Why Everyone Needs to Pursue Strength

With 2015 quickly approaching, everyone is talking about new fitness plans, what they want to do, and setting New Year resolutions.

While I love goal setting, the problem with most fitness goals is that they are completely shallow with no real meaning behind them.

Some of the biggest feats accomplished throughout all of history were on the heels of an emotional cause.

I signed up for the Bodybuilding.com 200K Giveaway challenge. It is basically a body transformation challenge where everyone participating tries to change their body in about 12 weeks. (It’s also free to sign up for anyone interested!)

As I was writing out my plans, thinking up fitness routines and diet strategies, I was thinking about why strength in general is so important.

While most of our society talks about bodies in general, from pushing the “perfect” body image or the acceptance of all shapes and sizes, there is rarely a discussion about the internal strength needed to handle life in general.

Life is always there to knock you around, give you new challenges, and generally beat you up. This is what I mean when I talk about the importance of strength.

My definition of strength is entirely different.

We lack strength in America. Our leaders are weak-minded. School only teaches us to shut up and obey. Everyone is scared for their jobs. No one has time for fun. Breaks consist of substances and couch time with hours of endless Netflix.

The smallest stress breaks their spirit.

I can only be so harsh because I’ve been there. My own weaknesses in my life brought about the worst times. I saw myself as the victim instead of understanding I was simply a coward.

I needed internal strength to leave my last long-term relationship a lot sooner.
I needed internal strength to get better grades.
I needed internal strength to stick with a fitness program.

I didn’t learn about the multiple layers of strength until I read Elliott Hulse’s Four Layers of Strength ebook. (for free on his site!)

Strength. Resiliency. Character. Virtues.

Whatever you choose to call it, it’s important to develop them to their fullest.

I needed strength of mind, body, and spirit.

Compassion without strength makes you gullible.
Empathy without strength makes you weak.
It’s a ying and yang type of thing.

Strength comes in many forms. It comes in resiliency. It comes in having the strength to know you deserve better.

The world needs the strongest YOU that you can be.

So, while you go through and set goals for 2015, don’t forget to throw in some goals that make you a stronger person for your goals, your family, your community, and ultimately the world.

Setting Fitness Goals When You Don’t Have A Specific Result

When I was training clients, goal setting was one of the first things we would focus on.

Most of my clients had a specific goal in mind:
– Lose 20 lbs.
– Fit in a size 8 dress
– Gain two inches in their arms

But what do you do when you don’t have a specific result?

For many people, when they don’t have a goal, they don’t have a reason to lift. They go in and out of the gym, never really sticking to a program and constantly stuck on a yo-yo diet.

When you don’t have a why, you can’t figure out a how.

I finished Shortcut to Size, kept lifting for awhile, and with 2015 around the corner, I’ve been asking myself what I want to do with my fitness from here.

Going back and watching videos from Elliott Hulse, one of my fitness mentors, I remembered the important point that most of life is in the journey, not the destination.

The most important part is the habit, the action.

The real strength is found in the going to the gym every day. Everything else from there is just refining.

That being said, you still need to find the motivation and purpose in keeping up such a rigorous habit, so having some kind of end goal is important.

Recently, I was talking to a friend about his fitness goals for 2015 and after dancing around the question for an hour, I could tell he wasn’t telling me his real goal.

“Oh, you know, just to feel good. It would be nice to be fit…” all kinds of BS he said in this low voice where I could tell there was no passion behind it.

I started to get mad at him and told him he had to tell me his real goal no matter how embarrassing he thought it was.

“Okay only if you promise not to make fun of me.”
“I promise!”
“……….I want to feel like Captain America.”

I stared at him with a huge smile for about 30 seconds and he snickered back, “You promised! Why are you smiling?”

“Because Black Widow is like my favorite superhero of all time. So believe me when I say I get it.”

Then we geeked out for like 10 minutes and I told him it was easy from here now that he was honest about what he wanted.

The point is, no matter what your goal is, whether it is to feel like a superhero, get hit on, perform better in the bedroom, play with your kids, climb mountains, run a marathon, feel confident at the beach… It’s really important to identify how you want to feel even if you don’t have a specific number goal in mind.

I’ll develop more into goal setting and achievement this year, but before 2015 comes, start to get an ideal vision in your mind of what you want to achieve in your lifetime when it comes to your health and fitness goals.

P.S. Becoming a superhero is a completely reasonable goal. I mean, have you seen how badass Captain America: The Winter Soldier is?

New, Easy Snacks I’ve Been Loving

IMG_5793

This one is really simple:

Ingredients:
Cantaloupe slice
Yogurt of your choice
Fruit on top

IMG_6958

Ingredients:
1 hardboiled egg
Fresh parsley
Mayo
Wasabi mayo
Mustard
Salt + pepper

I know, nothing too groundbreaking or revolutionary, but DANG are they good and only take about a minute to make.

My Lifting Plan – End of 2014

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 3.03.23 PM
I’m keeping the rest of my plan pretty simple for the rest of 2013.

All the sets will follow the same general drop sets/rest pause similar to Shortcut to Size. The main difference I’ll be adjusting is that I have to include my shoulder rehab into my program and also an extra cardio day.

(Week 1 is 12-15 reps, week 2 is 8-10 reps, week 3 is 6-8 reps and week 4 is 2-4, then start back at the beginning with week 5)

I also decided to split my leg day into two days because I want my little chicken nugget legs to grow.

Noted: My gym doesn’t have a barbell. It’s actually really small. So, this program is accommodating for that. For yourself, feel free to add in barbell exercises where it is appropriate.

Monday – Chest/Triceps/Shoulder rehab
Chest press 3×15
Rope pulldown 3×15
Dumbbell kickbacks 3×15
Shoulder rehab plan
Abs

Tuesday: Back/Hamstrings
Lat pulldown 3×15
Bent over rows 3×15
Face-pulls 3×15
Romanian lifts 3×15
Shoulder rehab
Abs

Wednesday: Cardio and abs
HIITs
Shoulder rehab
Abs

Thursday: Biceps/shoulders/shoulder rehab
Rope curl 3×15
Bent over dumbbell reverse fly 3×15
Dumbbell front raise 3×15
Hammer curls 3×15
Shoulder rehab
Abs

Friday: Quads/abs
Wide-leg squats 3×15
Narrow stance squats 3×15
Dumbbell Step-ups 3×15
Shoulder rehab
Abs

Be Honest With Your Goals

Being honest with what you want is one of the best choices you could make.

Everyone talks and talks and talks: “I want a sexy body, I want to be rich, I want to own my own business, I want to see the world…” but their actions fail to back up what they say.

Sometimes it’s a case of no time or overwhelm, but sometimes after digging deeper it’s harder to come to terms with the fact that they actually don’t want those goals.

Be TRUTHFUL WITH YOURSELF about what you want.

I’ve put myself in this position far too many times.  Staying in relationships far past their due date, taking jobs I didn’t care for, putting fitness on the back burner… all in an attempt to convince myself that I wanted things I didn’t.

Your body will tell you when you don’t want something. If a goal doesn’t excite you and you don’t want to do the work, maybe you should examine if you really want it at all.

The real truth is that we have a limited time here. Every new year seems to be going by faster and faster. I already spent most of my 25 years on this earth doing things other people wanted me to do and I want to spend however long I have left doing what I want to do.

Greatness is for anyone who wants it.

You just have to decide what you want.