The Fitness Ethos Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jon MacNeil
Welcome to the Fitness Ethos Podcast, hosted by Jon MacNeil. Jon has experienced the difficulty of weight loss first-hand and hopes to provide you with the information to help conquer your own fitness challenges. Using his knowledge of fitness, psychology, philosophy, and mindset; he hopes to help you overcome your health & fitness challenges with the unlikely piece of fitness equipment that is your mind.. Join him every weekday for a new episode about ways to shift mindset to help guide you through your weight loss journey.
Most people start a fitness routine to fill something they fill they're missing. They're trying to become a different version of themselves by working on some weakness, which is a good thing, but they tend to forget the value they already offer. Learn how focusing on what you already have can help you achieve future goals.
Are you happy with life, but feel like you could be doing better? Like there's some risk you may be needing to take to improve your life? If this sounds like you, you may fall into the trap of comfortable complacency. Learn how to avoid this trap and what benefits await you on the other side of discomfort.
There are many things in life we see as valuable simply because they are difficult to achieve and fitness is no different. Learn how to maximize the true value of fitness (and all things in life) to avoid the pitfalls of overvaluing something.
When we think of the ideal image of health, the person representing that image tends to fall on the side of extreme in some form. Learn how putting too much focus on anything can be detrimental and how balance=health.
Diets can be a fantastic tool to lose weight, but most people go wrong in expecting them to work long term. Learn why diets should be temporary and how you can select the best things from certain diets to create a long term, sustainable food lifestyle.
The concept of "gym time" is relatively new since through most of human history, life was exercise. Learn how you can utilize more frequency to save time and see great improvements to your fitness level.
When starting out a health & fitness routine, most people try to bite off more than they can chew and end up failing as a result of trying to stick to their goal too rigidly. In this episode, I talk about how aiming for good can help set you up for perfection down the road.
When most people start their health & fitness journey, aesthetics is the only thing they focus on. Learn how strength training can not only contribute to aesthetic goals, but also help improve your day to day life.
Stop focusing on the scale! It's one of the worst metrics you can use to gauge progress on your fitness journey and if you're like me, often derails you from your goals. Learn how to strategically use the scale and what methods may be better to show your progress.
Most people will throw the kitchen sink at their fitness routine in an attempt to get results quickly, but they often forget scalability when doing this. Learn how making exercise scalable is one of the most important aspects to creating long term fitness success and how you can do more for less.
Complexity is the enemy of execution and most people on their health & fitness journey fall into this trap. Learn how keeping things simple will help you achieve your long term fitness goals and create a pathway to success that will allow for consistent results.
When most people look to start a health & fitness journey, they tend to look for the training modality that will show the most results the fastest. What most people fail to realize is that this is the last thing that they should be focusing. Learn how focusing on little habits can help build your health & fitness baseline to be able to get to the point where training modality does actually matter.
We've all heard of the newest supplement that will shred fat, burn muscle, make you grow 6 inches, etc., but is there any truth to these claims? Unfortunately for most people, this is just marketing, not the actual effects of a supplement. Learn what you should prioritize and how to avoid being conned by health & fitness marketing.
Many people think that they have to complete rearrange their life to be able to support their fitness journey, but this is often far from the truth. Learn how to to take the first step towards your health goals and how to continue to build from there.
Many of us who are not achieving our fitness goals tend to hate the way our body looks and performs, but this mentality is only holding you back. Learn why you should love your body (even at it's current state) and how approaching fitness from a place of love will set you up for a lifetime of success.
Too many people cite genetics as their reason for being unhealthy, but I'm here to tell you that is NOT a valid excuse. While genetics can impact our potential on the extreme end of health, most of us do not even come close to hitting our potential. Learn how you are making excuses and why everyone can get healthier even with the worst genetics.
When most people think about what their dream physique looks like, they often cite a famous athlete they want to look like. So naturally if you want to look like them, you should train like them, right? Learn how that's often incorrect and while for performance is great thing for everyone, it will likely not get you the physique that you're hoping for.
A phrase that is often uttered from the mouths of those who haven't started a lifting regiment in the past is "I don't want to get too big". Unfortunately for those of whose goal is to build muscle, it's not that easy. Learn about the benefits of bodybuilding and why everyone should try it, even those who don't want to get too big.
One of the most common things that people forget about when designing a fitness program for themselves is the desired lifestyle they hope to live. Learn how to take this into consideration for your current phase of life and adjust your fitness regime/goals accordingly.
If you listen the influencer's you find online many of them will say a particular exercise or training modality or diet is the most import thing to being fit, but those things don't matter if you don't have the 2 most important concepts for fitness in mind. Those are recovery and consistency. Learn how these 2 concepts will pair well with any time of fitness routine and can allow you long term success.
We often look at the people we want to be like and assume that we'll never get to that level of success. What most of us fail to realize is that we are looking at Chapter 20 of their life, whereas you may only be at Chapter 1 so it's important to understand that there is more to be written in your life. You will be a different person with each chapter of your life you write, learn how to stop comparing yourself to others who have already completed their life's book.
We often try to rush to our goals and when doing that we don't building up the necessary skillset to actually maintain our goals long term. In this episode, I talk about Aesop's fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare", and how being the Tortoise is the best way to reach your fitness goals.
We often think of overweight people has having a hatred or dislike for their body being the reason they work out, but are they the only group of people that exercise out of hatred for their bodies? Learn how even the most shredded fitness influencers may be exercising due to their hatred of their body and how loving your body is the only way to experience healthy, long term success in your fitness journey.
Most of us are aware of the adaptations that are body goes through as a result of exercise, but many aren't aware of the impact that their environment has on how their body adapts. Learn about the good and bad of biological adaptation and how awareness can help you live a healthier, pain-free life.
Have you ever wondered how you're supposed to be health while maintaining your preferred lifestyle? This was something I asked myself a lot after seeing fitness influencers pedaling unsustainable programing for most people. What they often ignore in those situations is what else the person enjoys doing with their lives. Most of us can't dedicate our entire life to being healthier, but learn how to work out for what best fits your lifestyle for long lasting change.
Do you feel like you need to get pumped up before working out or is just something that you do because it will improve your life? How you answer question may show your type of motivation as it relates to health & fitness. Learn the difference between internal and external motivation and how focusing on internal can help guide you down the right path for your health journey.
If you're like me, you probably feel overwhelmed by all the studies and exercises being showcased by influencers as being THE solution to your health & fitness woes. Well I'm here to tell you that most of that is BS. Learn how the true secret to success is finding sustainability for yourself on your health & fitness journey.
When most people think about health & fitness, they tend to focus on the physical side of things: strength, physique, endurance, etc. But the thing most people should focus on, is how it is impacting their mental health. Learn about some of the benefits of health & fitness on your mind and you'll start to see even more benefits from your efforts in the gym.
Your health & fitness journey can make you feel powerless at times. Powerless to cravings, powerless to old habits, powerless to general laziness. But there is a way to harness that power to change! Learn how tiny changes over time will help give you your power back and give you confidence for life long success in health & fitness.
Failure is an unfortunate part of life, but with the right mindset you can use these as opportunities for growth. Learn about the importance in failure on any of life's journeys and how each failure will bring you closer to your ideal self
Your health & fitness journey is a long one and change may not always be easy to see, so how can you check in on your journey outside of the usual method of weighing yourself? I'll give you some questions to ask yourself that will help guide you on your fitness journey and create long terms success in multiple aspects of your life
The phrase "no pain, no gain" is thrown around often in the fitness space, but is it true? Learn One of the keys to long term success in health & fitness is consistency, so you'll learn how this can be overexaggerated and that pain should be a sign to slow down
In this episode, Jon talks about how health & fitness can help you gain power over your life. Learn about how improvements in health & fitness transfer into other aspects of life and can make you feel like the powerful person you once were.
In this episode, Jon talks about how your environment shapes your body. You'll learn about several ways to address negative movement patterns and simple things to implement into your daily life that can help improve chronic pain.
In this episode, Jon talks about what it really means to be healthy. You'll learn how health is more than just a 6-pack and that there are so many other metrics to focus on that will show improvement in multiple aspects of your life.
In this episode, Jon talks about how to utilize the power of placebo to help achieve your fitness goals. As corny as it sounds, learn how thinking the right way could be the missing piece to your fitness journey.
In this episode, Jon talks about the often forgotten aspect of fitness: community. While it won't directly get you shredded, learn how having a community is one of the most important factors to a successful health & fitness journey.
In this episode, Jon talks about calorie counting and whether or not it's necessary for fat loss. It could be the key to your success, but you may also benefit from a simple nutritional framework that requires less stress than calorie counting.
In this episode, Jon talks about running and how for most people it isn't the best form of exercise. Learn more about why and what you should be doing instead.
In this episode, Jon discusses the benefits and detriments of fasting. While there are many scientifically backed reasons to utilize fasting, it may be holding YOU back depending on your eating habits. Learn more about fasting and if it's the right thing for YOU.
In this episode, Jon talks about the gap between your current self and your future self. Learn how living in the gap is key to achieving your long term fitness (and life) goals.
In this episode, Jon talks about the necessity of supplements. Spoiler alert: for most people they are largely unnecessary.
In this episode, Jon talks about how marketing surrounding the health & fitness industry can be deceiving you and costing you more than you know. Learn what is really essential in health & fitness and how marketing is usually biased in some form or another.
In this episode, Jon talks about how to select the right types of food for YOU. Just like with fitness, nutrition goals are highly unique to each individual to create long term success.
In this episode, Jon talks about how to change your relationship to fitness as you age. Fitness is a life long journey, but how you approach it should vary as you start to age.
Jon discusses the body building style of training and how while generally good for most people, may be detrimental for others. Learn about this style of training and if it may help or hurt your overall fitness goals.
Jon talks about why losing weight may not be the best metric to approaching overall health. Learn about how body composition and how you feel overall are a much better show of good health.
Jon talks about the kaizen method and how it may be the best way to start your health & fitness journey. Learn how building on small habits can help you achieve large goals
Jon talks about veganism and why it likely isn't the best diet for everyone, or even most people for that matter. Learn more about veganism and how it is often misrepresented as being the savior to humanity.
Jon talks about the difference between training as a woman compared to a man. Spoiler alert: it shouldn't make a huge difference depending on goals.
It's generally pretty easy to see improvements in our physical form through fitness, but how do we know that our mindset is shifting for the better? Jon talks about mindset in this episode and how to tell if you are improving. At the end of the day, mindset is one of the most important factors regardless of your health & fitness goals.
Jon talks about the often forgotten aspect of health that is sleep. Learn about how beneficial it is and how a simple change in how you approach sleep could provide lasting impacts on your health & fitness. If you are one of those "I'll sleep when I'm dead" folks, this is a great episode for you.
Jon talks about IIFYM and why it likely isn't the best approach for you. Learn about this approach to diet and see if it may be the best way for you to achieve your health goals. Spoiler alert: it probably isn't.
Jon discusses functional training and how it may benefit your health and fitness goals. Learn what functional training is and how to incorporate it into your regiment.
Jon talks about the benefits and detriments of changing up your workouts. Learn if making a change in your workout routine may benefit your fitness journey.
Jon talks about his struggles with body image and how it can impact your health & fitness journey even after you lose weight.
In this episode of the podcast, Jon talks about how to put fitness into everyday life. If you're able to make exercise a part of your daily routine then you will experience the best success. Learn some tricks and techniques to help achieve this.
In this episode, Jon goes over how self discipline really equates to self love. You'll gain an understanding how being disciplined is the best way to take care of yourself.
In this episode of the podcast, Jon talks about how to optimize work. Learn ways to improve your work to help improve your life.
In this episode, Jon goes over the best diet for long term success. Spoiler Alert: it depends on what you enjoy.
In this episode, Jon discusses the importance of exercise outside of just the physical component that most people focus on.
In this episode, Jon goes over what greasing the groove is. Learn about this unique way of training that will allow for even those with the busiest schedule to mimic the exercise habits of our earliest ancestors.
In this episode, Jon goes over how health & fitness mirrors your life outside of the gym. Learn how you can transfer what you've learned on your fitness journey to all aspects of your life.
In this podcast episode, Jon talks about the benefit of keto outside of what you normally hear from the fitness industry. Learn how a shift diet may impact more than just the scale.
In this episode of the podcast, Jon discusses the nuances related to the calories in vs calories out model of weight loss. There is so much more to the discussion than just eating less food!
In this episode, Jon discusses the basics of the fitness mindset and how changing your mind is the first step in a successful health & fitness journey.
In this episode, Jon discusses dopamine and how it is usually though of incorrectly as the molecule of pleasure. Learn how it's really the molecule of more and how that can help shift your mindset.
In this episode of the podcast, Jon talks about the All or Nothing Mentality and how that can impact your fitness journey.
In this episode, Jon discusses how there is no perfect way of training for everyone. While there are better ways than others, you will learn how to choose what is right for YOU to achieve long term health.
In this episode, Jon goes over the important mindset shift that is realizing being healthy provides you a better life and how understanding this will allow you shift your mindset towards self-love.