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*The title of this post was taken from the Chicago song of the same name*

What started as simply a way to spread the good word about client success and a partial glimpse of what we do at RevFit has grown by leaps and bounds.

If I had to give a rough guess at how many of our clients are kind enough to let us post pictures of them on social media I would say 60-70%. I’m actually thrilled about that.

And as helpful as all of these pictures have been to promote the business, there’s been another really great result.

These pictures are inspiring.

They inspire clients to work harder or to even start working on themselves at all.

They inspire the support of our community with every post like, love, or similar emotion.

They’ve inspired trainers and health professionals who have taken the time to contact me from others states, other countries, and other continents to applaud the efforts of our clients.

In many ways, the pictures are a reminder to the clients themselves of how far they’ve come, how hard they work and the people they connect with who are at RevFit for the same reason: to get a little bit better every time they walk through the door.

Granted, we’re not the first personal training facility to post pictures of our clients. We certainly won’t be the last.

We do have a blast celebrating their successes and posting that little reminder that:

“Hey, you hit a PR today!”

or

“Hey, you’re down 20lbs! AMAZING!”

Another somewhat unexpected result has come as well:

Friends of clients will make a remark if they haven’t seen a picture of them training in a while. Even people who don’t train with us are inspired by their friends who do.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll join someday as well.

This post is really just about all of you incredible clients who are kind enough to let us share your successes with the world.

People see you. They are motivated by your results. Your greatness inspires others to achieve the same.

On behalf of Megan, Julie and myself, we are honored to be with you for the ride.

Registered dietitian, Brenda Murdock joins me this week as we take a new angle in the discussion of disordered eating. I used 5 scenarios from current clients (taken anonymously) to get Brenda’s take on effective strategies to help them. The catch with this episode is that Brenda has no knowledge ahead of time about the individuals and has no idea what I’ll be presenting her with. This is one you won’t want to miss as we try to cover a wide range of different perspectives with regard to dietary strategies. To learn more about Brenda, visit http://www.brendmurdock.com To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and 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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*The title of this post was taken from the Bayside song of the same name*

Imagine for a moment that you’ve walked into an attic.

You’re surrounded by old trunks, clothing, and miscellaneous boxes that haven’t been opened in years.

In the corner of the attic is what appears to be a covered painting.

You move over to the painting and remove the sheet that’s obscuring it.

Beneath a film of dust is a remarkable work of art, what many might consider a masterpiece.

Now, imagine the artwork is you.

And you’ve managed to stuff some pretty important parts of you back into a neglected corner somewhere.

Maybe you assumed that if no one saw those parts of you, that maybe they wouldn’t exist.

Or maybe you thought that by pushing them away they would fix themselves.

My kind advice for you is to consider yourself a masterpiece.

You’re already beautiful (or handsome.)

You’re already worthy of recognition.

You have, by all accounts, already arrived.

Your charm.

Your sense of humor.

Your compassion.

Your selflessness.

They are the colors, the texture and the canvas of the painting: those are the parts of you that matter.

Now…

You may have weight to lose. That’s “dust.”

You may have strength/lean muscle to gain. That’s “dust.”

You may have pre-exisiting health issues that need your direct attention. That is also “dust.”

Those factors are not YOU.

And once you’ve removed that film of dust from the painting, what’s left is still remarkably, uniquely, and undeniably you.

A word of caution: spend too much time working away at the dust and you might find yourself removing the colors of that precious art beneath it.

The masterpiece.

At the risk of writing a message that may be a little too “woo” or “frilly” for some tastes, you have everything you need to realize your own perfection.

Don’t let the “dust” determine your worth.

Take care to clean off those unpolished edges, remove the sheet that’s kept you hidden for how ever many years you’ve allowed, and show the world the you that was meant to be.

 

I have the great pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sarah Ellis Duvall this week. Dr. Sarah is a physical therapist who has done an incredible amount of work putting out material regarding the pelvic floor, post-partum core work and our topic this week, diastasis recti. You can learn more about Dr. Sarah’s work at http://www.coreexercisesolutions.com To learn more about your host, please visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and 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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*The title of this post was taken from the Dionne Warwick song of the same name*

There are a small handful of clients who have been with me nearly since the beginning. Some have started, left for a time, and returned but I have a few who have been with me with hardly a break at all.

One such client would be Mike.

When Mike started with me, he had some weight to lose (approximately 30lbs) and a good amount of motivation to get started (a medical diagnosis he wanted to see if he could reverse through diet and exercise.)

Fortunately for Mike, he lost the weight he needed to within a handful of months. We experimented with a diet plan that I had suggested to him at the time and it worked like a charm.

Mike kept getting stronger and sure enough, he was able to reverse the conditions that had led him to my door initially.

Looking back over the nearly 7 years that we’ve been working together, Mike and I have seen each other through a lot. He was there for me when I lost my father and there for Marissa and I when we got married. When Mike’s own father passed away, I was there for him too. Like so many of my clients, Mike is as good as family to me.

As far as his training regimen, Mike has run the gamut. He has focused mostly on full body workouts throughout his time with me. Many times there was a set program to follow and, more recently, programming at random depending on how he’s feeling. Over the years, his passion for long distance cycling has increased and he’s become more and more of a fan of getting his mileage and endurance work in that way.

We even went through a cycle of powerlifting where Mike got to focus on pushing his numbers up in the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press. When he hit the peak of where he wanted those numbers to go, we scaled it back and transitioned over to the full-body workouts again.

Recently, Mike decided he wanted to re-engineer his diet as well. So, after some studies on his own, he made the choice to go plant-based with his diet. While that was never a focus of mine, part of any client’s journey is discovering what is the best food plan for their own life in the most sustainable way possible.

Mike is the type of person you really want in your business: kind, motivated, personable, and supportive to others. He may not know this but I’ve learned my fair share about being a father, being a son and being a husband just through watching his actions and throughout our conversations.

I guess the other thing about having Mike with me for as long as he’s been here is that he has watched me try (and sometimes fail) to keep this business evolving. He’s patient, understanding and always knows the right way and the right time to give some advice along the way. Mike, to his credit, is also a small business owner. He’s the guy we turn to when we have computer issues: viruses, bad hard drives, etc. There isn’t any one else I would trust with that kind of work so I tell everyone I can about him.

So, to Mike directly: I love you, buddy. Thanks for sticking with me for all these years and trusting me to take care of you too. It has been an honor and I look forward to many years of health, friendship and continued strength together.

Maybe even a piece of chicken…(sorry, I had to.) 🙂

 

 

 

Internationally hailed researcher, James Krieger, joins me this week to discuss his stance on metabolic damage. We talk about the theory that repeated bouts of dieting can slow your metabolism down and affect future weight loss efforts. James has spent over two decades uncovering the research and studies related to fitness and nutrition so that more people can have access to evidence based information. He is the founder of Weightology and is arguably one of the most respected people in the fitness industry. To learn more about James, please visit http://www.weightology.net To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and visit 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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*The title of this post was taken from the Soundgarden song of the same name*

Last week, when the news reported that Chris Cornell had passed away, it shook me up.

When further reports came out that it was an apparent suicide, it hit me a little bit more.

Some very thought provoking articles have come out since then reminding us that we never really know what may have been going through Chris’s mind when it happened.

Was it simply the case of a medication he took too much of that pushed him too far?

When I met Chris backstage at a solo show of his in 1999, I never thought I’d be writing something like this about him nearly 18 years later. My memory of him and this news don’t mix well.

As a die-hard music lover, I got to see the reactions of friends and family who also took Cornell’s death really hard.

I guess it’s because suicide leaves such a raw feeling behind for anyone who has ever been close to it.

I don’t know how I survived any of my suicide attempts. Nor do I know how I survived a decade of hard drug use when I know so many others who didn’t.

When we see adages about how we never know the struggles people go through or someone’s fighting a battle we’ll never know about, it’s all true.

Some people are so good at internalizing that struggle and smiling through it.

We’ve been told to be tough or maybe that we shouldn’t emote so openly.

And this can cause a horribly debilitating effect on anyone who doesn’t have an outlet.

It’s not just about suicide.

And it’s not just about internal struggles.

I sometimes sit in amazement at the clients who come through our door who are barely keeping their lives together…but they’re here.

For the outlet.

For the distraction.

For something else aside from their own minds to put their focus into.

Something that might give them 30 or so minutes of release.

And if we get to be that small amount of sunlight in someone’s otherwise chaotic life, so be it.

Do I feel lucky that I lived to tell a story that others didn’t?

Yes.

Honestly, I feel luckier that we’ve created a place for people to open up and feel welcome; a place for people to turn to when they felt they couldn’t succeed at much or were just convinced they were better at being failures.

So, to all of you fighting a fight that no one knows about. Don’t give up.

 

In closing, I’d like to dedicate this post to a former client who sadly is no longer with us.

Rest in peace, Christa Jackson. We miss you.

 

 

 

 

On the heels of her awesome new book, Why Me Want Eat?, Krista Scott-Dixon of Precision Nutrition fame comes on the show to talk about this new project. Krista has not only delivered an excellent read for those struggling on their weight loss journey, it is honestly one of the most unique books of its kind. You can order the book now on Amazon and learn more about her incredible wealth of work at http://www.stumptuous.com To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and our new 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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*The title of this post was taken from the Judy Garland song of the same name*

When I was in high school, our family doctor remarked how thin-framed I was. I believe his suggestion to me was to pack a couple of bagels into my pockets every day, eat them in the morning and see if that would help me gain weight.

I didn’t pack any bagels.

And I didn’t gain much weight.

Fast forward some twenty plus years later and I’ve managed just over 1lb of weight for each of those years since.

Going back just 8 years ago, I had to buy a fitted white polo for some work I was doing and thought I’d go to my local department store to get something there.

I asked the salesperson if he could get me a men’s small, white fitted polo to try on. He kindly did and I opened it up to hold it against myself.

To put it nicely, it probably could have fit two of me.

I said, “I was looking for a small.”

“That is a small, sir”

“A small, fitted polo.”

“That is a small, fitted polo sir.”

“Fitted to ME.”

To which he suggested, “Maybe you should check the boys section”

Well, shit.

Lo and behold, I found the answer to my question as a youth X-Large.

There’s a way to feel strange when you’re (at the time) in your 30’s.

Over the years, I’ve considered gaining weight.

It would be hard not to be persuaded it’s the right thing to do.

Even skinny guys like me get shamed in the fitness industry. Most of the guys in my industry running around topless and showing off their physiques outweigh me by no less than 20lbs of lean muscle.

But honestly, beyond the vanity of saying I did it, I’m not sure of any other upside. There is no promise that my bloodwork would look better, that I would sleep better, that my wife would love me more or that my son would think I was a better dad. There are also no injuries or impairments I’m dealing with that would be significantly improved upon if I gained said weight.

All in all, although it seems like a nice thought to imagine myself more filled out, I’ve never really had this burning motivation to do it…yet.

However, YOU are not me.

You likely have different goals, a different background, and I doubt your doctor ever told you to eat two extra bagels a day to fix your weight issue.

No matter what you need to do for yourself, start with your motivation.

Why does your goal matter?

How important is it?

Does your life legitimately improve once you reach your goal? If so, how?

Will you be healthier?

Would reaching your goal allow you to be on less (or no) medication?

Would you have less pain in your joints?

Would you breathe easier?

Would you have more enjoyable sex?

Would you be happy with your reflection in the mirror when you step out of the shower?

Would you be able to play freely with your kids/grandkids?

These questions matter. And they could matter a lot.

In fact, if you have answers to any of these questions, you may want to write them down. And revisit those answers.

Maybe you have more important reasons why your goal matters. Write those down too.

And actually, your reasons could be very superficial. There’s no wrong. There is just what works for you.

Folklore would tell us there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

For me, maybe there is a pot of gold; some unrealized benefit to gaining those pounds that have eluded me for the last twenty years. Should I find that motivation and inspiration, maybe I’ll shoot for it.

For you, maybe your “pot of gold” is more tangible. The benefits are apparent. The results are within your reach.

Why does your goal matter?

And what will you do to finally reach it? 

 

 

 

 

Tim Henriques is the author of All About Powerlifting and Director of NPTI covering Virginia, Maryland and DC. In this week’s episode, we tackle his All About Powerlifting project and discuss why he wrote the book and the contributions he feels every fitness enthusiast needs to recognize with regard to powerlifting in the fitness realm. We also touch on the differences between how the Big 3 lifts are recognized inside of competition versus what you might see in a typical gym setting. To learn more about Tim, check out http://www.allaboutpowerlifting.com and http://www.timhenriques.com I personally vouch for The “Complete Package” option of his book including DVDs and companion ebooks. To learn more about your host, visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and our new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunew review.

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