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It’s just like it sounds.

Taking responsibility in everything you do and then some.

You might think that this might be extreme.

But it’s not.

Let me tell you why.

Who have you seen being extremely successful that always has something to blame? Always having someone or something to blame as to why they aren’t reaching their goals.

The answer is next to none.

Because successful people take CONTROL of what they do on a regular basis. They own all the failures and look at them as opportunities to grow and learn from them.

When you constantly blame some externally for why you can’t do something, you instantly let go of any control which leads to inaction which leads to not reaching your goals.

You have A LOT more control over what is happening in your life then you think and in my area of expertise I talk to a lot of people about taking control over their health and lifestyle habits so they can optimize their well-being that will lead them to be a better version of themselves.

This is where taking radical personal responsibility comes into play.

I challenge you to write down the things that are barriers that are stopping you from reaching your goals(health, professional, family, etc).

Then what I want you to do is write down the things that would guarantee your failure for each of those goals. Sounds backwards right?

Well, the next step following that is to write down what is the OPPOSITE of what would guarantee failure. Which will undoubtedly lead you to the actionable steps that you need to take to reach your goals. Then taking radical personal responsibility to make sure you hold yourself accountable to doing those things on a regular basis no matter what happens. It won’t always be perfect but throwing in the towel should never be an option.

It’s not perfect action that leads to success, it’s consistent action that leads to success. Take radical personal responsibility in your life and you will succeed.

You might be thinking along the lines of your credit score that you used to get approved for loans and certain credit cards.

I’m not talking about that today though.

I’m talking about your personal credit score when it comes to your physical and mental health that translates a lot to your daily life success + happiness.  I have come up with some daily activities that I want you to score yourself on and take the mean average score to see how you are currently doing!

Scale of 1-5.

1 = not good
2 = okay but needs improvement
3 = average/satisfactory
4 = good
5 = I’m crushing it!

– I sleep 7-9 hours

– I exercise at least 30 minutes a day

– When I tell someone I’m going to do something, I follow my word 90% of the time

– I cope with my daily stress well.

– I spend quality time with friends and or loved ones weekly

– I understand my purpose in life

– I like how I feel

– I make time for activities that recharge me

I could make the list longer but this is a good starting point because the first step of solving a problem is to first identify it!  A lot of times people underestimate the power of mastering the small(or not so small) activities in their daily lives.  Sometimes people that are career driven are great at progressing their careers and spending time with their loved ones but are missing all the other components which leads them burning themselves out which takes a toll both emotionally and physically.  Maybe it’s a mom that pours all efforts into everyone else that they care for but leaves their other basic needs on the back burner.  Lots of different scenarios but they all influence how we feel on a daily basis.  It’s important to have balance.  It’s what leads us to be the best version of ourselves and we all have our unique ways of what balance looks like.

So not only is it good to have a good credit score financially but also, a great physical and mental credit score.  Take care of yourselves!

Coach Evan

You see it all the time where people get awesome results where they lose a ton of weight in a short period of time but before you know it, they are back to where they started.

The unfortunate reality is that most of these programs that are so focused on getting results in such a short period of time aren’t focused on sustainability.  They are focused on getting you a quick dopamine hit with short term results but don’t actually have a plan for what’s after the plan is finished.

I’d argue that maintaining the results that you get is the most important part of your fitness journey because otherwise you are constantly up and down but never are at a middle ground.  It’s like living at two different extremes whether it’s really good or really bad.  The sound of that seems pretty stressful to me.

A couple of keys to mastering maintenance are:

1)Clear Why
-in order to make a healthy lifestyle change long term you need to have a meaningful reason. Not just a number of pounds you are trying to lose.  You need more than that.  What makes that number so important to you?  Will it mean you wear your favorite clothes again?  Have more confidence in yourself?  Will it allow you to do certain activities that you might not be able to do right now?  The more meaning that you bring to your goal, the more likely you are not just going to reach your goal, but actually sustain it!

2)Embrace the process
-This is very underrated but extremely important.  This doesn’t mean you are going to love everything that happens from the start to the finish.  However, you should like the little wins along the way and maybe even some of the struggles too since you also get a sense of accomplishment when you do something even though you didn’t want to do it!

All and all, it’s hard not to fall into the trap of the short term fix fitness programs out there since society has become more attracted to the quick and easy fix. Taking a fat burner. Doing a weight loss program that doesn’t require exercise. All sound good(kind of) but what does that do in the long term? Are you going to take a fat burner your whole life? Do you think that even if you lose the weight that you shouldn’t exercise? You have to look at the bigger picture and be in it for the long haul if you want to see real success with your health and your fitness!

If you ever feel like you are in a “rut” or don’t know where to start.
Feel free to reach out to me and my team. We’d be happy to help!

Coach Evan

This isn’t going to be a typical article that usually talks about fitness and or nutrition related.

This is about mindset.

Honestly I think this is where people struggle the most on their fitness journey..

Not the food.

Not the exercise.

Not the supplements.

The mindset.

What do I mean?

I mean when you wake up in the morning, what are the things that you are mentally prioritizing in the day?  What are you thinking about?

More people than ever fall into the habit of eating whatever tastes good and or is convenient, go to work for 8 hours a day, spend time with family, and go to sleep during the week.

Health has become a secondary thought until it has to be a first thought because of health issues that have been neglected because of all of the things you aren’t doing for your health because your priorities are elsewhere.

Health should never be secondary.  You live in your body 24/7.

Believe it or not, taking care of yourself is one of the most unselfish things you can do.

How?  Taking care of myself sounds selfish?

No.

Think about it in this way.

Think about how having bad health could affect everyone else around you.

Maybe it would prevent you from doing an activity you love to do with your loved ones.

Maybe it would make you a burden to your partner because of your physical limitations.

Maybe it would make you not live as long as you’d like so you could see your kids and or grandkids hit their milestones.

I know those statements are heavy but for every person that is going through tough times from a health standpoint probably wishes they would’ve done things differently.  Not everything is 100% preventable but statistically speaking if we do the things like eating healthy and exercising daily it puts us at a lower risk of those scenarios happening.

This is personal to me since I lost my father back in March of 2023.  He was 69 and was an all around great person who I loved with all of my heart who I think about every single day.  He was an amazing father who is still my hero to this day but his health cut his life a little short.  I truly believe that if he made different lifestyle choices that he would still be here today.

From that perspective health is so much more than aesthetics.  Its quality of life.  It’s feeling the best you can be in your body.

Take a second and visualize yourself where your body is as healthy as it can be(age doesn’t matter) and how life would be different.

Let that sink in.

Think about how much better you would feel about yourself.

It does require the mindset of taking small steps over a long period of time and being consistent.

Start eating a little better.

Start exercising more regularly.

Prioritize your health daily.  Do this consistently and your life will change for the better. Guaranteed.

Coach Evan

This is the most important part of starting a fitness journey other than taking action.  What has stopped me from reaching my fitness goals?

Is it because you’ve lacked the discipline to exercise consistently?  Is it because you’ve had a hard time overcoming cravings?  Is it because you don’t sleep well?  Is it because you are scared of taking the first step?  Is it because you are hesitant to commit to a long term program?  Is it because you’ve solely relied on motivation to take action?  

As you can see, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions and you have to be honest with yourself if you want to actually come up with solutions.  You can’t come up with solutions if you constantly lie and or deny the real reasons that you got to the point you have with your health.

BE HONEST!

More than the physical, it’s the mindset change that gets people the results that they are looking for.  Overcoming limiting beliefs(which are lies) is a big one. Examples of limiting beliefs:

I can’t lose weight because of my age and or gender. False.  You can lose weight at any age for either gender

I don’t have time. False.  You can make the time if it becomes a priority

I can’t control my cravings. False.  There are modifications you can make from a nutrition and overall lifestyle standpoint that can help reduce cravings.

I can’t have the body I want because of my genetics.  False.  It may be more difficult for some individuals to achieve this but by no means does that mean we just have to default to current circumstances

I can’t afford a gym membership.  False.  If you go through your finances there is a good chance that there is an area of your finances that you can cut from to allow you to afford a gym membership.  If you actually can’t, exercise can be done anywhere for free :). 

So as you can see,  it takes a lot of inner dialogue in order to figure out what has really made you struggle to reach your fitness goals.  Fitness is just as much mental as it is physical!

I highly recommend you do a self scan and ask yourself these questions but if you are still struggling, us at EA Fitness and Performance are trained to help you figure out what is stopping you and how to overcome it!

Evan

You see it all the time.  People that go on a fitness plan that starts to make them feel good.  Maybe its exercising regularly.  Maybe its eating a little healthier.  Maybe it’s drinking an adequate amount of water every day.  Whatever it is, they talk about how they have more energy, clothes are feeling better, and that they just feel better about themselves.  This is all great stuff.

What if I told you that this is how you are supposed to feel?  That is what normal should feel like.  When you are doing the things you should to take good care of your body, your body will naturally respond in a positive way.  It might not be profound but you will notice a difference depending on what you are exactly doing to become healthier.

Here what is not normal for humans which is causing us to not feel great.

-Not exercising regularly

-Consuming too much sugary foods/drinks

-Eating too many refined carbohydrates and not enough protein

-Not drinking enough water

-Not getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep

-Not getting in 10,000 steps every day

-Not eating enough fruits and vegetables

We as a society have lowered our standards of what feeling normal is.  We’ve normalized doing exactly what we shouldn’t be doing on a daily basis.  This even goes to people that are on the older side.  Yes, your body is naturally slowing down from a metabolic standpoint but this just doesn’t mean that feeling tired all the time, gaining unwanted weight, and or struggling physically with daily activities is normal.  It’s not normal!  Even if you are “old”!

So long story short.

Feeling normal is having good energy levels and not relying on caffeine to keep you up during the day.

Feeling normal is having the ability to do physical activities without having to worry about losing your breath or hurting yourself.

Feeling normal is not having to worry about eating “guilt” foods since you are eating healthy most of the time.

I tell everyone,  start with one task that you do on a daily basis for 30 days consistently and build momentum off that by continuing to add small things so you can feel the way you are supposed to feel!!

As always, I’m here as a resource for those who are ready to take their health to the next level in a sustainable way.

Coach Evan

In a world where there’s so much information out there on the internet which means there’s a lot of good information but also misleading information.  Strength training is a big topic and I still see stuff out there that is either outdated information or just plain wrong.  So I’m going to highlight some of the common myths about strength training.

1)Strength training will make me bulky

-It is true that strength training can build muscle mass and depending on your body type(ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph) that you can build more muscle mass then the average person. HOWEVER, bulking in general terms doesn’t happen through only lifting weights. Nutrition plays an even bigger role.  There are many people that lift weights and are thin because of nutrition habits.  Lifting weights alone will not make you bulky.  It’s the foods that you are eating that can cause someone to get bulky.

2)Strength training  is only for younger people

-While lifting weights is great for people that are younger for physiological development, I’d argue that lifting weights becomes EVEN MORE important as we get older.  Metabolically, your body is slowing down.  You are losing muscle mass every decade after the age of 40.  You are losing bone density.  You are losing strength and balance.  All of which strength training can actually help reverse!!  Can you believe that?  I call lifting weights the key to maintaining your youth as you age because of all the studies that have shown a decrease in all risk-cause mortality in individuals that lift weights weekly!

3)Strength training will make my muscles tighter

-Strength training has actually been proven to improve mobility.  I’ve worked with individuals in their 70-90s age and seen them improve their flexibility without hours of stretching.  How is that possible you might say?  Most of the time, when people are “tight” it’s not because the actual muscle is shortened.  The tightness can be caused by the central nervous system which could be for a variety of reasons(Sport specific tightness, anatomical structures, etc).  With corrective exercise through strength training, you can teach your nervous system to loosen up certain muscle groups once other muscles are stronger and basically recalibrate your neuromuscular system to help reduce muscle stiffness.

4)Strength training is primarily for men

-This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Both men and women benefit from strength training.  Women actually have more to lose than men for those who choose not to strength train.  Primarily for three reasons, they don’t produce nearly as much testosterone as men, the anatomical changes that occur after pregnancy, and menopause. These all have put women at a higher risk for losing bone density, bone fractures, atrophying of muscle mass, losing strength and balance, and increased risk of injuries.  Strength training can reduce the risk of all those things significantly!!

5)Strength training is only for people with experience

-It is for all levels of fitness.  Strength training is for everyone at any age.  If you’ve never exercised before, it’s a good idea to hire a personal trainer like my staff at my gym.  Getting a physical assessment and creating a personalized exercise program from a personal trainer will ensure that you don’t injure yourself because of doing the wrong exercises the wrong way.

As always, if you have any questions and or need extra assistance starting your fitness journey.  EA Fitness and Performance is ready to help you.

Coach Evan

You are probably thinking that this is going to be about meal prepping but it’s actually not.

It’s more about what order you should eat your food when you are eating.  It may sound strange but the order in which you eat your foods can have a profound effect on how your body responds in the way of digesting it.

Research has shown that the most that is affected is your after meal blood sugar.  Other factors come into play as well but this what’s been studied the most.

What the research has shown is those who consume the protein dense foods first before the rest of the food have a lower blood sugar after.  The conclusion to this effect is that protein digests the slowest out of any macronutrient so by consuming protein first, it slows down the absorption of rest of the meal and thus, minimizes the effect on blood sugar.

Personally,  I follow this protocol for every meal but I structure it in a different way.  Below is the hierarchy in which I consume my foods.

1. Protein – this helps minimizing the effects on blood sugar for after the meal

2. Fats – Fats are also slow digesting so this will further slow down absorption of other foods in the meal.

3. Vegetables/Low-Glycemic foods – Vegetables are high in fiber which minimizes the production of the hormones including ghrelin that are responsible for telling you that you are hungry.

4. Fruits -Although have high fiber, they are considered high glycemic but by this point, I’ve consumed foods that are both slowing down the absorption of the fruit so it won’t have a huge impact on blood sugar levels.

5. Refined Carbohydrates(If any) – I always leave the least nutrient dense foods last because by this point, I’m feeling pretty full so there won’t be much room to consume the refined carbohydrates!

In my opinion, the whole food diet approach is the best approach to eating since it will ensure I eat adequate amounts of protein, healthy fats, and fruits/vegetables to meet all my nutrient needs on a daily basis with minimizing exposure to preservatives and other additives that are harmful.  Of course, there is room for flexibility around holidays and special gatherings but its really about what you are consuming 80% of the time.

As always, if you have any questions that are fitness and health related, I’m here as a resource to help you get healthier!

Coach Evan

I love to use the analogy that your body is like a car.  It has certain things you need to do in order to make sure the car runs smoothly. If you start ignoring your oil changes,  ignore the check engine light, ignore that odd clunking sound your car makes, it eventually is going to manifest into big problems that may lead to your car not operating properly.

Your body is no different.  Below are the minimum basics that everyone needs to do in order to maintain a healthy functioning body.

Strength Training: 2-3x/week
Cardiovascular exercise: 1-3x/week
Sleep: 7-9 hours/day

Eat adequate amounts of protein, vegetables, and fruits(varies person to person)

If you don’t do these things regularly, you are putting yourself at risk of various health complications later on.  Especially if you are a person who might be genetically predisposed to certain conditions.

You live in your body 24/7.  You spend more time in it then anything else you do.  That’s why you need to invest into it in order to make sure your body functions the way it needs to and the way that you want to.

If you want to live longer to spend more quality time with loved ones, you need to invest in your body.

If you want to continue to do the hobbies that you do regularly without having to worry about physical limitations, you need to invest in your body.

If you want to perform better in your career and enhance productivity, you need to invest in your body.

If you want to not worry about not being able to do things later on because you are getting older, you need to invest in your body.

Just like with anything, the longer you invest, the better long term results you will ultimately get.

So invest in your health, your future self will thank you for it!

Coach Evan

The single biggest obstacle that people face when they are in pursuit of trying to reach their fitness goals is staying on track.  People are generally solid for 6-8 weeks and then a lot of the time, they will fall off for various reasons.

It could be that the program itself isn’t sustainable.  It could be that maybe they injured themselves which killed their drive to continue.  It could be that they went on a vacation for a couple weeks and have trouble re-focusing on their fitness goals.  It could be that they are busier than normal.  There are more but you get the point.  It usually only takes one thing to throw someone off track then they are back to square one.

It all comes back to the beginning and setting the expectations for yourself.  When you are setting your goals, it’s important to outline potential obstacles so you can know ahead of time how to overcome them before they actually happen.  It’s also important to realize that unexpected things will happen that might make you adjust your routine but it is essential for long term success to learn how to navigate around those scenarios.  This is life and that will never change but we need to continue to move forward despite that.

If you are a person that has struggled with ups and downs that has prevented you from reaching your fitness goals.  It’s probably time to look into hiring a coach that will help you with the following:

1)Help you get clear with your goals

-Understanding why your goals are important to you so you are more likely to stay focused even during tough times.

2)Help you get clear with obstacles

-They can help outline any issues you may run into and how to overcome them

3)Accountability + Support

-They can help hold you accountable to your goals and give you the support you need to get through the tough times!

4)Make the process more enjoyable

-Having a relationship with your coach can make your fitness journey more fun of a process rather than a chore!

As always, if you have any questions on health and fitness.  Feel free to reach out to us!

Coach Evan