Building a body that is strong and lean often starts with the first domino.

People ask me all the time...

"Where do I start?"

"How do I shift from feeling old and out-of-shape to feeling young and strong?"

"What are the steps to get me there?"

Well, it often boils down to something called the "domino effect."

Ask yourself:

What is your first domino that will trigger a chain reaction knocking over the obstacles in your path to having the body that you want?

Well, for many folks over 40, the answer is mastering basic daily habits.

• Positive mindset
• Smart training
• Mindful nutrition
• Quality sleep and stress management
• Expert coaching
• Accountability

Perhaps you need to ditch the crabs, and negative "friends" in your environment.

You know, the ones who are critical of everyone and everything.

The so-called "friends" who will only be satisfied when you are as miserable as they are.

Maybe you should actually schedule your workouts, like you schedule an important doctor's appointment that you absolutely, positively can't skip.

Plan the day and time of your training session, as well as the exact workout you will follow on that particular day.

Speaking of workouts, you must follow the principles of progression and overload.

This is the opposite of randomized workouts which will eventually break your body.

It also helps to batch-prep your meals.

At our house, Sharon orders groceries online and they deliver to our doorstep.

This eliminates a common excuse of hating to go grocery shopping or "not having enough time" to pick up groceries for the week.

Next step involves an oven, two big cookie sheets, a lean protein (chicken oftentimes) and a carbohydrate that is low in calories yet high in nutrients (cauliflower and broccoli for example).

We ("we" meaning Sharon) bakes everything for 20-30 minutes and then portions it out in these containers.

Our daughter, Giavanna, is the official tester and samples the finished product to make sure everything is awesome.

In this picture, you'll see delicious turkey burgers paired with oven-baked broccoli in some of these meals.

But oftentimes people don’t focus on that all-important first domino.

Instead you do what you’ve always done and think you’ll magically arrive at the body you want.

This is a lie we tell ourselves.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Understand that as a boss or employee, parent or spouse, family member or friend... it's your responsibility to take care of yourself.

I would go so far as to say it's your duty to be strong and lean.

Ignore that and everything else becomes harder and more stressful.

But embrace it and everything else gets easier.

Plus, maintaining good health is cheaper than a funeral.

So knock over that first domino.

Follow the fundamental daily habits used to shape the body and life that you want.

Do You Know Your Numbers?

When the weather gets warm around these parts, I enjoy going to the ballpark with my family.

It's a relaxing thing to do.

I was never one to geek out over the minutia of the sport; however, baseball lends itself to measurement.

In particular, the way that greatness is measured.

What would have been measured as success in 1926 would still be a relevant measurement in many ways today.

And those records serve as motivation for the players of each new era.

In fact, I'd tell you that measurement is one of the greatest motivators you can have.

And the simplest and most effective measure is knowing your numbers.

I've mentioned a few numbers for years...

• Percentage bodyfat
• Goal-based calories per day
• Hours of sleep per week
• and a few other numbers you should review and strive to improve on regularly

But you should keep track of other numbers too.

• The number of vacations you take
• The number of books you read
• The ballgames you attend with your family

Sure, you should measure your bank account and the money you invest.

But you must also measure the time you invest.

The 168 hours a week. The 1440 minutes in a day.

See, money that is lost can be replaced; however, once time is gone, it's gone forever.

Now I'm not perfect when it comes to measuring time, but it's certainly something I try to focus on.

And it's something you should focus on too.

I might even suggest that you think about it this way:

Imagine you have $1,440 to invest however you choose.

There's just one caveat:

The money disappears at midnight.

How would you spend it?

On your family? Your friends? Your goals? Your passions?

Would you give some away to help others?

Think about how you'd measure the use of those 1440 minutes and use that as motivation.

I'd suspect that if you measure that number, all of the other numbers you'll measure will improve as a result.

If you still can't seem to be still and embrace the numbers, you may be anxious or bored.

Or both.

Have you ever felt restless?

Me too.

More than I care to admit.

Now I'm a history buff and was reading about Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic theologian.

Needless to say, Pascal was a pretty deep thinker.

Check out what he said:

“All of humanity’s problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room.”

Because you can’t just be still, you can't be happy.

You go begging for trouble.

You invent problems.

And, as a result, you waste years of your life.

I see it everyday in my fitness-and-nutrition coaching business when I talk with men and women, over 40 years, struggling to achieve your priority-one goal.

Your inability to say "no" and just be still causes you to fail consistently.

Say "no" to the job "promotion" that requires relentless travel and even more time away from your family.

Say "no" to the "friends" who encourage you to binge eat and drink to excess.

Say "no" to the people in your world who discourage you from being leaner, stronger, and happier.

It's a viscous cycle.

You must learn to be still if you really want to find happiness.

When you are calm, you connect with yourself and your vision for your life.

Stillness is where true happiness comes from.

Maybe that's why I enjoy watching a baseball game with the family. There's really nothing to do except be still.

If you have trouble just being still, ask yourself these two deep questions:

1. Where is your consistent discontent coming from?
2. How is "rushing" benefiting you?

Be still.

Be at peace.

And conquer all of your dreams.

Something else I want to share.

It's about our in-person Premium Fitness-and-Nutrition Coaching facility.

☎️ People say weird things on the phone.

Well, kind of.

Without boring you, we learned that it doesn't make a lot of sense to chat with a prospective client on the phone until you answer a few questions and share your priority-one goal.

Most phone callers ask us about pricing, discounts, or other questions that really have nothing to do with achieving your priority-one goal.

For example, my last unscheduled phone call I had with a random caller, years ago, went something like this...

Me: Hello, this is Coach Joe. How may I help you?

Mr. Caller: Do you guys have kettlebells?

Me: May I have your name?

Mr. Caller: I just want to know if you guys have kettlebells. I only like kettlebells.

Me: (Thinking this is an excellent prank call) Does it really matter?

Mr. Caller: Excuse me?

Me: Does it really matter? A kettlebell is merely a tool in the toolbox. It has nothing to do with you achieving your priority-one goal. What's your goal?

I can't remember exactly what he said after that; however, he wasn't quite ready to share his number-one goal.

He was also focused on the tool versus the result.

What's my point?

Of course, tools are necessary.

But fumbling through a box of wrenches, drills, and sockets (not to mention a dozen other tools in the way), when all you need is a flat-head screwdriver is incredibly frustrating.

It's also chaotic and time-consuming.

That’s when you realize individual tools are not as powerful as a proven system.

The best toolbox has these two things:

1. An organizer.

This is a system that keeps every tool in its proper place, so it’s easy to find when you need it.

2. A blueprint that shows you step-by-step how to navigate the process.

Arangio Athletic Fitness is a proven system and the exact blueprint I've used, since 1996, used to deliver over 100,000 workouts to wildly successful client-athletes.

I can help you too. Virtually from anywhere around the globe.

Or, in person, at our amazing facility.

No matter what method you choose, remember that most everything great comes through consistency.

From a strong marriage to a thriving business to excellent health.

Talent or a single effort are not enough to create lasting success.

You must show up and do the work, day after day.

Consistency is king.

To your success,

Coach Joe

Joseph Arangio helps 40+ men and women get leaner, stronger, and happier. He's delivered over 100,000 transformation programs to satisfied clients around the globe. If you want to lose weight from home, with the best online personal trainer, or you want to visit the best personal trainer in the Lehigh Valley, you can take a free 14-day trial.