My top 6 tips for improving shoulder health.
I’ve been wanting to discuss some of the steps I have taken over the past year or so to maintain my shoulder health and mobility. The style of training that I do often includes a lot of different exercises that can be pretty demanding on my shoulders, including heavy cleans, jerks, snatches, gymnastic movements (like […]
The A-B-C’s of squatting for beginners and for those with limited mobility.
Squatting to proper depth and with good form is a beautiful thing. Not everyone has the ability to do this, especially not right off the bat. But with a little bit of work and effort, you will be able to get yourself there. I have had a lot of clients who were brand new to […]
For the ladies. A little bit of vanity: EVERYTHING LEGS! …and the fear of developing “bulky” legs.
Someone sent me the following question recently, and seeing as I have gotten lots of similar questions from women, I thought to make a post of my thoughts. Question: I want to lose fat around my thighs to make them smaller, firmer and defined. They have cellulite and remain flabby. I am training so hard […]
Pain versus discomfort. Learn the difference.
In training there is a big difference between (bad) pain and discomfort. And more people could benefit from understanding what the differences are. I’ve had clients tell me that pull-ups hurt (no shit!) so they can’t do them, or that they need to lower the weight on their squats because their quads are in pain. […]
Oh fitness industry, where art thou balance?
I recently read this article someone posted on Facebook about buzzwords. It’s referring to buzzwords in the corporate world, and it reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about for awhile now with the fitness industry. Here’s a portion from the article: “…Buzzwords are employed as a cover by those who don’t know what they’re […]
The 5 biggest issues I see going on in the body when someone comes to me for personal training.
Following are the 5 biggest problems I generally see when someone who is brand new or fairly new to exercise comes to me for training. I consider these things to be fundamental issues, as if these aren’t fixed or sorted, my clients won’t be able to get the results they need. Getting to the core […]
A different angle to IIFYM (if it fits your macros) versus “clean” eating.
There is something that has been bothering me about the ongoing debate between IIFYM/calorie counters versus the clean eaters. I have been a trainer for awhile now and with personal training being my full time job for over 6 years, I am sure you can imagine I have had my fair amount of clients. And […]
4 things I changed my mind about last year.
I started this post at the start of this year, but then over the last two weeks life suddenly became extremely busy and stressful for me both physically and emotionally, with someone I was very close to passing away. So I had to put off this post and a few others that I’ve been working […]
Dieting, calories, food choices and weight loss. Part 2.
I’m back with more FOOD TALK. Today I’m going to discuss the topics of: yoyo dieting, why you need to eat enough calories to lose weight, the importance of protein, and how to go about SMART dieting to lose body fat. (Make sure you read: Part 1, which covered topics like: You can’t out-exercise a […]
Perfect your pull up and build a strong back.
I think the pull up is quite possibly the ultimate measure of upper body strength. It’s also an awesome back and arms strength building exercise. I’ve heard it referred to as the upper body “squat”, in terms of how important an exercise it is. It is, to the upper body, what squats are to the […]
Dieting, calories, food choices and weight loss. Part 1.
What I’m going to talk about today is the HUGE subject of food and dieting. I won’t be able to cover everything I want to, in this one post, but I am going to do a series of posts covering the basics of what I feel are important principles to understand when it comes to […]
Build a good strength base!
Before you worry too much about getting super lean, getting super big, getting fitter, becoming more skilled or more coordinated… GET STRONG FIRST. Strength is definitely the foundation of fitness. All human movement requires strength. The stronger you are, the harder you will be able to push and train, which will mean you will gain […]