Cardio and the bigger picture
CARDIO! It sucks. I mean—no, cardio is wonderful! It’s good for your heart, improves lung capacity, enhances recovery, improves immune function, and even feels good. Do your cardio and you WILL live longer. See? I'm a fan. But in terms of burning bodyfat, cardiovascular exercise is pretty "meh" compared to other tools in your toolbox. Okay, even that missive was lacking context. Here's the...
False Start, Offense
The myth that it's bad to start and stop You've been there. I know I have. You look at your schedule and spot a stretch of relative normalcy, a stretch where you could commit to getting leaner or bigger or even just clean up some bad habits. To really nail it, you hire a coach or invest in a meal service. You even demand your family also gets on board. No more half-measures. Day 1 arrives and...
Skeptical of Everything, Except…
It's funny how people are so skeptical and yet so gullible. They'll challenge everything from vaccines to the "mainstream news," questioning if it's on the level or perhaps there's a hidden agenda at play. And that's fine. But along comes a naturally curvy influencer with a bunch of useless banded and bodyweight "booty builders" and everyone scrambles to copy her. Nobody questions that maybe...
Ah, the “Get a New Workout Every Month” Club
There are MANY reasons to change up a workout. The fact that it’s April 1st should not be one of them. Ahh, the "Get a New Workout Every Month Club." New and prospective clients like the sound of it. I even flirted with it briefly in my group training, since it's much easier to plan group workouts in advance. ..but I switched back to 6-8 weeks within a month. The results are just demonstrably...
There is such a thing as magic
There are no magic workouts or magic diets or even magic drugs. And certainly no magic supplements. But there is such thing as magic. Hard Work is Magic. Download a random program off the internet and you'll make progress—if you bust your ass. Sleepwalking through The Most Perfect Program Ever will do... next to nothing. Consistency is Magic. Three days of "perfect eating" followed by three days...
Life Lessons for Lifters by Milo (no, not that one)
A while back everyone was talking about some free speech blowhard named Milo. Until then, the only Milo I knew was the old powerlifting magazine and its inspiration — Milo of Croton, the mythic Greek strongman: This is what happens to bodybuilders with their head crammed up their own ass. The Greek Milo built his legendary strength by lifting and carrying a newborn calf and then repeating the...
Always be playing
"just go play" If I was a professional athlete or got paid to lift weights (well, that would be cool) I'd probably approach working out a bit differently. Every rep of every exercise would be 100% about improvement. What needs to improve most? What's holding me back? Where am I wasting time and effort? I would be way more pragmatic. Now, of course, yeah, I already do take a fairly pragmatic...