Is It Possible? Will Exercise Make Me Live Longer? There are a lot of myths surrounding the health and fitness world. We hear all kinds of great new discoveries, as they are touted, only to realize that they are nothing more than wishful thinking. As a longtime personal trainer in Austin, I’m asked a lot
Does it Matter if it’s Fast or Slow Weight Loss? When we are trying to lose weight, there are many different approaches we can take. We can embark on a new fitness regimen. We can embrace a diet. Ideally, we would do both for the best possible results, but what about speed? Does it matter
Fitness Questions Answered This site has been a labor of love for me over the many years that I’ve been an Austin personal trainer. I update the blog every 4th day, usually, and write a lot of essays as well. In either format, I address one subject and support my views with facts, science, and
Want Some Weight Loss Tips? No matter the subject, there’s no shortage of advice from those who truly are educated in that specific field, and likewise, there is no shortage of advice from self proclaimed experts. Fitness is no exception, especially when it comes to weight loss tips. Turn on YouTube, and you’ll find a
What is Muscular Pre Exhaustion? When we find ourselves nursing or rehabilitating an injury, we obviously take care to not re injure the affected area. This is common sense and should go without saying. What about if we are in the gym, working on a body part that is close to the injured or imbalanced
Are Energy Drinks Safe? There is no shortage of products available that were designed to not only help you get through your workouts, but to enhance them as well. There’s creatine, nitric oxide supplements, ephedra, this powder, that pill, etc. One group of products that has taken the world by storm, however, are energy drinks.
Smoking Doesn’t Mix With Health and Fitness People have been using tobacco for centuries. There are many artistic depictions of the Columbus era Indians smoking tobacco in pipes, but it’s use has been documented to go back as far as 1500 BC in Mexico. Tobacco use is widespread throughout the world, even in this day
Do Alcohol and Fitness Mix Well? Everyone is entitled to a little fun, and an indulgence can be a healthy thing, especially psychologically. Even hardcore weight lifters such as bodybuilders opt for a cheat meal on occasion. Alcohol and fitness has been been a subject of debate for everyone to the occasional sippers, to the
Why Would You Consume Distilled Water? There’s a lot of specialization when it comes to nutrition in the health and fitness world. As a personal trainer in Austin for 21 years, and a gym owner for nearly a decade, I have definitely seen my fair share of it. For example, there’s a lot of different
What is Proper Hydration? As I’ve written before many times, there is no shortage of mythology surrounding everything related to health and fitness. Everything from how to lift weights, to how much protein you need to ingest in order to build bigger muscles. Caloric requirements are spelled out all across the internet, and Youtube is
Stuck On The Road? Do A Hotel Room Workout! They say that you can’t predict where life will take you, and to a great extent, that holds very true. Obviously, certain behaviors and lifestyles can offer more predictable results than others, but generally speaking, we assume we know what we’ll be doing and where we’ll
Do you experience knee pain? As we age, it’s common for us to experience aches and pains that we didn’t feel as often as when we were in our youth. Knees can ache, shoulders can feel tight, etc. Anyone who has pursued any fitness related activity, at any level, has certainly experienced some kind of
We All Want Instant Gratification No matter what project we set our sights on, we want to see results, and fast. Instant gratification is what we want no matter what we’re doing, seemingly. It could be anything from mowing the lawn, to building a dog house, to assembling something from a box. We all seek
Full Disclosure Knowledge is power they say, but it’s a lot more than that. It’s also a potential life saver. Imagine being with someone, in virtually any scenario, and all of a sudden they were to collapse. What would you do? What should you do? The answer depends upon a whole lot of variables, but
Will New Year’s Resolutions Take The Weight Off? A lot of people will be flooding the gyms across the world in the next month or so as part of their new year’s resolutions. This is a documented, undeniable, and very predictable occurrence, and as an Austin personal trainer for around 20 years, I’ve seen it
No More Workout Excuses Everyone tries to get out of things from time to time. Even if it’s an activity which they were at one time enthusiastic beyond belief about. There’s simply times when we don’t feel like doing something and it’s perfectly ok, for the most part, not to. Fitness and health is no
Should I Do Weights Or Cardio First? I’ve been an Austin personal trainer for 20 years and a gym owner for just over 8. As a gym owner, I’ve seen an enormous amount of heart and effort from members, success stories, and exuberance. Unfortunately, I also have seen my fair share of fitness mistakes, fitness
Is Intuitive Eating Effective For Weight Loss? There is a new trend in the health and fitness world known as intuitive eating. Intuitive eating, by definition, is the practice whereupon you simply listen to your body, and satisfy your earnings, and cravings. Some people in the fitness and wellness industry had cited studies, though flawed,
Is The “Dad Bod” Real? There’s always a funny term that seems to be coined for describing people as they get older. We have the term “cougar” for an attractive older woman, etc, but the newest descriptive, seems to be the most accurate. The Dad Bod. No offense to the ladies. What exactly is a
Is Exercise Fun For You? A question I often field from potential clients or those just beginning their fitness journey has long been is exercise fun? This is the same as any other question in regards to personal training, or just plain working out on any level. It’s very individual. There’s no way for anyone
The Benefits of Coffee Every morning, millions upon millions of people start their day off with a cup of coffee. Even the very smell of freshly brewed pot evokes a comforting and warming feeling. Walk into any coffee shop and see for yourself if you doubt what I just wrote. Coffee naturally contains caffeine, thus
Emotional Eating There are a plethora of pitfalls one could succumb to while on their journey to fitness and better health. It could be skipping some workouts, to allowing to many indulgences to sneak into your diet. Often times, people see some progress and use that as a rationalization that it’s now ok to become
Gym Victory Success within the realm of fitness can be measured any number of ways. We can make a lift we were previously unable to accomplish and that would be a gym victory. We can gain or lose weight, tighten up our abs, develop bigger biceps, fix hip imbalances and rid ourselves of back pain,
Ever Hear Of Muscles Turning To Fat? One pervasive myth is that of muscles turning to fat. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone talking about an aged bodybuilder who has softened with age, so to speak, and that all there muscle has turned to fat. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a great example
Detox Cleanses and Diets One thing I used to hear an awful lot of was the supposed benefits of doing a detox cleanses. Thankfully, either common sense or science is prevailing and you hear about this fad less and less. For those unfamiliar with the concept, detox cleanse are a process, often marketed by a
Maximum Heart Rate As I wrote last time, I will be addressing several prominent and oft believed fitness myths that permeate the health and fitness world. When people come to me for a personal training consultation, they often tell me what their maximum heart rate is and how they have to be careful not to
Are There Health And Fitness Miracles? How many times have you flipped through a magazine and seen the latest and greatest miracle weight loss supplement or methodology? It’s another one of those health and fitness miracles I suppose. Remember all the late night infomercials that promised unparalleled weight loss and muscle tone and it can
Elementary School Wellness Day Was Awesome! Today was a fun day for me. My kid’s elementary school had what they called Wellness Day today and they had asked me to be a presenter as I’m a local gym owner and have been an Austin personal trainer for nearly 20 years. I’m a rather known quantity
Do I Have To Lift Heavy Weights to Build Muscle? A question I get very often as a 20 year veteran Austin personal trainer is, “Do I need to lift heavy weights in order to gain muscle”? The answer is yes and no. We have 2 types of skeletal muscle. Fast and slow twitch. Each
