The above pic is from my last deadlift session. It happens every week - same place.

 Maybe it's the 10 year old in me, but I like deadlift shins and blood on the bar.

 Like scrapes, bruises, and scars from BMXing, skating, surfing, and sparring - it's a badge of merit that can only be earned through action.

 Only those who participate and go all the way each time get it.

 Why should we hope or expect to struggle, learn, grow, and triumph unscathed?

 Why should we not desire our bodies to show the marks of active struggle against the modern norm of inaction and complacency?

 In times very much past, warriors from cultures both West and East esteemed scars as they showed a readiness for action and experience in combat.

 I am in no way insinuating that training or taking up physical activity makes you some kind of a warrior, and getting hurt and injured sucks - no matter how you do it.

 What I am saying is that righteous dedication and effort to your cause will cost you.

 You will be sore. You will get bumped and bruised. You may even bleed a little from time to time.

 Sometimes this will be from making mistakes and getting it wrong, sometimes because that's just how it's going to be.

 Either way, it's all a part of being a person of action.

 Embrace it and learn from it.

 The marks are yours - earned through your commitment to self improvement through a physical lifestyle.

 They set you apart in an age of ease and comfort.

 You should be proud of them.

 As for me -

 What I'm earning is worth the sacrifice of a little blood on the bar.


- Eric

The majority of the world is beyond our control.

We have limited control over much of the external forces that effect us, yet we try as hard as we can to exert control over these things.

This can lead to a lot of frustration, anger, rage, despair, and hopelessness. If you don't have a frame of reference here, trust me - I know what I'm talking about.

As we keep worrying about all of the external things outside of our control, we often neglect those things that are within our control, and the majority of the time, it is those things that will have the greatest effect on our lives.

We do have control over our physical, mental, and spiritual self improvement. Why, then, do we let this slip from our grasp?

Why do we neglect this - trading our chance for greatness for amusement and passing comfort?

This one thing we absolutely control. We can wield the power to create and recreate ourselves in accordance to who we want or need (or are needed) to be.

This has always been what amazed me about training.

It's like math. All you have to do is show up, and be willing to put in the work.

People act like they have to be motivated to train, or they're waiting for the right time - for the right pieces to fall into place.

What they don't realize is that it's in the moments where you aren't motivated, where you have to squeeze in a session - doing only what's necessary - when you have to truly fight and struggle to get your training in - that the greatest progress is made - the spirit and mind are toughened.

The body will follow.

In this regard - training, growing, learning becomes something sacred - a sacrament to ourselves and to those close to us - be it family, friends, co-workers, or team mates.

By making ourselves stronger, tougher, more resilient to the challenges that will come, we become able to pull ourselves through the struggle - becoming something, someone greater than we were - becoming something heroic in an age of mediocrity and settling for good enough.

We become an example to ourselves, and, therefore, through our actions, mindset, and attitude, stand as an example to lead others who may be looking to us - because you never know who is watching.

Perhaps the greatest thing you can do today is commit 100% to the process of transforming yourself from a hobbyist to one of the dedicated few.

Someone who is willing to sacrifice and do what is needed to break the mold of mediocrity.

Someone who is willing to push back against a life that's designed to make you soft and compliant, waiting for the inevitable downward spiral.

Someone who is willing to call themselves out on their own B.S., because you can do so much better, and so much is riding on your choice.

Stand up for yourself.

Stand up for those close to you.

Forge something great.

BE someone great

I'm pulling for you.

- Eric

Every so often I get a night that has a low class turnout due to what we'll call life circumstances. Sometimes these circumstances are legit - stuck at work, family or work emergency, sick, etc.

Other times, the reasons are, we'll say, less than legit.

Last night was one of those weird nights. Three people in each class. A few who missed were legit - they let me know ahead of time. I'm not sure about the rest, and it's not my place to make a judgement.

Here's what I do know. One woman who made it to the 6:30pm is an accountant in the middle of tax season. Some days she literally works with no sleep. In the past, I've not seen her for at least a month during tax time.

This year she's made it a point to get in twice per week.

Tired, dragging herself along, she came to class and did well - even dialing in technique on a few lifts. That's called progress, folks - in spite of her schedule and how she was feeling.

One of the guys in the 7:30pm came to train instead of hanging with his girl on Valentine's Day. He's making it up to her on Thursday - it's the only available day because he plans to train on Friday. Oh, yeah - he drives 45 minutes to get to the gym.

He loves the training, and knows he's making progress. He gets mad when life keeps him from it.

Here's the point I'm making - Success doesn't take a day off. You're either moving toward getting better, or sliding back - getting worse. There is no maintenance, no in between.

Sure, not every day can or should be a training day, but you have to keep your focus on where you want to be, and your actions should keep you moving in that direction.

Commitment and Consistency are key action words here. They need to be applied regularly.

My hope is that when people miss training with me, they're making it up somewhere else.

There's one woman I train who has some pretty big responsibilities both at home and at work. When she misses class, she trains on her own using a program I gave her.

It's nothing intricate, just some basics that will keep her moving forward - and she makes progress.

You've got to find a way - no matter what. It's the only way you'll get where you want.

Do not miss a training session. Make it up, switch the day or time around, do the bare minimum to keep moving forward, if need be, but don't miss it.

Partial effort gives partial result. That's why so many people have marginal success. They put in marginal effort.

No one has ever dreamed of being mediocre, and yet, so many people would rather  be entertained than spend a small portion of their day making themselves into something inspirational.

The choice is yours - take control of your outcome, develop the work ethic, and commit to self improvement.

I'm pulling for you.

- Eric

 The above is an action phrase I use to keep my head in the right place. I owe it to Tony Blauer,
 whose company Blauer Tactical Systems uses the phrase "Choose Safety" as a quick, easy to
 remember reminder to the trainee to always do the thing that keeps them safe. This is my take
 on it.

 When in doubt - always do the thing that makes you stronger. Choose Strength.

 Simple to remember, and strong enough in their call to action - these two words have helped
 me in my training, in my thinking, and in my life.

 When I've been tired in a training session, and I want to skip an exercise I know I get benefit
 from that phrase comes to mind - Choose Strength. What it means to me is strong enough to
 change my thoughts and attitude.
  
 The phrase is a reminder that the power and responsibility are mine, and that my outcome in
 training is based on the decisions I make.

 I can choose to go to bed by a certain time every night, so I'm rested enough to perform well
 and recover well.

 I can choose to eat foods that will support my training and my health.

 I can choose to do the work that is necessary to elicit the result I desire.

 If I simply decide to Choose Strength, in less than a second I can cut through the nonsense of 
 how I feel about doing something and start moving in a positive direction.

 The doubt, discouragement, fear, distraction, etc are gone.

 It becomes a simple equation of action equals result.

 The cool thing is, choosing strength starts to flow over into the other areas of your life. 

 When in doubt - Choose Strength, and move forward.

 If you need help, hit me up.

 If you need training - I have several options. We can find one that fits.

 I'm here to help.

 We spend a lot of time focused on the past - what we didn't do, what we should've done, etc.

 Maybe we didn't make the best decisions.

 Maybe we didn't do the right things back then to position us for where we want to be right now.

 Maybe we feel like we wasted a lot of our time - a lot of our life.

 I know this thought process and these feelings intimately.

 The problem isn't thinking or feeling this way - that's natural.

 The problem is acting like it's a life sentence - like you've ruined your life, and it's over.

 Every thing you do is a choice. Everything.

 Maybe you don't like your job, but you keep going anyway.

 That's a choice you're making.

 I know, you've got bills to pay.

 So make another choice - figure out how to pay your bills by doing something you like better.

 I don't want to be another guy telling you to quit your job to find happiness. That's not my point.

 My point is that each day is a series of choices for you.

 If you don't like where you are, who you are, or what you are doing, and you do nothing to alter           
 the situation, YOU ARE CHOOSING TO STAY THE SAME.

 If you are unhappy -  if you feel you have wasted time, wasted life, wasted resources, gotten
 yourself into a bad spot - then do something to change it.

 Use those feelings, that regret, that desire for something better to fuel you and drive you
 forward.

 Do one thing today to change a habit you don't like, or create a new one you want to have.

 I've made it a point to write on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

 Most of the time, I'm writing late at night to make that deadline.

 Last night, I was unable to write, and I failed to have myself setup beforehand. 
 
 I dropped the ball.

 Do I give up? Do I start letting myself slide because it's hard to always keep a deadline? 

 No. Here I am writing.

 Instead of having had this to read this morning, you'll have it to read tonight, and I'll have
 further reinforced my habit of writing regularly, while having a lesson in being prepared for
 circumstances where I'm not able to write the night before.  

 The good thing about mistakes is they show you what not to do, but they're only helpful if you
 learn the lesson.

 The same can be said about thoughts and behavior.

 If circumstances show you who you really are, and that turns out to be someone you don't like,
 then choose to be different, and take action.

 You're only truly stuck if you allow yourself to be. There is always a way, you just have to want
it enough.

 If you find yourself lamenting, whining, and crying instead of doing, then maybe it's time to ask
​ yourself what you really want.

 Here's the thing, though - It's not too late to start working on where you want to be.

 If you need help, hit me up. I'm here for you.

  - Eric

​  Most people start training for a few basic reasons.

                1.) Improve the way they look

                2.) Improve the way they feel

                3.) Improve the way they perform

  Rarely do most people go deeper into their reasons for training, and, therefore, may miss the deeper relationship that training can have to the rest of their lives.

  When you learn self defense - or how to fight - you are, in essence, learning how to deal with violence, how to protect yourself, including how to avoid potential violence , how to manage fear. You're gaining an understanding of the psychology and physiology of violence. This gives you a greater degree of control over those circumstances, which leads to a greater degree of control over your emotions, thoughts, and mindset - control over yourself and, to an extent - how you interact with, and are effected by, the world around you. 

  When you train your body to be strong and athletic, you increase your capability in conflict or sport, as well as your ability to handle greater work. You become both more dangerous and more useful.

  Strength training increases mental toughness and discipline. It teaches you how to use your mind to push you farther. It teaches patience, diligence, and toughens you up to hard work and adversity. You learn how to control your habits and change behaviors and thoughts - as long as you truly choose to start living what Zach-Even Esch calls the Strong Life.

                                                Self Control - Self Mastery is the point. 

  I chose the name Redemption a long time ago, because we take back control of our physical strength and capability through diligent, consistent, and true effort in training. We take back responsibility for our safety and protection by learning how to fight and protect. We take back responsibility for our health and well being by taking care of our bodies and minds through proper training, eating, and habits.

                                            We are the ones who choose which way we go    

                                                         stronger, tougher, harder to kill

                                                                                OR  

  We allow our bodies and minds to fall into greater states of decline daily - blaming age, life, circumstances - everything and anything but ourselves.

           Today is Monday - the start of a whole new week. The choice is yours to make.
        
                                       Do you take control , or do you give it away?
   
            
                                        If you need help, feel free to drop me a line.
                                                         That's why I'm here.
                                                                                          - Eric

  The reason why so few people succeed in training, or end up with mediocre results, is that they fail to fully commit to their cause. They start a program - whether it's at home, in a gym, or with a trainer. They start to see some results, but after the initial progress, they start to stall, begin losing interest, start letting life get in the way - or jump to the next flashy thing.

  This is due to a lack of commitment. Commitment is one of those words that throws me with the spelling every now and then, so I looked it up  - just to be sure. Here are the first two definitions I got:

  1.) the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of
       purpose   
  2.) the act of binding yourself (intellectually or
       emotionally) to a course of action

  Read those again. They're rad, and, possibly, paradigm shifting. Committing yourself to a path requires the determination, will, drive, and effort to continue to progress along that path.

  You must become dedicated and somewhat obsessed with the chosen path. Habits may need to be changed or created. Schedules have to be altered or new training times or methods need to be created. The desired outcome must become more important than the obstacles - more on that here and here.

  What would happen if you made a commitment to break free of the mediocrity that is served to you on a regular basis - the half life that many fall into and live through - for the purpose of building something greater?

  How would your life be different if you committed to living a better life - a stronger life?

  How would you feel about being more capable to stand against whatever may come for you and stand up for those who need you? Isn't THAT worth pursuing? Isn't THAT worth changing for?

                                                      Choose a path, and Start Today.


  If you don't know how to start, or you need help, feel free to drop me a line. That's why I'm here.