Don’t stay knocked down, get back up – NOW!

By David Tepera, May 27, 2020

Who knows what it’s like to get hit by a fast-moving pitch? Have you ever caught a ball with your face? How bad were the multiple bike wipeouts you experienced?

I’m sure many of you have a story or two to tell when it comes to crash-and-burn from an activity or sport, including the scars to prove it.

I hope, the biggest lesson from those experiences was that you got back up and attempted that feat again. And, after a period of time, you mastered the skills.

What about adult knockdowns? Have you experienced divorce, unemployment, bankruptcy or coronavirus shutdown?

Well, my friends, quit waiting on the right time to get back up because that is today. My family and I have agreed that we don’t accept this idea of the “new norm.” Nope, to us, it’s “get back to normal.” We acknowledge that this will take time, but if we have a positive mindset and don’t allow others keep us down, we’ll get back up.

I, like many of you, have been knocked down, but you can’t knock me out.

Don’t let divorce sour you. Do your best to mediate, accept your losses and get back up. If not, only the attorneys win.

Too many people have lost jobs and income over the past few months. Let go of your ego and explore the new job market, even if it’s a lower income than before. At least you’re pulling in some money until other opportunities become available.

That’s why it’s important for all of us to get back up. It will create opportunity, or at least, bring back jobs.

Now, I’m only sharing my opinions based upon my experiences, but sitting there doing nothing is accepting defeat. At least, get your step-by-step plan ready that puts you back on your feet.

At the Ageless Muscle Fitness Center, not only are all clients back, but we are signing many new weight training clients as well. What’s exciting for us is that all the new clients are from 50 to 70 years old. These people want their lives and health back, and we deliver.

Now, if you’ve been down too long and sick and tired of wasting life away, get back up — now!

Mirror who you respect and admire to enhance your life

By David Tepera, May 20, 2020

Throughout my entire life, there were, and are, many people whom I respect and admire. For each of these people that I spent time with, I would try to mimic certain quality characteristics. My goal in life is to become a better father, husband, friend and person each day.

Of course, through my childhood, Dad was my superhero, so when I became a father, I mirrored his teachings and expressions of love. Believe me, Mom was a huge part of all this, too.

When I played multiple sports, I studied the older players with more experience. I would take a strong point from each and mold it into my arsenal of athleticism.

Many moons ago, during my martial art competition years, I was interviewed about my skills. I told the reporter that I was a combination of kicks and punches from each of my fellow black belts. My sidekick had the power of Grand Master Al Garza and quick delivering ridge-hand from the late Mike Tucker.

During the 1990s, as a La Marque High School football coach, I studied head coach Alan Weddell. He was a master when it came to the community, administrators, referees, assistant coaches and, of course, the players. I mirrored those skills as the head soccer coach. And yes, we made the playoffs, too.

Once I left teaching and coaching, I furthered my education and spent 20 years in orthopedics. There were many surgeons I mimicked from their surgery skills.

In case you’re curious, part of my job was training surgeons how to perform specific knee replacements and biosurgery procedures on cadavers. I easily dissected more than 500 people and was involved in about 4,000 actual orthopedic surgeries.

I hope you noticed that none of my mentors were movie stars, superstars or professional athletes. The only way to truly pick up strong traits from others is by spending time with them.

Tina and I took all our experiences to help create a unique brand and specialty weight training program at our Ageless Muscle Fitness Center.

Now, the real question is who do you admire and respect? Are these people involved in the same interests as you? What quality traits of these people would help enhance your life?

Wherever you work, look for the leadership skills of supervisors and the people at the top. Carry yourself with confidence as if you are equal to their pay scale. Mirror their actions and treat people with respect. You’ll be noticed and better opportunities will come.

The most rewarding part of this whole process is as you grow to become a better person and leader, there will be others who will mirror you out of respect and admiration.

Time is precious, use it well

By David Tepera, May 19, 2020

One aspect of life we all possess is the value of time. Our whole lives are gauged around time.

From the moment you wake up to the moment your head hits the pillow, your entire day was set according to time.

All sporting events and seasons schedule within a specific time frame. It seems like every year people set new time records for multiple events such as running, biking swimming and so on.

We all know Usain Bolt is the fastest human with speed of nearly 28 mph. Almost 20 years ago, I ran my one and only marathon for my 40th birthday. It took more than five hours to finish and six weeks to recover. Nope, you won’t find my picture in the “Guinness Book of World Records.”

If you put some thought into it, you’ll understand how valuable time is. When you break the law and hurt others, your freedom is taken away for a specific length of time. This time in your life has been wasted.

We must also respect other’s time. Think of the people who use their time to help you. All the volunteers, coaches, teachers, parents, health care and so on. Do you show them your appreciation?

The strangest part of time is none of us know how much life time is given to us. I lost my oldest son when he was 23 years old and my oldest client is 101. One was cut short and the other expanded more than a century. Who would know besides the Almighty?

It’s obvious, people were understandably frustrated that our time was taken away from us during the coronavirus shutdown for doing nothing wrong. There are many people who spent their adult lifetime building a business, a brand, an identity, but within a month, it was all gone.

I understand other’s frustration wanting people’s time to be taken away to save other’s lives, so they can have more time. There’s no winner in this argument, and that’s why we respect everyone’s opinion. But, I also believe we should be able to do what we want with our own time.

So, how are you utilizing your time? Time is something you can never get back. Once used, it’s gone forever. Today might be the time you need to mend relationships, visit parents and loved ones, or to be productive.

I’m hoping today, you’ll understand that the value of time is way too precious.

What’s your plan because tomorrow will be here tomorrow?

By David Tepera, May 19, 2020

Well, tomorrow has turned into today, so how did you prepare to be successful? It doesn’t matter your current situation, there must be an agenda of accomplishments per day.

We have many conversations with our clients about how to stay active outside the gym. Part of our mission statement is changing the lives of others permanently.

One example is Helen, who was extremely out of shape, had medical issues and was desperately needing help when she came to us. At 74 years old, Helen didn’t have the energy to walk around the block or upstairs in her house. She actually had given into deterioration and declining health.

After several months of training through the Ageless Muscle program, she, like many others, started receiving the benefits of overall health and reduction of medications. Helen’s strength tripled in weight lifting, she had fat loss and began climbing the stairs with ease.

But then, here comes along the stay-at-home orders from the governor. Helen and her family high-tailed it to their ranch house in another town with no restrictions. Even though Helen didn’t have weight equipment at her ranch, she started a journal to increase her walking distance each day. To our excitement and hers, Helen is up to 3 miles per day and is continuing to lose weight.

Now, what plans are you making for tomorrow? What’s your productive agenda? How do you improve not only your physical health, but mental awareness as well? Exercising will help conquer depression.

At 58 years old, I’ve accepted that my skin is more wrinkled, the hair on my head has made its way to my back, and that I’ll never run as fast or lift as much weight than before. But, I feel good, look good and I love who I am. Accept who you are and fall back in love with No. 1 because I guarantee, there are people who find you attractive.

What’s your story? It’s time to take another hard look at yourself. Are you still out of shape because someone kept you from eating healthy and exercising? Or, have you put a plan to make tomorrow better than today? How did you improve your overall being from the day before? Each day lost is a day further behind.

So now, if you haven’t made a plan, get it done today because tomorrow will be here tomorrow.