you know when you're a little kid and you assume that everyone else's family is just like yours?

I grew up thinking that every family was super into sports, fitness, and exercise.

My uncles, brothers, cousins, Dad, Mom, aunts - all of them are genetic freaks, physically and/or mentally.

Most have been gifted with beautifully symmetrical bodies, perfectly shaped glutes, incredibly innate physical strength, and a solid amount of muscle mass whether they train or not.

And those who weren't have been gifted with a mental grit and tenacity proving to be relentless and unstoppable in any endeavor of their choosing. I'm fairly certain that the "work hard, play hard" motto originated from my ancestral lineage at some point. 

With natural muscle mass and raw athletic talent at their disposal, many of my family members became highly decorated collegiate and semi-professional athletes, competitive bodybuilders like my Uncle Mike, triathletes, all the way to gym rats like myself. (More like *home* gym rat now, but you get the idea).

My own mother at 65 is still the strongest woman I know and works out with our community nearly 5 days a week doing jump squats and all! She can move an entire house full of heavy furniture in a day all by herself and then deadlift over 200 pounds cold, no warmup needed. She also boxes, chases after grandkids for hours, does TRX, and walks up and down more stairs in a house than I've ever seen.

And then there's my Dad who still has a manual labor job at age 66 with no signs of slowing down even after back surgery. He somehow still has jacked biceps and calves that even the most seasoned bodybuilders would dream of. 

In my 20's and 30's, our idea of a good family time was running the nearly 10-mile Dipsea trail as a birthday celebration or sprinting the Lyon Street steps several times as a warmup followed by a gruesome 2-hour weight lifting session before hitting the clubs later that night.

Anyway, I was surrounded by my shared DNA last weekend for a fun family reunion of sorts, and I had realization after realization drop in...

The first morning we were all together, I was rolling downstairs to the kitchen with all my equipment: two milk frothers, my Medieval Times mug to fit everything as conventional sized mugs won't do, Armra colostrum powder, a tub of chocolate collagen, and my stevia drops.

Then, I looked over at my Uncle Mike who walked in with a big, clear plastic baggie full of an unlabelled white powder (whey protein) that had a little scooper inside, and of course, we had a good laugh!! 😂

It was this moment exchanged of total respect - a recognition of the little things we both do daily as a way to take care of the body and honor ourselves with physical discipline and proper nutrition no matter what the situation, including travel.

And that's when it hit me that I Want To Be Like (Uncle) Mike.

My Uncle Mike is a 65-year old fit AF man who is defying the narrative that aging with disease and a degenerative physical body is inevitable. 

First of all, he looks like he's in his late 40's at most with a body fat percent in the single digits.

He's been getting up at 4:00 a.m. ever since I can remember to engage in some sort of athletic training. It used to be a lot of gym time for him, lifting super heavy and hitting PRs, but as we both were discussing, having a balanced routine with different movement modalities is key for longevity along with paying attention to nutrition.

Now, he incorporates long, hilly bike rides (60 miles minimum on average or maybe more??) and plenty of mobility work. 

He understands the fundamental principles of sound nutrition (and doesn't get lost in all the fads and trends): get your protein in first and foremost. Get even more protein as you age! Eat mostly whole foods. Watch your dietary fat. Eat in moderation. Fuel with the right amount of complex carbs when highly active. Limit alcohol intake. Drink enough water. Don't stop training and moving after an injury. Fix your form and don't let that muscle atrophy. 

When I asked him what he considered to be the number one most important key to successfully maintaining a healthy body over all these years, he said without a shadow of doubt: consistency.

And we couldn't agree more! 

How many times have you started a heath program only to move on after a few weeks (or even days!) and try something else?

Here’s the truth: if you change too many things, too quickly, all at the same time, you won’t be able to identify what is working and what is not.

This applies to both what you eat and how you train.

The reality is that fat loss, muscle building, and/or enhanced athletic performance takes TIME.

That’s why having a strong growth mindset, keeping long-term goals in mind, and patience is key.

Here’s how you build muscle and get fit with consistency:

👉 Stick to a PLAN, including strength training and nutrition.

Your body needs a consistent but progressively challenging routine to build muscle successfully. Each of our 12-week strength training and metabolic conditioning workout phases have three 4 week-cycles so your body can actually get stronger! If you’re always doing random online workouts, you won’t see as much consistent muscle growth if anything at all. The same goes for nutrition. Before you bounce around to another set of macros or think you need some magical supplement, stick with the plan for at least a few weeks so you give your body time to adapt!

👉 Have a plan created SPECIFICALLY for you.

Your body is unique, one plan is not going to suit every single person. Don’t work against your body, work with it! We structure our workouts to be easily adjusted based on your current fitness level and goals. Your nutrition plan should absolutely be bio-individual on every level.

👉Stick to a SCHEDULE.

Set aside time for your workouts, grocery shopping and meal prepping. Our clients find that getting organized like this actually SAVES them time in the long run. The key is to be realistic and set goals that match the availability you have to focus on your health and wellness.

This means you need the what (plan) + the when (schedule) in order to keep consistent and see results.

The older I get, the more I enjoy reflecting back on my upbringing with respect and curiosity.

The foundation that was laid has molded us into the people we are today. Sometimes we need to tweak things here or there to serve us better but some things will never change.

I am eternally grateful to have grown up with role models of discipline so early on in life. It's something I will carry with me forever.

There has been no greater gift that I have given myself besides learning about nutrition and exercise science. It has given me an endless amount of time back to do so much more in this beautiful life! This is the freedom we want for everyone.

Click here to apply for our 12-week Awaken Your Nutrition program (workouts included!) if you're ready to experience full freedom with the right knowledge and discipline in place.

What are you non-negotiable routines that you practice regularly? What would you add to the list above? Click reply and let us know. We read each and every one of your emails! 💚 

Shannon Morse & Lisa Kirby | Creators of Awaken Your Nutrition @thegreendoor.life  |  thegreendoorlife.com

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