To Change or Not To Change

So far this morning I've had a couple of Zoom trainings sessions and hung out with boys for a little while. During this time I was reminded of something.

Change for the sake of change is bad.

Now before I go on, change is often necessary. Also without change there would never be any sort of progress. So to be clear, I'm not arguing against change; I'm arguing against unnecessary change.

So what about my sessions and and hanging out with a 2 & 5 year old got me thinking about unnecessary change?

I'm glad you asked.

• I'll start with the 2nd one. So as I was watching Graham & Charles respectively build Lego structures, Graham had to get ready for his daily Zoom call with his Pre-k classmates. Except they're not using Zoom anymore because the NYC Dept. of Education banned it. So now they have to use Google hangouts.

• In my first session, my client talked about how she needed to figure out how to do more high intensity stuff from home. The thing is whenever she does high intensity stuff something ends up aching and/or hurt. 

On the surface neither of these seem like that big of a deal. However when you dig a little deeper problems show up immediately. 

For instance in the case of Graham's Zoom call, I think the NYCDOE had a good reason to ban Zoom (you can Google Zoom's privacy issues). The problem was/is implementation of the ban. Teachers all over the city have been using Zoom for the past 2 weeks and were probably starting to get in a rhythm with this whole virtual schooling thing. Then it was all gone in a day. Now teachers, parents, and students have to learn how to use a new tool...on the fly...again.

The result was that half of Graham's class was missing, the kids who were there were playing with there own toys (I could see them on the screen) because the teacher wasn't sure what she was doing and in the 15 minutes I was watching no one learned anything.

As for my client, wanting to exercise more is good. Wanting to do things that will hurt you not good. As we talked about it more, turns out when she does the high intensity workouts that her results aren't that much better. So the risk definitely wasn't worth the reward. 

I think she's just influenced by everything you hear about extreme this and HIIT that. I guess that's a good job by the people who market high intensity workout. The thing is though you have to evaluate if what you're already doing is working. If it is, keep doing that. Just that. There's no need change anything.

OK, I'm finished ranting. Remember change is good and necessary. On the other hand, unnecessary and/or not-well-thought-out change is usually unproductive if not dangerous.

Your Environment Has Changed

"I wonder if you're eating more snacks just because you're home and they're available"

This question was posed to me over the weekend (by my wife as we're social distancing and can't remember what people outside of our family look like). 

The answer is undoubtedly yes. Before Corona I would easily be out of the apartment at least half the day if not the whole day. Now I'm always home. And there's kids and there's snacks. And kids have snack time; so that means daddy (me) has snack time too.  

My "work" environment has completely changed. This environment change has not only affected my snacking habits but also just about everything else I do. 

I'm sure this is the case for you too.

Whether we want it to or not, our environment plays a huge role in the decisions we make all day, everyday. 

Environment doesn't just mean the physical space you're in. It also includes the people in that space, the stuff in that space and could include the amount of time you'll have to be in that space. 

For instance, we all have that one friend that whenever we hang out with them things go off the rails. Doesn't matter what the plan was, he/she always finds a way to take things to the next level. Just being with that person changes our whole environment into one where we make bad decisions.

(Btw if you can't think of that one friend, it might be you.)

The good thing is that quarantine life is just beginning to shape up. Yes it's already been a couple of weeks but I'm pretty sure we are in this for the long haul.

So with that, you have the opportunity to shape your environment in the way that's most beneficial to you. (Good news is you don't have to worry about that one friend because you're social distancing right? #StayHome)

You've had a couple of weeks to basically data collect what's working for you and what's not. Now's the time to enhance the things that are working and either get rid of or alter the things that are not working.

The key here is that you need to do this now. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to make changes. 

Quarantine Surprises (Good Ones)

Here we are at the beginning of #CoronaQuarantine week 2. I know I talked about this last week but what else is there to talk about? We can't go outside, those of us with kids have become homeschool teachers along with our full time jobs and teleconferencing has become all the rage.

Fear not though. This is not a doom and gloom post. I'm going to highlight a few of the good things that have come out of the last week.

1. Zoom/Skype/Facetime- I already joked about teleconferencing but it really has been great. I've been able to do a bunch of sessions with clients and at least keep my business going. Not only that, it's also been a social revelation. Over the last two nights I've had two different Zoom sessions with different sets of friends. It was awesome; it was like we were in a bar shooting the shit as though the world was not about to end. (My bad, no doom and gloom.)

2. Family Time- There have definitely been a number of times where Alli & I have imagined what this would be like without kids. That being said, it's been cool to hang out all of us together. We've watched movies, eaten dinner together and taken nice walks (obviously observing social distancing rules). Turns out my family is actually pretty cool to be around. Who knew?

3. Generosity- I spend a lot of time of Facebook and I'm in all sorts of Facebook groups (including my own). While there has been the typical amount of negativity that social media brings, I feel like there's been triple the amount of kind acts. I know one local parent group I'm in raised $6000 for medical supplies to donate to a local hospital. People are also donating time trying to figure out ways to buy groceries for seniors and other stuff. Good job people, keep it up.

4. Instagram Live Music- Last night legendary DJs DJ Premiere, Tony Touch and Lord Finesse were all doing live sets at the same time. (These names only mean something if you listen hip hop/rap and are at least 30 years old but still...) 15 years ago I would've have paid a large sum of money to be at a party where those 3 guys were playing. Last night I got it for free...on my couch. I like rap so that's what I'm clued into but I imagine this is happening with other genres also.

That's just a few of the good surprises that I noticed in the last week. And as I write this I'm realizing something else: social distancing may be making us more social. Weird. 

#CoronaQuarantine

So here we are in a whole new world. A world in which we are 'social distancing'. Here in NYC public schools are closed until at least April 20th. Bars, restaurants, movie theaters and Broadway are all pretty much shuttered (you can order take out and/or delivery from restaurants). Just about everybody I know is being allowed to work from home.

Gyms are still allowed to be open but many have already voluntarily closed their doors. I can't imagine it will be much longer before all the others are forced to shut it down.

I'm writing this as I'm hiding away in my bedroom while Alli is entertaining/feeding the boys lunch. It's my turn to get some work done while she's in between work calls. 

I don't really have much to say about all of this other than I'm freaking out a little: freaking out for those who still have to go to work but don't have childcare, freaking out for those most susceptible to the virus, and honestly freaking out a little for my sanity. 

In life BV, before virus, I carved out a schedule in which I had a lot of time to myself to get work done and basically be alone. Now we all may be trapped in our 1000 sq ft apartment for up to a month. 

To be clear, we all love each other a lot. "Family love disclaimer" out of the way, this is going to be stressful for all of us. That being said, we're going to make it work. We don't have a choice.

We're going to figure out a 'school schedule' for the boys. We'll take turns 'teaching' and getting our own work done. I'm going to schedule sessions when/where I can. 

We're (our family) going to adapt. We're all (society) going to have to adapt. There is no way around it.

It's going to take planning and sacrifices. Which coincidentally, are two of the things it takes to be successful with any health, fitness and/or nutrition goals. The difference here is the lack of choice. Corona virus is forcing change upon us (for the time being, though I think a lot of these changes will be around long after the virus goes away; that's another post though). 

Ok I feel like I've rambled on for long enough here. I do want to share a couple of things. The first was a post I shared a couple of years ago. It's all about the equipment you need to work out at home. Here it is.

The other is an e-book I put together last September. It's called Unplug! It's full of stress relieving tips that you can use to get through #CoronaQuarantine. You can get it here.

That Time I Was An Asshole

There was this one time I was an asshole. 

Truth be told, I've probably been an asshole lots of times in my life. 99% of the time I keep that part of my personality out of my business (I like having clients....go figure).

Well this time was a part of the 1%. 

(I'm presenting this as though it was a long time ago, but in actuality it was less than a week ago. Anyway...)

Here's what happened. I showed up about 15 minutes late for a client. That wasn't the asshole move, it was just one of the rare times where the gods conspire against me. 

So I get to the gym and my client is just sitting on bench waiting for me. Now I give all of my clients warm-up exercises that they can/should do on their own. This way if I'm finishing up with another client or I'm not there they can get started.

I asked her if she had done her warm-up. She had. I then asked what she'd been doing since she finished (a good 10 minutes had passed). She said she had just been waiting.

This is where the asshole came out. I wanted to know why she would warm-up and then just sit around for 10 minutes. I used the metaphor of heating up leftovers in a microwave: if you don't eat the food (relatively) quickly you're going to need to warm it up again. I ended by rant by saying, a little too loudly and brashly, "it's your workout, you have to take some ownership of it."

I knew I went a little too far because the other two people in the gym went, "oooooh."

Considering that I was the one who was late I'm definitely the asshole here and she would've been in the right to be ranting at me.

That being said (this is the part where I plead my case, even though I was in the wrong), I  was coming from a good place.

I'm not saying she should've known exactly what I wanted to get accomplished in the session but she could've been doing something. She's trained long enough that she knows  enough exercises/stretches that she could've kept herself occupied. In this particular case, the bench she was sitting on was right next to two empty treadmills so she could've walked or ran for a few minutes.

Again, none of this happens if I'm on time. Again I am the asshole in this situation. 

So I'm telling you this because even the best of us coaches have bad days and act like assholes. BUT (very big on purpose) when this happens you still have to do your part. Hiring a coach doesn't relieve you of your responsibility to do the work. Your coach is your guide, you're still the driver.

Vanity Can Be a Useful Tool

Me: How have you been doing tracking your food?

Client:  I did great for a couple of weeks...I need an event or something to get me going.

That was an actual conversation with a client. I mean it was like a week ago so I paraphrased. I realize it's only two sentences...you get the point.

Anyway, as much as I would love for all of my clients to have some deep seeded reason- like the increased confidence gained from achieving a goal-  for wanting to lose weight, the fact is vanity can be a much better motivator. 

And that's ok. 

We all want to look better. There I said it. Its' also ok to admit that. That's why you spend those extra few seconds checking yourself out in the mirror after tough workout or when the scale tells you you've lost a few pounds. (I've already said it's ok, so stop acting like you don't do it.)

Seriously though, having a vanity goal- like wanting to fit into a particular dress or looking good for your class reunion- can be great to get you started. They're usually very specific and have a firm end date built in; both things any good goal will have to have. Also because they're concrete and tangible, vanity goals tend to provide a sense of urgency that can be missing from more introspective goals. 

This urgency is particularly useful in the beginning of your weight loss journey. Like I said earlier, vanity is a great motivator. Motivation is needed at the start when you need to make tough changes and before you start to see progress. 

Then as you continue to progress and get closer to achieving your vanity goal, that's the time to start thinking about more intrinsic goals. 

Put Down Your Tools

Better yet get rid of them.

Let me explain...

I'm currently reading the book Range by David Epstein. The premise of the book is that over specialization- in sports, business, and science among other things- leads to a "can't see the forest for the trees" situation. 

Epstein argues that generalists fare better in most situations and that the advice we are given to hone in on any one thing is bad advice.

Anyway Epstein gives a bunch of examples (like a lot of examples, it's kind of repetitive) of times when generalizing did and could've saved the day. One of the examples really stuck with me though.

The example had to do with fire fighters, particularly smokejumpers- guys who jump from planes to fight woodland wildfires. These people are taught to never drop their tools. It's ingrained in them. To the point that when they are killed in wildfires and their bodies are examined they  are almost always still holding their tools.

We're talking about axes and chainsaws and heavy ropes. We're talking about an extra 40-50 pounds of weight. Weight that if it was unloaded would've allowed these men (traditionally there weren't many women smokejumpers) to run to their safety faster.

A psychologist realized this and explained it to smokejumper higher ups. Higher ups began telling smokejumpers to drop their tools when retreating. 

Problem solved right? Wrong. Smokejumper bodies are still found with tools in hand.

Epstein posits that for smokejumpers their tools are a part of their identity. He says that asking them to drop their chainsaw is like asking them to leave their arm. 

Especially in stressful situations....like fighting a wildfire. These men have been taught that their tools save lives, including their own. 

Ok, why am I telling you this?

While the situation may not (seem to be) as dire, substitute smokejumper for you and instead of axes & chainsaws put in food & alcohol (or whatever your go to vices are). 

How many times have you come home from a terrible day and taken out the oreos and a bottle of wine and went to town?

You know the salad and the grilled chicken would've been the better choice. There's no denying that. The Oreos and wine are your tools though. They've served the same purpose for you that the smokejumper's ax has served him.

So the next time you find yourself inhaling a pint of Ben & Jerry's (my personal favorite vice) after a super stressful day, don't worry you're just like the rest of us.

That being said...it's would be silly and dangerous to tell a smokejumper to go into a fire without their tools. You on the other hand though, your go to tools aren't necessary for your everyday life. So why do you even have them? 

Get rid of them. Get rid of them now while you're thinking straight and you're not stressed. Then when you do get stressed, you figure out a better way to deal.

Short Term Steps Are A Must for Long Term Success

"It finally hit me yesterday that the wedding is in two weeks." That was a client talking about his daughter's wedding. He obviously knew when the wedding is but he was explaining how it was actually going to happen and it is happening (relatively) soon.

This is the problem with long term planning and goal setting. If you're looking too far ahead the end goal can become too abstract. Like you know it's there but you can't make it out or see specific details.

Long term goals are great, but they're nothing without short term steps to get you there.

My client has had to do things leading up to today and has more stuff to do before the wedding. Things like scoping out venues and sending the names of the people he wanted on the invite list. Those are the short term steps that have gotten him too today. He couldn't have made it to today without those steps. Though when you think about them individually they're just items getting checked off a checklist.

Those steps don't give a feel for how the night's actually gonna go.

On the other hand, doing things like the seating chart and trying on your suit start to plant images of how the event may go. You start to imagine the epic fight that will start if you sit Aunt Sally within 10 feet of Uncle Jimmy. You might practice some dance moves while you've got the suit on. These steps start producing actual emotions. Shit (in a proverbial sense) get real. 

This should be a good feeling. Not a stressful one. You should be able to enjoy these emotions and the moment without being overwhelmed.

That's where those short-term steps come into play. It's when people don't take those steps that they end up stressed. 

Be Consistently Consistent

The one thing I know that will ensure (or insure, I'm not sure) success is consistency. This is something I tell to clients all the time. 

So this post goes in the practice what I preach category. See I tell clients that they need to be consistent in order to see the results they want to see. Even when things are tough, I tell them they've gotta power through and just get it done. 

That's why I stress that they plan out and schedule just about everything. And as someone who would never really plan out anything in advance if I didn't have to, I get that planning and scheduling isn't the most exciting. 

Tough cookies. It's still gotta get done.

Back to this post. See I didn't have anything in particular to write. Still gotta write though.

That's where the planning and scheduling comes in. This is the time when I write. So I'm sitting here and I'm writing. I could be- I want to be - doing lots of other things. Like watching TV or doing Ken-Ken puzzles or anything else that isn't writing.

That's the thing though, if we only did stuff when we wanted to then I wouldn't need to tell clients to be consistent. (Insert 'MIND BLOWN' emoji here.)

See consistency doesn't work just because you do the thing; it works because you do the thing even when you don't want to. 

Super Bowl LIV Takeaways (Health & Fitness Related)

Unless you live under a rock with no internet access (I'm not sure how you're reading this) you know that the Super Bowl was last night. And good portion of people reading this probably watched the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers regardless of whether or not they are football fans. 

So you may have been watching for the commercials, the halftime show or the actual game. In any case, it's a cultural event. As with any event there are some things we can take away. Let's go through some.

• The end isn't the end until it's literally the end- San Francisco went into the 4th quarter of the game with a 10 point lead. Going into the 4th quarter San Francisco had scored 17 unanswered points. Kansas City hadn't scored since early in the 2nd quarter. Even halfway through the 4th quarter Kansas City still hadn't scored. Kansas City won the game....by 11 points.

  • Takeaway- you're probably going to have setbacks. You might be in the middle of a setback right now. Get back to doing the things you're supposed to be doing and continue doing them until your predetermined time to stop doing them.

• There are clues in past performances- To get to the Super Bowl the Chiefs had to play two playoff games. They were down by 10 or more points in both of those games. I think it's safe to say players on the Chiefs had confidence in the fact they could come back.
  
  On the other hand, the 49ers coaching staff made some questionable decisions (that possibly cost them the game) knowing that the Chiefs are a high scoring team.

  • Takeaway- this probably is the first time you're trying to make a change. Look back and see what has worked and didn't work, for you and others, in the past.  Plan accordingly.

• You get to tell your own story- 43 and 50 are not old by everyday standards. However by pop star standards they are ancient. Shakira, 43 and Jennifer Lopez, 50 basically said who cares. They came out dressed how they wanted and danced how they wanted. (I'm trying very hard to not get myself into trouble :-D ) 
  
  Also what you may have missed during their performance is that they each told stories about their cultures. Shakira literally tied in her Lebanese background and J Lo made comments and had imagery reflecting the current treatment of latinos in this country. 
  
  Considering the political state of things, and especially surrounding the NFL, those probably weren't the easiest decisions they've made in their careers. They did it anyway.

  • Takeaway- you have to do what works for you. Do what's going to make you the happiest and proudest because in the end there will be critics no matter what.

Anyway, those are just a few thoughts that I came away with now that I've had a few hours to think about the Super Bowl. If you would like help implementing any of these takeaways just let me know by replying and I'll be glad to help. 

Also if anyone wants to dive into the X's and O's of the game, I'm definitely down for that also.

Answering My Wife's Questions

The other day Alli told that she had a question and that I should write a blog about it. Now like all good husbands I listen to my wife about 30% of the time. So here's the blog she asked for. 

Alli said she'd been talking to people and they always mention how muscle weighs more than fat and they were wondering if they were working out more how come they weren't losing weight.

Let's take these one by one.

Does muscle weigh more than fat? The answer is no. Though this reminds me of the riddle: which weighs more a 100lbs of pennies or 100lbs of feathers? The people who read my stuff are super duper smart so you know they weigh the same. 

The problem is they look different. I'm talking about muscle and fat (but the same goes for the pennies and feathers). 

Muscle is leaner and doesn't cover as much surface area. This is why someone with a lower body fat percentage (meaning they're more muscular) may weigh more than someone with a similar build (height, body structure) and higher body fat percentage. They literally just have more muscle than the other person has fat. 

They are working out more but they're not losing weight? Ok weight loss is simple (not easy): burn more calories than you take in. Read that again. This is how every diet and workout program works. Ok now that we got that out of way, why aren't they losing weight?

Here's what may be happening. You're working out more and probably more intensely. In turn you're probably eating more. You don't mean to be but you probably are without realizing it. The workouts make you hungrier so maybe you're a little lax about your serving sizes and so on. This is why tracking everything you eat is so important if weight loss is your goal. 

Another thing that may be happening is that you're actually moving less. Working out more but moving less? Weird, right? Check this out.

You've gone to the gym, got a great workout. Now you're at your office building, you usually take the stairs to your 3rd floor office. Not today. You just came from the gym, you don't need to take the stairs today. *Presses up button on elevator* 

Sound familiar? Play this scenario out over all of your "activity decisions" through out the day and you've eliminated a lot of calories you would've normally been burning. 

Now without getting super technical here, you're not doing this (eating more, moving less) on purpose. The problem is your brain likes homeostasis (shout out to 8th grade science class) or balance. When you're trying to lose weight you're purposely going out of balance. Believe it or not, your brain is smarter than you are and will do whatever it takes to restore balance.

All this means for you is that if you are trying lose weight is that you have to be super mindful. Mindful of everything you eat, you need to be tracking; the more detailed the better. You also have to be aware of how much you're moving outside of workouts. 

Told you it's simple. 

I'm a Terrible Person

I'm sure you only clicked through so that you can reply and assure me that I'm not a terrible parent. Thanks.

Well I don't really think I'm a bad parent (again thanks for reading and still feel free to send your assurances). I do think I employ at least one bad parenting technique however.

Let me explain.

The other day I was talking with my client Larry (Larry now I'll know if you really read all of these). We were talking about habits and techniques he can employ to help him lose some weight. Some of the habits that we talked about were things like: eating slower, recognizing when you're 80% full, and putting your fork down between bites amongst other things.

Ok now back to my parenting skills. As we were talking about this, I realized these are all the same things I/we admonish Graham for when he's eating.

While I wouldn't describe Graham as an adventurous eater, he eats most of the stuff a normal almost-five-year old eats. So he's definitely not picky either. The problem (which shouldn't be a problem) is left to his own devices his meals would take over an hour.

He likes to talk and tell stories and do all sorts of other stuff that we would consider distractions. Then after a while he'll say he's full after only eating half his dinner.

Now if a client told me this is how their dinner went, I would salute them. When Graham does this we try to get him to eat more and usually everyone involved ends up frustrated.

If you haven't caught on this is the bad parenting technique I'm referring to: the forcing him to eat in a "timely" manner and more than he seemingly wants to.

I'm going to assume we (Alli & I) do this because it was how we were raised. I have distinct memories of being told "you can't leave the table until your plate is clean".

So it seems that we (Alli & I and lots of other parents) teach kids bad habits (eat quickly, eat past satisfaction). Then people like me (fitness professionals) wonder why their clients can't seem to practice the good habits (eating slow, recognizing when you're full).

It's time for me to rethink how we handle mealtime in the Brown household.

Graham showing off a giant blueberry.

You Know What To Do--Are You Doing It?

I'm going to start this post with a couple of short stories. 

Here's the first one. I'm reading the book Profit First right now. If you're not familiar the book details a system for entrepreneurs & businesses to take profit first before paying other stuff. Get it... Profit First. 

Anyway about a quarter into the book the author introduces this extended metaphor where he compares running your business to getting fit/losing weight. He basically says business expenses act like calories: too many expenses and your business has less profit, just like too many calories and you get fat.

Ok, here's the second story. Last week, one of my clients came in for her first session of the year. She stated, "my goal is to lose 10 pounds." She said it very matter of factly. So much so that my somewhat sarcastic, but serious reply was, "would you like me to help with that?"

Her reply to that question is why I'm writing this. She said, "I'm telling you for accountability. I know what I need to do." I investigated what she thought she needed to do and she was pretty spot on. (She's going to get in extra workouts and track her eating as a means to decrease her calories.)

Last week was the first full week of the year. If you're like most people you probably waited until that first Monday to start acting on all of those resolutions.

I'm also willing to bet that you chose the resolutions that you chose because you had some idea of what you needed to do in order to achieve them.

So when it comes to health and fitness most of us know what we should be doing. So much so that the author of a business book felt comfortable enough comparing business rules to weight loss rules and personal training clients are telling their trainers exactly what they need to do to reach their goals.

So the question is, are you doing what you need to be doing? You've had a week, were you successful? Are you going to be successful this week? The rest of the month? I think you can see where I'm going with this.

If you need help with implementation (which is where I was going, if you didn't catch that) just reply here or send me a message and we can come up with a plan to get you started.

#10YearChallenge

Between Christmas and New Year there was that #10YearChallenge going around on Facebook. You probably saw it but if you didn't it was basically people comparing their lives today to their lives 10 years ago.

People basically posted before and after pictures of themselves, told where they were working and so on and so on. Normally I glide pass these challenges like the glaze on a fresh Krispy Kreme.

This one was interesting though. I didn't do it on Facebook but I'll share it here.

Ten years ago weekends were about going out and having as much fun as possible.

Now weekends are about taking turns getting up with the kids & shuttling them to their various parties and activities.

Ten years ago I was three years into my Equinox career and about a year away from reaching the highest level of training there.

Now in October I will have been my own boss for 4 years. 

Ten years ago I wasn't married. This April will make 8 years married with two boys ages 2 and 5. Back then my exercising consisted of mostly barbells and kettlebells. (Sometime around 2010 I did run a half marathon.) Today my workouts are mostly jiu jitsu training and squeezing in a quick lift when I can. 

I could keep going for a while but I won't do that to you. The thing I liked about this #10YearChallenge was that it gave people an excuse to look back and see how far they've come.

This is particularly important this time of year. Yes it's important to be making goals for the future but realizing all you've accomplished can and will help inform and motivate you toward those goals.

A Few Random 2019 Closing Thoughts

By the time I finish writing this there will be just under a day and a half left in the year and decade. Crazy right?!

Usually I would write out a whole year review and lay out some goals for the New Year. I'm not going to do that this year. I'm just going to (somewhat) quickly list out some things highs and lows from the year and how I hope to improve upon them going forward.

• It Was A Good Workout Year*- I put an asterisk because I only got about 60 lifting workouts in which isn't a lot. There were also 20 cardio workouts. The thing that really made it a really good workout year has been that I've basically averaged 2-3 jiu-jitsu classes per week since April. So throw in about another 100 or workouts from that.

• It Was Not a Good Reading Year- I only made it through one whole book this year. It was a good book, Malcolm Gladwell's Talking To Strangers. I highly recommend it. I'd also like to explain that I didn't just spend the year totally not reading. I just didn't get through whole books and I read lots of blogs and articles. I swear I read. (Can you tell that this one bothers me a little?)

• "Fail to plan...plan to fail."- this year I've really come to the realization (with clients and myself) that if you want to make any sort of change that there must be a plan in place. I've also realized that the more of the plan that can be made automatic the higher the likelihood of success. 
  
  The best part about this is that few extra minutes upfront before getting started ends up saving a ton of time and frustration in the long run. If you take anything away from this let it be to make a plan. A bad plan is better than no plan and a good plan will pay for itself plenty of times over. Which leads to the next one...

• Invest in Coaching- considering that I'm a coach this shouldn't have been a surprise but it was. I obviously know the value of good coaching when it comes to health and fitness but it extends to all areas. 
  
  I've been lucky enough to barter training sessions for private jiu-jitsu lessons. These private lessons have helped me progress probably 10x faster than I would be just taking regular classes. 
  
  Coaching has also helped me in business. The last few months I've been investing in business coaching. In literally one phone call my coach helped me figure out something that I had been struggling with for months. 

• Time is the Most Valuable Commodity- I know this is cliché but it's literally the one thing you can never get back. Therefore, you should protect it. This means you should choose who and what you devote time to wisely. Is it worth it to pay someone to do something so you can do something else? It might just be.

These are just a few things that jumped out at me as I was thinking about the year that's been and the one to come. Hopefully this inspires you to take some time to think about how your year has gone and how you'd like the next one to go.

Last thing before I go. I just want to wish you all a happy New Year. I also wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my thoughts. If you ever have any health and/or fitness questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Answering is the least I can do to repay the time and trust you've put into me.

2020 Is Here....Already....Like Now

It what may have seemed like a blink of the eye, 2019 is over. Thanksgiving is long gone at this point and Chanukah started last night. So now begins the time when you should be reflecting on how the year went for you. What went well and what didn't. Is there anything that you can improve upon? Is there anything need or can do without?

Ok, now that we got that out of the way. What's the plan for 2020?

I'm all for reflecting on the past and all but here's the thing: there's not much you can do about it at this point. So do some reflection and learn as much as you can from the past year but don't linger too long. Use the time that you've spent worrying about that thing from 6 months ago (that no one else remembers) to start coming up with a plan for how you're going to spend the next 6 months.

I feel like what usually happens is New Year's day arrives and people start making resolutions with no clue about how they are going to make them into reality. Other than using grit and resolve. Spoiler alert: that doesn't work. (Which is why half the people reading this are thinking about or even trying to remember what their 2019 resolutions were.)

So instead let's try to make 2020 different. The way to do that is by coming up with an action plan now. Don't wait until January. If you do, you'll lose half of the month just trying to figure out what you want to do and the logistics of how you could possibly do it.

I'd also say if you want to be successful at 2020 resolutions, think beyond 2020. What do you want your life to be like in 2021 or 2025 even? Thinking about and having long term goals (l year plus) gives you something to work toward and a way to measure progress.

The measuring of progress is key. When you only have short term goals, it becomes a "did I" or "didn't I" situation. Either you accomplished the goal or you didn't. If you didn't that can be stressful psychologically which can affect how you handle the next goal.

Having long term goals allows you to ask if you got closer to accomplishing them. Even if you miss a short term goal you can get closer to long term ones. This relieves some of the stress and allows you to keep momentum. Having a long term goal also allows you to change direction. Meaning you can scrap a short term goal for something else that will get you to your long term goal faster.

All of this is to say that, if you want to be successful with resolutions in 2020 then that process has to start now and you have to consider well beyond 2020. Like I said appreciate all that went well in 2019 and learn from whatever didn't go so well. Just don't let time spent doing that slow down your success in 2020.

2020 Starts Now; the 4 things you have to STOP doing to be successful

Here we are a week into December. The year and the decade are both pretty much over. That being said I still hear a lot of the same crazy stuff when it comes to health and fitness. 

So as you prepare to make 2020 your healthiest and fittest (btw you should already be preparing for next year; none of this waiting for New Year's) I wanted to help out. Below are 4 things you must stop saying/doing if you want to be successful. 

• Food is neither good nor bad- unless you're talking about taste. When it comes to quality food is just food. Food provides calories and if you eat too much of any food you will gain weight. So let's stop saying *insert whatever vilified food* is bad. Enjoy whatever food you eat. If it's off whatever plan you're on, accept that you enjoyed it and move on.

• Group classes are cardio classes- I know you do squats and push ups and other strength exercises but you need to understand you are just doing cardio. I'm not saying this is a bad thing; I just want you to know what you're actually doing. If the class involves you moving/doing exercises for more than 80%, you do 15-20 reps of every exercise and it doesn't have a weight heavier than 20lbs to be seen then it's just cardio.

• Lifting weights won't make you bulky- I can't believe I still have to say this. Eating too much will make you bulky. Lifting weights will make you lean and strong and actually give you the body you think you're going to get by going to all of those cardio classes.

• Netflix binging- and staying up late in general (not to single out Netflix). I personally need to work on this one. Getting enough sleep is easily one of the simplest things (remember simple≠easy) you can do to assure that you get results. Cool thing is it really doesn't matter what results you're after either, go to bed.

I hope this helps. As I said before success in 2020 starts now. If you wait until Jan 1st you'll be behind. Set yourself up to to have momentum going into the new year instead of trying to create once it starts. 

Don't Forget To Set Your Scale Back

I've seen versions of this meme a bunch of times over the weekend. Listen I love Thanksgiving as much as the next person. Actually I'm pretty sure I love Thanksgiving more than the next person. A lot more.

There will be a ton of food. There will be cakes and pies and various other desserts. There will be leftovers. It's going to be glorious.

Ok now that I've professed my love for Thanksgiving (and stopped drooling), let's get to the point. I want you to have all the fun and eat all the food. Seriously, all of it. As I said, that's what I'll be doing and I'll feel better about myself knowing you're doing it with me. (Just kidding I'm going to feel fine about myself.)

That being said, there is no magic reset button. 

Enjoy the holiday, the food and your family and friends. But remember when it's all said and done you'll have to deal with the consequences. 

I don't want to turn into Nancy Negative here but keep that in mind as you're making choices (food and otherwise) Thursday and through the weekend. You've basically got a couple of choices:

• You can enjoy yourself during the holiday, have a little extra fun and get back to your healthy living ASAP.

or

• You can say "F" it. Go wild and crazy. It's only one day (or at worst a long weekend). Then get back to your healthy living ASAP.

I'll be completely honest, I'm leaning toward the second option.

5 Tips to Get Through The Holiday Parties

It's less than 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. I feel like a broken record. All this month I've been talking about how you have to put a plan in place to get through the holiday season without gaining weight or becoming super stressed out.

No matter how many times I say it, (more than) one of you is going to say something like "wow, the holidays really snuck up on me this year...." (which is a crazy excuse this year particularly since Thanksgiving is literally the latest it can be.) Also if you keep getting snuck up on by the same thing every year....you are the problem. 

Anyway, instead of telling you to make a plan (again), I'm going to give you some tips you can use to get through holiday party season. Here goes...

• Reschedule Your Workouts: listen your party schedule is probably going to affect your workout schedule. Whether you workout in the evening when parties are scheduled or if it's harder to wake up in the morning because you had too much fun the night before. Take some initiative and look at the calendar to figure out when you can make up that workout.

• Don't Party Hungry: this might seem counterintuitive but you should eat before you get to the party. The parties I enjoy the most abide by the adage "if it's green it's trouble, if it's fried get double." That's to say party food usually isn't the healthiest. Plus if you're drinking on an empty stomach it will lead to you eating more of the aforementioned unhealthy food.

• Keep a Non-Alcoholic Drink in Your Hand: you've probably been told to drink water between "drink" drinks. That's good advice you should definitely do that. It will slow down your drinking and limit the affects of the alcohol. That being said, keeping a non-alcoholic drink will limit your drinking even more. It stops people from wanting to get you a drink from the bar. (Pro tip: don't let the bartender out you by giving a giant water glass, ask for your club soda to be poured into the same glass a vodka soda would come in.)

• Set a Time to Leave: this is giving yourself a curfew. This way you can get in, see the people you need to see (damned office politics) and get out. Getting out early means you'll have less time to eat and drink. It'll also make sure you're making the most of the interactions that you do have.

• Enjoy Yourself: listen it's the holiday season, not the "no fun" season. The reason you've been invited to all these parties is so that you can celebrate with family, friends and co-workers. Enjoy yourself. That doesn't mean you have to get wild and crazy at every party. However if things do get out of a hand at some point, make it worth it. Then use the next day to rehydrate and get back to your healthy living lifestyle.

There you have it. You've been warned. You've been given tips. If you choose to not take any preventative measures, realize you've done just that: you've made a choice. That choice is yours.

47 Days to Go

I've been on a kick about taking responsibility pretty much all of this month. So when I saw the this picture yesterday, I knew I was going to steal it. The only question was if I was going to try to pawn it off on you as my own original thought. 

I decided against that. This is just too simple (even as much as I love simplicity) and too smart for me to have come up with. 

Now to be honest I didn't count the days until the new year (also today is the 15th so adjust accordingly) to verify but if that's what you're worried about, then you're missing the point. 

The point is stop putting off for later what you could be doing now. The point is also stop sweating small stuff (11 out of 147 is ~7.5%). 

Also the point is isn't that you shouldn't enjoy the holiday season. It's the exact opposite; have fun, enjoy your family and friends. Just don't let 10 meals be the excuse for having another 140 bad ones. 

Happy Friday everyone.