If there is one habit I get the most push back on, it's counting calories.

Every client at one point or another has told me tracking their daily calorie intake is not possible. First of all, it is. But that doesn't matter if a person isn't going to do it.

Fortunately, the goal with the calorie counting habit is not to have every client tracking their intake every day until the end of time. The goal is to make them aware of how many calories their meals contain and recalibrate their concept of serving size.

Which brings us to today's topic. There is an easy way to build your meals so you can skip calorie tracking and still lose fat.

What is "functional training"?

Is it using a Bosu ball? Is it TRX exercises? Is it plyometrics? Is it all three?

You wouldn't know it to listen to the trainer at your local gym, but functional training isn't a standardized training method. 

Building functional strength is totally subjective. Depending on your injury/health history and training goals; "functional" takes on a different definition.

I've put together some criteria to help you decide what "functional" training looks like for you.

Here we are. Keto has found a place in the nutrition fad spotlight. As usual, everyone is looking for the “get lean quick scheme" and this is the current fan favorite.

Let me start by saying: you can absolutely choose to go keto. It's fine. I'm not hardcore anti- any particular way of eating. It's up to you how you want to engineer your calorie deficit and I'm happy to help you manage the habits that support your chosen plan. That being said, I don’t recommend Keto to any of my clients.

If you’re gonna insist on trying the whole ketogenic diet thing, you have to understand what it is, how it works, and how to use it. ​

​I was a scrawny kid from birth into my early 20s. Growing up I always wanted to be buff, but no matter how much time I spent in the gym I couldn’t get there.

College changed things. The non-stop liquid calories and late night fast food excursions started to catch up with me. I hadn’t been exercising so now I was what we in the fitness industry affectionately refer to as “skinny fat.” I wasn’t a large person, but I had little muscle and too much bodyfat. I felt the urge to lose weight for the first time in my life. I tried being more active, but that didn’t help either.

Looking back now, I want to smack younger me. I had leap-frogged the simplest solution to managing my weight.

As a seasoned fitness professional who has helped countless people take control of their weight, I know the truth. Whether you’re a scrawny person who wants to build muscle, or someone who would like to burn some fat, the answer is the same.

At the end of the day, the concept that will decide whether you reach your weight goal is energy balance.

Walking into the gym as a new member there is SO much going on. People at the desk are checking in and slurping smoothies. Prospective members tour of the facility. Atrocious pop music shrieks from every corner. 

The weight floor sprawls before you like an iron jungle. Benches, power racks, machines, functional cages teeming with strangers. You wade into it with absolutely no instruction or guidance.

Every person has the same question at that moment:

“What the hell do I do now?”