Whether your goal is to lose weight, increase athletic performance, or just exercise, recovery is key. I cannot stress this enough. The more active you are, the more you need when it comes to recovery. The world’s top athletes spend more time recovering their bodies to not only perform at the highest level but prolong their career. Most of us spend the majority of our days sitting. Eating, driving, working, socializing, watching television, video games, etc. All sitting. So w

What is something that we have to do regardless of how we are feeling? Work. It’s Sunday night and you’re feeling dreadful because Monday is coming up. “Ugh, I don’t want to go to work.” Sound familiar? But you still have to go, right? At times, we go in sick (maybe not anymore due to Covid), depressed, angry, sleepy, etc. It is our responsibility to show up to work so we can pay for our living expenses. This is the same mentality I want people to approach exercise. Here are

Did I get you? These types of advertisements are everywhere. If you clicked on this blog post, then it worked right? I wasn’t trying to trick you, but I want to explain why ads like this work but are short-lived. First and foremost, following a structure makes it simple. The hardest part about fitness is staying consistent. It makes it easier to follow when everything is written down for you. From what workouts to do to what types of food to eat. These are everyday struggles.

“I’m so tired.” I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this during my 14-year career as a personal trainer. On occasion, this is the first thing people say before they say hello. I get it. We all need sleep and rest. However, I will explain why this mindset needs to change if you want results. First, is to be in charge of your schedule. Juggling between work and life, it seems like we have no time for ourselves. Do you feel like you are always in a hurry? Our days are

This past Sunday was my first Father’s Day. My son was born in October last year and boy has my life changed. During the first 2 months, I had zero time to exercise, as I was barely sleeping and adjusting to fatherhood. It’s amazing how this tiny little creature (my wife and I call our son “the dinosaur”) can change your life. I realized I wasn’t taking care of my body and I FELT it. You notice things that you do routinely get harder and this is where you need to take the ini

Tweaked the back while grabbing groceries, slept wrong overnight, tripped over the curb, the list goes on. Things happen and injuries are a part of being active. Stuff happens, whether we like it or not. But that’s not to say that you can work around it. Just have to make better choices about what to do and what to AVOID. Chances are; STRETCHING is going to be priority. Keeping that body moving without aggravating it. We all get caught up on the success and progress, but when

Scared? There’s always light underneath the tunnel, even from 10 feet under from sea. If you’re reading this, then chances are you are into exercising. We all have a purpose why we exercise. Whether it’s to look good, lose weight, feel better, prevent injury, maintain what you have, the goals can vary. If you don’t have a specific goal, then I suggest you find one this year. If you’re really struggling to find one, don’t settle for the exterior (appearance). Goals can be inte

DGF mentality. I work hard, so I can enjoy views like this. Courtesy of Waimea Canyon, Kauai 3 MORE DAYS!!! 3 more freakin’ days before the calendar turns 2017. It’s crazy. Before I sound like a old fart saying, “time sure does fly,” let’s really break down our journey (fitness that is). Take a look back at the year and reflect on your success. If you’re reading this, then congratulate yourself because you added fitness to your routine in 2016. Now, if you added on another ye

Yes, we got two weeks left before 2016 is over. When that number turns 2017, most people are like, meh. No big deal. We all have our favorite holiday (personally, mine is New Years) and Christmas happens to be the one for most. Bright lights, gift exchange, happy songs playing in the background, kids begging their parents to have a chat with Santa, I can see why Christmas is such a popular holiday. It’s just so cheery. Puts people in a good mood. December is also the month wh

Never thought I would skydive. And this is a guy that’s afraid of heights. Never say never. If you really want change to happen and this can apply to anything, doesn’t have to be just fitness. Whether it’s your attitude, job, relationship, things can be changed and it’s really up to YOU to change the situation. At the end of the day, no one is going to MAKE you do something. They may tell you or yell at you, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to action. I remember as a ch

Man…….is it December already!?!?!? Geez, where does the time go? As the year comes to an end, I like to reflect on what I’ve accomplished during the year and what I have yet to achieve. As a business owner, my mind is constantly thinking. What’s the next step? How can we improve? Is this working? These are questions I ask myself on a daily basis. Being complacent is NOT where I want to be. In the fitness industry, things change. New style of training, equipment, scientific ev

This is what I go by especially when it comes down to nutrition. We all know what’s good or bad, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to resist. Especially our demons. I’m talking about our ice cream, cookies, that delicious holiday latte that has more calories than a 8oz steak, etc. We thrive on emotion, emotionally eating to be exact. We all have that one food that we know it’s bad, but we keep eating it. Only because it makes us feel good. It’s like when I eat ice cream. W

Thanksgiving. The time of year to reflect upon how thankful we are and the wonderful people we are surrounded with. Living in a chaotic world, it’s easy to get lost and forget to appreciate the little things in life. Wars being declared left and right, earthquakes happening here and there, shootings, kidnapping, carjacking, riots, stabbings, the list goes on and it’s just depressing to see that on a daily basis. It happens every day, but if you keep letting the media control

Since we have Thanksgiving coming up, exercise will be at the bottom of the priority list. It’s just the way it goes. Hey, if you get something in this time of year, kudos to you. If you know you’re just going to eat, then my suggestion is to get some (anything for that matter) kind of exercise in. One of my favorite is planks, because it’s one of those exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Most people think that planks only targets the stomach, but when you weight be

This is a constant saying I always tell clients during the holiday season. We have a BIG holiday coming up: Thanksgiving. It’s where we sit around among good company and indulge in hearty food and drink. To be honest, I haven’t really participated in a traditional American Thanksgiving, so I’m going based on what I hear what other families eat during this time of year. This is a guy who eats roast beef or sushi during Thanksgiving (however, I will be eating turkey this year).

We all have that one song that makes us move. The one that makes you lift more, or go that extra distance because you’re just “in the zone.” When I’m exercising, I listen to electronic/house/trance, whatever you like to call it these days. For me, when a song has a tempo or beat that gets incrementally intense, my adrenaline gets elevated and I feel that I get a better workout. Since we just had the Olympics, remember Michael Phelps warming up before his race? His face was IN

Vampires. This is what I call a person that sucks out not blood, but energy out of you. Have you talked to a person and it seems like eternity for him/her to finish a conversation? You listen in and nod your head, and then 5 seconds in you ask yourself, “when is this person going to finish?” It’s like that student who raises her/his hand right before the class is about to finish. Everyone just gives that student the death stare; at least I did in college. I would be like, “wh

This is what I always tell my clients. We’re always on our feet. Stepping on different platforms, angles, constantly changing where the pressure goes on our feet. So it makes sense to wear proper shoe wear, right? A lot of times people wear shoes for years and that’s just not good, especially if you’re exercising. The cushioning worn off, soles long gone, and flat out nasty and BEAT UP. If you have holes in your shoes, get some new ones. Your feet will appreciate it. Why do I

This is what I always tell my clients when November and December is coming up. We all know what happens during the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. EAT! EAT! EAT! Same thing in December. Holiday parties, end of the year dinners, white elephant gift exchange, a lot of festivities during those times. In my experience, these are the times when people gain the most weight. I call it the “hibernation period.” Since we know these months are going to be the busiest times of the ye

When it comes down to working out, having a good mindset is key. When you go in with a mentality that you’re going to have a great workout, chances are, you ARE going to have a good workout. If you’re having a bad day, feeling sluggish, you’re not going to put a lot of effort and maximize your time in the gym. That’s why, in my opinion, exercise is all mental. You can have the all the physical gifts, but if you don’t have the mental component, all will be lost. Your ability t