WHY THIS INTENTIONAL LAZINESS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE, STEP 3

RESHAPE YOUR MIND TO GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE

MAIN POINT: TAKE TIME TO RETREAT, YOUR LIFE AND WIFE WILL THANK YOU FOR IT

At the end of my favorite Christmas movie, It's A Wonderful Life, the main character George Bailey runs back to his home, family, and life with an entire new zest for living. He sprints so fast, it's almost like he can't get there fast enough.

That's how I feel after I retreat.

This weekend I spent the night with my wife in one of my favorite places, Amish country. There are so many reasons why I love going there but the explanation will take an entire blog in itself. Sitting by the toasty fire in our room I get the five minutes of stillness that I yearn for, that we all yearn for, even if we don't' recognize it yet, and I reflect on how important, crucial, paramount it is to get these moments to be alone and just be, with God.

You guys know me, I absolutely love my life and my job. I never feel like I work a minute doing what I do. But even still, it's important to get away from the routine to reflect, rejuvenate and recharge. It's a huge success tip from Jesus. Check out Matthew 6:6 (The MSG): "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and as honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace."

When you ISOLATE, you REVELATE.

I think I made up that word, but revelation happens during isolation. Things are revealed to you, that you may have never expected or even realized you needed, until they come.

You don't have to get to a hotel to enjoy this process, but it helps me immensely.  If I stay at home or at the gym I'll get distracted with other things to do.  So for the way my brain works, I need the separation entirely.  The thoughts get shut down. I just am.  The floodgates of creativity burst open.

And I can objectively process these three questions:

1. AM I DOING WHAT I'M TRULY SUPPOSED TO BE DOING WITH MY LIFE?
So I love my life and my vocation, but checkpoint time---let's make sure it's really where I'm supposed to be. Does it sit right? Does it sound right? Does it feel right? Are you doing it just to do it or because you love it? Deep down inside to your core, are you sticking true to who you are and who you're supposed to be?

2. AM I WILLING TO LEAVE IF CALLED TO?
Ok, so I love everything I do and truly feel like I'm fulfilling my calling, but if called elsewhere, am I ready to drop everything and follow?  This doesn't mean that I don't love what I do and do it wholeheartedly, but it doesn't define me, or own me, or control me. If I have to leave it I can because I'm not dependent on it or trying to use it to fill a void of some sort. Most importantly, this state reminds me that I'm here because of God and I TRUST him so much that if He calls elsewhere, I'll leap without hesitation. #WhenCalledFollow

3. WHAT CAN I DO TO BECOME A BETTER MAN NO MATTER WHAT?

• No matter where I am, how do I keep progressing?
• Should I work on another fitness certification?
• What video can I get my hands on to enhance my skill as a coach?
• What can I read?
• What Christian brothers have I met with lately to push me to be a better husband and father?
• Anyone I need to reach out to?
• What little things do I need to add to the gym?
• Am I allocating my time right, balancing my home and work life?
• What needs eliminated?
• What needs added?

Hey, these are just some ways that I use my retreat time. It may be entirely different for you. And I want to be honest here, sometimes it can be completely overwhelming depending on where you're at in life. If you're in a good place, it can be exciting. If you're in a bad place, it can seem like major overload. I've been in both situations before. 

No matter what though, use the newfound consciousness to fuel the fire inside you.  Don't dwell on it or leave it behind you.  Take notes. Take action. And start making things happen immediately.

Eating my farm fresh eggs and homemade Amish bread at breakfast, I stare out the window into the open fields. A farmhouse sits on the hill.  The unreal tasting buffet restaurant just down the driveway.  A little meat and cheese market to the left, a bakery right in front. From what I know about this community, they all came together as a family to build all of this with hard labor and callus hands. Sometimes we think they don't have much, but they have plenty.

There's just one thing missing.....

A gym.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

WHY I EAT PIZZA EVERY FRIDAY, STEP 2

RESHAPE YOUR MIND TO GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE

MAIN POINT: YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, JUST DO IT.


I don't like to talk about nutrition anymore.

We all know what to do, we just don't do it. Or we all act like we know what to do because we've read a million things on the internet, so why'd you ask me then?

The good thing is I'm not a nutritionist, so technically I can only provide basic recommendations and guidelines and food for thought. What I do understand very well though is the MIND.  And quite frankly, when it comes to eating right, it almost ALL boils down to this....

HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

ARE YOU WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THERE?

THEN GET OUT OF THE CONTEMPLATION STAGE AND DO IT ALREADY.

But it's so much easier said then done right?  I'll get to some success steps in a second. But first, let me give you a few perspective changers to digest:

1. MINDFULNESS EATING
I think many times, we just don't think. We respond. We get hungry and we just grab something. We're flying around all day doing a million things and so we just get to the first thing we can. While we're eating, we just keep stuffing our face because we haven't felt that full feeling yet. Before we know it, we are bloated as heck and now feeling guilty of what we just ingested, because we're finally thinking straight again and are focused.  Don't let yourself get to this point. Start with.....

2. PREPARING AHEAD OF TIME.
Even if it's not actual meals, just prepare your game plan for the day. I know I'm going to eat eggs and sweet potatoes for breakfast, turkey chili for lunch, and salmon and greens for dinner, plus a post workout shake after my training session. Now, even if you don't have the food made yet, you know what you're shooting for. If you are traveling and have to stop at a restaurant or deli, you have an idea of what to get. It's like training, if you walk into the gym without a template, you may be all over the place and just jump on the first machine you see. When eating, if you don't have your meals laid out in your mind, you're more likely to grab that huge Steak and Philly Sub at Subway because your impulses took over when your mind wasn't structured.

3. WILL POWER IS NOT ENOUGH.
If it was, then you would be able to pass up those cookies on your kitchen counter. Unless you absolutely don't like cookies, which you're crazy if you don't, then you're going to give in and eat them.....because they're there. Will power is a finite commodity (stole this from a friend).  If you're using it in so many other places like work, marriage, kids, etc., it will be tapped out in other areas. So the last thing you will do when you come home from a long day is muster up enough discipline to go for the fish instead of the greasy burger. Yuck your mind says. So you have to shape your path by preparing, being conscious of yourself and cravings, and KEEPING CERTAIN THINGS OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND OFFICE. Who cares if your kids don't like it, they will get used to it. And tell your co-workers to quit putting pastries out every morning. You're eating them because they're there not because you like them!


3 THINGS TO DO IMMEDIATELY TO GET YOUR NUTRITION RIGHT:

1. ADD A HEALTHY SHAKE DAILY TO YOUR DIET.
If you don't change anything else, just add a healthy shake to you mix. Put fruit in it, veggies, and 20grams of a protein source. Mix it with almond milk and slam home a handful of almonds with it for some good fats.

2. GET TO THE GROCERY STORE WEEKLY.
Buy your groceries or have someone buy them for you. Get whole foods in that fridge so you're not picking at the processed scraps left in your cabinets and pantry.

3. CUT OUT SUGAR.
Or at least greatly reduce it. Sugar is a major culprit for so many health issues. It's the first thing I look at on food labels now. It's so good though and realistically, I'm addicted to it. We all are. Therefore, I won't miss out on it entirely. My 4 yr old son came up with a genius idea last night though. He said, "Daddy, let's make a list. A list of three times a week that we can eat sugar and pizza. The rest of the time we have to eat healthy."  It's brilliant. When you know you're going to treat yourself every Friday night to some pizza, you're not struggling with the I want it cuz I can't have it mentality. 

2 THINGS TO HELP YOU JUST DO IT ALREADY:

1. GET IN A GROUP OF MOTIVATED PEOPLE.
If anything I've seen work the best with getting people to change habits, it's this. The magic behind meeting with a nutritionist or fitness coach is accountability. But there are other options too. Get on our Facebook "Clean Eating" group, or share group texts with a few dedicated friends. It's the concept behind everything in life, you need relationships---people to check you, challenge you, and encourage you.

2. EVALUATE, OR HAVE SOMEONE ELSE EVALUATE, WHAT YOU'RE EATING.
We lie about what we eat. "Well I'm eating really good, I don't know what's happening," says the person who somehow forgot about the bag of chips and pop he eats every day at lunch. Little things matter and to give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe you did just forget or you just didn't know. So although I'm not a food logger or calorie counter myself, at the beginning stages of transformation and even on a regular basis, you need to gauge what you're consuming. Here's the beauty about showing someone else your food log, it forces you to sit down and evaluate yourself. Sometimes then you don't even need their feedback. You'll have figured it out on your own.

Hey, the more I learn about nutrition the more I learn that I don't know anything.  As always, everyBODY is different. So the ultimate key is to be really in tune to yourself and figure out how your body reacts to certain foods.  You can read more about that here: http://www.coachtheotv.com/2014/09/quit-making-nutrition-so-difficult.html 

Perspective. Once it changes, so does your life.

I hope you make some of these mindset shifts in 2015 to help make it your best year yet.

Stay tuned....I'll be back with step 3 later this week. The one thing that will help you get in the best shape of your life, without doing anything but be lazy.

You'll see.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

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STOP RELYING SOLELY ON YOUR WORKOUTS TO LOSE WEIGHT, STEP 1

RESHAPE YOUR MINDSET TO HELP YOU GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE

MAIN POINT: You don't have to kill yourself in the gym.  Focus on eating better.

If I am an MMA fighter, then I do have to train hard as heck to prepare my body for a grueling hand to hand combat fight with another barbaric human being for 15-25 minutes pretty much non-stop.

If I am trying to lose weight, killing myself in the gym isn't necessarily the answer.

Goals determine your methods. You always have to know your WHY behind training.

Fitness and training are a necessary component to longevity. We know that resistance training helps keep your bones and muscles strong so you can move well the rest of your life and conditioning helps improve your cardiovascular and respiratory system. So yes, you need to do it.  Working out or at least being physically active in some way on a regular basis is a necessary component to a Whole-Fit lifestyle.

But thinking that it's the main way you're going to lose weight will leave you disappointed in the long run.

If I had to put a percentage on it just to give you a visual, NUTRITION is 80% of your results.  I busted my tail in the gym over the last 4 weeks of December, but I also ate whatever I wanted, because that's what I do during the Holiday season. I gained weight and softened up a little bit. It's not a big deal because this is part of my lifestyle. I "live it up" during this time of year. This just goes to show you that WHAT YOU DO OUTSIDE OF THE GYM is far more important than what you do in it.

Again, this is just to change your intention and understanding of why you do what you do.  I like to train hard because I like to train hard. I like to push my body to places it's never been before. I don't train hard because I think it's going to make me lose weight.  See the difference?

Going to the gym is a huge part and you should be extremely proud for being disciplined to do it. But it's not the only part or the biggest part. So let it be a place you come to have fun and get physical, release endorphins, and feel good about accomplishing things the majority of the population never well.  But focus more on and work harder at what you're putting into your body for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I'm telling you, you'll reap much more from your efforts.

I'll send you some nutrition tips in the next step tomorrow.

For now,  here are 3 MAIN PRINCIPLES TO REMEMBER;

1. WHAT YOU DO OUTSIDE OF THE GYM IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU DO INSIDE.
2. WORKING OUT IS A HUGE PART TO LONGEVITY, BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY PART, OR THE BIGGEST PART TO LOSING WEIGHT.
3.  YOU CAN WORK OUT HARD BECAUSE YOU WANT TO, NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo

THREE REASONS WHY MAUREEN ANDROSIK IS GAMECHANGER OF THE MONTH

Yep, she did it.

She was already on my mental ballot for being selected as the game-changer of the month, then she went ahead and climbed that rope again. It was her second time so far.  Sealed the deal.

That's how Maureen Androsik is.  She challenges herself constantly.  I always say that a workout is as hard as you make it and you get out what you put into it.  Maureen gets this, and she dials it up as much as she can each and every session, for each and every minute of the entire hour.

I still remember the day she climbed the monkey bars for the first time, going from being barely able to hang on to completing each rung.

I watch how she runs over to the bands to work on her aztec push-ups during free play at Rocky Cardio. Because yea, that's an easy move that everyone loves to do.

I noticed how she hasn't missed a day in God knows how long and she's one of the first to sign up for any bonus classes we offer.

I hear her talk about how she's going to get up our new 11ft warped wall soon.

She's a gamer in the gym, and in life.

I could talk about her fitness performance all day, but that's not really the only reason she's being acknowledged.

Here are three things that immediately come to mind:

#1. HER HEART
Maureen is altruistic, positive, and a family woman. She has three amazing girls who you can tell right away love her to pieces. One thing I love seeing is her working out with her oldest daughter Jess, a champion gymnast by the way. They have fun. They laugh. And it's a good thing Jess is there because she keeps Maureen and her friends doing the right moves and moving to the right stations.

#2. HER REALNESS
Authenticity is hard to come by nowadays. It's refreshing to be around Maureen.  She is who she is, she will tell you like it is, and she does it in such a loving, nonjudgmental, accepting, and encouraging way.

#3. HER ENTREPRENEURIAL COACHING
Inspirational stories, in-depth quotes, and nothing but sound advice is what you can count on from Maureen. She's a highly successful business owner of a few FIVE GUYS Burgers and Fries. I never hesitate to go to her for some insight on running a business, and even among her busy schedule, she never hesitates to provide it.

There's a crew of some great friends that workout with Maureen at 530am. Here's just a few things they had to say about her:

"She is always so positive about everything."

"She always sees the bright side, and always makes us laugh!"

"Her comments during our workouts are hilarious and she pushes you out of your comfort zone."

"She puts her heart into everything, her girls, her friends, her workouts. Her laugh is infectious."

It was once said that many people can make big plays in life, but it takes a rarity to completely change the game.

Thank you Maureen for being a rarity.

Because you've absolutely changed the game at FMU.

And for that we'll be forever grateful.

It's not about us,
Coach Theo and Amber