I think one reason why adults get so upset with children for asking “why?” all the time is that it reminds us how rarely we ask ourselves that same thing.

In fact – that is the first question I tend to ask 99% of individuals who come to me with fitness problems. – “Why do you think you need to go to a gym?” – the athletes, the competitors, someone who's taken the leap and signed up for a race or event… They are the easy ones. They have a solid answer. They have numbers and measurable goals. They have a concrete reason… – but for most of us the answer is more vague… “i want to be healthier/stronger/more fit” – “i want to be lighter/more muscled/leaner” –
In most cases these are symbols and not the source – if you just want to lose belly-fat or tone up your arms, or grow a bigger butt- why don’t you just get liposuction? Why don't you get injections or implants? really. why not? do you consider that “cheating”? Is that too easy..? ...Why? What does a flat stomach or lean arms & a perky a...

I  stepped into the trap this weekend. I overdosed on intensity. I blunted my spear.

Physical activity has always been a metaphor to me though.
A lens to focus on something larger: life…Generally.

Exercise taught me that effort matters.
That what I put out usually corresponds to what I get out.
Output informs outcome.
Sometimes output equals outcome and those days are the best — when we give everything and at the end of the day receive it all back.

Exercise taught me to focus. When we want to improve- on anything, we must concentrate. Concentration means exclusion- if it has been decided that the current performance or condition is unsatisfactory, we must first exclude. & do only what improves.
Ignore what distracts or degrades. Reject what opposes.
Focus means just that: making the subject crystal clear & blurring the periphery—or all the other shit that doesn't matter.

Exercise taught me honesty. When you are honest with yourself about your current condition & the requirements of ...

 The more I think about it- (at least in my eyes) coaching is about 97% just inspiring &/or provoking people to get out of their own way,  so they can tap into their full potential. 

That's probably because exercise has always been about so much more than just building muscles for me. I don't know a whole lot about the world, but I have come to understand that for some reason- the hardest moments seem to be the most rewarding ones. 

Some of our badass Hōmebodies members.

From being the scrawniest dude in my platoon—needing to put on strength for carrying combat loads…

Now as a ranchman, my mental fortitude & aerobic conditioning is tested sprinting through a pasture on fire roundin’ goats. Tapping my full potential when needed the most has relied heavily on the only real constant in my adult life…

Rigorous training habits.

I've never looked for anything to be easy, because I'm not preparing for easy. I am preparing for the hardest moments life can throw at me…That is what “e...

Last week we asked you guys to answer the question, "How strong is strong enough" and this response from Danielle really stood out to us: 

 

"I've experienced ‘strong enough’ all throughout this past year working a physically strenuous job, but I found myself still able to wake up, work on Homebodies, and do it all again. Working through the program (now for the second time) has helped me in my day to day life.

 Something as simple as lifting grocery bags, cleaning the house, etc. feels like nothing, knowing I have the groundwork completed and can properly use my body so as not to hurt it.

‘Strong enough’ is what I always envision myself to be, knowing I have the tools to properly use and train my muscles, soothe my muscles, and keep them engaged in day to day life.

We only get one body, so why not have your personal best version of it?

So grateful to have Homebodies every morning to ground myself and work on myself."

                                                        ...

Over time your body reflects  your HABITS & will adapt to the demands that you place on it every day… 

Habit has become a very hackneyed watch-word in Western Self Help Culture. 

We have the capacity to create seemingly endless problems for ourselves but there is always some NEW HABIT that will fix our problem. 

What if our actual problem is a habit? [The Habit is the Problem- a new self help book by Nate]

What if we habitually skip exercise, habitually reach for junk food, habitually take the elevator, habitually reach for anything easy, convenient, and instantly gratifying?

We all know that there is no one-single quick fix that can lead to real-sustainable health. You have to live that fuckin life. Every-single-day. It takes deliberate action to instill the healthy habits that govern good health.

Consider this:

• Do we all exercise every single day? No
• Do we all eat every single day? Yes

 What we eat every single day has the power to infect every single a...

A majority of individuals that may label themselves as un-FIT are not maladapted at all. In fact, it’s quite the contrary- they are adapted quite perfectly to the environment that they find themselves in most frequently.

The painfully apparent theme- 

 We are (literally & figuratively) killing ourselves with comfort. 

I’ve often wondered why it seems, as a culture, so many of us are unhealthy, unhappy and sick- despite neverending “advancements”, an overabundance of food, and endless scientific progress to make our lives better. As a whole, we are getting LESS FIT and MORE SICK each year. Shouldn't we be healthy(ier), happy(ier) and thriving…? 

I never really believed that this was the base...

The winter months are that time of year when our rhythm starts to seriously shift. It gets darker earlier, cold(er) weather, and back to back holidays have the potential to inevitably upend any healthy routines that you may have worked really hard to create. 

 (Ice baths are a regular occurrence in my household)

It is first important to note that the word “Fitness” as I refer to it has nothing to do with the modern fitness industry, but rather- the state of our physical-being. That is a culmination of our nutrition, health & well-being (lack of sickness, both mental & physical) as well as the ability to perform challenging physical activities that may present themselves to us in daily life. So it's important that we use every tool at our disposal not just to survive through these months, but use it as a chance to adapt, evolve & THRIVE. Because there are far more ways to move the needle on our “fitness” than mindlessly repping out burpees in a conventional gym. In all reality...

 Mind / Body 

 Motion & Emotion 

Do you think our emotional mood prompts physical changes in our body, or do the physical body changes affect the mind and mood?

This 3 part series- better inputs for better outputs is all about the correlation of what goes into our body & the overall effect that it plays to the human condition- physically, mentally & spiritually.

Read Part 1 and Part 2

As humans we are a fluctuating reflection of our inputs and it's far more than just what we are eating and drinking. It's what we read, what we listen to, what we watch and who we associate with. So, I want to set down some words indicative of my own personal meditations and experiences on the matter. This is not some ‘power-of-positive-thinking’ fodder. I write this in hopes that it can help you bring awareness to your state of consciousness and how it affects day to day life. Throughout my trials and errors I have found that without strength of mind, absolutely nothing worthy of accomplishm...