DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN'T? WHY I THINK YOU'RE LYING.

This is  #RESURRECTIONWEEK,
a time when Jesus took a long grueling walk to his death before he rose for us. I'd like to nudge you today with two stories to help you rise up too!

A young man approached me before the workout. He said, "Coach Theo, I read your book (Conversations With Gio, Amazon). I can't believe you ran 7 marathons. I wish I could run a marathon one day, but I can't."

"Oh yea, why not? Do you have an injury or something?"

"No, I just can't run."

"Did you ever try," I asked.

"No."

So many of our minds are conditioned like that. I don't even think the young man realized what he said or how he was thinking, but he literally assumed he couldn't run a marathon, yet he never even tried to run before.  I get it, I've been there and done that too.

I need you to ask yourself right now, DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING?

No one just wakes up and runs a marathon. If you want to do one, you need to put in the work. Run 1 mile. then 2, then 4, then 10, then 18, and eventually 26.2. Yes, some humans have genetic advantages to run better and faster.  But unless you have a physical restriction stopping you, generally any human being can cross that finish line. It just depends on how bad you want to.

Let me share with you the story of how we started our business....

The odds were stacked against us. The market crashed. People were losing their jobs. The unemployment rate skyrocketed. It was a scary time for many individuals and families. We all realized there was no such thing as job security.

We had a four month old. Amber wasn't working at the time. I was making $40,000 a year running a nonprofit after-school program. I absolutely loved my job.

We had no business degrees or entrepreneurial experience.

We had no funds.

We had no gym.

We had no right.

Yes, some family members and friends probably thought we were crazy.

Yes, there were haters who said it would never work.

But we did it anyways.

We started a website before we had clients.

We started a summer camp in our backyard with three kids.

Before you knew it we ended up renting the basketball gym at our church, with nothing but a few dumbbells and a $30 stereo that you could barely hear when turned up full blast.

For some reason, people started filling our classes.

Two years later we ended up in our new 6,000 sq feet of space that's absolutely the perfect size and location for a gym.

At times the growth is almost uncontrollable. Classes are sold out. Waiting lists are filling more and more each week. My vision of hiring people is happening three years before I even planned.

It's so amazing that I can't believe it and you know I won't take credit for it.  Actually, the only credit I'll take is that when God called, we followed.

Instead of thinking we can't,  we said LET'S TRY.

Instead of wondering how it was going to happen, we just went for it and figured it out along the way.

I just want to encourage you right now to stop holding back.

Why the heck won't you do it already?

You have a passion in your heart that you think about all the time.

Would you just go for it?

If you really want to do it, why won't you?

Do you think we're any more talented or experienced than you?

I need to tell you....

If we can do it, anyone can.

So please do me a favor, take 3 minutes to listen to this song.



Reflect on it.

And stop second-guessing yourself.

It's time to RESURRECT YOURSELF.

You are HERE FOR A REASON.

Find it.

Get your mind right.

And get after it.

It will be an absolute game-changer for you and everyone in your life.

I'm not lying when I say you can. But I can guarantee you're lying when you say you can't.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

MY MORNING BELLY FAT FIGHTING CONCOCTION THAT I WON’T DO WITHOUT

No I don’t have a complex. 

And I usually say I could care less about what one’s six pack looks like because for many human beings, it's not realistic, and performance-wise, it doesn't mean much.

However, I have many training goals that I’m trying to hit this year. Being leaner and meaner just makes it easier to hit them.

One being my fastest 5k, two being to crush the UrbanObstacle on May 30, three being to place even higher at the Men’s Health Urbanathlon in October, and four being to hit 32 strict pull-ups again now that my arm may finally be recovered since last year’s Pull Ups For Zoe.

So here’s something that I've been doing every morning now and it’s absolutely helpful!

DISCLAIMER: this does not work if I'm not eating right and working out. Any little bit of processed foods seems to throw me off course. That's just how it is as we get older. Just want to emphasize to anyone coming across this that doesn't have all pillars of a whole-fit lifestyle down yet, there are NO MAGIC PILLS.  Taking supplements may help, but they're not going to change much if you haven't changed your lifestyle.

So here's what I do every morning:

STEP 1: Take a probiotic before I put anything into my body right when I wake up.

STEP 2: Drink a glass of hot green tea.

STEP 3: Eat Ezekiel english muffin or toast. 

STEP 4: Take...

• Niacin: 125mg
• Green tea extract: 500mg
• Caffeine: 100mg (that's only 1 cup of coffee people)

STEP 5: With my POST WORKOUT shake or meal I take:

• Multivitamin
• Vitamin D3 2,000IU

Note 1: 

I can't say enough about caffeine. Hallelujah, praise the Lord, I can't believe I went so long in my life without it. This is by far one of the best performance enhancing supplements.  Paula Hendryx once cracked a joke with me in class and said "a system without caffeine is not a system." Now I know what she means. I don't drink coffee so I take straight caffeine from a pill. It's probably the only reason why I can maintain my energy throughout these super busy training days. 

Note 2: 

I try to get all my supplements ORGANIC and NON-GMO as much as possible. Trader Joe's and EarthFare are local stores that have some great quality vitamins and supplements. But you can also just google some online stores that sell them too. I usually do some research for great brands and then try to find them on amazon. Trust me, how your supplements are made does matter. Yes, they will be pricier. But trying to save some money and buying cheap brands that are loaded with garbage will mean you're not getting great sources into your body, and thus not getting the true effects. 

These are just some things I do.

Take what you want from it and use what you take.

Because as always,

It's not about me.

Coach Theo