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Spartan Up! The Book to Help You Get Happy, Successful and Fit

Many of you have probably heard of the Spartan Race (on this blog, nonetheless) and know it as the world’s premier obstacle adventure race. As the global leader in obstacle racing since 2005, the Spartan Race was designed by eight insane ultra athletes was even voted Best Obstacle Race by Outside Magazine in 2012. It’s unlike any other trail races, mud runs, tough mudder runs, or a warrior dashes in it’s intensity, obstacles and versatility. The goal of the race is simple- to not only get you off your couch, but to deliver the biggest adrenaline rush of your life, whether a participant in the novice Sprint distance or a “Beast” in the World Championship. Now, the owner and driving force behind the Spartan Race, Joe DeSena, has written new book called Spartan Up! which not only serves as an insider’s guide to the race itself, but as a manual for the Spartan way of life to help you get happy, successful and fit.

Who exactly is Joe? An entrepreneur from age 8, Joe has had a passion for life that moves the ball forward against all odds. Born in Queens NY to a yoga teaching, meditation practicing mother and an Italian father that was an uber-entrepreneur, Joe learned simple techniques for forging ahead no matter what the odds were. In Spartan Up!, you can find out how a young kid breaks out, builds multiple businesses, changes lives, and eventually partners with military SpecOps to ultimately create the Spartan Obstacle Race.

While I don’t consider myself a Spartan (mostly because I have never done an obstacle race in my life nor am I professional athlete by any means), Spartan philosophy would argue that I am indeed a Spartan based on some principles that apply to all of us who are on a journey to succeed in health and happiness.

Finding the will to succeed: The first half of a race you run with your legs; the second half you run with your heart, right? Spartan up! will help you turn your pain into an outboard motor to drive you forward.
Tossing your cookies: Through the Cookie Test, Spartan Up! will teach you to overcome the need for immediate gratification and help you prosper long-term
Getting Spartan fit: This isn’t necessarily an all-out-run-until-you-pass-out-guide, but learning to train outside the gym for strength, endurance and flexibility for your entire body (a little burpee never hurt anyone). Spartan Up! will teach you what Survival of the Fittest means for you.
Moving mountains: Whether metaphorical mountains or the kind that come with a tough workout, Spartan Up! will show you how what you think of as your limitations can actually be a mere starting point for transformation. And who hasn’t been there, right?

I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Joe a few questions a few questions about Spartan Up! and here is what he had to say-

[WTRB] What makes your book different from all of the other “fitness” books on the market today?

[Joe] It’s not a quick fix, it won’t give you some secret and it shows us that everything we are doing is wrong.

[WTRB] Can anyone read your book? Even someone who doesn’t think they are capable of being a Spartan or adventure racing?

[Joe] Those would be the best readers..people completing the race already will gain a lot of knowledge but they are already on their way…those that have not need the book more than ever.

[WTRB] What is your number one piece of motivational advice to keep someone going when they feel like giving up (in fitness or in life)?

[Joe] You need to change your frame of reference at that moment in time..and remember that quitting lasts forever. The book explains this.

[WTRB] What’s the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome in your fitness life? Your professional life?

[Joe] My parents dying, losing all my money, and failing in business are my top three.

[WTRB] You are definitely a roll model for people looking to get in shape, take their fitness to the next level or pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. How has self-confidence kept you driven to succeed in your fitness and professional goals?

[Joe] Self confidences comes FROM being driven to succeed…we all can gain self confidence and it comes from stepping out of our comfort zone and achieving. It feels so good you seek it out more.

Read more about Spartan Up! including a review by ultramarathoner and best-selling author Dean Karnazes and watch this video. It will get you thinking about the power you have to get motivated and get off the couch.

The book will be released May 13, but you can pre-order now!

In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for the release. I am looking forward to reading Joe’s fitness and entrepreneurial advice and plan to incorporate it into my own life.

What about you?

Spartan Up!

Thank you to Joe and the team at Spartan Race for this opportunity to discuss the details of Spartan Up!

Writer for Hire: Why I Need a Blog School Scholarship

I feel like the last two years of my life have been mostly a nightmare. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some good times, but for the most part, I wish to declare a do-over and wake up in a different reality. I wish I could open my eyes one morning and find out that Mom isn’t really gone – just returning from her four mile run at the park and sending me an excited text to tell me how it went. That the pain in my calf and then side wasn’t a blood clot that broke lose, traveled though my heart and lodged in my lung almost costing me my life – just plantar fasciitis and out of shape lungs. That the job I had tried for two years to land wasn’t the one I also lost less than three months after being discharged from the hospital due to my inability to handle what had happened to me and an intense career – just a trial run in what would be the real thing down the line after I was on my way to recovery. Now here I am, almost a year after losing my job, trying to find my path not only in a career, but in life – a writer for hire, which is why I need a Blog Genie Blog School Scholarship.

I’ve been blogging since 2009 when I first started running. I remember my first post (click if you dare) vividly. It was a welcome-to-my-life post and I fervently refreshed the page every five seconds waiting for someone to read it. No one did. For a long time. I read blog after blog after blog that impressed me with its style, design, content and comments. I would comment when I read something I liked, that inspired me or made me think. And then one day, one of those bloggers commented on my post and I felt like a million dollars. Slowly, my blog began to grow and I gained a small but loyal group of followers. These people, who are still with me today, are the ones that helped shape my blog into what you see now.

I’ve earned ambassadorships like that of FitFluential where I learned on a near daily basis (and continue to learn) how to be a better blogger and influential fitness leader – even when I feel anything less than that. I’ve earned several blogging awards, which have all helped my blog to grow over the years. I have received numerous products and books to review as well as developed some amazing relationships with brands, race directors, and fellow runners and bloggers. I remember when I used to think none of these things would happen on my blog.

I’ve gone through a transfer to Word Press and two design changes, all thanks to Rita at Blog Genie who brought my blog out of the bland, flat, cookie-cutter look that so many blogs have in the beginning. She helped capture the essence of Words to Run By and built a beautiful site where I could continue to talk about running, writing and remembering, part of my re-brand with my most recent design change. I began to focus on writing good content – without a full-time job to consume my time, I could write freely and compose posts with greater attention to detail and composition.

My most treasured accomplishments are those I have made in writing, including guest posting on other sites and a (albeit small) paid writing opportunity involving blood clot awareness. I felt like my content suddenly mattered, which inspired me to begin a second blog totally devoted to blood clot awareness – Blood Clot Recovery Network.

I’ve put countless hours, sleepless nights, significant amounts of money (self-hosted is not free after all) and even tears (okay, a lot of tears sometimes) into making Words to Run By what it is today.

And yet, I know it can still be better, which is why I am applying to Blog Genie’s Blog School’s Scholarship Giveaway. Blog School is an intensive six month program designed by Rita to make your blog the best it can be – and it starts soon! This is the part where I am completely transparent with you – and even now, that’s not always easy – I want this scholarship because no, I do not have a job yet and let’s face it, life is expensive. Blog School is a luxury I can’t afford right now, but would love to participate in the program to build even better content, improve SEO marketing, gain readers, page views and comments and maybe even make money writing on my blog or through my blog.

Even more important than needing the scholarship due to financial hardships, though, is what I believe Blog School can do for my blog. I want to make my writing – and I write primarily on my blog – my business. I believe I can do it, I want to do it, but I also know I need the tools to be successful in building an even better blog. And, I also know I just don’t have them on my own, which is why blog school is of vital importance in helping me reach my blogging goals. What I do have is the time, the commitment, the devotion and the passion to get the most out of what Blog School has to offer. I’m not afraid to work hard and at this point, there’s nowhere to go but up right?! I’ve had a lot of setbacks – and I believe Blog School can be the launching pad into what will be the next – and hopefully greatest – chapter in my life.

Until the next mile marker,