What the heck is "fitness" anyway?!

As far as the dictionary is concerned, fitness can quite simply be defined in one word, health. The first synonym listed in the thesaurus? Strength. Interestingly enough there is no mention of six pack abs, waist circumference, BMI or an obligatory number on the scale. To be fit is to be healthy and strong.

I have long had my own definition of fitness as well. I believe fitness is your ability to participate at a high level in the activities that you love, for as long as you choose. I believe fitness is the degree to which your life is enhanced by doing what makes you happy. Perhaps it is participating in your favorite outdoor activity or competing in your favorite sport. Maybe it is playing with your kids, grandkids or pets. Whatever it is that puts a smile on your face, you should be able to enjoy it until you decide otherwise.

In my opinion, the road to fitness (and thereby health) begins and ends with strength. The moment you begin to lose your strength is the moment you begin the gradual slide towards an over-embellished bed six feet underground. In order to become and remain strong requires that a person move and movement, my friends, is life. When we stop moving, we start dying. Period. End of story. Turn out the lights, the party's over.

Fitness = Health

Health = Strength

Strength = Movement

Movement = LIFE

There you have it, the meaning of life. Bet you didn't think you'd receive the answer to the most prolific question of all time just by reading this blog about fitness, now did you?! You're welcome. ;)

Seriously though, once you stop moving it's all down hill from there. Never stop learning AND never stop moving. This will significantly increase not only the years of your life, but the life in your years. Keep your body moving and your mind learning and you will live longer and live better. 

If you do one thing today, stand up, go outside and take a walk. Get some sun on your face and breath in some fresh air. Even if you only make it around the block I can guarantee you'll feel a little bit better then you did before. If you want to take it to the next level, before you leave, grab a book and half way through your walk, pull up a bench and read for 10-15 minutes. 

10-20 minutes out of your day CAN and WILL profoundly effect the quality of your life. Sounds simple, right? It is. Move a little. Learn a little. Live a lot!

Since this is a blog about fitness, and I aim to please, drop and give me 20! There, now you're healthier, smarter AND stronger. Now, you are fit!

I don’t know, but I do know … you know?

Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought you didn’t know what to do next? What direction to take or what move to make? You were confused, scared, worried or maybe all of the above. Funny thing is, in your heart you knew exactly what you needed to do. Then you second-guessed yourself and what should have been a definitive action instead ended with inaction.

Life often is not nearly as complicated as we have the tendency to make it. More times then not you know what needs to be done, but you make the decision not to follow through.

“Even if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice” RUSH ~ Freewill

It has been said that the mind is the devil’s playground and when it comes to making the tough decisions (and sometimes even the easy ones) it is common to over think what needs to be done and instead, do nothing.

In most cases doing something is always superior to doing nothing. I promise that you will accomplish much more by trusting your initial gut feeling and going for it. You can always make mid-course corrections, but you can never get back the time you lost thinking about how and when to get started or make a change.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should quit your job or get divorced tomorrow … but maybe you should. ;) If you know something to be true in your heart of hearts, but you have been skillfully avoiding the issue by lying to yourself or convincing yourself that the time just isn’t right maybe it’s time to jump.

Life can be challenging, but rarely is it as complicated as we make it out to be in our minds. Life is a wonderful journey full of experiences, both bad and good, that make us who we are. So the next time you don’t know, but in fact you do know, take a stand, do what needs to be done and move on. There is always today … but no guarantee of tomorrow. Don’t waste the present moment worrying and over thinking every little thing. Trust your gut and get on with it! You know?

Are you all in?

What does it mean to be all in? Many times in life we stop short of giving our best effort. We go as far as it feels comfortable and just as the magic is about to happen, we pull back or quit altogether. Why? Because it became challenging. It was getting hard and the possibility that we might fail crept up. So rather then push forward we stayed in our comfort zone and we quit.

This brings me to my initial question of what it means to be all in. If you are truly all in there is no pulling back, there is no quitting, because being all in means that you have given yourself no choice. There is no emergency exit. There is no parachute. You are in the captains chair and you are either going to succeed or go down in an epic ball of flames. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Yoda, “There is no try. There is only do or do not.”

I am someone that thrives on pressure. If you want me to move then you had better light a fire under my ass because otherwise I’m not going anywhere. I am someone that needs to be all in, everything on the line. There can be no surrender and no retreat. I am a dreamer, a creator. I have wild ideas and even wilder plans, goals and aspirations.

I don’t care to live my life on the fringe, in the obscurity (and protection) of the shadows. I want to be front and center, experiencing everything this wild and crazy life has to offer. If I am not living my life in this fashion then I become depressed and my spirit struggles to find a sense of direction.

I am guessing that this is more common then not and most of us, even if we don’t like to admit it, wish that we could do more, see more and BE more. I believe that most of us are living a life that is not entirely of our choosing and we feel powerless to make a change. This is NOT the case. You have the power to change anything and everything at any time that you deem appropriate. The moment you decide to go all in is the moment that there is no turning back. No surrender. No retreat.

What do you want from your life? Are you living your passion or are you slowly inching your way towards death on a daily basis living a life that does not fulfill you? STOP. Take responsibility for the fact that your reality is such because of the choices that you have made, and understand that you have the power to make a different choice today. Make today the day you decide get comfortable being uncomfortable and go ALL IN!

Today I write ...

not because I want to, but because I must. I’m not even sure what I’m going to write about, but alas I must write, so I am writing. I am a writer, a creator, a poet who must prose. When I write I open the door to what is going on in my mind and share the emotions whirling around in my soul. When I am not writing, I am not sharing, and all of those thoughts, feelings and emotions go largely uncommunicated.

Communication has never been my strongest of skill sets and I have for as long as I can remember been a much better writer then speaker. Communication has been a sticking point in the relationships of my life, both personal and professional. I am in fact often told that people have no idea where I stand or what I am thinking. I think I’m a relatively engaging fellow with a lot to say if you take the time to know me, but more times then not I am told that I am intimidating because I am quiet. You can almost chew on the irony in this.

I am, by my nature, the strong silent type. I don’t say much of my own accord and I do not wear my emotions on my sleeve in most instances. It is the select few who have been allowed through my iron gates to see and experience the “real” me, unless … I am writing.

And so I begin this journey, this expedition into writing, to share myself with the world at large. To share who I am. To share what I am about. To share what makes me tick and the tornado of thoughts that is my brain. As an adjunct, I am a writer and therefore, I must write, both to become a better writer and to fulfill my purpose by utilizing the gifts I have been given.

And so I write … to be continued.

What Good Are Goals Anyway?

I am just like you. Sometimes I struggle to find the motivation to train. Sometimes the desire just isn’t there. Sometimes I’m tired, fatigued, don’t have the time or any other number of rationalized excuses. Lately I have been going through just such a stretch where I have been busy, working long hours and just plain unmotivated to train. Yes, even though I work in a gym it can be challenging to get my workout in.

“If you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards.”

So during these times, what motivates me to get back on the horse and moving forward again? Today I realized that I have been floating along without a goal, getting my workout in here and there and doing whatever felt good on any given day with no desired outcome or particular direction. I have heard it stated many times that if you do not know where you are going, then how can you expect to get there? This afternoon that message hit home as I came to the realization that I have no flippin’ idea where I’m going. That, friends, is about to change!

As of Monday there will be six weeks left in 2012. For those 6 weeks I am committing to a training split consisting of 2 days on and 1 day off until January 1st. During this period I will complete 6000 KB swings, 3000 push-ups and 1500 pull-ups. On my days off I will sprint, hike or bike.

That’s 6 weeks to recommit to my health and well being by practicing what I preach. I am doing this because I am tired of being tired; no more excuses! Exercise reduces my stress, increases my productivity and makes me strong, confident and healthy.

What are your goals for the final 6 weeks of 2012? Will you limp into 2013 with the empty promise of a New Year’s resolution or will you attack life TODAY and take no prisoners, accept no excuses and roll into the new year on fire; a better, healthier and even more completely awesome version of your current self? I know my answer! Who’s with me?! Ready … Set … GO!

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” ~ Plato

I am ALIVE!

This is a blog about belief, passion and desire. Have you ever experienced the feeling of knowing that you left it all out there, that you pushed your body as far as it could be pushed, that you gave all you had to give … and then some? Have you ever pushed yourself to the edge and then jumped off only to find that you could fly? Have you ever hit the wall only to realize that you had a metaphysical hammer with which to smash your way through to the other side?

Now I’m not referring to that radiant glow you have after the group hug at your Zumba class. I am not waxing poetic about the high five your buddy gave you at the end of the softball game before you inhaled a six pack. What I am talking about is the, "I just kicked my own a** and pushed past what I used to believe was my max effort only to find the STRENGTH of will to set a new benchmark and redefine my self imposed limitations." I am referencing the moment you’re gasping for air, ready to collapse when you realize, holy s**t, I just did that?! Don’t grab your knees, don’t fall over in a pile of sweat, instead STAND UP, raise those arms up into the air and celebrate! Congratulations and welcome to the other side of the human condition, you are ALIVE!

I read a post today by one of my mentors, Martin Rooney, on the topic of sprinting. Fast forward two hours, an endorphin rush, an adrenaline dump and nine rounds of Hurricane Sprints and I know what it means to be alive and I am FIRED UP! Have you pushed yourself to this level lately? Now I don’t care if you’re 25, 75 or anywhere in between, I’m not referring to my level, I’m referring to your level. My question is when was the last time you pushed yourself to and beyond what you believed your limit to be? When was the last time you felt honestly, truly, totally, passionately ALIVE? If you can’t answer this question or it was so long ago that the feeling has become no more then a distant, vague, meaningless memory then I’m challenging you to get off you’re a** and start living again.

When it comes to health and pushing our physical limits I believe in a few things. First and foremost I believe that we were designed to move, FAST. To that end, I believe that we were designed to sprint. I believe that we were meant to spend as much time in nature as possible, running, jumping, climbing and swimming. I believe that we were meant to perform challenging physical labor such as picking up heavy objects and moving them around. I believe that the true measure of physical strength and vitality is relative strength or how strong you are for your bodyweight.

Please do not challenge me on any of these points because you will be wasting your time. Quite frankly I don’t care what you believe. This is not about you; this is about MY beliefs, MY passion and MY desire. If you’re not on board with the above beliefs you are welcome to your opinions, just know that if it ever comes down to it, I will run faster, move quicker and hit harder then you. I will win, not because of what I believe, but because I’ve already pushed myself to a place of being comfortable with being uncomfortable. I know my limits because I have pushed them and I am constantly striving to set new ones. I am ALIVE.

That's Uncomfortable! (and I love it)

Have you ever done something that caused the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end? Have you ever given more then you thought you had to give; pushed yourself beyond the point that you believed you could go? If you haven’t, for heaven’s sake man, get out of that chair; stop reading this blog and go experience life! For those of you who just got a “rise” by immediately flashing back to that very time and place and reliving the exhilaration of that memory, fan-friggin-tastic! Embrace that feeling and start making plans to do it again. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. This alone could be the single biggest difference between living a ho-hum daily existence or blowing the doors off your dreams and ambitions.

Given enough time we can talk ourselves out of most anything; there are always excuses to be made. For every reason there is to avoid something there are likely just as many reasons to do it. That is the yin and yang of life, the shadow and the light, the push and pull which keeps the world going round. Funny thing is, some of the most fantastic and rewarding experiences of my life have been those moments when I threw caution to the wind and just went for it. When I pushed myself to do what I did not want to do. When fear had me by the short hairs. When I was too tired. When I had every reason to stay in my comfort zone, I stepped up, stepped out and had the time of my life. Stop asking, “Why should I?” and start asking, “Why shouldn’t I?”

I am challenging you to look at your life from a new angle, find your edge and then purposefully step beyond those self-imposed boundaries. I want you to get radical, go rouge, get inspired and tell the status quo where to stick it. Go do something that someone thinks is absurd. When was the last time somebody told you were crazy? Don’t lie; it felt pretty darn good didn’t it? You were invigorated. You were impassioned. You were ALIVE!

Okay you wild and crazy guy, it’s time to start living the unabashed, vibrant, take no prisoners, you only live once, life you were born to live. Step outside the box, dream wildly and act passionately; remember, life is like a bank; you only get out of it what you put into it!

 Summit of Mount Shasta, 14,179'

Mentally, emotionally and physically the hardest thing I have ever done and one of the most energizing, rewarding and life changing moments of my life.

"Until you have pushed yourself beyond 

where you believed your limits to be, 

you have no idea how far you can go."