Saturday, December 28, 2013

2013 Books That I Read

Garage workout training wins again.

Had another fantastic session.

1A) PowerBlock Reverse Lunges
1B) A unique chin-up and burpee combo that will be in a future TT workout
1C) KB 1-arm Overhead presses

(NOTE: I had to go to the basement to do this circuit because that's where the rafters are for chinups.)

2A) KB Swing
2B) KB Goblet Squat
2C) Slam Ball Slams

3A) Curls
3B) Triceps

Good times. Really good times. Whooped after, too.

Then I went to a local cafe for a Facebook QnA session.

Half the questions I get are from people looking for me to excuse/justify their behavior. I have a 100% disappointment rate. #NoExcuses2014

For example...

Q: I know you can't out train a bad diet, but isnt it still all about calories? If you know you are going to a party and might be consuming more than usual wont it help negate some of the damage if you up the intensity of your workout, or add another 15-20 mins to your training? - Liza

Answer:
No, it's not all about calories. The type of calories you choose impacts key hormones (insulin, glucagon, cortisol, etc.) that play a big role in your results. If you can up the intensity of your workouts, then there is something wrong with your regular workouts.

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tips:
Repeat after me: Criticism from others only matters if I let it matter. I'm in control of my mind. If I believe what I'm doing is right, then I must not let anything stand in the way of what is important to me.

BTW, I enjoyed a really great book on Christmas Day called, "Humans of New York". The FB page has over 2 million fans, and the book itself is simply hundreds of photographs and quotes of people from New York. It's sad, funny, bizarre, entertaining and uplifting at the same time. Check the FB page here
- www.facebook.com/HumansofNewYork

Other books I read this year (in order of when I read them):

    A Year of Living Consciously – Gay Hendricks
    So Good They Can't Ignore You – Cal Newport
    The Art of Living – Sharon Lebell
    Good Life: Guide to Ancient Art of Stoic Joy – Irving
    Sources of Significance – Anton
    Icarus Deception – Seth Godin
    The Secret of Selling Anything – Harry Browne
    Several Short Sentences about Writing – V. Klinkenborg
    Animal Farm – Orwell
    Striking Thoughts – Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living
    Dad is Fat – Gaffigan
    Making the Most of Your Time – Mark Ford
    Wealth Planning for Freelancers – Mark Ford
    The Little Prince – de Saint Exupery
    The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks
    Success Formula – Bob Berg
    Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
    All Quiet on the Western Front - Remarque
    A Manual for Living – Lebell & Epictetus
    Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls – Sedaris
    Dialogues & Essays – Seneca
    Book Itch – Adam Witty
    21 Ways to Build Your Business with a Book – Witty
    Ready-Fire-Aim – Masterson
    Tao Te Ching – Stephen Mitchell
    Car Guys vs. Bean Counters - Bob Lutz

Training Books - I don't read a lot of training books, to be honest...I get most of my info from personal emails and conversations with guys like Jay, Alwyn, Roman, etc., and magazines

1. Drop 2 Dress Sizes – R. Cosgrove
2. Keep the Change – Catherine Gordon
3. Man 2.0 – Roman & Bornstein
4. Shape-Up ShortCuts – Jen Ator

And finally, I read a lot (too many?) magazines. These cut into my book reading, but most are important for business (at TT and ETR). I have subscriptions to:

    Inc
    Entrepreneur
    Fast Company
    Wired
    Robb Report
    Oxygen
    Men's Fitness
    Men's Health
    Toronto Life
    Publisher's weekly
    Direct Response magazine
    Rotman School of Business
    Success
    Couple of travel mags
    And a bunch of Dan Kennedy newsletters too

I'm putting a system into place to double the number of books I read in 2014, while still reading all of the magazines, customer feedback, FB QnA's, and more.

It's going to be a great year.

With no excuses,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer

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Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
www.TurbulenceTrainingFanpage.com

2 comments:

reed said...

Thank you for helping clear up the "all about calories" fitness myth... it just keeps on coming up no matter what we say and do, doesn't it??? Will be taking a serious look at this reading list for making my own 2014 must-read list!

Anonymous said...

Craig, what about Daily Rituals?