The music that moves you!

When you workout, what's the music that moves you?  What pushes you harder than you could without it?  Each of us gravitate towards a different genre, tempo, or mood. 

What I tend to listen to

My music choice is dependent on my mood.  It's not that I don't like a variety of genres, but I do have some I prefer over others.  It also depends on what I'm doing, such as driving, lifting, running, or relaxing. 

Most of the time when I'm driving I listen to podcasts over music, unless my day has been sort of stressful.  This allows for me to learn new things doing something I do anyway.  If any of the family is in the car, I tend to put on music, generally a radio station rather than my own playlists.  Usually it's the country station (for my wife) or the Christian station (for me) when they're in the car. 

Running is different.  Sometimes I zone out to some Marine Corps cadences (on Spotify) and other times I need a fast paced style like Metallica.  The running cadences are for that exact purpose, and if you've ever been in the military you know that it's sometimes helpful to allow you to keep up the pace.  With Metallica (and others like them) it's partially the speed of the music and the length of the songs.  An example would be Master of Puppets, which clocks in at around 8:48, that's about a mile for me.  You get a lot of these cheesy pop songs that clock in about 3 min and that's not enough to get you through anything. 

Screenshot of some of what I like

Lifting is dependent on what I'm doing.  Most of the time it's some high-speed power metal or Christian rock (or a mix of those).  More-often than not, it's background noise and I'm not particularly focused on anything other than what I'm doing.  With lifting, I kind of like the more epic storytelling approach, such as Ayreon (I know, you're probably like ?????).  If I'm lifting with a partner, then I do tend to go with whatever they want, since it's usually more mainstream than what I like. 

As you can see, I adjust my music for what I'm doing and who I'm with.  I made an attempt one day to put on what I like in one of my classes and that ended up with a lot of nope. 

So what music moves you?  Why does it?  Just something to think about as you do your thing in the world. 

Sabotage!

Goal setting at the new year is common.  And if you looked at my posts last week I referenced new years resolutions and how to either succeed or fail at them.  Today is more of a reference to how to fail, but mostly how to sabotage your goals.

Your goals are easy to sabotage.  If they weren't, would the goals you made last year be successful? 
Wouldn't the goals you made this year be different than last? 

It's not because you lack the motivation, but the accountability to achieve your goals.  Everyone's motivated to lose weight, to save money, and whatever else may be their goal.  Who holds you accountable
for these goals?  Do you have a coach, a training partner, a stockbroker, a spouse, even your dog to tell and keep you accountable for these goals?

Motivation is easy, accountability is hard.  You can be motivated to lose weight, but without being held accountable for your actions, it's a sabotage of your goal.  Accountability is the opposite of self-sabotage. 

Who do you trust with your goal? 
Why do you trust them?

My accountability is being held by my wife and my friends who undergo the same torture that I go through (lifting & fat loss).  We use the "team" approach, which allows for more than 1 person to hold accountable. 

Finally, to achieve the strength and determination to accomplish my goals, I pray.  Laugh if you will, but prayer is powerful and necessary to live a wonderful life.  So, not only are my wife and my friends my accountability partners, but Jesus is too.  I pray for success, for accomplishment, and to be granted with the ability to carry out God's will, not my own.  This is the ultimate way to block sabotage, as no one can sabotage the Lord. 

So who do you trust? I trust the Lord.  Why do you trust?  I trust Him because he can do all things. 

My success is His, and my failures are mine.  Trust in the Lord, as your friend, accountability partner, and guardian and all things will be done.

How to fail at your New Years Resolution.

In my previous post, I talked about how to succeed in keeping your New Years Resolutions.  This time, however, I want to talk about how to fail at your resolutions.  I find this to be important because more often than not we do fail, but don't understand why we fail.  This is actually simpler than succeeding at them. 

To fail at your New Years Resolutions:

1.  Make them last second, like December 26th-31st.
2.  Don't have someone hold you accountable.
3.  Don't actually make a note of what you want to accomplish, just talking about it doesn't work.
4.  Don't keep records of what you're doing. 
5.  Make them overly complicated and unattainable.
6.  Be impatient.

Most of the time, if you can stick to the basics such as simplicity, record keeping, and accountability you'll succeed.  You may not succeed quickly, but you'll succeed.  Failure is much simpler and we often get wrapped up in the complexity of what we'd like to do rather than being patient and riding out the storm.

An example would be weight loss.  Go into any gym in the United States in January and you'll see what we call New Years Resolutioners.  These individuals pay for a gym membership (great for cash flow!) and use it for about a week or two and then quit.  If you think about how long it took to gain that weight, think of at least 50% of that time to lose it.  Same with smoking or some other type of addiction, it takes time and patience to break these habits and they cannot be done overnight.  This is where accountability comes in. 

To fail at your resolutions, keep them complicated and be impatient.  Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are your goals.  Think of reaching these goals like sailing through the ocean, sometimes it's rough, sometimes it's calm, but you'll eventually get to your destination.  

How to keep your New Years Resolution.

You want to lose weight.
You want to quit smoking.
You want to start a new degree (or finish an old one). 


Whatever it is, your New Years Resolution, is yours.  We all make them, whether we realiz
e it or not.  We strive to begin each and every new year with the intent to accomplish something that we either were unable to accomplish in the previous, or something that we've never tried before.  Many of our resolutions are health related, but they don't have to be.  Mine are fairly simple and straightforward:

1.  Take each kid (and wife) on their own "date."
2.  Begin membership site. 
3.  Expand my neuro-rehab program to another cohort. 
4.  Ditch the dad-bod. 

There are a few ways that you can stick with your resolution.  The first is one that I just demonstrated to you.  I proclaimed it to the world.  This holds me accountable to you, who read this blog.  You don't have to start a blog to hold it accountable.  Maybe updating a Facebook Status each day that you want to proclaim your resolution.  An even more effective way (backed by science!) is to physically write it down.  You're in the 60+% range of being more likely in keeping your goal if you write it down and refer to it regularly. 

Another method in keeping your resolution would be to find/hire a coach.  This can be an accountability coach (i.e. someone who contacts you on a regular basis to see if you're meeting your goals and expectations), a therapist, a physical fitness coach (I'm reluctant to say "personal trainer" here), even your barber/stylist!  In paying $$$ to someone, you are more than likely going to stick with your path to the goal that you've set for yourself.  This doesn't have to be an exorbitant amount of $, but there is research to suggest that you're more than likely going to achieve success than if you don't. 

Finally, keep it simple.  I showed you 4 of my goals, and they expand upon different aspects of my life.  The first is family,  the second is personal development/entrepreneurship, the third is career-minded, and the fourth is physical.  Most of these are in for the long-haul and won't show their progress in a few short months, and I'm completely at ease with this.  Many of these will take the better part of 2018 and probably even into 2019 before I see a return on my time investment.  Don't over-elaborate your goals and you'll have an easier time seeing the success you crave.

To keep your New Years Resolution proclaim it, get mentored, and keep it simple.  If you accomplish these, success will be in your hands.  

Merry Christmas

Keeping it short today, but I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Remember that this day isn't about presents, it's about celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

It's about the fellowship we share with each other. 

Enjoy the time with your families. 

PR Appeal

As we approach the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, I wanted to discuss with you the lure of the Personal Record (PR).  This past year, I have only set a single PR, and that was in an unbelted deadlift.  Something that I used to do, however, was chase the PR and that would get me into trouble. 

I bring this up because once you hit a PR, and especially if you do it fairly
regularly (which is common for novice exercisers), you're apt to keep chasing it.  It's kind of like a heroin addict chasing the high.  Once you reach the first PR, it's onto the next one and to the next one.  While this can be a very positive thing, it also comes with a risk, and that risk may be overtraining, excessive overreaching, burnout, or injury. 

While we are exiting 2017, think about the PR's you've set, if you've set any.  Looking to the future, think about the PR's you'd like to set for 2018.  Dedicating your training to reaching the PR's is more effective at facilitating a positive change for your entire well-being rather than attempting to dedicate your exercise with the sole intent to change your image. 

The PR can identify how you train, how you think, and how you feel.  You'll train harder, smarter, and with greater purpose.  You'll think clearer, with focus, and purpose.  You'll feel stronger, leaner, and tighter.  PR's are made with hard work.  They're made with a sound strategy. And they're only made by those ready to make them. 

As we enter 2018, what PR's are important to you?  How will you go about achieving those PR's?  And what will you do to reach them? 

The chase is on!

Conquer.

In 2017, is there anything that stood out as a triumph in your life?  Can you look back upon the year and know that you've given it all?  What is it that you could've done differently (that is, if you wanted to do it differently.)?

What about 2018?  What goals have you set aside for yourself to accomplish?  What more do you feel that you need to do?  Set aside the framework now, before 2018, to realize that your goals are accomplishable.  Here are some of mine, which may give you a launch pad for your own goals:

1.  Positively impact at least 1 new person per month.
2.  Become proficient at speaking and understanding Russian.
3.  Become 4/5 complete with my MBA requirements. 
4.  Exercise at least 3x per week, vigorously.
5.  Watch a movie, go to the park, anything my kids want at least 1x per week. 
6.  Have a date with my wife at least 1x per month. 

As you can see, these are pretty general, but nevertheless they can open up to more specific goals.  They each reflect something about my personality and life that I can accomplish with just a slight change in my behavior.  As I announce this to the world (via this post), I hope that you as my readers hold me accountable for my actions.

I look now and realize that it's never a bad thing to always try to be a good person.  Thus, many of my goals are about become a better person, citizen, disciple, husband, and father.  Each day that I do good for someone, the better place I leave this world. 

Think about what you'll conquer in 2018.  Think about the goals that you've set aside and announce them to the world, or at least write them down and place them in front of you to see each and every day. 

Go and conquer your goals and let the world know!

What does health mean to you?

What does health mean to you?  This is a question I pose to my students as part of their final exam.  I ask this question rather than bring up several multiple choice questions because this one is personal to each and every one of us. 

So what does health mean to you?  Can you answer this question in multiple domains such as physical health, mental or emotional health, and spiritual health? 

My own viewpoint is multifaceted.  I've had varying degrees of influenc
e upon my life which has ultimately changed me, for the better I think.  I'd like to go into my own journey through health and what it means to me. 

Beginning with spiritual health, because in all honesty it's the most important element, I'd like to acknowledge my wife's influence here.  The Lord had influenced her to influence me.  Without her, I am unsure of how my path with Him would be, but what I know is that it wouldn't be where it is and where I believe it to be going.  Growing up Catholic, I don't believe I had a relationship with the Lord in the sense that I should've.  I imagine that I am not the only one, hence the various denominations that are in existence.  Now, I would consider myself Presbyterian, especially since we do belong to the local Presbyterian Church.  One thing that I would like to do to help fill a spiritual void is to undergo mission work at some point in my life.  Until then, the Lord has granted and privileged me with a different mission. 

Next, I'd like to touch on a sensitive subject, which is mental and emotional health.  Much of my life, I would consider myself to be a normal person.  Most of the time I'm even keeled, without any inkling of a disorder underneath.  However, with the knowledge, or should I say wisdom, that I've gained over my life thus far, I realize that I've battled some degree of mental health disorders throughout my life.  When I was young, we moved from New York to Pennsylvania, and when this occurred I spiraled into a depression.  Looking back, it was very strictly depression.  I'd isolate myself into my room and basically avoid any kind of social construct that would've inevitably removed the depression. 

Later, while in the Marine Corps, I had what I would look at now as acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Part of it was the combat experience, and part of it wasn't.  The reason I say acute, rather than your more "traditional" chronic would be that I don't battle this norm
ally.  There are occasions to where I'm more triggered than normal, but in recent times, this is becoming increasingly rare.  Truth be told, without the physical component, I'm not sure if the battle would've been "won."

Physical health, the thing that we most often associate with health above all things.  Generally speaking, our physical health ties into our mental health, and our spiritual health is the glue that holds the whole thing together.  The Marine Corps began my love/hate relationship with exercise.  Without that experience, I doubt I'd be anywhere I am right now.  My physical fitness is tied into my mental/emotional health and my relationship with Jesus ties it all together.  I attest that physical fitness helped for me to be where I am, and that place is much better than I'm sure the alternative would be. 

I consciously acknowledge that my genetics play a role in my decision to exercise and eat generally healthy.  My dad has had heart disease and is a Type II Diabetic, as was my grandfather.  With this knowledge, I don't want to undergo any of those.  So I lift, and I fight.  This helps for me to avoid these potential futures, and it helps my mental health as well. 

So what does health mean to you?  Does this help to guide you to answer this question for yourself?  Try to figure out how these elements of health fit into your life and you'll be all the better for it.  Just remember, your health is yours and yours alone. 

Injuries happen, and when they do.

Right now, I'm dealing with a wrist sprain.  It's on my non-dominant arm, but nevertheless it made me realize how much I use this arm in my day-to-day activities.  I also realized how stubborn I was in that it took about 3-5 people to basically convince me to get it checked out.  In the end, after some x-rays, it's sprained and not broken.

Seeing how stubborn I am regarding being injured leads me to my next point, what happens when we're injured.  If you're like I am, and injure your arm/hand/wrist, and you use it in your daily life as part of it, you need to rehab and heal quickly.  Another trainer at the gym is dealing with a similar injury, except that his is a rib injury; and, like myself, he's stubborn in resting it. 

Rest, rehab, and recovery are all important.  To some extent we can train through
or around some of it, but we don't fully recover from our injuries this way.  Sometimes we need to recover in order to rise from it better than we were before.  I am fortunately not stubborn in this area. 

I am at the point now to where my lifting is non-existent, because it hurts the wrist, and my sparring is limited.  Fortunately there, I can develop my kicks and use my dominant arm in a much greater capacity than I do, so there is a positive.  However, it still is a buzzkill because I'm limited in my choices. 

So, when you're injured, don't be stubborn like I am and wait to get it checked out.  Go ahead and take care of it as soon as you can so that you're not in a position to wait longer to get back to doing what you do.  Rest the injury, rehab (if necessary), and recover from the injury so that you may rise from it better than you were before.  

Laying the foundation. An approach to life.

In the coming weeks, I promise you that you'll begin to see "experts" on how to improve your health, fitness, nutrition, and whatever else your New Years Resolution is concerned.  However, the issue with these "experts" is that they often don't live the lives we live.  They may not have 2+ kids, work one or two jobs, own a house, etc.,  They often don't live anywhere remotely to the life that you live. 

Often on Good Morning America, Live, etc., they highlight these trainers, instructors, nutritionists, and any other health or fitness related "guru" and their "methods" in getting people back in shape after indulging themselves for a month (or the year).  Often, these exercises are complex, ballistic, or something that shouldn't be done except by the very trained.  You wouldn't think that simply jumping could be detrimental, but it often is for many people, especially if you have a few extra pounds to lose. 

Supporting your weight management, health, fitness, nutrition, etc., comes from understanding the foundatinot complicated stuff wins out in the end.  Take exercise for example, the squat is one of the simplest to perform but can move to nearly unlimited potential.  Sets of 5 feel radically different than sets of 25, and racking the bar across the front is radically different than in the back.  Nevertheless most good, if not great, training programs include this exercise. 
on and basics of each.  Simply put, the simple,

Nutritionally we talk a big game like superfoods, non-GMO, etc., but do we know what that truly means?  More often than not, the superfoods that you're not eating are plain ol' vegetables.  And the non-GMO, depending on how original it is, it's hard to define whether it legitimately is or isn't.  Take watermelon for example, we've modified it genetically by cross-breeding it over and over again with variations of it so that we get the moder
n incarnation of watermelon.  Thus, it's been genetically modified.  Did you know that?  I doubt it, because it's not common knowledge.  Take a look at the picture and see what I mean. 

Simply put, you want to change your life?  You need to change your thinking.  It doesn't have to be complex, it only has to work.  Set aside some time to do some exercise, not enough to practically kill you, but enough to start working.  Go ahead and add a vegetable to each meal, and eat it first rather than last; this will save you from eating the more calorie dense foods later.  Lastly, eat slower than you already do.  So what you can do in this case is time how long it takes for you from start to finish.  When you try to eat slower, begin with 25% slower, and work from there. 

It's the little, foundational changes, that matter.  Not any of those complex, flashy changes that last a week and you're back in your old habits.  Take the time to plan the best way for you to modify your existing habits, nothing crazy, but enough to start to make the change.  Focus on the foundation and you're in for a life of change!

Challenge Accepted: A public declaration of fitness

A week or so ago I posted about the challenge that is December.  With all of the Christmas parties, unhealthy meals, alcohol, and only God knows what, we tend to fall off the wagon and gain a pound or two.  I won't lie to you and say that I'm off the hook.  I love the deserts and foods that are associated with the holidays.

I battle my weight just like many other people.  I go through those periods to where I don't want to work out or eat well, and I basically let myself go.  Now, the one thing that I do which is unlike many, is to plan my eating and my workouts several weeks in advance.

Now with this being said, I want to publicly acknowledge of a few things I'll be doing in the forthcoming months.  With this admission, I expect you to hold me accountable as well and if I fall off the wagon, hold me to it.

First, I plan on doing some sort of bodyweight or barbell exercise every single day.

Second, I plan on improving mine and my family's eating by focusing more on vegetables and less on starchy carbohydrates (I'm pretty sure my wife's on board with this).

Finally, I plan on sharing with you at least every other week either what I've done dietary-wise or fitness-wise.

All of this helps to hold onto accountability.  By publicly declaring my intention, I now have you to help me stick to it.

I won't lie to you, this won't be easy.  There are days that we come home from work late and Chick Fil A is the easiest choice.

This was my declaration to you and the challenge to myself.  What is it that you'll be declaring to the world as a challenge to you.

The power of being nice.

The other day I was in a store getting a Christmas gift for someone special in my life and I had the opportunity to witness some really piss poor customer service.  There seemed to be only two working in the store and one of them proceeded to step in front of me without so much of an "excuse me," and then proceeded to vent to her colleague about whatever the insurmountable stress she was undergoing at that particular point.

After her vent, which I'm sure was heard by many in the store, she proceeded into the back of the store (like the back, where they store everything they need to stock; you retail people would understand that better than I can explain it).  Then the line grew.  The one woman who was particularly apologetic to those of us in line, and in the meantime she made an attempt to get the other wo
man (girl) to come out and help.  Fortunately, there were a few of us who in line with a very small amount of items.  In any case, this girl didn't know how much she showed her ass.

I bring up this story because I had witnessed some piss-poor customer service and some good customer-service.  The girl who essentially abandoned her colleague during a time when her support was vitally needed.  The woman who was helping the customers was extremely apologetic and making a wholehearted attempt to satisfy the needs of the customers. 

This story serves to give you my perspective on how the customer service industry runs.  Working in the customer service industry, this is something that we have to do all of the time.  A good rule of thumb is that we don't air our dirty laundry in the middle of the workplace.  Yes, we all have our bad times, but to allow for those whom we need to interact with for our livelihood is definitely unprofessional.

Being nice isn't all that hard.  As much as I tend to come across as an asshole (initially), I believe that I'm genuinely nice (most of the time).  I believe in going out of my way to make the members and clientele feel welcome and genuinely cared for.  Niceness can go a long way in changing a person's life. 

Even if you're having a bad day, fake it until you make it.  At some point you'll be from having a bad day to a good one, once nice thing at a time. 

Advice from a Navy SEAL? Why Not?

First of all, I'm not a Navy SEAL, which I'm pretty sure you knew that if you go back in time to one of my first blog posts.  I am a Marine, which is a different swagger altogether. 

I'm writing about this because something I've noticed a lot lately are titles like "Secrets to
success, according to a former Navy SEAL," etc.  Why is it that we are so infatuated with Navy SEALs? 

Now, I get it.  They are what we consider "elite" and an exemplary example of what we can strive to be.  But, what many do not realize is that the strength of the SEAL is in it's unit cohesion.  I admire Navy SEALs, but their "secrets" aren't really "secrets" they are just what we veterans do.  The major difference between us non-Navy SEALS (and I'm including you, the rest of the special operations community), and Navy SEALs is the specialized training that we go through. 

Now, as Marines, we have the warri
or ethos ingrained into us from before we go in.  We learn the history of the Marine Corps, the lessons of those who fought before us, and the battles that we are known for.  We are modern Spartans, which you can see by our living conditions and our tenacity to fight.  We are warriors from the beginning, we are only trained later to do other things. 

Navy SEALs are warriors too, but not before their job/rating.  Regular Navy has ratings and their mission isn't a warrior's mission.  Again, not to disrespect, but we put these sailors (yes, that's what they are) on a pedestal and we forget that there are others who live the life as well.

So now, will you read articles that says "Drivers to success, from a Marine" or will it be a turn-off?  Will you still gravitate towards the appeal of a small unit, such as a Navy SEAL or Special Forces soldier?  In the end, the difference is the mission and how it's conducted, not about the guys in the fight.  

Is 2018 the year for change?

What will your goals be in 2018? 

Will you begin 2018 with a "New Years Resolution" to lose weight, live healthier, eat better, etc.?

If you answered "Yes" to the previous question, what is your way of accomplishing these goals? 

Who will hold you accountable?

How will you be held accountable? 

How will you be guided to your goals?

What is your motivation?

What steps will you take in accomplishing your goals?

Why are you thinking of doing this?   

Who is designing your plan?  

These are all questions that you should be thinking about if you honestly plan on a change for 2018.  Do you think that the habits that you generated in 2017 (and likely prior) would just vanish for 2018?  I can honestly doubt it. 

Self reflection is something that we often do not consider, but is important nonetheless.  Look within yourself and decide whether you are truly committed to change, or if you need extra assistance.  No journey is to be taken alone.  

Why do you need a fire extinguisher?

Recently, I posted about the when we fight.  This post has more to do with the ability and use of fighting and weapons than previously. 

I bring up the example of a fire extinguisher because its something we have in our homes that we want on standby but don't actually want to ever use, because you know things aren't going well.  The ability to fight and use weapons is kind of like that, you want to have the ability but never actually want to use them. 

A fire extinguisher is there in case of emergencies, so is the ability to battle.  Many of us are complacent, content, and mindless.  The ability to fight allows for us to remain vigilant, sharp, and mindful.  The ability waits to be used, even only in practice, much like the fire extinguisher. 

So, how do we generate the motivation to learn to fight?  My reasons, and these are personal, is the thrill of the challenge.  Freestyle sparring is like working a dynamic puzzle, or high-speed chess match.  Not only are you physically challenging yourself, but mentally as well.  This type of practice can improve your fitness, body composition, cognition and problem solving. 

Each time you freestyle spar, it's like charging the fire extinguisher.  You become more prepared for what is hopefully not going to happen.  So why do you need this?  It can provide you with a fitness outlet that empowers you rather than makes you feel as if you are suffering each time. 

What is it about fitness that we succumb to the monotony of what is out there.  Try something new and charge your fire extinguisher
.  

A new challenge arises.

Last week was Thanksgiving and therefore most of us ate until we couldn't' eat anymore.  But, this was only the gateway to what we are about to contend with in December, and that is Christmas Parties (I cannot bring myself to say "Holiday" parties).  Just when you think that the eating is over, more and more come out of the woodwork to remind you of temptation.

Resisting these parties are next to impossible, there are just too many.  Between work ones, family ones, and sometimes just small get-togethers with friends, Christmas parties will be in abundance.  So we must ask, how do I stay the course on not gaining 10 lbs by 2018?  Most of the work will have to be done around those parties and around the weekends, if you're bad at
those like I am.

I alluded to a low-carb dominant diet in my previous post.  This will set the stage best for when you do have to encounter all that rich and savory food from the parties that you'll be attending.  Especially when you exercise, your body will be depleted of it's carb stores and is more likely to store those incoming ones as carbs rather than fat.  Probably the best overall strategy.

In my experience, if you attempt to resist, it will win.  Low carb diets are the best way to maneuver around those without feeling too bad about yourself later.  For myself, with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey, I can use it in a variety of ways that support a low-carb life. 

This is my strategy to embrace the inevitable eating that I will do at these parties and on the weekends when we entertain for the duration of the month.  How do you think you'll go about the month of December and it's abundant Christmas parties without increasing weight?  

How are you feeling?

It is the Monday after Thanksgiving, and, if you're like many Americans you ate more than you should on Thanksgiving Day, and perhaps the days after. 

Today is a new day.  A day to re-ignite your goals, to re-think your process.  Something to consider is, how did you feel after eating what you did?  Is is the what? or is it the how much? did I eat that matters more? 

I can say, without any doubt that I didn't eat the best over the long weekend.  We started out on Thanksgiving with a fairly hearty breakfast and concluded the day over several meats, plus the sweet and savory side dishes associated with Thanksgiving dinner, and finally capping it off with some desserts, which we had in abundance.  This doesn't even include all the alcohol, which I consumed but in far less quantities then in past years.

After a weekend full of eating, I can honestly say that I feel sluggish and sort of tired.  I only say "sort of" because I did have the opportunity to sleep in and enjoy myself, but my eating wasn't all that.

With that, my eating habits will be modified throughout the remainder of November and much of December, especially during the week.  Much of my work week will be low-carb to help accommodate and facilitate fat loss.  I'll also be spending much of the month doing as much outdoor related cardio as I can, because once winter really kicks in, there's not much time spent outdoors at that point. 

My goal is to maintain what I've worked on for much of the year.  It's not about trying to improve at this point.  Rather than fight the waves of food, I'll just ride them in and work on keeping myself upright and steady through this course.  In the end, I want to enter 2018 at a good point physically and only improve from there.  

What are you thankful for?

This will be a short post to recognize the holiday that is tomorrow.  It is the greatest eating holiday in the world, and we do it well. 

I want to just say that I'm thankful for you, my readers, for giving me the motivation and determination to continue to blog and improve my writing.  This give's me a chance to reach a broader audience in the quest to help improve lives.

I'm thankful for my clients.  Without you I don't have a purpose in my career.  What I do is for you and I thank you for allowing me to practice my craft with you. 

I'm thankful for my friends.  From those of the past to those of the present, you help me to be a better person.

I'm thankful for my family.  You motivate me and drive me to do better.  I love you.

I'm thankful for my relationship with the Lord.  My relationship has grown significantly through the past several years and without it, I am nothing and everything that I've listed before this is unattainable.  He is my rock and foundation. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Invoking the 80-20 rule

This week is Thanksgiving week.  Something that we all do, if you're American, is eat a lot of food in a short amount of time.  It's the epitome of excess in this country, but at the same time, many of us do reflect on what we are thankful for as well. 

Before I go into the excess and how it relates to my title, I want to say that I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my career, and my faith.  Without all of these, I believe I would not be who and what I am today.  I know that I'm still growing in all of those areas, but I also have grown a lot in
all of those areas as well. 

The 80-20 rule.  In business, this would illustrate that 80% of the results comes from 20% of the effort.  In health & fitness, this is really similar as well.  Think about how much you exercise and how many of those aesthetic (how you look) results you get from i
t.  There's not a lot is there?  For many of us, at least appearance-wise, most of the work comes from diet.  So 80% diet, 20% exercise would indicate a positive result. 

There are definite exceptions to this.  Many of the athletes I have the privilege to work with typically invoke the opposite of this, 80% exercise and 20% diet.  This is often because of the nature of the sport that they participate in, such as basketball or wrestling, in which there is a tremendous amount of exercise daily in terms of practices or competitive events (I'm reluctant to say "game" due to some of them being more appropriately entitled "match").  Obviously these individuals are an exception, but they are still there.

The rest of us though, could use the 80-20 rule to establish our physical changes.  If we spent more time devoted into identifying the foods that we eat and what we should be consuming, and less time spent mindlessly going through exercises that only allow for us to "break even" then we would reach our goals that much faster.  I cannot say that I'm innocent in this area, clearly not, but I am like most dads and married men, trying to make a living and do what's best for the family. 

Meal planning can go a long way.  It takes some work to get started, but once you have a system built, it can easily be maintained.  For those with families, this may take longer to build, but you can still get one done.  A good approach would be a protein, a starch, and 2 vegetables (not potatoes or similar, but green) at each meal.  This is simple enough, right?  So basically per person, you're looking at a chicken breast, a cup of rice or a sweet potato, a cup of broccoli and several asparagus spears. 

If you can break down your family meals this way, you can back up and begin working on the remainder.  Most of the time, my lunches are what we had for dinner either the night before or from previous nights.  I also don't usually eat breakfast, not anymore.  I find that I function better on 2 meals per day rather than a bunch.  I also don't feel hungry all that often, which isn't something that's too bad for me. 

In any case, invoke the 80-20 rule in your life.  Spend more time figuring out your meal preparation
than your exercise and you'll find the success that you need.  

Where do we go from here?

For the last several weeks I've been posting on my story, how I began my fitness journey to where I am now as a fitness & kickboxing coach.  The story was to describe my path to where I am and to perhaps guide where I'll be going, within my career that is.  Some of it was for me to lay down as a self-reflection, and it was also to tell you that no road is identical.  Many of my friends took a different path and they have their own lives, lives that they love.  Make no mistake, I love where I am now, but what happens? 

What is the next stage? 
Where do I go from here?
Who can I impact and change for the better?

These are the questions that always assault my life, at least my career life.  So for the next chapter of my career I want to focus more than I have in the years past.  Some difficulties remain where we are in the world, literally, in that we need to be adaptive and to cater to a variety of clientele.  The beauty in this is that it has given myself and my colleagues time to grow and refine our training approach and what we do well and what we don't. 

On November 27th, 2017, at 9:15 a.m., I'll be launching a group training program to bring out the inner warrior.  Unlike many programs, this is designed for women, to bring out the inner warrior. 

The program is called Amazon Fit.  Amazons are legendary warriors of mythology, an all female race of warriors. 

In this program, we'll hit everything like weights, combat training, and high intensity cardio.  In addition, we'll have supplemental workouts, in the event you cannot make the in-person workouts.  There will be dietary suggestions constructed by a Registered Dietitian.  You're health, your strength, your physique, and your mental clarity will improve. 

The combat training, the elephant in the room, will not be full contact.  It will be partner based, but more technical rather than forceful.  It will allow for you to hone your skills and learn to defend yourself against an attacker, but in a safe environment. 

We launch on 11/27.  For more information, please contact me by either martinlhiii83@gmail.com or mhubner@apprhs.org.