My why...the two things I want to do rest of my life

The Walt Disney World Workout

I was 33 years old the first time I stepped foot into the Magic Kingdom, but inside (and truthfully outside) I was a boy of 7.  It was a city, no a universe, that was bubbled into our world.  It was something completely perfect and magical...

I know you did not tune to hear me recant my childhood dream lived out as an adult, but there is a point here and it relates to your fitness.  While, yes, you will walk nearly 47 miles in a day around the park, you are also going to consume a gazillion calories.  Why, because your internal 7 year old is making all the decisions.  So this blog is not about a step to calorie ratio at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Walt Disney World does something better than any other park in the world, they make you believe in the impossible.  It happens on every ride, with every show, with every "Character" strategically placed.  The entire design of this World unlike any other world is to make you believe.

And believe you do...

If you are like me, and some of you are, it is not the want to change that is your obstacle.  It is the belief that what is impossible is possible.   Most of us don't have physical limitations that hold us back from our own personal Magic Kingdom of success.

I think our greater struggle is we live with a mental belief of the traveling carnival that comes to town.  While yes it is fun, you always walk away questioning the safety of the ride and criminal background of the guy controlling it.  There is no magic in the carnival, just some kid through up on the tilt-a-whirl and teenager kids making out on the Ferris wheel.  And 2 days later it packs up and moves on to another town.

Here are three tips to making your fitness a little more "magical":

1.  Clear all trash.
  Disney works hard to make sure every person who walks through the park has the same experience.  No trash in the park, bathrooms clean, no gum stuck on fence posts. No matter your role from a person checking tickets to the CEO, if you see trash, you pick up. Why?  To make it magical everytime.

When you approach your fitness, clear all the trash.   Take out the mental obstacles that you build up in your mind.  Take out the garbage about how you "can't".  Clean up all the "I'll nevers".

2. Stories
You don't just wait in line for a ride at Disney.  You wait in a moving storybook.  Every line for every ride prepares you by telling you a story about the ride.  The ride is set up by every section of the line, it is all part of the story being told.

Your journey is a story, not a destination.  With every step, every workout you are writing your own story.  While the line to the ride may feel long, there are important pieces to your story being written.  Don't try to skip to the end.

3. Shh...It's not really magic
The magic of Disney is hard work and ingenuity.  Ask anyone who has worked for the company and they will tell you that it was the hardest work they have ever done, yet the most rewarding.

Health and fitness is not magic.  There is no magic pill or shake or sprinkle of Pixie Dust for your food.  It is still hard work.  The results look like magic as you make a part of you disappear, but you and I will both know how you got there -  hard work, sweat, positive attitude and maybe just a little magic!

Walt Disney World makes us all feel like kids and the one thing a kid does better than any adult is dream big dreams and believe for the impossible!

What is your Disney experience and how has it helped you?

You'd Think I'd Know By Now

The number 1 lesson in health and fitness is this "you cannot out exercise a poor diet."

I know this, I have taught others this and I have experienced it's truth -- on both sides of the success scale.

So you think I would have perfected this lesson.  You would think that I would not struggle with this.

Where I don't struggle is exercise.   I have no issue lacing up the sneaks for a 5 mile run, pushing play on Insanity or Focus T25.  Exercise is not the issue...food at times is.  I at times playfully play this off that there is a 10 year old inner fat kid that wants to be fed who lives inside me.  While just a joke there is some truth to this thought.  Here is why I am maybe you struggle this nutritional lesson:

1) I eat my feelings

Food has been and at times is my coping mechanism.  Stress enters my life and so does pizza, Oreos and any carbohydrate within arms reach.  Remember that 10 year old boy I said lives inside, he comes to life when my stress levels rise.  Stress sends a flight or fight survival response to our brain, so my survival skill is to load up on food like a bear going into hybernation.

2) I didn't know

While not true now, this has been a reason for a long time.  Simply, I did not know what a correct portion looked like.  As Americans, our sense of portions are way out of whack. Bigger has always been better!  If you go out for a meal,what you are getting most times is the equivalent to 2 to 3 meals.

A second piece to the portion puzzle is a balance of nutrition.  The what I eat was out balance between proteins, carbohydrates, veggies, fruits and good fats.  One of the tools that really brought this to light was the 21 Day Fix.  This is a program that has really helped me understand balance and portion control.  (Now just to put it into practice consistently).

3) Feeling Left Out

Food is a social commodity.  We gather, we eat and eat some more.  It is hard to be the outsider who ate a salad before attending an event.  Food is placed before us at nearly every social event I would attend.  Bagels at church, cookies at the school function, hot dogs at a cookout.  It is a difficult decision to stare down a Snickerdoodle and turn the other way.  Plus, food and beverages actually tend to make us more comfortable in social situations.

How do I respond?

As REO Speedwagon sang, "I can't fight this feeling anymore."  I have to learn better response to my stress.  I am a novice runner, but find that getting away and hitting the pavement with music pulsing in my ears is one way to be the stress.  If you are like me, you will have to find a way to battle fat kid inside that wants to emotionally eat.  You have to be stronger.  You have to find alternatives and healthier ways to deal with stress and emotions.

Measure.  I know it sounds annoying, but it will get easier with time.  I measure my portions.  Plus, I only take what I am going to eat.  So when I pack a lunch, I only take exactly what I am eating.  Don't leave it to guess work.  Secondly, our family does best when meals are planned.  Plus, then I have an answer to that one single question I will be asked til I have an answer "What's for dinner?"  Taking the guess work out will keep you from snacking before a meal.

This is the tough one.  It requires you to be weird.  It requires you to say no.  It requires you to push against the norm.  If dining out decide on a healthy options and stick to your guns.  If you can order first.  Studies have shown that the rest of the group is more likely to change their mind based on what the first person ordered.  Say no.  You might feel like you are being offensive, but you have goals and a plan.  You can say no with a smile!  That softens the blow.

Who do you win the battle of eating to match your fitness?  Post your comments below.

The Lie The Church Told Me (A Response)

I wanted to take a few minutes and respond to the response.  First it has been quite unexpected.  I am glad I am not the only one who sees and feels the way I do.

To those in the midst of the struggle, I write this.  Have HOPE!  Despair keeps us where we are.  The belief that it can never get any better is a lie.  Don't believe it.  Change is not only possible it is within your reach.  It is completely possible to become a healthier version of you.  I was that guy once upon a time.

To those who might not understand, I ask you to be GRACEFUL.  We are not trying to become "sexy" we just want to be healthy.  We want to be healthy for our spouses, for our children, for our families, for ourselves.  We are just trying to reach a point where we look in the mirror and am proud and happy with the person we see looking back at us.  Have grace.  Just because you don't understand doesn't make you right and us wrong.

To those wanting to start, I say START.  Do something.  Start walking, running, a class or even a at home program (I recommend a few, haha).  Trade your COKE for water.  Trade a Pizza slice for apple slices.  Just begin.  Surround yourself by people who will encourage your new journey.  Find an exercise that you will enjoy.  And do it for you!  Do it because you deserve it.

To Pastors and Leaders, this is a real issue.  ADDRESS IT.  First address it in you.  Pastors pay one of the highest insurance premiums due to the stress of they jobs and the overall unhealthy nature of how they live.  Address in your congregations.  Encourage people to live healthy.  Encourage your sheep to be more active.  Encourage your body of believers to become healthier.

To the guy writing this blog, KEEP GOING.  You have battled to become healthy, some days winning, some days losing.  KEEP inspiring and sharing.  There are those inside and outside of the kingdom who need  your help.  KEEP believing that HOPE is not something to be lost like car keys and that everyone needs a little more of it.  KEEP working on being authentic.  People don't expect perfection, they just want you to be you.  So on emotional greasy cheeseburger, double stuff Oreo days, don't be afraid to ask for help and share in your struggle.

To everyone, we win best when we FIGHT together instead of against one another.  So let's keep FIGHTING.

The Lie the Church Told Me

Read this post at Pitts Fitness new page

I grew up in little small churches.  By small it means I was related to over half the congregation.  There was an expression that was tossed around like the horseshoes at a church picnic, "I am just fat and happy."  With that expression we would chew on another piece of fried chicken chased down by some cobbler and homemade ice cream.  All in the name of fellowship!

I understand the psychology of food and beverage and the comfort it allows and community it creates.  I also understand the greater mission of the church of reaching lost people.  I am not criticizing the method.  I am sure a scoop of ice cream helped melt the hearts of many.

My rub is with the above expression and held belief by so many in the church - "fat and happy".  That might be one of those ironic statements like "jumbo shrimp" that are cute quips, but don't make a whole lot of sense.  Here is my challenge, if we are to spend our lives spreading the good news of the gospel why would we intentionally sabotage the longevity of our mission with self induced sickness.

Obesity has been linked to over 70 diseases faced in the United States.  Which means that many of the illness that we face are completely preventable.  The CDC reports that obesity has been linked to reduced worker productivity and chronic absence from work.

So here is my logical right brain that floods in like a chocolate fountain past my creative left brain -- if we lived healthier physically as followers of Christ we could 1) live longer lives, therefore giving us a more time on this Earth to love people to Christ; 2) I believe (and just opinion) show a better example of our faith.  Let's face it, we say not to judge a book by it's cover, but people look at the cover long before they read the pages.  This is not a statement on physical beauty as much as it is a statement on appearance and the perception of others. 3) Be more productive with the time we are given.

Here are the benefits of exercise as it relates to our faith.  One exercise makes you feel better.  The God of the universe designed your body so that as you exercise a chemical is released in your brain to make you feel accomplished and happy.  Often referred to as a "runners high".  We got drugs in our body God put there.  We just have to sweat a little to experience that euphoric feeling of happiness. Why would you not want the feeling?

Two, exercise is a community thing.  Fitness is often done in groups and in church we love our groups - small groups, large groups, mom's groups, men's groups, singles groups - we typically have a group for it.  Fitness can be a and should community based event that brings people together.

Third, living a physically healthy life affects you inside and out.  Oftentimes, a negative self image or self perception is derived from outward physical appearance.  One of the emotional byproducts of weight loss is self confidence.  It may be a reach, but people who are more comfortable and confident seem to me to be more fulfilled.  They seem willing to tackle task, step into their gifts and callings placed on them by God.  Maybe it's just me but what if exercise cause people to exercise their gifts?

Andy Stanley in a leadership podcast addressed health and fitness to his audience this way "you can either tell your family 'I am going to take care of me now or you can tell your family you are going to take care of me later.'"

Remember those small churches I grew up in, well there was a traveling minister who sang and preached.  While the individual will remain nameless his ministry brand was build around his obesity, it was right there in the name.  As he sang for 30 to 40 minutes then preached for another 40 he sweated profusely.  At times he seemed to struggle to have enough air and I feared he was going to have a heart attack right there on stage.  (It was a Pentecostal church, we would just laid hands on him and pray for his resurrection).  But mostly it saddened me.  I believe his heart was in the right place but eventually his body was not going to be able to keep up.

The cause of Christ is great.  We would not send a soldier into battle without making sure they were fit to fight.  So why then as soldiers in God's army is it okay to not be physically ready for the cause?  I am not so sure God's design is for us to be "fat and happy" I guess that was just the lie the church told me.

I would love to hear your comments below.

* (the asterisk)

In the annals of sports history are *s.

They wanted to put one next to Roger Maris' 61 homeruns.

I would like to put one next to Barry Bonds 762 (for obvious reasons).

The asterisk is used to indicate that the record is somehow tainted by circumstance.  That something about that record is invalid or corrupt. (Hence my disdain for Barry Bonds 762 home runs).

I think in our journeys we place an asterisk by a lot of things.

"Well that one pound was just water weight." *
"It's easy to lose weight the first week."*
"It is only a few pounds." *

I think we are the biggest asteriskers of ourselves.  Instead of celebrating our successes, we find ways to discredit them.  Instead of recognizing ourselves for staying disciplined with our nutrition and fitness, we somehow consider our results tainted.

If you have lost 1 pound this week or 5 pounds this week and have done it the right way (fitness + nutrition), then celebrate that.  Don't hang an * on it with some lame excuse.  Feel good about the work you put in.  Raise your hands victorious like an Olympic champion (who tested negative for Perfomance Enhancing Drugs).

Don't * you results in the record of your success.  Whatever level of success you achieved you deserve it!

A Standing Ovation

I wanted to share a simple lesson I learned yesterday at a middle school honors band concert.  Sidebar: Despite all my athletic prowess, I am a band dad.

There were three bands, one for each grade and it was the 8th grade band director that did something that caught my attention.  The previous two bands stood up after their final of 5 pieces, took a bow and sat back down.  With each of the previous bands the audience stood and celebrated these fine young people.

But the director of the 8th grade band did something different.  After the very first piece he had the entire band stand.  As they stood, the polite applause grew to an ovation.

Then the band sat back down, played their next piece and exact same thing.  The band rose and as they rose so did the ovation.

While not an entirely new phenomena I took something away for you and me.  Each time the band rose, so did the applause.  With the rising applause so did the confidence of the band.  With rising confidence came a better performance by these young musicians.  And by the end of the 5 musical selections a standing ovation was in order!

I realize as we workout, run, exercise, eat healthy and make good choices that there is not an audience of proud parents and grandparents standing there cheering you on to eat your broccoli or finish your burpees.  But what if we imagined there was.  What if at the end of that sweaty push up filled workout when we pulled our hotself of mess off the floor we heard applause?  What if as you finished that last 100 yards of a run in weather that the mailman even refuses to deliver in you raised your hands as if finishing the Boston Marathon in front of thousands of people?  Maybe they are not there, but what if you imagined them there.  In your head heard them cheering you on.

What I have learned in my short time with my own fitness and helping others is that the body is ready to give more, it is our minds that get in the way.  The applause even if just imaginary frees you up to push past the mental barrier that is truly far short of your limits.

It is a thankless job getting healthy and fit, but one that should be celebrated.  Even if your audience in imaginary, I honestly believe the principle holds true.  That with each time your hear the applause your confidence grows.  Each time your confidence grows you perform better.  And with better performance comes better results.

So for you, here is your STANDING OVATION!!!

I Can Only Imagine

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

Walt Disney

A golfer will visualize there shot before hitting it.  A shooter in his mind has already made the free throw before it ever leaves his hand.  Award winning actors have rehearsed their winning speech hundreds of times before the movie was ever shot.  

That is the power and the fuel that comes with imagination.  The first steps toward success - in health and fitness, in business, in sports, really in any avenue of life - starts with the ability to believe you will be successful.

I have been given the gift of imagination.  I am creative.  I am one of those people that have unfiltered ideas of grandeur. My left handed self thrives in these moments.  I have written #1 songs.  I have penned the screenplay for the next Oscar Award winning movie.  I at one point starred in 13 straight All-Star Games and finally brought the World Series back to the Chicago Cubs.  (I told you I had a big imagination.)

So it leaves you asking, "Jeff, why have you not ..."

That answer is simple.  The power of the imagination gives the dream.  The athlete, artist or person has to believe in it.  They have to sell out to that dream.  It is one thing to see the impossible happening for a brief moment.  It is an entirely another to continue to see that dream as a reality despite set back, despite obstacle, despite failure.  

There is a story of Walt Disney's brother, Roy at the opening of Walt Disney World.  Prior to the opening Walt had passed away.  A guest at that grand opening said to Roy "what a shame Walt was not here to see it."  Roy's response "He already had."  The only way the Happiest Place On Earth ever came into existence was because one man in plane ride over some swamp land in Orlando, FL saw something that did not already exist.  And then pursued that something passion, fervor and tenacity.  

For me, it is not a problem to see swampland as the world's greatest amusement park.  I have the imagination for that.  My struggle is taking what I imagine and believing two things:

1) that I am able to bring the dream to reality

and 

2) that there are others who are willing and wanting to share in the dream.

While Walt gets the majority of the credit, others like Roy stood by him.  

So when I fly over the swampland of my life what do I see?  I see a guy with a successful Team Beachbody business impacting 1000's of lives.  I see a guy with the ability to take his family to the Happiest Place on Earth whenever.  I see a guy on a stage in front of thousands sharing a message of hope and change.  

What do you see for your life?  Maybe you imagine yourself 10 pounds lighter.  Maybe you imagine yourself debt free.  Maybe you imagine yourself wildly successful in your giftedness beyond what others believe.  

It is time for you and I to not only imagine,  but to come alive.  

A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive. ~ Roy Disney

A Beachbody, A Struggle & The Heart of Father

As is my usual Saturday morning practice, I sit in the stillness of my bedroom while everyone else is a sleep pounding the keys of this computer and sipping my morning coffee.  Last weekend was a struggle...no coffee.  My intimate relationship of 8 years with my coffee pot was broken off last Friday.  Leaving me with just the computer and a less than warm bed.

The struggle spilled far beyond my caffeinated beverage that was missing into something more that needed to take place.  Like many Americans, we fight for every dollar we make.  The coffee pot was the icing on the financial cake of demanding weekend.  There was flag football to register for, there was a band trip to sign up for and there is a little girl who steals my heart and I want to give her everything.  Factor in the utility bill that tips in somewhere around the weight of NFL defensive lineman and we were face to face with a Dave Ramsey More Month than Money type situation.  And it was just not feasible to make all of them happen.

I am a husband and father first and foremost.  As was handed down to me from generations of husbands and fathers from the earliest of my ancestors who hunted and foraged the land for food, you have the responsibility to provide for your family.  You wear that pride as you would a bear skin coat that you killed and skinned with your own two hands.  You want to provide for their needs and give them their wants because they are great kids and deserve that.  You want to give them moments and memories and at times that costs money. So when as a dad you can't, it is like having your bear skin coat stripped from you!

I am by default an incredible dreamer.  On the filp side of the coin, I am terribly lousy and making dreams reality.  So after a conversation with a good friend, who also has a background in ministry, I realized you just don't walk into a $80,000 job anymore.  And if we are being honest, that number just begins to touch what it takes to raise 3 kids, pay for 3 college degrees and I hate to think about it, 3 weddings.  Last weekends big revelation through a broken coffee pot was that whatever it is I do for a "job" will always leave us short of the dreams we want.  Momma always asked if money grew on trees, there's no forest nearby if it does.

If you are reading this post by now you know I am a Team Beachbody coach, in short, I help people with their health and fitness.  No I don't have a six pack, in part due to the cup in my hand that is filled with creamer in my coffee.  I did not join to get ripped, just to improve me.  I joined to get healthy and that I am.  I also joined with the hope of helping others.  

Here is another truth that I know, my Beachbody business is not another "job".  While my day work has an income ceiling, my business doesn't.  While my 40 hour struggle could never mathematically take my family to Disney, my Beachbody business can.  While money may not grow on trees, I have the opportunity to invest in a garden that if tended properly will produce great fruit.  While the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel has always been there, I have often been reluctant to run towards it.  (There is a whole nother blog post to deal with that).  As a dad of 3 amazing kids, what I hold in my hands is opportunity.  Opportunity to not put limitations on our dreams.  Opportunity to provide for their everyday needs and some moments they will never forget.

What I have is an opportunity to end the struggle!

Seriously?

Seriously?

Every just start your day feeling that way.  I have a Saturday morning routine.  Get up, grab a banana, make some coffee, drink said coffee.  Today, my 7 year old coffee pot decided it had enough.  Routine ruined, morning ruined.

This got me thinking, how often do we let one set back, one poor food choice, one missed workout ruin our progress.  I am amazed how quickly I can spiral back to poor choices due to one small thing.  It's that thinking "oh, well, I didn't workout anyways.  Might as well eat a dozen cookies."  I hope you are not like me, because that is totally ME!  

Life is full of speed bumps that slow us down, but are not intended to bring us to a stop.  We just roll right over them and move on to the next point.  My hope is that you have kept moving forward past the speed bumps.  Rolled right past and on to bigger things.  

Yet, I also know that the speed bump, in our eyes, become insurmountable.  I heard a great illustration about momentum.  When a train engine is at a complete stop, it only takes a 2 inch peice of wood to that train at bay.  The difference of momentum is that when that train is rolling at even minimum speeds, that wood is no match for the train.  

The coffee pot is just a Saturday morning speed bump.  Don't let a little thing keep you from your goals!

Good Saturday Morning (even without coffee)

6 Reasons to Stay Home

We know the terms like gym rat or gym junkie.

We know the people – bulking up guy grunt, princess pink on a slow walk on the treadmill, weird creepy guy just walking around talking to everyone. 

We know what gyms have to offer.  There are some great fitness centers and gyms here in Lexington and I am sure in the city where you live.  And gyms and fitness centers do a great job at helping people get results.  Yet, we also know or have been that person who buys a gym membership, pays monthly and never goes.  The alternative to hitting the gym is pushing play at home.

 So here is the question I want to pose, why workout at home?  Here are 6 reasons: 

• No drive time.  When I was going to the gym I would get up early, drive 15 minutes across town just to get to the place that I was going to run on a stationary treadmill for 30 minutes.  Then drive 15 minutes back home.  So it adds up that I spent an hour to get in a 30 minute workout.  Bad math!
•  Your own shower.  This mostly applies to those of us that get our workout done first thing in the morning before we go to the office.  While the shower smells like that funky fresh cleaning stuff,  I am not sure how clean it is.  Factor in shaving for us guys and hair drying, curling, crimping and product necessary for the ladies, this is just done better from the comforts of our own vanities.
• The equipment battle.  This is the 10 minutes you spend on that “one” machine  working a muscle group that you are not sure exists because the exercise machine or the equipment you want to use someone else is on.  So you kind of put in effort all the while ready to sprint to that machine once that person gets off.
•  Any time.  Here is what I love about my home based workout programs, it is always open!  I have a world-class fitness expert available on my schedule.  I pop in a DVD and press play and I get step by step instruction on an amazing workout.  No need to schedule a time with a personal trainer.  I have several on standby.
• Gymtimidation.  One of the fitness companies coined this term about the all the grunt, mirror posing meathead and dolled up princesses at the gym that emotionally detract us from wanting to enter the doors.  At home, you get to come as you are.  And fall dead on the floor of your own house after you get your rear handed to you in a great workout.  There is no Barbie in corner or Arnold in the front of the mirror flexing. Just you focused on you.
•  Something for everyone.  What I love particularly about Beachbody and the array of programs is that there is something for all fitness levels.  If you want dance off the pounds, we got that.  If you want to punch and kick your way to fit, we got that.  If you want to get INSANE results, we got that too.  If you have not worked out since your senior year gym class in the 70’s, we got something for that too.  Beachbody has put together an amazing collection of fitness programs that deliver results and help you reach your goals.

I still hit the gym from time to time.  I will still pop into a fitness class.  But for me the time saved, the schedule flexibility, the options I have and level of training I get, I will keep pushing play at home!

The Measure of Success

We have all stood there.  We put in a great week of work.  We watched and tracked what we ate.  And then the scale reads....no change!!!!  This is when we start with the explicatives...

Don't get discouraged.  Let's take a look at what we are truthfully measuring as success.  While most of us have a number we want to see on the scale, our goal should be more about living a healthy and fit life.  Still, you want to see the numbers move.  But when they don't, lets look at the what else we can measure to see if we are being successful.

- Body Measurements
We have all seen the picture of 1 pound of fat versus 1 pound of muscle.   So I won't re-post that viral image.  But measuring your body let's you know where the change is happening.  So when the scale doesn't move, take a look at where you are losing.

Measure these areas: chest, waist, arms, legs, hips and neck.  Compare those numbers and look to see where change is happening.  I recommend measuring every two weeks.

- Clothing Test
This is simple enough, how are those clothes fitting?  Are you noticing a difference?  In honestly, we all have those "skinny" pants hanging in the closest.  Check and see how those are fitting.

-Before and Afters
We look in the mirror everyday.  We see ourselves everyday.  There is an incredible visual evidence in comparing side by side pictures of yourself.  These are best done either every 2 weeks or every month.  Take front poses, profile poses, back poses, and one where you flex those guns!

-The "DANG" wat cho been doin' effect
 Sometimes other people take notice when we don't.  So take the compliment and share what you have done to reach those amazing results!

So when the scale is not going the right way, measure these other areas to find success!

The Speed of the Pack

Last the improbable happened...

Three Olympians from the same country captured Gold, Silver and Bronze in the same event - 500M Speed Skating.

While admittedly, I know little about speed skating other than these folks have the largest quad muscles I've ever seen, I do understand a key principle that makes this rare event more likely to have happened.  Certainly, this is not the first time these three men have been on the ice together.  For sure not, because two of them are twins. (Can someone say sibling rivalry?)  More than likely for some time these men have been training together, skating together and pushing one another.  The result - three Olympic Medals.

We have long been told by motivational speakers, personal development folks and even pastors that our success and rise (and fall) is built around those we spend the most time with.  I think this coronation is further proof of that.


In fitness you tend to run faster, lift more and work harder with a partner or group.
In business you compile the best of each person, pooling them together for further success.
In life you gather those around you that will not hold you back but propel you forward, push you to be the best version of you and elevate you to person you desire to be.

As the 3 Dutchman took their skate around the rink, hands raised, flag waived and tears being shed, I asked my son "why do you think all three from the same country won?"  His answer (as a typical 12 year old would say) "they were the fastest."

While on the money with his response, there is bigger lesson to be learned in how they became the fastest.  My theory is due to the speed of the pack.  The day one got faster it pushed the others to speed up.  If one got one one-hundreth faster, than the others had to work harder to get there. The synergy of the group created the three fastest men on ice last night and a crowning moment for the Netherlands.

I believe it was the power of WE and the speed of the pack that launched these men to the medal stand.  So who have you gathered around you to improve your speed, your business or your life?

Post your comments below.

Where do I begin?

Here is what I don't doubt, the fact that you want to change.  

Here is probably the question you may find yourself asking: "Where do I begin?" 

Begin by asking a different set of questions.  Let's start by defining the change into smaller portions.

- What do I want to accomplish in the next 6 months?

Now smaller.

- What do I want to accomplish in the next month?

Now smaller.

- What do I want to accomplish this week?  

The daunting part of changes is that it seems so big.  And truthfully, we tackle the biggest elephant in the safari thinking we can eat the whole thing in one big bite.  But the adage is still true, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. (Although, I have never eaten elephant and don't plan on it, but you get me.)

My heart is bent toward helping people move closer to their potential - it comes in the form of their personal, spiritual and health and fitness.  But this reverse thinking applies in every situation.  

If you want to graduate college, it starts with taking a class.  Then by getting this weeks homework done.  

If it's weight loss, well let's start by setting fitness goals for this week and planning meals for the week. 

If it's to become an accomplished public speaker.  Then start small, speaking to church groups, non-profits, business groups.  

You only start at the end to work backwards to find a clear starting point.  

But get started!  If it's your dream, goal or ambition don't let it pass!  Start!

Hustlers

I wish I had some huge success story about my Team Beachbody business taking off and making me a millionaire.  I don't, at least not yet.

So I enrolled myself in a little adventure with writer, blogger and fashionably smart Jon Acuff for a 30 day hustle marathon.  Clustered together are over 3000 individuals who are taking aim at a specific goal. Jon Acuff, New York Times Best Selling author and encourager of people wisely leaving behind their jobs for their passions, serves as the Skipper of a ship full of Gilligans.  Or at least this Gilligan.  My hope was simply to gain something that would help my business grow.

Admittedly, I have probably taken too much time to read through the posts rather than focus on my own hustle, what I have seen is that there is an abundance of people "hustling" to lose weight, get in shape and change their health.

While numbers are reported of the rising trend of obesity, that reality becomes a little more real when you start putting names and faces with it.  Attached to those names are personal, heartfelt and emotional stories of struggle.  Of weight lost and regained.  Of deep disappointment, coupled with new found hope that this time it will be different.

Each story tugs digs a little deeper as I realize that I am not in a business about  business.  I am in a business about people.  The greater value is not the sale of one more P90X or Insanity
program, but helping someone author the new chapter in their story.  A chapter entitled "Losing It For Good".  I have been rocked again and again by the Zig Ziglar famous words that "if you help enough people get where they are going, they will help you get where you are going."

I logged into this escapade with the hopes of gaining something about how to run a business, set goals and move from the dreaded day job to a dream job.  What I am sure that knowledge will be gained, what I am unexpectedly acquiring is a deeper sense that people just need someone to walk beside them and say "you can do this."  My hope is that I have the opportunity to be the voice in their life saying just that!

Everyday we're hustlin'!

New Years 2014!

Happy New Year!

As you awake this morning, it is a morning like any other, but then again it's not.  Today is New Years Day.  A day of fresh starts, clean slates and declaring what you will accomplish in the next 365 days.  So here are my 3 resolutions for 2014:

1) Be an encourager of others dreams.  
- Zig Ziglar says if you help enough people get where they are going, they will help you get where you're going.

2) Become a goal getter, not just a goal setter.  
- I am setting goals, dates, and putting together plans.

3) Become healthy on the inside, not just the outside.
- What is inside of us will spill out to the outside.  No amount of diet and exercise will heal hurts and help souls.

These are my resolutions for the New Year, what are yours?

Here's to a amazing and blessed 2014!

A YUGO of a Ferrari

I dogged it this morning...

Not proud of that, but it's the truth.  Here's why:

I believe that we have the capabilities to find the physical fitness of a Ferrari.  A Ferrari is a high powered, sleekly curved, sexy machine.

Truth be told, I have treat myself a little more like a YUGO with all it's economical, boxy shaped, 3 cylinder, top speed of 40mph styling.  There are drive-through bags on my floor board.  It is way past having any kind of maintenance done.  And I feed it whatever I can find.

And this morning I felt it.  

At the starting line of my daily workout when I stepped on the gas to push through,  I got what I put into my body, a sluggish, slow result.  

In order to operate physically as a Ferrari, instead of YUGO, you have got to fuel your body like a Ferrari.  This means fueling up on whole foods, plenty of H2 and the O.  This means knowing the difference between treating yourself and going full on buffet on holiday dinner.

Lesson learned...

Do you feel the difference in your workouts when you eat clean?

Reminder Pants - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In my closet are lots of pairs of pants, but more specifically two specific pairs of pants.  I call them my "reminder pants".  

The Good - 
These are a pair of black suit pants.  They are a size 38.  To be honest, my chubby buns and dunlap belly I am sure stretched it past the 38 inch waist line.  There were Sundays when I would pour myself into those pants and uncomfortably suffer through the service. 

Now I am a true 34 inch waist!  Woot!

Those pants serve as a reminder of where I have come and how much progress I have made.  These are just a simple reminder of the good!  They remind me of the wins in my health and fitness.  The wins in my weight loss journey!

It's amazing reminder!

The Bad -
The skinny pants that I wear to work.  Like all of you I have moments of slipping back into poor habits.  There are days I skip workouts and feed my face fattening foods.  As I slide into those pants and pull that waist line across my belly I am reminded that I need to get back on track.  

Just the feel of those pants snuggling up under that little pooch belly that rares it's head when I make excuses for my health and fitness.  It reminds me "Jeff you need to refocus".

The Ugly -
Simply get rid of these.  Just a reminder that sometimes you make terrible clothing choices.

Enough said!

A Moving WHY

As many of you already know if you have read any of my previous blogs, my main reason I started on this journey of health and fitness (other than running out of clothes that fit) was my three kids.  While that reason remains true, what I have found is that my WHY has become somewhat fluid.

My weight loss journey started as a runner and about a year and half ago progressed into being a Team Beachbody Coach.   Since then I have tackled programs like P90X, Insanity, Les Mills Combat, Focus T25 and two very uncoordinated weeks of Turbofire!  I became a coach for two reasons. One to help me stay accountable to my own health and fitness.  Two, in order to create some secondary income for my family.  While neither of those reasons have changed, I had my eyes opened wide this week.

My beautiful 6 year old daughter has tumbled into loving gymnastics and she's good!  In just 8 weeks she has progress from Division 1 to Division 3, which is an amazing accomplishment!  I have already done the math, we are on track for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games!

Here where my eyes were opened!  In a conversation, with another parent of an older gymnast, I found just what the price tag is on competitive team gymnastics.  Let's just say I could drive a very nice car for what the monthly fee is. I mean VERY NICE!

Nothing is more a driving force toward success than the needs and desires of your children.  While I wanted to be successful in my business for multiple reasons, that WHY expanded greatly knowing what lies ahead of our family if our little tumbler stays on beam toward becoming a world class gymnast.

Author George Barna wrote, "Realize the future is not something that just happens; it is a reality that is created by those strong enough to exert control over their environment."  That is the challenge that lies ahead.  Taking control of my environment to create a future where Avery has every opportunity to succeed.  This goes beyond her gymnastic future and spills into every opportunity for all three of my kids.  As a parent, your heart always bends toward wanting to give them everything.  While I may never be able to give them everything, the provision for the future will not just happen.  It requires a vision and a plan driven by one really BIG WHY that I want it to accomplish.  And today that why is the dreams of this little girl...

Creating a movement -- #livewithhope

Have you ever had one of those days?  A day when you feel like everything is falling around you?  I know I have, even recently.  We all face struggles.  We all face hard times.  We all hit points that feel like the end of our ropes.

If you have followed me on Instagram (@jeffpittsfitness) or LIKED my Facebook Page you would have seen the hashtag #livewithhope.  I saw hope defined as the desire + expectation = hope.  I think we often lack one or both of these things.  We have lost a desire to see or be different.  We have lost an expectation that things can change.  And what we have really lost is HOPE!

Once of the most crippling feelings is a loss of hope.  I dont' know where you have lost hope.  Maybe you've lost hope in your fitness.  Maybe you've lost hope in your job.  Maybe you've lost hope in a relationship.  What I realize is that a fitness program and Shakeology won't magically fix broken places...this email is not about that.

This is just a simple word of encouragement -- #livewithhope!  Find your desire and expectation for what it is you have lost hope in.  Sometimes the tipping point of changes is our belief that it can be different, our HOPE that it will be different.

I have a dream, if you would dream with me to create a movement.  The #LIVEWITHHOPE movement.  What I think we don't realize is that so many people live hopeless, live in constant emotional struggle.  That there are people who everyday face that day without an expectation to that change will happen.  The loss of expectation drains desire to make it different.  It creates a life without HOPE!

Would you help me by doing one things over the course of the next week?  Will you tag one pic, one facebook post with me in it and the hashtag #livewithhope.  Maybe we don't change the world, but I do believe we can change one heart!  Help me create a movement the #livewithhope movement.

Hoping you find your hope!