Rugby's Clark on Olympic Ruling

Teammates, here's Cal coach Jack Clark's reaction to the great news that Rugby is once again an Olympic sport! "I got the word at about 4am Friday morning from pals who were in Copenhagen for the IOC's decision. I thought about opening some champagne but it was early even for a rugger.

I've been telling everybody they'll have to excuse our pride for a few days, all of us in the rugby community are over-the-top with rugby's inclusion back into the Olympic Games. We've been working towards this for quite some time and now that's its happened it almost seems surreal. Olympic status is a great boost for our sport, especially in countries like ours in America where rugby is played as a minor sport. Olympic acceptance is important for the sports credibility on university and high school campuses. There is no denying the power of those five rings, and the USOC will be a tremendous partner to help take U.S. rugby to the next level.

Unfortunately, the IOC cut baseball and softball from the Games, two strong U.S. sports, but those ball-diamond sports aren't world sports to the extent of the replacement sports of rugby and golf. I believe rugby 'sevens' will become among the most popular of Olympic participation sports.

Also, rugby reentering the Olympics has special meaning to us at Cal. Partly because six of our students won rugby Olympic Gold in the 1920 and 1924 Games. It's now my job to increase our number of rugby Olympians and I confident we'll do so."

Jack Clark
Team Perfect Athlete Ambassador

A special HOOYAH to Marketing Coordinator Julie Erickson, who reached out to Coach Clark as soon as the decision was announced! Thanks Jules!

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Stay tuned for Tom Rancich's reaction to this -- as always, my SEAL Team swim buddy (and rugby player) Tom has a unique perspective!

Potential Entrepreneurs Pt 1

Teammates, having just returned from the INC 500 awards ceremony and a trip to London, I’ve been asked a series of questions that are surprisingly similar and thought that both the questions and the answers would be of interest to you. Many of the questions are from students in entrepreneur or public relations classes (Mike Lamothe and Carolyn Casnova to name a few), but what was particularly interesting to me was while meeting new retailers in England, the buyers asked me similar questions – here you go. Paging all the potential entrepreneurs out there!

How did you come up with the Perfect Pushup?

The funny thing is, I had this idea since the early 90s when I was a young SEAL officer, but thought it was so “ordinary” that it wouldn’t be of interest to people. I was looking for the really “extra-ordinary” breakthrough product, and I spent A LOT of money and even more time trying to make the invention work (which we called BODYREV). I nearly went bankrupt (along with my partner) trying to educate folks on the value of our invention. Finally, we came to our senses after four years and decided to adapt to the marketplace and put our efforts behind an innovation – which we called the Perfect Pushup.

What’s the difference between an Invention and Innovation?

This is a really important concept in my book. An invention is an idea that has no reference point – it’s completely new to the market – it defines an entirely new category, which by the way presents another challenge: what are you going to call the category? What’s the definition of the category? And how are you going to defend it with your limited resources?? Examples of a new category: Segway, the two-wheeled motorized scooter or Apple’s iPod or Xerox’s copier or Twitter. In the case of an innovation, the idea has a reference point. That is, people can reference something in the brain that is a launching pad for quickly understanding how the product works and then easily filing it in their brain and passing along the idea to others.

In our case of the Perfect Pushup, our reference point is pushup bars – U-shaped stationary handles and the innovation that we brought to the table was adding rotation so it better simulates the natural movement of your arms. Our mantra: engages more muscles – easier on the joints – like a punch. Super simple to explain and convey to others.

When you launch your own idea, first ask yourself, it is an innovation or an invention?

If you have really deep pockets and super patient, long-term investors, then knock yourself with leading with the invention, but if you’re just starting and with limited resources, go for the “ordinary” idea first – the innovation – that people can quickly grasp and understand.

Part 2: How will you grow, fight off imitators and keep your competitive edge?

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Keep those questions coming! Send them to getfit@perfectpushup.com

Beth Rodden on Bouldering

Beth Rodden, Team Perfect Athlete Ambassador

Hello again Perfect Fitness fans! I am just settling into ‘Valley Season’ (as we like to call it in Yosemite) after an amazing six week trip to South Africa. This was my second trip to the Rocklands of South Africa, a hot spot for climbing and bouldering (climbing without a rope, but on short enough rocks that you can fall safely onto pads). It is one of the main places for top boulderers around the world to travel to and climb, and this year we saw climbers from all over Europe, Asia, and the States traveling there for their summer trip.

Our first two weeks were spent climbing non-stop. We woke up, ate a quick breakfast and headed out until dark, climbing until our skin on our fingers couldn’t handle it anymore. Luckily, the Rocklands provided so much variation that at any given area there was enough climbing for all of us, regardless of ability. And, of course, I brought my Perfect Pushup Mobile Unit on the trip with me! It was right next to all of my most important climbing gear; shoes, chalk bag, and bouldering pad. So, each night when we got home, we would do a Navy SEAL workout before dinner. Waiting my turn for the Pushups, I sat and chuckled that there were all these climbers, lying on the floor, chest tired from their set, laughing and having a blast doing the workout! It was way better than TV.

After traveling through this amazing country, the last two weeks were spent solely in the climbing area. We saw sunsets that were out of this world and the wildflowers were in full bloom. The climbing is some of the best I’ve seen. Bullet-proof sandstone that provides for very athletic climbing. It is some of the best full body workout climbing that I have done. The angle of the rock is past vertical or vertical for the most part, which means that as a climber your arms, core, and back are doing a lot of the work. Your legs do provide much support and stability, but much of the weight is put onto your fingers and upper body. I think we were all super psyched to have the Mobile Unit to balance out all of the pulling that we were doing and do some pushing. Not to mention all the core you use while doing the Navy SEAL workout: my chest gets super sore and it hurts to laugh afterwards too! :)

I am so excited for the fall in Yosemite. It is my favorite time of year, when the temps start to drop, the leaves change and the climbing gets really, really, really good in Yosemite Valley. Stay tuned for more updates on how the season is progressing. My new V2s are in the training garage and all ready to kick my butt. I hope you are having fun whatever you are doing this fall! Get psyched and have fun!!

Beth Rodden

The Mission of CHARLIE MIKE

My name is Alden Mills and I started this blog while I was on a new mission in my life – moving slowly from one peak in my life (as a platoon commander of Navy SEALs) to a new peak as an entrepreneur. The “valley” I encountered between those peaks reminded me of other valleys that I have endured during my life. Though the mission may be different, the tools to succeed remain the same … and that’s the purpose of this blog – to share with you those tools of mission success, so you are empowered to encourage others to go after their own missions – that is – their own purpose-driven goals.

I named this blog CHARLIE MIKE after the SEAL Team radio call sign for CONTINUE MISSION. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done – we all face dark valleys in our lives and when we do, we are faced with a decision: quit or forge ahead – that is, Continue Mission. It’s our hope that the words shared on CHARLIE MIKE will inspire you to Continue your Mission. It takes a team to accomplish a mission – and we’re here to help … God only knows we’re received more than our fair share of help from teammates over the years.

If you find success, we’ll hope you’ll share it so others may benefit – for there is no great success than helping others succeed.

CHARLIE MIKE – ALDEN

How to Get Football F I T!

Football season is here, and I couldn't be happier. I grew up in Chicago as a die hard Bear fan. Sundays was all about “da Bears”. With football come the chips and dip, the beer, the dogs and not much activity. And with the holidays fast approaching, now is not the time to shift into neutral. Now is the time to pick up the intensity; now is the time to train the body to burn calories all day and night. I enjoy beer, I enjoy my chips and guac. But I also understand moderation and balance. I eat what ever I choose, but in moderation. Instead of 8 or 10 beers I'll have three. Instead of maxing out on a bag of Doritos, I'll just have a few handfulls. I also understand that calories-in needs to be balanced with calories-out. If I indulge, which I do, I will make the next workout longer and harder. If I know I will be enjoying myself a little more than usual, then I will give myself a very intense workout.


What am I talking about? A full-body, fast paced workout that targets every muscle. Using multiple muscles groups in the same exercise burns more calories, raises metabolism and strengthens the heart. With each REPETITION! If you are still doing a traditional body building work out and not getting results, it is time to change. Your body is bored. Time to shock the body using Perfect Pushups, Perfect Pullups and a jump rope. It’s all you need. Want more ideas?
• Grab light dumbbells and do a squat stand curl.
• Using a band or cable, perform a squat to standing row.
• Lunge with a bi-cep curl. Multi task!

The more muscle I engage, the more I burn. The more I move, the more I can enjoy. We must continue to increase the demands on the body to avoid plateaus. I use the F.I.T. principle.
• Frequency (how many),
• Intensity (how hard),
• Time (how long).
We must increase one, if not all, to continue getting results we desire. More times per week. Work harder. Go longer. FIT principle will be talked in a future blog. So enjoy, but then move, and move with passion!

Guest blogger: Marty Heilman
Please look me up if you’re near Cardiff By The Sea, on the beach. Can you say paradise? Location: EZIA HUMAN PERFORMANCE. E.Z. Intelligent Athletics. Simple but smart!

Where in the World? India

Sean Glass checking in again. Working out on the road takes discipline. The excuses are easy... Too tired, not enough space in the hotel, the gym is old, I'm jet lagged. But once you do, you feel great, and get more out of your trip. The nice thing about doing a quick workout with the Perfect Pushup is exactly that - it's quick...and you get a solid workout, and sometimes, you even get to do it while looking out at the Taj Mahal -- there it is in the background :-). The pictures with me actually doing pushups came out too dark (hard to take a picture out a window without a good flash setup which I don't have with me).

Almost any place we go that is "exotic" or "famous" has very strict security (we live in the age of terrorism), so I've been wary of carrying the perfect pushups with me lest I cause an international incident! Understandably, they're really security conscious in India. We even had to get frisked to go into a mall in Hyderabad today.

We started our around the world trip July 9th and we're planning to be back in the United States December 18th, 2009. You can follow Kellee and my progress at www.seanandkellee.com or by following me on twitter @seanglass. I may go several days without internet access, so thanks for being patient. I'm trying to keep up with email as best I can while savoring the trip!

Sean Glass

How to Gain Weight Part 2

Teammates, fighting Mother Nature is difficult. Lots of younger athletes want to gain size – particularly for sports. Unfortunately, most of these athletes are fighting nature. Men and women in their early to late teens typically experience growth spurts. Loosely translated, they grow taller - not bigger. Your body grows at its own pace. Messing with your natural metabolism almost always does more harm in the long run.

Still want to gain weight? If you are interested in gaining muscle mass try the following. First, monitor your caloric intake. Slowly increase your caloric intake until you start to gain more fat than muscle. Believe me you will notice when this happens. Eat good amounts of protein, fat from natural oils, and nuts and seeds. Carbohydrates should come from fresh fruit and veggies. Try to avoid processed foods and white flour products. If you increase your calories, eat more lean protein and good fat. Eat a minimum of six meals per day.

Second, change your workout routine. Watch the number of repetitions and the amount of cardio you do. High reps and lots of cardio can actually decrease your ability to gain muscle mass. Lift heavy, with good form, and get lots of rest. Stick with this for a while and modify as necessary. You will see some size increments but be patient.

Remember, gaining weight is oftentimes harder than losing weight. Hope this helps you reach your goals. If you have any questions, post a comment and I will get back to you.

Mike Ryan
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Michael Ryan is the President and CEO of Intensity Nutrition LLC. Founded by former Navy SEALs, Intensity develops super-premium sports supplements for professional, semi-professional, tactical, and functional athletes. Intensity will launch in 2009 and welcomes any recommendations for product development. Mike and Alden met during “running remediation” at Basic Underwater SEAL (BUDs/s) training. Special thanks to BMC Pardue for the introduction.