Fitness Speaker, Author & Personality
Eric Stevens is a health and fitness coach, trainer and practitioner. Eric has broadened that body focused fitness with writing, presenting and acting in order to reach people, change lives, and create dialogue.
The reality is that in a race versus father time, you will lose…every time. But that’s not what you see every day when you turn on the television. That’s not what you see in glossy magazines. You are told you should be leaner, younger, and more fit with each passing every year. How exactly does that work?
Read MoreCertainly you can find convenient ‘bullet point’ answers to those questions. Some will tell you to drink more water, take a pill, wear better shoes, do intervals instead of steady state cardio, do steady state instead of intervals, drink protein powders, and take supplements. But deep down you know...
Read MoreMy favorite bedtime story as a toddler was a book called Busy Day, Busy People. I have fond memories of my Mom’s soothing voice reading aloud and the colorful pictures of people going about their busy lives to and from work and play. Little did I know how painfully accurate that book would become in my life and seemingly the lives of everyone I know. Life these days is busy. Very busy. Work, friends, family, email, traffic, errands, and social media all compete for our short attention spans. Even our leisure time activities tend to have a sense of busyness about them – almost as if we’re proving to ourselves (and others) just how busy we are. Exercise and fitness nowadays also tends to have a ‘multi-tasking’ feel – at the gym music blasts, flat screen TVs show us the latest news, and our fitness wearables count our calories. Indeed, life feels a lot like Busy Day, Busy People.
“The antidote to stress is to find peace of mind – that stillness in your body, heart, and soul. As important as our hectic lives are, the quiet spaces in between those busy moments are what truly matter. ”
— Eric Stevens
But lost in the ‘busy’ shuffle is the thing that matters most in our lives – our health. Health happens when we alleviate stress and being busy doesn’t tend to alleviate stress, it exacerbates it. The antidote to stress is to find peace of mind – that stillness in your body, heart, and soul. As important as our hectic lives are, the quiet spaces in between those busy moments are what truly matter. Especially these days, we must all strive to find the ability be present and listen to ourselves. Exercise and fitness offers us that opportunity if we allow it to. Try a walk in nature, a hot yoga class, or a long bike ride without any distractions and simply listen. See how you feel. Connect to your breath and allow yourself a reprieve from all of the busyness.
When I think back now to that fond memory of my Mom reading Busy Day, Busy People, ironically what sticks out most isn’t the message of being busy, but rather those peaceful and quiet moments with my Mom. Today find your quiet moment and embrace the stillness.
You’ve likely heard of the acronym PTSD, which stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a very real disorder that affects everyone from our brave combat veterans to those unfortunate enough to have suffered abuse and trauma. PTSD is particularly daunting, for it’s the proverbial 'salt in the wound' - not only do people suffer a traumatic episode, they also suffer again and again in the aftereffects of that trauma through their disorder.
While many of us are fortunate not to have to face the demons of PTSD and the events that bring it about, all of us face significant challenges and suffering at some point in our lives. In the realm of sport and fitness, you will likely suffer setbacks and/or injury during your journey. But misfortune on the field of play and in the expression of our physicality need not be a setback in the long run. In fact, you might contend that setbacks are actually positives in disguise. Even when it comes to permanent injury, many wrongfully assume that those with a disability are likely to be less happy given such trauma. But studies show that this isn’t actually the case. Known as the ‘disability paradox,’ those with permanent disability can very much demonstrate the opportunity for productive lives, happiness, and growth. Much like its oppressive cousin PTSD, there’s also acronym for such growth - “PTG” or Post Traumatic Growth. PTG, also referred to as adversarial growth, suggests that no matter what difficulties happen to us, we can grow, thrive, and prosper in spite of and even because of such trauma.
“...no matter what difficulties happen to us, we can grow, thrive, and prosper in spite of and even because of such trauma.”
— Eric Stevens
My brother had a massive stroke at the age of 30. Among the things taken from him was his status as an expert level alpine skier as well as his passion for riding European motorcycles. Though he had a wonderful recovery and maintains a successful and active lifestyle, he does not have 100% complete feeling on the right side of his body. Double black diamond ski runs and BMW motorcycles are out. You might expect bitterness, anger, and perhaps even bouts of PTSD in response to such a dramatic episode. To quite the contrary, in the aftermath and years following his episode, my brother has gained both wisdom and clarity about his true essence. While I can’t speak for my brother, he almost seems more content because of the worst and most traumatic thing that ever happened to him. Why? The short answers are faith, humility, and the willingness to redefine himself.
“We have to be careful with labels because any material thing can (and most likely will) be taken from you at some point.”
Labels are things we use to determine our self worth – athlete, wealthy, successful business owner, artist, husband. Yet we have to be careful with labels because any material thing can (and most likely will) be taken from you at some point. Your gift isn’t a guarantee. Labels change - Bodies break down, athletes retire, kids grow up, and marriages break up. What matters is taking the good from your trauma to define your next label. Addicts can sober up and spend their lives helping other addicts. You might fail your marriage but what matters is getting that next marriage right. You pick up a new sport, a new gig, or a new hobby. You change the label. My brother turned to his faith and found his strength through humility. He didn’t need toys, activities, or even his physicality to define is self worth. Neither do you.
We are the culmination of all of the things that happen to us. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But circumstances aren’t the mark of the man. Rather, the mark of the man is the willingness to face the day in order to make better on the next one. In life we will define ourselves in many different ways at many different times. Sometimes you’ve got the world by the tail, and sometimes the weight of the world feels like it will crush you.
Changing labels is hard. It’s great fun to be talented and gifted. To feel life you’ve perfected your craft. But some day, you’ll face a trauma. Maybe it will mean the end of your career, marriage, or favorite activity. But maybe that end will mark the beginning of your next chapter. Success ultimately isn’t about talent or wealth, but perseverance - The willingness to try, to grow, to learn from your mistakes. To be better today than you were yesterday. Ultimately what matters is growth. What matters is progress. To learn from your setbacks and be a better person for it.
“We are the culmination of all of the things that happen to us. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But circumstances aren’t the mark of the man. Rather, the mark of the man is the willingness to face the day in order to make better on the next one.”
— Eric Stevens
Remember, being in shape isn’t about being skinny, it’s about being fit and healthy. Period.”
Read MoreThe truth lies on the other side of that pain, not in avoiding it. The obstacle IS the path...
Read MoreHappiness isn’t a subject for public consumption anyhow. It’s a subject for us to evaluate in the privacy of our own thoughts, our conversations with God, our therapists office, and yes, around those closest to us...
Read MoreI recently started a new job and in the past few months, countless people have asked me the question ‘tell me about this new gig.” The conversation is so frequent for me that my answer ...
Read MoreWe all need heroes. There is something about the imperfection of life that drives us to seek it in others. Some of us also seek it in ourselves. Ahh, perfection, that grand and noble pursuit. Seems reasonable enough – Perfect...
Read MoreUltimately, fitness isn’t about reaching a goal, but about being your best in the present....
Read More— MLK Jr.
How’s that fitness goal going? Maybe you’re crushing your goal, or maybe your goal is crushing you. Either way, what matters isn’t where you are today, but where you are going. The idea isn’t to hit a home run every day, but to make a little bit of progress step by step. Hitting singles isn’t as glamorous as hitting a towering home run, but racking up lots of singles gets the job done much more efficiently than hitting one out of the park occasionally. It sounds great to lose 10 pounds in 10 days, but in doing so, has anything really changed in your habits or lifestyle? Fad diets are just that - fads.
I once worked with a young man who lost 40 pounds in 50 days. He then gained it all back. Some years later he applied the lessons he learned from his failed weight loss challenge to forge ahead and finally drop the weight. But too often we want to achieve it all in one fell swoop.
We strive for perfection. We strive to crush our goal and to hit the home run. But visiting your goal isn’t the same as living at your goal. If you can achieve one sustainable habit, practice, or result from your current challenge, then you will have made progress – big progress. As Dr. King said, “Keep moving forward.”
I’ve never met anyone who stuck with exercise in the long run that didn’t enjoy it at some level. That’s bad news for some of you. Gyms are filled with people trudging through countless grueling hours of exercise that they despise because they believe that such work is the key to arriving at some far off destination of contentment. The logic is
Arriving at a destination of bliss is about showing up at the right place to begin with. Easier said then done. Most of us aren’t born tennis prodigies or Olympic gymnasts. The good news is that all of us are born with an innate ability to enjoy the expression of grace and happiness through our physicality. But getting there involves rolling up your sleeves and potentially trying a lot of different avenues. However daunting it may be to try new things, the litmus test of passion is simple – the key distinction and question where it comes to passion is ‘does it hold your attention?’ Asked another way, when you do a certain activity or task, does time move fast or slow? The truth of the matter is tennis prodigies and Olympic gymnasts aren’t necessarily born either; they’ve had the gift of exposure to their physical destiny. What many of us need is exactly that – the gift of exposure. I started studying martial arts and boxing not because it was fun or easy, or that I was necessarily good at it. But one thing was certain – it captivated me. I was enthralled by the way a boxer moves or how a martial artist expresses grace. I started doing theater as a kid because the theater felt like a magical place. To this day, when I am acting, time stands still.
“However daunting it may be to try new things, the litmus test of passion is simple – the key distinction and question when it comes to passion is ‘does it hold your attention?”
— Eric C. Stevens
In order to find lasting success with moving your body, you must discover the way to move that moves you. It means today, writing down five things you’ve always wanted to try but you haven’t because you’ve let fear, excuses, or uncertainty dictate your physical destiny. Exercise is not a means to an end, but an opportunity to discover passion and purpose. Your physical passion and purpose is waiting for you – go get it.
January 26, 2016 / Eric Stevens
“The difference between fat and thin comes down to preparation.”
“The difference between fat and thin comes down to preparation,” a client told me yesterday. She hit the nail on the head. She means that she can prepare healthy meals with real ingredients and whole foods and get leaner in the process, or she can eat pre-packaged/processed foods and suffer the ill effects of chronic weight gain. Put another way, you can eat for convenience or you can be healthy and lean, but you probably can’t have both.
Many people struggle with weight, but they didn’t 40 years ago. Why? If you believe what you see on TV, it’s because people exercise less and/or eat too much. But both oft mentioned reasons are misleading and only partially correct assertions. People physically moved far less in 1970 then they did in 1920, but proportionally they were no less overweight. And while calorically, people have steadily eaten more calories each passing decade; the real culprit isn’t the calorie, but the type of calorie - Specifically sugar and ‘empty’ calories.
In fact, caloric consumption actually decreased among Americans between 2003 and 2010, yet the percentage of overweight and obese adults increased. Again, this is because it comes down to the type of calorie consumed. Indeed, statistics are staggering where it comes to the prevalence of ‘empty’ calories such as simple sugars, sugary beverages, and packaged foods (most of which contain added/sometimes hidden sugars.) It’s why diet foods, bars, and shakes don’t really ‘work.’ First of all, once you stop eating your fake diet food, you gain back the weight. Secondly, (and more importantly) eating that way doesn’t address the primary problem – eating packaged and processed foods is what got you heavy (and probably sick) in the first place. ‘Healthier’ packaged food isn’t the answer. Real food is.
“‘Healthier’ packaged food isn’t the answer. Real food is.”
— Eric C. Stevens