Category: Strategies for Results

As a coach, my role is to help you course-correct your lifestyle and movement habits so you can take charge of your health at any age. Health looks different for everyone, but one thing is clear: daily movement is the domino that makes everything else fall into place.

When you exercise consistently, you unlock better nutrition choices, improved mental wellness, deeper sleep, and better stress control. Exercise is the cornerstone of lifelong health.

That’s why I use the Health Compass Method—a simple framework to keep your habits on track:

• North – Nutrition: What’s one small improvement you can focus on today?
• East – Exercise: How can you move better or more consistently?
• West – Wellness: What supports your mindset and resilience?
• South – Sleep: What could help you recharge more deeply tonight?

Every time you see a compass, let it remind you to stay pointed in the right direction—tiny, daily adjustments in these four areas change your life’s trajectory.

Ready to upgrade your health and create real, lasting results? Let’s connect for a consultation—just message me today, and let’s set your personal course for better health!

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Let me demonstrate how I have gone through my own journey of change. **21 Day Video You Tube**

Daily habits are the magnetic pull that drives positive outcomes.

Every fitness program on the internet is marketed, sold and completed at different effort levels by the participant. The people that follow the program to a T usually get great results, others who do some of it, get some of the results and people who quit or do it their own way are the people who say it didn’t work for me.

Everyone is on a journey and if you want to succeed, you will do the work. Just remember, “trust your compass” and always be course correcting. The daily grind of course correcting is “the work.”

Were you ever coached how to run? If your answer was no, you’re not alone.  We all ran around when we were little kids and didn’t think anything of it.  That is what kids do, they run around.  Put one foot in front of the other and move where you want to go.  No one thinks about it, they “just do it.”

I was a sprinter and never liked distance of any kind.  I would dread long runs when ever I had to do them and avoid workouts that had any running what so ever in them.  My body never seemed to like the pounding nor do I like, long slow cardio.  I remember saying to myself after completing the Twin Cities Marathon, “I will never do another $#@% marathon ever again.”

The excuses I told myself why I hated running were from injuries sustained over the course of my life.  Just to name a few:
* Broke foot from jumping down stair case when I was a kid.

* Breaking both my legs in farming accident when I was a kid.

* Chronic foot pain from long distance running leading to a stress fractures in Army basic training.  Had to re-do training after a 6 week rehab.

* Knee pain and hip pain training for Army Ranger School. Needed to complete 5 miles in 40 minutes with small hills.

* Multiple rolled ankles playing college Rugby.

*Partial Torn Achilles, long story.

* I could go on and on, but the TRUTH is, I never knew how to Run or Train effectively to get results.

But then I learned “The Pose Method.”  It has helped me overcome my injuries and has also helped me enjoy running again.  Haaaaaa NOT.
Still working on that, but at least the injuries have gone away.  The Pose Method uses gravity and body positioning to produce efficient motion.  Moving functionally the way we were intended to move makes a lot of sense once you understand the method.

Watch the next few videos and decide for yourself.  If you want more information, go to POSEMETHOD.COM and I highly recommend their training programs to learn how to run.

If you love the outdoors your metabolism will thank you. Exercising outdoors provides an opportunity to be physically active in a constantly changing environment and the more challenging the activity, the harder the body has to work to sustain an efficient work rate.  Temperatures can make a big impact on the body and raise your metabolic rate in cold or hot weather.

1st off, lets pick some activities you can do outside that will be easy to include in a weekly or monthly routine.  Team Sports, Biking, Running, Hiking or a Water activities are just some starters.

Tip #1
Understand your body responds differently to environment and type of fitness intensity its given.  If the temperature and wind are a factor, know that its a completely different workout than its opposite.  Tip 1: Pick one day of the week to “go long” and another to “go short”  On these days, pick your outdoor activity based off weather and apply it.
Long day: Slow and controlled intensity with varying skill work.
Short day: Sprints and high intensity intervals.

Tip #2
Life, work and your schedule sometimes has you with no other choice other than driving to the gym.  The hassle of outdoor fitness takes a lot of planning, especially if your hobby is equipment driven.  Tip 2: Incorporate body powered equipment to get to the gym, this includes running to the gym.  Once your there, do a quick strength circuit and power back home.  Challenge: Do a time trail on how fast you can make it to the gym.

Tip #3
Invite friends to join you in your quest to enjoy fitness outdoors.  They can bring intensity to the workout or even form a game to complete.  Volleyball, baseball, rugby, kickball, spike ball, etc.  Aim for once a week to be group driven.

With a little creativity and imagination you can replicate almost any gym exercise outside, especially if you live near a park.  Try pull-ups, step-ups, push-ups and other body-weight exercises. When it’s a beautiful day, take advantage of the opportunity to exercise outside.

Questions to ask yourself.
-What types of outdoor activities do I enjoy?
-What do I get from being outdoors?
-Is my current exercise plan sustainable and most importantly, enjoyable?
-What can I do inside the gym to make outside hobbies physically more enjoyable?

Some of you will like this, some of you will not like this and some of you need to hear this.
You are the sum of the choices that you have made up until now.  Stop feeling sorry for yourself and telling a sob story of negativity. You are not fragile nor a victim, so stop throwing your hands up in the air every time you have a set back or feel like a failure. Tell a new story, one of positivity and self determination. Get on track, drive on and find your path again. At the end of the day your emotions and feelings don’t really matter, its only the actions you take that matter. Lets do this, I believe in you.

5 Practices For Life.

1. Keep learning about Nutrition – Know exactly what you are consuming.  This takes practice and giving a f#$k.  Here’s my technique.  I simply ask myself: Do I have Protein, Healthy Carbs and Healthy Fat in this meal? Will this meal meet my needs for the next 3-4 hours? Will this meal make me healthier in the long term? Good nutrition habits need to be constantly refined. Its all about planning. Remember the 5 P’s Proper, Planning, Prevents, Poor, Performance. This should be stamped to your refrigerator, book bag, gym bag, car door, office seat, credit card and possibly your forehead. Put in the work and expect adversity, everyone struggles, even the fake instagram models.  And yes,,,,, this will take a bit of time. So read books, listen to podcasts and think for yourself, not your friend that said they were gonna try a new diet.
2. Hydration – Its generally recommended to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day.  My technique is drink throughout the day, but more importantly drink full bottle of water about a half hour before a meal. If your a coffee drinker this crucial to get water before and after your coffee fix. Don’t wait, front load your water in the morning. Great morning ritual is: Upon waking drink 8-12oz. water + sea salt + lemon. All natural electrolyte and detoxification mix.
3. Sleeping – 8 hours is always preferred, but this depends on stress.  If your body is stressed, you won’t be sleeping well. When cortisol (stress hormone) levels are up, melatonin (sleep hormone) levels will be low. Melatonin can be affected by, eating carbs close to bedtime, caffeine, blue light (cell phones) and about 10 thousand other factors. See my article on Sleep.  If your a person who gets sick a lot, check your sleep quality average.  It is better to be consistent rather than to use the weekend to “get back” the lost sleep, during the week.
4. Exercising – MOVE YOUR ASS and MOVE IT WELL! People have been healthy for thousands of years without barbells, shake weights, stair masters and crossfit.  Pick something that makes you happy, learn to do it right and roll with it.
5. Listening to your Body – It starts with breathing and checking in to your parasympathetic nervous system. Down regulation and lowering stress levels. YES, listening to your body is understand the signs of being tired, having low blood sugar, being dehydrated, having brain fog, having muscle soreness vs. joint soreness.  It’s also being self aware of anxiety, but also ready to react to what is needed at the moment. Learning how YOUR machine operates is crucial, not only to survive, but to thrive.  If you have the right mindset you can listen to your body and make faster decisions to correct any course.  Breathe, Listen, Take Needed Action, Repeat.

What really matters?
It’s up to you.  In your big picture, it could mean anything. What matters to me, is different from what matters to you, right?  So lets define fitness first.
Fitness:   fit·ness (noun) – the condition of being physically fit and healthy.
synonyms: good health, strength, robustness, vigor, athleticism, toughness, physical fitness, muscularity; the quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task.

Facts:
-Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day. Only one in three adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week.
-More than 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and more than 80% of adolescents do not do enough aerobic physical activity to meet the guidelines for youth.
-Americans are the biggest consumer of weight loss products (80%) in the world, yet still lead the world in obesity and unhealthy lifestyle.

So what really matters?  Again, it is up to you, but the statistics and definition are clear.   I hope your not settling with “living a healthy life” and avoiding being one of these pathetic statistics.  Go for your ultimate fitness goal and never look back.  Why settle for just enough when you can do the hard work and be your best you.

Here are some fitness websites that have basic standards and above standard achievements:

Fitness & Cardio Charts:
http://www.whyiexercise.com/VO2-Max.html

Strength Levels:
http://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/male/lb

Army Standards:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Physical_Fitness_Test

Popular Fitness Tests:
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/cardio/5-most-popular-physical-fitness-tests.html

1st off, recognize that opportunity for quality movement happens every second of your day.  Your posture, body language and your movement efficiency are directly related to your energy levels, mood, mind set and confidence.  All of these factors are controllable, but if your movement is subconscious dysfunctional, you wouldn’t know it unless you were in pain or uncomfortable.  So the goal is to become, conscious functional or simply said, have body awareness and control.

Your movement profile can be determine by many factors, however to make things simple, I’ve broke it down into 3 categories.

1.  FUNCTIONAL – NO RESTRICTIONS
No movement restrictions and achieves strength performance / conditioning when done consistently.  Able to do the following patterns in a workout or under stressful conditions.
-Toe Touch & Active Straight Leg Raise (See FMS Screen)
-Deep Squat & Single Leg Squat
-Upper Body Push (Horizontal & Vertical) i.e. Push-Up & Shoulder Press
-Upper Body Pull (Horizontal & Vertical) i.e. Inverted Row & Pull-Up
-Hip Hinge & Single Leg Hip Extension i.e. Dead Lift & Hip Bridge
-Walk, Jog , Run and Sprint (No over-pronation or gait asymmetry issues)
-Crawl, Climb and Jump (Body Weight Ratio : Performance Levels)

2.  CONSCIOUS DYSFUNCTIONAL – AWARE OF SOME RESTRICTIONS but NO PAIN
Has some movement restrictions and struggles with mobility.  Is aware of movement restrictions, but is able to maintain fitness level if done consistently.  Not able to do one or more of the following:
-Toe Touch & Active Straight Leg Raise
-Deep Squat & Single Leg Squat
-Upper Body Push (Horizontal & Vertical)
-Upper Body Pull (Horizontal & Vertical)
-Hip Hinge & Single Leg Hip Extension
-Walk, Jog , Run and Sprint
Crawl, Climb and Jump

3. SUBCONCIOUS DYSFUNCTIONAL – UNAWARE OF PAIN & RESTRICTIONS
Exercises without knowing what is good or bad. Avoids most moments because of discomfort or pain and has difficultly with results.  Pain is a cycle, sometimes worse and often times unexplainable.  Frustrated with exercise due to cycle of body soreness.

Most people fall into the 2nd category of Conscious Dysfunctional.  Always working on something, always trying to improve mobility and stability in hopes of turning it into strength and performance gains.  Aware of short comings, but get results if consistent in workouts.  The biggest advice I can give for category 2, is to prioritize.  Here is a list of movements to work on, from the highest priority to the least.

1st, “Asymmetries”  If you have a RIGHT / LEFT asymmetry, that takes priority #1.  Achieve balance in mobility and stability of the Ankle, Hip & Shoulders.  It might seem minor or have no pain, but a tight RIGHT shoulder can effect your LEFT hip while running, just like a tight LEFT hip flexor can effect your RIGHT low back and lead to PAIN or DISCOMFORT.  LEARN to LISTEN to your body.

2nd, Active Straight Leg Raise and Shoulder Mobility.  The Hips and Shoulders control the strength production and power the body can produce.  These are crucial for performance. Proper mobility & stability in these two joints can keep you injury free and speed up the recovery process of any workout style.  (See FMS Screen)

3rd, The Core.  The center of the body will be the start and finish of most movements.  The frame of the body is the core and the core is the foundation.  Energy travels through the center.  If you want to transfer energy, the core acts like a conduit of electricity, channeling power to your limbs. Your hips and shoulders generate power and a strong core keeps a stable platform for energy efficiency & power production.  The core is a force multiplier.