Morning routines are important, not magic
Have you seen the morning routines of some influencers or "lifestyle designers"? After the deep breathing, contrast showers, daily affirmations, meditation, journaling, brewing oolong tea, and brain dumping (probably due to too much tea) you have to wonder if anyone has a job, much less a family. Bullshit notwithstanding, morning routines are still essential. A series of daily rituals...
How many different exercises do you actually need?
You do NOT need to know hundreds of exercises to build a strong, jacked physique. Truth is, you can hit all the targets with fewer than 20 exercises, and 80% of the ground is covered by just 10 exercises. Ten exercises? For the whole body? Sheesh, I can rattle off 10 lifts for just the tibialis anterior. Okay, so if only a few exercises are "required" to train the whole body, then is learning a...
On Walking
Weight training is the greatest form of exercise. The transformative effect it has on the body has no equal. But while there's no substitute for weight training, there is a perfect complement: walking. If weight training is a rocket launch, then walking is what fuels the boosters. It's the rare exercise modality that doesn't dig a recovery hole. In fact, its rhythmic nature lowers stress and...
Give in to your dark side
People talk a lot about motivation. Correction. Sorry. NOW people actually say motivation is bullshit, and what it really comes down to is discipline. I'm sorta in between. I agree no amount of motivation will create lasting change without a steely spine of hard, near-unflappable discipline. But like Springsteen said you can't start a fire without a spark. And no fire begins without the spark of...
Before, After, and 10 Years After
Time marches on. I don't often use before & after transformations to promote my coaching because even when it's done honestly (no photoshop or "sandbagging" the before pic) it's still a bit short-sighted. I mean, yeah, I do it (it works) but I always feel a bit weird about it. I'm MUCH more interested in someone's "after & after." How do they look and feel three months after their...
New year, new gym. It starts by doing the work.
Behold my basement gym, the dreaded #DeathSpa. Even though it's 2021 and I could've used it back when the lockdowns started, I'm still pumped to attack the New Year with this bad boy behind me. But it's less about a home gym and more about an attitude: taking ownership, overcoming adversity and moving forward. Taking ownership is obvious. The government closed my gym several times. We alone are...
Social media and the happy/good/smarter test
Most people have figured out that social media companies are in the business of making money. If in that process you, their customer, reconnect with your high school friends, join an awesome fat loss group, or expand your own business, I'm sure Zuck is overjoyed you're having a positive experience. But it's not always positive. For a lot of people social media has become an overwhelmingly...