Trainer's Blog

Einstein allegedly defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

How many of us have tried to diet and exercise and repeatedly failed? How many of us go to the gym or for walks every day but never achieve the level of fitness we’d like?

The answer, it seems, lies in your ability to adapt, overcome and grow. I read a lot. I'm currently reading The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck. Great book… I strongly recommend it. Anyway, everything I read agrees that growth (mental, spiritual – even physical) should be something you strive for and continue to do until the day you die. In the gym, we say that you’re either moving forward or backward. There is no standing still.

How would you describe your fitness endeavors? Are they insanely routine and unchanging, yielding no noticeable results, or are they characterized and even evidenced by constant attempts at growth and improvement? If something isn’t working, do you change it and try something new or do you just keep at it and tell yourself, “At least I'm trying…”

Focus on results. If you’re getting them, keep up what you’re doing. If not, attempt to change, adapt and grow. If you need help, contact me. I’ll meet you in the gym and well brainstorm together – free of charge.

I’ll leave you with this quote by Bruce Feirstein – “The distance between insanity and genius is...

What is the best way to shed fat and get in the best shape of your life? Strength and conditioning training. Why? Read on.

The Mayo Clinic tells us that “Your basal metabolic rate accounts for about 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn every day.” Your basal metabolic rate, commonly referred to as your metabolism, is how much energy your body burns at rest. The remainder of your calories (25-40%) are used up by your daily physical activity (15-30%) and something called the thermic effect (10%).

Now, we know how to increase the expenditure of calories via the physical activity route. Move more, right? Boring but easy. What we don’t all know is how to affect that much bigger number, namely the metabolism and its 60-75% contribution to your daily calorie expenditure.

Long story short, what you need to understand is that the more lean mass (muscle, bone, etc.) your body holds, the more it costs in calories to exist all day every day regardless of your level of physical activity.

Now, a lot of people will say, “But I don’t want to look all muscley like those bodybuilders…” to which I reply, “You know how you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see? Is that muscle you're looking at?!?”

All of you that worry about getting too big, all I have to say is “good luck”. Most of you (myself included) don’t have the genetics to get to even “kind of big” let alone...

For starters, we're honest !

What comes to mind when you think of steroids? Big, unnatural-looking muscles I’m sure. We all know Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire used steroids to hit farther than any other baseball players, and we know Arnold Schwarzenegger used steroids to get huge back in the day. Steroids are a dangerous and illegal substance, and yet, like pot, it seems like everyone has easy access to it if they want it. Just step into any “big box” gym and you’ll see humongous human beings walking around doing partner-assisted curls and crunches using a cable machine. Then they might jump on the leg extension machine and do a couple sets, and their legs will look like they are about to explode they’re so big.

Other non-steroid using gym members may see these guys training and think that they can mimic the results by doing the same exercises with the same reckless abandon. They may figure it out sooner or later but eventually, they’ll see that something vital is missing, because they’re not getting bigger or stronger, even though they’re doing the same things the huge guy is doing.

This is the frustration that many have felt over the years, and since most people don’t know how to train properly they think that the only way to make progress is through the use of steroids. It’s an unfortunate fact, but many believe they just can’t build muscle, that they’re bodies will just resist any attempt ...

An Argument for Weight Lifting

Cardio is difficult, but weightlifting is impossible. That’s what many believe, and yet every year lots of people purchase gym memberships and then never go to the gym. Something in the back of these people’s minds must be telling them that there’s something to this whole weightlifting thing. That or they want to be able to watch a 46” TV while pedaling on a recumbent bike that has a computer screen on it with web access.

The truth is, of all athletes, weight lifters are the lazy ones. They do as little as possible to get the job done, and it’s less than you might think. If they don’t feel like running, they don’t run. You don’t really have that choice in sports like football or soccer. Weightlifters often don’t even do any cardio if their diet is okay. As for a weightlifter’s weekly exercise regimen, it’s laughable compared to what pretty much any other kind of athlete does. In football you train every day, sometimes two or three times a day. Triathletes train everyday too, running, bike riding, swimming, as long and as hard as they can, and wearing their iPod for as much of it as possible because they’re so insanely bored by it all.

Weightlifters don’t need iPods. They don’t get bored. Their workouts are short, intense, fun and constantly changing because of the highly adaptive nature of the body. There are so many different ways to lift that, if you...

It's better to be envied than pitied...

Weightlifting is about longevity and quality of life. Looking good in a bathing suit is just a bonus.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a movement in America to discourage people from lifting heavy weights, or any weights at all. Doctors prescribe cardio for people who need more physical activity, diet books consider cardio the only form of exercise that exists, and TV shows like ‘The Biggest Loser’ strongly promote, you guessed it, cardio and more cardio. So where’s the weightlifting in all this? I’ll tell you, it’s not there because none of these so-called health experts know a thing about it.

Do you think Jillian Micheals (the “star” trainer of ‘The Biggest Loser’) has a good body? If you said yes, then I agree with you, she has succeeded in attaining what many consider a “good” physique. Is it great? No, I see flaws. For one she doesn’t really have any muscle mass, she’s just thin (the other picture is of a woman who does serious weight lifting, you’ll notice she exhibits more definition and overall “tone” than Jillian). Now, I have the eye of a personal trainer and physique specialist, so I’m going to be more critical than the average person. But, if you could, wouldn’t you rather be ‘great’? (By the way, Jillian isn't a real personal trainer, she's an actor)

If, on the other hand, you do...