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Once Ruben mastered his breath, we added another incredibly simple habit. We added water. That's it. We only focused on those first two dominoes. The Breath Domino and the Water Domino. And guess what happened next? His sleep got drastically better. He started making much better decisions with his daily food intake. Through this foundational process, we found out he was grossly malnourished. He wasn't giving his body the high-quality fuel it actually needed to perform. I used to think of food strictly as energy… But it's much bigger and more complex than that. Food is information. If you give your body crappy, junk-filled information, it triggers that massive stress response all over again. It keeps you stuck on a perpetual, exhausting treadmill. But Ruben started eating cleaner. His body finally got the right signals to heal. And then, we got some massive, unexpected wins with his wife. She saw her husband's incredible physical changes and started working on her own breathing. It sparked a major shift in their home. In order to provide true systemic change, one person has to step up and be the leader for the household. People always fall into a psychological concept called the Law of the Lid. You'll only progress as far as the person who is willing to grow. If no one leads, everyone automatically defaults to the floor. Think about your own family dynamics for a second. Someone has to set the positive tone. Ruben refused to accept the chaos anymore… Because he fixed his foundation first, the complicated workouts finally started working. He went on to lose over 30 pounds.
Today, he's in the absolute best shape of his entire life. More importantly, he has the most profound peace he's ever experienced. But what does this mean for you? You might start a new routine and feel totally overwhelmed by the demands. You might hear that familiar, trembling voice of doubt echoing in your own head. But you can't let temporary discomfort force you to abandon your goals. Master the absolute basics first, and the rest will fall into place. You have the power to elevate your own standard today.
PS: If you're tired of playing life on expert mode and want to finally fix your fundamentals, I can help. Start by taking this Free Assessment I give to all my clients every quarter. I identifies exactly which Domino to knock down first. |
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Hey Reader, A few weeks ago, I jumped on a Zoom call with a new client. We started with a simple breathing assessment. As a functional breathing coach, I use this to look under the hood of a client's nervous system. His score wasn't just low. It was the score of a man whose internal engine was permanently redlining.
Funny part is he didn't mention stress or anxiety. He didn't complain about his workload. Like most high achievers, he was the proverbial fish in water. He couldn't see the water he was swimming in, and he assumed this crushing level of pressure was just part of the job. But I was able to deduce the massive weight he was carrying from his breathing alone. Your breath is a direct window into your nervous system. His lack of oxygen tolerance during the test told me the whole story. I looked right at the camera and said, “Man, the stress must feel overwhelming.” He looked up into the phone, and his shoulders immediately dropped. He let out a heavy sigh and looked back down like I had just read his soul. It was the look of a guy who had been holding his breath for months. “Man, I just went to the doctor a couple weeks ago,” he admitted quietly. “I was trying to get a note for a mental health leave of absence.” He wanted to escape life but was going on pretending like nothing was wrong. I'm sharing this because unchecked stress is the ultimate Exhaustion Tax. It turns you into a 2:00 AM Prisoner who can't sleep, and it leaves you paying a massive 3:00 PM Decision Tax at the office. You might think you're hiding it well. You might look like a winner in a suit, but you turn into a Ghost Parent the moment you walk through your front door. You're winning the Money Game in public, but you're losing the Life Game in the mirror. But your body always keeps the score. You can't think your way out of a thinking problem. If you don't measure what's happening inside, you're simply guessing. You need to take the chaos and convert it into calm. In all my years of training, it wasn't until this year, that I finally discovered a simple test that can tell me a client's stress level in less than 2 minutes. And it's the very reason, that this month's high-performers, are not just getting in great shape, but why they're finding more peace and presence than they ever has. It's no accident.. Please join me in congratulating this month's superstars. LivFit 365 High-PerformersPlease take a moment to recognize the outstanding achievers who are building high-performance human systems. Phu Phan This razor sharp entrepreneur is operating on elite software. Combining an indestructible physique with absolute clarity proves he's winning the Life Game. Yolanda Phan She completely upgraded her internal architecture. Checking off stressful tasks with total presence proves this Mom is anchored like a rock. Great job! Dr. Omar Guzman Talk about building an iron foundation. Preparing for his fastest marathon yet cements his status as an absolute Ironman machine. Kim Travis She grabbed the Body Throttle and never looked back. Leveraging the breath to level up her mindset guarantees she's building a fireproof foundation. Anna Shad Birthdays hit differently when you're completely optimized. Recognizing her massive growth to become a super present mom shows her true superpower. Fred Ghamari This guy just earned a black belt in absolute stillness. Optimizing his mind to navigate daily chaos makes him a dangerously calm powerhouse. Kristin Erickson Political campaigns are stressful but she's totally unfazed. Leveraging her physical hardware to stay entirely focused proves she deleted the Exhaustion Tax. Yes Ordorica Returning to the office usually means a system crash. Showing up stronger and calmer than ever means she officially upgraded her human hardware. Mike Celeya Zero chance Mike goes back to his old shell. Refusing to quit and pushing for constant growth shows he's entirely bulletproof. Colleen Smith She's finally putting herself at the top of the roster. Adding purposeful movement to honor her own body is the ultimate power move. Mitch Moshe We love watching a guy build a fortress. Creating an indestructible body through pure strength proves he's ready for absolutely anything. Pooneh Manshadi Italy tried to test her but her battery stayed full. Managing the heat and stress to create perfect memories means her intent is indestructible. Farhad Manshadi He brought his engineering brain straight to the bedroom. Building a perfect solution for deep sleep ensures his family mission will never fail. Karla Ceja Hitting her lowest weight since high school is just pure magic. Crushing another race with blistering speed cements her elite triathlete status! Carol Gorelick She discovered the ultimate cheat code for the brain. Using physical posture to unlock mental enhancement proves the body controls the mind. Alex Flores This father and founder just found the ultimate anchor. Mastering his breath to drop weight and build mental skills makes him completely unstoppable. Diana Goltzer She's officially back and conquering the trails. Rebuilding massive knee strength to fuel her fitness love shows her resilience is pure titanium. Edward Chavez Stop the presses because Eddie figured out the secret. Mastering simple daily habits for maximum effect proves you don't need complicated math. LivFit 365 Family Fitness CoachingPlease welcome my new families. Your success is why I exist. I promise to do my absolute best to ensure you succeed. Diana Goltzer – Farhad Manshadi Welcome to the LivFit Fam. I'm grateful to serve you. LivFit Coaching Calls – Fridays (12 pm PST/ 3pm PST)Want the ultimate fitness cheat sheet? I've packed 22 years of experience into these sessions, giving you the tools and knowledge to transform your body and mind. No more wasted time, just pure, results-driven knowledge to help you eat right, train effectively, and make healthy habits stick. LivFit Live Group Workouts – Saturdays (8am PST/ 11am EST)Say goodbye to boring workouts and hello to a fitness experience that's as unique as you are! Our live group sessions offer a dynamic blend of everything your body and mind need: strength, cardio, flexibility, meditation… and maybe even a few laughs along the way.
P.S. What's this simple test? It's a hidden gateway to stress levels. Don't believe me, find out for yourself –> 2 Minute Stress Test |
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Ruben was fighting for every single breath… He felt like his nose didn't work.
The panic was real, and his voice trembled with second-guessing and fear. “I feel like I'm panicking, not being able to get enough air,” he said. “Is this normal?” When you hit a wall like this, traditional fitness advice tells you to just push harder. Use more willpower. Stop being lazy… But as an engineer, I know that willpower is a terrible investment when your human hardware is glitching. As a certified Oxygen Advantage Breathwork Coach, I understood the exact science behind his panic. He was just experiencing air hunger for the very first time. When your CO2 tolerance is extremely low, you simply can't breathe deeply. You can't comfortably breathe through your nose without your brain sounding a massive alarm. Panic ensues immediately… Your brain literally thinks you're suffocating. When he told me about that severe panic, I knew exactly what it felt like. It took me right back to the moment I first tried to switch from mouth to nasal breathing. I was a massive doubter myself. I felt terrified and uncomfortable for seemingly no logical reason. But I saw the undeniable power of this simple practice firsthand over the last two years. After the stressful events of COVID, I want on a 6-year journey of self-discovery. I learned more about stress. The helplessness and the destruction it creates in the human body. But when I found out Courtney was pregnant. The stakes surged. I needed reliable proven systems. Enter the breath. Then I watched in awe as it helped clients succeed. I was amazed when I saw my own mother, Mama Sofia unknowingly bring down her stress levels, all from functional breathing. But here's the harsh reality… Anyone with dysfunctional breathing is going to be stressed and anxious. It's a physiological guarantee. The major problem is that this heavy stress feels entirely normal to most guys. They just keep adding more responsibilities to the chaos of their lives. They redline their engine while the car is stuck in neutral. I knew this was the exact right domino to solve first. I had to guide Ruben through the fire. We focused on this single domino for a long time. It took a while, and there were plenty of frustrating days. But he stuck with it. He grabbed his Body Throttle and eventually got it down perfectly. Once he mastered his breath, he felt completely in control… until he almost derailed his progress with his nutrition. That's when we implemented a specific daily SOP to fix his internal cooling. I'll share that exact map with you on Tuesday.
PS: If you're ready to stop playing life on expert mode, reply “DOMINO” and I'll show you how we can upgrade your internal operating system. |
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Seventeen years ago, I worked at 24 Hour Fitness in Brea… We called it the boiler room. The pressure was constant, and the culture was incredibly tough. Ruben and I worked together back then, but I never actually got a chance to train him. He just watched me from a distance while we grinded through those long shifts. Fast forward to recently, and he finally reached out for help. We hopped on a Zoom call to catch up and discuss his goals.
But when his camera turned on, I didn't even recognize him. He looked completely different than the young man I remembered. He had ballooned up to 230 pounds. Ruben's a professional wrestler. It is what he absolutely loves to do. He has been wrestling for years and even made it on Monday night RAW. But his body wasn't cooperating with his dreams anymore. He looked entirely exhausted, and he desperately wanted things to change. He had become the classic Soft CEO. He was putting in the physical work every single week. But he wasn't seeing any of the results he wanted. When people hire me for my LivFit 365 program, they usually want one specific thing. They want complicated exercises and intense, grueling routines. They think they need more sweat, more pain, and more punishment… But you can't cut the grass when the house is on fire. If you're rushed, stressed, and overwhelmed, you won't make exercise a legitimate part of your life. You have to fix the crumbling foundation first. So I didn't give him a new workout routine. I sent him my Domino Scorecard instead. We started with the most important domino of all. The Breath Domino. It's your Body Throttle. It was incredibly hard for Ruben to breathe through his nose. He was constantly congested and fighting for air. His body was stuck in a perpetual state of stress. So we worked on a very specific, targeted technique. We focused on keeping his tongue on the roof of his mouth. But he completely struggled from the very first minute. Shortly after our call, he sent me a panicked voice note. His voice was actually trembling through the speaker. Over our next video check-in, he was visibly struggling to breathe through his nose. He was fighting for every single breath and looked totally drained. The panic forced him to revert back to mouth breathing. It made him question if he was even on the right path… There is a profound biological reason why his human hardware failed in that moment… I'll reveal exactly what that circuit breaker is on Saturday.
PS: If you're tired of paying the Exhaustion Tax and want to finally fix your fundamentals, I can help. Reply back to this email with the word “DOMINO” and I'll send you a free assessment to get started right now. |
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“What the hell are you wearing now?” The bedroom was incredibly peaceful. You could hear the gentle sound of raindrops playing through our white noise machine. The air smelled perfectly of sweet chamomile from our humidifier. Then Courtney looked over at my side of the bed. “What the hell are you wearing?” she asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
I turned to look back at her. I tried to flash a reassuring smile, but I couldn't move my lips. A piece of tape was firmly stuck right across my mouth. It felt exactly like a stiff band-aid pulling on my face. Since I couldn't speak, I just shrugged my shoulders and mumbled, “Mmm.” Courtney has seen me test a lot of crazy sleep hacks over the years. I wear a sleep mask. I used earplugs before our son Jagger was born. We even invested in a Sleep Number bed and special pillows. But this mouth tape experiment really made her question my sanity. I started using MyoTape because I suspected I was breathing through my mouth at night. That first night was rough. I woke up in the dark feeling like I was suffocating. I realized right then how badly I relied on mouth breathing. Things got much harder when Jagger started having nightmares. I was waking up every three hours to calm him down. Ripping off tape four times a night was impossible, so I gave it up. Almost immediately, my Oura ring sleep scores plummeted. Rats. But once Jagger started sleeping better, I went back to the tape. I forced myself to stick with the uncomfortable feeling. The results were unbelievable. My sleep jumped from seven interrupted hours to eight and a half solid hours. I slept through the entire night without waking up once. Waking up the next morning felt like I had just discovered fire. I felt so amazing that I practically flew out the door to train my clients. The reason I'm sharing this with you is you must have the courage to embrace uncomfortable changes. When it comes to our sleep, we often get stuck thinking, “This is the way it's always been.” We fail to run tiny experiments that can dramatically improve our lives. Sometimes fixing your exhaustion is as easy as finding one simple hidden gap. If your mind is racing at night, a physical problem might be the true cause. Take my new sleep quiz diagnostic to find out exactly what's holding you back. <Is a Mechanical Glitch Keeping Your Brain From Shutting Off>
PS: You don't necessarily need to tape your mouth shut and terrify your partner like I did. But if your eyes keep snapping open in the middle of the night, you do have a physical glitch that needs fixing. Stop guessing what it is. Run this 60-second system check to find your hidden bottleneck and get the exact protocol to sleep through the night. Find your hidden sleep bottleneck. |
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It was 3:45 in the morning… Jagger was up in his toddler bed screaming again. Sweat raced down my back as I stared at the baby monitor. The volume blasted as red lights flashed across the screen showing the decibels spiking. I took a slow, deep breath through my nose to calm my own racing heart. Then I caught myself before I sprinted into his room. I stayed on my side of the door, watched the monitor, and waited… Jagger crawled across the mattress, grabbed his pacifier in the dark, and popped it into his mouth. He laid back down, closed his eyes, and pulled his blanket up. Within 90 seconds, the room went dead silent. The sleep champion had returned to reclaim his crown. It took three weeks of holding the line, but we finally closed the chapter on some brutal nights.
I'm not sharing this to brag about toddler sleep routines. I'm sharing it because when your sleep is broken, your entire life runs on a cracked foundation. You can't excel in your business, lead your family, or make clear decisions when you're operating on four hours of fractured rest. Sleep isn't a luxury or a reward for finishing your to-do list… It's a lead domino that makes every other part of your life possible. When you aren't sleeping, you aren't really living. You're just paying a crushing exhaustion tax every single day. You show up to work as a desktop mannequin, staring blankly at your screen and burning mental fuel just trying to survive the afternoon. Then you drag yourself through the front door with only scraps of energy left for your kids and your spouse. You don't need another cup of coffee at 3:00 PM to power through the fog. You need to fix the hardware. If you're tired of waking up feeling like you've been run over before your feet even hit the floor, let's solve the bottleneck. Stop paying the exhaustion tax. Take this quick 60-second system check right now: [Run Your 60-Second Check >>] It'll pinpoint the exact leak draining your battery so you can sleep through the night and wake up with genuine clarity tomorrow.
P.S. Most people think they wake up at 2:00 AM because of a “bad bladder” or random stress. But usually, it’s a physical hardware glitch hitting the emergency panic button. Stop guessing and find out exactly what's triggering yours. [Find your hidden bottleneck in 60 seconds.] |
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Those weeks were pure chaos. Jagger went through the perfect storm. He fell out of his crib, we dealt with moving, and he caught a nasty cough…
The poor little guy had no idea how hard life can hit. It hit Courtney and me just as hard. It was the middle of the night, and Jagger was screaming like his body was under attack. Those visceral screams made my spine quiver. I honestly felt as if I was failing as a parent. We all looked awful with heavy bags under our eyes. I was pacing the place, hoping we didn't wake up or scare the neighbors. Courtney looked at me and said, “We need help.” Sleep is a core value in our home. Without adequate sleep, you play life on expert level. We knew we had to course correct. We sat down at the kitchen table, completely exhausted, and had a raw strategy session. We needed a plan to get Jagger sleeping through the night, and we needed to get our own minds right to execute it. The best way to fix a major problem is to hire an expert. We worked with a sleep expert when Jagger was an infant, and now it was toddler time. That first night was already better. There was still screaming, but it only lasted 30 minutes. The next night was even less. We moved him from sleeping next to someone to sleeping on his own. There were some explosions along the way. Listening to him cry felt like my soul was tearing apart. It was one of the hardest moments of my life. But I knew Jagger needed to develop this crucial skill. He needed to learn how to sleep on his own and truly value rest. We pushed through the turmoil because we knew success was inevitable. It's impossible to stop someone who doesn't give up. I'm sharing this because hitting a wall doesn't just happen with toddlers. It happens when you try to reclaim your health, too. You might have the best intentions to drop the dad bod or finally get your energy back. You might know exactly what you want. But life will throw a wrench in your plans. When chaos hits, you can't rely on guesswork. You need a system. The fastest way to fix a massive problem is to stop throwing darts in the dark and hire someone who has the map. If you're tired of guessing with your health, get an expert in your corner. Let's build your plan.
PS: Maybe you don't have a screaming toddler, or maybe when you lay down you can't turn your mind off, if so you might be overlooking a simple fix. Take this 60 second quiz to find your answer. |
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Recently, I was training my client at the Astoria gym. The gym smelled immaculate, like fresh Pine-Sol. I watched an older man work out for a pretty long time. He was clanking the weights and banging them around. He went hard, but he honestly had terrible form. He was wearing a tucked-in shirt with khakis. It's the classic 90-year-old gym uniform.
Right in the middle of the session, he walked over and completely interrupted us. He pointed at his hand and spoke in a broken German accent. He asked me a question about his finger and his joints. We struck up a conversation during my client's rest period. “How old? How old?” He pointed at himself. I took a fair assessment of his physical ability. I thought he was probably 76 or maybe 75. The old man smiled and shook his head. I then pointed at himself, “93.” Rats… I missed by almost 20 years. The reason I'm sharing this with you is because his daily habits are exactly what keep him sharp and upright. In LivFit 365, we call this the Move Domino. He wasn't doing anything fancy, but his daily commitment to movement kept his foundation completely sound. Imagine if we also optimized his breath, hydration, sleep, and nutrition. What's possible for us if we add social connection and a strong sense of purpose? You don't need peptides, quick fixes, or a $5,000 executive physical to extend your health span. The human body is a complete miracle when you stop redlining the engine. It's up to us to build a system that works, so you can stop being a invisible presence at home and actually have the bandwidth to enjoy the life you're building. So, what's your next move? Stop trying to overhaul your entire life by tomorrow. Pick just one of the 5 Daily Dominos to knock down today. Drink a glass of water, take four deep breaths, or just go for a walk.
PS: If I'm still banging weights around in a tucked-in shirt and khakis at 93, I consider that an absolute win. Just don't let me interrupt your training session to ask about my finger. |
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I was walking on my treadmill right here in my Irvine office. The motor was humming quietly. My feet were gently stepping on the belt. I was reading a book called The Healing Power of the Breath. It made me stop and check my own breathing. I closed my mouth to try and breathe through my nose. It was completely blocked…rats. A sudden hot flash rushed over my entire body. I panicked and said out loud, “Sh#t.” I immediately stepped off the treadmill. I stood there and tried to force my breath through my clogged nasal passages. I realized in that exact moment that I had never been able to breathe through my nose. That was five years ago, and I committed myself not to just understanding how… but why this works extremely well, and why has it been overlooked? I always breathe through my nose now (even during 10+mile runs) and I can honestly say I've never felt better. I want you to run a quick diagnostic test right now… Close your mouth and take a four-second inhale through your nose. Does it feel blocked? If it does, your biological autopilot is stuck on the gas pedal. If you're a high-achiever, running your body on mouth-breathing is like driving a Ferrari in first gear. You're paying a massive Exhaustion Tax, burning through your battery before you even walk through your front door to see your kids. I'm not talking about just while you're sitting at your desk. You need to pull the emergency brake on your stress response while you train, while you sleep, and while you're deep in the daily chaos. If you find that you can't breathe through your nose all the time, I have a specific tool for you. Make sure you watch this quick video. You'll learn the exact 30-second skill to unblock your nose. Try it before your next high-stakes meeting, and you'll literally feel your shoulders drop and the 3:00 PM brain fog lift. [Click here to Clear Your Nose Instantly] I wish I knew this years ago. Let's make it happen. You got this!
P.S. If you failed that 4-second inhale test, you're actively leaking energy all day long. Click here to watch the short video and grab the specific tool to fix it. |
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The text came in right as I stood at my desk. ‘Jumpy Jim' texted, “I'm working non-stop. I don't see this ending anytime soon.” I could feel the absolute despair as I read those words. I stood up straight in my office chair and looked up at the sky. I took a deep breath in and smelled the fresh air. I felt the warm sunlight kissing my skin. I looked at my phone and realized something terrifying… ‘Jim' and I were living in the exact same world, but he was trapped in a biological prison while I was holding the keys. Ironically, my life used to be exactly the same as that text message. When COVID hit in 2020, I learned about stress to help my clients, never realizing that I was a complete mess of stress myself. I used to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. I even had panic attacks in the open water before everything changed. Always with a smile in my face, and unknowingly pretending everything was okay. I realized I needed to break those chains of stress while my son Jagger was still in the womb. I was terrified of becoming a “Ghost Parent,” physically present at the dinner table but totally empty inside. I refused to let my son get the exhausted scraps of my energy. The reason I'm sharing this with you is because we're best served to help the people we once were. You can't out-think a thinking problem. Remember this: The mind lives inside the body. When you're stressed, your brain is the CEO, but your body is the Bouncer. You can't hand the Bouncer a spreadsheet to prove you're relaxed. You have to use your physical body to pick the lock. It comes down to one irreplaceable tool… I call it The Body Throttle. The first step in the Body Throttle is fixing your hardware.
Slouching with rounded shoulders literally suffocates your nervous system in plain sight. I want you to test this right now… Sit up straight, drop your shoulders away from your ears, and take one deep four-second breath through your nose. You'll physically feel the emergency brake engage on your stress. If you don't take control of your physiology, prepare to stay on that stress treadmill for a really, really, long time…
PS: Here's the kicker, if you have the right position (the right posture) but your nose is clogged, stuffy or completely blocked… None of this will work. Luckily a magic solution exists. <Watch 2-minute this video to Clear Your Nose Instantly> |
