I have a birthday coming up next month. If there are two times of year that get me to reflect, it’s the end of the year and a month before my birthday. Both are milestones. The new year creates thoughts of a clean slate, while my birthday makes me reflect on what I’ve accomplished. When looking at my birthday, I tend to think where am I currently on the fitness spectrum? When looking at fitness programs, I believe we flow between multiple training objectives on this big scale or continuum. Read More

This past fall we launched a new workout at the studio- Mobility Worx. The inspiration for me was to create a workout for our members that would help them to move better. It’s been a hit. I recently watched a group go through a session. At the outset of the workout, they could not squat to parallel. By the completion of the workout, they were squatting below parallel. I wanted to share the four steps we used to get to that outcome. Read More

A common complaint I hear from people prior to joining the studio is that squatting hurts their knees. Squats are a main movement in our program design because of the strength benefit. I also like it for the metabolic benefit, which makes it ideal for anyone looking to drop body-fat. Squats come up day one because we have everyone perform an overhead squat when we administer the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) during their initial assessment. The screen is a great tool, but it’s a screen, not a diagnostic test. I want to be clear that I’m a certified personal trainer, NOT a medical doctor. Read More

There’s always something to do. That was a realization I came to about 2 years after opening the studio. I never lock up at night or get up from my desk at home telling myself everything is checked off my “to-do” list. This realization taught me to prioritize my time into quadrants of things that are urgent and things that can wait. On that list of things that can wait is to shop my competitors and to observe and learn from organizations I strive to be more like. When I opened the doors of J & D Fitness in 2015 my #1 objective was to be considered the best in Las Vegas at providing both semi-private and private training. When I had two clients away last week, I had time to visit Soul Cycle in the Wynn Plaza. An opportunity to check something off my list of things that I normally don’t have time to do. Read More

I recently embraced cooking as a hobby. I’ve always been an average cook, at best. I have been lucky to have my wife, Judy, perform most of the cooking in our home. As much as I enjoy running the studio and being a coach, I’m trying to maintain some level of work/life balance. That requires enjoying things outside of the fitness studio. Someone I recently discovered on my recent culinary journey is Samin Nosrat. Samin is a writer, chef, and teacher, who has a skill at turning complexity into simplicity. Read More

I recently had a woman stop by the studio interested to join but she couldn’t because of her dilemma. She liked everything we had to offer and was particularly interested in our expert coaching in a small group setting. The problem was she had a membership to a local chain that she went to 5 days a week in the morning before work and she had a 2nd membership to a Boot-Camp gym that she went to 3-4 days a week after work. Her problem wasn’t our cost, but the total amount she was going to be spending on gym memberships. Her other problem, and a bigger issue, was trying to determine when she could fit in the time to come to our studio. Read More

One of the common misconceptions with training is that there are exercises that create size. One of the biggest fears for some women when they start lifting weights is that they are going to become bulky or have a more masculine appearance. I take these times as opportunities to educate them on how the body works and dispel any anxieties, they may have about entering a strength training regime. I thought I would share an approach that has served me well throughout the years. Read More

It’s now three weeks into 2019. Many of you are kicking those New Year resolutions you made into high gear. You’re maintaining your 3 days of week at the gym. You increased your daily vegetable intake. You haven’t missed a day of meditation. Then, there are some of you who are struggling. Last week, you got busy at work and had to stay late, which meant missing the gym. Part of the challenge of working out is making time. Read More

Happy New Year! As my 1st post of the year, I thought it would be appropriate and relevant to discuss how to construct and design a workout program. This sounds simple but doesn’t get the respect it deserves. The internet has a ton of workouts you can get for free. The problem arises when you try to decide which one is appropriate for you. When people share with me their level of frustration with this approach, I like to respond that trying to get a drink of water from a fire hose isn’t fun. Read More

As the year draws to a close, I’m writing my final 2018 post for the blog. I wanted to reflect on something I came to embrace at the studio this past year. I came to understand what makes the studio unique. What sets the studio apart from other training studios is not our workouts. It’s not the equipment we use. Even though we take our program design seriously, it’s the consistency and delivery of the workout and the environment it’s within. Read More