How to Stay Healthy When You Own an Auto Shop (And Still Have a Life)
Let me tell you something.
A lot of people ask me how I stay consistent and manage my health while running a shop, traveling, meeting clients, and handling everything that comes with it. The truth is, I rely on a system.
Because just like in the shop, where we have a clear operating system — what we call key to key, from the moment a customer hands you the keys to the moment you give them back, everything in between defined and accounted for — your health has to work the exact same way if you want it to hold up over time.
It can't be random, and it can't depend on how you feel that day.
My Daily System (Simple, But Non-Negotiable)
I wake up early, and the first thing I do is feed my mind while it's still fresh — before the day starts pulling me in different directions — because I've learned that if I try to do that at night when I'm tired, it just doesn't land the same way.
From there, I move my body.
Most days I'll go for a walk first, then I'll work out, although sometimes I switch the order depending on the day. The sequence isn't what matters — the consistency is.
After that, I focus on eating simple, high-protein meals that fuel me instead of slowing me down. And over time, I've made one of the biggest shifts by cutting alcohol down about 90%, which, more than anything else, has had a noticeable impact on how I feel and perform.
The Hidden Trap: What I Call “Lifestyle Creep”
What gets most people isn't one bad decision — it's what I call lifestyle creep, where small, seemingly harmless habits start stacking up without you realizing it.
You go to a business dinner, you have a couple of drinks, maybe an appetizer, maybe dessert, and then later in the week you go out again, and then again, and then you take your wife out — and before you know it, you've done that three or four times in a single week.
When you really add it up, that can easily be an extra 10,000 to 15,000 calories without ever feeling like you did anything extreme.
That's how it happens.
So instead of pretending it wasn't affecting me, I adjusted. Now, when I'm out with clients or in social settings, I'll usually go with sparkling water, and if I need to blend in a little more, there are ways to do that without overdoing it — but the point is, I stay in control.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing. But it does have to be intentional.
Why Walking Is Non-Negotiable for Shop Owners
If there's one thing I consistently come back to, it's walking — because it solves more problems than people give it credit for.
Yes, it helps with weight. Yes, it improves your cardiovascular health. But what most people don't realize is how much it clears your head and resets your thinking in a way that nothing else really does. And when you're running a shop — managing techs, dealing with customers, handling estimates, putting out fires — a clear head isn't a luxury. It's what lets you make good decisions under pressure.
The best part is, there's no real excuse not to do it.
You don't need a gym, you don't need equipment, and you don't need perfect conditions.
If you're traveling, you can walk. If it's raining, you can walk in a parking garage. If you're in a hotel room, you can walk back and forth. If you have an early flight, you wake up earlier and get it done.
This morning, I had a flight to catch, so I got up at 2:30am, went out, and by the time I got on the plane, I had already hit 11,000 steps.
At that point, everything else in the day is a bonus. That's how I look at it.
What Consistent Health Habits Actually Build
People assume this is all about getting in shape, but that's not really the core of it.
What it actually builds is discipline.
It's the act of telling yourself you're going to do something — and then following through, regardless of how you feel — that starts to change how you see yourself.
And once you build that kind of trust with yourself, it shows up everywhere else: in how you lead your team, how you make decisions, and how you operate under pressure.
That's where the real return is.
How It Spreads to Your Team and Your Culture
Something else happens when you live this way, it starts to spread to the people around you.
We now have a group chat with over 30 people where everyone shares their workouts, their steps, and their progress. Over time, it's turned into a system of accountability where nobody wants to fall behind. You see guys pushing each other, challenging each other, and celebrating wins that go far beyond just the physical changes.
One guy has lost over 120 pounds. Another dropped 45 pounds in just two months. Another is down 30 pounds simply from staying consistent and being part of the group.
Now when I post my steps, someone else responds with, "Good — gives me something to chase."
That's how culture gets built. And it didn't start with a big announcement or a formal program — it started with one person deciding to lead by example.
If You're Struggling to Get Started: A Real Plan for Shop Owners
If you're trying to get your health in order and it feels overwhelming, I want to speak directly to that, because running a shop creates specific obstacles that a generic fitness plan doesn't account for.
You're on your feet or you're sitting at a desk doing estimates. You're either physically beat or mentally drained by the end of the day. Your schedule isn't your own — it's built around the shop, the customers, and whoever called in sick that morning.
So here's how you actually start without blowing up your routine:
Don't wait for the perfect time. Start before the shop does. The single biggest shift I made was protecting mornings before the day had a chance to take over. You don't need a full hour. Even 20 minutes of walking before you open the bay doors counts. The shop will consume whatever time you leave unprotected, so protect it first.
Make it the smallest possible commitment you'll actually keep. A lot of guys try to go from zero to a full gym program and quit within two weeks. Don't do that. Pick one thing, and do it every day for 30 days. That's it. Once that's locked in, you can build on top of it. But consistency at a low level beats intensity you can't sustain every time.
Handle the food problem where it actually happens. For shop owners, the food trap isn't dinner — it's the middle of the day. It's the fast food run because nobody had time to plan. It's the vending machine. It's the leftover doughnuts in the break room. The fix is having better options ready. Prep some high-protein meals on Sunday. Keep something simple in the shop. You don't have to eat perfectly. You just have to make the default option better.
Use accountability like you use it in the shop. You don't run your operation on the honor system — you have systems, checklists, and people who are watching. Your health needs the same thing. Find one other person — a tech, a friend, another shop owner — and start a simple check-in. It doesn't have to be formal. A text that says "got my steps in" is enough. The act of reporting to someone else changes your follow-through rate dramatically.
Stop waiting until things slow down. They won't. Any shop owner reading this knows that "slow" is always two weeks away. If you're waiting for a less busy stretch to start taking care of yourself, you'll be waiting forever. The guys who figure this out are the ones who stopped treating their health like a project and started treating it like a shop procedure — something that happens regardless of what else is going on.
You don't need to overhaul your entire life overnight. You just need a few consistent actions that you commit to and repeat.
Start with walking every day. Clean up your meals where you can. Cut back on alcohol, even a little. And most importantly, start keeping your word to yourself in the small things first. Because once that foundation is in place, everything else becomes easier to build on top of it. And over time, it stops feeling like effort, and starts feeling like who you are.
