Guiding Principles
NAMESAKE
Largely inspired by Laurence Fishburne's character in The Matrix trilogy, Mesomorpheus was formed by Joseph Esler in 2017-2018 with the mission of helping people of all shapes and sizes achieve the body beyond their wildest dreams. The vision is a world where everyone is hopelessly in love with their body.
Mesomorpheus (pronounced mĕz′ə-môrf′fē-əs) is a portmanteau of mesomorph (a lean, muscular body type) linked by morph (to transform) to Morpheus (the Greek god of dreams). To wit, Mesomorpheus is the Greek god of body transformation.
Mesomorpheus is also a play on metamorphosis, a transformation so thorough that the new organism seems to be of a different species, as when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Such a metamorphosis is as rapid as it is magical, occurring in just days or weeks.
You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.
—Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises
Likewise, you can't get away from yourself by transforming your body. You'll almost certainly fail. Even if you somehow succeed, it'll probably be short-lived, and you'll be shockingly unhappy.
You must first transform your mind.
Beauty stems from within. The Mesomorpheus mission statement pays homage to the Health at Every Size (HAES) pledge. Compared to the mind, the body is actually very malleable. It is often easier to change the body than it is to change the mind.
vs.
You already have the body beyond your wildest dreams. It is up to you to give your body the love it hopelessly deserves.
This limited liability company is registered with the
Colorado Secretary of State, accredited by the
Better Business Bureau (BBB), compliant with the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),
and insured for personal training and nutrition services by
Next Insurance.
We accept Aetna, Cigna, and Medicare healthcare insurance. We're eagerly awaiting approval for many others.
BUSINESS CREDENTIALS
"If you're gonna look at yourself, as soon as you look in the mirror, you gotta admit who you are. But not just to yourself, you gotta prove it to everybody else."
—Frank Castle in The Punisher
We're an active member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH), the International Dance-Exercise Association (IDEA), the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
While practicing ACSM's Exercise is Medicine, we also firmly believe laughter is the best medicine.
BELIEF SYSTEM
"You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind."
—Morpheus in The Matrix
As much as we believe in knowledge, we believe even more in belief. Where there's a will, there's a way. That can go either way.
On the one hand, knowledge is power.
On the other hand, ignorance is bliss.
Then there's somewhere in between:
Knowing just enough to be dangerous.
If you really want all the power that knowledge has to offer, you must believe in yourself. You must let go of fear/doubt/disbelief.
No one can do that for you. You and only you can do that for yourself.
KNOWLEDGE BASE
"You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."
—Morpheus in The Matrix
When many people try to visualize a personal trainer, they see Brad Pitt's character in Burn After Reading. He gives personal trainers a bad name. He probably isn't even certified.
This company owes its vast knowledge base to certifications attained from several of the top certifying organizations in the industry: American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Council on Exercise (ACE), American Heart Association (AHA), American Sports and Fitness Association (ASFA), FiTOUR, Functional Movement Systems (FMS), International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), International Triathlon Coaching Association (ITCA), Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning Association (MMACA), National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association (NESTA), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Precision Nutrition (PN), Spencer Institute (SI), The BioMechanics Method (TBMM), Total-Body Resistance Exercise (TRX), and PESI Rehab (formerly Vyne Education).
Almost all personal training and nutrition recommendations are based on the latest evidence-based research by industry-leading organizations, such as ACSM Position Stands and Harvard Health Publishing, as well as meta-analyses from highly regarded peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) and the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN), just to name a few.
Relevant coursework has been completed at the University of Colorado, the University of Michigan, and Harvard Extension School.
Where research is lacking, recommendations are based on lessons learned from the School of Hard Knocks.
BEST PRACTICES
"A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
—Richard in William Shakespeare's Richard III
Like Richard, you can be your own worst enemy. You can refuse to do various recommendations based on the latest peer-reviewed research as well as extensive experience. Better yet, you can flat-out reject them based on your own personal research via Google as well as limited experience of trying them only briefly. As stated earlier, where there's a will, there's a way. And, if all else fails, you could just deny research altogether the same way people deny the inconvenient truth of global warming or the Earth being round.
Spoiler alert: That story doesn't end well.
The root cause of that irrational behavior is resistance to change. And it's entirely normal. Just about everyone experiences it at some point. The key to success is letting go of that resistance, rather than letting it get the best of you. Instead of being your own worst enemy, you can be your own best friend. Forever.
Instead of wasting any time doing your own self-saboteuring research, invest as much time as possible in doing all recommendations to the best of your ability.
Don't worry. If anything's not working, we'll adjust it right away. Sometimes, though, things may not seem to be working at first, but eventually they do. Oh, do they ever.
Ever see a rocket ship launch? It seems to be going nowhere at first, but eventually it takes off.
Fast.
Real fast.
Like-a-rocket-ship fast.
DREAMS
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (French for "No, I Do Not Regret Anything").
—Édith Piaf's song in Inception
Lucid dreaming is the act of being awake within your dreams. You're not just "living the dream" but are the master of your dreams.
Inception is a film about group lucid dreaming, where the characters are awake within shared dreams. Layers upon layers of dreams. So many layers it gets confusing at times.
That's personal training in a nutshell. Together we're chasing after your dreams and turning them into realities.
Sometimes we'll chase your dreams one by one. Other times, there'll be layers upon layers. So many layers it'll get confusing at times.
If you stick with it, you'll have no regrets.
