Happiness is a Habit

Every morning you wake up and deal with different relationships. I wake up and say good morning to my husband, cuddle with my dog, call my mom, check countless emails, and work with members… And this is all before 8:00AM. In your pursuit to enjoy life, you need to create a variety of healthy relationships. Open, honest, well-balanced relationships.

When a relationship stops being open and honest, it often times damages existing ones. It’s a chain reaction. They’re fragile, and when broken, can take a long time to repair. It’s important to remember this when dealing with nutrition, and the rocky relationship that most people have with it. It needs to be slowly transformed.

Teaching your clients to create a healthy relationship with food is one of the most important jobs as a coach, and can also be one of the most challenging. Anyone can give out a Paleo cookbook with every rule and pantry list known to man. Anyone can say cut carbs, and raise protein. But, can anyone get their members to understand the why behind what they are doing? Do they understand the reward outside of the six-pack or are they still chasing record low body fat percentage?

It’s our job to show the importance of high-energy levels, peaceful nights sleep, and beautiful skin.  It’s our job to share in the pure joy felt when once tight jeans now button with ease.  Breaking years of bad nutrition habits is a huge challenge, and we need to remember that.  Everybody wants what they can’t have.  Setting them up for success is more important than immediate results.  In my experience, immediate results are often temporary.  I would much rather long-term success for my members, and long-term success doesn’t happen without habit change.

I lost 60 pounds before getting into the fitness industry. Truth is, it’s what made me want in.  I remember what it felt like, thinking you’re alone, feeling helpless, and unsure if I would ever be satisfied with my body. I get it, and it sucks. Now I get to be on the other side. I have the opportunity to take what I learned throughout my journey, and share it with others. It’s our job to instill motivation outside of the workouts, and to impact the decisions made by our members the other 166 hours in the week.

It takes a great coach to understand that you are trying to repair years of damage.  It takes a great coach to be empathetic and real.  So next time you look at a food journal be real.  Be open. Be honest.  Put yourself in their shoes. When they know you care, and they know you’re proud of their progress, they will want to continue to better the most important relationship of all...  The one with themselves.

- Jordan McConaha

New Year, New Beginnings

            As we move forward into the New Year, our mission is to provide each and every member with an experience that enables them to truly take on every challenge that life throws at us. We are constantly striving to add value to your commitment to the TFL community. As much as we can push our bodies to achieve our personal fitness goals, we also want to push our minds to better understand how a holistic approach to health and wellness can support those short and long term goals. Whether it is injury or a lapse in consistency, there are always going to be hazards that threaten to derail all the hard work that we’ve put in during our time at TFL. But this is a long road with many milestones along it. That road does not end after losing the first 10 pounds or trimming 3 minutes off our 10K time or doing our first unassisted chin-up. Those are simply the first of, hopefully many milestones, that each one of us will pass by on this journey. Make no mistake: THIS IS A LIFELONG JOURNEY! You have control over how that road will look and it can also be as smooth or as rough as we make it, it is up to you.

To help with this journey, we are reinventing our OFFICIAL TRAIN FOR LIFE BLOG. This blog will provide inspiration, motivation, and most importantly, information.  We will include posts from our coaches, recommended articles from other strength coaches in our network, nutritional resources, and more.  We live in an age where tremendous amounts of information can be reached with the push of a button. But that also should come with a disclaimer that not ALL information is GOOD information. As with most things, there are different schools of thought and varying opinions, especially when it comes to our health. We encourage you to read the blog, comment on it, post suggestions on topics you may be interested in. We also encourage you to look for further resources on a subject that you may want to know more about. So many times, the coaches hear “Why are we doing this?” Rest assured, there is a reason and we will do our best to answer as many of those “Whys” as we can. If we want to continue to get better and keep that “life” road as smooth as possible, then KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! We want to share that power with you!

Be Well

- Joe Willis

In My Headphones..

I posted this on Facebook yesterday, but thought it was so great I wanted to make sure everyone heard it! There's nothing better than a song with an awesome beat and a great message. I can't stress how important it is to fill your world with positivity. Whether it be the music you listen to, the books you read, or the people around you; you are a product of your environment, make it a positive one! Check out the following song from Chris Brown..

It’s your life. It’s your life. Your beauty’s deep inside. Inside you. Don’t let ‘em bring you down, no. Your beauty is inside of you. Don’t let ‘em bring you down, no.

WRITE IT DOWN!

January of 2011 is almost over! How far along have you come with your New Years' resolutions? If you haven't even started yet, one twelfth of the year is already over, what are you waiting for? Goal setting is one of the most important tools to getting where you want to be. If fat loss is your goal, you need to be setting small goals like 1 pound per week in order to achieve the total 10, 20, 50 pounds that you want to lose. If you don't know where you are going, you will never get there. You must work on the small goals in order to achieve the big ones. We will be discussing how to set your goals properly to achieve each and every one of them.

First thing, you've got to write down what you want. At the beginning of this month, I sat down and wrote down 20 items that I want to work on this year. These are the big goals that are the most important for me to have a great 2011. The following is the list of things that I wanted to work on:

I WILL Walk Peyton 5 times a week I WILL Run the Seven Sisters (under 4 hours), the Rugged Maniacs and the Warrior Dash I WILL Deadlift 500 lbs and Bench Press 315 lbs I WILL Pay off my credit card debt I WILL Get Train for Life up and running as my sole business and not have to work 2 or more jobs I WILL Be more patient I WILL Write, journal and blog I WILL Do Yoga at least once a week I WILL Read at least 25 books by the end of the year I WILL Complete 3 more certifications, NSCA-CPT, HKC and IYCA Youth Specialist I WILL Workout at least 4 days per week I WILL Film a video library of exercises for my website and clients use I WILL Visit 12 gyms of strength and conditioning coaches who I respect and hope to learn from I WILL Snowboard at least 5 times this year I WILL Spend more time outdoors; hiking, running, snowboarding, etc... I WILL Go on a vacation I WILL Get rid of the pain and tightness in my right hip I WILL Get a massage at least every couple months I WILL Attend at least 2 seminars I WILL Be the best friend/fiancee/trainer/coach that I can

Those are my goals, now it's your turn to do the same! Once you compile a list of your long term goals, you have to figure out a way you are going to get to each of them. Your big goals can be broad, but in order to achieve them you must be very specific about the ways you will work toward them. So if one of you're big goal is weight loss, you must set small goals like 'I will go to the gym at least 3 days per week' and 'I will eat a protein source and vegetable with every meal.' As you achieve these goals, keep track! Small goals will snowball and give you the momentum you need. I posted my reading list, 25 books at one every 2 weeks outlines how I will get there. This is a great example of how to simplify a large goal into something more manageable.

After you've completed these lists, they need to be kept in the front your mind. You need to do this not just by thinking about them a lot, but by setting up visuals to remind you of them. Placing the list on your refrigerator or office desk, you will be constantly reminded of what you are trying to do. Another idea I use, I give each of my clients a white bracelet with our slogan, 'Live is Hard, Train Harder' as a reminder to be disciplined. By wearing it you will be reminded of what it is you want, so each time you are about to put a bad piece of food in your mouth or skip your next workout, you'll stop and think twice!

Make 2011 the year that you become a better you. I posted a while back a quote from Jim Wendler, a powerlifter and strength coach who I greatly respect, "New Years' resolutions are for losers. Just live the lift you want and reach goals all the time. End of story." While this is a little harsh for some, if you're constantly setting goals you won't need to revisit the same resolutions year in and year out, you will always be striving to be better, each and every day. We only get one shot at this, give it your best, AND THEN SOME!

2010 - What I Learned This Year

I got engaged to the most beautiful woman in the world. I wake up every morning knowing that I am loved and I am in love, it’s the best feeling in the world. I read a quote a while back that goes something like this, …your one true love will be your mirror, she will show you the good, bad and the ugly about yourself… She will make me a better person, I want to be the best I can be for her. I love you, always and forever. · I started Train for Life. I have been blessed with an opportunity very few are ever given. I was given the opportunity to make my dreams come true. I am super thankful for those who have believed in me and continue support what I stand for. I know that I do NOT know everything but the desire to be better for these people is what keeps me going.

· I hit a point this year where I lost my way, I was not motivated to be better, and let everything around me bring me down. That will never happen again!

· Having a dog is a blessing. Having Peyton makes Jordan and I complete, in my opinion. We are a family. When you look at a pet and they look back at you, there is nothing that compares to the loyalty and love between you and your dog. Get a dog, not a cat.

· Goal setting and writing things down makes a world of a difference. After reading this numerous times and hearing it in several talks I attended, I started doing it. It has definitely helped my productivity level and I will continue to get better at it.

· Kindness goes a long way. Mike Boyle says, People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. As I said before, I know I have more to learn but if I can give my all to those around me, I can help better reach their goals.

· When you lose a loved one, remember the good things. Forget the bad.

· I absolutely love the way I feel when I eat healthy and train hard. After being injured a lot of this year, will not take my health for granted. Taking the time to foam roll, stretch, do mobility work, etc will be at the forefront of my training this year. I want to be able to do this stuff till the day I die, at the very least teach it to others.

· Patience is a very important part of life. I will continue work on this.

· I love being outdoors. There is a real joy that comes from nature. There is a calm and peacefulness about being on top of a mountain away from everything. I always wonder what the world was like before cities and towns.

· Each and every year will be better than the last. Life is about growth. No matter how good or bad experiences may be they have taught you something and made you who you are. Learn from them. As one of my favorite quotes goes, “Sometimes I win and sometimes, I learn. Loosing is for losers. I will NOT lose.”