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.

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.  

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?

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.

"The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful."  Matthew 13:2. This passage can relate to scenarios I see far too often in the health and fitness world.

There was a time back in high school where I wanted to be an auto mechanic.  I took classes and could actually work on cars back then.  That was then and this is now.  And now I'm pretty clueless.

1 Corinthians 9:27 says "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."  When I read this I think of a teaching I listened to from one of my favorite pastors.

"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Therefore by their fruits you will know them."  Matthew 7:17; 20.

Too often we humans tend to overthink and overcomplicate things.  

Have you ever heard of the story of the frog in boiling water? If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will instantly leap out. But if you put it in a pot filled with pleasantly tepid water and gradually heat it, the frog will remain in the water until it boils to death. Crazy, I know.  But to be honest, I've seen humans play out this scenario time and time again. For example, there's a convenience store near my gym. I've become familiar with the staff there since I go there quite frequently. I've noticed a girl who works there…

Matthew 7:14: "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

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."