Vitamin D all up in the system

As I walked out of my house today and got into my car, the first thing i thought to myself was "why on Gods earth am I in sweat pants!"

IT WAS HOT!

I know I am being a little dramatic seeing as the thermometer on my phone reads 72 degrees. Most people around the country would say "that is perfect!" and I completely agree, but with the fact of having the longest winter of my life it caught me by surprise. I caught myself sitting in a hot car wearing sweat pants, rushing to get my AC turned on as fast and high as possible.

With this beautiful weather comes plenty of opportunity for an active and fun life. No more sitting inside because "it is too wet to ride a bike." No longer is it "too cold to get out of bed in the morning." No longer do we have the excuse "I don't want to be out in the rain, I will get sick!" It is now time to take full advantage of the world around you.

time to switch things up, get outside. Play! Run! Laugh! Workout! Enjoy the sun! LIVE!

 I am going to give you a few reasons to get out and enjoy the sun these days. it goes much deeper then getting a nice tan.

These are not all of the reasons but they are 3 very vital reasons to get some sun:

 1. Vitamin D strengthens your body- With vitamin D your body will absorb nutrients at a higher level, creating stronger bones by instilling better absorption of calcium into the body. Vitamin D also strengthens your immune system, which could explain why we get so much more illness in the winter time.

2.  Vitamin D improves your mood, decreases stress, and creates a happier you!- This one is my favorite, it is pretty hard to prove through research because it is hard to control and any good study is done under very controlled conditions. I would beg to say the reason it increases your mood is simply because it is bright. Gloomy weather creates gloomy thoughts. Bright weather ignites bright thoughts. Don't believe me? it wouldn't hurt to, give it a shot. After all  who doesnt want to be happier anyways. :-)

3. Vitamin D improves sleep- Simply put, with a decrease in stress and a stronger immune system you feel better. When you are in the sun you sweat out toxins. You drink a lot more water as the heat makes you more thirsty. (thus creating more sweat and urination...yes this is a good thing, once again it removes nasty toxins from the body) You feel better, when you feel happier, you sleep better.

Now that the sun is out, we are not simply confined to working out in doors. Lets get outside. Enjoy this weather, your health depends on it.
If you feel a little demotivated, maybe the only thing you need is a little switcharooski.

Get outside. Enjoy your life. Go for a walk. Go Hiking. Play with your kids.

Love your Life. Take in the beauty that surrounds you.
Life is a miracle, the landscape of the world is remarkable.
Take it in, Let positivity run through your veins, and please do one more thing for me.
SWEAT!

You will feel amazing.

remember everyone,

Your life is what you make it, please don't let it pass you by.
Happiness is attainable, and you deserve it.

God loves you, Mike(y) loves you, so Love yourself.

You must BELIEVE

One thing I have learned over the last 3 years here at CFA is if something seems too good to be true, it probably is not. The reason it seems too good to be true is you are scared to believe, scared to let yourself be vulnerable, scared to be hurt.

You can not let that fear overrule your life. You need to BELIEVE.

Given some different circumstances things could have been different, things may have not played out the way they did, but you can not live in that mindset, forget the past, there is no should have, could have, or would have. All that we have in this world is there is.

Reality is what we need. When you think of regrets, or things that "shouldn't have happened" your destined for unhappiness. Be happy with the present, pray for the future and believe you can make your future phenomenal.

We can not let people bring us down, doubt us, or let their opinions control our mind. If you do you will never be happy. Their negativity is like poison as the great Todd Durkin says. We can not let our minds be filled with this poison. We need to believe in ourselves, our love, our dreams, our goals, our needs, our wants. Simply put, all we need is to BELIEVE.

You are never too young or too old to grow, to believe, to nurture your heart, mind and soul. Live your life with those that you know will care for you, build you up, and help you grow into a better person.

We can not see change as a negative thing. If someone makes you want to change for the better or someone wants to change for you, then they are true. They care. They are there to help you grow, because we all know real change is nothing more than growth. It is an expansion of the heart, soul, body and mind. Transforming everything about you into the successful happy person that you deserve to be.

Whether your goal is to lose weight, be happier, love, or  help others. You need to believe that you can. Do not let doubters bring you down from your happiness high. Embrace what makes you happy. Embrace those who care about you. Embrace the life you so rightfully deserve.

Each and everyone of you are full of desires, you can try to hide them, but you know that you have them. If you push them away, guess what else your pushing away.... A chance at something real. A chance to be happy. A chance to grow. A chance to love.

Accept vulnerability, accept the chance that you may be hurt, accept the chance of failure. If you don't you will lead the same life, full of despair and sadness for not realizing your true potential, for not letting yourself advance.

This relates to all aspects of life I am beginning to find out. I am not speaking simply through the gym because there is much more to life than a healthy body. we want an overall wellness.

Our heart must be full of love (for our relationships, work, friends, life), our soul must be touched by that special person, and our mind must believe that anything you can dream of is possible.
If just one aspect is missing we will lead a life of emptiness, of sadness, of regret.

You can have it all, anyone that says otherwise is wrong. Anyone that doubts your chance at happiness without knowing those that will bring it to you is wrong.

For how can you judge a person without knowing them.
If you assume, you are not creating life you are breaking it down.
You are not helping, you are pretty much giving them a big fat bitch slap across the face (please excuse my language)
Please, please, please hold off on your assumptions, as my 6th grade teacher Mr. Canda taught me, "when you assume, you make an ass out of u, and me" and I do not feel anyone deserve to be made an ass of. And if you are the one assuming, you rightfully deserve to be that ass. You are poison.

find out the real info if you want to give advice, but do not, I repeat do not give blind advice. For you have no idea the pain you may cause.
Believe in the right thing, believe in the opportunities presented to you or your friends, and if you don't believe and don't know, find out! Give yourself a chance to believe before you dismiss it.

Believe, Believe, Believe.
If not.... Happiness is just a fairy tale.

Whether it is losing weight, finding faith, giving your heart to someone, or simply achieving your dreams. YOU MUST BELIEVE!!
If you don't. you will not get what you deserve. You will not be happy.

You are special, you are loved, and you deserve the world.

Let yourself BELIEVE.

Smile.
Love.
Grow.
and Love some more.

Lastly remember....

God loves you, Mike(y) loves you, So love yourself!

The Workout Mindset.

The sweat starts to build up on your brow, you are feeling fatigued, and you realize this isn't the most comfortable feeling (unless your crazy like me and thrive off of it).

You are working out.
You have goals, and you know the power lies within you to accomplish said goals.
You know you have the potential to be in the best shape of your life.
and You know it isn't an easy thing to do.
You know it is hard, but yet there is a difference between knowing and understanding.

when the results don't come overnight (although deep in your mind you already know that they won't), you lose focus, that PMA you had in the beginning starts to flutter away and doubts begin to build. I am here to say DON'T LET THE FIRE DIE. There is much more to getting results than simply getting in the gym. Yes, you may get to the gym you may even be super consistent. It is about what you are doing to get those results.

Are you pushing yourself? Are you focused? Are you focused on what your trainer is asking of you? Are you giving it all you have?

Are you Motivated?

I have been blessed with the opportunity to train one of my boss' clients this week. actually many of them, but this one in particular. He has undergone a lot of recent health problems, he is looking to reboot himself, and become stronger then he was before.

I look in his eyes when he trains and what do you think I see? FIRE!!

This man is determined and he wants his results. Every cue that I give him, you can see process through his thoughts and put into action, it may not be exactly what i expected him to do, but he constantly will listen, process, understand, then apply my cues until he has it right.

He puts everything he has into his workouts, He is focused on each rep, and although he is not nearly where he was before his illness' he does not let that depress himself, he uses it as more fuel and pushes harder. I am not saying he doesn't have a negative thought in his body.

I catch him throwing some swear words around, and when he does, I reassure him that he is on the right path.

He honestly, has inspired me so much this week, based on the simple fact that he has a fire burning inside him, and you could feel that fire through every rep he does on every exercise. He wants it.

When you enter the gym, are you focused?

 If you do have a trainer, do you take in the knowledge he or she is feeding or do you simply go through an exercise because you think "i know how to do a plank" well guess what? If you have the ablity to talk through a plank, you are not doing a plank. (just an example, but it relates to all exercises).

There is always room for improvement, we can choose to go through the motions, or we could focus on doing it correctly. It is up to you.

so are you focused?

Are you focused on proper breathing mechanics, no matter how "silly" or self conscious you feel because of it. understanding it is necessary to feeling better, moving better, and getting those results that you desire.

Are you focused on feeling each exercise in the correct muscle groups, or do you simply go through the motion?

Are you giving everything you have in your workout?

We as a society seem to be taught that fitness is suppose to be fun in the sense that it is Social hour or a dance your pants off marathon.

oh how wrong society is.

Don't, and I repeat, Don't let your Jaw be the most sore spot on your body.
Stop the jibber jabber and focus!

I am not saying working out sucks, and to not talk, smile and laugh with each other.
But the fun comes from challenging yourself, improving on the exercises, setting new PB's (Personal Bests) and watching yourself and the people around you grow.

Who ever said it is comes easy, or says you are going to get fit simply by coming in, has lied to you. Yes, you will see some results, but my guess is that deep down, you want more.

You want to be the fittest person at your office.
You want to look great when you make a trip to the beach.
You want to be that person people look to when they say "I want to look like that guy/girl."

The problem is that you do not believe it will happen.
Everything I have mentioned, most likely you already know.

you know what you want, but you let doubts, fears, and self consciousness stop you dead in your tracks.
you need to Believe

The workout mindset is not about socializing and having fun, it is about IMPROVING, BELIEVING, PUSHING, and being RELENTLESS.

no giving up, no settling, no whining, and no excuses.

If something is necessary to getting results then DO IT.

otherwise, why are you working out? to stay where you are now? NO it is to IMPROVE.

as the great Todd Durkin likes to say "GET YOUR MIND RIGHT"

You are capable of achieving greatness if only you allow yourself.

Look in the mirror, deep into your eyes, do you see the fire necessary for growth, or do you see the flaws that you "wish" would just go away. 

If its the latter of the two its time for a shift in your attitude. Everyone has flaws, you could look at them and get upset, or you could look at them and say, goodbye.

I want you to reach your goals. achieve your dreams
and live as the strong, confident, persistent, and positive person that I know you can be
the only question is, do you want it?

as TD says, GET YOUR MIND RIGHT.

you are beautiful, and you are great.
start believing it.

God loves you
Mike(y) loves you
so Love yourself!

PMA- Do you have it?

When you wake up, what do you think?  if your like most people something a long the lines of "F&^% Its too early" will enter your head. i admit from time to time i will do the same thing, but I will force that thought right on out. the key is to not let that dictate your day, most likely you are up for a reason, and whatever the reason, it is a good reason to be up.

You may have a sick kid, you think "how is it good that i have to wake up in the middle of the night with a sick kid?" because you were blessed with that child, and when they are sick they need you. To be needed, is a magnificent thing. it is trust, love, and happiness all in one. If you have ever felt alone, you have felt the need to be needed. the desire to have a purpose, and to be needed is to have purpose.
and what is purpose? it is reason to live.

A great man, and "brother" of mine once said "the purpose in life, is to live life with a purpose"

So if you feel lost,  find your purpose. and i can bet your mood will change dramatically.

When you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see? do you look for every single flaw, point it out and create negative thoughts about yourself? or do you see a beautiful, magnificent human being. or is it somewhere in between?
To be completely honest if your image isn't the beautiful, magnificent human that you truly are, your blinders are on far too bright. we can not, and i repeat can not allow our thoughts the opportunity to break down the special person that we are.
you are beautiful, you are unique, you are the only you. you have the the power to be the worlds greatest. its just a matter of letting your guard down, your spirits fly, and your dreams build.

I have a client who will come in and it seems to me every other day it will be mentioned at least once "Do you got your PMA on today?" is the question asked. The answer, always "yes." and what is PMA you ask? it is confidence, love, compassion, passion, happiness, The acronym stands for "Positive Mental Attitude"

I am not saying you wont have bad days, you wont feel upset ever, cause i know from first hand experience, shit happens. it does. but it isn't the negatives that determine our life, it is what we do in those times of adversity. that determine our life.

We could get caught up in our problems and make it out as an excuse, but what i have come to learn over my past 3 years at CFA, is there is no what ifs, buts, or poor me's (not to belittle you, i understand your problems may be huge, but poor me is the act of not doing anything about those problems). The key is to remain positive in times of failure, heartache, and pain. a true champion can deal with whatever life has to throw at them.
and you my friend, are a true champion, even if you have not realized it yet. the power lies within each and every one of us.
My old football coach used to tell us "Excuses are like @$$holes, we all got one, and they all stink" as cliche and overused as it was, it stuck with me. i cant seem to forget it because of how true that statement was. in order to become a better person, we must deal with our problems with the idea of PMA in our heads. If we make excuses we aren't progressing, if we aren't progressing, we aren't living. We are existing.

at a seminar i attended almost a year ago now, I heard the quote that "80 percent of the normal populations thoughts throughout a day are negative." take a second and think about that, why do we allow this. i admit i am not perfect, but when a negative thought enters my head i am not going to let it sit there, i want to figure out why, and what i can do to fix it. do you? if not, why not?

Coming from first hand experience, depression is the worst drug you could ever be on, you feel worthless, lost, unloved, unneeded, and like you don't matter. but i am here to tell you that you do matter. you are beautiful, you are not worthless, i love you.

I understand your pain, and i want you to know. It is all in your mindset, i have made the shift.

you will have upset times, you will feel like the world is crashing on you. it isn't all perfect butterflies and rainbows. but if you have a strong PMA it isn't the end.

I have a challenge for you. When you catch yourself in a negative mode, count your blessings, and don't say you have none because that is a lie. if you have a computer to read this blog. YOU ARE BLESSED.

count your blessings, and remember, attitude is everything. PMA- POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE

Work on it, it isn't an overnight thing but it will happen.


 This is your one life to live, after this you don't get it back. each day that passes is your life gone. Live it happy. Enjoy the struggles. for every struggle makes happiness that much sweeter.


You are beautiful, You are Magnificent, You are the only you you will ever be.
You are loved, needed, wanted, and will be happy, if only you allow yourself to be.

i want to say Thank you for being you.

remember, God loves you, Mike(y) loves you, so love Yourself!

My 4 main motivations for succeeding at life

To anyone that chooses to read this blog, thank you.  I sincerely mean it. My goal is to help you through my experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge that i have gained throughout the year. My passion is you, even if i do not know you yet. If I can improve your life in anyway possible, I have succeeded. and i mean that from the deepest part of my heart.
Over the past 23 years of my life I have been through a lot, and i have grown from every experience. I have taken steps both forward and backwards in my life, but the one thing that I can always say is that I learn from every situation. Today I want to discuss my 4 main motivations to succeed.

1. My Mother. I was near the end of my 4th grade year. My mother, sister, and I had just been evicted from our apartment in Fresno, Ca. After about 2 weeks of staying with my moms boyfriend, my mom had to make a choice. She couldn't financially sustain the life she had felt we deserved. Since my mom couldn't give us the quality of life that she wanted for us, she had called my Aunt Sue and asked her to take us in. When my aunt came to pick us up I looked out of the back window to my mother as we drove away. The pain that I could see in her eyes burned a hole in my heart deeply, it was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. the memory is so strong that I could catapult myself to that feeling at any moment as if it was happening right now. I feel the pain, I feel the tears, I feel it all. that day I understood the meaning of sacrificing your own wants for the betterment of others. I thank my mother so much for doing it. She owns a giant piece of my heart, and that memory I replay in my head everyday, not because I'm some masochist that likes to feel pain, but because of the motivation it gives me, I want to do the best i can because I know she deserves it.  She taught me love, compassion, and most of all how to get the most out of every bad and great situation that life presents. I must succeed, for her.

2. Michelle. About 1 year before that, my father had picked me up to take me to thanksgiving (or Christmas) dinner at my Aunt Sue's house. I had no idea of the news I was about to hear, Life was good I was about to see my family who I rarely saw, and it was great food. after arriving to my aunts house my father took my sister and I into my aunts bedroom. the news I was about to receive would change my thought process so much forever. My half sister Michelle, had been shot in the head and died. She was 15 (I was told it wasn't murder but they were playing with it. which I will never be able to fully accept). I had only met her a handful of times in my recollection (because i was so young). But i cried the hardest i have ever cried that night. i remember the feeling. and to this day it motivates me. i need to take advantage of this life for my sister Michelle. She will never get the chance to. She deserved the world, but it was robbed from her. I must succeed, for her.

3. My Father. After living with my aunt for about a year, my dad moved my sister and I up to the bay area with him. Simply taking us in makes me forever grateful but to know where he came from makes it that much more special, before I was born I know he was a partier, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and motorcycles. He has been sober for my whole life, I am not too sure of the exact years for each but to give up his lifestyle to better himself.  to have the discipline to stick to it, easily makes him a Phenomenal man. Not to mention going through the death of a daughter, and cold turkey raising two teenagers with a ton of issues (remember my sister was 13, i was 10 when we moved in with him). he did the best he could for us and my heart and soul belong to him for it. he may not even realize how much he has impacted my life but he has. He taught me how to deal with difficult situations, he taught me how to be a man, he taught me why i must work hard now, so i don't struggle while i am older. I must succeed, for him.

4. Melissa. My one full blood. she has been with me from birth she has endured all the pain I have, but most likely on a deeper level being older and able to comprehend more of the childhood we endured. Not to mention,  I was a punk kid that would fight with her constantly, but I loved her no matter what, she put up with a lot of my bullshit, and still does. one memory that sticks clearly  in my head is when I was walking home from school i was in 6th or 7th grade. A group of 5 high school kids started picking on me, pushing me talking all kinds of crap to me, I was scared shitless. and I didn't know it but out of no where my sister came up and confronted them, they never bothered me again. for a female to confront 5 big dudes out of instinct, shows the heart and compassion she has. she has always had my back no matter what, even though we both are working hard at our own lives and we don't talk as much as we should, I know I can always count on her and she can always count on me. She is a magnificent strong woman. She taught me what it means to be a good person both, not for my own selfish needs, but simply because we all deserve better, if I can help someone I will, not for me, but for them. I must succeed, for her.

There is endless amounts of motivation, I could tell you 3000 more stories, or reasons but those 4 give me the motivation every day.  My mom, dad, and Melissa, I want to say I love you all unconditionally. I am always here for you, even though I don't call. you are always in my hearts.

To all my family, friends, you are just as big in my life, you all have shaped me into the man I am today and I gratefully owe you all my success.  I love you all. in order to succeed I am sacrificing my seeing you as much as I'd like, but I am doing this for you. I will not let you down.

To my clients, you are my family. I am not lying when i say this,  I care about you all, you are my life. I want you to be the best you possible. To succeed in your goals, and love yourself. Never give up and find inspiration in everything you do. you are the world to me, and thank you for giving me the lessons, food, relationships, acceptance, and love that i receive from you all. without you, i may just be another wandering soul existing, but with you I have learned to actually live.

My first blog is a little lengthy i understand, so if you actually took the time to read it through. thank you so much. I hope you got something out of it. and Please remember you are capable of so much.

thank you, thank you, thank you.

and remember

God loves you, Mike(y) Loves you, So love yourself!