Think working hard means sweating more? Think again. This post breaks down what actually counts as hard work in training—from intentional structure and invisible effort to recovery, consistency, and long-term results.
How To Talk To Yourself When You Mess Up
Minimum Effective Dose: The Busy Person's Guide to Getting Fitter Without Burning Out
Better Beats Perfect — Every Damn Time
Yes, You Need to Push Yourself In The Gym — But Here’s How to Know When and How Much
Stop Trying to Be ‘Good.’ Start Aiming for Well.
Consistency Over Chaos: What Actually Builds Fitness That Lasts
High Performer, Harsh Critic: When Success in One Area Feeds Self-Doubt in Another
Train for the Life You Want, Not Just the Body You Miss
Why You Are Not Broken (Even If It Feels Like It Right Now)
Struggling to stay consistent with health or fitness? You’re not broken — you’re just stuck in patterns that don’t work. This honest, practical post explains why extreme approaches fail and how small, committed changes can lead to sustainable transformation. A must-read if you're ready to try differently, not harder.
Why Most Diets Fail (and What to Do Instead)
Finding A New Why
From Spartan Races to rediscovering joy in movement, this journey explores overcoming fear, embracing endurance, and confronting burnout after years of relentless competition. With 2025 as a no-race year, it’s a chance to rebuild strength, rediscover passion, and find a new ‘why’ beyond finish lines. A raw reflection on resilience, growth, and the evolving purpose of fitness.
Race Recap: Around The Lake Give'R Take 30K
Read a raw, start-to-finish recap of the 2024 Around The Lake Give'R Take 30K, featuring brutal weather, challenging trails, and mental grit. Join me as I push through fear, anxiety, and pain to beat cutoff times and conquer personal limits. Discover insights on pacing, race-day strategy, and why doing the hard things is always worth it.
Doing Stuff Anyway
I'm facing a tough race with challenging weather and terrain, and I'm not sure I'll make the cutoff. To succeed, I'll need to sustain a pace I've rarely managed before, and there's a real risk of failure or injury. But it's not just about finishing—it's about pushing beyond my comfort zone, testing my limits, and seeing what I’m capable of, even if it scares me. Sometimes you just do stuff anyway.
How Feasting Traditions Connect Us: Mindful Eating Tips for Holiday Celebrations
Exploring the role of feasts throughout history, highlighting how they foster connection, reinforce cultural values, and celebrate abundance, this post examines our evolutionary tendency for overconsumption during feasts and offers strategies for enjoying these occasions mindfully without compromising health. By approaching communal meals with intention, we can maintain balance and celebrate without overindulging.
My Journey To Ultra - The Obstacle Is The Way
My Journey To Ultra - Baseline (Day 1)
Embarking on a transformative journey in 2024, I'm taking on two monumental challenges: my first 50K mountain ultramarathon and my first Spartan Race Ultra on my 50th birthday. Despite recent health setbacks and injuries, I'm determined to reach peak physical condition. Join me as I document this journey of resilience and self-discovery - it won't be boring!
I Will Endure, I Will Experience, and I Will Learn
With so little time to prepare going into my Spartan Death Race (I fly out in 2 weeks!), I'm not going to be able to do anything to meaningfully alter and train my body for the physical demands of this kind of ultra-endurance event. It's simply not possible. Preparing to take the step up from around where my current conditioning is at to run a multi-day endurance race is usually achieved on the timescale of years (yes, YEARS, plural), not weeks, so I'm just going to have to "run what I brung" to use an old motor-racing phrase.
But I can't help having some real moments of deep self-doubt. Like, literally tears streaming down my face while out on a walk or run, "who the hell do I think I am to attempt this?" and "I am in WAY over my head" kind of moments.
So, knowing that I can't change myself physically, and working through my moments of self-doubt, what CAN I do to prepare?
Is Coach JP Crazy? Maybe A *Little* Bit...LOL
What I Learned While Climbing WAY Too Many Stairs Last Weekend
I went into last weekend's Step Up For Cardiac Health event with zero expectations. I was just there to put in my best effort and support a good, local cause. To end up finishing as the first place male and second place overall was honestly quite a shock.
I can't remember the last time I was first place at anything. I honestly don't know that I've EVER been first place before. Maybe sometime in grade school at a Sports Day event...? Nope- just remembered. Raina and I won first place in the Boys & Girls Club Car Rally back in 2002, I think.
Anyway, here are a few things I learned along the way…