The Twin Cities Marathon was on the calendar yesterday. Known as The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America...this always falls on the first Sunday in October. For 41 years that has been the case. This time of year is absolutely perfect for a marathon - especially in Minnesota. Blue skies, crisp cool temps and colorful leaves are among the many, many highlights along the 26.2 mile course.

Playing it safe is one of the riskiest things we can do.  I can't think of many worse things than being 3,5...10 years down the road and seeing ZERO progress in life.  We were not created to be mediocre. But unfortunately many people choose to stay in the "safe zone."  Not smart.

One of the craziest things about us humans is that we have a tendency to make things more difficult than necessary.  It's like my dad used to say "if you do it the hard way, you get it done right."

I remember back in 80s when I had my Atari 2600 video game console. My brother and I would sit for hours playing games. Pitfall was my favorite. I remember my brother and I walking into Target with a jar of coins we had accumulated from odd jobs so we could buy that game.

This is a wonderful time of year! New beginnings are most apparent in the spring, but different new beginnings happen in the fall. Sometimes I think of it like January and the coming of a new year, but in September the year already is 75% complete.

Relying on online videos simply doesn't work as a solid workout strategy.

The first step to achieving massive success in any area of your life is COMMITMENT. 

Not just part of the way but ALL of the way.

Years ago I had a very wise trainer named Chris Giesking.  It is no surprise he is now teaching at a local college because he was full of wisdom.  One of the coolest lessons he taught me was that fitness is like BINGO. 

At the beginning of July, I got word that the dog belonging to a friend of one of my friends went missing.  He got spooked by fireworks while staying at a home other than his own and took off. I didn't know the owner, but my heart for dogs is larger than life and my dog Rosey had such a fear of fireworks she could barely leave the house on July 4.  This dog was lost in Burnsville, not far from where I live, so I knew I needed to help.  

So often when we feel a tight muscle we default to stretching.  We've been told over and over, feel tight? Get stretched.  The problem is, the muscle never gets any looser and remains locked up.

One of my old mentors used to say "your original intent was to drain the swamp but now you find yourself up to your armpits in alligators."  Can you relate?

One of our favorite family activities is boating on the St. Croix river.  It is a such a beautiful river with lush state parks on both sides.  We were fortunate to get a day out there last Saturday.

Summertime is officially here in Minnesota. Everyone is outside doing all the outdoor things Minnesotans love to do....hiking, fishing, camping, boating.  One of my favorite summertime activities is mountain biking.  I've learned many lessons on my mountain biking journeys.  

When people around my age of 51 complain about "being old," it's like nails on a chalkboard.  I just turned 51 last month and I feel like I'm in better shape than I was in my 20s.  How can I say that?  Aren't I supposed to be "old?."

Last week was Father's Day and I was grateful for the love I got from my family.  Being a dad fits the Army slogan "It's the toughest job you'll ever love.  It's an important role and I take it seriously.

Last week we took a family trip to the Black Hills. We hit all the sites like the Badlands, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore. These places were all cool but surprisingly my favorite was the Crazy Horse Monument.

I've done hundreds of fitness and nutrition consultations. The vast majority of people I talk to want to lose some weight.  One of the things I really hone in on in during these consultations are the person's daily nutrition habits. Many times their nutrition seems to be "coasting." 

Caleb is one of my favorite characters in the Bible..  At 85 years old he went into battle and took land for Israel. In fact, in Joshua 14:10 he says "So here I am today, eighty-five years old!  I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then." He was always ready to take ground and kick butt. No matter what.  He NEVER used his age as an excuse to keep doing less and less. Unfortunately that is not the case for most people.   I often hear people calling…

Have you ever tried taking a shortcut for something? I know I have.  In high school we'd get Cliff Notes to avoid reading the entire book in English class. The other day I tried taking a shortcut to the store.  Turned out a road was closed so it ended up taking me longer. The desired outcome is clear but the effort to get there requires a lot of hard work, time and effort.  That makes the detour for a shortcut seem like the best option to take.

The word "too" should be a swear word.   I hear it abused with a negative self limiting connotation when it comes to physical health.