So here we are another new year upon us. Of course this is a good time to bring to mind the happenings of the past year. The year of 2020 was monumental in many ways... many not so great ways, but this is the time to let the ghosts of yesterday die! 

As a coach and a trainer this can be a very busy time of year. Perhaps the restriction on gyms will hamper this... perhaps not. I have no doubt that weight loss will continue to be at the top of many peoples minds regardless of whether they seek a trainer, a diet, or some sort of life style change. So before you feel this obligation to jump off into a fitness journey. Ask yourself... are you ready?

You might NOT be ready if:

• You know this is something you've been putting off, and you feel obligated to do it because it is New Years... the time of year is not important... the right time is when you feel some measure of resolve, a deep seated need, a deep desire that burns in you for change.
• If you're still looking at this change as "losing weight", and have not given any thought to what you'll be doing after you hit your goal. If you undertake a diet you can not maintain, or think of exercise as that thing you're doing to lose weight, understand that when the exercise stops, and you go back to eating how you did before the resolution, you'll put all that weight back on. That's heart breaking... don't do that to yourself. Identify what changes you're willing to make permanently, and what balance you're willing to make. If you don't truly know what it'll take contact a professional, such as myself or other properly qualified professional.
•  You think it'll be easy. There is not such thing as an easy transformation. Despite the thousands of commercials and claims you can lose weight easily, and manage to keep it off this is just not true. You need to become comfortable with the idea that you're going to have to be uncomfortable sometimes. This is no different than many other things in life. Sometimes getting up for work in the morning is uncomfortable but we still do it. Sometimes paying our bills, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, walking our dog.... are uncomfortable but we do those things. Taking care of ourselves is no different.

If you've identified you want to make a change but are not ready, you're half way there! Now you just have to get yourself ready. We in the health and wellness industry refer to this as the preparation phase and this should not take much time at all. It could take a few days, weeks, or a couple of months... but not years! So this is where you do your research and speak to professionals. Just remember on the flip side of not actually being ready as noted above, some people wait and wait, and ultimately either they're not ready because they just don't want it bad enough yet, or they don't act out of some sort of fear. Here are common "i'm not ready" procrastinations that indicate you're ready but that fear is getting in the way:

• I need to lose some weight before I start (fear of judgement, being starred at, not being fit enough)
• I'm too out of shape, my heart rate gets too high, I have aches and pains (these are all common when getting started)
• If I start now I'll fail, so I wanna wait until I feel more confident (this usually goes on for years... it is nearly impossible to improve confidence without taking some sort of action... you need a professional to support you and move slowly with you)
• Afraid of failure... I don't want to fail again (certainly everyone has this fear, and if you don't start you can't fail... however failure is necessary for success. You are going to fail, but as long as you don't fail to keep trying you will succeed)
• I don't want to lose my butt, boobs etc (this is usually just an excuse, a fear of being real with yourself, that you may not look or feel how you want... it's denial)
• My man likes me big (that may be true, but I'm sure he likes you healthy and alive also... it is not always about getting skinny, sometimes it's about not developing chronic conditions, and staying healthy. Waiting to get healthy after you have a chronic condition so much harder than doing it now. For example 7 out of 10 diabetic die of heart disease... not of diabetes. This is largely due to a lack of physical activity.)
• I don't have the money. (certainly money plays an issue, but is it true? Do you have cable TV, go out to eat, go to the movies, do fun recreational things? If yes, then you have the money, you just may need to reallocate some of it.
• I don't have the time... (this excuse is an easy cop out... but come on, we all know this is not true. If you're telling someone that, understand that they don't believe you... the average American watches something like 30-40 hours of tv a week) You have time, you may not want to get up early, or stay up late, or miss a show... but that is about priorities, not about time.

I hope this has helped you in some some small way. Thank you for reading my rant. I wish you a happy and prosperous 2021, 
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It takes only about 5 minutes on social media to confirm that there appears to be a wealth of fitness experts. Instagram is especially notorious for this. I'm not knocking Instagram. I myself had an IG account, but found it sucked up more of my time than anything else. 

The problem is people associate good looks and a hard body with fitness knowledge. When I was 20 I was in the Marine Corps and I fell into that very category. However, I knew very little about exercise or nutrition. I knew the basics movements, and the concept of the need of protein for muscle mass, and I knew a few things about supplements that the non-exerciser might not know... giving the further illusion that I was an "expert".

Now I hold a masters degree in Exercise Science, I hold the most prestigious certifications in the industry and have over a decade of experience as well as teach college courses and certification classes to aspiring trainers and by many measure may be considered an expert but that's now how I refer to myself. Firstly, the concept of expert has this connotation that we have all the answers, and there's nothing left for us to learn, because clearly we know it all. This is far from the truth. I know a lot.... more than most or almost any other trainer I come across but there's so much we "experts" and the scientific community have not yet learned. So if the fitness guru is calling themselves an expert and has advanced credentials that's fine... but usually that is not the case. Usually they have a couple of certifications, and a couple of success stories... which are nice, but hardly constitute the title of expert.

In the United States largely personal training is unregulated. There are only a few places that require any sort of education to claim to be a personal trainer. That means literally anyone with a heart beat who likes to workout can call themselves a personal trainer or a coach. I have come across quite a few of these very people. They very frequently think of themselves or call themselves an expert. In one particular instance I had one guy who was preparing for his first body building competition, and was working on getting a certification (but did not have one yet) attempt to poach one of my clients. He explained to the client that even though I was good for "basic" fitness stuff if that guy wants to build muscle, he'd be a much better choice. He justified this by telling the guy he was preparing for a body building competition and went on explain his muscular gains. 

That example epitomizes the self proclaimed expert syndrome found in the fitness industry. The soon to be trainer/expert was in his early twenties, was using steroids, and was recommending to my client (who was 67 years old), to lift heavier weights and lower reps. This was his piece of expert information. The problem with this short sited recommendation is he ignored the conditioning phase that is so crucial in the ageing population especially if they do not have a history of lifting weights. 

If you're looking for a good trainer, or fitness expert to help you achieve your goals here are a few things to pre-qualify them.

• Do they have experience working with someone who has your goals, in your demographic (age, gender, health status/conditions)
• If they do not, do they have experience in something close, or have the ability to find the information, or will they just take your through what they know for them?
• Do they have a valid personal training certification or degree? A valid certification typically is NCCA accredited with the exception of the ISSA (which goes through the department of education)

There are a number of other things to look for in a trainer, but this will ensure you are working with someone who is competent enough to help you and keep you safe. Thanks for reading my rant.... have a great day!
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The single leg romanian deadlift also known as the SL RDL, is predominantly a hamstring exercise. That is not to say it does not work other muscles certainly it does. In fact it does more than just strengthen. The SL RDL will help with balance, and hip stabilization. It will also work the glute muscles and the lower back. It is an excellent exercise to put in a program to reduce risk of knee injury, but equally as beneficial to have in a leg/butt blast program.

In the video and photo you may notice the knee is slightly bent, but it does not bend to the extent that the knees do during a squat. You may also notice at the bottom portion of the movement the shoulders are not much higher than the hips, which is the hallmark of an RDL. This type of movement pattern is referred to as a hip hinging movement pattern.

While the lower back is involved in this movement, that is not where you should feel it. You should feel the back of your legs (hamstrings) get taut when bent over. If you feel this movement in your back, try bending the knee just a hair more, and bring the hips (butt) a little further back. Do not be so concerned with making this movement look pretty. What is important is the back is flat, and you feel the work happening in the hamstring, adjust your form until you feel it in the hamstring.