My name is PJ Ragone, owner of ETP Consulting and Training Systems. I have over five years of experience as the Director of Sports Medicine, developing and implementing worksite injury prevention and wellness programs in coordination with occupational health services for employers in South Jersey. Additionally, I have more than 15 years as a strength and conditioning coach for athletes of all ages and abilities, from five-year-olds learning coordination and spatial awareness to professional performing at the highest level across multiple sports No matter who I am working with, there is one philosophy I consistently encourage them to adopt, which I believe is essential for success at any level: you must embrace the process.

Every goal, mission, desired outcome, or dream involves a process of work, successes, and failures before it is realized. Through work, we build work ethics. Through failures, we build resiliency. With success, we build confidence. Determined to reach our full potential, commitment to the process makes the destination secondary to the journey. I tell my athletes to think of training like going on a road trip to the destination of their dreams. It may be a few thousand miles away and seem like a daunting journey to begin if you are only focused on getting to the end without putting in the miles. However, if you commit your body and mind to the travel and give yourself a realistic to arrive, it begins to look more achievable. The real fun comes when you make stops at places you have never been along way—some good and some perhaps not so good. The personal experience and that come from stepping outside the comfortable and complacent space you have been in and realizing you are more resilient and capable of trying something new than you have ever given yourself credit for is the most rewarding part of the journey.

I would like to introduce this concept of embracing the process to become a healthier, happier, and higher-performing individual to you, the industrial athlete. Defined as skilled workers who engage in physically demanding tasks within a variety of industrial settings, we often underestimate the strength, agility, and endurance necessary for employees working in these areas to thrive daily. Just like traditional athletes, work-related injuries are commonplace but can be mitigated, and sometimes even avoided, with the appropriate biomechanical work-risk assessment and custom strength and mobility programs.