[MELISSA]: The Bomb Mom podcast is part of the Practice of the Practice Podcast Network, a family of podcasts, that are making the world better. You’ll also probably like the Imperfect Thriving podcast, Beta Male Revolution, and Empowered and Unapologetic podcast. Check them out at www.practiceofthepractice.com/network. Hey, what’s up everyone? If you’re looking to be inspired, motivated, educated, and entertained, you have come to the right place. Welcome to the Bomb Mom podcast, the podcast where we explore your fitness, life mindsets, and actions that help you become unstoppable. You’re worth it and it’s time to finally make changes in your life that will last you the rest of your life. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Bomb Mom podcast. I’m Melissa, your host. I’m so glad that you guys are tuning in today. We have a really good show, we have a special guest, his name is Chad Austin and I can’t wait for you to hear everything that he provides for us because it just goes right along with the Bomb Mom philosophies of life. And the more that I can give you guys insight from other trainers, other professionals, it’s just going to help it stick even more in your head. So, I hope everyone’s staying safe, staying healthy, still working on those goals. You guys, I love getting your emails so keep them coming in, and it’s at info@melissavogelfitness.com, and when you guys sign up for my free email course, okay, so you can go to www.melissavogelfitness.com/course, you can sign up for that free email course, you’re going to get a couple – I’m not going to give you like a crazy amount – but you are going to get a free 30 day guide to getting that Bomb Mom body on track. And if you’re in a position right now where you’re like, I don’t even know where to start, I don’t have a lot of stuff at home, like, I don’t even know what to do, guess what? I will literally tell you what to do on day one, and day ten, and day seventeen, and day twenty-five, and day thirty. And that’s for you guys so sign up for that. But there is an email in there that I want to know and hear about your progress and I say it right in the email and I want you to reply back to me. It might take me a little while to respond, but I will get to it. But I love hearing from you guys and hearing the changes that you’re all making just by listening to the podcast. I think that is just the coolest thing ever. We don’t even work together yet and you’re getting inspired and moved just by listening, and it changes your mind because I’m just feeding your brain and your ears with the right knowledge and encouragement and motivation that you need to hear to make changes. So good for you. Keep coming back, keep listening. Let me tell you a little bit about our guest today and we’re gonna jump right into it. So, his name is Chad Austin, and he’s a personal trainer. He’s a speaker and he’s the owner of Priority Fitness in Overland Park, Kansas. Priority Fitness’ name was inspired by Chad’s bestselling book which we talk about, all about, on the podcast. It’s called Make Fitness a Priority, easy to remember. And you can find him on all social media handles too by just looking up make fitness a priority. And this particular book, his bestselling book, it’s Make Fitness a Priority: How to Win the Fight Against Your Excuses. Love it because that is completely possible to do. You are stronger than your excuses, 110%. Chad is completely passionate about helping people in all stages of life reach their fitness goals. And he’s an expert in assisting his clients and making changes that lead to long term success, not just temporary success. Does that sound familiar? Long term goals, not short term. We love short term goals. We love hitting them, but like we talk about on the podcast, always think, what’s next? What’s next? What’s my next step? And we’ll talk about, there’s a wedding coming up, someone’s getting married, and you’re going to be in it, or you have a vacation. Those are great goals to hit, but don’t let that be your end date. Don’t let that be your expiration date. Chad, even on the episode, and then we’ll get to it. I’m sorry. I’m talking too much. But he even talks about the fit list test that you can do, which helps you overcome the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse. And we went over it and I was like doing it while he was talking and stuff. It’s so cool, you guys. I can’t wait to hear it. I can’t wait for you to hear it. It’s gonna be great. So, remember everything that he says, the names of the books, all the steps and everything, and how to find him. It’s all listed in the show notes, so you don’t have to worry about that. So, without further ado, here’s our podcast episode with Chad Austin, the author of Making Fitness a Priority: How to Win the Fight Against Your Excuses. I love it. Enjoy the show, you guys. All right, everyone. We have a very cool guest. He’s basically like the male version of me, wouldn’t you say, Chad? [CHAD]: I would, yes. [MELISSA]: We have Chad Austin on today with this incredible episode. Chad, say hello to our listeners. [CHAD]: Hello, everybody. [MELISSA]: So, Chad, you have a pretty impressive background and resume and bio – tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, other than what I read, but tell us, like, how did you get into personal training fitness? How did this all start for you? [CHAD]: Absolutely. Well, I was actually a PE teacher and strength conditioning and wrestling and football coach for a few years and I kind of stumbled across personal training and it just ended up being a better fit for me. And so, I’ve been doing that ever since, it’s been about 15 years here, right around Kansas City. And I think… my studio is Priority Fitness and it was named after my book Make Fitness a Priority. And the way that came around is just I think – you could probably relate to this – after so many years in fitness, I mean, helping so many people reach short term goals only to lose that; most people I found, as a personal trainer, they come in the door fueled by short term motivation. And so, you help these people reach the goals that brought them in the door, but if you don’t take a second to look past that, then they’re only going to get temporary success. And I think several years at the beginning of my career, I just helped people lose weight or get a lot of results only to have it only be temporary. And after a while, I kind of learned that really the focus for a personal trainer, and all fitness professionals, our focus is really to get long term success. That’s really what the purpose of our job is, is to help people get long term success. And so that’s kind of what Making Fitness a Priority means to me and how it came about. So, I became an author, I’ve been working on my speaking, I kind of want to be a fitness motivational speaker is kind of what I want my identity to be. I’m an author, but really, I’m a speaker who writes. [MELISSA]: Oh, I like that. [CHAD]: It’s not more about the writing, it’s about the message. But Make Fitness a Priority, that’s really what it means to me is just that you’re focusing on getting long term success. Let me explain it a little bit better. The book Make Fitness a Priority, how it came about – this might make it resonate a little bit more, but I asked people a question, I just did an online poll. And my poll question was just what are your top priorities in life? And I asked as many people as I could find online, all my Facebook friends, fans, family, everything, and the top answers – you could probably guess – were… what would you guess the top answers would be? [MELISSA]: Oh, their priority? Probably money, their health, weight loss. I don’t know. [CHAD]: Spoken from a personal trainer. No, I’ll tell you, the top answers I always get would be family and career and then faith would be a top one too. But family and career always. But the answer I never got, out of everyone I had asked this to, nobody said health and fitness. [MELISSA]: I love how that was like my top one. And you’re like, well you’re totally wrong. [CHAD]: Yeah. That’s why it was surprising to me when I came, because it would have been for me too because that’s just how we’re built. But when I thought about it, I had time to kind of think about it and think about it more, and the reason that fitness doesn’t come to our mind as an answer is because fitness is always the thing we plan on getting to later. We always put fitness off until later. It’s always a thing we’re going to get to later because we think we’re too busy now. And the problem with that way of thinking is that all the obstacles and challenges that we have in our life that we use as excuses to put fitness off until later like being a busy job, traveling for work, being a single parent or having many kids at home. Whatever obstacles that you face, we all face them. Those obstacles really aren’t going anywhere. There’s always going to be excuses that we could use to skip our workout or validate going through the drive thru. And so, if we don’t realize that, then we’ll never get anywhere. [MELISSA]: Yeah. Let me let me ask you this: so, going back and looking at your personal health and fitness journey, was there ever a time, with your story, that you struggled, and it wasn’t a priority? And then you’re like, oh my god, what am I doing? [CHAD]: Many times. I think when I’ve looked at some of your stuff, one thing that you talk about a lot and you try to help your audience with is balance, and I think many times in my life that has been my struggle, I’ve lost balance. When I went from being an independent contractor, and just renting and starting my own personal training business, to then being a studio owner and then having independent contractors under me – so every time I’ve kind of taken a step up and so then I focus more on my business and so then my health will suffer, or then I’ll focus more on my relationship and then my health will suffer and then I’ll be upset with where my fitness is and I’ll try to put all my energy into getting my fitness better, but then my relationship will suffer, or my business. And so, definitely, there’s been several times in my life where I’ve kind of gotten off balance and my fitness has gotten where I’m not happy with it, and I’ve had to dial back in. So, it’s a tricky process. [MELISSA]: It is and you have to – I hate saying this, but I say it a lot – you have to kind of fail to learn, you know, because you wouldn’t know that about yourself that like, hey, when I focus on this area, okay, I’m gonna do really good at this. Oh, crap, that just failed. I’m not putting into here, but you would have never identified that or known that, had you not gone through it. [CHAD]: Yeah, I think I’m most helpful to my audience because I’m human, and all the tips and all the things I teach, I know how to teach them so well because I’ve learned myself. I went through it myself. [MELISSA]: Yeah. And then they can’t feed us the bullshit because we’re like, oh, we’ve been there. We’ve had the 30 jobs, and relationships, and we know what it’s like to be busy. So, if we can do it, you can do it. [CHAD]: Yeah. What you said there about failing, I mean, as a fitness professional, this is one thing I hate about New Year’s resolutions and so I… I love goal setting and so I think New Year’s resolutions, there’s a way for them to be very positive for people, but what I don’t like about it is just the phrase New Year’s resolutions, it just brings negativity. For some reason people think, when we had all those stats about how after six weeks in the year everyone’s failed, or 90% of people failed on New Year’s resolutions, and every time I see that I want to say, so what? Because if you haven’t failed yet you’re going to, it’s inevitable. And it’s like, why does failing have to be the end of our story? Your fitness journey does not have to end when you fail, and for some reason that is the mindset around New Year’s resolutions is like, don’t even try cuz you’re gonna fail, and I just don’t… that frustration trainer. [MELISSA]: Oh, absolutely. Let’s talk about personal training again really quick because I don’t know about you, but I see this often where… because you had mentioned before about personal training and like, our main goal is to help people to be fit for the rest of their life, and sustainability, and all that good stuff. I see a lot of personal trainers, and I’m even guilty of this back in the day and getting sucked into this, that they were so much just the now. Like, you come in, you train with me, you pay for your time, and then you’re gone. And I still see it. I witness it in the gym, you know, like, I’m going in there and okay, I’ve been here for six months now, and I see this trainer working with the client and I’m like, damn, that person looks exactly the same as when I started at the gym. [CHAD]: Yeah, it’s just like, in the fitness world right now, I mean, the battle is between our clients desire for instant gratification and our desire to help them get long term success. And there’s so many like, I don’t want to say it… just like in any profession, there’s bad personal trainers, there’s bad fitness professionals, but they’re taking the easy way out by not focusing on past them coming in the door. And I mean, but that’s a big problem that we gotta fix. We only see you two hours a week, three hours a week tops, so the rest of the time you’re on your own. And so, if we don’t make an impact and help teach you behavioral changes, then we’re not getting anywhere. You can always tell a good personal trainer – and it’s just like any other service profession – if they don’t give you homework, if they don’t teach you, if they don’t know what to do when you walk out that door, then they did you a disservice. [MELISSA]: Right? Oh my god, and that’s why I train the way I do now. I still do in personal training and stuff and all that through Melissa Vogel Fitness, but my program Busy to Bomb Fit Mom, that’s why I tell them, I’m like, I need more time with you. I need to know what you’re doing on a Sunday afternoon. Not just Monday when you’re with me from 12 to 1. It has to be everything, and I think a lot of people get stuck in their mind too that, I just need someone telling me what to do during that day. So, I make sure I show up. And they don’t realize that you’ve gotten into the habit of the routine of just having someone tell you what to do and then you can’t even do it on your own. [CHAD]: Yeah. Yeah. [MELISSA]: [Unclear] the trainer? [CHAD]: Yeah, it is easy to feel like a fraud sometimes because we go through the same struggles that our clients do. But that’s why we’re good at it. And sometimes I have to talk to myself like I would talk to a client because I’ll forget the easiest tips and get myself out of control. [MELISSA]: We do, we do. So, tell us the name of your book again. [CHAD]: The book is Make Fitness a Priority, and it’s kind of become a series, and so my first book was Make Fitness a Priority: How to Win the Fight Against Your Excuses. And so that’s the main point of it is helping… I mean, all of our biggest excuses, just like I said when we first started talking, all the excuses that we use to put fitness off until later. So, when I speak to people, I’ve learned that my goal is not to convince people that exercise and nutrition is important, because people do know that. If I would ask a different question, if I would have asked people what their top priorities are – if I would’ve asked them, what would improve your quality of life? Exercise, nutrition would be top answers. Everyone knows it’s important. But what my job is, and where I can really make an impact as a trainer is I help people realize that even though they’re busy, and they have all these obstacles and challenges in their lives they can use for excuses, they can still make fitness a priority in their lives now. And if they do choose to do that, everything in their life will get better. And so, I mean, that’s really what the first book is about, just helping you kind of get out of your own way. I have a second book that I came with after that, and that’s a six-week workbook. So, I tried to make it more into actionable steps that people can follow in line. And so, every week talks about mindset, nutrition, and training and there’s a way to set yourself up for the success next week, and a way to grade yourself after each week, to kind of see, did I do everything right? If yes, then great. If not, how can I do better next week? And so, it’s teaching yourself that habit of asking yourself those questions. The book only goes for six weeks, but it’s different than what a lot of other programs out there that are setting you up for temporary success because it’s set up to be the first six weeks of fitness being a part of your life. [MELISSA]: Yeah. And I love that you said mindset is in there. I think that is a huge missing component in the fitness industry. And, I mean, you don’t see personal trainers on the floor, telling people to improve their affirmations or like, what’s your positive self-talk right now and rep number 10? Go. Like, it’s just not part of it. What does that look like in the six-week program? And you don’t have to go into detail or anything but like, give us a little bite size of what you focus on with mindset and that part. [CHAD]: Getting yourself in the mindset that it’s, well, a lot of the mindset is goal setting. And so, there’s a part where you have to dig a little deeper. And I know, I think I’ve seen in some of your stuff where you’ve mentioned people’s ‘why’ before. [MELISSA]: Oh, yeah. [CHAD]: And so that’s a big part of it, kind of understanding what your why is, knowing that when those reps get tough, and when the workouts get tough, if you don’t know why you’re doing it, then you’re not gonna keep doing it. So, when the going gets tough, you need to know why you’re doing it, helping yourself dig a little deeper, helping yourself recover anytime you fail and not beat yourself up, but just get back on track. And helping yourself overcome the biggest excuses that we make. Whether it be I’m too tired, I’m too busy, I’m too bored. I mean, all these top excuses. Not just calling them out but giving you solutions going forward and how you can overcome them. [MELISSA]: Yeah, I love that, you guys. And everyone listening, this is huge. This is a really big part of your entire journey, and what I call your fitness puzzle, like, you have to have all these pieces that go in and fit to make it complete, and this mindset part is huge. Going deeper, and I tell people all the time, like, you can’t rely on motivation. It’s gonna come and go, you know, it’s there one day, one day it’s not and so what are you gonna do when you don’t have it? Stop. And I love how you said that Chad, about digging deeper, like, why are you doing this? Because you’re going to be at the gym and all the motivation is going to leave your body when you walk in the door and you get the worst text message ever, or you walk in the door and you see, I don’t know, two people together you didn’t want to see. I don’t know, I’m just throwing it out there. Motivation can leave you really quick. [CHAD]: Yeah. It can. [MELISSA]: But yeah, having that part of your six-week program in the book is huge. I love that. What’s the name of the second book? [CHAD]: The second book is… they’re all Make Fitness a Priority, the subtitles are just different. So, they’re easy to find. But the second one is a six-week workbook, it’s just Six Weeks to Help You Get Out of Your Own Way. [MELISSA]: Oh, I like that. [CHAD]: And the part of that design came around is just, I want to help people get off the roller coaster. And so that’s my philosophy, is helping people get long term success. But I mean, I read it a while back when I was writing one of the other books, I forget where I got it. I can’t source it because I forget where I got it from, but I don’t think anyone’s gonna have any problems believing this but I think most people lose weight and put it back on two or three times during the year. That, most people go through. But throughout the course of 10 years, it’s even worse. But to get people out of that routine where they get in a big routine, and so they’ve lost weight, and then they’re in a great workout routine, but then eventually something just falls out. I think a lot of the time the problem is that they don’t ever think about what’s next. And so, I mean, whenever you take on, whether it be a six-week challenge or something… I always talk about how there’s big flaws with certain programs out there. We have such a desire to look and feel good now and so instant gratification is a big hurdle for everyone to get over. There’s lots of great programs out there. But one problem, whether it be a 6-week challenge, a 12-week challenge, is that it begins with the end in mind. And so, you go into it, and you know, on day one, when the last day is, and that can set you up to fail. Because you will work really hard and your goal is to work really hard and get as much results as you can in that time. And if you don’t take the time to think what’s next at the end of it, then what’s next is going to be nothing. Several times I’ve gotten in that where the only thing I’ve looked at as far as what’s next is I deserve a break. And then that’s just a big recipe for fail. [MELISSA]: Absolutely. Let’s go into those excuses because you have The Fit List Test. The Fit List Test. It’s quite a mouthful. You said that’s like quick mental exercises that people can use to overcome the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse. That’s a big one. [CHAD]: Yeah, The Fit List Test is at the beginning of my workbook, so before the six weeks even starts. But definitely, the biggest excuse, biggest hurdle we have to overcome is the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse. Like I said, everyone is always putting fitness off until later. And so, with The Fit List is you can do this as you’re listening, but it’s just four questions you’re gonna ask yourself. So, we’ll do this real quick – as I go through it, you can just think of your answers. But the first question is just, as you’ve been talking to me so far, every time you’ve heard the phrase make fitness a priority, every time you’ve heard me say that, I want you to think of who in your life, or in your circle, or people you know, who’s come to mind? And so, I like to call those people your make fitness a priority heroes, your fitness heroes. So, who has come to mind? Who are the names that popped up that you think of when you hear the phrase make fitness a priority? So, someone that makes fitness a priority no matter what. No matter what, they always stick to their meal plan, they always get their workouts in, they always make fitness a priority. And so, you think of those people. And now, for each one of the names that pop in your head, the second part is, I want you to think of what obstacles they have to overcome to make fitness a priority. What obstacles do they overcome – your fitness heroes – to make fitness a priority? Do they have a stressful job? Do they work long hours? Do they do they have to travel all the time for work? And maybe they don’t even know that far in advance when they have to travel. Do they have kids at home that they had to take care of? Or do they have multiple kids that have different activities every other night of the week and you need to be there for them? Are they a single parent? Are they taking care of elderly parents at home? I mean, there’s so many different obstacles. But what obstacles do they have to overcome, and do on a regular basis, always, to make fitness a priority? And so that’s the second part. And now the third part: I want you to think of yourself. So, when you’re making fitness a priority, or when you’re struggling to make fitness a priority, what obstacles do you have to overcome, or what obstacles trip you up? What obstacles do you face that you have to overcome in order to make fitness a priority? And so, all the same things: do you have a stressful job? Kids at home? Travel for work? Any of those things? Are there other obstacles you have to overcome that I’m not even thinking of? Do you have a long commute maybe to work, or do you have no equipment at home? No gym around? Are you stuck at home because all the gyms are closed, and you have to learn how to do it at home? So, we all have our own obstacles, so it’s just to think, what obstacles do you overcome, or not overcome? And then the next part of this is compare the two lists. I want you to compare the obstacles that are holding you up… [MELISSA]: Ooh, I like this. [CHAD]: And compare the obstacles that, in your mind, your fitness heroes, the obstacles that they overcome regularly to always make fitness a priority in your lives and make it look easy, probably, how did those obstacles compare to the obstacles that are in your way? And so, it’s kind of just a mental exercise I take people through, but really, it’s a realization exercise, really. And so, there’s a couple of things that normally happen. Sometimes people do this test and their response is, well, if they can do it, I can do it. And then it’s just kind of a boost for them. But the main message, the main thing you should learn from this is that everybody, no matter who, no one has it easy. They’re not making fitness a priority in their life because it’s easier for them than it is for you. Everybody has obstacles and we always will. It’s just, those obstacles may change over time, but there’s always going to be excuses that we could use, there’s always gonna be obstacles in our way that we could let overcome us instead of us overcoming them, if we want to. And the reason that the people in the first column, the reason your heroes, the reason they make fitness a priority in their lives, is because it’s very important to them. They’ve really dug deep, and they understand why it’s important to them. And so, they make it just as important to them as they do their family, their career, their faith. And normally, those people, when you sit back and think about it, they’re probably the more happy people that you have in your circle. [MELISSA]: Oh, yeah, for sure. I love that because it really does open your eyes and puts it in your face. I’m all about putting things in people’s faces because it’s like, boom, look at this. You’re looking, you’re identifying, like you said, it’s more of a realization exercise. That is perfect. [CHAD]: Normally, when you do this, you find out that the people that in your mind are your heroes, they have to overcome way more obstacles than you do. And then you just feel so small that you’re making excuses. [MELISSA]: That’s what I was thinking, because I was trying to think of people, like, in my mind, I was trying to put myself as you were talking in the position of someone doing it. I was like, oh, yeah, no, that person’s got that going on, and oh yeah, they still do it. But no, this is a perfect one. The Fit List Test, that’s perfect. How often do you have people do that, or do you think they should do it? [CHAD]: All new clients, I have start with this, because it’s just something, I mean, I feel like the biggest challenge, well we always say the heaviest weight in the gym is the front door. And so, once they come in the door, I mean, I want to listen and everything and hear their story, but I also want them to leave knowing that they have everything they need to make this happen. And so, I want them to really realize that other people they know do it on a regular basis. It’s gonna be hard, but you can do it too. I want them to be empowered when they leave. And so, I do it all the time. But I have so much for all excuses. And so, to elaborate, The Fit List Test really helps you overcome the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse. That excuse keeps coming up. The one thing I would like to point out – I think a lot of times, I mean, the biggest solution for I don’t have time is the schedule, and so we’ve all heard that one, to schedule your workouts, to do those kinds of things. But I think the real solution that people are overlooking, is a lot of times when you say, I don’t have time, what you’re really saying is, I don’t have time to work out like I used to. And so, most of us, as our life changes, and as we grow up or we get more responsibilities, maybe we got a promotion, or we became a dad, we became a husband. And so, whatever it is, we have more responsibilities and so maybe it doesn’t make sense for us to work out an hour and a half, five days a week anymore, than when we were single and didn’t have a job. [MELISSA]: Right. [CHAD]: And so now that we’re grown up, if you work out less… but that’s where we put the bar, is that when we were in the best shape of our lives, and when we worked out so hard and spend so much time in the gym, and that’s where we put the bar, and it’s almost like we’re ashamed if we do less. And so, it’s like it’s not gonna be worth it if we do less, and that’s completely wrong way of thinking, and I can tell you that because I’ve learned that myself. I’ve had to learn as I’ve gone through stuff. At the same time, Priority Fitness is, we’re on our fifth year here. But at the time I opened this up, I also went from being a bachelor to having a girlfriend. And so, I mean, but that’s just a big change from when you’re single, to when you’re in a relationship. A lot of your time is committed to the relationship. And that’s always that’s always normally a good thing but it still means less time for your fitness. But I had to learn that if I try to work out like I used to, then all the other priorities in my life are going to suffer. And so, what you do for fitness has to fit in your life or it won’t be in your life very long. And so it probably doesn’t make sense for you to work out that long, but it would make sense for you maybe to work out two times a week with the trainer, or three times a week for a half hour instead of five times a week for an hour and a half. [MELISSA]: Yeah, yeah. A lot of our listeners are moms and people that I work with, a large portion of that are moms, and they always are comparing themselves to before they had kids. And that body they had before they had babies, and this is what I did in college and I was an athlete, and then this happened and I’m like, dude, you’re a completely different beast now. You eat different. You sleep different, like, you’re gonna train different. Like you said, you can’t compare to what you used to do then, and you’re never gonna live that life again. [CHAD]: No. And it’s unrealistic to do it. [MELISSA]: Yeah. Not when you bring a tiny human into the world, like, they’re not going anywhere, like, this is your new life now. Now adapt, like, how can this be a priority in just a different way? [CHAD]: Yeah. And I always tell people, it doesn’t make it less of a priority. It’s just different. You’re still making fitness a priority, it’s just what makes more sense for your life now. So, when I have people come in the door that’s been gone for a while and they come back and their life looks different, I always tell them, we’re not picking up where we left off before. We’re making a new plan that makes sense for you now. [MELISSA]: Yeah, yeah. And that’s okay. That doesn’t mean that you failed. It’s just like, hey, there was a bump in the road. We’re overcoming that now. I think sometimes people think that, well, I was gone for so long. That means that it’s all over. And you never regain it. It’s like, no, that’s not true at all. It’s not true at all. What are two red flags that people need to look out for with a new fitness program? [CHAD]: Yep. So, this is one thing I had in mind when I made the workbook. And so one of them I started to mention earlier is that, there’s two red flags that if you’re wanting long term success, and you’re wanting to get off the roller coaster, these are two red flags that are going to lead you to just temporary success. And so, whether it be a 6-week program, a 12-week program, whatever it is you’re going, and so all those challenges that are good, but that’s one red flag is that they begin with the end in mind. And so, you’ll know whether it’s a 6-week program, 12-week program, or whatever program you’re signing up for, you know when the last day is. And so that is a lot of times a red flag because if you don’t think about what’s next as you get towards the end, then there’s not gonna be anything. It’s like someone that came in the door and they’re getting in shape because they have a wedding coming up or they have… or swimsuits even, they have a vacation coming up, and so they’re getting in shape for an event. And if they don’t look past that, then after the event, all the motivation’s gone too. And so, the motivation was just for that event that’s coming up. [MELISSA]: It’s so scary when people say that and they’re like, it’s my sister’s wedding and I just… and I’m like, okay, but what about after that? We’re not just getting in shape for this thing. But I don’t think people… a lot of people listening, I think that just made some light bulbs go off for them, because they’re like, oh crap, I’m starting a 6 week program, you know, and they don’t think of that end date as a bad thing. But it’s true. I’ve seen so many people start like, I don’t know if in Kansas you have the camps around or… [CHAD]: Yup. [MELISSA]: Different types of things going on, and I’ve seen so many people start that, do really good at it, and then that first weekend off, they frickin binge. They’re like, oh, my God, because like you said before, earlier, like, you work so hard, just balls to the wall the whole time. And then it’s like, oh, I can breathe now. [CHAD]: That’s the thing I tell people. It’s like, it’s okay to do less. You can’t be expected to work out that hard forever. I mean, even the top athletes in the world, they have seasons. They have pre-season, in season, off-season, and so you have to kind of change, but you have to take the time to think about what’s next. Before your program is over you should know what you’re doing next, because otherwise you’re going to do nothing. And that’s okay to have that mindset too because it’s natural to think, well, we need a break, we deserve it. And you do. You shouldn’t have to work out that hard. But you have to have a plan in place of what you’re going to keep doing, otherwise you’re gonna have too long a break, you’re gonna get off track, it’s gonna be hard to keep going. And so, begin with the end in mind. That is the first thing. And so those programs that are out there, and there’s so many 30-day programs, there’s famous ones like Insanity, there’s Beachbody stuff. All of them, they’re good programs, but you can’t just… you have to know what’s next. Always ask yourself what’s next before it’s done, or you’re setting yourself up for failure. And the second one that I have people watch out for is that it’s one size fits all. And so, there’s so many programs out there, that it’s the same for everybody. It is not customized at all for an individual person, it’s the same for everybody. No matter what your goals are, how old you are, what your fitness level is, everybody’s gonna do the exact same program. And there’s one thing I’ve definitely learned since I’ve been a trainer is that fitness is not one size fits all. I mean, everybody has their own starting point. Everybody has their own goals. Everybody has their own different things that they enjoy doing and makes more sense for them. And so, if it’s not customized at all to you, if there’s not different levels that you can do, if it’s all the same, then you’re setting yourself up for failure there too. [MELISSA]: Yeah, yeah. Because some people can come into a program, and they’re at a different stage. And they’re like, yeah, I’m ready, like, I want four or five workouts a week, like, boom, give it to me. And then you got other people who come in and they’re like, one or two would be a really big deal for them. And then a day of walking, like, that’s gonna be a big deal for them. But if they’re going into something where they’re forced to, hey, you need to show up seven days a week or else, you know, it’s pass or fail, you’re gonna fail, that’s tough. That’s really hard to not allow somebody to have that flexibility. [CHAD]: Yeah, we have to be able to… like, people have some assumptions, premade assumptions sometimes what personal training is, and I’ll tell you personal training looks completely different for everybody. I mean, there’s no one size fits all like I said, it’s different for everybody. I know my dad; it took him forever as me being a trainer before he finally let me train him. He’s in his 70s, but he wouldn’t let me train him for the longest time because in his mind, we’re going to be doing bodybuilding type stuff. That’s not his goals at all, his goals are really to move better without pain. And so, you may have people like that – their goals are more about moving better without pain or moving more freely. And you may have people that have weight loss, may have people that want to be stronger, people will just want to have more energy, and so your workouts in your program are gonna look different depending on what your goals are. [MELISSA]: Yeah. That’s so funny you say that about your dad because I have close friends that they don’t do my program, they don’t train with me. It’s funny how the people closest to you, you think are like, a lot of people think oh, they must be your number one client, your number one customer, and it’s like, no, they don’t have anything to do with that area of my life. But they say the same things like, oh, you’re just gonna kill me, like, I could never train with you, you’re just gonna kill me. And I’m like, you’ve never even asked or looked into what I do and how we can customize it to you. It’s almost better a stranger coming in knowing nothing about me, or like, no preconceived notions about what they’re coming into, versus someone who knows you and they’re like, oh, you’re just gonna kill me with like, 300 pound deadlifts and I’m like, where did you even get that from? Like, I don’t even know what your goals are. [CHAD]: I always either hear that, like, it’s an assumption on what they think a personal trainer is gonna be, that kind of scares them away. Or they’ll have the mindset oh, I need to get in shape first before I come and see you. Trainers hear that all the time. My girlfriend is a financial planner, and hers will be like, well, I need to get my money in order first before I come see you. It’s the same kind of excuse, is like, they’re ashamed, like, we’re gonna judge them. [MELISSA]: Yeah, it’s so funny. I’m like, I’m sorry, did you just say that you have to get in shape before you can start going to the gym? I’m so confused by that right now. Like, yeah, no, just jump in. Let’s go. It’s go time. Is there any like… God, you’ve given so many great tips and pointers and things to think about so far. Is there anything else that you could think of? Like, let me just end with this, like, if you take away anything from this episode, take away this, that you could think of, that you can share with the audience right now? I like it when they have to think about it. [CHAD]: I think the one I would end on would be going back to the failure. We talked a little bit about New Year’s resolutions earlier and about how your journey doesn’t end when you fail. I think that happens on New Year’s resolutions where, I mean, you have to understand that you’re gonna fail from time to time and one thing I always think about because my dad always said this to me growing up, if I messed up or if I lost a wrestling match I shouldn’t have, or if I lost because I wasn’t ready. I would beat myself up and then I’d lose the next match before I even started because I’d still be in a bad place. But he always would say, he said, it’s what you do next that matters. It’s what you do next that counts. And I always think that I carry that with me as a trainer because we’ll get down on ourselves. And sometimes this affects us in the short term because we’ll like, well, we’ll plan on only having a cheat meal or something. And all of a sudden that cheat meal, or that treat, turns into a cheat, that cheat meal turns into a cheat day, and then a cheat weekend. And then all of a sudden, you’re like, well, I’ve already blown it. And so anyway, then we get into a pattern and putting off more till later – I’ve already blown it, so I’ll just wait till Monday and then start fresh again. It’s like, we already failed. And just getting in the habit of if you fail, not to beat yourself up for it. But just knowing that you’re human and you’re allowed to fail and telling yourself, it’s what you do next that matters. And asking, how are you going to get back on track? I think that that’s a good question for us to have in mind instead of putting it on ourselves that we’re failures – instead, knowing that this is just a bump in the road and it’s what you do next that counts. [MELISSA]: Yes. Oh my god, I love that. See, I’m so glad I asked that because that was like a perfect way to wrap up and just the best tip ever, for people to just ponder and think about for the rest of the day. Oh, Chad, this is awesome. I feel like you and I could talk for hours upon hours about this stuff. [CHAD]: Yeah. I knew that was gonna be the case, so I was looking forward to it. [MELISSA]: And like, I’m sure we have so many crazy stories that we could share and exchange, we’re gonna have to do this again. [CHAD]: Definitely. [MELISSA]: Okay, tell us the name of your book again. I like them to hear it in your voice. [CHAD]: Make Fitness a Priority. So, I have three different Make Fitness… I have two now and another one that’s July 6 is going to be on Amazon, it’s 30 Tips to Make Fitness a Priority. But they’re all available under Make Fitness a Priority, and that’s my website also – makefitnessapriority.com. [MELISSA]: That was my next question, perfect. [CHAD]: Should be easy to remember now. [MELISSA]: Yeah, yeah. It’s like what you need to do. And all that, you guys, will be in the show notes, so don’t worry if you don’t have a pen or paper handy – everything will be listed in the show notes. Chad, are you on social media? [CHAD]: Yes, I am. @make.fitness.a.priority is my Instagram, just a period in between each one, and so it’s easy to find that one too. And both my Facebook and Instagram are connected to my website also, but it’s also… make fitness a priority everywhere. [MELISSA]: Yeah, he owns it. If you search for that, you’re gonna find Chad Austin, for sure. Thank you so much for coming on. This was awesome. I think we definitely should do it again and keep the conversation going and flowing. [CHAD]: Absolutely. [MELISSA]: And you guys, remember, check the show notes. You’re gonna find everywhere you can get ahold of Chad. Follow him on social media, look up his website, get his book. And I think that six-week workbook is like, genius. That is really, really cool. You should be very proud of yourself for that one. [CHAD]: I decided there definitely needs to be more about behavioral change in the fitness world. [MELISSA]: Oh God, amen to that. Seriously. All right, Chad. Well, thank you for coming on. Everyone, thank you for listening. Stay safe, stay healthy out there and make fitness a priority. Bye, everyone. If you’re ready to become a bomb mom, join my free course over at www.melissavogelfitness.com/course. This podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. This is given with the understanding that neither the host, Practice of the Practice, or the guests are providing legal, mental health, nutritional, or other professional information. If you need a professional, you should find one.