From Chuckles to Squats: Joe Martin's Recipe for a Happy, Healthy Life

Embark on a journey of laughter and self-improvement as Joe Martin shares his infectious philosophy that combines fitness with humor, transforming the mundane into the extraordinary.

Tap into the joy of movement and discover how a good laugh can enhance your workout and inspire positivity. Joe's approach shatters the stereotype of grueling fitness regimes, proving that smiles and squats can coexist, creating a path to health filled with joy and achievable for everyone.

As we expand the conversation, the focus shifts to empowerment and societal impact, where we delve into the creation of inclusive fitness spaces and address the critical issue of suicide among young teenagers.

Joe takes us through his evolution from personal recovery to catalyzing change, crafting programs that offer solace and strength to those grappling with darkness. This heart-to-heart reveals the intricate ties between mental health and physical wellness, emphasizing the lifelines available, such as Canada's 988 crisis line, and the importance of nurturing supportive relationships that could save lives.

Finally, we explore the transformative effect of small daily habits that lead to monumental life changes. Joe highlights the discipline needed to kickstart motivation, and I share actionable tips on habit formation that can be the catalyst for a healthier, happier you.

Whether it's a five-minute workout to start your day or a commitment to a 2% daily improvement, these seemingly minor adjustments can compound into a lifetime of benefits.

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And be sure to listen to Joe's podcast for great insights into the human condition. 

Transcript

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Fitness and Humor for a Supercharged Day

Dai Manuel 0:00

Good morning , good afternoon or evening , wherever you are , you're about to supercharge your day with a 2% solution podcast , and I'm your host , diamond . Well , and today we're not just racing the bar , we're throwing it out the gym . Why ? Because I'm joined by the one , the only , joe Martin , a man who turns fitness into a festival and every workout into a witty wonderland . Get ready to challenge everything you thought you knew about fitness and humor . When Joe and I first crossed paths , it was like a meeting of twin flames in the world of wellness and wisecracks . He blends motivation with mirth like a maestro .

Dai Manuel 0:39

Today , joe is going to unpack his life-changing mantra , diving in deep into how humor and exercise can be your secret weapons in life's battles . We're talking serious gains with a side of giggles , a combination that's as rare as it is rewarding . Expect to have your mood open and your side splitting as Joe shares his journey from scrutinizing food labels to shaping lives , one chuckle at a time . Trust me , you don't want to miss this roller coaster of revelations , and riot is fun , so let's get ready to rumble with laughter and leap into learning . Joe , welcome to the podcast . Let's show our listeners how to make life 2% better with the Laugh Track All right , joe , thanks for being here , my man .

Dai Manuel 1:25

I feel so honored because I had the pleasant opportunity and I'm so grateful for that opportunity to have been on your show and we had a really fun conversation there and I was like , oh man , I got to get a guy over here on my podcast because I swear he's just a brother from another mother and we totally aligned with a lot of our values at police . But especially , I find your online content so inspiring , motivating , but also , at times , educational . You do a really good job at it . So I know we'll get into that . And to kick it off today , because , as the listeners are getting used to , they know that I have an application form that people fill out before they come on the show . It helps me do some of the preliminary research , so I don't have to ask a million and one questions when you show up on one of these trying to get all that information . So thank you for filling that out .

Dai Manuel 2:09

But in it I asked about a mantra and I , like you to this will be kicking us off , because I know you're a guy that's really big on routine , because it's in routine and consistency that we create really the lasting results we want in our life , and people know habits is what formulates who we are , right , does it DNA ? And so we're going to keep up with your mantra . I know you wake up each day with a mission to change lives through humor and exercise . So how do you blend those two powerful elements in your daily routine , and what impact do you see it making , not only yourself , but also the others that are privy to your content and that mantra ?

Joe Martin 2:45

Yeah , for me , life's about having fun , and especially with exercise . That's what I came from the background when I was growing up . Like people hated it . People hated it still around , don't get me wrong . But people like they did not enjoy exercise . It was slaving away on a nautilus machine or running endless miles or things like that . There wasn't much joy involved , there wasn't much fun going on and people just had this negative connotation with exercise and I was like man , if you get when you're moving your body and you're sweating and smiling and laughing , it's a magical combination . So you can put those together . It's kind of .

Joe Martin 3:12

I found in my business that exercise does not have to be miserable to get results . So if I can just make it , and then why not laugh along the way ? Why do you have a great body but you're miserable ? What ? Where's that ? Where's the value in that ? So I find humor in everything . I'm going to be laughing on my deathbed and your deathbed no offense , right , because I think that's what .

Joe Martin 3:33

I think we share , that as a similar vein , that we can find humor in anything and that's a sign that everything's going to be OK . When you lose someone and say you've lost someone , and the first moment you laugh , that's the signal that I'm going to get through this and it's going to be OK . I think laughter is so important that people think about it . Oh yeah , it's nice if you laugh . I think it's a vital part of everyday life . So if I'm going to blend that exercise , the laughter and all these things together , man , I have a great day . And also , if you're getting up at 4 am , you better find some sense of humor somewhere , because it's not much fun .

Dai Manuel 4:01

I'm not going to laugh .

Dai Manuel 4:04

You know what , and people know I get up at 4 . Usually between 3.30 and 4 . I don't even have an alarm Like I have it set , but I always wake up before my alarm . I just I tell people now it's a curse . I guess it's a curse , I can't get away from it . I'm so hardwired . Now it doesn't matter , I'll wake up in different time zones and I still wake up as if it's 4 am . Vick Hoover , you know . So it's a .

Dai Manuel 4:21

It really is a curse , for sure , but but I love it , I really love it and I I love what you have to say there , because we also know and I've spoken about neurotransmitters , I've talked about the health benefits of just laughter and humor and how it can be just such a wonderful motivator but also they've shown that it decreases stress even things like hormones , like our cortisol , oh , and so these are really big deals , especially if we're trying to reduce inflammation and feel a bit better when we move our boss , you know , less achy and painy , but just more positive in general . And I got to say you're as positive as they come , joe . I pretty good , love it , man , I love it , and but it wasn't always this case for you . I'd like to address it . Take it back a little bit here , because you have this passion for fitness , humor and really seeing the joy and light and really spreading that message .

Dai Manuel 5:05

But your journey started with losing 50 pounds , or , as we say here , releasing 50 pounds because we like to release things , we don't like to lose things . When you lose things , subconsciously you want to find them again Right , but when you release them , it's like peace out , adios , I never want you back . But it started and this is what the thing with 2% solutions , all but those little incremental steps . And you said your journey literally started with this simple as a thing as just reading food labels . Yeah , yeah , walk us through that , man . I want to hear about this journey .

Joe Martin 5:35

So me and you , we grew up we're about the same age , pre-internet . So if you're kids , if you're a younger person living , you couldn't just get on there and find out what was in food , what was going on in there , what's good to eat , perfect exercises . It was either the people in your neighborhood or maybe you saw something on TV . You came across a fitness guy on TV back then . It was pretty rare , but man , I just I was like I'm overweight . I don't feel good . I got to do something . What is all this information other than the marketing ? What else is on this thing ? You know what's the calorie ?

Joe Martin 6:02

So I looked up things in the 1986 World Book Encyclopedia we had in our house and when they look up , find out some information . That way I just start there Now . That's what I talk to my clients . Now just start . Maybe start small , small start with just one thing . I love the 2% solution idea because people get overwhelmed by this big thing . I got to be doing all these things . Just start with food labels and then start . Maybe I shouldn't eat 18 servings or something . In one city At least , I would think what . Oh , it actually tells you how many servings are in here , and maybe I shouldn't be eating all these and all this fat and calories and things and all these chemicals that I'm putting in my body . I just started there and really grew an interest from there , and they should more information from there . But that's where I started , just reading those food labels .

Dai Manuel 6:43

Man , that's so cool and it's actually funny that you say this , because I think even sometimes we don't realize that food labels are often due to signals in different portion sizes , not like meaning what's in the entire box or bag . Yeah , and especially when we're buying processed things , right , like they have to have the food label , like it's just a caloric breakdown , the nutritional breakdown . And what I find really fascinating and this is something I see my nutrition clients challenged by but they don't realize this , but they cook with the best of intentions , you know , they think they're making healthy choices . So , like , even some people are using coconut spray . Now , right , like it's just a vaporized version of coconut oil . Works really great in cooking , super convenient , right .

Dai Manuel 7:18

But you know , and I'm like , how much did you put on there ? Like what you mean you go , and for those that are just listening to this , it's like I'm doing the circular spray of the pan right now , and when you actually read how big of a portion is for the aerosol type can sprays that are cooking oils , it's like quarter of a second pump . It's like , joe , what is the last time you got one of those out and you only put your finger down for a quarter of ?

Dai Manuel 7:43

a second I'm like I'm looking at my time X and I'm like , okay , that's , that's one serve , which is like 25 calories or something , guys . So you think about it , it adds up really quick . And this is just again Not paying attention to the details . Yeah , that's it . And I'm wondering how did the details Sorry , go ahead ? I was just gonna say is ? I love to hear your thoughts on this . But also , what are the small details that you picked up from doing that one half that's transferred over to specifically ?

Joe Martin 8:05

what you do now that's a big one because if people look back then it was a snack , well , was big back in the day , so it was like , oh , it's fat free , so it's fine . And it turns out it was not fine . There's a lot of things in there calories , calories matter . No , that's what I started discovering , that oh this healthy , healthy cookies . If I eat 400 of them , that's not healthy . That's what I discovered . That's I talked to my clients about . That is just being mindful of what you're putting into your body , because a lot of us are on autopilot , especially , but then treating it out or eating lunch or something like that at work , and there you're still on the computer or you're looking at your phone .

Joe Martin 8:36

Just slowing down . If you can eat slowly and mindfully , man , that's a game changer . Not easy , those are two simple things , but not easy for sure . So just slowing down . I'm a fast eater . I don't know if you are , but I grew up with two brothers and if you wanted seconds you had to get through the first one to get to the second one , right ? So I grew up a fast eater still something I struggle with . But just slowing it down , you know , chewing your food correctly , these things , and help with your digestion . Little details like that just start adding up .

Dai Manuel 9:06

When you start doing after that , because obviously you started to notice some results just by those couple short little things like being mindful About what you eat , so you get that little . It's basically that gut brain response , whether your guts like , hey , dude , yeah , actually I'm fine , I'm say shit , I'm good , you don't need anymore . Oh , but most of us just eat through that instinct , because I can relate to that . I'm a very fast eater . If my wife has made very clear to people that know us because if we're invited for dinner she will die , will be done in five minutes . How long are you planning for like , and I'm like , ah , whatever it is , what is , but I'm trying to work on that too . But but after doing that small sort of shift , how did that build your confidence or give you that confidence to move forward and start doing other things ?

Dai Manuel 9:43

Because I'm wondering what you start doing after that . Because I know you could do 50 pounds just with nutrition . But dude , joe , you're fit , dude man , you got a lot of muscle mass . I know you got a sports background , you're also coach , so I know fitness is a big part of it . So I'm curious like , when ? Where did it go from there ? What else helped you with that 50 pound weight release

Empowering Women and Saving 10-14 Year-Olds

Dai Manuel 10:01

.

Joe Martin 10:01

I started doing some exercising . Yeah , so I was a sit-ups man . I started doing sit-ups . I was in a cast at the time , so I'd been injured playing football and I was in a cast with thumbs up . I walked around my thumb up for six months . My arm was in a cast on my roof . It was a good time . Look , I was hitchhiking wherever most positive guy .

Dai Manuel 10:16

Yeah , where it all started . Yes , I just started doing .

Joe Martin 10:19

I had some weights in my room so I do some one-arm presses or I do some sit-ups , hook my feet underneath the bar and do some sit-ups , sort of walking away . But we're trying to get more active overall and once I released that weight I like I just felt so much better . I just overall , just mentally , physically , I was like man , I would love to help someone else do the same thing . So I started getting a , getting a , the tract of hey , people do the for a living . Can well people pay you for this ? It turns out they will , by the way , if you're listening . Um , yes , I went off to school , a major in exercise physiology and , you know , get a job on the Redstone Arsenal . It's a military base around here . We had fitness centers for the troops and intramural sports .

Joe Martin 10:55

We ran for them . So that's kind of where I got my start , just gonna . Hey , they did all started with man . I feel awesome . I would love to help someone else have this same feeling .

Dai Manuel 11:05

And so how did that transition to what you're doing now ? Because I love to hear talk a bit more about what you do now , because I think that's very relevant , because , also , I want to switch gears after this . I got something a bit more serious to go to , because I know you also have a very strong personal mission which I think is just Not only admirable , but very , very much needed to be talked about , and it's not always talked about , sure , and so we're gonna get there in a sec . So just plan the seed , but before that , just talk about this , because I know you're really passionate about empowering people through health , fitness and mindset , coaching and support . And , gosh man , yeah , just all you got to do is go check out Joe on , especially on Facebook .

Dai Manuel 11:37

Like the humor does come through in a big way and every time you're you pop up on my feet . I'm like I laugh and I appreciate that . No , it's like that little humor hit every day and you got to follow Joe . That's the mission , man . Those will be in the show notes , don't worry about it . But but yeah , please go ahead , just fill us in on how this is , how did your career evolve and where it is now , and then , where's it going ?

Joe Martin 11:57

Yeah . So I started working out there and I was going to grad school . I was like I will do this for a little while and I'll be honest , man , I kind of sleep in my career . It was a . It was one of those good jobs , one of those dangerous trap jobs . It's good , I'd also it's not awful , so it's one of those you can post in . And I found myself doing that . I was like I know I could do more . What would that be ?

Joe Martin 12:13

So I started thinking and I would give people tours for the gym I was going . I was also working at a hospital wellness center , I was training private club in their homes and things like that , and I would take Specifically women on these tours in the gyms and they would just look around and you could just see this yeah , this isn't for me . And then I think about people like my mom who would probably never sit foot in a gym . She might go walking a treadmill or something like that . She just doesn't feel comfortable in that gym setting . So I thought I need to start something .

Joe Martin 12:39

At the time there was curves . If you guys remember , curves . That was the only thing for women at the time . But I wanted to offer something else . We offered sort of offers them outdoor fitness classes just for women . I looked at all the barriers to exercise and the gym kept popping up and guys kept popping up Worry about hitting on them at the gym or they don't feel comfortable . I was some guy yelling and screaming left of weights . Some people are into that . I like that kind of thing . A lot of women like that kind of thing , but not the ones that I was trying to target , that's wanted to offer something different for them , and then it just blew up from there . So we started with just one class on the side and I was still working full time , but eventually that's all I do now . So 90% of my day is just training women and man . It's been an amazing journey for sure .

Dai Manuel 13:20

I love it , man . I love it , and I know there's a story here , because we're switching gears , as I said , and I know you have a personal mission , and it's to literally make people not only aware , but it's , as you said , to save 10 to 14-year-olds from suicide , and that is gosh man . It's a . I know it's a sensitive topic , but I want to also be able to extend this platform as a way for you to share more about this and inform us , but also share with us how we can even support that or get involved . So , yeah , just take us from the beginning . Where does that spend ? This passion , this desire , this want , this vision and , more importantly , where is it going and how can we help ?

Joe Martin 14:01

Yeah . So I saw that stat and beyond the minute , it just broke my heart . A kid so hopeless at 10 years old that he ends it all , or her , she ends it all . And I just thought what's the stat ?

Dai Manuel 14:11

by the way , can you share the stat , like the statistics ?

Joe Martin 14:14

specifically , it's just a second leading cause of death . I'm not sure exactly how many per year , but the second leading cause of death for that age group , that's no way 10 to 14 years . 10 to 14 .

Dai Manuel 14:22

Oh my God , that's obscene . I would have never guessed that . If you gave me , I'll give you 10 different guesses to choose what's the leading cause of mortality in 10 to 14-year-olds . I would have never guessed that , never .

Joe Martin 14:34

So I saw that and I said , man , that is somebody should do something you ever do , somebody should do something . And then I was like , guess what , brother , you are somebody . And I've got a background where I've been working with kids for 15 years . I had almost that exact age group and coached football and sports for middle school , which is right around that age . So I was like , well , I can do something . I mean , I'll fix a whole problem If I save one kid . Man , it'll be amazing .

Joe Martin 14:56

Just a few months ago I started putting out just doing these one-on-one mentoring things where it's fitness mentoring on the front end , where the kid no kid can be like you know what I won ? I want to go get mentored . That's not how they talk , that's not their language , but they might want to come , oh , maybe get a little bit stronger , get a little more active or something like that . And I'm finding that a lot of kids that I work with these aren't the athletes . They've got their own kind of thing . These are gamers or kids . They just maybe they love books or things like that , or acting or art or different things . They're not in the athletic world and just getting them moving a little bit has been such a game changer for them .

Joe Martin 15:28

So we deal with things like healthy body image and man bullying is a huge part of it . That's almost every kid that I work with got some kind of terrible experience with bullying . Another stat that goes along with it is the suicide rate started tripling in 2007 . So if you look at what was released in 2007 , it was that iPhone that's in almost all their pockets and all that . So if you think about when we grew up , when you got bullied from at the end of the school day pretty much over , you need to get home and take a deep breath . I'm okay .

Joe Martin 15:55

And now , now , 24 , seven , they can bully you all day long . Kids you don't even know , don't even have to live where you live , can bully you . It meant that social media changed the game . Iphones changed the game and then COVID really I've seen a decline as well , since we kids man are dealing with so much and just to offer that trusted resource outside of the parents , if maybe they don't feel like talking about . I don't want to tell my mom getting bullied . She's going to go down to the school and go crazy , or maybe they just feel embarrassed to tell their dad that they're getting bullied or something like that . So just having that person they can talk to and lean on and meant about nine years into what I do with that . I just listen to them . A lot of these kids just need someone to talk to .

Dai Manuel 16:37

Thank you . I love that because you make it sound simple . But I know for myself like kids are being a father and I've seen my kids go through that and also their friends in that period of life . It's fine with my own kids . I actually think I can read them , that I get it . I can see if they're not well and what I mean by that . They're not happy , they're not joyful , they're working through something hard .

Dai Manuel 16:58

Are there telltale science that ? Because I've seen and they've had a couple of friends in their lifetime already you know that are part of the statistics that they've seen . That happen and it always rocks everyone's world that knows them . But most of the time , most of the time , it's like out of the blue , right , like people are just like I didn't even see that coming , like you just had no idea . And I'm just curious what can we do to build our own awareness or mindfulness around ? Okay , there's maybe the child's struggling . What can we do to engage them in a dialogue or I would love just your answer . What's the best place to be ? And also , where do we go to find additional support for this ?

Joe Martin 17:33

I think opening an honest communication is the biggest one letting your kids know they can talk to you about anything . But you and I had a share of background where we were . At that point I was on the brink of suicide and you would have never known it . You know , in my house we had a great relationship with my parents , but I would just keep it all inside . I got that poker face . You just want to . Everything's fine on the outside , but inside , man , you just . That's why I think it's you have that trusted resource where , as the friend or an uncle you know , someone outside of the parents is so important to have , whether it's a mentor or something like that . Because if you can just give this , hey , just if they'll reach out , that's a great sign , because you and I we weren't reaching out . We're just going to get the job done

Mental Health and Building Relationships

Joe Martin 18:12

.

Joe Martin 18:12

I think that's the number one is just keeping it , keeping an open and honest conversation with them and having someone that they can lean on . And but a lot of these kids , a big problem is they don't have relationships like face to face relations . They don't have some online friends or things like especially a lot of the gamer kids that I work with that . They got friends around the world but nobody they can go walk down the street and talk to and someone that can talk to that . And just there's a point where you may have to seek professional help and just look it up in your town , wherever you are , and the professionals . That's not what I do . I look for some of these signs , some of the signs and symptoms . You know . Look , I've got one kid that kept getting physically sick at school , like throwing up at school , just because through bullying he was just so upset that's how it manifested he would just he missed a lot of school . He's having to retake one of his finals just because he got .

Joe Martin 18:57

He just gets physically ill because what he's going through , things like you know , changes in weight loss , things like that , and looking at a physical activity not coming out of the top with teenagers , man , because they're they're pretty moody anyway . So I was figuring out is he going through some , or is this just Tuesday , you know ?

Dai Manuel 19:12

Oh man , yeah , I will agree with that one . I was going to say , yeah , I know , up here in Canada we have the mental health crisis line , which is 988 . Yeah , so 911 , but it's 988 . And that's national in Canada .

Dai Manuel 19:24

It's a government initiative and I know the US has equivalents to that , so I'll make sure that I include those in the show notes just so everyone has access to those help lines , and I will be including Joe's socials as well , so you can see some of the conversations he's leading in this space online , as well as how he's supporting kids literally reclaim their mental health but , beyond that , make some significant physical changes that boost their confidence , which also magically and I shouldn't say magic , it's not magic , it's because you do the work and it's amazing what happens when that physical health starts to improve , your mental will fall up .

Joe Martin 19:56

Yeah .

Dai Manuel 19:57

And love that . You're just demonstrating that every day that you show up . Man , it's huge , yeah , it's huge , yeah .

Joe Martin 20:04

Just if you can just get out of your head sometimes and into your body . That's what I do for myself when I'm . I can find when I'm not exercising on a regular basis , I'm not the same person . I get down like things just can just crush me man . But if when I'm regularly exercising , because I can just get all my problems out , just get them away , just for that , at least for that 30 minutes to an hour at least get some relief from the voices in my head , man , just just experience it , that hey , if I can take a little break this , maybe I can't get through this , because then when I was going through my suicidal time that I was almost in the edge , but I finally sat down and just I can't do this to my parents and I'm a believer , I can't do this . So I'm going to have to make it work . So I'm going to have to figure out one thing . So I just look for one good thing I could cling to and it just start there . That's a mindset , trying to help these kids . And what's one good thing we can ? Just because when you focused on the bad , that's all you right . You get laser focused on all the bad and it creates tunnel vision . You're surrounded by all these .

Joe Martin 20:56

I had loving parents and I grew up in a middle class , great neighborhood these type of things . I had a yeah , I was pretty smart I almost aren't as smart as the next guy but I didn't see that all I saw was all these bad things I had done and what I looked . I was overweight , all these things and I couldn't see the good part . So just kind of helping them up and just feel like , hey , man , I care and I'll listen , I'll sit there and talk to him . Listen , it's not just me just trying to get you to . You know what I'm so smart and here's this and there's that , here's what do you have to say ? Because I'm in here initially . First , it's another one thing I do and make a connection with , like a lot of like mine .

Joe Martin 21:29

If your audience is familiar with Minecraft Not my first choice of activities or video game I like video game , but , man , if you like Minecraft , I love it . That's what . If you're , I'm gonna find out everything I can about Minecraft . We're gonna talk Minecraft whether I like it or not , right , because that's what you're interested in , that I want to know about I'm , it matters to me . So just that's many huge part . If you're a parent right now and you're frustrated because your kid loves Minecraft and you do not , we just sit down and figure out a little bit about Minecraft and have a conversation , but it really goes a long way . I .

Dai Manuel 22:00

Think that's so insightful and yet so simple . Oh , it's great . I love that you talk about what they're interested in . Most people like to talk about what they're interested .

Joe Martin 22:09

Yeah , I think so , you know .

Dai Manuel 22:10

But I think about kids and a lot of times , especially their marginalizer and their bully . I remember myself back in that age . I didn't have people come up to me and ask me questions . Yeah , more of the obese teenagers sat in the corner and isolated myself . Right , I can appreciate why people didn't talk to me , because I wasn't very welcoming . You know , like I was very withdrawn . You leave me alone , kind of vibe put it . You know , right , very special , no , it's very special .

Joe Martin 22:31

And another thing if you can just get him , I can do something else Like I know I'm not my 18 year old son and anytime we wanted to talk , it wasn't like we sit down face-to-face and look each other in the eye and have these serious , like old-school man-to-man Conversations .

Joe Martin 22:43

It would be hey , let's go shoot some baskets or throw a football or go get in the car and drive where it's not as awkward For him to talk to me about sort of things . Same thing with these mentor I can get him just doing some exercise or movement , fun movements or things like that , and they'll open up more , you know . But if I'm just like , hey , tell me about this bullying situation going on school , well I don't want to talk about that . But the more they trust you and the more they're actually doing something else where it doesn't feel quite that much pressure of that , I think that's another tip for the parents out there . If you can get your kids or take him out you know that's my , that's the key to my son's heart right , taking him out to eat and beating him it opens up . Just find what your kids interested in and get them where it's not quite as awkward though , where they feel more open and honest with you sitting down . I think that's about you .

Dai Manuel 23:23

You've done a great job with your son . You want to just share a little bit about what the celebration has been all about those last few weeks .

Joe Martin 23:29

Oh yeah , man , basketball is a say . He loves basketball , so he's dedicated . Many put so much work into it and recently he committed to play basketball at the United States Air Force Academy . So he's gonna serve his country , he's gonna play basketball . He's gonna get a great , amazing education . I do not have to pay for it . That's the best part . Very exciting times .

Dai Manuel 23:48

I Saw the post , man , I could just feel the love and pride , just egg just like pouring out of the screen when it was awesome . I just felt so happy for you and also it for myself . Just thinking about my own kid , it brought up a lot of those same feelings , for I have for my own daughter . No , I just want to say thank you for being vulnerable in your Content but also sharing what's going on in your life . Sure , yeah , cuz you and I shared talked about the . The two most effective ways Most of us learn is through modeling and mentorship . Yeah , how many of us have a great mentor in our lives , or lack thereof ? Sure , but modeling modeling what other people are doing , and I think you're doing that very well . You're modeling what you're doing , how you're showing up , and it's just given another example of what's possible or how we can do things differently .

Joe Martin 24:28

Yeah , and that's so huge . When you see , hey , they can do it , I can do it , that is so big , that's been in my life . Yes , or his business or fit , and they can do it , I can do it as well , that's been huge .

Dai Manuel 24:38

Well , let's talk about modeling for a sec , and I know you're an early morning guy too , man , and I'm curious how does your morning ritual Set you up , because you're a naturally very positive dude as well . Okay , I know we got that in common and and some people are like dude you get up really early . How can you still be positive like 12 hours late ? I'm usually ready to go to bed after being up for 12 hours .

Joe Martin 24:58

Like that's the conversation with people and I'm like cuz .

Dai Manuel 25:00

I'm just fired up , I feel great .

Joe Martin 25:02

Oh , my energy is high all day yeah and they're like I don't get it .

Dai Manuel 25:06

How do you do that ? But I honestly feel it's a lot of what I do and how I set my day up , how I start my day . So share , man . I love to hear what's the wisdom that's really worked for you and how can people start tapping in just a little bit . To what a little bit of that ?

Joe Martin 25:18

I think if we share something , we wake up with a purpose , and if you're like I've had to wake up every morning and go dig Ditches every day , probably be fired up my life because I've dug ditches and it was pretty miserable and I was not very

Power of Habits, Making Small Changes

Joe Martin 25:30

excited to get up . I think that's number one , that every morning I wake up I have the opportunity to change someone's life and that's gonna be my goal that day , and I'm like a lot . I don't wake up every morning without my alarm and stupefied up like you do . So I have to have the alarm . I've been doing this for 20 years . I still have men . It's still got me . This morning I was gonna sleep in 5 30 , I still got up at 4 , but Sleep , and I like your sleep in 5 30 .

Dai Manuel 25:51

I'm the same way . If I don't have coaching early morning , I'm like I might stay in bed an extra half hour 40 minutes . I was like whoa so gross yeah but yeah , just .

Joe Martin 26:02

But I like what I would . My first class is at 5 30 am , so I wake up 4 and just get up and grab a cup of coffee , sit down . I'll do a quick devotional , kind of get my day started spiritually on the right path , kind of figure what it looks like . So I do the little bit of planning the night before I try to hit my big three , like here if I hit these three tomorrow will be a win and just looking at my day not being Unrealistic about it . But hey , if I do these three or maybe it's one big thing , that's what I kind of get to , kind of get the game plan of it . I try to plan that out the night before . That's been really big for me . I'm not a great planner but I've got a great business coach , patrick's . He was helped me get on the planning side of things . And if I didn't , if I slacked off today before then the 4 am Get them . I let's look at they . What are we gonna get ? Our big wins ?

Joe Martin 26:42

And I think a lot of people they react rather than plan . They look at us . This email came and I got answers . This email or oh , this phone call came with something , they're reacting rather than , hey , what's on the ? What do I got to get done now ? What are all these other people want me to get done ? Because that's the thing about a time . It's a vacuum , right , if you don't have a plan for it , somebody else will . I just trying to figure that and then get the big Rocks in there and get those big rocks and if I can get those planned out , then I'll get them done . So that's been a big thing for me . Oh .

Dai Manuel 27:10

Man , I love it . Simple . Simple , I know , and simple doesn't mean easy . Talked about the semantics there , but it's true , right like it's . If it was easy , we'd all be doing it . Yeah , but it is a simple process Anybody can do if they choose , and I think it's that choice that we're referring to , you know , is that that take action for yourself .

Dai Manuel 27:28

Right , and where I was gonna go with this was you talk your favorite book , or one of the books that made the biggest impact in your life , is atomic habits by James clear . Yeah , and I was wondering if you wanted to just elaborate real briefly on that , because then I wanted to shift gears . And actually you share your 2% activity . You'd like to encourage the listeners to potentially do , or a habit that they can start doing for a seven days , less than 30 minutes a day . Oh , it does not be anything fancy , but whatever you think would be the thing that would allow them to start experiencing what's your experiences every day . You know what I mean because I know they're hearing it . They're hearing your vibes like , oh , this sounds good , I'm gonna try some , you know . So let's talk about atomic habits first and then we'll segue into the your 2% solution .

Joe Martin 28:07

Sure , man , if you haven't read that book . It's an amazing book because what it is ? It breaks it down habits in a everyday life situation . I'm talking about things like if I do this , then I do that . So when I brush my teeth I do this , like for me , when I brush my teeth I look up my dad joke of the day , right . So that's very important . You got to get that ready for the first class .

Joe Martin 28:24

I'm just if you can anchor your habits , that's a big thing I started doing is come figure out . If you're already doing this , then I do . You know when I'm already , when I drink a glass of water in the morning , then I take my multivitam , something like that , where you don't have to create a whole new habit . You've already got some kind of habits . Just layer it on top , just add that on top of it . It seems to be about you .

Joe Martin 28:41

You like to talk about those neural pathways . It's easier , but one in this path that's already going . Then try to dig a whole new neural pathway in there . That's been that . That's been a big one for me . There's a bunch of big ones in there and it's all . You know how things compound when you start doing them in the know Ball and start with one goal rather than starting with 500 goals . What about one goal and then make that a habit and then layer another one on top of that ? But that's book on habits I've ever read , in my opinion . So if you haven't read that one , it's got a bunch of nuggets in there . That's two top ones that I like from there .

Dai Manuel 29:10

Beautiful . I think it's so simple and easy to access . But also it's a wonderful book . It's a very simple read and if people understand the science of habits , it's a trigger and response , right . Trigger response , trigger response . Yeah , you got to just reprogram the response to certain triggers because if you can't get away from the triggers , watch out you might find yourself in this cycle that seems to keep repeating itself . But it can work in any positive favor as well .

Dai Manuel 29:35

I love that you're talking , you know , adding in the extra habit , that little hook right , and what a wonderful strategy , and thank you for sharing that . What would you suggest for people to engage in to try , Because they know that the 2% collective is really going live in the new year and this episode will be live in the new year , and so by this time that our episode actually goes live , I imagine that the one pager document will be there . It's got Joe's contact info on it , but it's going to have some exercises to allow people to tap in to what we've been talking about . So what would be one thing that you'd like encourage people to try just for a week ? Just for a week to see ?

Joe Martin 30:09

if it makes a difference , I think , for me , is talk yourself into five minutes of exercise

The Power of Five Minutes

Joe Martin 30:14

. That's what I tell my clients , especially if I work with them online or something like that or some personal training that I'm distance personal training . Could you do five minutes ? Could you show up and do the warmup ? And if you do and maybe you do nothing else hey , awesome , you got five minutes of exercise and that's five minutes is .

Joe Martin 30:30

I don't know very good at math . That's five times better than zero minutes . Right , I know you're not supposed to do math in public , but most people they get overcome overwhelmed by oh my gosh , I got to work out for an hour today . What if you did five minutes ? And here's the magic part of this secret sauce If you do five minutes and start moving your body , guess what You'll want to do more and more . But , like I said , if not , at least you talked yourself into that .

Joe Martin 30:52

Five minutes and nurses , the hardest thing to overcome . They say the heaviest weight of the gym is front door . That's the heaviest weight in the gym . So if you can just get going and they're like , oh , I'm starting to break a sweat a little bit , I feel pretty good . My body is loosening up . So if you can talk yourself into that , I guarantee you'll get more workouts in this year . You'll be more consistent , because we're as humans . We are built to conserve energy , right . That's just how we're brought over , and extra exercise is not in our DNA . No , we don't do that . You got to conserve . I'm trying not to starve to death out here , so that's deep in your DNA back there . So , if you can , just we could do five minutes , right , we don't want to run a marathon or anything , but we could do a five . And I think if you'll look , go , approach it with that mindset , you'll see a much better result this year .

Dai Manuel 31:33

Oh , that's great . Okay , I can already envision this exercise sheet . We're going to give them an example of a five minute workout . They can do every morning for five minutes for seven days and that's just how they start the day . They get out of bed , they do that five minutes of movement and we'll make sure it's something simple , easy , accessible and we'll collaborate on that , joe . So stay tuned everybody . It's going to be fun , oh yeah .

Dai Manuel 31:56

I know Joe speaking some big wisdom bombs here . Okay , he's throwing them at us because the simplicity is in the activity but also in doing . The activity is where the results start to happen and we have to remember you can't get one or the other Just thinking about the activity unfortunately doesn't make our bodies fitter , Even though there's been studies that say if you think about shooting three throws , you're actually shoot three throws better , but you still need to have some basic general understanding of how to do it Free throws . There's been some really interesting studies in the neuroscience space , but there comes a point where visualization it can only get you so far and just comes out and taking it .

Joe Martin 32:29

I think you have . You simply keep bringing up the word simple , which I think is perfect for this time of year for people , because they come and it's going to be so calm . I'm going to , I'm going to lift weights for two hours a day . I'm going to eat broccoli and chicken every day and then , two weeks in , they've already fallen off and the stats bear out that within 90 days , 90% of people have given up on their new year's resolutions . But if you approach it with a more simple approach that I don't have to kill it , every day I look at my workouts , I lightly slap a few of them . I'm not going to kill every workout . With that approach that I'm going to , I'm going to keep showing up . Though If you show up that approach , I think this year you get much better results and you'll keep it up .

Dai Manuel 33:03

That's wonderful , Thank you , that's just . I almost feel like we should end it , but I don't want to end it yet . I got a couple more questions . Then we're going to end it , and I got a beauty question to end it on . But before we get there because you , like myself , are a man of many hats many hats , even though he's only got one on right now , but he's got many hats . That's got them bald man .

Joe Martin 33:20

I got to wear a lot of hats . I don't have your great hair .

Dai Manuel 33:24

I don't have that hair .

Joe Martin 33:25

I don't have that stuff .

Dai Manuel 33:26

Yeah , it's okay , but I can't grow it here on my face , so I can grow it up here , so I got to make it up somewhere . So that's all it is . That's all it is . Well . Fitness trainer , podcaster , actor , comedian how do all of these come together to really define Joe ? Because it's a very diverse mix of ways of identifying oneself and I'm wondering how do all those hats make up you ?

Joe Martin 33:48

I think it all boils down to I'm not afraid to be terrible at something , to be willing to be good at it one day . I just I'll just be honest , man . I lost my brother recently and I told myself that I would be willing to try anything so I can experience something that he'd never got to experience . I'm not going to be scared , not going to try something just because I'm scared to do it . I'm scared to do a lot of things and I was scared to start a podcast . Jump out of an airplane , ride a bull . Do acting terrified me , man . When I had that opportunity to come up , I said no , no way . Actually I think I was that hell . No , I don't know , that's on your podcast . I was scared to death of that .

Joe Martin 34:22

Also , stand up comedy I always wanted to do it , man . I was like man , I was scared . My brother's a big fan of stand up comedy as well . I was like man , I can do this . What am I scared of ? I think if you , just if you go into life scared , nothing great is ever going to happen . So do it scared , do it anyway .

Dai Manuel 34:39

Oh man , thank you , thank you . I've done stand up three times now . I've done three five minute sets and I can honestly say , and of everything I've done , keynotes to hundreds of people , like per hour and a half keynotes , no problem . I go on live TV all the time , no problem . Five minutes in front of an audience where you have to make them laugh , dude , it was the most scary thing I've ever done in my life , but that's why I did it . Exactly , exactly .

Joe Martin 35:04

Yeah , it was a competition . There's 26 people . I got second place . But just if something just fits my lifestyle , I lost to a guy named Ogre . He won the whole thing . That just seems like very yeah , so that's very suitable for my life , I think .

Dai Manuel 35:20

Man , next time you'll be the giant slammer .

Joe Martin 35:22

I'm ready , got some for you .

Dai Manuel 35:27

Oh man , I wish we could just keep going , but I know that time is of the essence and I want to be respectful of your day , as well as the listeners and the audience that's tuning in . Hopefully you've been digging what Joe's been throwing down . As I mentioned in the outro , which you'll hear in a minute . I'll summarize some of the key takeaways , but also I'm going to encourage you to take some action . Especially , you got to go check out Joe and his socials . He's got some amazing things , but his podcast is awesome , super cool , and there's just there's so many avenues of Joe , as you can already gather .

Dai Manuel 35:55

But don't worry , the show notes are going to have all those cool links , so make sure you click on it , check them out and , if you like this episode , make sure you leave a review . Let Joe know how much you loved it , man , because I know I can't say it . But , joe , before we go , I'm going to give the last words to you . My man , what would be one piece of advice you'd offer to someone who's struggling I mean really struggling to find motivation in not only their fitness journey but just in life in general ? What would be that piece of advice you'd like to instill into that ?

Joe Martin 36:23

I'd like to people look at it . Motivation kind of the wrong way . I think action comes before motivation . You can't just because here's the thing , you're the magic motivation fairy is not going to show up . She ain't coming . She's not coming , she's going to sprinkle dust on you . You're going to have to get up and do something . That's why I tried to guess why that five minute thing works so well for some people . Because you're not going to be motivated 90% of the time .

Joe Martin 36:44

If you work out , say three , four or five times a week maybe one of those you might feel like I'm really fired up , ready to hit the gym . You just kind of do the action , just keep showing up and that's the thing . And whether whatever it is you're going through , if you just break it down to an action rather than waiting on , motivation is not coming . So if you look at your situation , what do you want to fix ? What's one thing ? What's ? It could be so small . Maybe you need to drink eight ounces of water a day if you're trying to get it better hydrated . Maybe you need to eat one vegetable . Maybe you'll see one healthy meal this week . Break it down to a goal so small that , on a scale of one to 10 , you're at least a nine or 10 . And you're like man , that's nothing . Do it , make that , do that thing , do the action and you'll be amazed how much easier to do the next action . Don't worry about motivation , it's not coming . The action comes first .

Dai Manuel 37:31

You're amazing , joe . Thank you Honestly . Thank you for being here today . Absolute honor . I'm so happy I could reciprocate and get you back here so I can put you in the hot seat . Makes me feel a lot better . I'm like , ha , ha got ya . So , man , I know we'll have you back again sometime soon and I look forward to just continuing seeing your posts . Man , keep making me laugh , please and listen . Just have a absolutely wonderful 2024 . And thank you again for being a guest here on the Two Percent Solution .

Joe Martin 38:02

Thank you so much for having me on . If you're listening right now , please go on there and give Dai a five star review . Here's the deal he's helping people do these small steps that make these huge goals and if you give him reviews , he's going to show up for more people so you can help someone else change their life right now by giving the man himself a five star review . And thank you so much for coming on my podcast man . I got so many great feedback reviews on you .

Dai Manuel 38:23

Oh man , I wish I could reach to the screen and just tell you brother , but we'll do the virtual thing . Here we go , man . Hey , hang on , you don't go yet , but everybody else I'll see you in the outro . There you have folks . Wasn't Joe Martin just the dose of dynamism and delight we all needed . If you aren't buzzing with energy right now , you might just need to hit the replay button .

Dai Manuel 38:47

On today's episode , joe didn't share his insights . He served up a smorgasbord of smiles and strategies that can truly transform your approach to fitness and life . From harnessing the power of laughter and workouts to tackling the heavy issues with a light heart , joe's wisdom is a treasure trove for anyone looking to upgrade their life .

Small Steps for Monumental Change

Dai Manuel 39:06

Remember , it's not about the grand gestures , but those small , consistent steps that lead to monumental changes . And Joe has brilliantly put it comes before motivation . It's time to break the inertia , embrace the hilarity of life and start moving . It's just for five minutes a day , so what's stopping you ? Take those Joe inspired tips and start infusing humor and health into your daily routine . Share this episode with someone who could use a burst of joy and inspiring nudge , and if you loved what you heard , let the world know it with a glowing review . Stay tuned for more life enhancing conversations here at the 2% Solution Podcast . Until next time I'm striving for that daily 2% improvement . And remember a day without laughter is a day wasted . Catch you on the flip side .