Creating a “realistically”, professionally fit lifestyle has become a challenge for many of us. Each of us battle with this target personally and some of us professionally. The demand for our time will shift throughout life and seems to be increasing. With the expanse of online entrepreneurship, it seems there are professionals actually getting the balance accomplished when you view their posts on social media. However, it’s quite easy to portray an image of perfection while others are struggling to comprehend how to even take the time to get started.

Our lifestyles usually shift with age and lifestyle choices. We all seem to be working harder, claim to be working smarter, but the results will always speak for themselves. If you push too hard, you will burn out, risk adrenal fatigue and other negative health impacts which are often answered with a pharmaceutical Band-Aid.

There are some key nutritional lifestyles that have gained reputable popularity that I personally investigate and implement myself. I personally create a balance between the NSNG (No Sugars/No Grains) lifestyle, the Paleo (Paleolithic) lifestyle, and the Keto (Ketogenic) lifestyle. All of these dietary lifestyles involve whole food and clean eating. Now to be honest you should also be considering proper vitamin and supplementation these days only due to the fact that years of commercial farming have generated food supplies that are nutrient deficient. That said, yes there’s an additional component involving naturally sourced vitamins and nutritional shake systems to gain more nutrient-dense solutions.

DIET, this word has become a negative connotation since it doesn’t symbolize a healthy, long-term way of living. This is a four-letter word that should be used moving forward in successful health and wellness practices. Diet symbolizes a short-term mindset whereas Lifestyle promotes longevity. We need to be implementing “Lifestyle” changes and enhancements that can be maintained over the long haul. Crash dieting doesn’t create positive change and the results are always temporary due to the negative impacts on our hormonal alignment. We must start with small changes to see how you adapt and can ensure a maintain mindset. Celebrate the little wins along the way.

Intermittent fasting is another successful component of the ketogenic lifestyle to help your body reach a healthy state of ketosis. Incorporate fasting and cleansing are other historically proven lifestyle enhancements. These practices existed in over many years and are represented differently in multiple cultures around the world. I personally found these practices beneficial after firefighting to restore my own adrenal fatigue.

But I’m Super Busy, I don’t have the time…

Consider meal prepping your clean eating, whole food solutions. Do a “Grill-Up Sunday” where you prep extra proteins on the grill or baked in the oven. Pull out a big pot and steam a large quantity broccoli or your rich green veggies. Those foods can then be easily stored in ready to travel glass food storage or travel-friendly meal planning bags.

Rethinking the Fast-food Choices…

If you’re on the road and thinking about those fast-food conveniences, start rethinking what those food choices will be. Go for the grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side vs the fast-food burger, fries, and a sugar bomb shake. We all know the struggle and we all truly have a choice.

Your body and mind need time to adapt, recalibrate, and adjust as your lifestyle choices improve. We need to channel that energy and drive into caring about our overall mental health, fitness, nutrition, and especially along with our proper rest and recovery.

Related Podcasts:

• Episode 044 with Kevin Cottrell
• Episode 070 with The Paleo Cardiologist, Dr. Jack Wolfson
• Episode 074 with Eat Pili Nuts founder, Jason Thomas
• Episode 173 with Oncologist, Dr. Brendan Prendergast
• Episode 183 with Oncologist, Dr. Brendan Prendergast

Read on MyNetworkMag.com

Published:

This article was published in the Winter Issue #10 in the Lifestyle section of Network Magazine. Feel free to visit their digital version of A Professionally Fit Lifestyle at Network Magazine.

Disclaimer…

The information provided above is my own research, opinions, and experiences so LIVETHEFUEL cannot be held liable. Please always consult a professional doctor, especially if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.

Scott Mulvaney

Founder & Chief intrEpid Officer

LIVETHEFUEL

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So I’m a Hard Charger eh?! I was referred to the Flow Genome Project after a recommendation from one of my recent podcast co-hosts. Julian Kaufmann spoke highly of this organization and website on my recent podcast episode 055 which airs Monday, March 6, 2017. So I figured, heck, why not take the quiz and see which of the Flow Profiles I fall into for my own Flow State. The rest of this article is taken directly from my actual results after completing their Free Flow Profile quiz. Be sure to download that episode on iTunes or other podcatchers, titled “Let Go! Let It Flow, #THRIVE17 with Julian Kaufmann.”

Your Flow Profile: Hard Charger

You: You’re a focused go-getter. You thrive in intense situations, both personally and professionally. “Run of the mill” experiences are wastes of your time. You seek out challenges. You lead a high-impact lifestyle. When you set out to learn a new skill, you look for training from the best and brightest in that field. If such training is not available, you hunker down and focus until you’ve figured it out yourself. Either way, “slow and steady” progress is not what you’re after. The middle of the pack is not where you belong.

The same intensity that fuels your drive and focus also feeds a relentless inner critic. One that ceaselessly pushes you to raise the bar. People around you may be intimidated by your pursuit of perfection, but it’s mostly focused inwardly. You are your own harshest critic. For you, the Flow State offers a rare escape from the relentless tallying and scoring of yourself against your own ideal goals and past performance. When you find activities that allow this blissful calm and relief, you make them a priority in your life.

Flow Hacks: Hard chargers gravitate towards adventure sports. Skiing, snowboarding, surfing, skydiving, mountain biking, MMA, rock climbing, racing, and paintball all deliver the intensity you seek. You favor non-traditional, off-the-beaten path travel. You’re less interested in itineraries than you are in cultural immersion. In terms of substance use, you’re drawn towards stimulants, intoxicants, and euphoriants that alternately accentuate and attenuate your RPM.

Special Caution: Your insatiable thirst for intensity coupled with your persistent need to silence your inner critic makes you more willing to take risks than many of your peers. This trait, harnessed positively, can fuel a “life as a daring adventure” — rich with travel and fun and new experiences. But it can also lead to reckless behavior with substance use, sex, adrenaline sports, and other areas.

Pro-Tip: As a Hard Charger seeking flow, you may lose sight of the tradeoff between risk and reward. Make sure you always stay on the recoverable end of that equation. Rather than pursuing bigger and faster, try going deeper. Slow down. Take time to develop discipline and to truly understand all your pursuits have to offer. It’s typically a lot more than thrills. Develop skills instead of seeking challenges. If you’re already hucking off 20 foot cliffs on Alpine skis, try a different approach, like Telemark skiing. If you’re surfing big waves, try stand up paddle boarding. If you’re a hard partying clubgoer, you might benefit from mindfulness training.

Once you’ve mastered the mechanics of reverse-engineering your Flow states, you’ll realize that you have a lot more options available to you. You’ll be able to derive the rewards without the risks!

Learn to Flow with Friends: Share Your Flow Profile

Studies have shown that flow can be found even more frequently when working with a group of people. Group flow among friends is not only common, but encouraged to take your flow state to new levels. Do you have friends who share a similar worldview? Have them take the Flow Profile, as well, so you can compare notes and better understand how to encourage one another into finding your peak performance in an expanding flow state.

A SIMPLE METHOD TO PLAY AT THE TOP OF OUR GAME

Looking for more Flow? Flow Fundamentals is a 6-week self-paced online training program that gives you specific direction for finding more Flow in your life. Updated for 2016, Flow Fundamentals now includes over 25 new videos, a fully interactive app, wearables integration, automated calendar reminders and a social community!

Flow Fundamentals Introduction from Flow Genome Project on Vimeo.

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If you’re going to be a Hotshot Wildland Firefighter then you need to know how to hike through some of the world’s toughest conditions. Heck, you may simply be training for a GoRuck Challenge too, it doesn’t matter! While it is true that walking for a good hour while carrying nearly fifty pounds of stuff can be an important workout for firefighters, that is nothing when compared to going through some difficult terrain that can really bog even the best people down.  Especially when you end up on a live fire line for a 16 hour shift, for multiple days, in remote wilderness countryside.

With that in mind, you need to consider this important firefighter fitness plan for hiking. This can help you get ready for any emergency that might come about.

Planning a Good Week

Your preseason training is crucial, not just for your own health, but also to show your crew and your leadership that your commitment to this dangerous job is serious.  When getting your hiking plans ready for a week, you should wear a pack about two or three times a week while hiking on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example. Saturdays can also be used for all-day physical activities like long runs, hikes, or even something tougher like snowshoeing.

Hotshot Firefighter Fitness

Choosing a Training Site

You must choose the right site for any firefighter fitness routine. Specifically, you need to determine a long and steep site for your training needs. You can start at the base of a mountain and spend about an hour hiking up that terrain. You can even do some push-ups when you get all the way to the top of the mountain.  Yes, push-ups are a key, tested movement that is required in your firefighter fitness foundation.

Try to find a hiking spot that lasts for a few miles and offers about two miles of an increase in your elevation as you go along. You can use a few downhill flat surfaces to recover on. This should help you keep active and help you build strength while building that endurance necessary to complete those long shifts ahead.

Get the Right Gear

The gear for your firefighter fitness needs should be checked just as well. The gear that you use can make a real difference in terms of how well you are able to get out there. My first training pack was a Gregory that I picked up from REI. I specifically wanted a model that could hold in excess of 50 lbs, a quality pack that could hold my weighted training resistance along with a hydration bladder aka water reservoir to stay hydrated with.  I had plenty of options for that gear that I was spending my hard earned income on, so doing my due diligence was key.

You should hike in your fire boots to add an extra bit of weight. I personally went for what I felt were the best, so I invested in the Nicks Hot Shot Wildland Fireboot.  Good wool socks can be worthwhile as well as they will keep your feet from being irritated while walking. I personally always invested in the best gear, as a USSA Ski Race Coach for 10+ years, I’ve always respected the Smartwool line of socks.  I specifically recommend a heavier duty series for firefighter fitness like the Smartwool PhD Outdoor Heavy Otc.

A good water reservoir can also be used when hiking. Your water reservoir can be packed within a simple pouch material that will be easy to carry around and use as needed. Although, if you invested in a quality pack like I noted above, you’ll have a built in pouch for something like a Camelbak bladder system. This should make it easier for you to get out there and carry what you have without sacrificing the use of your hands. More importantly, it ensures that your lifting process will work wonders and won’t be any harder to handle than necessary.

How Much Weight?

The weight you will carry for your hike should be checked properly. You can use a range of 25 to 60 pounds with your line gear and other items added to it. Obviously this is scaled to fit your training level.  Be sure to use enough weight to make it so it will be easier for you to carry more items as necessary.  A reminder that when you go for your red card, you’ll need to complete a PT Test (physical training test), which requires completing 3 miles, a fast hike, with a 45 lb weight vest or pack, in 45 minutes or less.

How Long Should It Be?

It helps to start your hikes out at about two to three miles each for the first few weeks with three hikes each week. As you work harder, you can always get your hikes to work for four or five minutes at a time, serving as interval training. This should be enough to make it easier for you to get enough experience combined with steady and intense hiking paces.

All of this can make a difference for your firefighter fitness plans when chosen properly. It’s all about making it easier for you to complete your workouts while remaining efficient and preventing injuries along the way.  Again, if you plan on becoming a Wildland Firefighter, you must complete that Work Capacity Test aka The Pack Test to prove your physical abilities.  So shoot for that 45 minute completion or less, my personal best was 36 minutes in 2010.

Hotshot Firefighter Fitness Hiking

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What’s a Fitmark Bag you say and why is it the best for meal planning?!  If you’ve ever done a lot of travel for business, outsides sales, or you’re just a on the go fitness nut, you’ll realize fast that it can be challenging to keep your nutrition dialed in while on the road.  There’s times when I’ve traveled 600-1000 miles in my car in one weeks time.  So being able to have my healthy food on the good is crucial.  I’ve not stopped to eat fast food restaurant in almost 15 years.

I do need to clarify this last point though, there was a two year exception while I was serving as a Hotshot Wildland Firefighter in Arizona in the summers of 2010 and 2011.  Whether we liked it or not, we had to get food where our crew carriers aka buggies stopped for fuel when we were deployed to other western US states.  So when you are driving to Colorado, California, or Idaho from Arizona, you simply fuel up where you can. In regards to meal planning, I just had to make smart decisions and grab jacked up healthy salads where I could at Subway’s for example.  When I couldn’t, I kept my personal storage bin stocked full of healthy meal replacement shakes, tuna packets, vitamins, etc.

It’s taken me years to fine tune how I travel and transport my mobile food needs, water, etc to keep my nutrition dialed in while traveling.  I’m a huge fan of CrossFit training since 2010 and as a CF-L1 Coach, there’s no excuse for me not to make this extra effort for my lifestyle.  If nothing else, it sets a good example for our clients, my online followers, etc.  I’ve graduated from many troubled bag choices over the years for proper meal planning.  My last choice was using two Lululemon gift bags in my passenger seat, can you say halfway?!  I’ve been desperately looking for the magic solution to make my co-pilot seat, my road warrior nutritional headquarters.  Well as of a few months ago, I found it… Check out my #nicebag, the “Shield LG“.

Fitmark Shield LG Meal Planning Bag

It’s been 2 months in use for travel plus daily workouts and this bag hasn’t failed me yet!  I usually pack it with two Nalgene 32 oz bottles for water and hydration while packing in my meal supplement shakes from Isagenix.  The other space I’ll have at least two of their included food storage bins with my necessary macro and micro nutrient dense meals that I’ve planned for the day. Check out the quick video…

This Shield LG bag is my top favorite since it comes with five food storage bins, ice packs, and options for supplement containers for shakes and pills.  You can access the bag from the front zipper panel or my popular access point, the top.  I hardly use the side panel pockets and those are amazing too!  You can stuff additional snacks, water bottles, or supplement packages on the left, right or both sides!

So whether its traveling for work or pleasure, I can take everything I need to ensure my nutrition stays on the up and up.  Focused daily hydration, AMPED performance supplements, my meal planning  and more, you can trust on Fitmark Bags to help you organize everything.  Their slogan says it all, Sport Your Lifestyle.  I must note they aren’t just a meal planning bag company.  They’ve got backpacks, shoulder bags, gym bags, etc.  Check them out and remember, everything comes easier in life when we are living a healthier and living a FuelFit lifestyle to fuel our path along the way!

Isagenix Amped and Meal Planning Nutritional Shakes

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity”- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

FUELFit Meal Planning from Live The Fuel

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I fall way short… when I focus, like Henry Ford did, on what would be of profound service, money flows in:

“Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service.” ~ Henry Ford

Henry Ford Quote

As stated in the above Henry Ford Quote… Focus and create profound service for your family, your job, your business and your life.  Please channel this note of inspiration into closing out this month strong and planning for your next month of success!

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You have to love a father who worked and still works hard to ensure his family has everything they need…

You have to love a dad who teaches his children the values of family, respect, integrity and the importance of friendship.

You have to love a father who’s always there for you, even when he’s exhausted,

to help you,

to support you,

and to cheer you on.

To my father, Tom,

I’ve been challenge time and time again in life and business.  Years later, I’m now realizing, that your years of struggle in farming, while building your business was completely necessary.  Without struggle, mistakes, and challenges; we will not learn, grow, and succeed.

You’ve been teaching us, your children, this our entire lives.  Only now in recent years, am I noticing and realizing it.

Thank you for never giving up on us, your family, being available to listen, and always being ready to offer advice.

Please don’t stop being you dad, you truly are a rare find compared to a lot of struggling families from lack of parenting or other unfortunate role model situations.  Your teachings and guidance over the years was often ignored in our youth.  However, now years later, I’ve realized it has actually proven to be invaluable. Sorry it has taken us a third of a lifetime to realize it!

Today, I celebrate you, Dad.

I feel so lucky and proud

to have a great father

like you.

Fathers Day Hustle 2015

Happy Father’s Day! Thank you again for the Hustle and a Fathers Day Quote.

I love you dad, more than I have shown… I’m always working on that though!

Love your son,

Scott

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Why Memorial Day Weekend and who is Madison Rising?

This annual holiday themed workout has become highly established, Hero’s WOD aka workout on Memorial Day Weekend.  I think it’s important to clarify that this does not just have to be a CrossFit community event.  All individuals who care about fitness and supporting patriotic causes should try this for the symbolism and fundraising.  It’s a powerful and emotional day for many, so why not experience a 1-2 hour workout with others, pushing for a common goal.  This is really bigger than the CrossFit community.  Set a personal goal to simply complete this workout.  Do it to get a taste of the level of conditioning and workload our military heroes must undertake.  I’ve listed the workout below.  You can confirm it directly at this CrossFit.com WOD link.

This Memorial Day, whether you choose to do this workout or not, remember our heroes. If you need some EPIC music to motivate your holiday, please check out Madison Rising. Here’s a link to their music video of The Star Spangled Banner.  It rocks!!!

The Murph Challenge is the Official Forged® annual fundraiser, benefiting the LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. It is also one of the primary means of funding for the Foundation on an annual basis.  This amazing event will take place throughout the United States on May 25, 2015. This is an extended version of the Memorial Day tradition that so many supporters have been taking part in for the last several years.  You can finish reading this Challenge bio linked here.

Who was LT. Michael P. Murphy (SEAL)?  He was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wings, tasked with finding a key anti-coalition militia commander near Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shortly after inserting into the objective area, the SEALs were spotted by three goat herders who were initially detained and then released. It is believed the goat herders immediately reported the SEALs’ presence to Taliban fighters.  Finish reading this bio at The Challenge site.

The MURPH WOD

For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

**20lb weight vest or body armor is optional

People do “scale” this workout accordingly to ensure they don’t injure or exhaust their limbs too far.  The true hard core workout is to complete this in order without mixing the different components.  Plus if you are strong enough, you will complete this with a 20lb weight vest, pack or body armor for added resistance to simulate the body armor warn by our military personnel.  I don’t recommend this for newbies, complete this when you have built the level of strength and conditioning necessary to achieve this.  Then scale up to complete this with the weight vest.  Make it an annual goal progression if you prefer.  Just get after it and experience what this cause is all about.

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Ensure transparency and honesty in life and business with Social Media

I was inspired to write this due the crazy world of Facebook friend requests.  Yes, Facebook is a touchy subject for many people.  Do I friend you, do I not?  Do I accept your friend request, do I not?  Should I join this group, like this page, what if?

So a quick lesson on friend requests is that I try to accept anyone who asks, if they look legitimate.  A lesson I learned from a friend of mine, Michael O’Neal from the Solopreneur Hour Podcast is “You are innocent until proven creepy”.  Grow your audience anyway possible, but protect your audience too.

Now I completely agree with this statement IF you’ve at least covered the basics.  Within 30 seconds I should be able to see that your name, photo, cover image, and brief bio are legit.  Having mutual friends is also a huge benefit along with being in mutual groups or that we LIKE similar business pages.  However in the below photo, you’ll notice that Kym Paul has a lot of mutual friends but no photo.  WARNING!  This is one of the tell tale signs of a potential spammer.

Be Transparent on Facebook – Live The Fuel

After clicking on the profile, there was no mention of anything similar that we do.  What I did find was only photos and posts relating to promoting the sale of Ray-Ban sunglasses.  Sorry Kym, you are officially a Spammer and we will not become friends.

Individuals like this may seem harmless. However, they are simply looking to become a friend so they can grow their list of exposure and get access your list of friends.  We have over 238 mutual friends because there are other mutual professionals trying to grow their reach here on Facebook too.  However, they didn’t take the time to review this persons profile and blindly accepted.  One final tell on their profile was the fact that Kym promised another one of my colleagues that he/she would post their profile photo in a couple of days  Well its May 18, 2015 now and you posted that comment back on April 20th.  What takes so long to get a simple profile photo up?!

So below I just put together a simple list of review points when you are accepting new friends you may no know off the top of your head.  This goes for Facebook or even the professional world of Linked-In.

Your Facebook Friend Accepting Screening Tips

1. Ensure profile photo matches the name, female/male
2. Review their brief about section
3. Review their post history if available
4. Review the mutual friends
5. Double check their Groups or Likes to see if you have things in common

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Gathering Contacts vs Collecting Cards (Proper Networking Tips)

When attending networking events don’t play the collect as many business cards as you can game. Focus quality over quantity. Gather contacts that you think you can help and of course may help you in return. This is about the long game and building those relationships stronger, not an immediate sale relationship.

If you do take some business cards, write down the specific things you learned about these individuals. This is about getting to know them and them getting to know you. We are human beings, there’s a lot more about us than just our job titles and services. Relationships grow through having things in common, this is about building up those comfort levels.

Keep track of your network and new contacts. Add them to your Linked-In network. If you have a newsletter, add them into your email list. Put them and/or their companies into a Google Alert to receive up to date information on them. This will allow you to follow up in a more timely fashion when real time news is released relating to them.

Building and Strengthening Relationships (Proper Networking Tips)

As noted above, when you are attending events or networking groups, focus on building 1-3 relationship’s stronger. This is about giving before receiving. Start thinking how you can send them more business and help them succeed.

After you connect with new potential contact, be sure to follow up in the first 24-48 hours. A handwritten card is still a classy and rare way to get someone to remember you better. You can also send a more personalized but quick note via email to confirm each other’s contact information too. Put in unique comments from your conversation notes, showing that you were listening and paying attention to WHO they are.

Part of this process is asking for a follow up meeting to build this relationship stronger. Make sure it’s a valid meeting with a planned agenda.

Set Follow Up Meetings (Proper Networking Tips)

Develop your newest “network contact” process for the next 3-6 months at a minimum. Some relationships will grow, others may falter. This is normal, you must be patient yet dedicated.

A reminder, it’s crucial that you focus your follow ups on how you can help each other:

• Help clarify contacts or prospective clients.
• Share details and specifics of your best prospects that can help them.
• Educate each other on what a proper introduction would be for each of you.
• Simply take the necessary time to understand, how you could help them and how they can return the favor.
• If you don’t ask, you may miss out. Set some goals for future introductions.
• Give To Get – “You’ll receive 10x what you give back!”

Time Investment in Your Network (Proper Networking Tips)

Think of your influence circles, what are your core circles that you can help provide introductions with. This is about building trust and respect.

• No matter what, DO what you say you will do.
• Follow through on your time investment and promises.
• Work Ethic and Integrity can’t just be spoken, they must be shown.

Proper Networking Tips

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Pro Deal Discount Secret

I’m all about scoring the hookup on gear, products, etc. Especially if you are in a specialized field. For example, are you a certified trainer, spinning instructor, PSIA certified ski instructor, police officer, in the military or just a federal employee? There’s most likely a pro form aka pro deal opportunity out there for you to save money on your products and/or gear in relation to your specialty or industry. I find myself constantly educating people on pro deals, this should be such a secret! Ergo, this is why I am sharing this.

Special note, spend more on the quality, reputable gear the first time. You’ll be replacing gear a lot less and saving money in the long run.

A pro deal aka pro form is a way for high end products companies to provide special pricing to individuals who work in certain industries. I started learning about saving money through pro deals for my ski gear back when I first started working with a ski race team. Our race director had a pro form deal with Descente. To this day, that jacket is the highest performing jacket I’ve ever owned! Check them out at http://www.descente.com/.

A lot of my ski industry deals come directly through manufacturer representatives, aka the local independent sales rep. There are also a lot of benefits for being a member or a certified member of organizations such as PSIA and USSA. As a USSA Race Coach I can even get discounts on buying a new Audi. You can review USSA memberships at http://ussa.org/. With a PSIA annual membership, I get deals with Patagonia, Subaru and more. If anyone has ever looked at buying “PataGucci” aka Patagonia, you’ll learn to appreciate these deals. Check them PSIA out at http://www.thesnowpros.org/. A quick note on Patagonia, you truly do get what you pay for with them. The gear is so worth it, I love Patagonia’s quality and their economic footprint initiatives. You can check them out at http://www.patagonia.com/us/home.

Now let’s really share some cool awareness. Federal Employees. I was really opened up to crazy savings when I was a federal firefighter. We didn’t get paid very well, however when it came to pro deal discounts, it seemed to be limitless. Federal employees in law enforcement, military, medical, fire, etc. get crazy special treatment for pro form orders. So a big THANKS to all companies who support our public service employees with these discount programs.

Many companies have managed their own pro forms directly by having special online accounts that you have to set up directly. In recent years, many have started outsourcing them to special membership sites like http://promotive.com. You’ve got to check this site out, the lists of companies and groups seems limitless. So get on there and see if you may qualify for a discount account!

I currently have pro deals for ski gear, mountain biking gear, road cycling, rock climbing, CrossFit fitness products and more. Yes some of these took some manual work, that’s why I’m sharing the heads up. Let’s help you and others all save some time and money. Granted certifications do help. I’m no longer a federal employee, however I’m still a certified Spinning Instructor, USSA Ski Race Coach, and a CrossFit L1 Trainer. If you don’t think there’s enough opportunity out there, just check out the huge list of companies through that site http://promotive.com.

“He who dies with the most toys wins. Because the more you know, the less you need.” – Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia Founder & CEO)

deal

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After my 2 years fighting wildfires in Arizona and all over the western US, I moved to beautiful Colorado in 2011. Those previous years truly awakened my reasons for increasing my studies about nutrition for recovery, fueling performance and more. My body had gotten beat up after major CrossFit workouts and big hiking days on 16 hour fire shifts. I had yet to really embrace regular use of recovery gear, clothing, etc. There was a short experience when I was running a lot and learning from marathon training experiences.

My first pair of compression gear pants I tried was when I was training for my first marathon in 2008. They just felt like a tight pair of pants and I’m not sure if I really got anything out of them. You only had to semi force them on over your legs which got me thinking, do these things even work? The only thing I noticed with some leg compression gear is that they like to focus on knee stability, which I agree with. Either way, I stayed committed and wore them for the completion of my first marathon, the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC. If I hadn’t been a certified spinning instructor at the time, I think I would have actually needed the full 30 days that Runners World suggested for full leg recovery as a new marathoner. The weeks following spent teaching spinning provided some great lower impact leg recovery. Check out http://www.runnersworld.com/training-plans.

Fast forward to the new Colorado life, I decided to get into some other endurance training (where the compression gear could come in handy) to channel my long time passion for biking. So the latest challenge for me was endurance mountain bike racing. These courses were multiple laps totaling 60 miles. My first race experience was while moving to Colorado and stopping in Texas to race in a Leadville 100 Qualifier. I recommend that Austin Rattler for a first timer, check out http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/mtb/. Definitely the longest I’ve ever been on a mountain bike, pretty short though when compared to my years of big road cycling rides. If you are ever interested in trying another great endurance series in Colorado, please check out http://www.warriorscycling.com/races/ for the Rocky Mountain Endurance races.

At the end of my first 60 mile race, I realized that that maybe there’s something to having the right gear. To be honest, I’ve always been a gear nut, so this wasn’t a hard decision for me to research this further. I had met a Manufacturers Rep showing off EC3D Sports compression gear after supporting a friend at race event one day. I had never heard of them, apparently they are from Canada. I even ended up interviewing with the company while researching and getting to know their products. Figured what better way to get to know the company right?!

So long story short, after using them for some race recovery work, my legs recovered faster and performed longer while wearing their different products. I definitely believe in product testing before recommending anything. I’m sure some of you also enjoy making yourselves the guinea pig for testing. To help ensure approval, I even got some of their gear for some of my fellow USSA Ski Race Coaches back in Pennsylvania.

A quick note on their technology. I think they are the only compression gear currently on the market that is truly rated for blood pressure related specs, if you are in the nursing or medical world you probably understand this next statement. Their technology actually involves using precise measurements in mmHG from vascular medicine research. Heck I had to take all of these measurements of my body just to confirm which size to even buy, yes they provide that guidance on their website. Check them out at http://www.ec3dsports.com.

In case you were wondering, I personally own two of their compression knickers (short pants), 1 pair of shorts, 2 different pairs of compression socks, one of their compression shirts that helps ensure good upper body posture while training, as well as a pair of their full length Recovery pants.

I wish I would have had access to their shoulder recovery shirt after having my right shoulder rebuilt twice in 1999 and in 2007. Many war stories behind all of the dislocations that let to them, let’s just say suck up your pride early on and listen to your surgeon if they’ve proven you torn everything apart. Stubborn Irish blood lines I guess! They only temporarily slowed me down though, I’m stronger than ever these days! Darn my passion for adrenaline sports!

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity”- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

gear

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Allow me to preface this article by saying if you have goals, go for them! You’ll be fine and figure it out along the way. This was a great quote that has motived me by Charles Schulz:

“So You Wanna Be a Hotshot”?! This was the question I was repetitively asking between 2007 and 2009. This question also has changed my life and I’ll never regret it. I should also note that all of this stems from meeting a girl and learning she was moving back to Nevada to serve as a Hotshot. What the heck is a Hotshot and maybe I should do that too?! There’s more to that in another story. I had already been questioning my purpose and path for a while now. Working hard and moving up in the corporate telecom world in my 20’s. No clue what I was doing sometimes but figuring it out along the way thanks to some great mentors and colleagues over the years. I was making more income than my friends who had already been out of college for a couple years now. Side note, the money to brains ratio is a valid concern, I was failing at it. My thoughts at the time were that I was making good money so it must be working. Well… it wasn’t, let’s just say I was a prime example of “keeping up with the Jones”.

Five years had gone by at this company and apparently something called a “Quarter Life Crisis” had set in during all of this. There’s actually a book out there called The Quarter Life Crisis, if you are a 20 something, millennial, or whatever, I recommend reading it!!!

Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties

• By Alexandra Robbins & Abby Wilner

The QLC hit hard. I was recently single and decided to turn down a relocation opportunity to the corporate HQ in Seattle, WA with this budding career. I realized that my decision was corporate career suicide and resigned all together in the spring of 2006. I already had another gig lined up. I had been chatting with a friends smaller company in the IT/Internet world thinking this was the next step. I love learning new things, and tech is the future right? My new work life was now in the internet web hosting world for the next two years handling inside sales and consulting.

Fast forward to 2008. This smaller company role wasn’t working, school was slowly progressing, and I wasn’t happy. I saw another opportunity with another major corporate company again. The selling point? They have tuition reimbursement and a solid base salary and benefits. What the heck, let’s see what they got! I lasted a year, holy corporate hell! Finance world is not for me. A more important note though is that I finally finished my degree after many nights and weekends in 2009. PS, dear god, corporate finance is boring.

We are capable of many things when we set our minds to it. 2009 uncovered another fun initiative and successful accomplishment. I had found and completed a fire academy program in Long Island, New York. I was now a certified Wildland Firefighter, clearly not a Hotshot though. I finished my last college classes December 2009, graduation was set for January 2010. Quick plug, the adult education, accelerated learning program aka ACCESS with DeSales University is amazing! Thank you so much to all of the guidance over those years.

So now what does a corporate career, recent college grad do, especially since you are also a certified Wildland Firefighter? Well you apparently forget the traditional business world for the next two years and go score a Wildland Firefighting role with a Hotshot crew from Arizona. Did I know what I was doing? Absolutely not, but I was having a blast living in the moment and just TAKING FORWARD ACTION. More to come…

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