Needing Workout Motivation? As I’ve noted many times in my blogs as well as essays, I get asked a lot of questions in the gym, or even amongst friends and acquaintances outside of the gym. Naturally, some are better than others, such as do you think my particular case of Ankylosing Spondylitis is something that
Body Fat Types And How They Differ Just as with anything in health and fitness, we can make an observation or arrive at what seems to be a forgone conclusion about most whatever it is that you want to talk about. Upon scratching the surface, however, there are more often than not several layers, classes,
Why Diets Work Why diets work, whether it be a fad diet, or a medical diet, has always been intriguing to me as a long time personal trainer in Austin. As I’ve said many times in my blogs and in various essays both here on the site, as well as in various publications, there are
Wondering How Much Protein Should I Eat On Rest Days? How much protein should I eat on rest days is a long standing question that has been debated in many gyms and on many fitness forums. As a guy that’s been a personal trainer in Austin for over 20 years, as well as a gym
The Best Cardio Machine For You As a gym owner for over 11 years now and having been an Austin personal trainer for well over 20, I get a lot of “what is the best..” then fill in the blank questions. People will often ask which is the best type of protein, the best cardio
Getting Rid Of Muscle Soreness Isn’t So Simple One of the most commonly asked questions of me as a longtime personal trainer in Austin, is regarding getting rid of muscle soreness. Muscle soreness following a workout is otherwise known as delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, for short. When we use our muscles strenuously or
Will Yoga Make Me Stronger You Ask? Every time someone decides that they want to get in better shape, for whatever reason, be it for a sport, for weight loss, for strength, bone density, etc, the one thing about fitness that makes it unique, is that you have many options. Back many years ago, that
Is Eating Extra Protein For Weight Loss Effective? As I have documented many times over my 23 years as an Austin personal trainer, on this website, and elsewhere, is that there is an enormous amount of hype, fads, and just plain misinformation coming from all corners of the fitness world. Nutrition is an area that
What Are The Best Tricep Exercises? As one can imagine, if you have owned a gym for 11 years, and been a personal trainer in Austin for over 20, you’re going to be asked about what the best exercise for this or that is many, many times. Another thing you can take to the bank,
Are You Asking Yourself How Do I Firm Up The Back Of My Arms? As a personal trainer in Austin for over 2 decades, as well as a gym owner for over one, I hear a lot from women that they want to lose weight, make the caboose a little on the smaller side, etc.
Isolating Muscles In A Workout: Can It Be Done? This morning a young man signed up at my gym and proceeded to do every one of his lifts incorrectly. He is the type of guy who spends a lot of time admiring himself in the gym’s mirrors and prides himself on the amount of weight
Which Is More Beneficial? Group Fitness Classes VS Personal Training? Any time we decide to step out of our comfort zone and embrace something, or at least give it a shot, we may be able to reference our friend’s recommendations, a magazine article, or whatever the almighty Google has decided is in our best interests.
How I Became an Austin Personal Trainer A question I hear with great frequency is how did you become an Austin personal trainer and gym owner? The true answer spans decades. Long before I was a successful personal trainer, I was a skinny little kid from New York City who marveled at the physiques of
Lacrosse Balls For Wellness When you’ve been a personal trainer in Austin as long as I have, you will run across a great many imbalances within people’s physiques. Some are glaringly obvious, while others can be less so. Part of what I do as a trainer, is to do the corrective bodywork myself. I’ve done
Are Fitness Apps Worthwhile? In the health and fitness industry, there are many products one can buy to aid themselves in the pursuit of their goals. There are a plethora of supplements one can purchase, and there are a lot of different services one can pay for as well. A testament to that is the
Which Is Better For Pectoral Development? Flat Bench VS Incline Bench Press? Of all of the great debates in the health and fitness world, and there are many, few are easier to settle than flat bench vs incline bench press when it comes to which is more important for pectoral development. As a personal trainer
Measuring Body Mass Index (BMI): A Reliable Diagnostic Tool? One of the most interesting, as well as puzzling things to me as an Austin personal trainer for over 20 years, is to hear people extol upon the virtues of formulas. In the world of health and fitness, there are many sweeping statements and generalizations concerning
The Best Bicep Exercises One thing that shines through in all of the over 2 decades that I’ve been an Austin personal trainer and gym owner, is that men want bigger arms. You always ask potential clients in their free consultation what it is they are looking to do health and fitness wise. Without a
Should I Run? Should I run is a question I have fielded from any number of gym members and personal training clients over my many years as an Austin personal trainer and gym owner. It is widely held that running is the purest and most effective form of cardiovascular exercise as it pertains to weight
Plantar Fasciitis: How to treat it As a personal trainer in Austin, TX for over 2 decades, you can rest assured that I have seen a lot of different clients with many different ailments, imbalances, and conditions. One of the most common that I’ve dealt with over the years is a what’s known as plantar
Having Trouble Keeping the Weight Off? There has been a lot of recent coverage of enormous weight loss, followed by people experiencing difficulty keeping the weight off. On such television shows as The Biggest Loser, for example, this seems to be the norm rather than the exception. The premise of that show in particular, is
Overcoming the Body Image Insecurities and Potential Anxieties These days we seem to hear a lot about body image. Everybody from former UFC champion Rhonda Rousey, to models, to doctors, NFL players, and on down the line have been outspoken on the subject. As an Austin personal trainer for over 20 years, I can assure
Asking Yourself Why Am I Fat? I had a rather amusing email land in my inbox the other day. It was from a young lady whom I have never met and she simply asked, why am I fat? Granted, I make myself readily available on such websites as quora, etc, and it’s not too hard
Soy Protein: Is It A Healthy Option? With all of the questions surrounding fitness getting “answered” on trendy websites that cater to fads, as well as by personal trainers on fitness forums who are fresh out of the certification process, one of the biggest mysteries seems to be what is the best protein? There’s any
More Frequently Asked Fitness Questions Last week, I wrote of a couple of frequently asked fitness questions that were a little off the beaten path, so to speak. What I mean, is that I don’t hear them with the regularity of such questions as what’s the best way to lose weight, etc. Having been an
Frequently Asked Fitness Questions I Field As one can imagine, when you’ve been an a personal trainer in Austin for over 20 years, and a gym owner for over 10, there’s a lot of frequently asked fitness questions coming your way. They run the gamut from proper gym etiquette, to proper techniques, fads and fashions,
What is Coffee? Coffee is a beverage that’s prepared by brewing the beans of the Coffea plant. The beans themselves are seeds from the berries of the plant. Originally, the Coffea plant was indigenous to Africa, but through extensive exportation, is now found growing in over 70 countries throughout the world. Coffee has 2 beans,
10,000 Steps Is A Long Way To Walk Over my many years as an Austin personal trainer, I’ve written of the many fitness fads and trends that become the next great sensation. Everything from pole dancing classes, to CrossFit, and seemingly everything else in between that has ever been a blip on the fitness radar
Feel Your Way To Fitness Results When young men, discover weight training, it almost seems a rite of passage to see if they can keep up with the big boys, so to speak. I can bench this amount of weight for this amount of repetitions. I can squat 3 plates per side 8 times, etc.
The Best Way To Stretch Everyone, and I mean everyone, has some sort of imbalance or tightness in their body. It could be anything from a tight hip flexor, a knee that’s not tracking properly because of a tight quadricep muscle, a tight levator scapulae, and so on, but there’s going to be something. As
How to Go About Overcoming Gym Intimidation One of the biggest reasons people shy away from fitness, especially in gyms is because they are intimidated. Gym intimidation is rampant and is not confined to any one demographic. Over my 20 plus years as an Austin personal trainer, I’ve seen everybody from professional athletes, to beginners
Wondering How To Find A Good Personal Trainer? How to find a good personal trainer is a difficult, yet astonishingly easy question for me to answer, despite my bias. As a longtime personal trainer in Austin, as well as a gym owner for over a decade, I’m certainly biased when it comes to personal trainers.
What Is The Difference Between Leg Press And Squats? As a 20 plus year veteran Austin personal trainer and gym owner, one question I hear asked of me a lot at the gym is, what is the difference between leg press and squats? There’s a lot of different machines in the gym. Some machines are
Is It True?: Is Exercising Too Much Bad For You? There’s a lot of preconceived notions in the health and fitness industry. Everything from certain protocols regarding nutrition, supplements, etc. There’s certainly no shortage of itemized workouts that are guaranteed to take you to the next level, and so on. One thing we don’t hear
As A Parent, Are You Wondering Should Kids Lift Weights? An interesting question was sent to me this morning from a lady in California. She explained she has a son who is undersized, according to the growth charts in her doctor’s office, and she wanted to help him get bigger by sending him to the
Try Swimming For Weight Loss! A lot of people think they know the best exercise for weight loss, but I’m a little skeptical. The reason for my skepticism, is that I see an awful lot of heavy folks jogging in the hot sun in their attempt to lose weight. While jogging is certainly a reasonable
What Are Some Good Exercises For Low Back Pain? As a longtime Austin personal trainer and gym owner, I’m asked many fitness questions routinely, but I’m also asked a lot of physical therapy questions, as that is something that has become a niche for my training company over the years. One such question that is
Walking vs Running For Weight Loss: Which Is More Effective? As long as there have been gyms, there have been fitness debates. These debates have taken place in many social circles such as within the scientific community, the gym rat community, the “bro science” community, and of course, if the walls could talk, they’d echo
Wondering What is the Most Effective Way to Lose Weight? Most of the questions I field as a longtime personal trainer in Austin, TX, are well thought out questions from people who often times, have little experience in the weightlifting and/or exercise world. I’m always happy to answer their questions, provided I’m not in the
Which Stretches Are The Best Stretches? The other day my wife and I were at a friend’s dinner party relaxing and enjoying catching up with old friends, when a lady I’d just met asked me the generic question of what are the best stretches? One thing that I have accepted about my chosen profession is
Asking Yourself Should I stretch Before Or After My Workout? As I’ve pointed out several times before in previous writings, there is a lot of myths and what I call science fiction strewn about the health and fitness landscape. There is no shortage of sweeping statements, wonder pills, and amazing breakthroughs, that will give you
Clearing Up Myths: Will Exercising Make Me Live Longer? An interesting question came across my proverbial desk this morning from a long standing gym member. He asked will exercising make me live longer? There’s a lot of differing opinions on this matter, and like anything in the stereotypical health and fitness world, there’s a lot
Wondering How To Get Big? It goes without saying that men and women are very different. We have any number of differences universally, and that almost always includes how we approach the gym. As an Austin personal trainer for over 20 years, I can assure you that 99.9% of the time the reason men are
Wondering How To Get A Flat Stomach? When you’ve been an Austin personal trainer as long as I have, you certainly get to meet a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds and with an equally wide variety of goals. A lot of men want to become physically larger with big muscles, usually pectorals
What Are Some Exercises I Can Do At Home? As an Austin personal trainer for over 20 years, and a gym owner for almost a decade, I’ve learned a thing or 2 about what people are looking for when it comes to their workouts. I’m also rather well versed in what people expect from a
Workouts: There’s No 1 Size Fits All Workout One thing I’m frequently asked for as an Austin personal trainer by clients, as well as prospective clients, is for a workout plan. Workouts and workout plans can be found virtually any and everywhere. You don’t need to hire a personal trainer to hand you a random
Thinking of Building a Home Gym? It goes without saying, that convenience is a major determinant of how we go about virtually everything that we do. It often times dictates the choices we make in a variety of things from what, and/or where we are going to eat, when we are going places, and even
Wondering How Long Should I Rest Between Sets? One of the most frequently asked questions of me as a long time Austin personal trainer and gym owner, is how long should I rest between sets? It’s a very common question, but like anything else in the health and fitness world, there’s no generic, one-size-fits-all answer.
In all of the many years I’ve been a personal trainer in South Austin, as well as a gym owner, one of the most persistent questions asked of me is how do I lose belly fat? People ask everything from how can I get a skinnier face, to how can I increase my bench press,
Are You Wondering How Can I Lose A Lot Of Weight Quickly? One question I see asked of me online very frequently, is how can I lose a lot of weight quickly? It is a seemingly innocuous question, but the parameters of it are so large, because so much of that question is open to
How To Go About Finding a Personal Trainer The other day, I had an interesting conversation with a personal training client of mine, who unfortunately for me, as I very much enjoy working with her, is moving out of state. It put the shoe on the other foot, so to speak, when she asked how
Thinking About Finding a Workout Partner? Over the many years I’ve been an Austin personal trainer, and a gym owner, I have written about how everything in fitness is individual, countless times. Sweeping statements should be swept under the rug is what I’ve always believed. This holds true to virtually everything in the fitness world,
Question Of The Week: How Long Does It Take To Put On Muscle? How long does it take to lose weight? How long does it take to gain weight? One of the most frequently asked questions, in fact, is how long does it take to put on muscle? Having been a personal trainer in South
What Truly Is The Best Pre workout Drink? The other day I was asked by a young man in my gym what is the best pre workout drink? As a longtime South Austin personal trainer, I hear an awful lot of what I refer to as the best questions. What is the best way to
Wondering How Long Does It Take To Lose Weight? Everybody wants instant gratification, no matter what it is that we’re talking about, and fitness is no exception. I often get asked how long will it take for mew to put on 25 pounds of muscle? How long will it take me to be able to
Are You Wondering How Long Should My Workouts Be? One question I get on a regular basis as a 22 year veteran Austin personal trainer and gym owner, is how long should my workouts be? As anyone who has ever read any of my numerous essays or blogs would know, I’m not a proponent of
Needing Workout Motivation? As I’ve noted many times in my blogs as well as essays, I get asked a lot of questions in the gym, or even amongst friends and acquaintances outside of the gym. Naturally, some are better than others, such as do you think my particular case of Ankylosing Spondylitis is something that
Carbohydrates Carbohydrates have long been maligned by self proclaimed fitness gurus and nutritionists. For years they’ve been misunderstood and ostracized by popular, but short lived, fad diets that perpetuated the theory that carbs will make you fat and if you want to lose weight, you must abstain from them at all costs and use protein
