How do you eat an elephant🐘. ?.. One bite at a time 😆

Seriously, that's how anyone achieves success...taking it one step at a time.

It is formally called "graduated exposure", and it means taking a small step into enough discomfort to feel challenged, get a win, and avoid being overwhelmed

We are our own worst coaches when it comes to change.  We think that we should go DIRECTLY from A to Z, when really, we can go from A to B to C... and if that's a lot, we can go from A1 to A2, to A3...

My friend Justin at @feelstrongfit wears a shirt that says "slow progress is progress" and there's a lot of wisdom in that

When we work together we find the clearest, most direct path to your goal, and that sometimes means going over really challenging terrain, moving efficiently doesn't always mean moving fast

Consistent effort ALWAYS wins over hard effort

Imagine all the stress in your life flowed into and out of a bucket

The goal is to maintain some sort of level that's not to the top, but not empty either

I'd always imagined 1 stream flowing into the bucket and one flowing out...but I listened to a video from my spirt animal brian mackenzie (@_brianmackenzie) recently that blew my mind (and made the idea of big effects by small changes way. more. possible)

Imagine, each stressor (work, kids, maintaining a house and car, working out...) was it's own stream into your bucket, and self care/recovery (sleep, eating clean, relaxing, nature time...) was it's own stream out of your bucket

We can see how some streams in will always be in, mostly at "full blast" (worrying about your kids), but some we can turn back a bit (maybe hire the neighbor kid to mow your lawn?)

Same thing with recovery, some streams will take a lot more time to work on (poor sleep over decades), some we can crank up super easy (taking a nightly walk around your block by yourself)

We can do it!  Piece by piece 

If you've taken a CO2 Tolerance Test (if you haven't, click here), and scored under 60 and wondered why that matters, let's walk through an analogy that might be helpful

Imagine our CO2 Tolerance is like our ability to digest food.  The higher our CO2 Tolerance the higher percentage of nutrients and energy we are able to absorb from the food that you eat

Imagine we don't absorb nutrients well, and we are constantly stressed because we don't have the nutrients we need to feel good....so we eat more, we eat constantly, and because we are only absorbing a small percentage of nutrients, most of the food that we're eating goes right through us (you know what I mean)

We are wasting all kinds of resources, (time, energy, money) to get, prepare, and eat food that (for the most part) we could just as well throw directly into the toilet

Imagine, if we worked on things that would allow us to absorb a higher percentage of nutrients from the food we ate, we'd actually need less food to feel REALLY GREAT, fulfilled, energized to tackle all the tasks of life

So...If you already have a low CO2 Tolerance, adding more air (mouth breathing) isn't going to help your relationship with cardio, you are taking in more volume of air, and rapidly breathing, but you're not getting more actual oxygen into your system (which IS what will help your relationship with cardio)

Working on breathing, increasing your CO2 tolerance WILL COMPLETELY TRANSFORM your relationship with cardio.  

Mouth breathing does have a time and place, and we'll cover that in a future episode 😤

Have you ever made a goal, and 3 weeks down the line had it start to fade, and fade, and fade until you just forgot about it?  

...Only to remember it STRONGLY 6 months down the line and feel like a loser for letting it get away, AGAIN...

You may have experienced "Vision-Leak" (a term I first heard from my friend Blanche at @rootedstrenghcoaching)

Think of it as a slow air leak out of a tire, you can drive on it (mostly pretty well) for a while, and then (if you don't continue to put air in it)...you find yourself with a flat tire and stuck

You make this goal, and little by little, If you don't continue to bolster your vision it fades to such a point that it's easier to do nothing than it is to find a reason to continue to work toward your goal

How do I prevent Vision Leak?

Find, create a touchable, physical item you see multiple times a day that directly relates to you reaching your goal (shirt, shorts, dress, jeans...)

Ask a friend or loved one to check in with you on your goal, daily if possible, and help hold you accountable

Get a coach, a nonjudgemental, professional who has tools and options to help you navigate the clearest most direct path to your goal, AND adjust if needed

Again...I've been called our by Sean Pastuch (and again...it's a good thing)

I've put myself in an echo chamber with folks who meal prep, who workout consistently, who get into nature, who pursue personal growth and make themselves a priority 

I forgot how. freaking. hard. it is to start...how. impossible. it seems to make a plan an stick to it....how. loud. the voices are that cast doubt on EVERY POSITIVE CHANGE people try to make.

I apologize.

I bridge the gap between healthcare and fitness because so many of us have been let down by both and they'd rather jump into the nothingness than continue to put themselves in a place where they don't feel understood, heard or valued.

I forgot.

I want to be a part of the solution.  This will take an Army.  We can do it!

Buckle up, we are going into deep emotional water on this one...

Imagine...you meet your untimely demise (wow...that's intense)...before you leave...you are able to build the prefect parent for your kids

What kinds of traits, values, characteristics would that person have?  What would their day consist of?  How would they provide to your kids?  What would their relationship be like?

You are building this imaginary figure, and you're building your own roadmap to being the parent/guardian/caregiver you want to be 

It's in intense exercise, go all in and let it show you the steps to take to become that superhero

Ever look around a room you're in and make a note if most, some or any people in that room are people you want to look like, have the abilities of, or have the habits of, in the future?

I do.

It might sound conceited to admit it; it's the truth.  It's also the truth that we should all be doing it.

It's the difference between being a victim of circumstance or taking ownership of your future.  

Our language becomes out thoughts, becomes our actions, becomes our habits, becomes our values, becomes our futures

Put yourself in a room with people who you aspire to be like, it's a hell of a lot easier to realize impossible goals when you're surrounded by people who do those things everyday

Spoiler Alert: Cardio machines alone never get people to their actual goals

I read an article with this title from Sean Pastuch on LinkedIn this past week, and, as a fitness professional, I felt called out (and that's a good thing)

I've taken this approach as an athlete myself, take the less invasive/don't want to bother anyone, and NEVER have I felt as strong as I've wanted to; NEVER have I looked or felt as good in clothes

It's time to change that 👊

I’ve been breathing my whole life…so far so good…

Why even bother training breathing?

Everyone has at least one dysfunctional response pattern where breathing is concerned. Take some time to think about it. I guarantee you have one. 

These responses pile up over time and result in chronic stress loads that UNDERMINE PERFORMANCE

What if every time you lost your temper could be attributed to your breathing?

Every time you yelled at your kid, partner, co-worker…

Every time you sent that email that you wish you hadn’t…

Every time you missed that lift…

Every time you had to stop on your run…

Every sale you didn’t close…

What if training breath made you BETTER?

What if you got your work done early and complete and easily, so you could take more time off?

What if you were calm and confident presenting in a meeting?

What if you got through your workout fast and comfortably with gas left in the tank?

What if you were looked at as the person who can shoulder chaos with a clear head?

It's simple, not easy, that's why we train 😤

We are diving into concepts and ideas found in the book "Turning Pro" by Steven Pressfield.  Turning Pro is a book that I have read, re-read, and re-read again over the years and it is the book I've most gifted to important people in my life.

What are the qualities of a "Professional"?

Take a listen, and live into them the best you can