There are a number of articles preceding this one that helped set the Physical Activity foundation of our Performance Pyramid. Now, we move on to nutrition. Before we get into any details, I want to reiterate something important: "Life is for living." When it comes to eating that can be interpreted as, "food is to be enjoyed." Over the years, as I have counseled with great success countless people from top CEO's and business owners to teenagers on their exercise nutrition, co

Happy Summer! Wow, that was fast. The NBA Finals were over in five games, the Tennis's French Open and Golf's US Open came and went, and we are already nearly through June, heading towards MLB All-Star weekend. We must be having fun! Can't wait to see who is named NBA MVP tonight (better be Westbrook!). Quick Finals recap: "May the most proprioceptive team win" isn't exactly a battle cry, but wow, the level of fine- and gross motor skills and agility is at an all-time high in

Bigfoot Lochness Monster Aliens Your core People claim to have seen it. There may even be blurry, photographic evidence from years past. But do you even have a core? I cannot speak for the other urban legends on this list, but your "core," in my opinion, does exist, and has a functional definition. We brought up this definition a few articles back in "Hips Don't Lie." The Core: In any given movement, "your core" can vary in its composition. The common thread is muscles associ

Strutting your stuff or losing your butt? All that sass but no ass? Okay, enough with the corny one-liners and let’s get down to the BASE-ics. Ha. Ha. Ha. Okay butt seriously… Getting a hint as to where this one is going? Yes, it’s the butt. I promise I have a lot more coming your way other than notes about the booty, but they always say write what you're passionate about, right? One of my absolute favorite areas to work out is my butt. Yes, I do my squats, lunges, and donkey

Any good at Legos? Great! Then you can excel in fitness. A good fitness regimen is all about degrees of freedom. Minor constructions and deconstructions to your plan that keeps the whole thing going smoothly. I remember being 16 and learning how to be an ocean lifeguard during our "hell week." One of our instructors taught us, "Slow is smooth; smooth is fast." It's a tried and true military quote. Often, the very impulse that drives us to improve our fitness can be the same o

There are only good reasons for starting or changing an exercise regimen. One of the most common reasons people give me for starting or changing their exercise routines is being tired of feeling the same old way. Perhaps you have been enduring some pain from a previous or existing injury or a chronic ailment. Maybe your doctor told you to start exercising more in order to improve lab markers such as your sugar- or lipid levels. Or, you want to look and feel great! Starting an

When I say "Physical Therapy" or "Physical Therapist", what do you think? Massage? Pain? Gentle stretching? Personal training? Physical torture? Unless you have been to physical therapy (PT), those might have popped into your head. Based on my experience, the understanding of our profession is actually quite limited. To put it simply, we are "Movement Specialists." Our governing body, the APTA, provides an excellent summary of our education history and background. One snippet

All movement originates in the mind. If we wanted to get philosophical, we could say that all of reality originates in the mind. All it takes is a focused effort, and you can learn anything new in 20 hours. That is what I learned from this really entertaining and enlightening Ted Talk by Josh Kaufman. According to Mr. Kaufman, once we get over our initial fear of feeling stupid for not already knowing something, get over our pride, we can learn anything! Imagine all of the th

Who knew that Bubba Sparxxx and the Ying-Yang Twins would speak such noble words. Turns out, that advice could not be more true. You must get it (your form) right, to get it (your body) tight…and then yes, you can be that Ms. (or Mr.) New Booty. Let me paint the picture for you. You are pushing through that HIIT class. You can barely breathe. You’re working as hard as you can until the timer is up. You’re performing squat after squat with hopes of building a booty as round as

History never forgets great power. Your body, on the other hand, can forget your own physical power if you fail to train for it. Power is an important subject. It encompasses the influences people have on each other, and also their varying degrees of leverage. You could say the world runs on Power. You could also say that Power starts with the Sun. There have been many books written on the subject; countless movies and television shows built entirely on the concept, and even