Back in hilly Pacifica again, and walking. This time, I fired up a pedometer app on my iPod Touch and did some step counting. (6,000 for a morning stroll.) Counting steps is all the rage these days, but this little jaunt got me thinking. And not just about "step by step...inch by inch..."
Author: gary
Rest vs. Intensity
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been a hot fitness topic for a while now. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of short bursts of training at high intensity. This makes for catchy headlines and appealing claims for quick workouts and reduced training times (a few minutes a week?) but one reality that often gets lost in the hype is the relationship between rest and intensity.
Precision Nutrition Coaching: Review
Precision Nutrition has grown into the largest private nutrition coaching and research company in the world. They claim to have coached 35,000 men and women during the last 12 years. Their certification program is also very popular, certifying almost 25,000 people (including me).
I'll talk about my experience with the certification process and why I chose them in a future post. Here, I'll be reviewing my second-hand experience with their coaching program. If you think this will automatically be a glowing review since I'm certified through them, you'd better read on.
Stand Up For Strength
People sit too much. They sit at work, in their cars, at home watching TV, while waiting, while flying (like I'm doing now), and plenty of other times. It's become the default position in the lives of modern humans. This is bad for lots of reasons, some of which I've written about before.
But one of the most tragic things is seeing people sitting down while trying to get stronger. Seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? And yet if you go to a gym you'll likely find more people on their butts (or their backs) than on their feet.
Cottage Cheese Choices
Those who know me would expect a post about cheese to be dominated by words like "stinks" and "milk gone bad." But one of the exceptions to my "no cheese" policy (because, you know, it stinks and is milk gone bad) is cottage cheese, which doesn't stink and is a fresh cheese.
You might think all cottage cheese is pretty much the same. That's what I thought for a long time. But it's not. And I'm not just talking about 4% vs. 2% vs. fat-free. Let's take a closer look at your cottage cheese choices.
Is Online Personal Training a Good Idea?
Earlier this week, I was (sort of) watching "Dragons' Den" on the TV. It's a Canadian show--precursor to "Shark Tank" but much more pleasant. One of the many perks of living here is getting to see Canadian shows like this, "Hockey Night in Canada" and "Rick Mercer Report". In case you're not familiar, "Dragons' Den" features budding entrepreneurs pitching their businesses to a wealthy panel (the "Dragons") to try to get them to invest in their venture.
On this episode, all the pitchers were students. A six-year-old girl (who got money) was followed by a couple of twenty-something guys who were pitching their online personal training website (and did not get money). I honestly don't remember the name of the site, but it's not important. The show brought up some of the things that stink about this business.
My 40-Workout Challenge (“Easy Strength”) Experience
Last Saturday, I finished Dan John's 40-Workout Strength Challenge. Yes, I've written about "challenges" before (noting that they are often inappropriate, to put it nicely). But this one is more like a "program" than a "challenge."
It's based on concepts from the book Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline, an excellent book with a wide range of great information but more suited to trainers then people just looking to get fitter or stronger. My experience with it follows.