This year was definitely….interesting. And there is a lot we can learn from the challenges to help us move forward and get even better results in 2021!

Here are some key takeaways and tips to help you rock your goals and learn from the past.

1. You can’t control what you can’t control
2. Something is better than nothing
3. Don’t delay, start today! 
4. There will be ups and downs, but our goal is to make the lows less low.
5. Don’t try to go it alone.

What are the biggest lessons you learned in 2020? Comment below!

With any goal comes sacrifice.

Plain and simple.

And the more “elite” the level you want to reach? The more sacrifices you’ll probably have to make.

Especially if you want results faster.

While of course we can’t out work time to some extent, the more we want results…well…now…the more sacrifices we will have to make.

Versus the longer we are willing to commit to the process?

Well the less “perfect” you often need to be because you are willing to be in it for the long haul.

And consistency goes a long way when we give it time.

However, while we may not have to be as “perfect,” we then do need to sacrifice more “time.”

There is always a “catch.” 😉

But, anyway, I bring this up because I think too often we set ourselves up for failure when it comes to reaching our goals because we aren’t willing to endure the sacrifices.

We don’t face them before getting started.

Instead we look for a magic pill. A quick and easy fix.

And the second we hit that difficult situation, that sacrifice? We give up.

But sorry…there really is no magic pill. That’s not really how life works haha

So the more we can go in with our eyes wide open about the “cost” of reaching our goals?

The better off we will be.

It’s not being negative. It’s being realistic.

It’s about facing the “worst” and knowing whether the cost is worth the reward to us.

It’s also about realizing that “sacrifices” aren’t really sacrifices if you want something that much.

Is the goal WORTH IT to you?

We have to remember that with every decision we make, we are “missing out” on something else. 

We also have to recognize that what we see as a means to reaching our goals, others may call OBSESSION.

But sometimes we have to risk being a little “obsessed” to reach our goals. We have to go that extra mile that others aren’t willing to go.

It really comes down to…what do you value most?
There is no right or wrong choice or goal.

Life is about pursuing what matters to us.

It’s just always key we understand there is a cost to every decision we make.

That we are always sacrificing something in favor of something else.

“I’m too old.”

I call BS on this. 

Do our goals change?

Yup.

Does our body change?

Yup.

But so much of what we state that we are too old for, we actually need to be doing more of.

We also have to remember that fitness is always about ability.

Our needs and goals do change. And they always will over time, 

But more importantly, we have to recognize that lifestyle factors add up. And the longer we ignore them the more they can build up to create overload.

And that is the real issue.

Not our age.

Those lifestyle factors, and how we address them, may make us feel old at 25. Or not old at 105.

Think of your body like a plate.

There may be no cracks in the plate to start. 

But through a lack of attention to proper movements, or prehab….and constantly sitting hunched over textbooks and at computers….well…we start to build cracks in that plate.

But as we are creating cracks in this plate, we’re also stacking more and more stuff on it.

We’re training harder without warming up. We’re not sleeping well. We’re drinking. Eating crap food. Stressing at work.

We’re adding weight constantly to this plate as we even add more cracks.

And then when the plate finally breaks and everything falls off, we claim it’s because it is too old.

But it wasn’t the age of the plate. It’s all the stuff we did too it while ignoring the cracks.

It’s why if you start younger creating habits that don’t create such dramatic damage OR you take time to try to REPAIR the damage you can avoid feeling old and like you now can’t do the things you love.

Sure does wear and tear happen? Will we want to adjust our training methods because of different goals and the fact that with age our body does change.

100%

But too often we hold ourselves back from training the way we want because of age when it’s really INJURIES or our fitness level or our goals that are dictating what we need.

Studies have shown time and time again the importance of lean muscle to longevity, only reinforced by the importance of grip strength as an indicator of health and longevity.

So stop saying you CAN’T do something because of your age. Your goal should always be to rebuild so you can clear yourself to do more.

And the younger you start addressing your postural distortion…the younger you stop thinking you’re invisible, well the less old you’ll ever feel.

We’re not too old. If anything we just have to stop being stupider when we are younger.

Tips to help you adjust your fitness to feel young forever.

1. Include prehab work.
2. Use every move as an assessment and focus on those recruitment patterns.
3. Use variations that fit your goals.
4. Stop having the attitude of no pain no gain. This creates the cracks. You’re not being paid to train through pain. You can work around.

Change requires change no matter how you look at it

And often the changes we need the most?

Well they’re uncomfortable.

Changes that make us uncomfortable don’t feel sustainable. They feel so against everything we’ve been doing we find excuses not to make them.

We even find ways to try to VALIDATE not doing them.

We waste time putting up more mental barriers against the changes instead of just trying them, truly testing the changes by committing to them 100%, and seeing it as an experiment to gain a better understanding of our body.

Often those uncomfortable changes are necessary to achieve a new and better result.

Often those changes we least want to make, are the ones we need the most.

And once we actually mentally GET ON BOARD with the changes? Once we stop trying to find reasons NOT to do it?

Well we realize it isn’t actually that hard after all.

That NEW becomes habit.

And amazingly sometimes we even think after awhile, “How was I not doing this before?!

It is in our nature not to want to change.

Change is uncomfortable. And we don’t really like being uncomfortable.

Plus, with change there is a fear of failure.

That’s why it’s key we ADMIT why we truly don’t want to make the change. We lower those mental barriers by RECOGNIZING them.

We need to say to ourselves, “Ok I know this is going to be uncomfortable. I know I won’t like it to start BUT I’ve got to take this risk and LEARN if I want a better outcome.”

By recognizing what holds us back from at least TRYING something new, we can then better move forward and commit 100% to the plan.

Because if you don’t test something new? If you keep doing what you’ve always done?

You can’t keep expecting things to turn out better.

STOP trapping yourself in a hamster wheel working really hard without getting anywhere. You have the power at any time to step off that wheel by making an uncomfortable change.

And once you do?

You’ll be amazed often how much BETTER things are and how that new lifestyle builds into something sustainable.

We just often have to be willing to dive in and trust the process!

1. Recognize why you are resistant to the change. And remind yourself that change requires change.
2. Choose to recognize it as an experiment.
3. Don’t shut yourself in a bubble. Be willing to see the other side.
4. Recognize that you truly need to give something your 100% effort to know if it will or won’t work.

Something is better than nothing and often it is the habits we still want to be consistent with.

But also recognizing at times you need even just a MENTAL break can be key.

1. You have 300 other days of the year to dial things in. Focus on your consistency around the holidays.
2. Go in with a plan. How are you going to get back to it after? Meal prep before? Have healthy options on hand?
3. Stay active! It may not be your usual workouts but find ways to stay active.

Every move is an assessment

We constantly need to assess and reassess what we feel working and how we are moving.

Because things add up from our daily postures and new injuries impact things.

Even different variations included in a new progression can fatigue and affect things.

That’s why I utilize these 4 techniques to help me get more out of my training and use each move as a chance to assess and learn.

1. Use video.
2. Use both internal and external feedback.
3. Change your prehab.
4. Adjust your exercise variations.

Click here to get the Replay of our digital Strong Smart Mastermind Workshop