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I handed Sonny my phone to look at his assessment photos. He looked at me and asked, “Is that what I really looked like?” All those hours of dropping weights had done nothing. All those massive puddles of sweat had yielded zero physical results. He was devastated. But he was finally ready to listen. Classic trainers are taught to simply exercise you to death. To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. But we needed a completely different set of tools. You cannot think or sweat your way out of a physiological burnout. Sonny was paying a massive Exhaustion Tax. He was a highly successful president at work, but he had become a “Soft CEO” in the mirror. He was winning the money game but losing the life game. Instead of just sweating, we focused on the 5 Daily Dominos. I hold two degrees, one in Engineering and the other in Behavioral Economics. My engineering brain told me we needed to fix his hardware. We started Phase 1: The Domino Effect. We focused on the Move Domino. He realized how incredibly fast he could lose fat by just walking more and tracking his steps. He didn't need to drop heavy weights to burn off fat. Once he understood that simple lever, Sonny was off to the races. His body finally started to change. The muscle was really starting to shine through. The transformation was so profound that he took our work outside the gym. He actually brought me into his corporate office to present to his team. I walked in ready to help his employees. They all looked exhausted, stressed, and completely overwhelmed. They expected me to act like a drill sergeant. They braced themselves for a lecture about dedicating six hours a week to the gym. But I asked them to do something completely different. Keep an eye on your inbox this Tuesday for the big reveal.
P.S. The 4th of July is right around the corner. If you are already stressing about how you will look or feel at those summer pool parties, take a deep breath. You got this, plus it's too late to change anything for this 4th 😉 |
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When Sonny walked into a room, everyone smiled. He was the president of a massive storage service. He radiated positivity. His vibe just made you feel completely alive. Well… almost always. At the gym, his workouts absolutely crushed him. He kicked serious @$$. It was an incredibly intense sight to witness. He and his trainer had these epic sweat sessions. When they dropped a heavy weight, the sound reverberated throughout the entire building. You could literally feel the floor shake. Sonny was always drenched. He was dripping big puddles of sweat all over the place. Meanwhile, my client Scott and I calmly performed our circuit on the other side of the gym. Scott is a big guy. Naturally, he got plenty of judging looks from Sonny. I'm sure they thought we were just a couple of chumps. We spent our time stretching, reaching, and doing focused core workouts. When you're a big guy, doing light work can feel totally wrong. Scott wiped his brow and asked if I really thought this calm approach was going to work. He pointed across the room at the heavy lifters. He wondered how he would ever build superhero muscle by just reaching and lifting light weights. I looked Scott right in the eye. “Trust the process. Your body would look better than it ever has.
Scott trusted me. He leaned into the program. Eventually, Scott lost 32 pounds. His body transformed completely.
And while Sonny kept hitting things and dropping weights, his body didn't change at all. He stayed exactly the same despite all that dripping sweat. Then, one fateful day… Sonny's trainer was late again. Rats. We started talking. He asked if I would train him. I told him he was in. But he still didn't question his own training style. He just thought he needed a more reliable guy to count his reps. That all changed the day we did his initial assessment. I took a picture of him from the front, side, and back. I handed him the phone. The color drained from his face. Wait until you hear what he said to me next. I will share his exact words on Saturday.
P.S. Courtney and I just got back from a trip to Las Vegas. Jagger really missed us while we were gone. And Kona made us promise to never, ever leave again. It is good to be home. |
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I remember the day Loss Prevention walked into my 24 Hour Fitness club in Westminster, CA. I wasn't worried at first… I was the General Manager. Usually, they just wanted to look at the books. But this time was different. They told me not to log in. My alarm bells went off immediately. This was weird. I started replaying my last seven years. I worked 70-plus hours a week. I worked my way up from a humble trainer to managing a staff of over 40. We were bringing in close to a million dollars a year. I bled 24 Hour Fitness. I loved that company so much.
Then my new district manager, Jim, walked up. He looked at me cold and lied straight to my face. He said, “I don't know what's happening, but I need your keys.” He knew exactly what was happening. I handed over my ring of over 20 keys. They felt incredibly heavy. Walking around with keys that big meant you were important. You meant something. Taking them away felt like they took a big chunk of my soul. Next thing I knew, HR called. I sat down with a classic yellow manila folder. It looked ominous with its paper clips and highlighted lines telling me where to sign. I had my termination in hand. My heart was broken. I left the building feeling numb. I cried hysterically on my way home. I was in total shock. I'd never been home in the middle of the day before. I called my best friend, and he couldn't believe it either. That night I went to the beach. I felt betrayed, double-crossed, and mad at the world. Six weeks later, I had lunch with my buddy Raffy. He told me this would be the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't believe him… With my engineering degree, I actually thought about going back to UC Irvine for economics just to chase money. But the very next day, lightning struck. I realized I could start my own personal training business. I woke up with so much fire and passion. I wrote in my journal so fast my words couldn't keep up. I knew this was exactly what I was supposed to do. The reason I'm sharing this with you is because life's going to test you. In your health and fitness journey, you're going to face some dark moments. Maybe it's a tough diagnosis like diabetes or high blood pressure. Maybe you'll face giant dragons like cancer or multiple sclerosis. There'll be times when the world feels like it's imploding. But you need to know those giant dragons can be slayed. Life leaves diamonds in the dark. When you lean into the pain, you'll find something better on the other side. And you won't be scared of the dark anymore… Because you will be your own light. You've got this! Let's make it happen.
PS: I don't carry a giant ring of keys anymore. My pockets are a lot lighter these days. Honestly, I don't think Kona would be impressed by them anyway. |
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Hey Reader, Last week, I was trying to put my son Jagger in his car seat. He fights it sometimes, and I just needed him to cooperate. So I told him, “Hey, I'll take you to the big park.” He smiled a huge smile and repeated, “Big park!” I looked right at him and said, “Yeah.” I instantly felt terrible. I felt even worse when I drove him straight to the kids club at Lifetime Fitness instead. Rats… I try my best not to lie in my everyday life. But it made me think about the blatant lies we tell ourselves. When we make promises to ourselves that we never keep, those are inherently lies. When we lie to ourselves… it becomes hard to believe ourselves. So we lose confidence. If you're a high-achieving dad, you know what I mean. You're crushing it in the boardroom, but you break the promise to take care of yourself. You become the “Soft CEO”. You're winning the money game but losing the life game. I've been in the fitness field for over 22 years. I started as a trainer at 24 Hour Fitness and worked my way up to general manager. I can tell you exactly why people fail. They try to fix all their broken promises at once. It's pure grind and tunnel vision. You can't push over a 500-pound domino first. I lost over 60 pounds and kept it off, finished the Boston Marathon, and completed 7 Ironman Triathlons because I learned to rely on systems. You don't need more willpower. You need a better system. Instead of committing to an hour at the gym… commit to a 5-minute walk. This is exactly what we do in Phase 1 of my LivFit 365 program. It's called The Domino Effect. It's a program for the entire household, designed to build your survival chain. We install the 5 Daily Dominos to stop the friction. You knock down the easiest domino first, and the rest follow. If you're ready to stop breaking promises… click here to join the LivFit 365 Waitlist.
PS: I did cut my workout to take the Young Prince of Irvine to the Big park. I love to swim, bike, and run, but seeing him play is better. |
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I remember that morning vividly… I was supposed to work… deep work. I needed to move the needle and grow the business. But my son Jagger decided it would be a different kind of day. Courtney was getting ready to take him to the kids club. She needed to work on her Forensic Tales podcast. She's a little behind from our Vegas trip, and I also needed to catch up. But ever since we got back, Jagger's been glued to me. He was yelling at a ridiculously high pitch. It escalated into constant screaming. I ran down the stairs and slammed the baby gate. As soon as I closed the door to my office, I heard a loud boom boom. That was followed by an even higher-pitched scream. I ran right back upstairs. I saw the absolute panic in Courtney's eyes. Jagger had hit himself, and she was really concerned. That's when I grabbed him, crying and all. I grabbed his shoes in one hand and his backpack with the other. I headed out the door with him still screaming. I took him to what he calls the “Big Park.” At first, I resented him.. I was upset, angry, and emotional. So, I practiced using my Body Throttle. I focused on giving myself more oxygen. It wasn't to magically relieve the situation, but just to feel the emotions I was experiencing instead of escaping to my phone. While I was playing with him, a lady named Patty walked by picking up dog poop. She looked at Jagger and said, “He's really cute. You're going to miss these days…”
That's the fifth time someone has told me how valuable this time is while we're having a meltdown. In real time, it's hard to see the value when you're seeing red. The reason I'm sharing this with you is because you've probably had moments in your life you wish you handled better. You probably wish you'd gotten a better handle on your emotions for a better outcome. In those past moments, you did the best you could with the tools you had. I've struggled with this for most of my life. But now I've got the Body Throttle to engage my body and bring myself to the present. I allowed myself to calm down, and eventually, Jagger calmed down too. We facetimed Courtney to apologize. Then we had the best time playing on the big slide. When you feel like you're struggling, suffocating, or trapped, remember that life isn't forever. If you can't manage your breath, you can't manage your emotions. Manage your breath to manage your life. That brings me to the real purpose of this monthly newsletter. I want to give a massive shoutout to my clients who're doing incredible work right now. They're making huge strides, and it all starts with mastering their breath first. They're learning how to use their Body Throttle to stay calm in the chaos. When you start with the breath, everything else falls into place. Let's make it happen today. LivFit 365 High-PerformersPlease take a moment to recognize the outstanding achievers who are building high-performance human systems. Ruben Muela Ruben is building an absolute time machine. Dropping twenty five pounds and inspiring the entire crew proves his Swiss Watch body is fully operational. Jesse Galeana Talk about a dynamic duo. Jesse is igniting the engines by shedding twenty two pounds and leading his wife through the ultimate transformation journey. Omar Guzman Our favorite doctor is embracing the white belt mentality. Swallowing his pride to master the bike and swim builds an absolutely bulletproof foundation. Phu Phan Straight up boss energy right here. By staying insanely consistent with his hardware upgrades Phu has become the ultimate blueprint for elite fatherhood. Kim Travis Life keeps throwing absolute haymakers but she refuses to fold. Kim is flipping every massive roadblock into a stepping stone for legendary personal growth. Anna Shad The Super Mom is leveling up her mental architecture. She's anchoring into the present moment to find pure stillness amidst the toddler tornado. Fred Ghamari Fred's building a titanium anchor for his family. Mastering the Body Throttle is unlocking a brand new dimension of elite fatherhood and presence. Kristin Erickson She's officially made of Teflon! Balancing family adversity with a massive workload proves her unbreakable spirit is built for the long haul. Yes Ordorica Yes is rewiring the mainframe. By weaponizing the breath to destroy negative thoughts she's making incredibly sharp choices and leveling up daily. Mike Celeya The Chicken Little eviction is permanent. Mike's crushing his calorie targets and shrinking his belt size while constructing a ridiculously resilient mental fortress. Colleen Smith Catching total vibes. Colleen is using brand new cognitive tools to completely silence her inner critic and navigate wild storms with incredible grace. Emin Mirzayev We have a massive software patch over here! Emin is identifying deep systemic bugs and completely rebooting his focus for both work and home. Mitch Moshe Welcome to the unstoppable 2026 edition. Mitch is leveraging diaphragmatic breathing to create deep space and consciously choose legendary responses for his awesome family. Pooneh Mashadi You cannot sink this ship. Pooneh is guarding her radiant smile and building unbreakable resilience no matter what insane storms the universe throws at her. 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. Karla Ceja 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. They say time flies… I beg to differ. Like running, Jagger can make time slow down to a crawl… Minutes feel like weeks. |
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Those rusty weights literally saved my life. It pulled me out of the darkness and gave me a new purpose. I gave up engineering to become a fitness trainer. Since that Christmas in 1999, I've spent 22 years helping high-performers. I've finished 7 Ironmans, not with motivation, but with a reliable system. I know how frustrating it is when you're putting in the 60-hour weeks at work, but your body is failing you at home. You're tired of feeling soft. You're sick of the 3:00 PM brain fog. You're winning the money game, but losing the life game. When your body doesn't respond, it's not a character flaw. You just have a blind spot in your internal operating system. You don't need another restrictive diet. You don't need to white-knuckle your way through another week. You need the 5 Daily Dominos to put your health on autopilot. That's exactly why I created The Fat Loss “Blind Spot” Diagnostic. It's a precision diagnostic for high-performers to find the one hidden leak that's flatlining your energy and stalling the scale. [The Fat Loss “Blind Spot” Diagnostic: Stop Wasting Your Effort] Because I want to make sure you get the absolute most out of this, I'm only taking 5 people to personally review their results this week. Once those 5 spots are gone, the personal review is closed. Click the link, I'll send you the 2-minute assessment, and let's get your engine running like a Swiss watch. It's Gametime!
P.S. We don't get any extra days. Don't waste a single one. Grab one of the 5 spots right now. –> Find My Blind Spot |
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After losing my brother, I was completely broken… School, studies, and electric circuits lost all their meaning. I was numbing the pain with Carl's Jr. and alcohol every single day. Then, right before his funeral, I walked into the garage to get away from everyone. I stumbled upon his weight set in the corner. The metal plates were freezing cold. I put on his weightlifting gloves. I desperately wanted to punish myself. I started lifting his heavy weights to hurt as much as physically possible. But then something weird happened. The intense physical pain actually felt good. My body helped me completely escape my mind. As an engineer and a Behavioral Economist, I finally understood the pattern years later. You cannot think your way out of a thinking problem. When you're stuck in the “Thinker's Trap”, your brain is red-lining. You're exhausted but wired. You try to numb it with late-night snacks or drinks. You need a hardware upgrade. You have to get out of your head and into your body. In Phase 2 of LivFit 365, we call this moving from “Stress to Strength“. We use physical sensation to reboot your system. It's why we focus on the “Eat Domino” in Phase 1… to fuel your brain, not just count calories. I lost 62 pounds because I stopped relying on willpower and started fixing my hardware.
But even with this realization, I still struggled with consistency. I almost failed again… until I found a specific map to guide me. On Tuesday, I'll share a tool that will show you exactly where your system is leaking energy.
P.S. Vegas was incredible, but the real highlight of the weekend was getting updates from Mama Sofia. Jagger stayed up with her while we were gone, and apparently, he thinks bedtime is optional. I've got some serious re-training to do when he gets home…rats. |
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We just got back from Las Vegas. Jagger stayed home with Mama Sofia, so it was just Courtney and me. She was featured at CrimeCon for her true-crime podcast, Forensic Tales. I stepped back from the loud casino floor to watch her smile at her booth. She was glowing. She was finally living her “Champagne Dream”. It was completely surreal to witness.
Seeing her shine took me back to the exact moment my own business dream came true. But the contrast also dragged me right back to the very dark place where my journey started. It was Christmas of 1999 in Los Angeles… I was home from UC Irvine, studying hard to be an engineer. Then the phone rang. My Uncle Jose never called. “Is your brother home? You need to get over as fast as you can,” he said. I drove over there, heart pounding. A police car was in the driveway. The officer walked up to me. “You need to call the coroner's office,” he said. I blacked out. My brother Richard was gone. The trauma sent me into a total tailspin. I was eating Carl's Jr. every single day. I completely stopped caring about my body. I was drinking heavily just to numb the intense pain.
I was a classic “Soft CEO”. I looked like I was holding it together on the outside, but my internal operating system was crashing hard. A lot of guys I coach are doing the exact same thing right now. You're paying the Exhaustion Tax. You use food or a drink at 6:00 PM to numb the chaos of your day. You assume it's a lack of willpower. It's not. It's a biological leak in your system. You're red-lining your engine. Look out for my email on Saturday. I'll show you the exact “circuit breaker” that pulled me out of the darkness.
P.S. Vegas was great, but I definitely missed my little guy. And maybe Kona too… but mostly Jagger. Sorry Kona. |
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Hey Reader, On Saturday, we talked about how my client Colleen used her Body Throttle to finally cool down her internal engine. But knowing how to use it is only half the battle. You've got to actually apply it when the pressure is on. We didn't just tell her to “try and relax.” We built a rigid system, tying her physical reset switch to the exact, high-stress triggers in her daily routine. If a client demanded a massive change on a Friday afternoon… she used that spike of anger as her exact trigger to engage her Body Throttle. We turned her daily fires into automatic reminders to reset. Because she finally stopped burning out by 3 PM, she had the mental bandwidth to earn a massive promotion. Most importantly, she stopped giving her family the leftovers.
As dads, we have to look at our daily routines through that exact same lens. Don't just think about exercise in the traditional sense of bicep curls and push-ups. Those exercises have their place. But if you don't exercise your internal hardware, you're missing the foundation. You can't out-train a burned-out nervous system. Your Body Throttle requires daily activation so you can show up for your wife and kids with a full battery. If you want to stop snapping at your kids and finally walk through your front door with a full battery… you have to fix your internal engine first. I want to invite you to do a diagnostic test on your internal engine. Let's hop on a live video call for just 15 minutes. We're going to do a Body Throttle Assessment. I'll test your breathing mechanics in real-time. I'll show you exactly how to unlock your diaphragm to kill your daily stress. [Click here to book your 15-minute Body Throttle Assessment.]
PS: Spaces are super limited because I only have so many 15-minute blocks. If you hear my dog Kona barking in the background of our call, you'll know why! Grab a spot before they vanish –>Learn How to Strengthen My Diaphragm |
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Hey Reader, On Thursday, I told you about my client Colleen. She was trapped in a massive storm of anxiety, drowning in a sea of urgent emails and managing everyone else's emergencies. We closed our eyes on the Zoom call. Then, I asked her to keep her mouth closed and breathe strictly through her nose. Up until that point… she hadn't taken a single breath through her nose. We sat there on the video call and just counted her breaths together. Your nose isn't just for smelling. It's the steering wheel for your nervous system. By forcing the air through her nose, we literally put the brakes on her racing heart.
I could actually see her shoulders drop away from her ears. When she opened her eyes, I asked her a simple question. “When was the last time you actually felt calm?” She stared blankly at her webcam. She had absolutely no idea. As a Behavior Change Specialist with over 22 years of experience, I see this all the time. Guys try to fix their stress by forcing a brutal 9:00 PM workout. They try to rely on willpower. But you can't willpower your way out of burnout. If you want to stop snapping at your kids after a long day, you need a physical pause button to reset your brain. I recently got a clear plastic lung model for my office. My son Jagger absolutely loves it. He laughs every time I play with it.
When you pull the rubber bottom down, it changes the atmospheric pressure inside. That pressure shift pulls air in. It works exactly like a bike pump. That rubber bottom represents your diaphragm. I call it the Body Throttle. Your diaphragm is the bridge between your “fight or flight” panic mode and your “rest and recover” mode. By waking up her sleeping diaphragm, Colleen completely powered down her body's frantic engine. But she still needed a system to use it consistently. I'll share that exact SOP with you on Tuesday.
PS: Sleeping 8 hours isn't a pipe dream. It actually has a simple solve, but you have to know the right problem to solve. Today's the last day to find out –> <Click here to solve the sleep puzzle> |
