There’s a new documentary film on Netflix making a big buzz titled, “The Game Changers”. It’s a story how a professional mixed martial artist goes on a quest, in search of recovery methods after suffering two debilitating knee injuries. On this journey, with the end goal to get back on the competitive stage, he comes across the benefits of a plant-based diet. The movie ends with him learning how to fly after eating only plant-based food. Yes, that’s a joke. My post today isn’t going to be about converting you to a plant-based diet, it’s about the power of making subtle changes. Read More

I just returned from a quick trip to Long Island, NY. My wife’s nephew was getting married. It was a fun trip filled with visits to a couple of my favorite restaurants, discussions of memories from before I moved to Las Vegas in 2003, and a workout at the gym (Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym) which I called home from 1992 to 2003. I always credit this gym to where I got my start in personal training. It was where my interest in training first peaked. The funny thing was that nothing has changed there since I left 16 years ago, and I don’t know if that’s good. Read More

When you join our studio to train, based upon your goals, we determine the recommended frequency for your workouts (2- 4 days a week). Next, we put you through a movement assessment. The assessment we currently utilize is the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). We use this assessment because of it’s ease of administering and the valuable feedback it provides. The assessment puts you in the seven dominant movement patterns we use throughout life. It provides a score for a person’s movement competency. The fourth pattern checked in the screen is the active straight leg raise (as seen below). Read More

One of the more commonly mis-diagnosed ailments is sciatica. You get off a long airline flight or have pain down your leg after a day of long meetings at work. You then look up symptoms on the internet and come to the conclusion that you have sciatica. Sciatica refers to pain from the sciatic nerve which branches from the lower back through the hips and glutes into a single leg. It typically happens down one leg. Full disclaimer, I’m not medical doctor nor a chiropractor, so I’m not providing a diagnosis for you, but I do have people come to our studio to train sometimes complaining of hip pain. Read More

Over the weekend, one of the biggest stories in the sports world circled around the surprise retirement of NFL quarterback, Andrew Luck. He cited frustration dealing with his injuries as the reason for his decision. He felt that he was stuck in a constant state of rehab from injuries over the past few years. I can’t imagine how bad it got for him to walk away at 29 years of age from a game that brought him money, fame, and enjoyment. My reason for bringing this up is that many people find themselves in similar situations working around injuries from doing something they love- working out. Back pain, muscle strains, tendinitis, and the list goes on. A colleague of mine once made a post on Instagram that summed it up perfectly. Read More

If you want to stay ahead of the curve in fitness trends, just follow what the strength and conditioning coaches for professional athletes are doing. The 2019 minimum pay for an NFL rookie is $480,000. In the NBA, it’s $838,464. Olympic athletes, still considered amateurs, have the opportunity to earn millions in endorsement deals for coming home with hardware from either the summer or winter games. The financial upside in sports has grown substantially in the last 20 years. It’s the job of their coaches and trainers to guide and prepare them for victory. At the elite level, the difference between winning and losing can translate into millions of dollars. Lebron James has mentioned in interviews that he will spend upwards to a million dollars annually for recovery and regeneration services! His body is his business. Read More

I just got back from the 3-Day Perform Better Functional Training Summit, in Long Beach, California. Perform Better is an equipment company that is one of the best providers of education on training in the country. They recognized 15 years ago that if you educate people on how to utilize a piece of equipment better, they are more prone to purchase it. The growth of the company in the last decade provides evidence their theory is correct. Taking this approach, they have been able to attract the leaders in the personal training, strength and conditioning, and rehabilitation industries as presenters. This was the 4th year I attended with my staff. Taking a lesson from prominent business owners, I’ve learned that one of the best investments I can make in my business is education for my team. Read More

Next week, I’m traveling to Long Beach, California with my team for the Perform Better Functional Training Summit. This event is the premier training and performance conference on the west coast. I’ve been attending this event for 15 years. It will be a time of learning, but also a time to see old friends. I’m not sure which is more important. The relationships I’ve developed in the fitness industry have grown over the years. The studio provided me a platform and many of my peers respect the type of coaching we execute at the studio. What’s funny is it’s some of my earlier experiences at this conference that motivated me to establish a welcoming and fun culture at the studio. Read More

Last week, I had the opportunity to host a mobility workshop at the studio for my team and other coaches. The workshop was taught by Brad Cox, of the Acumobility team out of the Boston area. It featured their soft tissue tools, a unique roller, therapy balls, and their bands. The balls are flat on one side which allow you to apply pressure to restricted areas while you work the muscle through a range of motion. I’ve been a fan of tissue work for a while. If I had the time and unlimited resources, I would choose to get manual tissue work 2-3 times a week. Tools like foam rollers and balls have proven to be a good plan B. Read More

When you do something time and time again and you can replicate the process, you should experience a consistent outcome. Isn’t that why we gravitate to some restaurants over others? The food and service are consistently up to our standards. This explains why franchises are so popular now. People don’t like change for the most part and prefer predicable outcomes. When I walk into a Starbucks, I know exactly what to expect. Read More