This Friday I get the opportunity to travel to Anaheim, California for the day to present at the National Personal Trainer Conference, hosted by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. My topic title is “Successful Strategies of Running a Personal Training Studio”. It was a year ago that I was approached by a fellow speaker who thought I would be a good fit for speaking at events. I have spent many years being an attendee at events and now I get to be one of the people in the front of the room. One of the reasons I never considered speaking about many of the strategies I use at the studio, is because I thought many of them were common practice. After a few conversations with a few gym owners, I realized I was wrong.  Read More

Have you ever noticed when things become a buzz topic, people find themselves using terms without truly understanding what they’re talking about? I feel that’s currently happening with high intensity interval training or HIIT. Part of why I write is to simplify many of the fitness topics that either overwhelm or confuse many people. Today’s blog post is my attempt to de-mystify HIIT training. If I start to lose you, please hang in there, and hopefully it will make sense at the end.  Read More

I have been recently reading and researching articles about mindfulness. Mindfulness and meditation have experienced a recent surge in popularity. Part of this phenomenon is that we live in an instant access, always on the move MTV era. We have information readily available to us, via our smart phones & tablets, 24 hours a day. We are always plugged in, hence we become distracted by what just happened two minutes ago. One of the things I enjoy is that when I’m training someone they have no choice but to concentrate on what they’re doing. The workouts in my studio aren’t centered on sitting on a machine where you can have a conversation on your phone while you exercise. Read More

“I had a plan, before I got punched in the face.” That’s a famous quote from Mike Tyson after he was knocked out for the 1st time. Funny, but it brings up a valid point. How many times have you had the perfect plan, to find out later that it had a few flaws? Making mistakes is part of the building process. Three years ago, I started training people in small groups featuring a specific workout. I named it the Torch Workout. It’s a high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout using exercises that improve mobility, strength and power. I used the research from Dr. Tabata & Dr. Martin Gibala. We still successfully feature this workout today at the studio.  Read More

I’m currently designing a new HIIT (High intensity interval training) workout that we’re going to feature at the studio. The name of the workout is Metabolic Disruption. It will be rolled out this October. The name is self-descriptive. The goal of this workout is to ramp up your metabolism by completing multi-joint, compound movement exercises at specific heart rate levels for a set duration. The exercises are self-limiting. Internationally recognized, physical therapist Gray Cook recently wrote a great article about what self-limiting exercises are & their importance in health & fitness.  Read More

Two conferences down and one to go. This past weekend, I attended the International Dance & Exercise Association (IDEA) World Conference. This was an easy one for me, it was in my hometown of Las Vegas. It was the 2nd week in a row that I’ve attended a fitness related conference. I have a personal connection with IDEA, because it was the first conference I attended, over 20 years ago. Throughout the years, I personally feel they have gravitated more towards the appeal of the “Big box” gyms and group fitness, but nonetheless, I like to stay current with all the trends in the fitness industry. There wasn’t anything new or revolutionary discussed in the lecture halls or on the trade show floor.  Read More

I’m back from a great vacation with the family and ready to get after it in the studio. Mid-June to August is typically the slowest time of the year in the gym business. I use this time to take a vacation, get some extra reading in, and attend workshops, conferences and clinics. Some consider this type of thing a bore. I personally can’t get enough. If you follow my writing, you are aware that I shunned attending conferences my first 5 years of being a trainer. It was due to my own immaturity; I thought I knew it all. Thomas Plummer, nationally recognized fitness consultant, refers to this naïve mindset of the rookie trainer as their “rite of passage”. Everyone goes through it. It was after I listened to strength coach/trainer legend Juan “JC” Carlos Santana speak at an IDEA conference in Maryland, I quickly realized how little I knew. That was in 1996. I’ve been addicted to learning and honing my craft every since and haven’t stopped trying to improve. Read More

I’m preparing to soon leave for my annual vacation with my son & wife. This time always brings mixed feelings. I just got over the feeling that it’s OK for me to take some time off and that I’ll be a better trainer and studio owner after I return refreshed from my trip. As a business owner, I battle with the emotions that if I’m ever not working, I’m slacking off. I know this is typical behavior of a work-a-holic, which I admit to lean towards, at times. It’s also typical behavior for entrepreneurs. I’m both, so I guess I’m doomed. A few years ago, I realized I struggle with taking time off. I decided to always book my vacations 1 year out and paying for them in full 2 months before the trip. Read More

What does Thomas Ford, Ray Kroc, and Steve Jobs have in common? Amongst many things, they are visionaries. The new buzz term is “disruptors”. CNBC defines them as people who create innovations that change the world. Another way to put it is people who don’t accept the current status quo. They know there is a better way. Ford knew there was a better way to travel. Kroc knew there was a better way to get a meal quickly. Jobs knew there was a better way to get information and music. I don’t think many would argue with me that these three deserve to be on the Mt. Rushmore of iconic visionaries. Creating something that didn’t exist before is very challenging. In my world, the fitness world, new concepts aren’t created every year. What happens, like in many industries, old concepts are recycled frequently. This is why, when a new training modality surfaces, it sends shock waves throughout the industry. Read More

It’s the first week of May and summer is right around the corner. My son completing the 4th grade and going on summer break is also 5 weeks away. As far as he’s concerned, it can’t come sooner. Then the trick will be keeping him occupied for the summer. My wife does an amazing job with this. It’s not just about keeping him occupied, it’s more about keeping him challenged. Overcoming daily challenges is so important for us to help with progress. Summer is a great time for him to kick back & recharge, but we don’t want him to completely shut off his ability to handle challenges. The level of the challenges will vary from small to moderate, but nonetheless they need to exist. Overcoming challenges has become a part of training for CEOs. Workshops created by retired decorated military officers & navy seals have grown in popularity. Jocko Willinik, popularized from the Tim Ferriss podcast, has been thrust into the national spotlight for his week long boot-camps for CEOs. His boot-camp is famous for drills in leadership and daily disciplines. Read More