February 2026

For years we have stressed to both novice and experienced clients that properly performed high-intensity exercise is not fun. Creating a muscular and metabolic stimulus is hard work and entails exertional discomfort, labored breathing, occasional nausea, and general systemic fatigue (albeit brief). Sure, it's probably not most people's idea of a good time; we tend to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Keeping your emotions under control, intellectually processing instructions, and maintaining your focus under difficult circumstances can be a tall order for even the most veteran clients. However, what if you changed your mindset? What if you approached each workout as a challenge, an opportunity to improve? What if you began each session with an attitude of "bring it on!"? You might just look at Total Results workouts as fun.

I know this sounds crazy, but take a step back and examine exercise through a different lens. What could be better than overcoming a challenge and accomplishing something meaningful? Part of the fun of accomplishing meaningful tasks is that they require effort. Think back to when you were little and you learned to tie your shoes. At first you struggled, but with consistently applied effort (and a little help from a parent or grandparent) you eventually learned how to do it. Obviously tying your shoes does not require the same level of physical or mental effort as does a high-intensity workout, but you understand the point. As author Ryan Holiday says in his 2025 book "Wisdom Takes Work," "No one can accomplish greatness in any field if they are not driven by love and fascination and genuine reverence." That fascination and wonder is what spurs you on in the face of something difficult, and it makes the end result more worthwhile.

Competition makes everyone better. This is true in athletics, in free market economics, and in technology. Most of us are more competitive than even we realize; who among us hasn't felt their competitive juices flowing from a backyard game of cornhole? We often want to know what others are doing so that we have a means of measuring ourselves. There is a competitive element to Total Results workouts, but with a twist. Here, you are competing against yourself rather than someone else. There is no meaningful comparison between you and someone else, unless you are an identical twin with the exact same set of genetics. Instead, find a way to make it a game; try to improve upon your previous performance in some way, whether it is something as objective as time under load or weight, or something subjective like better focus and breathing. Squeezing out one more repetition when you thought you couldn't will give you a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, and it is fun!

Holiday discusses a conversation between Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman and one of his graduate students. "Think back to when you were a kid," Feynman says. "When you were a kid, did you love science? Was it your passion?" "As long as I can remember," the student replied. "Me too," Feynman said. "Remember, it's supposed to be fun." Exercise is not fun every single minute, but on the whole it is still something that gives me immense pleasure. The entire process of instruction is fun, from the charting to the equipment set-up, to the actual instructing of clients during their workouts. It is an opportunity to help someone learn and achieve a level of fitness that they did not believe was possible. I see things through the eyes of my 23 year old self at times (when I first got into the business), and am still amazed that I have the opportunity to do this for a living. My own workouts are a highlight of my week. No, exertional discomfort and gasping for breath at the end are not particularly pleasant, and I do still experience some mild anxiety before I start. That is normal. I look at the workouts as non-negotiable; they must be undertaken in order to achieve continued health and physical independence. The fun is in rising to meet the challenge, but also in doing what you know most people are unwilling to do. As Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice once said, "Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can do what others can't." I am privileged to be able to workout every week - not everyone is as fortunate.

How do you define success? That depends on your values, but as six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick says, "Success is not a solid, straight line." You will have your ups and downs, but keep it all in perspective and focus on what you can control. Most of all, you can control your effort and attitude. You can choose to look at your workouts as drudgery, or you can make your own fun and compete against yourself. It's all up to you!

Nathaniel Altman is a journalist and author of more than fifteen books on alternative healing and nature. Some of his titles include "The Honey Prescription," "Healing Springs," and "A Russian Herbal." Three previous editions of "The New Oxygen Prescription" were published in 1995, 1998, and 2007; the fourth edition was released in 2017. The author's personal interest in oxidative therapies came about as a result of being the primary caregiver for a friend who eventually succumbed to AIDS. Under the supervision of a physician, Altman administered to his friend daily infusions of 35 percent food-grade hydrogen peroxide. These infusions eased discomfort, shrank a Kaposi's sarcoma by half within three weeks, and gave his friend a greater quality of life before his ultimate passing.

Oxidative therapies involve the use of ozone or hydrogen peroxide, added to a base of oxygen or water, in order to introduce active forms of oxygen to the body. This can help to kill diseased tissue, viruses, fungi, bacteria, and microbes, and eliminate them from the body. Ozone is an elemental form of oxygen that, as the author states, "...Is created in nature when ultraviolet energy causes oxygen atoms (which are normally found in pairs, forming oxygen molecules) to temporarily recombine in groups of three." This unique molecule was used to disinfect wounds during World War I, and was also studied and used in 1930s Germany to treat inflammatory bowel disorders, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease. Hydrogen peroxide is chemically known as H2O2; it mixes easily with water and can be considered a close relative of ozone. It is a substance that is naturally present in our body and helps our immune system to function properly. The medicinal use of hydrogen peroxide dates back to the 1920s when British physician T.H. Oliver used it to successfully treat critically ill influenza patients in India. German physician William Frederick Koch administered a substance he called glyoxylide (believed to be the same oxygen found in H2O2) to successfully treat cancer patients. Dr. Koch was sued by the FDA, and though he was eventually acquitted he left the U.S. and continued his research in Brazil.

How do oxidative therapies work? According to Altman, "Simply put, oxidative therapies can help accelerate oxygen metabolism and stimulate the release of oxygen atoms from the blood stream to the cells. When levels of oxygen increase, the potential for disease decreases. Germs, parasites, fungi, bacteria, and viruses are killed along with diseased and deficient tissue cells. At the same time, healthy cells not only survive but are better able to multiply. The result is a stronger immune system and improved overall immune response." In addition, oxidative therapies stimulate the production of white blood cells, oxidize petrochemicals, break down macronutrients to be used as energy, increase the production of interferon and tumor necrosis factor (which are used to fight infections and cancer), and increase the delivery of oxygen from the blood to the cells. Ozone can be administered in a multitude of ways including intramuscular injection, intravenous injection, as well as through a bagging technique. Hydrogen peroxide can be taken orally (in distilled water), intravenously, or even added to a bathtub of warm water. Speaking of water, ozone is often used in municipal water treatment, and was even used in the pools at the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles.

Oxidative therapies have been used for decades to treat cancer. German scientist Otto Warbug discovered in 1966 that a lack of oxygen at the cellular level is a key precondition for the development of cancer. In 1974, German doctor Joachim Varro learned that tumor cells have a peroxide intolerance, which suggests that certain types of cancerous growths may be inhibited by ozone and hydrogen peroxide. Even as early as 1962, Dr. J.W. Finney of Baylor University Medical Center published his findings in the Southern Medical Journal about the benefits of hydrogen peroxide as an adjunct to radiation therapy.

There have been promising findings regarding ozone and HIV/AIDS patients. Drs. Michael T.F. Carpendale and Joel K. Freeberg published a report in the journal Antiviral Research. According to Altman, "Carpendale and Freeberg showed that HIV could be 99 percent inactivated with only 0.5 ug ozone/ml of human serum, and completely inactivated by ozone concentrations of 4 ug/ml of human serum. Those concentrations of ozone did not harm healthy cells." Dr. Frank Shallenberger conducted his own study that was presented in 1993, in which he administered intravenous ozone over fourteen days to five randomly selected AIDS patients. His findings were very encouraging. As the author describes, "Dr. Shallenberger's findings support the hypothesis that ozone therapy can have long-term positive effects on AIDS patients. While not a cure, ozone therapy can play a role in improving the quality of life of persons living with AIDS. Soon after the results of the Shallenberger study were released, the Nevada medical authorities attempted to close down his practice."

There are a whole host of musculoskeletal problems that ozone and hydrogen peroxide have been used to treat over the past forty years. Some of these conditions include arthrosis (degeneration of cartilage), herniated disc pain, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Small injections of ozone or hydrogen peroxide, known as regenerative injection therapy, produce an anti-inflammatory response and result in enhanced healing. In the case of disc herniation, ozone hyperoxygenates the area and initiates the repair process by stimulating collagen deposition.

Nathaniel Altman did an outstanding job of writing this book. He covers the subject without bias, and was up front in the book's introduction about his personal interest in oxidative therapies. The author also states very clearly for the record that he does not have any affiliation with any doctors, clinics, or companies that are mentioned in the book, and that outside of the royalties earned from the sales of the book he does not have a financial interest. There is a list of resources in the appendix section, including databases, organizations, and additional books in which you can learn more about the subject. I highly recommend reading this book to see if oxidative therapies can improve your quality of life.