My Story
Why Adventure Driven Fitness?
What drives your training? What gets you up for that early morning run or out to the gym after work? Is it to lose weight and build muscle? Maybe you want to age well and be there for your kids? Maybe you want to feel young and full of energy? Or maybe you’re looking to test yourself and see what you’re made of?
My training is driven by all of the above, and best expressed as a deep love of adventure. My goal is to have the mind, body and energy to face life’s many adventures. On some days, the challenge is to play like a kid with my kids. On other days, it’s an adventure that I’ve sought out.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia (2010)
Petra, Jordan (2004)
Copan, Honduras (2008)
Hi, I’m Chris Redig, a fitness and nutrition coach with a love of adventure that runs very deep. I have a vivid memory of my first night dive in Mexico as a teenager. After a beautiful dive on a dark reef, we surfaced and climbed into a small boat. The coast was covered by a thunderstorm, the sky above was full of stars, and the warm water glowed with green phosphorescence. Everything about that moment was magic. And it lead to a decade of travel and adventure.
I earned a BA in International Affairs in 2003, backpacked through the Middle East in 2004 and worked as a SCUBA diving instructor on a Caribbean island in Honduras. I’ve spent time in more than 20 countries and lived in four. In 2010, while living in Honduras, I met Julia, my lovely and adventurous wife. She’s from Denmark, while I’m from the U.S. So the adventures just continued.
Skiing in Oregon
Spelunking in South Dakota
Diving in Honduras
Becoming Fit for Adventure
I didn’t start off as an athlete. For much of my life, I trained sporadically and ate terribly, and it worked. But when I hit my thirties, it caught up to me. I was unhappy with how I looked, felt and performed.
I couldn’t let the love of adventure go. I was just starting a family. I wanted more from my body. I started imagining a body that’s built for adventure. I pictured playing like a kid with my grandkids. I imagined going for hikes and summiting mountains. I wanted to jump into obstacle races, 10k races or marathons. I wanted a beach body, and I wanted to have it year round.
Spartan Ultra 50k
Instead of an inevitable slow decline, I imagined expanding my enthusiasm for adventure with a body that could match it. I wanted more skiing, climbing, diving, swimming, kayaking, cycling and backpacking. I wanted to engage in one-off feats of adventure and fitness. I wanted to be ready for an emergency. And I wanted to be ready to engage in adventure when my kids and grandkids were old enough to participate.
I wanted a ready-for-anything body. I wanted it to look the part. And I wanted it for the long term.
At first I thought this was just part of turning 30. Maybe the decline was inevitable, and I was having a sort of a washed-up adventurer’s midlife crisis.
Thankfully it wasn’t. The decline was a consequence of my western lifestyle. And THAT can be fixed.
I read, struggled and improved. Good habits accumulated. I fell victim to internet fads, made mistakes and suffered injuries. And yet, it was as if I was approaching a sun. “Gravity” started taking over. My progress kept accelerating the longer I stuck with it. I dialed in my diet, sleep, recovery and training. It got easier and easier, until one day it become automatic.
40 Years Young (2021)
31 Years Old (2011)
Now at 41 I look, feel and move better than I ever thought possible. I can climb, balance, run, jump, fight, swim and vault with advanced skill. Muscle ups, pistol squats, walking on rails and one-arm pushups are just training days. And I can run with no foot protection for miles on rugged mountain trails.
In 2018, I completed the MovNat level 3 certification and became a MovNat Master Trainer.
In 2019, I ran the Authentic Marathon from Marathon to Athens in an 8oz pair of Vibram Five-fingers.
In 2021, I ran a Spartan Ultra Beast (a 32mile race with 60 obstacles) and placed 11th for my age group.
In 2022, I completed a full Ironman (2.4mile swim, 112mile bike and 26.2mile run).
My nine years—old self would be astounded. My body is built for adventure and getting stronger. I often joke with my family that I’m going to summit Kilimanjaro with my grandkids. And why not?
I won’t lie. There was and is nothing easy about undoing decades of Western living. And I was by no means completely inactive during my 20’s. It takes as much work to fix a broken body as it takes negligence to break it. But it can be done. And it is worth it.
40 Years Young (2021)
31 Years Old (2011)
Becoming a fit for adventure coach
There’s a fundamental human desire to share the things we love. I love adventure. I love being fit and ready for adventure. And I love the way a true adventure transforms the hero. And so, I decided to share my love of fitness and adventure.
There’s a big difference between coaching and performing, so I went out and studied under some of the best minds in the business. I earned top credentials in fitness, movement and nutrition coaching.
MovNat Master Trainer
MovNat is the world’s leading Natural Movement based fitness system. It utilizes step-by-step progressions to build practical skillful movement. To earn the Master Trainer Certification, you need to complete the MovNat Level 1-3, the Combatives and the Aquatic certifications.
Henselmans Personal Trainer (cum lade)
The Henslemans PT Cert is not your typical personal trainer certification. Instead of studying a textbook and taking a test, this certification is an 8 month long deep dive into strength training and nutrition. It provided a full survey of the relevant scientific studies and culminated in a six-hour test.
Precision Nutrition Master Nutrition Coach
The Precision Nutrition Certification is the world’s leading nutrition certification. They’ve coached nutrition for the UFC, NBA, NFL and over 100,000 regular clients. Moreover, the L2 certificate is a 12 month mentorship program focused on nutrition and behavior change psychology.
Today I help adventure-lovers of all abilities get strong and move confidently in any situation. As a result, they become excited to book their next beach vacation or challenging race. They feel physically and mentally ready to get off the sidelines and become the hero of their own adventures.
If you’d like to know more about online coaching, you can check it out HERE. If you have any questions, you can contact me HERE. I’d love to chat.
From time to time, I write articles for MovNat. You check those about below.
Thanks for reading!
Latest MovNat Articles
How I Used MovNat to Conquer My First Spartan Ultra Race
I recently completed a 32-mile (51 km) Spartan Ultra Race with 60 obstacles. Learn how I performed, the lessons I gleaned, and how my training impacted my performance.
How to Build Even More Muscle Using MovNat
This article is a deep dive into some foundational hypertrophy training principles, and includes five strength-training strategies you can use in your next MovNat training session to build even more muscle.
Longevity Strategies for Natural Movers
Research has shown that lifestyle factors can add 12-14 years to your life. This article shows how the MovNat lifestyle, MovNat training and a healthy diet play a pivotal role in optimizing for longevity.
How MovNat made me a Barefoot Runner
Over the last six years, I've made a long difficult transition from being a broken runner to running the Authentic Marathon in a pair of Vibram Fivefingers. MovNat was key to that transition.