Lesson Eight: People Matter More Than Programming When I first became a coach, I spent a lot of time thinking about programming. Was this the right exercise? The right number of sets? The right percentage? The right progression? Those things matter. They always will. But over the last nine years, I've realized something. The workout has never been the most important part of coaching. People are. I've learned that no program—no matter how well it's written—can replace listening. No perfectly...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Lesson Seven: Intentional & Deliberate If there's one phrase that's probably become synonymous with my coaching over the years, it's this: Intentional. Deliberate. You've heard me say it before a lift. During a workout. After a missed rep. And probably more times than you can count. The funny thing is... Those two words have come to mean just as much to me outside the gym as they do inside it. When I first started coaching, I thought my job was to help people work harder. Over the years, I...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Lesson Six: Consistency Beats Perfection If there's one lesson I've seen proven over and over again during the last nine years, it's this: Perfection is overrated. I've never met anyone who had a perfect training schedule. Life doesn't work that way. Vacations happen. Kids get sick. Work gets busy. Injuries happen. Motivation comes and goes. There will always be reasons to miss a workout. There will always be seasons when life feels overwhelming. The people who experienced the greatest...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Lesson Five: Everyone Starts Somewhere One of my favorite things about coaching has nothing to do with what happens after someone joins. It's what happens before they ever walk through the front door. I've lost count of how many conversations have started with some version of the same sentence. "I'm probably the most out of shape person you've ever met." "I'm nervous." "I don't even know where to start." "I just don't want to embarrass myself." The interesting thing is... Almost everyone...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Lesson Four: Small Victories Become Remarkable Lives One of the biggest surprises over the last nine years has been realizing that life rarely changes all at once. Most of the time, it changes so gradually that you hardly notice it's happening. Someone comes in excited because they finally did their first push-up. Someone else celebrates adding five pounds to a lift. Another member finishes an entire workout without needing to stop and catch their breath. By themselves, those moments don't...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Lesson Three: We Were Never Meant to Do Hard Things Alone There’s a quote I come back to all the time: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” And honestly… the longer I’ve been in this, the more I see just how true that really is. Most people walk into a gym thinking they’re just signing up for workouts. They want to... Lose weight. Get stronger. Feel better. But somewhere along the way, they find something they weren’t expecting. They come to realize they've...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Lesson Two: Simple NOT Easy If you've spent any amount of time around me, you've probably heard me say this more than once: Simple. NOT Easy. It's become more than a coaching phrase. It's become one of the biggest lessons these last nine years have taught me. When people decide they want to get healthier, they often start searching for the perfect plan. The perfect workout. The perfect diet. The perfect supplement. The perfect routine. The truth is, most of us already know what we need to do....
2 months ago • 1 min read
Lesson One: Strength Changes More Than Your Body When I first opened the doors to Strength & Strike Fitness nine years ago, I thought I was helping people become stronger. In one sense, I was. We celebrated personal records, first pull-ups, first push-ups, heavier lifts, faster runs, and accomplishments that once seemed impossible. Those moments never stopped being exciting, and they never will. But somewhere along the way, I realized something much bigger was happening. The greatest...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Walking... It rarely gets much attention because it feels too simple. It doesn’t look intense.It doesn’t leave you exhausted.It doesn’t create the feeling that you “really worked hard.” Because of that, people often underestimate how powerful it is. But walking solves more problems than it gets credit for. ✅ It helps regulate blood sugar after meals✅ It supports digestion✅ It lowers stress✅ It improves circulation✅ It helps recovery from harder workouts And because it doesn’t drain the...
5 months ago • 1 min read