Newsletter

Hey there,

When I first started boxing, I wanted to get good, fast. I assumed that since I was already strong and athletic, I could speed up the learning process — but I was wrong.

Of course, I should know better. I teach and write about learning new skills all the time. When clients come to me and want to do a pull-up, a handstand, or to get their life from point A to point B, I’m honest with them about the process. The harder the skill or the bigger the dream, the longer it will take. If they try and skip steps and avoid building a solid foundation first, they’ll burn out, get sick or injured, or end up on an endless plateau.

But, as every teacher knows, it’s easy to tell others what to do and much harder to apply your teachings in your own life.

I wrote a personal essay about my boxing journey and the lessons I’ve learned so far about leaning into the journey and trusting the process. You can read it on Medium here.

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Hey there,

I’m an athlete and a writer. More than anything else, those two words make up the core of who I am.

I wasn’t always an athlete. As a late bloomer, I didn’t discover fitness until my early twenties, and it was years after that before it became part of my identity. These days, I divide my training between two main sports: boxing and hand balancing (the circus performer term for people who train handstands).

Unlike fitness, writing has long been a part of who I am. As a kid, you could find me with either my nose in a book or a pen and paper in my hand. I lived mainly in a fantasy world created by my imagination.

While I’ve always loved to write, it’s a skill I also took for granted. I never actively tried to get better at it. That is, until a few years ago, when I became determined to improve as a writer. At first, I was overwhelmed by the road ahead of me. How could I build a consistent writing habit? How could I figure out something worthwhile to say? And how could I get better as a writer?

It didn’t take long before I realized I could apply all the same tactics I’d built as an athlete to my writing. Writing and fitness have a lot in common.

Click here to read my article on how to train your writing (or any creative pursuit) like an athlete.

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Hey there,

Push-ups may not mean much to most people. They’re a basic bodyweight exercise, after all; one that doesn’t require much skill or fancy equipment. But to me, push-ups have been everything.

I did my first push-up when I was twenty-one. At the time, I was weak both physically and mentally. I hated  my body and who I was as a person.

Push-ups were the first ‘real’ exercise I ever did. They were my first taste of strength training and the entire reason I started believing in my physical and mental capabilities. They gave me a path forward; a glimpse of the person I could become if I was willing to put in the work.

To this day, I’m grateful I can do push-ups. Personal transformation through exercise is legit.

Have you experienced personal transformation through fitness or exercise? I’d love to hear your story. Please reply directly to this email and I’ll be in touch!

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Hey there,

Anxiety is something I’ve dealt with since childhood. The earliest time I can trace it back to is third grade when my family and I moved across town, and I was forced to attend a new school. Since then, it’s been an ongoing battle to appear “normal” in a world full of, what feels like up until recently, much less anxious people.

Over the years, my anxiety has shown up in many ways: through disordered eating and body image issues, in social situations, exercise addiction, extreme claustrophobia, panic and anxiety attacks, and even self-harm. It’s been an underlying part of who I am, ruling my every thought and action, making me wonder what life would be like without it.

Although experiencing occasional anxiety is normal in stressful situations like moving, switching jobs, public speaking, or — yes — during a seemingly never-ending pandemic, anxiety becomes an indicator of an underlying disorder when feelings become excessive, all-consuming, and interfere with daily living.

As someone who has been dealing with near chronic anxiety for decades, I’ve had a lot of practice to figure out what helps and what doesn’t. I’ve outlined the strategies that have helped me most (many of them science-backed) in this article for Medium, which is more personal than I normally write.

It’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all anti-anxiety plan. Some of these strategies, like music festivals, may not work for you at all. Others may help you let go of some of your anxieties and feel like they no longer control you the same as they did before. Try and maintain an open mind and be patient with yourself as you try different methods and find what works best for you.

You can read the full article on Medium here.

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Hey there,

As many of you probably know, I didn’t grow up as an athlete. I was a shy, clumsy kid who preferred books to sports. I didn’t do my first push-up until I was twenty-one, and it wasn’t until much later that “athlete” became a core part of my identity.

Like most adults, I first started exercising mainly to lose weight. Once I caught the fitness bug, my reasons expanded beyond appearance to include building strength, learning new athletic skills, and physically becoming the best athlete I could be.

But the benefits I’ve gotten from fitness and sport have been so much more than just physical.

Read my latest Medium article for five ways engaging in physical activity as an adult can help you become better in all areas of your life — whether your sport of choice is running, surfing, tennis, martial arts, weightlifting, dance, yoga, or any movement-related activity.

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Hey there,

Everyone I know is anxious right now.

We went from thinking the Covid pandemic was finally subsiding to once again avoiding crowds and scrambling to purchase better masks.

During times of uncertainty like these, it’s more important than ever to double down on a foundational habit: exercise.

Think about it: do you feel better when you sit on the couch and mindlessly binge watch Netflix for hours, or when you get up and do something active like work out or go for a walk? My guess is nine times out of ten, you’ll feel better after you exercise.

Click here to read my article on Medium about how exercise can help you feel better mentally and emotionally.

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