17 years into my fitness journey, I became a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine, aka NASM, and started Body Shepherd to help people just like me journey out of obesity and into a fit life.

In this episode, I mark 3 years of Body Shepherd by sharing the 3 most striking lessons I have learned so far (spoiler: I'm still learning). 

Plus, what I call The State Of The Business – how's Body Shepherd doing as a business in the COVID era? I'll share the gloom and the good.

ONWARD.

I tested positive for COVID-19.

3 days into having it, I thought to start logging daily audio entries on what it was like each day, and did so for all 10 days of my mandatory quarantine. 

I am sharing this because there is so much doom-and-gloom, so many sad stories about people who contract the virus, but that is not my story. I want to share this to give an account of COVID infection that did not go badly or end in death. Perhaps this can ease some anxiety if you or a loved one test positive too.

Nothing in this podcast is prescriptive. I'm not a doctor. This is 100% descriptive of what I went through. Always seek medical care first when dealing with any kind of illness, and not a podcaster :)

ONWARD. 

2020 was not the year I thought it was going to be. I'm sure you can say likewise.

I have organized my thoughts into several takeaways from this weird year.

Join me as I sort through the disappointment, enlightenment, specks of hope, and more.

Plus, I'm changing the direction of Body Shepherd in 2021. No more just focusing on overweight/obese people Learn why.

Onward.

– Dan

Welcome to Season 4 of the Body Shepherd podcast! 

In this season, I am interviewing people I regard as The Onward Experts; those who have an expertise in the different areas of life we are facing in our various points of a journey toward a healthier, fit version of ourselves.

EPISODE 1: How To Eat More Vegetables Without Knowing It • A Chat with Alane Boyd, founder of BurgerFit™

Two colliding forces often face those of us who are on a weight loss journey: We know we need to eat healthier, yet the stuff that tastes good is the often the worst for us.

That's why when I learned what Alane Boyd was doing with her healthy burger brand, BurgerFit™, I had to get her on the podcast and talk shop. Because BurgerFit seems to be giving us a very realistic approach to eating healthy while enjoying the stuff - BURGERS! - we already love, without sacrificing taste.

Alane is one of us. She, too, has been through a weight loss journey, and like me, now resides in the every day processes of maintaining a fit life. BurgerFit was created out of that journey and she has a compelling, meet-you-where-you're-at story to tell.

Is all this too good to be true?! Listen and find out.

Season 3 of the Body Shepherd podcast will address the various challenges that we are all facing in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

If you have been listening to each episode as they drop, thank you! You might have wondered if this podcast shut down or not, and the honest answer is that I just needed some time away to take my own advice from the last episode in this season about finding and leaning hard into a routine. I am back, refreshed and pressing onward.

If you are new to the podcast -- welcome. I'm honored that you might even think of hearing me out. I hope to honor your time with value.

In this episode, I unload 5 months worth of pent-up thoughts about the one ailment we have all had to deal with, whether we caught the virus or not: STRESS.

Stress is the real deal. It has so many negative aspects of it, yet in order to approach it, we have to talk about its sources, and in this episode I decided to drop the filter and just bluntly tell you what the biggest sources of stress are that I hear from Body Shepherd clients, then how to overcome them.

If 2020 is anything, it's The Big Reset. To take full advantage of this unique period in life, though, we need to have a tough talk about stress, and this is it.

Onward.

Season 3 of the Body Shepherd podcast will address the various challenges that we are all facing in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In this episode I want to share with you what I have learned to be 3 tips for helping make one's full life at home - as in during a quarantine or 'safer at home' order - more productive. For over a dozen years I have lived and worked primarily in my home environment, and that means I have systems in place to make it extremely productive.

So I want to share with you what I believe are 3 systemic tips to make downtime productive:

1. Routine is your best friend.
2. Embrace your weird.
3. Invest in rest.

You have plenty of time so lend me your ear and mind to explain.

Onward.

Season 3 of the Body Shepherd podcast will address the various challenges that we are all facing in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In this first episode, I want to challenge you to think about your fitness and weight-loss journey without access to a gym…period.

As in, assume gyms don't reopen.

Let that sink in.

Are you prepared for that? Do you have the plan, the guidance, the equipment, etc. to not lose momentum in your journey?

I am here to have a hard conversation with you about this possibility because as we look to other areas of the world where new COVID-19 cases are in decline, their new normal is not one where gyms are attractive or, in some cases, allowed to operate.

To be crystal clear: I own two small businesses and so I am cheering on every other small business owner to navigate their way in this new normal. I do not want anyone to be unemployed. I hope I am wrong about gyms reopening. I know too many people who own gyms or earn their livelihood for themselves and their families through 1-on-1 personal training at a gym.

Now is the time to be pragmatic and realistic, especially in matters related to your health.

Onward.

Season 2 of the Body Shepherd Podcast: Answers to Common Training Questions

EPISODE 10: "Rapid Fire Q&A!!"

In Season 2, I have taken a single question and devoted an episode to it over the course of the 9 previous episodes. 

To wrap this season up, I am devoting Episode 10 (this episode) to rapid fire Q&A!

This is a series of questions that don't quite need a full episode, but are questions I am asked often enough to cover in this season.

Onward. 👊

P.S., Season 3 is going to be quite different than these first 2 seasons, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you are alerted when Season 3 drops later this year.

Season 2 of the Body Shepherd Podcast: Answers to Common Training Questions

EPISODE 9: "What Equipment Do I Need For A Home Gym?"

The single-most asked question I get is, "What equipment do I need for a home gym?" And in this episode, I aim to answer that question.

Unlike past episodes, this one is a tad interactive, in that I have a news post to go with this podcast that you may find helpful because it provides pictures and direct links to the products I mention, which you can find here.

I have had a home gym of varying degrees for 12 years and I try to always only have on-hand the least amount of equipment needed at the lowest cost investment.

In this episode, I provide a list of the products I use for my personal home gym that I use for the types of workouts I create to help you get an understanding of what a home gym might include for you.

Onward. 👊

Season 2 of the Body Shepherd Podcast: Answers to Common Training Questions

EPISODE 8: "Is Exercise Variety Important?"

I have tried hard to avoid a question that has a genuine "yes/no" answer, but here I am: The answer is yes/no. 

This is because, yes, you do need exercise variety to hit the various part of the human body effectively. But also, no, you do not need exercise variety when you bring to exercise an emotional and/or psychological need for variety, which is sadly very common. 

So let's have a hard, blunt talk about this. 

Warning: I lay out some hard truths to hear. If you're in a sour mood today or flirting with a case of The Fuggits, might want to queue this up for another day. 

Onward. 👊

Season 2 of the Body Shepherd Podcast: Answers to Common Training Questions

EPISODE 7: "Should I Workout When I'm Sick?"

If talking about supplements is the most controversial topic among trainers, whether to workout while one is sick is a close second.

Both sides have hard-headed reasons why they believe what they believe and I am no different.

Listen to me make my case as to why one should NOT workout when sick.

Onward. 👊