Beyond the Gym: Embodying Fitness as a Lifelong Quest with Ben Biondi

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Ben Biondi of Rise Fitness and Kickboxing unpacks the layers of living a truly fit life. Together, we navigate the peaks and valleys of fitness plateaus, sharing stories of personal transformation and the potent blend of mental, spiritual, and physical wellness. Ben brings a trove of knowledge from the frontline of personal training, reminding us all that knowledge doesn't stop once you've reached your goals – it's an ongoing expedition that shapes each step of the way.

 Witness how a supportive community can foster not just a confident and healthier individual, but also a purposeful life. We dissect the significance of routine over the whims of motivation, advocating for the power of consistent action. Whether it's the 14-year-olds hitting the gym at dawn or seasoned adults chasing a healthier existence, this episode illustrates the transformative impact of embracing fitness as a lifestyle.

Wrapping up, we share the pivot from personal passion to entrepreneurship in the fitness realm – a testament to the power of embracing change. The journey from battling personal demons with broken back to establishing a flourishing business is not just inspirational but a roadmap for anyone looking to redefine their life through health and wellness. Join us as we celebrate the victories, the challenges, and the unyielding spirit of growth in the quest for a balanced life.  Ben's expertise, and the tales of those whose lives have been altered by fitness will leave you ready to lace up your sneakers and pursue the best version of yourself.

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Our collective communitylisteners know we dive deep into
collective solutions for healthand wellness.
Today we have a special guestjoining us Ben Biondi, the
passionate owner and headpersonal trainer at Rise Fitness
and Kickboxing in beautifulAnnapolis, maryland Maryland.

(00:26):
Get ready to be inspired as weexplore the transformative
benefits of physical exerciseand how it can positively impact
every aspect of our lives.
Now, if you've ever wonderedhow to break through fitness
plateaus, optimize your workoutroutine or achieve your body
composition goals, then you'rein for a treat.
But Ben brings a wealth ofexpertise and insights that will
help you unlock your fullpotential and elevate your

(00:48):
fitness journey to new heights.
But that's not all.
We'll also delve into theconnections between physical,
mental and spiritual health,uncovering the holistic approach
to wellness that goes beyondjust breaking a sweat.
So, whether you're a seasonedgym goer or just starting your
fitness journey, this episode ispacked with valuable nuggets of
wisdom that will inspire you totake action and reclaim your

(01:10):
vitality.
So grab your workout gear andtune in.
Let's spring into actiontogether as we explore the power
of movement and its profoundimpact on our overall well-being
.
If you like what you hear, sharewith others, and it really
makes a difference if you spenda brief moment to subscribe and
like the podcast.
More and more people arecertainly noticing the podcast

(01:31):
and hitting that button can leadto people finding us in an
easier way.
With that, I want to say happything-john to Zola and all our
listeners.
I'll thing-john, also known asthe Burmese new year water
festival, is a vibrant andjoyous celebration marking the
beginning of the traditionalBurmese calendar.

(01:53):
It's a time of renewal,cleansing and rejuvenation,
where people come together towash away the old year's
troubles and welcome freshbeginnings, with water
symbolizing purity and blessings.
So whether you're participatingin these festivities or simply
soaking in the spirit of joy andcommunity, may this Thin John
bring you abundant happiness,prosperity and blessings for the

(02:15):
year ahead.
And by the time this isreleased, we've got one or two
days left of that celebration.
So that's all.
Happy Thin John, and tell us alittle bit about your
experiences with uh celebratingthis in burma and celebrate it
back in burma for a while.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
But, uh, we are going to a burmese buddhist monastery
on saturday, uh, so that'll befun to get a little cultural
experience.
Absolutely, it's a goodsymbolic uh festival yeah, it's.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it and it's a good
eats and community.
I'm glad to participate in thatwith you, with our little ones
as well.
So now that we've done all that, Ben welcome.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
How's everybody doing ?

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Thank you for joining us.
And a great topic, not just acollective solution to health
and wellness, but we're talkingabout fitness and we're
certainly hitting your world andyour expertise and kind of
start us out by giving ourlisteners a brief overview of
your background, your expertiseand how you got into this

(03:18):
industry of fitness.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
Well, I always like to start by saying I never like
to think of myself as an expertMe either.
I've got nothing left to learn,and certainly in an
ever-changing industry and world, there's always new stuff to
learn.
There's always new concepts,new science, new discoveries,

(03:47):
new discoveries and, uh, mymyself and my gym and the other
trainers at the gym put a hugefocus on continuing education
because, in my opinion, ifyou're not learning um, then
you're becoming obsolete.
So, um and I certainly didn'tfeel that way always that was a
learned uh behavior andcertainly something that was
taught to me through recoveryand through a great mentor of

(04:09):
mine who was the original ownerof the gym.
So I spent most of my life inthe restaurant business doing
the exact opposite of what I donow Lots of debauchery, late
nights, drinking, stressfulsituations, terrible hours.
You know, just if you enjoythat sort of lifestyle which I

(04:30):
did it's not horrible.
There was a lot of money to bemade, but you can certainly take
it to an unhealthy level, andthere's lots of those people
around if you're looking forthem.
So that was my experience inthe restaurant business and at
some point it just got me intoway too much trouble.

(04:53):
And that's when I would like tosay that I decided to get sober
.
But I decided to get soberbecause I was pretty much forced
into it through a whole stringof events that caused me a lot
of trouble.
So as I got sober, I rememberthinking to myself that I was

(05:17):
very unhealthy.
I had terrible back problems.
I was overweight, which didn'thelp the back problems.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't tie my shoes withoutgetting out of breath.
My fastest mile running wasslower than what some people
walk a mile.
I couldn't do 10 pushups.

(05:38):
I couldn't do a pull-up.
I was just really out of shape.
It was embarrassing, but I alsoknew that if I made that aspect
of my health a priority at first, then recovery would take a
backseat.
So I'm not saying that healthshouldn't to some degree come

(06:03):
before recovery, shouldn't tosome degree become come before
recovery, but I think we have totread uh lightly on where we
put our focus when we're makingcertain changes and not to
change everything at once.
So for me I chose to focus onmy recovery first, and it wasn't
until after my first year thatI got into um, fitness.

(06:23):
Me getting into fitness lookedlike.
Well, let me backtrack a littlebit.
So my back issues involved fiveherniated discs, two fractured
vertebrae in my neck, twofractured vertebrae in my back,
five arthritic facet joints andsomething called a tethered

(06:44):
spinal cord, which is likesevere scarring of the sheathing
around your spinal cord.
How are you walking.
It's a bit of a miracle really,but there's some science behind
it.
So I went to a surgeon.
I went to two differentsurgeons.
They both recommended surgery.
They both told me not to liftanything over 20 pounds and told

(07:07):
me to never set foot in a gym.
And I said, well, I don'treally go to the gym, but that
doesn't sound like a good planto me.
So I went to a neurosurgeon aneuro back surgeon as opposed to
an orthopedic back surgeon andhe said well, there's a few
things that we can try.
First, we can give you someinjections.

(07:28):
So I got five cortisoneinjections, l1 through L5
simultaneously, and he said ifthese work, this should buy you
some time to have a little bitof comfort.
Enough to get into a gym andmake some progress, lose some
weight, strengthen your core,and that's really your best bet.

(07:50):
So I had lots of differentreasons for getting into the gym
.
One was to try to fix my back.
One was to lose some weight.
One was to just generally be ahealthier individual.
I didn't really touch much withmy diet, although I did stop
drinking soda, which was a bighelp, and I was sitting at
Chicken Ruth's with a bunch offellas eating a really greasy

(08:14):
breakfast and I said I think I'mgoing to get a gym membership
and they were like, oh, that'sgreat, good for you.
I was like I'll see you guyslater.
They're like, oh, right now.
And I was like, yeah, I'mleaving right now.
So I, like paid my check.
I didn't even finish mybreakfast.
I went to the biggest gym intown and I got a membership and
I worked out for like threehours and I was so sore and that

(08:38):
didn't deter me at all I wentback the next day and just
worked on whatever body partswere not sore and they were very
sore the next day too.
So then by the third day Ipretty much couldn't move my
body.
But it was exhilarating.
You know what I mean.
It was so hard, it was so tough, everything felt heavy,
everything felt impossible.

(08:58):
I was looking around at otherpeople in the gym making
assumptions, like they were inthe shape that they were in just
naturally right, that theyhadn't put in any work, and I
quickly realized that for a lotof people that wasn't the case.
Everybody has a story.
Even the people that were ingood shape most of their life

(09:18):
still have some sort of storyabout a point where they were
struggling with fitness.
And that's part of what I wantto talk about today is just how
to make this a permanent pieceof a person's life right,
because it's not just a thingthat you do and then you're done
with it.

(09:38):
It has to be ongoing, much likerecovery, much like
spirituality.
We don't just do it once andgraduate.
It's a constant part of ourlife and if it's going to work
it has to integrate well, it hasto feel comfortable.
It can't feel intrusive, itcan't be inconvenient.

(09:59):
I mean, sometimes it is.
That's just how life is.
Some things are inconvenient,but most of the time we find in
life, but certainly in when itcomes to health and wellness if
something is not convenient,then eventually people just
throw up their arms and give up.
So I lost about 50 pounds innine months.

(10:20):
I haven't had to get any backinjections that was 13 years ago
.
I haven't had any back problemsthat were debilitating other
than just some minor pulls, mostof the time not doing anything
you'd expect, like gardening,raking leaves, picking up a sock

(10:42):
you know what I mean.
Not really any injuries.
Lifting weights and at 47 yearsold I lift probably triple to
quadruple what I ever lifted inmy life injury-free.
If I do get injured, it healsquickly.

(11:04):
I attribute that to rest andself-care, like stretching
mobility active stretching,passive stretching.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
So let me ask you your journey to that moment at
Chicken Ruth's.
What was the impetus?
There was the hey, debilitatingback pain and broken back
literally.
I don't know if you were inrecovery at this point, but what

(11:35):
would you say, was your reallypush to?
I know it was Chicken Ruth's,but what were some of your big
motivators to go?
Now's the time you mentioned acouple of those things, but what
was it for you?

Speaker 3 (11:50):
One of the biggest things.
This is going to sound funnybecause we're all a little bit
vain.
I had like 10 really niceHawaiian button down shirts,
hawaiian button down shirts andI couldn't wear a single one of
them without my belly buttonpopping out the bottom of the

(12:11):
shirt and that's not exactlywhat they're supposed to look
like.
That's not the look they'regoing for when you put that on
and I was a little bitembarrassed.
I was embarrassed about myphysique, I was embarrassed
about my weight, but there wasthe physical aspect of it too.
Like we you know, some friendsof mine suggested we go on a
hike and like 20 minutes intothis hike, man, I was just spent

(12:35):
Ask me to again, like ask me torun, and it was just like
embarrassing.
I just physically I knew thatit was not going to get any
better unless I did somethingabout it.
Eventually I wanted to havekids and I wanted to be able to
play with those kids.
I had nieces and nephews that Iwanted to play with and they

(12:55):
take well you know, I mean theykids take a lot of energy and I
just didn't have it Like Ididn't stand a chance, a grown
man not able to play with kidsfor more than five minutes
because I'd get wore out and Iwas just like that just doesn't
sit well with me physicallybroken to not just physical

(13:29):
health but gym member.

Speaker 1 (13:30):
There is an example of that progression and I love
that you shared.
Part of the message you want toget across to the listeners
today is for this to continue,this has to integrate in your
life pretty well, and that's thesame for whether it's recovery
from substances and no longerusing to finding happiness in
your life.
So what are some of the keychallenges people face when
starting this journey and how doyou help them overcome these

(13:53):
challenges?
Because you certainlyexperienced it.

Speaker 3 (13:56):
Aside from my own personal experience and the
education that I've gotten overthe years, I've been able to
draw a lot of really strongparallel lines with what I
learned in recovery and that'sbeen such a huge help.

(14:19):
A lot of as a trainer.
A lot of what I have to focuson, or where I'm able to help
people, is to make a connection.
People are like afraid they'relegitimately afraid to walk into

(14:42):
a gym or start a program ortake some sort of adventure Like
just like recovery, like Iwould love to quit drinking and
quit smoking, crack or whateverit is, but it's scary because
what am I going to do?
How do I even start?
What do I do?
And going to the gym andgetting back into shape or
getting into shape for the firsttime is much the same way.
So I was able to draw a lot ofparallels with recovery in the

(15:03):
sense that you have to buildsome bonds with people, you have
to trust people, and theroadblocks that I see most
people hit is that they don'thave the foresight to see the
value in it.
Right, we will spend money on acar wash, getting our nails done

(15:26):
, eating out three times a week.
I can't afford a gym membershipor I can't afford training and
it's like, well, you're choosingnot to afford that and if you
think you can do it on your own,that's great, but if you can't,
the resources are there andthey're not cheap, but they're
worth it.

(15:46):
And I won't say for everybody,because everybody's scenario is
different, but for most peopleit is affordable if we dig deep
and we prioritize our health.
One of the best questions thatI heard somebody phrase was if
you were lying on your deathbed,how much money would you pay to
be able to get up and walk outof the hospital?

(16:07):
What would your health be worthat that point?

Speaker 1 (16:13):
It's the ultimate example of whether it's physical
health or working with Zal andlife coaching or recovery
coaching or therapy, whatever itis you're investing in yourself
, you're putting value inyourself, as opposed to a car
wash your car to make it shiny.
It's doing the internal andexternal, all of the work, and I

(16:34):
think that's a great potentialmotivator to your point.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, you're saying about that connection, because
the thing about the desire forchange, it can be an event, but
then how do I sustain it?
You know to renew it over andover again, but then the gym
membership and then what you do,also like mentor or personal
trainer, if there is aconnection, like there is more
of a motivation to renew it.

(16:58):
You know, and if you're hintingat about recovery too, that in
recovery people help others andthat's how they help themselves.
You know so like thatconnection, or I guess in simple
terms, it's more like a purpose.
After I have discovered thepurpose, like that is like the
renewal for every challenges,that, okay, this is why I'm

(17:20):
doing what I'm doing.
You know so, like was therealso a point in your journey
where that clarity of purposebecame clear and that like
motivates you to keep going?

Speaker 3 (17:31):
There's been several points and they've come from all
different directions.
I think some of the firstmoments that I had were I never
realized, I never imagined thatat various points in my career
that half my clients would beunder the age of 20, all the way

(17:54):
to like 14 years old.
Some of them would come inbefore school and train.
I mean, I wouldn't be caughtdead in a gym or up at 5 am when
I was in high school or juniorhigh school or whatever.
So at that point you realizeyou're working with a special
type of person who's just highlymotivated in wanting something

(18:17):
better for themselves orstriving for something.
But then the other half of thekids that I trained literally
walked through the doors onlyknowing the top of their shoe.
Well, they didn't want to talkto other kids, they didn't want
to talk to other adults, theyhad zero confidence and within a

(18:38):
very short period of time theymay not have lost any weight,
but what they did do is startlifting their head up and
realizing that other people inthe gym were cheering them on.
And I'm not saying that that'severy gym necessarily, but our
gym is pretty unique in that wehave a very supportive community

(19:00):
which I lean on all the time.
Even though I'm the expert Ineed their help all the time,
just like in recovery.
But then when some of thesekids, guys and girls lift
something they never thoughtthey would lift or run a speed,
they never thought they wouldrun or jump a height, they never

(19:22):
thought they could jump.
And then they're like, wait, Ican, if I can do this, what else
can I do?
And it really boostsself-esteem to the point where
I'm in this one kid, one of thefirst kids I worked with super
shy, just really.
I mean just hard to talk to.
I mean you could have aconversation with him and he

(19:42):
just literally wouldn't answeryou.
That's how introverted he was.
And at the end of the monthhe's like walking up to random
members and just being like hey,what's up?
What are you working on today?
I'm just waiting for Ben to getdone with his next client
because we're going to do somesquats.

(20:02):
I'm just waiting for Ben to getdone with his next client
because we're going to do somesquats.
And it's like that guy justsaid more in like two seconds
than he said in the last monthTo a complete stranger, you know
.
So for me I was like wow,there's so much more than just
physical fitness to all of this.

(20:25):
And then one of the other bigmoments, I think, for me was
there's been at least half adozen times two kind of long and
mildly embarrassing stretcheswhere I was struggling.
I'm working in a gym as atrainer with a full client load

(20:48):
At this point.
I've trained well over 300clients and I can't make the
time or find the time or findthe motivation to work out
myself.
And I'm like man what is theproblem with that?
And I'm like man, what is theproblem with that?
And it didn't take me long tofinally just realize that if

(21:10):
we're waiting for motivation,we're going to be waiting a long
time.
Like I don't go to the gym everyday and work out because I'm
motivated every day.
I'm actually very infrequentlymotivated.
I just do it.
It just becomes a habit.
The motivation comes after youstart the workout, much like in

(21:33):
recovery when we say you have toact your way into a new way of
thinking and not think your wayinto a new way of acting.
The physical action of justwalking through the door and
getting started is normallyenough for most people to stir
up some motivation to get aworkout done.
But if you're waiting to go tothe gym for like some miraculous

(21:57):
amount of like motivation, man,it could be weeks before you
wind up walking through the door, and the longer you're away,
the harder it gets to go.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
Yeah, for sure you're taking some of my thoughts
right out of my mind and you'revoicing it and I I thought was
what are my takeaways so farfrom the conditions you're
setting up to rise fitness?
And and part of it is whatseparates Rise Fitness and
kickboxing.

(22:29):
You alluded to man.
If you can have the motivationto work out on your own, great,
but, to your point, that's notalways the case with anything in
terms of growth, whether it'sphysical, mental, emotional, and
it sounds like part of theculture that you've created at
Rise is that community and thatsupport, and it's so much, I'll

(22:55):
say, easier when thoseconditions are there, because
whether it's me as a therapistthat, hey, I'm not always the
healthiest person mentally orit's physical you name it Zal
with his meditation practice andhelping people meditate, that
we're not 100% all the time andthe ability of creating a

(23:18):
culture, in your case, a gymthat can't think your way into
good living.
Sometimes you've got to liveyour way, you've got to do the
things.
In your case, it's in theplatform of physical health, but
you're explaining, beyond thephysical benefits that can and,
residually, will happen.
If you do this thing, you'regoing to be aware of your mental

(23:40):
health and emotional health.
I think you'll be moreconscious of that if you add
certain aspects of growth andrecovery, in your case, physical
health.

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Am.

Speaker 1 (23:51):
I summing it up, yeah .

Speaker 3 (23:55):
And I sum it up real, with a lot of people I'm more
blunt, I'm almost always tactfuland I'm very client-centered.
So I'm not a bossy coach.
I make decisions with clients,I don't make them for them,
because I honestly believe thatjust will never work if you do

(24:18):
it that way.
But when people ask me, peoplewill say, ben, can we talk for a
minute?
Well, well, maybe it'll be oneof my clients or maybe it'll
just be another gym member who'snot my client.
I'm really having a tough timewith motivation and I look at
them and I just say, fuckmotivation, forget about it
altogether, because it's prettyworthless, it's not accountable

(24:44):
and it will not show up for youmost of the time.
But consistency, consistencywill, will help you every time.
Just get here.
And the more you build on that,the easier it becomes to just
be consistent whether you'remotivated or not.
It becomes to just beconsistent whether you're

(25:10):
motivated or not.
And then to bridge that gap, wehave trainers.
We have people that are alwayslooking for workout partners.
So if you can't afford to pay atrainer, find somebody who just
needs a workout partner, whoyou can sort of jive with a
little bit, and I've had severalworkout partners since being
there, and I wouldn't be where Iwas today without them for sure

(25:32):
.
When I first started working out, I was so on fire.
I didn't need a workout partner.
I was like going to show theworld I could do this.
Right, that was easy, that waslike the honeymoon phase.
That was like the first year,the equivalent of like the first
year of recovery, when life issimple, right, and then you get

(25:54):
married and then you have kids,and then you get a more
demanding job and then you haveless time and you're getting
less sleep and it's like hard tohave the energy or hard to have
the time to work out.
And if you have, like I'll tellpeople I might miss my workout

(26:16):
throughout the day.
Like I'm trying to get it inand it just doesn't seem to be
happening.
And at the worst case scenario,I'm like I'm just going to work
out before I go home and I'llbe heading for the door at like
seven o'clock at night andsomebody will be like Ben, I
thought you said you were goingto work out before you left and
I'm like, ah, shit, I didn't saythat.

(26:37):
All right, I get it, I see.
And so I've tell on myself allthe time I try to make my plans
known so that if I try to changethem somebody will call me out
on it.
I tell my workout partner whatthe workout is ahead of time so
that I can't get halfway throughand say we're getting close to
the end.
He knows we're only halfwaythrough.

(26:59):
I already told him the planbecause it's real easy for me to
be like well, that feels prettygood, that's enough work for
today, and it's like no dude,that was not the plan.
This is the plan, and I'm notsaying that you shouldn't listen
to your body.
We should always listen to ourbody.
Some days we just don't have it.
I have had a couple of dayslike that recently where I went
to go lift a certain amount ofweight and you got to put your

(27:20):
ego aside and just say that istoo much today.
You got to put your ego asideand just say that is too much
today.
Not every day is going to bethe best day in the gym.
That's a fact and you just haveto deal with that.

Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, what comes to mind is selling motivation is a
good sales tactic, but creatinga culture of consistency is
beautiful for health andwellness and that's the
long-term benefit.
Is consistency, because, toyour point, we don't always have
that motivation.
Yeah, that's good.
I like to go back a little bitand talk more about the beyond

(27:59):
the physical benefits and how Ithink that's also part of the
consistency is.
To your point, we're not alwaysreaching our goals or gains and
that doesn't always motivate us.
It might early on and see thosequick gains, but can you do a
little bit more of how thephysical fitness impacts mental
and emotional wellbeing?

Speaker 3 (28:19):
So there was a study done a while back and it was
more or less a questionnairehanded to thousands of doctors
and it came back with themhaving all different opinions
about the benefits of physicalfitness.
But there was one benefit that100 of doctors agreed on and

(28:44):
that was an immediate positiveimpact on a person's mental
well-being.
An immediate positive impact ona person's mental well-being
that means that same day thatyou walk into the gym, you have
gained no muscle, you have lostno weight.
No muscle, you have lost noweight, but you have positively,

(29:09):
immediately affected yourmental well-being.
And that really, when I readthat, I thought to myself why
does nobody focus on this more,right?
So we ask a question when we aredoing like client leads, and we
ask three questions what areyou looking to do?
Lose fat, lose weight, buildmuscle or just blow off some

(29:32):
steam?
And some people say all three,some people pick two and some
people just say I'm blowing offsome steam.
If they lose weight, great.
If they gain muscle, great.
That's not why they're there.
They just understand thatthey're better moms, better
employers, better employees,better fathers, better brothers
and sisters, whatever it may be,because they go to the gym and

(29:56):
it helps reduce their stress.
It helps, give them some clarity, it helps them unwind, it helps
them get a better night's sleep, which obviously helps people's
mental well-being.
So they're not necessarilythere for anything specific
other than they know when theyleave they feel better.

(30:17):
I mean, that's hard to arguewith.

Speaker 2 (30:19):
Yeah, I also want to go back to what you said in the
beginning about the connectionpiece, uh, with this uh,
well-rounded well-being as well.
Is that like, um, that thingabout mood follows actions?
You know that, but thensometimes I cannot motivate
myself, that I cannot forcemyself to do something.
But if I've also like I wouldbe like waiting for that moment

(30:40):
of inspiration to do what I'msupposed to do, like waiting
forever, you know.
But then when you are beingaccountable with the gym member
or the trainer, or if you seesomebody else who is doing it
like you feel more inspired.
But then before that, there is aneed for a sense of belonging.
You know, that's how recoveryhas been for me too, that if I
don't not see anybody who'ssober and happy, why would I

(31:01):
want to do it?
So, promoting that culture of asense of belonging where people
are like oh yeah, I'm one ofthis group and I want what
they're doing and what they'rehaving.
So that piece I feel likethat's kind of cultivated at
your gym too, about that teameffort as a community.
But also what you were sayingabout the mental well-being kind

(31:24):
of makes me think about themetaphor that I've heard of is
like a spoke of a wheel.
You know, when one good thing'shappened, the other thing
started spreading too.
You know, I feel like physicalwell-being is like that too,
where you start doing it, youknow, and then other things just
start unfolding.
Yeah, I'll just stop there.

(31:45):
It was great.

Speaker 3 (31:47):
I was going to say that's a great point, zal, and
that's definitely one of thethings I want to talk about.
So, like me, personally, I didnot change other than drinking
soda.
I did not greatly change mydiet when I first started
working out and I saw a lot ofpretty big changes because of
how hard I worked, and so that'snot always common, but if

(32:07):
somebody puts in enough work,they're going to see pretty good
changes despite their diet.
But you will absolutely hit aroadblock if you don't change
your diet.
And I walked into the gym thatI was going to.
This was before I startedtraining was going to.

(32:28):
This was before I startedtraining.
I had just enrolled to takesome courses at the community
college and get a personaltraining certificate, and one of
the classes was health andnutrition.
And I remember walking into thegym.
I hadn't gone to a class yet, Ihadn't started.
But I walked into the gym and Isaid to one of the trainers who
I had looked up to started bywalking to the gym.
And I said to one of thetrainers who I had looked up to

(32:51):
and I didn't even really knowthat he knew me, but he, he, he
did, because that's he was agood trainer.
Good trainers know they're.
They're the members of theirgym and they're keeping an eye
on them.
And, um, I asked him what wasgoing on.
Why was I not getting a sixpack yet, cause I'd made some
pretty good progress?
He said, ben, it's not yourworkouts, dude.
You come in here and crush itLike I see the workouts you do.

(33:14):
It would make most people throwup right, like most people at
this point, I think, would nothandle what you do.
And you've only been doing thisfor like nine little over nine
months now.
Like that's really I rememberwhere you do.
And you've only been doing thisfor like nine little over nine
months now.
Like that's really I rememberwhere you were.
Like you said, that's reallyimpressive.
You said the only thing I cantell you is you can't exercise
your way out of a poor diet.
And I had a little tempertantrum and started stomping my

(33:37):
feet and I was like the realityof the situation.
I knew you were going to tell methat.
I just was hoping that maybe Iwas missing something, and so I
was like all right, I guessthat's it.
And so, as people trainphysically, they realize that
most of the roadblocks come fromother aspects of health and

(34:02):
wellness.
Well, if I train, I shouldprobably eat better.
If I train, I should probablysleep better.
If I train, I should probablywork on reducing my stress.
These are people that havelearned this or heard it
somewhere or read it somewhere.
And then there's a whole nothersegment of the population who
has no idea, like me.

(34:22):
Other segment of the populationwho has no idea, like me when I
first started.
They have no idea that it isnearly impossible to lose body
fat or build muscle if yourcortisol levels are through the
roof and that it will mess upall your other hormones, that if
you don't sleep well, that willaffect your cortisol.
Having higher cortisol and notgetting good sleep will affect

(34:44):
your food choices.
You will choose to eat thingsthat are crappy without even
knowing you're doing it.
It's almost like an autonomicresponse.
You will pick a bag of potatochips over something else
because you're tired and yourcortisol levels are high and
your body says give me thepotato chips, I know it'll make
me feel better right away, andyou don't even know that your

(35:06):
body's doing all that right.
So if you start with likeexercise, that's a great place
to start.
In recovery we say not tochange everything all at once.
I mean some people go thatroute.
They quit everything, they quitsmoking, they quit whatever
else they're doing.
But we try to say, one step ata time, and that's not just in

(35:29):
the gym or recovery, that's likeany change in life.

Speaker 1 (35:35):
And, if I can, piggyback, if I can piggyback,
that's like cause and effect.
That also can lead to peoplebeing depressed.
So then you have the, the mooddisorder or cause and effect.

Speaker 3 (35:46):
Feel depressed, so keep going yeah, well, yeah, I
mean, if you're trying to changeeverything at once by friday,
you're gonna fail and thenyou're gonna be depressed about
it.
I'm a failure, I can't do this.
I'm what I must be worthless.
All this other negativeself-talk and and lack of
compassion for self, and whenwe're making changes in our life

(36:07):
, we should absolutely be themost compassionate towards
ourself.
At that time, like that's agood time to learn what that
even means.
And that's funny when you heara bunch of meatheads in a gym
talking about self-compassion,because that's the kind of
conversations that we have.
We talk about science-y stuff,fluffy stuff, and then we go

(36:33):
lift some heavy shit.
But we realize I mean I'vetalked to certain members and I
know I can tell by looking attheir face they're like I can't
believe he's talking about this,because they don't under under,
like they just don't picture itcoming out of my mouth until
they get to know me.
And it's like I'm here to tellyou that coming in here and
lifting weights is like just asmall piece of the pie.

(36:54):
And so, um, if we try, humanbeings like to profess that we
can multitask, and the fact islike 98% of us absolutely suck
at multitasking.
There's been so many studiesdone about it and we just we

(37:16):
aren't good at it.
We don't have the bandwidth todo two things well at once.
So in coaching, especially whenit comes to behavioral change
and health and wellness, I takea very slow approach with
everybody and we change just onething and we don't move on to
changing another thing untilyou've pretty much mastered the

(37:39):
thing that we started with.
And what happens is you buildon that.
So we come in and we startlifting weights.
We start coming in regularlyand lifting weights consistently
.
Then we hit a roadblock.
Okay, where's this roadblockcoming from?
How do we get over thisroadblock?
Okay, well, it maybe is yourdiet.
Let's take a look at your day.

(38:01):
Do you get a good night's sleep?
Do you have a stressful job?
Do you eat like shit?
And so we start picking apart aperson's life and basically
saying here's a list of thingsthat maybe we can look at, and
they say and I just look at whatdo you want to start with?
You know, maybe they don't wantto change how they eat, maybe

(38:21):
they don't want to change howthey eat, maybe they don't want
to drink less alcohol, becausealcohol stands in the way of you
.
Our liver is hugely responsiblefor building muscle and burning
fat and so many other processes, and it stops all those
processes to digest alcohol, toprocess alcohol, and won't

(38:44):
resume those other processesuntil that's through you.

Speaker 1 (38:47):
And we've got an episode just on that.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
I'll put that in the episode, note One drink too many
.
It's crazy, though, becausepeople will be weekend warriors
and they've been crushing it inthe gym for like a year and
somebody says man, why do theylook the same?
Why do they look the same asthey did a year ago?
Because they drink three days aweek, really hard, and their

(39:15):
body is focusing on recoveringfrom that instead of recovering
from their workouts.
So that's just one smallexample.
Somebody may look at me and saywell, ben, you know what, I'm
not going to quit drinking, okay.
Well, what else can we focus on?
Could you sleep better?
Do you have issues with stressand stress?
You can talk a whole podcastabout stress, because there's

(39:38):
environmental, there's culturalright.
I mean, in different cultures,certain things are acceptable.
I may ask a client to work ontheir diet and it's a problem
for them because their cultureis so heavily revolved around
food that I'm like asking themto, like you know, run a

(39:59):
marathon, and with no practiceit's like, like.
So how do you overcome all thatstuff incrementally?
You just have to picklow-hanging fruit sometimes just
to make a little bit ofprogress with somebody so that
they can see the benefits ofsome of the changes, to really
integrate them into their lifeand feel comfortable with them.

(40:21):
And then you start picking someof the bigger battles, or they
pick them really.
I say what do you, you know?
Again, I always say what do youwant to work on next?
What do you feel like you'rehaving the most trouble with?
And that's to me that is likethe epitome of where all this
sort of ties in.
It's like we change our eatinghabits to a degree.

(40:46):
We learn how to deal betterwith stress, different habits
like staying off of our cellphones, turning off electronics
before going to bed.
They all seem veryinsignificant alone.
But if somebody said, ben, howis it that you can be 47 years
old and lift like you're 30?

(41:07):
Age is a cumulative.
Age is not like something thathappens because we get older.
To some degree it isbiologically, but mostly age is
a cumulative effect of years ofbad habits.
Mostly age is a cumulativeeffect of years of bad habits.

(41:28):
The longer we're alive, thelonger we've been partaking in
those bad habits, so the worsetheir effects are.
So if you have been eating baconevery day for 40 years, you're
going to have some problemsassociated with that.
It's not that you're gettingold, it's that you ate too much
bacon, right?
If you have been sedentary allyour life, it's not that you're

(41:51):
getting old, it's that you'vebeen sedentary for longer
because you're older.
And a lot of people won't buyinto that.
You know.
They won't buy into the factthat it's easier to just say
it's because I'm getting old,I'm too old for that.
They won't buy into the factthat it's easier to just say
it's because I'm getting old,I'm too old for that, or I can't
do that.

Speaker 1 (42:09):
As to me, part of your coaching strength is not
necessarily yes, there'smotivation, but you're talking
about the healthy consistency.
In my language I say the exactsame thing with a little
different language.
It's everybody copes, butpeople often want to find out
okay, how do I cope in ahealthier way?
And with your coaching methods,you're helping people, not just

(42:33):
while they're at your gym, buta lot of the work, the living,
your way into good thinking ordoing.
The action happens.
You help set them up withphysical health, emotional
health, potentially evenspiritual health Maybe we'll
talk about that next With thethings they do outside of your
gym and coping or doingbehaviors that can make you feel

(42:58):
like a 30-year-old instead of a47-year-old.
Happens with how you deal withstress, with how you eat, with
how you uh to do those things.
And I think one of the messagesthat I'm getting from you and I
can relate to this- is.
I got home gym equipment.
But how often do people withhome gym equipment stop using
the home gym equipment?

(43:18):
And part of what Rise Fitnessand kickboxing really does is
provide whether it's through thecoaching or the community, that
new consistency.
I mean, I can't tell you howmany videos I've seen through
your practice and it's darkbecause it's probably early
morning but you know 10 to 25 to30 people are all doing a

(43:39):
kickboxing class together.
You know, I think that's justphenomenal support and a new
consistency, a new healthycoping skill.
That to your point.
How are they applying this toother aspects of their life to
help them while they're with youin the gym?

Speaker 2 (43:55):
Earlier was very valuable about change, like
coming in many layers or manylevels, but then like being
patient with it.
It goes back to your firstpoint about like how do we make
this to be permanent, like to bethe integral part of your life,
and like, with spiritualpractice, exercise?
It's uh, you know, in buddhismthe first noble truth is life is

(44:16):
, you know, there is sufferingin life, which means life is
always going to be problematic,which sounds like bad news.
But then it's been a good newsfor me because there's always
something to work on.
So, like my attention is notlost, you know.
So I take care of my physicalhealth, only to realize that, oh
, there are other things that Ineed to take care of too.
And we've seen this a lot insobriety too, that when people
stop drinking they realize, oh,there are other things that I

(44:38):
can work on.
So it motivates, it sustainsthat focus, attention to stay
plugged in with, like thingsthat are good.
You know, it's like good actionis kind of contagious.
You know, in a way, that youstart doing something good and
you see more problems becauseyour awareness kind of heightens
that oh, I need to start eatingbetter or I need to start

(44:59):
sleeping, you know, more qualitysleep, or I need to surround
myself with healthier people.
You know start sleeping, morequality sleep, or I need to
surround myself with healthierpeople.

Speaker 3 (45:08):
It just comes in many , many series and that's huge.
Definitely the part aboutsurrounding yourself with
healthier people.
The last certification I gotwas through a company called
Precision Nutrition.
I got a level one health andwellness coach and nutrition

(45:42):
coach certification through themand immediately followed it up
with a way more intensive leveltwo master certification.
That qualifies me now to thenext step is to sit for my
national board certification andthere's so many different
things that I learned in thatclass.
I mean it was so great to sitonline on a Zoom meeting, a Zoom
class, with like a hundred andsome odd people on any given
class, all very like-minded,like a hundred and some odd

(46:04):
people on any given class, allvery like-minded, all having
very similar experiences, allsuffering from imposter syndrome
and doubting their experienceand doubting their abilities and
not knowing if they're going tobe good enough as a coach to
really have an impact on people,the way this program is telling

(46:26):
us we'll be able to, and I cantell you I've taken on almost 15
clients since thatcertification, and many of them
actually while they encouragedus to take on clients while we
were getting the certification,especially if we already had the
level one and I've had someamazing moments with clients,

(46:46):
some of them I I wasn't eventraining, you know, as a um
weightlifting client Like I was.
They were there for somethingcompletely unrelated to lifting
weights, just general health.
Their intention was not to liftweights, although some of them
started, and so some of thetactics that we learn is like

(47:11):
motivational interviewinggetting to understand where
somebody is existentially, wherethey are in their social
network, where they are in theirfamily.
Do they have a sense of purpose?
Do they feel like they havepurpose?
Do they want?
Do they even care?
Do they want purpose or arethey fine for the moment, just

(47:35):
sort of floating through life?
Do their actions line up withwho they believe they are Right?
These are pretty deep questionsthat nobody thought they were
going to answer walking into anutrition console and people are
like, well, you know, I don'tunderstand.
I thought I was doing this wasnutrition coaching.
I'm like I don't know any otherway to explain it to you other

(47:56):
than this is where it starts,because I can tell you what to
eat.
But if we don't focus on thisother stuff, the minute I stop
telling you what to eat, you'regoing to be lost again.
You're not going to, you'restill going to have the same
habits.
So we do things like this thingcalled notice and name, or, as
you called it, zol awareness.
Right, I have a behavior, now Ican start giving, I can

(48:18):
recognize it and then I can giveit a name.
I can call it what it is.
And that's not always enough.
Right, we have these behaviors,but behaviors aren't just a
random thing that we do.
There's always a trigger,there's something that happens
that causes a particularresponse from us, whether it's

(48:43):
automatic or subconscious orconscious, and so we can break
the chain by identifying thesetriggers and then slowly
eliminating them to the pointwhere the behavior starts to
change.
Why does somebody just pull intoa McDonald's drive-thru when
they swore all week long thatthey were not going to pull into

(49:04):
a McDonald's drive-thru?
When they swore all week longthat they were not going to pull
into a McDonald's drive-thru.
They were done eatingMcDonald's, right.
And I say to a client all right, well, let's walk me through
your day.
How did you wake up?
Did you wake up on time, didyou hit your snooze?
And we just ask questions andwe evaluate what happened and

(49:26):
almost always something comes upthat says that's it.
The last time you stopped atMcDonald's you also had a really
horrible day at work and yourboss accused you of, like, not
getting stuff done on time, andso you rolled out of there early
and you missed an appointmentand you stopped at McDonald's

(49:47):
because you were angry andhungry and frustrated.
And that's comforting to you.
It's something that you'refamiliar with and you know.
And they're like you're right.
Okay, how do I this?
You know, how do I break thechain of this habit?
Well, now you know, if you havea day like that, at the very

(50:12):
least to be on the lookout formcdonald's drive-thrus and go
the other way, you know, nowyou've identified something that
may cause you to make adecision that is against your
values or what you believe orwant for yourself.
And, as you said, zal, it'sjust learning to help somebody

(50:33):
have a very basic level ofawareness of why we do the
things we do, then change is notas hard.

Speaker 1 (50:42):
It's not like just shooting in the dark and just
hoping that we just change rightI think one thing we're all
aware of being in a recoverycommunity, Matt, having that
healthy community can give usperspective with our unhealthy
coping skills or unhealthypatterns that we do, and having

(51:03):
that aha awareness from coach orsomeone who's been in this
behavior before can be thedifference from oh, let me
rewire that neural pathway andbegin to do something different.
It's a good example.
It's a good example.

Speaker 3 (51:20):
I'll tell you a fun one that's really simple, that I
love and that is like Zol picka, pick a goal.

Speaker 2 (51:30):
Just tell me about a goal that you have for yourself
my kids, more quality time withmy kids, or do you want a
different goal?

Speaker 3 (51:39):
no, that's fine.
Why do you want to spend morequality time?

Speaker 2 (51:41):
with your kids memories and I have positive
impact on them and we have moremeaningful time in life.

Speaker 3 (51:51):
Why do you want to create more memories?
Why do you want to have moreimpact?

Speaker 2 (51:56):
It's important and I want to pass on what was given
to me from my parents and thevalues and the meanings given to
me from my parents and thevalues and the meanings.

Speaker 3 (52:07):
So I'm not going to go all the way through, but I've
.
Technically, I'm going to askyou why two more times, and
every time I ask you that I getmore information about why it is
important for you to spend moretime with your kids.
You didn't start off by sayinganything about your parents and
what they passed on to you, orthat love was important.
Right, you just wanted to spendmore time with your kids.
If I just stopped there, that'sa great goal, but it's kind of

(52:30):
flimsy, right, it doesn't have alot of depth to it.
I don't get a lot ofunderstanding as to why that's
important to you and what sortof like.
If, if, let's say,hypothetically, you were really
struggling with doing that, themore information I have about
why it's a problem and what youfeel like makes it important and

(52:54):
where that importance comesfrom and how that ties into your
deeper values as a person, thenI can start identifying and
helping you identify why it'shard to do.
Maybe you work long hours, okay.
So then we say well, zal, Idon't know if that's going to

(53:15):
happen with the hours thatyou're working.
Is it possible to budgetdifferently so that you can work
less hours and spend more timewith your kids and the more
information we have.
Like.
If you later on, in a similardiscussion, divulge to me that

(53:36):
you're a financial wreck rightnow, well then, obviously
working less hours maybe isn'tgoing to help.
So then it becomes about maybewe need to organize your time
differently, right?
Can you do a time journal forthe next week so that we can
have a really good look at howyou're spending your time?
Maybe you don't need to workless hours.

(53:57):
Maybe the time is already there.
It's just being spent unwisely,right?
And if we just clean it up alittle bit like a hard drive,
right, that's got all that crapin there and you just organize
it.
You don't really do much.
And suddenly you got like twoextra gigabytes.
Then suddenly you're like ben,I've got like two hours a day,

(54:18):
as it turns out, to spend withmy kids every day.
If I just do this, this andthis differently, or I wake up
an hour earlier or whatever itis.
And so for me, like I said, allI wanted to do was take a
nutrition course.
I didn't know what I was goingto be learning in this course.
I really didn't understand that, but I didn't run.

(54:38):
Once I found that out, I didn'trun the other way.
I was like man, this is so muchbetter than just talking about
don't eat pizza.

Speaker 1 (54:58):
Yeah, with the why, with a more deep emotional
connection to why.
Both those things together canlead to a healthy, motivational
and consistent change.
The action behaviorals and thedeeper understanding of the why
are powerful action.
Yeah, yeah, it's really good100%.

Speaker 2 (55:20):
Yeah, that really is the key.
Yeah, it's really good.
100, yeah, that really is thekey.
Uh, like, you know everythingthat we're talking about,
coaching, uh, fitness, like realchange only happens when the
system changes, you know,otherwise it's just a
superficial change.
Uh, so, like those, gatheringthose facts, the reason why
really go to the core of thebelief system and then, and then
, when you know it's probablyimpossible to change it before

(55:44):
becoming aware of it, you know,like, really going to the core
belief of somebody's life, assoon as you identify it, you're
like, oh, those are my limitingbeliefs, you know.
So how do I act?
You know from it, or, you know,make my way out of it.
And yeah, because in ourBuddhist term, there is the
conditioning.
You know there is some sort ofconditioning happening or that

(56:05):
has already happened that Inever questioned, as a result of
where I grew up, how I wasraised, people that I've
interacted with.
But then, as soon as youuncover that, you realize, oh,
how do I create different causesfor different effects?
After I've identified thatconditioning, I feel like that's
what you're saying aboutfinding the reason why they're
doing what they're doing andalso why they want what they are

(56:27):
wanting, and then when that'sclear, it's just like motivation
, it just comes out organically.

Speaker 3 (56:34):
The other thing is the practice of that.
Let's say and we say this allthe time about the steps and God
, or the God of ourunderstanding in the big book If
it can solve our drinkingproblem, it can solve any
problem.
Obviously, we do encouragepeople to get outside help, but
the idea that spirituality andthe task of going through the

(56:59):
steps are that powerful, ofgoing through the steps are that
powerful A lot of.
Again, I drew a lot ofparallels to the stuff that I
learned of when it came tohealth and wellness and
nutrition coaching that if wecan use a certain set of
concepts to change somebody'seating, those same concepts can

(57:23):
be applied to improve theirsleeping and those same concepts
can be applied to help thembuild a better, healthier
relationship with their familyor whatever it is that they're
having trouble with.
I mean, it may there's going tobe certain variables that are
different, but you guys aregoing to love this.

(57:44):
So one of the things that Ithat I learned about and I
struggled with it at first wasthe concept of willpower.
Right, I'm taking this classand we're going to learn all
about willpower and proper useof the will and that in many

(58:08):
situations, our willpower isrelatively worthless without the
presence of something moresuperior, spirit of the universe
or God, whatever, whatever youwant to call it, our higher
power, that that has to beguided.
But there was some researchdone where it was suggested that

(58:33):
willpower operated much likethe human muscle and that when
it was put under duress or forcewas applied to it that it would
strengthen.
So a muscle grows based on itsmeeting its demand of a previous

(58:55):
encounter with something weight, whatever, some sort of
physical task, some sort ofphysical task and in order to
meet the possibility of aslightly more demanding
situation, it grows.
It has to be put under acertain amount of stress or it
will not change.

(59:15):
And that's where a lot ofpeople run into problems at the
gym, not to get off subject.
But people lift what they thinkis heavy and it's just not
heavy enough to elicit thechange that that muscle needs to
feel like it's growing to meeta stronger demand.
Willpower, and like a couple ofdifferent new studies, has been

(59:40):
shown to work the same way, inthe sense that if I apply
willpower to a situation and geta positive outcome, then I'm
going to have a larger capacityof willpower available to be
applied to the next futuresituation and it continues to

(01:00:01):
grow.
Now it's not infinite, but itcan be just like ATP, which is
our energy supply for short-termbouts of exercise.
You can improve, and glycogenstores as well.
You can improve how muchglycogen your body can store.

(01:00:22):
You can improve how much storedATP you have to a degree.
I mean you can't just keepgoing and going and going and we
can basically improve how muchwillpower we store up.
And I think most people don'tlook at it that way, but once it

(01:00:45):
was explained to me, it mademore sense.
I mean, when we think aboutcertain things, like in recovery
, one of the best examples wasthat first time you turn down a
drink, right, your first timeyou're in that tough situation,
old friends call and say let'sgo party or whatever, or

(01:01:06):
something more serious, a lovedone passes away and we hear
people say it all the time Idon't know what's going to make
me drink, if my mom dying orbrother, sister, significant
other or something like that.
And then it happens, happensand we don't pick up a drink.
And now we know that we havethe capacity to not drink, at

(01:01:30):
least under that situation.
So when the next situationarises, we have a firmer belief
that we can also repeat thatsame thing again with the same
outcome, and it just compoundsthe more times that we do it.

Speaker 1 (01:01:46):
And I guess one way to say that is the proper use of
willpower.
And when that proper use ofwillpower is directed in the
right way I mean you're anexample of that you go from hey,
I'm going to get a gymmembership to helping other
people with their health andfitness journey, beyond just
losing weight or gaining muscle.

(01:02:06):
That's proper use of the will.
And then that leads toresiliency or more positivity
than negativity, and then westart to build that like a
muscle.
Oh well, that's positive andlight and love and health and
wellness, as opposed to darknegativity and the things that

(01:02:28):
come where we can put energytowards that.
And I think that is a reallygood summarization of what, ben,
you do and I think, part ofyour philosophy at Rise Fitness
and Kickboxing.
And that's through thecommunity, it's through coaching
, it's through when we don'thave that positive will, it's
through consistency with supportand all those things to

(01:02:51):
strengthen physical, mental,emotional and spiritual.
And I think that's a reallygood summary.
I want to ask you three or fourmore questions.
Clearly this could be a two anda half hour, but we're not
going to go that long.
How are you different from yourold self?
So there's fitness focus,exercise Ben or now Ben to

(01:03:12):
broken back Ben prior to workingout.
How are you different from yourold self?

Speaker 3 (01:03:18):
Let me start by saying, physically, I'm
different in the very obviousway.
I'm far stronger, stronger, farmore flexible.
My joints are stronger, myendurance is better.
My, I feel like I have actuallynot aged almost at all in 10

(01:03:39):
years.
I believe movement is medicine,which is a whole nother subject
also that we could go into justabout traditional medicine
being not all that good comparedto nutrition and exercise.
What things can be done withoutever touching a pill that we
are never told about?
We're so quick to jump to theother way.

(01:04:01):
But, um, aside from physicallybeing stronger, as much as I am
proud of what I've done and liketo and work very hard at
looking a certain way, um, Itend to try to be pretty humble

(01:04:23):
in that I tell people all thetime that, as smart as I am, I
still really only know a littlebit and that I rely on a lot of
other people who are smarterthan me or smarter in different

(01:04:44):
areas to help continue to grow.
One of the things I like aboutthe gym is that we all
specialize in a lot of differentthings and we don't have any
trouble looking at somebody andsaying I don't know the answer
to that, but I know who does.

(01:05:04):
Let's go talk to this traineror this trainer, and it's not
like a used car lot where we'reall fighting over clients.
If I can't help somebody withwhat I know, I'm going to pass
them off to somebody who canhelp them.
I have great.
I have great joint mobility andjoint strength and that's

(01:05:25):
because I listened to a guy atour gym who emphasized the
importance of it and I totallyagree and I learned from him.
I learned from him enough toimprove myself, but I didn't
learn from him enough that I cannecessarily train other people
in that area.
That's his area, that's hisexpertise and we're all and we

(01:05:48):
all like.
If somebody is like man my backis trashed, like you should
probably go see Ben because he'sgoing to tell you the best
possible ways to help identifywhat's causing your back pain
and how to fix it, causing yourback pain and how to fix it.

(01:06:08):
So I think that I've changed inthat I'm just always willing to
learn, I'm always willing togrow and I genuinely want
everybody who comes through thedoor, everybody I come into
contact, who has asked mesomething about health and
wellness and strength andconditioning, to reach their
goals and be successful, toexperience what I've experienced

(01:06:32):
to feel like they don't age, tofeel like they can do anything
that they want.
If they want to run a race,they can run a race.
If they want to get into aboxing match at 40 years old,
they can train and get into aboxing match.
There's really not any reasonwhy we're too old.

(01:06:52):
We're not ever too old.
You can get on the internet andlook up different videos and
stuff and see some people whoare in their 70s and 80s and are
just ripped and lifting heavyweight.
It's just amazing to watch.
But they're doing very specificthings to be able to do that.

(01:07:14):
I guarantee they're notcrushing bags of potato chips
and drinking Diet Cokes.

Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
What has taken your passion and your drive to become
healthy to wanting to be abusiness owner?

Speaker 3 (01:07:30):
I have different reasons for that owner.
I have different reasons forthat.
So I've always wanted I meansince I got out of the
restaurant business being atrainer.
You kind of are your ownbusiness owner, even if you're
working within another business.
You're really a contractor,you're responsible for finding
your own clients.
But it's such a grind.
It is a terrible grind.
It's almost at the end of theday to make a living out of it.

(01:07:53):
It's not much less of a grindthan being in the restaurant
business, it's just.
At least it's a grind that'saround healthier people and
maybe not so late at night.
Nobody's at the gym training at2 am.
I mean, some people are, butmaybe.
But like generally speaking,you go to work at 6 am, you're

(01:08:13):
off by 2 or 3, 4, maybe 5o'clock.
It's a long day, but I was stillable to spend time with my
family, which is maybe part ofthe reason why I'm separated and
getting a divorce.

(01:08:34):
But I always had them in mind.
I always had my family in mind,that I was trying to find a way
to make more money and work less.
I think most of us can relateto that and being a business,
being self-employed, does notequate to that being a business

(01:08:57):
owner eventually will, and thatmay take longer than I want it
to.
But even if it takes a littlebit more time, I already feel
like I have a better life.
I already feel like I'm more Iwon't say in charge of my
destiny, because anything canhappen at any time and you know

(01:09:20):
the rug just gets yanked outfrom underneath of you.
But I've built a strong enoughnetwork and community and I just
have too many people in mycorner to worry about that and
that's a really awesome feelingto have that if something were

(01:09:40):
to happen, it may be reallyunpleasant and we're really
uncomfortable, but it would notbe the end of the world or the
end of me or the end of myfamily and as a business owner

(01:10:07):
that cares about other peoplebecause you can own a gym and
everybody's just a number.

Speaker 1 (01:10:09):
You wouldn't have the culture you have now.

Speaker 3 (01:10:11):
Yeah, you wouldn't have the culture that you have.
Being the type of businessowner that I am and being so
willing to learn and being sowilling to be taught and learn
new ways of doing things, oradmitting that I was doing
something the wrong way.
All that stuff, I think, lendsto the way that people feel

(01:10:32):
about me, and that in and ofitself is humbling, because
people don't have to feel anyparticular way about anybody.
When I started thankingeverybody during Thanksgiving
for the support that I'd had atthat point for like nine months
at the gym, I couldn't finish mysentence.
I was just getting choked upbecause everybody I'm looking at

(01:10:53):
has played some reallyimportant role in my personal
life and the life of that gym,and that wouldn't happen if I
wasn't a business owner.

Speaker 1 (01:11:06):
And, lastly, what's something that's surprised you,
that you've learned aboutyourself because of this fitness
journey that you, after ChickenRuth's, what's surprised you
about this journey you've beenon?

Speaker 3 (01:11:22):
There's been so many surprises.

Speaker 1 (01:11:25):
That you've learned about yourself as a result.

Speaker 3 (01:11:28):
I'll tell you, the best thing that I've learned
about myself is that I can havea really positive impact on
people's lives and when they,when they say thank you or they

(01:11:50):
tell me just about how somethingthey were struggling with
they're not, or something thatwent really well that day, they
attribute to something they'velearned by working with me in
the weight room or as a healthand wellness coach, that I can
accept that and just say you'rewelcome.

(01:12:12):
It doesn't seem like a big.
I don't know that everybody'sgoing to understand what a big
leap that is for a guy like me,but I remember standing in front
of a judge where some at onepoint, where some other people
were describing me as helpfuland talking to the judge about

(01:12:36):
how much I helped them and I waslike what are they talking
about?
I am not helpful.
I am not a helpful person.
I'm fucking selfish and I don'tdo things for the right reasons
and and I start and I and atthat moment I started to cry
because I was like man, nobody'scalled me helpful and like I

(01:12:57):
don't know how long and most ofmy clients and people at that
gym know my background.
I mean like the full detailsand sometimes we joke around
about it, but a lot of timesthey're just like.
You know, I try not to.
I was telling somebody theother day like I don't like pass
on the back because I'm not aburden on society anymore, Right

(01:13:18):
, Like I don't want people likeit's fine when people say that's
really awesome that you'veovercome what you've overcome,
Cause it is tough as analcoholic and an addict,
recovery is tough, but reallywe're not supposed to take a lot
of credit for that, Cause we'rejust doing what we should have
fucking been doing likeeverybody else for all of our

(01:13:40):
life the ability to be helpful.
And when somebody expresses that, to just simply say you're
welcome.
It's not like being, it's notmeant at all in a conceited way,

(01:14:07):
it's.
It's more like just recognizing, um, that we all need help.
We should all say thank you andwe should all say you're
welcome when somebody thanks usthey have helped me out.
Sometimes not the, especiallythe ones that have helped more.
Um, I always make it known atvarious points that, as as as

(01:14:32):
clients, I have learned a lot.
You know, as their coach, I'velearned a lot from them and they
have gone to bat for me inseveral different ways.
You know, just more like afriend than a client, and that
doesn't always happen.
I mean, that's not, you know,maybe it's not professional,
maybe it's irrelevant, but I'mnot going to.

(01:14:54):
You know, if something happensorganically in a professional
relationship, I think it's onlynatural that people that spend a
lot of time together eventuallybecome friends, and so as

(01:15:17):
helpful as I've been to themthere's no denying that I have
made hundreds which feels weirdto say hundreds of really close
friends, and many of them I willknow, probably for the rest of
my life.
Whether we keep in closecontact all the time or it's
more like, you know, they justcome visit when they're back in
the area, which happens too.
Like that blows my mind thatsomebody would come back to

(01:15:40):
maryland from another state andbe like, while I'm in town I'm
gonna go visit my trainer.
You know what I mean.
It's like what?

Speaker 2 (01:15:48):
okay, cool, so good stuff is all anything from you
before we wrap up and for thisand um, I like everything that
I've heard.
Thank you and um.
What I get the most out of ispretty much the note that you're
ending about the real meaningof life the essence is and the
meaning that we create.
You know, like the connectionsit's not about, because there's

(01:16:09):
a lot that is happening beyondwhat we're seeing.
You know, it's like feelings,memories being created, and then
that's more important thannumbers.
In that material world it'sjust very limited to the
spiritual and the feelingsbehind it.
So it's really great to connectwith you on this podcast,
appreciate all the things thatyou share and thanks, luke, to

(01:16:32):
you too.

Speaker 1 (01:16:33):
Yeah and Ben.
Where can listeners learn moreabout you and your team at Rise
Fitness?
Where can they reach you?

Spe (01:16:43):
Risefitnessandkickboxingcom is our website, and then you
can always follow us on socialmedia Facebook, rise Fitness and
Kickboxing Same handle forInstagram at Rise Fitness and
Kickboxing.
Same handle for Instagram atRise Fitness and Kickboxing.
And I will say real quicklywhile the focus, as it's all
said, is often not on thenumbers, if anybody does want to

(01:17:07):
lose weight or put on muscle orjust get absolutely ripped, we
can do that.

Speaker 1 (01:17:14):
Hell yeah, hell yeah.
Absolutely Well.
Before we wrap up, I want totake a moment and express
deepest gratitude and thanks toeach and every one of our
listeners and your supportcertainly means the world to us
and we're incredibly gratefulfor the opportunity to share our
insights and inspiration withyou each episode.
If you enjoyed today's episodeand found it helpful on your

(01:17:35):
wellness journey, pleaseconsider liking, subscribing and
leaving a review on yourfavorite podcast platform,
especially an Apple podcast.
It certainly helps.
Your feedback helps us reachmore people and continue growing
our community of health andwellness enthusiasts.
Additionally, if you feelcalled to support the show
financially, we welcome anycontributions or donations

(01:17:55):
you're able to make.
Simply visit the link in theepisode description to access
our PayPal donation page whereyou can make a one-time or
recurring payment.
Your generosity helps us expandour offerings, create new
courses and produce more writtencontent to support your
wellness goals.
No donation is too small andevery contribution makes a
meaningful difference in helpingus serve you better.

(01:18:17):
So, as we reach the end of thisenlightening conversation with
Ben Biondi, it's clear thatphysical exercise isn't just
about building muscle or losingweight.
It can be, but it's all abouttransforming our entire lives
for the better.
From improving our physicalhealth and boosting our mental
well-being to cultivatingdiscipline, resilience and
self-confidence, the benefits ofworking out are truly endless,

(01:18:41):
so let's take this opportunityto express our gratitude to Ben
for sharing his wisdom,practical tips and inspiring
stories with us today.
Whether you're just startingyour fitness journey or you're a
seasoned athlete, remember thatevery step you take toward
prioritizing your health is astep toward a brighter,
healthier future.
As we wrap up, I encourage youto take what you've learned from

(01:19:01):
this episode and apply it toyour own life, whether it's
committing to a regular exerciseroutine, setting realistic
goals or embracing a holisticapproach to health and wellness.
Know that you have the power tocreate positive change in your
life, starting today.
Stay active, stay healthy andkeep rising to new heights.
My name is Luke Ben.
Thank you all for listening.

(01:19:21):
Thanks, guys.
We'll see you next time.

Speaker 3 (01:19:24):
Love you guys.
Thank you both for having me.