It’s February, and a month ago you followed our guide on Goal Setting and you made the goal to get healthier in 2023.  You started out great.  You got a gym membership to 24 Hour Fitness, you were going to the gym 4-5 days a week.  It was a struggle, you didn’t really like going but you made yourself do it.  And then something happened and you fell off the wagon.   A question I want to ask is, “Why didn’t you like going to the gym?” Was it because you felt confused everytime you entered the gym?  Maybe you were unsure of what to do, where to go, and how to use the equipment.  After a few weeks of going, a question keeps bouncing around in your head: is this helping? But you have no clue. You don’t know if what you’re doing is helping you reach your goals. You’re...Read more

Goal setting is one of those things that we all know we should do but often struggle doing.  I believe that the main reason for this is because people don’t have a process to follow for setting their goals. It’s also a skill to develop, just like kicking a ball or learning a new language.  Problem is, we expect to know how, and more importantly be good at, setting goals. That’s not how it works. Just like anything else, it takes reps with goal setting to get good at goal setting. Realize that if you’ve never set goals, you’ll likely need to take multiple cracks at it before you dial it in. So, be patient and trust the process When it comes to goal setting, you’ll need a process with which to practice. Here’s a quick, and easy to follow “how to” guide for setting goals in 2023. It teaches...Read more

The alarm goes off and you hit snooze. Seven minutes later, it goes off again.  Before you pull back the covers you grab your phone and check your notifications. After scanning your Facebook thread you get out of bed and you walk to the bathroom and turn on the shower.   Once in the shower you wash your hair first, then your face, and then your body.  Right arm first followed by your left… The crazy thing is, you probably didn’t think about any of those actions.  Over time your brain has engineered and ingrained habits that control your everyday choices. What if I told you that most of the decisions you make on a daily basis are actually not decisions at all.  Rather, they are habits that you have developed over the years.  Essentially, for most of the day your body operates on autopilot. In his book, “The Power of...Read more

Warm-ups that get the body moving are great—especially ones that start on the ground and progress to the feet. They prepare the body for a wide range of movements and build movement skills that carry us through life. And, they actually get us warm. But, when it comes to warming up for strength training, they are only one piece of the puzzle. We need to warm-up with weights as well—we can’t just jump into our strength training sets without acclimating ourselves to the movements and how they load our bodies. So, let’s chat about that. Below you’ll find five reasons why you need to warm-up with weights before going full bore into your training. Reason #1: Weight Warm-ups Prep The Nervous System Ever notice how the same weight feels “lighter” after a few sets with it? That’s because your nervous system acclimated to the work it was being asked to...Read more

The role of a warm-up in one’s training program should address key concepts of human physiology and performance to build a stronger, faster, healthier athlete and/or client.  Whether athlete or gen pop, the goal of the warm up should be to physically and mentally prepare your client for the upcoming workout. Let us spend a few minutes discussing the primary benefits of a thorough warm-up that will prepare your clients, whether athlete or gen pop, for optimal performance. 5 REASONS TO WARM UP There are 5 fundamental benefits of properly warming up and they are: Increased Body and Muscle Temperature: Enhanced body and muscle temperature will improve circulation and improve elasticity in muscles. Additionally, increased muscle temperature during warm-ups of 15-20 minutes may decrease muscle soreness without sacrificing force output. Improved Blood Flow: Vasodilation (widening of blood vessels) allows for improved blood flow to active muscle tissue delivering oxygen-rich blood...Read more