Categories
Motivational

This Motivates Me Every Single Day

I was having a conversation with my brother over the phone about finding something that he’d be passionate about in a career.

He told me, “Hunter, I don’t know what I’d be passionate about to run my own business in.”

I told him that you aren’t going to get inspired by any one thing, you’re going to get inspired by someone.

A person will inspire you.

For me and fitness, it wasn’t that working out was all that cool. It was that my older cousin always lifted weights and because he did it, I thought it was so cool. In my attempt to be just like him, I started working out on my own.. and fell in love.

I told Tucker we should go to some conferences or events where we can hear people from different industries speak… and that he would find someone who motivated him.

We all have to have that person that we inspire to be like. (Maybe we don’t all have to, but it sure helps me). It doesn’t have to be a real person, it can be a fictional character. (Mine is Goku from a cartoon called Dragon Ball Z.. lol ) It could even be a picture in your mind about your future self.

Find someone that inspires you to be better, and model them. Just don’t lose yourself along the way.

Who are you going to be inspired by? If you don’t have anyone, go find someone!

Categories
Personal Development

Stress and the Missing Sock

I am missing one of my favorite socks and now I’m late for work. It’s walking Wednesday which means I pack my tennis shoes and extra socks for my lunch break walk. For some reason my sock drawer is empty, and I can only find one sock in the dryer. And so it begins- I spend way too long looking for a match, and I still need to pack a bag for the gym; and I need to get dressed for work; and where is the lid to my glass lunch container? and what did I do with my keys? which purse was I using last week? and where’s my water bottle? We’ve all been there, right? Then we’re hitting every red light on the way to work, coupled with the plague of summer traffic, which is four cars at every stop sign and people driving 20 in a 50 taking pictures of the cormorants on the float. I’m breezing into the office at 8:59 heart pounding, with only a, “Sorry I wasn’t here sooner, but I couldn’t find my sock.” This is what stress looks like.

This is as bad as it gets for me- mini earthquakes over socks and stoplights sneakily eroding my sanity until about 20 minutes into the frenzy and I say, “Ah ha! I’m onto you, Stress. I’m listening.” I am grateful for stress. It sends a loud and clear message that I am off track and need to realign myself. It is time to strategize and turn this around. Thank goodness for stress to send up the s.o.s. smoke signals before I spiral off the edge in my unmatched socks.

The missing sock is a symptom of a bigger issue-a busy schedule. I’ve been traveling, visiting three states and another country in the last 2 weeks. The laundry from the suitcase is washed and dried but not folded and put away. It’s summer. The days are jam-packed full of fun. It’s not supposed to be stressful. But, well, it is when the little routines get off track and you can’t find your favorite sock.
We tend to have strategies for handling big stress; family emergencies, work issues, or health scares, but the little stuff can be just as dangerous when left unattended. The more we experience stress the more susceptible we are to illness, fatigue, weight gain, troubled sleep, and fuzzy brain. So as soon as I see the s.o.s. smoke signal I do the following:

1. Breathe. I take a deep breath and get centered. (Try this now. Doesn’t that feel good?)

2. Identify. I look at my circumstances and surroundings and identify the stressors.

3. Assess. I decide if I can change the circumstances or if I can work on my reaction to them.

4. Gauge. On a scale of 1-10 how big are the stressors? Most often I find they are 5 or below. That’s not too bad in the scheme of things. This perspective alone helps mitigate the stress.

5. Affirm. I assure myself I can handle this. A quick affirmation keeps me calm and confident instead of self-critical and overwhelmed.

6. Write it down. I make list of what I need to address. I prioritize these in order of most pressing or easiest to handle, and then feel good about meeting them head on.

7. Relax. I keep doing the things I love and find relaxing: walk, read, garden, stretch, exercise, cook, visit with friends. These moments fuel me and are important to maintain. I try to not make a habit of giving up what feels good because I feel bad.

8. Plan. Time management allows for the unexpected while handling what’s already on my plate. A well planned day is like a well loaded dishwasher: you can fit more in, even the oddly shaped things, if you start with some order.

9. Put away the laundry. As tempting as it is to skip the mundane tasks to go do exciting things, the mini earthquake of a missing sock isn’t worth it. Honestly, at first I just bought more socks. Then I set aside a reserve stash of walking socks. These short term solutions just prolonged the inevitable.

Whatever it is that starts a stress spiral for you, try to meet that head on as soon as you see the s.o.s. You’ll start to see the small signs if you look for them and listen, and you’ll be grateful for this too. Stress has a way of showing up just when we need it to help us realign, reprioritize, and regroup to relax.

Categories
Motivational Personal Development

If There was a Book About Your Life, What Story Would it Tell?

What if you could write the story of your life… and everything that you wrote down came true?

You could choose the setting, the plot, the characters, and even how the book ended.

What would you write?

Who would the people be in that story?

Where would the story take place?

What would happen in each chapter?

When we look at our life as a book, it’s a little bit easier to digest.

The truth is… we are all writers.

Everyday we write another page in our book.

What is the book of <<First Name>> going to look like?

Go write another awesome page today! Enjoy the warrrm weather!

Have a Terrific Thursday!

Hunter

Categories
Exercise Tutorials Strength Training

We Were on TV!

Howdy!

Guess What?? We were on TV!

Village Soup TV, our local television channel, has been doing a health series with us called Workout Wednesday!

This week, I walk you through a home workout that works your entire body… but really on those outer thighs and your core muscles.

Even if you have injuries or a beginner, I give you modifications to help you out.

You can watch the video here! Click Here to view

Or if you’re not into home workouts and need some extra push, we are running some 4 week challenges in both Rockport and Camden starting next week!

All the details are at http://hybridfitnessgym.com/summer/

We have limited spots available to give it a look if you are interested!

Have a great day,

Hunter Grindle

Categories
Flexibility/Recovery Motivational Personal Development Strength Training

Brick Foundation for Strength Training

Last night we got to do barbell bench presses and I remembered my first time doing them- again an intimidating exercise when it’s new. Historically these have a very masculine appeal and are not very ladylike. So the first time I did them I looked at the bar over my head and had a little chat with it making a deal that I would guide it down nice and steady to my sternum and that its job was to return safely back to the rack on my exhale. Just using the bar seemed like a big deal, almost suffocating in a certain way. Well here I am into my 2nd year of bench pressing and without hesitation I load up the bar and do some reps. (I still have my little chat with each set, just so we know we are on the same page.) It’s fun; it’s challenging; I’m sweating, and maybe even a little grunt escapes from my chest on the final rep. But I still remember when it was just the bar and how heavy that was at the time. It wasn’t just that it was heavy- it was that it was new and unfamiliar- my body didn’t really have a script for that movement. The closest thing might have been tossing my son up into the air with a giggle and catching him on the way down when he was a toddler, but I probably stopped doing that long before he was 45 pounds, and that was nearly 20 years ago. So the foundation was weak or nonexistent, but now, over time, brick by brick, I’ve built a solid foundation and can set the barbell moving without delay.

It’s good to remember this progression when it comes to exercise and strength training. Each movement no matter how small is another brick in the foundation of our strength. I often hear people lamenting their modifications during a new exercise or while recovering from an injury, a break, or illness. “I hate that I can’t do a full lunge, squat, jump, curl, press, etc.” I remind them how important this time is for their bodies and for learning or relearning a movement, to get programmed and to create proper form for safety and longevity. Each modified curl is still a curl. The smaller or more basic the move, the better we are creating proper form, and training our bodies so we can add complexity, increase range of motion, and add weight to our lifts as we progress.

It’s important to do what we can and recognize our own biomechanics. This might change from day to day- our hip flexors might be tight one day and another we are able to drop into a deep squat. When we modify a movement to adjust for these changes we leave judgement at the door and celebrate our self-knowledge, exercise safely and get a more effective workout.

When modifying, use the cues from the instructors and think about the purpose of the exercise and what movement patterns are included. Choose a modification that addresses the same muscle group and works toward this same purpose. When you are ready to add a challenge you can choose to increase your efforts when it feels right.

My challenge to you this week is not to see a modified exercise as “less than” but rather as its own valuable movement. We are layering our foundation of strength- brick by brick.

Categories
Nutrition Strength Training

Frustrated with Your Fat loss Progress? We have a Solution

There’s nothing more motivating and exciting then when you work really hard at something, and  see all of that hard work pay off.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always go that way.

Hours of hard work (doing something that you may not even like to do) and not getting the result you wanted can be heartbreaking.
Instead of getting more motivated by your progress you had hoped to get, you feel like you’ve been spending your time, money, and energy staying the same or going backwards.

If this is happening to you, don’t worry… you are not stuck!
You have got to believe that there is always a way. And there is a way for you. But before we know which way to go, you’re going to need to ask yourself a few questions.

1. Am I doing everything I should be doing?
There is a difference between committing to something half way, and committing to something fully. For Fat Loss, there are a lot of people who start working out, but don’t make any nutrition changes. This will normally lead to some progress, but not nearly as quickly as you’d expect.

If this is you, COMMIT to making some small changes in your nutrition. It could be eating 3 meals a day, eating protein at each meal, or drinking half your body weight in OZ of water each day. Whatever it is, commit a little bit farther, and the results will start to come.

2. Am I consistent with what I am doing?
If you’ve been making changes in your nutrition, but aren’t consistent, you’re going to see some progress for a while. But once your body gets used to those new changes that you do every now and then, that progress will start to fade.

You NEED to get more consistent if you want to see more progress. If you focus on hitting your goals (3 meals a day, drinking half your body weight in water in OZ each day) about 90% of time, that is as consistent as you need to be.

3. YES, I’m doing the right things and I’m Consistent, But I’m Still Stuck and Not Seeing Progress. What Now?
If you have been doing the right things and been consistent about it, then you’ve probably seen a ton of progress over the past year. However, at one point or another, what got you your current results won’t get that last 20% of the results you’re looking for. You need to switch it up. If this is you, we are creating program specifically for you.

It will take whatever goal you have (Fat loss, muscle gain, etc) and help you REIGNITE your progress.

That’s why we call it just that “REIGNITE”.

It’s going to show you techniques that you can add into your current workout plan to help you get stronger.

It’s going to show you add ons to your nutrition that will help you burn fat more efficiently.

And it’s going to show you how to track that progress, without focusing on the scale.

It’s over 40% Off if you preorder it before Sunday Night… we’ll be releasing it July 24th!

PREORDER REIGIGNITE <<< 41% Off!

If you haven’t plateaued yet, and find that you either aren’t doing the right things, or aren’t consistent, our IGNITE program is also in the works. It will give you everything you need to know about burning fat and getting stronger for beginners.

I hope you have a great weekend, and I’ll be in touch!

Hunter G.

Categories
Motivational Personal Development

The Secret to Enjoying Stress

Did you see the Giant Turtle I posted yesterday on my facebook page?

Melissa (my girlfriend) and I had just gotten home from dog sitting for a friend when I saw in the distance, on our porch, a giant turtle…

If you didn’t get to catch it on facebook, here’s a picture of when we walked up to him/her (sorry I’m not a turtle biologist).

Obviously in a stressful situation – this huge snapping turtle found a way to enjoy the stress a little…;)

We brought him to Rocky Pond, and although he wasn’t too lively when we first found him, he was energetic by the time we had arrived.

Before we let him go, my brother said, “Quick, we need to name him. What’s the name of a movie character who almost died but didn’t.”

I said “Bruce Willis” thinking of the Die Hard series.

Bruce Willis then swam off into the distance. He even waved good bye to us with his tail before diving.

So what can we learn from Bruce Willis with the Cigar in his mouth?

Probably nothing. I tried so hard to make a relation to enjoying stress with this turtle we found yesterday but just couldn’t. He just seemed miserable. You have to give me credit though, I even photo shopped this photo to make him seem happier…

I’ll just get to the point.

I look at stress in a few ways.

Controlled stress – stress that you put on yourself, and Reactive Stress – stress that “happens” to you.

An example of Controlled Stress would be when you challenge yourself. For example, “Tomorrow I’m going to wake up at 5am” would be an example of controlled stress. You are breaking your norm to challenge yourself.

An example of Reactive Stress would be when a turtle shows up on your door step and you need to save him.

We have both of these types stresses in our lives. Most of us would prefer the Controlled Stress… because we put it on ourselves at a time convenient for us. The reactive stress can pop up out of no where and throw your day for a loop.

Here’s what I like to do.

Appreciate them both.

There’s something so fun about putting out fires (reactive). It keeps you on your toes. It keeps your mind sharp, and when you figure out that problem, you feel invincible. On the flip side, if too many of these things happen, you can sometimes get off track from your daily mission, and all the things you wanted to get done just don’t happen.

Controlled Stress is great because you have complete control. It empowers you to set your day up how you please. However, if we just had this all the time with no fires, it might be hard to get motivated. I find my controlled stress time (planned activities) are geared to help prevent fires.

So how do we manage these two things alongside each other, since we need both to be at our best?

We schedule them.

Controlled Stress in Mornings, Reactive in the Evenings

I love to start my day off with a routine, where I get the most important tasks of the day done when I’m most fresh. I prevent as many “reactive” stresses by staying away from my phone and facebook as much as possible. I also try to isolate myself from other humans at this time.

After the morning, I’m ready to go. I feel like a hundred bucks because I got all of the most important stuff out of the way. I’m ready to take on some fires. I head into the office, and look for opportunities.

After I deal with those fires for that day, I make a note, and my new morning projects go towards creating a system that can prevent that fire from happening next time.

Maybe you’re a mother or a father who has everything in the morning dedicated to your kids (getting ready for school, getting day started, etc) and then after you go to work. You have a few options!

One, you could get up earlier, or two, you just schedule your controlled time to later in the day!

Controlled Stress tasks look like this:

Writing Newsletter, Working out, Prepping and cooking food, Grocery Shopping, Yoga, Reading, Gratitude Journal, Goal Journal, Shower, etc.

I look at all of these items as investments in myself.

Reactive tasks look like:

Answering the Phone, Making phone calls, answering email, meetings, going to work or office, networking, being with kids (although I may look at this differently when I’m a parent), etc.

These items are investments in other people.

So…to recap.

Set some time aside during your day for your controlled stress activities to invest in yourself and give yourself that time you need. After that, you’ll be ready to go for your reactive tasks which will allow you to work with others and take on the awesome problems for that day!

I hope this helps! Have a great Monday!

Categories
Motivational Personal Development

Know What You Are Worth

Happy Sunday Morning!

This morning I feel extremely grateful for the people who are in my life – although I’m not really thinking about that much at all. I’m not really thinking about anything, actually – which is very rare.

The lack of thought is due to a few things in my life right now – the warm weather, I’ve been doing what I know I should be doing, and finally solving some problems that have been poking at me for quite some time.

All the clutter seems to be gone.

But today I’m grateful for the people in my life because if it weren’t for others, I would not have the life I have.

I find the dynamic really interesting how people come together in the first place. Sometimes, you just cross paths and find common interests. Sometimes, you go to someone because you both have something the other wants.

This is how love works right? You look for someone who you love, who will give you love back.

Almost all relationships are transactional, no matter how you look at it – and even typing this I feel like I’m breaking some Taboo. “Hunter, are you serious? You’re relationships are transactional? You’re a horrible person!”

I say it because I think it really is the truth.

And that truth to me sounds like an amazing opportunity. Because there’s nothing I have found more joy in my life than being able to give something to someone that they really want.

More times than not, I’m able to give something to someone for nothing in return… just because I love to do it – and I love hearing a week, a month, or a year later how that made a difference for them.

I also really love it when I’m able to help someone, but also get something in return. Whether that is time, knowledge, money, or experience – It’s a real gift that I look forward to each day. It allows me to put food on the table and focus my day on my love of… helping people…..on a platform I get to chose.

I believe there are a lot of people out there who have amazing talents and skills who can change the world. I know quite a few actually. But they hamstring themselves because they have a hard time receiving the love back.. They view themselves as “slimy” if they take anything for their work.

Unfortunately, they end up having to do something for most of their day that they don’t like, in order put food on the table. This takes up so much time that they could otherwise be using to share their gift with the world.

I was reflecting back with my girlfriend Melissa this morning to when I first started my entrepreneurial journey in high school. It was watching an old video that I watched my junior year by a guy named Elliot Hulse.

He said there is a 3 step formula to doing what you love as your “non-job”.

1. Love Something
2. Share the Love
3. Receive it back

I wish more people learned about the “receiving it back” step. A lot of people sell themselves short. It’s not easy. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on coaches who have had to repeat this to me over and over because I have constantly under valued myself.

So, I have a a challenge for you today.

My challenge for you is:

Ask yourself – Where are you undervaluing yourself right now? How can you get back what you are worth?

Don’t sell yourself short. Take care of you.

When you take care of you, you can change the world in the way you want.

If you’d like, answer those questions and let me know the answers. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Have a great Sunday, and a great Holiday Weekend!

Hunter G.

P.S.

I mentioned in the first paragraph I’ve finally been doing some things I’ve been procrastination on. I’m finally keeping my goal journal. It’s my new morning ritual that starts the day off by filling my mind with my dreams, vs other junk that could be dropped in otherwise. Give it a try!