This may be taking me a bit away from my typical fitness talk and sound more like the what I typically write on my personal blog, but I think it is very important.

Its hard for me to understand what has happened to the human brain as we have evolved. Look back at how much man has accomplished over the last few hundred years. We have gone from absolutely nothing but earth to the automobile, the lightbulb, the television, the cellphone and now the iPad. We have faced such complicated equations whose solution has seemed impossible. Yet we have not only figured out that equation but ventured into a whole new set problems. Again and again we find a way to solve these issues. Our brains are so incredibly ingenious and yet we only use a small percentage. There is no telling how much incredible a single human can produce especially that our voice is now stronger than ever.

At the same time, man consistently underperforms. We spend our lives dreaming and not living, until one day we stop dreaming at all. When we are children we race fearlessly into any challenge no matter how big, in fact the bigger the better. We haven’t been told that we cannot do something enough so we see this world of possibility. As we get older this world of possibility shrinks and we start to follow the path of least resistance. School gets hard so we learn to just cruise through it. Finding a great job only happens to lucky people so we settle for the available one. Being one of the most well known leaders in your industry only happens to those who “know somebody” so we become content just being who we are. We begin to excuse the act of being ordinary and get used to being just like everyone else.

The fight seems to die out on people after years because they don’t see the point anymore. They tried a few times and failed so instead of trying again they learn to settle for the easy. This is true in the majority of people in the world. It shows in the jobs that people have, the relationships they have and the level of happiness they have. We also see this in a lot of ways with the level of fitness our country has. Its unbelievable how we have settled for this garbage food that they throw at us. Its unreal how we have settled for these cheap and corny “Get 6 pack abs in a week” products that we see. It seems too hard to put some effort in actually eating healthy and consistently exercising. We get a little older, things seem too hard so we settle.

The thing is, that no one every achieved true happiness and joy from settling. Ask a couple that has been together for 50 years and they will tell you their relationship wasn’t easy. Ask Bill Gates about building and maintaining Microsoft I guarantee you that wasn’t easy. Just look at the amazing reward that these people have gotten out of working hard toward something. If it was easy, you would get bored and be over it. The fact that you can put so much energy into something that almost brakes you down, but you kept moving until finally it is a success is what its all about. Yet we forget about this feeling.

It wears me down to see people starting these trendy diets or exercise plans for a few weeks and then stop. Its either too hard or they aren’t seeing the good quickly enough. Why do we not see the fun in a challenge anymore? Eating healthily and consistently exercising is not easy, I will be the first to say. The reward is far greater when you have to battle for something.

The fact that I can fly across country 3 times in a month in the height of “cold season” and not get sick is a piece of accomplishment to me. I eat really well and take care of myself, so I have an immune system to fight that a possible cold. I completely wiped out while snowboarding yesterday crushing my hip, yet feel better today than yesterday is an accomplishment to me. I should feel way worse today than yesterday but I don’t. I take care of my body by consistently exercising so it knows how to recover faster.

These little victories make it all worth it and when I am 70 years old and feel like I am 40 that will be a major victory. Yeah sometimes I want to just grub out on some terrible food and not workout for weeks, but the mental battle of overcoming that urge is what builds me. If you consistently put yourself in these challenging situations, you will continue to grow. Even if you are 40 or 50 you can still be growing tremendously. Continue to accept failure and learn from it as opposed to taking the easy route. It kills me to see that 60 year old cashier at a grocery store. Not because it is a bad job or anything like that but because I doubt that is what they wanted to do when they were fresh out of high school or college. They settled and took the easy road. With all that we have done you would think we would be more ambitious than ever. All of these amazing tools and resources we have around us. Yet many fall short and most dont ever try. Don’t settle, don’t ever settle. Be your best.

First off I need to thank everyone who signed up for Shadow Fit’s personalized workouts this week and all of you who became a Shadow Fit Fan. We had a bunch of new sign ups to the site which is exciting and over 100 fans added to the page! Also, want to congratulate myself and everyone who has helped me reach 100 article posts! Wow it definitely doesn’t feel like we’ve done that many. Here’s to the next 100.I’ve been banging my head on the desk all day trying to think of something to post about for this weeks FitTalk. There are so many things that I like to discuss in the fitness world but they usually end up turning into informational articles as opposed to the random thoughts style blog post that I am going for with FitTalk. Sometimes when I get writing the juices start to flow and I end up pumping out a lot of thoughts. So, this is my approach for this week. If It gets sloppy, my apologies.

Sick Of It

Its really hard being in the position that I am in. On one hand I am completely involved in the fitness industry, but on the other I am trying to run in the other direction as fast as possible. I don’t mean this like I am trying to get out of the fitness industry, but just trying my best to avoid being like all these other companies. There was the Los Angeles “Fit Expo” this weekend and I couldn’t even get myself to head down there because I knew I would be embarrassed and upset. I don’t need to see 23 brands with the best new protein ever or 100 new pieces of exercise equipment that will save my life. I am constantly disgusted by the way most fitness companies and fitness professionals present themselves. Just about everything I see is either scammy looking or so cheesy that it is hard to believe that anyone sells any products. Every infomercial is a riot and all the new equipment and videos I see is in the same boat. It’s funny, but at the same time really sad.

What’s Wrong?

To see this industry turn into this is embarrassing for those of us that are in it and actually trying to help people and at the same time look like a normal person. I’ve said before that my goal is to actually change the way the fitness industry is perceived and to truly help people with making lifestyle changes. This goal is an astronomical goal but a necessary one as well. The worlds health is steadily deteriorating and we are becoming more and more dependent on prescription meds and quick fix supplements. I can see how people look at getting in shape as this daunting task because for one, no one is actually giving them good information and secondly there is so much to sift through how do you know who to listen to?

Get Real

I wish I could just shake everyone saying “Listen you know what to do, there’s no big mystery behind it. Eat better, move around more and stop stressing over everything.” You do that and this will be alright. You don’t have to start some extreme workout program or diet. The people that you know to be the most in shape probably haven’t been on a proper diet in a long time. They just know to eat right and get in exercise a few days per week. Don’t buy into all this nonsense you see on the TV or in magazine ads, these products can’t save your life only you can.

The Secret

Another thing that has bothered me for a long time is the book The Secret. While I am a fan of the book and agree with everything it says, I think it is misleading. Basically the book just tells you to be positive and to keep telling yourself that whatever you hope will happen actually will. If you want this $2.5 million house or a $100,000 car you’ll get it if you dream of it enough. While I am a big believer in the “Law of Attraction” I think the book gives people the wrong idea. No way can you just sit around all day thinking “I’m going to make $1 million this year.” and have it actually happen. In reality you have to put these thoughts into action and use them as a driving force. I am not a fan of putting materialistic things such as a house or a car as a main purpose in life and I think the book almost gets you to put those things up front.

The Answer

I read a book by John Assaraf and Murray Smith called The Answer. which I think is a must as a follow up to “The Secret”. This book actually gives you a bit of reality on how to put all these thoughts into play. It gives some credibility to the “Law of Attraction” and tells you how to actually use it. Lets get real, for the most part things aren’t that easy. All of these overnight successes that we hear of are usually years and years in the making. Sure some people catch a lucky break, but for the most part its going to be a grind.

The good thing is that I truly believe anyone one of us can be great. If you look at some of the top philantopists, business people or public figures in the world they are really no different from you. They likely aren’t much smarter than you or better at what they do than you. They just thought big and constantly moved forward to their goals. They got beat up a lot and probably had many failures, but they used those towards their advantage. People look at a guy like Donald Trump and think he’s in this elite status of people. With regards to wealth, sure he is. With regard to brains and communications skills he likely doesn’t have anything that you don’t. The big difference is that he knew what he wanted and would not let anything get in his way. The vast majority of the time it is those who are willing to go “All-in” that succeed and those that play timid and scared are the ones who lose. Figure out what it is you want and don’t stop until you get it.

Workout Jam Of The Week
I am going to start doing a workout jam of the week, suggesting a song that I am currently loving during my workouts.

This weeks selection:

Rocco DeLuca & The Burden “Save Yourself”

I had a feeling I would be able to ramble. Thanks for reading.

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Leave a response at the bottom of the article,

E-mail me personally at jfontana@shadowfit.com

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Simplicity Is Beautiful

My thoughts this week are short and simple, it’s fitting because I am talking about simplicity. I think simplicity in life is very important and many times we get extremely overwhelmed by all that we have going on. We have a tendency to make small things very complicated which makes our lives more difficult and less productive. There are times to make things complex and put a ton of time and energy into them, but most of the time taking the simple route is likely the best.

Nutrition

In the case of diet and exercise simplicity is something we need to get back to. Throughout a given week I typically hear of about 10 new thoughts on nutrition. Sometimes they are about certain vitamins that we need to be getting more of or a certain food that we need to stop eating. Other times I hear about new diets that are out and how amazing they are. People place so much attention on the little nuances of their diet that they lose sight of what they are truly trying to accomplish.

My advice is to take a more simple approach and live by these two proverbs. The first is to eat foods that come from the ground. Obviously this is fruits and vegetables, while also including animals. If the majority of the food you eat came from the ground, all will be well. Sure its great to start drinking kombucha tea and eating cultured vegetables, but this in the end will likely make things very complex and confusing for you. Just eat food that originated from the ground and dodge the foods that were made in a factory.

The second is to eat like a king for breakfast, a queen for lunch and a peasant for dinner. The majority of people eat in the reverse order and this is where we start to run into weight issues. Forget about all of these crazy diets and just flip your eating patterns to having a heavy breakfast, a medium lunch and a light dinner. Obviously I recommend some snacks in there as well.

Exercise

The exercise field has gotten incredibly complicated in recent years. The “functional” and “core” training talk started up and we started to see stability balls, BOSU balls, kettle bells, balance boards and every other type of exercise product you can think of. While these tools are mostly good and effective, people use them incorrectly. When  I say incorrectly I am talking about how they look at the equipment. Instead of utilizing these tools to supplement their workouts, many people design the workout around the equipment. An example would be someone trying to design an entire workout around the stability ball as opposed to the stability ball just making its way into a few exercises. Things get complicated when you look at a piece of a equipment and think “What all can I do with this” instead of thinking “What exercise is next” and then deciding if adding something such as a stability ball to the exercise would make it better.

My point is that you need to get back to a basic level and design your workouts around you as opposed to how many different gadgets you can use in each workout. The fact that you can stand one legged on a BOSU ball and do bicep curls may be cool in your mind but is it really benefitting you? Realize what you need to accomplish each workout and then figure out where those extra tools can help. You should utilize your time towards the most effective exercises.

Your Purpose?

I think we make life in general far too complicated and need to start getting back to basics. People get so worked up about the tiniest of things and act like they are life changing when in fact you will forget about them in a week. Remember what your main purpose of your life is (everyones is different) and execute everyday towards that purpose. By doing that you will start to cut out a lot of the nonsense that we get caught up in.