You're the inspiration!

As I was riding in the car last week, I got to thinking that I should share those people who have or continue to inspire me.  I can honestly say that this list will not consist of celebrities (mostly), largely because if they act in film or whatever, it's not tremendously inspiring.  There are only a small handful of people that I f
eel have brought me to where I am right now, but it's still important that I note them.  Also important to note, not all of these people are currently alive.

1.  Jesus Christ = This should be easy, but I feel like you should know/realize that he is super importan
t in my life.  Without him, we are nothing and with him, everything.

2.  Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller = The Marine's Marine.  He exeplefies confidence and heroism by only doing his job.  He changed lives for the better (unless you were Chinese or a Korean, the Northern kind) and his legacy still lives on.

3.  My parents = They get a team effort here, largely because they set the stage for me to become who I am today. 

4.  James "Chaos" (not Mad-dog) Mattis = Another Marine's Marine.  He keeps it straight and is always ready to throw-down on behalf of his Marines (and now the whole military). 

5.  Walt Disney = He created, he followed his dream, and he created an empire. 

6.  Arnold Schwarzenegger = His work influenced me, in-part, to the career that I'm in. 

7.  Everyone whom I've ever come into contact with.  While this is extremely general, I try to take 1 ounce of wisdom from each and every person that I come across.  Each life is different and each have something to offer, and thus I become better through them. 

I believe that every person has something to offer, either good or bad.  Nevertheless, it's important to recognize that each of us have different experiences and different backgrounds.  When we be kind and nice to others, they will (eventually) project that knowledge to you and you gain from that.  Be a douche and it's unlikely that it will ever happen. 

This is a list of my inspiration, think about yours and why they are your inspiration.  This helps to figure out who you are and what you stand for. 

Realizing what you're good at

What are you good at?  Not just in fitness, health, nutrition, or whatever....but in life.

While we may never admit to what we're actually good at, it's important to acknowledge it so that we may better ourselves and those around us.

I perceive myself to be a good coach.  To inspire others.  To have people do things that they wouldn't normally do.

I perceive myself to be a good parent.  This is a challenge unlike any other in that the actions and decisions that I make now can impact my children's future.

I perceive myself to be a good husband to my wife.  I love her and she makes me a better man.

Finally, I perceive myself to be a good friend.  This is one of the most important qualities that I believe that I have.  I believe in loyalty and dedication to your friends so that they better you and you better them.

We aren't here to go through the motions of life and not be impactful.  We are here to make a difference in another's life.  Each of us, regardless of how big or how small we are have an impact on another.

Go out and be amazing!

Kendall's Journey

My client & friend Kendall shares her journey from where she began to when she decided she needed something more.  

The lift that conquers me

Everyone who lifts has one that conquers them.  I happen to have 2 that tend to beat the hell out of me. These two are the Snatch (Olympic lift) and the bench press.  I honestly don't perform the snatch too often, so I don't want to even pretend I like it or can improve.  However, the bench is something that I do perform more frequently.

The bench press is a relatively simple exercise that involves you laying on a bench, lifting a bar up off the pins, bringing it down to your chest and pushing it back up.  Simple right?  As the squat and the deadlift, which I had posted about previously, are simple they are not easy.

Some of the most effective and the best things that you can do aren't complicated, but often they're not easy.  And at some point, you'll encounter one that conquers you, regardless of how often you attack it.  This isn't to say give up.  It's just that you keep attacking and don't give up.

For your upper body, there are not too many things that are more effective over the bench press.  I might argue the pull-up or even the overhead press, but still, they are different altogether and will be the subject of a later post.

Lifting is war.  Each success that is made is like a battle that has been won, but the war never ends.  Sometimes there are setbacks, sometimes roadblocks, sometimes difficult terrain, but keep the faith in that you'll prevail in the end, as long as you don't quit.

The lift may conquer me, but in the end, I'll conquer it.  

Be Amazing!

Being amazing.  It's something that anyone has the capacity to do but yet we hold back.  We hold back because of fear, fear of failure, fear of pride, fear of everything.  We can all be amazing, but we need to let loose.

If you're amazing, you don't boast.  You don't go out to seek amazing, it finds you.  It's what you do or attempt to do that makes you amazing.  It's who you inspire and change that makes you amazing.

Being amazing comes with being who you are.  It's about being true to yourself and to others.  It's doing what you do, from your job to your career, and doing it well.

Amazingness dwells inside of everyone, including you.  Be amazing, be inspiring, be yourself.  

What inspires you?

“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” -Heraclitus

Where do you draw inspiration from?  What is it that get's you going in the morning and makes your day worth living?  

Yes, this is a fitness blog, but it also serves to inspire you to be better than you are at this very moment.  Sometimes it's not the dietary or exercise suggestions that we need, it's the motivation around them that can be the game-changer for us.  We should live with a purpose, and for that purpose, we should train.  

Regarding my fitness, I go through phases of inspiration.  It truly began while I was in high school and was planning on enlisting in the Marine Corps.  The Corps served as my inspiration and thus drove me to be better than I was at the time.  While in, my inspiration was my fellow Marines, as we do not leave anyone behind.  We drive on for our friends and failure isn't an option.  

After the Corps, finding my place in the world is what inspired me.  I wasn't sure of how to live my life at that point without a sense of purpose.  I was called to inspire through physical activity.  

This leads me to today.  My inspiration comes from my family, friends, and those who I help on a daily basis in my stroke & Parkinson's classes.  They all give me a reason to do what I do and for them, I am grateful for the opportunity to give them my life.  

Dig deep and find what inspires you.  It does not have to be a thing or a person, it can be an ideal, but find it and aim to conquer it.  

The thrill of the fight!

As I pointed out in my previous post with a boxing class for people living with strokes, I have been running a boxing class for people living with Parkinson's Disease for the last year.  We've modeled the program loosely off of a national non-profit program, but we've kept it in line for our needs and our facility.

I have about 16-20 people spread out in 2 sections of our Parkinson's Boxing Class per week. I'm almost to the point to where I have to add another section to fill our demand.  We spend most of the time boxing, rather than other type of work such as medicine balls or anything like that.  However, we do include agility & mobility and a recent addition has been basic strength training.

Even within the boxing itself, we focus on various elements of fitness such as strength, endurance, reaction time, coordination, and cardiorespiratory endurance.  Some of what we have set up is fairly "mindless," but some of what we do requires a tremendous amount of mental awareness and thought.  These areas more than offset our "mindless" options which serve mostly as conditioning (to include all of those elements I discussed before).

I love having the opportunity to get to know each of my boxers.  They truly are wonderful people with wonderful stories.  Many of them have shown a resurgence in life and have taken their lives back over from the disease.  It's this triumph that has been inspiring above all.  I'm happy to serve them all in any capacity that I'm able to.

If you or someone you love is dealing with Parkinson's Disease or any neurological disorder, please don't hesitate to get them assistance.  It may be scary at first, but it'll allow for you to take back your life or theirs.  Remember "Courage is being scared but saddling up anyway."  -John Wayne