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Sebastian turns a year old this week (August 3.)

Both Marissa and I have no idea where this past year went.

And every parent shares the same belief: Time flies.

Early on, I started calling him “Peanut” and Marissa said “I think he looks like a Biscuit.”

Well, you didn’t have to tell this Southern boy twice. I was raised on biscuits, so Biscuit is what stuck. To this day, I still have people say to me, “I can’t believe you’ve nicknamed your boys “Meatball” and “Biscuit.”

It’s easy. I’m weird and I like food. (Ha!)

I think I can sincerely speak for Marissa and myself by saying, it’s been a very special year for the two of us. I won’t lie, there are elements of being a father for the second time that was kind of scary for me.

Because there’s another element to this that needs mention.

I asked Jackson’s mom for separation shortly after he was born so I was not a huge part of his upbringing in the first year or so of his life.

So, being a part of Sebastian’s life on (almost) a daily basis has sort of been like a first for me. There are parts of it that I find easier than expected and parts that are genuinely tough.

By and large, Sebastian is a really happy baby. Even when he’s under the weather, he wants to be happy in the worst way so it’s not hard to get a smile out of him. And, giving credit where it is absolutely due, Marissa’s background in musical theatre guarantees that Sebastian has built-in entertainment every day of his life.

In all honesty, I can’t celebrate a year in the life of our son without celebrating the same year in the life of my wife. She’s the one who shoulders the majority of the load in how he’s raised and she’s the one who sacrifices the most in terms of time, energy, sleep and resources to make sure that our baby boy has all he needs to thrive.

And make no mistake, he loves his mother (I don’t blame him.)

Many people asked, “How do you think Jackson will be with him?”

And for those who don’t already know, Jackson is nearly 10 years older, lives with his mom full-time and has autism so it was going to be interesting to see how the boys would do with each other.

His mother and I assumed correctly that Jackson would probably be fine having a little brother. He has always been a self-sufficient little guy and is generally not concerned with what’s happening around him. So, while he acknowledges that there is a baby here he generally doesn’t engage unless asked to do so. But, that’s when the “magic” happens.

Jackson is arguably the sweetest big brother in the world. He sings to Sebastian, rocks him, walks him, you name it. I haven’t taught him how to change a diaper yet though. Maybe we’ll work on that!

Sebastian has also become another mascot to RevFit along the way. As I’ve been cooking more and more, he has been implemented into my food posts as “sous chef” to give some extra support to Dad. Because those posts go out into several different social media communities, there are literally people across the globe who see not only what we’re eating that night but whatever my sous chef is getting into as well.

He started walking a little over a month ago and he’s just now getting to the point where walking is far more interesting that crawling. Of the few words he’s saying you’ll hear “mama”, “that”, “dada”, “Booma (Marissa’s grandmother)” and of course the occasional screaming just because he likes the way it sounds. I blame that on his Mom, of course (Come on now, Dad’s an angel…)

As I joke with my wife, if Sebastian is throwing a tantrum he inadvertently got that from her. If he’s getting into something he shouldn’t be, that’s most likely what he got from me. It’s such a foregone conclusion I’ve been telling people he’ll be in jail by time he’s 5. He even has that look (masquerading as a smile) that says “Just wait, Mom and Dad, I might be cute but I’m going to make life hell. Watch me.”

All kidding aside, it has been a whirlwind of a first year of his life. While it hasn’t been an easy year, I can say that it has made Marissa and I better for it as both a couple and as parents. To have Jackson be a part of this as well has been so special for me to see. I am a very proud dad.

As we get ready to celebrate a year in the life of the Biscuit, I write these words as a father to not one but two beautiful boys. It is a joy to share their lives and their growth with all of you who get to be a part of it.

And it is with great credit to my wife who is the champion of the household raising Sebastian to be the little boy that he is today.

I love you, all three of you. Happy Birthday, sweet Sebastian.

“We Make Great People Greater”

 

I am joined this week by Stronger U coach, Chuck Gross as we dive into his immensely inspirational story leading into this industry. Chuck shares how and when he decided to embark on over 200lbs of weight loss that he has maintained for 10 years. He also shares some of the struggles he still has to manage to this day and how these experiences shape the way he coaches his clients. To learn more about Chuck’s work, you can follow him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/chuck.m.gross To learn more about your host, visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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This isn’t an article I really want to write.

Let’s face it: The majority of my clientele come to me in efforts to lose weight.

And after over a decade of helping people do so, I don’t get surprised too often and there aren’t many codes I can’t crack. Mostly, success or lack thereof comes from a case of “Did the client follow the plan or not?”

But dieting is stressful. It can be stressful on lifestyle, on hormones and on your sleep patterns.

There is the rare person who can just start their diet in caloric deficit and remain there until they hit their goals.

As my client Denise said, “I don’t want to white-knuckle my way through this.” And she’s right, that is no way to live. 

Granted, the road that was taken that got you to a weight you no longer wanted to be at was likely not a short one. The tough part is: the road to where you want to be won’t be so short either.

And it’s that whole timeline problem that I am addressing here. 

If you’ve been battling the same 33-42-56-167 lbs of weight loss throughout your life and not found a sustainable method of keeping it off, you may just need to stop. 

Temporarily. 

Right now, I have a handful of different clients (and probably more if they’re being candid with themselves) who really have no business dieting in the summer. 

There are too many events, vacations, parties, etc. It’s just too much to handle and constantly say “No” to. 

So, the plan for those individuals is to just cool their jets and not worry about dieting until the fall. 

That doesn’t mean that caution gets thrown to the wind between now and then. I know people who can do fantastic damage to their diet if the gloves come off.

But if you take the downtime to focus on other things like progressively improving your strength workouts, going for a walk every day (or beating a previous step goal), binge-watching a Netflix series while you power walk on a treadmill, etc. you may find yourself in a better mental state to attack dieting when the time is right.

While I’m on the subject of mental state, some people might need to take time during the dieting hiatus to speak with a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. This could be time very well spent.

So even though I have both online and face-to-face clients who came to me for weight loss, sometimes we just have to take mind and body out of diet mode and just concentrate on other areas of their health.

And here’s one of the best things about deciding that now is not the time to diet: it doesn’t make you a failure, you just had to temporarily shift your priorities.

I could easily be writing this article during the winter months too. Because for as many clients as I have who are struggling to lose weight in the summer, I have an equal amount of different clients who struggle when the temperature plummets. Every one is different in that regard.

Addressing which type of person you might be is an important conversation to have with yourself.

Your goals still matter.

Your process still matters.

But your timeline may have to be flexible for the time being so you can put your energy into other things.

Below is a picture of Chris who is down 13lbs so far and does not seem to be as affected by the summer as others. His eye is on the prize and he’s working it.

But, for those who find that summer is constantly derailing their best intentions, maybe you should stop dieting…for now.

“We Make Great People Greater”

Jason Maxwell of JMax Fitness joins me for this special bonus release to chat about his brand new book “Muscle.” Jason takes his background in rocket science to give a no-nonsense approach to muscle-building. Learn the approach that he has taken with hundreds of clients to get them to see their physique success. To get your hands on your copy of the book, go to http://www.freemusclebook.com To follow Jason’s work, you can find him on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/jmaxfitness To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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Metabolic nutritionist Becki Siconolfi joins me this week to look at some commonly overlooked factors in the fat loss conversation. While calories are still a crucial element to focus on, Becki tackles other areas that may be presenting problems that you don’t always hear about. To learn more about Becki’s work, you can connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/rebeccasiconolfi and via her website at http://www.livehealthywithbecki.com To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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I can trace this all the way back to the years I spent recording music. I was willing to work and polish and refine only so far and then I was done.

There would be no more takes and no more overdubs. If there was a break in my voice on the track or if my guitar didn’t sound as bright as it could have on a chord, I wasn’t going to go back and change it.

There was something about the natural feel of a raw, less than perfect sound that I was going to leave intact for eternity.

Because once the album or the song was out, there was no going back. It would be that way forever.

When I was still trying to make something of myself as a singer/songwriter, I sat down with a management company and listened to a man who I had a great deal of respect for tell me “The best songs are re-written.”

And I refused to believe him.

I was very possessive about my lyrics at the time. Something that I have realized I was very short-sighted about. Once the lyrics were done, there was no changing them. I wasn’t going to change the title, the lyrics, nothing.

What the management representative wanted was for me to tinker with the lyrics until it was more like what they wanted. Change a chorus here, switch the title to this instead of that, they wanted it perfect.

I wasn’t hearing it.

Thankfully, I’ve matured (slightly) in my old age.

Where I no longer write songs, I now write articles like these. They are part of my current creative outlet.

But there is still a part of me that is fully willing and 100% committed to putting the less-than-my-best out there. Rather, I am putting out the-best-I-can-right-now.

There are coaches in this industry who I have so much love and respect for who will go back through their previous output and either edit or delete anything that is not excellent. They only want their best work out on the internet.

I understand the logic.

If the first thing someone sees of my work is an article that is not my best, how does that resonate with them? Is there a second chance for a first impression?

To be honest, I don’t really know.

And perhaps I’m leaving money on the table by not changing my perspective.

But I am willing to be less than perfect in the eyes of anyone who consumes my output.

Regardless of whether or not my articles are perfect, they come out every week.

I put the time in, consistently.

And I know that I improve.

Maybe not with each new article but over time.

And, I would challenge you to approach your health and wellness path in a similar way.

It’s ultimately what I ask of my clients.

Don’t worry over whether or not it’s perfect. Just put the time in.

It’s less about going on autopilot or simply going through the motions and more about making routines and habits the norm rather than the exception. Let those routines become so instinctive that you no longer have to worry about limited resources like…willpower or motivation.

It does take caring at least enough about your process to streamline the “less than perfect” with the “better than you had hoped” and everything in between.

But you don’t really know what you have to give until you start doing it.

I have a lot of clients who don’t perfectly hit their caloric intake or (if they utilize them) their macronutrient targets yet they still lose weight.

I have a lot of clients who come into the gym feeling less than their best and still break previous personal records.

Sometimes you just have to show up and do what needs to be done.

And yes, sometimes you need to recover: get some sleep, eat some quality food and attack on a better day.

The picture below is our resident, Ken who just took over the top spot in squat with a 375lb single. It was a-w-e-s-o-m-e. Not too bad for a guy who claimed he hadn’t quite recovered from his weekend.

If we had been waiting around for Ken to feel 100% to break his previous squat record I don’t know when it would have come. By the way, what in the world does feeling 100% even feel like?

Challenge yourself, today, to put your perfectly imperfect self through the work.

And chances are, you’ll see what we see nearly every day at RevFit: people succeeding.

“We Make Great People Greater”

 

 

 

 

Several times a week, I get that dopamine hit.

That instant surge of gratification from 1-click purchasing, drive-thru ordering, scan-and-pay apps…you know what I’m talking about.

We more than just a nation built on convenience, we’ve nearly dominated the planet with it.

We wanted faster, we got that.

We wanted fewer steps to get our desired result, here’s your hack.

And those little convenient tricks, hacks and apps give us exactly what we were looking for faster than we’ve ever had it.

Yet, it doesn’t exactly work that way for weight loss.

Well, let’s be honest: You could always have bariatric surgery and bypass that whole “diet” thing.

And bariatric surgery does, in a way, give that quick fix.

As if there were anything convenient about weight loss, those types of surgery might be the only remotely sustainable and fast method out there. Not foolproof, mind you, but faster than months of caloric restriction to get to a desired bodyweight.

Although the catch is, you do HAVE to stay low in calories for the rest of your life if you want the surgery to stick.

But there is that nagging feeling of purism with weight loss. The feeling that “I did it the old fashioned way.” You know, the slow, painful, arduous way of cutting intake and moderately raising caloric expenditure?

Therein lies something of the problem.

We’ve built our expectations around getting what we want as fast as we can get it but our body betrays us when we apply Amazon Prime-type expectations to our physiques.

And this is where I have to remind you: weight loss (or weight maintenance) was never going to be about what was convenient for you. While it would likely serve you best to not live in extremes (severe caloric restriction or a propensity for only high-intensity exercise), we can’t seem to wrap our heads around the fact that the “I-Want-It-Now Syndrome” can’t apply to every facet of life.

But what I can encourage you to do is to make the process as convenient as possible and still just uncomfortable enough to elicit change.

So if you’ve not been successful at planning all of your meals over a given week, try focusing  on the problem areas of your daily intake.

Let’s say it’s dinner. Can you plan for one or two different options to get you through a week and work with leftovers? Can you stop from snacking or having a dessert after you’ve finished dinner? These things matter. And they don’t require calorie counting. They just require conscious change and some ability to be proactive.

“But Jason, I hear what you’re saying…I’m just SO busy.”

I feel you. I do. The little bit of extra labor it will take initially to recalibrate your focus will be worth it. Most of my clients are, when asked candidly, aware of the areas that need to improve in their diet.

Can your spouse/significant other do the meal planning so you don’t have to think about it? I mean, what’s more convenient than someone else doing the work for you?

“But Jason, I’m not a good cook.”

Yeah, I wasn’t a good cook for a long time either. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t have the confidence to do it regularly. I wrote something about that in this article. Now, I do the majority of the dinner cooking at our home.

And this is what I mean by stepping slightly (not skydiving) out of your comfort zone.

These are YOUR goals and YOU have to determine how you will navigate towards them.

Can you cut back on calories by not snacking in-between meals? Cool, try that for a while and see if the scale rewards you.

OR, maybe you need to snack in-between meals so you are not having second helpings at dinner. You’ll want to determine if that’s a challenge for you.

You’ll also want to consider making sure your family and friends are in the loop about what you’re trying to change. I can’t begin to tell you how many clients I have who desperately want to lose weight, and tell me how supportive their family members are, only to be bombarded by food/drink at the first sight of a bad or stressful day.

“Oh you had a bad day? How about we just go out to the restaurant, order an appetizer and a beer and by the way, I’ll have the hamburger and fries.” (Holy sh*t, did I really just eat 2150 calories in one meal???????)

Yes…you did. We won’t dwell on it.

But let’s be real for a moment. I don’t have a single client who is actively trying to lose weight that doesn’t know how counterproductive restaurant food can be to a diet. Can it be done? Yes. But it’s difficult and remember: we want convenience.

So, this is where you have to make those hard decisions: do I want what I want when I want it or am I going to sacrifice that incessant need for the dopamine hit of convenience and do the things it takes to succeed?

My kind suggestion it to be willing to leave the conveniences that life affords you to things like shopping so you can free up the time it takes to value yourself, your goals and your results.

“We Make Great People Greater”

 

 

 

I have the great pleasure of sharing time with fellow trainer and coach Diana Kidd. This was a very special episode for me because I have been following Diana’s work for some time and have always found her base of knowledge and insight to be similar to my own. That being said, Diana has been going through her own personal struggles and I really wanted to bring her on the show to share this with listeners. To learn more about Diana’s work, you can connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/diana.kidd.3 To learn more about your host, visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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When Sydnee started with me a few months ago, I really had no idea what to expect from her. Her mom, Debra, has known me for about as long as I’ve had my business and while we have always stayed connected via social media we rarely crossed paths over the years.

So, it was a pleasant surprise when Debra reached out to me to explain the challenges Sydnee was trying to overcome.

Sydnee is 12 years old and is active in gymnastics. She is, by my account, a smaller framed young lady, very quiet and reserved until she gets to know you. In my case, she’s still somewhat quiet and reserved but that is slowly changing.

However, my definition of smaller framed and the definition given by her gymnastics coaches must vary wildly. Sydnee is outgrowing the other girls in her class. At a mere 107 pounds, Sydnee is reaching a point where her body is ready to mature but her gym mates are well behind her.

When it comes to all of the bar work required to advance at gymnastics, Sydnee has been struggling. The pull-ups, muscle-ups, and toes-to-bar exercises have all become vastly more difficult.

And when Debra reached out to me, these were the bulk of the issues they were hoping I could fix. Debra said, in no uncertain terms, that the coaches weren’t exactly nice in their criticisms either. It’s my understanding that’s it not uncommon for Sydnee’s fellow gymnasts to cry during their sessions either because their bodies cannot perform the exercises or the coaches are completely unforgiving, perhaps both.

This is where the touchy part comes to play. Debra asks me, “But she shouldn’t be dieting should she?” “No” I said, “Absolutely not. There’s nothing wrong with Sydnee’s weight.”

And as a coach, these situations infuriate me. Historically, I haven’t worked with a ton of youth athletes. I’m very cognizant of what it was like for me when I was that age and having a build and a skillset that didn’t lend itself to great performance at sports.

But to see Sydnee, someone who is obviously shy and not in control of how and when her body would grow, I sure as hell wasn’t going to give her that experience at our studio.

I said to Debra and her husband, Dan, “I’m not sure if I can help. This is a new situation for me to to work with. But I will do what I can to get Sydnee stronger and more confident in what her body is capable of. If we’re not seeing progress, the data will speak for itself and I may have to outsource her to someone else.”

So, the relationship started there. Due to Sydnee’s schedule, she would typically come in to the studio during peak times and while there weren’t other children here her age at that time, she has continued to walk in to see a room full of people with a similar goal: to get better than they were when they walked in.

As with a lot of our clients, she’s had her time in the trapbar: a piece of equipment that you have definitely seen a lot of if you follow my posts. The first day she tried it, she was able to pull her bodyweight successfully without any hesitation. That was promising.

And we’ve tried a lot of other things too. We continue to train her whole body: legs, back, chest, shoulders, core, etc. Little by little, Debra has said that some things are improving in gymnastics although it has not been at the rate that I think anyone had hoped. So, little by little, we keep doing what we can to get Sydnee stronger and more capable.

She is not disappointing.

One day, Debra and I watched as Sydnee continued to pull more and more weight in the trapbar. I kept asking her, “How does that feel?”

Sydnee, in typical quiet fashion, would just shrug her shoulders and say “Fine.”

“Want to try a bit more weight?” I’d ask.

Another shrug of the shoulders.

“Does the weight feel easy?” I’d continue.

Sydnee’s head would nod. Debra and I would look at each other as if to say “Well, if it’s easy let’s bump it up.”

And we have.

If you read my article from a few weeks ago, Ladies Of Iron, I have already tipped my hat to how things have progressed.

One measuring stick for a traplift or deadlift is to see if someone is strong enough to pull double their bodyweight. The power and focus required to do so is not easy. It takes time to get there and you generally can’t accomplish it by accident. For some, depending on their starting bodyweight, it can take a year or so just to keep pushing the needle forward.

And last week, Sydnee, who I have recently dubbed “Steel Sherman” did it. All 12 years old and 107 pounds of her pulled double bodyweight (215 lbs.)

It was incredible.

A week prior, I somewhat said in jest to Debra within earshot of Sydnee, “You know, if for any reason this whole gymnastics thing doesn’t pan out, I think Sydnee would be a great person to bring to a powerlifting competition!”

To which Debra replied “Maybe she can do both!”

I like the way she thinks.

Now that we have a handful of clients who have their sights set on competing in their first meet, Sydnee would be roughly 14 years of age when that competition would be a reality. I think she can do great things at one.

But I will say, something has definitely changed with Sydnee. She doesn’t have the same apprehension that she did when she started. I think and hope that she has found that when she’s here, she’s already won. There’s no derision just support.

And she’s obviously attracted the attention of any other client who is here because, to be frank, they’re ALL rooting for her.

I mean, how can you not? This is not the same 12 year old who first came through these doors.

But maybe I’ll let Debra’s words say it best in a text sent to me just after Sydnee hit her personal record.

So, keep your eye on her. I’m expecting you’ll see a lot more accomplishments from the youngest member of the RevFit family. Who knew that this quiet and rather shy gymnast would be such a dominant force to reckon with once she got introduced to some strength training?

“We Make Great People Greater”

Jim Hart joins me this week bringing decades of experience to the episode to discuss considerations for training men over 50 years of age. As we continue to learn more about the human body and the aging process, Jim has continued to refine his approach from exercise, to diet and supplementation with his clientele. Tune in to find out more about how he has continued to be effective with this demographic. To contact Jim directly, you can reach him at hartbody@gmail.com and you can learn more about his work at http://www.activemenover50.com To learn more about your host, visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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