So naturally, we did what many young men do… we google searched how to get big arms and a big chest. We hit up Bodybuilding.com and began testing out different workouts. One day, Eric found Shaun T’s workout videos on BitTorrent, and our fitness journey kicked off. We worked out every day, chugging Wal-Mart brand protein and the original Jack3D (basically the equivalent of amphetamines). Following sketchy and borderline dangerous advice on different forums, we proceeded to dive deep into the world of bodybuilding and powerlifting. We finally found something we were seeing results in.

After training together for a while, life took us on different paths. Eric climbed the ranks in the corporate tech world, and I joined Air Force Special Operations as a Pararescueman. After sustaining many injuries from years of heavy lifting, we both moved away from strength focused training and into endurance events. We ended up trying cycling, running, and eventually triathlons.

Separately, we continued to gain experience in crossfit, marathons, treks through the mountains, century cycling, and trail running. Participating in all these different fitness arenas taught us the skill of quickly and efficiently optimizing our performance time and time again.

Eventually, we both sought out the perfect workout plans that could combine our love of being strong with our love of tackling endurance challenges. All the while learning how to treat our injuries and avoid future ones.

Ultimately, our separate paths led to the same conclusions; the real key to optimizing your fitness and health is all about having a solid set of consistent behaviors, AKA habits. The single greatest factor in predicting success is having a plan and following it. It’s not only about the workouts you do or the diet you eat, it’s your ability to adhere to a set of principles over time.

We began really diving deep into what exactly makes people successful and why. We bagan compiling all of our knowledge from thousands of hours of podcasts, audiobooks, ebooks, and coaches into excel spreadsheets and word documents. We paid thousands of dollars to various coaches who promised results, and completed countless workout and diet programs. We applied (to ourselves) the actionable information from people like Tim Ferris, Jeff Nippard, Chris Hinshaw, Andrew Huberman, Eric Cressey, Matthew Walker, Amishi P. Jha, Andy Galpin, Peter Attia, and many others. 

Driven by a passion for fitness and a desire to help others, Eric and I chose to leave our corporate and military careers behind to guide others on their own journey towards unlocking their true potential. Active Insights is the culmination of our work and experiences in truly optimizing human performance.