George DeJohn found the perfect way to turn his passion for fitness into a business

Wednesday February 7, 2007

By Lisa Tanner

George DeJohn arrived in Dallas in 1991 with a $4,000 lump sum from his pension as a New Jersey police officer and a goal to turn his lifelong passion for fitness and training into a business.

He quickly built up a successful career as a personal trainer at the Premier Athletic Club in Dallas, where his client list included prominent names like Michael Dell and Mark Cuban. But after more than seven years of doing that, he felt the need for new challenges.

DeJohn, 39, is constantly striving for ways to grow, both personally and business-wise.

As a result, his career has been an evolution, and an example of the way that some entrepreneurs are able to beat the odds and build businesses despite a lack of start-up capital and setbacks that occur along the way.

As he searched for his ultimate fitness-related business niche, among other things DeJohn wrote a book titled "Three Minutes to a Strong Mind and a Fit Body," and carved out a career as a motivational speaker. In 2002, he sought to become part-owner of a fitness club, as one way he could build a business while staying in the wellness field. But a business dispute with his partner prompted him to leave the venture almost as soon as it started.

But DeJohn regrouped and learned from the experience.

He refocused on speaking engagements to promote his diet-and-exercise regimen, an effort where he could retain more control over his business endeavors.

DeJohn also has built his name awareness by serving as the long-time host of a Saturday morning health and fitness program on SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket KTCK-AM 1310.

All the initiatives were designed to create name awareness and promote DeJohn as a source of fitness and related information.

In 2005, he started his own wellness consultancy, George DeJohn LLC, through which he helps clients improve their lives through a 21-day body purification program that includes an eating regimen, exercise and nutritional supplements.

The wellness consulting work is mainly done by e-mail and phone, and DeJohn, whose training in the field includes certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and several other nationally known groups, has a staff that handles customers' questions.

DeJohn's 21-day detoxification program has grown from serving about 20 customers a month to more than 300 a month in the three years since he began offering it. Revenue in 2006 was $444,000, but for 2007 DeJohn aims to hit the $1 million mark by June.

To do that, he's hired a publicist to help raise his profile nationally, and he's already appeared on television in Phoenix, San Antonio and New Orleans.

The detoxification program costs $270, which includes the supplements and informational material. A medical doctor and three others with chiropractic, nutrition and other training offer support via phone and e-mail.

DeJohn already is exploring another business line that provides specific nutritional supplements customers can take to counter the side effects of prescription drugs or cancer treatments.

George Dunham and Norm Hitzges of The Ticket have embraced the detoxification program. Dunham is about to start his third 21-day regime, crediting his past use of the program for a 51-pound weight loss and the fact that he hasn't had a soft drink, which he previously craved, since April 2006.

"I feel so much better and the program is easy to follow," Dunham said. "The structure makes it easy to do and when you can see the results, it makes you want to keep doing it."

Question 1: I’m 16 Years old, I weigh 170 pounds and I’m 6’5” tall. Is it okay for me to lift free weights? Could it harm my body in any way? Is it safe for me to start a weight-training program?

Question 2: Is it safe for me to start a weight-training program?

Answer --  Here's George DeJohn, fitness expert and author of Three Minutes to a Strong Mind and a Fit Body (Brown Books, 2000), to answer your question.

George: Weight lifting has many benefits, including strengthening muscles and bones and boosting metabolism. Given your genetic make-up (you share your tall, skinny build with many of the professional basketball players I've trained), you'll want to take special care not to overload your long levers (i.e., arms and legs) and risk straining your connective tissue.

Before embarking on a traditional strength-training program, I suggest that you begin by performing strength-training exercises in a pool, which will reduce the stress on your joints. If you can afford it, hire a personal trainer for one time only and ask him or her to prescribe a workout for you. Follow that program for three weeks, working out three to four days per week. After about three weeks, your joints should be strong enough to handle a strength-training program on dry land.

Given your age, I would suggest that for the first year of training you focus on lifting lighter weights and performing a relatively high number of repetitions (12 15 per set). I'd wait for at least a year before training with heavy weights. You don't need to lift a huge amount of weight to see results. Try not to get caught up in being macho and trying to lift weights that are too heavy, too soon. Listen to your body. If you begin to develop pain or discomfort in your elbows or knees, back off and reduce the amount of weight and/or intensity of the program.

Muscle doesn't come from strength training alone. You've gotta eat, too. There's no need to spend money on expensive weight-gain powders in order to put on muscle. Instead, try eating five to six small meals throughout the day, making sure to include plenty of healthy foods, such as chicken, fish, turkey, vegetables, oatmeal, egg whites, and red meat (in moderation) in your diet.

Finally, be patient. Even with extreme intensity, we can only gain about five pounds of lean muscle mass per year. Believe it or not, that's a lot of muscle to gain in one year. Rest assured that many strong and powerful N.B.A. stars started off just where you are.

By Carol Sorgen

WebMD Feature
Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson

When it comes to exercise and migraines, you've got two sides of a coin, says Lawrence Newman, MD, director of the Headache Institute at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York. Exercise can be an effective preventive measure against migraines in some people, he says, but in others, it can actually cause them. "We think migraine sufferers have a heightened neurological system," says Newman.

"They're more apt to develop a migraine when anything is out of the ordinary -- when they get up too early, go to bed too late, skip meals, etc." For that reason, Newman suggests that people prone to migraines establish not only a schedule of eating and sleeping regularly, but also of exercising on a regular basis.

"Once you're exercising, no matter who you are," says Newman, "you're usually taking better care of yourself."

Gain No Pain

What Newman does suggest limiting, however, is strenuous workouts such as heavy weightlifting, which can cause muscle spasms in the upper body. These spasms can bring on headaches.

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