A Personal Trainer’s Thoughts and Insight

What a common topic of discussion!  Breakfast is just that, break the fast, but what really does that mean?  Let's cut through the BS of so many opinions and touch on the real science behind breaking the fast.  Once you awaken, you're in the beginning of a mini fast, which will initially result in hypoglycemia [...]

I’m frequently asked the question, " what can I eat at night when I’m craving junk food later in the evening?"  Your best options are always lean meats and veggies, but I realize this is not exactly what everyone has in mind.  It’s the tastiest foods (fats and starches) that need to be ixnayed in [...]

Buckle down… this is an interesting one! We’ve all heard the term glycolysis thrown around when talking about nutritional and or exercise matters, but what really is this mysteriously scientific sounding word? It’s actually not that complicated DON’T READ THE PARANTHESIS (OK, if you look deeply and discuss glucose 6-phosphate and hexosemonophosphate shunt, then it’s [...]

I promise to only get slightly technical in this piece… here we go!  Diabetes is classified as either type I or type II and is a disorder in which the body cannot metabolize glucose.  Type I, also known as insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (IDDM), describes an inability to secrete insulin, due primarily to the failure of [...]

It’s time to turn the complicated information from lasts months piece into something you can use. Let’s do a quick refresher. The three fuel systems we discussed were the phosphagen system, glycolysis (fast and slow) and the oxidative system. Remember that all the fuel systems are active at the same time, but the level of [...]

My objective with this topic is to raise the level of awareness about metabolic fuel systems (energy sources) used during exercise.  How can this information benefit you?  It’s important to know which fuel system to tax to better prepare for a particular sport or activity or to burn fat more efficiently.  Bear with me; this [...]

You’re athletic performance has gone down hill; you’re tired all of the time and common injuries keep reoccurring! Does this sound familiar? One possibility (not to rule out any possible medical problems) is training too hard or too often, better known as overtraining. Before going into a solution, let’s look at some indications of overtraining. [...]

It’s that time again for the almighty new years resolution and because a fitness resolution ranks so highly in our society, it’s only appropriate to discuss what it takes. Many of us have a goal in mind of where we would like to be as far as health and fitness is concerned. A few of [...]

I would like to change gears this month and revisit some important nutrition issues. Dietary fat always seems to be an issue for many people, so let’s talk about fat and some of its important functions in our bodies, specifically, hormones. I will try and cover the few benefits of a high fat diet versus [...]

This seems like an old and tired subject, but I can’t stress enough the importance of strength training for the general public and sport performance training for the athlete. A well-conditioned body is better prepared to handle the physical and mental stresses that daily living and sports inflict. Rather than spend an eternity discussing the [...]