Nothing tramples progress faster than "ah-screw-it” absolutist thinking. Let’s say you’ve had a strong week on the diet front, prepping and eating all your meals to plan. Until Friday rolls around… and you ditch another Tupperware meal at your desk to join your co-workers on the patio for tacos and drinks. No big deal. But then ah-screw-it swoops in, and suddenly you’re considering making the...

A big reason "flexible dieting" is so popular is that it dramatically reduces stress. All food is now suddenly fair game. More importantly, from a practicality and sustainability perspective, on-the-fly changes, travel modifications, and restaurant meals become SO much easier—just as long as you "crunch the numbers." It seems a little wiggle room makes things easier in the real world, eh? But...

The older you get, the harder it is to build muscle. Specifically, new muscle tissue—not maintaining what you already have. 'Cause if you're in your fifties and in good overall health, preserving the muscle you've built over the years is mostly straightforward. But adding NEW muscle as you get into the later years? Especially if you are close to your "genetic ceiling"—that's MUCH more...

There are many diet and exercise “challenges" out there. Most are directed at attracting newbies, which sure might help build a client roster. But personally, given the failure rate for newbies is so high already, isn’t “the process” challenging enough? But for those with a little more experience, there are some challenges that can really make your life better—IF you're successful. Here are two...

You won't wake up on your 40th and suddenly need a stair-lift and mobility scooter. But training in your 40s and beyond IS different. Consider this recent client question: "As a man approaching 50 that’s lifted for many years, do you feel that preserving hard-earned gains is best focused on injury prevention—rather than trying to keep loading the bar with more weight or extra volume?" It's...

@dangarnernutrition is a human performance specialist and one of the sharpest minds in sports nutrition. He's also a successful coach and experienced bodybuilder. But with bandwidth stretched to breaking point and a travel schedule that could kill a roadie, Dan asked me to take the reigns to offload the big-picture decision-making of diet and training for 4+ months. Suffice to say: Training was...