Tag: fitness

5 Types of Plant Based Diets

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Have you always believed that you had to constantly be eating meat to get enough protein?  Yep, me too. 

It has been a long-held belief in both the fitness and nutrition industry that an athlete must rely on animal foods to get enough protein in their diet to recover, rebuild, and refuel muscles after a workout. Makes sense.

But is it actually true?

If you saw my email last week, you know that my partner and I were watching Game Changers, a documentary about plant-based nutrition for athletes and non-athletes alike. 

The message resonated with us so much that we both decided to dive all in to boost energy, perform our best, and recover better from our workouts.

After all, the best way to see if something works for you is to just try it, right?

I’m dedicated to sharing my plant-based journey here, step by step. Along the way, I’ll provide as much info as I can; the science, potential health benefits, tips and tricks, and of course, whether or not it is actually working for me.

What’s A Plant-Based Diet Look Like?

The first week had me asking a lot of questions. Eating habits can be pretty tough to break, so I wanted to really understand what a plant-based diet would look like for me individually.

What are my options? Will I have more energy or less at the start? Should I cut out all refined sugar or just lower it? Are whole grains worth it?

Does bathing in coconut milk give me bonus points? (Ok, maybe not that last one.)

I sought out a lot of information, turning to my nutrition certification resources at Precision Nutrition, and consulted with other nutrition and fitness-focused colleagues. Here are the first two lessons I learned.

Lesson 1: You’ve Got A Lot Of Plant-Based Options

The first thing that stood out to me? There are many different definitions of a plant-based diet. It’s easy to think that a “plant-based” diet means absolutely no meat intake, but it’s not necessarily true! Plant-based just means mostly plants, not plants only.

Lesson 2: A Plant-Based Diet Is Not A Magic Bullet

I want to remind you of something important. All five of these plant-based diets can be a healthy diet. They can also be un-healthy. It all depends on…

  • How mindful you are of what you’re taking in.
  • The ratio of whole foods versus things like refined grains and processed foods.
  • Leveraging a healthy diet by living a healthy lifestyle.

Plant Foods = Healthy Foods?

Imagine a plant-based diet, but it’s only sweet potato, brown rice, and other starchy vegetables. Doesn’t seem like a great idea. A vegan diet that relies a little too much on french fries and does not get the exercise the body craves? Not ideal either.

Each plant-based diet above requires extra care if you want to make sure you’re getting the right levels of essential nutrients and cooking with healthy fats, for example.

With all of this in mind, here’s a basic look at five different plant-based diets and a quick look at some pros and cons. I’ve ordered them from most strict to least.

#1: Vegan

A vegan diet is obviously on the list; no animal products here! Strict vegan diets fall into the “plant-based” bucket because the “plantiness” of their diet is 100 percent.

Pros

Research shows that a strict vegan diet has some positive effects on blood sugar, kidney function, heart disease, and even arthritis. Plus, the high intake of plant foods bumps up nutrients like potassium, folate, and several vitamins.

And while it used to be that a vegan diet had barely any options, that’s changing! Plant-based milks, plant-based protein, nut-based cheeses, and more allow for a wider variety than ever. Just make sure to keep whole foods as your staple.

Cons

Without proper nutritional planning, vegan diets might not provide enough vitamin B12, EFAs (essential fatty acids like Omega-3), and other nutrients. If you go this route, again, focus on whole foods (and possibly supplementing with a good multivitamin).

#2 Vegetarian

Vegetarian diets eliminate meat and seafood, but they do sometimes consume animal products such as eggs, dairy, and honey. Though their food choices are less plant-focused than a vegan’s, they’re still plant-based eaters.

Pros

You get solid variety, which helps simplify your meal plans. You’ll also enjoy some of the health benefits a vegan diet might provide, since plant-based foods are still the majority source of nutrients (take that, cardiovascular disease!)

Cons

Thanks to the rise of plant proteins, plant-based recipes, and new ways of processing food, there’s a ton of heavily processed food that qualifies as vegetarian, but could actually carry the same health risks as animal-based foods. Take a cue from vegans, and aim for minimally processed plant foods; whole grains, whole foods, think “whole” as much as you can.

#3 Flexitarian

Also known as semi-vegetarians, or part-time vegetarians, this is a vegetarian diet that consumes meat and seafood occasionally (or just in small amounts). But because they eat more plants than meat, they still fall into the plant-based bucket.

Pros

Flexitarians get to balance the lowered risk of chronic diseases that vegetarians get with a wide culinary variety.

Cons

I don’t know about you, but for me, allowing too much variety in my diet sometimes creates pressure to make hasty decisions when I shop; analysis paralysis is a real thing.

You also may find yourself “falling off the wagon” slightly more often, which of course could minimize (or even cancel out) the many health benefits of a more strictly plant-based diet.

#4 Pescatarian

This is an easy one: A plant-based diet also rich in fish or seafood. Dairy and eggs are optional, and many pescatarians opt to keep them in for variety’s sake. The bulk of their diet, though, is still plant-based.

Pros

It’s been established that fish can be a significantly healthier alternative to red meat. Some studies also indicate that the gut microbiome—the beneficial bacteria that live in our gut—help ward off obesity when they digest polyunsaturated fatty acids; the kind you find mostly in fish!

Cons

The biggest con here is ethically sourcing your fish and seafood. If you watched Seaspiracy or read The Outlaw Ocean by Pulitzer prize winner Ian Urbina, you’ll know the health of our ocean ecosystems is reaching critical mass. There are also studies on the horizon detailing how microplastics in the ocean are affecting nutrient levels in fish.

#5 Mediterranean Diet

People who follow Mediterranean (or Paleo) diets might eat meat as often as every day. But they also tend to also eat a lot of whole plant foods. These are low-carb diets and focus on eliminating processed foods and refined sugar and replacing them with healthy fats.

As long as plants make up a significant portion of what they eat, we can consider them plant-based too.

Pros

It’s not just buckets of olive oil; this plant-based diet offers a ton of variety. I include Paleo because the macro ratios (percentages of fats, proteins, and carbs) are similar. By focusing more heavily on healthy fats, Mediterranean and Paleo diets can also help regulate hormone levels.

Also, strict Mediterranean diets are associated with a significantly lower risk of cognitive impairment with age.

Cons

Honestly, your mileage can vary. I’ve had clients try both Mediterranean and Paleo diets, and while they enjoyed the variety, the higher fat intake seemed to be hard on their digestive system.

In addition, many of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are also tied to a Mediterranean lifestyle (aka walking in a hilly environment, getting a lot of sun, etc.) which may not be as easy to achieve where you live.

Link to more in-depth research here 

What I Chose

What I found that fits with my philosophy best is #2, a vegetarian diet. This means I intend to occasionally include eggs and cheese but stay away from red meat, poultry, and fish. 

Eggs have been a consistent item in my nutrition program because they are the most closely related protein to what the human body produces to repair muscles after a hard workout.

Bonus, the choline found in egg yolks is a building block of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for memory.

And cheese? Don’t get me started.

Next Steps

So I did the research, I chose the plant-based diet to try, I have a wonderful partner to help hold me accountable on the journey. All that is left is to get cooking and see how I feel!

And after a week of exploring the culinary side of a vegetarian diet, I learned a few more lessons.

Lesson 3: Plant-Based Diets Don’t Have To Be Bland!

I’ll admit that when I started this adventure, my (and my partner’s) mental image of a plant-based diet was pretty bland.

Sure, I had my nutrition training to help us understand all the health benefits, but when it came time to actually cook, we had never fully explored my options.

Our plan was to begin by choosing plant-based or vegetarian recipes the next time we cooked together, which is usually Thursday and Saturdays each week.  On Thursday, it is my night to select the recipe, shop for the ingredients, and set us up for success. 

Rice Noodles with Tofu and Veggies

Dinner #1

So for this first week, I chose a SOBA NOODLE VEGGIE STIR FRY dish from skinnytaste.com.  Here is the link to try it yourself!

Along the way, we made some adjustments to the cooking recipe to make it fit our preferences better.  We chose to swap out the soba noodles for rice noodles and add in tofu for extra protein.

It turned out great!  The egg and the nut butter (yes, you read that right) give it richness, and the sriracha gives it kick. So satisfying.

Here’s a pic of the result of our efforts!

The only drawback to the recipe is how long the prep time was. The rice noodles needed to rest in cold water, which added another 30 minutes to our prep time. Nevertheless, it was not a difficult recipe.

I thought at first the dish wouldn’t make enough food to be filling, but the fiber in the vegetables filled us up quickly. The original recipe has 18.5 grams of protein per serving, but the extra tofu bumped that up, making for a dish that was satisfying as it was tasty—and nourishing for the body.

We had plenty for leftovers which you can see portioned out below for easy grab-n-go lunches!

Mixed Greens Salad with Baked Tofu Chili and Gluten Free Cornbread

Dinner #2

Later on in the first week, my partner chose “The Best Vegan Chili Ever”, a recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken. And, with gluten-free cornbread to compliment the dish!  We both agreed that this was one of our favorite dishes we’ve had together; vegetarian, vegan, or not!

Again, time was the only real drawback.  The tofu takes 45 minutes to cook, and the chili itself once brought to a boil was another hour simmering on the stove! 

That being said, the effort was totally worth the wait, as we both loved the chili with cornbread. Honestly, with all the other great flavors dancing in this chili, it’s impossible to tell the difference between baked tofu and ground chicken.

Here is the recipe with images below of how it turned out!

Plant-Based Eating: How Do I Feel?

It is all well and good to write about science, recipes, plant-based meals, and how amazing baked tofu is. But we still have not covered the final piece of the puzzle: How have I been feeling?

I Feel Great

With 100% adherence to a new plant-based, vegetarian diet, I genuinely feel a lot of energy while performing my best. There doesn’t seem to be as much of a slump in the mid-afternoon.

This first week, I powered through two intense jiu-jitsu classes.  Near the end of the second class, our coaches opened up the mats to students who wished to spar more.  I powered through 3 more 5-7 minute rounds with teammates with energy to spare!  

I’m going to be 100% honest: I wasn’t expecting to have the energy to do that!

Final Thoughts On Week One

Overall, my first week of eating plant-based was a wonderful experience, with the boost in energy I was looking for while filling in the gaps in my previous nutrition program with fiber, nutrient-dense carbohydrates to fuel performance, and recover from workouts better than ever.

I’ve also discovered it’s a diet rich in variety and flavor, even if things take a little longer to cook.

Healthy habits can be hard to maintain though, so I am looking forward to seeing what challenges, questions, and successes the next week brings.

And as always, if you’re looking for support in your own journey toward a plant-based diet, sign up for free emails below. I’ll be happy to share what I find with you!

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What is the 21 Day Challenge!

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First off, we need to know what your goals are before we can start any program to make sure it’s the right fit for you!

What are your top three goals you would like to achieve in the next three week? Is it to lose body fat, build lean muscle, tone up, or boost energy and confidence?

Many of our clients feel as if all of the above are at the top of their list. The good news is that when you build lean muscle, you burn more body fat AND you boost energy naturally while feeling confident in your accomplishments and results.

It’s a win/win right?!

Second, we need to understand why workout programs in the past haven’t worked for you. What are the reasons that you didn’t see results from past programs?

Is it because they were lacking accountability, ways to motivate you, and keep you consistent?

We’ve been there too. Trust me when I say that no one WANTS to workout! But we do want the results and benefits, right?

So how do you get results without having to go to the gym five or six days a week around your busy schedule, your family, friends, and other priorities?

During the 21-Day Challenge that begins next week, you will see how in just 30 to 45 minutes, four times per week, will get you to see a major change in your body, energy, and confidence!

Are you all in?

Not yet? What’s holding you back?

Is it because we don’t know each other? That’s one of the reasons busy people like you talk themselves out of making a commitment. I totally get it. You don’t know me from the other hundreds of skilled trainers in Denver doing remote, online, and in-home coaching right now.

What you can do is conduct time consuming research that may take you a couple days or even a week. Or… you can take a look at some of the transformations we have been a part of while working with clients over the past ten years. They all saw results fast!

Diane– We love Diane’s story because when she reached out for help, she was already consistently going to the gym on her own. That wasn’t the challenge for her. What she felt she needed was a weight training program that was safe and effective that could be done in under an hour.Between juggling her nursing job at night and creating a life she knew she wanted, Diane’s cortisol levels were keeping her stuck at a plateau. And when she began a new program with us, she jump started her transformation and these results came in just eight months of weight training and moderate cardiovascular exercise; all on her schedule! So proud of what Diane was able to do with determination, consistency, and a coachable attitude!

Diane’s transformation from remote coaching, training, and meal prep.

Alanna came to us before her wedding with a big goal of fitting into her dress! She far exceeding her goals of looking and feeling her best on her wedding day that her dress needed to be TAKEN IN by the seamstress! Way to go Alanna on all of your achievements while balancing out your hypoglycemia along the way with the help of your nutritionist!

Alanna’s transformation from online personal training and accountability.

Boyce was a lot like Diane! He wasn’t struggling to get to the gym consistently and yet, he wasn’t seeing his desired results! We gave him a workout program that was 100% remote AND a nutrition program that we knew would be the right fit for his weight loss goal! Not only did he shed over 20% body fat, he felt more energized and motivate to go after what he wanted! He completed a degree program with all that new energy and has a career that he loves working in Boulder, Co!

Boyce’s transformation from nutrition coaching and meal prep.

Kyle‘s goal was to tryout for America Ninja Warrior and he did it! His main goal was to take all of the pressure off himself to research a quality workout program so he came to us. We created a hybrid program where he joined us for small group training once each week and did his homework at home in between! Here he is after the first ten days of his workout program!

Kyle’s transformation from remote coaching, nutrition, and accountability.

Still not convinced? I completely understand because many of our members thought the same thing about the Challenge before they started. They thought, “Does this program actually work?”

The answer is a resounding YES! Through daily interaction with you coach for accountability, personalized workout programs you can do right at home with little to no equipment, AND a fun nutrition program with recipes you and your family will actually love!

Take a look at a few reviews and testimonials we’ve gotten from actual clients over the years on Facebook and Google.

The last thing you’re thinking to convince yourself that you aren’t ready for a real transformation that will change your life is price.

What does the program cost?

The ANSWER to that question is up to you! Committing to making this change in your life will cost your old life.

This program will cost you your old life that you’re holding onto that keeps you safe and protected.

This program will cost you your old life that keeps you living unsatisfied, tired, and frustrated with not seeing changes.

This program will cost you the investment in yourself that will be necessary to bust through limiting beliefs like “I can’t” or “I’ll never” that you’ve been telling to yourself for years.

Is there a financial cost? Yes.

If this program were to cost $997, would it be worth the personal investment?! Our current clients would say yes because that’s what they paid.

If this program were to cost you the investment of $297, would it be worth it? Yes!

Because of the overwhelming interest in the program, we are able to seriously discount it by 66%! Never before have we included so much in a remote coaching program built specifically for busy adults that want to change their lives forever!

For just three weekly payments of $99, you will get everything listed below and more!

  • Daily group coaching to hold you accountable!
  • Workouts that can be done in under 45 minutes!
  • Recipes you and your family will love!
  • Meal prep tips to save you five to ten hours every week!
  • Healthy habits you can implement immediately to boost energy and decrease stress!

What does it take to sign up?

Just a quick consultation with your coach to make sure you’re the right fit for the program!

Sign up through this quick form now!

Red Rocks Workouts

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I remember piling into my friend’s two door Ford Escort with three other cross country teammates and speeding off to a workout at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

That was my initiation to a long time Colorado tradition of running the stairs… over and over again. My quads and lungs would burn but I knew why I was there. To get stronger, faster, and to push myself beyond thresholds.

Years later, when I began my personal training career, I swore I would never go back. That is until I gathered up a group of members and clients who were sick of the same old dumbbell workout and who were looking for to put more fun into their routines.

One Saturday morning, I invited my three regular gym clients to meet me one on one for a new experience! And it was new to me as well. I got to coach my clients in a safe and effective workout at one of the most beautiful locations in Colorado.

This is Katie and I finishing that 9 am workout together. God knows why she’s smiling. It was brutal!

Throughout the next week, other clients and friends on Facebook were asking for the same kind of punishment! They wanted to sweat and enjoy the over 300 days of sunshine Denver gets each year.

And the workouts grew larger and more fun!

So we made it a tradition. And we’re brining it back!

So. If you’re looking to boost energy and confidence while decreasing your stress of the new year, join us for a leg burning, heart pounding, and cardio blasting workout led by qualified personal trainers right here in Denver, Co.

This Saturday at 9:30 am, we are hosting a group workout at Red Rocks while it’s supposed to be 50 degrees in Denver. Bring your layers, gloves, hats, water bottles, and friends to a fun group workout with Dave Glaser and the team at Fit Life Champions!

Here are all the details you need to know below.

Register on Eventbrite

How Fitness Became My Path to Personal Growth

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I was recently interviewed by former client and marketing professional, Meghann Conter on how fitness and nutrtition started my personal growth journey. Take a moment to watch before reading the story behind my passion for fitness and nutrition for personal growth.

I grew up a lot like other kids in the 80s. Playing backyard football, baseball, and tag while it seemed like enjoying every moment was a full time job as a in our communities in Montana, Virginia, and Colorado.

I must have tried every sport growing up because it seemed like every season except winter was full of go, go, go from one field to another. I didn’t get involved in indoor sports like basketball or volleyball because I enjoyed playing outside so much as a child.

As it would turn out, I was a pretty decent baseball pitcher up until high school. While my teammates hit their growth spurts, I was left nursing my pride from not getting past baseball tryouts my freshman year. So I gravitated to track where not a single person was cut from the team and everyone got to participate in practice and team activities. That felt like a better environment for an undersized freshman that never seemed to fit in with any one crowd.

Track and Cross Country were my focus as I began to uncover performance anxiety and fear of not being good enough. At every starting line of every race, I felt the knot of insecurity in my gut as I was learning what limiting beliefs were for the first time.

Eventually, by the end of high school, I was excelling at Cross Country in spite of those fears and limiting beliefs. In the final meets of my senior year, I would place 9th in our league race, 16th in regionals, and 67th overall in the state 5A Championship race. And by the time track season rolled around in the spring of ’98, I was burnt out on competing and chose to work instead to save for college.

I turned in my uniform and hung up my spikes in front of the look of dismay from my coach. In actuality, I quit because I was afraid of not meeting my own expectations that year. I had been in communication with the head Cross Country coach from Western State College and he had asked me to get my mile time down to 4:40 and my two mile time down to 10:00.

I didn’t believe I could meet that expectation, so I quit. And used work as an excuse and a priority. I would use that excuse a thousand times over the next 20 years to confirm that belief I wasn’t good enough.

Over the next few years, I found myself struggling to find my groove at college, although I would stay pretty consistent with fitness. I added 45 pounds of overall mass my freshman year thanks to my “consume everything in sight” nutrition plan, which included beer. Way too much beer.

I ran with the party crowd and would transfer schools after my sophomore year to escape the influence a small town and my guy friends had over me. I was facing the darkest depression of my life from a combination of factors; drinking too often, feeling out of control, and ignoring proper nutrition.

After transferring schools, I felt more at home in Ft. Collins, CO at CSU because I had a non-drinker roommate, began attending church, and found the on campus recreation center, and I gravitated to the healing effects fitness had on me as I decreased my drinking and began cooking at home more often.

About a year later, I met my daughter’s mom at a restaurant that I worked at in town, began partying again, and stopped working out entirely to spend my days with her. I made some poor choices during this time; including a DUI and becoming pregnant with my girlfriend.

Once again, I was at a time in my life that the limiting beliefs were raging and I quit school to work full time in a restaurant and support my soon to be new adventure in life. I had limited activity at this time in my life because the depression and anxiety I felt heading into fatherhood weighed heavily on me. About the most I could commit to was joining a men’s roller hockey league one night a week.

My partner and I would soon move to Denver to live with family and I found full time work in the restaurant industry with my first management position. Along with the late nights at work, came free beer, and a sleep schedule that was not helping my parenting at all. And with my drinking came challenges in my marriage and an eventual divorce from my daughter’s mother.

Gratefully, I was getting back into the gym with the help from my employer committing to a group membership for the restaurant team. The challenge at that time was to make it a priority. As an adult with a lot of responsibility, I faced a new challenge in personal growth. How do I make the time for work, family, parenting, friends, and the gym?

All of which I loved. Something had to go to the bottom of the priority list at that time. I chose to change jobs at that time and it made a huge difference in my life.

I raced head first into the catering and convention services career as a Banquet Manager at the Brown Palace Hotel! I began making better income and the hours were an improvement so I was able to dedicate more time to my fitness goals; plus the 24 Hour Fitness I joined had a kid’s club.

I chased success in the years after my divorce and shift in career paths. I felt lost, alone, and without direction although the one constant in my life was my commitment to the gym. It was’t until the hotel and restaurant industry bottomed out in 2008 with the recession that I found my purpose in life.

My roommate at the time had a twin brother who was a strength coach at Penn State University and he wrote us a remote workout program that took our squat, bench, and strength to new heights. I felt a draw to the science behind fitness and figured that if I was just serving tables in a restaurant, I would go back to school to finish my degree.

I found a great program at Metropolitan State University and transferred credits to complete my Exercise Science and Adult fitness degree in about three years. All while juggling parenthood, a relationship, and my course load.

I made many strong friendships along the way to earning my degree and none was more important than the relationship I found with myself. I began to gain confidence by putting in the work to earn my degree as well as working full time, becoming debt free, and being a part of my daughter’s life.

The education at Metro State included a 405 mandatory internship which I chose to pursue at The University of Denver in their strength and conditioning department. I learned many valuable lessons observing and coaching with their athletes but none was more valuable than the impact Olympic lifting has on sports performance.

I became obsessed with the Power Clean exercise. The nuances and technical requirements to move big weight FAST had me captivated. This was the key piece of the puzzle I was looking for in my own fitness journey.

Take a look at this quick tutorial of the power clean from 2020.

Watch this instructional video from me on the power clean.

What exercises would benefit me most physically, mentally, and emotionally? I am drawn to intense choices, risks, and activities. I attribute that to my Enneagram personality type, The Challenger, who seeks out all things intense. (More on this later).

Almost a year after graduating college, I was still working in a restaurant with late nights and feeling the exhaustion creeping in from the craziness that I experienced the last few years. It finally caught up with me while I was applying to strength coach positions to fulfill my purpose.

That was when my mom reached out to help her reach her fitness goals. She had already seen tremendous weight loss with a shift in nutrition and wanted to keep building lean muscle mass.

We began to meet weekly at a local gym to workout together and she paid me for my time. I saw my path and my future for the first time in becoming a self-employed personal trainer; the money was good and the work came naturally to me.

What I didn’t expect was to grow as much personally as I did professionally through starting up a fitness business. Honestly, in the beginning, I didn’t know at all what I was doing so I stuck to the basics. You know…

  1. Set up a business entity
  2. Set up a business account
  3. Seek out clients
  4. Manage my time and finances

What lay beneath those simple tasks was where the personal growth happened. Could I really build a sustainable personal training business?

Could I be though of as a leader and a good personal trainer that people would hire and pay hard earned money for?

I didn’t know the answers but it didn’t stop me from trying my hardest to figure it out along the way. Soon after, my mom and I got “busted” at the local gym and were asked to leave if I was coaching her.

So I took the leap and found a private training studio to rent space from. Instantly, my business changed. I felt the desire to create something bigger than myself. Something for others to experience personal growth through fitness like I had.

I put in a lot of hours in the beginning. Between the restaurant and the gym, I would sometimes have 20 hour long days with a nap and 4 coffees tucked in there. I loved the work and the challenge I was facing to build something from scratch.

I began to feel the exhaustion and the negative effects coffee was having on my adrenal glands. This was a major turning point for me to realize I couldn’t thrive on coffee, naps, and willpower forever. I started to clean up my nutrition choices by turning to meal prep to save time and money.

This was a game changer for me personally! I finally had a plan of action and the energy I needed to get through long, hard days spread thin between to jobs.

Things began to change for me at that time. I began to attract clients easily through social media and word of mouth. Although my physical and financial health were improving, my relationship was not. About six months into building my business, I went through a break up after three and a half years together.

I began to face some demons at that time and fitness was a powerfully positive force to help me get through the challenging times. I cut back on eating out, drinking, and skipping sleep and in exchange, I was able to make space for new hobbies, friends, and clients.

One of those hobbies became a passion: boxing. I absolutely loved the high intensity nature of the sport plus the mental side to effectively strike with power while maintaining a steady pace over the hour long classes. I found myself in the best shape of my life by making time for olympic lifting and boxing three times each per week. Here’s a picture from that time in my life at about 33 years old, 162#, and 8% body fat.

Could I keep this up forever? I soon found out that the answer was… NO.

I developed a herniated adductor muscle in my hip from the repetitive rotation in boxing and the stabilization necessary to accomplish power cleans. My body was asking me for rest so I finally listened.

Being humbled and told to slow down like this needed to happen quite a few times in my fitness journey. It was part of the process for me to learn my limits and just how far I could push my body before it began to break down.

That summer included rest and it also brought tremendous growth to my business! I eclipsed the $50k revenue mark after only 14 months in business and I felt like my professional path was laid out clearly before me. Beyond the professional development I experienced in the first year of my business, I also found my ego rise up a attempt to destroy what I had created through limiting beliefs, taking unnecessary risks, and a misunderstanding of the power behind the psychology of money.

Staying consistent with my exercise routine during this time was paramount to maintain happiness, decrease stress, and boost my confidence. I was facing hardships in a relationship and learning about my limiting beliefs for the first time in my life. It was a shock to the nervous system to try to balance it all out while running a business, parenting my daughter, and repairing the relationship with myself and others.

Summer of 2013

This feeling of balance was an illusion. What was I trying to control that was giving me an illusion of balance that was entirely beyond my control?

I’ve learned since that balance is just a clever word for control. Controlling any outcome is what I was clinging to the second and third year of my business.

I’ll never be able to control how long a client stays with me. I’ll never be able to control the economy which impacts my business, or rent prices skyrocketing in Denver, or even how long the gym I was renting space at would remain open.

About 3.5 years into my business, the gym moved locations on short notice. We were kept in the loop about how the current landlord wanted us out, or raise their rent, or how they delayed repairs. In the end, the gym owner found a space a few miles away and gave us 30 days notice to find new locations for our business. I could not control whether I received an invitation to move with their business or not; at that time, I did not feel welcome to move to the new location with the community.

The next few years were hugely impactful on my personal and professional growth. I chose to find my own studio space and my clients came with me; some stayed long term and others left when their packages were finished.

What I found within myself over the next 12 months I never knew I was capable of enduring. Business tanked and my personal viewpoint of my worth went with it. Fact is, I was burnt out and needed help because I was wearing too many hats in the business.

Head trainer, janitor, CFO, CTO, CEO, COO, etc. It was too much. I was humbled once again by another dimension of my fitness journey.

Thankfully, I was still working with some very passionate clients and I loved coaching them while building lifelong relationships with some of them. I am grateful for the consistency in fitness, nutrition, and progress in olympic lifting during that time that helped me regulate hormones like cortisol.

Demonstrating how our online programs work for remote clients.

I was trying to do too much and all of it fell on my shoulders. I was burning out and my body was reminding me to slow down, rest, and relax. I wouldn’t listen.

And my personal relationships suffered as a result. I began to connect the dots between my personal relationship challenges with my long term battle with mental health; specifically depression and anxiety.

Upon exploration, I found that depression and anxiety were the symptoms of many years of ignoring and suppressing emotions. What was lying beneath all that?

While sabotaging my business and personal relationships by pushing people who loved me away, I realized I needed to turn the mirror on myself and look inward. There is no amount of running, lifting, eating, and sports performance that will help you outrun your problems.

Especially if you are bottling them up inside you for so long.

That’s about the time that I found jiu-jitsu. I kept driving by a boxing gym that was within a mile of my studio. I reflected often on how good it felt to hit the mitts and heavy bag a few years before, so I walked in one day to try a free five class package.

The instructor was a former Mexican professional boxer with skill and speed with a flare of enthusiasm. I was hooked on the community there from the start.

After my five pack was up, I decided that jiu-jitsu would be my next adventure and looking back on it four years later, I am so grateful that I took the leap. I had watched my daughter train jiu-jitsu for two years and thought, “If she could do it, so can I.”

Through jiu-jitsu, I have met some of my best friends, found a community, and even teamed up with the owners of that school and operated my business out of their space for two years. Things were rolling there for a while.

I had left a bad relationship, recruited three trainers to work with me in my studio space, and had even grown my business while working with clients only about 20 hours per week.

The personal growth I found through jiu-jitsu was unlike anything I had experienced up until that point in my life. I felt as if my physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial health were coming together to lead me down my path to my true purpose.

To share the benefits of fitness and nutrition for mental health with as many people as I possibly could.

Let me come back to the Enneagram really quick. My Challenger personality type gave me a new lens at which to view my world and I really began to see myself for who I was as a man.

The Challenger, or type 8, is drawn to intensity in all endeavors. There is no half-assing anything so when it appears as if I go hard all the time in weightlifting, boxing, jiu-jitsu, relationships, and business… you’re absolutely right.

I go big or not at all! After four years of personal discovery and self-awareness through the Enneagram, I can confidently say that I am “Enthusiastic about challenging people.” What better profession is there than a strength coach, personal trainer, and business owner for a type 8?

As I mentioned before, I was facing challenges in my relationships, both personally and professionally. The Enneagram helped me see through the blind spots that had been plaguing me for years…

And that began the next level of personal growth for me and a turning point in my fitness journey. I really, truly began to look at myself in the mirror.

One relationship ended. And then another in the fall of 2017. I was near rock bottom and I was taking on too much responsibility.

I had three teammates at the studio and an intern yet I was still working too much; early mornings to later evenings and I had very little quality of life. I decided to take a break and schedule a two week vacation the final two weeks of the year.

The team with a few clients.

It was the best choice I could have made for myself to listen to my body and delegate some client session hours to trainers that believed in our mission. What happened on that vacation, I’ll never forget.

I had bought some Christmas gifts for the team, copies of Strength Finder and the assessment that went along with it. I also purchased a book for myself, The Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Burchard. While I struggled with the author’s voice and writing style, I took away one great message.

Your message has meaning.

That message told me that I could and would be able to share my powerful message with the world and be empowered because of it. Instead of carrying around the shame and embarrassment of childhood memories, I could share the rest of the story with others to inspire and educate.

So I wrote my book. Aspire Higher tells my story from the age of 17 to the time I was about to turn 38. This memoir-esque story shares how the benefits fitness, nutrition, and personal growth impacted my mental health. I completed about 90 pages during that two week vacation because of that one line from Burchard’s book.

Your Message has Meaning

I screamed through the remaining 160 pages over the next three months and it honestly became the therapeutic experience I was seeking the previous 20 years. I also found a tremendous counselor who listened to me share my thoughts over the course of the next 20 months; from about January ’18 until November ’19.

While processing my life’s experience through writing, journaling, counseling, and shadow work of the Enneagram, I stayed consistent with my jiu-jitsu practice, competing four times, lifting heavy weights, and building my business. All of which I attribute to helping me survive through the highs and lows of life.

I remained single during this time for a reason. My purpose was strong enough that I dove into serving others through fitness and nutrition and began to cultivate another idea to help so many others. I decided to take my break ups as a learning experience and begin a podcast to explore the depths of modern dating.

In June of 2018, the Believe Be Real Be Bold podcast was born to help busy adults navigate the modern dating world with a better consciousness by interviewing experts each week; dating coaches, authors, therapists, counselors, and matchmakers have joined me from across the world to make a great change in so many peoples’ lives.

Host of the Believe Be Real Be Bold Podcast

I feel that when we combine a holistic and mindful approach to personal growth through fitness, nutrition, and our relationships, we can improve our lives dramatically. And that of our family too.

When we heal generations worth of trauma, eliminate blockages from years of limiting beliefs, and share our story with others, we can and will make our experience on Earth worthwhile. Leaving behind a legacy that will greatly improve generations to come.

Hopefully you have a deeper understanding of how much of a role fitness and nutrition can play in your life when you stay consistent with your goals and purpose in life.

Brave. Strong. Fit for life. Is our slogan and if we were to leave anything out of our story when building relationships with our members, we would be doing them a great disservice by becoming robots engaging our clients through technology and screens.

I can’t say, at this time, everything is rolling along smoothly. I sit here, sheltering in place during a global pandemic, hanging on by a mere thread of hope that life will improve for us all. I have considered this one of the largest mental health crisis in our human history and I feel as if I am not alone in that opinion.

One of the first choices I made when told to stay home, shelter in place, and flatten the curve was to join a virtual men’s group. My men’s group leader serves a role in my life as well that is indescribable the impact he has had on my personal growth in just nine short months.

Additional choices I made to stave off the hardships our mental health crisis has given us was to continue to train with body weight workouts at home, kettlebells for overloading my system, and jiu-jitsu with my roommate and partner. I realized early on that nutrition would play a huge role in my stability while isolated but I acknowledge that giving myself grace at this time would better serve my long term holistic health.

Training at home with Sam McGraw

So I order in dinner twice a week, eliminate alcohol from my lifestyle, and choose a new recipe about once a week to further my passion for meal prep and thriving with healthy choices in the kitchen.

Are you looking for additional support right now to reach your goals quickly and safely? Set up a free consultation with me now to hear about the new programs from Fit Life for 2021.

Just find a time on my calendar below to speak with me personally on the phone.

5 Fun Facts about Fitness

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If you’ve been staying off social media recently (it’s always good to take a break and reset, am I right?) you may have missed these five fun facts about fitness!  

We’ve been mindful about teaching healthy habits in our community and encouraging our members to set boundaries around their screen time, especially with all the extra time at home.  

Did you know there is such a thing as residual attention?

According to Cal Newport, who wrote Digital Minimalism, it’s the energy your mind devotes to social media, the tv, and distractions that lasts long after you set your phone down or walk away from the news to return to your task.  My mind was blown when I learned about that the other day as well as these five fun facts about fitness we looked into this month while!

  1. Exercise is one of the best relievers of stress, anxiety and depression, because it releases endorphins and gives your mind something else to focus on.  This backs up the point about residual attention we made earlier.  When you need a break from your task at hand because you are stuck or overwhelmed, try 10 minutes of exercise instead!  
  2. The average person walks about 70,000 miles in their lifetime. That’s enough to circle the earth almost three times!  Do you have a Fitbit?  One of our members recently remarked that in the last couple months, she had walked the length of Italy!  A whole 730 plus miles!  Way to go Jen!
  3. If all the muscles in your body could pull in the same direction, you could lift 25 tons.  Of course, many of our muscles are meant for pulling and stabilizing the joints, so this is a fun fact that can hardly be applied to our every day lives.  But did you know that your pulling muscles (back) need to be trained twice as much as your pushing muscles (chest) to prevent imbalances and injuries?
  4. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories.  More bang for your buck right here!  In 30 minutes of HIIT, you can continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours after a good hard workout!
  5. Exercising boosts brain activity and helps build new brain cells.  Just one more reason to think about how much time we devote to screens that distract us and to find ways to replace those brain cells we just lost!

If you would like to hear more about the impact fitness has in our lives and learn how to lose 20 pounds by 2021!

Join me for a free fitness class where you can ask me anything about fitness, nutrition, and personal growth!

Just click here to save your seat for one of the live zoom classes I am hosting!

3 Safe Workouts You Can Do Without a Gym

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As summer rolls around, I feel this intense craving to be outside! We are blessed to have the mountains in our backyard as an outdoor playground but we can’t always scoot out of work at lunch for a hike! But as busy adults, we want to make time for the things we love AND be in the best condition to play outside so today, we are bringing you three safe workouts you can do anywhere, anytime! They are… 

  • HIIT- High Intensity Interval Training includes many different types of workouts like Tabata and Circuit training but with one major difference! HIIT training specifically aims to produce cardiovascular performance and adaptation with a secondary goal of muscle and central nervous system adaptation! What does that mean? It means you are going to get a heart pumping, leg burning quick and safe workout at home or while you travel! Check out the video below to try a HIIT workout today!
  • Circuit training- like HIIT workouts, circuits will make your muscles burn and your heart race but the goals are slightly different. Safe and quick, circuits will have 2-4 rounds of the same exercises repeated in order with either specific reps or time for each exercise. The rest comes in between rounds and the goal is to highlight muscle adaptation for endurance more so than heart rate! Trial workout is available below
  • Tabata Training- one of my favorite ways to train our clients online, Tabata training has a focus of heart rate conditioning AND strength endurance. The methodology is unique here because it includes a specific amount of time for work and rest for 3-8 rounds of one exercise before moving on to the next exercise. You can accomplish a lot of reps and training in a short amount of time with Tabata which is why we are such big fans of using it in our online programs! Check out an example below to try it for yourself!

For more ideas on in home exercises to compliment your favorite outdoor workouts, check out our trial of the Body Weight Warrior program below!

5 Summer Workouts You Can Do Outside the Gym

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5 Summer Time Workouts Outside of the Gym


Welcome to the peak of summer! It’s heating up out there but we have some cool ideas for you to find exercise routines to do outside of the gym.

Hiking- This feels like an obvious solution for those of us living in areas well known for hiking. However, you can always take your hiking game to the next level! Next time you go for a hike, pick up the pace so that you can include a cardiovascular component to this popular low impact form of outdoor exercise.


The “Mini Incline” in Castle Rock- Phillip S. Miller Park is home to a miniature version of the popular incline in Manitou Springs (closed for the season). It’s also home to an outdoor gym and recreation center with sports fields athletes can use for soccer, sprints, and footwork drills!

Cycling- We are so blessed in Colorado because we have miles of cycling trails for this popular low impact form of cardio and endurance training. One thing to keep in mind about cycling is that you will still need to compliment it with an “off the bike” resistance training program because the amount of low impact hours on the bike can lower bone density. Resistance training with weights or body weight exercises helps stress your bones to keep them strong unlike the low impact form of exercise that cycling gives you.

Kayaking/Canoeing- This is for our adventure seekers out there and not for the faint of heart! Kayaking or canoeing does so much for us to reconnect to the wilderness, get outside, and find some vitamin D! The sun is one of the only sources of vitamin D outside of supplements and it is crucial to get a good dose of this plentiful micronutrient. Fun fact about vitamin D is that you can never get enough of it from the sun (short of daily sun burns) but you can get too much of it from supplements. We recommend the natural route!

Hit the Dog Park- My sidekick Chloe has been the best motivator to get me out of the house for daily walks. But if you’ve ever wanted to take it up a notch, bring a “Chuck it” with you to get your arm workout and mobility in, or jog with your pup to wear you both out!

For more ideas on in home exercises to compliment your favorite outdoor workouts, check out our trial of the Body Weight Warrior program below!

Workout At Home

3 Simple and Easy Ways to Cut Calories

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3 Ways to Cut Calories without counting or weighing your portions!

I wanted to share with you the top three ways I manage my calories each week without breaking out the scale and weighing my food!

These are really simple ways you can implement today to reach your goals quickly!

1. Mindful eating- mindful eating can be added into every recipe you enjoy to cook each week! It begins with eating slowly and enjoying about 15 chews per bite of food. It takes about 20 minutes for your nerves in your stomach to recognize that it is full and signal your brain to stop eating! We always coach our PrepWars clients to eat to 80% full which means recognizing you have been satiated BEFORE you normally notice it!

2. Smaller portions- taking smaller serving sizes is a step in the right direction! American plates are larger than they ever have been in history and naturally, we tend to fill our plates full to the edges. Protein portions will be about the size of your palm. Carbohydrates will equal one cupped handful on your plate. And fats, yes they are necessary too, will be about 1-2 thumbs in size so about 5-8 nuts.

Spinach salads are ideal for meal prep to fuel your body and help your routine reach your goals.

3. Find more fiber- fibrous foods make us feel fuller faster and longer than simple sugars or protein. Fiber is classified in two ways: soluble and insoluble. Meaning absorbable or not. Fiber is also considered a carbohydrate so if you are choosing insoluble fiber, those carbs will not get absorbed! An example is celery. Celery has both soluble and insoluble fiber. Have you juiced celery? The insoluble fiber is what is left behind in the juicer.

Meal Prep is easier when you have a plan! Check it out at learntomealprep.com


These little know facts are why calories get such a bad reputation… Americans just don’t know the difference between simple and complex carbs or even why they are so important!

The next time you’re fixing up your plate for dinner, be mindful of your portion sizes and choose more fibrous foods to eat fewer calories without counting them down to the gram!

5 Facts About Fitness You Probably Didn’t Know

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Do you want to learn 5 fun facts about working out you probably didn’t know?!

  1. Helps recovery- when you exercise regularly, your follow up workouts aid in recovery by flushing out lactic acid (bicarbonate) which is a waste product in the body from your last workout! Feeling sore? Workout again within 48 hours to aid the recovery!
  2. Decreases stress- regular exercise helps to lower cortisol levels in the body which is one of the most natural ways to lower stress! Feeling anxious? Take a walk or do a HIIT workout!
  3. Improves circulation- as your muscles contract, they push blood back to the heart! Have you ever seen a cyclist’s calf muscles? They are huge! For one, they are always cranking on the pedals to climb hills but they also grow so that they can pump the blood back to the heart more efficiently. Otherwise know as venous return;) Want to get your heart rate up with additional benefits? Go for a bike ride to improve your circulation!
  4. Improved circulation equals improved body functions holistically- the circulatory system does many things for us. It regulates body temperature, which is why you sweat when you workout, to cool yourself down naturally. But when our circulatory system works better, so does our lymphatic system (our waste system which flushes bicarbonate), our digestive system works better to absorb nutrients and prevent lifestyle disease (like diverticulitis), and our nervous system works better too! Feeling foggy in your brain from staring at a computer screen? Go for a jog to “clear your head”!
  5. Most importantly, completing a workout improves self-confidence- accomplishing a goal we set for ourselves makes us feel strong and empowered! Self-efficacy is a little known benefit of working out that basically means “I am pleased with myself for accomplishing a goal”. Over time, as our confidence grows in our ability to complete a goal, it provides a positive feedback loop to our brain that says, “I can” more often than it says, “I can’t”!

There you have it! Five little known facts about fitness that you can use the next time you want to workout but you’re too sore, too busy, too sluggish, to tired, or don’t believe you can squeeze another thing into your day!

Dave Glaser has been a strength coach in Denver, CO and online for nine years. He has worked with athletes of all levels privately, in small groups or teams, and online through safe, convenient, and effective workouts designed to help you reach your goals quickly and safely.

I sincerely hope you are staying safe and healthy during these uncertain times across the world.  For me personally, I have been doing a lot of work from home, reading, enjoying netflix, and creating new online programs for our clients.  One program that I am excited about is our Body Weight Warrior program that launched June 1!

It includes four workouts per week, nutrition tips and recipes, and what I enjoy most about creating these workouts for you is that they can go anywhere and you can do them anytime you want!  Most of them are less than 30 minutes so you can get it done and get on with your day!

Give it a try for free today!  Just click here for your first workout delivered straight to your email inbox now!

Guided Meditation with Laura Love

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At Fit Life Champions, we believe that rest is as important as the work.  In today’s lesson, we wanted to focus on mindfulness through mediation.

When we connect the mind and body into one, we reach our goals quicker and safer because we are in tune with the feedback that our body is trying to tell us.  

Laura Ellen Love is a yoga certified instructor that shares many of the same passions we do at FLC Online.  She believes that fitness, nutrition, and a strong mind body connection helps us improve mental health and we couldn’t agree more!

Last year, she joined me on the Believe Be Real Be Bold podcast for authentic relationships and we have built an incredible professional relationship ever since.  Today, I wanted to invite her to our community to share her guided meditation!

So find a peaceful, quiet place in your home and MAKE TIME for yourself today!  We are combining two of the most important healthy habits we gave you in the beginning of the month:) 

Make time for yourself AND rest!  Enjoy!

If you would like more personalized meditations from Laura Love, please reach out to her via email at lauraloveevents@gmail.com or on Instagram @lauraloveinc

Now that you have met Laura Ellen Love, please continue on to the guided meditation portion of today’s mindfulness practice!

To tune into the full interview on the Believe Be Real Be Bold podcast, please subscribe below or watch the interview on YouTube!