My name is Michael Heier, I am the founder of PDCA Endurance. I have a background in manufacturing quality and try to apply continuous improvement methods to most everything I do. By running through many iterations of the PDCA cycle I have been able to lose weight and get much more fit. I do still have a journey ahead of me and I look forward to sharing this journey with this community. My goal is to share the tools that have worked for me in the hopes that most will work for you as well.
For my entire life, I remember being overweight. I remember being in elementary school and hating to have to run the mile twice a year. I always dreaded those days and would do my best to avoid them, if I could, even though I know I’d have to make it up. My dad would call me every morning when he was at work to make sure I got up on time for school, I would pull out my best raspy voice and tell him how I didn’t feel good. He would almost always tell me, “You don’t have to feel good.” Of course, I hated his response, but I would reluctantly get ready for school so I could huff and puff and embarrass myself for 15 minutes. It took until after his passing in June 2021 for me to realize that his comment wasn’t just a way to make me go to school, but it was a life lesson.
I have started a fitness journey many times. I can’t keep track though I know there have been at least 5 prior attempts since moving to Arizona in 2011. My current push is by far my most prolonged and most successful. I am hopeful this is something I continue, in one form or another, for the rest of my life. There have been some ups and downs, but I consider this latest push to have started on January 1st, 2023. While I don’t remember a defining moment that made this one different, there were several things which I credit. As you gradually get heavier you do not always notice the changes, but looking back, it’s clearer to see the differences. After a day of work, I would notice my legs and feet would be swollen, I spend most of my day at a desk so I cannot even blame a lot of walking or heavy activity. I was traveling a fair amount and always struggling to get comfortable on an airplane, even with a seat belt extender. Of course, my dad’s passing did also factor heavily, I made some improvements shortly after but didn’t really start the journey for another year and a half. My weight at its maximum was 409 pounds, that was provided by a doctor, the scale I had at home errored at 400.
I am proud of a lot of the things I’ve accomplished on this push
– Completed 10K
– Completed Half Marathon
– Completed Sprint Triathlon (x3)
– Participated in Marine Corps Marathon
– Lost Net 70 pounds
Though I know I still have a long way to go
– Complete Marathon
– Complete Olympic Triathlon
– Complete Long Triathlon
– Complete Century Ride
– Complete Ironman
– Lose Additional 140 pounds
– Hike Grand Canyon Rim to Rim
– Hike to Havasupai Falls
– Consider Ultra Marathons
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
I’m not totally sure how I was bit by the triathlon bug, but they are exciting to me. Reading the book Life’s Too Short to Go So F*cking Slow by Susan Lacke has definitely helped me get to where I am today and is something I repeat regularly for a combination of inspiration with some laughter and tears mixed in. Triathlon lets you train for different activities and use them as an active recovery for the other sports. Swimming is an incredibly natural recovery sport due to its low gravity and low impact nature, its also very upper body focused. Cycling is more strenuous but focused on the lower body and still low impact. While it’s the most strenuous and uses your entire body, I love the simplicity of running; all you really need is a pair of shoes and even those don’t HAVE to be special.
I hope you choose to join me on my journey, hopefully we can both learn from each other and be better because of it.
Last updated: December 27, 2025