Disappointed Client 2014-09-15

Disappointed Client 2014-09-15

5:33am. He was running a few minutes late. Not a big deal. I was waiting at his cardio machine. He always is pretty excited to see me in the morning. But this morning he didn’t smile. I could tell something was wrong. 

He got on this machine and said his shoulder is absolutely killing him. Yesterday he could barely lift his shoulder. My mind started racing. What had we done on Friday? Wait, it didn’t hurt until Sunday? That doesn’t make sense. Believe me, we’re not lifting heavy. 

I am very confident in the workout routine we’ve put together for Jim. But he was certainly a disappointed client. Not in his work, not in my programing, but in his body. As we continued our workout, he talked about the fact that his brother and his sister don’t have these problems. And he works out more than both of them.

It reminded me that a big part of my job as a personal trainer is a mental coach. I need to be a sports psychologist and constantly talk my clients through the mental game of athletic training.

Mens ministry kickoff

This morning I walked through the lobby at church with a different lens. I saw all kids of men that I recognized from our mens ministry kickoff meeting yesterday morning. It feels so good to be back in ministry.

Since early this spring, five of us have been meeting to discuss what the fall launch would look like and what we could realistically offer. We had a nice interest this spring when we surveyed the men. Then we had a great turnout yesterday - about 40 men showed up and a few others will attend in the future but had previous engagements. I am organizing the email lists, so I started matching faces with names. I had great conversations with the guys and as John Rosensteel noted on Facebook, there was a palpable energy in the room. Our next step is to keep that flame going while the fire is lit. 

I have so much passion for this ministry because I believe to my absolute core that helping men become the men they’re called to be is vitally imporant for families and for the Church. I had a significant hole in my childhood; my dad was not a positive influence. Ever since, I’ve looked to other men for leadership, direction, advice, inspiration. As I’ve grown in my relationship with God, I’ve learned that He’s charge men to carry a significant weight in this world, and many men are simply unprepared, unmotivated, or unwilling. That needs to change.

This morning was so encouraging for me because I could see the potential of all these men creating community for themselves, growing together, growing in their families, leading well, and serving well. If I can play may role in this ministry, God will be pleased. 

Add a Post Title

This morning I walked through the lobby at church with a different lens. I saw all kids of men that I recognized from our mens ministry kickoff meeting yesterday morning. It feels so good to be back in ministry.

Since early this spring, five of us have been meeting to discuss what the fall launch would look like and what we could realistically offer. We had a nice interest this spring when we surveyed the men. Then we had a great turnout yesterday - about 40 men showed up and a few others will attend in the future but had previous engagements. I am organizing the email lists, so I started matching faces with names. I had great conversations with the guys and as John Rosensteel noted on Facebook, there was a palpable energy in the room. Our next step is to keep that flame going while the fire is lit. 

I have so much passion for this ministry because I believe to my absolute core that helping men become the men they’re called to be is vitally imporant for families and for the Church. I had a significant hole in my childhood; my dad was not a positive influence. Ever since, I’ve looked to other men for leadership, direction, advice, inspiration. As I’ve grown in my relationship with God, I’ve learned that He’s charge men to carry a significant weight in this world, and many men are simply unprepared, unmotivated, or unwilling. That needs to change.

This morning was so encouraging for me because I could see the potential of all these men creating community for themselves, growing together, growing in their families, leading well, and serving well. If I can play may role in this ministry, God will be pleased. 

Evernote and GTD

August 25, 2014
8:59 AM
I had some issues with Evernote this morning so I logged onto the website to verfiy some settings. The homepage caught my attention.
Interesting timing because I was just reading an article last night and talking this morning with a client about the importance of getting things off your mind and into one central location. This way the brain doesn’t have to continually use that RAM to process these thoughts, ideas, projects, tasks. This processing causes anxiety, and who needs that?
For me it was a good reminder to get things into one place. I am a pack rat. But I also struggle wiht being disciplined and putting things into one place. Evernote gets 90% of it, but some sits in email, some in Reminders, and sometimes it feels great to just write it in a phyiscal notebook. But the coaches would never store plays on a piece of loose leaf paper. They’d never develop some audibles and append them via Post-It notes. It’s all in one binder. It’s all in one file. And my life’s work needs to be organzied the exact same way.

Placing a Rock on Barriques Monroe Street Breakfast Spot

August 13, 2014
7:20 AM
This is a post where I am placing a rock as a memory of a season of life. I’m at Barriques on Monroe Street. I have a window seat and I’m drinking a red eye, waiting for my Avacado Jack wrap. This was a routine for many weeks on Wednesday mornings. I teach TRX Kettlebell fusion at the YMCA (Dane County West branch), shower up, and head down the street to plan my day and do some writing. I will miss this view.
Lately I’ve dealt with a lot of changes. The YMCA came and went pretty fast. Pinnacle is in the picture now. H&H Arborists has transitioned to it’s own little business, I work very independently. But then we lost three guys and my role changed dramatically. Katie and I would both agree that I don’t typically deal well with change but this season it’s forced me into a level of organiaation and efficientcy that I haven’t had before. This is a really good thing.
I just want to take a few minutes to bring this season to an end. And I want to test Desk.PM which I haven’t done a good job with. I want to publish more, I want to journal more. I want to slow down, observe what’s going on and write about it. Then I want to live a better life because I’m reflecting on things, planning well, executing well. I want to live a disciplined life.

Add a Post Title

August 8, 2014

3:43 PM

test post using DeskPM

The Governor

I have a client who has quite a past. When I say that, I mean that he has quite the athletic background. The purpsose of this post is to tell you about his motor. He has some knee issues and he’s also a heavy lifter. So I’ve been very cognizant about him hurting his knees. He has some large goals, which is great. But as he said one day, “Some people have a governor with sports - I don’t have one of those.” 

What he means is that he has a hard time turning it off. He has a hard time slowing down. He has one speed: full spped. I can appreciate that. As a runner, I’ve tried to be discipined with my runs, focusing on different physicological stresses for different runs. Some days I neeed to just take it easy. Yet there’s always that urge to go faster. There’s always that thought that I’ve got more in the tank. But for the sake of injury and for the sake of proper training, it’s wise to fight that urge and be disciplined in your training.

This is just a test post. Ididn’t write it for any reason other than to get some thoughts out, not for professional publishing purposes.

Add a Post Title

August 8, 2014

3:43 PM

test post using DeskPM

The Governor

I have a client who has quite a past. When I say that, I mean that he has quite the athletic background. The purpsose of this post is to tell you about his motor. He has some knee issues and he’s also a heavy lifter. So I’ve been very cognizant about him hurting his knees. He has some large goals, which is great. But as he said one day, “Some people have a governor with sports - I don’t have one of those.” 

What he means is that he has a hard time turning it off. He has a hard time slowing down. He has one speed: full spped. I can appreciate that. As a runner, I’ve tried to be discipined with my runs, focusing on different physicological stresses for different runs. Some days I neeed to just take it easy. Yet there’s always that urge to go faster. There’s always that thought that I’ve got more in the tank. But for the sake of injury and for the sake of proper training, it’s wise to fight that urge and be disciplined in your training.

This is just a test post. Ididn’t write it for any reason other than to get some thoughts out, not for professional publishing purposes.

Add a Post Title

August 8, 2014

3:43 PM

**test post using DeskPM

The Governor

I have a client who has quite a past. When I say that, I mean that he has quite the athletic background. The purpsose of this post is to tell you about his motor. He has some knee issues and he’s also a heavy lifter. So I’ve been very cognizant about him hurting his knees. He has some large goals, which is great. But as he said one day, “Some people have a governor with sports - I don’t have one of those.” 

What he means is that he has a hard time turning it off. He has a hard time slowing down. He has one speed: full spped. I can appreciate that. As a runner, I’ve tried to be discipined with my runs, focusing on different physicological stresses for different runs. Some days I neeed to just take it easy. Yet there’s always that urge to go faster. There’s always that thought that I’ve got more in the tank. But for the sake of injury and for the sake of proper training, it’s wise to fight that urge and be disciplined in your training.

This is just a test post. Ididn’t write it for any reason other than to get some thoughts out, not for professional publishing purposes.

Another Fresh Start

Things are off to a great start at Pinnacle. Clients are coming in each week. People are recognizing me from the posters. Next Friday I have a meet and greet with staff and other members. This is the third place where I’ve trained clients and of course every location and business is different, but I’m focusing on what I can control: my personal business.

It’s a fresh start, again. The actual exercise prescription part of the business hasn’t changed a lot for me. What has changed is how I keep my schedule organized and efficient with my other job at H&H Arborists. I’m also still teaching a few classes at the YMCA, so wearing three hats has been a challenge. It’s forced me to develop a great system of email and calendar, a system many professionals have already developed but I haven’t needed thus far. Additionally, some technology has changed (for the better, of course) and I am all about using it to my advantage. My objective is to have all my clients and all their workouts on all my devices at all times. I want to run my business of my iPad if possible. I want to be paperless. Why? So that I can simplify the workflow to simple inputs and outputs that are reliable. I don’t want to carry a binder. I don’t even want to carry a laptop. I want everything on iPad, and I’ve done that. I was able to get there with this fresh start at Pinnacle. I started developing the system at the Y, but it was simplistic based on my workload. With all these clients, there’s more moving parts, a more demanding schedule, and more communication with both clients and staff. This is just the technology side. A fresh start is an opportunity to reinvent yourself. As a fitness professional, I’ve grown in my ability to get clients up to speed quicker, I keep them engaged and challenged better than ever, and this is because I have more tools in my tool belt. None of this is rocket science. All successful professionals should be growing, getting stronger and more efficient in their craft. For me, writing about it is a critical piece so that I can look back at my path and notice progress, but also so that I can process my current status to figure out where I need to go next.

Add a Post Title

"It's a rat race." We drive to achieve, please everyone and ourselves, compare to everything we don't have and everyone who we wish we were. And it's a crazy cycle downwards from there. It's no wonder life is exhausting. As I read those last couple lines, they seem almost cliche because I've read them in so many books, heard them at even more conferences, and even felt their reality with leadership teams when we go though assessments and team health. But after reading the introduction to the Search for Significance, I'm reflecting on my notes and realizing it's all true. Well at least it is for me. It often feels like a rat race and that my comparisons are real but they need to be transferred to my Creator. He is where I need to find my significance. And to many days that simply is not the case.

Draft Search for Significance Chapter 1

The Search for Significance

 Chapter One

We are all unaware of how wounded we are. Emotionally, relationally, and spiritually we are not objective about our health in these areas and therefore we do not know how to get moving in the right direction. I highlighted a lot from this first chapter but the one I underlined was the following: It’s difficult - if not impossible - to turn on the light of objectivity by ourselves. McGee goes on to say it’s a one-two punch of the Holy Spirit and another friend that’s required to turn the light on. I couldn't agree more, yet I continually feel the challenge to pursue both of those relationships on a regular basis in my life.

I’m excited to read this book so that I’m forced to consider these relationships. I find lots of comfort when I read the Psalms, and those are readily quote by McGee later in the chapter. And the reminder from McGee is helpful: simply ask the Lord to give you the courage to be honest. Give Him permission to shine His Psirit’s light on your thoughts, feelings, and actions. But even as we allow this work of God to happen, we must remember that we are on a battlefield. We must be equipped for spiritual battle. That strength comes directly from the Word of God, prayer with God, and fellowship with His people (our brothers and sisters). Do you have that? Do I? If not, what are we doing to pursue it? 

I know I’m loved. My problem is too often I don’t feel like I’m loved by God. I have doubts (pretty big doubts, if I’m honest). Beyond doubts, I flat-out don’t like certain situations and “seasons” God has put into my life. Or from another perspetive, I don’t like how He’s equipped me to handle those situations. These thoughts lead me to that place where I don’t feel God’s love and it takes a disiplined effort to not only get into His presence but feel the loving hand of my Father. 

Draft Search for Significance Chapter 1

 The Search for Significance

Introduction

I love Nancy’s book club. Well, I guess I love the motivation behind it and the potential that it has. I don’t necessarily love the execution. Six years ago when our aunt Nancy died, Unlce Paul (her brother) introduced a book club to the family. Nancy was a voracious reader and he wanted that legacy to live on. I’ve always had the desire to create a blog from this so that an extended family which stretches across Wisconsin and Minnesota could discuss the book each year. Sadly, I’ve never made this happen. 

So here it goes: The Search For Significance

We are all unaware of how wounded we are. Emotionally, relationally, and spiritually we are not objective about our health in these areas and therefore we do not know how to get moving in the right direction.