Why now is the best time to start a new fitness routine

6 months ago the thought of a worldwide quarantine would have seemed laughable.

No travel, dining out, or social interaction…it’s an interesting thought, but that will NEVER happen. There’s just no way.

And then it did.

And maybe you responded well. You took advantage of the free time. You took on home projects you’ve been talking about doing forever. Maybe you actually started to read more books, learned to cook, or actually called your relatives.

Or maybe you struggled. Isolation got the best of you. You fell off the wagon. Working from home became the bulk of your day. Maybe your health and fitness took a hit.

The question is…what are you going to do about it?

You have a tremendous opportunity in front of you. The world is opening back up and you have a chance to become the person you want to be. You know, the cool stylish YOU that always knows what to say, has it all together, and looks dayyumn good naked.

“If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” -Seth Godin

This is an opportunity, because the world is different than the one that was locked up months ago. Whether you were successful or struggling before COVID hit the globe doesn’t really matter. A lot of successful people fell off their high horse. A lot of new companies have grown and thrived. There are new opportunities emerging everyday. They might not look like the plans you had before this began. Your New Year’s resolutions or goals from January may have to be tossed out the window.

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” -Lao Tzu

This may be the single best chance to reinvent yourself that shows up in your lifetime. It’s time to start doing all the things you have been dreaming about doing.

Now you have the chance to step into the life you’ve always wanted. If any part of you values your health and wants to feel energy and confidence then a weekly training regimen and successful strategy for eating, sleeping, and managing stress are essential.

You might have some ideas of what to do. Maybe you have tried diets in the past or dropped into exercise classes that you enjoyed or had a routine that you stuck with for a few months. The point is if you are not doing it right now then it’s time to look in the mirror.

Address what you see and decide if you’re happy with what you see?

Compassion and self-love is important. So is self-care and wanting better for yourself. It’s okay to not be happy where you are at. You have an opportunity in front of you to change. To grow. To become a version of yourself that you love and is the best person to provide for your family, help your friends, and be a leader in your career.

You know what you should do. Now put the building blocks of success in place. Commit to the outcomes you want. Create an environment that facilitates you achieving your goals.

“On one level, wisdom is nothing more profound than an ability to follow one’s own advice.” – Sam Harris

Will it be easy? Nope. The struggle is guaranteed, but the success is not. But if you are willing to keep showing up. To put in the work. To go through the motions even when you don’t want to. Then you might not even recognize the person you become by the end of this extraordinary year.

“Success isn’t owned. It’s leased, and rent is due every day.” – J. J. Watt

If you have questions about how to begin a life changing routine then we want to know. Our team is here to help and answer the questions you have about fitness, nutrition, and what steps to take to become strong and healthy.

The 4 Best Lateral Movements to Include in your Training Regimen

Lateral movements often get overlooked, but these kinds of movements are actually the best way to prevent injuries and increase your athleticism. Lateral movements are the side to side movements you see in sports and are key to a healthier you.

Things like running, walking, cooking, weight lifting-these all happen forward to backwards. This is where we spend most of our time and can actually create deficiencies in our joints and muscles when we only train these movements on a regular basis. Lack of training lateral movements can result in knee injuries and other various sprained or torn ligaments.

The best way to avoid these deficiencies and strengthen any underused joint or muscle is obvious: train lateral movement.

Add these movements on to your weekly workout routines as a pre workout warm-up or post workout cool down. It will do wonders for your fitness training and longevity.

Here is a great place to start. Try to complete three rounds of 12-15 reps of the following:

Side Planks

Trains the obliques or the “sides” of your core musculature. Planks are a static movement. The goal is to resist breaking the side plank position. Whether you are positioned on your elbow or stacked on an extended hand, focus on maintaining a solid midline and touching your top hip to the ceiling. This will prevent any sagging on the working side. Hold for 10-15 seconds, gradually increasing as it gets too easy, repeat for 10-12 reps.

Side leg raises

These can be performed laying down or standing. If you’re looking for extra points, try these standing to challenge your balance. Standing on one leg, while activating your core, gaze straight out at a fixed point. Once you feel balanced, flex your foot (toes towards the shin, and pointed forward) and raise your heel as far up as you can until you feel a contraction on the outside of your hip. You can use a wall or chair for some extra balance. This exercise trains the outsides of the legs, strengthening and protecting the ligaments and muscles around the knee and hip joints.

Side Lunges/ cossack squats

This exercise helps with knee and ankle mobility. It trains outsides of legs, balance, stability, and ankle mobility. Begin with your feet together and step out with the right leg into a wide sumo stance. Begin to sit back putting all of your wait on your right leg as you send your weight down and back. Go as far as is comfortable. You can drive out on this leg back to a neutral standing position, then repeat on the left, or you can gently send your weight through the middle and lunge into the left side. This variation would be more like a cossck squat rather than a side lunge. Do what you are most comfortable with. While completing this movement, notice if your knee is tracking in line with your toe. If you can’t see your big toe on the inside of your knee, chances are you’re letting your knees cave it, which would not be great for your knee joints. When in doubt, grab a coach to get this one dialed in.

Lateral Box Step ups

Trains legs, core, outside of knees, insides of knees, ankles and balance. Stand on the side of a lower box, adjusting the height as necessary. Balancing on the outer leg, use your inner leg (closest to the box) to drive your weight and step up and onto the box, leaving your outside leg to float at the top, then slowly lower onto the outside leg and step down off of the box. Start at a low height and work up to a place you feel challenged, but secure.

Lateral movements are important to incorporate into your workout routines. If all else fails, grab your weightlifting partner and turn up the Cotton Eye Joe.

Happy side stepping!

5 Bodyweight Exercises that will make you better at everything

No doubt that in the past few months your workout routine has changed. Depending on the space available in your home and what equipment you have access to that change may have been drastic. If you really enjoy lifting heavy and make that the focus of your training then you may be getting frustrated. 

“Do What You Can, With What You Have, Where You Are.”
-Teddy Roosevelt

Right now you have an awesome opportunity to deload your body, rehab nagging injuries, and bulletproof your body to come back to training ready to rock. There is a lot you can do at home right now that will strengthen your joints, build up core strength, and address imbalances and weaknesses that may have been holding you back.

So check out the top 5 Bodyweight Exercises that will make you better at everything and show up to the gym ready to crush it!

  • Candlestick
  • Hollow Body Wall Walk Ups
  • Pullups
  • Pistol Squats
  • Glute Bridges

1.Candlestick

Roll out the yoga mat or head out into the backyard. The candlestick is a fun exercise that has tremendous benefits. If you are about functional training this is perhaps the best demonstration of real world functional movement. In fact, the ability to move one’s own body from the ground to standing is a great indicator of fitness (burpees anyone?!). You will also learn coordination, balance, and build your core strength as you strive to maintain a hollow body position. Try filming yourself as you do these to refine your positions and maintain a global shape from head to toe.

Check out a great video on the candlestick here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXoNNx-uOtU

2. Hollow Body Wall Walk Ups

Walk walks for short. Think of these as planks taken to a whole new level. The key here is to maintain your position and not let your low back arch. If you are nervous to go all the way upside down or have trouble getting your nose all the way to the wall don’t worry. Just go as far as you safely and comfortably can – there are still so many benefits to doing this exercise!

Focus on moving slowly as you work on these and challenge yourself to spend more time under tension rather than completing the wall walk up as quickly as possible. Play around with different variations and mix in elements like shifting your weight from one hand to the other – this will have tremendous carryover to skills like handstand walking!

Pro Tip* Do not perform these on the bathroom door while someone else is in there! 😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmbZyKmJwbo

3. Pull Ups

Pull Ups can’t be beat when it comes to upper body strength training. Build up your lat’s, arms, and core strength by adding these in daily. Pull Ups respond well to training frequency so try to do more small sets throughout the day to build up your neuromuscular efficiency. Try doing sets that are 50% of your max number of pullups to ensure you are always able to rep them out (if 8 pullups is your max always do sets of 4 with plenty of rest in between). If doing your first pullup is the goal then focus on doing just the lowering phase of the movement. Step up so your chin starts over the bar and control your lowering at a steady rate of speed so that it takes at 4-5 seconds to get your arms fully extended at the bottom of the movement.

Most of us have picked up a basic pullup bar that can hang from a door frame but even if you missed the boat or don’t have the space we have you covered. Check out this video for pullup variations that don’t require a bar! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=299&v=vGAK2-_kn1U&feature=emb_logo

4. Pistol Squats

Pistol squats are a great way to maintain leg strength without any external load. They also improve your squat mechanics and mobility if you are disciplined with your form and really focus on movement quality. Make sure you are mobilizing your ankles and properly warming up before diving into pistol squats. 

Below is a great progression you can use to warm up and train this beneficial movement!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WFpjKRP_HI

5. Glute Bridge

The movement we all know and love and probably don’t do often enough. If you are working from home right now (or spending more time on the couch than usual) then set an alarm on your phone to drop and perform some glute bridges every hour. Your low back will thank you and so will your Levi’s!

There are a ton of variations of the glute bridge that you can train. Performing these as often as possible with your bodyweight will pay huge dividends. It can help alleviate back and sciatic pain and will also improve your squat and deadlift. Checking out this video is a great place to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl6xvm4-Qk0

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”
-Vince Lombardi

Fitness is a mindset. Not an activity that you go to the gym to perform for an hour 4-5 times a week. Our gym and community is here to facilitate your fitness journey. Let us know if you need guidance, motivation, or just someone to sweat with (virtually of course)!

Becoming Better, In Quarantine and In Life

So you may be working from home in your pajamas, or maybe your job has even been affected by the global pandemic (and you’re still in your pajamas) everyday. Let’s talk about why you need to set some standards for you and your household if you want to come out of this pandemic better than ever. 

“The challenge is to always improve, to always get better, even when you are the best. Especially when you are the best.”

James Kerr

Behind closed doors many of us let it all hang out. Stains on our clothes, unbuttoned pants, and messy hair. We say this is our “home” time and we deserve some relaxation. What if I told you this is lowering your standards in other areas of your life? What you do when no one is watching is what shows up in public. 

The New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, takes this message very seriously. They know that they are only as good on the field as the way they operate off the field. So how does this apply to you? 

When you’re at home, keep your standards high. Especially when you’re under a Stay at Home order from the government. This isn’t happening to you. It’s happening for you, so take advantage of it. Get dressed for work in the morning and notice how much better you feel. This will impact your decisions all day long.

Leaving clothes lying around? Not combing your hair? Do the little things to make yourself just 1% better in everything you do. If cleanliness is important to you, make sure you’re taking care of your home and yourself as you go about your day. I recommend picking even just one thing a day that you focus on. If you wouldn’t do it in public, don’t do it at home is a good philosophy to inhabit.

“The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road; long before I dance under those lights.”

-Muhammad Ali

This can be hard when we’re locked in our homes in a national quarantine, but it will be worth it in the end. You will be better for it. Make yourself better when no one is looking. This is the champion’s mindset: Going the extra mile. 

What are you going to do today to make yourself 1% better? To show up a bit more in your life today. For you, for your family, for your world?

Today, choose to get better.

Work, Play, Compete, or Live Forever

If you are thinking about trying out a new training routine it’s important for you to consider your goals versus the goals of the program.

Most folks who participate in CrossFit and other HIIT styles of training may not know or understand the different styles of training available and who they might be best for. Some gyms offer a wide variety of classes to address the different needs of their members while others pride themselves on a particular specialty.

Put some thought into which camp you fall into when selecting a training program and you’ll be most likely to maximize your results and achieve your goals. Most folks fall into one of 4 camps.

1.Work
2.Play
3.Compete
4.Live Forever

Work
Let’s start with folks who train for work. They may have physically demanding jobs that require their bodies to perform for the execution of the job or to keep them safe. Law enforcement, firefighters and rescue personnel, and members of the armed forces all need to be in shape to keep them safe and performing at a high level. Other folks may have physically demanding jobs that require them to have strength and endurance for. Maintaining a high level of fitness let’s construction workers, landscapers, loggers, and other active professionals do better at work.

If you fall into this category it is important you find a training routine that supports your job performance. Workouts should be varied and keep you balanced. It’s also important that the workouts address the demands you will face on the job to help prevent injuries. Beware training programs that overwork you and leave sore or unable to perform your daily duties.

Play
If you fall into this category you know the importance of getting daily exercise, but you want it to be as fun as possible. Training should be engaging and allow you to connect with others who have the same goals as you do. You may lose interest doing the same routine over and over again so it’s important that you find a training program that mixes things up and keeps you engaged.

Compete
You train to make you better at a particular sport. Whether your sport is running, biking, skiing, soccer, or even CrossFit your training routine should be specific to the activity you are trying to excel in. Workouts need to consistently train the movements patterns you will experience in your sport to improve performance and reduce injury risk.
A great coach will know the volume of training needed to help you improve and how to plan out a training schedule for preseason, in-season, and off-season training cycles. Make sure you are training for the demands of the sport and not just following a powerlifting or bodybuilding program that doesn’t line up with your goals.

Live Forever
You train because you know it’s important for health and wellness. You’re not looking to compete but to enjoy your life and your family. You may not have a physically demanding job so you need a balance of cardiovascular and resistance training to keep you feeling good and moving well. You may also be looking for nutrition advice and other best practices to ensure you have a long and high functioning life.

If you fall into this category make sure you are training with the minimum effective dose in mind. You should leave most training sessions better than you went in.

Want to get started training, but still not sure how? Talk to one of our coaches about which of our programs might be best for you and we can answer all of your questions!

3 Reasons why you should NOT stress about the gym being closed

So the gym is closed and you don’t have weights. Most of us can’t do our normal routine and may be getting frustrated or stressed that our progress will come to a halt.

If you’re stressed because you don’t want your training to go to waste but you also can’t do anything about your current circumstances what do you do?

Keep training you silly goose!

We’re about to uncover the most important things to remember about taking time away from weights and what you can do to make sure you keep those gains you’ve worked so hard to attain* (*it rhymes so it must be true).

Here’s 3 reason why you should not be stressed about the gym being closed:

1.Your strength is not going away overnight.
It takes several weeks for your body to lose strength and muscle mass. Muscles are constantly undergoing cycles of stress (exercise) and recovery. They don’t have to be constantly under stress in order to be maintained, in fact constant stress without adequate recovery will actually

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

-Marcus Aurelius

2.You have so much opportunity to attack weaknesses

Whether it’s taking time to focus on bodyweight exercises to keep strength, jumping rope and running for your conditioning, or stretching and mobilizing there is so much opportunity to attack your weaknesses! Not only that but you also have more time to dial in your nutrition and eat in a way that supports your goals. You can even practice your exercise technique without moving a muscle. Studies of athletes have shown that mental rehearsal, running through a movement, lift or routine has been shown to cause electrical activity in the muscles involved in the movement. Close your eyes and practice your technique. You might be surprised at what you can do when you get back to it!

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

-Abraham Lincoln

3.Focus on what you want, not what you don’t
The most important piece when you’re unable to go to a gym is to remain calm. Nothing widdles away those hard earned muscles like cortisol. Stress levels are probably high enough with our jobs and daily routines being flipped on their head so do your best to stay calm and persevere.
If you focus on all the things you fear or worry about your brain will only find more fuel for that fire. If your internal dialogue is “I’m going to get fat or weak” then you will probably act in a manner that supports that story. If your story to yourself is “I’m going to say health no matter what” then you will most likely act accordingly.

“For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

-William Shakespeare

Times can be hard, but we will stick together as a community and come out on top. If there is anything we can do to help please let us know!

Tips to Boost Your Immune System

Global pandemic or not, as flus and viruses surface in the world it’s important to know how your daily practices impact your health. Especially when you’re someone who challenges your immune system on a daily basis in your daily training.

So let’s chat about some ways to boost our immune system both now and in a post-covid world.

First we can look at the effects of gym time on your immune system: Good or Bad?

Does it hurt you or help you to be around all the germs in the gym? The answer? Both. When you’re pushing your body to its limits, your immune system starts to activate a response because it thinks your body is under attack. Right after your workout is when your immune system is the lowest. Right after this plummet however, your immune system has never been stronger! So what does this mean? It means wash your hands and keep them away from your face and mouth while working out, wash those hands for 20 seconds, and then reap the benefits of a stronger immune system all day long.

That brings us to our next topic: Hand washing

Hand washing is extremely important to stay on top of when viruses are going around, and this means ESPECIALLY at the gym. Wash your hands before touching your body. And remember if you do get sweaty and get your body on equipment that’s been touched by lots of people, your body is now covered in those germs. Gross. Best practice? Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water if you use the bathroom during exercise and post exercise. Take a shower after exercise to reduce your exposure to various pathogens. Don’t risk taking them around with you all day. Plus no one likes a smelly employee or friend.

So let’s talk about friends. Immune Boosters are friends and food!

What are immune boosters? Immune boosters are various vitamins and minerals that your body uses to fight infection or foreign substances in your body. Things like vitamin c and zinc are some ones that are majorly important that you may have heard of before. The best way to get your immune boosters are through eating colorful fruits and veggies, green veggies, quality protein, and healthy fats. During Flu season, taking a multivitamin in addition to having a healthy balanced diet is key to make sure you’re getting all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay on top of viruses. There are a few supplements that many people like to take in addition to multis to help boost their immune system. Herbs like Rhodiola and Ashwagandha are examples of extra measures to ensure you stay healthy and continue to thrive in the gym. Before taking any supplements make sure to talk with your doctor to be sure they’re good for you to take with other medications or on their own.

Above All Else Get Enough Sleep

If nothing else we’ve talked about today sounds good to you, try adding a few more hours of downtime. Shut down any electronic devices, take a bath, light a candle, stretch. Start winding down and let your body rest more. This helps the body focus on fighting foreign bodies instead of our eyelids. Sleep deprivation can contribute to many diseases in the world. If you do nothing else, get at least 8 hours every night, especially when your immune system is on high alert.

Choose an Environment that Supports You

The environment you place yourself in is arguably the most important decision you can make at any given moment. The actions the environment supports will shape your life and the decisions that you make. Sounds like a big statement but let’s think about it for a minute. Compare a few different potential options of environments you could spend your day in.

On one hand, you could spend your day throwing around heavy weights and being bold, focused and confident in an activity like weightlifting or CrossFit. Think about how you feel after lifting a barbell, or doing pull-ups. How do you feel? Maybe strong, determined, more powerful?

Now let’s consider another way your day’s activity could go. You go to a yoga class where you focus on your breath. Stillness and peace is a common feeling people get. You’re stretching, creating space. Think about how different that feels from the weightlifting you would do at the gym. The feelings you experience from doing yoga may be uplifting, and open. The gestures your and stretches you take your body through in a slowed down type of activity like yoga impacts the way your brain perceives your life.

Let’s analyze a third option. You go to an old friend’s house. You end up sitting on the couch having a few drinks and snacking. You watch a mindless TV show while your friends complains about work and how unhappy they are at their job.

Which experience do you think will make you grow? Which environment will contribute to the person you want to be?

Ding. Ding. Ding. It’s an easy choice right?!

“Surround yourself with people who remind you more of your future than your past.”
-Dan Sullivan

Put simply, you become what you do. Your body communicates who you are to your brain. If you spend your time doing hard work and lifting heavy weights, you start to think how strong you are and how you can do hard things. This will translate into your life. You become the type of person who is strong and can do hard things. In a place like yoga, or maybe running outside, you may experience those feelings of freedom, space and peace. You become a person who experiences these things.

It’s incredible how much how body influences how we think. Activity is so important to everyday life. The next time you’re working out, whatever activity it is that you choose, notice the messages your body sends your mind. Feeling weak in your life, like you can’t do anything right? Get under a barbell and do some hard shit. Feeling like you need more space in your life? Try some yoga or running. With your body as a tool you can create the environment you most need in your life.

Is Boutique Fitness Right for Me?

If you’re ready for results it’s time to ditch the health club…

There was a time when we got all the exercise we require from our daily activities. But as hunting and gathering lead to farming and eventually the industrialized world we live in today the need for human “labor” has been nearly eradicated. Now that we work desk jobs, eat our meals from the hot bar at Whole Foods, and enjoy a generally sedentary lifestyle we are required to reintroduce this missing physical activity. For some reason, the question of how to add physical activity, or work, back into our lives is one that has proven to be puzzling, controversial, and difficult terrain to navigate.

 

In response to the demands of the market the fitness industry has grown tremendously, particularly in North America where an estimated $28 billion was spent in 2015. Much of this industry is dominated by health clubs and large gym franchises that offer a sampling of strength equipment, cardio machines, TV’s, massage chairs and minimal staffing. Granted  how many staff members do you need when your members don’t actually attend the club? In a study done by students at UC Berkeley found 67% of gym memberships are never used in the population they surveyed.

 

“If you are not going to the gym, you are actually the gym’s best customer.” -Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR

 

The savvy marketers at big box gyms know how to target their marketing towards individuals who won’t actually come to the facility. As humans we often get a rush of excitement by a new fitness undertaking. “This is it, the time I actually change, no looking back,” you say. The challenge is that the health club has made zero commitment to you. They don’t care if you show up or not. Luckily there is someone out there who does.

 

Boutique fitness is the alternative to the traditional health club model. Boutique gyms offer specialized classes based on the expertise of the owners, teachers, or coaches. CrossFit boxes, Barre studios, Bikram yoga, parkour facilities, spin classes  are all great examples of the boutique fitness model.

 

These communities succeed when the all parts are working together; the owner, staff, and clientele all succeed when they each meet their goals. This synergistic effect leads to faster results and more satisfaction from all parties. As a client you have a team of coaches and fellow members who are all rooting for you, teaching you, and most importantly holding you accountable. Becoming fit doesn’t have to be a chore, a challenge, or a pain point. In fact, it can even be fun 😉

 

Boutique gyms have been seen rapid growth in the past decade as clients recognize that when it comes to fitness, not all gyms are created equal. Some of the most common excuses sound like:

  • “I have a hard time sticking to a routine”
  • “I’m just too busy to exercise”
  • “I get bored with going to the gym, it always feels like work”
  • “I don’t know how to lift weights/choose a routine/eat the right food”

 

These are great excuses, but since you’re ready to make a change it’s time to ditch the excuses and focus on RESULTS. By implementing a system that counters your excuses you’ll be left with the only option, the results that you want to achieve.

 

If you struggle with sticking to a routine you will benefit from the coaches, friends, and community members that you’ll meet at each class. A group of people that will ask you about your day, learn about your goals and life, and most importantly encourage you to show up consistently to your workouts.

 

If you claim to be too busy then you should sign up for classes ahead of time. The wide variety of classes that are available each day at time frames that are consistent with your schedule make it easy to squeeze in an hour long workout.

 

If boredom is your challenge then a workout that changes every day is exactly what you need. Not only that but the different coaching styles and friends you’ll make at different times of the day make each class a totally unique experience.

 

If information is the enemy then relax, because that’s already been taken care of for you. Your coach has put a lot of thought into a training program that will improve your fitness and will be by your side to instruct you on form, breathing, and what weights to use. Keep an eye out for group nutrition challenges to boot!

 

To get the results you want sometimes you need to try a new approach. If that trip to the gym feels more daunting than Frodo walking the ring to Mordor then it’s time to see what a boutique gym has in store for you!

The Power of Choice

Most of us have an area in our life we wish we were performing better in. That part of us that doesn’t quite fit into our own skin. It could be a touchy subject that our spouse and friends know to steer clear of, the elephant in the room. It could be the promotion you still haven’t received, the credit card you haven’t paid off, or the weight you were supposed to lose by the beginning of  summer… in 2012.

 

And because you’re wearing this very uncomfortable skin that’s not quite your size I am happy to tell you that you are exactly where you chose to be today.

 

I can already hear the objections rising up so let me explain why.

 

You see I totally understand your story. I understand because it’s yours, mine, and everyone else’s. Sometimes having a new baby, a busy time at work, or the worst timing for a medical emergency/broken down car/economic depression can happen. There are a million and one events in life that can derail us. They are not always fair and can seem impossible to overcome when they show up knocking at our door.

 

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.”

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

At that point we do an admirable thing. We give up on our dream. We set it aside to go fix the problem. We change our identity and become the superhero who knows exactly how to work overtime and take care of a sick parent. We do it because we want to make sure the story has a happy ending. We do it out of love.

 

And life goes on.

 

And sometimes the situation gets better. And sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, the situation that called for a superhero 6 months ago no longer needs a hero to save it. But there you stand in cape and tights committed to action. Except now it’s time to go home. Time to write a new story.

 

Where you stand today is a result of many choices. Some of your hero moments were the big decisions that shaped your trajectory. Like I said, I’m proud of you for doing that. But now it’s time to get back on the path. Your path. The one you stopped telling yourself that you wanted because it hurt too bad to think that it may never come true.

 

You might think it’s too late (it’s not).

 

You might want to try, but feel that you strayed too far (you haven’t).

 

You have to remember you have the power of choice. And it’s a good thing that you do. It gives you the power to turn your greatest adversity into your greatest strength. You always have the option to shy away or to stand and fight.

 

It’s time for a new story. You’re the hero and you’re at the turning point in the movie of your life. So what are you going to do next?You’ve endured hardship, learned tough lessons, and fallen time and time again. Wouldn’t this be a great time for everything to turn around?

 

Maybe you can recruit someone to help you get there, a long lost friend or a wise old mentor. Maybe you need to crank up “Eye of the Tiger” and experience the training it will take to achieve your success.

 

The time to act is now. Don’t slip back into your old story. You are the hero. The power of choice brought you here. Your choice decides what happens next.

 

So what are you going to do?

 

[GYM OWNER:] Add a call to action here, like: “Schedule your Free Consult here” with a link.