💪 Holy crap! Ryan’s transformation:

Happy Friday, my fellow golf and fitness enthusiast. If you’re like me and steering clear of the booze for a while, this is the hardest part of the week to turn down cold suds. BUT, we will win. 

Today, we’re talking “slow ‘n steady”. And more specifically not jumping in the deep end of the pool with a new diet, fitness, or any overnight, life-altering program. 

And something dawned on me this morning after a chat I had with our co-founder, Ryan. 

Up until five or so years ago (everything always seems like it was 5 years ago:), he really struggled with his weight.  

Depending on when you talked to him, he could be 180 or 195 lbs. I remember a year that he gained 15 lbs from deer season (Nov. 15^th) to New Year’s – about 45 days. And that fluctuation repeated itself for well over a decade. 

He has always been very active, but he loves going out, and he loves his craft beer. Of course, that craft beer turns into eating like a garbage can, which adds to the weight gain. 

Now, for the last five years, he has become a master at staying at his comfortable weight. He is within 2 lbs of 175 at all times. He’s hesitant to use the word “effortless” because it’s so damn hype-ey, but he has it figured out. 

Here’s the kicker… 

He would NEVER recommend what he does to anybody…if they’re just starting.  

Here’s why…over the years, he has slowly built habits that keep him in control. 

I cannot stress enough that you should NOT start doing this today, but I want to illustrate the point.  

Here’s what he does to maintain his weight: 

1. WALKING: Monday thru Friday, walks the dog every morning with his wife Kendra for an hour after he drops the kids off at school. Sunday takes a longer walk. 

2. DAILY MOTION: Takes 5-7 minutes every day right after lunch. 

3. STRENGTH TRAINING: M-W-F lifts weights for 45 minutes before dinner. 

4. STATIONARY BIKE: Monday-Thursday, instead of plopping down on the couch to watch the boob tube, his bike is on a stand in the basement so he can watch TV and do a 30-minute casual ride. 

5. NUTRITION: Monday thru Friday, doesn’t eat until noon, stops eating at 8pm, and eats clean (nothing processed). Saturday and Sunday, let’s himself go, but doesn’t go totally nuts. 

6. BOOZE: Monday thru Friday afternoon, doesn’t have a drop. Friday night and Saturday, he drinks like a fish. Sundays, he’ll usually have just a few beers unless something is going on, in which case, he’ll get after it. 

7. GENERALLY ACTIVE: Coaches soccer, loves working in the yard, will shoot hoops in the driveway with the kids, is always farting around the house, etc. 

If it seems like a lot, it is. I’m not sure I’ve met a person with a more severe case of FOMO. 

So, he’s built sustainable habits that allow him to cut loose on the weekends, yet still stay at the weight where he is comfortable. 

If he fixed #4 and #5 on the weekends, I think he’d be pretty shredded. 

As a matter of fact, I got a text from him this morning that he lost 2lbs last week – he didn’t have a drop of booze. 

I also got a text from him earlier in the week, that he’d never do that again:) 

So, why do I bring this up? 

Lasting, life-long changes don’t happen overnight. They happen one small step at a time. 

It pains me when I hear guys tell me they’re gonna stop eating carbs, they’re gonna start running (even though they don’t like it), or any drastic, overnight lifestyle change. 

I’ve seen it too many times. Heck, I’ve done it too many times. Unless you plan on doing whatever program you’re subscribing to for the rest of your life, it ain’t gonna work. 

It took Ryan a long time to dial in his “program”. He found things he liked that helped, then kept adding one of top of the other.  

After years of trial and error, here is where Ryan said he was start if he had to do it all over again: 

The biggest mistake I kept making over and over was trying to do to much too quickly because I wanted to get to my goal as fast as humanly possible. When I finally started treating weight loss and fitness like a marathon instead of a sprint – that’s when it all changed. 

If I had to start today, knowing what I know, I would do two things: 

First, do the Daily Motion (it’s free) every day. It’s so simple, but takes away all of the creaking and cracking. And just makes your body feel good. 

Second, I would do either weight or bodyweight training for 20 minutes, at least 3 times per week. I got my hands on a follow-along DVD set years ago that helped me build that habit. All the workouts were about 20 minutes, and the instructor would constantly repeat, “This is your life. Everybody has 20 minutes a day for themselves.” 

It was all bodyweight and the exercises had nothing to do with golf, but that got me into the routine of working out. From there, I just kept wanting to do more and more. It does start to get addictive. 

So, there you have it. A guy who has been there and done that – that’s where he would start. 

Sounds like a great plan to me. 

Your #1 Fan, 

Jeff Pelizzaro 

PS – So, that DVD set of 20-minute workouts that set Ryan down the strength training path was a big inspiration for us in creating Micro Workouts™ – Total Body. 

The exercises and moves in the DVDs weren’t golf-specific, so it got us thinking, “What if we could get more guys started with smaller time commitments AND still help improve their golf?” 

And so it was born: Micro Workouts™ – Total Body. 

I almost forgot…for a limited time we’re giving away the Golfer’s Warm-Up Blueprint with the Micro Workouts.  

It really doesn’t make any sense because the Micro Workouts are $47, and the Warm-Up Blueprint is normally $67. It’s bass-ackwards, but we want to get as many of our Crew going as we can:) 

Hope to see you on the inside.