A year or so ago I had tennis elbow.  The best part: I don’t even play tennis.

But every time I placed my right elbow under load and tried to move it I had pain.  Sharp, searing pain.

I set up an appointment with my Doc but you know how annoying that is. First you make an appointment, then you see your Doc who then recommends you see a specialist with whom you make another appointment.  But that guy’s the best and there’s no quick appointments so three months later you get fixed.

How are we going to stay motivated?

The new year is 5 days old and the resolutions are being tested.

Don’t despair. The average person fails 7-12 times before finally figuring out how to create lasting change. Slip ups are inevitable, and anyone who claims to be undefeated is a liar (or Rocky Marciano). You’re going to fail.

And fail.

5-10 more times (on average).

To succeed we have to find a way to keep failing (and then learning/refining our approach of course).

How do we stick with our goal through the extra 5-10 failures?

How do we win?

If something strikes me as particularly inspiring or clarifying I take a screen shot. Why? Because I write a weekly fitness blog and I’m always looking for new material.

And sometimes I need a little inspiration too.

Let’s look at some of these saved screenshots and see if they can inspire us in 2024.

‘You must get so busy around the new year.’ - Everyone

The Holidays over, the resolutions are fresh, the gyms are packed and the Trainers… business is a little slow. It runs contrary to the prevailing sentiment that our business doesn’t pick up, but never once in 20 years have I seen an uptick in business on January 2nd. Never.

Usually biz is a little off as clients wrap up the Holidays and get back into the swing of things. The Resolutionaries never commit to training. I can’t speak for them, but ‘If I go on my own for a few months then I’ll hire a trainer,’ sounds like a likely bargain.

Make your resolution a reality.

“I’ll tell you why you don’t have your $10 million. Right now, you are a paycheck player. You play with your head. Not your heart.” - Jerry Maguire

Why matters. Why you play. Why you work.

Why you want to get fit.

Jerry Maguire is a movie about a man who had to defend his why (the mission statement) and how doing that almost broke him, but eventually freed him.

If only life were like the movies…

“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man.” - Bob Dylan*

No matter how fit you get there’s always that voice in your head.

‘How fit am I really?’

It’s innate: we gotta prove ourselves to ourselves ad infinitum.

Workouts are a place to test. Certain workouts/athletic achievements mean something. Their completion signifies to the world that you’ve passed a test, or ‘Walked a road’ in Dylan’s parlance. Complete these and for a day/week/month your fitness is authentic.

It’s that time of year again. That time where you ask yourself, ‘what am I going to buy for the fitness freak in my life?’

Lucky for you I’ve got some ideas. But I have to ask…

How much do you love this fitness freak?

Train- Merry Fitmas! No lifts. no gifts.

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/eat-to-80-percent-full-infographic

I’ve made it to nearly the mid-point of my 110 days of no sugar challenge. Here are all the stats you want to know before you possibly embark on your own challenge.

Borrowing a page from the World’s most read blog by James Clear, here are 3 fitness related thoughts, 2 ideas, and one question…

Pistachios are great. What makes them great lets us talk about some overlooked facets of nutrition.

Let’s get nuts!

“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.”

You’re dialed in.

You see your trainer 2 x’s a week.

You run 3 x’s a week.

You do yoga 2x’s a week.

Your waistline is NOT shrinking.

What are you doing wrong?

Ponce De Leon famously searched for the fountain of youth in Florida (before all the old folks moved there, I think). Turns out the fountain is everywhere around you (even Florida), only it’s not a fountain.

Work with a Trainer

I always say that our bodies are our billboards. Find a Trainer who looks (and moves) the way you want to look and move. They are going to train you the same way they train themselves.

In the words of Train co-owner Alan Goldsmith ‘Train with someone who’s body you want… everyone wants my body.’

He didn’t actually say that, but I bet for a minute even he was asking himself when he said that.

Free Assessment Session

You made it this far down the newsletter. Your reward. 1 free assessment session with one of our amazing Trainers. Time to face the music. We want you, and you obviously want us. Why don’t we quit playing all these games.

Anything of value comes with a price. You want to get fit? There are costs.

One cost: muscle soreness. To get fit you gotta work out. Working out will make you sore from time to time. The cost of getting over muscle soreness isn’t that high: if you know what to do.

Greetings from Vacation in the town of Bath, North Carolina (one time home of Black Beard). Plenty of laughs, board games, shopping trips and authentic North Carolina food.

Speaking as your friend you should eat at Yoder’s.

Speaking as your trainer DO NOT go to Yoder’s! Just keep driving.

I've been eating well to put it mildly.

My fitness has taken a week long step back. These things happen. After that trip to Yoder’s it felt like I stepped all the way back to square one. It got me thinking… if I were actually starting from scratch what would I do?

Then I decided to actually do it.

If I had million dollars…

I’d start my own Canyon Ranch. I’d put all the workout and nutritional savvy I’ve picked up over 20 years and I’d create an Oasis. Rivendell without the elves.

Ok… it’ll probably take $10 million. What would a day there look like.