You’re not doing your arms any favors by taking long breaks between sets. Checkout my interview with tips on timing your rest and proper gym etiquette in this MEL Magazine interview by Andrew Fiouzi.
Read MoreAs a personal trainer and a wellness consultant I work with a lot of folks struggling to balance the stresses of life. Those who carve out time to exercise and eat healthy often sacrifice sleep to get it all done.Only 2.5% of the population has a sleep need less than six hours per night. The average person needs 7-8 hours of QUALITY sleep. Making sleep a priority can be challenging, but it is equally as important to our well-being as nutrition and exercise. These 11 tips have helped my clients improve their sleep behaviors making them healthier humans and better professionals.
Read MoreI recently spent an entire weekend geeking out over fascia, feet and movement with the amazing Dr. Courtney Conley. It was awesome to be in a room with dozens of physical therapists, chiropractors, emergency responders and massage therapists all focused on helping our clients reduce pain and improve their movement. I left the weekend not only with two FMT certifications for assessing clients and applying kinesiology tape, but with a renewed passion and fascination for how the brain and body are connected and how we can improve that connection through physical stimulus like kinesiology tape.
Read MoreLower back and hip pain is incredibly common thanks to the hours and hours we spend sitting and toiling away on computers and devices. Finding the right stretches, mobility drills and strengthening exercises that will help reset your body and spending a few minutes each day consistently performing them can help keep you pain free and tracking toward your fitness goals. If lower back and hip aches and pains are slowing you down, give these exercises a try.
Read MoreThanks to my pal Andrew Fiouzi for including me in this feature in MEL Magazine on how you can avoid unnecessary pain from your workouts. It’s a new year and perhaps you’re like the millions of other people around the world dedicated to finally getting, like, totally ripped, brah. What this means in practical terms is that if you haven’t worked out since fourth-grade gym class, you’re going to be hurting in a lot of new and interesting places this month. But what kind of pain does your journey to You 2.0 (or 1.1) have in store? Jonathan Jordan, an award-winning trainer, explains how each type of workout will hurt, and how to heal more quickly.
Read MoreThanks to today's fast-paced, technology-centric world coupled with sedentary lifestyles, we are bombarded constantly with low and high levels of mental, physical, emotional and physiological stress. These chronic stresses are inhibiting our bodies' natural self-repair mechanisms that fix broken proteins, kill cancer cells, retard aging and fight infections. We are the most overweight, under active generation in history existing on diets of processed foods and suffering from damaging mindsets. In this post I'll explore some practical, scientifically proven methods for reducing stress that can take as little as one minute/day.
Read MoreI'm a big fan of knowing what's going on with my body. And if there are simple, affordable tests I can take that can give me useful, actionable data to improve my health and inform my fitness program I'm all for it. So I recently engaged a local office of DexaFit to obtain a Dexa Scan Body Composition Analysis, RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) Test, V02 Max Test and Fit3D Posture Scan. In this post I outline what I learned from these tests and how I am applying that knowledge to optimize my fitness program. I've also included links to my full reports and photos from my experience to help you decide if similar testing makes sense for you.
Read MoreIf you're making it back to the gym after an August hiatus (or longer), you may be in for an uncomfortable reacclimation period. If you've been on a break, don't expect to jump right back in where you left off. You may need to cull it back a bit and be prepared for some soreness and possible nausea or dizziness. My pal and writer Ian Lecklitner chronicled his return to the #fitfam life in his MEL Magazine story You’ll Feel Like Crap for at Least Two Weeks After You Start Working Out Again. Check it out for tips from me on what you can expect and how you can minimize your pain.
Read MoreAs a personal trainer in the heart of San Francisco's financial district, I've worked with hundreds of stressed out, A-type technology junkies (and I love them all!). Every day I see firsthand the negative impact computers, cell phones and other devices is having on our mental and physical health. Whether you are reading a scathing email from your boss or scrolling through funny cat videos on Facebook, the impact on the body and central nervous system can be damaging. But there are some simple inventions/lifestyle adjustments you can do to help mitigate these effects without going completely off grid.
Read MoreFrom Michael Phelps to Ryan Seacrest to the girl squatting next to you in the gym, cupping (or "myofascial decompression") is becoming an increasingly popular modality to help with fascial dysfunction. Perfectly round telltale "bruises" are making their way onto backs, shoulders and hips everywhere and are raising eyebrows from those who don't understand what they are. I've personally experienced positive results from cupping as part of an integrated physical therapy program in the past. So I enlisted the awesome Dr. Sarah Jay from GSPORTS Physical Therapy to discuss and demonstrate how cupping can help improve fascial health and mobility.
Read MoreWhether you're an avid cyclist, an occasional spin class warrior or are considering your first ride there are four spin instructors in SF that you want to know: Andrew Stinger, Marcia Robles, Danny Baker and Caroline Jordan. These four "Spin Ninjas" have uniquely different styles and while different are all grounded in safety, effectiveness and kick ass energy. Each was was kind enough to share with me how to avoid the most common and dangerous form issues; how to overcome common mental challenges; and their take on how often someone "should" spin, intervals-vs-steady state and what to do in between rides.
Read MoreYoga means to yoke or to union. It’s a practice meant to connect us with ourselves and to put us at harmony with the world around us. But we live in fast-paced, technology-driven times and many of us demand perfection of ourselves at work, at home and even on the mat. Whether you’re contemplating taking your first yoga class or you’re a yoga veteran struggling to find that union during your Asanas practice, watch this two minute video of the lovely and amazing Morgan McEvilly. Morgan then demonstrates and cues three foundational poses you can use both at home on your own and in practically any typical yoga class.
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