5 Years Goes By Quick!

Exactly 5 years ago today I purchased a one-way ticket and boarded a plane to Hollywood. Of course, I had a “Five Year Plan”, which you’ll read all about in Chapter 3 of my soon-to-be-released memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood. But when does anything go according to plan, right? Nevertheless, it’s been an amazing 5 years and I’m really looking forward to the next leg of my journey! Because, no matter if you’re “on-track” to meet your pre-determined plan, life always throws you a curve ball. And just like a batter expecting the fastball but gets the curve – relax, stay focused, keep you eye on the ball, and go with the pitch. And always remember, wherever you go, go with all your heart.

Here’s my Top Ten highlights of the past 5 years:

1) Produced, directed and starred in my first feature film, Boulevard Zen
2) Created and produced a video encyclopedia of 100 yoga poses, Yoga Survival Guide
3) Created and produced a yoga/fitness video for 7 days a week, 15 Minute Fat Burning Workouts
4) Created and produced 100 consecutive days of free yoga/fitness videos, 5 Minute Fat Burning Workouts: 100 Workouts in 100 Days
5) Founded a charity teaching yoga to women and children living in domestic violence shelters, The Boulevard Zen Foundation
6) Launched the Fat Burn America Tour: 100 Cities in 100 Days (albeit, I didn’t procure the necessary funding)
7) Quit drinking and my “player” ways (OK, that’s 2 but they go together)
8) Lived in paradise (Hawaii) for 3 months
9) Wrote my first book, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood
10) Moved to the most lovable and unique city in the country: San Francisco

Oh, did I mention I worked out every day for the past 5 years. I guess that goes without saying, because anyone can commit to a daily fitness program, if you set your sights and try. So for those of you not currently trying to fight Father Time on a daily basis, here’s another 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout to get you started. Enjoy – R

Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood

As I get ready to publish my rather colorful memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, I like to give a shout out to my team at CreateSpace – thanks so much for all your hard work and for doing such a timely and professional job! It’s been a blast finishing my book in Hawaii, and come this Valentine’s Day you’ll have a chance to read my “fun and inspiring page-turner” as described by my psychic, Jeanie MacDonald (who appears in Chapter 64 – The Glass Tower). Because what’s an aspiring best-selling author without a vote of confidence from one of the world’s best psychics!

And if you need a little help restoring your body – and your daily fitness routine – today, here’s another 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout to put a spark in your day! Enjoy – R

Yoga can hurt you…so arm yourself with knowledge!

There’s been a lot of talk these days about how “yoga can wreck your body”. Well, there’s no question that practicing yoga with an inexperienced or bad teacher can lead to injury; I’ve been hurt three times in the past six years from so-called master teachers and their inappropriate sequencing of poses. Unfortunately, just like Glenn Black says in the NY Times article, “To many schools of yoga are just about pushing people”. Add to that, too many yoga teachers have no background in physical fitness and/or body mechanics, and voila, yoga can hurt you.

Proof in point: Last summer I read a GQ article and posted my Letter to the Editor in my July 22nd blog (click HERE to read). In short, a NYC studio owner prescribed a 15 minute yoga workout with three twisting and forward bending poses that made me cringe. Because there are certainly yoga poses that should never be attempted without the proper (and complete) understanding of how to come into and out of each pose, as well as properly warming up the spine and preparing your body. And if you’re new to yoga, be extremely careful with any teacher that’s pushing too hard or moving too fast – especially an overzealous one that’s new to the profession.

And if you’re someone who truly wants the benefits of yoga but are reluctant to take a class (for a variety of reasons), then try my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workouts that are based on yoga principles and employ my very precise teaching style that’s designed to minimize injury to any body part, especially the neck and low back. Or better yet, if you really want to arm yourself with knowledge, then watch my Yoga Survival Guide with 30 fun lessons teaching you the proper and safe way to practice 100 yoga poses. Enjoy – R

Set your sights…and weigh in!

Set your sights on new goals and opportunities, and weigh in. That’s right, it’s New Year’s Day so get on the scale and check your body weight. Because your weight matters, and having a known starting point for the new year is important. And the next thing you should do is workout. That’s right: weigh in and workout. Because preserving your body starts with a daily fitness program. So set your sights for 2012, and know that exercising every single day helps push back the hands of time – and unnecessary pounds of time.

Today I weighed in at 151, then did 30 minutes of abs and yoga stretches, then 30 minutes of weight lifting (mostly machines). Afterward I drove the amazing 5 mile stretch from Hawaii Kai to the Makapuu Lighthouse, hugging the shoreline around the southeast corner of the Island as the waves crash into the rocks below. The certainly challenging but very do-able uphill run starting from the Kalanianaole Highway up to the Lighthouse, well, it ranks second only to my favorite – Runyon Canyon in Hollywood. Not that the 1.5 mile loop around the Reservoir in NY’s Central Park, or the beautiful West River Drive and the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps aren’t great runs too! But the breathtaking ocean views along the narrow blacktop road leading to the Lighthouse are incredible. Not to mention the energy you feel as you pass the lookout for the Humpback whale sanctuary. Totally awesome. And worth running or walking – at least once in a lifetime!

I never imagined I would be traveling this lovely Hawaiian path when I first set my sights on publishing my memoirs less than six months ago. So believe in yourself and believe that you can. Then get on the scale and get started with your daily fitness program. Wherever you are! And if you don’t know where to start, how about strengthening your core with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #81 – Plank Crunches. Happy New Year – R

Memoirs – Coming Soon!

After two months of trying to attract the right publisher – or any publisher for that matter – I’ve decided to take the plunge! That is, take the plunge into self-publishing my memoirs with Amazon’s independent publishing company, CreateSpace. And I must say, thus far I’m quite pleased with the process and my CreateSpace team. By the looks of it, the book will be available in late January, and to say the least, I’m really looking forward to it. And for anyone not familiar with my 45 years of rather colorful stories, here’s a preview of Chapters 11-20 in, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood.

At age nine I watched the 1969 classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. From that point on, I became fascinated with Hollywood’s “world of make-believe”. So Chapter 11, Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, is aptly named after Robert Redford’s gang of bank robbers, and sets the stage for my dreams of becoming “the Sundance Kid”. Chapter 12, The Belt, touches upon the cycle of domestic violence and the abusive grandfather I never knew and met only once, while Chapters 13 – 15, All-Stars, Going to PENN, and Just Say No, explain my early teenage years and how baseball and my parents’ “Sicilian parenting” impacted my life and set the stage for the next 30 years. In Chapter 16, Sweet 16, I unofficially become of legal drinking age and recall my not-so-virginal romance with a gal stricken with Anorexia Nervosa – a horrible disorder that rears its nasty head time and time again (as well as in my film, Boulevard Zen). Chapter 17, Jersey Shore, is quite amusing with tales of adolescent debauchery that I’m sure you’ve seen on the popular reality show of the same name, albeit, without the scripts and cameras! In Chapter 18, The Game, you’ll experience the best High School baseball game of all-time – all 20 innings worth, while Chapter 19, Dear Olde PENN, introduces you to one of the best colleges in the world, The University of Pennsylvania, as well as the gritty bars of Philadelphia in the early 80’s. As for Chapter 20, Two Minute Drill, no, it’s not about the final two minutes of a football game. Rather, imagine what it’s like drinking 8 beers in 2 minutes, and then imagine what it’s like seeing 400+ wild and crazy gals hooting it up at the hottest Ladies Club in town – with your best friend as the lead attraction!

Good stuff that makes for some fun reading! So, like I said earlier, I’m really looking forward to self-publishing my colorful memoirs in the coming months. I hope you are too. Have a wonderful day – and don’t forget to get your workout in! – R

Simply Between Millions: Chapters 1 – 5

As readers of this blog have come to expect, I’m direct and to the point. Just like my instructional yoga fitness videos and DVDs. Likewise, in the first five chapters of my memoirs, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, I plainly spell-out: 1) my Calling to pursue a career in Hollywood, 2) the Cycle of domestic violence and its impact on my family, 3) my Five-Year Plan to “make it” in the business before I run out of money, 4) the ever-so-illusive LA-LA Land that’s like a ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, and 5) my formative years in the traditional, all-Sicilian neighborhood of North Trenton, and the culture learned inside my father’s old-time Barbershop. And that’s just the first 15 pages. Short, sweet and entertaining!

So enjoy your weekend and don’t forget to get your daily workouts in! And if you don’t have time for the gym or for that 5 mile walk, then at least strengthen your arms today with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #86 – Terrific Triceps II. Enjoy – R

Simply Between Millions – Preface

Over the past three years, the only business school friend I keep up with, George Graffy, has been telling me that he lives vicariously through me and that I should write my colorful memoirs because my multi-careered and multi-storied journey is worth documenting. He also said I was an “actor with a brain”, and that people like to read books. Thus, I should write one. Yeah right, just go ahead a write a book. Easy enough in concept, but who has 500 hours to write 75,000 words and proof it a couple of times? Well, if you’re an actor in Hollywood like I am, then you do. So I did.

Not to mention the support and encouragement of my dear friend and albeit, transexual roommate, Angelae Le’Chastaignier. Because without her daily reinforcement to keep my memoirs “honest and kind”, I may have defaulted to a less tactful version of the not so pleasant truth. Nonetheless, my memoirs are completely honest with X-rated subjects, but written so my 12 year-old nieces can read it. Just like my film, Boulevard Zen, and yoga and fitness DVDs – my book is inspiring and entertaining and suitable for all ages.

Between now and Christmas Day, I’ll post a short description about the Preface and the Appendix and the 69 Chapters in between. And for those of you who have requested it now, please be patient – if I haven’t found the right publisher along the way, I may self-publish with the help of Lulu or CreateSpace. Just like Benjamin Franklin, Deepak Chopra, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain and many others did.

In the meantime, don’t let the holidays fatten you up without doing something fitness related every day. At the very least, start with 5 minutes a day, everyday, and before you know it you’ll be loving life with a daily fitness program. And for anyone not sure where to start, how about with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout # 87 – Dancing Warrior. Enjoy – R

Time’s Up

OK, so I gave you an extra day on the 2% challenge. Did you lose 3 measly pounds or 2% of your body weight? I did, plus an extra one for good measure. Today I tipped the scale at exactly 149 (down from 153). And I saw my Cookies and Ice Cream gal in the gym this morning, and we’re both sticking to that challenge too. Albeit, that’s a tougher one. But no worries, Labor Day’s around the corner so we can splurge! Have a great weekend everybody, and don’t forget your to exercise – all three days. And enjoy today’s 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #90 – Shoulders & Arms. – R

Cookies and Ice Cream

This morning I made a deal with a 46 year-old gal friend from the gym. I know she’s exactly that age, because after demonstrating some cable ab crunches for her, we talked about our respective ages. Not only does she have the best body in the gym of all the ladies in the morning crowd, she doesn’t look a day over 30. And she was quite impressed with my 48 – as she said I looked 30. So we got talking about how difficult it was to keep your abdominals looking good, especially if you eat anything sugar-based, like cookies and ice cream. Well if you really know me, you know I’ve always loved cookies. That’s right, I admit, I eat cookies. Yes, and rather frequently, but when I do, it’s never too many. Just a few to fill that sweet tooth I’ve had since I was a little boy.

Now my friend on the other hand, well she said she likes ice cream. And since we’re both trying to get back our respective six-packs (which I’ve certainly lost over the past few years), we decided to make a deal. Starting today, no cookies or ice cream for either of us until Labor Day. Now that’s only 10 days of no cookies and ice cream. On the 11th, we can splurge! So what do you think? Wanna join us? We could use some reinforcements. You can do it, just like we can. And by the way, in case you were Challenging Yourself with losing 2% of your body weight or 3 measly pounds like me (see blog posted August 18th), well I hope you’re getting there because I already did. Today I weighted exactly 150.

But no worries if you’re not there yet, we have another week to go until the challenge is up on September 1st. So make that two challenges: lose 2% of your body weight and no cookies and ice cream until Labor Day. You can do it if you set your sights and try! And here’s a little help getting you focused and balanced today with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #91 – Standing Splits. Enjoy – R

Take off the Cruise Control

If you have a tendency to use the same exact equipment every time you workout, especially anything cardio, try mixing it up a bit. Because your body becomes accustomed to specific rhythmic exercises and activities, which can put you on cruise control. And if you’ve ever driven your car on cruise control, you know that sometimes you’re going too fast or too slow, depending on the traffic flow and road conditions.

So take your workouts off cruise control and try something different today. Yesterday I traded in my 2 mile run for 30 minutes on the StairMaster. And boy did I sweat! Something I usually don’t do when I’m running or practicing yoga. And since I’m trying to lose those 3 measly pounds – see my previous blog – mixing things up certainly gives my body a chance to work hard on something I’m not accustomed to, i.e., not the same level of tolerance. That’s why my Fat Burning Workouts are so good. Whether it be my 15 minute or 5 minute workouts, each one is completely different from the next. So take off the cruise control today with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #92 – Killer Thighs.