Recent Posts

Dinosaur Relevance to Fitness

My Son, Gunnar, is five and lately everything in our house is a fossil. Rocks from the yard become “discoveries.” The simulated sandbox is a dig site. One afternoon, he held up a broken stick and told me, completely serious, “This used to be a dinosaur leg.” I asked him how he knew. He said, “You just have to figure out the rest.” That stopped me in my tracks. Because that’s exactly what we do in training and rehab.

May 19, 2026

4 ways to combat holiday stress

We all know how it feels when we’re tense. And the rush before and after the holidays really adds to the stress load. Stress takes a toll on our bodies. It affects your workout program, too. That tense feeling means your muscles are tired even before you start using them. Consequently, your workout performance is going to take a hit. To avoid that, there are several things you can do to help.

December 22, 2014

Six things you can do to prevent workout injuries

Once you have started working out regularly, the last thing you need is to be sidelined with an injury. Once injured, many people never get back to their regular routine. Working to prevent injury in the first place helps. We can’t promise you’ll never get hurt, but these six points will help decrease your risk.

December 9, 2014

The days of ‘no pain, no gain’ are over

The two most common questions personal trainers hear are: “How much exercise should I get?” and “How long should I work out?” The answers aren’t easy, because they vary with each individual. As a general rule, you should move more. But just moving isn’t enough, and it might not get you where you want to go. You need to use the right muscles in the right way.

November 26, 2014

How to lose weight without stepping on a scale

We all know we can be better, stronger, leaner. But we often don’t know how to get there. The first step toward doing that—without frustration and disappointment—is to know where you are starting from. That begins with a proper assessment.

November 23, 2014

Fitness success starts in your head

You’ve made the decision: You are going to get trim, shape up, tighten up, build stamina, increase strength, or improve performance. You are ready to chart your course—either assisted by a trainer or on your own. Sounds easy, right? Sure, as long as you understand that you aren’t maneuvering a speed boat, you’re at the helm of a freighter. When it comes to your body’s metabolism, it takes a while to speed up or change course.

November 23, 2014

The naked truth about fat

When people come to us and say, “I want to lose some weight,” we say we can help—with one caveat. We believe you need to lose fat not weight.If you are working out properly and building muscle—which weighs more than fat—you could end up trimming fat without losing an ounce.

April 1, 2014

Fitness is more than just being thin or looking good

Many people approach fitness full-bore while having unhealthy expectations. Phrases like “no pain, no gain” are misconceptions about fitness that are counterproductive. I am a personal trainer who sees things differently.

April 1, 2014

Group training

The big talk these days in fitness circles is how group training is hot and one-on-one is not. When it comes to training—as opposed to an exercises class—we don’t believe it. Personal training is not just workout administration. You go to a professional trainer with a set of specific goals to help improve performance, reduce fat, eliminate pain, etc. That works best in a one-on-one situation for a number of reasons.

November 18, 2012

How to know when it’s time to kick up your workout

It’s 2 a.m. You’re on the couch, popcorn in one hand, remote in the other. An infomercial comes on and, boy, do the people look good. You had been thinking you wanted more out of your workouts, so you make a fitness purchase. A couple of days later, you are the proud owner of a Tae Bo Kickboxing Yoga-lates Power Metric Ballistic Strength Conditioning Lift Your Butt Sculpt Your Abs video by insert celebrity here.

November 4, 2012

Don't let it go to your head

We’ve all seen someone at the gym doing a bicep curl, jutting his chin out in an '80s dance move (Walk Like an Egyptian, anyone?). What he doesn’t realize is that while his little dance move may make it easier to execute curls, it’s keeping him from effectively working the muscles he wants to build.

October 21, 2012

What to expect when you work with a personal trainer

Don’t be fooled by looks. Those trainers who greet you at the door the first time you show up at the gym—the spandex-clad guy with no neck, bulging upper arms and chest or the bouncy blond wearing a rather revealing outfit—look taught and fit, have high energy and talk a great game. Just what you want in a trainer? Right? Not really.

October 7, 2012

How to stick with an exercise program

Everyone has a groove. And once you get into one, things can hum right along without you even having to think about it. Our bodies respond to and thrive on consistent signals.

September 23, 2012

How to spend your summer vacation

“I need a vacation from my vacation.” Sound familiar? You bet. Avoidable? Absolutely. With a few simple adjustments, you can make sure that you return from your summer vacation relaxed, refreshed and ready to get back at it.

September 9, 2012

Take a stand against aging

It’s not inevitable. As you age you don’t necessarily have to lose height and develop mobility problems. Close your eyes, and think of some of the older folks you know. Picture how they walk: hunched over, taking slow steps, looking at the ground, being cautious not to move too quickly in case they lose their balance.

August 26, 2012

Don’t discount the rest of the workout

When you approach fitness, you need to think of yourself as the project manager of your body’s resources. It’s not unlike managing resources at work. We’ve all had a boss or client dump a load of work on us, expecting immediate results without allocating the proper resources. Sure, the work gets done, but it usually isn’t our best work. If it happens frequently, we become burned out, the work suffers and we might start looking for another job.

August 12, 2012

Exercise equipment promises results; but wait, there’s more

You’re sitting on the couch at 3 a.m. and a commercial comes on that promises if you buy this piece of equipment you will get the body a Greek god and the pro performance of your favorite football player. The concept of those infomercials is good: get people excited about fitness, moving and reclaiming the body. But the question is whether the product will work as intended and be used as intended.

July 29, 2012

To avoid injury, you need to be flexible with your yoga practice

Yoga is really hot as a fitness concept. And because of that, it seems to have moved away from its original intent. Classic yoga, regardless of the type, was designed as a spiritual and meditative practice not as a fitness tool.

July 15, 2012

Before you reach for that supplement bottle, take a look at what’s on your plate

The supplement industry tells us that if we want to be healthy, we should take their vitamin, use their product. Many people buy that. Bodybuilders take supplements to bulk up and lean out. Middle-aged people take them to eliminate joint pain or increase energy. Depressed people take them to try to lift their mood. But supplements aren’t anywhere near as good as the real deal: vitamins from natural sources in the foods you eat. The minute vitamins are processed into a form that can sit on shelf for six months or more, they are not natural no matter what the label says.

July 1, 2012

Fitness programs are not one-size-fits all

Not too long ago a mid-50s gentleman, let’s call him Bob, came to us after we were recommended by another trainer. He was in constant pain, having been diagnosed with sciatica. “It affected my right hip down to my right ankle,” he said. “I was in horrible pain every time I bent over to get something from a bottom drawer or pick up something that fell on the floor.” After an initial assessment, we realized that all of Bob’s challenges came from incorrect body mechanics—including bad posture, locked knees and an improper gait. We immediately started him on a recovery exercise program that would recalibrate his muscle structure to relieve the sciatica.

June 17, 2012

Best foot forward

Early spring is a great time to clean out the closet and get some new kicks, but let’s not be too hasty. Before you head out to the store for new gym shoes, it is important to understand how your feet were meant to work.

June 3, 2012

Take a hike: How to get the most benefit from simple walking

Spring is in the air, so it’s time to hit the pavement and get walking. But if you want to get the most benefit from it—it can’t be just any walking. Your posture and position are more important than how fast or how far you go.

May 20, 2012

Get a workout at your desk

If you sit all day at work, you may think that means you can’t burn any calories. Sure, you might walk to lunch, take the stairs when you can, park at the far end of the lot, but does this really help? The old-school thinking was that any motion is good. We now know that its more beneficial when that motion—or even stillness—is does with the correct posture to create proper bio mechanics.

May 6, 2012

Stress

We see it often. A bride-to-be, who wants to drop two to four sizes before her final fitting, has been doing everything right: She’s getting enough activity, eating properly, drinking plenty of water and sleeping well. But there is one big factor that is guaranteed to trip her up. She is stressed to the max.

April 22, 2012

Not all exercise is created equal

March 25, 2012

You are what you eat

Have you ever tired to build something? Whether it was a full-scale building or a popsicle-stick structure on the kitchen table, you know that you need the proper materials for it to come out right. The same is true for your fitness quest. If you want to be successful building your body, you need to make sure you have the materials you need to ensure success. That means the right nutrition plan—customized specifically for you—and the will to execute it.

March 11, 2012

Pack your water bottle for a successful fitness journey

The ideal human body is between 55 and 65 percent water. People can go as low as low 40 percent and still survive, but that comes at a cost: high blood pressure, low muscle tone and a whole host of other problems.

February 26, 2012

The five factors of fitness

Are you a person who notices patterns? Just like we use systems to fix a car, learn a baseball swing, bake a cake, or use a washing machine, we can use systems to maintain each and every body. When crafting your fitness regimen, you have to look at all the factors that contribute to wellness to succeed with your program. You need the right input to get the desired output.

February 12, 2012

Goal setting for success

You made the decision: You are going to get trim, in shape, tighten up, build stamina, increase strength, or improve performance. You are ready to chart your course—either assisted by a trainer or on your own. Sounds easy, right? Sure, as long as you understand that you aren’t maneuvering a speed boat, you’re at the helm of a freighter. When it comes to your body’s metabolism, it takes a while to speed up or change course.

January 29, 2012

Don’t set yourself up for failure

January 15, 2012

Misconceptions about personal fitness

Misconceptions about personal fitness flood us daily. I know. I’ve been in the industry for 20 years. In a life path that has taken me from the gym to the office and from the boardroom to the ballroom, I have learned that fitness is not a destination, it’s a journey.

January 1, 2012