The Holiday Season is officially here! For most of us, this will be the first time in two years that we are able to celebrate Christmas with our friends and loved ones. Whether you view this as a good thing or a bad thing of course will depend on how much you enjoy spending time with your friends and loved ones. Regardless, it's a nice feeling to have a bit of normalcy back in our lives after living through this Global Pandemic for the better part of the past 24 months.

No social distancing needed.

No masks required.

And No COVID Vaccine debate being had.

Instead, we now have new topics to discuss and address such as the war in Ukraine, the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran, rising interest rates, inflation, and a looming recession. I understand that the Holidays are a time for celebration, however in my opinion it would be ignorant to not at least acknowledge the issues we are currently facing as a Global Community.

If there is one thing that lifting weights up and down, side to side, back and forth in multiple planes and ranges of motion for the past 20+ years has taught me, it's how to truly become more in tune with one's body. Creating the famous "mind to muscle connection" that so many fitness gurus preach about is far more complex than an Iron Virgin or a Gym Newbie might think. It can take years of trial and error to establish a true mind-to-muscle connection that enables a person to build solid lean muscle tissue without tearing a muscle, straining a ligament, pulling a tendon or dislocating a joint.

Make no mistake, injuries and setbacks can and do happen even to the most experienced of lifters. However, I've always believed that if we can learn how to tap into our bodies, and truly listen to what they are telling us, we can avoid setbacks in the gym and progress further with both our physiques and our health.

I will be the first to admit that I am a terrible salesman. I honestly have no desire to sell someone on a service they don't need or a product they don't want. When promoting my services as a Personal Trainer/Coach, I've always relied on my reputation, experience, knowledge in exercise science and dietary nutrition, teaching skillsets on and off the gym floor, and client retention rate to "sell" my services for me.

Don't get me wrong; I completely understand that this is a terrible strategy to use to grow a business and market a brand. However, as someone who has always strived to provide the absolute best care and quality customer service to his clients, "making the sale" has always been the last thing on my mind. And fortunately for me, this strategy has proven to work quite well over the years.

That said, as someone who started his company at 17 years old with no business experience, I've made plenty of mistakes over the years. Many lessons were learned, then forgotten, then relearned again and again. Some errors were minor, while others proved to be quite costly. However, there are a few lessons that I learned over the years that I will never forget. Some of which I'm going to share with you today.

Listen up; I have something to say - I fucking HATE Fitbits; motivational/Inspirational Gym Content makes me gag, I can’t stand selfies in the squat rack, and I get increasingly annoyed listening to Trainers who count their clients’ reps out loud

1. Like Crocs, Fitbits are a fashion faux pas! No, I DO NOT want a piece of plastic attach to my arm telling me how many calories I burned while taking a shit.

2. We don’t need motivational/inspirational bullshit to go to a gym and lift some ass heavy shit. Just shut up, be disciplined, go to the gym, and lift some heavy ass shit!

3. These days, squat racks are a hot commodity. And all you motherfuckers out there taking selfies in them are selfish pricks

4. I understand that my industry is incredibly vain and flakey. And trainers, you’re not helping us fix this reputation by showing off your counting skills! Shut the fuck up and count your clients’ reps In your head!!!!

I’m sorry, I’m just very passionate about exposing and calling out stupid shit.