Beginning in the seventh grade, I became fascinated with time, how fast it goes and how each year seems to go by faster than the previous year. When I once shared my perception of time with my 90-year-old grandmother, she said, “Just wait until you’re 80.” I’m still far from 80, so I can only […]
If you look up the word guru in the dictionary, you’ll see something that says “A teacher and especially intellectual guide in matters of fundamental concern” “One who is an acknowledged leader or chief proponent” There may as well be a picture of Jillian Michaels or Tracy Anderson in the dictionary, because people look up […]
Irene was very attractive—model-type looks with dark brown eyes, long black hair, long legs, and strong facial features that hinted at her Native American heritage. She went to the gym almost every day and liked to run. When I met her, she was training for a half marathon. So it seemed like she was a […]
Social media can be a dangerous thing. It gives people a public voice who would otherwise not have one. Every day I see popular fitness figures posting stuff that is inaccurate or blatantly wrong. Here’s 5 lies you’re being told. Lie #1: You have control over your metabolic rate. Your resting metabolic rate is the […]
There’s been a lot of talk and promotion in the fitness industry about high-intensity exercise. If you ask me, most of what is behind this talk is money. If we tell people what they want to hear—“all you need is a few minutes of high-intensity exercise per day”—people are more likely to buy. No one […]
As a society, we are too interested in food. We spend way too much time and money on thinking about what to eat, and posting pictures of food with recipes on Instagram. And then tens of thousands of people follow those people who post food on Instagram. Ridiculous. Just eat, people. There doesn’t have to […]
I hear a lot in the fitness industry about the importance of clean eating. Indeed, most fitness professionals quote that looking good is 80% nutrition and 20% training. I don’t know how or where personal trainers get those numbers, but it’s not true. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get my legs and ass from eating […]
I often wonder how personal trainers, coaches, or people who run or work out on their own come up with the number of reps for their workouts. There’s no magic in doing 5 or 6 or 7 reps. And when training in a group, there’s little reason why everyone should do the same number of […]
Ever since the fitness industry got a hold of research showing that people burn calories after they work out while they recover from their workout, a whole new argument was born. Exercise stopped being about the exercise and became about what came after. “Do this workout,” trainers and gurus would say, “because you’ll burn four […]
Years ago, I applied to be a personal trainer in a gym. Taking one look at my runner’s body, the owner said to me, “Go work out for a couple of months and come back to reapply.” Happy as I was with my runner’s body, I never went back. But it occurred to me that […]