With this being a holiday weekend here in the U.S. and marking the last unofficial weekend of summer I know that many people will be spending it at the beach.

In my last post I spoke about how you can and should get in as many quick workouts as many days as possible this long weekend since you may be eating or drinking more than usual. Also, if you can be more active during the day you’ll burn more calories and help to fight off weight gain that way as well.

Plus, when you’re at the beach try getting up out of your seat and being active for 30-60 minutes in any of these 3 ways: …continue reading “Beach Based Workouts“

Starting today in the U.S. we basically have our last long holiday weekend marking the end of the summer. Most people take these last 3-4 days until Monday night to enjoy every last minute of summer they can squeeze in.

However, these plans aren’t always the healthiest and often include some extra eating and drinking. Of course, those calories also aren’t usually coming from the healthiest of foods either.

To combat this swing in calories and potential weight gain it’s essential that you… continue reading “Quick Holiday Weekend Workouts“

It’s amazing how many people will share their tips with you once you tell them that you are trying to lose weight. They’ll tell you the latest article they read, what they did last month, or what their friend’s friend is currently doing.

Now although I’m sure all of that advice is well intentioned it may be harmful to your ultimate weight loss success.

For starters you won’t know what is working (or not working) if you continue to… continue reading “When to Ignore Friendly Advice“

Instead of talking with you today about how there is research currently being conducted about how you view your body and how your body responds to and mimics that outlook, I want to share with you a simplified approach to losing weight.

I find that too many people who enter a weight loss program focus on “how fat they are,” rather than on… continue reading “Change Your Focus to Change Your Results“

Last year I wrote a workout routine for Men’s Health about how to fit in a workout at a crowded gym when you have hardly any equipment to choose from.

Here’s what I suggested:

We all know that Monday night’s are notorious for being overly crowded at most gyms and so what I recommend is… continue reading “How to Overcome a Crowded Gym“

Right now I’m at my local gym after just having finished my workout and as I look around I can’t help but notice that there’s no one here…

Seriously, after a quick head count I see 5 people on the weight room floor and 7 on the cardio machines. And since this gym is about 35,000 square feet it feels completely empty.

Obviously, the great thing about there being hardly anyone else in the gym is… continue reading “Is Sunday the New Monday?”

Sometimes when you combing through piles of books, online workouts, and magazine articles it is difficult to figure out what the best exercises are to do.

And although it’s great to have a custom exercise program designed for you it’s not always an option. In these cases I highly recommend you skip the fancy Bosu ball movements and stick with the exercises that will give you the most “band for the buck.” What this means is that by choosing a certain group of movements to do you will cover every muscle in your body and get in a great workout.

The best exercises are called “compound movements” which require more than one joint to work, and therefore, increase the amount of muscle groups that are needed to complete that exercise. This will ensure you will be improving the intensity of the workout, as well as not stressing any one particular joint too much.

These compound movements/exercises include: …continue reading “Best Exercises to Do“

There will always be the people who tend to wait for all the stars to align before they begin a new weight loss program, but my belief is that just starting a new routine is the best way to move closer to your goals.

The reason is that no matter who you are you most likely aren’t going to get it right on your first (or fifth) attempt. That doesn’t mean you won’t get a lot right, or even make fantastic progress. What it does mean is that you’re going to have to keep recalibrating your course depending on your current commitment level, results, scheduling, plateaus, etc.

That’s why trying to figure out your entire plan up front will… continue reading “Trial and Error Works Best“

Let’s be honest, stretching isn’t necessarily the most glamorous part of working out…

However, it is essential just the same and it is needed in order to create a well rounded healthy body. One of the ways that I want you to begin viewing stretching is that it is beneficial for more than just flexibility.

For example, by becoming more flexible you will… continue reading “Stretching for Fat Loss“

With the explosion of YouTube and a few thousand other video hosting websites you can now see millions of workout videos right on your computer.

The tricky thing is trying to figure out which ones are actually worth watching and following…

To be completely honest there are some downright DANGEROUS videos on YouTube from unqualified fitness trainers. The reason I say they are dangerous is because the form they are using is improper and puts your body at risk for injury.

On the other hand, there are just as many videos that are fantastic and certainly worth exploring.

My advice on how to choose a good workout video for you to follow along with is… continue reading “How to Follow Along with Online Workout Videos“