Scott Sonnon’s Revive – Survive – Thrive Giveaway
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Selecting the winning entries to this contest (http://rmaxi.com/primalstress/?page_id=24) sounded challenging, but not an impossible task, until I began reviewing the 859 submissions. Instead of selecting entries, I found myself writing copious notes for each individual. And then realized I’d never finish in time…
Refocusing on the task, I discovered that instead of trying to select a “best” entry, as some were not in English, some were unpolished by authentic, and some were completely heartfelt stream of consciousness, that the shift needed to be made from the “best” (from a composition standpoint) to the most “needed.”
The spontaneous community which has evolved on the page impressed me the most. The very act of nearly a thousand people sharing their challenges erupted into an interactive community of support where people not even participating in the contest began to get involved. No one could have anticipated that energy spiraling upward from that outpouring. Your compassion and dedication to others, in spite of your own great challenges, humbles me with respect and admiration.
I’d love to give Primal Stress: Revive – Survive – Thrive to so many of you who entered and shared your challenges. Some of you don’t need to get it by way of this contest. You’re doing fine, and you don’t need any confidence that you can pull it off. You’ve been blessed with solid support, or you’ve allowed yourself the personal wherewithal to find resources which will address the issues you shared with me.
A few stories, however, personally resonated with me; I felt their need for external validation of their struggle. Throughout my obstacles, certain key individuals stood on the other side and threw me a rope; they could not pull me up themselves, but at least with that line, I could hope that my willpower would be sufficient to climb. But without them, it would have seemed and impossible chasm to jump.
The winners of this contest can be found below. However, I must state that I don’t like that this was a contest at all… for it implies that there were “losers.” There were NO losers, folks. Someone else would have selected different entries. I am biased by my filters, and influenced by the intent of helping those which I’ve been given the privilege of reaching. Please forgive me if you would have chosen other entries!
Entry #87. Jeff Cook: Stress can certainly exacerbate diabetes and MS. The recovery methods in the book hold a focus for helping prevent distress, but more importantly adding eustress can help you recover from symptoms as they appear and eventually resist seizures by staying under their ceiling. Add more recovery days when you intuit that you are getting close to threshold. Meticulously monitor the data in the journal templates. Over time, you’ll push the ceiling upward. Keep going, tenaciously but patiently incremental.
Entry #108. Jobe Linn: As clown entertainers for cancer wards, you and your wife are already extraordinary people, but even the strength of your humor can be overwhelmed by the gift the patients give you by sharing laughter with you. It will take faith to believe that you will have more energy by training than skipping training to rest. Remember that you’re a dynamo: train in the right way, and you’ll gain more energy to be with those wonderful people. If you can rest, move to release the energy locked within your joints.
Entry #151. Mike Paul: The fact that you can nickname your tumor in jest demonstrates that you already have the right attitude. But I fully understand needing more tools. The right type of stress can improve our health, and the wrong, diminish it. Consistency will be your most important tool. Please follow the accompanying journals with precision. If you somehow skip a day, shake it off, and begin immediately with the next day on the calendar.
Entry #383. Jim: The death of close family can certainly amplify PTSD. Although you obviously have accepted your injuries from the military and fire service, you can recuperate… and become even stronger FROM them. You have a family here, brother. The longer that you stay by dedicating to your recovery and restrengthening, the more you’ll realize how literally I mean that.
Entry #478. Gary S.: I’m very sorry for the loss of your wife. 42 years together inspires my wife and I. Financial loss can feel so overwhelmingly distressing, and though you may have the discipline to prevent the diabetes from progressing, the excessive stress can exacerbate the volatility of the symptoms. I hear you struggling right now. But I also hear how much of a fighter you are. Please accept this prize as a thank you for your military service, and as an outstretched hand for all you’re facing.
Entry #623: Debi L.: You are an incredible mother, and remind me so much of the strength of my own. Never forget the impact that you have upon others for your perseverance. Even when you feel that the situation worsens, your injuries scream in pain, and your frustrations mount, that you continue to move forward, leaves an indelible impact upon everyone, including undoubtedly, upon your children. Keep sharing your truth, especially as you allow yourself to heal and grow. You are so much more powerful than you realize, and together, we will help others through our recovery and progress.
To everyone involved, to all 859 participants, and the others who participated in the community which erupted spontaneously on the page, THANK YOU for the gift you have given me by sharing your stories. Your courageous candor both humbles me, and makes me feel honored to have read your words, and experienced the emotional intensity behind them.
Keep on fighting the good fight, brothers and sisters. I consider each of you teammates, and feel privileged to have ‘met’ you for a brief moment through your words.
Very Respectfully,
Scott Sonnon
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P.S.
In addition to the books and videos listed below, the winners of the Revive Survive Thrive contest will receive the 7 Bonuses which I said would remain a mystery revealed only today!
If you’re interested in getting the Primal Stress library above, plus these additional 7 Bonuses, stay tuned and we will have a MASSIVE DISCOUNTED introductory offer for the official launch in just a couple days!!!
7 Bonuses:
1. Live Boldly book by Scott Sonnon
2. Coach Sonnon’s AUDIO interview on the origin and benefits of Primal Stress
3. Flow State Performance Spiral (“Enter the Zone and Impose the Vortex!”) AUDIO
4 Six Degrees of Freedom VIDEOS
5. Mindset Creation By Default Or Design: Introductory Overview And Workbook In Adaptive Thinking & Leadership
6. 13 Warding Postures Instructional VIDEO
7. Integrating Structure VIDEO
There are no strings attached. You won’t even need to pay for shipping. You just get for free everything I have published and produced in this package. (Taking honor in protecting my members, I’ve never sold our contact information to anyone, so even your email address will be safe for us to contact you with my free book package.)
The Top 5 entries in Blog Contest get my entire PRIMAL STRESS Revive-Survive-Thrive library for FREE!
The PRIMAL STRESS library represents that lifetime of study distilled into a precision fitness toolbox which I’d like to give you as a present to “pay forward” all of the gracious techniques and tools that my teachers gifted to me. Take a look at the package described below, OR jump right to how you can win a free copy just be leaving your thoughts here!
HOW TO WIN MY BOOKS AND VIDEOS!
All you have to do is SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM and write me a short post explaining any of the following:
- How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
- Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
My contest ends at at 23:59 EST on Sunday, August 5th.
Sorry, but because we are having millions of people reading my page weekly, we need to keep this feasible since I am going to personally review each entry to determine the Top 5 from all the entries below.
YOU WINNERS will be announced here on Monday 12:00 EST!
Good luck everyone and thank you so much for allowing me the chance to “pay forward” the gifts I have been given by my teachers, coaches and mentors. I’ll describe what you’re going to win next, and then scroll down to enter your thoughts on my blog to post your winning response!!!
Very Respectfully,
Scott Sonnon
WHAT YOU WILL GET FOR FREE!
(Plus an additional 7 Mystery Bonuses Revealed on Monday!)
Primal Stress, across 223 high definition color illustrated pages, details the most compelling rationale for how stress has come to impact our health and fitness, negatively, and what we can do to recover from that stress so that we can positively adapt to it.
In the Revive section of the book, Primal Stress addresses the sum total stressors in our lives – nutrition, hydration, exercise, occupational, vocational, relational, financial. Primal Stress then provides concrete, practical solutions to why you begin seeing results with your fitness, only to meet diminishing returns, plateau, regress, then aches, pains, injuries and even illnesses.
No other work has ever presented exercise science from the perspective of stress physiology like Primal Stress. If you’ve ever felt drained, blocked, pained and locked in your movement, then Primal Stress presents you with powerful tools for reclaiming access to the innate potential, the natural athlete, we were each born to become.
Primal Stress ends with program design outlines, exercise descriptions and detailed photographs of each movement in the Flow Physique course. This beautifully presented and professionally designed book details each step you must take, and how to chart your ongoing progress for “Health-First Fitness.”
When you read its content, you will understand why what you’ve done in the past hasn’t worked as effectively as you wished, why you suffer the aches and pains that you’ve had, how you have been successful previously and how you can know when you are, and how to increase those successes systematically.
When you practice this daily for 2-3 weeks, you will notice that your posture begins to improve, your energy start to increase, and your productivity accelerates. You’ll want to do more because you can not because you must.
Your awareness, coordination, and force production remain dormant until we use these simple movements to activate their potential like booting up a computer. If nothing else, the science underlying this program, and the practical application that you can easily follow along, will transform your quality of life.
You need no special equipment, as you will only be moving your own resistance. Regardless of where you are in your current movement fitness, you can begin and to continue to be challenged due to the signature “Component Learning” approach embedded in the coaching: Three levels for each exercise, with a total of 102 exercises in the 6 programs, with 3 levels – Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.
Each movement builds upon the other, and within several sessions, you will find yourself exploring the next level of an exercise. Jump an entire level, or step up in one exercise and step back in another, all within one session.
Flow Physique derives its name from moving like a living sculpture. All the precision chiseled features of ancient statues imply the potential which you can wield and the grace which you can carry when you restore and unleash flow in your movement. Uncover your physique of flow by following the step- by-step directions in the 18 instructional videos, and by participating across the plug and play 18 follow along videos.
The largest exercise course ever created by Scott Sonnon can be used at home, in the field, or within your own gym box: self-contained, completely portable, as you are your own gym. But more importantly, Flow Physique integrates two of the most powerful systems ever devised: TACFIT® and the Circular Strength Training® System.
More than a mere fusion of these two disciplines, Flow Physique represents a proven method of developing the powerful movement potential which you were genetically designed to express, which stress physiology and psycho-physiology are only now explaining, and which has proliferated throughout the world among cutting-edge researchers, scientists and coaches.
To Thrive, concentrate on your total movement, not your individual muscles, and move the body as a system rather than in segments. In this elegantly designed course of 6 micro-flows, you will address the primary (myofascial) “lines” of movement:
1. Lateral Line Flow addressing the muscles you feel when you do a standing side bend.
2. Rear Line Flow addressing the muscles you feel when perform a forward bend.
3. Front Line Flow addressing the muscles you feel when performing a back bend.
4. Arm Line Flow involves the tissues you feel when stretching your arm behind your back and
across your chest.
5. Deep Core Flow involves the tissues you feel when twisting at the waist to the right and left.
6. Spiral Line Flow involves the tissues you feel rotate your arms and legs internally and externally while rotating at the waist.
Thrive owes its birth to the modern science of biotensegrity, created by Dr. Stephen Levin, credited as one of Scott Sonnon’s teachers. Our body involves a sea of continuous tension holding us together with sturdy struts pushing outward in balance. With these 6 micro-flows combined into one long flow, you activate your biologically optimal performance potential. Each of these individual components pair up with one of the 6 courses in the Flow Physique bodyweight exercise system. Taken as a whole combined, you will use them to expand your movement potential and recover from the intensity of exercise stress, like a flowing yoga routine.
The 6 protocols are carefully scheduled across turn-key, plug and play calendars where each day describes precisely your goals for the day.
Two additional manuals accompany the main book, the 99 page 4×7 Calendar Daily Journal, and the 141 page Week Calendar Daily Journal.
You will need absolutely no assembly required, as every day is detailed for you.
If you’re familiar with Scott Sonnon’s other work, he has invested his painstakingly meticulous signature in these journals. You will know precisely what to do next, how long, how often, and how many, and where to record your progress.
Then, in the uniquely designed scorecards, you’ll be able to track your exact percentage of improvement across the weeks and months of reclaiming your Flow Physique.
The forethought used in creating these elegant charts, cards and calendars evolved through years actual application across all fitness populations.
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POST YOUR COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER!
That’s all you need to do to qualify!
(Remember, we’ve never sold or traded our member information to anyone, ever! This is purely for our internal notification of you regarding this contest, which you can opt-out of at any time you want with just a click!) For technical issues, please visit RMAX Help Desk
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
After several injuries and following surgeries (dislocated both shoulder joints, among others) and having 30th birthday in a few days (if I live to see it), time has come for me to change my approach to practically everything. I can no longer afford to run from injury to injury, with every long and arduous recovery making me unable to respond adequately should need arise to protect my loved ones. Hence I need to switch my view and keep myself in the best state of health and preparedness for anything to come.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Trying to juggle fast-paced, time-intensive and sometimes just plain insane work in advertising/marketing, physical exercise, practice of martial arts, my relationship and some precious few friends makes for a very tight schedule and very little (if any) time left. Quality of life tends to degrade in a lifestyle like this and I loathe thinking of all that’s slipping through my fingers.
I’m 64 years old, my metabolism is at its’ lowest, and my husband passed away May 12, 2011 which changed my whole life completely. He was a pastor, therefore ministry was my life and now I’m a lay person in a different church, trying to hold on. My job that I’ve loved for 20 some years, I now dread as it has become more incorporated and about the almighty dollar rather than people. If I eat, I gain. I want my energy back and strength that I’ve lost. I need to lose at least 20 more pounds but I teeter back and forth with 10 pounds. Can’t seem to get past the mark that I hit when I lost my husband. It’s frustrating and defeating me and keeping me depressed, though I think I hide that pretty well. I need a new lease on life.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I had alot of problems that I had to deal with right since my childhood.Poor blood circulation,low immunity,under weight issues,bulimia,poor eyesight,thinning of blood and yes acute stress disorder.My parents were an emotional kind and always had gigantic reactions to pain or if something went off in their lives.This affects me alot and became my automatic response to stress.I always had extremely low energy due to stress.I always had negative people around me who made me feel like an outcast.when I was young it was cause I belonged to a different religion.In our schools,emotional and physical abuse was a common way of punishment.I was once drowned by one of my teachers because I couldn’t learn swimming the same rate as other kids.growing up I was bullied because puberty hit me a bad than the rest.Menstruation and rest usually had me passing out,and I developed poor eyesight problems.There were also issues of my teeth decaying faster than normal.My parents,went to every doctor they could .I was on antibiotics and drugs most days.Common skin diseases plagued me on weekly basis.And after becoming a compulsive cleanliness freak and germaphobe I realised there had to be a better way than this.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Despite my parents lack of faith in alternative medicine,I decided to use internet to find alternative cures for my health problems.My depression has gone down to a point where I can separate what problem is tangible and whats not.I started journalling and painting.I have worked to find ample cures for skin diseases from ayurveda and homeopathy.To reduce stress,I found peace with myself and connect with music and yoga,it helps most days.I changed the people I was being friends with,who had terribly unhealthy habits and most importanly unhealthy beliefs,like gym will make you “muscular and ugly” and yoga is boring and useless,and since I was underweight,and most of them bordering fat and obese,that i didnt need to go to gym,cause if i did i was insecure about how i looked.Attitudes like that.Fast forward,I have a wonderful best friend,I reconciled with my parents and am in a very positive relationship,the most positive i have had so far.Despite the attitudes put on me,I became a regular at gym,and I have tried a bit less sucessfully to incorporate yoga in everyday life of mine,but I have to say I am getting more regular at it.I have incorporated sufism in my lifestyle,its a belief in simplicity and oneness with the universe.Now I am targetting my eyesight,something doctors and my parents think cannot be reversed without a miracle and my immunity which still is a bit low,despite working on it hard.I have dreams to be an architect,which happens to be a stressful field to study in.I am only 21,but I am hoping that I will be able to resolve my health problems,and stay away from negative people as much as possible,especially people with “lets be happy being stuck in a rut”.I am a great fan of you Scott sonnon,and your story is an inspiration for me.To most of my past “friends” they would never expected I would have ever made to college or I would ever break the fitness level I am today,which i really not that much,but I am not underweight anymore.Having your life’s work as a motivation to go ahead will be a great help to me,being a student I live on a tight budget,and wonderful health advice comes at an expensive cost.Anyhow,thank you for being an inspiration of breaking health myths and proving that people’s attitudes and opinions are just that,words.Respectfully,:)
I am and have been committed to changing the negative impacts in my life for several years now because everything in life has a ripple effect on everything and everyone else. If I choose to make my life a positive statement then I have changed the dynamics of my world by sharing myself and my positive outlook with everyone I meet along the way. The bigger ripple I can make for a better the world the better I feel. Even if I only impact myself then it is worth it but a healthy, happy self almost always impacts others just by being so. Peace =)
To answer your question about how I have been frustrated in the pursuit of improving my health and fitness I hate to say I am frustrated. However, I definitely have hit some roadblocks along the way. I am 45 now and sport and exercise have been a big part of my life for 30 of those years. Playing sports (football and track) and lifting weights changed my life in high school by helping transform me from a very introverted skinny kid to one with a little confidence but more important life lessons such as the benefit of hard work. In college without a real sport to focus on I took up bodybuilding and it became my saving grace during some dark times in my life. Training was my passion and I began training others. This became a passion as well as I gain some of my greatest pleasure my believing I have a positive impact on my students lives just as my coaches have had on mine. Still looking for another physical outlet I started training martial arts and eventually found another great passion in Brazilian Jiujitsu. I realized it was another path to change my life and that if others. I have been very fortunate with everything I have done not to have any serious injuries. However, my roadblocks or frustration come with my loss if range of motion and movement capabilities. I remember attending your Circular Strength course several years ago and thinking I would love to be able to move like that guy. It was during the same course that one of your instructors informed me that I did not have full extension inmy elbows. I just attributed it to being tight thinking I just needed to stretch more. I incorporated some concepts from your teaching into my training but being hard headed went back to training mostly my old way. Well, since then I have had elbow surgery to remove bone spurs and 2 months ago had bilateral hip resurfacing. I love training but have lost some of my functionality at an age where I believe I should be able to maintain a great deal of it.
The answe to your question about why I would like to reverse the negative impact of stress in my life is threefold. First, I would like to regain the functional movement I have lost,prevent further damage, and actually improve. Secondly, I would like to insure that the way I am coaching does not lead any of my students down the wrong path in terms of injury and added distress. Lastly, I want to pass these things on to my kids and be able to wrestle with my son who has recently started training when I am 65.
Hello,
Here are my answers
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Recently I had made great strides in my strength and conditioning, only to have it halted by an injury, one partial tear and one complete tear in my rotator cuff [which may or may not require surgery] Now I’m able to get back into training, but my conditioning is way down and this is very frustrating
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Want to switch careers and become a trainer and this is a huge setback, if I can block and remove this negativity it will help greatly
Tom
I want to change the negative impact of stress in not just my life, but my clients’ and everyone I come into contact with too, because health begins on the inside. If I can help people (and myself) to reduce this stress, success will follow in all aspects of life. Health, wealth, happiness.
And from a performance perspective, I can put more of my body’s energy into training for better results, and recover more fully ready to do it again.
The better I recover, the better I train, the better the reults!
As a martial arts teacher, I get a lot of clients with a lot of trauma, and breaking down this trauma is both a discovery of what is buried in me, but more annoyingly, there tends to be a transference of their stress and tension to me as I work. I constantly strive to discover new ways to maintain myself in a calm, flowing state under ever increasing levels of stress and chaos, progress is steady, but maintaining complete relaxation and flow under conditions of full speed combat still eludes me.
I see the negative effects of the persistence of stress in my clients, I see it, albeit less than before in myself. I see how my life has improved, and how my client’s lives improve, in every aspect of their lives with every layer of residual stress that is removed, the return of joy, the return of the ability to accept life’s gifts rather than the constant quest for shelter and protection. This is the most profound and effective means of change, as well as the fastest, I have witnessed in my life.
10 years as my weight started to spiral I was diagnosed with Adult Onset Diabetes despite going on a strict diet regime I continued to gain weight this despite exercise which caused me to have Hypos (Sudden crashes in Blood Sugar levels) or stricter diets which did the same thing. Now because of my weight I am on a pension because my Diabetes can’t be controlled and I have developed Ostio- Arthritis in my back, hips & knees.
You ask: Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
It’s for my child. It’s a cliche that stress is a killer; the science is quite clear about the toxic effects of chronic cortisol exposure (cortisol being the dominant hormone associated with stress). I want to be around for him.
But there is more to my motivation than a desire to extend our time together. Besides the physical damage created by chronic stress, it also destroys our capacity for optimism. Optimism is essential to our mental and emotional health, as essential as oxygen and water are for our bodies. Optimism is our psychic fuel.
Optimism drives confidence, which in turn drives resilience, In my view, that chain reaction – optimism driving confidence driving resilience – is the greatest gift that a parent can give to a child, the highest measure of our love.
Optimism, resilience, and confidence are the beating heart of success, and their enemy – chronic stress is literally and figuratiively a heartbreaker. In the end, it is not an exaggeration to say that we must manage our own stresses to strengthen the hearts of our children.
1. My biggest frustration with trying to improve my health and fitness is knowing when to stop. Having been doing Tacfit for two years now, I’ve missed very few days of doing the exercises. I also train in Capoeira and sometimes add extra workouts in if I’m trying to improve something specifically(for example my handstand). I push my body pretty hard and sometimes worry about over-training.
2. I’m committed because of my family. Neither of my parents pay hardly any attention to their health and fitness and while it does bother me, I know that I can’t change someone who doesn’t want to be changed. So, I do my best to try and be an inspiration to them. Also, with my older sister having 4 kids that I see every week, that’s 4 kids that look up to me, so what I do will influence them.
Hi Scott,
1. I guess what has frustrated me the most is that there is so much information out there. A lot of it is conflicting, although often with very good arguments to support their methods. So I have found it really difficult to know what to do for the best and have often ended up chopping and changing too much, thereby hampering my progress.
2. There just must be another way! Most exercise programs or eating plans target short term gains or results. I want something that is going to help improve my quality of life as I get older, so that I can ‘move’ well into my older years without being held back by barriers, both mental and physical that shouldn’t be there.
Oh and no big deal if I don’t win, I have been expecting to pay quite a bit for this.
Interesting that Coach has come out with a stress program just when i need it. I discovered Coach’s material a number of years ago and used it to recover mobility lost though years of improper martial arts training. I also lost 50 pounds. Then a change in job and, at 56, having to begin to raise a couple of grand kids (2 and 6 years old) as well as dealing with the issues behind that – well everything went to hell in an hand basket. The grand kids are a blessing and I at least managed to maintain mobility at least through IntuFlow but the weight has been creeping back and I need to change things around. With stress you only have two choices: learn to cope or remove the stressor. I have made a lot of changes including closing my martial arts school to focus on the grands and my personal training. But I could certainly use help in understanding and coping with the remaining stressors.
I want to experience through the program on how to lead a better quality life. And in turn, share this knowledge with people who need it!
I think people underestimate the stress younger gen of us go through.I am 21 right now and i really feel i could bring my stress levels down.Already I suffer from anger issues and I have learn to repress them cause expressing them is “uncool”.I would really appreciate this help.I have low immunity,insomia and irregular food habits that are driving me crazy.I would really appreciate this.:)
I would love to heal my body from distress. Unfortunatly I let stress over run my life since I was a child who grew up in a violent home. As I got older I thought that using marijuana and food to relive my stress was working, I was lying to myself. A marragie and 2 children later I started changing my life. Then again I was turning back to my old habit of marijuana as stress relief only to figure out it was making my distress worse. Last year I let stress over take my life. I became very very ill. It took months to find out a little of what was going on with me. I went through a nervous break down and had convienced myself that I was dying. It was very scary. I didn’t function very well at all. My husband threatened divorce because my condition was effecting him and our children. Well that was what snapped me out of my severe deppression. I knew I had to come out of this and heal my body with my mind. I started meditating again. I went to see my chiropracto regularly. I finally got some of the testing done that I needed. Come to find out Stress had depleted my endorphines in my brain. I had jacked my adrenals all upside they are pumping all the time. Which makes me not sleep properly amongst other things. I experience fatigue,muscle spans, muscoskeletal pain, digestive issues and so much more. Dr. Thinks I have an autoimmune disorder along to boot. It saddens me that I let it come to this to really get my head out of my ass to finally deal with things and really learn to let things go. I know this would help my life enormously, giving me tools to help de-stress my life and help me to heal. Just one more stepping stone. I already use brainwave therepy, yoga, meditation, some breathing techniques by Dr. Weil, I’ve changed my diet to mostly raw. I no longer use marijuana as a crutch.i am healng slowly, properly i feel. I still feel on edge quite a bit even with the supplements i am taking. So i know that this program would help so much!I would really love to learn more about my body and what I need to do to heal it and make it stronger, mind body and spirit. Thank you for your kindness and caring for all others. Nameste!
Yes very much especially when my thyroid stopped working due to Hashimoto but after that was fixed fitness became a habit and not a chore. Secondly when I was diagnosed with low testosterone and modern medicine and HRT saved the day and I am back into training 3 to 4 times a week. My biggest frustration is the last 3 Kg of fat before I hit my goal of 15% body fat and visible abs, weight training and cardio do not do the trick I lose more muscle than fat and my life becomes a misery due to low energy levels I am currently looking for something deeper on a more primal level to get me to my goal.
I changed to a more rewarding and higher paying job last year BUT at the cost of my stress levels that are now starting to spiral out of control and with a current diagnosis of high blood pressure probably due to genetic factors coupled with the higher stress levels I need to find some method of lowering my stress levels. Taking prescription blood pressure medication is an absolute last resort and I am actively seeking out natural methods of lowering or at least stabilizing my blood pressure. My motivation for this is my goal in life: “to be as strong at 80 as I was in my 30′s” this goal will ensure a high quality active and productive life well into my twilight years.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? The world is full of information, some misinformation, some disinformation It is frustrating to try and tease out the truth from the rubbish. Elite marketers who are driven by money rather than long term sustainable results fill the market place with every conceivable product which often times have no scientific validity. No one talks about active resting and recovery, prehabilitation or preventative strength training as opposed to vanity driven six pack abs type programs.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? Stress changes us, energetically at first then it creeps into every area of life. Kinesiology is a testament to how thoughts can powerfully affect the functioning of the body.I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because I influence a multitude of people around me. Even a recluse will come in contact with hundreds if not thousands of people in their lifetime. By counteracting the negative stress in my life I open up the energy gates that allow true creativity to flow, bringing abundance to myself first which flows on to others in my life. I have many missions to accomplish in my life, negative stress is not required to achieve those goals, overcoming negative stress on the other hand is vital in preventing my body from breaking down and slowing down.
Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
In short, stress KILLS!!. It kills your body. Most of us know what negative effects stress have on our bodies. Our Creator designed our bodies to handle stress for around 20 minutes at a time, where all sorts of things happen to our bodies to handle the stress situation. But our stress last for hours on end, with negative effects, not only on our bodies. Stress KILLS our healthy relationships with our children, spouses, friends and even our Spiritual lives. Stress basically KILLS our ability to live a fulfil life, as it was mend to be from the beginning.
I’ve spent years trying to become a better me. In just the couple of weeks of reading your thoughts and ideas, my motivation has soared. You are an inspiration. Thank you
I’m going to invest in this Coach! Competition aside……Around two years ago I was a personal trainer languishing in the industry, trying to find my place in a young mans world…..thinking I had missed the boat being in my late thirties.
Until I came across your body of work! A whole new world of purpose, direction and progression opened up before me. I am traveling to Salinas from New Zealand in October to attend the TACFIT cert, with the intention of following up with the CST cert next year.
Thanks Coach for providing a path for me to follow, to progress, develop and grow. This goes for all those I have had contact with via email and social media from RMAX, it is truly an organization with heart!
Many thanks, Craig.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and techniques. Since I´ve been using your stuff my life has changed and is still changing. Scott keep on going and god bless you.
Thank you for this product, once again you have given us wonderful tools to improve our lives.
Survive & Thrive, motto!
1. Always used traditional training patterns that make me feel I am just going around in circles.
2. To improve my family’s quality of life.
Hi, everyone!
My name’s Bogdan and I”ve always been the short and pudgy kind of guy. I’ve been working out for six years now and have put on a reasonable amount of muscle mass. I have had two major problems with the whole fitness thing over the years.
The first is hitting the dreaded plateau. I’ve been pushing myself constantly in the gym, eating as clean as I can, but eventually the weights I can move cap out, which also caused my muscles to stop growing. This in turn causes feelings of inadequacy to appear, as though I’m not working hard enough, so I push myself beyond what I know to be safe, which of course leads to injury, depression and eventually taking a break from working out and, worst of all, overeating.
Which leads me to my second problem: body fat. I’ve always been rather plump, even now, after several months of eating perfectly clean and working out really hard, including variation, high intensity cardio, heavy weight training and proper stretching, I’m still struggling to drop below 10% body fat.
Things is, being in my final year at University, I really don’t need to be stressed out. This is the point in my life when I have to get a dream job, get an honorable degree and also enjoy all of life’s little pleasures, all the while getting in great shape! I can certainly use all the help I can get to keep myself on track and succeed!
After having worked my way through the Tacfit Commando, Mass Assault and Spetsnaz Kettle bell programs as well as forays into ROPE and the Power Chamber, I’m looking forward to once again taking advantage of Coach Sonnons considerable experience and great teaching style.
It would appear that the career longevity that is an important consideration of Coach Sonnons training is essential if we are to tap into only a part of his knowledge.
I’m not frustrated, but a german medical doctor in his own practice, who treads chronicle illness by alternative methods. That’s the reason why i’m interested in your offer. I am a fan of your work, your theories, your training methods, your recovery methods and try to practice them by myself as far as I know them. I want to learn more, know more of your work and use it for healing my patients.
With best regards
Jürgen Föhlinger
I am a 53 yr old female who has suffered acute depression most of my life. I have been a binge drinker and the drinking was mostly so l could feel better about myself, but in fact it had a very negative effect on my life, actually causing stress. I now realise if l want to keep myself on track l need to eat clean, exercise hard on a very regular basis and take my medication. The stresses of life are a lot easier to cope with when you are feeling fit & happy. I enjoy challenges such as Dry July, Alcohol free August, Sober September, Octsober etc etc.
Hi Scott, thanks again for this great piece of work. As a mother of three young active boys you could say that I face a lot of stress. It has been hard emotionally as well as physically. I suffer with emotionally problems which started just before the birth of my third child over three years ago. I worry that the way I feel and in turn the way I deal with my beautiful boys will end up with them suffering as well. I don’t want my children to face unnessisary stress as they grow up and I don’t want me to be the cause of that stress. I’ve done a lot of different things to help myself to help them and physical training has always been the best for me. I’ve found lately that my body is not handling the stresses that I am putting on it as well as it could be. Problems with my neck and upper back had made me change my training style but I’ve always came back to my tacfit workouts. Though at times I do have to stop for a few weeks at a time. Without my workouts my mood drops and I don’t handle stresses from life (and three boys) well. I know that my story may not be the most touching that you are going to read but its my story and at the heart of it is a young mother crying out for help not knowing which way to turn but needing to keep things together for the sake of her family. Thanks for taking the time to read my story and thanks for your help.
I’m very excited to see this. I am 50+ years old, obese and on oxygen. I have tried many fitness regimens (Several are CST based) and failed. It is physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining to live like this. I desperately want to change this. I want to see my son grow up. I want to live.
The most frustrating element is the mind is racing seeing all the possibilities that the physical body can achieve and crossing into different modalities, searching for results,trying to fuse them together to move my body in the way and directions I want it to move, believing regardless of gain Sayers anything is possibile.
But not getting the results that are possibile
When I was nineteen years old I herniated a disk in my spine, that was eight years ago. This past july I had my twenty-sixth birthday and all I feel is that I am being robbed of my twenties. Since that injury I have gone from a 190lb gym rat to a 260lb couch potato and I always feel stiff and unbalanced all over my body. I tried working out again after I was able to get back on my feet but I was plagued with back pain and joint problems that made working out something that was unpleasant. After some time went by the pain in my back got better, but it was replaced by stiffness, a feeling of constriction that enveloped my whole body even to this day. I look back at my younger days and it is real easy to get depressed because I took so many wonderful things, like my flexiblility, for granted. However, by no means do I want to be that 190lb kid that I once was. I want to be a 190lb MAN! I know the road to redemption wont be easy, but the time to take action is now! I wont settle for less anymore.
We, classical pianists, need much more physical and mental stamina than most people can imagine. As an artist, you cannot create a performance by having the physical control alone to realize it. You need much more than that. Many pianists (actually musicians in general) forget that being fit is part of the job. We all have bizarre travel schedules, work hard to accomplish the perfect recital every day. Just because we mainly use our hands, does not mean that we can allow ourselves to be out of shape, even if we do not need to look like warriors. We need to be prepared to perform at the highest level imaginable. Because we have to cope with a stressfull environment like a concert stage where we have to give our personal best, where we need our highest artistic standard to be met, where a whole career can be destroyed in five minutes, we need the optimal mental and physical preparation routine possible. I myself find this to be extremely difficult. I am a regular gym visitor as an addition to the many hours that I practice the piano, but I realized that I did not meet my artistic goals because of negative stress. If I would let the stress get away with me for a long period of time, that could result in conditions like perfomance anxiety. That’s why I am committed to change the impact of negative stress. I am a big fan of Scotts regular posts on Facebook, he is a true inspiration for everybody.
Curious to see it…
Mr Sonnon doing “do raku”…
My journey towards compassion and truth
To improve, to understand, to learn, to do better are components of life that gives me a purpose. To grow as a human being, in life on this earth is not a linear process, in my experience it is organic and fluid. That is why it is such an interesting and sometimes frightening experience to find the right way to do the work that I consider be the most important work of my lifetime.
At this point in my practise I struggle with what is fear and what is reason. I was a professional athlete 20 years ago and injuries my body has sustained and a cronic illness, is still creating fear of more injuries and pain. I would like to meet this with compassion, but also being able to quide my body and mind throught it so I can teach it that I am taking better care of it now than I was before. The reason why I think this is important is that I know this would create new connections in my brain that would support me in understanding that wounds of the past can be healed with actions of the present.
Pain, as for many, was my motivation for growing. Being diagnosed with a auto-immune disease my journey in responsibility started. My respons was at first grief, frustration, feeling like a victim, waiting for anything to improve. I soon realized non of these approches helped. My body was attaching itself casing inflammation and I was not able to absorb the food I was eating, the result was no energy and cronic pain. I was told chemo was the only thing that would help. Understanding that this was not the sollution for me I slowly started my Second-Order journey. I looked at the problem, symptom by symtom, and how I could improve my life, physically, mentally, spritiually and intellectially. I realized that stress was most likely to number one reason I got sick. I was responsible for my own pain. I started reducing stress through breathing exercises and rest, then yoga and completely changing my diet. This gave me the strength and hope I needed to do more. A blend of yoga, meditation and martial arts is now my primary movement treatment for my body.
Being my body, mind and souls bestfriend gives me the strength I need to be countinue my journey and goal to be the best I can be at any time. To learn and keep growing. This journey led me to your website, and the RMAX Primal Stress Breathing, I wanted to imrove my sparring skills as a metaphor for being able to withstand, what I experience as, highly pressured situations in my closest relationship. To seek what is true, to be truly intimate and compassionate, not only tolerant, is what I strive for. The work I do on the yogamat or in the dojo is so I can come closer to the truth within me and within my realtionship with the people in my life.
The reason why I am commitment to doing the work is because I see no difference between the work and life. They are same, the work is life and life is the work. I know from my journey that I am 100% resonible for creating the life I want live. I will always want to grow, with a beginners mind; always curious and open.
Osu and Namaste.
I am overworked and worried about my children education and my career.
I want to to be stress free and live happy and content
I have been very frustrated in the past with eating what I thought was very good food but not loosing weight or getting any fitted and being very short of breath and too many days trying to recover. Then after becoming very chemical sensitive my health took an extreme dive. I was allergic to the 21st century. Arrr and stressss
Now after 3 years of working on what food I can eat and elimating gluten and dairy and oranges and the list goes on and on. I have finally found Paleo food and Primal exercise. 4 months now on strict Paleo and I am a different Lady. My stress level is way down and I am healthier than I have been in the past 20 years. I am 100% committed to staying on track with my health and fitness. I am putting your breath recovery exercises to very good use. I only have this body and this life, so catch me if you can stress, I don’t think so.
I am paralyzed mentally by anxiety which causes stress and am at a minimal quality of life right now. I was fit at 28, divorced and never recovered. I worked, took anxiety medication to survive and make it through the stress of work and social situations. I have never recovered or mastered anxiety from ruling my life. It wasn’t just the divorce, but I won’t go into other details. I worked, came home and slept, got up to eat, and went back to bed for about twelve years now, aside from taking a course to be a licensed massage therapist, which I am. And a few other small ventures. I did this in hopes to be in a less stressful environment but found it was no different. The anxiety also is accompanied by depression. With the sleep being my escape from life, and needing to rest as the body can only take so much stress and it shuts down. Living this way has caused me high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, excessive weight gain, I’m now 50, soon to be 51. I also lost my job of 32 years two years ago due to depression and am on insurance disability, which ends soon. Then I will be looking at state disability. I dream almost daily of being free of the weight, depression, anxiety, and being able to live even though I’m not sure it’s possible. Also, I have no love in this state which is what I ultimately long for…no one wants to be with someone with my issues. So for the sake of love I have the motivation to get well. I believe if I had the right fitness tools and mentor that cared, I would be able to nearly turn my life back 20 years and make up for the life I’ve lost and time I’ve wasted that has been given me. I know I was put on earth for a reason and I haven’t been able to fulfill that due to my current health status. Thank you for your consideration and generosity.
Joan, we must be sisters of other misters! Your story is almost identical to mine….I wish you the very best. Hopefully, we can both conquer our issues with stress, anxiety, etc,…and THRIVE in this life. Namaste’
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I do not have the skill set to have a more effective fitness routine so I am stymied and discouraged by exercise induced asthma and weak physique specially upper body and core strength. I need a more effective way to train and rebuild my strength and stamina.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
This is life or death for me, I had cancer 2x, 7 years apart, I am now going on the 6th year of the 2nd one. I have learned that the cancer in my lifestyle caused the cancer in my body. Change my thoughts, my attitude, my behavior which includes diet and exercise, save my life. This link of psychology and physiology is key to maintaining a more positive state and body. I have taken the training from high performance mentors such as Tony Robbins for all the aspects of my life from, spiritual to financial to health which includes diet but I have not found a mentor for fitness…until I started following you in Facebook.
Hi Scot
My efforts to improve has been eternally thwarted by injuries of some kind. Sometimes I persevere and tried to stick to my training even though I am injured or sick but only to suffer and even bigger setback physically.Other times my mind are not strong enough and because of the momentum lost the hill is even steeper. But … strange enough I always get back up until the next hurdle. I sometimes even think this is not what I am suppose to do. This then, make the hill even steeper. I long for the day…!No the year…!No ….I simply long ….!
DJORGE MALOY
South Africa
Having had to have 2 caesareans and put on over 4 stone (56lbs) through children and stress, for the past 10yrs I have suffered back pain and misery. I tried running last year and got up to 3 miles without stopping but felt that my tank was completely empty and that my fitness did not improve. Each time I did this I was exhausted and could not do much else that day.
I have been to a physio and she tells me that my back does not bend in the right way. I am constantly tight in my right buttock and my knees get fatigued if I walk or stand on them for too long. I work at a school and if I am on my feet all day I need to rest most of the evening. If I am bending over the desks then my back aches.
I am committed as I feel that I am in a time of change and I want a fit and supple body. My husband of 12 years is confused at the moment and not sure if he wants to be married or not and I am taking on a new career as a Forest School Leader. Having spent 10 years giving my mind, body and energy to my family and seeing the havoc it has made to my body I am now spending that time looking for ways to renew myself. I have started with green juices and healthy eating and I am working on being mentally strong. I am just missing the last piece of sorting my back pain out. It is so frustrating to want to exercise but to feel like it has such a negative effect.
Your system looks like it could help me get through this where normal exercis has not. I would love the opportunity to be able to put your system to work on not only me but on my children as well as I wish them to have optimum health.
Thank you for paying it forward. Xx
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress upon my life because it is a matter of life and death. I have post traumatic stress syndrome and have been recently abused and had to cut off all contact with my 3 children and 2 grandchildren while suffering from 3 repeat bouts of pneumonia complicated by asthma. I’ve been hospitalized 4 times this year already, 3 of which were in Intensive care. The stress is eating away at my systems and 2 of the hospitalizations were new problems involving my heart and my kidneys and I never had trouble with them before. Today I am out of the hospital 28 days that’s the longest I’ve gone so far in months without go back to the hospital. I’ve been very physically active andinvolved in sports exercise and yoga until the stress threw me to the ground and has me nailed to the floor.Whereas I walked for an hour everyday before the stress , I am now homebound and can barely walk my dog one half of a block. I’m only 58 years old am homebound and have nurses coming into my home. I was thrilled when I found the resilience training exercise program, because I’m overweight I can’t get air all the way into the bottom of my lungs and the doctor says I’m going to die. Since I found those exercises I am able to open up my lungs and feel I just might get better, they certainly feel like they have markedly improved my health though and finally I have hope. I am deeply in debt because of this and know something has to be done or I’m going to die. I keep thinking how much money has to be spent on my health and the only answer I can figure is until there uis none and I’m close to that point. Which brings me to another question what should I spend it on? I honestly feel your program is the answer because I saw a big difference with the resilience traing breathingprogram.I have 4 seperate life threatening diseases since the onset of illness and stress, whereas I enjoyed good health before the stress. My body feels so different under stress so I know the stress is the biggest part of the problem. Thank you for your breathing gift program. I actually feel like I’m going to make it and show the doctors they were wrong when they said I was going to die..
Honestly, the big thing for me is keep moving forward, instead of being sucked back and down. It doesnt really matter how far I go. If you, like me have experienced what it is like to have stress compress you, and then have experienced how you can turn that around through nutrition and movement, then you know the value of programs like this.
I was obese since childhood, this lead me to pass all my teenage years alone, cause students used to laugh at me. I wouldn’t eat in front of them, I was afraid they’ll point their finger at me. I couldn’t wear fashionable clothes, they wouldn’t fit, so they they never wanted me in their group..so I struggled in an unhealthy way to lose weight fast. At the age of 21, my athletics coach told me your flabbiness in arms and waist will never look good unless you do surgery, but I didn’t listen, and after 10 years with the help of Tacfit programs I am finally looking at the mirror and smiling at my reflection, because I won
Being most of my life alone, I struggled with sudden sadness, I tend to worry about everything..I tried to kill my worries with too much training which led me to more stess..studying and finding no help at all from professors led me to losing alot of my hair..my parents are getting old and taking care of them sometimes wear me out..so I want to learn to breath, to learn to press the pause button and relax, to smile, to set my heart free from a pool of sadness accumulated by stress, to a pool of life…I want to free my inner self and enjoy every moment of this special life..I dont want my family to see me as the bulldog snapping at everything that I dont like…I want them to see that inside I have a beautiful heart ready to come alive.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am 42 years of age. After a life of addiction and body misuse, I found exercise as an outlet for my frustrations. The impact of my stressful life was transferred onto my family with the consequences being that I almost lost them. We are not out of the woods yet, but we are closer to the edge of the forest. As I get older, I find that I cannot physically do the things I used to do many years ago. I get frustrated but I keep trying. After reading the emails that Scott sent me, I have new hope that Revive – Survive – Thrive will help me not only become healthier in body but also in mind.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
My commitment is not only to improve myself but my family by ensuring that my stress does not impact them. I live for and love family. I want to become a better person not just for me for them also.
There’s more than one thing that frustrates me about getting my health improved. I have many things going wrong with my body and everything is connected, so when I start at doing one small thing first I run into the blockage from another problem.
Right now I don’t have a job, since a while already, and so I really don’t have any money to spare. Sadly a lot of things to improve my health cost money and sometimes a lot of money. For instance I should have a long running guidance with my Osteopath to get my back and hips better. Each visit costs about 40 euro. I should be eliminating wheat and dairy products from my diet. But the alternatives cost much more money.
On top of the external frustrations I battle with discipline. Watching what I eat, eat regular, keep my environment clean and tidy (stress free), follow up on my training (running, power and agility training),… I keep on finding myself slow down and become lethargic. I’m home without a job and so many things to do still but no drive to have an organized agenda.
I am committed to change, this all brings a huge amount of stress on me, together with other things.
Being committed brings me frustration now. I don’t know how to break through it. Being committed should bring me to moving, so should frustration, but instead it slows me down.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Struggling with PTSD has brought with it extra physical and emotional tension and relationship problems. An average “cookie cutter” approach to health and fitness does not work for me anymore. For that reason Scott Sonnon’s authentic communication style and his holistic approach to fitness and LIFE in general resonates with me.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
What ever it’s going to: recovery to the point of enjoying the present on all levels (physical, emotional, intellectual, social) is worth it. Recovering enough to fulfill a personal mission is worth it. Being able to find a soul mate and have a family of my own is worth it. I’m worth it.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Training traditional martial arts has had its toll on this body over the last 18 years. The biggest thing is rehabilitation of the injuries that I have picked up. When an old injury acts up, it takes away valuable training time! Certain movement patterns are essential to assess and re-learn, otherwise it will not do anything to relieve the injury. I found that some of the things that you have already shared with us, helps a tremendous amount but there should be more and hence the frustration:)
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Purely for the longevity of being a martial artist. If I can do this until the day I die, it will be great and hence it would be great to change the negative impact of the physical stress! This also flows over into mental stress and the everyday functionality of life:)
Thanks you are an amazing inspiration!
As a kyokushin practitioner, i see how competition can ruin one’s health and bring stres in one’s life. After 24 years of practice i realize that there is an art side of the martial art wich is forgotten. I start do rediscover the spiritual side of kyokushin and with your help, Scott, i realize that there is a way to conquer both phisical and spiritual sides of a human beeing. So if i understand how to remove the negative impact of stress in my life, i can pass it to my students and i can make their life more easy and joyfull. With great respect for you and you’re work, Lucian Herlo-Deleanu
Hi Scott,
Thank you for putting out this offer. You do offer a great deal of sense to those who are interested in training the mind, body, and spirit.
I guess my frustration to training is to experience the lack of awareness of others in terms of this subject matter. They seem to see the process as out there. Because it is not main stream body building or cardio i.e. using machines.
You are an advocate for people to learn how to understand the best piece of kit in the World. This highly complex and intricate vessel and being takes some understanding. I guess the masses prefer not to think. They are the herd that need to follow. The work that you provide I am sure is finding millions of people who will take that work and populate that work to reach out to others who will then reach others and so forth.
That is a very powerful proposition. I am one of those people. I am one of those million who is brave and bold enough to go against the stream. To express the non conventional for it is a form that suits. Be like water as the great Bruce Lee states himself.
Scott I think you and your team are really putting out some great work. I am a fan. May you live long and prosper.
To receive your gifts would be a great honour.
To your success,
Simon
Thank you for giving us opportunity to get this package for free. I will not contend. Others deserves this more than me, I am luckily in a situation that allows me to purchase. Just want to enter a comment that CST/Tacfit is the absolute best thing ever hitting my total wellness!
Keep up the good work
Best regards, Rolf
After having a crippling, life changing motorcycle accident. I am committed to changing the impact of negative stress, for my family, wife and myself.
The most important thing in my life is my family; all my actions revolve around them. I strive to keep myself healthy, in both body and mind, to ensure I can always take care of them, both physically and emotionally. I’ve had challenges: injuries that have made training difficult; the heavy and demanding workload of running a business, involving spending time away from home; family bereavement. These are things that strengthen my resolve, that make me more determined. Negative stress is something that can creep insidiously into my life, distracting me from what’s most important. I’m lucky to have wise people in my life, from family to coaches, who inspire me to persevere and work diligently to endure and overcome the detrimental effects of the burden. I am fully committed to doing everything I can to eradicate negative stress not only from my life, but also from the lives of my family, the people who matter most. It is my responsibility to do this; I won’t let them down.
* I’ve been frustrated by not beleving in myself and that way I’m missing willpower/discipline. I do train, but not totaly. It’s hard to realy féél what’s good for myself, although I do have some outside knowledge about it. I also know that this partly comes from long time ago, but I don’t want to stuck on that part of my life. It’s difficult to search for balance in my life between work, family and personal grow including sport and meditation. I’m messing up many times and 47 years old allready.
* I want my authentic self to grow and open up, free. Enjoy life and sports for the luck of my children, my loved ones, people I know, people I don’t know and eventually all living/feeling beings. And to honor all off my teachers and others who believed in me or still do.
Thank you
I’m approaching 69 years of age. I started lifting weights at 14 without the benefit of an instructor. I played sports, earned a black belt in Korean Chung Moo Do, built and operated Ropes Challenge Courses as a 40-50 year old a adult. Now, I’m a full-time Paramedic answering 911 calls on 12+ hour shifts, raising a special needs Granddaughter who must be picked up and carried when not in her wheelchair, and caring for a 95 year old father with Alzheimers. I struggle to get up in the morning, to keep on going, to try to keep my weight and body composition in check. I’m fighting to overcome muscle and joint injuries from mishaps long ago. I’ve tried countless approaches to self-help and improvement. The closest I’ve come to finding an exercise program that works for me is Tacfit, although it is so hard for me to keep at it on a routine basis. I have found inspiration in Scott Sonnon’s writings. I marvel at his personal story of growing and learning and developing in all facets of life in spite of, maybe because of, the tribulations he faced. I deal with stress in my life daily, I see things no human is supposed to see when responding to cries for help. I fight off death and pain and suffering when trying to help my patients. I worry about this 7-year old Granddaughter and what will happen to her when I am not around. I look at my father who no longer remembers he had a son and cry silently. And yet, there is Scott Sonnon, who has dealt with his own demons in life, and who can lovingly teach and show the way to a more successful way to handle the stresses of life. I have chosen to be a “sheepdog”, guarding and caring for my flock. Now, another day is dawning and I must rise and put on my uniform and get to work. I can only hope and pray that Primal Stress will be the help I need to live strong, live healthy.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have improved my health and fitness, but never taken a leap to a new level, as I would like. I’ve been held back by my own sense of limitation, difficulty in gaining muscle, and chronic wrist pain from an old injury that becomes painful when used in an intense exercise routine.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because I see it keeps me limited, in fear, and unfulfilled.
Acknowledging stress has always been my weakness. I’m the type that pushes through to prove that I can handle it. Last year I received stress by the boat load. Just to name a few, we moved across state and now have two mortgages, I re-joined the work force after being a stay at home mom for 12 years, and I watched helplessly as my mom succumbed to ovarian cancer. The daily dynamics and challenges at work are also adding up. I work in an epilepsy monitoring unit and I sit more than I have in years and my joints and muscles have been stiffening up.
My saving grace through out this past year has been getting up at 4am to lift weights. Once I’m finished, I feel refreshed and strong and ready to face the day. I used to do yoga classes and loved them, but have not taken the time to find a studio here. I’ll run through my favorite poses every now and then and ask myself why I don’t do more when it feels so good.
I have been reading your facebook posts for a few months and am impressed by your calm and positive demeanour. I’m also impressed with all of the many challenges that you have overcome to become the person you are today. Your daily posts have helped me reset my thinking. I can only imagine the benefits of your entire program. Thank you for your consideration, Kirsten.
Hi Scott
thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and giving me the opportunity to win such a wonderful prize i could never otherwise afford.
i have read the material you have mailed with great interest and i am currently practising the breathing techniques in stressful situations with
very good result so i also thank you for this.
love and light
Denise
Hi!
I am 42 years old and I live in the northern part of Sweden. I have been a police officer since 1991 and member of a SWAT-team since 1998. I am now head of the team. As head of a team and for a long time the most experienced member and at the team i have experienced a lot of stress that i always thought wouldn’t affect me since I enjoyed every moment of it. The last few years the administrative part of the job has grown making it hard to train as much as I should. I work long hours and my time of duty goes to coaching my boys in hockey. When I get the chance to train I constantly try to hard witch results in injuries. Some of the injuries/problems in getting on with exercise is also related to a wounded ulnaris nerve after an incident at work when I was shot i my right arm when I responded to a domestic disturbance call. The damaged nerve causes poor circulation from the elbow down.
I find myself at a position where i am afraid to exercise to hard or to often and at the same time not hard and often enough.
I got the TacFit Warrior program last summer and found that the part that I benefit the most from is the Strain prevention program that I use on its own and also as a warmup before any other exercise. After I started using strain prevention as warmup all my previous problems with my ankles and knees when i go running have disappeared. I find most other parts of the program hard to preform mainly because i fell very tensed and short in all muscles. When i couldn’t do them correctly and I also seem to put other things prior to my own exercise I ended up not doing them at all.
This spring the stress from work and lack of physical exercise has started to reveal itself in lots of headaches, sudden dizziness, moments when I suddenly, for no apparent reason just want to cry and so on. I was told that a sign of high accumulated stress was inability to hold Your breath for more than 20 sec before it starts to feel painful. To me it starts after 12-15 sec.
This last thing, all the stress related symptoms is the main reason why I really want to and must get on track and improve my overall physical shape and above all my ability to release the tensions and handle the stress that my worksituation creates.
Thats why I am now focusing on running and doing strain and stress from the TacFit Warrior program just to get started and so far I am doing ok. I also started with the breathing exercises You described in the mail and I really believe that the full Primal Stress program is what could help me get on track.
Yours sincerely
Nicklas Groth
I”m living in the Netherlands so my English is not so good. I’m 50 years old
I’m training with other people one day a week. Personaly L’m training everyday, 7 days a week (chi kung, meditation and yoga). After the training l’m fit and feeling very well but the day after I have pain in my body. It changes when I trained the next day. I feel there is no growing and not enough resting.
Even not after 20 years.
When I look ad many people at my age they are suffering, can’t move and using pills to feel well. I think it is my responsability to grow old happy.
Moving is the way to feel good and stay healty. A good way of moving means a happy life. I can use every good coaching.
Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
For many years I’ve been denying that I’m stressed. I didn’t even give myself a chance to notice that I am tensed. Actually, It’s hard for me even today to notice my bodily reactions to stressors. I seat right now in front of my laptop and I need to pause for a minute… and become honest to myself, to actually feel myself – feel that I collapse in the chair, that I’m forcing my back to straighten it, that my breathing is short, and of course – my shoulders are raised. So, what I’m trying to say is that I am stressed for most of the time, probably, maybe just a little, maybe it’s hard to notice and accept it, but by slowing down, and being true to myself, I can tell, that I feel like “ready for action” all the time, even when I don’t want it and don’t have resource fo any. I can sense, that what I truly need is real, deep relaxation and revitalisation, so I could start living anew.
Best regards
Wojtek
Hi Scott,
It’s uncanny how relevant all this information is. I have recently been made redundant at work and the impact this stress and the stress leading up to it has been on my entire life is enormous. In recent weeks I have become more irritable, increasingly tense, I have constantly tense shoulders and neck pain and find my motivation to exercise and eat well diminishing. Even my family notice the difference. I find myself slowly sliding down a gradient of health and happiness that becomes increasingly more difficult to reverse. Thank you for sharing this with us.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
- I trained a lot, but what i was still missing (although physiology and physics improved) was mental toughness and handling stress.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because I see how people in my circle of influcence SUFFER when I am acting out behaviour based an negative-stress-response (conflicts, fight, misunderstandings..). If I am able to handle stress positively with mental toughness and an adequate physiological and behavioural pattern, all the people that surround me will profit tremendously in a myriad of ways.
My body and soul have suffered a lot in the past, i know that bodies have memories and i sometimes feel that i need to clean up things of the past to advance better in life. We have one body for a life time and we must look after it to go as far as possible, we must treat our body as if it was a temple. I do what i can to be happy, i try to be positif and i do not smoke or drink.
I had been “working out” like everyone else since college and like everyone else, I suffered from chronic injuries and a less than functional physique. Well, about three years ago I stumbled upon Scott Sonnon’s TACFIT programs. They were fun and effective and I didn’t keep injuring myself. I had been using the TACFIT exercise and recovery techniques for about three years when I decided that I needed some kind of an outlet – a test of the results that I had been seeing and feeling. I decided to enter into an Adventure Race. Not just any Adventure Race, but the one touted as the most difficult in the world! Twelve miles and twenty-five obstacles to overcome! I only had three months to prepare so I selected the appropriate TACFIT program and went to work. I had some reservations about entering into the racing seeing that I hadn’t run more than a mile since college. However, during my training and the race I was surprised at the stamina that I had built during my years of practicing TACFIT. I successfully completed the race and overcame every single obstacle without injury or quitting from exhaustion. I attribute that to having learned how to intuitively gage the amount of effort I had to exert and the recovery breathing techniques that I learned through Scott Sonnon’s programs. Primal Stress promises to be the culmination of all of Sonnon’s work in TACFIT and CST. I know firsthand the superior effectiveness of these programs to build a body that is resistant to extreme stress and free of injury, and Primal Stress promises to be nothing less.
Dear Scott………….You know what really got me….. the words ” pay forward “. If we all did that what a change to our world and each individuals confidence . It was not my frustration but my students who often said what they have been looking for was A “simple personal encouraging whole approach to their wellness fitness and belief in themselves in their life journey as they age as naturally as possible.
I am a strong contented adventurous 69 years young… woman. i have taught “movement and breath for 45years joyously..
Your words and training reinforce me so i can help others to embrace life more.
This was written not to enter the competition but to have the opportunity to say THANK YOU for your heartfelt sharing.
May your journey this lifetime be long with many blessings
sincerely Nanette
I am committed to changing the impact of stress in my life because of my parents and my son. Between stress and a lack of information upon which to act, both of my parents have suffered extremely negative consequences to their health, and as a result my mother passed away far too young and my father is not able to enjoy his golden years and play with his grandson. I am committed to thrive well into my years so that I am there for my son and my eventual grandchildren, leading by example how to live well and take care of one’s family.
Dear Scott/ RMAX Primal Stress Team:
Greetings and salutations. I am not in the habit of writing this sort of correspondence, so all apologies if this message doesn’t follow the usual, easy-reading “boilerplate” for contest entries.
Why am I interested in Primal Stress? The simple answer: I need access to the profound stress management tools Scott Sonnon has developed throughout his eventful life, in order to successfully engage two massive challenges currently unfolding in my humble world.
Challenge Number One: fatherhood, in the immediate future. My wife and I are expecting our first child sometime in September, an event we are anticipating with both joy AND nervousness. We are bracing ourselvings for a tsunami of change, something which will confound and refute our best laid plans and intentions. This massive reshuffling of priorities, commitments, and resources falls shortly on the heels of Challenge Number Two: pursuing a doctorate degree in Biomedical Engineering as a “mature student”.
Now in my 40′s, I expect the recent leap into the (bracing, scary) waters of modern academia will constitute a far greater shock to the system than was perceived in my carefree 20′s.
To clarify, news of my wife’s pregnancy came AFTER our collective decision for me to leave a well-paying (but increasingly dissatisfying) field of employment to pursue studies infinitely more aligned with my persistent passion (the amazing “Soft Machine”). Learning of our impending parental responsibilities, we “did the math” and realized that raising a child while pursuing higher education WAS (in our situation) *fiscally* possible, assuming some HEAVY adjustments to our lifestyle and expenditures. Now we are in the early stages of discovering *exactly* how we might foster vitality and health in ALL facets of our existence (physically, emotionally, and spiritually), together as a developing family, amidst these enormous changes. This is a sincere act of faith, trusting that the resources and tools will reveal and avail themselves as needed, in response to our spirited trailblazing into “parts unknown”.
In the past, RMAX products have provided me with a comprehensive, scalable, and inherently practical path to physical improvement. Right now, Scott Sonnon’s “Primal Stress” approach for attaining and enhancing “grace under pressure”, in all arenas of life, seems *precisely* what my family and I need, immediately and well beyond. I am hopeful that this program will prove itself as a profoud, much-needed key to both surviving AND thriving within the challenges of our lives, affording us the chance to savour the journey as it unfolds.
Sincerely,
Steve
1) I do believe that there is a path to better health & fitness but there is no clear methodology available that takes you from ‘zero’ control pause to ‘hero’ control pause. In a world of fitness gimmicks and short attention spans there is a need for someone to really deliver what they promise…Scott seems to have a lot of empathy for those at ‘zero’ so I am hoping this is that program.
2) Freedom for fear or to put it more eloquently…… ‘In obedience there is always fear, and fear darkens the mind.’..Krishnamurti……free yourself !!
I think it’s only fair to say that since coming across your body of work earlier this year, my life has changed immesearably and improved dramatically. Thank you, Sir.
I have been frustrated as I have struggled with fitness and health over the past decade. I am now in my early 40s and pushing myself to improve my health and control my stress for my two young sons (Gavin 8 months and Liam 4 years). I am committed to being a role model for them and passing on the keys to happiness of which I am missing when it comes to optimal health and wellness. I serve in a leadership position in healthcare and teach martial arts and in doing so realize I have a responsibility to help myself in order to better prepare others to help the people they care about and defend those who are unable to defend themselves. Most days I incur stress both physically and mentally that goes beyond being productive which challenges my ability to respond with good decisions and often leads me to be more reactive and ultimately disappointed after the fact. All this manifest in my tendency to overeat, emotionally shut down, and then overtrain sporadically. I recognize these are my weaknesses and believe the Primal Stress program will help me help myself and better serve those whom I am responsible to train and care for as a father, leader and teacher. I am committed to be the man I am meant to be and to do what I must to improve physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Thank you for your work and consideration.
This, like all of your work so far, is amazing and life-changing. Thank you so very much!
Biggest challenge, in my late 50s and unable to shed excessive belly fat. Exercise limited by old injuries and aging body.
Hi Scott,
I have been training it seems like my entire life. The only problem is that I have go along good for a while then my performanc stalls. I just can’t seem to get over the hump. I have tried countless workouts crossfit, commando, kettlebells, clubbells, olympic lifts, power lifts, 8×8, 5×5, tabata, ladders, and 4,12, 8, 16. The frustrations of my workouts spill over into my personnal life.
By reducing the stress and associated frustration I can be a better husband, father, grandfather, coach, and friend.
I have been trying to loose weight and eat healthy but every time i try a new problem rises and i can take it but i really am interested in changing my life for the better
1) How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am 35 years old and over the years have been plagued with asthma and skin problems as well as injuries I have sustained through some accidents.
I was never an athletic person by all means and did not start to get involved in physical activity until I was 14 years old, when I took up martial art training. My asthma is not so severe and seems to be brought on by my environment (In New Zealand where I live, it is cold, damp and windy) though when I was a child if I was very upset an asthma attack could come on.
I found that only certain types of disciplines would cater to one specific attribute, so I did a lot of cross training in different martial arts, Yoga, weightlifting and other types of calisthenics.
I find the most frustrating thing is deciphering the huge amount of information available now, it is very hard to know “which program” to follow or who to listen to. Diet for me is probably my number 1 problem, knowing exactly what to eat, in what amount and what frequency. I know that this part of the puzzle once sorted out, will boost my performance a lot.
2) Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
This is very easy question for me to answer, I simply want to be a better person, so I am a better husband and a better father. If I can change the negativity into something positive, the people around who mean the most to me will benefit and I dont want to stop there, I want to positively influence others who need help as well.
Without going into too much details, I am a extremely stressed and angry individual and feel mostly I am not living to my full potential or even close to it. I dont like being angry and sometimes I wonder, why I am angry, is there some deep seated emotional problem hidden away which I have forgotten about, I really dont know. I used to use drugs and alcohol in the past to deal with things (or not to deal with things, depending on which way you look at it) but now I use exercise to deal with stress.
I have spent my life active both in sport and work firstly with the army and now presently as a firearms police officer in the uk. During which i have carried out a lot of training both personally and institutionally. All of which have accumulated to a body of pain due to imbalances and injuries caused through training and work. All of which could have been avoided with knowledge of the body and how to use and train it. The knowledge your programmes include. I am now on a path to as you nicely put it revive my body and address my numerous problematic areas through education and movement so I can continue my life and work pain free.
As my job is stressfull both for my self and colleagues along with those that I deal with I am very keen to help myself deal with the negative impacts this has on my life but I feel that by putting myself in better frame of body and mind I can help both my colleagues and people ultimately i am serving more effectively and safely.
Forgot to say thanks for this opportunity and keep up the great work as without you doing what you do such knowledge would be in accessible not only to people like me here in the uk but many many others worldwide
Dear Scott 1 i read a lot of information without a focus on our uniqueness and the power to .overcome and continue on with passion purpose and prosperity.
2.As a teacher who has overcome…i wish to empower others and your story . manner and sharing helps so much.
Scott this was an opportunity for me to thank you for your heartfelt sharing the “pay forward ” said all that you stand for. the whole world would benefit from pay forwards……. may your journey here be long with many blessings
My frustration with trying to improve my health and fitness probably starts from a lack of any unified definition of what health and fitness means. This has driven me to look into a number of sport specific fitness modalities, with the obvious disadvantage that (as someone who is seeking a general level of all round fitness and recovery/re-integration of natural health and movement) these modalities are geared towards specific levels of performance in those sports. Being able to find something which involves a true understanding of natural health, rather than adaptation to specific requirements for specific sports is virtually impossible.
I just recently celebrated the birth of my son and this coinciding with an episode of lower back tension/pain which meant I was unable to do something so simple as pick him up with a great deal of discomfort. Late nights, early mornings, a demanding job and family create a significant amount of stress. I want to ensure that I manage these multiple stresses to make sure I am around in a suitably healthy state to enjoy seeing my newborn son and other children grow into adults and be able to participate fully in their lives for as long as humanly possible.
Great !
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
the biggest culprit for me is encroaching negative sentiment, whether this be self-doubt, obsessive behaviour, nervousness, fear, anger or anxiety.
If left unchecked, my thought patterns will literally ride rough-shod over any and all good intentions and beliefs i may have, and have had, such that its a case of one step forward 2 steps back. i have found with many movement modalities the missing part of the puzzle has been real and trackable improvement in such a way as the evidence is tangible in each training session in a somatic sense. i am a primarily a visual and kinaesthetic learning; without cold hard evidence for my eyes and physical feedback, my tenacity wanes. if i am not continually proactive in this regard then onward march the negative thoughts. In the realm of mind-body and nutrition i have waded through (and paid for) enough contradictory phycho-babble to sink a battleship. my upbringing was controlled and anxiety inducing and often devoid of meaning in a household devoid of emotion….this through no fault of my parents who had their own history of traumas they were carrying. i understand that my journey is now, to pinch your phrase, to wipe my slate clean so that i can build a life of service , without the constant nagging doubts that dive me into full-bore depression. I’d like to add that Since ‘finding’ you and RMAX i am daily blown away with the improvements in mobility i am experiencing…particularly with my spinal health (2 lumbar prolapsed discs)..with intuflow.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
2 nervous breakdowns, a failed marriage and riches to rags start-up business experience…these events are clearly trying to tell me something!..and the reality is…with hindsight…all preventable had stress not put the blinkers on me in each and every case such that logical and rational reasoning stood no chance whatsoever…frankly, i don’t want to repeat the cycle..time to draw the line and write a new chapter.
Being in Nuclear Security, the need to stay in shape to be able to respond on a moments notice is very important. You need to be able to move your body in ways other people never dreamed up.
There is so many things to learn and to do. With only 24-hrs a day, i strive to make my days productive – spending enough time with work, family and church. But i find myself falling sick at times and each time it happens, it ‘knocks’ me down, and i will lay at home to rest & recuperate, experiencing time slip by rather helplessly.
I reckon there is a better way to manage this and i decided i need to improve my health & fitness. And fitness is the business i do, so, it is of utmost importance.
Stress is a silent killer and i am not going to allow stress to take control and then cripple me.
Hi Scott, I have severe osteoarthritis of my left hip which makes it difficult to exercise and causes pain and stress. I would love to find a work-around so that I could exercise with less pain to maintain my fitness and deal with stress. Thanks for all of your great work and all you give back. Regards, Lenore
1. Not knowing who to trust within a very corrupt wellness industry is one thing. The general public isn’t privy to the strategic marketing campaigns and sales tactics behind gyms and gym memberships, fitness fads, equipment, supplements, and even in the field of education. Usually one “wakes up” after they have been burned and by that time it’s too late, especially if they had signed a contract as I have had the displeasure of learning. All of that chains people to debt, and honestly, it isn’t the only way a person can become locked into a debt and the pressures associated with it. Add other outside pressures, family, work or no work, the increase of living expenses and the ever increasing demands to make money, smart phones and keeping up with the rise of digital technology, internet, facebook, etc; all these things seem to clutter the mind and create a sense of chaos that interferes with the ability to focus. It’s almost impossible to sit still and take a breath in this digital age. Although it is not impossible to unplug, it seems that it’s tougher than ever before to stay focused and not get distracted from maintaining daily meditation and a regular exercise schedule. That in particular is quite a daily battle for me – maintaining focus.
2. I am at a crossroads in my life where I look back at my wasted youth and see how much time I lost to 7 years worth of a thankless job, to which I was rewarded with some good old RSI, droning out on the couch believing almost everything in what I saw and read in the mainstream media, then living the weekend party life and basically doing what was expected for people my age (early 20′s). Crushed after a relationship breakup triggered a mental breakdown and a severe depression that is best described as a living nightmare that lasted close to a decade. I couldn’t help but notice over the years that I kept “improving” my methods and tolerance of self destruction, basically because I was practicing them everyday through addiction. In a strange way, it was dedication in a sense, but a dedication with the wrong purpose. Eventually I had to choose to either continue on this dark road I was on, or figure out a way to channel the suppressed negativity. Figuring that if I could apply the same level of dedication I had to once destroy the body, I certainly could apply the same dedication to rebuilding it if I knew how. Starting off slow, I worked my way into training and study, continuing to build on my knowledge and experience at my own pace daily. Now that I work with people struggling with mental illness, the mistakes of my past have provided me with a degree of knowledge, which on one hand has allowed me to come to terms with it, but also helps me figure out how best to apply exercise, nutrition, martial arts, and philosophies behind them in order to give them strength whether mentally or physically. Money or no money, I still take the jobs and do them simply because there is no real choice but to do them and I have great pleasure in doing it. It gives me a reason to exist and use what’s left of this life to give value to others.
First, thank you for your excellent products. They have really changed the way i train myself and my students.i hope some day you will put out another set of dvds like softwork and hardwork bolth are fantastic i cant get enough! You are really an inspiration for me especially because of youre past but not only! I teach baguazhang and am in my fifties i have been fighting two deadly viruses since the early 80 s so much like yourself i am a survivor.although i dont consider myself anywhere near your level of acompishment and expertise , due to my childhood and life path there are lot s of similarities in our histories! The daily medical treatment i unfortunately have no real choice but to follow makes me have to find ways around soreness acidity an abnormal distribution of fats in the body etc.. Anyway to keep things short i absolutely have to get your primal stress book etc..so i hope i can purchase them if i dont qualifie for the prize!
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Anthony S Briggs
Scott, I have been a follower for some time,started with IntuFlow more than 4 years ago. What drew me to you was the fact that you emphasized “mind, body, and spirit.” I had just started Osteopathic medical school and that concept of mind, body, and spirit, which is a main tenant of Osteopathy, is what attracted me to Osteopathy as well. As you can imagine, going through medical school is some what stressful, to top it off, I have a beautiful family of 5 children with my awesome and supportive wife of almost 20 years now, which, while they have been my pillars of support, still add to the overall stresses of life as I struggle with giving them the time that they need. The biggest frustration in trying to improve my own fitness and well being is not only of time, but trying to figure out the optimal plan. I have been a program junkie, jumping from one thing to another, but when I don’t see some results, jump to the “next best thing” so to speak. It seems that when one area of my life started to drag, it takes other parts with it. Even though I understand how that happens, the “why” aspect still alludes me.
As a doctor now in my first year of residency, the stress levels have only continued to go up, the demands on time as well. Primal Stress will give me the opportunity to kill multiple birds with one proverbial stone: reduce my stress, improve my overall health and well-being, allowing me to be a better husband, father, and doctor (the order of which is very important to me!) and allowing me to do so in a timely fashion. I have committed myself to the service of helping my fellow brothers and sisters with their health. It is vital that I also achieve and maintain my health. At 43, I still have a lot of life ahead of me, a lot of good to give. Primal Stress can take me there.
Looks very interesting. Thank You
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Dear Scott, I must honestly say that only could answer this question negatively. After I tried at the start of my fitness enthusiasm, the well-known program with the big P for merely 3 months I already looked deeply into your material (mainly TF-Commando) and was entirely intrigued by it. Henceforth I tried that followed by TF-Warrior and later incorporating all other genius applications you have given the health and fitness world. In the morning I am doing Intu-Flow (every morning since 2 years), every second day around noon a mild session of Flow-Fit and every night the proper 4days wave Workout program, mixing it up with, what I call TACFIT-Recovery (Caduceus, Body Rolling, Band Ageless, Strain Prevention) for No Intensity Days, TGYM (TARFU, SNAFU, FUBAR, Strain Conversion, Atlas) for Low Intensity, TFMA and TBAR, TFROPE for Medium and TF-Commando/Warrior for High Intensity. After a circle I am taking the Challenges as indicator of progress ISS-Challenge and Spartan-Challenge. In short I can only say that I never had a frustrating moment performing these tasks and I have benefited very much from it. As an active Swimmer, Combat Arts and Martial Arts practitioner, Mountain Climber and Skier I see your programs just as perfect for overall health. Unlike earlier times (without your programs applied) I never suffered fatigue or any illness so far. The 4 day wave works and I apply principals of breathing, allignment and general approach every second of my life and with every breath I draw consciously or unconsciously.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
As you, too, I sufferd childhood related joint disease, spinal dysfunctionality and had first surgery done on my knees in the age of 9, being threatened to have my legs broken and rearranged and after a Martial Arts accident, severely injuring my my neck in the age of 13 left me with the promise of being most likely wheelchaired aged 21. Well, I returned to Martial Arts with 22, went Airborne and SF, became a mountaineer and marathon runner. But I was never really painfree. Just suffered and breathed through it. But this all dramatically changed after discovering your approach to workout. Pain and strain flew away and so far never returned. Well, I dont see stress as a negative impact. In fact I quite seek stress and push my body and mind to the limits, working in several jobs, serving in the forces, working out, extreme sports, writing a Ph.D. But what I do seek to avoid is strain. And here it goes. Scott, I am looking forward to your new program, enabling to progress even further in what most people think impossible. Thanks to you I know it isn’t. Thank you very much and sorry if I haven’t really answered the questions correctly.
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life as I want to regain my health and keep engaging in the physical activities I enjoy doing. I have been diagnosed with Diabetes, and just recently MS & PNES [Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures]. The constant area that I keep hearing from the doctors is “stress” is associated with each of these diseases in a negative way. As each of these diseases are related to auto-immune functions, it appears that this has created a domino effect in my body. I am wanting to re-teach myself and my body how to positively adapt to stress so that I can maintain the healthy aspects of stress and minimize or eliminate the negative. I firmly believe this is not mere chance that you have presented this information when I’ve been looking for tools to use in helping with negative stress; there is a higher power involved, & I am humbled and grateful for your willingness to pay forward what you’ve learned with your own life. Thank you.
There are numerous stress contributors in my life. I have yet to take control of them and gain consistent victory. I have been applying the breathing techniques to which you have shared with us recently. They have provided an oasis in a sea of chaos. My goal in is to transition the moments of peace to a life of peace. A sound exercise program that accounts for whole body health and whole mind health is what I am after. In reading your blogs and watching you youtube videos it is apparent that you are on to a lifestyle that will transform the “common folk” into successful people you move past the difficulties of life to become a much better version of them selves.
Thanks for all you do. You have been an inspiration to me and others to whom I’ve shared what I learned.
Denis Switzer
Let me start by thanking you for the positive impact you’ve had on my life already.
Stress management is an important issue for me. I work in finance and spend long hours commuting. I am a father, husband, homeowner and taxpayer.
The cumulative stress of my lifestyle coupled with my history of an emotionally abusive upbringing often leaves me ill equipped to cope.
I want to and I try to be the best husband father and son that I can be. If I could manage my stress more effectively I know that I could be so much more.
Many of the tools you have produced to date have already had such a positive impact on my life. To have them all distilled and collated into one package seems too good to be true.
I simply can’t wait to get my hands on your new release Primal Stress.
Much respect and gratitude
Matthew
I am interested in changing the negative impact of stress on life, because it is beginning to tole on me. I am 52 years old and a firefighter. I just retired from the military with 32 years including active duty and reserve duty. My body is becoming worn out along with my mind. I am under pressure constantly from day to day. I have been searching for a program just like this one.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Two things have frustrated me while trying to improve my health and fitness: timing and “the rut”.
When I was active duty, time was allotted for fitness. I would wake up, PT, and then the rest of my day started. It was a fact of life. Now that I’m a reservist, that has changed. My girlfriend, job, etc. do not have allotted times. I have to fit PT into different slots during the day depending on when the schedule permits.
The other aspect that frustrates me is, what I call, “the rut”. I, like most everyone, enjoy having a workout partner and it is easy to find one; however, it is very hard to find someone to work out with that is not stuck in “the rut”. These are the people who are committed to the same gym workout that they’ve been doing since 1990. They’ll be more than willing to do their workout with me, but doing something like Tacfit is not something they are will to do with me, so I am resigned to work out by myself most times.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Stress works on the body the same way stress works on an iron bar. The more stress, the more it bends and warps into something you don’t want. Eventually, it’ll break. I love my life, body, and soul and want to keep it un-warped and healthy forever!
Also, as a soldier, any bit of stress clouds the mind and makes the connection to the body muddled. I need my mind and body to work as a single, unfettered unit; working effortlessly to move my body the way it is intended. Having a clear head speeds the reaction time and may save my, or my buddies, life.
I am 55 years old. I have been fairly inactive all my life but have been fairly healthy, although I have always been inflexible and out of shape. I couldn’t be bothered to improve myself. Then my worst nightmare came true. My daughter was born with a genetic problem (Turner Syndrome) which causes stunted growth, slow metabolism, and a host of other health issues. HGH has helped her grow to an acceptable height. She is 14 now. But, she has balooned to 160 lbs. My son, who is two years younger is also overweight, even though he plays sports often. Since recognizing their inablilty to lose weight, I have being reading as many health related books on nutrition, diet, exercise, meditation, etc, trying to find some help for them. I have even joined a gym and have impoved my health immensely. I did this to set an example for them to follow, to make healthy living (good nutrition and exercise) a lifestyle. This improvement in my health comes at a good time, as most of my father’s family died at an early age (some in their fifties – my Dad died at 58) due to bad health. I want to be around to see my kids grow up.
I guess what I am saying is that the free offer interests me for both myself and my kids. I have long found out that Health is your true Wealth, and I want my kids and I to be healthy for a long time, God willing.
Stress has definitely taken its toll out on me from premature gray hair, cortisol stomach fat, constipation and lately neck and shoulder pain. I have gone sugar, caffeine,dairy, artificial sweetner free for 3 weeks while being gluten free for over a year. My wife says she sees a big difference in my handling of stress and I can see a bit of it myself, but I am far away from the place I really need to thrive. I tend to push myself all week and contend with stress on the weekend by sleep instead of getting the stategic exercise and sills I know I can get with your program. Out of all of your programs, this is the one I could see myself being one of those testimonials on a website thanking you and the program for literallygetting me unstuck in the constant stressful life I lead to reaching a potential I didn’t know was possible in today’s world. Thank you for the opportunity to win this program, so I won’t have the stress of how am I going to purchase it.
Entering competition.
Always keen to develop new skill sets and applying them towards functional fitness. Very keen to listen to what you have to say in regards to recovery and utilising stress in a constructive manner instead of destructive.
Cheers
Stew
unitPT
Enjoy your posts on facebook!!!
Scott: I have been using your Tacfit Commando series and am amazed at the intensity and diversity it provides. I have eliminated all cardio work with machines, etc., and as being interested in primarily bodybuilding, I merely add a few weight sessions per week and I have the best body I have had in years…at 50!
Kudos to your insight, talent and most of all…your sense of service.
Anthony
This has come at the perfect time for me, I’m a single Mother working 2 jobs and studying full time. My stress levels are peaking right about now!
Have been frustrated thinking I could never loose 40 pounds.
I want to live happy.
I have heard so many wonderful things about your videos & books! With everything that my family & myself has been going through this past couple of years, it would be so beneficial to have these to help us learn to deal & alleviate stress in our lives. To have better family relationships & for me to be healthier inside. Thank You!
brilliant … !!!
Thank you for the chance for these great programs!
These books and videos look extremely interesting! I am a Mom of 2 boys 4 years old and 11 years old! The week before my youngest son turned 1 year old, my husband who had a very good job was laid off due to the economic crisis a few years back! The plant he worked at closed completley. For over a year he couldn’t find any type of work. He has been thru 3 jobs the last couple of years that are just enough to make ends meet and we are still trying to get back on track! So my stress level and my husbands has been super high! These books and videos could be such a benefit to both of us! I have battled with ups and down in my weight. I love to work out and am always trying to find something new but good to improve me physically and mentally! I have just received my Red Belt in Tae Kwon Do! I plan to start a cardio kick boxing class for others and these books and videos would be a perfect start to helping me to get my focus and energy levels up! I hope you pick me to be a winner! I will enjoy the books and videos very much! PICK ME! PICK ME! PICK ME! And if you do PICK ME a VERY BIG THANKYOU!!!!!!!!!
I need all the free help I can get
I must admit it’s been hard improving my health and fitness over the past few years, and a lot of that has to do with the stress of raising three kids and never having enough money to go around! I used to think the key was getting a gym membership and that I was stuck because I couldn’t afford one. Fortunately, I’ve learned that you can get a better workout in your own home just using body weight exercises, which has been a huge help.
My other frustration was trying to lose weight using “conventional wisdom” that says we need to eat lots of grains and little fat. Yeah… doesn’t work. I’ve since learned about primal eating and I’ve started by cutting out sugar and grains. It really helps when you have a better understanding of physiology! I only wish this was stuff I learned years ago… I wouldn’t have spent the vast majority of my adult life as either overweight or obese (I wasn’t obese for large periods of time, but it’s saddening to know that I got there…).
I know life is stressful for everyone, and I am concerned about the long term effects it’s having on me. While I seem to be okay now, I know that it’s cumulative… and what I’m experiencing NOW I could feel the repercussions from ten or twenty years down the track, and this scares me a little too! I’d like to reach a point in my life where my kids are grown and I’m free to travel etc. but so many people have the same goals and dreams only to find the reality hampered by ill health.
I know I’ve made some positive changes in my life. I get more “fun” exercise, I’m eating better, I’m trying to get enough sleep (difficult when I have an evening job cleaning a school and I have to be up early for my kids), and I try also to take the time to relax, read a book, visit friends, go for a walk etc. However, I’m also aware that I have a long way to go. Still, it’s best that we KNOW we’ve got changes to make rather than think everything’s hunky dory and that we’re “supposed” to be this way! (The more you know the more you realise you don’t know and all that
… the more I don’t know, the more I try and learn and I think that’s the most important thing of all!)
hi there well firstly I would like to say I am a big fan and love all that you say you are an inspiration!! I would love help to get my life back to stress free for my daughter and partner. I was bullied at work during my pregnancy by a boss of mine and that was two years ago. I got suicidal and did not want to go on and even now with my beautiful girl I still cannot seem to shake what he did to me. if in any way you can help me get through this and get back to the fit and happy healthy me I will be forever greatful. cheers xx
I want my kids to develop the skills to dealing with life in a positive manner. They are not going to do this while watching their role model stressed out on a daily basis. I try hard to stave off stress, but it X can eextremely difficult to see the forest for the trees, and step out of the situation. We eat well, exercise regularly, and I am studying. Stress is the one thing I need to improve
My wife and I have a charity that we have been working for almost two years now. We do magic shows for the cancer wards in Taiwan hospitals.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2556057281039.90527.1842204958&type=3
It’s called “The Magic of Laughter”
I laugh and smile and try to make the kids forget for just a moment where they are, and let the parents see their children laughing like they used to before cancer struck. Sometimes we are successful. After the shows however the stree of seeing small children stricken with this terrible affliction is almost unbearable. My wife and I both feel so tired and sometimes we just want to cry. However, we are entertainers and we have skills, therefore we have a responsibility to continue on. In the words of the law great Cellini, the worlds greatest street entertainer, “Never despair! But if you do, WORK ON, IN DESPAIR!”. Thank you for all you do Scott Sonnon, you are an inspiration to me.
Sincerely,
Jobe Linn
Tiger mountain
Taiwan
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have read so many books and online articles and many people have different views. From some who swear by intermittent fasting to others who are completely against it and swear by 6 meals day. From Paleo to people who swear by starchy carbs. The frustration is who to believe and when since not everyone is the same and nutrition isn’t a “one size fits all” approach. So what works for them may not work for me but a different way is not necessarily considered. I have now limited myself to no more than 5 authors who say more or less the same thing and don’t try to use the same approach for everyone.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Stress increases cortisol and messes up most hormones in terms of working correctly. To be successful in life one needs to control the negative impact of stress. I therefore am making a concerted effort to control the negative impacts and where possible to avoid stress completely. A big thing for me lately has been to work on breathing correctly.
I hope that this answers your questions. I also hope that I win and have the honour to own what I refer to as learning material
Thank you for the constant updates and inspiration you provide.
Regards
Zuriah
i want a good life nt i know this will going to help me a lot………..
thanks coach……..I think this is what I need lately!!!
Hi Scott
You have beat the odds with great strength..I would love to win and start your program
I’m pretty fit now, but I’m ready to up my work outs to the max..I want to turn 50 next year
in the best shape I’ve ever been in
Thanks
I just want improve myself…
I think it is all…
THIS..would me the best present for my pregnancy journey…this would be the best post-partum recovery training on january 2013…no better way than THIS to improve my knowledge here and now during my pregnancy…THIS is what I miss in the RMAX collection…THIS will be a transmission of power in future life..
Hi Scott,
I’ve been following you for quite a while and to say that I love and hugely admire you, your work and your daily posts would be an understatement. I’m just “starting out” in the business of health coaching, at the age of (just) 21, and intend to work with a range of clients covering everything from strength and conditioning to stress management and holistic therapies to life coaching and nutrition; a thorough and complete life coaching and personal performance service.
I find that there’s a massive amount of information but yet we are still thirsty for solid, applicable knowledge. Although we have more resources than we ever have, there’s more people who are stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, unhealthy and burnt out than there ever has been and I want to put a change to that and create a “shift” going forward. Having experienced personal issues, as well as witnessing family and close relatives go through bad experiences with stress and depression, I am dedicating my life and career to helping as many people as possible take a hold of their lives and to become truly happy.
Your product would help me, immensely, to help thousands of people in the future.
Regardless of whether my response is chosen for a copy of this product or not, I will invest in everything you put out, always.
Thank you for taking the time to read what I’ve had to say.
With respect, peace and love,
Marc
I want to take the oppurtunity to thank you for your wonderful, inspirational and motivational input here on Face Book! If it wasnt for this sight I wouldnt have had the motivation from you to give my life a second chance. As a single, working, tired Mum your wise words have really helped me think more positively. THANKYOU I lookforward to your posts
I’ve always loved movement and sports, from childhood on.Today, being a musician, I often sit behind the computer or my guitar for hours, and really feel I am deeply in need of movement and energizing activities. A herniated disc has made life and sports somewhat difficult for some time the past 4 years, but I started typical strength and fitness training at my local gym, and got most of the symptoms and pain under control. The thing however was that I never felt quite 100% well or cured, rather, I counterweighted the problem enough to remain relatively pain free and functional. Although not aiming at body building as such, The muscle training would sometimes feel great and uplifting, but sometimes it would leave me sore or with tendon problems. I then discovered Scott’s mobility yoga and tacvit vids, and immediately started immitating the moves. A lot of it went down realy smooth, having been a gymnast as a kid for several years, But what I noticed most was the energized and liberating feel that started to emerge, in the shoulders, arms and back – much more so than the mere feeling of strength and muscle consciousness you get after a typical weight training session I now almost daily do a mix of moves I see on the youtube vids, but really long for a real poweryoga, clubbell or tacfit class with people and a good coach. I live in Luxembourg, EU though, and will have to travel either to the US or Germany to experience it.. All in all, Scott’s way and approach made me remember one thing that had almost forgotten – that I am actually in love with movement, and that my body really craves it.
Thanks for everything you learned and share Scott, and I sincerely hope to meet you in person one day!
Best regards,
Claude
I have been dieting and exercising all my life. I manage to keep my weight and fitness in check, however last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Healthy and fit was I and cancer came anyway. FRUSTRATED!!!
I remain committed to healthy eating and exercise but I find the medication Im on has emotional and physical side effects that get in my way. I would love to read through this book and find out more successful techniques to achieve optimal health and fitness.
thank you
lori nostramo
I constantly try to improve my health and fittness and i am little disapointed that i dont manage to catch right system of doing it.
My wife is yoga teacher. She says that only yoga and proper spritual practic can help to fight down stress completely, but I want something additional, but dont know exactly
I have no big stress in my life, but i feel big discomfort that i can not fight down my stress completely to “0″.
I run a business that keeps me in an office most of the time. The constant worry of getting in work, paying bills and managing client expectation leave me drained will little energy to want to work out. So when I do get the time or energy to exercise, I tend to overexert myself. Then I am too sore to want to exercise or get out and enjoy my time with family and friends.
I am interested in this program to see if it can help reduce my stress and increase my fitness level so I can be a better father, husband and boss. I would like to increase my quality of life and have more energy to do the things that I enjoy.
I enjoy your fb page, and I love to read, and learn new things to improve ones life and those around me too!!
Thank you.
Namaste!!
Jules
1. I have always been frustrated at the limitations time has imposed on me since I have only really tried to improve my health in the recent three years. In that time somehow there have always been problems. One was weak joints, the other lack of commitment from me and lastly I had to face up to the fact that I had to slow down and change my purpose. That’s what did it. I had to do things just for the sake of doing things and just enjoy it. I didn’t have to go my hardest because that was hardly required from me. I committed myself that even in the most difficult times there was always a small time to do things to improve myself. Sometimes twenty minutes was required, and it was enough. I know now that all I had to do was pace myself slowly to build my strength and become better.
2. The reason I committed myself to beating stress was because of my job. It demanded more from me than what I thought I could provide. I also needed to be a father and husband. Carrying the stress home didn’t help at all, nor did holding things in. I had to talk, play and learn to have fun. The birth of my son brought this and made this possible because I knew I had to change. And change came in ways that I never expected. The difficulties of fatherhood, combined with the equal and greater joys provided me with so much more motivation than I expected. I was open to it because it was something natural to me. This was what I needed to become to be a better person.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?:
I am committed to changing the negative impact that stress has on my life because I want a healthier life. People that know me would not think that I am stressed: I sleep well, I always show a calm and composed behaviour, I have a good immune system, good physical health, no pain anywhere… however, I do have a stressful job and what they do not see is how much i grind my teeth at night (I need to wear a protection on my teeth when I sleep) and how tired i get at the end of my days when I have more stressful periods at work.
I like to give back when I receive, that’s part of my vocation as I work in education.
I see the impact stress has on my students and staff everyday: anxiety disorders, anger, mental illnesses, obesity… whatever I get from your package and from putting it in practice, I hope to be able to have that impact on my school community.
I only wish Scott,s training method,s and philosophy had been around 25 years ago when i first took up training to help with my sporting background . I am 3 times fitter both physically and mentally now than what i was back then . If your ethos had been around then in the U.K i could have been a World Champion but then again i feel i could over come anything put before me now 25 years on at the age of 45 … Cheers Coach !!
Hi,
I have been frustrated with my physical condition as despite the fact that I have now more time for myself I still find excuses for not doing any exercise. Why? Just because I am lazy and do not want to move out of my comfort zone. However with Spring coming up (I am living in Australia) maybe now is the time to really do something about it. I know that in the beginning those physical efforts will bring their toll, but at the end the reward will be there.
I am committed to relieving stress in my life for many reasons. First I want to be the best example of how to ” break the chain” in the long history of depression, anxiety and alcoholism in my families history. I have four boys, and I want to be present. Second I want to enjoy this journey I am on, seeking new ways to discover the wonders in world. I do this through working with people. People are the wonders in my world. I love people. Third I know my purpose now on this earth, and it’s to help others. I need to be fit and healthy, and try to be free as can be of stress to be open to those opportunities as they come my way. Anxiety is hereditary, and society today is hard on young people. I want to be fit and show others how the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise can free you from the darkness of anxiety and depression. Drug free.
I have been frustrated in the past trying to improve my health and fitness by trying apply main stream ideas to martial arts. Until I discovered the unconventional methods of kettlebells and more recently clubbell training I have not only gotten stronger and fitter. I have improved my posture and balance which in the last week has allowed me to qualify for my black belt in the phillippines.
I’m also commuted to tackling negative stress in my life because 5years ago I was working a deadend job and life seemed to be going no where. Taking a risk with the last of my savings got me fitness qualified. Since then I’ve met my wife (married in April), got my black belt from grandmasters of fma and bought a home. I now work in the fitness industry and get a kick out of helping people turn their lives around.
I’m committed to increase my overall health starting with diminishing the amount of stress, simply because my body is in constant pain as I hold all the stress in. I’m fed up with feeling like this.
Well I’m a Martial Artist and MMA Cage fighter….So I know about pain when it comes to training and on top of going to work 7 days a week and being a young Father there are many stresses that I deal with, I would be so great full for this opportunity to get my life, both physically and Mentally back on tract….This would help me so much as well as my Wife.
I’ve been doing Coach Sonnon’s excellent Tacfit Commando program for the past two years. In that time, I have lost 20 lbs. and honed my body to a level I never thought it would get to. More importantly, I feel great.
One of the frustrations I had with traditional (i.e. gym-based) programs was that they did not address the body as a whole. They are literally piecemeal: arms one day, legs, chest, etc. As a result, I would train, but not see overall results, or would occasionally get injured. TacFit, addresses the whole body. It trains me in movements that are useful in everyday life. And, it’s fun. The progressions are great, both physically and psychologically. There is nothing better than trying one of the advanced level exercises, thinking “I’ll never be able to do this,” and then three months later you are doing it. Also, the gym-training breeds excuses — I can’t get out there today, I’ve got no time, etc.. With TacFit, there are no excuses. You can do it anywhere, any time. As a matter of fact, it’s time for my mobility day. I’m off. Thank you, Coach Sonnon. You’ve made a difference in my life.
The Teachings of Scott Sonnon are in my eyes a high percent destillation of martial arts- and yoga knowledge from around the word. It absolutely fits into lots of areas of one´s life and leads to personal growth and overcome of weak points. My health benefit is enormous so far. Thank you very much!
Truly inspirational dedicated work! I look forward to Scott’s posts everyday!
I have other material from coach Sonnon. All are great, no exception!
I’m not frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness but I always look for new ways to grow and learn. I’m committed to thriving without the negative impacts of stress in my life — I do this for my sense of well being and health as well as the health of my family and community.
Thanx
Looks good. I am always interested to learn something new.
I want to change my life, handing it all to God!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? At 53 years old now, I’ve had health problems most of my life. I’ve raised 2 children and my husband and I are now raising our grandson. Very frustrating to have to say, No, sweetheart, we can’t do that because grandma isn’t able to.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? Being, what I consider, an upper lower to lower middle class income family is stressful in and off itself but the thought of passing that way of life on down to our grandchildren multiplies that 10 fold. I’m committed to getting rid of all negative influences from around my entire family.
I have been frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness because it feels like I have been taking two steps forward and five steps back. I have no problem committing to an approach but it feels that all approaches eventually have their flaws, creating more harm than good. The lack of comprehensiveness, the lack of intuitive understanding of how the body works, and the lack of guidance in a systematic way that the average person can follow is very frustrating. I want to be successful in my approach to health and fitness whilst respecting my female capabilities, my hormonal health and my structural stability. I want a whole system of health and fitness, because I am a whole person. I want to be able to advance my health in a real way that respects my body and strengthens it from the inside out. If this was available I feel that stress would melt away. Accumulative stress sneaks up on me, and I don’t see it coming, and then I am out of exercise action for a while, and must start from scratch. I want to finally find a comprehensive way that gives me back more than control over my health. Is it wrong for me to want a guarantee of success? Well I do, and I know it must exist. I am determined to find it, and I have faith that I can be truly healthy, strong, and balanced and at peace. My body can too. I know alignment of body, mind, and Spirit is my birth right, and with this, stress is just a meaningless word that no longer means anything to me!!
Growing up in an abususive and dysfuntional house (hard to call it a home) with alcholic parents and a very angry and physically abusive father, I was always told that I didn’t matter and My feelings were not importantand I was weak for having them. The kids in school seemed to pick up on my insecurities, like sharks smelling blood in the water. I became the focus of their abuse as well. Elementary through High school was a hell. phyisical and emotional abuse at home and school. no one to teach me coping mechanisms, I learned to pack it all down. Remember. the one lesson I was taught at home was to show no emotion emotion would still leak out around the edges in the form of anger. lots of rage then.
I left home at 17 and moved to a different city, got a job and slept on my much older sisters couch for a few months.
Fast forward 4 years. Not happy, didnt even know what that was. met someone and became a father at 23. My son became my world, my reason to exist. His mother was an awful person. emotionally and physically abusive to him and me. I used My old “pack it down” mechanism to cope. eventually after much time and drama I gained full custody, but there was still no self examination, I existed to provide for my son.
fast forward several years. My son is an adult and doesnt need me the way he did, My personal life is an empty shell devoid of true friendships. The death of my father, the lose of my job have landed me back in the house I grew up in. And this has brought all the old crap I had been packing down for years to the surface. I realise I have no coping skills, no stress relief outlets and no support network. I need to learn stress managment and develop a physical fitness regime to help me regain my humanity. In my research along these lines I found you Scott. Our back stories arent 100% similar, but close enough to give me hope. I would be honored to learn what you’ve learned over the years. It would literally be a life changing event If I won what you’re offering.
Thank you .
Elvin Madson
Frustration comes from osteoarthritis in the knee joint.
Life is too short to have it drained away by stress.
Thanks very much.
First of all, I would like to think you for your tacfit programs like warrior and commando. They have been a big help getting me started and on the right track. A step by step guide can be a life saver for those that are just starting out on their fitness journey. My biggest frustration has been all of the conflicting information out there, coupled with my own perfectionist tendencies. I have a tendency to dive in over my head at times and I pay for it later. Tacfit and the paleo/primal diet community have been the best resources that I have found. I have just encountered a minor setback. I got a little over zealous with intermittent fasting and i was doing a bit too much and I think that I now am a bit hormonaly imbalanced. I was not paying enough attention to the signs my body were giving me and my digestion, sleep, and energy levels have suffered as a result. I am a 26 year old college student who truly just awakened about a year and a half ago to discover that I did not like the life that I was living and I was going to do something about it. I left a life full of waste, drugs, and disease behind me and have never regretted it for a second. I am fully committed to helping myself and others lead a better life. I do not fully know how yet, but I am trying hard to achieve a good life. Basically, I am a somewhat inexperienced student that can use any break that he can get, as a primal life style is neither cheap nor convenient in today’s society. I apologize for the length, I guess I might have used the opportunity as a diary entry. Thank you.
Sincerely, Robert Christian
Mr. Sonnon,
I have always been interested in alethetics. From football to raquett ball. The problem with that has been that I am not very athletic! Quite a paradox I know. It didnt stop me from signing up for all the sports I could. I even went to a smaller school so that I would get picked up. No matter how much my coach(s) would try to train me they just wanted more and more without giving me the foundation to stand on. I knew what they wanted and I either wasn’t strong enough or fast enough or coordinated enough. I became very discouraged with my health and grew pretty obiece. I joined the Navy thinking that the military would be successful in teaching me to be fit as a fiddle! All they really did was put a lot of stress on my mind and body so that today I am having some pretty discomforting joint pain. Wrists, back, shoulders, knees and ankles all from the improper stress put on them. In all of this my one source of physical excercise has been swimming. It has been really good for me. I began looking for a program I could believe in but the best I could come up with was THX, P90X, and Insanity. All of which were to hard on my joints and didn’t focus on my whole body. There I said it. No one focuses on the body as a whole system. I found TACFIT totally by mistake one day and have been totally committed for this past month to building my body from the ground up. I am having trouble with some joints and flexibility but all in all I am feeling the recovery taking place every day. The recruit level excercise has been totally within my grasp. It is challenging AND achievable. That has been missing for me for a long time, a system that takes my body back to the basics because I’m not ready for the higher levels of movement. I got the deluxe packege and read every word and watched every video and listened to every audio. I did the same with resiliance breathing. Thank you for that. I needed to read that.I am a living sponge to your approach. I will be honest. I have never been one to shy away from fear. I have always been courageous and love finding new and innovative ways to conquer my fear. I never thought that I would gain so much life experience from a work out! At the risk of repeating myself, this is what makes your system excell all others. It incorporates the whole body, mind, and spirit. I know your work will be used in my home for many years and someday when I have kids I will be teaching them the principles I have learned from you. Thank you. I can safely say that with or without your free gift I will continue to ‘pay it forward’ to the people in my sphere on influence as much as I possibly can. Thank you for everything.
Very Respectfully (A good military closing),
Craig Grigson III
1. Constantly frustrated, as there seems to be no end to the constant balancing of time, diet, exercise method, schedules, work and so forth. As you get one thing right, something else tends to go wrong. Getting things in alignment is a bit like seeing Halley’s Comet, it doesn’t come round very often.
2. Being stress free is probably everyone’s ultimate goal. Whether you are rich or poor, built like a Greek god or Buddha, it doesn’t matter really if you are stress free and able to be happy. Following the recommendations in activities such as Intu-Flow go a long way towards achieving these states.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
The biggest reason for that would probably be the understanding that stress has a major role in people’s lives. I.e. it has a great impact on our everyday decisions and it influences the way we behave because of it’s effect on both our physical AND mental health. Being only 17, I’ve understood that if I wan’t to have a fulfilling life, I must deal with the negative impact of stress, not to ignore the impact and learn to live with it. Because that’s what I see around me, stressed people, running in circles, refusing to take action and break the boundaries they have set on themselves due to stress and therefore, people, who have not learned to change their lives in the better direction.
Most of the time I trust people older than me and try to follow their example, knowing that because of their longer experience here on Earth they are probably more wiser than me, but in this case, I see that even those people themselves don’t know what they are doing and how to a less stressful life, not to mention that they are not capable of giving others advice on how to maximize their earthly experience. I, on the other hand, wish not to become one of those people. I want to set an example and show people that stress, despite it’s seemingly inevitable negative impact on our lives, can be reduced, if not even got rid of it completely. Soo… Long story short… My main reasons are improving my own life(wait for it… i’m not that egoistic as it might have seen hehe) AND more importantly, be an influence to others by showing and telling ( and perhaps even by teaching?) them that it is not mission impossible
Now, if you’ve made it so far… I must congratulate you, I, too, an sometimes surprised how I can put a couple of simple ideas into long stories.. And now, knowing that you promised to personally read all of the replies, I take my chance to thank you, too for giving people a chance to share their opinions with you and thanks for taking your precious time and read them, as well.
Best of luck!
Scott, I’m subscribing because I find your emphasis on recovery and eustress unique and fascinating.
I am perhaps at one of the lowest points in my life right now. Reading your posts have given me some hope that I can perhaps change how I let the people in my life. I have so much anger that has built up in me and it causes me to over react and say things hurtful to the people I love. In the past two years I’ve had to watch my mother change from a vibrant woman into a someone that is bedridden, can no longer speak and weighs about 60 pounds. I mourn for my father that sits by her bed, holding the hand of the girl that he married when she was just 16. Alzheimers disease not only that’s the victim of the disease it also takes so much from those that love them….
Dear Coach Sonnon,
Thank you so much for offering this very important work.
I would love to have this package. I recently experienced an extraordinarily stressful year. My father had a series of strokes that left him with stroke-induced dementia, and he had to be placed in a facility until he healed sufficiently from the stroke to be able to live at home. During that time, I was the sole source of help for my mother in handling both the logistics and helping her deal with her stress and grief during that time, and all of that left me sliding into a state of constant infections and exhaustion such that I ended up in a state of adrenal burnout. I am in the process of recovering from the burnout and recently reached the place where I have enough energy to be able to take a more active role in my healing by making lifestyle changes. I believe your work would be of immense help.
Thanks and best wishes,
Leslie Walker
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’ve struggled most of my life trying to get stronger and build health. There is TOO much information out there and a lot of it is bullshit. It’s really hard to know what to believe! I’m forced to do a lot of self-experimentation of different diets and training programs to cut through the fluff of information overload. There are too many “experts” spreading either misinformation or in most cases, one sided information that will only work for some of the population. They’ve got to qualify who their product, method is for; one man’s poison is another’s medicine and neutral for the third.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Stress steals away from everything you do. Stress really is holistic – it really doesn’t matter what the source, it’s all treated the same in the body. Removing stress will make you perform better in the ring, in the office and make you a better lover. People can smell your stress – I want to have a positive influence on everyone around me and set an example of what a primal life should feel like.
I was in top shape… then I have let events of my life knock me to the ground and under. Being in a brain coma like state, doing my obligations like nothing was going on but being unable to restart my motivation, my taste for life, for 15 years… I took 90 pounds. Recently, 3 years ago, menopause helping, I guess, my hormones changed, I lost 30 pounds, gained back my motivation to go back to my top shape. I am going to the gym 3 times a week, I’m changing my diet but resault are so slow to aapear; I guess my metabolism is KO. I’ll be retired soon and want to regain my top shape for the rest of my life. I believe your program is a powerfull support for people like me and I would love to be one of the winners for this would be the beginning of my recovered life. It would be a blessing to me. I am grateful to you for offering this to us. Wish me luck, Have a nice life.
Love, Johanne.
Hi Scott – for me changing the negative impact of stress means staying alive. In January 2009 I was diagnosed with a rare tumour in the base of my skull behind the eyes. I took all the chemo they could give me, but turned down the radiotherapy because of the severe risk to my health and eyesight. Because of the tumour’s location surgery is not an option. After researching what I could do for myself I knew that along with the right food and exercise, managing stress in my life was paramount. In the years prior to diagnosis my wife and I had a difficult marriage with near breakup twice. Whilst I will never know what caused my cancer I do know that the severe emotional stress I carried around with me coupled with the drinking, gorging of food and bouts of sporadic intense exercise certainly didn’t help and probably contributed to an environment in which my cancer could thrive. I know now that managing the health of my mind and body is my best chance of living a long and healthy life despite the presence of Tommy (my nickname for the tumour). A career change from IT to health and fitness has been one aspect of this strategy. My search for how to live a healthy fit life has uncovered many of your programs, many elements of which I use on myself and with my clients with great success. I would dearly love to get hold of your latest work and if I don’t win it I will definitely be buying it. Keep up the great work.
1. After two years of studying and practicing Circular Strength Training techniques I am comfortable with my stress levels and physical condition. My challenge is rubbing-off on family, friends and others. The times I fail at helping others effects my overall condition so I am constantly reinventing myself to progress.
2. I understand I can only help others if I am solid in my own foundation and how I live by example. This keeps me focused on my goals of giving to others.
I’ve been frustrated in trying to improve my fitness by consistency. Traditional methods see me starting to make gains only to come down with either injury or illness, particularly since turning 40. I’ve been frustrated in achieving good gains by this inability to move consistently forward. I am however determined to find a way beyond this and achieve well rounded and well balanced health and fitness.
Being responsible for the lives, and futures, of people that look to me for help can be a huge weight. I see others deal with the stress of this by choosing not to care. I can’t do that. Taking care of others is not just my job, or even obligation. It is my calling. But even so, the stress still exists and gets internalized. Besides the usual symptoms like migraines, I will often get pains that have no apparent cause – I assume to be the result of how I am handling stress. With Primal Stress, I hope to deal with these issues in a more productive manner and become better at taking care of the others I help and protect.
I have just recieved my first Tacfit clubbells a week ago along with the Intuflo video and the Big Book Of Clubbells by Scott. I have devoured the information and review things every night. I’m 58 years old and a year and a half ago I was on nine medications and was told by my GP that I would have to have a foot and a half of my colon removed. FINALLY, I was motivated but I new I could not do just another diet. I actually had to do a lifestyle I could live with. After much research and studying I decided the Primal way of life made sense to me. To this date I have lost 106lbs., I take zero over the counter or prescription meds. I have more energy and vitality than I have in my life and am in the best shape I’ve been in since discharged from the Army 36 years ago. Two months ago I resumed my martial arts training after a twenty year lay off. Now I think I can improve further and faster with Circular Strength Training. Right now I’m “cleaning the slate” and for the first time ever actually journaling my days and progress. Thank you Scott!! Just so you know this is no kiss up to get this package. I was going to put a note on FB like this anyway. One day after I’ve made progress with my training I won’t feel intimidated with all of the youngsters and I’ll attend a seminar on coaching so that I can pass on what I have learned about living and taking care of this gift that God has given us. Thanks again!!
I work away for 8 days on a mine site then have 6 days at home, on each 8 day swing at work I work 12 hours of dayshift, then 6 days off then 8 nights , 12 hours then home again for 6 days, while I’m at work catering is provided and it can be hard to follow the diet you reccomend in your tacfit programs. My fitness is growing slowly and I’m sure if I didn’t abuse my body by working shifts I’d be progessing a lot faster. Thanks for your programs, I find something new everytime I start one again
Your blog/post on facebook has brought my understanding of your life and motivations to a whole new level. I had no idea who you were until I was looking for a workout DVD before my last middle east deployment in 2007 as saw your Flow Fit campain. You provided this DVD free of charge to the military and change my views on fitness completly. I have purchased several of RMax Dvd since then and will continue in the future. This program seems to be the granddaddy, so looking forword to seeing this one in person.
I’m looking for a program that combines all the factors of joint mobility, strength, and fitness. Most programs only focus on one area so you end up buying other programs or trying to make things fit from other ones. Primal does it all.
I’m committed to changing because I am aging (54) and need a program that has all the fitness factors especially the flow and revive flow portions. Getting this program will reduce the stress factor of trying to find all the parts to make a good program, and secondly having a program ready made will reduce stress even more.
Thanks
Hi Scott~
I’m a former marathoner and former ‘bodybuilding lifestyle’ aficionado. I went from bodybuilding to marathoning thinking that I was undertaking a healthier way to become ‘healthy’. That was ok for a while but proved that the fall out at the end of the 26.2 was not the way to become ‘healthier’.
I then got onto the couch potato mode and gained a bunch of weight/fat because I was still eating the same amount of food as I was when running. I had regained some ‘health’ on the couch but over a short period of time, this ‘couching’ idea was not the way to a healthy lifestyle.
I’ve engaged kettlebell training with a certain amount of success and then I was struck with ‘adhesive capsulitis’ or frozen shoulder which stalled all health producing advantages of a moderate kb training lifestyle. I’ve had frozen shoulder for the last two years and have used clubbells for the last year to keep my shoulders mobile or as mobile as they can be, given the circumstances. The frozen shoulder continues to this day.
Nutritionally speaking, I eat fairly well and can only conclude that what you speak about with the ‘Primal Stress’ would be a very valuable tool to return to a sense of well being and go beyond to a state of total health!
Living in daily severe pain for the last two years has shown me that the ‘stress’ of no sleep due to the intense nightly pain produced by the frozen shoulder, wreaks havoc on my health and well being. Anything to get back to a ‘normal’ life would certainly be a worthy commitment!
Sincerely,
Guy Bedard
1) How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Answer: I constantly seem to have an Yo-yo effect first building some better conditioning, muscle mass and health and later falling back down.
2) Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Answer: Because I want to improve in my physical activities. I want to especially be able to preform better at bjj and grappling tournements.
Being 76 years old, I appreciate your always including a beginner level.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am a 57-year-old single mother who has gained 80 pounds over the past 12 years working 65-70 hours a week, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I took my first vacation in over 12 years this June and made the conscious decision to change my life by reducing the enormous stress in my life and begin taking care of myself, getting healthy and enjoying life. I’ve changed my eating patterns and started walking since returning from my vacation and I am happy to report I have lost 15 pounds. I am committed to continue on a healthy path.
Teresa
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I want to gain back my weight.
I want to fit back from size X-Large to Large to Medium.
I want to look sexy…Oh it’s so frustrating to look back years younger and sexier.
I love food…i love to eat snacks…and i have a hard time gaining back my health and fitness.
I’ve been to the gym, get done with Taebo and Belly dancing . But they are all temporay.Why? Time constrain from
household choirs and of course laziness to dess up and go.
With the constant change in my eating habits and life’s routine. I’ve gained too much weight and developed food related diseases.
it’s really frustrating knowing that everything is leading mo to a stressfull life.
The negative impact brought by this problem helped me realized that I need change. Maybe drastic changed or else i will be dead at 60.
I am frustrated by trying to change my health/fitness because I am having problems developing that positive mental attitude that I need to do some exercise every day due to my health.
I want to change the negative impact of stress in my life because of my health problem, I am 38 and suffer from high blood pressure and have a slightly enlarged aorta. Obviously stress is not good for anybody, let alone somebody that has high blood pressure and I would like to be able to deal with/ eliminate stress before its makes my problem worse.
1) How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Frustration with any fitness program begins for me when I feel like I am capable of doing something and my body says, “NO.” I am nearly 45 years young. I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis as a child which left some deformation in my bones, one leg shorter than the other. I was also hit by a car as an adolescent and my left knee has NEVER been the same. I hear bones creaking and rubbing together when I bend down. The only thing I have been able to do consistently is walking and yoga.
2) Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Stress is a KILLER!! I realize no one will ever be truly free of ALL stress, but I committed about 5 years ago to NOT let stress steal my life away. Yoga and breathing exercises my grandmother taught me years ago are how I cope with and reduce my stress levels.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have experienced many frustrating factors on the voyage of improving my body; some have been physical but most have been psychological, gaining control of my thoughts and attitude to fitness, routine and diet has been the hardest, not realising what I needed most was to be inspired to make the changes, instead of just mindlessly slogging it out.
Initially setting a fitness rhythm was difficult as I was very overweight and any exercise I engaged in I found quite overwhelming. My technique wasn’t great and the way I shocked my nervous system back into life wasn’t at all pleasant, experiencing post exercise nausea and shakes, but then the vision of what I could become started to form, and cascaded from my thoughts into the physical world!
I was very frustrated when caught in patterns of behaviour that lead to over eating and missing training, again a lack of logical safeguards to keep me on track so I would slip back, sitting at home watching TV and eating bad food, isolating myself – gaining useless mass. The worst element of bad cycles is the emotional loop: Bored – Over-Indulge – Guilt – Lack of Motivation, and when caught, without psychological strategies in place, I found it very difficult to break this cycle.
I must mention at this juncture, that the catalyst for changing my mind and body was researching the TACFIT programs, learning about the effects of stress, and why it is so important to be able to effectively respond in pressurised situations, this knowledge prompted me to take control of my own health. This addressed the root of my frustration and with that taken care of I was and continue to be inspired, following a sensible fitness plan one day at a time!
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Survival motivates me. The ability to overcome adverse challenges, master my body and emotions in demanding situations is what I deem to be the highest skill a human being can develop, because without this there can be no progression, no adaptability, and poor chance of survival.
I made the decision to apply to the armed forces as a combat medic, this has expedited the process, focusing my efforts with an aim I am striving for, responsibly pushing my perceived limits of toughness and resiliance, strengthening my commitment to changing the impact of negative stress in my life.
“Is it worth it?” I’d asked myself as I’d finished 3.1 miles, mostly uphill with a 26lb Bulgarian bag perched on top of my shoulders the whole way. I was raining sweat; one eye had closed so as to keep the stinging, salty stuff out it (wiping one’s eyes while balancing a bouncing Bulgarian bag is rather difficult and I’d resolved that I must neither stop running nor let the bag hit the ground). I’d finished the race with a significantly slower pace and I felt dazed and wasted. I tested my blood sugar after the run. The monitor said I was 24mg/dl.
I’m a type 1 diabetic and have been since I was 13. I’m now 30 and every day is a battle to keep my blood sugars in normal range and to stave off the long-term effects of the insidious disease. I work as a nurse who serves those who cannot afford healthcare and I’ve seen more than my fair share of the debilitating effects of the disease. I don’t present as a typical diabetic. I’m 5’9” and 150 wiry lbs with oddly muscular forearms and a stomach that has broken 2x2s. I am constantly pushing myself just to achieve what I feel is athletic mediocrity. But the chances are remote that I will have to look forward to a life free of disease-related complications, even with my ordinarily exceptional blood sugar control.
This is my constant frustration. I subject myself to the athletic forge and watch my diet like a hawk, I constantly push myself in order to achieve…the same fate as any other diabetic? Will it all be worth it in the end? Not even the most experienced endocrinologists can say.
So then I view myself as something of an experiment. If I can maintain myself, if I can ‘go the distance’ of my life without complications, I can not only facilitate hope in my field, I can live it. I can be the example who says, “You DON’T have to wind up this way!” to my patients. I can empower them with a choice. I can facilitate the forging of their own personal commitments to themselves, their families and loved ones. I can possibly open the door to their own hard-won peace of mind even.
The deck is stacked against me and, I must admit that this all may be a lifelong (and quite literal!) exercise in frustration. But most of the time, I believe its worth it. Even if I fail in my goal. Peace is hard to come by when you’re constantly worrying about your health. But I resolve my commitments to myself and my patients to live by example that we, as people, are stronger than our collected lashes, woes, faults and disadvantages and that we can not only manage our tribulations; we can be made better by them.
Best wishes and please take care…
I have studied the martial arts for a long time. I am 66 and just use the moves now to stay moving. but the breathing I learned through the martial arts I still use. I know how important breathing is and the oxengenation of the cells are. I have been using a power lung for about 6 years or longer and see the benifits from it. I am very interested in what you have to say. Thanks and God Bless you and your works Steve
My name is Valery and I’ m 23.
The last 2,5 years I was working in the office on computer a lot.
In december of the last year I was visiting a doctor and I was diagnosed with osteochondrosis.
After learning in the internet what osteochondrosis is, I understood that I need to find some physical exercises,
and in the first half of this year I’ve tried lots of them. And none of them makes me feel better.
There is so much programs out there and and so much information, so it was really frustrating for
me to find the one that works, but I think that I’ve finally found it (intu-flow).
Thank you Coach and sorry for my english)
I want to commit to a program that I can stick to. I am tired of the roller coaster effect. Something simple, something true.
1. How have you need frustrated with trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. I’m 24 right now and I’ve done everything to try to reduce my weight from playing sports, martial arts, weight lifting, kettlebells, body weight exercises, and walking/running to no avail. Most of the time I start to see small results then something changes to upend my schedule and all results go out the window and I take about 20 steps back from my 1 steps forward. Events that upend my schedule range from school work(the past), injuries, just a high volume of stress(I’m a stress eater), and change of work hours. I’m actually tired of being over weight and getting towards my last straw for trying to improve.
2. Why are you commited to changing the negative impact of stress on your life?
I’m 200% commited because I’m a stress eater and EVERYTHING causes me stress. With less stress in my life my frustration from the first question will go away or atleast be managable to where I’ll stay commited even through the upending of my workout schedule and turn those 20 steps back into 20 steps forward. Also people can tell when others are stressed and that effects them. So not only will I be using this for myself, I will be sharing with my parents who are so high strung about this, that, and everything else to hopefully lead to an all around better family life because they deserve to be stress free and live a restful and more relaxed life.
Everyone has stress in their lives. Its how we deal with that stress that sets some apart from others. Your writings and practices are a road map to show others that it isn’t impossible, and, no one has to reside “at the bottom”. Fortunately some learn that early in life, for others, like me (and based on comments read here, a few others) it takes a few hard knocks before we look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, do I want to continue life like this?
Our society seems to believe that anything can be accomplished in a a short time, and, I believe that is why so many diets, exercise programs, etc fail. Few are committed to stick to it, and follow thru. Again, you provide a road map. you never say its going to be easy, and, I admire your honesty.
My work requires travel, so there are hotels, airports, rental cars, no set schedule for eating, exercising, etc. I have to make the time, and have to just do it. No excuses. When you reach elite status as a traveler, its easy to succumb to temptations. Free drinks when upgraded to first class on a flight. Free drinks in the concierge lounges. After a while, that takes a toll. I have learned to limit those indulgences, and some of that came thru reading some of your works. Join that with having to be a pallbearer a couple of times woke me up. It wasnt a fun wake up call either, but, in all honesty, I needed it.
Keep up the good work.
Regards,
Joel Mayo
Hi Scott,
I’d like to start by saying, that I’ve been following you for 3 or 4 years now, and I am very impressed by what you’ve achieved considering how things started out for you. I also find your material to be some of the best out there. I have to admit that I do like the work they are doing at DragonDoor as well. With all the “boot camps” and crossfit mania that’s out there right now there aren’t too many people encouraging the “less is more” approach to fitness and health.
I have put in a lot of time exercising over the last 5 years and, except for increased strength, I’m no further ahead in my overall fitness. I also have increased joint pain and lousy mobility to show for it as well. My wife and I are expecting our first child in a few months and I want to have the energy and health to be a great father and to give my wife the support she deserves; especially during the first few months when sleep will be hard to come by. I also want to develop the right approach to health and fitness so I am there for him for many years to come. I am committed to changing my fitness now cause I have to be. I am definitely going to have increased stress in my life shortly trying to balance a newborn and a job where I work 11 – 12 hours a day; over the foreseeable future my mind is gong to be focused on my new baby and work. A program that will spell everything out for me is exactly what I need.
Thank you for all the material you have shared to this point,
Adam
I am a 50 year old father with a 7 week old little boy. I am committed to staying healthy and active and involved with my new little one for many years to come. I have exercised for most of my life and feel that I’m in good shape for my age but that is not to say that I don’t have aches, pains or that I haven’t noticed a slow loss in flexibility.
I have learned and gained a lot from your other programs. I believe this program to be the culmination of your knowledge and experience which will fill in those little gaps that I still have and also provide new ideas and insights into which need to be explored.
1) How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Answer: Finding the balance between functional and general strength and conditioning training
2) Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Answer: Because I want to reduce or release stress and reduce my recovery time
Dear Scott,
Stress is a virus that attacks my body. It tenses up my muscles and limits my flexibility, a big dose of it gives me a headache, a bigger dose attacks my tonsils and they become inflamed. The end result is medical treatment and not being able to train for a couple of days. I dont even want to think of the long term effects it has on my body!
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because it is making me sick too often. I know that if I apply stress reducing techniques then I will be healthier and happier.
I have experimented with a few techniques to reduce the effects of stress in my life. From breathing to visualising to exercising. I have had limited success with these techniques. I am still sick too often.
I want to increase my knowledge and understanding of how to reduce the negative effects of stress. Any help would be appreciated.
Kind regards,
Kevin
It seems like every time I have tried to start an exercise regime, dietary shift, meditation practice, whatever, life intervened with giant crises. To respond to the new demand I set aside my budding new practice long enough that it dies on the vine. Even the activities that I have been able to hang onto, like weekly martial arts classes, suffer the same frequent preemption for seemingly more important “stuff.”
Most of the pressures that derail any attempt to take care of my physical and mental health seem to come from work, but I feel resentment from my family too for the time taken. Of course the most insidious detractors come from in my own head.
I can feel it quite literally killing me. I can recall periods of ease in movement and breathing that just plain feel so much better than I feel right now. Too much time in a desk chair and too much unreleased stress have left me aching in every joint and in my heart.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
After my accident the doctors said that I was not to expect much better mobility. I lived with the limits for over 10 years. Since I have been doing into-flow for over a year now and have improved greatly. My current frustration is losing the weight I have put on over years of limited activity and strengthening my body as a whole rather than isolated areas.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I have seen the real change from following the into-flow program. It has helped me clear away my skepticism of exercise and fitness programs. I have made the changes in my schedule and priorities to make that work. I know now that I am capable to make additional changes. An old boss said to me once, “Drastic changes do not take hold. Incremental changes do.”
I am 60 going on 61 years old, consider myself young at heart but my body IS aging and due to some domestic viloence issues in my mid 20′s, I have sufferred some permanent damage to my hip and ribs resulting in arthritis setting in. The pain has left me with insomnia and frustration that I cannot function at a “normal” level of what I feel I should be able to do. It has also brought me to a step closer in my personal faith journey understanding that I must and have forgiven the terribly sick person who did this damage to myself and ultimately destroyed my family. Baby steps going forward to mend the hearts of my children are still occuring. Becasue of the pain present , I have found it impossible to “work out” with intensity and only create more pain and discourage mysefl from getting any kind of exercise at all. I have gained 50 poungs over the last 12 years, enjoying immensely the wonderful meals my darlin’ husband makes for me, but alas it shows! I hasve also developed additional health issues (diabetes) and some liver issues which the doctor feels will diminish by losing most of my weight gain.
2. I have a wonderful husband and faith life which leads our journey in many directions along with working a full day at stressful job, full of people complaining and in a political evironment, back stabbing amongst office personnel, etc. I need to be able to give to others without carrying a load of negativity around with me . In addition and certainly high up on the priority in the scale of ife, I have 14 grandchidlren whom I love and adore with all of my heart. I want to be on this earthly plain to watch them grow up, have families and with Gods blessings see them have their own families. I cannot do this in the shape that I am in. Perhaps, I will not qualify for your “free”items because I have already begun to experience the benefits of INTUFLOW and now FLOWFIT! However, I am submitting my request in order to progress further in my journey to health. We are on a extremely limited budget and must save here and there for every purchase which is a good thing, it gives me incentive rather than discouragement. I do get “stuck” when I want to soak in more knowledge and cannot “progress” due to lack of funds. This month for example I had planned on making a large purchase from RMAX and found that I will need to take that money to give to someone else to help them out. All is good in that regard of course. Thank you for sharing! God bless!
Hey Scott!
Here are my answers to your questions:
How have I been frustrated trying to improving my health and why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life?
For the past 4 years I’ve lost quite a bit of weight. I started at 270lbs.. and am now fluctuating in the 170s-180s. I’ve been in the martial arts for a long time and have been into mma (which really exploded my fitness) and now am very focused on boxing. My passions have always drawn me to try to understand the potential of the human body as well as gain the ultimate goal of freedom of movement. I’ve made some great strides in my fitness and training, but my biggest frustration is in finding balance.
I’m not just looking for balance in myself, but also to help others be balanced as well. I don’t have a strong story like others would. Life wasn’t as hard as its come to others across the globe. I’ve had my bouts of depression, been kicked down and had to pull myself back up, usually with no guiding light to point me in the right direction. Now my commitment is not only in helping myself but to also to understand the right mechanisms so that I can help others gain that strength as well. To have the balance between suppleness and strength. The ultimate expression of the human cause.
-Jon
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’ve been frustrated because every time I really get going on a fitness routine…it seems I either get injured or sick. I have scoliosis..so have always had to fight imbalances in my body. I strive to create balance and give myself time for recovery, but always feel like I’ve got more in the tank..it’s hard to pull myself back when I feel like I can give more. I’ve also had a lot of stress the past 3 yrs with my husband being deployed..we’ve been married for 3yrs and he has been deployed for over half of it. We had to move a year ago..he now has a job where he only has to travel a few weeks out of the month, but because of this move..my children(from a previous marriage) are only with me during school breaks and during the summer . I started having heart palpitations and almost passing out when I work out really hard…I know this has been from stress and lack of sleep..but I also know that to help relieve the stress..I’ve got to keep my body moving.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because I want to be the best woman I can be for myself, my children, my husband, friends, family. I’ve been a nurse for 15yrs and a personal trainer for 9 months. I’ve want to be the best at all of my “jobs” that I can. In order for me to be my best, I’ve got to be able to manage stress in a productive way. I’m selfish, I want to meet my great grandchildren one day:-). Thank you Coach Sonnon for your consideration and all of the wonderful programs you’ve given to the world.
Respectfully,
Tiffani
I need to makes many changes in my life. I have procrastinated long enough.
Stress has taken a toll on me and my health. I have decided to commit to this
much needed change!!! I can do it!!!!!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My frustrations have been purely in my mind. 5 years ago I was a 18.5 stone nearly alcoholic 20 a day smoker. I decided to lose weight and have lost 14.5 stone, I don’t drink nearly as much and I only sometimes smoke. My problem is that I still lean towards my old ‘props’, alcohol and nicotione’ if I am low and I know that without them I would see much better fitness results. It is my self-control that needs the exercising !
Scott,
I’m a 46 year old retired U. S. Marine (Infantry) with multiple combat tours and I now work as a police officer in Virginia. I was diagnosed in 2008 with severe PTSD and have been on the road to recovery ever since. It’s sort of like alcoholism…I don’t believe that you are ever completely out of the woods with it. I’m very active and I work out as much as I can. However My body doesn’t respond or recover like it used to and I find myself plagued with injuries and then long lulls of no exercise at all to recover. It’s a very discouraging cycle. My mind is still young. I want to go and do like I did as a young Marine, and I can to a degree, but then I have to pay the price. I would love to find a system that could allow me to make steady progress so I can continue to grow and learn, physically as well as mentally. I want to be able to manage and mitigate the stress and fear that I have from PTSD and use those experiences to help others. I love your products and I wish you continued success in all that you do.
Jay
Hi,
I really enjoy your products. Looking forward to your new stuff.
1. How have you been frustrated with trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’ve been frustrated because while I was in the Army, living a warriors lifestyle was a no brainer, it was everything we did. Now that I’m on my own as a Veteran in a civilain world, the lack of structure in my schedule is the biggest frustration of all. Without something to anchor my schedule (pt) I flounder. The other thing is since my activity level has dropped my appetite level is still high. The combination of the two is frustrating my health, fitness and overall well being.
2. Why are you commited to changing the negative impact of stress on your life?
I’m committed to transforming the negative impact stress has because it (stress) physically affects me. After military service stress is no longer easy for me to manage. Physical activity seems to be the only thing that helps me manage. So, when the frustration kicks in because of structure and gluttony the stress increases and this whole viscious circle effect takes place. I want to break free from that so I can just relax.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am lucky to not be frustrated with my health and wellness. I do, however, love to study and learn from others in order to help those around me. This is why your book will help me.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I think stress is at the root of all disease and dysfunction. Stop the stress, stop the disease. Every disease is merely a label for chronic and overwhelming stress levels manifesting differently in every individual. It’s a way of identification. That’s it. Stress is at the root of all of it.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been dealing with both a mood disorder since I was a teenager and a problem utilizing thyroid hormone for more than 20 years (probably longer). I run out of energy with most exercise programs no matter how carefully I moderate them. I have always suspected that the base cause has been the effects of stress on my body. I continue a campaign to remain active; I am a belly dancer; I aspire to be an aerial dancer. My struggle has been to find an exercise program that supports my dance as well as my work life. I have been “making do” with the programs I’ve tried.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I believe that stress, both emotional and physical, has been the root cause of my shortcomings. I have dedicated my life to releasing the stress trapped within my body. I have used energy meridian techniques, NeuroLinguistic Programming and a host of self-help books. I am now at a point where I can focus on releasing the bodily stress response patterns. I am taking an aerial dance class in order to face some of my fears: I am afraid of heights as well as being upside down while unsupported by solid ground. I have found that the most basic movements help me identify maladaptive physical responses. This gives me valuable insight in the things I need to work on. (Next up, fire dance!)
I found your IntuFlow program to be very enlightening. I also appreciate the science and experience that you put into your programs. I hope that the focus of this program will help me further my goals to overcome the negative impact that stress has had on my life.
Thank you for your dedication to informing the world about your discoveries!
After having surgery on my shoulder almost a year ago I have had nothing but health issues ever since. Everything hurts all the time!
The last six months have been hell for me, I have had a colonoscopy,ultra-sounds, ex-rays, nuclear scans and three weeks ago an endoscopy that revealed four ulcers and Barett esophogus. My life is full of stress, I have a 6 year old grandson who has Oppositional Defiance Disorder which is very hard for our entire family. I am only 50 years old and feel like my life is about over. I have never been good at processing my stress, I need help.
1. I’m frustrated in not being able to reach certain fitness goals because of the lack of optimal programming that many “programs” have. This causes stress which in turn causes a downward spiral of effects that further limit me in reaching my goals.
2. I’m committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because it will allow me to reach my fullest potential and be able to give to others and help others where I have had problems of my own.
Thanks
I’m always pushing the limits. That’s what you’ve taught me, among many other things. I want to see how far I can go. In every dimension. I’m 52 and while I’m in the best shape of my life, I’m a long way from moving — and being — like you do. Is it possible for someone my age? Can I move better and perform better and be stronger as I age, as Life becomes more challenging? So far, your work has been a huge asset to me. I’m ready for all you’ve got.
1. There are many frustrations on my journey. Some back pain resulting from a car wreck which reoccurs occasionally(mostly when I am not moving enough)It can be anything from minor aches to feeling like I am being stabbed in the back rarely…But, I am lucky to be a live let alone have such minor issue from it:D. Some neck and hip pain probably from sitting down for most of the day at work and some days while I am not at work(on the laptop). Some recurring hand and forearm pain(computers have really been the death of my health it seems.)
More recently I have been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia and keeping my diet in check and figuring out what I need to do with my diet around exercising time is frustrating. There is much info for diabetics it seems. But, I haven’t found much of anything related to my condition.
I also work graveyard shifts which can take a bit of a toll at times. Unfortunately its what I need to do at the moment though.
2. I am commited to making a change because I see the difference when I take steps towards a more healthy living. My days go by faster, I am happier and more productive. The people in my life enjoy me more and I can enjoy them better myself when I am not in pain or just not feeling well in general. My hypoglycemia, also gives me a not so friendly reminder (dizziness, the shakes, irritability, lack of focus, blurry vision)of why I really need to take care of myself as well.
Thanks for your time scott
Everyone obviously wants to exercise to relieve stress, to look good, and to stay healthy. But in a fitness routine you need to look at tension and Stress. Look at what brings you tension and what brings you relaxation. Breathing is the most important part of movement and recovery. It is the only thing that can control all other systems in the body. Tension equals stress in the body and stress leads to disease. We need to find ways to move our bodies and exercise with minimal stress and/or be able to recover from stress or tension. The best way is to learn how to breathe properly.
Hi Scott, First thank you for your generosity in providing the opportunity to get this package.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Answer: My frustration/concern is finding a program that not only I can continue but mostly for my wife to use as she is having body image issues.We currently weight train together (a simple program of squats, bench presses, bent over rows and upright-type rows). We eat as natural as we can; she even makes our own granola and foods from local organic farmers. So helping her is part of my frustration.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Answer: I have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and have been free of it for the last few years. I recently visited my family of which colon issues seems to run in – mother had colon, stomach, and breast cancers which resulted in surgeries but no chemo; dad had his colon removed due to polyps; sister has diverticulitis. Needless to say I want to stay healthy. I’ll be 64 on 9/11. My wife is 12 years younger and I want to enjoy our time together as we plan to do a lot of traveling. We both practice the 5 Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz as a way to keep things in perspective to reduce stress and we support each other in our individual goals. All this is to live freer and not be controlled by fear and to be our own person.
Thanks for reading. And best wishes to all who respond.
Frank
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My frustration comes from trying to balance my primary responsibilities of being a loving and attentive husband and father with taking care of myself. Meaning finding time for exercise, spirituality and meditation and committing to eating right. If you knew me personally you might not think that diet is a big deal for me. I can still get away with eating garbage and not suffer any outwardly visible negative impacts such as weight gain. But it still affects my health and sense of well-being.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am an addict. I’ve been fortunate to not get caught up in chemical addictions, but I’ve struggled with the so-called “natural” addictions for almost my entire life. I believe that an important part of my recovery is being able to listen to my body, my emotions, my thoughts and feelings and understand when I begin to have dysfunctional patterns so that I can take the appropriate measures to release and let go of them. I’ve used Intu-Flow as an important tool for this and have found success with it. I’m very interested in this new program to further help me in recovering and living a deliberate life instead of a reactive one.
I don’t want to pass my same weaknesses and problems on to my children, I want to teach them how to appropriately manage stress and cope with life by engaging in it and not escaping into compulsions and addictions. They learn more by example than anything I can say to them – that is why I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life.
1) How have you been frustrated trying to improve health and fitness?
As the Command Master Chief of a Naval Hospital, I deploy Corpsman to Afghanistan on a regular basis. Getting them fit to go is a challenge. I use TACFIT Commando and Kettlebell Spetnaz to get them ready. They leave here fit and healthy. It’s when they return that challenges me. They have cared for the sick and injured at the point of injury. During this time they carry a heavy load on their back, have to scramble into uncomfirtable postions that challenge their mobility as well as the chronic overuse injuries they all incur. Foremost in my mind is the knowledge that they bear the emotional burden of having been exposed to some of the most devastating injuries you can imagine. The journey to Physical Fitness and health can heal more than just your body.
2.)I am committed to change the negative stress in our lives so we can better care for our patients and be spiritually reintegrated with out friends and families. Ultimately be better people mentally, physically and emotionally.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
For years, since a child, I have battled my own motivation issues. I began martial arts in primary school, but by the time I got to uni, I found myself experiencing lots of different pains. Irritable bowel syndrome, a neck that would randomly and repeatedly lock into place and need a neck brace for no apparent reason and various other things kept getting in the way. OSteitis pubis (for which I had injections and physiotherapy), probably caused by labral tears in each hip, led to athroscopies, which took almost 12months to recover from (when I was a gym instructor/PT suppose to help others get fit!). Plantar fasciitis, bilateral de Quervain’s synovitis, and recurrent bursitis in one shoulder (again connected with the hip labral tears). Random pains throughout my hands and arms that were “inexplicable” but related to neck issues. All of this intersected with an ongoing heightened sympathetic tone and anxiety. Throw into all of this, after years of trying to understand why I couldn’t seem to stick to anything, why I would just lose motivation, I was finally (mis)diagnosed with unipolar depression and medicated for it. The medications influenced me such that I put on more than 10kg in 8 weeks and I couldn’t even walk up a flight of five steps without holding on to the rail. All while being a personal trainer, supposedly helping others get healthy. I was then more correctly diagnosed as having bipolar depression type I, and medicated appropriately, which has made a difference – but still I struggle to keep healthy. The emotional motivation, the fears of failure and the recurrent injuries all put a dampener on the fight to stay healthy and help others to do the same. Throw into this mix a bunch of food intolerances (at one point my naturopath identified that I could safely only eat rice, meat, and corn without reacting to it. We peeled back some of the layers but it has been a long struggle to get healthy and balanced). When I finally felt like I was getting some of these physical things under control (about five years ago) I sat down in front of tree to eat lunch one day and I felt and heard a pop in my lower back and a shooting, lightening pain running down my left leg. I went from being able to do a full plow to not being able to walk around without excessive pain and tingling down the limb. All my work had to be reworked, relearning how to walk, flex at the spine and hips and touch beyond my knees again. And then, just when I thought it was all going great guns (last year), I was demonstrating some back hold wrestling at a public meeting, and dislocated a knee. It just seems to be that one thing always follows another. So here I am, trying to get fit and healthy again, trying to manage stress and get stronger and regain and maintain health. It’s not about me being perfect, it’s about me learning how to manage it all.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I have a beautiful family, three kids, one of whom is a baby, and a wife who has sacrificed so much to allow me to reinvent our business so many times and to study Masters level again so that I can in turn help others. Excess stress in my life amounts to me having hypomanic or depressed episodes, where things go out of control and I have so much less capacity to deal with tough decisions and the temptations of my addictive behaviours – these things could destroy not just my marriage but also the lives of my three adorable kids. I have the opportunity to be a blessing rather than a burden to my family. And in the process, I can impart that life story and knowledge on to my clients to help them best achieve a well-balanced life. It’s time for me to make some serious changes because I have to keep fighting – otherwise I just have to sit in the corner and watch life go by, like a wilting plant. I don’t want to wilt. I want to grow and facilitate similar growth in others. That’s it.
Hello. I have been frustrated with my mental health and physical fitness since I joined the Army in 2010. The exercises I am constantly repeating from day to day (whether it be push-ups, sit-ups, or running) leave my body feeling more damaged than anything. We don’t properly stretch, and the muscle groups we do work have no supporting muscle groups since our routine is so ROUTINE! The stress in my life between a wife, a 5 month old baby girl, a deployment to Kuwait next month and another to Afghanistan in May, not to even mention the financial strain, you could imagine the wreck that my mind has become from improper stress management. It affects my attitude towards life, causes me a great deal of bitterness, fatigue, and lack of motivation to do much else at the end of the day except sit in one place and zone out. Im incapable of showing my family the love they deserve and need. I know there are natural, organic ways to manage this stress because it’s not going to go away, and the Army’s answer is Zoloft, Prozac, you name it. The time for change is now. I need to address this unending stress before it eats my family and I alive. This revolution seems perfect for me.
Yours respectfully,
Aaron Wallenburg
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Simply, I have yet to find a program I have time for, can afford, I believe in, and keeps my interest!!! This in itself causes stress!!!
2. Why are you commited to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am commited to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because I am TIRED OF IT!!! I am SICK of hearing others telling me: “You are too stressed!!! You need to slow down!!! You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack!!!” I get even more stressed and aggravated by this because they have NO idea what I have been through and what I have on my plate. I am a single mother of 2 boys, work, and have been remodeling a townhouse I purchased by myself for 2 years now…along w/ALL the other things life brings your way you have to deal with. If I knew how to rid my life of stress…I WOULD HAVE DONE IT BY NOW!!! I also get frustrated by the fact my sons CONSTANTLY witness me under stress…THIS IS NOT GOOD!!! I do NOT want them growing up thinking this is how life is. I am a perfectionist by nature, so this doesn’t help any either! I am tired of the depression AND negative thoughts the stress brings with it! I would LOVE to gain some weight and learn to relax…NO ONE WHO KNOWS ME WOULD BELIEVE IT IF I DID…LOL!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!
P.S. Thank you for this opportunity!
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I’ve been through many stressors in my life and I have fought change hard. It started with a knee injury, I still have remnants with me. I began really changing after a week and a half of paralysis. I realized I had to make a change in how I viewed my self. So, I am on the journey towards finding what keeps me and my body happy and healthy. It will be a lifelong process but I also know it will benefit many people for me to figure this out. I am a Feldenkrais Practitioner so I have clients who deal with a lot of stress also. They come to me for relief from pain. In order to help others, I must first help myself. I have helped myself get rid of continual body and joint pain, intermittent debilitating headaches, and hours of exhaustion (sleeping for 20 – 24 hours every day for almost 2 years and, no, I wasn’t depressed). I am finally ready to begin building my body back up physically because I have some energy to do so. I have begun using my training to come up with simple techniques to build my body physically while respecting the limitations which have developed from so many years of being in a recliner.
While I want to help myself, I also want to use my life as an example for others and as a way of understanding other’s struggles and emotions around their stress. I want to help people find their way back to themselves, the child within, and health. I believe all disease is caused by stress. I believe stress in completely underestimated in our society for the ills it causes. I believe we must look within and relieve the stress in order to find our way back to health, compassion for ourselves, and a deep, abiding love of our existence.
Thank you for sharing your stories and for your posts. It is my hope that, someday, our world will recognize the value of each individual so no one will ever have to go through the hardships of judgement and hate which create so much fear. It is my hope that there will come a day when we will not lose the knowledge we have when we are born and we will always have love for those around us.
Best in Life,
Therese
MY FRUSTRATIONS when it comes to improving my health and fitness is directly connected to my quality of life while i was younger. I by no means feel that i had the worst childhood, although i will guarantee it wasnt the best. My father was (and still is) drug addicted, an alcoholic, and carries a violent disposition with him. Hes currently serving 5 years in prison for attempting to murder his girlfriend. A scene im not unfamiliar with. Despite his crimes against law and our family, Ive always loved him. My mom has been given the gift of three children to raise on her own throughout these difficulties. Shes given so much time and effort into helping us grow up to be great people. She can be quite paranoid at times though. Which is the reason she took me to doctors and i was told that everything was wrong with me. i was told i had an attention deficit, but i never “felt” like i had any trouble focusing on a task. They told me i had an anger problem caused by a psychological disorder, yet i never “felt” that i had a disorder when i was angry, it “felt” -for lack of a better way to put it- like an appropriate response not an inappropriate one. Tack on the diagnoses of being hypomanic, bipolar, manic depressive, and all the pills that go with them. I would always refuse the medication because it “felt” unnatural for such things to be inside of my body, however obese it was as a 250 pound 14 year old, it was one i cherished. like any other overweight human being i wanted to find a way to “get in shape”. My frstration came from seeing so many workouts, and gadgets, and medicine thats supposed to give people results theyre looking for and all of them i tried made me “feel” out of order, unnatural, and biologically confused. I trusted my intuition more than anyone. Luckily, while continuing my search for a way to better my quality of life physically and emotionally, i came across Scott Sonnons page. I was fascinated and had this big dorky smile on my face. His work made sense to me more than anything else ive seen. I “felt” like these were things my body already knew, i just had to be reminded. I began trying out his bag of tricks, prasara yoga, joint mobility, shaking out tension, functional exercise oh my! each month i was feeling more and more in tune with myself, and the world around me. I felt so great i HAD to share what ive read about with everyone i knew. I would be selfish to want to keep these things a secret. im always wanting to show people the light at the end of the tunnel. IVE BEEN COMMMITED to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because i KNEW that the gut feelings ive been having werent nonsense. A sociopathic father, having everyone tell me something is wrong with me, social and physical abuse, these things rattled me. I was living in fear. Now im challenging it while encouraging others to do the same. i believe the greatest gift scott has given to the public time and time again isnt his products, its the passion he has to -in recent words- pay it forward.
I feel that i too have that drive.
Stress almost destroyed me (work, relationship, insomnia) & alcohol compounded the problems, until last year I cleared my body/mind of toxins and pushed through to the other side. This itself was VERY stressful at first – in the beginning I thought I was more relaxed when toxic! Almost one year later I feel like an almost completely different person. My life is still very busy and others think v stressful, but I have a clear(er) outlook and am able to deal with life as it comes without being in constant fight or flight mode. My body moves (flows) much more easily, far less painfully and improving every day. To this I am truly committed. Vicki.
Scott, I have been following you for a while now and my entire family has benifited from your TacFit info. I have replied often to your posts. I am the single mom with the two girls (one in TKD).
How have I been frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness? Ouch, time. I am also recovering from Cushings Disease that require brain surgery to remove a tumor that enveloped my pituitary gland. With the help of a sympathetic ND, paleo/primal eating and as much excersise as I can manage I have lost 30# this year. It is slow because I have to overcome adrenal fatigue, but it is working and I am supremely opptomistic. My blood work is fantastic. ND believes that I have Metabolic Syndrome but I think my life stress contributes more and the residuals of Cushimgs messes with my cortisol…a bit of a ferris wheel type of arrangement.
Am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my lie? YES…YES…YES…YES…YES…I want to live long enough to hold my future grandbabies, get down on the floor with them and take them for long walks in the woods that I love so much.
Please keep doing what you do, it is a continual inspiration and motivating factor in my life…I look forward to the stories and posts you share every day…I even enjoy the little controversies that pop up every now and then. Your postings are kind of like your children, when they bring out anger in some you know you have hit the mark, just like a child meets the immovable force of a parent who loves enough to tell the truth and not budge.
Other than my own children and the special ed kids I work with everyday, you are my hero.
Ellen
as a physician and wellness provider I have always been amazed at the approach that people take in all aspects of their lives.Just like prior societies have crumbled from being built on weak foundations, so do we as people feel the ravages of time and genetics when we do not tend to the basic foundations of our lives.People like the quick fix, but most times, in going for that, we weaken our structure. The game is not how much you can press or squat, or deadlift. It is about how much you can do, doing it safely and for how many years can you do it. If you can only do it for a couple of years, that is too bad. When I competed in martial arts years ago, one of our training sessions was fighting a long line of assailants in sequence, quite different from the one on one in a tournament. Life is not a tournament though, it is just like the line of assailants, one stress or dysfunction coming right after another, relentlessly. I am looking forward to unlocking more of Scott’s secrets to make my path healthier, less painful, more functional, and have it last longer. Three cheers for your dedication and accomplishments Scott.I have followed and practiced Scott for the last few years and have found his advice dead on and honest.
1.- How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I love weight lifting, I was very skinny in the past but now I´m musculous and I love it, because I love the way it feels when exercising. About a year ago I got really frustrated because my neurologist diagnosed me 2 herniated discs (lumbar zone). I couldn´t do weight lifting anymore, I was sad but I knew that if I wanted to, nothing can really stop me. So I started physical rehabilitation and I bought the amazing TACFIT COMMANDO, and that was how I met you Scott! Thanks for that! You have been showing me so many things about movility and stability that I never heard before and you are always inspiring me through your work, I really admire you. After 3 to 4 intensive months of rehab I got back to weight lifting and I´m still doing it now, I surely know that I´ll never stop doing this.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Recently I´ve been giving a thought about stress, and I realized that distress is really killing so many people. I´m a very passive person but there are many times when distress takes control over me and I can´t control it very well. So I have nothing more to say than to thank you scott! The resilence breathing manual is really a good one, you have totally payed forward! I want to learn how to control this state of distress in order to take control over it and not to be controled by it, so from now on I´m dedicated and commited to change the negative impact of today’s stress.Because I really want to help the people I love to control this so dangerous stress phenomenon.
Scott,
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life as I want to re-train myself and my body on how to positively adapt to stress so that I can maintain the healthy aspects of stress and minimize the negative.
Its such a long story, and I don’t want to take up more time than allotted for you to read or even begin to understand where I am at. I have twin boys, the light of my life..but 6 yrs ago when my one son got married, a previous girl he dated brought him up on charges in order to screw up his life and feel like she had an upper hand, she brought underage sex charges against him and had him locked up for 2 years…he is now labelled as a sex offender for the rest of his life, in our state he would have to register every 90 days for the rest of his life. He is forbidden from living with his family or anywhere close to churches, bus stops, day cares or even my home because the politicians have made such insane laws. Rather than see him homeless and destroyed, I sent him overseas, where our gov’t still tries to pass laws each year forcing other gov’ts to ostracize him. This has ripped apart not only his family, but mine as well…they have taken away my son…I lose him for Christmasses and birthdays and holidays for the rest of my life also. His daughter will grow up not knowing him. Its the worst kind of cruelty I could ever imagine. I spent 32 years of my life living and working for the Dept of the United States Air Force, and ask myself why…my country is not honorable, my country is not fair…my country destroys lives and families in the name of hysteria over trumped up crap. If 6 years of crying and isolation don’t kill me, then I am tougher than I think,…but some days I do feel like laying down and just giving up….yes I ache all over, yes I have gained more weight that I can’t seem to lose, but I also don’t like going out in public or feeling judged…so in many ways I guess I deserve this also. I seem to have forgotton how to live, and I can’t find my way back.
This is the right thing at the right time. about 10 years ago at the age of 20 I blew out my L4/S1 and ended up in chronic pain for years. Thanks to Chiropractic I was able to escape the pain but it left me out of shape and with a short right leg. While I always wanted to get back in shape it was not until the birth of my daughter that I started taking health seriously again, I dropped 40 pounds and started to feel better. But then life crept up on me and I let things go, thankfully I didn’t gain much weight back but I have continued to get weaker and weaker. Just a couple of weeks ago I started back in doing yoga, but even that minor stress caused me to break down and get extremely sick for a week. Since then I have been racking my brain trying to find some form of exercise that my body can handle and I think this might just be it! I am ready to conquer the various stresses in my life and get back the health and vibrancy I lost a decade ago. My one health and fitness goal is to become a living example to my daughter of both what it looks like to be healthy and what a person can overcome with hard work and a great teacher.
I am 74 years old and have outlived both of my parents by a long shot. 6 years ago I had knee replacement surgery and while that made me mobile again (after surgery my wife and I trekked all of the New Zealand Great Tracks) I find myself “not whole” and I know that I need more discipline in my mind-body relationship. The frustration is not in my unwillingness to dive in and do what is necessary it is bridging the gap between “knowing what to do” and the “doing it part”. I meditate on a regular basis (at least 30 minutes a day) and while I am a fairly centered and at peace person I know there is more for me to do and . . . to contribute.
Why bother? My wife and I spend up to 6 months a year in Tanzania where is have a small AIDS orphans orphanage (Precious Orphans Children’s Home) and we are committed to the small village of Nshupu (at the base of Mt. Meru) and work with them on Community Empowerment projects . . . being more whole allows me to make even more of a commitment to make a difference in the world.
If this is like the rest of Mr. Sonnon’s lesson’s it is the best material for fully understanding need and application. I look forward to seeing this.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I work a physically demanding job which eats into my “training schedule” consistently. “Training schedule” is misnomer for there is no real schedule. Only what I can bang out within a highly personalized program as circumstances permit. There are times I return home from work so exhausted a workout is out of the question. I can force it but then risk exhaustion throughout the next work day. Yes the job keeps me stronger, leaner and more flexible than your typical 9:00 – 5:00 desk jockey but this isn’t really the point. It mostly just wears me down and contributes little to the fitness level strive for.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
There was a time in my life when negative stress impact was so high it manifested itself in anxiety attacks. Better known as panic attacks, I experienced first hand what stress can do and how important it’s management can be. Never again.
1. Mentally is where success begins for me. Finding something where I am tuned to my body, where I cannot wait to do the excercises. Even when I wasn’t fat, my family still called me fat. While I have forgiven them(of course), I haven’t found anything that is interesting to me that incorporates focus, & doesn’t get boring with repetition.
2. I am committed for life, & have already significantly changed my diet. I know my healthiest body wants to emerge, & I am excited to see myself in the best shape of my life. Mind, & Body!
Growing up playing meant moving, i was always on the go. active and athletic, i was a martial arist ,a climber, a bike rider, swimmer. 15 years ago a car wreak took my attention away from that. I “protected” myself like the doctors told me but lost freedom along the way. As my sons get older i wish to share that part of the journey with them. That freedom of movement, the confidence in themselves, the balance between discipline and play so that playfulness in never lost to them and regained for me.
Following a near death experience,where I was beaten out of shape (but not broken!) 8 years ago, I used my “second chance” to have a good look at myself and life .It took a while to return fully present to my body and I was extremely disconnected while slowly resuming health, strength and somatic awareness…1 step forward,2 steps back for a while…and then came on leaps and bounds using flow and kettlebell training….Only frustration is residual tension in certain parts of body;frozen places that are holding onto trauma and restricting and constant reminders.
Am commited to changing,and have been on this path of changing negative impact of stress in life as I didnt die,and even in the darkest moments,I had an inkling that my purpose to help others overcome trauma and stress would unfold, and regain zest in life. Dance as if no one is watching. Sing as if no one is listening and live like its heaven on earth! Live to move,move to live!
I am so motivated by Scott’s posts! I am renewed with passion that has already been gaining momentum. I am also motivated to work out outside, & set up an outdoor work out space so I can enjoy the fresh air while I excercise. Ever since becoming connected with this facebook page, my mindset is improving all the time, & am looking to make a permanent life change in the type of excercise I do. Nobody expects me to succeed, but in my mind I know what I see, & I find daily encouragement on this website.
Thank you for the stories, & fueling my jets that were already humming:)
March 1st 2012 was the 10th anniversary of my diagnosis Fatigue Depression. At the time I was 35 years old, married with a 2 year old son, a good career and we were building us a new home in the suburbs. My dad was recovering from surgery, after being diagnosed with cancer of the lung, and I was getting used to working part and commuting to our new home. Life was on a good track… But something snapped, I broke down and could (at first literally) not get back up. During my sickleave I realized, to late, that I had ignored the many signs my body and brain had given me.
Since then, after countless visits to therapists, doctors and participating in recovering programs my life has changed in so many ways. Trying to make the best of the situation I quit my job, we sold our new house and moved to the countryside, where we believed it would be more peaceful and stress free for me. Now years later, after meeting and talking to so many experts, and reading many different books on the subject – the only thing I seem to be able to find is WHY it happened. HOW to recover seems to be impossible to find.
During the last year I have been able to make some improvement, with nutrition supplements and some exercises, but I need more help. Stumbling over your Facebook page was a heavensent and I am starting to believe the proverb “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. Thank You for sharing your knowledge on Facebook!
//Warm regards Lotta
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I think that i’ve fallen into the false belief system and various misconception surrounding the idea that a lot of training is necessary and desirable. The fitness magazine industry was beginning to brainwash my sense of what it means to train. Magazine sales and pictures of professional athletes reinforce this notion that one needs to frequently change their routines and workout often. A new super routine every month got me flustered and often times confused. Having a regular job does not enable me get away with long daily workouts. I was on a path where I did not realize that the recovery process is where the benefits of exercise occur and that a small amount of very hard work you will get you better results than a high volume of moderate to easy exercise.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress so I can engage in activities with a more calm and focused energy. Stress disrupts my ability to think, communicate and express myself positively. It brings me farther away from where I want to be. I want to be able to recover quickly from environmental stress, among other sources and think through anything.
How have you been frustrated:
As a mom, teacher, wife, active community particpant etc. the most important part of me (the athlete) has been cast off in importance. Everything else comes first. Even scheduling in time for exercise gets side tracked by kids getting sick, forgetting lunches, staff meetings, husband errands…We all know that there is something just not right about the North American lifestyle but feel helpless to change.
Why are you commited:
I don’t like who I am when I scream at my kids, or tell them to go away because I’ve had enough (of all the craziness but they of course interpret this as me having had enough of them). I want to learn and then role model a more peaceful, healthy and functional way of life. I also want the next generation to be free of the burdens that we carry in trying to maintain this lifestyle.
Hi,
I am 27 years old and doing my very best to keep everything i am doing in life in perspective and I am successful at it till now but there is a problem of headache which sometimes take its toll on me and I am not able to do things in a way i like to dom because of that..Its a chronic headache, which i wanted to remove completely from my life and I am ready to do anything for me.. I had also been a patient of major depression disorder, which I have successfully able to overcome with a lot of hard work and a great [philoshophy in my life.
I am totally commited to changing the negative aspects in my life so that i can change myself and in turn change the life of people around me and I am really able to relate my problems, which you had in your life…..
Thanks
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I was always a healthy, physically fit person, until a severe injury caused immobility and bed rest. I gained 150 pounds. I tried to go to the ‘professionals’ at the local gym and was told ‘you just need to eat less and move more’. I wish it had been that simple. The injury and stress of immobility had really done a number on my mental perspective. The frustration that I felt, when seeking help was enormous. The stares and wispers behind my back, didn’t help either.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Since October, I have commited to losing weight and getting physically fit for myself, my health and my beautiful family. I have lost 130 pounds, improved my health, physically, but I’m still experiencing a great deal of stress and anxiety. I want to change my outlook and learn how to reduce the stressors in my life, while still providing for my family and giving them what they need and deserve.
Scott,
Firstly, let me say that I have been a fan of your work for a very long time. I must also that I am touched by many of the posts in this thread. Regardless of what happens, I admire the openness that people put into their posts and I hope everyone will be able to find a practice that enriches their lives. In response to your questions:
1) How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have tried to develop a balanced and consistent physical practice, I have done Warrior Wellness, Be Breathed and some (and some other kinds of working out) but it has been difficult for me to put it all together in a way to fit it into my lifestyle. I work in the city of New Orleans. I don’t know what you know about our city but it is in a state of chaos, sadly, one of the most violent cities in America. In addition to my “day job” I have been the largest portion of my personal time working with a large group of ministers, artists, and activists trying to educate and elevate the soulful but often broken-spirited people who makes their lives in this chaos. It is something which I feel compelled to do, but it is very draining. Many of the individuals I work with are dealing with the consequences of poverty, drugs, and street violence; a “cocktail” which results in, as I know you are aware, of a considerable amount of PTSD, impacting everyone involved. Trying to develop a physical practice to help me balance these aspects of my life has been very difficult.
2) Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Telling a young person that they should live a different lifestyle is fine, but it is hardly enough. The people hear the opinions of what they should do and how they should do it from a variety of sources. What is far more rare, I think, are the kinds of individuals who can demonstrate “grace under fire” who can model excellence, strength, balance, warmth and compassion, even in the midst of poverty, drugs, and violence. It has been my lifelong goal to be such an individual, for myself, my family, and my community. My commitment and my resolve are thus absolute. I am committed to changing then negative impact of stress in my life, to finding a deeper excellence within myself because it my deepest desire to do so and I have no other choice.
Good Luck to everyone and Peace Scott
JOHN
There are 3 words that best describe my lifetime of “fitness”; exercise, injure, and wait. As the years passed, now 42 years old, I became more tight and injured more often thus waiting longer to heal. I was trapped in the cycle. So trapped I spent my money on infomercial health programs and absurd devices for targeting results. But none of them could keep my attention. They were all lacking in some way which I could not vocalize and yet at my core I was able to “feel” how incomplete they were. I quit altogether, resigned myself to never having the results I desired, and then the body weight and stress came on.
Then one day years later, on youtube, I saw someone using the Clubbell. Curious thing, that club. My first thought was “another gimmick” yet i couldn’t look away because there was something PRIMAL about it. The more videos I watched, the more excited I was to see more. I learned about Coach Scott, I learned about CST, TACFIT, breathing, stress relief and conversion, YOGA and the thousands of years of club history. I was excited again! I took the plunge in to CST and TACFIT and never looked back.
It feels incredible to grow stronger, leaner and more limber at the same time. I didn’t just find an exercise program, I found a way of life that infused function, strength and wellness. I found hope. In my most humble opinion, no other exercise philosophy has more credibility and foundation in history than circular strength training, and the Clubbell. Results and performance without hype, supplements, or sales schemes? This is as real as it gets, this program has INTEGRITY.
So if you want to heal your body and mind while improving useful every day physical function for ANY performance level, look no further. Join the rest of us, enjoy the journey, and let go of all the stress and doubt you have collected while exercising up until today.
I feel weak. After giving birth to 4 children, and living most of my life seriously uneducated/mis-educated about the real repercussions of my food choices and exercise habits, I feel so very weak. Not just in my body, but in my mind and heart. But, somewhere deep down in the very core of my being, I can hear my Spirit telling me it’s possible to be strong again. To feel vital and whole, and capable. And strong. I know I have to do the work. It’s not something anyone else can do on my behalf. Others can help teach, inspire, and guide me, but the work is mine to do. I wake every morning committed to becoming a little stronger. I feel as though I am climbing a tree, and each morning I reach out for the next branch up, stretching a little farther than I did the day before. Sometimes, I catch the branch and pull myself up. Sometimes I fumble: it’s just out of reach and I fall. Either way, I reach out, having the faith that if l climb higher and higher, I will get stronger and stronger. I keep on stretching toward that next branch a day at a time. My progress was almost imperceptible at first. Now when I look down to where I came from, I am filled with a sense of joy and pride, and a deep desire to see just how high I can go.
Dear Scott,
Thank you for presenting the opportunity to reflect on these questions. Being honest with myself and becoming aware of the answers to these questions is the first step in the process of how I can Revive, Survive and Thrive.
1. How have I been frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness?
A mindset of worry which leads to distraction results in injuries that get in the way of me attaining the health and fitness that I desire. While I am working out, I use the best form I can muster. I get stronger, faster and build my stamina. All this feels great until something simple like sitting for a long time at the computer or digging a trench for a landscaping job will make an old back injury flare up again. (4 ruptured discs and spinal surgery). Then, I am out of commission – cannot work, cannot workout and then I have to start all over again. First, with stretching, then very light weight/body-weight exercises and then finally working my way back to “normal”. Just when I start getting strong, I re-injure my back and have to start the whole process of healing and building up all over again. As a result, it seems like I take two steps forward then two steps back and I never make any real progress. This is frustrating to me. I know I have a greater potential than where I am at right now and I want to achieve it.
2. Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life?
First off, I think that stress is a key factor to the situation I described above. The way I hold stress in my body leads to poor body position, fatigued muscles and not paying attention to form during the simple everyday tasks in life. This results in injury. Second, when my mind is focused on worrying, I am not being focused on the goal at hand. This makes me ineffective at bringing my dreams in to reality. My true passion is working with impoverished communities in Kenya to restore their degraded land and helping them design and establish sustainable businesses so they can be self-sufficient and lead lives with dignity and self-determination. When stress distracts me from attaining my goals, it does not just effect me, it effects the lives of the people and the wildlife of Kenya that I love so dearly.
I truly want to succeed, but somehow, fear and stress get in the way of me accomplishing my dreams as well as holding me back from attaining my health and fitness goals. If you have advice/suggestions for how to overcome the fears and worry that hold me back from attaining my potential, I would greatly appreciate the coaching.
Thank you for all that you do coach Sonnon. You are not just a fitness instructor, you are a life coach and a shining example of how to overcome adversity.
Amani na baraka rafiki yangu!!! (Peace and blessings my friend – Swahili)
Kevin Greene
I had been “working out” like everyone else since college and like everyone else, I suffered from chronic injuries and a less than functional physique. Well, about three years ago I stumbled upon Scott Sonnon’s TACFIT programs. They were fun and effective and I simply enjoyed the challenges that they offered. I had been using the TACFIT exercise and recovery techniques for about three years when I decided that I needed some kind of an outlet – a test of the results that I had been seeing and feeling. I decided to enter into an Adventure Race. Not just any Adventure Race, but the one touted as the most difficult in the world! Twelve miles and twenty-five obstacles to overcome! I only had three months to prepare so I selected the appropriate TACFIT program and went to work. I had some reservations about entering into the racing seeing that I hadn’t run more than a mile since college. However, during my training and the race I was surprised at the stamina that I had built during my years of practicing TACFIT. I successfully completed the race and overcame every single obstacle without injury or quitting from exhaustion. I attribute that to having learned how to intuitively gage the amount of effort I had to exert and the recovery breathing techniques that I learned through Scott Sonnon’s programs. Primal Stress promises to be the culmination of all of Sonnon’s work in TACFIT and CST. I know firsthand the superior effectiveness of these programs to build a body that is resistant to extreme stress and free of injury, and Primal Stress promises to be nothing less.
Everything I’ve ever done in my life was motivated by dealing with the stresses I encountered over the years. I’ve always been on the search for new and better ways to be healthier, better, more focused in my workouts and in my day to day situations of which are social, occupational and so on. As a growth oriented person I’ve always found that improving any aspect of my mental, emotional, physical would in turn have a domino like effect on how other aspects of my life improved. To me this journey, this growth is a lifelong endeavor for me and it will never stop.
all the best
Stephen Botka
How I have been frustrated by trying to improve my health and fitness…
So trying to make a very long story short. I was in the Marines 12 years ago going through basic training. Through exhaustion and pain I managed to lose weight and earn pull-ups. One day while doing PT I fell off of a rope while doing a rope climb and suffered compression fractures in my T10 and T11 vertebrae. Needless to say when I was shipped home after my discharge I was at a total loss. Everything hurt all of the time. I gained 100lbs and lost all motivation, and stopped caring about myself.
I tried gyms. Big, full of lots of equipment gyms. And dealt with so many trainers who were more busy checking out women when they walked by. Smirking at me as I struggled to lift ant real weight because my posture was so bad. Well fast forward 10 years and I discovered Kettlebells. Need I say more? Now I am a trainer at a functional fitness style gym in Portland. Spreading the Kettlebell gospel. Then a fellow trainer introduced me to Tactfit and it was like another massive light went off. It’s so simple. Ha, well maybe simple is a stretch! One of the most demanding workouts I have ever loved.
The beauty is the simplicity of the moves and the amazing leaps of mobility that comes out of the training. All of the programs that I have purchased, Intu Flo, Commando, Kettlebell Spetsnaz, King of Clubs, and the Dumbbell circuits are beautifully laid out. The warm up and cool down exercises are so invaluable. The videos and the manulas make the workouts so easy to follow and learn. I now pass them on to my students, and have just watched them flourish. Truly an amazing program!!! From Sit through Knee, to Tripod reach, and kneeling Kettlebell Presses. Their strength and mobility improved greatly over the course of just a couple of weeks!!! The programming is unstoppable!!!
You don’t need the big fancy gym with all of the gear, just a Clubbell, Kettlebell and some body weight movements and you will be ready to take on the world!! My confidence is so much higher, I’m proud to stand tall in front of my class, and I work hard PAIN FREE!!! I am still a work in progress, having lost 60 of the 100lbs I gained. I know there is nothing that will stop me!
The frustration came from the over saturation of the media and the “Next Big Thing” type of workouts that never seemed to accomplish anything. What Tactfit and Scott Sonnon have taught me is that everything you need is right in front of you. Heart, determination, sweat, grit, and a little floor space. Trainers and others who are fitness enthusiasts are missing out if they have never tried Tactfit.
So even if my essay is not selected, Thanks Scott for your dedication and hardwork. You have a fan for life here in Oregon!!! Hopefully I will see you in a cert soon!!!
1. The frustration has stemmed from believing you can outrun a bad diet, that sleep is optional, that stretching is a waste of time, and that success just requires greater discipline. When that discipline failed, when the “outrunning” poor food failed, when middle aged career disappointments dragged, and when the toxic effects of a long war created casualties of all varieties around me I gave up trying to be “fit”. Finding TACFIT Commando prior to deployment to Afghanistan put me on the path to restoration and helped to not just survive combat, but to thrive.
2. I am committed to driving the last vestiges of stress from my life so that I can reach my full potential as husband, father, citizen, and soldier. I want my family to not just “survive” me, but to thrive BECAUSE of me. I want to train other soldiers to clean the slate, weather the toxic effects of war, and thrive at home.
I have nearly every year since I was 15 years old suffered several serious injuries and a steady customer at the ER, I have had injuries in every limb of my body most of them martial arts related, I am currently struggling with nerve damage in my elbow for 2 years now. I have felt like I have been taking one step forward and 2 back every year, extremely frustrating as Martial Arts is more than a passion, it’s also my work as a teacher of different martial arts. To constantly have to train myself to the plateau I had reached last time, is not only frustrating but makes the challenge to get to the next level harder.
My only relief of stress has always been training martial art and strength training at fitness clubs, but after training with kettlebell and clubbells I found it not only to be a superior way to do functional strength training, but had all the elements that are essential to what I train and teach. Not being able to use my dominant arm for 2 years and a knee injury has made me determined to get back on track. My stress level has been devastated by not being able to train as I used to, only teaching martial arts does not relieve stress for me, I need the endorphins to give the stress relief I need from a hard workout with kettlebell, clubbell and martial arts sparring.
I get so frustrated trying to improve my health,because i want to workout and get my mind, body and soul back in sync. But my body argues with my mind. Back 27 years ago I had electrical current go through my body, i was saved by the current exiting out the side of my feet just below my little toe on each foot. As I get older my feet want to swell and it seems to be traveling up further on my legs. I know with your help i can turn this damage around by working through the pain. I have twin boys that are 14 and I see it can benefit us all. I also have 2 other son whom work out and i see how they are not as stressed . I am returning to school to become a nurse and i know fatigue and stress is part of what nurses go through . I have been unemployed for 2 years now and am soooo ready to begin a new chapter in my life with you being the inspiration.
the negative impact in my life has at times pulled me way down to almost the point of self pity. I am most of the time a positive person, and i try to see good in bad, and i get stress also makes one stronger, but i want to handle stress so it enriches my life and not pull me back. And i feel that is where you come in to teach me those ways.
I crossfit and powerlift and eat a cycling low carb diet (paleo) but my frustration is primarily with joint mobility and cardio-related exercise. My shoulders tend to wear out before any other muscle group, preventing me from improving in a lot of complex lifts or even bodyweight exercise goals. I’m committed to improving shoulder mobility. I also need to learn how to avoid overuse injuries and improve form and breathing. I’m in the military and EMS and reducing stress through breathing techniques would be a vital asset to my life.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am tired of the plateaus: I understand reclaiming fitness takes time, especially after such a long time inactive/sedentary, but still, hoping there are ways to make progress more smoothly. Also not happy with the way these last 6 inches of belly-fat are hanging on so stubbornly.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I don’t like me when I’m frustrated, and I feel like I get frustrated entirely too easily over some fairly inconsequential things: My life is an example, but in many areas it seems to be an example of what *not* to do. Stress, worry, anxiety, frustration – these are me in ignorant disagreement with what *is*: Ignorant because, if I knew what to do about it that would fix it, and had the discipline to *do* it, I could be peaceful knowing I was living my best and leave the rest go.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m 49 years old. More than 20 years of Martial Arts. Lot of injuries. Work in the HR, so not a physical work. More than 20 years looking for better understanding myself, balance between mind and body. Always trying to train myself, to find time for it. 2 kids 17 and 15 involved in dancing and sport. Need a lot of time. A huge spinal surgery in 2010… Work a lot with “Free to Move” to recover. Always problem with my will. Maybe my biggest problem: If i do not train so much that I want, very often i prefer to do nothing. Stupid, Hum !
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because that’s recently that I’ve understand that my former injuries become from stress (distress). My work in a lot stressing. I try to take this like an opportunity to work with the stress. And, after reading this very kind gift from Scott to modify distress to eustress.
Thank You a lot for sharing your Huge Experience and Knowlegdes !
Kind regards and sorry for my english
Dom
This looks great!!
It’s frustrating feeling like you’re stuck in a box. You can find all sorts of different fancy advanced moves to keep yourself interested but it’s shallow, working almost exclusively on the external while simultaneously neglecting the internal. I seek to strive a balance somewhere between combining the internal centering and stillness of yoga and its attention to breath-work, combined with the most common of exercises. in this way, every movement becomes a precision statement in efficiency. I’ve jumped back and forth between worlds in an attempt to get the very best elements from each method of teaching and apply those to a hybrid, free-form physical routine but your systems provide a complete package, and take the guess work out of it.
I work in a psychiatric hospital. Though it’s not what Hollywood portrays, there can be a very physical aspect to it and if that is called upon you need to be on your game. Stress is a way of life there, both for staff and for patients. Mostly staff, though; it’s very hard to stay positive in such a negative place, as management has everyone living in fear and incapable of doing our jobs the best way we need to do them to keep everyone safe. It would be amazing to be able to educate all staff on energy and breath work, as well as provide fitness programs as a safe outlet for frustration, rather than continuing to promote obesity and heart disease. One can only dream, but as your personal story proves: anything is possible.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am 44 years old and have had a number of injuries (some which required three knee surgeries) from participating in sports since childhood. I have a lot of residual pain from these injuries which limits what I can do physically for health and fitness. I have tried some of the more commercial programs, but I am not always able to perform the program as described due to these injuries or I end up having even more pain afterwards.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I still coach and love sports and want to continue to be active, but I realize that I need to learn a better way to maintain my health and fitness. I hope to not only thrive physically, but hopefully revive my joints so I can exercise with less pain afterwards. I am committed to making changes in my life for my own physical regeneration and so that I can know how to better train the athletes that I coach in the high school where I teach.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have had high blood pressure for 5-6 years now and I take medication daily for treatment. I also exercise daily, daily mobility exercises and my diet is good (but, not perfect). I do not look overweight but, I am. I have to fight to keep my weight down. My diet struggles are a fight as well.
Recently, I have taken on a new position which involves a relocation, being away from my home and wife, and struggle to find a new home. The position involves one of my greatest fears – public speaking (training and teaching). The position has also touched upon my other fear – fear of heights (I work in civil construction – purchasing). All of these challenges have brought about panic attacks and anxiety out of this world. I have a doctor helping me but, I want to break out of the drug cycle and go more natural.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I owe it to myself to change waht is wrong with the manner I handle each of life’s challenges. I owe to my wife to strive for better and attempt to find happiness in this crazy world we live in.
Thank you!
Donald
How I have been frustrated by trying to improve my health and fitness
I am a family physician, and have been working in the field of wholistic, preventative healthcare for almost 20 years now. With my patients, as well as my own family’s and personal health, I see the long term benefit of longevity paired with good health. Longevity with accumulated injury and the injuries from chronic stress is almost a curse! Living long with chronic pain, debility and multiple (largely avoidable) illnesses is an all-too common phenomenon. I know a lot about disease, and about how best to manage and ameliorate disease; but formal medical education is notoriously poor on diet, exercise and injury avoidance/prevention. I have joyfully competed in rugby and knockdown karate in my youth, and have accumulated a c-spine fracture and an number of other dents in my bodywork as a result of these recreational activities. Of all the self-help approaches I have explored over the years, clubbells and flow-state exercises have been the best for restoring neck, shoulder and back function. I have less pain in my neck now, at 50, than a decade ago – and would attribute the improvement entirely to the regular practice of intu-flow mobility drills, clubbells, and posture awareness. I now am evangelical in bringing these life-enhancing strategies to the attention of my patients (and colleagues), and expect will continue to do so in the years to come. Passively being treated by physiotherapists or medication is no substitute to getting stuck into a program of enabling one’s own healing to take place – though with added therapy on top of a foundation of self-help, one can see the best results. I wish I could add this information to the drinking water for everyone to benefit thereby!
Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life?
I see chronic (as opposed to beneficial, intermittent) stress as the major challenge of our modern lifestyles. By effectively staying well physically and emotionally, I enhance my ability to be able to help my family and my patients. Also, by showing that one can stay productively well into late maturity, I can hope to be a pathfinder for others to take heart from. I need to walk the talk, and by being healthy – both in body and mind and spirit – I think I can continue to be of service for years to come.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
In 2008 I had to start running for work. What I found was that I could no longer run the way I used to as a kid, where I could just run as long as I wanted. Now I was running broken, with pain starting in my right knee and moving to hip then other knee. It was very disconcerting and made my job much more stressful as I worried about being able to manage the physical aspects of it. What began was a process of looking for why I no longer move as I did, and how to get back there. It has been a long road, and I am not there yet. As a student I do not have many extra resources to play with, though I have invested some, as well as keeping my eyes open and finding some good stuff in the local library. I have learned quite a bit about what is going on with me and am continuing to pursue opportunities to learn and move closer to being able to move my self well, and with poise, when and how I want, in a pain free way. I am not there yet, but God’s help I will continue to push forward, step by step.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I want to be effective. To be able to do well what I do. So that I can move exuberantly and have the greatest impact with my life for the benefit of those around me. Too long have I been trapped in a place where my stress defines the boundaries of my life, where I do not see any options or opportunities, and things look grey. I have been making changes and have recently left the job which, in addition to school, was adding a lot of stress and anxiety to my life. (Also taking a year off school.) So things are changing and I am really looking forward to seeing where I will go from here. I remember being able to move expecting that I would be able to do what I set out to with out any thought of pain or worry that my body would betray me. I am looking to move forward to being there again; and beyond to explore new possibilities and opportunities as horizons expand.
Never give up allways believe in yourself ,live start everymornings i have over 56 and every morning i tried to make one nice day and one nice workout i am happy like that.
My frustration with my health goals, comes from the scale. That feeling of stepping on a scale in Folkstyle and Greco wrestling has always stricken me with fear accompanied by the stress of my coaches hoping that I may make weight. My weight troubles (which are now slightly under control using other RMAX products) have been due to my unclean diet. I can’t break my sugar addiction, or my self perceived dependence on carbs, Deep down within me I know that I shouldn’t be eating that stuff, but a desire takes over, and manifests in my mind until I cave in. Once I have, I know that I cannot “Un-eat” what I just put into my body. This makes me quite frustrated and indirectly, other people don’t want to be around me. You could almost say that unhealthy eating has lead to stress on my relationships.
I know within me, that once my stress is freed from my body, once all the muscle cramps, all the misused tissues, and my hatred towards how I eat is sent out, that I may begin to focus outward on my community, helping others on the path that I am on right now.
Scott… Somebody…I hope that you have read my second paragraph. My ultimate goal is to become CST certified and help grow the community. I believe the cause that CST represents and through that I hope to bring people together.
Thank you for your time.
I am 54 years and I don’t want to frail when I am older. About year ago, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I started working out and changed my diet, I have lost about 25 pounds and work out at least 4 times and I prefer 5 days a week. This is my stress relief. I am a single mom of two teenage boys.
Being a former cop, I love the physical side of working out. I love the burn, the shaking and the OMG! just one more. I had a friend who years ago, when I asked him why he works out, how does he do it. His reply was I don’t have to, I don’t want to, I don’t need to… I get to. Finally, I get what he said. It is a priviledge to work out, I am motiviated to stay in this lifestyle.
Thank you. Dawn
Frustrated? Having always been the “guy” everybody came to for solutions to tough jobs or situations, I had learned to work through the diagnosis fo Type II Diabetes in 1998. But this developed into some other issues including Acute Psoriatic Arthritis. From these issues I was forced to have a knee replaced after destroying it. That was in 03. This caused a change to a desk position where I began to lose muscle tone and gain weight. What has followed has been a progression of worsening health issues culminating in two back surgeries (last one in 2011 to fuse L5/S1) and the latest a Cardiac Ablation to fix “A Flutter” in one ventricle valve. As you can understand the physical “let down”, if you will, of my body has been difficult to deal with. From “Bull of the woods” to a poor excuse of a man is tough. These maladys have precluded many of the normal workout things I was accustomed to. I am hoping that now that my heart is once again in proper rhythm, I may be able to get back some of my abilities. More frustration??? I hope not with your help!
Commitment??? It is VERY apparent that stress plays a big part in our lives these days. Stress that comes from the media hype, the state fo our country, the lack of a high level income, the health issues mentioned above, the fear of never regaining my OLD SELF, the pure agony of looking in the mirror and not liking what I see….. I am committed to regaining a trim body style and making great strides toward regaining my muscle tone, losing around 80 lbs and once again having a trim body with stamina and drive. These things will allow me to look again at a man of power and intensity fro life that was always looking back at me before. The stress will melt away.
)))
I will NOT go out of this life as a flabby miserable OLD MAN!!!
Thanks for your programs and excellent guidance Scott. “POWER ON”!!
Roland Dale Hixson
I am 60 years old and after 35 years of martial arts, Marines, and just life in general, are all coming to the surface. I also have diabetes type II now. But just 10 minutes of the Swing each day drops my sugar levels by as much as 50-60 points. My joint mobility is also improving, as well as my blood circulation.
I work 10 to 14 hours a day 6 to 7 days a week as a freelance web designer so that is a lot of sitting. Thank God for the KettleBell because of the short workouts that keep me alive and smiling. I also have merged it with a work-out or two with my club bells. I want to live a quality life into old age.
Thanks so much for this opportunity Scott,
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
In my early 20’s I started struggling from significant adrenal fatigue. I was putting myself through grad school, working 3 part-time jobs and continuing my training in martial arts. I was not effectively managing my stress levels and was dealing with unresolved emotional blockage from childhood. The tipping point came when I suffered from a couple of kidney stones within a several month period that compounded with frequent and intense colds and flues. It was extremely challenging to have to contend with my body’s sensitive nervous system, knowing that my warrior spirit could not rely on my body. I had a multitude of medical tests done, all saying I was “healthy,” even though I did not feel that way. Deciding that I needed to take full responsibility for myself, I have since then relentlessly perused my studies in holistic psychotherapy, nutrition and various healing arts. It has been a slow and steady path of improvement since then. Earlier this year, my discovery and training in Tacfit and switching to a modified-paleo diet has been like discovering a big missing key in my overall health and fitness. At 27 I feel like I am finally on the road of attaining the level of health and well-being I always believed as being everyone’s birthright.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I know that when I am at my best I can show up for others in my life fully. Managing the negative impact of stress allows me to be at my best and to inspire others to find their own balance and healing in life. As a martial arts instructor I have seen the positive impact the martial arts can have on moving through fear and unloading stress. As a result of being in the mental health field, I have also seen the devastating impact traumatic stress can have on others. In my psychotherapy work I am frequently incorporating thing I learned about dealing with my own stress to help other move through their own trauma. I want to continue to learn more about stress-management so I can help others reclaim a higher quality of life.
Hey scott. You’re a hard man to contact so hopefully you can at least recieve this question from me: What made you cut out what you did from the original zdorovye programs to what became intu-flow and so forth? It seemed to me that warrior wellness was a very complete condesation of the movement aspect of slavic joint mobillity tradition but I feel that much was lost on your newer programs. As you’ve obviousely shaved alot off of the original russian system I’m very curiouse as to what guidelines you adheared to when doing this…did you eliminate movements based of statistics or national averages or racial anatomical makeup based of the market you were targetting or what?? Don’t get me wrong I’m a big fan of your work and it has catapulted me into my second youth but I feel that all your best and complete teachings were the early ones in regards to joint health. Your strength methods, namely the tacfit program, combined with conventional gymnastic conditioning is an amazing combination which somehow has served me better than the best doctors I could afford. My learnings have really pushed toward breathwork from your zdorovye message stick to embryonic breathwork, chi breathwork, hindu/yogic breathwork, pencak silat breathwork so I’m not seeking a copy of your new program but I’d love to get an answer from you for my enquiry.
My answers to your questions are:
1) I’ve been frustrated most by the confines of what it means to live in the western world and cultural mindset. It frustrates me that in our society there is no money in “heallth management”…there’s only money in “treating sickness/injury” or “curing illness”. My greatest frustrations being an adult man have been undoing the epic mountains of horse shit my greedy racist fathers have beaten into me throughout all of my impressionable young life. Having to dig by unconventional means and fork out money for information which belongs to man as man…not the rich…not the ‘correct’ elite races…just MAN. Now that has frustrated me greatly in my search for the truth (which is essentially just getting back to the way that magical mother nature intended us to be anyway)
2) Duhhh…Because it’s the greatest fuel a man can utilise. The internal conflict event is absolutely necessary in an evolutionary sense dictating both; those who will be scratched away to nothingness by the friction, and, those who will be polished and refined by the friction. Survival was never meant to be a walk in the park. Whether we were digging for roots with a stick, running like the wind to save our arses, or fighting to the death, our days were never easy/lazy/cruizy…and so it remains, only the gameboard that we play this ‘modern’ life on is an internal one now as we dominate our natural environment.
Hope I earnt an answer.
See you in OZ sometime
Leonard
Hi Scott, I have been frustrated trying to improve my own health and fitness by my own mental blocks that stem from a number of personal circumstances that I strive to overcome. I would like to write it all down here but will only say that I have a diagnosis that I am trying to overcome, struggle with ongoingly and won’t lay back and be a victim to it or any of the other thing that tries to block my progress. However, I do become frustrated which is also counterproductive = it is all about my mindset and approach which leads to the second part : negative stress has taken its toll on my life and I am in the midst of making some major life changes and don’t want to do anything or be in a way that hinders success. I desperately need balance, focus, strength and direction to be on an unwavering path to make it. I know that you have a lot of responses to sift through. I think more than anything I am grateful to have found you online regardless of attaining what you are offering here and for that, I thank you!! In the meantime, here’s hoping
and most importantly, you are so gracious with all you offer others!
I am on my journey to wellness and at the halfway point in my life, I aspire to be like my grandmother and make it living fully to well over 100:) and be an inspiration to others. I share the gifts God has given me and want to give so much more yet!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
After I retired in 2008, I finally had more time to dedicate to rehabbing my right shoulder. I went to see a chiropractor who helped to improve my shoulder considerably. This took about a year – along with exercises that were given for me to do at home and in the gym. The following year my left shoulder was in considerable pain and I went to see a chiropractor again who helped to improve this shoulder with recovery and exercises that took another year. I had also been having lower back pain since I was in my 20′s and needed to see a chiropractor about once a month or so until 2011. In November or December of 2010 I had seen episodes of Scott Sonnon’s mobility exercises (on the internet) which I started to perform daily for about 3 months, after which I noticed a significant improvement in the pain in my lower back. Instead of my back slowly becoming more painful as time went on, there was less and less pain. Then I went to see a chiropractor/personal trainer for a few months who helped to improve my right shoulder (which at that time was still not 100% and painful when I tried to do tasks involving heavier lifting). He was able to get my right shoulder to the point where there was no more pain when doing heavy lifting and other tasks involving extensive use of my shoulders. I have not needed to see a chiropractor for my back for the last 12 months and my back still feels great.
In the spring of this year I ended up with an inguinal hernia which has put a stop to my weight training. I am wearing a hernia support until I am able to get surgery for this. I was hoping that my body would repair this itself – but every time that I go to do jobs requiring limited lifting, any gains seem to be gone. Fortunately, I am still able to do the mobility exercises (which I ended up purchasing from RMAX last year) along with other programs that I purchased – and I see a steady improvement in my overall physical conditioning.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I find that being active and doing body weight type exercises gives me hope – especially when I feel depressed because of the setbacks that have occurred as described above. I want to be able to go into my later years with a good quality of life – which to me involves being mobile and physically conditioned to do daily tasks as well as bigger jobs which still need to be done around the house. I have a son who is autistic (20 years old), and is not able to live on his own. I know that he will be living with our family for a long time to come and I enjoy biking, playing basketball, etc. with him and want to be able to do so for as long as I can with him and with my 2 (so far) grandchildren. Exercising helps me to deal with any stress that comes into my life and I would like to know how to best prepare my body to minimize / eliminate stress and the effects of stress on me and my family.
You’ve already given me so much Scott that even as ambitious as I am, I am humbled by the consideration of how I could ever repay you – I certainly have the intent to do my best, in honour of you and your teachings but one life time may not be enough.
When I was 12 – life was great. I could spend my days skateboarding, biking, playing hockey and honing my martial arts skills – always improving without ever knowing what a real injury was.
A few years later, my back started bothering me. I was 14 and no doctor or specialist wanted to hear of it. “You’re a kid, you don’t have back problems.” rolling their eyes and sucking back a laugh – poorly.
The pain might slow me down, but it didn’t stop me entirely though and I simply began slugging through the pain. Advil and I became pretty close friends and I started all sorts of physical rehabilitation and conditioning programs – one after another, all had some benefits but nothing ever got me out of the pain.
By the time I was 16, my ankles were constantly bothering me, as was my groin and hips and every once in awhile, my lower back would “lock-out’ for weeks at a time leaving me completely jarred.
I gave up hockey, because hold my stick to the ice any more. I gave up skating, because I could barely walk without a limp. I gave up martial arts, because I couldn’t kick or dodge a blow without my back hurting. Around the same time, my parents kicked me out of the house.
My dad was a lawyer and had groomed me to follow in his foot steps, when I informed my parents my desire to go to law school was over cast by other ambitions, my dad did not react well so at 17 years old, I was working full time in a kitchen and renting a room from a bunch of derelicts.
My future seemed bleak.
I spent the next the next 10 years travelling all over the world, working as a cook in kitchens seeking out thrills and a cure for my pains along the way.
All along harbouring within me a feeling of resentment for my dad and the bitterness grew as my struggle seemed to be endless. I had always had a volatile temper but it just got worst with the years. My only solace through it all became music.
By the time I was 25, my life was dedicated to music, holding whatever dead end job I could that would allow me to keep working with my bands and work on the compositions I hope would be my salvations.
One of those jobs was as a bike courier in Montreal. One night after work, as I was making my way out to some trails to ride with a friend (Mountain biking has always been good to me – I now know partly thanks to you that its because this is a symmetrical discipline contrary to all my other hobbies) and a city bus closed up the lane I had between the road and the parked cars on the shoulder, road hogging me into a side view mirror; I went over the handle bars, rolled onto the ground and my friend trailing behind saw the bus rock as the back wheel went over my ankle.
A week later, I was on stage again; icing between sets and gobbling down ibuprofen like they were tic-tacs.
Later that summer, I was riding my bike again on Mt-Royal. As I came bursting out of the trail, I got welcomed by a slack line that had been set-up between two tress, clothes lining me at roughly 25mph. I got knocked out. I could not breath. My neck took the blunt of the blow and doctors said I was lucky to be alive – half an inch to the left and my larynx would have been shattered.
The next day, I was at work trying to convince everyone my new scar had nothing to do with auto asphyxiation…By now I had an office job because I couldn’t stand on my feet all day in a kitchen any more and for all my colleagues, my tale was quite funny.
To me, not so much. I spent the following week waking up in the middle of the night in fear of choking.
My bitterness towards the outside world became an ever growing presence, and the pain in my back was bad, I couldn’t even tie my shoe-laces on most days.
I started all sorts of things: chiropractors, osteopaths, sports therapists, physiotherapists, acupuncture, naturopaths and countless exercise regimes. Again, all of which had some up benefits but in the end, results were never perfect, did not sustain in most cases my condition got worst.
At 30 – I was dead broke but doing what I love. Then my girlfriend became pregnant.; Surprise!
The day she announced this, I turned my life around.
I didn’t quit playing music, but it became secondary to me day job which I gave myself to at 110% – rapidly climbing up the ladder and landing something worthy of supporting a family.
The joy and pride that came with my daughters birth cannot be put into words – so I wont even try. But even with this new light in my life, I found myself still battling demons of rage inside and with the daily grind I now had to put myself through in order to provide for new family, the bitterness grew and the frustration of my failures to cure myself of joint pain only made it worst.
Worst of all, I found myself reacting to life’s struggles the same way that my dad did when I was a kid – which is something I had promised myself I would never do.
I just couldn’t seem to beat the pattern and when facing my threshold of stress, I saw in me what I always wanted to avoid – anger. I could never lash out at my daughter, but I did take it out on the furniture, When it all seems too much, sometimes its stronger than me and I explode in rage.
My dad has been plagued by heart and health problems most of his adult life and I vowed to never follow that path; I know that stress is the culprit and swore to always fight it.
But how?
All my outlets eventually led to pain. Doing nothing as a means of relaxation did not help either – it only served to feed my feelings of sorrow.
3 years ago, I found TACFIT commando and started reading up on the rest of your work. It wasn’t until last September that I finally committed to the program and added Ageless Mobility and Intu-Flow to the mix. It saved my life.
My pain is gone. I can play hockey again, without pain, for the first time in 15 years. I sleep better and have better control over my emotions but still feel I have a long way to go and a long way to grow.
With the proper diet and daily routine, I now found more energy and mobility than I even knew I could have: it’s like I’m 12 again.
Last month, I made vow to myself; I’m preparing for my TACFIT certification and next year – I will get it.
I will then combine all the skills I have gathered in my life to channel all the teachings you have given in order to spread the wealth to as many people as possible. Already, people in my circles have seen the change in me and been inspired – I can only imagine the impacts another year will have on my body and soul.
My job requires long hours of sitting in front of computer or on the phone in a high stress environment (I work as an IT project Manager for a telecom firm and Technology is amazing but when it’s not working – it gets ugly pretty quick) and trying to balance a family life, music, work, training, ongoing education and a social life can easily takes it toll.
I only to get better at it so I can be a better parent and help others.
Thank you Scott
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Let me count the ways: tedium, fatigue, family responsibilities, injury, frustration over results, too high expectation, poor or incomplete information, resistant body, sugar/nice white carbs/comfort food impulses, sabotage by loved ones, disappointment in results and myself. I think the disappointment in myself has been the biggie. It all sounds so easy – hey, just do this 30 minutes a day, eat right and you’ll be healthy and strong.
The terrible wonderful thing about it .. is it’s true. The other terrible wonderful thing about it is its so easy not to do. Its so easy to not go on a walk, to get up for class before work, to not do the yoga routine or the bells or clubs or body weight work. It is so easy to eat that fry, take “just one bite”, order out when you are tired and on the road. It is so easy to not do those small everyday things that will and do make a difference. It is so easy to give up when you don’t see the “results” you have been promised (even when you knew it was hype), to stop doing when others around you give you pressure because your working towards your health is affecting their diet and home time.
I have been frustrated by me. When I do the good things – regular training, eating well (even with treats allowed), sleeping enough – I feel great.
I have been about 10 -15 pounds heavier than my optimum for most of my post pubescent life. This went on while I was a climber, mountaineer, outdoor backpacking junkie and city dweller (yup, did get worse then). I have found excuses and justifications for just not. The funny thing is that when I became a mom, I began to care more enough about being here and capable that I did start to do what I knew was important for both of us (my daughter and I) – even now I am going to a class (I usually work out at home) with a Sonnon trained coach. I love it, the people who attend, the trainer and just this morning I woke a little sore and a little tired – I stayed in bed an extra hour. Although I walked when I got up – I am disappointed and frustrated at me, that I didn’t give it that one bit of umph to get me 5 minutes from home to do something I like and know benefits me… so that’s it in a nutshell.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
To stay off medications, stay healthy (I have no insurance), live a long sexy fun life, to be able to stay present (to walk in life with what is the best and strongest in me), to thrive. I want to thrive. – I tend towards melancholy and have found that fitness makes the difference between medication and no medication (for me). What has inspired me more lately is my daughter has just turned 20 and she is a lot like me. She has been having a really hard time at university and is now on an SSRI. She said the most inspiring thing two weeks ago. She said “Mom, I know that if I eat better and start getting some exercise that I won’t have to take this medicine” – is she ready for the change, not yet and what a blessing to know that she sees what can be done in paying attention to ones life and health. Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle. Things are hard. I am a single mother who does contract work and supports two households (me and my daughters at University). I get tired of mowing the lawn each week, of being responsible for all the bills and chores et et (read whine, whine ..lol) and in all seriousness – I want to walk strong, to not my concerns for those everyday things rule my thoughts and emotions. I realize we all have these kinds of things in our lives – till we die. I want to thrive and I want my daughter to see that there is a way to do that and that it is (and here is the terrible wonderful thing again) in her.
I am at a point in my life (50 yo) where I know it is time to make changes in my life. I have been doing a cleansing of my mind and attempting to renew my soul. I’m not a big fan of regression therapy, as it brings a lot of false “memories” to the front, and does nothing to restore damaged lives and time. I have gone from childhood to present day to see where “Donna” has evolved from. Where did I pick up my unhealthy “survival” choices that have destroyed my health, and that of my family. Inside of me is the real Donna literally screaming to come out. I am ready to explode onto the earth scene…… I would be honored to have you become a part of that birth. I want to create a journal documenting life reborn, to go from my infanthood of learning a new way of being healthy.. up to adulthood while coming alongside others to help them through their new birth. I have watched 2 of my younger brothers die at an early age (39 and 37) due to unhealthy choices. Food and neglect became their drug of choice to cope with their hurt childhood memories of an alcoholic father. I will not continue to follow and fall into the same ruts in the road of life that they did. I have diverted from that pathway and need a road map to help me to continue on the right road to success. Thank you for your time to read this. If I am not chosen, I will still continue to reinvent the real me, so no pressure here at all!!!!
I am the parent of a child on the Autism spectrum. There’s an old adage – No matter how bad my problems are, I would never trade them for someone else’s. While that’s certainly true, raising a special needs child provides us with significantly more stress than raising neurotypical children would. Better techniques to reduce strain and convert the stress in our lives to growth would be extremely beneficial. As for our current strategies, my health and fitness have improved tremendously since starting CST and TACFIT workouts. My wife, however, has been resistant. I need to find something that resonates with her. The last time she tried to exercise regularly she stopped because of complaints of knee and wrist pain; Primal Flow sounds like a great program for her.
The biggest benefit, however, would likely be for our son. As frustrating as it is to raise a kid on the spectrum, it is orders of magnitude more difficult to be one. Recently he has been coming to us looking for ways to lower the stress and anxiety he feels just from being who he is and living in a world that operates in a way that he doesn’t fully understand. While he’s probably too young to begin a full exercise program like Flow Physique (he’s 9), to see us modelling ways to turn stress into growth, to read the material and understand how stress works in our bodies, and perhaps to perform the Revive and Thrive flows will help him with his growth and, over time, help him to achieve his full potential. Which is what all parents want for their children.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
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I’m a 47 year old woman who has always been athletic — in my 20′s and 30′s I was an amateur bodybuilder. Working with all that we knew at that time I began taking on injury after injury finally taking me out of the gym completely. Depressed and deflated I gave up and fell out of shape which overshadowed many years of my life.
In my “mid-life crisis” I said ENOUGH! I’ve done drastic life changes — went back to holistic school, started a holistic business that employees 6 wonderful souls, work everyday to love others and teach them how to love themselves AND I work hard on my personal growth both mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically.
I’m back in the gym and struggle with several very weak links in my kinetic chain — my left ankle, my knees, my shoulders and I suffer greatly with overuse syndrome in my forearms, wrists and hands.
In scouring the Internet for answers I kept running across this weird, bald guy named Scott Sonnon.
What you were saying really resonated with me so I began buying your stuff and fumbling as I tried to figure out how to put it to good use.
I have a long way to go but I think I’ve found some missing pieces to keep me active, fit and in the gym growing stronger everyday so I can love and help others more and more everyday.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
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Looking back over my 47 years on this Earth I can now easily see how limiting and destructive stress has been. As I look outward at the world around me I see all those same destructive limitations on most of the people I come in contact with. Finally learning how to have great compassion for myself I cannot avoid a the overwhelming need I have to reach out and try to help others with by empowering them and simply loving them.
All tools I have found and will find in that effort I intend to lovingly share with anyone who has an open ear and an open heart.
Namaste
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am a 55 year old guy with a job that requires me to sit at a desk in front of a computer for 10 hours a day. I have made great strides over the last few years with bodyweight and light dumbbell high intensity exercises. However; I need to develop a methodology which enables me to stay healthy. I have developed a pattern where I twist my back or hurt other joints and then have to take off a few weeks…. essentially, wiping out the gains I had make the weeks before. I would love to be able to continue without injuring myself. I’d love to incorporate a new methodology that allows me to improve my fitness levels without injury.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I strongly believe that the stress one encounters in life can impact your health if not successfully met with a solid approach. I would love to utilize this program to help me deal with these stresses.
A Disney trip gone wrong! On a fun filled week to Disney a couple of years ago, something in my back cracked the wrong way during an inside, dark extreme roller coaster ride. Pain shot through my spine, and decapacitated me immediately. I was treated over there, and given some strong painkillers to help me get home.
In the 2 years since then, I have been to doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists. There has been relief, but some. My back hurts continuously, and many a time the pain comes in painful spasms. My mobility, my posture,my jovial nature, and my life: to put it mildly, all have taken a hit.
I came across one of Mr. Sonnon’s video’s on ageless mobility on youtube recently and it immediately caught my attention. Is this true? Is this for real? Can this information help free me of my pain? I just started researching the program, and read about this. And here I am. Will this help me? I am not sure? But if there is a chance it will, I am willing to commit to it……
Hi, Coach.
1.) How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I can’t honestly say that I have been frustrated. I have been training (strength/fitness, martial arts and meditation) for 30 years, using a wide variety of methodologies and practices. These practices I presumed to be the best available at the time and I made perceivable progress. It is only with hindsight and access to the resources that the likes of yourself have made available that one realises that one made many mistakes and ‘wasted’ a lot of time. That being said, my past practices and mistakes have made me that much more receptive and appreciative of what you’re delivering and doing.
2.) Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
By the grace of God, I don’t perceive stress as being an overly negative impact in my live. No doubt having access to the above ‘Primal Stress – Survive, Revive, Thrive’ material will expose me to any ‘blindspots’ that I have and we help me ‘take it to a next level.’
Best Wishes
Umar
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Stress can be viewed as our one true opponent, from one point of view. It can be seen as the tension in our hearts that poison’s a relationship, the squeeze in our guts and perineum when faced with a threat, or the theatrical “NOOOO!” of a man hearing that his love one just passed. It can tear down our bodies as well as our lives. When we are unable to overcome the negative impact of stress, we are unable to live life fully. It siphons from us our ability to go deeply and consciously into the experiences that life brings us. Manifesting as injuries and broken hearts, we shrink from our calling, unable to adapt to the information that is coming in. Our loved ones, even ourselves then become causalities of a war that didn’t have to happen.
Stress is absolutely vital for growth, absolutely. We need to face increasing amounts of stress to permit growth, cultivation of strength, virtue, to test our structural integrity under pressure therefore revealing our weaknesses. But Scott, you know all this. Why then am I telling you? Frankly, I don’t want anything other than my effort determine how much I get out of life. I am constantly looking for tools, or strategies to help smooth the process, and reclaim to the fullest my ability to operate in harmony and freedom under all circumstances. To be so empowered that there is not the slightest crack in my thinking to even believe there could be a problem. But what of stress that has not been adapted to? Cracks in the thinking start to appear, subconscious reservations begin to inhibit how much energy I can devote to the task at hand.
The opponent is never the one outside, though at times it sure may seem to be the other way around. It takes one unexpected blow from the man outside to sufficiently impair our functions, or wound our pride. Defense mechanisms start to kick in and operate for us, without the ability to regain control, we will go on auto-pilot and lose our ability to consciously confront the situation with the best of our compassion and capability. If we can adapt to the stress factors inside, we may all get to go home today. But if the animal drive kicks in, we may not be so fortunate.
It doesn’t take much, under the best of circumstances you may be able to overcome any challenge laid before you. But a few issues compounded in a day, an accident, an argument, a threat, an insult, and suddenly your stress, your heartbeat, is all at a much higher level than under normal circumstances. The machinery has built up a potential beneath the surface to act on it’s own behalf, and now even a relatively minor circumstance could lead to trouble because we did not adapt to the stress the first few events triggered. In this moment an officer may have to take the shot, a wife may have to address the bills with her husband, a father may have to tell his daughter why she shouldn’t cause fights in school. This one critical moment could have gross or subtle lifelong consequences for those involved. If the person we’re addressing cannot adapt and overcome the effects this stress RIGHT NOW, real negative consequences could be at hand. Never underestimate the power that a single moment can have.
Knowing this, knowing that at any moment I may be called upon to offer my best, I cannot afford to allow even a little of my autonomous software to kick in and override my better judgment. So my question is always “Can I be MORE calm? More concentrated? Could I see this even more clearly? Can I engineer even more internal conflict out of myself?” This is what I call The Path of Mastery. Can there be such empowerment, such freedom that NOTHING could ever be viewed as a problem? That’s what I want to find out.
Shawn Zemba
Stress,anxiety,fear and lack of confidence all results of external stimuli and negative experiences. When I returned from SE Asia in 1968 all these and more dominated my life w/a marriage failing and a three year old son who ignored me life was indeed empty. Many Vets returning from Nam and SE Asia faced lack of employment as well! Working hard on re-establishing my place in society and my rapidly dissolving sanity I began to practice Yoga and the related breathing techniques associated w/that discipline I diligently worked on and studied Yoga for many years,I then happened across Taiji as well from that new form Yang Taiji I gradually became physically and mentally healthier.
Although my marriage did fail (although we remain close friends) and my son and I worked out in the arena of Power lifting (he took 2nd in his class as a teen) my life is no longer plagued w/the issues of my younger days…at almost 70 years of age I am an Aikido/Aikijitsu Sensei and continue to teach and train in both Taiji and Aikido.
Working hard at success recognizing and accepting your failing and weak points as well as pursuing your passion in the face of devastating odds is in my opinion the way to freedom.
Thank you Scott for the opportunity to express my feeling on this topic.
Staysafe!
1. Recovery is a huge focus right now. The Tac Fit, Tac Gym, Tac Fit Survival and the breathing exercises are helping a great deal. I just started using the Club Bells and am discovering how to connect movements on a whole new level. Fitting a process together that allows my 59 year old body to manage the systemic process of three dimensional movement,conditioning and playing hockey and soccer competitively is an interesting personal challenge. My coaching challenge is training and managing the in-season conditioning of high school lacrosse players as well as off season work with a variety of athletes. Improvement needs to be broken down to incremental steps and my experience with your program has fired my neurology while building strength, flexibility and explosive coordination that has taken “years off my performance”. I have yet to discover the balance I am looking for in regard to building strength, durability and quickness with the demands of performance. As I figure it out for myself I pass it forward immediately to the athletes I coach and train with.
2. There is not real life without stress. Breaking moments down to the spaces between transitions is what I am learning from the application breathing the the many body weight and club bell exercises I am practicing. The transition of that understanding to my work with high risk teens, coaching, and engaging the interpersonal systems of the public schools is opening up my ability to serve people of all ages in areas I used to avoid or go to war with. It has encouraged the same resiliancy in working with my personal, social, psychological, and spiritual inbalances. The value added to my performance as a human being is my ability to manage the stress of transitions and support transitions in a stress free way.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life based off the extreme amount of stress that has encompassed me in the last few years. One of my sisters was diagnosed with cancer another with multiple sclerosis, then my nephew got into a car accident and has been in a comatose state for the last two years. Right around that time I ended up getting a divorce. Guess, I wasn’t young enough or thin enough for him. I work in a stressful environment (jail) and recently have been dealing with an ex-boyfriend that has decided to become psychotic (long, scary story). On top of that I am raising 2 teenage kids on my own. If I was to let the negative impact of stress take over my life I would not survive. The information I receive from Coach Sonnen helps me to continue to fight for life and the fitness level I know I can achieve. I am also a defensive tactics instructor at my job and I have been incorporating what I learn from Coach Sonnen to help my co-workers. The information in “Primal Stress” would be invaluable to me in my personal and professional life. Thank you for considering me for this amazing gift.
Take care and thank you for helping me become a better, more productive person.
KaeCee
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
By trying to find a “middle path” among all of the perspectives out there. Everyone is convinced you’re doing it wrong, and has something completely different to offer up instead. It seems at times that all of the various goals we have – strength, muscle mass, fat loss, athletic conditioning, mobility, control, etc – are all at odds with one another. This can add an undercurrent of stress to all training, detracting from my training’s efficacy.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because negative stress saps energy and turns me into a person I don’t want to be – a worrisome, nervous, awkward, and highly reactive person. I think by addressing how I deal with stress, I will be able to live life in a more fulfilling manner. I’ll be able to be a rock of strength for others to lean on, and capable of looking at challenges as something to face of against, instead of feeling bullied by them.
Thank you for this opportunity, I’ve always admired your focus on more than “just” the physical aspects of training – thinking about how training can change you on the inside as well. That’s a perspective not many look at, and it’s so huge to see from a fitness professional.
Dear Scott,
I have been practising martial arts for eight years focusing mainly in kung fu. The disciplines I follow require a bit of explosive power coupled with extended stances and I found that there was always a limit to how many repetitions of the basic exercises routines I could accomplish before I found myself pretty much exhausted and worn out. I always wondered why I couldn’t push myself like athletes from other sports and why working harder was not making me really any faster or fitter.
Also if I caught the cold or flu, it would take weeks to build myself back up to the highest level I was at.
Furthermore, I left a job about four years ago that was so stressful and frustrating that I developed a persistent cough that lasted on average three months at time each time I got sick. My chest muscles withered away and even now my rib cage remains prominently visible.
I am now extremely grateful for being introduced to Tacfit and CST by Dean Jones, since I had wondered up to what age I could continue to perform at most efficiently, as well as if it was possible to keep my joints from stiffening.
I enjoy adding your repertoire to exercise routine, and look forward to passing your incredible knowledge on to future generations.
With thanks,
Warren
Goodmorning first of all I have been chronically depressed since I was about 7 years old till now and I just realized this. Because when your young you have no idea what’s going on all I knew is that I was never trully happy. I always felt sad and tired. My mother is bipolar and she was just diagnosed at 45 years old. All my life I just thought she was crazy. Then I met a man who was just like my mother and I just thought it was never going to end so my stress continued. So physically emotionally and mentally I’m destroyed. Because of all of the stress that Ive gone through i have a few conditions such as hypo thyroid, proctitis and depression of course.
Im tired of taking medication. I need and want to be able to handle stressful situations better. Only I know how horrible stress can be and only I will be able to help myself. No matter whats happened in my life I always try to be positive but it’s hard. And I really want something that is going to truly help me. All I want in life is to feel good healthy happy and be there for my 2 daughters but how can I when I’m always in my head worrying. I just want to be healthy for kids. I don’t want to repeat my mother and my relationship. I want to change the chapter of my story with my girls and start it healthy and happy. Thank you!!
My frustration with trying to improve my health and fitness has been that I have given my power away for too long. I have a strong drive to become more fit and develop my mind and integrate my mind/body and I have not given myself the gift of full exploration of my capabilities. I have spent most of my life searching for inner peace and too many years feeling invisible and unworthy of being who i am. I need to realign my body after years of right side dominant work that has left me in pain and unbalanced muscle strain. I left that work and have seen some progress but this program would be such a fantastic commitment to make to myself. I want to commit to this because I am strong and capable and determined to thrive for the rest of my life. Thank you Scott for all of the inspirational work that you do and for sharing it with the world.
I have struggled with health and fitness since puberty hit quite frankly. I think growing up in a household where meat, potato and white bread were the staples, didn’t exactly start my life out on a good healthy track. Now I struggle because getting good healthy food is very expensive and alternative medicine isn’t usually covered by insurance. Basically being healthy is expensive. I’m not saying we are poor but we are a middle income family with regular daily struggles and you have to be very creative to eat healthy and do healthy things on a budget. I’m on track right now working out 3 times a week doing a circuit weight training routine and trying to get walking in on the other days. I’m eating good healthy foods focusing on a higher protein and fiber based diet with lots of lean meats and fruits and vegies. I still struggle with trying to stay motivated to work out and to keep my cravings at a minimum. It always seems like a uphill battle to me. Lets face it, life is stressfull. Money, kids, husband, hell even trying to be healthy stresses me out. If you ask any of my friends they would probably tell you that I’m a mellow person but really that’s just on the surface. I worry about everything. I try to be a positive person and changing the way stress negatively impacts my life would be the key for me.
I’ve been a firm believer for many years that negative stress is detrimental to the human body. The frustration comes from starting a good routine of exercise, seeing the positive results only to be knocked down by illness from a weakened immune system secondary to negative stress. I’ve had this happen to me over & over the past two years. It is a vicious cycle of stress, inflammation & illness. Shift changes in the busy ER where I work as a Paramedic, family responsibilities, and trying to finish a Nursing degree have all taken their toll. However, I’ve noticed that for the time I am able to continue a balanced exercise program, like TACFIT, I am sleeping better, have greater physical & mental energy, and feel ready to tackle the day. The older I get, the more important having this balance is in my life.
Therefore, I am committed to balancing the negative stress in my life with positive, energy building stress (exercise) so I can be there for my patients, co-workers and family. I’ve recommended your TACFIT program to many at work, and look forward to learning new strategies to combat the negative stressors of life in your new program. Thank you, Scott, for your passion & dedication to teach others what you have learned.
Sincerely,
Michelle Stranz
It is rare to find someone who understand the effects PTS has on a person. I suffered memory loss, the resurfacing of the memories from various treatments had a devastating effect on me. It left me frozen, as a therapist said I was like a rabbit caught in headlights. I feel that I breathed in but could never take the deep exhale of relief because I completely forgot the event . Before this happened to me I did a lot of training and was very fit.Also I have no feeling in my right shoulder, I have had many scans x rays etc but nothing has been much help After my spirit was so low I felt unable to do anything for a long time. You have helped me a great deal to find my determination and courage again. I will work very hard to get myself back to the happy light person I used to be, as there are people I care very much about who need me to be my old positive self. Thank you so very much Scott.
Kindest regards Pam
Thank you very much for this opportunity. I am overwieght and always in pain. I am hoping this will help and look forward to a new journey.
Hello Coach Sonnon. I have had the privilege of using your products: TACFIT Commando, Spetsnaz Kettlebell, Mass Assault, etc and these have helped me get over the frustration of plateaus. However it seems that I may still be missing something. I believe it is related to stress, and my hope is to use the skill sets you present in Primal Stress to put the finishing touches on the product of me. I have a poor family history health wise; hearts, diabetes, stroke, etc, I have used your physical training products to hopefully address the physical, and by using Primal Stress to relieve the mental, I will achieve defeating everything but genetics. This in turn, will allow me to live a longer, happier, more productive life.
Thank you for the opportunity, and I look forward to hearing the results.
Drake.
Dear Scott,
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have always been pretty good in sports in all my life but specially in martial art karate kyokushin. I was always interested to discover better ways of training without overstrain . And I never do things just because everybody does or just because pseudo masters says to do so. But dispite my efforts, il seems that Im in a plateau.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
From hard training under maximum tension, I have suffered from a sciatica and actually, my hamstrings cramps forcefully when a tension minimal is applied. An the same goes for the quadriceps when 1 lift my leg in active stretch . But my ultimate goal, dispite my condition and the desire to get rid of that, is to continue to train my pupils for many years and to improve their capabilities in a better and save way, including dynamic relaxation through respiration. And to releases and get free of all the tensions, physically and emotionally that we encounters through life . And for that reason, I need a real coach to show me the right way.
Thank you for your good job.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I spent my years in elementary all through high school being obese, and as such was teased mercilessly. This resulted in my withdrawing from most social circles. When jeans for a boy my age (grade 3, I believe) were too tight to be comfortable, I wore sweats. I distinctly remember one boy following me around the playground spitting at me repeatedly and taunting, “sweats suck!”. Things like this occurred throughout my school career. After high school (in grade 9 I topped out at 305lbs at about 6ft), I more or less got tired of being that way so I adopted a radical diet which essentially amounted to a ketogenic diet. I lost, unhealthily, close to 100 lbs in one summer and have since kept it off. My frustration may be unique or trivial depending on how you look at it, but here it is: I’m now 28 years old and for the last thirteen years, since graduating, I have absolutely killed myself trying to burn off that last 20 lbs. It seems that I plateau, no matter what I do, after only a few weeks of a new pattern. The frustration comes with having literally injured my shoulders and lower back in this pursuit when I was younger (squatting with too much weight on the bar, hundreds of situps per workout, sacrificing form for the sake of “burning more calories” – thank you for rectifying my thinking on that last one btw, Scott.)
My body feels broken, my mind is flirting with the idea of joining it due to other stresses in my life (lost my job, things recently ended with the love of my life, living in a podunk little town with no money to move, no friends that aren’t thousands of miles away, and nobody to even train with in my art…the list goes on- all I have is my hound dog), and my heart is crying out in frustration because I feel that deep emotional exhaustion setting in. And I feel that if I can just move through or out of this oppressive , frustrating state, it will be a first major step to getting my life back on track.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Simply put, because I do not like the person I am when I feel trapped. The knee-jerk reaction to stress, instead of rolling with it and examining it and working with it the way I used to has become anger and frustration. I feel like a completely different person than I know myself to be inside, and I do not want to be this person – I want to move through this and become that chill, confident, patient, funny, active and enthusiastic guy who loves to help and teach people, that I know is trying to come out for some air!
Namaste, sir.
As the husband of two small boys aged 3 and 19 months and a wife who is sick and undergoing treatment for lyme disease, I am not only the sole breadwinner of the family but also caretaker for all three. After working 10 hour days and having to come home to cook, clean and do dishesand laundry for the others, and with no time to train – it has been 3 years since I had any time to do any fitness – I am totally stressed a large majority of the time- Having the ability to de-stress would make my days much more tolerable and would make me personally happy and happier for all concerned to be around.
Across the whole spectrum of life, stress prevails at a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level at work or play, night or day. Revive, survive and thrive aptly describes my expectation of your program, the healthy “ MAINTENANCE ” of our past, present and future. Our past, our present, our future predetermine our response to life. Imbalances, created by everyday challenges, make our intrinsic thought and action processes, tilt one way or another. Our action, reaction, activated by stress factors, thought patterns, autonomic feedback, determines our state of health and wellbeing. As with many sojourns in life, quality maintenance determines the longevity and value of any endeavor. Success for ones- self is achievement, success for others is charity. Cheers….. jonbryan
What has frustrated me in improving my health and fitness is not understanding what the causes of some of my problems are and trying solutions that only treat the pain but not the causes….. learning your tacfit programs has improved every area of my life because true principles work the same in all area of your lives. All around strengths, balance, endurance, concentration, stress control and health improved with proper workout, recovery, breathing and correct techniques.
Negative stress has causes both phyiscal and emotional problems in my life. How turning 60 year olds, nothing has kept me going sucessfully then paying attention to what stress I am feeling and how it is effecting my performance and how to manage it. But you need to know the “true princples” in managing your stress or you will be only taking care of the effect not the causes….. thanks, Scott for all your help.
I’d like to thank everyone!!Excellent work.
I guess I’ll write specifically about combating the negative impact of stress in my life.
My goals in life involve equipping people to become who God made them to be. My first priorities as a husband and father mean that I help my wife and kids understand how to live a life of influence and leadership through service to others. As I model that life, negative stress can be a silent and deadly killer. Learning to live a long and healthy lifestyle while helping others is the best gift I can give my family.
Secondly, I spend a significant portion of time teaching civilians combat pistol skills. I believe that peace exists because good men stand ready to do violence against evil. Helping men and women learn the skills necessary to defend their lives and loved ones in times of crisis is something I love. Your breathing training was very helpful for me personally and I can see how others will benefit as well. I’ve already shared your website with a few firearms trainers and they’ve loved the information.
Keep up the wonderful work.
Marcus
Coach, I never realized the impact stress has had on my life. My wife has been battling reoccurring breast cancer for the past 10 years. In this time I went from a martial artist working out 5 days per week to barely having the mental energy to show up once a month. I have realized that I need to do something as we have young kids, but I have not been able to work myself out of thus situation. I would hope that with some outside stimulation and information we can change our lives for the better.
Stress is pretty much an everyday part of my life and I have found exercise to be vital in keeping it in check. I have always found coach’s routines to be perfect in that role and consistently keep my body and mind challenged and sharp! Thanks!
First off, I am looking forward to your new offering, and I know that your work is valuable and effective, so paying for it is a no-brainer. But I am willing to offer back my input to share with you how you have helped me.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been pursuing health and fitness for over 30 years even since I was introduced how to properly lift weights from my high school weight lifting teacher. I followed the 80′s bodybuilding routines, crazy diets, questionable over the counter supplements, all in the hopes of finding a physique ideal. I got into various martial arts trying to combine the physical with the tactical as I first was in the military then subsequently law enforcement. I feel like everything I did took me to a certain level and then I would mentally and physically plateau. Part of me said that is simply the journey, and enjoy the experience. The other part of me said, I am never going to be a black belt, expert, gold medal winner, I will simply be an “also ran”. And I was ok with that…..for a little while. I hit my mid 40s before I had that epiphany that said what you are doing is not going to help you reclaim your “youth” without mobility and flexibility. I came across Scott Sonnen’s name during my foray into kettlebell lifting. That brought me to Rmax and subsequently the purchase of Tacfit Warrior. Doing the movements (which seemed simple but not easy) I realized how much more was happening. It became even more apparent when I decided to “just do it” and enter my first BJJ tournament. I performed better than I would have thought possible because of the flexibility and mobility from my training with Tacfit and BJJ. Ever since then I kept looking on Scott’s facebook and blog in order to keep the body of my 20s while in my 40s and hopefully beyond.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I don’t have a choice any more. My life is not my own, it is my family’s. I have two small kids that don’t think I am old. And when they do realize I am older than most of their classmates’ parents, it won’t be because of my lack of physical abilities. I have an incredible wife who is also an amazing mother who I wish to grow old with together. The quality of that time together will be directly related on how well we can remain self sufficient while a team. That’s pretty much it for me. From my children, whatever legacy I put forward will come from them.
Keep doing what you are doing, Scott. Your pebble has created tsunamis.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am in my fifties and have almost completed my menopause cycle. Getting the belly fat off has proved to be a work in progress. I have started Pilates but then underwent surgery for a breast reduction. My back hurt badly with the weight and now I am nearly pain free in the upper back. I was ready to start my Pilates again when I broke my toe. The Pilates have helped tone but as far as losing the belly fat, this is difficult as I work and cannot find the time to “start~up” again.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress, depression, high blood pressure, addictive personality, and high colesteral. I have had to learn how to keep the anxiety down and focus on the positive. After 9 years I have learned to do this but still suffer setbacks, such as confusion when I am asked too many questions, or have several people talking to me at once, I freeze and everything leaves my mind and I must walk away. This is hard to do as I work in the Customer Service Sector. I am committed in changing these things through diet and exercise and one day be able to be off my anti~depressants and high blood pressure medications. I believe good mental health stems from a healthy body and lifestyle. I would love to attain this. Thanx for listerning and all the good work you do!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have tried many times to improve my health and fitness. Every time there are setbacks. My motivation builds and I am getting results and feeling great, then an injury happens, and I’m forced to stop. Then my motivation fades and the joy I had is gone.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I see so many others who look beaten down and worn out by the stress in their lives. I want to help them but to do so I need to be an example and be full of health, joy, and have control of my stress. Then I can help them to release their Primal Stress.
My job is characterized by relentless low-level stress but within a management philosophy that denies its existence. Consequently many of my colleagues suffer from stress related diseases – lupus, diabetes, Chrohn’s disease, MS. In fact, August 5 marks the one year anniversary of the death of one of my fellow workers from heart failure – she was 47 years old and a good friend. I’m 61 years old and my father died of cardiovascular disease when he was 67 so dealing with stress goes beyond quality of life for me to just having a life.
I wasn’t athletic as a youngster so I don’t have a mindset of training to fall back on psychologically so when I set out on an exercise program it’s another ‘job to do’. When I get home from work sometimes I just don’t have the energy for another job so I wind up having a cup of tea and falling asleep sitting up. Of course this becomes the start of ‘training for non-fitness’ and me on a downward spiral – until I start another exercise program. What I need is what (I think) you are offering here – a way to incorporate training for physical health that doesn’t in itself add more stress than it alleviates so that steady incremental gains can be made.
Hello Scott,
I’m Peter, 49 years old man, from Bensheim, Germany.
First: Thank you for all your gifts during the last days. I try to involve your breathing-techniques and mobility-drills in my daily training-routines – and it feels good. But now the answers to your questions. I have to start with the 2nd question first:
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
As a musician I was a self-employed person my whole businesslife. But from 2002 on, raising a family and becoming daddy of a sweet girl, the business was running worse and worse. So I decided to look for a “normal” Job to feed my family. In 2007 I found a Job as a consultant and salesman in a company for internetmarketing. I was happy and everything was ok. Sometimes I worked outdoor, but the most time I was sitting at my desktop. And so it happened what must happen: my belly was growing more and more. In 2009 I decided to change my nutrition and started to do workouts. First bodyweight-exercises, later barbell and dumbell. And while I was building muscels, I was feeling better and better.
But in 2009/10 the wordwide financial crises left it’s mark on our company and the job was getting more and more stressfull. In internal meetings the people yelled at each other. I didn’t understand that, because I’m a calm person, doing Karate since I was 18 and the most time I had my emotions under control. But only sitting in such a meeting and listen to the screaming people was bringing me down, so that I have to lay down on the sofa every day, when I came home from work. But the key moment I had in oktober 2010. I was sitting in such a meeting and suddenly my leg began to tremble itselfe. I couldn’t control it. The psychic stress had took over my body. I was frightened. I’ve never felt this in my whole life before. And I never thought, that psychic stress coluld damage your body in this way. The only way to prevent me from a totally bourn out, was to quit the Job. That leads us to the first question.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
After quitting my Job, 2011 startet with a new stress situation: I was jobless, my health was on the bottom and I had no motivation to do anything. But I said to myself: “you must do anything to get out of this mess.” And so I started to train harder than before. I did 5 hard workouts a week. For example: 7 tabata protokolls with the barbell, one after the other in one training. 4 weeks everything was ok: endurence was growing, strenght was growing. But in the 5th week I break down. Overtraining! Overuse injury in my right wrist! Hight Bloodpressure! Headaches the whole day! etc.
From there on I knew: recovery is more important than training. And my searching began. I was looking for training systems, that will give me more than building muscles and endurance. I was looking for training systems, that could help me to avoid overtraining, to recover from psychic and physical stress, to heal my injuries and to improve my health for the rest of my life.
The first thing I did, was a 3 week fastening, with only drinking about 1 L of juice per day. And I had my first inspiration. There was another stressfactor for my health: nutrition. In the time of fasting all my injuries and pains (in the joints and my back) faded. Anyway I had to look for a nutrition, that was good for my health. On my further searching in the world wide web, I hit upon some videos of a MA fighter named Scott Sonnon. As a Karateka, I was very impressed by his self defense drills. But looking for more information about this guy, I found out, that there was more than a fighter. I had found a man, who escaped from all his diseases. From now on, I wanted to found out, what his secret was.
And now, with 49 years, I’m a self-employed person again, teaching saxophone and keyboards and sometimes making music on stage. The biz is still not easy. But l keep on fighting. Today I’m following the paleo diet, I’m doing only 2-3 hard workouts per week, I’m doing your joint mobility drills every day for recovery and to lead the nutrients into the joints and I’m breathing to recover faster from stress. But I’m not at the end of my journey. I’m just a beginner and I feel, that your training systems, techniques, drills and your whole philosophy about health and fitness will help me a lot.
For my future I wish to wake up in the morning and hear me say: “I think I’m dead. There is no pain in my body.” And in the next second I hit my head at the wall and say:”Oh my god, I’m alive!”
With this in mind: keep going with your great achievement and I hope to meet you personally anytime in the future.
Very Very Respectfully
Peter Nenortas
Bensheim
Germany
Hello Scott,
I have been training in Capoeira for three years and I try to regain my strength in a short time and it takes me sometime to regain. I exercise doing cardio and other things, but nothing is working. I am still studying my body, trying to see what is the best for me. Sometimes, I have problems with my whole body cramping up and I drink plenty of water. I just want to be better in what I do and have a healthier life. Thanks in advance for your knowledge.
I am a 40 year old female who used to consider myself an athlete. Over the past two years my body has endured immeasurable stress with serious medical (female) issues leading to hospitalizations then surgery followed by the heartache and shock of my mother unexpectedly passing away. The surgery I had resolved my initial problem but after a year my physical fitness hasn’t been able to recover. It is only until recently I’m starting to realize how much the physical and mental stress has taken it’s toll. The administration of multiple hospital procedures, medications and way to many hormones to “correct” the problem were no doubt harsh on my body.
The immediate emergencies from this two year time frame may be gone, but my Adrenal Gland is still “misfiring” out of control, my blood pressure remains high and despite exercise I can’t lose weight or gain muscle tone. Everything (body/mind/spirit) seems out of whack and feels very disconnected, and I am a firm believer that these three things are all very much connected.
I am on a total mission to get it all back into harmony once again, and I know it’s going to take a different approach than what I’ve been trying up until now. Up until when my life “turned upside down” I was athletic, toned, and strong….I so much want to get back to those days! I’ve been reading these blogs daily and would like to apply Scott’s program towards my recovery and journey back to physical and mental fitness.
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
i’ve been frustrated by the fact that training takes so long and that i still have not been able to perform a handstand or do a tbf without resting.
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
i’m committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because stress is detrimental to my quality of life/happiness.
How frustrated?
As a trainer I find it confusing with so many self proclaimed experts promoting one particular system over another. Scott’s systems are the real deal, no arguments.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have felt frustration while trying to find the balance of working my body & mind out intensely and creating time to recover from that same intense working out. I tend to be all or none in my approach to my workout program – all intensity, little recovery – or – all rest, little intensity. I typically find myself over or under stressed, instead appropriately stressed for personal & professional growth.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life for its potential affect in my 2 year son’s life. He is and will continue to be a reflection of what he sees in me. My growth and ability to handle stress in a more productive manner will offer him more tools to use later in his life.
Thank you for your contribution to health & healing.
With acknowledgement and respect,
Matt
I am a sales rep for a high end imaging company. Hi quotas and a difficult economy has been more than I can bare lately. There is so much pressure to get every order. Despite my best efforts and a long-standing history of success I am struggling to make it. Subgoal performance and lack of financial rewards is all taking it’s toll. I am waking up feeling overly anxious and it’s taking it’s toll on my body. I am taking every measure possible from prayer to meditation to working harder to realizing what I have but all of this is still not doing the trick. I am hoping your book will provide some key answers to help my situation
I am on a journey which encompasses creating the optimum way of being in all aspects of my life. This means changing from the inside out. I have struggled with maintaining a healthy mind and body through nutrition, exercise, meditation, etc. I believer your books will help me with the physical aspects which will affect my mental and spiritual in a positive way to create the optimum balance of all aspects of life.
In the past I have been able to reach a close to healthy physical level but so far I have not been able to sustain it. So working on thoughts, feelings, actions, reactions, are a larger part of good maintenance. If I don’t believe in the changes I am making I will not be able to keep them up thus I gain back the weight I have lost and lose the muscles I have gained. And I am in the process of building my business so I can sustain a healthy, conscious, lifestyle from now on.
I am 49 1/2 years old. I live with my parents because I have not been able to keep steady employment for living independently. I want to be of service to others and a contributor to an “ecological friendly” universe. When I am doing my part to sustain a healthy living then we, as the collective, will be that much closer to living healthy lives. This is what I want to achieve for the generations to come.
Thank you for your knowledge and wanting to share it with all of us. I want to live proactively and based on what I have read you live proactively. So please do “keep doing what you are doing,” Scott as Pete said on August 3, 2012 at 5:50pm..
What do P90X, Crossfit, HITT, Metabolic, and EDT have in common? They are excellent tools for the majority of 20 year-olds… and the minority of people who are older. I am 50 years old and have used all of these great fitness tools over the past decade… until each of them injored me in one way or another. Golfer’s elbow… strained hamstring… knee problems… DOMS so severe on a regular basis that I couldn’t bend downto tie my shoes. And eventually the very dangerous question… why do I feel better when I don’t work out, than when I do? When you start thinking that way, you have one foot in the grave. I need something that keeps me fit… AND makes me feel better. Based on the many other courses I’ve purchased from you Scott, I know I can trust in your guidance.
My life is like a perpetual battlefield since life is a never ending cycle of conflict and stress for me. Pugnacious people malign me and I am quite often the victim of the crab mentality. Many backwater troglodytes have made my life miserable by being scandal mongers, and I am quite sure that these actions were done out of insecurity. I’ve been wrongfully accused of many evil acts that I have never committed. As a result my attitude is quite melancholy since I have to deal with all types of unruly people.
There are all kinds of people in this world with own projected reality in which I presume to be too radical because their belief and actions are cruel in my eyes. People can easily deride me since I am weak and defenseless due to my inability to make friends with a lot of people. The friends that I have made in the past have dark natures that are against my sense of righteousness, so I have decided to move on by ditching them. My goal right now and for the rest of my life is to be more joyful and healthful in life by living a healthy lifestyle, and by looking forward to newer and better experiences in life. I shall not let stress hinder my ability to cope or function in a healthful manner.
Nobody is always happy in life because life always has it’s up and downs. There is no sensible omniscience present to tell people right from wrong in my eyes, and even if he was at hand to all his believers, I don’t think he can make a difference with all the ubiquitous strife and uproar in the world. Turmoil disrupts harmony since antithetical people are antipathetic towards each other’s feelings and beliefs due to bias. I strongly believe that clashes of worldviews are a never ending cycle. On the bright side, I have learned from Scott Sonnon that adversity adds to one’s bank of fortitude if one develops their mettle by obtaining resilience while learning from misfortunes or mistakes. Strong minded people can sometimes prevent themselves from becoming victims of maligners by treating harsh criticisms with insignificance by not taking any comments about them personally.
My life is like a perpetual battlefield since life is a never ending cycle of conflict and stress for me. Pugnacious people malign me and I am quite often the victim of the crab mentality. Many backwater troglodytes have made my life miserable by being scandal mongers, and I am quite sure that these actions were done out of insecurity. I’ve been wrongfully accused of many evil acts that I have never committed. As a result my attitude is quite melancholy since I have to deal with all types of unruly people.
There are all kinds of people in this world with own projected reality in which I presume to be too radical because their belief and actions are cruel in my eyes. People can easily deride me since I am weak and defenseless due to my inability to make friends with a lot of people. The friends that I have made in the past have dark natures that are against my sense of righteousness, so I have decided to move on by ditching them. My goal right now and for the rest of my life is to be more joyful and healthful in life by living a healthy lifestyle, and by looking forward to newer and better experiences in life. I shall not let stress hinder my ability to cope or function in a healthful manner since I am inspired to be a strong person like Scott Sonnon.
Nobody is always happy in life because life always has it’s up and downs. There is no sensible omniscience present to tell people right from wrong in my eyes, and even if he was at hand to all his believers, I don’t think he can make a difference with all the ubiquitous strife and uproar in the world. Turmoil disrupts harmony since antithetical people are antipathetic towards each other’s feelings and beliefs due to bias. I strongly believe that clashes of worldviews are a never ending cycle. On the bright side, I have learned from Scott Sonnon that adversity adds to one’s bank of fortitude if one develops their mettle by obtaining resilience while learning from misfortunes or mistakes. Strong minded people can sometimes prevent themselves from becoming victims of maligners by treating harsh criticisms with insignificance by not taking any comments about them personally.
My life is like a perpetual battlefield since life is a never ending cycle of conflict and stress for me. Pugnacious people malign me and I am quite often the victim of the crab mentality. Many backwater troglodytes have made my life miserable by being scandal mongers, and I am quite sure that these actions were done out of insecurity. I’ve been wrongfully accused of many evil acts that I have never committed. As a result my attitude is quite melancholy since I have to deal with all types of unruly people.
There are all kinds of people in this world with their own projected reality in which I presume to be too radical because their belief and actions are cruel in my eyes. People can easily deride me since I am weak and defenseless due to my inability to make friends with a lot of people. The friends that I have made in the past have dark natures that are against my sense of righteousness, so I have decided to move on by ditching them. My goal right now and for the rest of my life is to be more joyful and healthful in life by living a healthy lifestyle, and by looking forward to newer and better experiences in life. I shall not let stress hinder my ability to cope or function in a healthful manner.
Nobody is always happy in life because life always has it’s up and downs. There is no sensible omniscience present to tell people right from wrong in my eyes, and even if he was at hand to all his believers, I don’t think he can make a difference with all the ubiquitous strife and uproar in the world. Turmoil disrupts harmony since antithetical people are antipathetic towards each other’s feelings and beliefs due to bias. I strongly believe that clashes of worldviews are a never ending cycle. On the bright side, I have learned from Scott Sonnon that adversity adds to one’s bank of fortitude if one develops their mettle by obtaining resilience while learning from misfortunes or mistakes. Strong minded people can sometimes prevent themselves from becoming victims of maligners by treating harsh criticisms with insignificance by not taking any comments about them personally.
My life is like a perpetual battlefield since life is a never ending cycle of conflict and stress for me. Pugnacious people malign me and I am quite often the victim of the crab mentality. Many backwater troglodytes have made my life miserable by being scandal mongers, and I am quite sure that these actions were done out of insecurity. I’ve been wrongfully accused of many evil acts that I have never committed. As a result my attitude is quite melancholy since I have to deal with all types of unruly people.
There are all kinds of people in this world with their own projected reality in which I presume to be too radical because their belief and actions are cruel in my eyes. People can easily deride me since I am weak and defenseless due to my inability to make friends with a lot of people. The friends that I have made in the past have dark natures that are against my sense of righteousness, so I have decided to move on by ditching them. My goal right now and for the rest of my life is to be more joyful and healthful in life by living a healthy lifestyle, and by looking forward to newer and better experiences in life. I shall not let stress hinder my ability to cope or function in a healthful manner. I am inspired by Scott Sonnon to be a stronger person.
Nobody is always happy in life because life always has it’s up and downs. There is no sensible omniscience present to tell people right from wrong in my eyes, and even if he was at hand to all his believers, I don’t think he can make a difference with all the ubiquitous strife and uproar in the world. Turmoil disrupts harmony since antithetical people are antipathetic towards each other’s feelings and beliefs due to bias. I strongly believe that clashes of worldviews are a never ending cycle. On the bright side, I have learned from Scott Sonnon that adversity adds to one’s bank of fortitude if one develops their mettle by obtaining resilience while learning from misfortunes or mistakes. Strong minded people can sometimes prevent themselves from becoming victims of maligners by treating harsh criticisms with insignificance by not taking any comments about them personally.
My life is like a perpetual battlefield since life is a never ending cycle of conflict and stress for me. Pugnacious people malign me and I am quite often the victim of the crab mentality. Many backwater troglodytes have made my life miserable by being scandal mongers, and I am quite sure that these actions were done out of insecurity. I’ve been wrongfully accused of many evil acts that I have never committed. As a result my attitude is quite melancholy since I have to deal with all types of unruly people.
There are all kinds of people in this world with their own projected reality in which I presume to be too radical because their belief and actions are cruel in my eyes. People can easily deride me since I am weak and defenseless due to my inability to make friends with a lot of people. The friends that I have made in the past have dark natures that are against my sense of righteousness, so I have decided to move on by ditching them. My goal right now and for the rest of my life is to be more joyful and healthful in life by living a healthy lifestyle, and by looking forward to newer and better experiences in life. I shall not let stress hinder my ability to cope or function in a healthful manner. I am inspired by Scott Sonnon to be a stronger person in the mind and in the body.
Nobody is always happy in life because life always has it’s up and downs. There is no sensible omniscience present to tell people right from wrong in my eyes, and even if he was at hand to all his believers, I don’t think he can make a difference with all the ubiquitous strife and uproar in the world. Turmoil disrupts harmony since antithetical people are antipathetic towards each other’s feelings and beliefs due to bias. I strongly believe that clashes of worldviews are a never ending cycle. On the bright side, I have learned from Scott Sonnon that adversity adds to one’s bank of fortitude if one develops their mettle by obtaining resilience while learning from misfortunes or mistakes. Strong minded people can sometimes prevent themselves from becoming victims of maligners by treating harsh criticisms with insignificance by not taking any comments about them personally.
Sorry for spamming the wall, but this is my final version.
I used to be in shape… In shape enough to instruct Bikram Yoga, take Shaolin Kung Fu and reach a hight level of competence in it and run five miles per day, ten miles or more on weekends. It’s been more than ten years and some 50 pounds later that I find the need for an effective de-stressor and safe physical fitness regimen. Did I mention that a heart attack followed by the implantation of a defibrillator (caused by a heart rhythm irregularity due to the infarction) preceded this downturn? Yeah, more than a decade has gone by and I’ve tried unsuccessfully to regain that degree of fitness that I had. Kudos to Scott Sonnon if his system can help me! It’ll be a challenge to you and to me. I’d like to give it my best! Thanks for the opportunity.
I didn’t realize that there were the two questions to answer so I’m re-posting in order to give an answer the second question:
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am a 40 year old female who used to consider myself an athlete. Over the past two years my body has endured immeasurable stress with serious medical (female) issues leading to hospitalizations then surgery followed by the heartache and shock of my mother (my only parent) unexpectedly passing away. The surgery I had resolved my initial problem but after a year my physical fitness hasn’t been able to recover. It is only until recently I’m starting to realize how much the physical and mental stress has taken it’s toll. The administration of multiple hospital procedures, medications and way to many hormones to “correct” the problem were no doubt harsh on my body.
The immediate emergencies from this two year time frame may be gone, but my Adrenal Gland is still “misfiring” out of control, my blood pressure remains high and despite exercise I can’t lose weight or gain muscle tone. Everything (body/mind/spirit) seems out of whack and feels very disconnected, and I am a firm believer that these three things are all very much connected.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I want to change the impact stress has had because with no energy and a general feeling of ill-health (sometimes anxiety) there are days when I don’t feel like getting out of bed or getting out…and I don’t. With this reclusive, low-confidence lifestyle my friendships/relationships have dwindled big time, I rarely go out socially and I’m certainly not contributing much to this world. The trauma I have been through really “knocked me down”.
I am on a total mission to get my life back into harmony once again, and I know it’s going to take a much different approach than what I’ve been trying up until now. Up until when my life “turned upside down” I was confident, athletic, toned, and strong….I so much want to get back to those days.
I am committed to making the next 40 years count in my life, and without significant health/lifestyle changes I am worried about further health problems which will no doubt lead to the inability to pursue my dreams and a life wasted!
My main goal right now is to release myself of the physical/mental burden stress has left behind so that I can “get out there”, be able to do lots of physical activity, look good, and eventually meet my soul mate.
But without feeling healthy I am never where I want to be…both physically and literally….
I’ve been reading these blogs daily and would like to apply Scott’s program towards my recovery and journey back to physical/mental fitness….and a fulfilled life.
Thank you,
Rebecca
Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life?
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because or as far back as I can remember I have become physically frozen by fear in social situations and it’s holding me back in my life, BIG time. I remember being a boy in kindergarten feeling frozen in fear, terrified of talking to the other kids, especially the girls. I would get terrible sore throats from the tension in my neck (throat chakra) holding back my speech. I remember working a paper route and dreading collecting subscription fees and eventually losing that job because I would avoid asking customers for money for weeks at a time. Again that terror was present and that stress in my throat and heart energy centers.
I’ve come a long way and I’m really happy with my progress but I have creatively avoided dealing with the elephant sitting on my soul’s full expression for much too long. I want to live full speed and I know I can. I can overcome this self imposed obstacle.
It seems that the right thing to do is always face your fear and conquer it. Academically I’m aware of this concept but putting it into practice is a whole other story. It’s so easy to creatively avoid the situations where I freeze myself. Yet I know that they are actually the key situations in realizing my bigger dreams. Those are the day’s opportunities to win.
For example there is business opportunity available to me where I need to present a product and ask for sales that could propel me toward my dreams and blocking my way is that ancient social fear. Curiously it feels very similar to the block I created with my old paper route. Another example is I want very much to build a terrific social life and the next step is getting out there and being social in bars and clubs again that fear is there. I want very much to take action to meet those beautiful women who cross my path every day and again that icy feeling of fear freezes me and blocks my potential. It’s like I’m in kindergarten again and I’m a scared little child on the inside.
I know I have to feel the fear and do it anyway but logic doesn’t seem to have much leverage over this totally irrational feeling. Thanks to Coach Sonnon’s wonderful Tacfit programs (Warrior & Barbarian) I have incredible training. Now I need the will to act in spite of fear. It would be an incredible blessing if there is something in Primal Stress that I can use to get leverage over FEAR.
Very much looking forward to Primal Stress.
Best Wishes.
Aaron
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness ?
Last year, my supervisor made me loose the most important thing in my life : My Happiness/Serenity. I then told myself, that it wouldn’t happen this year, so when she screwed me again after I help her out, at 61, I took an early retirement at the end of April, really, money isn’t everything. It took me one month to recover ! But I just finished two month of 2-3 hrs of daily activity and optimal nutrition eating minimal transformed products. Already in Great mental shape, well on my way to ultimate Liberty ! ! !
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life ?
I loved my job for 14 of the 15 years I’ve been there, so I decided I couldn’t/shouldn’t bare the stress she put on me. Over the years there, I’ve had 4 other managers, and for all of them, I was an asset, for her I was a ZERO so : Bye, Bye Stress, Hello Liberty, Health & Serenity I’m taking care of MySelf.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Now that I have passed the mid-century mark, I notice my aches and pains take longer to fade. It seems I am paying a price for inactivity now. The long hours working at computers and driving have slowed me down. 20 years ago I earned a black belt in Kung Fu/Kempo Karate. Unfortunately the demands of work and family life led me to decide to abandon martial arts training. Now my kids are older and I want to play tennis and do other activities with my kids but the chronic soreness from golfer’s elbow and sore back, knees, lower back and neck are harder to recover from. The big problem began last November when I helped my contractor move a piano. 15 years ago I had carried the piano from one side of the house to the other with the help of my neighbor. But this last time was different. I only carried it about 6 feet but in the process I aggravated my golfer’s elbow in both arms. The pins and needles pain caused me to really focus on rehabilitation. I have been researching and trying several therapies: supplements, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, and exercise. I remembered that I had the elbow pain before I began Kung Fu training. Somehow, the pain had gone away during my training. I think it was the Chinese sword training or Qi Gong but it may not have been that simple.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I better get to the point, Dear Reader, let me tell you what is working for me now. I found a personal trainer who introduced me to joint mobility exercises and I felt an immediate improvement in my elbow pain. I wanted to learn more about joint mobility then he was able to tell me in our training sessions. I found your IntuFlow system. Your system is helping me address problems that go way beyond the elbow pain that caused me search for solutions. I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because I want to be around and functioning at full strength for my family. I want to fight the gradual decline in strength and no longer give in to it as part of aging.
Thanks for putting out a great program. I appreciate your hard work.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am 55 years old and tried many exercise plans, either through television, the internet, gym programs, etc. Each program is designed for a specific type of person, age group, or condition. I have recently be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and am looking for something to help maintain my flexibility and strength.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Well we only have so many years to live and I am bound and focused on living them physically well. I do yoga and so beginning TaiChi, but I know there is more.
1) I was constantly frustrated by ensuring “progress” in my training by believing that resistance training with the accompanying fatigue and burnout was a necessary mainstay with any program. Training with weigts was fun. The fatigue was a persistent downer.
Nothing I did balanced out. I was not sure if my muscle gain was food and supplement-induced or actual muscle from training.
I can’t even fathom what my missed opportunities in life (social, educational, personal, professional) have been because of exercise fatigue. over-feeding, being bloated with so-called nutritional supplements AND insisting within my own mind that “all of this was a necessary part of the exercise experience while changing programs every 6 weks“
Enter tacfit.
No more fatgue. You name the program. There was partial fatigue at the beginning, but them, there was energy galore! Case Solved!
Except now, I have so many programs re: tacfit style that I don`t know when to change to what program, so I can give each program its full value and attention. My once program hopping habit has now been more focused of an issue. Which tacfit program do I do now…hmmm.
It is a great problem to have in my opinion.
2) Why are these programs critical to me and why do I even do them…
Well, I have always had a sneaking suspicion that I have been doing exercise all wrong since I caught the exercise bug. I am not an athlete by nature. I do not have an athletic bone in my body, yet I look like I do. I have studied exercise theory and became a trainer. Training people was always geared toward what they wanted to hear. My intuition told me differently but going against the grain meant job loss. So by choice, I am no longer a trainer because people do not want to know the truth about exercise and what it takes to `really get there“. That was before I knew about Scott Sonnon and Tacfit.
Exercise has been my passion since age 15. Being 43 now, I am proud of my physique.
However it could always be better.
I have the six pack. I have muscled arms and thighs. I can cause no man shame nor win any awards with my physique, but I love the tenacity and intution required to keep myself where I am with exercise discipline with the option to improve over time.
I wish I had a dramatic reason to keep going but i do not. Winning Scott`s materials and freebies really isn`t what I am after.
If his wisdom could be downloaded into my brain, that would be incredible.
Going back 30 years and STARTING with Scott Sonnon`s approach probably would have made me an athlete of sorts. Although in theory this would never be possible, I can only dream of what could have been.
But I insist on reality and loving reality. So I love to apply Scott`s wisdom about exercise into my life consistently because of one thing: Scott makes sense and He is very real in his approach.
This sounds like a true ass-kissing post and I do not care.
I realize now that with every tacfit training day that I employ, I stand a chance to excel in very different ways. Productive insightful ways. Intuitve ways. So many different eloquent and yet everyday-like ways.
I just keep at it.
Scott gives that kind of inspiration.
It is that simple.
Thank You,
Bill Bistak
1. Frustrated by inadequate programs that focus only on the stress component.
2. Want to be happy and spread “happy”.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I turned 40 this year. I’ve struggled with being overweight, a negative body image, no self-worth, no one to trust with my doubts and my questions, always feeling like I was unwanted, unloved, and didn’t belong, since I was about 7 years old. Unknown to myself, my subconscious was constantly searching for similarities between my struggles and those of someone else. Perhaps I was looking for someone who would understand me, perhaps I was looking for someone to learn from, I’m not really sure, because I had pretty much given up on myself. And then, 7 years ago, a new friend came into my life. After 3 years of daily e-mail exchanges, learning to trust, to be honest, to apologize and to forgive, digging through the mess in my heart & mind, he was somehow able to communicate to me, that I was worth being a friend to.
Soon after that, I saw a video of Nick Vujicic – a young Australian man, born without limbs but so full of life! What surprised me, wasn’t his success, but my reaction to seeing his body… I felt like I was looking at myself as I truly was – totally helpless, trapped inside my body, my hands, somehow, incapable of saving me. As I watched Nick move about, brush his hair and teeth, and even play golf… all without hands… I suddenly knew… like Nick… I had to find a different way to ‘eat’, a different way to ‘move’, a different way to embrace life… something suited to my own weaknesses and strengths. So, I’ve set out to learn about myself. I feel like I’m a lot healthier now than I was 7 years ago, physically, emotionally, mentally… but there’s still so much more I need to learn, so many more crippled and trapped parts of me that i need to find and heal. I find them with the help of others who have overcome challenges, as Nick has. I still haven’t mastered everything that Nick has. But I gain a lot from looking at things from different angles, through the eyes of different people, and then, I’m better able to see how it works for me.
I’m not sure when I’ll ever feel like I’ve ‘made it’ or ‘succeeded’ – there’s a few things i’m looking for along the way – I want my body to be healthy and strong and last me a long long time – preferably, to the end of my life. I want to be financially independent. I want to be emotionally and mentally at peace, so I’m always available for my loved ones, especially to my two children… who are still not embarrassed to call me their mother! Thank you for what you have done with your life, Scott, and for passing on lots of ‘goodies’ for free through your website. I’ve already learned from you! I hope the blessings you freely share come back to you, multiplied a hundredfold!
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’ve been frustrated by my lack of personal time organizational skills. I have also been frustrated by my emotional dependence on other individuals to train alongside me. I hate making excuses for myself (I work full time, am emotionally spent at the end of the work day, etc.) and I hate that I justify my inactivity by my excuses. I need to restructure my daily routine to incorporate time to work-out and engage in more physical activities with my daughters. I grew up with my father being physically disabled and missed out on a lot of “dad-time” and it sickens me that I am the cause of repeating the same patterns with my daughters.
I have begun to eat natural/paleo-style and have felt a great difference. My family is supporting me in eating healthier and I have lost some weight as a result (22lbs). I have noticed that my general health and immune system has begun to improve since eating natural foods (un-caged, free-range, naturally fed animals; Alaska salmon that I’ve caught; fruits and veggies without pesticides, etc.) and have been able to ward off a lot of the common colds and sickness that spreads around. I struggle with eating at the right times, however. Intellectually I know and understand that I should be eating approximately every four (4) hours to keep my metabolism working and by not eating, I am causing it to slow down (upwards to 50%) because of my timing, but I am having a hard time prioritizing my life and my health first and instead, prioritize work. Intellectually I understand this is wrong and counterproductive, but I need guidance and assistance in breaking the habit. That is one of the many reasons I read your posts and threads…as I can relate to them so much.
I’ve struggled with obesity and weight-issues since I was 10 years old, for 21 years now. There is so much information out there on “health” and “weight loss”, etc. that it becomes confusing and I get informational overload. It’s hard for me to decipher what is true and what is just a gimmick. I am frustrated by my ignorance, but more so, I am frustrated by me giving up on myself and using my ignorance as an excuse. This is hard for me to write, this realization… In order for me to be there for my girls and my wife, in order for me to continue making a positive impact on the lives of others, in order for me to become the individual I can become I need to start taking care of myself. I need help and guidance with it, however.
Financially, I have struggled and been frustrated. It seems that every gym and every fitness guru has a fitness product that will help you reach your goals. It’s a consistent emotional rollercoaster at times, to even think that I am not even “rich enough” to properly care of my own health, wellness and fitness. I’ve resorted to making home-made training equipment that mimics medicine balls and club-bells, although not 100% the best quality, it provides me with some semblance of the original product. However, again I am very ignorant on what is needed (i.e. the training routine I should use with my own medical considerations and conditions).
My health has deteriorated with age, as to be expected. I’m 31, have severe arthritis in my left elbow, DeQuevain’s Syndrome in my left writst, L4-L5 lumbar disc problems, high blood pressure from being overweight, stress and being a former smoker, etc. I took an introductory jiu-jitsu class a few years ago and although I enjoyed myself and had a blast, I was so nauseated and suffering from heat exhaustion that it was all that I could do to drive home safely and literally passed out for 6 hours. My body was shaking and I was in and out of consciousness as a result. When I try to push myself when working out, I get severe “stress headaches” that can nearly drop me to my knees and forces me to quit. I have allowed my body to get to the point that working out can further damage it, because of my own neglect, carelessness, ignorance and hatred for me. Now that I have battled a lot of my personal demons and have overcome many of them, I am suffering the ramifications of my past experiences and lack of self-care.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
The negative impacts of stress on my life (and everyone else’s life) are well documented. Physical illness, digestive problems, aches and pains, feeling lethargic – tired and run down all the time, constant headaches, high blood pressure, irritability, depression, etc. I have experienced all of these and struggle with most of them to this day. I’m working on where I invest my emotions and my heart: myself, my family, and my community service work. I am tired of the self-doubt, low self-esteem and emotional chaos that can plague me. The physical manifestations of stress – I am better than this. I haven’t even begun to be who I truly am and I refuse to allow stress or anyone/anything else get in my way…even if it’s myself. The emotional and psychological damage stress causes – I’ve been tormented for the entire 31 years of my life. I want and need to infuse positive stress and evolution, growth and maturity. I need help to focus on proper introspection and physical and mental movement to overcome the obstacles. I’m committed to changing my life because of my children, because of my wife – but also I am committed to changing my life and the negative impact of stress on it for myself. I can overcome and I can succeed at it. I want to be an active participant in the lives of my own family…and an active participant in my own life and I a damn committed to it.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
In the past 2 years whenever I get any momentum in my workouts, I’ve hurt myself. Tendinitis on my foot x2, shoulder injuries x2, lower back injury, and more. I’m only 27 years old, and I need to end this nonsense… I have a high work capacity (cardio and musculature) but weak joints, connective tissues, etc., and I need to strengthen those before I can get back any consistency in my workouts and develop real full-body health and strength for the first time in my life.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
In the past year, partly as a consequence of not working out consistently (due to injuries), and partly as a result of juggling too much, I’ve become a negative person. I want to restore myself to my normal state of positivity and forward progress to be a better dad, husband and citizen.
I recently took a kickboxing class and the instructor came up to me in the middle of it and said “what’s wrong with you, you’re so tight and look like you’re not breathing!” Reducing the impact of stress on my life will make me better able to do what I want to do in life, which is empower others to be their best.
Coach;
I live in a match box with the woman I love, a colombian actress and model who gave up a comfortable life there to encounter her America dream. She has yet to find it. We love each other desperatelty; our fights are legendary, at least in our building. She is not a woman easily pasified. I am not easily subdued. I am not from New York either. I came here to train as an actor, which I did, and subsequently found my place is the abyss of New York night life, bartending and working in clubs. At my best I am an artist, a shaman, a warrior, an athlete; at my worst someone on the verge of drowning in anger and alcohol. I wrestled in high school, competed in Braziliian Jiu Jitsu after that. I studied privately with a great teacher that worked in a system of Eskrima/Silat and Chinese medicine. I began my anussara practice 15 years ago with my mother. I know herbalism, and accupuncture, I write poetry and just finished my first feature length screen play. Because of my diverse training background I’ve always been drawn to your web clips and often play your Parkour warmup for complete strangers. This year my girlfriend was diagnosed with an autoimune disease that is attacking her joints; this has brought her to a depth in her yoga practice faster than I’ve ever seen. A blessing in the guise of an assassin. I work to keep things afloat, and we’re both training and fighting for our survival and a place in this world to see our dreams take root. Thank you for your work and teaching. This contest aside I will make it a point to seek out your teaching this year, and make a sincere effort to assimilate it and pass it on.
Love.
N
I just wanted to say I bought Intu-Flow and a stack of your other videos over the last 2 years since I discovered your material. But I have to say, it took me a long while before I started to use them.
I would like to say……my life and my body are so very much better now. I continue to incorporate your methods with my therapy patients of all ages……with remarkable results.
When I got the e-mail you have a new program for breathing…..I really got excited. Because it is the Breath that brings it all together. And it’s a piece I have yet to figure out.
After my Dad passed on a little over a year ago, his younger brother…..my Uncle….had a heart attack and only has 30 % functioning heart now. I’ve been looking for a new method for building breathe to build better health.
One of my biggest challenges at age 43 is my weight….as I am 30 lbs overweight at this time. My hope of using these breathing techniques will improve my overall health so I can get even more from all the other programs I have purchased from you thus far.
Again……I would like to thank you for the methods you have shared and for all the people I have been able help that now enjoy better heath.
Be Well….
JJ
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
The biggest frustration stems from patterns established in childhood and beyond. It was my own doing, and a product of my enviroment as well. I realize the neurological patterns established by watching TV 6-8 hours a day and living off junk food constantly are not considered optimal for biological survival as a Human. I quickly adopted chair shape by my early teens and from there my whole body took on a strange amorphous, shapeless tone. Trying to unbind myself from the spell of my past is the absolute bane of my forward progress, and it is the fuel behind the voice of my negative Ego. To be completely real all of it has been my doing after a certain point. Yes, my neurological wiring as a kid was wonky, I was allergic to everything, and had no stamina. But why? My dietary world was crap…no water, all soda…all day. Food…more like frankenfastfood. I could finish a box of Entemans donughts in a 5 minute walk from the store. Exercise? Limited to thumb and eye coordination skills developed through hours of GoldenEye and Mario Kart…..this is why my body was broken, and my mind was putty. The frustration is now a voice in the background telling me it’s easier the way things used to be. But I feel better everyday, no Serpents whispers for me, just Health. Zdrovoye.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
So many reasons I could summon. So many poetic phrases. Alas, it is very simple for me. I am a resonant Being. I have created another being in this world. So I am responsible for every micro and macro action I do. Every thought will affect me, which will affect my daughter, and everything else I am around. Therefore, I will become the most I can summon in every given moment. That is why I need, and will change the negative impact of stress in my life.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Yes I have been frustrated. Mainly by the simple fact that non of the products out there make sense. About 4 years ago I started to draw diagrams of the human body moving in 8 directions. At that time I was studying Wing Chun (a system which I completed eventually) I started to work on designing exercise programs based on my intuition and work with a highly qualified kettle bell instructor. The kettle bell training at this time was very good but I have to say it was two dimensional. Meaning lots of overhead squats and lots of pull ups and so on but nothing like the spetzna kettle bell system from you. While doing this kettle bell training and going all the way up to 245 lbs I also managed through hypnosis and visulisation to learn how to do straight arm pushups on my finger tips. This left me very strong and very focused and very big. However also frustrated as I could not move my body like a whip.
Until I started to use your dvd’s. The chi gong one, the ying yoga, and flow fit all those I did them every day for 45 min to an hour. Usually in the morning.
But I was still frustrated becuase I did not have a total package. Eventually Scott Sonnon came out with two programs, Kettle Spetzna and Warrior Yoga. The difference between those programs and everything else so far, was that this was a total package. The cool down and worm ups were specifically designed for the task at hand, and the kettle bell program, or body weight programs promoted flexability and it made sense. It was one total package.
There are other products out there that have this but not to this degree, often the kettle bell movements make the body more and more tight you end up having farmer strength which is good, but being a person that had it I have to say this is better.
Next is the level of safistication, instead of using more and more weight with the Sannon phylosophy you end up getting better and better by making the movements more difficult. By the time you finish you 16 week cycle, you will be very strong, I have done a wind mill for 3 resp with a 40 kg bell and a bent press with a 40 kg bell for 5 reps, on the end of my spetzna k bell cycle and I never really went over a 24 kg bell in training.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
At one time of my life I was very sick and had joint pain, the though I had RA or MS. But they could not find nothing, I use movement as medacine and also I find that doing natural movements had aided me much better in self defense then any martial art. The only missing thing from the total packages that Coach Sonnon come out with is that there was no training for how to breath control, now there is.
God Bless you.
The only thing that Coach Sonnon is missing now is to teach people how to do a very short self hypnosis before they start to work out, to give the subconscious mind a suggestion to fallow the programs to the T and so on.
One day perhaps I trust I will release something like that along with a kbell program designed for wing chun,Krav Maga.
That’s why relaxation is so imprtant to me.
Thank you Coach.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? I am now 65 years old. I have worked my entire life in Retail; I currently work as a Customer Service/Office Assistant in a large supermarket. At one part of my life I owned a tavern for 16 years and was a store manager for 12 years. I have always had very stressful and tiring jobs, so when I come home I just want to lie down and take a nap. Two years ago I had back surgery which was not 100% successful, so I also have pain at the end of the day. I skip exercising because I don’t feel like it. I eat junk food because I don’t feel like cooking. As a result, I am not overweight exactly, but I am out of shape. I need to get my life on track if I am going to live a long and productive life, during these “golden years”. This year I got back to planting my greenhouse and a garden, and I am growing everything organically. I am doing my own canning for the winter so I know what ingredients are in my food. I am trying to cook healthy meals with leftovers so I can eat well if I don’t feel like cooking. But, it is so difficult to keep it going. So, I am trying to commit myself to building a healthy lifestyle, so I can extend my life and live healthy and active. Also, if I am eating healthy and exercising my grandchildren will have a better role model in me. It is difficult, but I am trying!!!
I, like the vast majority of human beings who are seeking improved health and fitness, am constantly frustrated at a lack of REAL progress and the pace of actual progress. Sure, I have made improvements physically and mentally, but not to the extent I want to. I am not a full time athlete, neither am I someone with the time or inclination to spend hours upon hours in the gym or with the bank balance to spend countless hundreds, or even thousands on a whole variety of glamorously marketed supplements, that promise everything from six pack abs to bulging biceps. Please don’t get me wrong, I certainly do not expect results without putting in the effort or investing the time or money. Its just there are so many products, so many programmes, so many conflicting theories on what does or does not work…frankly its damn frustrating. I train regularly, mix cardio and weights, I eat healthily, I am a positive person and without a doubt all that has paid great dividends. However I do feel for what I am investing, in terms of time , commitment and discipline that those dividends should be even better. I have never been tempted to just give up however, not a chance of that…as frustrating as it might be, I love it too much and the search for the magic formulae that might just deliver the results I want keeps me going!
In recent times I have upped my personal war on stress…and I think, I think I am winning! From reading the right books, meditating, relaxing, eating properly and exercising I have had a good handle on dealing with stress. But its not just what you do that can helps to eradicate stress it is as much what you decide NOT to do. Do not engage in thrash talk, do not watch thrash TV, do not read thrash newspaper stories…in short do not invite stress into your life. Of course, we will be ambushed every now and then by situations or scenarios that will cause stress levels to rise and it is learning the techniques to combat the negative impact of stress that causes me to continue to search for anything and everything that can naturally help to absorb that impact. Stress is a silent killer, a killer of dreams, desires and potential as well as a killer of people. The root cause, according to an whole plethora of medical and psychological experts, of most of the physical and mental sicknesses facing our species today. So why am I determined to deal with stress in my life? Quire simple really. Its MY life. I want to dictate how it goes. I want to navigate my own ship even if the seas can get rough at times, I want to take responsibility for my time on this spinning globe. Why should I allow anything outwith my control to have any negative control on my thought process or my health.? To continue my journey I need to understand stress and to conquer its ability to influence my existence.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Prior to training in TACFIT I was not able to find a program in which I could consistently train. Injuries, fatigue, and the lack of results were the usual reasons I stopped training. After purchasing the TACFIT Barbarian special this past December, I knew I found a program that will keep me training. Since then I’ve incorporated First Alarm and Survival into my weekly TACFIT workouts and am eager to include the material in Primal Stress.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
After following your posts on FB, I am a firm believer in the forge – and producing movement that imitates water going over rocks. Properly dealing with stress will help me accomplish those goals.
I want to experience through the program on how to lead a better quality life. And in turn, share this knowledge with people who need it!
And I think, there are a lot of people that need somethink like this (including me !!!)
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Even though I have many RMAX products and have used them for years, I still feel overwhelmed trying to work around and through past injuries that inhibit my progress. Everyone lives a busy life with many commitments and it is difficult to have a comprehensive plan that won’t take a lot of time and that will provide results. Work, school and raising 4 children doesn’t leave much free time to focus on improving my well being.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
The negative stress doesn’t just effect me and my health but the well being of my entire family. By improving my situation, my family will be happier as well as healthier and our relationships will be better off for it.
Greetings Scott,
Thank you for your VERY thoughtful comments. Food for intelletual, spiritual, and physical inspiration.
My reason for eliminating stress through exercise is because I have seen the result of a sedentary life in the very sad and pained deaths of my Mother (who suffered through three rounds of cancer) and many of my colleagues in the music field. I truly believe that the human body yearns for challenges mentally/physically/spiritually, and when there is an imbalance or omission, the body & mind become bored or worse, angst-filled. The lazy remedy I have observed unhealthy people take includes the use of drugs/alchohol/smoking/gluttonous amounts of food.
An agressive physical/mental/spiritual daily regimine eliminates that need.
Respectfully,
Karen Elaine
As awareness of self grows, coming through childhood and into adulthood I come face to face with the void of the abyss staring straight into my soul, coupled with the struggle of knowing that I really don’t belong here… in a sense. Of course I belong. But that is to say, I’m not all human. Coming to terms with my existence means rewiring my body, which has gifted me with pain, struggle, disease, and weakness. Am I up to the task? To reclaim this precious real estate that has witnessed war, damage, attack and abuse? I’ve given myself over 1000% to the task of walking the Shadow Path, finding my truth and coming out the other side. Whenever or wherever that may be. For 15 years a paralyzing skin disease has eaten at my face, figuratively and literally, exposing to me to the inviolable chaotic abyss that hides under all the illusions. But I have not given up. I am determined as ever to tap into my potential and find MY pure expression. Courage.
As a 33-year old female with long stringy limbs it can be difficult to orient oneself in a world where Everyone wants to lose weight. YOUR programs WORK for me. I have digested: Zdorovye, Be Breathed, Ageless Mobility, Intuflow, FlowFit I, Parts of Prasara A and the most recent: 3 months of TACFIT Warrior. And those are just the programs I got around to doing… My notebooks are full of notes, condensations of wisdom, and compilations. I want to learn.
A few of the things I have overcome:
Trichotillomania ( a hair-pulling disorder): Conquered
Having the courage to escape an abusive cult to which I was born: Conquered
Facing Homelessness with Grace: Conqured
My goal? I hope to rise above my obstacles and LIVE so that my life will be a service and a gift to this planet.
Thank you.
Hi Scott,
I have been living with the back pain for over 20 years. It doesn’t matter if I exercise or not, at the end of the day I have to get down, with my back flat on the floor to release some of that pain. I’m really looking forward to try your program. If it delivers what it promisses: pain free life; I WILL BE GRATEFUL FOREVER!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m frustrated because I often injure myself or more accurately, re-injure myself. I start to work out and get a boost of positive neuro chemicals and hormones. Then I over do it and find myself re-injured. I’ve also have never really taken the time to recover from prior serious injuries to my shoulders and knees (two torn shoulders and operations on both knees). It seems these unresolved past severe injuries are clear road blocks keeping me from improving my health and fitness.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Bottom line, I’m committed to changing the negative impact stress has had on my life because I know that I have a lot to contribute to others. However, I have continually found myself up against my own internal limitations, not just the physical ones from prior physical injuries, but mental and emotional ones from past unresolved emotional traumas. Like losing my mom to a brain Aneurysm when I was 12 and then having to care for my younger 5 siblings and put up with abuse from an alcoholic father.
It seems that no matter what I’ve tried, the scars from past traumas add their own level of stress to my current life stresses.
Can your program help me obi wan kenobi (alias Scott Sonnon) ?
I am writing to you from all the way down in Florida, the sunshine state. I’ve followed you for quite some time now, and look forward to all your inspirational posts and expert advice. The first reason I often became frustrated with the general fitness industry relating to the end user community, is first off the mass pool of advice. There is advice driven for solely marketing purposes, which reveal no actual positive results to end users. There are also the misguided advice that is so readily posted the general media believes is true, when in reality it is far from par on the spectrum. Often I have found the hardest part of a fitness program is well…. sticking to it. More often than not, lack of progression and sophistication blocks us humans from the willingness to continue with the program. Another portion of fitness gains that is often frustrating is the so called expert ” must have tools.” Always having to buy into a new tool to reap results.
For the second portion relating to stress in my life, I present a major chunk that has become my driving point. My grandparents recently passed away, and throughout their last living days with us here it hit home for me on a personal level. We often neglect the big picture… ourselves. Everyone gets so caught up to the ins and outs of their daily lives they miss the largest part of life TAKING CARE OF THEMSELVES. I saw this through not only my grandparents but my immediate family as well. They had become so involved with the things around them, that they stopped truly taking care of themselves and the stress took over. Without combating the stress at hand it deteriorates our every being from hormones to fitness gains even down to our daily drive! You must maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout your whole life in order to reap the benefits of your loved ones. If you want to live long, thrive and survive, then handling stress is a must! I don’t want to end up being held together with bandages and having a machine be my lifeline when I get older. I want to live life to the fullest, and share it with all of my loved ones. This is an extremely important part of my lifestyle!
Kindest regards,
Tim W.
I am failing and I have far to go. I feel like a giant airplane that is pushing toward the heavens. Engines straining to break free from gravity. But the frame is failing, fuel lines are choking and circuitry is blowing. It’s no longer about reaching for the stars but has become a daily struggle just to keep the bird in the sky. Running from panel to panel from hose to hose, patching and repairing and shunting, doing everything I can to keep fuel in the engines and restarting the stalled ones. I am watching the wing mates of my life peel off from formation, throttling back, and beginning the long slow glide back towards the earth to crash in the end. The constant COM chatter is about my time being done, its time to start the gradual crash. I know this is false, I’ve seen those who fly till the very end. But I am exhausted, new life stressors, keep adding up, keep entering in, not for a week, or a month or even a year. I’ve been exhausted for years, and I can’t really see me having the strength to battle exhaustion for another decade, something has to change. I’ve lightened the load, rolled out what used to be considered precious cargo, letting it disappear into the blue sky, because now there is only one precious cargo in my life, my child.
I want to be able to give everything the child needs. I want to be the energetic happy person that light up a child’s eyes. I want to be a companion as my child grows, being the role model of activity and excitement and not a loadstone. It’s no longer about being the best; it’s about just feeling good again. Every time I fake a smile and complete another exhausted run around the couch my little child knows, somewhere in her developing mind, a humans limitations and lack of joy are being imprinted upon her growth, a subtle foundation of who she will become.
I use exercise as a momentary crutch to boost me back into a level that feels human. Push through and intense series, and explode out the other side in victory, feeling alive for a little while. But I also know that this is also part of the problem. It takes me several days to recuperate from a workout now and my mind is sluggish all the time. I’ve read several of your books; the Flow series always seem to speak deepest to me. They are also the only exercise that doesn’t seem to crush me. I am always looking for more. I look forward to your newest release.
I will not go quietly into the night.
Thank you for all of your efforts, information and inspiration!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been working on learning to be present in my body for my whole life. As a child I picked up a major food addiction to cope when my parents divorced. Living through feast or famine patterns within a family wifh 10 kids, I learned to hoard food, and binge when I could. This addiction has become compounded by the habitual use of alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana. These addictions have compromised the health of all my relationships, primarily because they have allowed me powerful driving obsessions to hide beneeth.
The past two years I have begun the process of excavating myself from the wreckage of my lifestyle. My marriage, my relationship with my children, and my emotional health were all in serious trouble. I am learning that I don’t really even know who I am because along with all of my other bad habits, I developed dishonesty as a way of life: believing everything was fine, when in fact it was not. Currently I am learning to take the time to be real with myself, figure out how I feel, express my true feelings and needs, and begin to learn to nurture who I am authentically in this moment. I am learning to be with myself, my husband, and my family in a way that I didn’t know that I was not able to experience.
Over the last year I have become sober, made many healthy shifts in my diet, begun to move more intentionally in my body, and moved toward better health and fitness in general. This Spring, I experienced a major blow as my body lost some basic abilities to function. After some testing, the nuerologist I consulted suggeted a serious possibity of MS. In many ways this has made drastic changes to my lifestyle and rippled into all of my relationships. I am severly frustrated. Yet, I know that this is a blessing. It has swept into my life and encourages me to make drastic changes that I have feared. This is something I could spend my life rejecting or I could simply embrace this experience and see what might happen.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
It is indicated that stress has a major impact on the lives of those living with MS. I am not currently able to work outside of the home. With a new lifestyle to consider, a husband, three children, and a home to care for I have my work cut out for me. I have changed my occupational status to: Personal Healer. At this time in my life I am on a healing journey to learn to live with honesty, acceptance, vitality, and courageousness. I hope to learn to live with powerful tools that enhance my life so that I may share those tools with all my family and community. I believe the world is a better place by simply living my life in flow.
My biggest challenge in staying committed and disciplined to health and fitness comes down to the fact that even when I’ve made progress, the actual results haven’t turned out to be what I’d hoped for. What I’m after is freedom of movement and mastery of my own body, but it wasn’t until I came across the TACFIT program that I really recognized that’s what I was looking for. Spending hours pounding the pavement, or slinging weights around, or stretching every muscle made me feel good for a while, but at the end of the day I always ended up wondering “What’s the point?”. I spend ten hours a day or more at a desk, who cares if I can do a split or bench twice my bodyweight?
And when you’re already struggling with work-life balance, it can be hard to stay motivated to hit the gym when you have to choose between that or reading to the kids before bed. Ultimately, I want to live a generous life, for my wife, my kids, and my community, but I feel usually feel overwhelmed instead of inspired. I recognize that the stress from work follows me home, and makes it more challenging to be the selfless husband and father that I want to be. I know if I can attack the root of the problem, the momentum will build, and I’ll be able to accomplish more of what I feel called to do.
Thanks for your work, Scott. I appreciate your generosity and willingness to help the rest of us!
The advise “play football it”ll get you fit” …… Results injury busted achilies tendon
The advise “go to the gym “…….. After 5 yrs the results got slow and tight couldn’t do dips anymore shoulder injury.
The advice ” do sprints”……. Results in a torn hamstring injury
The advise ” do this cross fit you’ll get jacked”……… Results lower back strain injury lost job (construction) cause I couldn’t move/ lift
The advise ” do dumbbell training only” ……. Results tendonitis in the elbow (tennis elbow but I’ve never played tennis Doh!)
Notice a theme? So I’d like a bit of help. I’d like to get my movement mojo back be fit but most importantly injury free. And should I win I will pay it forward by showing anyone who is in the same boat or wants to listern how to move again.
Cheers
Mick
I will try to get to what I believe (or have been told) to be my challenges. I am a 54 year old female. From childhood it goes like this, molested at 4 repeatedly by grandfather, raped at 8 by neighbor, alcoholic abusive father, mentally unstable mother, married at 17 to an abusive husband and gave birth to two beautiful sons, both deaf from birth,now 25 and 29, started experiencing panic attacks at 29, divorced husband. Remarried at 31 to a wonderful understanding man gave birth to two beautiful girls, both hearing, now 19 and 21. Wonderful understanding husband completed suicide 2 1/2 years ago leaving us with nothing but questions. My emotional life is distressed and my body is taking a beating because of it. I can’t seem to, no matter how I try, break out of the spell. I have been to therapy, weekend ministries, drum circles and gone on drunken binges. I believe that there is hope for me to regain a life of contribution to the whole. Thank you for reading
Scott, I am not looking for anything free, just wanted to thank you for your programs. I am a fifty-three year old formerly fat attorney who, with the use of your programs, has dropped my bodyweight down from over 275 lbs. to just under 225 lbs all the while building muscle. I should pay you for that. Thanks!
As far as most frustrating experiences, I would say that as I have gotten older, it has gotten harder to do some of the exercises in your programs ( and others) that require more flexibility. In addition, I have old sports related injuries that I just seem to never be able to work around, such as a previous injury to my right knee with some accompanying arthritis. I would love one day to do a pistol just to prove that old guys can still move although my immediate goal is to get rid of the last stubborn bit of fat I have around the mid-section. That would be amazing.
As far as the positive aspects of removing stress, I can say that the most important thing for me, is what effect that would have on my family. I am a trial attorney which can be a very stressful occupation. Having an outlet for all of the stress that builds up when you are trying to help someone with the legal problems they have, is critical for me. I have to always be at my best. It is that important to the people who entrust their situations to me! Also, my grandfather died of a heart attack as well as his five brothers. My father has adult onset diabetes which makes it difficult for him to walk. My mother has had cardiac surgery. To be healthy and stress free means I will be around for my wife and son and it is really what motivates me forward. I would also like to be an inspiration for others in my family with health problems, and if I can dig out of the very deep hole I dug, maybe that will show them the path too.
Thanks for all you do. When your new program comes out, I will gladly pay for it. My very best wishes to all of those who have responded above and may god’s blessing and grace be with each of you. Glad to be part of such an inspirational bunch. Mike N.
Over the years i have had many obsticles in my life and feel as if i have BATTLED through them.
To show for it i have now two beautiful, healthy, successful children who are also lovely people and for that i am grateful.
I have a wonderful elderly mother who is my inspiration and a job as a nurse where the people i meet also inspire me.
I have now found inner peace and love and try to pass on to others and animals the contented feeling i now have.
I dont seem to be able to get back to the fitness a had before my road accident and would love direction to be able to do this.
I seem to manage my stress levels most of the time now and try to excercise but need motivation.
Thank you for taking the time to read my reply
Love and happiness to you and your family
1-How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My frustration is aging and what comes with it. At age 71 I find nature wages a constant battle of declining testosterone Muscular atrophy, loss of elasticity, shrinking bones and density, cardiovascular problems aches and pains from old injures and on and on it goes.
I see this in my friends and others and their acceptance of defeat and their loss of will to fight to the end. Well not me. I learned in the Marine Corps that to rest is to rust and it’s better to burn out then fade out.
2-Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life?
Because I refuse to be like other senior citizens constantly complaining about what’s ailing them today, popping pills, continually going to the doctors and getting more feeble each day. Every day I battle between mentally wanting to workout and a complaining body reminding me of all
My aches and pains. So I look in the mirror and say to that aging face, “I’m working out if you don’t like It drop dead. I workout four to five times a week. If you care to see the fight. You can find me on youtube.com under ideaman99.
Dominick
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
If nothing else, I am an educated consumer. I’ve bought more diet and exercise books than I care to admit. I’ve researched and attempted all kinds of methods of self-improvement, ranging from mainstream to borderline-crazy. My body is my temple, but as I am getting older, I now admit that maybe I’ve let too many random strangers into it over the years. As a high-school and then college athlete, I had a promising start, but an unfortunate car accident, almost killing me, put an end to that, and started my life-long struggle with injuries and weight-loss. It is very frustrating to know what I am trying to achieve, but never quite making it there. This frustration is the cause of constant stress that’s been wearing me down to almost the point of breaking. It seems that for every step forward there was always a step backwards, either through circumstances or through breaking down of commitment on my part. There is so much information floating around out there. Sometimes I can see through marketing ploys and lies, and sometime I can’t. Or maybe I choose to ignore the warning signs, because I am still seeking the answer.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
We are born innocent, our body, mind and soul – clean slates, with no other task than to simply grow and thrive. And then “POW!” — the innocence is lost almost immediately, when we are faced with the challenges of life. It is so easy to end up confused and damaged, both physically and emotionally, from harmful intrusions of information overload, life’s cruel turns, and even from our own fears. I am smart enough to know that, at 44 years old, I am no longer an easy fix. I’ve been warped by disappointments, injuries and losses. But, while more often than not I am struggling to thrive, I also know that I must keep trying. I am a father of 3 young children who look up to me as a role model on how to handle this tricky journey. The stress of navigating through health issues, financial obligations, and career demands is not likely to ease up any time soon, but I am committed to learning on how to best handle it because I want to stick around to do my job as a father. The way I see it, “stress” is just a challenge not yet faced. Once we face the challenge, accept our limitations without giving into them, and then get enough courage to proceed in conquering that challenge — we grow. And then — maybe even thrive.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I used to be frustrated by injuries, joint pain, overuse and over-training. However, almost exactly two years ago (July 31, 2010), I started training with TACFIT Commando, and am now training with TACFIT Warrior. This system has revolutionized my training because it (1) takes a reasonable amount of time, (2) requires no equipment other than my body and gravity, (3) requires minimal space, (4) is extremely cost effective compared to gym memberships/equipment purchases, etc. (5) is body/joint positive. At age 51 I am literally in the best shape of my life in almost every measure – and this is thanks to TACFIT. So, I’m no longer frustrated!
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Unfortunately our lifestyle often pushes us over the line from eustress to distress. Distress, as we all know, is the primary killer in our society. Fitness, breathing techniques, and mental discipline are required to strengthen us and prevent distress. TACFIT, martial arts, yoga, meditation, tactical breathing, etc are all key components of my anti-stress strategy; I look forward to learning more from your materials, Coach!
Hi Scott,
In the last two years, trying to enjoy young family life combined with airline pilot schedule plus leading and working on an old house complete transformation and renovation for two families left me running around from 4h30 am to 11 pm with no time for an efficient nor enjoyable mountain bike training. This makes me unable to evacuate stress and opened the road to a permanent half angry mood, which nobody around me deserves.
I feel I got to the edge of what my body is ready to accept without backfiring so I want to escape this dangerous spiral, which killed my father at age 47, I want to get armed like a pacific warrior to enjoy happily all challenges that life throws at me or which I chose to face. I am determined to transform anger into laugh and to share joy not shouts.
Very thankfully for all you have already shared.
Marcel
As a CST and TACFIT instructor I have had a first look at the benefits of your teachings. When I first discovered your teachings I was suffering from a little overweight, with pain in most of my joints. I had very limited mobility, and my training was making me sicker. Thanks to intu-flow, and the rest of your programs I have been able to restore my health, and have started to help others recover theirs.
Currently I’m working with young athletes that want to turn pro as soccer and golf players. Most of them have had career threatening injuries due to over training or just improper training. Most of my athletes have lots of imbalances, limited mobility, and tons of frustration. Some of them I’ve been able to help through intu-flow, but some don’t respond to it because the consider it a bit boring. I would love to acquire this primal stress package, because it would not only help me give somebody their health back, but because it would help me help a young athlete full fill his or her dream.
I was in decent shape and then I ruptured 3 vertebrae in my neck. Since then the 3 ring circus has taken over. Following a neck fusion and shoulder surgery, I am still trying to recover. Total loss of strength in my arms and no flexibility. But I keep on trying, I am now benching a whopping 50 lbs. Not bad for a 250 lb guy. So I keep trying what else can I do, there is always someone worse off.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
From the mental standpoint, I am a firm believer in holistic approaches to health and wellness and have yet to find an integrated practice that simultaneously addresses mind, body and spirit in a coherent and effective way.
From the physical standpoint, I have chronically had a limited range of motion and lack of muscle mass and strength and have had a hard time finding an integrated fitness regimen that provides an incremental and safe approach that will help me overcome these obstacles and achieve the flexibility and strength I wish to develop.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I believe we are all endowed with remarkable auto-regulatory mechanisms within our body that if properly nourished and supported, will keep us healthy and free from disease. I am absolutely convinced that stress is the primary cause of ill health in this society and I am strongly committed to insulating myself both physically and emotionally from the impact of stress in my life through healthy lifestyle practices.
A1: Maintaining forward momentum is the challenge for me. I aspire to improve/progress in all dimensions (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) and would hope to keep momentum in the ‘positive’ direction in all these. Allocating the time and commitment while maintaining performance at work and with my family creates competition for my available energy for improving all these at the same time! I will have to learn that I do what I can, maintain effort and accept the gains that I can realize.
A2. Ties in with A1, reducing negative stress allows me to make room for more positive stress. This should enable the most progress where I choose to focus!
Scott, thanks for all you do. I really enjoy reading your facebook/tweets and rmax materials. Working to understand your life experiences and lessons has been very rewarding for me and other around me!
Cheers,
Allan
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Quite simply, I need guidance. I have the drive, I work hard at it, but somehow I just don’t feel as though I’ve assembled the whole apparatus. It feels like the next level is always just out of reach, but if I had the help of a person who has made it there, then I, too, can attain it. Also, I’ve struggled with respiratory problems my entire life. If I can overcome this handicap, then I feel I can achieve the contentment others seem to get from good health.
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am tired of feeling overwhelmed, tired of being angry, tired of feeling powerless. The stress feels like a cancer eating away at my guts, and it’s bleeding me dry. I don’t want to live like this. I want to achieve inner peace and contentment.
I was born with a very high proprioception. I have had to move and develop my bodies morphological states, one because it is truly fulfilling to develop new physical skills, and two because if I don’t I am acutely aware of the degeneration of my physical vehicle. The sense of daily choices either adding to my health or adding to my dis-ease, becomes more and more present with each passing day. Instead of going into what body part would benefit from a tune up, it is more an internal sensation/awareness of what is truly required for me to seek joy and love, and express these things for as long as possible. It is that which I embody, that must survive for me to continue to participate in those things that define me, family, movement, and light for all who I am able to share with.
Yes I have a growing family, yes I have a growing sense of community, my understanding of the human experience both terrifying and tragic, while remaining precious and elating, I can only relate to this external experiences through, the signals and sensations conducted through my sack of flesh that I pilot. Responsibility is the same no matter for self or other, at the end of the day, the beginning of possibility there exists a moment to decide our present state of existence. I hope to continue to develop my “inner” self to then affect our “outer” self. Peace, love, and light to you dear brother, may the wind of change forever call your wings to unfurl.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been frustrated trying to improve my health & fitness whilst trying to build a successful PT career at the same, which is proving very difficult and i cant say its successful by any stretch of the imagination. I tell my clients theres no excuse not to train but finding myself without that time or too exhausted or depressed to get myself moving each day due to the stress and pressure of earning way below minimum wage.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am 30 in a couple of months and am nowhere near where i thought id be at this age, all because of stress. It clouds my mind with poor judgement, it caused me years of depression from which i still suffer, it has lost me friends, money, opportunites and now its beyond time to eliminate stress from my mind, once and for all. I have wasted money before on products that have promised to eliminate stress and am looking for the real deal, something i can believe in and will be easy to follow that i can work hard and maybe start having the best year of my life.
Hi
Firstly, I am commited to changeing the negative impact of stress in my life mainly for my 6 children, life is hard and very stressfull, I am struggling to find my way in life at 28 and looking after my 6 kids while trying to get a career is very stressfull and that stress is having an impact on my health and I dont want it to have an impact on my kids so I need to deal with it.
I have been frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness as I keep getting ill, which the doctor says is due to stress and this makes my training, when I can fit it in, inconsistent and results hard to get. I bought Tacfit when it first came out but as yet have not been able to follow through which has been frustrating and depressing…in my head im fit like I was in the army which has also caused me to push my self too hard, I want to get back to that feeling and be fit, health and be able to deal with the stress for my partner and kids, they are the most important things in my life!
Best wishes
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress on my life because I want to be able to see, and experience, as much of my son and daughter’s life as possible. I want to be able to set a great example for them to follow that they can then pass on to others throughout their own lives. I am committed to leaving this world better than when I found it and I believe this tool can help me towards that goal.
Thank you!
Hi Scott!
I am frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness because all the changes I’ve made and all training I’ve done in the past six years has definitely improved my health, but not my physique, not my fitness. I am STILL 35 lbs over weight and not at the fitness level I want to be in. Consequently, I struggle with my motivation because 2 hours in the gym 6 days a week for two years did not change this.
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because like Gandhi I seek to BE the change I wish to see in the world. I want to totally transform my life so that my transformation will create the space that helps others transform their lives. In my heart of hearts I seek to be that beacon of light that shows others that they also can change their lives for the better, the brighter, the kinder, the more empowered, and most of all the more loving beings that we ALL can be.
Thank you for this opportunity!
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m not totally sure why I don’t do the things necessary to improve my health and fitness. Is it laziness? I don’t think so because I am very active doing many other things. It seems moving this goal to a higher priority is what I need to do. Why I don’t is a mystery even to myself.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Not confronting stress doesn’t seem to be an option to me. I have always done things despite the personal stress that I have endured because of my decisions. I used to think I could handle it all. Now I am feeling some cracks in myself. More and more things seem to appear that I feel the need to confront. It’s like I’m about to explode. More likely I will implode and become someone I don’t like to be.
With the amount of daily stress which impacts negatively in our lives has caused in many of us and I’m included many physical illness many pains and aches and a body overweight and with high blood pressure. I have struggle with my high blood pressure and overight problems which has cause me to have fatigue, at times depression and many other illnesses and that is why I want to commit myself to a change in my life to overcome these obstacle and take away the stress in my life and those close to me, my family.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m almost 18 now and I started working with small weights when I was 15. I got some improvements in terms of musclature but my posture was becoming more slumped forward, especially as the level of stress in my live was increasing as well. In the fitness industry I found a lot of conflicting information which left me unable to know who was telling the truth. I’m happy that I stumbled upon tacfit commando which was very important to me. I also have many RMAX products but the thing is there is so much information and I didn’t know how to put them all together and take the most out if them. My doctor told me not to do weightlifting because of a recent injury but I can do bodyweight exercises so I’m excited to take a look at the program and to, for once, find change in all the aspects that I’m training for.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Your books Body Flow and Free To Move made me realize how much potential I have, but I can’t get to it because of the residual tension and negative stress. I’m also starting to learn systema, and I was taught that negative stress (and fear) are to be released, or my chances of survival in combat will get very low. Let’s not forget the stiffness that come with stress and makes not able to move freely in all directions to evade or absorb strikes. In other words, I’m still 18 and my body is starting to feel the effects of stress which is not good at all, as my grandparents died from strokes and heart attacks (and hypertension is common in the family). I’m a skeptical person and I’m very attached to science, and all your products are based on solid evidence, so I must say I’m impressed, you’re one of the few who really care about what they present to people.
Hi, Scott — I was looking at some of your other comments thinking — where were you when I needed you — so many years ago. I will be 70 in September and I have had trouble breathing for the last several years. I have seen every kind of doctor you can think of & none of them have found a solution to my problem. My wife found you free information and MADE me watch (my computer is down so she took me by the hand and made me watch your video). I started working with your methods and trying to use as soon as I start to become winded. I am trying to get into the habit of doing the breathing methods as soon as I awake and whenever I am working around the house or on my walk.
Both my wife and I want to continue together on our life’s journey. But, we need to “have a life” to take that journey. We hope to become healthier, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and hope that you will help us by being our guide.
Thank you
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My back has frustrated my progress the most.
I see a chiropractor once a month and do a few stretches but every time I try more intense exercise I always seen to tweak my back.
Then the whole process of recovery starts again.
It appears that movement is key.
The more active I am the better I feel.
I am intrigued by the flow approach to exercise.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I believe wholeheartedly that stress is a killer.
It has led me to develop some very unhealthy habits in my lifetime. (Most of which I have beat)
I am 50 years old now and a grandfather for the first time.
The next generation is upon me.
I want to be a better example this time around.
Many thanks for this free product, your generousity is much appreciated.
Hello All,
Stress is caused by conflict in my life, whether it is internal or external. When there is conflict in my life, there is something in the way of my true potential and my true self. Coming to witness my true potential and self is a very spiritual aim for me, since we are all potential self-knowledge. By way of the processes of stress prevention and stress conversion I move closer to equilibrium, approaching zero, allowing my potential to be realized. This continuing experience becomes more blissful as my practice grows. The locus of my dedication to converting stress resides in my yearning for a more blissful practice that I know exists in the state of unification.
Thanks & Peace
1. 1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?—–I have been frustrated with my physical/mental/emotional fitness for the past 7 years. I definitely started seeing some of the signs of these problems a ew years previous to 2005. I was very DRIVEN young man growing up. I was successful in ACADEMICS/SWIMMING through college-mostly due to my parents. My father had health issues and I needed to help support my family. So while working fulltime to take care of my bills(parents included) I was trying to play football in the NFL. I broke my left ankle before being able to sign in 2005. It took 8 months just to walk properly, again. DEPRESSION struck!!! While working fulltime at (2) jobs I was BLESSED with a baby boy to lose him after 3 months(SIDS). DEPRESSION struck…again! I didn’t get out of bed for 8 months. I started a business that required all of my time but managed to find TRUE LOVE-my finace, Leah. I went from 225-423lbs. She loves me for who I am, but when I look in the mirror in the AM’s I get depressed looking at who I am now compared to what I ONCE was. I want to change myself for the better…….I don’t know where to start(and hardly any BLIND-FAITH).
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? Well I have lost some weight since then…..I hover around 358lbs. I get winded walking around the grocery store, going up and down the stairs in my house, HELL even picking weed out of my yard. I work 15+ hours a day with very little ME time. If I don’t schedule time for my OVERALL well-being……the PROBABILITY of dying is a very REAL concern. My fiance is all for me improving my health. My friend turned me onto TACFIT(&Scott Sonnon). I have YET to take ACTION though(lack of FAITH). I need to start somewhere but there is so much conflicting information regarding health and fitness. I WANT to see the NEW me. I appreciate the time and opportunity. P.S. Sonnon and Gallazzi are INSPIRATIONAL!!!
1. My frustration stems from the way I have perceived my body as separate from my mind, emotions and soul. The resilience breathing has helped me to be more aware and to connect with the ‘flow’, and the love energy. May the journey continue.
2. Simple. The less stress and the quicker you can recover from stress. The more Joy you experience. I am committed to still be surfing when I am 85!!!
I have no weight problems or injuries. I’m not even stressed out and feel great most of the time.
Scott Shonnon is a big influence in my personal well being. I read his work and apply what I think will benefit me. By default, it benefits everyone around too.
For the last two weeks I have been practicing the 4 second breathing technique and found that my heart rate really drops faster than when I breath without this technique. I’m sure I will start getting questions from my gym buddies next week (What are you taking?).
I’m very interested in this new publication and work from master Shonnon. Will it benefit me? sure. Will it benefit people around me? When people ask me about weight control, well being and happiness I share with them the little I know. I don’t know anything about breathing.
Also, It will really make my day if I get this package for free.
Hopefully signed too!
Don’t stop the Flow!
.1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am born with problems in my lower back, and that is my challenge.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
The pain is my trouble, and i am an instructor in martial art and want to be able to give my students a better future.
Hi! Scott
I am frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness because all the changes I’ve made to date, although concrete have maintained me healthwise. My fitness level requires the higher vibrations so that when I teach my yoga classes that the students energies remain theirs and theirs alone. So that my everyday interactions with others are of the good feeling space on a permanent level.
I truely believe that if I contstruct a clean vessel for myself that my clean energies will be transfered to others rather than the other way around.I am open to receiving this wonderful offer. and Thank you for this opportunity!!!
Martial Arts and physical training has been my passion and stress release since I could walk. It shaped who I became and provided a sanctuary from daily stress. Little by little the stress built up in my life pushing me from my path of healthful practice. A car crash severed my acruciate ligaments requiring knee constructions and adding to a growing list of injuries. My relationship with my wife broke down as a result of the stress of running a business together, taking my love, my career and my sense of purpose. I want again to find solace and joy in the incremental improvement of daily practice without major traumatic setbacks. Over the years I have been buying and employing your products and philosophies Scott, and have found them to provide the exactly that. Reliable methods to increase performance and overcome obstacles. Tools that shape who we are and help us to become the person we want to be.
Thank You,
Dale Crawford
My journey has began 20 years ago after sustaining crushed discs in my lower back. Since then I am in a constant search for the recovery. I love your approach and techniques. I feel definite improvement since I started following your regimens.
My commitment is to myself and my family. Having 3 children and ability to keep up with them is most important. Quality, not quantity.
Scott, you are doing tremendous job and I just wanted to thank you and for you to continue your work. We all need it.
I am frustrated because I have a difficult time focussing and poor coordination, I have learning disabilities and I’d love to be able to focus. Also the pain! Why does it have to hurt so much, with days of recovery time? The pain is not a great invitation to repeat the event.
The impact of stress for me has become the pivot point in my life and it affects everyone in my life. My mood, my diet, the amount of excersize I do, how much I sleep, my digestion, everything about me is impacted. Resiliency seems to me like a portal to calm and ease to my life. I want resliency for my health, my mind, body, and my soul.
Old injuries resurface, and it’s usually right about the time that you start to see the benefits of your regime that bad luck sets in. You can start at a gym and maybe even use a personal trainer for a few “pointers”, but usually it seems that they know less than we do, or at least their ideals come from books that show “old school” and/or less beneficial exercises, or they are really just there to get paid. Workouts with a partner are favored so that people can keep their motivation higher, but with conflicts of schedule and such, people may lose their drive. I have read books and implemented many facets of knowledge, but after the initial shock memory, things become routine and then overlooked or forgotten. Most of us cannot afford a personal coach but feel insufficient and far too indecisive to make our own judgment calls on diet, exercise variety and scheduling, etc. Some of us cannot read, have issues reading, or just plain don’t have time. What we may well need is a tried and true, no b.s., been there done that and here is the way I have achieved my results and how you can do the same video leader so that we can overcome the aforementioned obstacles on our own time. And we need to watch and participate and then shut off the TV and do things that help us to prosper. No lounging, binge eating or drinking, smoke breaks during commercials or any other damaging habits. There are worlds of adventure and joy out there that many people never see because they are cooped up in their own little safety shack with a one-eyed babysitter and a bag of comfort food making excuses for why they should stay miserable as they are. Clear your mind, body, and soul of all the useless crap that won’t matter after the next time you change the channel and do something will enable you to live with a purpose – where everything you do seems to have a long lasting positive effect. Why do we all settle for simple? It’s sickening.
Scott, you mentioned the stress roller-coaster that in short is bad stress, depression, weight gain, lack of coping skills, weight loss, and all the rest. I guess I can see that pattern in my past, currently having lost 30 lbs in the last 2 months and I wasn’t overweight to start with. My first personal need is to stop losing weight and start putting some back on. Granted, when I start to review the last year, most of the time I focus on the not so great stuff, and there has not been a shortage of that. If a sad moment in life can breed a chart topping country song, my last year could score 3 full albums of tearful country gold. I don’t like spending time pondering on it and wasting valuable time that I could spend doing something constructive, but it is hard to break out of that focus once the shift has been made. And it goes on until your anxiety grows and you get tunnel-vision. Then maybe a little hour or two of heavy duty arrhythmia. And then you just kind of lose will and figure it must be your time, ready or not. You are stuck in a rut, and I once heard rut defined as a grave with the ends kicked out. Well, I can’t just hang around this rut anymore. If this is not a grave and I have a direction to escape it, I need to do it. If it is a grave, I need to kick down some walls and turn it into a simple rut and then get the hell out. Standing idly by does not constitute any real means of living and I grew tired of not living a long time ago, just never dealt with the stresses of life well and kept some unhealthy habits around to cope. I don’t think they ever tried to teach us to deal with stress in school. If they did, I must have been sick that day. They should, though. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone had a little more inner peace.
I subscribe to a lot of your theories and enjoy your daily food for thought. Know that we appreciate all that you have gone through in order to be able to bring us this knowledge.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My early frustrations with trying to improve my health and fitness came from a strong sense that they conventional ways that things were being done was not the solution, for me and likely for many others. The Human Hamster Wheels and tightly focused machine methods of creating physical improvements flew in the face of all I had learned as a Paleoanthropologist about the kinds of activities human beings had evolved to perform. Additionally many of the dietary recommendations being pushed as making “high performance” contradicted the things I had learned working in the Pharmaceutical Industry in relation to Insulin Resistance and the development of Type II Diabetes.
I tried their ways and found them wanting, so I struck out on my own and eventually found the Others.
While I have not always been happy with the misguided projections upon our Paleolithic heritage by outlier Health and Fitness figures the idea of trying to optimize human development in line with our evolutionary heritage and subsequent development is a remarkable one and one in need of more support by those in the know about human evolutionary development.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am a New Yorker by birth, growing up in the City during its most dangerous and lethal years. Like many I bare the mark not only of the big events in the City’s history that the world knows of but also that forgotten period when more people were murdered every year for a decade than were killed in any 21st Century attacks. More than just my own experiences I see regularly those of other NYC residents, old and new, who are subject to enormous stress from the experience of living in this most unnatural of human made environments. My commitment to changing the negative impact of stress on my life thus includes helping to reduce the negative effects of stress on those people around me by arming them with insights and methods that not only allow them to survive but to thrive.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My nearly 70 yr old body has been a frustration, it’s amazing how many “parts” do not work as they should. Through a trainer I started on your program about 2 months ago and I have seen and felt a tremendous difference in my body, my ability to move and my ability to breath better. It is the first program I have ever used, where I look forward to doing the workout everyday.
2, Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Most of my friends are seniors and I see their inability to do the simple things in life, I also see the pain that many of them live in every day. My mother, who passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 90, lived many many years in pain. I am committed to doing whatever it takes to keep myself from spending my remaining years in pain and to continue to live a productive life, how ever long it may be.
Through your program, I feel 10 yrs younger and feel better about my body than I have in many years. Thank you for your wonderful program.
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
answers:
1 I’v been frustrated via my late-blooming interest in good health and fitness, my present state of body and how its not moving at its full capacibility yet, my poor sleep patern and my unfocused mindset!
2. I’m commited to change because I feel like I’m going to be or even need to be the catalisator to make a huge positive impact on my family’s health and well-being. Because nobody, really nobody is doing right now what they are supposed to do health wise. And the added stress in the form of the(their poor) economics right now and stress from giant family fuels is almost to much for me to see or bare..Besides the fact that I want and need to be truly at my peak at all areas of my life and willing to work and learn for it..it also mostly important to me to commit to a positive change for my mom. I want to give her hope and spirit and let her know that is never too late to turn things around again! If her 42 year old babygirl can do it, she most defenitly can do it! Yes you sure said it right mr Sonnon: Revive, Suvive and THRIVE!!!
)))
My current job over the past few years has led to a very sedentary lifestyle for me. My work doesn’t require me to be active on the job, so I need to start taking better care of myself outside of that. I hope that these videos will help me do so, and achieve a better level of care and life for myself.
My frustrations with health/fitness:
Making my work-outs for sprint triathlons more of a priority due to lack of time to escape life. I had a great season last year, but am back starting from square one as I got overly involved with my three busy children’s schedules and running two new small businesses, one developed from an idea/from scratch and the other is a franchise. Meditation and yoga are also important aspects of my overall health and wellness, but that has taken a far back seat lately as well due to busy-ness and lack of extra time.
Why this is important/ why am I committed to changing this… I am also an energetic healer still in my phases of accepting that I am gifted to do this but doubting myself. I know that if I release the stress of keeping up with life and making my businesses work to make a living, my healing capabilities will improve and I will eventually be able to make a living from that skill and gift that I truly feel is my purpose here- to help heal others and show them how to heal themselves. It is a challenge for me to take the time I need to meditate, get my work-outs in, which helps to relax me as well as keep on top of the common demands of life as a small business owner times two and a mother of three.
In a perfectly primitive,active, rested, naturally fed, and balanced life, the issue of exercise would not be a big issue. It would fit in nicely. For the rest of us (not blessed with that kind of existence) exercise has to get us to the place where we can exercise freely and without threat of injury…as we are supposed to exercise. Scott Sonnon’s exercise system builds in the remedial stuff. It gets you to the starting line of healthy movement, with the result that tough exercise is an extension of healthy habits already cultivated. This isn’t going to happen at the gym, because a warm up is never considered sufficiently important and somehow doesn’t have much to do with the exercise itself.
When I use Sonnon’s methods, I enjoy myself without getting hurt, and the process of conditioning leaves no part of my body behind. The net result is that I can do the hard things life demands while in a state of health, with sufficient strength and flexibility. That’s not normal in the exercise world.
1. how have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness.
my frustration lies in the roller coaster ride it has been in the last 15 yrs. I know the importance and neccessity of trying to lead an active and healthy lifestyle but it feels as if for every step forward, i take 2 steps back and this is purely because of injury. just as things are really starting to fall into place for me boom another injury whether it be back, hamstring, shoulders you name it i’ve pretty much hurt them all. i’ve tried so many different modalities of training hoping to iron out the kinks in my armour eg crossfit, kettlebells, boxing, standard bodybuilding type training but at some point or another the injuries return. even after consciously working on flexibility and mobility i still get struck down. I feel as if this is because i don’t truly understand the principles of progression,overload and rest to it’s fullest extent. health is also a tricky one, there is that much conflicting information around it gets to the point sometimes of why even bother. This is what has drawn me so much to your modalities of health and fitness, knowing your background and how you’ve overcome seemingly impossible obstacles to get to where you are today, and for me there is no other i’d rather learn from. so in closing please consider this application for your primal stress giveaway and help me reach that person i’ve been trying to come for the last 15 years. thanks
The greatest frustration I face in creating a healthy relationship with my body is in finding a balance between knowing when to push and when to rest, when to work through discomfort and when to focus on restoration. It has also been difficult for me to trust that restoratative work will be effective, and when time feels limited (which in my busy life, as single mom and business owner, is always), I often choose the intense over the restorative and often end up either injured or depleted.
At the age of 11, I shattered my ankle and was told by doctors never to run again. I had been a fairly athletic child prior to this and not being able to participate in sports as a teen had a huge impact on my self-esteem. Once in college, I decided to stop listening to the doctors, push through the pain, and do it anyway. I started playing soccer on an intermural team as a way to have some kind of physical outlet for stress and exercise. While I loved the comraderie and the movement, afterwards my ankle would swell terribly and when I finally went to the doctor, the surgeons recommended fusing my ankle (I was 19!) I ran out of the office an never went back, but I also shied away from sports after that in fear.
Years later, I decided to try again, and started marathon training ( I have a bit of a stubborn streak), and things were going well, until I had worked up to about 21 miles. This time my ankle held up, but I ended up with a stress-fracture in my opposite tibial bone. This actually happened twice. I worked with chiropractors, PTs and trainers and would get frustrated because I wanted to push hard and see results and all of them wanted me to slow down and do rehabilitative work, and felt like I didn’t have time for this. I also had a hard time accepting that I couldn’t do what other people could do, and all the rehabilitative work felt ‘remedial’ to me, and I would give up and go back to pushing hard.
Probably not surprising to hear that I find myself pushing in all other areas of my life. As a single mom and business owner, it felt necessary. Anxiety, adrenaline and cortisol became contant companions and eventually, this all took its toll. After two years of training 4-5 days per week of training with Crossfit, eating Paleo, working 50-60/hrs per week, insomnia, and constant worry, I crashed, completely depleted and depressed and was forced to rest for several months, and when I finally recovered, I knew I needed to find another way.
I am completely committed to changing the negative impact of both stress and my stubborn need to push my body through what have felt like limits imposed by others. I feel hopeful that I can correct some of the damage to my ankle and can also bring greater alignment and balance to parts that have compensated for the original injury, so that I can experience movement without pain, and can prevent future injury. Oh, I’ll probably always push, but I now strive to find balance in my workouts, my work, my relationships and within my own body. What motivates me to strive for balance is a desire to achieve peace within and without and to share this knowledsge with others.
Scott, I am definitely interested in your program, but separate from that, I want to take this opportunity to tell you that you are such an inspiration to me! Thank you!
Finally, a program that puts it all together , taking into account the forgotten and misunderstood recovery and healing aspects of physical exercise.
It should complement nicely the other programs ( ie TACFIT etc,,,)
Thanks Scott for thinking about us,old geezers that also have to do physical work everyday besides exercising.
From an old student from the Pennsylvania days, kudos and best luck for your new program.
I am a 63 yr old female carrying years of scoliosis, pain ,tension and imbalance in my body. Ten yrs ago I determined that I was going to change my body and my health and be the best I could be. My frustration is that I have not found the path to change my body in the way that I am convinced is possible. I have done many things – body building with and without a trainer, seen a Rolfer, had massage, seen 5 chiropractors in the past 10 yrs., subscribed to a number of different on-line exercise e-letters, bought several different exercise programs, bought over a couple dozen books on various modes of exercise and bodywork, and I even went to massage school & got my massage license, hoping that each new thing would be the answer. Many have helped but haven’t gotten to the root of my problem. That is what I am looking for. I believe that you have the key and would be able to make the changes that I know would change my life. I am inspired to prove that there are answers – that 63 doesn’t mean having all the usual ailments associated with aging. I have the determination but need the know-how.
Since stress does very bad things to a persons body and health, I am committed to doing everything within my power to overcome it’s negative effects on my health, body and life. I am also convinced that stress and issues in a persons physical structure affect the emotions. I have struggled for years and years with fears and anxiety, etc. I often feel like it takes all the energy I can muster to move ahead each day both physically and emotionally. Sometimes I want to give up because I just don’t know what to do. I know that you can help.
Reading about your past and your experiences strongly impresses me that so much good can come from adversity. Thank you for paying it forward. I hope for the opportunity to be an example of what your program can do.
Blessings to you Scott
In answer to question 1, my frustration for being able to continuously improve, tap into my potential comes down to one word…..INJURY!!! My goal in achieving my black belt has been a slow one purely because of injury…there are no words to explain my frustration. In my journey of being exposed to TACFIT ans CST I am coming to understand the importance of what you have to teach, I want to know more!!!! I want to know it all!!! Most importantly I want to pass on to my junior students the best knowledge that I can possible give….I know that this is that knowledge!! To re educate people about fitness and health is long overdue, and I know of the people that I speak to injury and extreme muscle soreness to the point of not being able to move is number 1 as to why achieving health and fitness goals is so frustrating.
In good health
Maria
Australia!!
Hi Scott 1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
1. Yes, since April 3rd 2010, 2 wks after my 50th Bday I had my 1st major seizure caused by stress, ultimately the result of TBI ( traumatic brain injury ) I had suffered earlier. Ever since I have been disabled. However for weight loss, strength and the ability to move pain free without stress I do your health first fitness dvds here at home. Like your FlowFit leval 1 and CSTGX 2nd dvd. And the great thing is that at 52, 5’9″ and 207#s with physical challenges, I take it at my own pace so I can show up every day and get positive results. I am 23#s lighter than I used to be and do need to learn about your nutritional guidelines. Every morning I rebound about 17 mns then do the 8 mn warm up on the 2nd CSTGX dvd. And 3 days a week I do leval 1 FlowFit for 5 reps (15mns) and CSTGX 2nd dvd. I have a 5# set of your Clubbells. They are amazing. Even on limited income I know that anyone who wants to experience a fuller richer life can achieve this by following the information and direction in your books and dvds. And personally help themselves and other people significantly. 2. For my loving wife Patricia and myself is Why I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life. Thank you Coach Scott and all your fellow Health-First Fitness friends at RMAX International.
Sam Jones
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I just turned 49! and found myself trying hard to loose fat around my belly, I practice yoga every day and go running 3 times a week!
made changes on my diet by limiting the intake amount of sugar and carbs Nothing seems to help !I need something that works for me!!!
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
About a year ago stress made me so sick, I lost some of my hair, became anemic, develop stomach problems and body pain.
))
I do not want to go through that again,
I want to be a strong and healthy woman for the next 30-40 yrs of my life! I need a plan!!!
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I just turned 49! and found myself trying hard to loose fat around my belly, I practice yoga every day and go running 3 times a week!
made changes on my diet by limiting the intake amount of sugar and carbs Nothing seems to help !I need something that works for me!!!
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
))
About a year ago stress made me so sick, I lost some of my hair, became anemic, develop stomach problems and body pain.
I do not want to go through that again,
I want to be a strong and healthy woman for the next 30-40 yrs of my life! I need a plan!!!
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Years of a horrible lifestyle working as an EMT – binge eating and drinking, never sleeping, sometimes for 2-3 days – wrecked havoc on my body. I gained weight every year, getting up to 310 lbs. My wife had enough of me, I was miserable all the time and suffering from incredible highs and lows in attitude. I got back into the martial arts and over the course of about 2 years, got down to about 255. Things were going good for a while, until I lost the job, struggled to develop and save my failing martial arts school, homeschooling my son with ADHD and ODD, and trying to be a fulltime university student myself. The stress was constantly overwhelming. For the 2 years since this happened, I had to move to another state, and my weight has gone up and down between 255 and 270. I can never seem to get it any lower. My bodyfat is about 30%, and while I maintain a positive attitude on the outside, I’m often angry at myself inside and getting depressed again. I discovered Tacfit about a year ago, but do to my internal anger and stress, I can’t seem to make progress. I am always looking for that “key” to unlock the warrior within me and get to a place I haven’t been in a long time – true health, fitness, and happiness – internal and external.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I’m not getting any younger. At age 40, I’m still dealing with these stressors, and am now in my senior year of university, working 7 nights a week again, back on 3rd shift, sometime for 21 or more days straight without a day off. I need to overcome this hurdle so that when I graduate and become a teacher, I’m a role model for others. I hate feeling this way, I hate hating myself, and I most especially hate feeling like a constant failure.
I found both running and martial arts, at a young age, and used both the to help me deal with severe hyper-activity and moderate dyslexia. However, I became both addicted to the chemicals that one produces when he does strenuous exercise, and obsessed with the athletic and academic agendas that I created for myself, as I saw the potential of human effort. By the time I was in high school, I was a national record holder in the two-mile, and had offers to go to many colleges, including West Point. I really wanted to go to West Point; however, being female, I decided that it would be, to some degree, a waste of the government’s money to pay my way through an academy, whose primary function was to train male officers for combat leadership. I choose to go to Rice University in Houston, Texas, instead, with the idea of getting into ROTC, or doing something with “Exercise Physiology”, as a civilian working for the military. However, it did not matter, because my freshman year, the victim of my own ambition, I became extremely sick, and was diagnosed with major clinical depression and severe adrenal burn-out. They assumed that any genetic factor was amplified by the extreme amounts of exercise I did from early childhood. I bounced around from school to school, and doctor to doctor, for decades, struggling with the fatigue and depression, and the side effects of the medicines. I managed to get about 90% of a computer science major, at a small private school in Houston, called the University of Saint Thomas. This education has allowed me to do a semi-full-time IT / software management job, at the business my parent’s own, for a number of years. I have tried just about every medical solution; but they still have not been able to get my system back to normal. I think the biking, Pilates, and stretching that I do every week, keeps me from getting worse. However, I still have a lot of debilitating fatigue each day, which my doctor’s have diagnosed as “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, a sort of perpetual burn-out condition, wherein the body’s total metabolism, down to the cellular level, has gotten “fixed” into an abnormally lowered energy production state.
I recently bought the course you sell called TACFIT. I am now trying to go through the videos, gradually working into the program. My doctors have said for years that Chronic Fatigue must be dealt with very delicately, and that shocking my system, with a severe stress load, will only set me backward. I have found this to be all too true, whenever I have decided to really plow into my workouts for a weeks or so. Frankly, I do not know how far I can go even with just the TACFIT program. However, I am glad I found your site; and I think your programs offer a lot of hope. I appreciate all your program offerings, as well as your contest offer. Thanks and All the Best!
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? I used to think I was fit. Weighed next to nothing but worked out a lot. Coming from a difficult childhood, the minute I got my first paycheck I started investing in junk food. When my thyroid crashed and then I was involved in a car accident, I had great difficulties getting back. I’ve got a lot of that under wraps now so would truly love to see myself toned again but this time from the whole body perspective, muscle, nutrition, endurance, etc.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? I grew up in a difficult environment where my mother used me to de-stress, although she was often violent with my siblings as well. Every bit of confidence I had as a child and young adult was tentatively propped up and easy to tear down. I then entered a 20 year unhealthy marriage which certainly didn’t help. I now strive to add value to my life daily but am still cutting those binds that tether me to all those negative emotions of yesteryear. Every positive change that is sincere and adds value makes me a more free individual.
I could repeat what everyone else has already said, but it really comes down to one thing: There is no stasis — you’re either growing, or your dying.
Scott provides amazing tools for growing, and I’m adding them to my arsenal.
Thank you Scott. Thank you for your commitment to encourage and help so many, including myself, to improve our health and fitness, so that we may live and be happy. The numerous obstacles I encounter from day to day, including but not limited to my daily commute and my responsibilities as a caretaker, make it frustrating to implement and commit to a regimen to improve my health and fitness. At this stage in my life, I am finding it very difficult to see my future, due to the overwhelming reality that I am not where I wan’t to be and must rethink the way I go about the rest of my life: physically, spiritually, emotionally, and most certainly financially. One of my heaviest concerns is that of my day to day mental health. I am trying so hard just to keep it together. No words can explain what watching someone you love and hold so dear, spiral down an uncontrollable path to certain death, does to a man. At present, Love is all that is keeping me going. I must stay alive. I must. There is no other option. Therefore, I am committed to changing the the negative impact of stress in my life so I can keep my head held high and go about the process of living and not merely surviving. I WANT TO LIVE!
I’ve been trying to improve my health and fitness. The older I get, the more postural distortions affect me when I stand, which in turn affects my breathing patterns. I remember being so stressed from work, it felt as if I stopped the breathing. It’s time now to stop, change jobs, get away from the computer so sitting doesn’t hunch over my spine and affect my breathing.
I was witness to growng up in an environment where spilling milk on the kitchen table meant you’d be wiping your blood off the kitchen floor. Like so many dealing with that I took up training my body to protect myself. Eventually it worked. There was a price in both mind and body.
I didn’t know much beyond that lifting weights made you bigger and stronger and people who knew karate could fight.
I’ve learned a tremendous amount in the years of pursuing my safety. I have seen proper movement increase strength performance in two short minutes of technique correction. Proper movement means not only having muscle mass but having the ability to use it to its max with flexibilty training and learning how to use your body most efficiently. What I’ve seen and heard in TACFIT and FLOWFIT makes it plain to me that this is your purpose. I want to be able to protect those I love and myself the best I can. Weightlifting alone even with martial arts training has been very frustrating. I hit a plateau and stall out and getting to those weights has always entailed dealing with large amounts of pain and very often being able to do little to no training due to injury.
I need and want a program that will take me to the top of my genetic potential without injury and hopefully have everyday activities like opening car doors and doing house chores be pain free. I need a program that I know will help me protect my people 24/7. I think Primal Stress will be that program.
Scott, my Guru!
I know you don’t like these kind of titles, nevertheless, like Ekalavya – (a character in Mahabharatha) I followed your methods. I have been a regular at work out from my teens. Fortunately, I had/have some discipline and commitment to my health and fitness. I practice yoga, achieved black-belt in Taekwondo when I was 47 and now I am 49. I came across you two years back. I embraced your Tacfit and clubbell programs and followed your breathing technique. Never in my life I felt so energetic before. I was marvelled when you said about excesses in our living and how fitness was over ruling health. I began to understand why in spite of practicing yoga for more than 20 years never experienced the clarity and calmness. I was surprised why I did not feel energetic in spite of regular cardio and weights regiment. The changes I am experiencing now is life changing!!
My answers to your questions.
I had been frustrated until you became a part of my life. Once I started embracing your methods, I could see the changes in myself and understood a lot more about my own body.
As you mentioned in your previous communications, stress is eroding the quality of life for most of us. Understanding our self is the foremost important factor in knowing why we are subjected to stress. To achieve this level of clarity in thinking needs a lot of sweat. In order to sweat one has to move (learn new lessons). To learn new lessons one has to let go ego. To let go ego one has to properly BREATHE!!
My heart goes out to you for everything you are doing to all of us and to those who believe in you. I wish you all the best!
Let there be breathe (Prana) because of you!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? I’ve been frustrated by lack of measurable progress in my training/workouts and I seem to continuously “overreach” and “overtrain”. It seems like each workout takes a week or more to recover from and the workouts make me more tired instead of energizing me. My flexibility is terrible – I’m as stiff as a board and don’t know how to correct this despite trying yoga and mobility drills. I typically do strength and endurance type workouts utilizing kettlebell, clubbells and bodyweight exercises. I believe I am very fit for a 49 year old but I can’t figure out how to avoid overtraining and overreaching and make progress. I believe I’m putting too much stress on my body by training too intensely and not being able to recover properly.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? I believe that too much stress can cause many physical and mental problems. Something deep down tells me that psychological and physical stress are controllable. I have very young children for my age and I want to continue to keep up with them in the next 10-20 years. I believe limiting stress is one of the answers to great health and staying young.
Keep up the great work Scott!
It has been 41 years since picking up a blade to work the fields in that time i have trained educated moulded myself to be a better man /having to be the best regardless of what it is you are doing not realizing the people u hurt along the way
In that frenzy thirst to find out who i am and what limited my abilities only thinking about what had to happen the next day my sons had grown up we grew apart
NOW AT 49 STILL THE BEST AT ANY THING I DO STILL WITH THE STRENGTH AND HEART OF MEN 25 YEARS YOUNGER AND A WILL THAT WONT BE BROKEN
LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF OF MY 13/6/5 YEAR OLD CHILDREN WATCHING STARVING KIDS ON TV IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND ASKING WHY ARE THEY SO SICK DADDY(in that one moment i felt a pain of mind body and spirit nothing like the broken bones still work so sick you dont know where u r still work) THE ONE THOUGHT IN MY HEAD WAS BECAUSE OF MEN LIKE ME ” stop look listen learn “
Scott:
In response to your email, I submit the following:
1. I have been frustrated in my lack of improving my health and fitness due to many things. I have had many injuries that occurred, primarily, while on active military service and as a firefighter. Over time, these injuries have just gotten worse causing me to have multiple back surgeries, a medical device implant, multiple knee and wrist surgeries, and the addition of 2 plates in my neck. I have done physical therapy so many times, pain management to include injections and medications of which I take 30gm of Norco AND 90mg of morphine a day!! I’m so tired of being tired and hurting because I cannot enjoy my life.
2. I want to get rid of as much negative stress that I can because it affects everything I do and can’t do. Over the past 3.5 years, my passed away in Feb 2009, my brother in Mar 2009, my dad in Oct 2011 and my mom in Nov 2011. As one might believe, the loss of my entire “close” family has been extremely hard, especially given the close time frames on when they died. And coupled with suffering from PTSD, the grief I’ve had and have, has just so debilitating to my my emotional health. Although I see doctors and such, I have been unable to break this cycle of depression and I must, if I am to survive so I can continue to enjoy my grandchildren (who live over 1200 miles away) and my daughters, I need a hand up to help pull me out of what I am feeling. And as I said previously, I have been, and am ready to begin a new, healthy lifestyle and to live with as little stress as possible.
Thank you.
I feel for u having lost so much in such i small space of time ” your grand kids use skype visual contact to them and your self is just as healing ” Depression the biggest killer to the human spirit man i know u r in pain but if u cannot feel your emotions or your body how can u heal
if u start living inside that bubble that the drugs induce u know your self u cannot function
I DONT MEAN FOR MY WORDS TO SOUND HARSH
” TOMORROW TOMORROW FU#%K THAT TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK TODAY ”
sounds like u have a band of brothers military/firefighters ask them to help ( if u dont ask how do they know ) ( if u would like to talk email me )
Ray:
Thanks for the comments. And I know exactly what you are saying. I’m using the lifelines that are out there, as much as I can. I have my very small group of “band of brothers” that I use with professional assistance. But you know, you start getting better and bam, wounded again, and again, and again….. I am really trying, honestly trying. I need something besides what I already have which help and generally keep me at at least treading water, but I need to swim, strong strokes, to make it to land and just keep moving upward.
I do appreciate you comments and reply. It truly mean a lot to me. Take care.
Jim
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m not a kid anymore, and sloppy training that I’ve done in the past, injuries and body-mechanics problems have all caught up with me. I’m not as “fit” as I want & I don’t have the strength (through a full range of motion) that I’d like. I’m not currently feeling like an integrated, highly functioning unit. Additionally, I need to access and release the emotional pain that I thought I was rid of, but that my body had decided to hang on to (and only make me suddenly aware of at really weird, inconvenient times, darnit).
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I won’t continue to live as I have(had) in the past. I’m shooting for balance, peace and as long, robust, healthy and happy a life as I can have. It starts with my body, through my body I can access my mind & spirit.
Hi Scott, Thank you for this opportunity. I found you through the shared photo on Facebook of the old man and his poem.
I have been frustrated in trying to improve my health and fitness because I have been committed for years to getting good exercise and working out. I am a physical education teacher for mainstream students as well as for students with disabilities. I am not overweight, but I know I can be in a better place with my body. I grew up and am surrounded by people who overindulge when they eat. I have always gotten away with overindulging because I eat very clean on my own and am very active. I want control and have been working on it! I am so strong and active and I know I error on the side of working my body too hard.
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life because I am seeing and dealing with it’s effects, first hand. My mother was overweight and in an unhappy and mentally/emotionally abusive marriage for 36 years. She basically raised me and my two older brothers on her own and is the most nurturing and happy person I know. She was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996 when I was in high school, changed her eating habits and activity…but it wasn’t enough. She had a massive heart attack in 2002 when I was in college. That was a turning point in her life and I helped her get a divorce from my Dad and get away from the stress he caused. In 2005, Mom was diagnosed with early-onset dementia; the medical community believes it was a result of the heart attack, and I would add the stress and inflamation in her body over years of time. My mom and I have a uniquely close relationship and I became her power of attorney when I was 24 years old. It has been 7 years of transitioning through life with dementia for Mom and my husband and I have had this, and much more stress in our lives. I want to live a healthy and free life in my mom’s honor.
I have had a high interest in health/fitness/wellness and am excited about your offer! Thank you for what you are putting out into the universe!
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have not found the “right doctor ” who can help me with my ever growing problem with my adrenal glands. “it is just stress” they say. “eat better” they say; I am a trained holistic nutritionist, I know how to eat( whether I can afford it all the time is different). So I am left feeling too tired to do housework let alone go for a walk with me son or exercise on most days. some weeks are better than others and some are worse, but i need help to get back on the horse, I love being physical and miss how my body feels challenging it to do more and be better
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I know that if my negative stress is not lessened ASAP I will never forgive myself for the “what if’s” and “why didnt I do that sooner”. I feel lost since I failed at the one path I had chosen and don’t know where to go from here. I work hard but let others work me harder than I should and so I go home feeling stressed, and not able to block my work out and enjoy my time with my family, properly.
I would like to try and learn so I can help my family, have children and grandchildren, basically my health I like to improve and get out of this painn.
I know stress is the reason but it is hard to be without it. I have artheritis in all my joints. When I read your article it inspired me to learn more. I do yoga and I believe breathing is very important, doing correct way. I do not like taking medicine for pain, I do exercise to combat my pain, but it’s not easy.
So I thought your books will shed some light and help me.
Bharti Patel.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
This last month, I went through the sucide of my brother-in-law. He went through many stresses in his life (alcoholism/divorce). I’m having a hard time dealing with his death, and I don’t want to go through the stresses that he did. Life is short and I want to be able to see and be there for my husband and daughter. I believe that your program WILL help me to not go through the stresses of life. I’m also a teacher, and using your program can help me with my students you are having issues with growing up.
I also am working on improving my physical and mental health. Using your program, I believe, will help me achieve this dream of having a better physical and mental health.
I also suffer from depression and anxiety. I am convinced that you program can help me to come off my meds and be free of these 2 stressers in my life. I thank you for the opportunity of using your program. Many thanks!
I have recently switched from relatively conventional dumbbell and barbell training to Tacfit Commando, and in just a few weeks have gained much agility and useable strength both around the jobsite, remodeling houses, and in my boxing play. I finish a day of work or a night of sparring much less beat up in my joints and much less tired in the lower torso muscles. About the only trouble I have had with Commando is itching to do more, but that is a genius of the system–enough is best. This sixty-one year old man looks forward to what this latest creation from Scott Sonnon has to offer. Cheers!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been frustrated in many ways. First I’m a father of 4 kids under the age of 6, working 2 jobs to keep my wife from having to work outside the home. Most of my so-called free time is either family time (which proudly trumps everything else) or I am engulfed in trying to manage and grow my self-defense program. I usually put others like my family and my clients first, as well as my full-time job. Trying to sneak in an 20-60 minute workout for myself is a delicate matter. With many kids at home, the idea of a “home” gym or “fitness-at-home” program is only practical in theory, but testing that hypothesis proves it doesn’t really work. I do find time, which I help strengthen my claim to clients that it’s all about priorities, but still it is frustrating to constantly juggle knowing life itself is a struggle ever-changing.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Stress is the root of so many ailments. Just look on the pages of social media and you can see a multitude of postings how stress (masked in different terms) is ruining peoples lives. Some tend to eat more, drink more, live on the edge in a negative way, or other ways to “cope” with the stress that has a detrimental effect. There is entirely too much negative emotion in the world (war & conflict, debt, politics, jobs, etc) that in order to handle it all one has to be able to change the way stress impacts their life. I am committed to changing the negative impact to show most of all my family the “living proof” that it is possible, as well as to show my clients. The benefits of living in “control-of-stress” radiate through out your life, and if I don’t take a stand, how can I expect my family to know how to do it if they don’t have an example to live by.
Nothing is more important in my life than to maintian my health as I age so I can continue to enjoy my kids. To that end being able to control internally is at least as important as physical fitness. Looking forward to this program Scott.
I have been overweight all of my adult life. I did lose 40lbs once only to gain it back when I gave into stress. We were having money problems and I took to making and eating things i knew I shouldn’t. Before I knew it I was back where I started. I know what I should do but I can’t seem to get started. Stress over money due to unemployment and not getting the job I want has been eating me alive. I am an emotional wreck and have a hard time sleeping. My husband is overweight too and know he needs to lose weight too. Life the past two years has been an emotional roller coaster. i know I need to improve my fitness and lose weight before it takes a negative toll on my life. We’re not getting any younger and it’s hard on the joints.
Stress is the leading cause of illness and has lasting negative effects. i hate the way I feel and know I need to relieve my stress and learn to relax. I have been an emotional person all of my life but lately i’ll cry at the drop of a hat. Just about everything we have has been taken away. We are living with my sister because we have no money or jobs. I’ve been going on interviews but haven’t managed to clinch one yet. I believe stress is a huge part of it. Because of the stress I’m not sleeping well, so when I’m on the interview I’m not thinking clearly because I’m tired and don’t perform as well as i could. I’ve been beat up (mentally) the last couple of years and all of the negativity is weighing me down. It’s hard to be optimistic when it feels as if your world has crumbled and stress is controlling your life. I am in need of some positive things in my life. I need to know how to relieve my stress so I can sleep better and feel better. I have a tendency to carry stress on the left side of my neck and shoulder. I know what it’s from but don’t know what to do about it. It’s time to feel better about myself and do something positive. One of the things I’d love to do is help someone else with their stress. I think the most wonderful thing in the world is helping others to help themselves!!
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life, becouse I am realizing how my stress is impacting my life.
I am a father, a husband ,an employee, a friend and everything else included in this life, and all of these wonderful people are effected by my
stress, Not to mention myself . I feel the power of stress everyday and am powerless to its strength. But I am taking controll back through some great knowledge and information that has come out in the last ten years or so. I wasn’t meant to be sick with this stress, It can rule my body , mind and soul, and I must rise above for all my duties, and of course for myself.
My frustrations with health and fitness have ironically been with appropriate classification, understanding, and training with stress. I am a yoga, tai chi, and jiu jitsu practitioner/instructor. All three arts offer three distinct and unique expressions of stress. I knew at the beginning they would all eventually merge into the same principles of truth, but the road to get there has been frustrating many times due to these differing expressions. I am a freshman pratitioner of clubbells, flowfit, and intu flow, but I feel like I am finding a potent coagulating factor now.
My commitment to dealing with the negative impact of stress stems from a deep belief that stress management is possibly the most determining issue in overall life quality. It penetrates the physical, mental, and even the spiritual. To me, it is the hub of the wheel and all else falls into it’s place based on it’s quality. The breath is such a powerful and bridge to understanding. I am very grateful and excited to be exposed to the path from the reflexive to the conscious breath. Damn that’s good stuff! Thank you Mr. Sonnen for your work and bringing the work of others to a new audience.
Dear Scott,
I am a registered Nurse Division 1 I worked very hard to get my degree whilst going through divorce to a horrible man. In my first year of nursing I was taking a rather large man to the toilet on a commode chair he wouldn’t take responsibility for his own in dependancy with his crutches at the time.
As i went to push the chair it wouldn’t move due to age, not being maintained and the person weight? My back gave way and i perforated 3 dicks, i was taken to emergency dept they were hopeless, No x-rays, ices nothing, so i left in server pain and went home before i knew i wouldn’t be able to.
That evening i was stooped over to my knees my 9 year old son had too help me out of bed and my ADL’s My doctor wasn’t very helpful take panodol. and no x-rays still. He sent me back to work on light duties 8 weeks later still in a lot of pain and shuffling my feet on the floor to get around. The other nurses on the ward became nasty as i was being paid for the light duties and they were still working hard.
I was then transferred to the Oncology ward, I did not know the nurses, so they treated my with more disrespect all though on light duties the anums worked my very hard. I then asked my doctor to put me back on full duties thinking that looking after 4-5 patients is better than looking after 30 patients (being a floater) some four weeks on the cleaner came into my room and washed the floor and left NO the signs out, when i came into the room I slipped and twisted my back again. Two weeks after that i left the hospital as my contract ended and took two weeks of to recover and then applied for agency work which was fine as i could work when my back settled.
I managed to work 8 shifts in the 3 weeks and I woke up one morning stuck in my bed unable to move.
That was the end of my nursing career it has been 4 years now.
I have been on large does of ocycontin and endone at the same time.
My X-rays ect show degeneration of the L3,4,5 disc with bone spurs,L5 sitting on S1 nerve, also the nerves are highly irritable
Now my medication regime is Norspan 20mg Topamax 200mg Ibuprofen and Panadol Osteo I and so lethargic I have short term memory loss confusion and i sleep heaps and have burst of anger at my son who is 14 on 13.08.
I still have sciatic pain shooting out my feet. I need to reduce some of the medication and stop the morphine and get back to work, listening to your
youtube clip I’m sure this program will help.
I hold hope for any new concept for me to enable mind body sprit equilibrium : )
Thank you for your generosity Scott, I look forward to the program.
Sue xx
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I feeling the biggest fustration to overcome is the mind. I’ve have some major injuries and still struggling from a Full Knee reconstruction with complications but that is nothing compared to some people.Seeing what other people overcome and have achieved will keep me believing and defeating my self doubt. So i can succeed in my goals and help others to do the same. thank you
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am 62 and in a very good shape. I train hard but I do allow for adequate active recovery by practicing Prasara and Chi Kung. In spite of al this I seem to be constantly getting injured. As soon as I recover from one injury another one pops up. This has been going on for years and it is driving me insane.
How have I been frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness. It involves my work situation. I work for an online retail company that is 30 minutes from home. Besides the commute time I work a full 10 hours a day at least 4 days a week and they can call for mandatory overtime adding a fifth day at anytime. While at work there is a constant push to make your numbers and if you don’t you collect negative write ups. Get enough of those and you get walked out the door. During our Peak time (November through December 24th) I work up to 60 hours a week and you have no time off unless you want to take a point, 6 points gets you walked out also. By the time I get home I end up eating a fast food meal then shower and off to bed. Do to the stress of work I use food as my medication since I do not drink or smoke and the food I eat are those that give that mild “high” that hits the pleasure center of the brain.
The reason I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life is because stress kills. It can lead to Heart Attacks, my dad had his first one when he was 44 and my sister had her first one at 52. It is important that I make changes in my stress level as well eating and exercising habits so I can avoid getting a heart attack myself.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am frustrated because of the huge stress I unwent I got a breast tumor, two years ago. As a result, I had to submit myself to a more stressful chemo treatment for the past year and a half, and following a mastectomy two months ago now I started hormone therapy to avoid reincidence. No matter how frustrated I may be, I am determined to be absolutely cured.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because I want to live the life I think I deserve, in peace of body and of mind, doing what I want to do and helping others in the way. The stress I tolerated for many years built the situation in which I am now, which I want to get rid of as soon as possible.
Having recently switched from relatively conventional dumbbell and barbell training to Tacfit Commando, I already enjoy much smoother movement and greater agility at work remodeling houses, greater energy while sparring, and much less joint and central torso tension at the end of the day or workout. This sixty-one year old carpenter and weekend boxer looks forward to this latest creation from Scott Sonnon, for I, like most of us, have far too much stress and strain in my life. Cheers!
Dear Scott,
When you have been had by a heart attack and ventricular fibrillation, you understand the word “revive” better than most. Having been truly humbled by such dreaded disease, I learned to “survive”. Today, through your good school and teaching, I “thrive” as a certified CST and TACFIT intructor in a little island called Singapore.
The message I wish to share is: In any situation we are in, we have 2 options. We can choose to be “bitter” or “better”. For me, “Better is the Only”
Option.
I thank you for reminding this 61-year-young grandpa about rivival, survival and the spirit to thrive.
In health, fitness and good spirit,
Very respectfully,
Ash Phua
1. Definitely my inability to persist. I’m constantly switching programs. When I reach a sticking point, I generally look for something else to do. As a result, I’ve never been able to track my progress, or lack thereof. And if the lack of consistency doesn’t get me, my horrible diet will. I’m a beer and fast food junkie. I usually reach a point where I feel bad and decide to lose a bunch of weight, which I do successfully, but eventually I lose motivation and, ultimately, gain back most of the weight.
2. Quality of life in longevity. Western medicine allows an increasing number of people to live into their nineties and older, but few of those people can do much more than lie in a bed… uncomfortably. Chair shaped? More like ball shaped. If this is a result of stress, I want to do whatever I can to prevent it. I’m not planning on children, so unless my niece and nephew are really nice, my wife and I are going to be relying on each other in old age. It’s going to be imperative that we have the strength to move freely and the resilience to recover from illness. I’m only 35 now and exercise regularly, but you never know what’s going to happen, and it seems to me the more reserves you have when it happens, the better chance you have of returning to normal.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
A couple of accidents plus old overuse injuries, from Ironman Triathlon training, have left me with recurring
challenges. As I begin to regain some consistency, I find I have to back off, as symptoms reappear.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Sport is a crucial part of my life, for emotional, social, spiritual and physical well being, and I intend to
do even more as I move into my 60′s!!
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am 22 years old now. For me my health has been one of my greatest challenges in life so far and also a road which has produced profound growth. As a child I had chrnoic sinus infections which almost killed me. At age thirteen I suffered intense debiltating pains in my intestines which caused me to be in and out of hospitals to be told I had nothing wrong with me. I was also obese in childhood weighing in at 200 pounds at a height (at the time) of 5’5. I at age 14 I I I I was diagnosed with a hormone deficiency preventing me from entering puberty because my pituitary gland was not working properly, something that required intense medication to fix . At the same age I also started getting arthritis and also was hospitalized because I would throw up everything I ate. At around 16 I decided that my health was my most important priorty wanting at some level to feel strong for once in my life because I always felt weak, I was teased for being fat, I had no friends. So I began training in programs like p90x and crossfit while also eating the earliest versions of a primal diet. My health improved and my hormones balnced to a much greater degree than ever before. I became very conditioned but surley enough got injurfed and destroyed my joints in the process. I was left with chronic pain in my knees, lower back and shoulders. Pushing against the current, I for years scoured through all the corrective lifting and rehabilitative techniques I could find- Eric cressey, mike robertson, Pavel, gray cook – from bodyweight to conventional weights, bands, kettlebells all of it in a dire hope to be able to train and be pain free and healthy. Some of the techniques worked to varying degrees but nothing ever felt right.I also tried every type of elimination diet I could think of hoping to heal my joints. I suffered through this process for 5 years of constanlty trying something that would work with suboptimal results. It was not until a year ago that I found CST which was the missing link and has allowed me the longest period i have had where I felt the force working against me diminishing. I now use a combination of many of your programs and techniques from that I have leanred and am making steady progress foward. I feel a degree of personal freedom I have not known my entire life and am grateful for it because I would be nothing without it. I live and volunteer at a wolf sancuary in the new mexico mountains, my job here is maintence and constuction. I able to do this intense work daily now mostly pain free. I have improved so much that I am considered by my friends here to be the healthist looking AND acting out of everyone here.
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Aside from the above mentioned problems I am no stranger to stress. I grew up with a traumatic childhood having been abandoned by my mother and father. My grandma raised me and the drama between my grandma and mother was always present and extremly intense with me in the middle of it all. Being bullied for being fat and no friends made me weary of people and created an individual with much perosnal trauma and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Although I had known stress for a long period before hand, my true dark night of the soul appeared to me when I was 17 when through intense meditation I underwent a kundalini awakening. This process trhusted me into a journey of persoanl transformation causing me to be able to deal with NOTHIING but my personal pain and unconcoius patterns for years. Even though the response appears dark in my mind it has been the greatest most wonderful gift I can imagine and the details are far too intricate to exlpain here. At this point I still am within this process but with an intesnity far less than when it began in terms of my day to day functioning. Stress is to me my greatest challenge as it is my first breaking point. Your RESET program and intuflow have helped alot But I feel as though my ability to handle stress ties into my ability to truly transform spiritually. In fact my whole spiritual process has been one of extreme stress, pain and intensity so my lessons have been about changing the phisology of negativity into one of positivity. It may not seem like alot but to me programs like recuperate, RESET, intuflow, ageless mobility, flowfit and resilience breathing are pillars in my spirtual practice combing the east and the west the old and the new. There is much more I would like to say but I hope this will suffice. Thank you
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
As I have gotten older, injuries have accumulated and recovery is more difficult. I love to train “hard”, but find that now this leaves my performance in other areas compromised. I also often feel a lack of energy and tend to compensate with caffeine. I have also grown busier (and consequently more stressed) over the years, and wonder about the connection!
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
There are two main reasons: the first is to be the best provider I can for my new family (I’m recently married), I will need all the health and energy possible. Second is the pursuit of my lifelong dream to open my own dojo; obviously for this I need to be in consistently peak physical and mental condition.
Life just hasn’t been the same since returning from active duty in Afghanistan. Many small injuries have completely hampered any fitness program I had due to improper techniques and people who obviously don’t have a clue about anatomy. The main thing though is the stress. Have been diagnosed as having Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, I just can’t find anything that helps relieve the stress. Never thought coming home and becoming a civilian again would be so hard.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I was very active while growing up but sustained many injuries along the way. As an adult, I gained a lot of weight with my pregnancies back in the 1980′s and have never been able to take the pounds off. It seems that I have been dieting most of my life but unable to successfully lose and keep off weight. My attempts at getting “in shape” through exercise have been frustrated by pain and injuries. In my life there is no such thing as no pain. Over the years I have had a great interest in learning about health issues and natural medicine. I have come to realize that focusing on weight loss as a primary goal has only set me up for failure. I have shifted my focus to be more intent on becoming healthy; believing that as my health improves the weight loss will occur more easily and naturally. My ultimate goal really is not to be thin but to be strong and healthy; to feel good physically and to feel good about myself. But how, when everything I have tried has failed?
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I want to be successful at accomplishing my goals and I’ve come to realize that I need help learning how to effectively and constructively deal with stress. I grew up in a home with parental anger and the resulting physical abuse. Even though I know that I react to stress in self destructive ways, I have yet to learn the skills to break that pattern. I want so much to be able to say that I have learned how to be in control of my life even in the midst of difficulties; rather than being good at picking up the pieces afterward. Since my father passed away in Jan. of 2009, I have been 24/7 caregiver for my mom. My focus has been fixed on doing the best I possibly can to take care of her; but, I’m beginning to see how that goal is being achieved at the expense of my own health. I have lost a good amount of flexibility and strength due to inactivity. As my mom gets weaker and less able to move on her own, I will need to be stronger and more flexible to keep from getting injured. I also want my three sons to be proud of me and to know that “if I can do it, they certainly can, too”.
Life just hasn’t been the same since returning from active duty in Afghanistan. Many small injuries have completely hampered any fitness program I had due to improper techniques and people who obviously don’t have a clue about anatomy. The main thing though is the stress. Have been diagnosed as having Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, I just can’t find anything that helps relieve the stress. Never thought coming home and becoming a civilian again would be so hard.
Thanks Scott, Jason.
Hi Scott,
The frustration of staying fit is in direct line with the stress of life’s hectic pace, so I have endeavoured to make my daily life include stretches and movements which I have learned from you and others along the way through 69 years of life. I don’t have time to go to gyms or classes on a regular basis, so I am interested in learning movements which I can incorporate into my daily moving through life. I use your CST moves before I get out of bed as a warm up for waking my body before my feet hit the floor (One never sees a cat or dog get up without a good stretch!)
Older cultures did not do exercises … their life was an exercise, so I try to use my daily jobs as an exercise … stretch a little further when I reach for something. Pick up a heavier box … make things I do in life a challenge, not easier. Not letting the stress from the outside world enter into my inner peaceful place, this can be a challenge too. Life is so much better when I look for better ways of interacting with everything. Thank you for your contribution to my ever growing awareness of my healthy routine, you are an inspiration.
Scott, thanks for giving me this opportunity to ‘vent’. My wife and I have been doing TACFIT for the better part of a year. My frustration stems from the fact that the harder I try, the older I feel. HA! I’ve always been one to give my workouts my all, but lately I guess I’m feeling my oats. I pay particular attention to warmups and cool downs, even on kettle bell days, but I feel as though I’m not getting the results I’m looking for, mainly fluidity of movement in my joints without discomfort. I know I am stronger and faster than I have been, but I’m looking for the keys to keep the grimaces and wincing wiped off my face. That answers the first question, the second one is easier to answer. I have people who depend on me. I need to be able to perform when they need me, all day, every day.
The main frustration I have improving my health and fitness is finding time to be consistant while balancing with the little challenges life seems to throw my way. I usually am able to stay consistent for a month or so at a time then the usualy setbacks seem to creep in (injuries, depression, work). While I have gotten better about changing gears and squeezing in what I can it tends to feel futile at times.
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress on my life because I am already on my second chance. I had leukemia as a child (had being the operative word). Because my second chance happened so young I haven’t really been smart about how I have treated my body, mainly concerning eating habits, and exercise. None of this prepared me for life in the modern day office ( I am convinced we were never meant for this). Work piles up, people dump on each other and become impatient, and then the choice has to be made between spending my free time in the office to catch up or spending time with my new wife and still finding time to squeeze in the normal physical activity that helps me deal with the prior. When I get put into the previous situations I tend to brood, when I brood too much the physical manifestations start (heart burn, chronic muscle tension, facial numbness). I see my boss on the verge of a heart attack most days due to his work load and I am expected to follow him right down that path. I know there are many that are more deserving of this gift, but i honestly want to do better for myself, my wife, and the family I hope to create.
Either way, keep doing what you are doing. Thanks for your time.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been obese since I was very young, at the age of 6. My dad was obese before I was born and most of my entire family is obese too. I always wanted to have a better body and better health but my mental toughness is not great enough to surpass the environment that I was brought up under. That, in addition to false information given out by mainstream fitness, made my attempts unsuccessful. I heard from news and articles about the early death rates of people who are obese and how prone to chronic illnesses obese people are. At the age of 17, when I joined my JC’s canoeing team, the tough training I went through both with the team and on my own accord finally made me start getting leaner. In order to get to my goals faster, I put in extra trainings on my own, doing random researches and inappropriately implementing the ideas I received to my own trainings. I got injured later on and had to stop deadlifting as well as other activities that are streneous on my knees. After more than a year of recurring knee pain and subsequently aches caused by bad posture, I went through one minor surgery and am finally able to manage my injuries. My physiotherapist discovered several tight spots around my hips region and more at my left upper back muscle and upper pectoral muscle due to my hip’s pure posture that leads to poor shoulder posture.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
After all the hard work I put in and the commitment I have towards my health goals, I think I deserve to lead a more painfree life while I continue to pursue my fitness goals. I want the efforts I put in to benefit me more than it harm me. I believe my injury was caused by repetitive misuse and a bit of overuse. I am now more careful and aware of my own body’s capabilities and am able to modify my planned workout protocols based on my body’s reactions towards a new workout phase I set for myself. I believe that I deserve more results for the efforts that I am putting in and do not want the negative impact of stress in my life to undermine my results.
1) Despite working out regularly and eating fairly well, it’s very difficult to achieve a good BMI. Also, a busy schedule makes it difficult to work out as much as I’d like to.
2) I see so many people in their middle ages who are suffering from poor health, and not only do I want to avoid that myself, I would like to be able to help others achieve superior health.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have been frustrated in many ways and the main way, in all honesty, I am lazy. I buy the books, the kettle bells and they end up as rather heavy dust catchers. I am 65 in a few months and my get up and go seems to have gotten up and left in the last few years. I have Type 2 Diabetes and all the problems that are associated with it. I used to be into the martial arts and went to Malaysia to study many years ago with Master Cheong of the Chuka System back in the 80′s. Every since then I have just fallen off the wagon so to speak. I dont know why but with all the info I have at hand I cannot seem to be motivated in the things I know I should be doing. I am reading now the Resilience Breathing and have decided that i have to do something as i am tired of being a lazy slob with no direction. My problem is I expect instant results even though it is not possible.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I have finally decided that i need to get off my ass and start doing what I know needs to be done. I want to be here when my grandson is bit older so i can point him the direction I am having so much stress doing. I will have him as I wanted to be and maybe we can even work together and I would enjoy that. I hope that what i learn from Scott here and what I have will get me motivated to stick around and see my grandson grow and prosper more than i have and have the health I do not have.
My frustration and my commitment are really related. I’m committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life for my wife and children. It’s really that simple. I spent a significant amount of time in the past building my businesses. It took a tremendous toll on my physically. At age 38 I was 270 lbs and recognized that if I didn’t make changes I would not be around to watch my kids grow up. Over the next three years, I lost between 100 and 105 pounds and am now 170 lbs. To get there, I feel as though I neglected my family by often training 20 hours a week to try and “get in shape.” At points I trained at a high intensity level for as many as 30 straight days. The result of that pace for a period of three or more years has resulted in chronic pain in my shoulders and back and when coupled with other pressures has resulted in bouts of depression followed by period of manic activity. I’m now trying to create balance in my life in all respects. Learning methods to manage stress is essential to obtaining that balance.
I’d like to tell you that i have been an avid martial arts student for yearsand that the martial arts has proven to be a fountain of youth for me. But that just hasn’t been the case. I spent years and years practicing a very competitive and power oriented version of Taekwondo, which has left me with shiny trophies, advanced belt degrees and abroken body. I had bilateral hip replacements at the age of 32, (which was in 1993, by the way). After that I tried to focus on being a better coach and continued teaching a modified, less aggressive version of Taekwondo, along with filipino martial arts until I finally closed the school in 2008.
I first became aware of CST in around 2002, I think. I even have the old VHS version of Fisticuffs as well as several other CST dvds. I am frustrated with my continue quest for pain free shoulders and hips because every new practice I undertake seems to only reveal a further level of pain and stress. I can’t seem to maintain some of the improvements that i make. Maybe I just can’t see the “big picture”?
I keep getting older and i seem to be getting further and further behind.
I am very committed to changing my life and the negative impact that stress is having on me. My wife just recently developed osteoarthritis and has had one knee replacement and needs to have the other one done as well. I need to overcome my own pain related health issues so that she will belive in me and be willing to try to make improvements in her own level of health.
My wife, Jackie, sees me tyring to improve and also sees the failures that I keep going through. I would be so happy if I could finally get this whole “health and fitness” thing figured out. For my own sake of course but also for hers.
Can you help me with this?
Respectfully,
Michael
I’m a 49-yr-old physical therapist who exercised primarily with traditional weight training and running sporadically I enjoyed years of playing basketball, also. At the age of 30 I ruptured my left achilles tendon. No big deal. Completed rehab and returned to my disasterous path of all play and no recovery. Same up and down workout habits and no recovery and I then developed a swollen right Achilles tendon. MRI showed partial tear. Ten years plus, multi doctor visits, therapiy protocols with short term success if any. I would go to continuing education courses that were taught by national and international instructors seeking answers but only to hear, “You’re a walking time bomb.” Growing frustrated I resigned to primarily circuit weight training and weight lifting since any plyometric workout caused immediate flare up. Again, weight training and some occasional swimming with no recovery, eventually led to loss of mid thoracic mobility and instinctively knew where this heading. I decided then to decrease my time of exercise sessions to 40-45 min max including warmup and minimal cool down. I would have long stretch sessions of 30-60 min. Still swollen but no pain in achilles I then did 30 sec sprint intervals and would limp for one day and recover with ice and modalities. I knew I was on a short track once again but I felt I was getting closer but still yet so far. Each continuing education course I took was getting me closer to Coach Sonnon. I got invoved with Dragon Door corses and KB training. The last course required you to be more active with running which made me very anxious especially when everyone was 15 years younger and my Achilles still an issue. It was here that someone mentioned Coach. Since buying into his approach to living actively, I now have minimal pain, running up to 3-4 miles 2x/wk and trying more new things with greater confidence. I now work with church youth group and pass on Coaches gems. Anything Coach strongly suggests especially in reference to recovery I know it will only make me better. Stress recovery? We all need it. Can’t wait!
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I have not been frustrated. The pursuit of health and fitness is one of the most rewarding and motivating endeavors in life. It is a natural right, and pursuit of it is my passion. We all have the natural right to thrive, and those who neglect it are simply selling themselves short. So no frustration here, only enthusiasm to do it and do it better.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because I am committed to living without limitations. The worst limitations are the self-induced ones – the ones you have the power to change but don’t. I am that difficult kind of person who will not put up with it and will seek ways to eliminate it. Toxic stress is not on the menu for me… (along with grains).
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I seem to run in spurts. Dedicated for a period of time than work takes over and I lose focus. When I get back on track I feel like I am starting over again.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I’m 56 years old with high blood pressure. I am really trying hard to optimize my movement, intake of information, and gain some control of my hectic world of travel and stress.
I don’t think I deserve this more than anyone else, but I have my own reasons to want it:
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I feel super motivated to improve my health and fitness, I have changed my diet and I have started in martial arts and excercise, I’m always looking to become better but I have faced a series of injuries over the past few years, I get injured easily apparently,and this kills my motivation and I feel kinda depressed, because I can’t improve my fitness and skills when im injured, cant do sports or play the guitar, even singing. Injuries keep me from doing my favorite things in the world. And due to mental stress over the injuries, I get pissed off at being injury, I get in a bad mood and then i sart to have discussions with my family, they support me and love so it’s not fair that I get back at them when it’s not their fault, I always have a negative attitude because I cant do the things I love due to my injuries.
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because I want to stop getting injured, to stop having a negative attitude towards my life, and improve my health, fitness and my life. I don’t want to be kept from my dreams anymore because an injury happened, and specially I want to stop having this wrong attitude, it kills my motivation and my joy of life and family. Thanks for reading
not sure that this got posted last time..apologies if it did..seemed to get stuck in moderation…so just in case..
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
the biggest culprit for me is encroaching negative sentiment, whether this be self-doubt, obsessive behaviour, nervousness, fear, anger or anxiety.
If left unchecked, my thought patterns will literally ride rough-shod over any and all good intentions and beliefs i may have, and have had, such that its a case of one step forward 2 steps back. i have found with many movement modalities the missing part of the puzzle has been real and trackable improvement in such a way as the evidence is tangible in each training session in a somatic sense. i am a primarily a visual and kinaesthetic learning; without cold hard evidence for my eyes and physical feedback, my tenacity wanes. if i am not continually proactive in this regard then onward march the negative thoughts. In the realm of mind-body and nutrition i have waded through (and paid for) enough contradictory phycho-babble to sink a battleship. my upbringing was controlled and anxiety inducing and often devoid of meaning in a household devoid of emotion….this through no fault of my parents who had their own history of traumas they were carrying. i understand that my journey is now, to pinch your phrase, to wipe my slate clean so that i can build a life of service , without the constant nagging doubts that dive me into full-bore depression. I’d like to add that Since ‘finding’ you and RMAX i am daily blown away with the improvements in mobility i am experiencing…particularly with my spinal health (2 lumbar prolapsed discs)..with intuflow.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
2 nervous breakdowns, a failed marriage and riches to rags start-up business experience…these events are clearly trying to tell me something!..and the reality is…with hindsight…all preventable had stress not put the blinkers on me in each and every case such that logical and rational reasoning stood no chance whatsoever…frankly, i don’t want to repeat the cycle..time to draw the line and write a new chapter.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
in 2007 i had met with a accident which ripped out all musles of my left leg… slowly with constant physical therapy i was able to move about. all the injureis and weaknees came into show again where another accdient fractured my left arm and i had to undergo a surgery. but this tym i was committed to change my life. but physical weakness caused by my second accident has left me frustrated
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
i was obese that time with a hieght of 5.8 and wieght of 270 pounds. it was at that time when i got tacfit commando for myself and life hasnt been the same anymore. its all hard work . 3 months of one cycle and i already have lost 40 pounds. will become tactically functional like a commando by december for sure. i thank scott for making something like tacfit which has helped me. it jus has no show or modern internet gimmeckery only pure hard work and dedication. thanks scott
Have I been frustrated, a definite yes. As for stress I teach and coach and have 2 young children. So I have tried many workouts to find the ONE. I work out with my team but I am not a young teen athlete and feel more negative than positive effects. My goal is not the 6 pack abs even though that would be a nice side effect, but to have a system that works from the inside out and as I tell my girls as I am jumping rope, hitting the heavy bag etc, my goal is to walk them down the isle when the time comes when they ask why I am doing this. I am still looking for the workout that makes me feel energized and ready to go not worn out and ready to stop.
My frustration comes from not understanding what it is that stops me believing that I can attain greater success. For example stopping at brown brown belt because I don’t believe I am a black belt type of person; moving onto a different physical training program because I don’t believe I can get to, or deserve to be at that next level. All of this happens because I see Black Belts as being the ultimate goal of a fighting discipline (I don’t see myself as a fighter), or I see those reaching high levels of strength and endurance as being the physical elite.
the reasons why I have the most frustration at fitness are the following.First the routine , day after day I stand from my bed just to begin telling myself ” oh 3 more days till this is over” only to feel that when I have finished I have to start again next week and feel like I have no free time everything is work work work in a repetitive routine with no innovation, and when its over I do not have the energy to star again and I feel with less will to try again. Then I return to my life between the struggles with fitness only to feel bad that I am not training .So its kind of a down spiral. Why do I want to change negative stress in my life? Easy, enough is enough! I refuse to keep failing and failing agian , I refuse to get frustrated and the feel sorry for myself whenever I miss the target of my goals and more importantly will not fail in my dream to achieve living a healthy life . Is doing so or die trying . and I have absolute no doubt I will make it a reality.
yeah many times… frustrated in trying to lose weight, in trying to get better at a movement, in trying to understand a movement , in trying to achieve a movement , in trying to improve my posture … especially after traumas (car accident and a hip operation) . it does not last very long as i am self motivated having worked pretty much on my own for most of my life but i have always invested time and money in learning and understanding more… in developing myself in understanding the way i move so to help others achieve movement …. this is not only in relation to a discipline but movement in the way human beings move or should move . movement helps in releasing stress so i like to keep moving… in all directions
we can stop when we take our last breath but till then i am happier when i move my body … humans are made to move not to sit on office chairs …so…. keep moving 
1)How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness
My frustration lies in the lack of knowledge I have to do this at home without a gym. I am currently going to Nursing school ,working,managing life at home with a disabled husband, and 2 boys, 12 and 17. I find that I have too much stress and very little follow-through to do what is needed; go for a walk or do some in home exercises. I let go of my gym membership due to budget cuts and working out at home is always interrupted or not accomplished due to the big pile of GLOB in my face. I am very frustrated!!
2)Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Being a student of nursing and a former licensed massage therapist, I know what stress does to us. Our world is very complicated and it will not change. WE are the ones to change and adapt to the environment to master it. I have anxiety issues that I keep at bay with meds, but I want to be free of them!! I also know that the quality of food ingested is a big part of it. When I am finished with school, I will be able to buy better foods for my body. It is crazy that it is more expensive to eat well! I am looking forward to learn from you, a way to exercise and manage stress better. I want to follow in the footsteps of a great teacher.
Thank you
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
In regards to the effects of stress and it’s overwhelming negative impact, I’ve had a front row seat to observe the vile nature of stress! My dad, a workaholic, stress-carrying man with an unhealthy lifestyle of no exercise dropped dead from a massive heart attack in front of me when I was 16. I was to lose my mother just a few years later from a neurological disorder heightened by her stress load. For a long time afterwards, through both my military career and the civilian years following, stress was the constant shadow that followed every step of my life into adulthood, marriage and parenthood. Ingrained deep in my head, but still in avoidance of rem-edifying the toxic hangover that stress causes, I just knew (and so intimately observed) that I had to loosen it’s shackle and eventually de-link the chain that was holding me back from reaching the full potential of a healthy lifestyle (to say the least about longevity) that would both enlighten my earthly experience and more importantly, those immediately around me, my wife and son. They, my friends, extended family and the workers who work for me, not only depend on the calm, inspiring individual of me, but also depend on it. I’ve made it past the years both my parents had lived, but my greater responsibility now lies with my teenage son, who needs a role model of dependability and of robust health. Stress, will not only hinder that, but turn the results 180 and send him on a detrimental, unfruitful path into his own adulthood. So, though I have made great strides in lessening stressful behavior, I want to nullify its potency and take control and pass on a healthy, identifiable and imitable value to the next generation.
Excellent post brother!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Because I don’t have the stamina or desire sometimes, sometimes I want to just give in to the illness…. Sometimes I feel like giving up, and that is very frustrating, that angers me more then anything… Because I believe you do have to fight for what you want, and I want my life on track….
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am committed because I want to live….
I could have written a book here, but simply those are my answers…. Thank you for what you have posted, your passages, are amazing. What you have been through is horrendous, and what you have become is heaven…. God Bless…
Hi Scott! I’m a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and 200 Hour YRT Certified Yoga Instructor. I’m also 50 years old. I am focusing on dealing with seniors and geriatrics and the overeight/obese populations.
RMAX I think is the best site as you focus on “Basic Human Movement.” Basic Human Movement is what most of the population needs to concentrate on versus weight lifiting and all the other gym-related devices.
At the rate that diseases are increasing in our elderly and ruining their quality of life, especially Alzheimer’s, due to poor diet and poor fitness, I would say that this will be a most useable program for seniors.
As the saying goes, “We aren’t living longer. We’re taking longer to die.”
Thanks.
1-i have overcome the frustration when i found TACFIT commando, but atthe beginning was not having enough time and knowledge to train. Right now frustration comes from dealing with food more than with training ( i seem to, in stressfull situations and also due to a lot of travalling, to allways make the wrong choices of food and doses: i eat a lot of junk)
2-i really need this, i actually feel better right now at 36 years old with two months going on TACFIT, that i ever felt before, i feel stronger, thinner, more agile and more prompt To face day To day situations, so i want To improve on that, i want To get better, i want To be able To control the stress and shut it out if it need To be.
Salutations from Portugal, your stuff has produced a good impact in my life.
I have spent the last 10 years (since i was 15) taking part in many different fitness and exercise ‘systems’. I served with the UK Royal Marines and deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and had to find a way to adapt my training, due to being stationed in a forward operating base many miles away from the main battle camps. I suffered with the same lower back pain, tight ITB’s, neck pain that had been in place for around 5 years, I was very two dimensional (yet I couldn’t see this) and I now contribute this to being to focused on weight training using barbells and dumbbells rather than looking at the way the body moves and concentrating on the compound moves. This forced me to spend thousands on chirporactors, physios, acupuncture etc, I wandered whether there was a way in which I could correct these problems and address these myself……
I left the armed forces around 2 years ago and joined the fire service, this is also where I got the opportunity to begin learning combat martial arts originating from the philippines. I struggled with alot of the lessons at the beginning due to no ‘flow’ I was immobile, bulky, and had poor flexibility. I was recommended to purchase your kettlebell foundation DVD by a close friend (and a more senior student of my Grandmaster) this started the total conversion to Kettlebells, Clubs and Yoga. Since then I haven’t gone anywhere near ‘bodybuilding’ due to improvements in all of the previously mentioned areas aswell as better posture and speed. I am in the early stages of primal eating and I am already noticing massive benefits in my overall energy levels. I have incorporated alot of your teachings into my training and would like to continue to develop in all aspects of my life, the ability to cope with stress being the most neglected area for me and the ability to adapt to problems I face will allow me to improve peoples lives around me, not only myself.
Kind regards
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
There are to many ways to Rome. It’s all too easy to make “coctail” – which doesn’t lead you anyplace! With lot of “coctailing” you don’t reach your goals. You only broke your body/mind. I need holistic program to come further.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I want to find a path to follow – with good and bed stress, When I realize that – I want to pay it forward to my clients and people I know. If I don’t get it and live it – I can’t teach it forward.
Scott,
I am pretty frustrated. By my inability to do something about my health and fitness. About anything, for that matter. For years, I’ve been thinking “I can achieve anything, if I really want it. I just don’t want it. Not right now, anyways”. Well, the years have passed. It’s time to start doing something. Taking care of the body. I’ve got an amazing body. With the extent of neglect and abuse it’s been subjected to, it’s holding up pretty well. But that’s not going to last much longer. When the signs of real trouble show up, I know I will regret dearly. Yet, at this moment, I am unable to take even a little first step to avoid that.
Meanwhile, my life is defined by fear and stress. Stress and dissatisfaction are keeping me awake until I crawl into bed senseless. And every waking moment, I fear something. That I’m not driving fast enough for the car behind me. That I’m underperforming at my job (not surprising, with the lack of sleep). That my wife will walk in and see me typing this
. This fear is literally shaping my body. Pulling my neck down an forward. Raising my shoulders. Constricting my breath.
I’ve got quite a collection of fitness programs. All of them untouched, beyond the first few pages or minutes of video. There is something I’m missing. A key that will unlock my potential. The key that I’ve put down many years ago, and don’t remember where. I’m looking for it everywhere, and it’s driving me crazy. Hopefully this is it.
Hi Scott, I think it’s great that you are paying it foreword!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I am a 35 year old male, married and I have 2 young children. I’m working as a sexcrimes detective. Next to this I have my own Krav Maga school. So my week is quit busy. I have been training as long as I can remember. But I also have been having pains in my lower back as long as I can remember. Just recently I have discovered that these pains are mostly coused by the mental stress I endure. I always thought that physical pains were coused by physical activity. I always thought that I could get rid off these pains by training even harder witch resulted in me overusing my body, witch lead to more pain.
I’m now trying to train smarter with more respect for my body and my mind. It’s more al journey of the soul than of the mind/body. Trying to get rid of all the stress in my life so I can use all of my potential. I feel I have been fighting the world and myself and I’am just discovering that there is a better smarter way. I think the knowledge you have gathered over the years would be a great help in my pursuit of a stress free life.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I feel that the negative impact of stress in my life is preventing me to became all I can be. If I can somehow get rid of the stress there is no limit to what I can achieve! Of course stress is useful where would we be without stress. But i feel that sometimes when the stress gets to much it becomes counter productive and I start to decompose.
Yours truly,
Arthur Bak
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
By not really getting any results. For years I was looking for some practical fitness program, that has more holistic approach than just built muscles. I was looking for something that has impact on body-mind-spirit connection. The source of frustration was in me as well as outside.
In me – because I didnt really know exactly what I am looking for and also because I had my routines and I was quite stubborn to change them. Change needs time because we need to change our mind set. This sometimes hurts:)
Outside – lots of crap fitness attitudes and approaches which creates the the public opinion that we cannot do nothing more then built muscles get the fake sun tan and eat supplements full of chemicals…
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because the stress is probably the biggest enemy. Simply because it uses the energy we all have have to fight against life challenges against myself. It creates splits inside, psychosomatic symptoms and it makes us to use our energy ineficently. My aim is to be integrated, vital, happy, strong man that can focus his energy to reach the goals. This means I can use the challenges for growth and strengthening myself.
An alle die sich entschieden haben, etwas entscheidendes für Ihr Leben zu ändern.
unser Alltag nimmt von dem Gewohnheitstier Mensch allzu gerne und einfach Besitz. Regel anderer bestimmen unser Leben. Wir lassen uns durch Emotionen, Umstände, Gelegenheiten beeinflussen, ohne uns vorher zu fragen, ob das etwas ist, was uns gefällt, nützt und uns in unserer eigenen Entwicklung weiterbringt (ohne dabei egoistisch zu sein) Wenn man uns fragt, was wir wollen – antworten wir was wir nicht wollen. Wir haben verlernt, uns selbst zu sehen – wir können nur lieben, helfen, verstehen, fühlen, wenn wir uns selbst lieben, helfen, verstehen und fühlen und vieles mehr.
Es liegt aber auch in der Natur der Dinge, das der Mensch den Wert einer Sache erst erkennt, wenn es verloren oder nur noch eingeschränkt zur Verfügung hat. Erst dann wird uns der Wert der Gesundheit, Freude, Liebe etc. bewusst.
Es hat bei mir 15 Jahre gedauert bis mir bewusst geworden ist, welche körperliche Freiheit ich in meiner Jugend gehabt habe. Ständige Ausreden und der Alltag haben mich davon abgehalten etwas zu tun – ich habe dabei nie richtig auf das mein Herz, meinen Kopf und meine Seele gehört. Nachdem ich viel von außergewöhnlichen Menschen wie Scott einer ist gelesen habe, ist bei mir der Knoten geplatzt. Ich habe angefangen mein Leben selbst in die Hand zu nehmen. Seit 9 Wochen hat mein “Alltag” es nicht geschafft mich davon abzuhalten. Im Gegenteil – jede Situation, die mich davon abhalten will mein Training nicht zu absolvieren, bestärkt mich es doch zu tun. Mit großem Erfolg – mein Wille, meine Stärke, mein Respekt werden von Tag zu Tag stärker – und Menschen wie Scott bestätigen durch Ihr Sein diesen Weg jeden Tag. Man muss sein Leben selbst in die Hand nehmen. Erfolgreiche Wege anderer außergewöhnlicher Menschen können einen dabei sehr positiv begleiten.
Sorry, my english is not good enough to explane the meaning of this germans words.
Also very respectfull,
Hary Danner
Hi Scott,
I hope this post finds you and yours well.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness:
I am a strength and conditioning coach based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I am now in my forties and find the increasingly difficult to stay injury free or to develop coping strategies to keep injuries at bay. In addition the irony of being a busy strength coach is that you rarely get the time to adequately train yourself. So making each workout count for me is a priority. I am fairly sure that something is missing from my qualities as a coach, that is the ability to fully make good on the positive psychological aspects of training (the feel good factor) for myself and my clients. This is the 360 degrees of good training and I would like to have the ability to tease that out and understand its application to help myself and others
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I want to have that ability to have strategies that will help mitigate against the negative impact of stress so that I can be a better person, better husband, better father and better coach. Living and growing up in a country that had been in violent conflict for three decades you become tuned into the impact of stress on people. The legacy of the conflict in terms of latent post traumatic stress in immense – in Northern Ireland we have one of the highest rates of people on prescribed medicated tranquillisers. In addition we have alarming rates suicide, especially in young males. Recently, as a coach I was involved in a youth diversion programme that involved working with a group of young men who had troubled backgrounds, during that course of the programme one of their group committed suicide. I was devastated, indeed it hit all the coaches pretty hard. It led me to rethink what are the qualities of a good coach? I had no coping mechanisms to pass onto to them or indeed any of my clients about dealing with stress. I would dearly like to have this ability.
Thank you for you consideration.
Damian
I have have been frustrated trying to improve my health and fitness by the tangled mass of conflicting information out there: most of which seems designed solely for the authors’ profit. Also, much of what I have seen is often steeped in the idea that one has to brutalize one’s body into fitness without regard for the rest and recovery component of fitness.
I am committed to changing the negative impact stress in my life because I want to: move better; be stronger; breathe fully; rest completely; and to exist in a state of physical preparedness at all times. I strive to be a better, healthier person for my family, my friends, my coworkers, my acquaintances, and anyone else with whom I have contact.
Hi Scott,
i’m a psychologist (CBT, ACT, CFT) and i work with people, who suffer from chronic pain. Most often the chronification process continued already to long, to make any promises, that the pain will go away completely. Usually in response to the constant pain (which is a stressor by itself) people develop multiple chronification-circles (avoiding movement, anxiety of movement, depression, …) which are all further stressor.
While watching your primal stress video on breathing (by the way i work a lot with breathing, awareness and centering) i was reminded to something i see on all levels of chronification-circles.
All these vicious cycles develope very often by following an intuitively (evolutionary built in our nervous system ) stress response, which is built for short term effect (now). And because they work at least a little bit, we are doing them more often. The problems arise very often, because many of the short time-solutions (avoiding movement) actually lead directly into bigger problems in the long run (deconditioning and increased pain because of that) and all kinds of further stressor (helplessness, fear, depression, giving up hobbies and relationships …)
So the main work is to teach and develop skills in the body and in the mind to break out of these cycles. And while we start doing that, we alway have to deal with fear.
In my private life i worked with flow fit, prasara routines and combine them with regular jogging to keep myself fit. Since some weeks i m working with tacfit and i like it.
Because i m a curious guy and i constantly try to develop new ideas … i m wondering how i could incorporate your work in my daily work with my patients. Actually i m quite thankful for your inspiration.
Because through personal experience and in my work i realized, that several things are important: understanding, caring, guiding. But I always come back to see, that the most powerful thing is “Doing”. And our body is such a powerful basis, where we can root ourselves and start doing things that are important to our heart, even if we are within pain.
Thank You!
Daniel
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m just about to turn 51 and have been involved in martial arts since I was 12. I have always followed the ‘Go hard or go home’ mentality and accumulated all of the injuries that accompany that particular mind set. After trying to work around knee, wrist, ankle and elbow injuries for years (and having two knee operations this year) I still believe that you should ‘Go hard or go home’ but I now understand that this should be moderated by some form of recuperation that enables the body to recover and repair itself. I have been searching for this ‘recovery pattern’ for the past five years and I am looking forward to seeing if your new work provides me with those answers.
I will never stop teaching or training in combatives just because of injury or pain but it would make life more comfortable if I could learn something that would either alleviate the problems or help me to avoid them completely.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
At age 35 I woke up one morning with painfully swollen joints and was shortly afterwards diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. To feel your every move suddenly restricted and painful was utterly frustrating. Medication did help, but some also produced other unpleasant side effects. Doctors recommended that I rather refrain from exercise to “protect” my joints.
I could not get myself to agree. I felt that instead I needed to send an unmistakable signal to my tendons and joints that they are all still very much needed. That they should strengthen and grow rather than deteriorate. In my subsequent quest for the best suited forms of exercise I eventually came across and then remained with Scott’s programs (Intuflow, yoga and Clubbells). I feel incredibly lucky, because over the months slowly the arthritis symptoms receded and I was able to eventually go off medication altogether – and I believe challenging my body and keeping my joints active deserves at least partial credit for this.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
So what better motivation can there be than the exhilarating experience of being free to move once again. Every once in a while some of the symptoms return and more often than not this coincides with stressful experiences in my work or private life. While I can’t and surely would not even want to avoid stressful challenges. I’m sure that I can still much improve on how I deal with stress to minimize its impact. And here as well I experience how mindful exercise becomes an important key.
I want to thank you Scott for being a committed searcher yourself, and a compassionate teacher to so many of us.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I’m an international student doing my postgraduate studies in the UK. Each time I think of going to the gym, or yoga or engaging in some sports, I find myself holding back because of financial constraints. I am in my 30s, and have been diagnosed with a mild scoliosis. So the lower back pain is persistent. I used to see a chiropractor back home 2-3 times a week. It got really bad and I saw a chiropractor here in the UK. When I told him about my stress (and how it might have affected my back pain and sleeping habits), he brushed it off by saying, “Since you are stressed, you shouldn’t be seeing me. You should be seeing a psychologist.” I felt humiliated. I wished I had told him, “I was NOT having a mental or emotional problem; I was having a physiological problem!”
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Knowing how to live productively (as you’ve said, “eustress”) without pain (“distress”) is something I have been trying to do. I have tried yoga. But didn’t last long into the practice due to financial constraints. I had wanted a fitness coach or mentor (like yourself) to help me through certain regimes but couldn’t afford it. If I knew how to re-shape my life, I could inspire others in the same way you have inspired me to look after my own health and fitness — for free. (Whether I win or not, it doesn’t matter. Thank you for being an inspiration, Scott!)
Eight years ago, I was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor, and my life completely changed. For 37 years, I had been active and mostly healthy. I ran, swam, practiced martial arts, danced, was a massage therapist, and a somatic psychotherapist. In the space of less than a year, I gained over 100lbs and lost flexibility and strength as various hormones dropped and others rose. Before I was fully diagnosed I was in and out of hospital ER’s with massive infections and the extreme exhaustion was simply overwhelming.
For two years, I went through chemotherapy which finally shrunk the tumor. But that alone did not cure me. I lost that 100lbs and then 50lbs more from the chemo itself. I had no muscle strength whatsoever as well as a still seriously compromised immune system. My Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal Axis suffered permanent damage and even the most innocuous of daily stressors became almost unbearable. To add to the stress, I went through a divorce as my then wife did not want to stay with a ‘sick man’. I lost my profession. I thought I had lost it all. And yet, I still had the most precious gift. I am still alive.
I will be on replacement hormones for the rest of my life. I will be more prone to negative physiological responses to daily stress for the rest of my life. What has been so frustrating is that I know that I must now regulate that stress myself, and it can be very hard to find exercise programs in particular that would work for my specific needs.
Life continues on. I am working part-time again. I have a healthy and joyous new relationship. I meditate daily. I first discovered Coach Sonnon’s Intu-Flow, and that has helped me regain some of the lost flexibility. But I am still very weak, lack endurance, and can be overwhelmed very quickly by any stress good or bad. I am committed, however, to regaining as much of the physical strength, endurance, and health as I can that was lost. I know it will not be easy. Reading about Coach Sonnon’s own journey though gives me hope. Whether I am one who receives the course or not, I will find a way to purchase it as I know that this is the type of exercise program that I have been looking for in order to fully recover from this health ordeal.
I also know that I want to be able to learn this system in order that I might turn around and assist others in similar situations as myself to regain health or at least maintain it in the face of internal stressors from chronic and debilitating illnesses and the external stressors of life. I really look forward to learning so much more about the Primal Stress program, and I really am thankful that Coach Sonnon has brought this system together for the good of all.
Hi Everyone
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Most of the people has already had injuries like me. I had many since have been doing sports such as basketball, weight training, archery, cycling, running, crossfit, etc. The most important thing is GET TO KNOW YOUR BODY AND ITS REACTION FOR OVERTRAINING, LACK OF RECOVERY TIME, ETC. If you know your body you can start to give it what it needs and try different methods to see your body’s reaction and choose the best for yourself to improve your health and fitness. It takes time to find the relatively best way to health and fitness improvement. For instance for me the main thing is I realized years ago that my body does not need extreme weights for perfect function. I am more like a body weight guy than a weight lifter. I like weights but through injuries I have learnt I do not need that much. I just want to look great and try not to get a heart attack while trying to catch the bus what is 100m far.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I have eczema. It is not the general one what is ichy and red and can be anywhere on the body. It is caused by stress and appears on my palms and soles (sometimes) like small blisters. They behave like blisters maybe because they are and when they start to disappear my hand is dry and my skin is crap.
Stress causes problem in my upper trapezius and further up in my neck muscles so really need to get rid of stress. It has an effect on my training too so really annoying.
I am a very calm guy but have stress like everyone else has but trying to handle it in an easy way and find techniques that can help. It will be very important when I will have children not because of them because for them. I prefer living in the country-side. This rushing western civilization should slow down and should learn a lot from people who care less about technique, brands, cars, money, etc. and have little or no stress.
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I began trying to lift weights at about 17 for improvement of my body and how it looked. After a year I became skeptical about weights because I can only do it when I’m home or when I have those steel plates . So i stopped lifting weights. That is when I saw your videos in youtube about tacfit commando and did the exercises. Then I found out what I really want is to have a body for working not for show and then I decided to eat healthy too so I started eating vegetables and minimized my eating of sweets though hard I still resist and I really find your posts in Facebook inspiring which keeps me exercising each day. Thanks
2.Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am committed to change the negative impact of stress in my life as it would affect greatly my performance and live with a peaceful mind and soul. As I’m now a volunteer firefighter and also part of the emergency medical services I really need to counter this negative stress in life and convert them to eustress. As what i’ve read in your posts on facebook I don’t want what happened to your family when your father arrives from war.
How have I been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? This question didn’t take me a lot of thinking. The main problem was definitely nutrition. I just couldn’t gain a single kg of body weight. I was under 50 kgs since like always. After quite some experimenting I finally managed to get over 50 kgs, so in last year I added about 8 kgs, going from 47 to 55 kg. At the same time, I managed to get my BF% down from about 15% to 9%. And than I got stuck again. I just cannot gain another kg. I can eat like 4000 kcal per day, but obviously this isn’t enough, and it’s hard for me to get even that much calories in the body. Apparently I spend all the calories, but I don’t know how is this, as my workouts aren’t that hard, neither that intense. It’s true, that I live on a farm, but even doing stuff around and all I don’t think I spend even 3k kcal. So it can be really frustrating.
Another thing that bothers me, is lack of knowledge. That of course is something that can be easily fixed, however, I’m reading this article, and than that article, and sometimes they’re completely opposite. It’s really hard to find good articles among so many articles. So for example, I’ve got some scapula alata and kyphosis, that I haven’t managed to fix yet, though I’ve been trying.
Why am I committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? Because I want to live better. Because I want to be able to enjoy the moments of life, and not react negatively all the time, which is what I do, and I think that I do that because I’m too stressed. I try not to show it on the outside, but sometimes I just can’t keep it all inside, and than people around me have to suffer my negativity. Which than makes me even more stressed.
Frustration is stress!! If exercising, keeping fit and well becomes frustrating then I back off for a while or change my routines. Exercise is one way to manage stress but if that itself becomes stressful then there is no point, it will lead to more stress, injury and ill-health. We all have stressors in our lives, some we can control and some we can’t control. The key is to ride the storm and not fight a losing battle and be open to the effects of negative stress so that adaptation can occur to overcome them. It is easier said than done. We can grow from experiences or shrink from them. I’m looking forward to Scott’s latest package to help me grow, learn and thrive.
Hi Scott
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I continue to find myself stuck in cycles of stress that lead to a negative impact on my physical, emotional, and mental health. These are rooted in my childhood, and I find myself repeating them. While my initial childhood was quite idyllic, I spent 6 years from the age of 8 living in constant fear due to an abusive relationship from my mother. The pyschological imprint from that still haunts me. Even after years of working with somatic, energetic and psychological methods.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Simple. My family. What hurts me the most is when my own negative patterns bleed out and I see it affecting those I love.
Dear Mr Sonnon,
Greetings from Italy. You asked why I would want to defeat stress and how I have been frustrated in trying to improve my health and fitness. So what follows is my story.
I was born with a weak, bent body. Not deformed, unless you look real close – but twisted enough. Then, when I was four, I got hit by a nasty illness, something like the Spanish flue. I was lucky: most kids hit by the flue died, I was left alive bone-thin. My grandfather encouraged me to do sports – taught me calisthenics, took me out to hike in the Alps. That kept me alive, made me better, but barely. My back was always twisted, and we didn’t have money for bracers. The twist impacted on my lungs, so I had asthma and, in spring, bouts of hay fever that resulted in my missing school day-in day-out. My hips were uneven, my shoulders collapsed toward the collarbone.
In high school, I took martial arts – Shotokan karate. I was the weakest in class, but tried hard and trained in earnest. I just wanted to become strong, to win my own weakness. Karate kept me alive and going through my teenage years, but it meant excruciating pain through training and the day after each session. Then, as I entered university, my condition(s) worsened, and I could not train anymore. And the stress of working everyday with kids – I’m a high school teacher – got the worse out of me.
Last week I turned 38. And I realized I cannot even play with my four years old son: I can’t chase him around the house, for I get tired; and I cannot pick him up and throw him in the air, for my back cries out in pain. I cannot stand for long, I cannot sit for long. I cannot take him up to the mountains, for my asthma will not allow it. I am living a crippled life. As a teacher, I find myself winded after a passionate lecture. And at the same time I think that, with my physical condition, I cannot be a role model for the teenagers I teach, and who look up to me for answers. Sometimes, in class, I am so stressed out, so tired, so burnt out, that I just snap in anger at their questions – but this is not teaching, and I am ashamed of their calling me “teacher”.
So I have decided to work through my condition, to restore my health, and to defeat the stress that is wearing me out. I had been following Scott Sonnon’s work through the internet and facebook, read his own story and thought that I could perhaps follow in his path. So I have set out to change my life.
I’ve started to take a morning walk – not much, a walk at medium pace, just in the fields and woods where I live. It leaves me exhausted afterwards, so much so that I have to take 30 minutes rest. But then I take another walk in the afternoons, same pave, same length, and when I am not too tired, a third, similar walk in the evening. I add stretching to this, a short session in the morning and a more relaxing session in the evening. Then I do the breathing exercises I received through email from Mr Sonnon. It is not much, especially compared to what my very athletic cousins do. But it is a beginning. The beginning of a change. Everyday, as I set down to walk, I have to go through the pain in my back, the pain in my knees, the puffing in my chest. At least I hope that through effort I can be a better father, an inspiring teacher, a better person.
Yours sincerely,
Giuseppe Redaelli
1.How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
My biggest frustration is lack of real knowledge out there. Most information on health and fitness is a dead end. This is because they have no real understanding of what is going on and why. I’ve been treated in the past as: “It’s because you’re not a runner.” or “It’s because you’re not an athlete.” This is a bunch of bull. I can go on and on with all the excuses used to cover up not knowing. I’ve had to come to RMAX to gain any real knowledge. To overcome problems that are in reality easily addressable. The answers are in the basics, the foundation, the seemingly mundane.
I wanted to add:
My frustrations with myself with RMAX. I don’t have the intuition to go with the knowledge that Coach Sonnon shares. I need more programs. I need to hear it a little differently and in a different way. This is so I can come to an understanding of what I am supposed to be doing.
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
We are living in a society that is waxing worse and worse. I talk to people on a daily basis and so many can only think contentiously. Talk to a clerk at a convenience store and they will tell you about the tons of energy drinks that flow out of that store in the morning. People have given themselves over to stress. They are now destroying themselves and everyone else. False attacks on my nervous system. Constant assaults toward me. I can’t give into this. I must control the nervous system. Not it controlling me.
Twenty two years ago I weighed over 200 lbs and was pre-diabetic. I chose to make a change in my life and lost 100 lbs-making my life better for myself and my children. Today I am martial arts instructor and that means that I must be a positive role model for my students and I am always looking for tools to help accomplish this and to better serve them. I find this very stressful -especially as I age (I am now 50)- and have developed degenerative injuries that keep me from my usual training routines. I am committed to my health and decreasing the stress I encounter so that I can effect a positive change in my students lives as well as my own.
In a society that is ravaged by the effects of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle something must be done to improve the health and longevity of the population and I applaud you for setting such a great example for us to follow! THANK YOU!
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am on my personal journey, obviously to improve my own quality of life, but also to inspire others. For me, growing up in the environment that I did, there weren’t many opportunities for young kids and little guidance as well. When I go back to my childhood area I still see some of the same faces that I grew up with up to no good. All this may seem a bit off tangent, but kids in urban society just need inspiration – a reason to value life. Many of us do not value our lives as we should, but to different degrees. whether it be through simple food choices, dealing with mental stress, or simply loving our body, and doing what we know it needs.
I am committed to changing the negative impact of stress in my life, so I can be an example to my family and everyone else. Before doing the London Marathon in 2009, my barber said to me “Rob, people round here ain’t doing those kinda things. You need to show them”. Even the reaction from childhood friends was quite nice to hear. It is through my own dedication and focus to my training, and my own personal development, that I know I will overcome any stress; be it physical, mental or spiritual – and ultimately be an inspiration for others to follow suit..to evolve and be all they can be.
Life is always changing, whether you instigate it or not. But its nice when you steer your ship and you actually see yourself achieving something you set out to do. This is why I’m committed!
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
I would start and stop without gaining any kind of momentum. Too much conflicting plans and training promising results
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I am 41 now and do not want to be that guy going into his 50′s and 60′s basically with my body breaking down.
Hello Scott,
Working out was always a great thing to do. Weightlifting, martial arts, i liked it all. And i was covinced it would bring me good health as well.
Okay,it did bring me some benefits but it’s only fair to say that it brought me a lot of injuries too. I now have numerous pains and aches and working out isn’t as much fun anymore.I work out for a couple of weeks and then it always happens: another injury. I can’t train for several weeks and that gets me very frustrated and angry. When i start training again i try to transform that frustration into a positive effect. The result? Usually more pain and another injury. And that gives me more frustration and also a lot of stress…
And it’s that stress i want to get rid of first.because it is blocking me entirely. It is giving me more tension and more pain, and what’s more important, it is getting in the way between me and my full potential. And i’m not just talking about working out . The stress keeps me from reaching my full potential in other aspects of life as well.
So the motivation is clear, now it is only a matter of finding the right way.
All the best,
Jack Schiewold, the Netherlands
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?- Well in 2001 I was in great shape, then I fell 30 ft onto concrete. Changed my life. I cracked a discs in my neck and back, fractured my skull in a few places, bruised my brain , and broke my temporic bones and membrane in my ear. Although I was lucky to be alive I did not see it that way for quite sometime. Doctors told me after a couple years that I was not going to get any better. They gave up on me so I gave up on them , Since it has been a daily struggle to self heal and try and get back what I can . I have come a long way , I was 184 lbs when I fell, 2 yrs later I was 235. I am back down to 190 , still need to lose fat and gain muscle. But slowly gettin there. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?- Well with my situation , I notice when I am stressed , I have more pain {head-aches , dizzy spells, trouble concentrating ,etc. } and it impedes my bodies ability to cope and heal.
I entered the fitness industry a year ago as a personal trainer and have been overwhelmed with the amount of information available to digest and assimilate within this industry. What I’m beginning to realize is that what works best is what works best for the individual. What I’m also realizing is that with all the variables that make up the human experience, my answers all lead to an endless rabbit hole of more questions, thus leaving me asking for help. It is my job to lead by example, and I always feel like I could do better…even when I’m at my best I’m aware of the gap between where I am and where my potential lies. So my ultimate frustration lies in finding out what works for me…I’m in great shape, but my energy is often very low, my mood goes up and down like a yo-yo, I still binge occasionally, and I’ve plateaued at 11% body fat for the last year, unable to break into single digits. I’m committed to changing the negative impact of stress on my life, because that brings me one step closer to serving my clients with something real…I want to be real. I want to lead by example, and not just spit theory at them. They deserve the best, because that is what they are paying for, and I wholeheartedly want to provide massive value, hope, real answers, and inspiration to anyone I have an opportunity to work with.
Sincerely,
Matt
Greetings,
Thank you for you offering this opportunity.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Frustration has occurred due to the struggle to maintain intense levels of exercise as I grow older. I am now 49, and strive daily to, not just maintain, but enhance a fitness/health/life model that can usher me into a new era of my life with impeccable fitness, minimization of injury, and overall balance of life (i.e., all of life’s areas).
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
I hold this commitment as an all-embracing approach to the totality of life. By this, I simply mean that I view “changing the negative impact of stress” as part and parcel of daring to live in such a way that my *whole* being thrives. In the end, this is useful as a mode of service to humankind.
Thank you again for this opportunity.
All good wishes,
Robert
Hard work and effort often are not enough to maintain weith loss after age 55. This leads to frustration and apathy when you don’t see the results you think your efforts dictate. I think a good workout routine and smart diet should lead to the desired results. But this is not always the case. Hopefully this program will help attain the desired results and help maintain them, thus relieving the stress and anxiety generated by what may be considered a futile effort
Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life?
Because stress is one of the most significant factors when it comes to health and well being in general.
The WHO says that most modern diseases are related to stress. And I want to be healthy and happy.
1. How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness? I’m eating the right foods. I can’t cut back on my food intake or it will be too few calories. Still, my weight has hit a wall and I have difficulty getting it to lower even with exercise. The only thing I can think of is increasing the cardio with more strenuous exercise. I will try this. I was hoping your material would provide wisdom for me to keep losing. I am overweight. I am not someone trying to be a runway model, though it would be a somewhat welcomed ideal. I would like to keep a nice figure. I want some fat to stay in the right places, and lose fat in the wrong places.
2. Why are you committed to changing the negative impact of stress in your life? I am not myself these days. I need to make changes in my life in order to even feel like I’m alive again. *insert tears and desperation*. Thank you for your consideration.
How have you been frustrated trying to improve your health and fitness?
Since encountering your work, I am beginning to learn what to do and how to do it effectively, without injuring myself through overzealous training. My frustration lies in having trapped myself in a fat suit for over 30 years after having experienced childhood sexual abuse and panicking each time I get close to breaking out of it, I find myself continuing the cycle of self-sabotage due to feeling vulnerable without the armor that I’ve made myself believe the fat suit supplies. Intellectually I know that keeping myself trapped like this will shorten my life and degrades the quality of my life, but emotionally I’ve not yet managed to break through the barrier.
Thank you for sharing your work and your story,
Sheila