20 years of fitness: 20 nuggets of wisdom

20 years of fitness: 20 nuggets of wisdom

1. Heather (my daughter) squats and deadlifts correctly...every time....better than 90% of everyone else I know :) See picture at right ---->
2. The vast majority of people don't like to exercise, yet we continue to push it down their throats. Only 14% belong to a health club...
3. Gaining weight is really easy; losing weight is really hard. But not impossible!
4. People will likely do business with you if they like you, trust you and realize you care about them.
5. Kids playing, while the numbers have fallen, will never go away. It is a time when a great deal is learned about activity and they do not even know it. The years I spent all my free time playing literally made me the person I am today.
6. When you realize what you are here for, it is a wonderful revelation.
7. All the degrees, fancy initials, certifications don't mean a thing if you cannot communicate effectively, using both your heart and mind. No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
8. Morality is largely based on what you do when no one is watching.
9. Never pass up an opportunity to make someone's day better, or to make them smile if you can.
10. Live your life every day being fully aware that you are writing your legacy.
11. Lift one more pound, run one more step, jump one more inch, try one more time; but don't give up.
12. You never know when or where you may make a friend. Two of the three groomsmen in my wedding were personal training clients of mine before we became friends.
13. Adversity presents two options: Give up or move forward. Giving up is way too easy, that is why most people do it. Moving forward will always reveal true strength.
14. If you have to pick just one physical aspect to improve, pick strength. Strength will make you a better athlete, make the activities of daily living easier to do, reduce joint pain, burn more body fat in the long run and can be performed anywhere, sometimes with little to no equipment.
15. Never stop learning. Know what you know, but more importantly, know what you don't know. Life is your only school after a certain age. Know at least 5 people who are smarter and wiser than you. Learn from your parents and grandparents - they have lived a helluva lot longer than you.
16. Nutrition is responsible for at least 75% of the changes to your body, whether you trying to gain weight, lose weight or just feel good. 75% may even be too low! When I was competing in bodybuilding, the only difference was my nutrition that allowed me to get to a minimum of 5% body fat on a regular basis.
17. Marry your best friend.
18. Fitness never stops evolving. There are things today that were irrelevant 10 years ago, such as kettlebells, but have been around for decades. Fads certainly come and go. Pieces of equipment are just tools, but the one constant is HARD WORK.
19. There are no secrets...to anything. The majority of us have the same access to the same information.
20. I realized in my teens that I just want to help as many people as I can in any way I can. That path has lead me to fitness, athlete training, nutrition and motivation. I am nobody special. But I do know what I want to do each and every day, and that is powerful. The meaning in life is have a purpose; the purpose is to live a life with meaning.