Coach Kohl

“Faith is not a lever. It’s a lens. Sometimes faith changes the situation, sometimes faith changes how you see a situation.”

This is one of my all time favorite quotes/reminders, so naturally when I saw this “walk by faith” hoodie from I had to get it. When I heard that quote in an online sermon in 2020, a switch flipped for me. I had been trying to lean on my faith as a way to change the outcomes of situations, create less pain, etc. but that’s not how it works.

My faith in God’s plan, that everything happens for a reason, has been the one thing that’s kept my head above water through any situation I’ve been through in these last four years. That constant reminder that there’s a reason this is happening, I might not know it yet, but it’ll come to light eventually, makes it just a little bit easier to get through.

I still have lows. I still hurt. I still have doubts. But leaning into my faith makes the lows a little shallower, the hurt a little softer, and the doubts a little quieter. Sometimes that’s all you need to push through.

Social media is great, but it can cause us to overthink things sometimes.

Keep it simple. Protein first, carb second, veggie third. Making something where the protein source is small or not really modifiable? Drink a pre-made shake (premier, fair life, quest, etc.) with it.

Don’t mess up good for perfect!

Meals this week! Recipes linked in my bio.

Bang bang salmon rice bowls (used quinoa instead)

“Airbachi” hibachi chicken and steak but meat was air fried, rice in the rice cooker and veggies in the oven. This way it’s easier to assemble for two different people and also to track.

Breakfast scramble, chicken sausage, hashies. No recipe here, it’s exactly what you see 😅

Your kids are watching.

That should be 98% of the motivation you need, if we’re being honest here.

Your kids will eventually grow up to be their own human. But in the meantime, they look up to you and in all likelihood will model almost every behavior you have.

The way you speak about yourself.
The way you speak about others.
The way you take care of yourself or don’t.
The way you handle stress.
The way you view exercise.
The way you speak about food.

Start that internal and external work now. Model those good behaviors for your kids, so that when they’re big and on their own, it’s that much easier for them to model those healthy habits.

Happy Monday, fam. Let’s have a great week and show our kids what it’s like to thrive!

This week’s meals! Finally planned with the wife for a real meal prep and it was a success!

Basil pesto butter salmon, garlic quinoa and brown rice, roasted broccoli.

Egg + whites + spinach scramble with hash browns and chicken sausage. Fruit added for more carbs day of.

Bbq rub chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes and homemade coleslaw. Bbq sauce added day-of.

Post-workout shake with oatmeal.

Snacks vary based on the day and workout timing/how I feel. I track my activity (loosely) with an Apple Watch and adjust snacks to make sure I’m staying in a surplus.

Week five of intentional surplus in the books and, although I occasionally get tired of eating so much, I feel great 😂

Never underestimate the value of your time. It sounds corny, but it’s quite literally the only thing you can spend and not get back.

Take this broccoli as an example. It’s the exact same broccoli, except someone took the time to package up two heads at a time.

My friends, please use your time well.
Fill it with things/activities that improve your life.
Fill it with people that improve your life.
Use it to make your life better.

If something or someone that takes your time doesn’t contribute positively to your life, get rid of it/them 🤷🏻‍♂️ it seems a little bit harsh, but when you get to the end of your life, you’ll regret it if you don’t.

At-home@workout parents chime in! Do you clean between sets, or are you able to focus solely on the task at hand and get a solid workout in?

It’s a mix for me honestly. Even in the garage I find myself organizing between sets. It’s not BAD, I guess I can count it as active recovery haha. But it’s for this reason that I’ll always be a gym ju**ie, and use my garage gym as needed.

Staring at the last few bites of food that you have to force down because you need the calories like… 👀

I’ll make a more detailed post about this soon but I’ve been in an intentional surplus for about four weeks now and am just starting to feel like I’m not stuffing my face with every meal 😆 never realized 3500 GOOD calories would be so challenging.

Couple recurring meals as of late.

Life has been feeling EXTRA hectic recently. Can’t really pinpoint an exact reason but I have a feeling it has to do with my two jobs, Kelsi’s business, having two kids and one baby. But I can’t be sure 😅

I constantly flip back and forth between enjoying the quick and easy meals and feeling bad about not making anything more exciting. But honestly don’t really have the mental capacity for it most of the time 🙃

Anyhoo. Not sure if this is a brain dump, an air fryer PSA, or a reminder that quick and simple can do the job 90% of the time, even if it isn’t 10/10.

Take it for whatever you need it to be and I hope you have a great rest of your week and weekend 😆