Understanding the Stages of Readiness: Why Real Change Starts With Honesty

On this week’s blog, I wanted to touch on the Stages of Readiness (also known as the Stages of Change Theory).

Now that we’re officially in the holiday season, fitness and health messaging is everywhere — Facebook ads, commercials, posters while you shop — all pushing the idea of a “NEW YEAR… NEW YOU” without offering any real context about what it means to be healthy, to age well, and to live a life where you can do the things you love for as long as possible. In other words, to stay out of the nursing home.

Just the other day I got an email from Orange theory telling me that if I commit for one month, I get the next one free. The mind games are endless. These companies know motivation fades. They know that nothing changes unless we change our habits, our lifestyle, and the smallest daily actions that actually move the needle forward.

What Is the Stages of Change Theory?

The Stages of Change Theory explains how people progress through a series of steps when changing problematic behaviors or adopting new, healthier ones. The stages are:

• Precontemplation — No intention of changing. The individual may not even recognize the behavior as problematic.
  
• Contemplation — Awareness emerges. The person starts thinking about change but hasn’t committed yet.
  
• Preparation — The individual intends to take action soon and begins planning.
  
• Action — Actual behavior change takes place through intentional strategies and new habits.
  
• Maintenance — Sustaining the new behavior over time while working to prevent relapse.
  
• Relapse — A return to old habits, which is a normal part of the process, not a failure.
  

Lets Look at Maintenance

“Exercise” for me has been a lifelong commitment — I’ve lived in the maintenance stage for years. And to this day what keeps me from falling back is why I started. I still remember what it felt like to grow up enduring childhood obesity. I remember taking my shirt off in front of my parents’ mirror and crying, wondering why I felt the way I did. I wondered if I’d spend my life using a nebulizer or relying on rescue inhalers every time I exercised. Or being on Prednisone off and on for the rest of  my life.  I wondered why I was bigger than most of my friends. The list is endless.

Ironically, as I kept going, exercise became my escape. It gave me identity, direction, and a sense of control. It helped me grow physically and gave me opportunities I never thought I’d have. 

Now Lets flip the script and discuss something  I believe to be extremely important:

And that is Action.

You have a thought — put that thought to the test and act on it.
Simple, right? But if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Why I Say “Exercise” and Not “Fitness”

I say exercise because fitness, to me, is bigger than workouts.
Fitness is what we pursue daily to become better human beings.
It’s what keeps us healthy for our loved ones.
It’s what allows us to fight chronic disease, maintain our mental health, and stay in the game for the long haul.

As a coach, what humbles me most are the things I struggle with. The things I have to stare down and acknowledge as being real.

It brings me right back to being 12 years old, 30 pounds overweight, staring in the mirror wondering how I got there — knowing deep down that all I wanted was to feel better. Nothing stopped me from doing sit-ups and push-ups back then. The action was simple.

But mental health… that’s a different story. And this is why Fitness is much more than hosting a daily workout for people to me.

In 2024, I sat at a local Coffee shop with our team from 4 Elements Direct Primary Care. We shared our goals for the year, and mine was simple:
Work on my mental health.

Now we’re about to hit 2026, and I just reached out to a therapist to see if she was taking new clients.

Two years of going back and forth — telling myself I needed some help, then convincing myself I didn’t.

And here’s the truth:
These things aren’t fixed by the computer.
They’re not fixed by self-help books.
Not by AI.

They’re fixed by acknowledging your struggles.
By asking for help from real human beings.
By committing to growth — even when it drags you into the trenches you must be willing to keep going.

Why Our Gym Is Different

This is exactly why we are different — not just from gyms in our area, but from gyms in general. We don’t just specialize in exercise. We specialize in fitness across the continuum from Sickness to Wellness and everything in between.

A coach I respect, Cody Smith, recently posted something that resonated deeply with me as a gym owner:

Clients can now get GLP-1 medications from their doctor.
AI-powered meal plans.
AI-powered workouts.
Cheap macro plans.
And weight loss clinics everywhere.

These things aren’t the enemy.
They eliminate shallow, low-value coaching.

Because what we do is different.

We specialize in fitness.
We don’t just host a daily workout.
We educate.
We build intentional programs from within.
We coach behavior and identity for people who want more.
We collaborate with local practitioners.
We provide a real roadmap for longevity — starting the moment you walk through the door I will personally hold your hand. Because I know this shit is hard you just have to be willing to go through the trenches. This is Transformation, this is where real stories are created. You know the ones you see on TV, thinking they are impossible. 

We view fitness as the prescription to move, feel, and live better over your entire lifespan.

And that’s the journey — through all the stages of readiness — that we walk with you.

,Coach Paul