FEATURE ARTICLE- DAVID PATCHELL EVANS

So—you’ve finally gone ahead and decided to make your new year's resolution a life change instead. We won’t call it a resolution because let’s all be honest, our resolutions to be healthier and get fit usually end in us on the couch in our ‘gym clothes’ eating a bag of chips. You’ve got your running shoes, you’ve indulged yourself in buying an entirely new wardrobe just for the gym. The list of gyms near you is nearly endless, so you should pick it based on location or price, right? Wrong. Amidst a series of gyms, there is a clear winner, one that is evidently chosen over the others; GoodLife Fitness. Goodlife Fitness has a different spin on exercise, each new member receiving David Patchell-Evans book, “Living the Good Life: Your Guide to Health and Success”.

After having read the book cover to cover, I can say step one is to take your hand out of the chip bag. You can’t hold weights or sign up for the good life membership with your fingers caked in the residue of cheezies and Ms. Vickie’s. Well, you can, but the question is, do you want to?

To preface his book, Patchell-Evans defines the good life by saying;

“[i]t’s about health. It’s about feeling at home in your body. It’s about allowing your body to become the best it can be. It’s the feeling of energy and alertness you feel when you’re in good shape. It’s about the confidence with which you meet life challenges. It’s knowing that you can achieve far more than you ever dreamed. It’s the sense of yourself as a body, mind, heart, and soul—a while being, vibrant and alive”.

If you feel like you’ve accomplished all of that already while double fisting beers at Sunday barbecues, then maybe this book isn’t for you. You’ve passed the test, and you are well on your way to being the best possible you.

   But, if you’re anything like the 1 million+ members or myself that are already pledging to lead the good life, some part of you is likely unsatisfied. Patchell-Evans book emphasizes quickly that no one has the ‘perfect’ body, and that being unsatisfied is a standard, almost natural thing. But where has being satisfied ever gotten anyone? Settling is what keeps people from moving forward and improving.

   This is where GoodLife Fitness, and “Living the Good Life: Your Guide to Health and Success” comes into play. Now, no one can tell you what the best way to get fit is. You can google all of the diets you want, and try every juice cleanse under the sun. What you need is to embark on the journey to the good life. What separates GoodLife Fitness from other companies is their interest in cultivating not only an attractive body but a healthy one.

   Unlike gyms that just want to pump out yearly memberships, when you sign up to be a part of GoodLife Fitness you receive Patchell-Evans book. The book serves as a reminder that beauty isn’t the only reason to be fit. That fitness to achieve health and inner peace has more value overlooking a particular way. Instead of promoting an ideal fitness, Patchell-Evans book celebrates the idea of fitness going beyond being toned in all the right places.

   The books motto being; “[g]ood enough, is good enough”. The staff at GoodLife help people record their personal goals, which can are quantifiable in any way the person sees fit. There is no ‘standard’ imposed on members although suggestions may be made to those who are struggling to achieve their goals. The book emphasizes three options people can choose between once they have reached their goal; they can stop where they are, work to maintain where they are, or set another goal to achieve. Patchell-Evans book is supposed to be used as a guide for members, to help discover their fitness journey.

   Given all of the tools that you may need to be successful, including an environment that promotes personal goals instead of an industry standard, what excuse is there to keep your hand in the chip bag?

   The truth is—there isn’t one. With a guide that promotes not only the healthy body but a healthy state of mind, there isn’t a reason to not want to get up and put your best foot forward in achieving the good life. Now that you know what GoodlLife Fitness has got to offer, it’s time to take that New Year's Resolution and make it a lifestyle commitment.