“When there is no path or plan, the default is struggle. Wanting to change isn't enough. You need a plan in place to turn that intention into action.” Luka Hocevar Jon Goodman, author, trainer and creator of Online Trainer Academy, says “system-oriented thinking views goals as beacons- something to aim towards. They provide direction, moving you forward in the correct broad direction… the key thing about systems is that they focus on a set of behaviors, not outcomes, and anticipate ups and downs because nobody is perfect!” I’ve been thinking a lot lately on what exactly is my system? How do I help people? What are the big dial-movers I feel are deeply important? Well, I came up with an acronym that describes what I do in one word: STRONG Stress Train Recover Optimize Nutrition Gut Let me s’plain: STRESS. My job as a trainer is managing stress. We need to stimulate and
stress the body and the mind enough to cause adaptation and progress, while
also managing lifestyle stressors such as shitty bosses, fights with teenagers,
and sometimes late nights and poor sleep. Stressing an already stressed body
more will not yield results. Welcome to the fine art of balancing energy expenditure. TRAIN. Each individual is different, and it is my job to design training based on your current fitness, genetics, history, and injuries that will get you to your goals. I want you strong, maintaining muscle mass, improving cardiovascular fitness, stability and reactivity. We train our hearts, minds and muscles. RECOVER. It is what lies between the cracks, on the days off, the hours after a hard workout, the intervals between the effort. We learn how to use the breath to regulate the heart rate and the nervous system, improve sleep hygiene and toggle the switch between stop and go. We are only as good as our recovery, and this encompasses so many things in training and in life! OPTIMIZE. My goal is to get you feeling great on the inside and out, in the gym and in daily life. We monitor objective data like blood biomarkers, body composition, and training progress, and subjective data with constant communication and feedback. We are scientists, always looking to move the needle forward, to live longer, healthier lives. NUTRITION. I am here to simplify the information, tailor it to your specific goals, all while letting you take the lead. I believe the how, what and when we eat, is sending signals to our body, and it is my job to help you decide what you’d like from your body, whether it be more daily energy, the fuel to finish an endurance event, or a healthier profile. GUT. I’d really like to say GUT, MIND & BODY. What is happening in your gut determines how your body will process the hormones that run the show. Your gut decides how your body responds, how healthy your metabolism is, and how your mind feels. It is an accumulation of all components of STRONG. I had fun dialing in my “system,” and really narrowing my focus on what exactly we do together inside and outside the gym. We approach training and nutrition with a total body and whole person view! Isn’t that so amazing and exciting?! I think so (; Give this a try! Take some time and really examine the systems you use in your life and work, I bet as you start to dig, and put pencil to paper, you will realize that you do have systems! And maybe there are areas where you don’t, but you could really use one (: My word for 2024: CREATE. I was listening to a podcast recently with a fitness business guru around marketing, sales, and all of the things I really don’t enjoy. He runs his entire marketing philosophy around these 4 words, and it was so powerful it really stuck with me- Give Give Give, Get. Insane Fact: “In 2022, the pharmaceutical, vitamin, and supplement industries were worth $660 billion. The entire rest of the health, fitness, and gym industries only generated $30 billion. Cures and quick fixes account for 21X more revenue than prevention. That’s insane.” -Jon Goodman, from 5-Rep Fridays Podcasts I’m listening to: The Mel Robbins Podcast: 5 Ways to Improve your Breathing for Better Health With the #1 Breath Expert in the World! Patrick McCuin reveals the 5 ways breathing through your mouth hurts your health, and leaves you feeling more anxious and stressed. Listen for better health, more focus, less pain, better sleep, and, honestly, a better you! In case you missed it: Another push for my 6-part blog series on Active Women and Menopause! Click on the picture below to check it out! (Fun fact: this picture was taken in 2014 when I was first starting to train for a living- I had just blown out my right knee. I didn’t know it then, but I was in the full swing of peri-menopause)
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