Meet Zach Schmit
Zach, owner of KAIZENFIT, is an experienced marathon runner, Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), a Certified Nutrition Coach through Precision Nutrition, and holds a Bachelors Degree from Coe College.
13 Things About Zach
1 - Home
Born and raised in Iowa, I grew up in a small town that probably has more cows than people. Two stoplights. Several small towns come together just to make up the entire junior high and high school. My graduating class had 76 students. I currently reside in Marion, IA.
2 - Four Sport Athlete
In high school, I was a four-sport athlete. I played football, basketball, track, and baseball. There was never an offseason. My teammates and I enjoyed being in the mix for a conference and/or state title run almost every season.
3 - Division III College Athlete
I played Division III college football for three years. Unfortunately, a significant hamstring tear didn’t heal well enough in time for me to play my senior season (I know, not exactly the background you would expect from an eventual marathon runner). I had some really great teammates who were outstanding athletes.
4 - Professional Background
Prior to becoming a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, most of my professional background is in sales, marketing, executive leadership roles, and entrepreneurship.
5 - Covenant Workplace Solutions
In addition to 1:1 coaching through KAIZENFIT, I am the Head of Operations and Owner of Covenant Workplace Solutions. It is incredibly rewarding to provide programs for organizations that support their employees’ mental health and wellness.
6 - Former Varsity Boys Basketball Head Coach
I am a former varsity boys basketball head coach. This was an exciting and fulfilling opportunity to pour into those young men and watch them grow both on and off the court.
7 - Favorites
One of my favorite things is seeing others find real success and reap the rewards of all their hard work and dedication in pursuit of their goals.
8 - Seasoned Marathon Runner
I am a 2:38:42 marathoner. I ran my second World Marathon Major in Chicago in October of 2023, and ran my 4th Boston Marathon in April of 2023. Next up is the Berlin Marathon in September 2024. So far, I have run 11 marathons, 11 half-marathons, and numerous 5K’s, 8K’s, and 10K’s.
9 - Forty Under 40
In 2022, I received the honor of being named to the Corridor Business Journal Forty Under 40 list. A humbling award for which I am very grateful.
10 - Travel Enthusiast
I love to travel the world to experience new places. It’s one of the best things ever when you get to check another destination off your bucket list.
11 - Foundation In Faith
My faith is foundational to every part of who I am. Sometimes life just beats you to your knees and it feels like there is nothing you can do about it. I wouldn’t have been able to overcome and get through the most challenging times in my life without it.
12 - Core Belief
As difficult as it may seem in the moment sometimes, I believe life is always happening for you, not to you. When you look back, the dots will always connect… eventually.
13 - Man’s Best Friend
I have the best dog in the world. His name is Bear. He’s my ride-or-die and the official KAIZENFIT mascot.
A Bigger Purpose
Over the years, I have personally experienced the ups and downs of mindless stress-eating and regularly consuming copious amounts of food until it hurt just because it tasted good; only to be overcome with tremendous guilt in the aftermath. I have been the guy to think I was finally eating healthy, only to discover it was another fad diet that is full of sh*t. I’ve also experimented a hundred different ways to optimize my nutrition for performance purposes over the years. If you can relate with any of that and then some, trust me when I tell you it can all evolve and improve. I could go on and on about the times I jumped from one extreme diet or workout regimen to the next, but if it weren’t for great mentors and seeking out science and evidence-based education within the health and wellness space, I would not be where I am today.
But this is bigger than me and my story. Like most of you, I’ve watched far too many people I love and care about battle cancer, fight to manage high blood pressure, develop atherosclerosis, attempt to ward off heart disease, combat obesity, sink into the depths of depression, and a laundry list of other conditions. These ailments don’t just happen overnight and there are generally multiple risk factors involved over long periods of time, such as genetics, the environment, nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep, and more. The amount of widespread misinformation out there is staggering.
In 2021, I lost my mother to cancer. She was also diabetic. This was the beginning of me transitioning from being your everyday health and fitness enthusiast, solely looking to optimize my own health, to becoming a technical student of both the art and science of nutrition and fitness. I was inspired to create systems where I could use all this information and these tools to positively move the needle for others. By extension, there are significant, systemic health benefits to getting stronger, leaner, shedding excess body fat, getting quality sleep every night, creating sustainable healthy habits, improving your relationship with food, etc… Both your bloodwork and your body begin to look much better!
To paraphrase the great Deion Sanders (Coach Prime) – look good, feel good, play good (live good).
Putting The Miles In
As for my life as a runner, my running journey began around 2010 as I dabbled in random 5K’s on Saturday mornings. In 2014, I decided at a mastermind retreat in Hawaii that I was going to put the Boston Marathon on my bucket list and pursue it immediately. Without any training or knowing what I was doing, I ran my first half-marathon in the Fall of 2014. Simply finishing that race gave me enough confidence and belief that I could make the Boston Marathon become a reality.
Spring of 2015, I transitioned quickly from 5K’s to 8K’s to half-marathons to my first full marathon in June. To make a long, frustrating story, short, despite running a BQ (Boston Qualifying time) in 2015, 2016, and 2017, it wasn’t until the Fall of 2018 I finally ran a BQ fast enough to get me in the official field of Boston Marathon runners the following April.
So, what changed in 2018 from all the years prior? It was a coach! It wasn’t until I invested in a running coach in the Spring of 2018. She took all the training I was trying to figure out on my own the past few years, and completely scrapped it. All the overtraining I realized I was doing, the hormone and thyroid issues I was experiencing because of it, and everything detrimental that came with it began to fade away and things began to gradually improve because I was working with a professional who knew exactly what she was doing. She changed the game entirely and coached me to hitting a huge PR the fall of 2018, which ultimately punched my ticket to the Boston Marathon in April 2019.
Now, I am committed to paying it forward and helping other runners at all experience levels and abilities achieve their running goals; whatever those goals may be. The training challenges I’ve been able to overcome are a testimony to the power of hiring a great coach/trainer who genuinely cares about your goals. I am motivated to be that for you.
Chat with me
Let’s connect and see how I can best help you reach your goals. Book a complimentary 30-minute consult with me!