Whatever your goals are, whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle, improving performance, or getting healthy, don’t trip yourself up. Make the game easy. You don’t get bonus points for overcoming additional problems you create for yourself. Creating obstacles to your success can take many forms. Sometimes it looks like overthinking. Other times, it’s creating rules that are […]
The Mental Game
The difference a month (or three) can make.
Yesterday, during a consult with a brand spanking new client, I was asked, “Do you think (three months) is enough time?” Following a sound nutrition plan, the average client can likely achieve 12 pounds of fat loss in three months. That’s enough to cause a major physical transformation. Down a dress size, one less notch […]
Why "Competition" May Be the Best Thing For Fat Loss.
What’s the secret behind the runaway success of Curves? Why, if the training program is so bad, is the franchise such a moneymaker? My colleague Mike Collins suggests that it is because Curves encourages consistency and fosters a nurturing, peer-oriented environment. It’s marketed towards women, who tend to thrive on group-based endeavors. A Curves circuit […]
Is It Helping You Or Hurting You?
Look at your workouts using a Cost:Benefit ratio: Is what you’re doing helping you achieve your goals, or impairing your ability to ever get there? Let’s say you walked up to me and told me, “Eugene, I want to run the marathon and be the fittest, healthiest 35 year old on the planet.” I would […]
One Little Thing.
There are essentially two approaches to behavior modification from a weight loss standpoint. They are analogous to the two methods used when jumping into a cold swimming pool, namely: 1) The “toe” method, where you drop your various bits of anatomy in by the smallest amount possible, slowly but surely, until your entire body is […]
You Don’t Have To Be Perfect, But You DO Have To Execute.
The holiday season being in full swing means that I suddenly become the most hated man in my area code. Why? Because nothing is worse than hearing your trainer harp at you for the 76th time, “Look, just exercise a little restraint here and you’ll be fine. Just make sure you drink your water, cut […]
Does Your Personal Trainer Look the Part?
I have had my share of clients express reservations about working with me for many different reasons over the years: I’m too strict/not strict enough I put too much/too little emphasis on proper nutrition and diet I’m too mean/not mean enough I’m Asian I look like I’m 16 I’m too “Zen” for a real, hardcore […]
Mental Preparation.
In the realm of athletic performance, let us not forget the importance of psychological preparation. More specifically, let’s deal with that “jumping-off point”, the mental preparation required before taking that first step – the get-ready stance at the starting gate, the face-off before a hockey or basketball game, the pre-fight ritual before a boxing match. […]