A note on burnout
So I ran a coaching push to get set for the New Year. The response was great (thank you) but I was surprised by some of the applications. Some folks, especially some of the women I talked to, are way too overtaxed for even a moderately intense diet and exercise plan. Now, note that I didn’t say too stressed for a structured plan. Structure actually lowers stress. They need a break from too many...
You might not have a “motivation” issue
I had a client who signed up for coaching a few months ago but then went dark. I finally heard back from him: "My motivation is low right now. I have no real excuse, I just can't bring myself to do all the work." I get this more than I care to admit — a sign it's partly my fault. Because it's NOT a motivation issue. It's a frustration and overwhelm issue. As much as I try to start people at a...
Coaxing vs. forcing your body through a fat loss plateau
I stole this classic expression from coach Scott Abel: "Force the body and it reacts, coax the body, and it responds.” The gist is that if you take aggressive steps to lose fat, such as slashing calories or add hours of cardio, your body will react against the deprivation, for example, by making you feel tired and stressed. But when you gently coax it, say, by reducing daily calories by 100 or...
Testosterone is criminally misunderstood
Testosterone is criminally misunderstood. On one side are morons and the media, who vilify the hormone and blame it for nearly every random act of aggression, from road rage to Black Friday brawls. On the other side are bodybuilders and biohackers, who almost worship T or at least attribute it way more power than it really deserves. The correct answer is in the middle, though definitely slanted...
Use the tools that have worked for 100 years
Barbells, plates, dumbbells, benches, etc. have been around for 100 years. Jack LaLanne, the first fitness influencer, invented the cable-pulley machine in the 1950s. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if some crafty Soviet lumberjack beat him to it. (Those dudes lifted all the time, why do you think they’re called lumberJACKS?) Those things have all remained gym equipment staples ever since. Even...
Do this instead of all the other cardio you’re doing
Let me describe a story with which you're probably already familiar. It starts when someone wants to lose weight. Here are the steps: 1. They decide to start "exercising." The very first time someone decides to lose fat they typically start with cardio. Usually they land on something we'd call steady-state: jogging, biking, rowing, or aerobics classes (remember those?). They're consistent, but...
You can’t control everything
Most of us eat right and exercise to not only look better but to also live longer, healthier, fuller lives. It helps that body composition and health tend to walk hand-in-hand. Many of the steps we take to build muscle or lose fat also contribute to better health, or at least they don’t negatively affect it. Now, that definitely changes as you go further along the winding fitness road: body...