Feeling Good - Emotionally, Mentally, Physically

What a beautiful day it is out there. I can't wait to lace up the trail shoes today and get out there and breathe in the deep rich oxygen rich air today. It was so nice to walk out the door at 5am this morning and feel the crispness of the air and look up and see a crystal clear sky. When we get high pressure from the north dominating our weather this time of year the sky becomes very clear and vibrant. It feels so good physically, mentally and emotionally.

Speaking of feeling good physically, mentally and emotionally. Last week one of our gym members Julie Fields told me about a Spartan Up podcast that at the time I had not gotten to listen to yet. The podcast quest was Kelly McGonigal PhD. Dr. Kelly has a new book out called " The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection & Courage". I decided to listen to the podcast while doing my final tune up workout for last weekend's Spartan Race in West Virginia (that is a whole different story). The podcast was awesome and so is Dr. Kelly. It is very much a proven theory that the more we move the happier and the more calm we become. There are all sorts of Neurological brain chemical reasons for this happiness, but the most important part is that we are doing what our bodies are made to do and meant to do. I know we have all been through a lot this past year and a half, but those of us who have kept moving and moving with a strong purpose and desire have fared much better than those who haven't. The proof of that is right inside your mind and body. Don't believe me? Positivity lifts up. Negativity pushes down. Think about it, how good do you feel when you are crushing a workout no matter what kind of workout. You could be in the middle of an ass kicker workout and tired as hell, but there is this little piece that is inside you running all through your body that feels this happiness. That piece is telling you that you are kicking ass. That nothing is going to beat you. That while all your friends and family are doing nothing, you are moving and moving forward and up. That you are expressing your life and living your life. That you are on a journey of self discovery that only you understand. That you are becoming the you that you always want to be everyday. This all happens and comes about because you choose to move and make yourself uncomfortable to find real happiness.

Now let's look at the other side, negativity. How heavy does negativity feel? I know for me negativity feels really f-ing heavy. Now how heavy does negativity feel when you choose to give in and stay still and not move? How heavy does negativity feel when you decide to give up and stop? It feels insurmountable. The reason why is because of the compounding effect that negativity has on our lives. Think how hard it was for each of you to get started after spending so much time being sedentary. That is because the lack of not moving created so much negative hardship it seemed impossible to unbury yourself from it. That's it. it is all right there in front of you. We make our own happiness through our own movement. It is that simple. When we move, we find happiness. When we find happiness, we find hope. When we find hope, we make connections. When we make connections, we find courage. When we find courage, well that is when our worlds open up to the biggest possibilities. Make your world really and truly open up. It is all in your hands. This is something you control. No one else, just you and that my friends, is where true happiness and self empowerment can be found. GO AFTER IT!!!

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Our Changing Society

Life has been very busy and some of that busyness has been time spent reflecting. The world around us is changing rapidly and I know we have all heard that phrase numerous times throughout our lives, but this time it is beyond true. The changes to our society and what is considered acceptable or maybe a better word now is expected, are completely upside down. It feels like the people that have the most negative viewpoints and the most negative attributes that are brought to the table are getting to have the loudest voices and the most attention. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't believe that is right and I will never be able to get behind that way of thinking and I will never accept that as the new norm.

Mark Manson - "Everything Is F#@%ed, A Book About Hope. Step Two: Choose Your Faith

"We all must have faith in something. Without faith, there is no hope. Non Religious people bristle at the word faith, but having faith is inevitable. Evidence and science are based on experience. Hope is based on future experience. and you must always rely on some degree of faith that something will occur again in the future. You pay your mortgage because you have faith that money is real, and credit is real, and the bank taking all your shit is real. You tell your kids to do their homework because you have faith that their education is important, that it will lead them to their becoming happier, healthier adults. You have faith that happiness exists and is possible. You have faith that living longer is worth it, so you strive to stay safe and healthy. You have faith that love matters, that your job matters, that any of this matters.

So, there is no such thing as an atheist. Well, sorta. Depends what you mean by "Atheist". My point is that we all believe. on faith, that something is important. Even if you're a nihilist, you are believing, on faith, that nothing is more important than anything else.

So in the end, it's all faith.

The important question, then, is: Faith in what? What do you choose to believe in? "

For myself I am trying to have faith that the negatives and the negativity that we are seemingly constantly living with and amongst these days, won't have the loudest voices anymore. And won't garnish the most attention. The only way this will happen is if we all try to offer something better. Something that lifts people, not holds them down. Negativity is only looking for one thing and that is power. And that power feeds negativity's narcissistic ways. I want to have the faith that we are all better than that.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Gear Test - August 2021 - Born Tough

About a week ago, I heard from Born Tough with an interesting opportunity - test out some of their clothing and workout gear - and leave a review with my thoughts.

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I focus on mindset, intent and wellness. So this review will be a bit of a departure from those themes in some ways. But, ultimately, performance and finding ways to increase performance in the gym and in our daily lives contribute to many of those same themes.

I decided to give Born Tough a shot and report back on performance, value and general thoughts on their take on athletic gear.

Once I have their products in hand, I’ll update with my thoughts and opinions. I look forward to sharing with all of you.

Want to learn more in the meantime?

WHAT I’M GOING TO TEST:

Workout Tank Top - https://www.borntough.com/collections/mens-workout-tank-tops/products/born-tough-core-fit-tank-black

Workout Shorts - https://www.borntough.com/collections/mens-workout-shorts/products/born-tough-air-pro-shorts-ink-black

OTHER COMPANY LINKS:

All workout shorts and tops: https://www.borntough.com/collections/mens-workout-tank-tops and https://www.borntough.com/collections/mens-workout-shorts

Elite Sports: https://www.elitesports.com/collections/mma-shorts

***UPDATE***

I received my Born Tough workout clothes about 10 days ago and I wanted to put both the shorts and tank top through two workouts and a washing in between the workouts. Over all I am very satisfied with theb performance of both the shorts and tops. They went through the wash and came out looking brand new. The materials used to make the Born Tough gear are very comfortable to workout in. Out of both items, I really like the shorts with the built in compression shorts a lot. My only complaint would be the tank top is a little long in the body and sits a little higher on the neck then I personally prefer. Overall though, I am very happy with the clothing and the Born Tough price points are rather nice as well. I would definitely try out other items that Born Tough makes and sells. Check them out!!

EGO

EGO "Exaggerated, Glorified, Opinions"

I heard this acronym yesterday while listening to the "Spartan Up Podcast". The person being interviewed was Marques Ogden. A former NFL lineman and brother to future NFL hall of famer Jonnathan Ogden. Marques used this acronym to describe his own ego issues when his life fell apart after football and after his construction company went under. Throughout life we have many starting over points that we live through, but sometimes these starting over points are life changing experiences that are going to require an amazing amount of work to get through them. When we run into these events in our lives one of the biggest stumbling blocks we will face is taking stock in one self by facing the person standing in front of the mirror. Our EGO"S have a peculiar way of getting in the way and delaying this process. Our egos allow us to place the blame on everything and everyone else. We will try to find all the different reasons that caused us to be at a new starting over point. We blame the partner, the work place, our boss, our spouse, our friends for their lack of support. We will blame as many things as possible before we have that moment when we realize that we need to stop placing blame and start looking inward towards ourselves. Placing blame solves nothing. It is only when we start taking ownership that we will find the strength and capability to start over. We all need to realize that our EGOs can be and most likely will be our biggest enemy. None of us are all that and a bag of chips. We are not special, but we are capable of doing so many special things. These special things only truly happen when we let our "Exaggerated, Glorified, Opinions" go and we check ourselves in the mirror.

Thank you for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Pushing Boundaries

Last week I wrote about what it is like to truly meet yourself when you are in the midst of a seriously hard physical challenge and how difficult it can be when you are in the middle of this type of challenge to really truly confront yourself. This past weekend the Spartan Ultra Beast proved to be an amazing experience and an equally amazing test for me to truly meet myself. The race course was 32.6 miles long with 80 obstacles built into the race. This race tested all of my emotions, my physical abilities and my mental fortitude. This race was all about finding out where and how far I could push myself. It caused pain that was constant throughout my body. At my lowest points both physically and mentally it made me think "Why" why am I doing this, what purpose is this really serving. At mile 10 I formed a huge blister on my right heel. My first thought was 22 more miles to go. My second thought was, HOW? One foot in front of the other. At mile 19 I tore one of the callus's off on my left hand. Blood everywhere. Again, 13 mile more to go. HOW? The same way you got the first 19 miles done. Change your perspective. Wounds heal and pain goes away, but quitting stays and never goes away. Quitting is not an option. Towards the last few miles of the race my feet were killing me from the swelling in my shoes and I knew that toenails were soon to be lost due to the beating my feet had taken during the endless miles of mud, water and rocks. I was meeting myself and finding myself and I was determined to take this new me to the finish line. When I crossed that finish line I knew that I had changed. I knew that I had found new levels that I was capable of going to. I knew that I made my resiliency grow 20x more than it was when I started. I got to meet myself and I loved the person who was there with me. I now know that I can go farther than before. That I can push boundaries past places that I never thought possible before. This is what it is like to meet yourself and accept that you are more than you have ever realized. That your abilities are only limited by what you think you are. You are more and you always will be more. It is up to you to go and find that more that is inside all of us.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Pain and Suffering

One of the things I love the most and also fear the most about taking on hard physical challenges, is in the midst of these challenges you get to meet yourself. When I say meet yourself, you get to meet the true you. A hard physical challenge forces you to confront all the good, the bad, the great, the awful, the fearful, the love, the hate, the positive, and the negative that resides in you. When we get to this place in our heart, mind and soul the true battle begins. This is the time when the negatives in our lives become strong. This is when the negatives want to tell you what you are doing is dumb, that you are not good enough to finish what you started. This is the time when all your insecurities want to over take and become the judge, jury and trial that makes you stop and give up. But if you look deeper you find the resiliency, the self reliance, the determination and the positive force that you have been building within yourself to get you to this point. When you find yourself in this place and you have to face yourself and who you are and what you are made of, which part of you is going to win and come out on top. Remember the pain and suffering you are going through is temporary, but the pain of regret from quitting will last a lifetime as the old adage says. So don't quit. Work your ass off until you finish or until you have nothing left to give. Leave everything out there and walk away proud.

As always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Finding peace

"When I'm on the trails, my mind is free. The absolute quiet is a haven, broken only by the whoosh of the wind, the jackhammer pounding on a woodpecker, or the frantic rustle of squirrels sprinting through dried leaves. Being in nature challenges me, fills me with a sense of adventure, and makes me whole. I feel the weather more keenly, be it plodding through mud and raindrops or tanning the back of my neck in the scorching sun. My senses are heightened. If the trail leads to the top of a commanding hill, I feel my cares slip away with each step of the climb until I stand on top, above it all, energized by the view and the effort it took to get there. Only on a trail"

- Martin Dugard, " To Be a Runner"

When I read this Tuesday night before going to bed I knew I was going to have a great night's sleep, because I finally found the words that express how I feel when I am alone running in the woods. This feeling of peace of mind. The ability to let your daily troubles slip away for a while should be something we all search for and make part of our daily lives. Our lives are like a non-stop roller coaster. We have to contend with our daily issues constantly and then also have to try to figure out how we fit into this crazy world we live in nowadays. Everything is so divisive and everyone is so offended and defensive these days. It is no wonder why we all have trouble finding peace, but it is crucial that we all find a way to make that peace happen. My way is in the woods and on a trail. My hope is you all have your way as well.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Live the code

"Live the Code 365". This is what is written at the end of every email that my mentor Zach Even-Ish writes. While I was running on Tuesday I spent a lot of time thinking about this idea and reflecting on how I live my version of "Live The Code 365". It can be hard to live by an honorable code 365. There are so many distractions and so many negative things that bombard us everyday on a regular basis and to say that we are 100% successful all the time would be, let's face it a huge lie. But for those of us that do have an honorable code that we choose to live by everyday as best as possible the reward is too great no matter how hard the work gets. So the question is, what is your code? What is it that makes you want to stay on the high road? The road of integrity. The road that leads to genuineness. Why are you willing to put the hard work in that allows you to stand in front of the mirror every night and be proud of the work that you put in that day. The work that allows you to put your head down on the pillow at night and feel good that you earned your rest. If you want to accomplish greatness, you must have an honorable code to live by. Greatness is different for everyone. Greatness doesn't mean notoriety or mass amounts of wealth. Greatness means the teacher who reaches the kid that has always had troubles, Greatness means the leader who is capable of putting his or her ego aside and leads with compassion. Greatness is the student who puts fear aside and steps up to help the student who is being bullied. None of this can be done unless you "Live the Code 365". So find your code. Live it, love it, embrace it and watch how far it can take you.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

The good fight

I ran across this quote and it reminded me of what life really should be about. The people I try to surround myself with believe in this philosophy whether they know how to put in the words of this quote or not. We all must fight the good fight. Not just for ourselves, but for everyone around us. Too many examples of late shows to many fighting the bad fight, the selfish fight, the "I Got Mine" fight. The good fight says NO to all these. It says my life and your life are worth more than this. It i says "I don't raise up until you can raise up as well, so let's keep fighting the good fight together".

“To fight the good fight is one of the bravest and noblest of life’s experiences. Not the bloodshed and the battle of man with man, but the grappling with mental and spiritual adversaries that determines the inner caliber of the contestant. It is the quality of the struggle put forth by a man that proclaims to the world what manner of man he is far more than may be by the termination of the battle.

It matters not nearly so much to a man that he succeeds in winning some long-sought prize as it does that he has worked for it honestly and unfalteringly with all the force and energy there is in him. It is in the effort that the soul grows and asserts itself to the fullest extent of its possibilities, and he that has worked will, persevering in the face of all opposition and apparent failure, fairly and squarely endeavoring to perform his part to the utmost extent of his capabilities, may well look back upon his labor regardless of any seeming defeat in its result and say, ‘I have fought a good fight.’

As you throw the weight of your influence on the side of the good, the true and the beautiful, your life will achieve an endless splendor. It will continue in the lives of others, higher, finer, nobler than you can even contemplate.”

— Hugh B. Brown

So go out today and keep fighting the good fight. Keep yourself on the high road and don't look down, because what is down there you don't need.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

On Accomplishment

Well we have reached the proverbial halfway point of the week and I hope it has been a great beginning to the week for you all. A great way to measure this is by what has been accomplished so far. When we find ourselves getting things accomplished the feelings that come from it helps propel us forward and promotes the desire to accomplish more. I am not talking about the everyday mundane things that we have to do to keep our week and lives moving along. I am talking about those things that you either made a list to get done or the things that you have been working at for a while. Yesterday I got to experience this type of accomplishment when I completed the Full On CVNP (Cuyahoga Valley National Park). This was a challenge to run all 117.1 mile of the CVNP trails. I also used this challenge to help prepare for the 4x4x48 challenge and from my previous emails you all know that I did not allow myself to recover properly and paid the price for it. What made yesterday's accomplishment mean even more, it was the first time I had run in 2 plus weeks and it was the first run since the 4x4x48 challenge that I ran pain free. This is due to staying on course with my bodyweight workouts and allowing my body to heal properly.

Having both of these accomplishments come into play this week has set me up for more accomplishments down the road. It is said that we learn from our failures, but our successes leave clues and when we create accomplishments in our lives we are left with clues on how to create our next successful accomplishments. Always be looking for these clues and when you find or recognize the clues don't just leave them laying there and waste them. Use them for what they were meant for. Make your accomplishments happen and watch how they will always move you forward in mind, body and soul. When we make accomplishments happen we make the world around us move in a more positive direction.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Ego

I hope all of you have been able to get outside and enjoy this beautiful warm early Spring weather we are having. Yesterday I took advantage of the weather and took my first mountain biking ride of the season. This is the earliest I can remember the trails being open. Besides doing something good for my mind, body and soul, It was the first time in over a month that I did a workout pain free. You see I did not listen to my body when I really needed to. I did not take the proper recovery time needed for the 4x4x48 challenge. I let my EGO and my other goals get in the way of doing what was necessary to let myself heal and I have been paying the price for over a month now.

Ego can be a real pain in the ass. Ego lets us think that we can overcome anything by simply powering our way through it. In some cases that can be a really good thing, but most of the time it is really not. Ego can prevent us from stepping back and listening to everything around us. Ego likes to listen to only what it wants to listen to because ego feels like it knows better then everything and everyone else. Letting go of ego opens us up to greater possibilities beyond what we already know. When we allow ego to be in control it likes to always keep us on the same path. You see ego really doesn't like change. When positive change starts to happen ego starts to lose the control it has over us. Ego will fight you tooth and nail to keep you on the path it wants to be on. Ego doesn't care if it is the right path and ego doesn't care what this path does to you. Ego only cares about itself. Be aware of your ego and be willing to put up a good fight with it on occasions. Be willing to step back and let go over your ego in order to be able to move forward in the direction you want to go. For myself, I need to let go of my ego so my body can heal and get back to what I love to do. It sounds simple enough, but ego can be a very powerful force and you have to find the way inside yourself to be the stronger force.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Perfection

The pursuit of perfection. Wow that is ambitious and it is also egotistical. The idea of perfection is very fleeting. Name one time in your life where everything went 100% perfect according to the plan. I bet you can't if you are really going to be honest with yourself. The pursuit of so called perfection reduces creativity and innovation because we are so focused on perfection, failure becomes not an option. When failure becomes not an option we close our mind, heart and soul off to what could be the greater possibilities.

Thomas Edison tried more than two thousand experiments to create the light bulb. Now think about it if he had the idea of perfection right off the bat he probably would have quit after the first one hundred experimental tests, but instead when Thomas Edison was asked by a reporter how it felt to fail so many times his answer was "I just found two thousand ways not to make a light bulb". What a great answer. Thomas Edison found perfection through his failures and we all can do the same. Too often though we let our ego's get in the way and when this happens our positive idea about perfection turns into a negative as soon as we hit our first failure. Nothing is learned along the way without failures. So ditch the idea of perfection and embrace the process of egoless learning on your way to becoming great, but not perfect.

Thanks for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

4x4x48 Postmortem

Wow it has been a while since I wrote anything. I think I let the enormity of the 4x4x48 challenge overwhelm me for a while. It took me a long time to get past the fear of this challenge. Even though I felt highly motivated for this challenge I dealt with quite a bit of fear of failure. As it turned out having the fear of failure was a good thing. It forced me to confront what I believed was my limitations and abilities.

This fear became a huge obstacle and we all know that obstacles are opportunities waiting to happen. It is up to each of us to do the work needed to turn that opportunity into a reality. I have to admit that I never fully got past this fear of failure. In my mind I always had the bell beside my head. When the Navy Seal candidates go through Hell Week, for those who can not make it and decide it is time to quit, they must ring the bell as they leave the compound for everyone to see and hear. It is said that the sound of that bell will remain in the ears and mind of anyone who had to ring the bell for the rest of their lives as a reminder for quitting. When you think about it that can be a very harsh reminder to be stuck with for the rest of your life. I did not want that to happen to me and was determined not to let it happen. It truly is amazing what you can put your mind, body and soul through when you are refusing to quit. It requires you to let yourself go to some deep, dark and uncomfortable places in order to beat the fear of failure. But we can all do this. It is within every single one of us. We were designed to persevere and do hard things in life.

Doing the 4x4x48 challenge may not be your hard thing to do, but I guarantee you that there is your own 4x4x48 hard challenge within all of you and it is ok to fear it. What is not ok though is to hide from it. Confront it, own it and do it no matter if failure is the end result. Because even if failure happens you learn from it so that next time failure is defeated. Remember "If You Fear This, You Must Do This".

Thanks and as always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Self Doubt

I spend a lot of time talking and writing about having a positive mindset throughout your life's daily practice's. But to say that we all can stay in that type of mindset day in and day out would be foolish and frankly not true. Quite often in life we have to deal with some feelings and emotions that can bring on self doubt. Self doubt is a tough one to break away from. It requires a lot of energy and a deep seeded resiliency to break the mindset of self doubt. One of the hardest parts about self doubt is being open and honest about it. Nobody really likes to face their self doubts, but we all have them and getting past them requires acknowledging them and confronting them out in the open. This isn't always easy because of how vulnerable it can make you feel. But self doubt is all about vulnerability. This past month I have been dealing with a lot of self doubt and at first I did not want to face it or admit it, but recently it got to a point where my self doubts were affecting my mind, body and soul all together. My self doubt was starting to lead me down a path of acknowledging all the things that I really have no control over. My self doubts started to project my future and if I was going to be able to persevere. What I needed to do to break this cycle was to realize that the future is untold. That the future is not real because it hasn't happened yet. What could I control? I could control the here and now. I needed to bring myself back to the present and realize the best control I have is the effort I can give to the here and now. Not tomorrow or the next day or March 5th. By bringing myself back to the present I have slowly started to pull myself away from my self doubts. Trust me they are still there and they are real, but now that I have acknowledged them I can use them as energy and fuel to help the one thing that I and only I control and that is my effort.

Don't let your self doubts paralyze you. Confront them and use them and get busy doing the work needed to prove them wrong.

As always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Reading About Hope

Wow is it cold this morning. It read 4 degrees when I left for the gym this morning at 5am. Today I started to read a new book called "Everything is F*cked, A Book About Hope" By Mark Manson. The book starts off with a story about a hero that most if not all of us have never heard of. His name was Witold Pilecki and he was a highly decorated soldier in the Polish army during the Polish - Soviet War of 1918. Mr. Pilecki went onto become an underground spy for the underground polish resistance when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. When the rest of the world was trying to hide their heads in the sand about what was going on in Europe at the time and really ignoring the reports of the Nazi concentration camps Pilecki decided he needed to do something to help the rest of the world understand what was happening. Pilecki infiltrated Auschwitz as a prisoner to document what was actually happening at Auschwitz. At first Auschwitz was just a massive prison for the captured war prisoners, but soon after Pilecki's fake capture he saw the Jews being brought in by the thousands on trains. Pilecki soon realized that the Nazi's where committing mass genocide of the Jews. It was then that he determined that he needed to make his escape and get word out to the world what was truly happening at Auschwitz. Think about trying to escape one of the most feared places on the planet at the time. That takes some serious courage and resilience and an unimaginable amount of guts. It was because of Pilecki's heroic efforts that the outside world saw the first documentation of the human atrocities that were happening at Auschwitz. Later in life Pilecki went on to spy against the soviets and their occupation of Poland. His hope was to one day live in a free and self determined Poland. Unfortunately that never happened for Pilecki. He was tried as a criminal against the state in 1947 and was sentenced to death by a kangaroo Soviet Communist court in Poland. On the last day of his trial when he was finally able to speak, knowing full well that his days on this earth were numbered, this is what he said. "My allegiance has always been to Poland and its people. I have never harmed or betrayed any Polish citizen and I regret nothing that I have done for my Polish homeland. He concluded with this statement, I have tried to live my life such that in the hour of my death I would feel joy rather than fear."

We live in a world where heroes like Pilecki barely exist and are hardly celebrated. Instead we look for the easiest way to get something done. We measure our existence through the eyes of others. We move from the latest greatest thing to the next latest greatest thing to help occupy our time and to feel fulfillment. But somehow we always end up feeling empty and left wondering why. This is where true purpose needs to come into play. Without a true purpose life will always feel somewhat empty. Be your own hero and find a purpose in life. When this happens your purpose can become inspiration for others to find their own purpose and their own heroism. If this can truly happen just think what our world would look like. That would truly be heroic.

Thanks and as always your comments and thoughts are welcome.

Dealing with Constant Change

Change is not only inevitable but also required. Life is full of constant change and we must be willing to listen to those changes whether they are within the mind, body or soul. Change can be difficult at times especially when we get so used to a certain way of doing things. Sometimes as our goals change our way of doing things has to change as well and that is where the real work begins. It is great to have the idea of new goals and new challenges, but are you willing to not just do what you are used to doing? When goals and challenges change, your way of achieving those goals must evolve and must take on new habits and adapt. For myself change has had to come quickly. I have had to rethink my whole entire way I train to get ready for the

"4x4x48 Challenge". When you have been doing something for so long and your body and mind are so used to it, making changes can be a challenge. But if you have a true purpose that follows your true north and aligns with your values, those changes you make can set you onto a new path that can lead you to even greater things in life. I have had to change my mindset from strength building to muscle endurance. Which means higher reps, higher intensity and lower max strength work. This is not an easy transition, but I know it is what I need to do to reach my goals and if I am going to be true to this idea change and really listen to my mind, body and soul, they al;l have been telling me that this is long over do. At soon to be age 55 my body has been telling me that change is needed. It doesn't mean to slow down, hell no it doesn't mean that. What it means though is listen, open up to the change. Keep pushing hard everyday because that's what drives you, but let's start finding better ways to reach your goals and even bigger challenges.

As always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

4x4x48

I learned that I am a sucker for a good challenge.

Lately I have been noticing a huge fall off with people's motivation. I think there are a lot of people out there that are suffering from 2020 fatigue. I feel as if this fatigue has been turning into a slight depression for a lot of people and this fatigue / depression is really holding people back from really taking on challenges and growing from them. In reality this is probably the most important time to take on challenges, because those who don't take on challenges are going to be left behind when the world is finally ready to start back up and even though it doesn't seem like that is happening right now, it is going to happen a lot sooner than you think.

A coach's job is not to just come up with great workout programs or coach someone through the workout session at the gym. Probably the most important job is to help motivate and inspire people to do things they believed to be impossible for themselves. A coach can talk and preach all he or she wants, but actions always speak louder than words. This is the main reason why you all see me always taking on new challenges. I want my action to speak louder than my words, because if I can't practice and do what I preach then the meaning runs hollow.

Which now leads me to the challenge. I believe Jim told me about this challenge with the purpose to see if I would take the bait. Some of you might know Jim O'Neil otherwise known as 2 1/2 hr gym Jim. On Friday Jim told me about the David Goggins challenge known as the 4x4x48. For those of you who do not know who David Goggins is. David Goggins is probably known as this country's baddest of the badass Navy Seal who has ever existed. I would suggest looking up his back story. It is quite incredible. So how the 4x4x48 works, starting at 6am on the morning of March 5th I will be running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. My running schedule will be 3/5 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm 10pm, 3/6 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm 10pm, 3/7 2am for a total of 48 miles in 48 hours. We will also be raising money for a local charity called Isabella's Closet. This organization works to help the homeless not only find housing but more importantly setting them up for success by supplying all the clean product and personal hygiene products to help them maintain a healthy and clean life. You can read up more on Isabella's Closet through their Facebook page. If you would like to donate to our cause you can donate at the Big Tree Fitness Paypal just use michael@bigtreegaragefitness.com

Life is all about challenges every single day. There is not a day that goes by that we are not faced with some sort of a challenge no matter how big or small. How we choose to face them and react to them helps define who we are. Be creative and face your challenges head on and keep your head high.

Thanks and as always your thoughts and comments are welcome.

What are you capable of?

It is always good to have some solid reminders of what you are capable of.

I have two main goals that I have been working on, My short term goal is to train hard, but smart to prepare myself for the Spartan Ultra Beast on June 5th this year. Yesterday's workout in the pool was a great reminder that even though I have the physical ability to do the workout we did, I need to really work on my mental game. There were portions of the workout where I needed to check myself and put my mind and my thoughts into a much more positive mindset. When you are feeling weak or fatigued it is easy to get discouraged and jump into a negative thought process. When I saw this happening to me yesterday I needed to squash those feelings and not concentrate on the big picture. I needed to concentrate on what I was doing at that moment and nothing more. I knew in the back of my head that the workout would be done soon enough, but until then enjoy the process, enjoy the ability to do this workout, enjoy the fatigue, feel blessed that you can do this type of workout. Once I pivoted to this thought process or mindset the workout became a positive force that drove me.

My second goal is more of a long term goal that I have been working on for the past year. In 6 weeks I will be turning 55 years old and my goal is to see if I am capable of getting myself stronger and in better shape then I was the year before. I want to see how many years I can make this goal; happen. This past Friday I was finally able to pull a deadlift that I had not done on a straight bar since I turned 50 years old. I was finally able to pull and lift a 405lbs deadlift. When I turned 50 I literally had to muscle my way through the lift and even though I was able to pull the lift off, it looked like hell and it broke me down so bad that it took me a month to recover from the lift. I was so discouraged and broken I stopped deadlift with a straight bar and would only go back to it sporadically over the next few years. As with anything in life, age and maturity have a way of setting you straight if you are willing to listen and learn from your failures. Because of having this mindset of learning from my past, I was able to look into the mirror on Friday and say to myself, "You are stronger and in better shape than you were last year".

The reminders that are needed to keep and maintain the positive mindset and the dedication to do the work that has to be done in order to achieve the goals you have set forth are so valuable. You must be able to recognize them and use them even when you want to quit. Set the positive precedence in your life as your guide and then the desire to quit will be fleeting.

As always your comments and thoughts are always welcome.

Aligning Goals and Values

Are your goals aligned with your values? Probably the most important aspect of setting your goals is making sure that they align with your values. If your goals do not align with your values the possibility of achieving a goal is greatly reduced and even if you do fulfill the goal it will feel empty and you will feel unfulfilled in the end. When you choose to set goals that align with your values your motivation for these goals will now have purpose and meaning to your life. They will enhance the value of your life and the ability to achieve them will grow exponentially. Also because these goals aligned with your values, if failure happens your ability and desire to pick yourself up and start over again will greatly increase. You end up taking the knowledge you learned from your first attempt and apply it towards your next attempt. This will never happen if you fail at a goal that does not align with your values. Remember that motivation stems from purpose and purpose stems from your values. So don't waste your time and energies going after goals that don't touch deeply mentally and emotionally. Just because someone says this will be good for you doesn't mean it will be good for you. Only you will know if this is true because the truth lies within your own values.

As always your thoughts and comment are always welcome

Motivation Lists

Happy New Year to you all. I hope everyone had great holidays. I know it was very different for all of us, but if you were able to look at the holidays through a different lens and realize that this year was going to be a different experience know matter what. It gave you the opportunity to pivot your point of view. I chose to look through this different lens and found that this year was the first time in twenty years I was able to concentrate the holiday's on my wife and kids. Instead of traveling all over the place over the two days that was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then also the New Years, we were able to stay home and enjoy the time spent with each other. Because of this change of point of view, It allowed for everything to slow down and become an amazing family experience for us.

What is Motivation? Motivation is a set of emotions, both painful and pleasurable that act as fuel for our actions. Motivation comes from purpose, fully feeling and associating with the consequences of our actions or inactions. (Jim Kwik "Limitless")

I know that we all have issues with motivations at times throughout our day, our weeks, our year and our life time. This is totally normal. The issue though is what do we do about a lack of motivation? How can we bring it back into our lives when it seems to be gone or waning. Here is a good exercise to do when you run into the lack of motivation wall. Take a piece of paper and pencil (Not a computer or phone) and make a list of what would or will happen if you choose not to do something that you know is important to you, such as working out or working towards the promotion or the household remodeling ect.... When you're done writing them down take a moment to read them. You will probably realize that there isn't a whole lot of good written down on that sheet of paper.

Now take that piece of paper and turn it over and do the polar opposite. Write down all the things that will happen if you find the motivation to get started and complete the thing that is important to you. Again take a moment and read the list. I bet you that this list is longer and full of positive thoughts and ideas.

Now which list do you want to live with? I bet you it's the second list. Once you decide that it's time to kick your motivation into gear, keep the two lists nearby because there will be days that motivation will wane. When this happens pull your list out and read it and don't be afraid to add to as time goes on. You might be surprised what you add to this list.

As always your thoughts and comments are always welcome