Coach’s Journal: CEO Letters – Page 6

PP1: Live Fit, Live Free, Part 1

Overview of the Fitness Lifestyle

Health, or the pathway to health, has been overcomplicated by all the conflicting information published by “health” organizations. That is a shame, because all the confusion makes it hard for you to make solid health decisions. Well, that all ends today. Health should be easy. And living a healthy lifestyle should be simple. The goal of PP1: Live fit, Live free, is to demystify the conflicting health information. Below are the 4 principles that my family and I use to live an easy and simple lifestyle. I call it a fitness lifestyle. First, I want to give you a little background information on how I came up with these four principles.

Many moons ago, I learned a 6 dimensional model of wellness in one of my undergraduate classes. I was intrigued by the model, and I felt that it made tons of sense. However, it does require a good bit of knowledge to implement successfully. I actually found myself exploring a ton of avenues in order to be perfect at living well. Later in life, I added a seventh dimension, which complicated things even more. These seven dimensions form the foundation of the wellness model that my family and I live by, and it is the foundation of the principles that I will share with you here. However, I do not want you to become an expert in all of these aspects. I just want you to be aware that they exist. Let your health care provider become the expert.

7 Dimensional Model of Wellness

It took me many more years of education and experience to fill some much needed gaps between knowledge and application. In fact, I am still learning how specific parts of these dimensions impact health. PP1: Live fit, Live free, is the easy button for you. I reduced the 7 dimensional model to 4 principles, which are also action steps. I found that simplicity rules the day.

Many of my personal training clients and patients achieved their goals faster when I simplified and combined concepts. When it comes to making changes, knowledge is important, but repeatable action is the most important thing. So, I do not want to overwhelm you with knowledge here. I want to give you the basic framework that formed the basis of my fitness lifestyle. So, whenever I mention that phrase, you know that I have these seven aspects of wellness in mind. For me, the 7 dimensions are categories that I would use to measure results. For you, the 4 principles are action steps for you to get results. These action steps have improved the overall health and fitness level for my family and I. They have also helped to reduce our stress levels and medical visits. For me, it has been instrumental in living life with more purpose and job fulfillment.

Action Steps to Health | Fitness Lifestyle

Eat Clean.

The Foundation of Health. A strong mind and body comes from a healthy gut. That starts with daily nutrition from a variety of nuts & seeds, tons of vegetables, fruits, lean animal/plant proteins, and healthy fats and digestive support in the form of whole-foods supplements and essential oils.

Train Hard.

Move Better | Move More. Regular exercise strengthens the muscles and supports the cardiovascular, circulatory, and lymphatic systems. At a minimum, your training program should include dedicated time for mobility, flexibility, strength, and endurance. Incorporating essential oils into your recovery program can support joint mobility and ease feelings of tension in the body.

Use Essential Oils.

Targeted Support. Essential oils are a natural solution that you can use as your first line of defense, for getting consistent quality sleep and managing stress, and for supporting the body’s natural pathways of detoxification with natural cleaning and self-care product.

Enjoy LIfe.

Do What You Love | Love What You Do. Each of use is uniquely powerful. Finding out how you are uniquely powerful is the key to unleashing your infinite potential and your greatest joy in life. This may be the most important action step.

This concludes Part 1 of PP1: Live Fit, Live Free. In Part 2, I will invite you to put the model into practice.

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EO1. The Informed Self-Care Series

Self-care is one of the most important elements for increasing health to the greatest degree. Physicians are trained to be skillful in diagnosis and the treatment of signs and symptoms. However, their decision making is based on averages and “norms”. Treatment plans are created to move abnormal findings (signs and symptoms) into a normal range. By definition, an average is a single value that represents the general significance of a set of unequal values. Those unequal values can contain extreme outliers that are far from what the norm is for you. You are the only person that experiences every second of your life. That makes you the best judge of what is normal and abnormal for you. Therefore, I encourage my clients and athletes to view health as a personal responsibility. Informed self-care is a personal commitment to take care of yourself. It can come in many forms, but medically speaking, your self-care should focus on supporting the organ systems that form your body. A good way to organize that support is by looking at the traumas, thoughts, and toxins that could damage your health (mind, body, or spirit).

As you move toward taking more responsibility for your own health, it is paramount to understand the issues that may not necessitate the immediate attention of a medical professional. This is where the daily use of essential oils really shines: as a complement to modern medicine. Essential oils can support the proper function of different body systems on a daily basis, address minor blemishes, support feelings of clear breathing, protect against environmental threats, and more.* In the following articles, learn more about the incredible benefits that can come from purposeful essential oil use.

The information in the Informed Self-care Series is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. However, it should get you started on the path to understanding how your body works and learning how to take charge of your health. The key to understanding how your body works is to know how it responds to different levels of rest, stress, exercise, and nutrition.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The Informed Self-Care Series discusses how essentials oils can be used to reduce toxic load, to improve rest & manage stress, and support exercise and healthy eating. Furthermore, it outlines the benefits, history, and uses of essential oils.

Before we dive into the details of essential oils, I would like to share my thoughts on living a healthy lifestyle. First, essential oil use should be a part of your fitness lifestyle. Like other supplements (vitamin, mineral, or sport), they are not a replacement for healthy behaviors. In the following blog, PP1: Live fit, Live free!, I outline the fitness lifestyle that my family and I follow. It has improved our overall health, fitness level, and reduced stress levels and medical visits. For me, it has been instrumental in living life with more purpose and job fulfillment. Feel free to use it.

References

1. Stephen Joel Coons PhD, William F. McGhan PharmD, PhD & J. Lyle Bootman PhD (1989) Self-Care Practices of College Students, Journal of American College Health, 37:4, 170-173, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.1989.9938411

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About Me

Who am I?

I am a Strength & Conditioning Coach
on a mission to bring people closer to God through the pursuit of athletic performance.

I am an athlete
that is pursuing my own salvation through the standard that I teach.

And

I am an entrepreneur
determined to share my message all over the world.

I fractured the 4th vertebra of my lumbar spine (L-4),
while playing football during my senior year of high school.
The rehab process taught me a ton about fitness and sports
performance, and also set my life’s mission into motion.

Every athlete would benefit greatly by learning the value
of fitness, like I did. My mission is to teach them to
understand the value from the moment they begin playing
sports.

Create a For-profit Business that Supports Your Non-profit Dreams

by: Ryan P. Desmond

I started Coaches Network as a means to finance my work in Christ. God created me as a teacher and encourager. Coaching is the most natural profession for me to apply my spiritual gifts of teaching and exhortation. And coaching entrepreneurs is a great way for me to expand my services.

Ryan P. Desmond, Founder of *Coaches Network*

Sport is expensive and requires a great deal of financial resources to produce a meaningful program. Coaching athletes and entrepreneurs is a busy, complimentary mix of who God made me to be. I have the tremendous blessing to see young men grow to become men–husbands and fathers that influence the world for Christ. In addition, the entrepreneurial efforts of the Coaches Network is creating generational wealth for other families to enter into the mission field.

I am proud of the work that we are doing. And I pray that God will continue to give us favor for many years to come. The harvest is great, but the workers are few.

Doing Business. Creating Lifestyle.

The primary mission of Coaches Network is to provide the Desmond Pugh Sports Academy with a strong financial base of support.

Second, we coach sports organizations and other business minds to improve entrepreneurial skills so they can also form a strong financial base of support for the services they provide and create their lifestyle of choice.

Ask me how to join the Coaches Network!

Be Driven by Lifestyle, not Profits. My #1 Principle for Entrepreneurial Success.

by: Ryan P. Desmond

You cannot be an entrepreneur unless you are making profits! However, I do not want you to measure your success by the size of your bank account. Entrepreneurship is about generating enough profit to create freedom. If you tie your success to the size of your bank account, you run the risk of becoming a slave to the money. You don’t want to be a slave to your money, right? You are an entrepreneur because you crave financial freedom and time freedom. So, maintain that vision.

Money is a tool that we need to enjoy life. It buys life experiences. Everyone wants the nice house and beautiful car. Those are things that every dual income household can purchase. In fact, a nice house and beautiful car can be paid off in 5 to 10 years. Entrepreneurs like you and I, typically desire more. Many of us have seen our parents work and work and work, but they were not able to create the comfortable, nest egg. Therefore, we want to create a family legacy of financial success that will span several generations. The house and the car are not enough. We want to also enjoy our money. We want to see our kids play sports. We want to travel and vacation.

We want to retire before 70 and live in an RV seven months out of the year.

You can have your vision. I encourage you to BUILD IT BIG! And, I encourage you to create a plan to make your vision a reality.

This is my one principle for turning a big vision into a reality.

Most people will tell you that creating a business plan is vital to running a successful business. I agree. P.K. Bernard said, “A man without a vision is a man without a future. A man without a future will always return to his past.” You need a clear vision if you want to change your financial circumstances and grow your business. A business plan is your means of planning and tracking your vision. It also allows you to understand your position in comparison to competitors and the consumer market.

This plan should not be built on the principle of money. Money can buy many things, but it does not buy happiness. In fact, “being in love with money opens the door to all kinds of evil, because chasing it can cause you to pursue things that are not in line with your character” (1 Timothy 6:10). Tons of people have traded their morals and integrity in exchange for money. In the process, they have lost family, friends, health, and the ability to enjoy the fruits of their labor. And their lives are filled with misery. This result is the antithesis of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs seek to create a better way of life for themselves, loved ones, and business associates. That is why your lifestyle plan MUST be created first. One day you will retire from work. And when you retire, life will continue. If you do this first step correctly, you will have a life of joy and prosperity several decades after work. Get your lifestyle plan started by creating a Vision Board.