Fantone Fitness

It's about Fitness. A fit life is a fun life!

Archive for the tag “fitness”

Real Life Real Fitness

Here’s the thing. Health is a lifestyle. Yes, there are so many things you can’t control. So, we’re going to put those aside for now.

Time to focus on what you do have control over.

  1. Nutrition (What and how much you eat)
  2. Activity (Exercise)
  3. Mental health (Coping skills)

That’s why I believe that

FITNESS

Is comprised of

F-unctional

I-ntegrative

T-raining

And

N-utrition

E-xercise

S-upport

S-ystem

That’s where I come in. Without a support system for your fitness, you are on your own. If that’s working for you the I say more power to you. If it’s not, then why not make some changes?

I will make sure you get in better shape. I guarantee it.

Give me 10 sessions and you will see and feel the difference.

Fitness is my game. My life. My domain.

2 22 22

Two crazy! Two months. Two different angles. 3 months shy of three years since my total shoulder replacement. First time I’ve been willing to show my body from the left side. Check out that wicked scar!

That’s all. Just checking in. Life is good. One day at a time. Getting through the day is an inside job. If you take care of the inside, it all falls into place. Or not. And you deal with it. 2/22/2022 Another day in the life. A day in your life. Make the most of it. Stay fit. Physically and mentally. Exercise your right to a happy life. February 2022.

How do I get rid of this?

Many people grab their belly and say this, “How do I get rid of this?” Which exercises will get rid of this. I have the secret, but just like many mysteries, the answer doesn’t always make you feel better.

The secrets of a sixpack!! I am fortunate enough to be very vain. It’s practically an obsession! I say fortunate because it drives me to stay lean. I know one of the deepest darkest secrets of having visible ab muscles. Brace yourselves! In order to see your ab muscles you must be LEAN. That means that without any ab exercises, if you’re lean you could have a sixpack, but without a proper nutrition plan, all the ab exercises in the world won’t uncover that coveted sixpack.

Okay so if you still want to see those abs, I mean really want to. There are some exercises that can build up your abdominal muscle and help with your desire, (very strong desire) to make them more visible once your bodyfat percentage is low enough. Here they are!

  1. Exercise your abdominal muscles often. They can be worked out every day.
  2. Lower your bodyfat with cardiovascular exercise and a clean diet. (cut out sugars) there are many ingredients to achieving a sixpack and beer ain’t one of them.
  3. Be realistic. It takes time. Sometimes a long time. But it’s worth it!
12 weeks Apr 3 2020 b
140 lbs 10 % bodyfat

After 12 Weeks of Hindsight! 2020

 

Hello from my living room! We are experiencing something totally new! This world we live in now has changed so much since my last post it’s hard to believe. I am always saying, stay in the present moment. This is all we have. Everything could change tomorrow. Enjoy your life because you never know how things could change and when.

We are living in that unimaginable future! If you would have told me life could change this much back in January, I would have scoffed, I’m sure. Unimaginable!

Yet, here we are. So, I’ll say it again. Live in the present moment and enjoy what you have right now. Everything could change tomorrow! Believe me now?

Hindsight is 2020. Back onna Plan!

Six pics! First two are from the beginning of January 2020. Gotta admit I have a sweet tooth and December of 2019 was a sweet tooth binge. Okay, I got that out of my system. Here we go starting off at 152 pounds and 15.2 % body fat. Then I got the flu. January was a really tough month. Travel to Ohio to see mom and while I’m there she passed away. Here’s to my sweet family for how wonderfully they cared for her in her last few months. I feel blessed to have been there to see her go and to see the love she got from everyone. So, we start again in February. The second two pics, from February 2nd, 148 pounds and 13.3 % body fat.  Finally starting to feel a bit better. And now for the last two most recent pics. March 2nd. 2020. 144 pounds and 12.4 % body fat. Moving a bit slower than normal this year. Stiil, I’m committed to staying the course and finishing strong. This year is the year of rebuilding. Oh yeah, I had my left shoulder replaced last May. Here we go! 61 is so much fun!

Back Onna Plan 2019!

So, it’s that time of year again. You might think I mean New Year’s resolutions, but I don’t. It’s the time of year for me when I am reminded of why I do what I do. I am a fitness professional. That means my life is about fitness. Mine and the people I am fortunate enough to work with. I eat clean and exercise every day for myself and for them. It makes me feel good and I am a power of example to those I encounter every day, whether I am training them or just talking in the elevator. I have been at it for almost 30 years. That means, I’m no spring chicken, if you know what I mean. Hmmm, chicken. I’m hungry. Anyway, at 60 years old, I am feeling as if I’ve been around for a while, I have. I know how to stay in shape. I know how to get out of shape. Listen closely, here it comes.

I eat clean and exercise every day. Unless I don’t. Around the end of the year, every year I allow myself to eat food that I enjoy eating, but that makes me feel less than stellar. In other words, around the holidays, I eat junk!! I usually start in November and from then until the end of the year, I go on and off of my regularly healthy diet and I eat pumpkin pie, ice cream, cookies, pastries and an assortment of sugary, sweet “just about anythings”. By the time January first rolls around, by the way, can you believe it’s 2019? I can, it was 2018 all year, I am ready for it! By the end of the year, I am sick of it! I wonder how people eat like this all of the time. I feel sick! Literally, ill. No wonder people are overweight and unhealthy.  Everyone knows that eating right and exercising is good for you, but it’s challenging stick with it. Well, in our media driven society where the hot body is always dangled in front of us, and presented as the optimal version of the “us”, we should strive for, accompanied with a constant barrage of ads for food, snacks, and instant gratification, of course it’s hard! We are fed a huge pile of dung and expected to create a beautiful, sweet smelling work of art! How can we cut through the muck we live in and learn to create a version of “us” that feels good and is sustainable? IT’S NOT AS HARD AS YOU THINK! As a matter of fact, it’s not hard at all. It just takes a willingness to take things “one at a time”, and an ability to be honest with yourself.

If you can be honest with yourself about yourself, you will be a lot better off. I can’t tell you how many times someone has said to me “I just don’t have time to exercise.” That is like saying, “I don’t have time to stop for gas!” You don’t have time not to. Everyone wants to look and feel good, right? Well, just like fueling your car, you have to fuel your body. Go ahead and put sugar in your car’s gas tank and see what happens. DON’T DO IT! I don’t want to be responsible for anyone ruining their car. Google it and see what happens. You must treat your body like it was an expensive vehicle, because that’s exactly what it is.

So, the answers are simple ones. Eat clean. Exercise regularly. That’s it. If you really don’t know how to do this on your own, then reach out to someone who does. I am a fitness professional. It’s what I do. I know the answers. I have included some pictures of me taken at the end of the year when I am at my “less than stellar” self. Remember, I am 60. No excuses. My intention is to start here and see just how much better I can get in the first three months of this year. I know how to do it, now I want to show you how. Just call, text or email me if you want to join the challenge. It’s going to be fun!

Exercise is No Joke!

I understand that most people are very busy. I think they’re probably too busy. If you’re too busy to exercise, then you are too busy. Exercise isn’t high on the priority of those who are too busy. Unfortunately, they are correct, their time is short.

Read this and decide if you have time to exercise or not. I know I do!

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN)We’ve all heard exercise helps you live longer. But a new study goes one step further, finding that a sedentary lifestyle is worse for your health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease.

Conclusions and Relevance  Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with long-term mortality with no observed upper limit of benefit. Extremely high aerobic fitness was associated with the greatest survival and was associated with benefit in older patients and those with hypertension. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a modifiable indicator of long-term mortality, and health care professionals should encourage patients to achieve and maintain high levels of fitness.

 

Check out my most recent article in the Neighborhood Trainer August newsletter!

Urban FitnessJim

by Jim Fantone, personal trainer

It’s just another day in the city. Not just any city though. We, here in New York City are fortunate to have opportunities on every corner and in every neighborhood for exercise.

First of all, we walk. A lot. I do anyway. It’s a choice to walk 20 blocks each way to my next client rather than take the bus or subway. If I do ride the subway, at the end of each ride is yet another opportunity. Subway stairs are notorious for taking your breath away. I see a set of stairs and I see quads and glutes in action! Take two steps at a time and I see extreme walking lunges. Man, that feels good. A little bit of cardio too. Just don’t stop right at the top please. Don’t get me started!
I find exercise everywhere. As I’m walking up Broadway toward home, I encounter people walking haphazardly across the sidewalk. My friend calls them Diagonerds. You know those people who seem to be angling to the left until you try to go around to the right, and just then they change tactics and begin to go to the right, right in front of you! Back and forth they go. Almost like they’re blocking for you. My take on this is they are my offensive line and I am a running back following my blocking until we get clear of the oncoming traffic (the tacklers) and then I don’t need them anymore and I shoot the gap and fly past them. Thank you!
With so many obstacles and challenges in a city like this, there is no excuse for not exercising. None! Use a backpack so your shoulders are even and the weight of your stuff is not hanging off to one side and get out there and move! Raining? Snowing? It just adds resistance to the exercise. Use the energy to navigate rather than complain. Let’s use our bodies the way they were meant to be used. Moving! You will feel better, guaranteed.

 

Leaning Into 60. Finally it is here!

60 Is The New Sexy! Well, that’s what I’ve been telling myself all year. It’s a good example of my approach to life. I want to lean into it, rather than fear it.

Today is the 60th anniversary of my birth. That’s right, I have now been alive for 60 years. Man, I am amazing! Wooohoooo!

I spent a good part of my life fearing things. Basically everything! That makes for a rough road! As a result of getting sober in 1979 I have a new lease on life. Aside from a four year relapse in the early 2000’s I have spent most of my adult life working on a change of attitude.

Now, I like to live in the present moment. It makes life so much easier but not only that, it’s more fun! So, one day at a time, I have managed to stay alive for all of these 60 years and for that I am grateful.

All of that being said, I think staying physically fit is so important to enjoying life. I don’t fear aging, rather I look forward to it. There is always something new to learn. I am wise because of my age. I am experienced because of my age. I am leaning into 60 because I know I will continue to get better with time.

How’s that for sexy!

 

Loud Trainers

Trainer Talking Too Much

Do you know how loud you are?

 

Please don’t be the loudest trainer in the gym, unless what you’re saying is to motivate your client. I listened to a trainer today who was so annoyingly loud that I wanted to ask her to ratchet it down a notch. But she was so aggressively bragging about herself, I was pretty sure it would have caused a scene I didn’t want to subject my client to.

Anyway, we all share the space and common courtesy goes a long way in these tight personal training gyms. If you’re making noise cheering your client on, we will be much more understanding than if we are listening to you talk about yourself. It screams of insecurity!

URBAN FITNESS

Urban Fitness Photo

It’s just another day in the city. Not just any city though. We, here in New York City are fortunate to have opportunities on every corner and in every neighborhood for exercise.

First of all, we walk. A lot. I do anyway. It’s a choice to walk 20 blocks each way to my next client rather than take the bus or subway. If I do ride the subway, at the end of each ride is yet another opportunity. Subway stairs are notorious for taking your breath away. I see a set of stairs and I see quads and glutes in action! Take two steps at a time and I see extreme walking lunges. Man, that feels good. A little bit of cardio too. Just don’t stop right at the top please. Don’t get me started!

I find exercise everywhere. As I’m walking up Broadway toward home, I encounter people walking haphazardly across the sidewalk. My friend calls them Diagonerds. You know those people who seem to be angling to the left until you try to go around to the right, and just then they change tactics and begin to go to the right, right in front of you! Back and forth they go. Almost like they’re blocking for you. My take on this is they are my offensive line and I am a running back following my blocking until we get clear of the oncoming traffic (the tacklers) and then I don’t need them anymore and I shoot the gap and fly past them. Thank you!

With so many obstacles and challenges in a city like this, there is no excuse for not exercising. None! Use a backpack so your shoulders are even and the weight of your stuff is not hanging off to one side and get out there and move! Raining? Snowing? It just adds resistance to the exercise. Use the energy to navigate rather than complain. Let’s use our bodies the way they were meant to be used. Moving! You will feel better, guaranteed.

Real Fitness For Real People

Does fitness elude you? Is it something always on the horizon but seemingly out of reach? Does it seem like it’s something others are able to do easily but you might never achieve? This article is for you!

I am a certified personal trainer in New York City. I have been at it for over 26 years and I am still working on being fit and healthy every day at the ripe new age of 59! I’ll show you my pic if you’ll show me yours. At 59 I’m still fighting the fight to keep in shape and I will admit its not easy. But I am winning the battle because I think of fitness as a lifestyle. In order to be fit and stay fit I must have a plan. An exercise plan and a nutrition plan. I also have a very positive attitude that I have cultivated over the years. None of this came naturally to me. I was addicted to alcohol and drugs for many years as a teenager and young adult. I got sober and lived a better life for 20 years until my relapse. After 4 years binging on alcohol and drugs in my early forties, I got sober again.

I have been back on a healthy lifestyle now for almost 14 years and I know now that living a healthy life is a lot easier than living in an unhealthy one. I have taken my addictions and used them to my advantage. I eat food that I cook every day. I exercise almost every day and I surround myself with people who support that kind of lifestyle. I don’t think I would be able to do it alone. And I certainly couldn’t do it if I was hanging around people who were still partying and eating unhealthy every day.

I believe we need a support system. It works with addictions of all kinds, so why wouldn’t it work with a positive lifestyle? It does. So, invest in yourself and hire a personal trainer to help guide you through the maze of exercise and nutrition chaos that seems to elude you on your own. We are out here waiting to become part of your nutrition exercise support system.

I provide healthy eating tips and practical training advice for real people who want real fitness. I’m Jim Fantone and I’m a recovering alcoholic.

P1010573

140 lbs. 8.5% body fat

Chloe’s Plank/Leg Lift

Lean-ing Into 60- My Article in The Neighborhood Trainers April Newsletter

JamesLean-ing Into 60!

Everybody is getting older. Obvious, right? Not everybody is getting older in 
the same way. Also, obvious, right?
Yes, I think so. There are those who are telling you about how they’re getting older all the time! They are actually complaining about it. When they forget something, they say something like “my mind ain’t what it used to be”, as if anything is. You might hear “Oh, I’m getting fat in my old age”.
Yet, there are others who are embracing their evolution.
Exercising consistently and eating right. They are sharing their wisdom with the world instead of whining about getting older.
Getting older isn’t an option, enjoying it is.
I say lean into it! Like everything else, if you make the best of it, you feel better about it. It’s the same with getting older. You must try to enjoy it in order the feel better about it.
How do you do that? The money question. It’s an attitude change. That’s all. Choose to do it. Go ahead, try. Say it with me. “I love getting older”.
It is a choice. I exercise every day. I eat small healthy meals.But most of all I choose to lean into getting older rather than fight it.
 
I exercise every day. Unless I don’t. But rather than planning to exercise once or twice a week, I plan to do it every day! Then, when I miss a day, I don’t have to beat myself up about it and give up. I just resume the next day.
Say it with me, go ahead. “I exercise every day!” Don’t worry about it if it’s not true yet. Just exercise today and you’re off to a great start. Lean into it!
By now you’re starting to notice a trend. It’s all about attitude. Replace your old thinking with the new. By old thinking, I mean the old phrases and figures of speech that you use without even thinking about whether they are true or not. Instead of complaining about the weather, try enjoying it. No matter what it is. Go ahead, try it. Say it with me, “I love this freezing rain!”
If you’re willing to try this approach, I think you’ll find it exhilarating and full of possibilities. It can free up your mind and your day from all of the self-defeating habits that you aren’t even aware of.
It can open you up for something new. Like Lean-ing into 60! Or if you’re younger than I am, leaning into your own beautiful future! Try it!

Surfing The Universe- Going With The Flow


 

GettingOut of Your Own Way- 60 is The New Sexy


 

60 Is The New Sexy! 6 Months away and One month into 2018

Soooo, here I am again with “60 is the New Sexy” Why? Because I am a positive thinking person who knows how important attitude is to health and fitness. I hear many people moaning about getting older and I like to take the opposite approach. I look forward to getting older!! Wooohooo!!! I am just choosing to look at life as a beautiful experience that includes all of its ups and downs, ins and outs along with its beautiful potential to learn and grow.

 

I am an evolving human being. All that means is I am willing to learn and grow. My mind is not made up. I am open to change. I like change. Change is good. TMI?

So I believe that 60 is the new sexy! Older than me? How about, “70 is Heavenly?”

Or, “80 is great-y” You get the point, right.

60 is the New Sexy. And 59 is Fine!

It’s time to get “Back on the Plan” If you know me at all, you’ve heard me say that over and over. That’s because 90 percent of the time I eat clean. There are a couple of times during the year when I go off the plan and eat what I call junk food. For me this means cookies and ice cream, pumpkin pie and cake. If I ate like this all the time I think I would be very unhappy. I don’t eat like this because I want to feel good and look good. I believe that as one gets older one can still look good. That’s why I intend to continue to exercise and eat well. I plan on looking good when I hit 60! It’s just 7 months away.

This first photo is from just before Christmas. I was eating clean and felt good!

Pre Christmas Weigh in

Pre Christmas weigh in. 140 lbs-9.5% body fat

The second photo was taken on January 2nd after I had my yearly holiday binge. I wanted to document my weight and body fat to help me stay on track and to motivate me to stay fit and healthy.

January 2nd Back on the Plan

January 2nd. Back on the Plan 149 lbs.-11.4% body fat

So here we go! Back on the plan! If you would like to learn more about how to change your habits and change your health and appearance, I encourage you to reach out to me or any personal trainer and invest in yourself. You will feel better and look better too. Fitness is a lifestyle.

60 is The New Sexy

We all know by now that abs are created in the kitchen, not the gym. So don’t over-do it this year living it up on stuffing and pie. Or if your like me, and you wait all year to eat pumpkin pie, then I say live it up for the holiday and get back on the plan right away! Oh yeah and try working out every day!

Abs in the Kitchen

Abs are created in the kitchen!

Dynamic Stretching!

 

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