Be Relentless Podcast Monday Quick Hit 31 – A Better Path to Change

be relentless podcast monday quick hit 31 - A Better Way to ChangeOne of my members was telling me about a friend who was going on and on to her about her new diet plan. She’d gone through her house, thrown out all of her old favorite foods, hit the grocery store with a list in hand, bought a bunch of food she didn’t even know had existed, and rushed home to do a big meal prep with all of her new storage containers.

She didn’t know how to cook all of that stuff, but she was excited!

You know what? That’s awesome. I’m glad she’s made a change.

HOWEVER. When it’s laid out on paper, I think you can see where this is going… probably not a long-term fix.

We get excited about a change, and we jump in whole-hog. I’ve seen it over and over again, and of course, I’ve done it, too. It’s a common mistake that we all have a tendency towards.

The thing is, though, as excited as you are to jump in it is rarely a lasting answer. It doesn’t pan out in the long run because we’re largely habit-driven people. Habits work so well because they become nearly automatic and “hard-wired”, which means they also don’t change well. Your whole life is built around your current habits. When you kick the anthill and scatter them, your mind tries to fight that chaos by reverting to its autopilot habits…

I mean, as adults, it’s very hard to just stop a habit, be it smoking, overeating, chewing your nails, fastening your seatbelt, brushing your teeth with your right hand, etc. Adults don’t tend to just trash existing behaviors.

So, how DO you make a change? Continue reading

Be Relentless Podcast Episode 41 – Supplements 101

be relentless podcast episode 41 - supplements 101If you spend any time in the fitness universe, it’s not going to be long before you’re assaulted by supplement ads.

Every time you turn around there’s a loud advertisement in your face promising that this pill, powder, capsule, shake, cream, or whatever is going to be THE fix to whatever you have going on.

Just like the old traveling snake-oil selling “doctors” of yester-year, the supplement business is full of a lot of people talking loud, fast, and trying to sell you some questionable stuff.

Are there any supplements that are actually worth taking, though?

Maybe. Continue reading

Be Relentless Podcast Episode 40 – Building Your Fitness Plan Framework

be relentless podcast 40 - building your fitness program frameworkFitness, Nutrition, Mindset, everything is easier if you have a framework to go from.

That’s why I developed the Relentless Success Pyramid to help the Relentless members frame their journeys and I’d like to share it with you.

As you can see, there are four parts to the pyramid. In this podcast, I went over three of the first steps we take with almost all of our new clients to introduce them to the pyramid, get them making great progress, and build the foundation of their fitness journey.

Those four pieces are: Continue reading

Be Relentless Podcast Monday Quick Hit 28 – Move the Chains

be relentless podcast monday quick hit 28 - move the chainsOne of my mentors regularly uses the phrase “Move the Chains” in our conversations and it’s become a mantra that I’ve absorbed. In the game of football, the idea is to keep moving the ball down the field to eventually score a touchdown. In a perfect world, you’d do it in one shot.

Just like in life, that rarely happens. Continue reading

Be Relentless Podcast Episode 39 – Goal Setting 101 Workshop

be relentless podcast episode 39 - goal setting 101A goal without a plan isn’t really a goal, it’s a wish. Most people spend too much time in the “wish” area and ultimately are unsatisfied because they never really nail down what they’re trying to accomplish. In this episode I’m going to fix that!

This episode is the podcast version of the seminar I did for Relentless Members at the gym about Goal Setting, minus the pauses for writing time that we took throughout that workshop.

I’m going to share with you: Continue reading

Be Relentless Podcast Episode 38 – How To Get the Support Your Fitness Journey Needs

One of the biggest keys to success in a fitness/health transformation, especially over the long term, isn’t just the will to succeed. It’s not just the vision. It’s not even just the knowledge.

I’ve been fortunate to have been part of a lot of fitness transformations, and time and time again the successful have SUPPORT.

As a matter of fact, a big box gym I used to work at used to say that 80% of people who didn’t have a personal trainer, workout buddy, or supportive spouse would fail to reach their workout goals. Now, I don’t know if that number is accurate, but it’s not outside the realm of reason.

So, how do you get support?

What if your spouse is always “sabotaging” you?

What if your friends are always trying to pull you out to Margarita Night, even though they know you’re on a diet? Continue reading

90 Fitness Answers 09 – How Do I Stick To My Fitness Goal?

Relentless Family member Chuck kept the goal in mind for six weeks… and saw the results!

Ok, setting clear fitness goals is great, but what really matters is figuring out how to stick to your fitness goal. The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what kind of awesome goal you set if you’re not going to follow through with the plan.

In my last post I talked about setting different levels and types of goals, but how do you stick with it when the going gets tough?

1. Clearly figure out your reason “why”. Continue reading

90 Fitness Answers 08 – “How Do I Set and Achieve My Fitness Goals?”

If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else
-Yogi Berra

Now, Yogi is famous for his quotes, which are often quirky, but there’s a lot of wisdom there, too.

One of the most important things in this whole fitness journey is to set a goal that you’re shooting for. If you don’t, then chances are it won’t be long before you wane from the path. New habits are hard. Adults don’t tend to create them easily and if it’s something that’s going to be a departure from your current life, as adopting a healthier, more fit lifestyle probably is, then it’s not always going to be easy.

So, the first thing we’d want to accomplish is figuring out basically where you want to go and WHY you want to do it. That why is up to you, of course, but if you don’t have a clear sense of that then it is going to be hard to be consistent once the new excitement wears off.

Step 1: Figure out a sense of where you want to go and really zero in on the WHY.

Now, once you’ve got those two basic points down, I like to firm up goals with clients with something called “backwards chaining”, which is a fancy way to say we start at the end and work our way back. Continue reading

90 Fitness Answers 07 – What Is “Trans Fat”?

90 fitness answers 07 - what is trans fat?Yesterday we talked about whether dietary fat is good for you or not, whether it’s been improperly vilified or glorified by public opinion, and the other ins and outs of the story.

Today, we’re going to talk about a specific type of fat that’s popular in the media, but most people don’t really have a handle on what it is: Trans Fat.

For the purpose of our discussion, a trans fat is basically a “manufactured” or industrially-altered fat. Basically, Hydrogen is added to some of the bonds and this “hydrogenation” helps the fats last longer before going rancid, be solid at room temperatures, but also melt easier under other conditions. Trans fats DO occur in nature, but only in small amounts. For example, CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) is a fat that occurs naturally in dairy in small amounts, and can be healthy. By and large, though, trans fats are considered to be tremendously unhealthy and it’s recommended that they make up less that 1% of a person’s diet by the World Health Organization. Trans fats are associated with a large variety of health issues (heart/cardiovascular system, digestion, obesity, depression, fertility issues in women, diabetes).

Ok, so they’re not great for you. Where are they? Continue reading

Be Relentless Podcast Monday Quick Hit 25 – Beat That Drum

be relentless podcast quick hit 25 - beat that drumThis past weekend I was at a business conference. In a lot of ways, business and fitness run parallel. Both require hard work, consistent discipline, and while there’s a lot of flashy stuff out there, there’s also a lot of pretty proven paths to success.

Of course, when you get a bunch of fitness or business people in a room, in this case, fitness business people, you here a lot of talk about “what’s working”. There’s always new ideas being thrown around. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype and want to shake everything up or jump onto a new, shiny program.

Is that really what you need, though?

Maybe yes, maybe not.

Should you change your path?
WHEN should you change your path?
What’s the biggest secret to success that nobody seems to talk about?

I picked up some really great lessons and reminders about those questions this past weekend, and they were definitely not the ones that I expected.

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