May 18, 2016

To Hell and Back: My Battle With Depression

We’re all human, even us fitness professionals. We make mistakes. We have struggles in our personal lives that we deal with daily. We portray ourselves a certain way on the Internet because we are our brand, but offline most of us are just live everyone else.
May 16, 2016

The Best Exercises You’re (Probably) Not Doing

When creating programs, I’m a big fan of variety. Not because I believe muscles need to be “confused”, but rather because there are a ton of exercise variations out there that get no love. I feel bad for them.
April 25, 2016

52 Tips for Fat Loss, Muscle-Building, and All-Around Awesomeness

Everyone claims to have that one things that works better than everything else. The "one simple thing" you can do to burn more fat or build more muscle. Something that somehow only they know, and are now finally going to share it with the world...Bullshit.
March 30, 2016

Las Vegas Luck

I just recently returned home from an annual trip to Las Vegas. Each year me and a group of friends make the pilgrimage to Sin City for March Madness, gambling, and most importantly, buffets.
March 23, 2016

How to Use Density Training for Rapid Fat Loss

With fat loss, a lot of different training methods work. After all, diet is priority numero uno anyway. However, when it comes to training, there are certain methods that work better than others. And one of those methods is Density Training.
March 16, 2016

Stop Counting How Many Calories You Burn

Exercise has a ton of health benefits, there’s no denying that. But is weight loss really one of them? And does counting how many calories you burn actually do more harm than good?
September 30, 2015

The Complete Incomplete Guide to Supplements

As a trainer and coach one of the things I get asked about a lot are supplements. Almost everyone in the fitness industry has an opinion on supplements. Some hate them, while others depend on selling supplements to make a living. Neither side is right or wrong, it really just depends on your experience with supplements (or in some cases how slimy and money-hungry you are).
July 1, 2015

It’s Your Fault

Warning: If you’re sensitive, fragile, or need to constantly have your ego fed by having people tell you how awesome and special you are, this post is probably not for you, because it’s about to get real. If however, you are someone who may be stuck, someone who can take criticism, and can objectively look at themselves and their efforts, then keep reading.
June 10, 2015

The Best Damn Macro Article, Period!

In my last article, I discussed how to find your caloric maintenance and set a reasonable deficit for fat loss. Today’s article is going to go a step further and show you what I and many other coaches believe to be a better way to count than just tracking calories. I’m talking of course, about macros.
May 20, 2015

Hidden Factors Affecting Your Fat Loss

On the surface, fat loss doesn’t seem that complicated. Create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories than you burn, add in some exercise (preferably resistance training), and BOOM, fat loss!
May 4, 2015

Setting A Caloric Deficit For Fat Loss

It’s no secret that I am a big proponent of counting calories and/or macros. I’ve only written about the benefits of it here, here, here, here, and here. The only way to lose weight is to create an energy deficit by consuming fewer calories than you burn. And while I will admit that counting is not right for everyone in every situation, I truly believe it is the most effective and efficient way to lose fat.
April 21, 2015

Why Just “Eating Healthy” Won’t Help You Lose Fat

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase “eating healthy?” Some may visualize a person with ripped abs, or huge muscles. Others conjure up images of perceived healthy foods, like broccoli, chicken, Greek yogurt, nuts, and kale. Mmmmm, all that kale… But if you’re like me, you may have trouble narrowing down what exactly constitutes “healthy.”   Now, let’s turn that around. What comes to mind when you hear the term “unhealthy?” I think it’s easier to narrow down what unhealthy foods are; at least for us personally. For some of you reading this, I’d venture to guess your list contains some or all of the following: fast food, carbs, trans fats, processed foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, soda, and so on. Regardless of what you pictured when you thought about each word, you are right…and wrong…and now, probably confused. Let me explain… I hate the terms healthy/unhealthy. Well, hate may be too strong a word. I dislike them. I also dislike the terms good/bad/evil, and best/worst, in the context of diet or exercise. And that’s exactly why I hate dislike these terms. More often than not, they’re used without proper context. Just thrown into headlines as click-bait by editors so you’ll read their article. Now, I am not saying we should stop using these words or be afraid of them. My man John Romaniello has a great write-up here about why we shouldn’t be afraid of words. In it he discusses that by fearing words, we give them power over us, our decisions, and our lives. But part of not fearing words is understanding not only what they mean, but also what they mean in the context with which they’re used. The problem with words like “healthy” or “unhealthy,” “good” or “bad,” is that they’re thrown around […]