Limitless

   I'll begin this post with a question: If your life was completely absent of fear what would it look like? What is your ideal self image or what is the contribution that you want to make in this world? The answers to these questions reveal your purpose, which gives life a much different meaning.  Most people fall significantly short of their potential due to the fact they ask the wrong questions and establish low standards for themselves. The good news is that you are your biggest problem and greatest solution.
    What we all crave in life is progress and the ability to be give more of ourselves to the world. When you help someone it feels much more gratifying than ever achieving something just for yourself. The same is true for when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone and confront your fears. That in my opinion is truly "Good Livin" and it's what inspires other people to be better.
     My sole purpose is to optimize other human beings, while making my own life a masterpiece to be celebrated after I move on to higher ground. Life isn't a spectator sport; you might as well play the game, because your not going to make it out alive. Someone once told me the best moments of our lives are when we were born and the day we find out why...

Fueling Your Body

   When it comes to achieving optimal health what you put into your body plays a vital role. The area of nutrition is one where most people struggle and possess the least knowledge. What few understand is that food has an enormous impact in all of our lives. We often grow up believing fallacies regarding diets and how to have a healthy relationship with food. I inform all my clients that you cannot out-train bad eating no matter how dedicated you are to exercise.
   Now lets discuss some common sense solutions that can be implemented into our everyday lives. The first is controlling the portions of every meal that we consume. It's not so much the types of foods that we eat, but the amount of calories we ingest. Another important aspect is the psychological dependency people have towards food. It's nourishment for the body and is essential for us to stay alive. Think of food like medicine to keep us experiencing life in peak state. Never use food as a friend, companion, or stress relieve. This leads to destructive behaviors that will have adverse effects on your well-being.
   The final point is setting ourselves up for success by planning out meals and prepping them for the week. So many of us are in a reactive mode when it comes to our daily meals. This leaves us susceptible to taking the path of least resistance and consuming foods that are nutritionally deficient (i.e. fast foods).  Understand that health affects every aspect of our lives, so we owe it to ourselves to start making decisions that will make us feel and look our best...    

 

What trips you up?

   I want to devote some time in addressing some common beliefs people have that keep them from getting what they want. We all have committed self sabotage at some point in our lives and seemed bewildered every time we do it. Human beings are creatures of habit and we all function on daily rituals that guide our lives. What is the negative commentary that plays out in your mind?

* What if I fail...
* I can never achieve that...
* I'm not worth it...
* Success is for other people...
* I'm afraid of my own potential...

   Does this sound familiar to you? How many times have we all caught ourselves saying these statements and then wondering why our circumstances never change. What has worked for me is whenever I start to doubt myself I tell that voice in my head to SHUT THE HELL UP and replace it with an empowering narrative. The only way to conquer what we fear is taking action doing what we dread. Then fear and self doubt have no more power over us and we can breakthrough our limitations. This is my definition of fear:

Feeling
Excited
And
Ready

   Now get out there and do something that scares the hell out of you. You'll be glad that you did...

Will you own 2015?

    Here we are at the closing of yet another year and it always seems in hindsight that it's so fleeting. For me this is a time of reflection and gratitude for all the gifts in my life. It's when I take a sabbatical to spend quality time with family and to decompress in order to give my best in the new year. This is a concept that is relatively new to me, because I always like to be productive and slowing down is very uncomfortable. I've since seen the positive results that having down time has had on my life and realize that it's a crucial component to success.

    I want to pose some questions for you in order to make 2015 a milestone year:

* Have you written down at least 5 personal goals and created a strategy on how to attain them?

* Who have you been meaning to spend time with, but just haven't made the time?

* What new peak experiences do you want to have this year?

* Why haven't you been able to do the things you've wanted to in the past?

* How is this year going to be different?


     Now lets give our best in the 2015 and make it the standard for the years to come...

Forging A Resilient Mindset

   As a fitness professional I witness the struggle my clients often endure with implementing health and wellness into their hectic lives. They approach me at times with frustration and often ask: "How is it so easy for you?" The truth is that I've developed a resilient mindset over the years in which being active and healthy are a must in my life. I'm human too and have days where the last thing that I want to do is kick my own ass, but in those moments I have to tell that voice in my head to shut up.
  
    Now I don't want to over simplify this and make it sound as if all you have to do is repeat some  positive affirmation and all distractions will be removed from your day. It's quite the opposite; I want my clients when faced with these challenges to make a decision to use exercise as an outlet to decompress. Think of this time as a way to unplug and detach yourself from the all the noise, so you can better deal with whatever issues are confronting you.

   When will you know when you have made health and wellness a lifestyle? Exercise should become an  unconscious decision almost as natural as breathing. When it is the part of your day that never gets compromised. You will ask yourself when you will make time for physical activity not if. Developing this type of mindset is difficult, but anything worth while in life always is...

What is Optimal Health?

This is a question I get asked frequently due to the barrage of misinformation we receive on a regular basis. Most people would have you believe it's the ability to lift a massive amount of weight or conform to a certain body type. In my opinion neither are correct and can be very misleading for someone who wants to take their life back and get in shape. I will define what I believe a peak physical state embodies and hopefully this will provide clarity for those who may have a distorted view.

I'll begin with the most important concept and that is feeling damn good in your own skin; (i.e.) When you look in the mirror you like what's looking back at you. It's a congruency of your self-perception and everyday reality.

Another key component is attaining multiple skill-sets to create a well rounded athleticism to perform the specific tasks one has set for themselves. A lot of people appear to be fit , but have poor performance.

My final point is maintaining a healthy body weight through a balanced eating regiment that consists of eating a variety of (live) nutrient-rich foods and proper hydration. It's important to remember "optimal health" is somewhat subjective and will vary from person-to-person, but hopefully these concepts I've shared will set you on a path to becoming a better version of you...

Indestructible Change

In personally dealing with hundreds of different people over the years a I've notice a consistent behavior pattern in many when beginning their transformations; They have a point A to point B mentality. Let me explain: When people generally want to get into shape they usually will have an event they want to participate in or a special occasion the want to look their best for. Both scenarios are great motivators for initially getting started, but I want to address what happens when those moments are over. Unfortunately most people fall back into old habits, because they haven't addressed the core behavioral traits that caused them to be unhealthy. We hear the term "LIFESTYLE" used all the time, but truth of the matter is that's the only way to sustain lasting change. You must replace old habits with new ones to really ever change your body. A person must raise their standards and make the decision that things are going to be different for the rest of their lives. This type of change never occurs overnight and there will always be setbacks that is part of being human. I always reaffirm to my clients: " I don't expect perfection I expect progress."