We Welcome Josh from diyactive.com to share his fun, no BS approach to fitness and health. His mission is to inform his clients and the general public of the immense freedom and potential in breaking traditional fitness norms and taking full charge of your health. The directive is all about taking fitness into your hands, creating your workouts and have a lot of fun along the way.
What inspired you to start your Blog?
I have always been a fitness enthusiast and lived by my fitness code. In 2013, I was working for a Medical Laboratory and finally took the plunge, became a certified personal trainer and started AlwaysActiveAthletics.com. It came from my passion for seeing person after person being intimidated by the idea of the gym. I dig the gym and workout at one, but many people are afraid of joining for a thousand understandable reasons, so they simply don’t exercise altogether. I decided to start a website for people getting fit wherever they felt most comfortable: at home, outside, at the office…etc.
In late 2015 we switched our name to DIYactive.com because it was a better fit for our target audience, and because we wanted everyone to know they can get healthy on their own without the need of a gym. I wanted to empower them to take control of their personal health… wherever they felt most comfortable because, as one of our mottos exclaim, “Getting fit shouldn’t suck!”
What makes you unique in the Fitness and Health Space?
I’d say the biggest thing, is that we are entirely about at home / DIY fitness. We are all about the idea that if you want to exercise, it doesn’t mean you have to drive to the gym for 45 minutes. We simply encourage people to make exercise a part of what they already love to do. Love to be outside? Take your dog for a walk, go for a hike, work in the garden…etc. Want to exercise at home? Try a quick 15-minute bodyweight workout that will leave you gassed and feeling great. It’s all about getting fit where and when you want on your terms. Your life doesn’t have to be about fitness; you can incorporate it into your life!
What Diet/Nutrition practices do you advocate?
It’s pretty simplistic – consume everything in moderation and incorporate plenty of fruits and veggies into your diet. Yeah, that’s way simplistic for the expert fitness guru out there, but we aren’t trying to reach that audience. We are going for the beginner who is simply trying to eat healthier. How is calculating their macros going to be a realistic goal for them? Just eat half your meals in veggies, eat fruits for snacks and practice moderation and you will be better off than a ton of people out there! Obviously, this can change as your goals change as well.
Short bursts of high-intensity exercise can give you the best of both worlds. Simple 15-20 minute bodyweight exercises (or some light dumbbells) performed in a circuit fashion for three sets can help boost your metabolism, improve your cardio, and build muscle all at once (more on that below). To us, it’s way better to do that 3-4 times a week then skip exercise altogether because you don’t think you have the time for the typical 45-60 minute workout.
What is your all time favorite post that you would love people to read?
Okay, I’m going to cheat here and give two. The first one is a piece that was published in TRAIN Mag that depicts some step-by-step approaches to doing what I just said in the previous answer. It lays out how to start exercising via these quick, effective workouts and how you can build your way up to the afterburn effect. It’s a pretty solid, thorough piece and you can find it at https://diyactive.com/burn-it-train-to-achieve-the-epoc/
The other is one of my favorites because it simply tells it like it is and is a motivational piece. As I’ve progressed through fitness, I’ve found that people don’t have a problem with nutrition or exercise… it all, in essence, boils down to motivation. So motivational pieces are what I like to write nowadays, and frankly, they are just damn fun to write. So check out this piece as well:https://diyactive.com/how-the-hell-did-i-end-up-here-making-change-happen/
