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People want to be strong; they don’t want to be injured. For the general population, a 5 x 5 lifting program, that is, 5 sets of 5 repetitions, for free weight compound movements, like the bench press, squat, deadlift, and military press, is a fantastic way to develop both strength and general endurance. I want my clients to be able to perform all 5 sets under the same load. For this to be possible, I select a starting load that is generally between 60 to 90% of that person’

The answer really comes down to two important points. Number one: how intense of training can you adhere to long-term? Number two: how intense of training can you recover from? Let’s first go over point number one: how intense of training can you adhere to long-term? Dr Eric Helms, researcher at Auckland University of Technology’s Sports Science Institute and author of The Muscle and Strength Pyramid Training Guide , succinctly put that the intensity a person can stick with

Here is an effective breathing technique I often use to lower my heart rate during aerobic exercise. Imagine you have a car tire around your waist, at the level of your belly button. When you breath, focus on expanding this region of your midsection first, before your lungs expand your ribcage/chest area. To practice, cup your hands on your waist, at the level of your belly button, so that your thumbs are pressed against your lower back and index and middle, and ring finge

Exercise is one of the greatest tools we can use to improve our physical and mental health. Although exercise is important, it is nonetheless an extremely challenging activity for many people to incorporate into their lives. Below are three tips to help incorporate exercise into your life, forever! Tip #1: Fun Comes First It is paramount that whichever physical activity you choose to do must be enjoyable. Who wants to embark on a lifetime of participation in physical activ

Core bracing is the ability to create stiffness in your midsection. This ability is essential to properly performing compound lifts, like squats and deadlifts. When we utilize core bracing, the stiffness of our midsection enables us to lift great amounts of weight without our spine folding. I like to first teach core-bracing using the plank exercise [ see a video that demonstrates a proper plank] . The plank is a simple, low-injury risk movement that teaches what a core brac

The holiday season is quickly approaching! For many people, a significant part of what makes the holiday season so special are the delicious homemade foods available to eat. This poses a tricky situation for those currently on diets or seeking to lose weight. Someone dieting around the holidays might be thinking, ‘the holidays will be no fun this year because I cannot enjoy my favorite foods’ or ‘I will just restart my diet on January 2nd and enjoy eating as much of the holid

If you are trying to lose weight, you are most likely trying to maintain eating in a calorie deficit. Removing high caloric foods, especially ones that are very tasting, like highly processed sweets, chips, and meats, reduces cravings for these highly tasty, high calorie foods. One of the easiest and simplest weight loss tips that works to reduce consumption of super tasty, high calorie foods is completely removing them from your home. Clean out your pantry and fridge of a

Mobility is defined as the ability to move our body freely throughout a full range of motion. In order to do this, we need to have a combination of enough strength, flexibility, and coordination. Why is mobility important? Any movement that you make requires a degree of mobility. Without any, we could not move. So, a certain level of mobility is essential for all of us. How much mobility do we really need? Do we really need access to our body’s full ranges of motion? In p

So you have a goal to be able to do a bodyweight pull up, but you are not sure where to begin. I am going to quickly walk you through 3 useful tips to get you on your way towards performing your first pull up. Tip #1: if you are on the heavier side, and you know you could lose a few pounds, prioritize losing weight. While strength is absolutely necessary to be able to do a pull up, increasing your strength takes much longer than decreasing your weight. So, rather than trying