Beyond Fit

I fell off the wagon with these book reviews lately, but with new systems in place I plan to get back to doing these once a month! Getting Things Done by David Allen is much more than a productivity book, it is all about helping us become our best selves by way of defining and realizing our goals. Included topics from the book I discuss- having a "mind like water", how David defines "work" and "projects", the importance of closing the open loops in your mind no matter how seemingly small or trivial, and the power of single-tasking over multi-tasking. As someone who considers himself a creative, I was a little skeptical of this book. David makes the case that, almost paradoxically, the more creative we are the more organization we need so that we have the freedom to come up with and act on new ideas and create a "mind like water." Join me on the quest to enter the positive cycle of less stress attributing to more productivity and vise versa and let's Get Things Done!

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU&t=629s

My podcast "Get Action": Episode 86: Get Action

Like many of us, Alan has been able to train less frequently lately, this started when he and his wife had a baby. Congrats Alan! This led to Alan getting lean and facing the fact that his numbers on the barbell can no longer be as high.

Alan's YouTube, Instagram, and Website:

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As you may have seen if you follow me on social media, this week I recorded a podcast with one of my idols and role models, Steven Pressfield. Steven has written over 20 books, one of his most famous, and my favorite of his, is The War of Art in which Steven talks about the battle against Resistance. As Steven is a writer, much of the way he communicates is through the lens of a creative but his strategies for fighting against resistance can be used in so many ways like exercise, forming better relationships, learning something new, partaking in personal development, dating, and on and on. Steven says that Resistance rears its head whenever we are attempting to ascend to a new level in our lives. Listen in to this podcast to hear me highlight two ways we can overcome resistance based on my conversation with Steven, and look for our podcast which is coming out next Monday!

On today's episode I was fortunate to be joined by professional natural bodybuilder, adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, and coach Chris Barakat!

This conversation was a blast, Chris and I hit it off right away! We talked about the nuts and bolts of training and nutrition, the staples of and pitfalls of macro tracking/meal planning, and ended with some thoughts about habits specifically in the context of our current situation. "Everyone's always struggling with something, but now we're struggling with the same one thing as a community."

Chris's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/

Chris's Website https://schoolofgainz.com/resources/articles/ (Including his free home workout guide and ebook with Jeff Nippard- both mentioned on the podcast!)

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One thing I've learned in taking my health and physique to the next level is that it isn't about "working hard" but rather working SMART. You can beat yourself into the ground with diet and exercise but if there's no thought behind it, it won't be effective. Similarly, if you don't enjoy your exercise and diet you will have a hard time sustaining it. These days more and more we are hit with the hustle culture notion, but here I will explain to you why that can be counter-intuitive.

My friend Nick Krantz joined me for this episode. It's his third time on the show, grateful for you Nick!

Nick is a big, strong guy but recently a recurring concussion sidelined him from training, and largely from life! Find out how he made the best out of a bad situation (something we're all trying to do right now!)

We spoke about positive habits, making good choices, and how/why to think deeply in a largely shallow world. Nick and I have both benefitted from the outlook of action > contemplation, as well as reframing of emotions, we shared positive experiences with counselors in this episode as well!

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We all know people in our lives who have benefitted from certain diets. I myself am often asked what diet I'm on or follow. In this episode I explain why diets work (2 main components) and the rationale behind dieting. I also make the case for why you shouldn't diet but rather find a lifestyle of eating that is sustainable for you!

My friend Mason Woodruff joined Beyond Fit for a second time recently. In this episode we spent the first half talking about "motivation porn" and how a focused period in your life of self-improvement and lifestyle optimization can impact you. We also discussed Mason's reading habits now vs. in the past and taking action on all the information you're acquiring from podcasts, books, etc, and caught up with Mason's personal life a bit. In the second half- Mason dropped some great cooking knowledge! I even shared a few of my guiding principles in the kitchen as well.

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Many of you may be familiar with the 80/20 principle (80% of the results are achieved by 20% of the effort). I go over it in this episode and discuss how it applies to health and fitness. I can get into some pretty complex/esoteric topics on this podcast, it's what I really enjoy! But sometimes we just need a reminder that doing a few simple things right is all it takes to achieve extraordinary health and the body you desire! We tend to overcomplicate this area of our life, limit this tendency by following the 80/20 of health and fitness.

For Johnny's third time on the show, I thought it would be fun to talk about interests and hobbies that keep us occupied during all of our down time these days. Our conversation was wide ranging and addressed: individuality, chasing success, values, antifragility, pivoting away from perfectionism, how and why to overcome society's focus on apathy, and much more! We both agree that now is a great time to learn and grow, and share the viewpoint that incremental improvement can carry you a vast distance. Enjoy!

I posted the Man in the Arena quote we talked about on my Instagram a while back: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0TOrHJD-9j/