Health and Fitness Blogs

After working with men & women in the fitness arena for over 25 years, I have become a real advocate for including weight training as part of a fat loss program. As an ex pro bodybuilder, I can say that helping my clients change their body composition, by incorporating weight training, is a true passion of mine!

I am so excited to be blogging through Fitness Connect!  It's a long time coming for professionals to have a forum like this to connect with the world around us. 

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I've never been a fan of the phrase or practice of being "politically correct".  Basically it means to me, say what others want to hear whether you believe what you are spewing or not. It means to disguise the reality of what you believe with lovely words and platitudes and warm and fuzzy feelings so no one is offended or forced to face the truth, because as we all know, the world comes to an end when we are faced with the truth.  I am not saying to throw away good manners, tact, empathy, sympathy and all the other golden rule niceties.  What I am saying is being  p

This morning I drank a small cup of fully leaded coffee. The last time I ingested caffeine purposely was 2-1/2 years ago and it wired me so hard I was up for almost 48 hours. Before that, it had been 11 years since my last cup of coffee. But after 5 days of 2010 IDEA World Fitness Convention in Los Angeles, I needed something to light a fire under me. When you run on pure adrenaline for several days, you eventually hit the wall, and today was my day for the collision. 

So yesterday, midway through my day, my old friend illiotibial band syndrome woke up. This time, on my left leg (it’s usually my right that’s affected). If you’ve never experienced this before, I’m sure you know someone who has, maybe a client or participant. It manifests as pain in the lateral aspect of the knee and can get progressively worse if you don’t pay therapeutic attention to it. Hobbling around for the remaining days of the conference was not an option.

It's Sunday and I was up at 5AM; a time of morning I haven't seen in quite some time. But it was to be a special day as I was invited to join 20 of the top presenters in the world for the blowout "Showdown/Throwdown" session. I didn't need coffee (though I did get one just in case) as the bundle of nerves in my body worked overtime.

Fitness professionals brim with skills. We make people sweat. We build muscle. We create programs that inspire others to embrace change. But is it the program that initiates progression? Or is it the way information is presented that promotes progress?Communication was a primary focus today. Whether this communication involves a oneness among movement professionals, or the interpersonal relationships developed between professional and consumer, communication can make or break best intentions.

If you're a beginner or are confused by the excess of information available today, this blog is to help make the process simple. The work isn't easy, but putting together a plan can be a breeze. There are several components of fitness that everyone needs to address for a well-balanced approach to exercise. They are: 1) Cardiovascular Conditioning: basically anything that gets the heart rate up (i.e.