exercise every few months to help keep me excited about where I’m going and what I’m doing. It’s a reminder to enjoy the journey and aim high, and it’s interesting to see how certain things change with time.

So let me know what you want to accomplish. Who do you want to be? Boil it all down to a few sentences and let me know in the comments below.

Then grab a piece of paper and get started.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Uncommon Training, Uncommon Results

The scene: Sunday morning, Long Beach California. Me, John Berardi, Craig Weller, a handful of almost-Division 1 athletes and Scott, our sadistic host, are stretching at the bottom of a huge fucking sand dune. I start to get scared. (Yep. That's it in the picture.)

The reason: I’d just spent an entire week of traveling, drinking beer, eating sub-par food, staying up too late, and covering the Perform Better seminar for T-Nation. And now, I wanted to punish myself.

The protocol: Sprint up the huge sand dune. Then sprint back down. Do this multiple times. Try not to throw up.

The result: Vomit. Sand in my hair. A new respect for Scott’s athletes. Feeling like a champ. A smile and a cool blog idea to make you do the same freakin’ thing.

Your homework: Find a hill. Preferably sand. If you have neither, just find a big open space. Do a few warm-up stretches. Knock back a gulp of water. Set your stance. Start sprinting.

Go for 30 seconds as hard as you possibly can. Rest a couple of minutes. Repeat three more times.

Throwing up is optional.

Good luck.

You got an uncommon workout? Let me know below. I may just be crazy enough to try it.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

7 Ways to Improve Productivity

If you've known Nate for any extended period of time, you've probably heard him ramble on about Flow. For those of you who haven't heard of it, Flow is that awesome state of mind where you forget about time, worries, and pretty much everything else because you've become so euphorically involved in the task at hand. I live for this feeling, personally. There's nothing better than looking up after what feels like about ten minutes and realizing you're done with your project and it's actually been more like six hours.

So how do we get there? And, more importantly, how do we stay there? Here are the steps I follow to keep myself on task and in the zone:

1. CLOSE YOUR GODDAMNED EMAIL!
I know, I know, those funny pictures of cats that your friend keeps sending your are just SO damned cute, but let's look at it from a scientific standpoint. When you're working, you start to lose yourself in a task if you're really focused, which makes the work easier, higher quality, and just plain better for everyone involved. So if you've got your email making that ding sound every time you get a dirty joke from your old football coach, how are you going to stay focused?

I've always thought that my inability to multitask was a flaw and that it was going to come back to haunt me someday, but I'm starting to realize that it's actually an advantage to know that I simply cannot try to do more than one thing and do it well. They ran an article on the cost of multitasking in the New York Times last year; I suggest checking it out and considering only checking your email before and/or (preferably or) after getting the task at hand finished.

2. Figure out which sites cause you to waste time, then stop going there until you've got your other shit done.
I can't go to Myspace anymore. I mean, I do, but it's a guaranteed loss of forty-five minutes. And that's if I didn't get anything new on my profile.

I know that I will find an excuse, every time I log in, to read a bunch of retarded bulletins, look at some hot girl's pictures, and look through some bands that my friends are listening to. This is a huge time-suck, and therefore I've stopped taking "breaks" in the middle of my work day to hit up sites that aren't work-related. Generally, I spend my first hour on the computer screwing around, and then I close all those sites and get down to business. On days when I can stick to that, I've worked "miracles" insofar as the amount of programming I can accomplish in ten hours.

3. RSS, Baby!
Does anybody else like to keep their news browsing time down to a minimum?

I hate losing my grip on the new gadgets and goings-on in the world as much as the next guy, but I hate going to eight different news sites every day just to see if they put anything interesting up.

Fortunately, I found a shortcut: RSS.

I love RSS so much that I've already written a blog about it, but I need to touch on it, because it's probably one of the biggest factors in my ability to stay productive.

With the upgrade to Firefox 3, my Wizz RSS plug-in stopped working, and I switched over to Firefox's built-in Live Bookmarks, which I've actually found to be better, overall, due to their extreme simplicity: a drop-down list of headlines that updates every few minutes to let you know what's going on.

Now, you probably know as well as I do that 90% of the posts on any news site are just filler, so by browsing headlines you can keep abreast of the news without feeling obliged to click through every article or read the first couple of paragraphs (both of which are my OCD twitches when I actually go to a site).

Give RSS a try and see if it saves you as much time as it saved me. I'm willing to be you'll be pleased.

4. Bookmarks for bills, tools, and other frequented sites.
Once a month I have to pull up about eight websites and pay bills. Every day I have to pull up three to ten websites for my coding (references, databases, etc.). Remembering whether it's verizon.com or verizonwireless.com gets old, so I've created a folder on my Bookmarks Toolbar in Firefox called "Bills." Now, when it comes around the end of the month, I just click on that tab and select "Open In All Tabs" to pay my bills. That's an instant five minute time-saver.

Can I get a big "Hell Yes"?

5. Actually, DO Shoot the Messenger
Seriously. Do you really need to have AIM open on your computer? Does anyone ever have a good conversation while trying to accomplish something else?

From my own perspective, I hate talking to someone who's in the middle of something. They trail off, forget what they were saying, resort to monosyllabic answers, and any number of other extremely irritating mannerisms.

I am definitely guilty of this, from time to time, and I'm sure most of my friends will tell you that if you ask me what I'm doing and I say, "Well, I'm trying to figure out what this fucking... thing... I don't really know why it doesn't work... but... uh. What are you doing?" it would be in your best interest to just call back later.

So what are you accomplishing by having your instant messengers open while you work? I'm guessing you're killing your focus on the project, sending a bunch of smiley faces and LOLs to your friends, and not really getting any satisfaction from either.

If you need the messengers open because it's a workplace requirement, I feel sorry for you.

If not, seriously: close it. Your friends will be there when you're actually able to pay attention to them, and everyone will be much happier.

6. Listen to Music with Headphones.
I know this doesn't seem like a productivity step, but you should try this.

If you can find music that doesn't distract you (Nate can't work if there's hip-hop on because he starts paying too much attention to the lyrics; I can't focus if the music is too fast), turn it up just loud enough that the room doesn't seem to have any ambient sound. By doing this, you can work in a crowded room and still end up getting into the flow of your project.

For those of you who don't have iPods or other mp3 players, or who are still clinging to CDs, there are some free radio services that are actually awesome. Pandora is a great tool for finding new music, and it's smart enough to find music that sounds like your favorite artists. You can also find some great free radio stations on iTunes (check out Space Station under Electronic - it's down-tempo instrumental electronica: the perfect working music).

7. "Chunk" your tasks
The biggest problem I have with any new project is the sheer size of it. Before starting a project, I usually have a day or two of looking at it, feeling overwhelmed, and putting it off because I don't really know where to start.

To overcome this, I've started breaking a project down into pieces. For example, as a web designer, I can break each site down into smaller "chunks" to make it seem less daunting (i.e. a website is the artwork, the database, the formatting, and the peripherals). By making my one giant project into four or five smaller projects, I can start on one of them with the end in sight, which is a huge motivator for me.

Every one of the steps I've covered today is a practice that I've picked up over time to help me stay on task and get things done in a fulfilling and timely manner. I'm always on the lookout for little things that can help me keep my mind on what I'm doing, so be sure to let me know your tricks in the comments!

Nate is keeping busy at Perform Better (which actually means he's hanging out on the beach with a video camera trying to look important so he can talk to hot girls), so he asked me to post a blog.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Quick Notes from Perform Better

All right, I'm going to get castrated here in a minute for getting on the computer at a conference, but it's less of a worry than what would happen to me if I didn't post something today. (Jason would beat me with a stick.)

I promise to write a more compelling post next week!

A few points from my Perform Better experience thus far:

- Dos Remedios can drink a ton of beer. He finished off six pints in less than one hour and didn't even seem fazed.

- Alwyn Cosgrove's birthday (well, from his stem-cell transplant) is today. So happy freakin' birthday, Alwyn.

- Alwyn also made fun of my incredibly bright blue dress shirt I'm wearing today (Friday). Apparently I didn't get the memo to wear UnderArmour, Nike, and other tight-fitting, ego-satisfying attire.

- John Berardi didn't get the note either because he came dressed like he just got off a cruise ship. Hey Bahama boy! (The airline misplaced his luggage, he said. I don't buy it.)

- My roommates Craig and Mark are very cool and well-traveled. Unfortunately, I am neither. I think I'm bugging them with all my questions.

That's it for now. Time for a lecture and lunch.

Cheers,
Nate

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

The Benefits of Running Your Life

I love going to fitness seminars for three reasons:

1. I get to travel to somewhere in the US I've never been (I've been to Stamford, San Diego, Little Rock, Los Angeles, and Washington DC in the past two years.)

2. I usually cover the event for T-Nation.com, meet new fitness gurus, write an article, and therefore get paid to learn.

3. I get hang out with friends and mentors I see only once per year or so. (I'll be knocking back drinks with Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Dos Remedios, John Berardi, Craig Weller, and others this time in San Diego.)

I booked the trip a couple of weeks ago and will be gone for 7 days. I have my Macbook, a copy of the Four Hour Work Week, a small carry-on bag, and specific notes for what I need to accomplish on this trip.

I also have peace of mind.

Why?

Because I own a business that enables me to travel on a whim, and because I'm building a business that will do the same with even LESS effort and hassle.

Let me break it down:

I train clients in a private studio , Monday - Friday, for about 5 hours per day. Everyone pays on a monthly schedule instead of a "per session" basis. I collected my checks a week ago and received full payment, even though I'm gone for an entire week.

I gave each client one free session (they'll make it up when I get back) and hooked them all up with a week-long, no-Nate training program that they can do on their own time.

I still got paid, and everyone's happy. Especially me.

Since I'm covering this event for T-Nation, I get to write off virtually all expenses. I also have five uninterrupted hours of Built for Show related work I can do on my flights that I haven't had the time or patience for this past week.

Owning a business is all about controlling it and not letting it control you. It's something I'm still learning and tweaking every day.

Could you do all of this stuff as an employee?

Maybe.

But it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

-Nate

++++++

What kind of business do you own or want to own? How will you make it fill your needs and wants instead of the other way around?

If you're an employee, how do you make it work in your favor?

Let me know in the comments section below!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

What Swallowing Lake Water Teaches...

I can't get the taste of salt, algae, and really weak lime juice out of my mouth.

I swallowed a few quarts of this disgusting concoction on Tuesday afternoon while “wakeboarding.” Well, that’s what my friends called it before I strapped up and dove in. Now they call it “Let’s watch Nate act like an idiot as he swallows lake water.”

I believe they’re trying to shorten it into an acronym.

When most people talk about wakeboarding, they say the hardest part is “getting up." This is when you’re behind the boat holding on to a handle and long rope which is attached to a high crossbeam on the boat. Your feet, of course, are in boots attached to a board.

You lean back in the water with your feet bent, your hands between your legs and yell “ready!” (Or, if you’re me, you yell “This water is freezing!”) Once the boat accelerates, the rope tightens and it pulls you out of the water….and onto your face.

I tried it at least 10 times before giving up in favor of not being in hypothermic shock.

As I stripped out of my wetsuit on our way back to land, I had two thoughts:

1.I’m glad I tried something new
2.My friends had to beg me for weeks before I finally agreed to try wakeboarding

I like to think of myself as adventurous, but I’ve recently noticed I do quite a bit to stay in my comfort zone. It takes some cajoling and begging before I really agree to anything.

I don’t think this is necessarily a good thing.

It’s one thing to be weary. It’s another to stay in your comfort zone because you’re “too busy.”

“Too busy” to me meant I was scared I’d screw up, get laughed at, and swallow lake water.

Well, all three happened. And it wasn’t that bad.

I got a new appreciation for a very difficult sport
I was impressed with my friends
I got a great coaching lesson on what to do next time (believe me, there will be a next time!)
I relaxed with my little brother and two friends
I got out of my head and didn’t think about the book, the launch, the clients or anything resembling business

We all have new experiences and opportunities presented to us on a daily basis. Some you can let go by. Others you need to jump on. Business opportunities, quitting your day job, trying a new sport, approaching the hot girl in the bar, trying to hit a new personal record on your deadlift, or just simply hanging out with friends you’ve been brushing off may provide you with a new direction and forward momentum.

If you can get over your ego, your insecurities, and get out of your comfort zone, you may just realize how much you’re missing.

So go ahead. Dive in.

The water’s fine.

++++++

Let me know I'm not alone. What kind of challenge, adventure, or opportunity are you stepping out of your comfort zone for?

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Get a Better Night's Sleep

I am a light sleeper. I wake up to the sound of my cell phone vibrating, to the sound of a car door closing, to the sound of my downstairs neighbor smoking a cigarette and talking on his cell phone beneath my window. While this is annoying, especially because I live in an old building with paper-thin walls, it's never really been a problem for me because I can generally fall asleep quickly.

Lately, however, I've been having a really hard time falling asleep, and I wasn't sure why until last night, when I was staring at my ceiling, listening to the wind blowing my bedroom door against the door frame softly: I cannot sleep when I'm stressed.

Now, let's all take a moment to appreciate the Duh! factor of that statement. You done? Okay, now pay attention.

I know that stress is a major contributor to insomnia, and that there are probably hundreds of articles and blogs written about it, but that's not what I'm worried about. What worries me is that I went sleepless for almost two weeks before I even realized that I was even stressed in the first place.

I have a theory, and among my friends it's been holding pretty true: you can reduce your stress enormously by simply naming the factors in your life that are stressing you out.

I'm relatively convinced that stress comes not from having too many deadlines or from the hectic nature of our lives, but rather from the feeling of dread that springs from feeling that things in our lives are out of control and that we have no idea what's going on. It's that feeling of losing control that is freaking us out, not the workload, personal problems, or lack of time.

For example, right now I'm stressed out because I'm working a pretty steady forty to forty-five hours a week at a day job, working on four freelance projects, interviewing with a few companies for a higher-paying, more fulfilling day job, and trying to start a band, all while attempting to keep my personal life (i.e. getting to the gym, cooking meals, cleaning my apartment, grocery shopping, etc.) in some kind of flow. That's a lot of balls to keep in the air, and I've never been great at multi-tasking. So I've felt really stressed; I worry that I don't have enough free time to keep up with my freelance projects, but I'm scared that I can't afford to lose my day job until I have more freelance work; I'm terrified that I'm going to to end up half-assing my new musical endeavors because I'm "too busy" to put effort into it; I haven't been grocery shopping in two and a half weeks, and I missed a couple workouts, so I've been feeling like I'm gaining weight and falling back to my old, bad nutritional habits.

My last couple weeks have been permeated with that gut-wrenching feeling of being late for work, and I barely noticed it because I was making myself so frantic. I lost sleep, which left me feeling groggy and actually detracted from my productivity, resulting in more panic and, therefore, less sleep.

So how do we break the cycle?

For starters, I had to sit down and list everything that I had going on. If you look above, it looks like a lot, but when I list it, it gets pretty simple:

Full-Time Day Job (40-45hrs weekly)

Freelance Work (10-20hrs weekly)

Band Practice (2-4hrs weekly)

Job-Hunting (<1hr weekly)

Cooking, Cleaning, Working Out, etc. (7-8hrs weekly)

So, I'm looking at needing about 78 hours a week, at most, to accomplish everything I feel I need to accomplish. If I'm sleeping 8 hours a night, that means that in the average week I have 112 hours of productive time (168 hours a week - 56 hours of sleep a week = 112 waking hours). That means that I have 34 hours a week to burn before I even start wasting the time I need to keep up with my life. Add in a couple dinners with friends and a movie, and I've still got an entire day to waste, all while getting a full night's sleep.

Knowing that you've got the time won't make you any better at time management, and it certainly won't take care of your responsibilities for you, but the fact of the matter is, there's plenty of time in the week. And just realizing that you're not spread as thin as you may have thought could be just the comforting thought to help you drift off to sleep easily.

Have you had similar experiences? How do you keep yourself sane with a heavy load of responsibility? Let me know in the comments!

Nate's been busy with preparing the launch of Built for Show, so he asked me to post a blog over the weekend.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Conversations with Clients Part II

Like it says on my "about Nate" page, I co-own a personal training studio in the ski-resort town of Whitefish, MT.

I have a weird grab-bag assortment of clients from international business consultants and high-school athletes all the way to housewives, retired executives, and young entrepreneurs.

And while I’m a stickler for adhering to the exercise program with each client, I have to admit that I sometimes let the rest periods run longer than they should.

But often what I learn in that extra minute is simply amazing and becomes something I want to share with you. Therefore, Conversations with Clients will be an on-going series that will be posted whenever a truly great idea is presented to me during a session (with my client’s permission, of course!). I hope you learn as much as I do for them.

Dan Slezak holds millions of dollars in real-estate. His clients range from the CEOs of investment firms, mega-entrepreneurs, sports icons, and, well, anyone else who can afford a 30 million dollar ranch in Montana.

With 20+ years of experience in real estate and business Dan has cultivated what he calls "Crosshair Marketing.”

When a client tells Dan that he wants to invest in a nice condo in Whitefish, Dan just rolls his eyes. "Narrow it down," he'll say. “What do you really want from the condo?”

According to Dan, when it comes to goal setting, investing, or making decisions, most people are simply firing empty shells into the air. “They’re just pointing up to the sky and trying to shoot the entire flock. What they need to do is pick one goose, put it in their crosshairs, aim, and pull the trigger.”

It’s easy to get overwhelmed. It’s even easier to become paralyzed by analysis and information gathering. So take a look at what you’re trying to accomplish.

Break it down into manageable parts. Put your crosshairs on a specific goal, aim, and fire. Then move onto the next one.

You don’t need a bazooka to kill a deer. One focused shot will bring it down. Anything else just leaves a mess you’d rather not deal with. (At least, that’s what I’ve heard from Dan.)

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

LiftStrong

LiftStrong

A note from Nate: When Liftstrong first came out, I didn't have a blog to inform, entertain, and help people. Now that I do, I wanted to share a great project from a great man. Check it out:

From Alwyn Cosgrove:

"As most of you know - I am a two time cancer survivor and underwent a complete stem cell transplant in June of 2006.

To find a cure for cancer -- we need to fund research. To fund research -- we need money. Plain and simple.

I decided it was time for the fitness community to give back. I approached several of my closest friends in this industry and asked them to contribute to a little "book project" that I had in mind - to give me a 3-4 page article.

This little "book project" turned into an 800 page monster! My friends did not disappoint me -- and we have now (to keep costs down - released this product as a CD with all the articles in pdf format on the disc). I have 55 authors who contributed. For less than 50c each - (if that matters to you) - you can read all their articles.

I also included my email diaries when I was going through treatment. This was a "live" in-the-trenches-on-the-frontline account of cancer treatment - everything that went through my head.

All the proceeds from the sale of this product go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

We had over thirty thousand people read this blog last month. I had 22,000 people read my last article on t-nation.

If you were one of them -- I urge you to support this cause and purchase this CD. Your purchase WILL make a difference.

You are reading this today because I am alive after facing cancer twice.

I am alive today because of advanced medical treatment.

Medical treatment discovered by research.

Research funded by money.

Money sourced from donations.

Donations from people like you.

Please help."

LiftStrong

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Two Years, Four Guys, Infinite Possibilities

My friend Jimmy Smith posted a blog a couple days ago that I had to share with you.

Enjoy.

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"I tend to try to take a few moments each day to reflect on my career and life. It's not planned reflection time or anything, I just tend to stop and think about things as they hit me.

That moment came yesterday on Facebook (hey if we're not "friends" there then you better request me). I was checking it and popped open the instant messenger feature. Now there are times that I hate facebook since it kills my time management. This wasn't one of those times.

Within 2 minutes I had spoken with AJ Roberts, Geo Derice and Nate Green. Now unless you are into the fitness industry, you really have no clue they are.

Having conversations with all three of them made me realize that it has only been 2 years(actually it will be 2 years this September) since 4 guys just a few years removed from being teenagers met at one of the biggest conventions ever.

That was and still is our bond. Not saying that we are "somebodies" now but back then no one in the fitness industry knew our names. We were just like everyone else wishing that we'd be the "big dogs" in the fitness industry, get recognized at seminars, write for magazines, produce top products and have long and successful careers.

We actually were in awe of some of the more well known people in the industry.

2 years can either be a very short or very long time.

Life is what you make it.

We made it a very short time.

Life is what you make it.

In less then 2 years, the four of us have all managed to make names for ourselves and get to another level in our careers but all through different roads.

AJ went on to become a team member of the very well known elitefts Q'n'A staff, a integral part of various widely successful fitness products, a Maximum Fitness magazine contributor and a highly sought after and respected powerlifting authority.

Geo landed a position as Ryan Lee's VP of fitness marketing and was the key component in putting together the largest online seminar in the history of fitness and he'll become very successful helping fitness professionals reach their online goals.

Nate's not doing too bad for himself with his soon to be released in a bookstore near you "Built For Show" as well as being a contributing author to Men's Fitness and T-Nation.

Jimmy, well I've got more to do but since that time I've become a contributing author to T-nation.com and three of the biggest newsstand magazines Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness and the soon to be released The Physique Formula: How To Transform From Being Skinny Fat To Muscular and Lean.

Now that's not to say that we've done anything or have made "it". I'm not speaking for those guys or tooting any ones horn, there's multiple lessons here. The whole point behind this message is that even at a young age in a industry where your experience, by many, is the measuring stick for it you have "it" or not.

4 young guys decided to...

-Know what they didn't want then decided what they did want out of their lives.

-Take immediate action and daily action toward their goals.

-Stayed driven when other people tried to tear them down.

-Had a laser-like focus on their goals.

-Found mentors that could distill hard earned advice.

-Kept taking hits but still pushed forward toward their dreams.

Just a few lessons, 2 years, that's all it been. I can't wait to write this post in 2 more years.

Jimmy "

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Embrace It. Deal With it. Get On With It.

Emailing and rejecting a client.

Breaking up with an apathetic and uninspiring girlfriend.

Handing in your two week notice.

Saying “Good Bye” to a circle of friends who do nothing but complain, bitch, and sulk.

Clicking “send” on an email to a potential mentor.

Introducing yourself to a group of high-powered executives.

Speaking up when someone challenges you.

Biting your tongue when someone challenges you.

Taking out a business loan.

Saying “no” to a bad idea from a good friend.

______________________________________________________

This weekend I was listening to an audio interview with Tim Ferriss, author of the Four Hour Work Week, when he said two things that stuck out to me.

The first was:

“Embrace short-term discomfort for long-term gain and comfort.”

The second?

“The worst kind of existence is 24 hour low-grade anxiety.”

You think about that.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Start the Day Laughing

I've been trying to pay off some sleep debt accrued over the last few weeks of staying up late writing, reading, planning, and, uh, other things that involve a bedroom, another person, and the "f-word." (Flat Football?)

So, I've been cursing the morning sun and subsequent nearly-falling-asleep-in-the-shower days until this morning.

My friend Kyle Hibler sent me this and made my day. (It also ruined my morning because instead of eating breakfast I decided to watch all of the associated videos...)

Yes, I know it was made a while ago. Yes, I'm sure a lot of you have already seen it. Too bad. Watch and laugh.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Stupid Programming = Fun

I'm sure most of you are on some type of periodized strength program with specific sets, reps, and goals.

Good for you.

Careful planning, programming, and consistency are definitely the fastest way to achieve your goals.

But, if you're like me, you probably need a break every now and then.

Try some different and weird exercises; use a set/rep scheme that’s ridiculous; have a little bit of fun.

Here are a few snippets of what I did last week:

1. Competed in the bench press competition at Iron Fitness, a little hole-in-the-wall-gym. I won the overall with a 365lb press at a body weight of 187. (195% my body weight.)
2. Barbell hang snatches to overhead reverse lunges. (This was tough as hell.)
3. Single leg squats to jumping pull-up to landing back in a single leg squat on the opposite leg.
4. As many reps of bench press with 225lbs (I got 21 reps; Casey, my lifting partner, got 15.)
5. As many reps of single leg squats without touching the other foot to the ground. (Casey got over 30; I got 25.)
6. As many reps of chin-ups from a dead hang. (I got 21; Casey got 19.)

So what does this say? For one, I probably shouldn’t do any pushing exercises this week since I pretty much murdered the bench press; a shoulder injury is not something to look forward to.

Most important, though, is that I feel refreshed and ready to jump back into my periodized program.

Variety is the spice of life. (I could only come up with a cliché.) Mix it up.

Do you have any stupid or interesting exercise variations I can try out on my next “goof-off day?”

Let me know.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Slay the Stress-Breathing Dragon

Nate's buried in work on Built for Show (have you pre-ordered yet?), so I'll be posting a blog this week.

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I don't know if everybody does this, but I'm really good at taking something easy and making it really, really, really hard.

For instance, I'm currently building a website for a close family friend. This site is a sort of version two-point-oh of a previous site I built for them, which was the second site I ever built using dynamic pages and a content-management system. Because it was only my second site, it's got issues. There are some things that work really weird, some things that I didn't know how to do but attempted anyways.

So I decided to update their site so that I could use it as a part of my portfolio (the current version is too buggy to use as a reference) and so that they could have a better site.

When I decided to make the update, I made several key mistakes. First, I told them that I was going to rebuild their site before I ever started working on it. Second, I have procrastinated on this project beyond the bounds of reasonable explanation.

I mean, yeah, I've got my rationalizations: it's not a paid project, so I have to prioritize; they've already got a working site, so there's no hurry; I'm hungry, so I should cook instead of working on this site. What it boils down to, though, is I'm lazy and I've let this go for so long that it stopped being a weekend project and mutated into this looming symbol of my ineptitude - a skeleton in my proverbial closet to remind me that maybe I'm more of a bastard than I let myself believe.

I spend a lot of my time feeling like I've got so much to do and so little time to do it in, and it's a drain on my energy, my morale, and, perversely, my ambition and eagerness to accomplish anything. I hadn't really realized how much this project had been bothering me until Nate brought it up in conversation last week.

It was innocent enough. He merely mentioned the project in casual conversation, but I felt myself tense up like he was talking to my mother about my sex life. My mood soured, and he called me on it.

"Dude, if this bothers you so much, why don't you just sit down and finish the fucking thing?"

I opened my mouth to retort, but I ended up just sitting there, dumbfounded, thinking, Jesus, why don't I just sit down and finish the fucking thing?

Thinking back, I've done this before. My track record suggests that I have an addiction to the pain of keeping at least one project looming over my head, unfinished. And while I can't remember letting those projects get blown so far out of proportion in my head, I can vividly remember the feeling of finishing each one of them. I'd compare it to the feeling I had when I got the cutest girl at my favorite coffee shop to give me her number, or when I put up 225 on bench for the first time. It's that giddy, chest-swelling confidence that makes you feel unstoppable. It's the reason I wake up every morning.

So why the hell am I letting these projects weigh down on me and keep that feeling from sticking around?

That's a great question, and I intend to avoid having to answer it by seeing to it that it can never be asked of me again.

So I made a bet.

This weekend, I'm going home to visit my family and hang out with friends, including Nate, who has been putting off some work for Built for Show that's been bothering him, and we've agreed to race to finish the things that piss us off.

I have two projects I need to finish, and I've bet that I can finish them both in sixteen hours or less of real work. Nate has bet me that he can finish all of the online marketing material for his book in less time.

The terms of the bet aren't steep - we're betting the cost of a dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant - but that's not the point; the point is that we recognized that we were letting relatively small projects get in the way of our overall quality of life, and we've decided to work together to eliminate the things that keep us from feeling like our own personal superheroes.

So what's keeping you down? And, more importantly, how are you going to get that weight off your shoulders? Let me know in the comments!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Conversations with Clients Part I

Like it says on my "about Nate" page, I co-own a personal training studio in the ski-resort town of Whitefish, MT.

I have a weird grab-bag assortment of clients from international business consultants and high-school athletes all the way to housewives, retired executives, and young entrepreneurs.

And while I’m a stickler for adhering to the exercise program with each client, I have to admit that I sometimes let the rest periods run longer than they should.

But often what I learn in that extra minute is simply amazing and becomes something I want to share with you. Therefore, Conversations with Clients will be an on-going series that will be posted whenever a truly great idea is presented to me during a session (with my client’s permission, of course!). I hope you learn as much as I do for them.

Diane Smith has worked at Alltel, Sprint, and a number of other large companies. She is quite possibly the smartest person I’ve ever talked with, and, like me, loves analogies.

Last week, she told me about her 10-yard line theory.

It goes like this:

We all have ideas, projects, and goals, whether fitness-oriented, business, personal or lifestyle.

Some of us are great at starting and taking immediate action. We can catch the ball and start sprinting.

Some of us can keep everything running smoothly. We break through tackles and side-step obstacles.

But after a little while, we all hit the 10-yard line.

And we freeze.

The goal is only a few steps away, yet we can’t go a step further. We fumble the ball. We get tackled. We twist our ankle. We get distracted by the cheerleaders.

And we fail.

Diane thinks some people may be scared of success. Others, she says, shouldn’t have even been on the field in the first place.

The 10-yard line is the moment of truth. It’s when all you’ve been working for is close to actualization; it’s a scary moment.

And it’s inevitable.

The trick, she thinks, is to define what your own individual 10-yard line is whenever you start a new project. Where do you think you’ll crack? What kind of things could happen?

This isn’t meant to stop you from picking up the ball; you’ve still got to run to get anywhere.

But you need to know that when you’ve got ten yards to go – when you’re so close to the goal you can almost reach out and touch it—you have to dig deep, put your head down, and push through.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Built for Show

The manuscript is done.

The cover art is finished.

The photos have been taken.

The prostitutes, amphetamines, and booze have either been paid off or have worn off. (I'm kidding.)

Built for Show will be released November 20th, 2008.

Help a brother out and pre-order here.

Love,

Nate

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Technical Update: Comments

Due to an alarming amount of spambots telling us about online casinos, home insurance, and, of course, Viagra, Nate has asked (demanded?) that I implement some form of bot control.

For those of you that post comments, you'll notice a new field that asks you to type "I am not a robot" before posting. This is because I'm too lazy to build my own CAPTCHA system and too picky to use one of the ugly ones I found for free when I looked into the technology.

What I've done is not airtight, but it should serve to baffle the dumber bots at least.

In the meantime, please let me know if you see any spam happening or if you have any problems with the new form field.

Thanks for your understanding!

-Jason

P.S. I just went through and deleted roughly 3000 spam comments from The Nate Green Experience database. Hopefully, I didn't delete anyone's comments. If I did, I'm really sorry. Please don't stop posting!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

A Tip from Bruce Lee

I'm wrapping up the editing process for my book, and didn't have time for my usual rambling about strippers, fitness, and freaking out.

So I'll just let Bruce Lee talk. He's smart.

You should listen to him.

PS - I want to give a shout-out to my friend Ben who was recently hospitalized in a weight-lifting accident. Here's to a speedy recovery and many more Skype calls!

Oh, and if you haven't noticed, this site has been hit pretty hard with spam in the comment section. That'll all be changing very soon.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Hit a Slump? Get Over the Hump!

Every few months, without fail, I go through some sort of fake existential crisis. My business, writing, relationships, finances, and realistic optimism overwhelm me to the point where I have the sudden urge to punch kittens. I’m incapacitated and dumb for what seems like days.

Really, these crises last less than an hour. And they’re usually because of stupid reasons that I blow out of proportion.

But 50 minutes of thinking “What the hell am doing? I should just go get drunk until I can’t feel feelings anymore” is 50 minutes too many.

I’m sure you’ve felt it too. But some friends (the generally unmotivated ones) have no idea what I’m talking about.

If pressed for a comparison feeling, I usually say it’s a lot like losing your car keys while in a hurry to get somewhere important and then being suddenly kicked in the stomach by a really weak guy. Oh, and you just realized your girlfriend cheated on you. With your landlord. And your rent’s past due.

Yep. That’s the feeling, all right.

For us that are goal-oriented, I think this comes up more often. So how do we turn the tables and get our lives back under control?

Here’s a tip that helped me:

Quit being a drama queen.

The next time you’re agitated, overwhelmed, or anxious, I want you to ask yourself why you’re feeling that way. If you’re like me, chances are good that the particular negative emotion has been programmed into your automatic response system. Chances are also good that it’s not a big freaking deal.

Look for the cause of your emotion and think through it logically. Is there really any reason to get upset? How can you fix this and feel better?

Give yourself solutions.

Feeling overwhelmed is usually due to a lack of priorities.

In some cases, the most uncomfortable action or conversation on our to-do list triggers our anxiety. Do yourself a favor and take care of the ugliest one first. (No, I’m not talking about dating.) As my friend and mentor Dan John says, “If you’ve got a plate of frogs, you’ve got to eat the big one first. After that, the rest will go down easy.”

So what kind of things do you do to calm down and pull yourself out of a downward spiral?

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Road Trippin'

I just got back into town from Cour D’Alene, ID where I cheered on my friend Kyle in a Pride sanctioned bench press and deadlift contest (He set a Montana state record in his weight class of 200-220 lbs with a 365 lb bench.)

It was also time for him, Jason and I to get back to our roots of road-tripping, drinking, making dumb decisions, and trying to pick up girls.

Here are a few random notes from the weekend:

- I saw the brick-house known as Ryan Kennelly bench press over 1,000 lbs. That’s him in the video (though not at the competition in Cour D’Alene.) That guy is a fucking monster. I don’t even know what else to write about him except that he’s interested in doing an interview with me for T-Nation. We’ll see if it pans out. I imagine we’d talk a lot about bench pressing.

- Don’t hang out at the Torch Lounge. It says it’s a “gentlemen’s club.” It’s not. It’s a half-assed attempt at a bikini bar and not one half-ass was sticking out anywhere. I fell sucker to false advertising once again.

- A Toyota Celica is not a good vehicle to take a road trip in if all three of the passengers happen to lift weights and have broad shoulders and big legs.

- On the same note, I rock at calling “shotgun,” and rode in the passenger seat most of the time. Jason, however, sucks at calling “shotgun” and cried most of the trip.

- Always try the local beer whenever you travel. If you make it to Cour D’Alene, I recommend the Vanilla Bean stout from Cour D’Alene Brewery.

- Your credit card company can lower your credit from $5,000 to $500 without telling you. They’ll apologize only after you call, freak out, and threaten to cry. Trust me; they don’t want that on their conscience.

- Never, under any circumstance, order The Ultimate Burger from Carl’s JR. It has over 1,000 freakin’ calories and will make you feel like you just swallowed ketchup-flavored concrete.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

4 Steps to Becoming a Networking Genius

I’m still young, stupid and have a lot to learn. But I’m pretty decent at personal and business networking. In fact, I get no less than five emails per week asking how I built an impressive rolodex of friends, mentors and other interesting people. This post will show you how. But first, let’s play a little metaphorical baseball. Batter up!

Strike Number 1: I’m young as hell. (22)
Strike Number 2: I live in Whitefish, Montana. (Not exactly LA or New York.)
Strike Number 3: I used to have a very bad speech impediment and still talk way too fast. (When I get going, I sound like a chipmunk that’s hooked on trailer park meth. Without the squeaky voice, of course.)

Take-home point: It does not matter how old you are, where you’re from, or whether or not you’re the best conversationalist.

What’s important is getting out of your comfort zone, doing something different, being absolutely sincere, and showing gratitude.

1.Get out of your comfort zone

In 2003 I sent an email to the former fitness director of Men’s Health. If memory serves, I told him I admired his work and wanted his job. My friends thought it was stupid and that he’d never respond. Lou wrote me back three hours later.

In 2006 I took out a $1,500 loan to fly across the country to Washington DC to attend a seminar. That trip ended with new friends and a job moderating the T-Nation.com site. Eventually, an opportunity to write for the magazine came up and I jumped on it.

I approached porn-actress Bebe Minx at a bar.

Take-home points:

Don’t be too afraid to click “send” on an email, fly half-way across the world to meet people you don’t know, and take uncommon, high-reward risks. Always say “hi.” Become interested in other people and make it a point to do one thing that scares the shit out of you weekly. This is truly the snowball effect at work. One action will lead to forward momentum and accumulation of new experiences and people.

2.Do something different

I met Alwyn Cosgrove at a seminar in the summer of 2006. I had never talked with him before. I walked up, handed him a book, and said: “I’ve read a lot of your articles. You don’t know me, but I want to thank you for all that you’ve done for me.”

Three months later, he got me my first blurb in Men’s Health and introduced me to Adam Campbell

Before I attended the infamous Ryan Lee Bootcamp in September of 2006, I emailed Jim Labadie a short note. When I saw him at the seminar, I immediately walked up and started a conversation. I don’t even remember what I said. What I do remember is having drinks after hours with him, Ryan Lee, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Pat Rigsby, collecting their personal mailing addresses, and sending them each a favorite book of mine when I got back home.

I met NHL star Geoff Sanderson at a gym in Whitefish. I offered to train him for free in exchange for a testimonial. He accepted.

Take-home points:

Everybody takes pictures with the people they admire, whether it’s celebrities or industry gurus. I don’t. I believe it lowers my perceived value. I want to be treated like an equal or at least a competent up-and-comer. Not a fan. With every experience or interaction, you have a decision. You can either stand out by doing something different, or you can blend in with the other hundreds or thousands of people.

3. Be absolutely sincere

People have fairly sensitive bullshit detectors and will know when you’re not being truthful. They will see your hidden agenda. Everyone also expects that the reason you’re talking to them is because you want something. Disarm them by reinforcing this belief. What does that mean? Compliment them, connect with them, put them on a pedestal, bring yourself up close to that level, finally introduce yourself, and then pull the trigger. Here’s how I like to start emails with people I’ve never met:

Hey Name,

I've been enamored with your work for quite some time and recently mustered the courage to click “send.”

It’s evident you know how to do it - whatever it is - and you do it exceptionally well. Your work has inspired me to try new things. Thank you.

But let me back up a minute.

Just who the heck am I and why am I writing you this note? I’m very aware that you get hundreds of emails per day. If I was in your position, I’m sure unsolicited email would rank near the bottom of my ‘fun’ list, too.

And yet, I know you got to your position with the help and guidance of others smarter and more experienced than you. Let’s just say I’m trying to follow in your footsteps.

I’m a 22-year old punk kid and a first-time author. If you’d be willing, I’d love to ask you two quick questions. I value your privacy, time, and expertise, and it'd be a real treat for me to talk with someone who's at your level…

4. Show gratitude

People are busy. They don’t always have the time to respond to your emails, talk with you on the phone, or connect with you in any way. If they do, consider yourself lucky and make sure to show your appreciation. A small gift, thank-you note, or finding a way to help them out in some capacity will make sure you’re remembered and keep the lines of communication open.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Bigger, Stronger, and Smarter Than You

Jason is an amazing web designer and probably one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever talked with.

Diane is a former vice-president at Alltel. Before that, she was with Sprint. They call her “the garbage woman” because she comes into a company, takes out the trash, and makes everyone rich.

Kyle is a state-champion in powerlifting and has such a contagious personality that he can have anyone laughing within 10 seconds of meeting him.

Alwyn has one of the most successful personal training studios in the country and one of the kindest hearts in the fitness industry.

Rob is physical therapist. He started a side-project making custom watch bands a little over a year ago. This “little business” makes more money per month than I do in three. He’s quitting the physical therapy job soon.

Jim and Ryan are millionaires, marketing geniuses, and two of the most down-to-earth people I’ve met.

Lou is a world-class fitness author. His writing is so freakin’ good I hesitate before sending him my first drafts for fear of being humiliated.

Brian is fresh out of the penitentiary. If you took a look at the national average of graphs and charts you wouldn’t give him more than a 5% chance of staying out of jail. He’s now got two jobs, works out regularly, hangs out with his family, meets girls, makes new friends, and has put his past behind him. (Except for all the uncommon and very cool knowledge he gained in prison, of course.)

Tyson is eccentric, weird, and completely out of left field. He’s also a genius and an awe-inspiring photographer.

TC’s articles are what made me want to write in the first place. He’s the editor of the largest online bodybuilding magazine in the world, and knows how to show tough love and commands respect.

John owns an inspirational, extremely profitable nutrition company that is changing the lives of thousands.

Larry is the former international president of Applebee’s and has held top positions at PepsiCo and Hallmark.

Ryan is two years younger and way more than successful in business than I am.

Sarah is a precocious, ambitious 19-year old single mom.

Gary is a professional musician for one of the largest touring acts in the world.

Dan buys and sells ranches in the Northwest. His clients typically drop between 15-30 million dollars on a piece of property.

Mike is a Broadway performer.

These are my friends. These are my mentors. This is just an abbreviated list.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Some will write it off as a cheap way to make myself feel cool and important. I’m sure that plays a small role.

But the larger message is this: surround yourself with people who inspire you. You are the culmination of the people you meet, the books you do or do not read, and the experiences you put yourself in.

I have learned just as much from a 19 year old single mom as I have from a multi-millionaire.

Meet people. Ask questions. Listen. Pay it forward. Keep the cycle going.

Close your mouth, open your ears, and hear what the world has to say.

It may surprise you.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Hot Contortionist Girl with Deadly Weapon

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Ghosts of Hook-Ups Past

I can't meet women at bars.

Well, let me rephrase that. I don’t want to meet women at bars. Although I like going out, I don't really care for the club atmosphere.

I don’t like trying to find my way through the cloud of bullshit and hormones to say what's on my mind: "Wanna go back to my house and have sex?”

It just seems so forced and expected. But maybe that’s a good thing...

Nah, my hunting grounds are locations where actual conversations have to take place - coffee shops, grocery stores, and the like. That's when my primal side comes out and I start to enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

When I spy a girl sitting alone reading a book in the cafe, I start salivating and feel like a cheetah who's preparing to take down a gazelle. A gazelle with a round ass and really nice, perky…eyes.

But I have a new problem. Her name is Jill.

It's kind of like that Mitch Hedberg joke:

"I don't have a girlfriend. I just know a girl that'd get really upset if she heard me say that."

It's a different thing for me, this relationship thing. I'm supposed to express my feelings. I'm supposed to say "you're all I need."

But it's all bullshit.

My hormones flare up and instinct takes over every time a nice girl with a slight anterior pelvic tilt walks by.

Bears and lions bury their kills and come back for more meat later when hunger strikes or when they're done watching the Price is Right.

Me? I do something similar.

The only difference is that my kills come after me. Yep, The Ghosts of Hook-ups Past continue to haunt me. They catch me at vulnerable times like when I'm waiting for my coffee, about to rent a movie, eating a sandwich, washing my hair, and standing around not doing anything. And they’re always wearing some new halter top and low-cut jeans.

Last night, this girl I've been flirting with for the last few weeks caught me before I headed out the door of the cafe to my girlfriend's house to watch a movie.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Uh, nothing."

"Well, what are you doing tonight?"

"Watching a movie with my family."

Oh, what an odious half-truth! What a vile lie!

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Uh..."

Now, you have to understand my girlfriend is hot. She's sexy. She works out and dresses well. She's what my friends would call "a lady in the street and a freak in the bed."

So why is it so damn hard for me to be faithful? Should I even concentrate on being faithful right now?

Those are the kinds of tricks my brain pulls on me.

I can rationalize anything. I always think I'm being philosophical when really I'm just thinking with my penis.

Maybe I should take comedian Joe Rogan's advice:

"Jerk off first. Then think about it."

Have I lost my fucking mind?

Psychology Today doesn't seem to think so.

In their article Ten Politically Incorrect Truths about Human Nature authors Alan S. Miller Ph.D., Satoshi Kanazawa Ph.D. have this to say:

The history of western civilization aside, humans are naturally polygamous...Relative to monogamy, polygyny (one husband, many wives) creates greater fitness variance (the distance between the "winners" and the "losers" in the reproductive game) among males than among females because it allows a few males to monopolize all the females in the group.

The greater fitness variance among males creates greater pressure for men to compete with each other for mates. Only big and tall males can win mating opportunities.

Among pair-bonding species like humans, in which males and females stay together to raise their children, females also prefer to mate with big and tall males because they can provide better physical protection against predators and other males.

Hell yes!

I think us guys who lift weights should use this to our advantage. A guy who deadlifts gets more pussy than the guy who doesn't!

As George Bernard Shaw put it, "The maternal instinct leads a woman to prefer a tenth share in a first-rate man to the exclusive possession of a third-rate one."

I think I’m going to tape that to my girlfriend’s refrigerator.

PS - This originally ran in my Atomic Pup column on T-Nation a few months ago. I no longer have a girlfriend. That said, if you’re an attractive female between the ages of 18 (must be mature) and 35 (must be comfortable with the term “Sugar Mama”), feel free to drop me an email at nate@thenategreenexperience.com. I like bubble baths, long walks on the beach, and other sappy stuff that will make you want to hang out with me.

PPS - Yes, I just used my personal blog to get a date. Shut up.

PPPS - No, I don’t really think it’ll work. But it might. Put down the Haterade!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Bonded with Iron

My mom had Brian when she was just 17 years old. His father split and I don't think Brian ever met him.

12 years later she married my father.

Then they had me.

I don't remember much about growing up with Brian. I think most of my day-to-day thoughts at the time revolved around blowing spit bubbles, running into walls, and wearing funny hats.

When we moved to Montana in 1996, he stayed in Texas. He had his own thing going, he said. So my family started over in the Big Sky state without him.

Three weeks ago was the first time I've talked with him in over a decade. I don't know him; he doesn't know me. But he's back and living with my parents. He's 32.

For better or worse, I've been through a lot. So has Brian.

I found refuge and battled my demons in the weight room. So had Brian.

I train to clear my mind. To punish myself. To reward myself. To push beyond what I think is comfortable or possible.

But I know too much about strength training now. I perform dynamic warm-ups; internal rotator stretching; balancing pushing and pulling on different planes; single leg work; back-off weeks; controlled rest periods.

Brian's training is raw and indifferent. He trains to fight against himself and accept himself at the same time. To control his former addiction. To overcome.

His form is border-line. His movements are jerky. He uses too much weight. He doesn't want a spot.

But he tears the fucking weight room apart.

It's therapeutic to watch. I can't even imagine what it feels like to him.

"You couldn't let the guards rush you," he told me once. "You had to get your shit done quick. You didn't mess around. But when I hit the yard, you better believe it was my time. Not theirs."

We may not have much to talk about just yet. I'm sure it'll come with time.

But for now, when we're in between heavy sets of squats focused on catching our breath, we can make eye contact and crack a half-smile that says "I know how you feel, brother."

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Your Life Sucks. Your Life Rocks.

I’m an organized guy. I’ve got a white-board, markers, post-it notes, a Palm Treo, push-pins, a copy of The Four Hour Work Week, and no social life. (All right, I’m kidding about that last one. I have a great social life. In fact, I went to dinner with my mom last night. So there.)

Much of what I’m currently doing (writing for magazines , training clients, finishing a book) are the direct result of hard-thinking, prioritizing, and getting what’s in my head onto paper.

Sometimes, though, I tend to over-analyze everything and fall into what’s called analysis paralysis.

This is when I feel it prudent to focus on all the negative stuff and get so confused and in a rush that I start to feel like a dog that tirelessly chases the red dot cast on the wall by a laser pointer.

But last night I think I may have finally found a way to get my thoughts down without feeling overwhelmed. I call it the “This rocks; this sucks; this is what I’m going to do about it” technique. (I should probably call it something simpler, but stick with me.)

Here’s an example list which I’ll explain it in a minute:

This rocks:
1. I am not dead
2. I do not live in Ethiopia
3. I write for prestigious national magazines
4. I have clients who I like and who pay my salary

Why this rocks:
1. I can not do things if I’m dead
2. I don’t have to shovel gruel into my distended stomach
3. I can call Sean Hyson when I’m out and have him convince girls I’m cool.
4. I’m not starving! And I don’t have to beat my clients with a dumbbell.

This sucks:
1. Personal debt and low credit score (playing catch-up)
2. I’m in a three-year business contract until September of 2010
3. Lack of social life
4. Feeling confused, erratic and out of control

Why this sucks:
1. Banks will castrate me with a butter knife.
2. I’m confined to one spot for at least that long
3. Low-grade anxiety and getting stuck in my head
4. Self-explanatory. Fuck.

This is what I’m going to do about it:
1. I will use the advance from my book to wipe out my debt and will then take out a low-interest loan for $2,000 and pay back every month to build better credit.
2. I will either buy-out my partner, or make the business extremely profitable and low-hassle to where traveling is an option.
3. I will go to two different cafés on the weekends and will make Sunday my “get out” day where I’ll head to bookstores, cool shops, and pubs. I’ll take people up on their offers to go out.
4. I will perform this analysis every two weeks to check on progress and write down any new goals or frustrations.
(Note: I’d then break up each one of these goals into measurable, actionable steps.)

Why is it set up this way? For starters, I find that if I focus on a few good things (in a non-Secret, corny type of way) I can keep my perspective and feel grateful for what I do have. That’s why those qualities are listed first.

Secondly, I list the “bad” things and associate a feeling or later-event that wouldn’t be too fun if they stayed that way. (Getting castrated with a butter knife comes to mind.)

Third, and this is the most important, I think of action steps I can take to reduce and eliminate my “bad” stuff.

Give it a try yourself and see what you think. And if you have any other creative strategies for keeping yourself focused, sane, and progressive, let me know.

I’ll try this out for a few months and report back.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Everything That Happens is Good

I came across this short story the other day and had to share it. Geoff Thompson, a former bouncer, has the right idea.

Enjoy.

I heard it the other day and it made me smile. So much so that I went and made myself a cup of tea.

Someone said (with a hint of a scorn, and a peppering of self pity maybe) “that Geoff Thompson bloke, he lives a charmed life. He has had it so easy.”

Another friend (a fellow writer) tilted a similar lance in my direction; he told me that his lack of commercial success was due to the fact that he has had so many things block his path (poor health, family issues etc). I on the other hand had succeeded only because I’d had it so easy.

He said this like nothing bad has ever happened to me. As though I was somehow impervious to the slings and arrows of life.

I have to come clean though. He was right. They were all right. I do live a charmed life and I have had it easy, but not because nothing bad ever happen to me, rather because everything that has happened to me has been good.

Let me try and explain.

My lovely dad died two weeks ago.

It was good.

It was his time and I was pleased that he finally got to matriculate this hard university we call life. It broke my heart to see him suffering so much whilst he was ill. I couldn’t even talk on the phone without breaking down. He had cancer. It found its way to his bones. Then he died. My dad lived a good life. He was a good man. Loved by many. Disliked by none. But he has finished his brief sojourn on this spinning globe and now he is home. And that is not just good it is cause for celebration. He has left me with a great legacy of love and very valuable lessons; how to live bravely. How to die with dignity.

One of my gorgeous babies took an overdose of strong pain killers. I got the 5am phone call and my heavy heart bled. A five minute journey to the hospital took a lifetime and when I got there all the doctors could tell me in prognosis was ‘we won’t know until tomorrow.’

It was a long day. An even longer night.

Some one said “terrible what’s happened to your daughter.” I said “what’s happened to my daughter is the best thing that could have happened.”

My girl had fallen into a dark and loveless Chasm where even the voices of her kin could not be heard. She was in a relationship that was imprisoning and dangerously destructive and none of us – not me, not her sisters, and not her mum – could break her out. When she lay in that hospital bed a small voice (somewhere in my consciousness) said to me ‘we are sorry she is here, this is the only way we could get her out’.

I trusted that this was true and it was.

She recovered, she went to uni, she met a nice guy who was appreciative of her beauty and sensitive nature. She is now happy and training to be a teacher. What happened to my daughter saddened me beyond words, but what happened to my daughter was good.

My brother died violently. He was bloated and yellow and ravaged and….so very beautiful. I have never felt such profound love for anyone as I felt for Ray during his five fast days of slow dying. I loved his very bones. But my brother loved the drink and the drink loved my brother. So much so that the love affair killed him. There was more to it than that of course.

Drink was his armory and life was his enemy and….well, you can guess the rest. When he died it was not me he called out for. It was not my mother’s name that bounced and echoed off the hospital walls, nor my dads, nor his four heart broken children. He cried out the name of his drinking companion, another alcoholic that shared his oblivious and sad existence. It was hard. But it was good. The friend that passed the bottle in long days of hard drinking was very human and very broken and he loved my brother and for that reason alone I loved him. I was with Ray as his decaying body buckled and bled and closed down. It was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. It was also one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I felt privileged that he chose me to watch his back as he left this life and went into the next room. What happened to my beautiful brother has informed everything I do, everything I write about and everything I think. The lessons he taught me – both good and bad – I pass on. It will, it has and it will again save others.

My brother’s death was good.

I have another family member who is dangerously ill. I can offer no more information than this; the illness is self inflicted. Me and my close family are forced to stand by and watch the slow decline because you can’t save someone who will not be saved. It is her life. It is her body. It is her soul. It is her story. So what is happening obviously needs to happen. It is her journey and it is good because all journeys lead Home and that is ultimately where we are all heading.

I also have my own story. Much of it does not make easy reading, especially my back story. I carry the karma of the hundreds that I fucked up on night club doors when I worked as a doorman; the bouncer. It has been hard to forgive myself. No self pity here. No regrets. It was all good. The pre fight, in fight and post fight have all been excruciatingly good. I am left with the residual ache of remorse, lessons that are as profound as they are stark and reference points that add an empirical wisdom to every new situation that I bring upon myself. Re-living each teeth smashing boot in the mouth, each concussive stamp and each spitting invective has been…..uncomfortable. In my former incarnation as a man of lower consciousness I also fucked around, lost my integrity, betrayed my ex-wife, stole, fenced and hurt my kids with my thoughtless actions. You don’t just do that shit and walk away without debt. The trail follows you until you find the courage to turn and face it and take the atonement that is due. We all have to atone. My actions spawned ten years of karmic residue that have brought me sadness, self hate, guilt, self-harm and illness, but each of these represented a step on the ladder of consciousness that has delivered me to where I am now. A better place. A beautiful place. Physically, mentally and spiritually.
So it has all been good.

Very good.

Especially the experiences that fell into the realms of excess. Because the road of excess (as Blake said) leads to the palace of wisdom. Every excess I indulged produced a lesson so painful, so profound, so earth moving that it permeated my whole consciousness.

Although I vow never to repeat the dark experiences that I brought upon myself I know that life will continue to proffer some of her own. It does have a habit of providing hammer, anvil and furnace to temper every blade. So, if in Her next instruction I find myself revisiting those night places I will do my very best to neither spin nor toil, neither will I complain because it will all be good.

Every thing that happens to me is.

And when folk say ‘that Geoff Thompson bloke, he has got it so easy…’ I will continue to smile. I will continue to drink my tea. Because...I know they’re right. I do.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Planes, Photos, and Wussy Behavior

“There’s not enough weight on the bar, Lou. I’m going to look like a pussy.”

1 minute later:

“Hurry! Take the goddamned picture! There’s too much fucking weight on the bar, Lou.”

Ego vs. muscle fatigue was the name of the game on the photo shoot for my book, Built for Show. And muscle fatigue always won.

Random Tips and Thoughts from my Pennsylvania Trip:

- I can finally say “My publisher is meeting me at the shoot” and actually not be lying. The same goes with “My agent is working on it.” So far I’m unsuccessful with “My people will call your people.” (Of course, I said this all on a 2 minute phone conversation with my mom. She was unimpressed.)

- Facial expressions matter. When you’re performing a barbell clean-pull, for example, you can not have serial-killer eyes. Or rapist eyes. Or deer caught in the headlight eyes. Apparently I had all three.

-Brian, the photo assistant, looked an awful lot like Sam Beam from the band Iron and Wine. I tried to give him a guitar. He refused.

- Shaving your forearms will make you look more defined. It will also make you feel like less of a man. Both are necessary while under the tutelage of Lou Schuler.

- If you have a J-Lo style rump, you’ll look like you have some serious lower-back issues and will be unable to “keep a straight line” while doing a plank. You will also want to punch the next person who says “junk in the trunk” right in the trachea.

- The same goes with a push up.

- Hot water automatically increases in temperature by 10 degrees when you turn on the whirlpool jets in your hotel room and will cause you to shriek like a little girl, scaring the maid outside your door. At least that’s what I’ve been told.

- Adam Campbell, the features editor of Men’s Health, can drink 3 glasses of red wine in under an hour and is way too smart and cool for his own good. (Brownie points!)

- Although he says he doesn’t notice beautiful girls, Lou will “head to the bathroom,” by taking a detour to the table next to us and will begin chatting up four gorgeous girls, one of which has a baby, which Lou uses to his advantage to break the ice: “Well, my daughter…” Adam and I will roll our eyes.

- Jumping up to grab the rim on the basketball hoop on the other side of the gym is a good way to both feel cool and get yelled at for engaging in an activity that could lead to twisted ankles.

- Megan (pronounced “Mee-gan) Newman, my editor from Avery publishing, knows the difference between a cover shot that will “sell books” and one that will “make my mom smile.” They are not one in the same.

- Putting Lou on the cover of a book is also not a good way to sell said book. (That’s straight from him.)

Thanks to Lou, Megan, Michael Tedesco, Robin, Brian, Adam, and the guys at Velocity. And thanks to the magazine rack in the Seattle airport that made me feel cool and may have even impressed the 50-year old lady standing behind me.

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Actually, You Should Sweat the Small Stuff

Nate's on a plane back from the photo shoot for his upcoming book, and he asked me to talk about things that I know.

I work two jobs: I work as a freelance web designer and software programmer in the evenings and on weekends, and to make sure I'm making ends meet, I keep a second full-time job, which I don't hate, but I don't particularly enjoy, either.

As you can imagine, the hours have a tendency to run long, and I find weeks slipping away without so much as a single memory outside of work, the gym, and my apartment. And when I had a live-in girlfriend, my time was even more thinly spread, which left me going to sleep every night an hour or two later than I'd wanted to and waking up feeling like I'd spent my whole REM cycle in a dead sprint.

Something had to change, but I didn't really know how to fix it. I thought my options were to quit the freelance work, which I really enjoy and which pays well (when I have a contract), or to quit the day job, which I don't really want, but which would mean I might not be able to make rent and still afford other things I need, such as, you know . . . food.

I felt stuck.

But then I found the secret, and started taking my time back. You know what I did to save my sanity? I started doing the dishes.

Sounds crazy, right?

My epiphany was this: I'm not really that short on time. Rather, I'm prone to let a couple dozen three-minute projects ball up into that boulder that chases Indiana Jones. I'll come home from my day job and think about how I need to clean my apartment, do the dishes, write an email, do laundry, check the mail, and any number of other menial tasks that I need to accomplish.

Then, instead of ignoring them and working, I just sit down and spiral out of control on YouTube until it's time to go to bed, and by then I've not only stressed myself out because I didn't get any freelance work done, but also because I didn't get any of those menial tasks that were originally stressing me out done, either.

The worst part about it is that I timed myself cleaning my apartment, checking the mail, cooking dinner, and doing my dishes. It took me an hour. Total. As in, to do all of it.

Things that take longer, things like grocery shopping, preparing meals for the week, or doing laundry, I found, can be grouped into one four-hour block on a Sunday.

Once I realized that, I had a good, hard look in the mirror and said to myself, "Where the fuck does all my time go?!"

And then I made the decision to fix it. So now, I come home from my day job or the gym, put on some music, and then I do the dishes, straighten my apartment, and take care of any bills, mail, email, or other obligations that could otherwise stress me out if not dealt with. This process, when done regularly, will only consume about twenty minutes immediately after I get home, allowing me to then concentrate on things that are really important, even if all that means is being able to really, truly relax for once.

I had this epiphany about a month or two ago, and since then I've actually found the time to be bored. I've slept in, I've spent time doing nothing with friends - I even found the time to watch the entire first season of Heroes.

I've also successfully doubled my freelance income, and I'm receiving leads on new clients at nearly three times the rate I was six months ago. Most of that comes from my increased productivity, now that I can sit down and work instead of just clicking around my computer and wishing my projects would somehow code themselves.

So, yeah; sweat the small stuff. Get it the hell out of your way so you can do the shit that's really important, like beating up on children.

How do you keep your free time free?

Let us know in the comments!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

The Work of Staggering Genius

I've had a lot of requests for the "most influential" books I've read, so here's my list.

But first, a little background:

After I graduated high school in 2003, I took a year off from any real work to goof around and “work on myself.”

All I did was eat, sleep, work out, and read. (What’s a social life?)

I went through more than 50 psychology, business, fiction, self-help, and physiology books that year.

I continue to read a new book every two weeks.

What follows is a short list, in no particular order, of my favorites. Some were serious, some were just for fun. All of them made me think.

Illusions by Richard Bach

The Four Hour Work Week Timothy Ferriss

Testosterone Nation

Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams

Rules of the Game by Neil Strauss

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

What's your favorite book? Let me know in the comments!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

Nate in the Media - March 2008

Hey, it's that time again!

Here's a roundup of everything Nate was featured in this month. Apply any combination of the following directly to your brain for a tingly sensation you won't regret.

Men's Health.com - Contribution to 7 Adrenaline Boosting Workouts feature.

Men's Fitness (with baseball player Josh Beckett on the cover) - Featured Trainer Profile, plus Top 3 Tips.

Maximum Fitness - Nate puts his two cents in with exercise descriptions, proper technique, and common flaws that can ruin your form.

T-Nation (Soon to be run) - Interviews with Dave Tate and Mike Robertson. Look for them to run a bit later in the month.

Have you read any of these articles? Nate's always looking for feedback; leave yours in the comments!

(To read and post comments for this entry, visit www.thenategreenexperience.com)

The Nate Green Experience

Celebrity Trainer's Revolutionary Tool!

Number One Networking Tip

Recommended Reading - Part 1

Turn “Oh Shit!” to “Shit Yeah!”

Functional Training for Bad-Asses

Build Your Own Life

Uncommon Training, Uncommon Results

7 Ways to Improve Productivity

Quick Notes from Perform Better

The Benefits of Running Your Life

What Swallowing Lake Water Teaches...

Get a Better Night's Sleep

Conversations with Clients Part II

LiftStrong

Two Years, Four Guys, Infinite Possibilities

Embrace It. Deal With it. Get On With It.

Start the Day Laughing

Stupid Programming = Fun

Slay the Stress-Breathing Dragon

Conversations with Clients Part I

Built for Show

Technical Update: Comments

A Tip from Bruce Lee

Hit a Slump? Get Over the Hump!

Road Trippin'

4 Steps to Becoming a Networking Genius

Bigger, Stronger, and Smarter Than You

Hot Contortionist Girl with Deadly Weapon

Ghosts of Hook-Ups Past

Bonded with Iron

Your Life Sucks. Your Life Rocks.

Everything That Happens is Good

Planes, Photos, and Wussy Behavior

Actually, You Should Sweat the Small Stuff

The Work of Staggering Genius

Nate in the Media - March 2008