Happiness Archives · Page 2 of 7 · Agoge Fitness Systems

Of Plans and Purpose

By Dave Hall Agoge, Diet, Emerson's Acre, Empowerment, Eric Hulse, firewood, Fitness, Happiness, Movement, organic gardening, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Self Help, self reliance, Strength, Strength Training, sustainability, urban farming, urban gardening

I love it when a plan comes together. That’s the catch phrase of one of my childhood heroes, John “Hannibal” Smith of the A-Team. Actually, my real hero was Mr. T., who played heavy muscle and mechanical genius B. A. Barracus of the aforementioned team, but “I pity the fool” doesn’t really play into today’s blog post. And truth be told I’m stretching Hannibal’s catch phrase because in all honesty I’m not much of a planner. I just sort of head off on a particular path and then revel afterwards about how everything seems to fall into place of it’s… Read More »

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Gina LoMonaco

By Dave Hall Agoge, Diet, Empowerment, Fitness, Fitness Business, Happiness, Interviews, Mental Meat Heads, Motivation, Movement, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Personal Training, Strength, Strength Training

Say hello to Gina. Gina LoMonaco lives and trains in Augusta, Maine. A former competitive thrower who made it into the Olympic trials, she now trains at Impact Strength and Fitness alongside Mental Meat Head Chris Dwelle. Gina calls her business GEvolution Fitness and she brings her passion and competitive drive full bore to her work. Check us out as we discuss training, passion in business, her first upcoming figure competition, and the joys of mommyhood. To listen CLICK HERE. To download, right click the link and “Save As.” To watch the video, click below. And don’t forget, Mental Meat Heads 2… Read More »

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New Direction

By Dave Hall Agoge, Chip Conrad, Empowerment, Fitness, Happiness, Mental Meat Heads, Motivation, Movement, Olympic Weightlifting, Personal Development, Personal Training, Powerlifting, Strength Training, Weightlifting, Zen

Sometimes I really drop the ball. This summer has been a case in point. I got so consumed with one aspect of my goal set that I lost perspective and began to deviate from the overall master plan. When I started training, at the ripe age of 35, I had one goal in mind — longevity. I wanted to be the old man in the gym. I wanted to still be vital and active well past the point where most of us will have forsaken such strenuous activities as say — walking or better yet, going to the bathroom solo.… Read More »

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James Smith

By Dave Hall Agoge, Diet, Empowerment, Fitness, Happiness, Interviews, Martial Arts, Mental Meat Heads, Motivation, Movement, Olympic Weightlifting, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Personal Training, Self Help, Strength, Strength Training, Uncategorized

This week’s interview is James Smith. James, formerly of Virginia, lives and works in Hawaii, with his wife and two boys. A work from home dad, James homeschools both the boys and maintains an active schedule of training and online activism about training. He maintains his own group on Facebook, Animal Ability, and is active in many other groups including Mental Meat Heads. James’ takes a very natural, holisitc approach to training combining, gymnastics, Olympic lifting, flow movements and martial arts. Listen in as we discuss his training, fitness past 50, Paleo eating, martial arts and raising a family in the natural paradise… Read More »

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Summer Strength Fest

By Dave Hall Agoge, Crossfit, Empowerment, Fitness, Happiness, Motivation, Movement, Personal Development, Personal Training, Powerlifting, Strength, Strength Training, Strengthology, Underground Strength Coach

This past weekend I had the esteemed honor of attending the Summer Strength Fest in Sarasota, Florida at Crossfit Gulf Coast (AKA “The Cave”) as a guest of its owner, Frank Dimeo. Frank and I met a year or so back at Elliott Hulse’s Strengthology IV workshop, and I like to think that we hit it off right away. If I’m waxing poetic I might refer to Frank as the elder statesman of our rather ragtag confederacy of passionate warehouse gyms dedicated to all things related to strength and badassery, but I like to think of Frank as Ol’ Gunney.… Read More »

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Flashback! Jason C. Brown

By Dave Hall Agoge, Empowerment, Fitness, Happiness, Jason C. Brown, Martial Arts, Mental Meat Heads, Motivation, Movement, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Personal Training, Strength, Strength Training

To celebrate the launch of ticket sales for Mental Meat Heads 2 we’ve dug back into the archives and brought out our original interview with Mental Meat Head Jason C. Brown. Jason, alongside Chip Conrad, will be presenting for two days at Fitness by Design in Indianapolis, Indiana, September 21st and 22nd, 2013. Jason was a favored speaker at Mental Meat Heads 1 here in Birmingham last January and we’re very excited to have him presenting again. Attendees can expect a deeper exploration of the concept of Blissipline and all sorts of ways to incorporate both bodyweight and the kettlebell into this… Read More »

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Be Like Water, My Friend

By Dave Hall Agoge, Empowerment, Eric Hulse, Fitness, Happiness, Martial Arts, Motivation, Movement, Olympic Weightlifting, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Strength, Strength Training, Weightlifting

138/79 That’s my blood pressure this morning. That’s substantially lower than it was two weeks ago. And it’s steadily going down. That’s pretty good news and in the grand scheme of things a sure sign of success. The downside, where I seem to have been focused lately, is that other things have changed as well. My energy levels are down, my workouts aren’t quite what they’ve been and now I’m revisited by an old injury around my left hip flexor. That’s limited my Oly practice, as it flares up even working with the bar, and my squat practice, which means… Read More »

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Dave Ruel

By Dave Hall Agoge, Diet, Empowerment, Happiness, Interviews, Mental Meat Heads, Motivation, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Self Help

Dave Ruel is the Muscle Cook. A master marketer, who has redefined the term internet entrepreneur, Dave’s Anabolic Cooking, has taken the industry by storm and continues to be, not only a great cookbook for fitness enthusiasts, it’s also been a steady revenue generator for the affiliate marketing community. Dave is an awesome guy. I met him two years ago at our mutual friend Mike Westerdal’s house. Despite that relatively casual encounter he has been consistently friendly and accommodating. Today’s interview ran an hour and a half! Listen in as Dave and I discuss his recent wedding, internet marketing, lifestyle,… Read More »

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Cognitive Dissonance

By Dave Hall Agoge, Empowerment, Fitness, Happiness, Motivation, Movement, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Self Help, Strength, Uncategorized

It’s a mere 88 degrees outside right now but with this Southern humidity it feels closer to 95. I’m taking a break from cutting the grass at my house using this opportunity to talk to you and rehydrate with copious amounts of watermelon. And yes, I am that guy that thump tests his watermelon before he buys them and hence i currently am eating a wondrously sweet and tasty one. I am not, however, writing to tell you about my yummy watermelon. I’m writing because while mowing I was reminded of a conversation I had with a fellow lifter at… Read More »

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The Walking Dead

By Dave Hall Agoge, Bodytribe, Chip Conrad, Diet, Empowerment, Eric Hulse, Fitness, Happiness, Motivation, Movement, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Strength, Strength Training

Today is day 12 of the 90 day diet Eric Hulse prescribed for me to combat an elevated blood pressure and a handful of minor issues I consider less than seemly for someone who seeks to position himself as a leader in the fitness industry. Despite the title of this post I am still alive and feeling much better thank you. That god awful “kill all the things” attitude that took over my psyche weekend before last has passed. I’m no longer surly and bitchy, I’m just tired. I spent the better part of the weekend on the couch catching… Read More »

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Sally Moss

By Dave Hall Agoge, Chip Conrad, Empowerment, Fitness, Happiness, Interviews, Mental Meat Heads, Motivation, Movement, Olympic Weightlifting, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Personal Training, Powerlifting, Strength, Weightlifting

Welcome all the way from the UK, the gubernatrix, herself, Sally Moss. Sally is, as Chip Conrad once named her, a strength ambassador and not just because she comes from the land of hobbits and elves…oh, wait is that New Zealand? No, Sally is a strength ambassador because she sees the value in developing strength and has made it her mission to help others bridge the gap between ability and inability, between meekness and self confidence. Strength training is a vital tool in making that happen. Sally is the driving force behind her popular blog http://Gubernatrix.co.uk and the Facebook group Women’s Strength Training… Read More »

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What the f*ck do I put on my potato?

By Dave Hall Agoge, Chip Conrad, Diet, Empowerment, Eric Hulse, Fitness, Happiness, Martial Arts, Motivation, Perfect Imperfection, Personal Development, Strength

A few weeks ago I told you all about hiring Eric Hulse to help me with some health issues. After a visit to my doctor earlier this spring I got back some blood work that I felt, as a professional in the health and fitness industry, was less than stellar. My blood pressure hovers at borderline high, as does my A1-C1 or blood sugar levels. My energy levels are not as high as I’d like them and to be honest, neither is my libido. Last fall, when I stopped intermittent fasting, I saw a jump in body weight that I… Read More »

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