You owe yourself this
The Pittsburgh Steelers were on defense in a comfortable 3rd and long. But Troy Polamalu whiffs on a tackle, resulting in a fresh set of downs for the opposition. Coach Cowher wasn't happy. The camera zoomed in on that famous snarl, but this time Cowher is pointing at Polamalu when he clearly yells, “YOU OWE ME.” "You owe me"? As in, owes him personally? I remember thinking, “Cowher, that's bad...
Confidence, the Weight Scale and Fat loss
Confidence is a big part of successful fat loss. While the basic physiological tenets, such as a sustained calorie deficit, HAVE to be in line, a So-So Plan that you believe in 100% will be more successful than The Perfect Plan that you just don’t think is good enough (or cutting-edge enough) to work. That’s one important reason so many people can get into shape following wildly different...
Losing Fat Is Simple, Just Not Easy
Losing fat is very simple. Just not easy. The mechanics of fat loss can be taught in under an hour (sustaining a calorie deficit, eating enough protein, regular weight training), and yet it's still so damn hard for most people to pull off consistently. The basics, like figuring out your diet numbers and planning some meals. aren't that tough. Nor is shopping, cooking, prepping, and especially...
Muscle Growth Incentive
Muscle needs “incentive” to grow. Asking it to do the same work it's successfully done before won’t cut it. You gotta ask for more — lift more weight, do more reps with a given weight, do more (productive) sets — for your muscles to wake up and lay down some new tissue. Adding weight/reps at the expense of technique isn't progression. Improving technique with no increase in weight/reps IS...
“Don’t celebrate special occasions with food”
Approaching what's usually a sunny long weekend filled with food and family, I wanna take aim at some “health advice” I truly hate: “Don’t celebrate special occasions with food. You’ll just build unhealthy associations between the day and eating too many calories.” Yeah, cause that’s such a horrible thing. Nothing worse than occasionally relaxing and having fun and enjoying simple pleasures like...
Against Diet Challenges
I'm not a fan of the zillions of diet challenges you see all over social media. I get the reasoning behind them from a marketing perspective, but I'm more a case-by-case, individualization-is-numero-uno kinda guy. Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates wouldn't keep junk food in the house when dieting. So the most focused, driven bodybuilder of all time didn't want to unnecessarily test his willpower when...
Pain, “Strength,” and Father’s Day
Happy Father's Day. But I'll get to that later. First, a lot of people in the fitness space are in pain. Not just physical but emotional and psychological. Some hide it well, under a steely facade of ego and a bit of bluster, to make it through the day. Others are more transparent and almost wear their pain like a uniform, perhaps to attract people in a similar situation for companionship or to...