

How to "Solve" Problem Areas
Today we have a doozy of a question, so I'm going to do my best to answer as simply as possible but still give a good idea of what you should be doing to solve today's problem. My friend Shawna writes: "My two problem areas are my arms and my lower tummy. What workouts do you recommend?" So, there are two approaches we can take to a question like this, depending on what is meant by "problem areas": the strength approach and the fat loss approach. As with many things I talk ab
The Benefits of a Weight Vest
Real quick, friends, I gotta say I'm loving the questions I'm getting from you! You all are awesome for seeking out answers for your fitness questions and putting the information to work for you! Today's question is all about weight vests! These are a valuable tool to use for resistance training, and today I'm going to talk about some benefits you'll see from using them. Plus, I visit an old stomping ground of mine, thought I'd get out of the car for a day :) I hope that help


Lifting Weights vs. Bodyweight Training
Hey friends! I was recently asked by my Facebook friend Nathalie if I have a preference between weight lifting or bodyweight exercise training and if one is better than the other. These techniques are both forms of resistance training, which simply means you are exerting a muscle against an opposing force (your own body weight, a dumbbell, etc.) and they both can be instrumental in helping you achieve the body you want. As far as which I like more, I generally prefer to use b


Should You Use Machines or Free Weights at the Gym?
Picture this: you're a brand new gymgoer with no workout experience under your belt. Before you step into the gym, you have an air of confidence about you, probably thinking something along the lines of, "Yeah, I've never been here before, but I saw that fitness page on Instagram, so lifting weights can't be that hard to figure out." Once you're inside, however, you peer over to the corner of the building where a large man grunts loudly as he aggressively curls some heavy-loo

The Story of Carb Cycling
Now this is a story all about how My carbs got flipped and cycled around And I'd like to take a minute just sit for a while I'll tell you how you to begin your very own carb cycle style. So now that we've established I should get a fitness Grammy, or at least my own TV show, let's talk about this carb cycling thing and how I got mixed up in it. Let's rewind the clock to my early serious fitness days. I had been learning more effective workout techniques as well as more on str


Macros Made Simple Part 3: Protein
And now, for the final part of this series on the macronutrients, I'm dishing on the macronutrient of choice for bodybuilders, toners, and carnivores everywhere: protein. Protein, when broken down into amino acids, is used to make hormones, enzymes, immune response proteins, hair and nails, tendons, and many more goodies your body is always producing. However, people tend to only associate protein with its role in building muscle. It's like a girl or guy you only like for the


The Truth About Toning
Everyone knows that if you want to bulk up and get big muscles, you grab heavy weights and do low reps, but if you just want to tone up and get lean, you pick up some light weight and go to town with high reps. It's common knowledge. That just makes sense, right? Mm, we'll think about that later, but first, what do people even mean by "bulking" or "toning" or "leaning out?" When people use terms like these, they usually have some role model in mind (maybe Arnold Schwarzenegge


Am I Cutting Calories Properly?
Most people know that, in general, if you want to lose weight, you're going to have to eat less - and at that, eat less junk food and more whole foods. If weight loss is a function of how many calories you consume versus how many calories you expend, it makes sense to simply eat less and exercise more, right? The big problem with all this is, as humans who don't have built-in calorie calculators, we have a tendency to underestimate how much we eat and overestimate how much we