Building Stronger Creatives

I spoke with trumpeter Ryan Beach about all things fitness and music. 🎺 Ryan Beach is the Principal Trumpet of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. 💪🏻 He is also a dedicated powerlifter, boasting a 525lb deadlift, 365lb bench press and 425lb squat. Ryan and I had a wide-ranging conversation about his personal fitness journey and how it's impacted him as a musician and person. I really loved hearing...

I've never really told this story before. I want to share it now as part of my own healing process, as well to explain why I'm now so passionate about working with artists and musicians. I spent about 15 years seriously pursuing my dream of becoming a professional musician. Specifically, I wanted to play trombone in a major symphony orchestra. Music was the biggest part of my identity when I was y...

Are you a musician who's curious about lifting weights? This episode is for you. In this week's guest interview, I had the pleasure to (virtually) sit down with Angela McCuiston of Music Strong. Angela has spent the last 13+ years helping musicians use strength training to reduce pain and injury risk, play with greater ease and live better lives. I love her musician-specific approach to training a...

Most people take an unhelpful approach to exercise for fat loss. When most people set out to lose fat, their first priority is doing more cardio. If they do lift weights, they usually perform fast-paced circuit workouts where they do a bunch of random shit to "keep their body guessing" or "burn more calories." There's typically not much thought put towards activity outside the gym. You might lose...

Tune in for a great conversation about how musicians can take better care of their minds and bodies on and off the stage. Dr. Hannah Murray is a professional violinist, music educator and wellness professional. She is one half of Corpsonore, a company that's bringing high quality, holistic health and wellness information to the musicians who need it. I first met Hannah and her business partner dur...

If you ever struggle with overeating, this episode is for you. Overeating episodes can take many forms. Lots of people struggle with nighttime eating, where they find themselves digging in the fridge or pantry every night. Others have a hard time on the weekends or when they travel. Some of us struggle with more serious issues such as binge eating. This was a problem I personally battled for more...

Are you tired of feeling like shit and not keeping your promises to take better care of yourself? This episode is for you. Many creative people work from home or have lots of control over their schedule. And yet, they often struggle to make time for exercise or healthy meals. We think that without a "job" that it will be easier to take care of ourselves, but the opposite is often true. Jaclyn Ricc...

I'm back from New Zealand and ready to share some lessons learned on how to train for a backpacking trip. During the course of six days and two backpacking trips, my group and I hiked 60 miles and gained 12,000 vertical feet of elevation. This was made tougher by the difficult terrain on our second hike and the fact that we only had two days to recover between trips! My two and half weeks in New Z...

If you want to make changes in 2023, you need to consider your values and build a real plan. I used to be a coach who told people that January 2 was just another day and that they shouldn't worry about resolutions. I've since changed my tune. Humans love cycles and rituals. We are meaning making machines and can't help but find a new calendar year significant. These days, I encourage people to har...

I lost 26lbs this year, but the most important lessons have nothing to do with weight loss. I've been pretty open with my struggles with food and body over the years. Before a health scare forced me to change my eating habits and start exercising, I had obesity for years. I had chronic low energy, struggled with joint pain and hated the way I looked and felt. I also had a lot of deep emotional and...

Three weeks from today, I take off for New Zealand. Here's how I've prepared. If you know me personally or follow me on social media you know that I've been preparing for this trip nearly this entire year. There was gear to buy, wilderness skills to study, hikes to book and lots and lots of logistics to arrange. I also needed to prepare my physical body, since my trip is going to involve two long...

If you're tired of feeling like shit over the holidays, this episode is for you. Many people struggle with food and body stuff over the holidays. I know because this was me for most of my life. It's really easy to throw in the towel during the last six weeks of the year. Unfortunately, doing so usually contributes to feeling stressed and shitty. We stop exercising or even moving our bodies. We con...

Listen to this episode if you're tired of feeling shitty every day. There are many reasons why we might struggle with low energy, lack of creativity and lack of focus on a daily basis. Lots of stuff is out of our control. Thankfully, you can often see improvements in the way you feel by making small but meaningful changes. In some cases, my clients have reported dramatic changes in their mood, ene...

Calling my fellow overthinkers! This episode is for you. It's really easy to over think things at the gym. You spend hours watching YouTube videos and doing research in the search of the perfect program. You're hyper aware of every inch of your body and worry that if you don't have perfect form, you're going to get hurt. You worry about wasting time or doing the wrong things to the point that you...

Nearly everyone will eventually experience pain or injuries. Knowing how to handle these challenges can make a world of difference. Accidents, pain and injuries are a part of life. Although we cannot truly prevent these things from happening, we can make the most of them to become stronger, wiser and more resilient in the future. Some injuries are acute and traumatic, such as breaking a bone skiin...

Part of the fun of embarking on a lifelong fitness journey is getting to try lots of different stuff. When I first started seriously working out, my main goal was to lose weight. At the time I was struggling with obesity and was totally sedentary. I had no clue what I was doing at the gym, but I kept showing up and was encouraged by my early results. Since then, my goals have shifted several times...

Are you a creative person who struggles with perfectionism? This episode is for you. Creative, artistic people might be naturally prone to perfectionism. But I also believe that going to arts school or spending lots of time in certain artistic fields (like classical music) can throw tons of fuel on the perfectionism fire. This is something I struggled with deeply during my time as a professional m...

What should you do when you don't feel like working out? I get this question a lot from clients, friends and followers. And it's something I personally deal with pretty regularly. Although I am certainly motivated to train on a deep, intrinsic level, I'm not always super excited to hit the gym. Many times I'd rather be doing something else. And yet, I've found a way to keep showing up to the gym f...

I strongly believe fall is one of the best times of year to crush it at the gym. Many of us are craving a return to normalcy and routine after a summer of fun and relaxation. It's the perfect time to create a plan and commit to it. It feels really good to continuously show up for yourself at the gym. You might also be feeling a little weak, slow and sluggish after lots of summer indulgences. Worki...

Do you struggle with all-or-nothing thinking? This episode is for you. Perfectionism, all-or-nothing thinking, black and white thinking - whatever you want to call it, this mindset is really common amongst busy, ambitious creative people. It's often reinforced through our jobs or hobbies, some of which demand ultra-high standards from us. We then take this thinking into the gym or the kitchen with...

If you never feel like you fit in with the athletic kids, were bullied by teammates or a coach or had bad past experiences with exercise or gyms, this episode is for you. My parents made me play a lot of sports as a kid but I was pretty bad at all of them. Kids bullied me for being slow and clumsy, and for being a nerdy space cadet. I was also ruthlessly bullied for being chubby. This was especial...

Are you trying to get seriously strong? This episode is for you. When you’re brand new to lifting you can get stronger doing just about anything. After a while, however, you have to be more intelligent with your training if you want to see continued progress. Building physical strength is about a lot more than building bigger muscles. Strong people are efficient, they have good control of their bo...

Do you want to work out more but struggle to find the time or motivation? This episode is for you. One of the number one complaints I hear from my busy creative clients is that it can be really tough to make time for exercise. My clients have lots of responsibilities and demands on their time and energy. Some of them work multiple jobs - gigging all over their city, teaching and running around to...

If you've ever struggled to get a good night's sleep and worried about how that might be affecting you, this episode is for you. Many creative people - especially those involved in nightlife - face challenges that make it difficult to use an "ideal" sleep schedule or follow traditional sleep guidance. This is something I've struggled with personally. I'm blessed to naturally be a good sleep. But f...

The nutrition industry has been selling you bullshit for years. Gurus and marketers prey on your struggles and insecurities about food and your body. They know how tough it can be to lose and maintain weight or make healthy food choices during stressful times. And they definitely know how badly you want to step off the diet roller coaster for good or finally learn to eat in a way that makes you fe...