“I wanted to be the best conditioned guy on the field”  – Jerry Rice

It’s Super Bowl week and it’s going down right here in my hometown city of San Francisco!  The city is ablaze with all the energy of fans here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Greatest Show on Earth.

I’m a big fan of football and one of the things I love to hear about are the players nutrition and training regimens.  Playing a sport at the highest level requires tremendous focus, discipline, and hard work.  Football players are notorious for having short careers but I’ve noticed that the guys that last the longest are the ones who are disciplined about nutrition and training.

Learning from the Legend…

I was listening to an interview with Jerry Rice and he said that he wanted to be the best conditioned guy on that field.  His conditioning and training was legendary.  I’ve read that the morning after the 49ers won one of their FIVE SUPER BOWLS, Jerry was out there running sprints.  No days off if you want to be great.

In his interview he talked about “The Hill” (which sounds like it’s fairly close by where I live) where he trained with legendary Niner running back Roger Craig.  He said that the Hill would either make or break you because the last 800 meters was straight up the mountain.  He said that he ran “The Hill” so that when it came to game day in the Fourth Quarter and everyone else was gassed, he could STILL make it happen on the field because he had elevated his threshold for pain.  The way he trained helped him to do that.

Living Better even after football

In his early 50’s Jerry still keeps in shape by running 5 miles per day and doing Crossfit.  I believe his training helped his longevity on the field and also now later in life.  You see so many former athletes that are broken down but not Jerry.  Sure some of this may be luck and genetics, but I think the majority of it is how he trained himself.  He reminds me a lot of legendary Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney.  Lee was really smart about his training as well (Stimulate don’t annihilate) and he’s still working out and looking great  into his 50’s as well.  Both seemed more focused on function with training rather than ego which is what I think contributed to their longevity.

I took a lot from that interview and it got me thinking about how I say I want this to be my healthiest year yet.

Purpose Driven Training and Not Selfies

This year I want my nutrition and training to be done with purpose.  I want to eat well and train in ALL aspects of fitness to achieve the purpose of LIVING BETTER.  For me it’s not about selfies and posing in the mirror.  It’s about being conditioned enough to last through a 2.5 hour intense workout and feel ALIVE at the end.  It’s about eating high quality foods and doing what’s best for my health so that I can thrive and be energetic enough to do what I’m supposed to do.

It’s not about selfies

It should never be about selfies

The best are not wasting their time taking selfies at the gym every day.

2016 Resolution

I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions but I did resolve this year not to be about that gym selfie life.  I don’t need other people’s likes or positive comments to feel like I am doing something or to feel validating.

I’m on a mission to become the best version of myself and I know what that looks and feels like.  I don’t need to post the same selfie of myself with some “motivational” caption underneath to convince myself that it’s all right.  It is all right because I’m all right.

Being YOUR Best

Post workout…My face says These people are crazy!! My body says I feel alive!

After working out with Todd Durkin at the Perform Better summit, I realized how out of shape I was when it came to athletic conditioning and that needed to change.  I know I can do better and I’ve been feeling like that for a while now.  I shared with my newsletter crew that last year I may have looked healthy and lean but I ate garbage like Pop Tarts that I hadn’t touched since I was a kid.  I was also eating chemical products because they were “calorie free” and I would never advise ANYBODY to do that.

This year I wouldn’t even DREAM of doing these things even if it meant being in the size 4 pants.  These days my snacks are mostly raw nuts, eggs, fruits, and veggies.  I’m not in a size 4 but  It’s way healthier and I’m feeling so much better.

Can I tell you that in the past 4 weeks I’ve felt SO GOOD.  So much energy, so much vitality, and feeling like I know I need to feel.

Biggest lesson learned in that failed figure journey:  Looks are not synonymous with health.  I will take my health and still being able to keep in shape 20 years  from now over destroying my body so that I can take selfies for the next 5 years.

Bottom Line:  It’s about being at YOUR best so that you can persevere through your own Fourth Quarter whether it’s the long hours of an entrepreneur, a lawyer, an executive, and/or a Mommy.  Shoot you need to be in good condition to get it done!

So join me this year as I seek to make this the healthiest year yet!!  Are you in???

P.S. Who do you have winning the game?

Who are you picking for Super Bowl 50?? This is the first year I want the game to end in a tie.  I like Cam Newton but I want to see Peyton go out on top winning Super Bowl 50.

However if I have to pick a winner, I’m going with Carolina.  They’ve got that Golden State Warriors energy!!!

Let’s gooo!!!