This is Part 1 of 2 on two changes I’ve made in my life which have helped me earn more money.

In September of 2008 I made some big changes to my life. Those changes have had a profound effect on just about every aspect of my  life. But most importantly these changes have helped me earn more money, stay more productive, meet deadlines, feel sharp and focused throughout the day and come home from my office with a relatively clean plate.

Wouldn’t you like to feel the same, earn more money, and come home without a big pile of work to get done?

Here’s what I did.

I started exercising and eating healthy. Part 1 of this 2 part post will focus on the exercise aspect of these changes.

Now, I’m not saying I didn’t exercising before because I did.

I used to go to the gym, walk around do a few bicep curls maybe some bench presses, run for a little on a treadmill, watch some TV on the treadmill and head home.
That was the type of exercise I knew and the type of exercise I see “most” people doing at the gym. I also take a 2 hour Ju-Jitsu class once or twice a week. This had become my typical routine.

My diet was even better (more on the diet to follow in part 2 but just a brief introduction to my diet)

Every morning would begin with a trip to Tim Horton’s where I’d pick up a Medium Double Double coffee and some type of bran muffin.

Seemed healthy enough?

Lunch would usually consist of some type of Sandwich and dinner usually consisted of some meat with a mix of risotto or pasta. When I was really lazy I’d whip up a Tuna Casserole or something similar.

Most of my evenings were spent trying to get a little work done but for the most part I was exhausted and tired. My days at the office were productive but I was pretty sleepy and yawning much of the day.

Around September, a good friend of mind asked me to come over and do a Crossfit workout. I don’t want to spent too much time telling you about the History of Crossfit because you can easily go check it out

In a nutshell, each day a workout is posted on Crossfit.com (100% Free & Ad Free) You visit the site,  you do the workout and post your time. That’s all there is to it!

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it “CrossFit is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology. Its stated goal is to create “the quintessential athlete, equal parts gymnast, Olympic weightlifter and sprinter.”[1] Crossfit is not sport-specific and promotes broad and general overall physical fitness. Its growing popularity has been fueled by an open source and virtual community Internet model.”

When I arrived at my buddies house that day I really didn’t know what to expect.
My workout went a little something like this…

Run 200 Meters
Do 25 Kettle-bell swings (I forget the weight)
Run 200 Meters
Do 25 squats

Repeat the process 5X as fast as possible.

Some how I managed to muddle my way through the workout but quickly learned that I really wasn’t in shape at all. The workout kicked my butt and I nearly puked.  Crossfit has a semi-jokingly mascot named “pukie” because some of the workouts will bring you to that point.

On January 1, 2009 after a really fun New Years Eve party I woke up to an email asking me if I was ready to do the day’s workout. I can’t remember which workout we did but it was on that day I met “pukie.” Puking isn’t something to strive for or to scare you away from Crossfit but it can happen.

The workouts are intense but fun and the beauty of Crossfit is that anyone can do it! The posted workouts are sometimes daunting and even a little downright scary but the goal of Crossfit is to scale the workouts to what’s comfortable.

For example, when I started Crossfit I couldn’t do more than 1-2 pull ups. So I would do “jumping pull ups” or “assisted pull ups” or “negative pull ups,” whereas now, I can do about 25 pull ups consecutively and usually repeating that multiple times with other tasks in between. So yeah if a workout calls for a 100 pull ups, I can do it. If you asked me in September to do a 100 pull ups I would have laughed and said “no way,” ask me now I say “3-2-1 go!”

Needless to say since September I dropped about 20 pounds of body fat and have gained considerable muscle at the same time. It’s pretty remarkable.

For the prior three years I spent hours wondering around the gym usually with a copy of a new “Men’s Health Magazine” workout routine or something. I’d spend a few weeks on that and move on. I never saw any results.

I’d show you pictures but I prefer to keep those private. My wife took a picture of me in September, the last week of November, and yesterday. The pictures don’t lie. I am still in shock and I feel fantastic.

But the real reason for this post and part 2 (still to come) is that these changes while not directly related have had a dramatic impact on just about every aspect of my business and my life as an entrepreneur.

My brain is clear and focused allowing me to make better business decisions which in-turn has allowed me to make more money. It’s really true that with proper exercise and fitness your overall health can drastically improve and with this, all aspects of your life can be improved.

It’s really simple and something I wish I’d been doing for years!

Stay tuned for Part 2 and I’ll tell you how my diet and eating has contributed to my business success because while the exercise has been fantastic, I don’t believe it’s enough. In fact, I think diet plays an even more important role than the exercise but when combined the results can be remarkable.

Noah

P.S – This is one of my favorite crossfit videos from YouTube. This is not ME! I wasn’t as heavy as this guy but will give you an idea of how quickly Crossfit can change your body.