A Challenge to all fitness enthusiasts and personal trainers

A challenge to all fitness enthusiasts and personal trainers

Fitness is my life, my passion and my obsession.  It is what I think about the majority of my days.  I enthusiastically live to educate people on creating effective, safe and properly designed fitness and nutrition plans.  The goal is to assist people achieve better fitness and performance levels, improve their movement and range of motion, help them develop healthier nutritional habits and guide them to overall better ways of living.  This is my mission.  I am offering up a fitness community wide challenge to general fitness enthusiasts, all personal trainers and fitness coaches, any sport coach that designs strength and fitness programs, runners, triathletes and any weekend warriors who enjoy hitting the gym.  Here is my challenge: clean up your movement; focus on quality repetitions; eliminate sloppy exercise technique; And truly be dedicated to mastering exercises instead of carelessly running through your training.  

 

I become frustrated when I see poor exercise programming, sloppy technique, and haphazard fitness training.  Utilizing complex movement patterns and high intensities for people who lack a baseline of conditioning, have dysfunctional movement patterns and who have not yet mastered basic movement is a recipe for disaster.   

 

It is quite easy to design a workout that will crush someone.  Anyone can put together this type of workout.  But this is poor and random exercise programming that will lead you or the people you work with down the wrong path.   

The idea is to create first, a safe program.  It’s a bad sign if injury is continuously happening and pain is always surfacing.  When you start prescribing exercises for yourself or the people you work with, you should add exercises that will be within their movement and fitness capability.  If the exercise or aerobic activity is out of an individual’s potential, injury rates dramatically increase.  I am not saying you shouldn’t push yourself, that is not the message.  What I am saying is, just because a training session makes you sore and tired, that doesn’t mean it will guide you to achieving your goals.   

“Anyone can make you tired, but not just anyone can make you better!” - See more at: http://www.trainingforwarriors.com/2013/11/my-10-lessons-learned/#sthash.n1zNVteQ.dpuf

 "Anyone can make you tired.  Not anyone can make you better."   Martin Rooney

“Anyone can make you tired, but not just anyone can make you better!” - See more at: http://www.trainingforwarriors.com/2013/11/my-10-lessons-learned/#sthash.n1zNVteQ.dpuf

Exercise training is not a “one size fits all” approach.  All bodies are not the same and people express their own unique ways to move.  Some people are hypermobile and their joints move excessively, which can cause joint trauma and injury.  Some people lack range of motion and mobility and need movement practice to improve this dysfunctional pattern.  Some people have limited fitness capacity and shouldn’t be performing high intensity intervals until they have built a better foundation.  These are situations where exercise individualization is needed to truly see results. 

Your challenge continues by making sure you choose appropriate exercise selections and training intensities and utilize smart progressions.  We are not looking for perfection but we are looking for a smarter approach.  Smarter training equals better results and less injury and pain.  To enhance your program ask yourself a few questions.  What did I do last week?  What is the plan next week?  Do my workouts follow some type of progression?  Am I performing the exercise correctly?  How do I feel physically?  Did I get adequate sleep last night?  Am I nourishing my body with nutrient dense foods?  What is my overall goal?  Answering these questions will give you direction regarding your exercise program.  Random and unsystematic training will eventually cause injury, burnout and/or demotivation to train. 

The challenge has been given.  Whoever takes this challenge is promised better fitness, improved movement and superior performance.  I dare you!

Life is what you make it!

A new LEVINE has been born!  Bobbi Jo Levine was born on February 11th, 2014.  This new little bundle of energy has engulfed my family's life.  Wow!  The impact a newborn can have on a family is amazing.  It's quite a miracle to witness a child being born into this Earth.  It makes you sit back and realize the awesomeness we have been blessed with in our world.  I want to personally thank everyone for the unbelievable messages, cards, gifts and support we have seen.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

I hope you enjoy today's message.... Life is completely what you make it. I have committed to inspiring others to help them live life to the ultimate fullest. It is my desire to teach and mold other people to live analogous to this way of living. As battling tough times and life obstacles is a grueling process, living life with optimism, strength and significance only makes for better days. We are so blessed to have the ability to go after our goals and be the person we have always wanted to become.  Focus on the things you can control, not the things that you cannot control. Be willing to push your boundaries. Spread and grow your brain by reading inspiring work. Your health is your wealth so you need to spend time charging it up and taking care of it. Feed your body the most quality nutrition. Your energy and vitality is controllable. Here are three quotes with some words of optimism to help you live life to the fullest each day: Quote #1: Determination is stronger than weakness. I was at mile 285 of my 300-mile run. My body was beyond tired. My mind was telling me to stop. The fatigue was deep. But my spirit told me to get up and finish the journey. We all have deep and strong determination inside of us. The question is, "Are we willing to use it?" See weakness is the easy way. Weakness sometimes feels good. Weakness is the easy route. But weakness will not lead us to our goals. Determination is sacrifice. Determination is surrendering the things that will not lead us to our ambitions. Determination is hard. But when you become a constant user of your determination, abundant and successful living will happen. Quote #2: You cannot build success on a foundation of excuses. Taking full responsibility for your life is a big step. The minute you start to blame others is the minute you quickly go the wrong direction. Be accountable for the things you want, the goals you aspire to achieve and the person you wish to become. Eliminate every excuse. Superstars, world class leaders and successful entrepreneurs' understand that how you run your brain matters. Excuse making will just feed negative information into your brain. When you make excuses and blame others, there really is no way to cure the problem. When you take responsibility and discover the things that you can rearrange, solutions can now be found. Resolution can happen. No one is to blame. Personal accountability is taken from each individual. This should become a life mantra, "Don't make excuses; go out and make it happen." Quote #3: You must first believe you can before you do. Creating a powerful personal belief system sets you up to achieve your highest aspirations. The impossible becomes possible. The unachievable becomes achievable. I can't turns into I can. Your personal limitations start to shatter and your altitude begins to grow. Pessimistic thinking does not lead people to high endeavors. Block out the noise of negativity and create a strong and positive mindset. Focus on the positives. Feed your brain encouraging thoughts. Believing is the first step to reaching ultimate success.

Before you move on to the next thing or drift your thoughts onward, right now, take a deep breath. In through the nose.......out through the mouth.........in through the nose........out through the mouth.......... Do this a few times. Relax your body.  Get calm.  Collect your thoughts. Visualize your next move. See triumph.  Breathe optimism. Release negative. Smile and live hard.  And be ready to make today and everyday count! Stay focused and keep living,   Justin

Positive Thoughts lead to Positive Living

Belief…Confidence…I am possible…Life matters…Motivation…Courage…Exceptional.

See these words?  They echo positive thinking.  Today’s message is to flood inspiration into your mind to be a positive thinker.  Your thoughts can literally change the way you live your life.  You can become more, do more, achieve more, get in the best shape of your life, help more people and become exceptional, just by creating a habit of positive thinking.  Once this way of thinking is ingrained into your brain, you begin to instill deep beliefs that will guide you to creating strong values.  You build a confident and optimistic mind.  You find the good in all that you do.  You find resilience in the tough times.  We live in a society that is flooded with negativity.  This negative realm directs us off path of achieving our aspirations.  The positive thinker achieves the “impossible” and finds a way when there is no way.  I am a big believer that when you create a positive outlook on life and yourself, you produce the ability to accomplish almost anything you desire to achieve.  This concept of optimistic thinking takes consistent mental conditioning.  Our brain is a powerful muscle and building a strong belief system in our daily life and ourselves is possible.  But just like we need weight training to build stronger muscles in the body, we need mind conditioning to build a strong and positive brain.  Here are a few drills that you can begin to implement in to your day to condition your thoughts. 

1.     Start your day with something positive.  The best thing you can do when you first wake up is to fill your brain with positivity.  In the morning, our mind is fresh and ready to take on the day.  The worse thing you can do is watch or read about everything negative happening in our world.  This is a mistake many people make.  I encourage you to find an inspirational story or video that will set you up for a successful day.  Filling your mind with optimism is the first step of reprogramming this thought process.  Literally do this every morning.  Remember, “Vision without action is only a daydream”.  Make it a reality by following through. 

2.     Be aware of your thoughts.  “Change your thoughts and you change your world”.  When I work with people on their nutritional habits, the first thing I have them do is write down all of their food.  This is such a critical component as it creates awareness for the individual of what and how much is going into their body.  Let’s use the same strategy for our thoughts.  We must first be aware before we can make a change.  What is the first thought when you hit that alarm in the morning?  Is it, “Ugh, I just want to go back to sleep?”  Or  “Let’s take charge and create success today.”  What is the thought when you look in the mirror?  Is it, “I’m fat, I hate the way my body looks.” Or  “I am proud of the way my body looks.  I am working hard with my fitness and nutrition routine and I will continue to push myself.”  Get that thought in the head and quickly change if it is a negative one.  You will see the benefit it will have on your day-to-day life. 

3.     Eat healthy and workout.  Your body and mind work together.  Optimizing the significance of each day runs parallel with taking care of your body.  That is why eating high quality foods and daily exercise are a must.  When you feel good physically you will feel even better mentally.  You will be more apt to battle through tough times and hard days when you are physically strong and resilient.  Also, exercise releases dopamine and norepinephrine, which will give you a sense of confidence, esteem and the “I can take on the world” mentality. 

4.     Surround yourself with optimism.  You have to take a close look at everything in your life.  Who do you surround yourself with?  What music do you listen to?  What type of TV shows do you watch?  What do you put into your body?  Trying your best to eliminate negativity will set you up to think more positively.  Turn on the television right now and crime is happening, people are arguing over politics, TV shows are vulgar and offensive and it’s everywhere. This negativity can destroy any seed of hope that we may otherwise have in striving for our goals.  Do your best to put yourself in a position of consistent optimism.  Your mental state will become toxic if negativity is always in your life.  Exchanging negative thoughts and actions to positive ones will get you from being uninspired and de-motivated, to feeling uplifted, driven and determined for greater self growth. 

A happy and abundant life is completely in our hands.  The work must be done to create exceptional living.  You have the abilities.  You have the determination.  You have the will power.  You just have to put in the constant ACTION day in and day out to achieve great things.

To another great day, 

Stay Inspired!

Motivation, Focus and Effort - Game Changing Words

Motivation, focus and effort.  These are the words that I taught 75+ elementary kids during their training session this last week. A sudden abundance of excitement and enthusiasm came over me when I was coaching them.  These kids are starving for positive mentorship.  I strive to be their chisel to guide their minds to life, optimism and wellness.  At the beginning of the session, I brought the group around me and began my pre-workout lesson.  I told them they “would be learning three valuable words today”.  I passionately expressed that these words could help them achieve high endeavors.  “You could become doctors, business owners, high level athletes, and reach lofty heights when understanding these words.  When these words become stuck as habits, you can achieve your goals.”  As I finished the workout and was walking back to my truck, it hit me.  These words are not just for kids; this is for any individual looking for monomaniacal living.  Oh you like that word right?  Monomaniacal is defined as intense enthusiasm for a specific subject or idea.  Life needs to be lived with intense enthusiasm.  To me, there is no other way.  This life philosophy gives you a wealth of inspiration, passion and desire.  Attaining motivation, having laser focus and showing strong effort in all that you do will guide you to more abundant living. 

The Three Words that can change your life…

Motivation.  Motivation is a powerful word.  Inner drive to do pretty much any task, strategy or action step to achieve a specific objective is motivation.  Motivation must first come from your inner soul.  You cannot use other people until you have lit the flame.  Once the motivation flame is lit, now others can help you grow and maintain the fire.  When you find a time where motivation has deflated, you must quickly find ideas, people or stories that will help you regain the drive.  Motivation is a trait that all of us can express.  Live with enthusiasm and stay motivated to do so. 

Focus.  Focus gives you direct attention to a task, goal or mission.  We live in a busy world where our focus is always being pulled in many directions.  The old saying goes, “If you try and do everything, you will be good at nothing.”  Become laser focused on your most important priorities.  Master major things.  Do your ultimate best on a few projects, instead of being average on many.  This focus will give you ultimate direction to achieve your highest endeavors. 

Effort.  Effort alone can be a game changer.  Winston Churchill said, “continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking your true potential.”  You do not have to be the strongest, biggest, smartest or fastest; just by expressing more effort, you become a better YOU.  You expand.  You grow.  You reach ambitious goals.  You strive for excellence.  This trait takes you to your ultimate best you. 

Write these words down.  See them everyday.  Work on them.  Share them to other people.  Instill them in your life.  Your life will change.  

Stay Inspired!

Life Mastery leads to....

Motivation and enthusiasm is at an all time high right now.  I have been reading, writing and making moves.  JLEvision has lifted off and I am inspired to give you the best content I can to help you reach your goals.  What about for you?  How has the first 2 weeks of the New Year gone for you?  Today, I talk about becoming a student of life.  This is something that has really hit me the past couple years and I want to share some valuable insights with you….

Life mastery is not living some perfect and fairytale life.  Bumps will be in the road.  Challenging times will arise.  But striving for this mastery of life has many benefits that will guide us to awesome living. 

Life Mastery leads to…

Happiness: Without this, nothing else matters.  No money, fancy cars, or big houses can make you happy.  You might be thinking, “Shoot, if someone gave me $1 million, I would be very happy”.  Yes, you are probably right.  You would be happy for a little while.  But if you are not happy right now, in this moment, then eventually that “money happiness” will wear off.  Happiness must come from within and striving for this “happy place” is so critical to wake up each day ready. 

Health: We need to be healthy, fit and strong to live at ultimate levels.  If you are overweight, underweight, sick or lack energy, you are simply falling short to your ultimate best you.  Healthy living is balanced living.  Creating physical, mental and spiritual health is important to gain this sense of balance.  Take the time to exercise, as this will pump endorphins into your bloodstream giving you the sense of confidence and esteem.  Spend time reading, praying or whatever works for you to grow your spirit.  The human spirit is one of the strongest forms of mankind.  And work on your mental conditioning.  Drive positive thoughts into your brain and limit the negative thinking.  Powerful things happen when optimism is on your side. 

Relationships:  There is nothing better than a great friend and relationship.  The people in my life have helped shape me into the man I am.  Vice versa, the wrong relationships/people in your life can suffocate and “poison” your life.  “You are the direct reflection of the top 5 people you spend the most time with,” says Jim Rohn.  Look around you; you are just like the people you are always with.  Make the change if needed.  Deeply cherish the awesome people in your life and never take for granted your relationships. 

Resilience: Obstacles are destined to be in our path.  Becoming a student of life will grow and produce resilience.  We need this spirit for the though times that life bring.  As I was running 300 miles, I came to the conclusion that determination is stronger than weakness.  Finding this deep determination in the toughest of times will force us to grow and expand into stronger and more resilient individuals.

Discipline:  Daily discipline might be the most important ingredient to living an awesome life.  Without discipline, the goals do not get achieved and your life becomes mediocre.  This habit of discipline will get you up in the morning for that early workout, force you to write in your journal and mold your mind to believe ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. 

Passion:  Having this intense enthusiasm towards life, your family and friends, your job, your health, your faith…basically anything that you come across, will give you an excitement to LIVE LIFE to the fullest.  There is no other way.  Enjoy the journey of life.  Take on the obstacles.  Get from the day!  Live with passion.  This life mastery habit will be contagious and others will follow.  The world will be a better place when we are passionately moving towards a consistent goal.

Start now to become a student of life.  Start with a book.  Start with a walk around the block.  Start with a positive thought.  Your life is in your hands. 

Make today a little better than yesterday and don’t settle for mediocrity.  

I challenge you!!

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5 daily practices to give you awesome days

You need to take 10 minutes to read today’s blog.  Not only am I giving you 5 extremely important practices to add to your life but also I want to feed inspiration into your veins.  Inspiration is the fuel that wakes you up in the morning with a positive mindset.  It gets you to the gym when you “have other things to do”.  Inspiration drives motivation in to your brain, which then creates the action needed to accomplish your biggest goals.  Inspiration gives you the “hustle mentality” and as we know having extreme work ethic drives success.  We cannot get caught in living our life mediocre.  This leads to average relationships and financial health, inadequate physical and spiritual well being and subpar living.  We all have the opportunity to do big things and it takes personal responsibility to make this happen.  Stay away from excuses.  Stay away from pessimism.  Stay away from unhealthy ways.  Direct your attention to positivity.  Be accountable.  And be laser focused in becoming the best you can be.  Everyday counts, so start right now in readjusting your thoughts and ways.  Add the 5 practices below to your day starting today.  Don’t wait.  With everyday you wait, you waste opportunity.  Go for it now!  And watch your life take off!

5 Daily practices to give you awesome days:

1.     Workout.  Working out releases endorphins.  Secretion of endorphins leads to the feeling of euphoria or excitement.  If you want to succeed in life, you must be healthy.  Healthy doesn’t mean you have a 6-pack ripping through your shirt or bulging biceps.  Healthy means balance.  Healthy means you have freedom to move pain free and be active.  Being healthy means you do not have anything holding you back to achieve greatness.  This should be imbedded into your weekly schedule.  One hour a day is only 4% of your entire week.  We all can spend 4% of our week focused on our physical strength.  Our physical strength is directly related to our mental and spiritual well-being.  So if you want to reach your ultimate self, exercise is mandatory. 

2.     Read something motivational and inspiring.  Many people get up and immediately turn on the news or read the newspaper.  As keeping up on social and economic affairs is important, I do not recommend it be the first thing you do in the morning.  The morning is the perfect time to feed positive vibes into your brain and wake up that inner motivation.  This initial daily practice will build momentum for you to have not just good days but fantastic days.  Starting your day with an inspiring story or a motivating book will develop optimistic thinking.  As these positive thoughts are put into your mindset, positive action will ensue.  Positive action leads to the accomplishment of some ambitious goals.  Start with these guys: Jim Rohn, Robin Sharma, Brian Tracy and John Maxwell. 

3.     Focus on the positives.  “How’s your day going?”  “Well, just getting through another day”.  This might be the most negative view of life.  But yet, I hear this answer to that question so much.  Too many people just “get through the day” when there is so much we can get from the day.  Each day is not just “another day”.  If you live with this philosophy you are probably the one making excuses, blaming other people and not taking responsibility for your life.  Each day is full of opportunity, growth, wellness, motivation, relationships, perseverance, and so much more!  When you decide to direct your thoughts to this positive outlook, your days will improve.  You will hold yourself accountable to your goals.  You will start achieving those goals.  You will find resilience when times are tough.   This simple mindset shift can have a dramatic affect on your life. 

4.     Drink water.  Every single cell in our body needs water in order to absorb nutrients and expel waste products.  Headaches, poor energy levels, lack of focus and subpar performance are just a few side affects of dehydration.  Many people go through their day without drinking enough water.  This simple strategy can jumpstart your energy, improve your athletic performance and increase your cognitive function.  First thing in the morning, grab a glass of water instead of reaching for the juice or coffee.  Make sure you have a water bottle by your side the entire day.  You are more likely to drink water if it is in arms reach. 

5.     Inspire others.  If you can make this a daily practice you will completely change the community and world you live in.  Start with two people a day.  Do a good deed, buy them lunch or send them a positive story.  If you truly do this everyday, that equates to 14 people in a week or 728 people in a year.  You change the world you live in by inspiring others to be great.  The positive change one person can make can be remarkable.  It just takes daily action.  

It's time to do something about it!  Share with a friend if you enjoyed this blog.  

 

Big Things in 2014 - Action is required

We are 7 days into the New Year and motivation and energy should be high.  The New Year seems to revitalize people’s vitality and liveliness.  Goals are set, plans are created and the “plane is lifting off”.  What will you do differently this year to keep this way of life consistent? 

Too many times, people set limits on themselves.  Most of the time these limits are self-imposed and I am telling you now, you can break through those limits and accomplish big things in '14.  There will be major obstacles that will sit in your path in the upcoming year.  How you react and respond to these obstacles will define you as a person.  The worse thing you can do is quit, lie down and give up.  Do the opposite.  When these obstacles arise, get up, move forward and push harder.  Believe in your abilities, surround yourself with supportive people and find your inner determination.  This will take major ACTION. 

Be unique in '14.  Reinvent yourself.  Go against the grain.  Have the tough conversations.  Be passionate.  Be honest.  Show courage.  Inspire others.  Get super fit and healthy.  Eat the foods that will give you strength and stamina.  Get laser focused to make these things happen. 

This year, more than any other, go for the ultimate.  Do not give in to pessimistic people that will not support your goals.  Do not accept average.  Stay away from stagnation.  Find motivation in the toughest of times.  Push yourself harder than ever before.  Help others find inspiration.  The LIMITLESS mindset is in our control.  Constant ACTION will be needed for this to happen. 

As 2014 sits in front of us, it is completely up to YOU to do the things you aspire, reach the goals you set and push your comfort zone.  Go all in my friends!  Stay on track the entire year.  Simply, make it happen.  This will be a big year and big action will be required.  

Here are 4 daily tactics from Robin Sharma that I want to share with you:

Tactic #1: Do a Daily Goal Review. We live in a time of intense noise and distraction. It's just too easy to start off these first few weeks of this New Year being really really busy chasing the wrong things. So, my suggestion: every morning--while the rest of the world is asleep--take just 5 pure minutes to reread and then actually rewrite your top five 2014 goals. This will boost your focus dramatically and imprint them with total clarity on your subconscious mind.

Tactic #2: Go Complaint-Free. You empower everything you complain about. You strengthen the negative things you speak of. And you energize the problems you vocalize. To nail your 2014 goals, go on a 90 Day Complaint-Free Diet. Enough said.

Tactic #3: Clean All Messes. Masters of Goal Achievement are minimalists. They get that messes create distraction. And distraction reduces your power to achieve every goal you set. The messy office+the disorganized home+the dirty financial life+cluttered mind all weaken your ability to bring your natural laser-like focus to bear on your greatest desires.

Tactic #4: Become an Incrementalist. Bottom line: 5 little goals done a day lead to 1850 goals achieved by December 31, 2014. An awesome work and personal life is more about evolution than revolution. Get serious about the small wins. 

BIG THINGS IN '14!!

 

 If you enjoyed this blog, I ask you to please share to others.  The more people we can inspire, the better life is!