MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from  Girl, You Got This!  Fitness When you get pregnant, your body goes through intense changes. I can’t be the only person who has heard mothers expressing that their body was “never the same” after they gave birth. When you have a baby, your body will carry battle scars for the rest of your life. Some of the toll on your body will be influenced by genetics—like my stretch marks, I could moisturize all day throughout my pregnancy and it wouldn’t make a difference—and there really isn’t much you can do about that. If your genetics are really working against you, try to embrace the changes you cannot control. Be kind to yourself. On the other hand, some of the worst side effects of pregnancy can be minimized or even prevented if you prepare your body properly. Think of pregnancy as training for a marathon – albeit a very strange one that involves growing a human and then pushing it out of your body. While trying to conceive, I want you to be vigilant abo...

Excerpt from Girl, You Got This!  I have a 24-hour cancellation policy. When I first started my work as a personal trainer, I was single and had two clients I would meet up with at a local park because I didn’t have a studio space. Cancellations at that point weren’t such a big deal. “Oh, you can’t make it today? What about tomorrow around 3? Great, see you then!”  In the past four years, that’s changed. I am married with one kid and another on the way, and I am booked. When I say ‘booked,’ I mean I am still a one-person team (unless you count my two-year-old daughter as my assistant), and I have 76 clients. I work seven days a week from 6 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. Now when someone cancels last minute, it means: 1) It isn’t easy to reschedule, and 2) Another client could have filled that spot, and   3) now I won’t make that money. So, what do I do when I get that last-minute text or call?  Nothing. I don’t charge them or scold them. If they are sick, I tell them I h...

  Today's book back story is about Brittany Renz's book, Girl, You Got This ! From the publisher --  Brittany (author) was my (publisher) trainer. I was working on a book, Grandma's Ninja Training Diary (still am and someday it will see the world on a printed page). As we worked month by month, Brittany and her husband decided to expand their family of one son to two children (ultimately, Brittany delivered a daughter). As she became more and more pregnant, Brittany continued working with her fitness clients -- and maintained her own fitness routine. One thing we both noticed: no other pregnant women were working out in the gym. Brittany figured it might be because they did not think that they could or did not know how to. Hence, the origin of the book, Girl, You Got This!, which has caught the eye of doctors and women's magazines with its unusual content. Yes, you can be pregnant and also be in the best shape of your life. (And the whole family can work out together; ...

  excerpt from Girl, You've Got Thi s by Brittany Renz -  Introduction   I have a 24-hour cancellation policy.   When I first started my work as a personal trainer, I was single and had two clients I would meet up with at a local park because I didn’t have a studio space. Cancellations at that point weren’t such a big deal. “Oh, you can’t make it today? What about tomorrow around 3? Great, see you then!”   In the past four years, that’s changed. I am married with one kid and another on the way, and I am booked. When I say ‘booked,’ I mean I am still a one-person team (unless you count my two-year-old daughter as my assistant), and I have 76 clients. I work seven days a week from 6 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. Now when someone cancels last minute, it means:   1) It isn’t easy to reschedule, and 2) Another client could have filled that spot, and        now I won’t make that money.   So, what do I do w...

  San Juan Books is the hybrid division of MSI Press LLC. It allows first-time writers to become published in a traditional way through the reduction of risk by sharing publication costs. All other publishing features are traditional in nature, and most SJB authors go on to be offered traditional contracts for their subsequent books. SJB publications are available as paperback, hard cover, and e-book versions. SJB authors' books very much hold their own against their contemporaries in the traditional publishing division. Indeed, a number of them have outsold their traditional compatriots. Today, San Juan Books presents author Brittany Renz. Brittany Renz is a successful personal trainer and mother in Hollister, California. A popular trainer with a very large, stable clientele, she trains together with her family, as well as coaching others. After years of people asking her how she does it all, she finally decided to take her experience and share it with the world. To see more posts...

  Excerpt from Girl, You Got This! Food Dieting is talked about a lot in our culture. Every couple of months there is a new trendy diet: Atkins, Keto, the potato diet. The problem with most fad diets, though, is they are restrictive. There are too many hard rules. In order to change your eating habits long term, you need balance .   Everyone has heard the phrase, “balanced diet.” In fact, it is such a common thing to hear that most people don’t really stop to think about what it means. It just goes in one ear and out the other. What makes a diet balanced?   A balanced diet is a diet that includes variety. You eat multiple foods from multiple food groups in order to fuel your body with the most nutrients possible.   The Standard American Diet (SAD) is full of “food” that isn’t really food. It is more like packaged food-science experiments. The results might taste great, but it is no longer natural. The best way to get the most out of what you put in you...

  You would be surprised where you might find some unique -- and tasty -- recipes. Some of more interesting books have some special recipes tucked inside them. See, for example... Dia de Muertos . Ever wonder how to make some of those yummy Day of the Dead treats? Sula has the recipes for you! Syrian Folktales . Muna has included more than a folktale from each region of Syria; she has also included recipes from each region of Syria. Maybe this is one of the reasons that this is one of our best-selling books. Girl, You Got This! -- you might be surprised -- contains healthy recipes for mothers-to-be who are paying involved in fitness activities. HOWEVER, unlike Amazon's stubborn classification of The Optimistic Food Addict as a cookbook, it is anything but. Dr. Fisanick, the author, shares personal stories of coping with overeating and provides much self-help and guidance to readers. There is not one recipe there! (Seek instead, recipes in the books listed above.) But, should be i...