Dear Young Fitness Friends…
December 1, 2011 by danny · 4 Comments
Every one of us that has been in this fitness game for any length of time, started off as a newbie. In our early stages of fitness, we were eager to learn, but had no idea where to start. I was the same way. I loved playing sports as a kid, and as I hit my freshman year in high school, I also started to incorporate lifting weights “here and there.” I loved it from the get-go, but really had no idea what I was doing.
Am I doing this right?
This led me to do some investigating; what are the best exercises? Do I do a set of one exercise, rest and then do the same exercise? Or do two different exercises, alternating back and fourth? Cardio before weights, or the other way around? How many days per week should I lift? What are the best rep ranges? And the more I looked into it, the more confused I got. The “answer” to one question just led to whole new set of questions. But then, things started to change for me. I met a person that greatly influenced me. His name is Cy Willson. He was a guy at the local gym that was known for being very smart, with a very good physique. One day I approached him with a few questions and he was more than happy to help me out. He answered every e-mail that I sent him (100s of e-mails!!!) and even met with me one day to go over a notebook full of questions I had for him.
Cy also new Dr. John Berardi and told me that I should start reading some of his work. So I did – and I learned a ton. Dr. Berardi was also gracious enough to answer many questions that I had and I’ve since attended a few seminars that John has presented in.
I talk more about the coaches that have influenced the most, in THIS POST.
Since I’ve always been so appreciate of people like Cy and John, I feel it’s my duty to “pass it on” to people that are just getting involved in fitness and are a) not sure where to start, and/or b) looking for more information to help them achieve greater results.
With that said, here are seven tips to help the newbies get started on the right path in their fitness journey.
#1) Show Up
What’s a better exercise for your triceps – the close-grip bench press, or overhead tricep extensions? It doesn’t matter at all if you don’t CONSISTENTLY get to the gym. Showing up is the first step and probably the most important step.
#2) Keep A Training Log
It’s hard to know what’s working and what isn’t if you are just “winging it” every time you go to the gym. Having a plan and recording your training sessions can teach you a lot. And just as important, a training log is a huge for motivation. Human nature has us wanting to outdo our previous performance. Lets say that last Monday you totalled 24 chin-ups over the course of 4 sets. Well, when next Monday rolls around and you have 18 total reps going into your final set, believe me, you are going to dig down a little deeper to be able to get 7 reps on that last set (for a total of 25 reps).
One. More. Rep.
#3) Form First
I tell my new clients the golden rule is, FORM FIRST. I don’t want them to worry about adding weight until they’ve mastered form while using a full range of motion. It’s important for new trainees to put their bodies through many, many, many “perfect” reps to be able to get an idea of what the exercise should feel like. Grooving that proper pattern is key. Once this is mastered, there may be a little room for some “body english” from time to time. But for staying healthy and performing optimally over the long haul – form first!
#4) Compound Movements
Exercises that use many muscles at one will get you results much faster than doing isolation exercise after isolation exercise. It will also save you time and set you up for better results down the road. Yes, there DEFINITELY is a time and place for isolation exercises (i.e. bicep curls). But make compound movements (i.e. push-ups, chin-ups, deadlifts, squats) your staple – especially early on in your “career.”
#5) What You Drink Matters!
You can be “money” when it comes to the food that you put in your mouth. But if you are not being equally as strict with what you drink, you may just have to kiss the idea of getting great results, good bye. It’s very easy to guzzle down sugar filled drink after sugar filled drink without even realizing it. So, be careful here. Make water and green tea your staple beverage.
#6) Have Fun
Have fun while you are working out. But just as importantly, enjoy life outside of the weight room (or track, or pool, or pilates studio, or wherever it is that you are working out). I’ve always tried to make sure that I include cheat meals and fun – a few beers here and there, a pepperoni pizza, reese’s pieces, etc., from time to time.
Man I love these things!
But the key is, to get RIGHT BACK ON TRACK and truly treat this kind of behavior as a treat, NOT a staple. Life is too short to be so strict and never enjoy a little fun here and there. But it is also too short to be average. So find that happy medium … work hard, but don’t be afraid to “play” from time-to-time.
#7) Have A Great Support Group
If you are really excited about making fitness a big part of your life, but your closest friends spend the majority of their time playing video games and smoking cigarettes, then chances are it’s just not going to happen for you. There’s nothing like having a good training partner there to help hold you accountable, push you harder than you thought you could be pushed, and someone to enjoy your time with. As I mentioned in #6, if you must have fun. If you hate your experience in the gym, it probably won’t last.
So there you go my newbie fitness peeps – soon to be sexified fitness peeps. My top tips to help you get started. If you’re a veteran in this game and have some other greats tips for the newbies out there, let us see them in the comments section below.
And if you have any fitness friends looking for a place to start, feel free to share this (and/or hit the like the button below) with them.
You can find me on twitter @DannyMcLarty
Kids and Weight Training
November 23, 2011 by danny · 5 Comments
When should my child begin weight training? I get this question from parents all the time. My answer to the question has more to do with mental maturity than it does physical maturity. In other words (with the proper supervision and coaching), from a physical maturity standpoint, I do NOT think an 8 or 9 year old is too young to start weight training. Legend Mel Siff, in his book, Facts & Fallacies in Fitness states that, “stresses imposed on the body by common sporting activities such as running, jumping and hitting generally are far larger (by as much as 300%) than those imposed by Powerlifting or Olympic Lifting.”
Running up and down the basketball court, soccer field, baseball field, or jumping off of the monkey bars at recess is WAAAY harder on the body than lifting weights!
And then you add to the fact that the goal of weight lifting for kids is not to test his or her 1 RM (Rep Max). If set up properly, the coach/trainer will start kids off in the weight room with the goal of “building a foundation,” to teach them proper form. When the kid reaches high school, (s)he will be well equipped to start adding weight to the bar. When I work with kids, my goal is to improve their movement quality, teach proper form, and help make it fun for them so they develop a passion for working out the rest of their life.
Movement Quality – Over the years this has gotten worse and worse with today’s youth. They spend too much time sitting on their rears. The increase in video games and tv has contributed to kids moving poorly.
Form/Technique/Cues – When kids get to hear cues from the coach like, “tuck your elbows” while doing push-ups, or, “drive through your heels,” when doing lunges, it sets them up for success when it comes time to add some weight to the bar.
Machines Are Safer Than Free Weight For Kids
Some people believe machines to be safer for kids than free weights (your own body weight, barbells, and dumbbells) due to the static nature (and fixed position) of machines. I do NOT believe this to be true. To me, this would be like giving kids a calculator in first grade and telling them to just “use this and don’t worry about learning to add and subtract.” In sports (and in life), kids need to learn how to control their bodies through space. Dynamic warm-ups and free weight/body weight exercises are great to help youngsters prepare for “real world” activities.
Mental Maturity
As I mentioned above, this is what truly tells us when a kid is ready to start weight training. I’ve had parents send their young kids to me, and while I’m explaining what we are about to go over, they are more interested in following the butterfly floating around outside the window. I can just “feel” that the ONLY reason the kid is in the gym training with me, is because mom or dad made him/her go. If this is the case, I suggest to the parents that at this time, they should simply encourage their kids to be active… go out and play catch with them; take them to the pool to swim; play tag with friends; go to the park and have them run around the playground, etc etc.
Summary: If you’re worried that your kid is not physically mature enough to start lifting weights, stop worrying. If designed and coached properly, this is not an issue.
However, if your kid shows no interest in weight training, don’t worry about it. At this point, just running around and “playing” is all they really need. Encourage an active life and focus on making movement fun for them.
Lifting With The Youngsters
Yesterday, Carson had a friend over (Britton) and they joined me for a lift down in my basement. Carson has now lifted with me a number of times, and this is Britton’s second time. As I mentioned above, we focused on free weight lifts, form, movement quality, and having fun. I caught the majority of our training session on tape…
Good Times!
If you had been wondering when to get your son or daughter involved with weights, now you know. Feel free to forward this on to your friends that also have kids. This information can be very beneficial to them. After all, I’d hate to have a kid miss the opportunity to improve their health and physique because mom or dad thought that weight training was bad for them.
In the comments section, let me know if you have any thoughts or questions.
Have a great Thanksgiving, but be sure to get right back on track with your eating the next day!
FitStudio Gear
November 10, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
My peeps from FitStudio just put together a new equipment page… also known as the “Gear Page.”
There are a bunch of goodies to choose from! But I’ll briefly go over 3 on top of my list. These items are especially beneficial to me due to the fact that I am currently training people out of my home gym. This means I need equipment that allows them to perform many different exercises, without taking up a lot of space. So, if you are setting up your own home gym, hopefully this blogpost will help give you some ideas.
#1) Weighted Vest – Use the vest for a variety of exercises such as 1-leg squats, chin/pull-ups, jump squats, bulgarian split squats, push-ups, and more.
#2) Power Switch Weight Set – In a smaller area, this is a great way to save space while still being to use an entire dumbbell set!
#3) Medicine Balls – We use them for different throws to improve power, as well as part of a “cardio circuit.”
Here’s a video with medicine balls throws included… Get It Twisted.
And here’s Carson and I using the medicine ball as part of a cardio circuit (“medicine ball slams”) …
Again, check out the FitStudio “Gear” page to find great products at reasonable prices, that best fit your needs.
What equipment is high your wish list?
Follow Me On Twitter >>> @DannyMcLarty
Guest Post: Upper Body Training Considerations
November 7, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Samantha Ziegler was looking for an assist blog post on her website, and I was happy to help out. I wrote up some of the things that I take into account when writing up programs for my clients (in this post, I’m talking specifically about upper body training).
Rows - great for improving posture!
To get some insider tips for improving your upper body while keeping yourself healthy over the long haul, check out… Guest Post: Upper Body Training Considerations (by Danny McLarty).
Rows - great for improving posture!
Follow Me On Twitter >>> @DannyMcLarty
Bench Press – The Greatest Exercise of ALL TIME!
November 1, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
If you I really believe that I think the bench press is the greatest exercise of all time, I have three words for you; YOU SO CRAZY!
I actually think that the bench press is THE most overrated exercise of ALL TIME! Now, I didn’t say the worst exercise. I said the most overrated exercise. How could I say this? This is how… the average male lifter does 1235 reps on the bench press for every 1 rep he does performing a row variation (that fact came out of a study done in Ontario, Canada. Look it up – just go to goooogle.com to find the study – yes four o’s***); the average human being sits in front of the computer all day, and/or drives in their car quite a bit, and/or sits on their butt in front of the tv all day, therefore excessive pressing doesn’t help this imbalance that “life” has created; the average guy thinks the bench press PR is all that really counts in the weight room, but doesn’t even know how to perform an ass-to-grass squat.
As you can see, the bench press IS overrated, when it comes to the average gym-goer (don’t be average, people!). As I mentioned above, I do NOT think it is the worst exercise however. I don’t even think it is a bad exercise… when performed properly. That’s the other problem, most people don’t perform the bench with proper form to, 1) get the most out of the lift, and 2) keep the shoulders healthy. With all that said, I know just about every guy out there will perform the bench press no matter what I say. So, you might as well do it with proper form. Lets get to form…
First, here’s the wrong way to bench…
Bench Press Dont’s (as mentioned in the video):
-Don’t let your shoulder blades protract (keep them RETRACTED throughout the set)
-Don’t put your feet out in front of your knees, as this flattens the back. You should arch your low back and PUFF up your chest to reduce the distance that the bar has to travel. If the elbows travel too far down below your torso (like when your low back is flat), it puts undue stress on the shoulders. And I’m not saying that the average lifter needs an excessive arch like you see in the set up of a powerlifter …
-Don’t flare your elbows. ”Tuck” them so that they are about 45 degrees relative to your torso.
And here, you’ll see what a proper bench press looks like…
The cues that I gave in the video (the words flashing across your screen) are the basics for a proper bench press. There are more little subtleties that we could go over, but if you follow these basics you’ll be well on your way to a bigger bench and healthier shoulders.
If your interpretation of this blog post is; “Danny McLarty doesn’t like the bench press. He thinks it is a bad exercise,” you’re wrong. I like the bench press. I just do not like the volume that most people use with it. I also don’t like the overemphasis most people place on the bench press. I don’t like the shotty technique that most people have when benching. And I don’t like the fact that most people (dudes) are more likely to perform a 13th set of bench pressing RATHER THAN include deadlifts, squats, and rows (to name a few great choices).
In the end, if you are going to bench press, make sure to; be careful with the volume, use proper technique, and make sure that you are getting in plenty of rowing and other great BIG-boy movements.
***Ok, I lied about that Ontario, Canada study. But you get the point! And you didn’t really go look up goooogle.com did you!?! Did you?
Are any of you “bench press freaks” that just can’t get enough? Or former (recovering 
) bench press freaks? If so, how did you modify your training?
Make sure to hit me up on twitter. I’ll see you next time…
An Interview with Jen Comas Keck: Girl Gone Strong
October 27, 2011 by danny · 9 Comments
I have a GREAT interview for you today. I tracked down Jen Comas Keck, and not surprisingly, she delivered in a big way. Jen is a great inspiration to all the females out there (and to many males as well)! Jen puts a big emphasis on weight training, which has been a key factor in achieving her outstanding physique. She proves that females can lift hard and heavy, and still look feminine and beautiful. With that said, lets get to it…
1) Jen, what got you involved with fitness?
I was insanely lazy when I was a teenager. I was a book worm and all I wanted to do was read and eat junk food. I despised the idea of doing anything physically active. While I had nearly straight A’s in every class, I failed gym class not once, but twice! I started packing on the pounds and when I was 17 years old somebody that I was very close to looked me in the eyes one day and said, “Ya know, you’re getting kinda fat.” I was completely devastated and cried my eyes out. The next day I begged my mom to help me get a membership to the gym, to which she obliged. I didn’t have a clue as to where I should begin, so I started taking aerobics classes. I was intimidated by the people in the weight room, so I’d go back to the gym around 8 or 9pm when nobody was there and I’d mess around with the machines and the weights. I initially fell in love with group fitness classes, so much so that I started instructing. I taught every class you could ever think of while living in Las Vegas, up to 13 classes per week, and had the time of my life! I decided I also wanted to work with people individually and got my personal trainer certification from NASM and started training clients, which I also loved. I’ve always been eager to challenge myself which led me to my first Figure competition and that is when I fell in love with strength training.
2) What are some of the early training mistakes that you made?
The biggest mistake I made was doing way too much cardio, thinking it would melt fat off of my body. I was cranking out around 5 hours of cardio a day for an entire year while I was teaching classes, and I think I lost a whopping total of 2 pounds!
3) And how did you modify your training to “turn things around” with your physique?
Late 2008 is when I did my first Figure show and I became obsessed with strength training. In early 2009, I abandoned all cardio and starting following DeFranco’s Westside for Skinny Bastards program. This is an awesome and simple to follow program that is geared towards gaining strength. It is centered around the “three big lifts”, which are squat, bench and deadlift. I gained a ton of strength, lost significant body fat and realized that this style of training is the golden ticket to a nice physique.
4) What do you consider to be a couple of the biggest mistakes that females make in regards to their training and nutrition?
Most females make the same big mistakes that I made. They think that cardio will get them their dream body, and they think that they can out-train a poor diet. Neither has an ounce of truth. I feel like the paradigm is slowly starting to shift and women are starting to see that that an ideal physique is created in the weight room… not on the cardio machines or in the classes! In regards to nutrition, women make the mistake of under eating, and it’s all of the wrong foods – too many carbs, not enough protein or veggies, and too many processed foods like granola bars and yogurt. If I could offer just two pieces of nutrition advice for women, they would be:
1. Eat whole, unprocessed foods.
2. Eat vegetables with every single meal, no exceptions.
5) Alright, lets have a little fun…
-What’s the one cheat food that you have a hard time saying no to? And how do you avoid “going there” too often?
I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth! My favorite thing in the world is probably carrot cake, with cinnamon rolls coming in a close second. However, I have recently eliminated gluten from my diet, which has caused my new obsession to be chocolate covered nuts. Whole Foods has chocolate covered pecans and they are so good that I dream about them! I never keep foods that are “off limits” in our house so I don’t have the option to consume them without planning for it.
-Speaking of food, I know you have a ton of great, healthy recipes. Care to share one of your favorites with us?
Yes! I’m very passionate about making clean treats to keep people sane while dieting. I also like to create delicious stuff in hopes that people will offer these to their children instead of sugary candy and cookies. I have so many recipes that I love, but I think my favorite is the pumpkin muffins. They are perfect right now for fall and delicious topped with natural peanut butter. They are gluten, dairy and sugar free, and I swear that you’d never know it!
-What is the one exercise that pumps you up the most to perform?
Deadlifts! They are, what I feel to be, the most bang for your buck. They work every muscle in your body and make you stronger overall. If somebody was only going to do one of the three big lifts, I’d highly recommend the deadlift. Something about locking out a heavy deadlift just feels so good and empowering!
-What is the one exercise that you dread to perform – but of course, you do it anyway, right?
Uh oh! Getting called out on this one! Truthfully, I hate to squat. I always have. Of course I force myself to do it albeit not as often as I probably should, which is why I’m pretty awful at them.
-As you walk onto the stage in a competition you have people in the crowd and all the judges, well, judging you; what area of your body do you feel best about?
My mom has the most beautiful legs I’ve ever seen and lucky for me she passed her genetics on down. That, paired with the fact that I absolutely hammer my legs twice per week, has blessed me with a set of legs that I’m pretty proud of.
And we all have that one area that just won’t cooperate the way want it to. Yours is?
Without doubt, it’s my midsection. My legs and back stay pretty lean, even if my weight swings upwards about 10 pounds, but in order for my abs to be visible, I’ve got to be around or below 15% .
6) Switching gears to the performance side of things, what are your current PRs (Personal Records) in the:
-Deadlift – 295 (it just kills me that I didn’t go for 300 that day!)
-Bench Press – 145. I’ve attempted 150 twice over the last 6 months and barely missed it both times. 150 will be mine before this year is over!
(Danny’s Note: A few hours after we finished up this interview, Jen sent me an e-mail saying that she hit 15o pounds in the bench press! Wow, talk about the power of putting a goal in writing – nice job Jen!)
-Squat – 215. I haven’t tested my squat max in about a year, so this is from last November.
7) What does your future in the field of fitness look like for you? Where can the readers find out more about you, Jen?
I have a fitness bucket list that seems to keep growing! There is so much I want to do. I am definitely planning on participating in Tri-Fitness next fall, and I can see myself doing some type of Strongwoman event and/or Powerlifting meet in the interim.
On another similar topic, I’ve recently teamed up with 6 amazing and strong females to create a women’s mastermind strength group called, “Girls Gone Strong”. We plan on putting on seminars & workshops, educating women on strength training and building a strong female network and support system. Our website should be up by the beginning of next year.
To find out more about me, you can visit my website www.JenComasKeck.com , where I have all of my recipes, articles and interviews posted. You can also find my daily training log on EliteFTS.com, hear me ramble in 140 characters on Twitter, or find me either at Facebook.com/jencomaskeck or under our female strength fan page which is Facebook.com/GirlsGoneStrong.
Danny’s Note – It is GREAT to see females like Jen passing on the message that embracing weight training will not make a girl “too big.” And that when done properly with progressive overload (and a solid nutrition plan), weight training plays a HUGE role in building a healthy and attractive female body! Girls like Jen have been a big inspiration to some of my young female clients over the years. Here’s a video of my client Coco, lifting 300 pounds in the rack pull…
One less female that we have to worry about becoming a “cardio queen!” 
Thanks for the interview, Jen!
For more training, nutrition, and basketball information, you can find Danny on Twitter.
My Home Gym
September 28, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Since moving back to Illinois, I have been working a few different jobs… running a few bootcamps; basketball lessons; contributing to running basketball clinics; on-line writing (“freelance writer”); on-line program design; and … training clients out of my home gym. And that is what today’s post is about – the set up of my home gym, which is down in my basement.
Many of my California friends and clients have been asking me how training is going back in Illinois. So I thought I’d include a quick video of my training set-up here in the house.
I started training people with JUST a few dumbbells, a few plates, a barbell, and some bands. And it actually went great! We had everything we needed to get the job done for great results. BUT, after awhile, it is just waaaay more fun to add in some more pieces of equipment to help stay motivated, and to add variety to the programs that I write up.
With that said, here is a video of the current set-up, with more equipment coming in the near future…
So, there it is. It’s pretty cool to be able to roll out of bed and head downstairs to train my clients.
For those of you reading this that are living in the Rockton/Roscoe area, if you didn’t already know that I’m training people here in Rockton, now you know. I now have enough equipment to do small group training, which helps cut down on price while providing a great training atmosphere (everyone there to push one another). If interested, hit me up and lets get you looking sexy!
The Power of Group Training!
Don’t forget, I’m on twitter. If you are as well, lets connect!
Exercise of the Week – Anderson Front Squats
August 1, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
This exercise is a killer… Anderson Front Squats. ”Anderson Squats” are usually done with the bar on your back. But in this version, you rack the back across your shoulders, as you would in a traditional front squat.
You can set the pins as low as you want. The lower the harder, but make sure to set them at a depth that allows you to keep form (abs tight, weight on your heels, chest tall, etc). In traditional squats, as you descend, the tendons will store energy and assist the muscles on the concentric portion (the way up) of the lift. By unloading the bar on the pins for a second, this “stretch-shortening cycle” is reduced (or eliminated if you rest the bar on the pins long enough) making it so the muscles will have to do more work. It is kind of like a deadlift in this sense – you let the bar rest on the ground for a second before going into the next rep. The big different here is that Anderson Squats are more quad dominant, whereas deadlifts are more hip dominant (unless you purposely lean forward with Anderson Squats to bring the glutes/hams into play more).
When first trying these, start off light as they can be humbling! But they are great for your quads, your core, and will help with your posture. Did I say they are great for your quads? …
Give them a try, and um, “enjoy,” as they are oh-so-fun!
My Interview with Kelly Olexa…
March 17, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Kelly Olexa puts out her “Wednesday WOOT! Factor” on, well, Wednesdays (makes sense – she’s more than just a pretty face ). Kelly has great energy and a very positive attitude! So when she asked me to be a part of this Wednesday’s WOOT!, I was happy to oblige.
Hey Everyone!! Welcome to today’s Wednesday WOOT! Factor! - sponsored by Sears(R) FitStudio! WOOT! Today I am happy to share an interview with Danny McLarty, another member of our FitStudio team. I have learned a LOT from Danny since connecting with him through our Sears(R) situation– you will also find him contributing on the FitStudio Facebook Page.
DEFINITELY check out his blog and also his great YouTube channel for a boatload of instructional videos!! Holy Wow!! YouTube.com/DMcLarty7.
Join us tonight on Twitter at 7:30pm CST for our weekly FitStudio chat!! Follow #FitStudio at just hop on in to gab!!
1. When did you first start working out and why?
I’ve been active in sports all my life, so I guess I was “working out” without even knowing it back when I was 6 or 7. I was obsessed with muscles at a pretty young age. My mom still laughs and says to me; “do you remember when you used to play with your He-Man toys and say; ‘mom, who do you think has bigger muscles, He-Man or Skeletor?’” Ha! As far as when I started lifting weights, that began in high school. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I badly wanted to learn, and really loved it right off the bat!
Read this rest of the interview HERE.
The Real “Main Reason” To Workout
March 1, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
If I were to take 3 random people and ask them: “what is the main reason you work out?” If they were being honest, I’d probably get answers that look something like this:
-so I can have washboard abs
-to get BIGGER gunz!
-so I can have a nice booty
I’ll be the first to admit, going to the gym in attempt to improve my physique has motivated me for years – and will probably continue to be the case for years to come. But when we take a step back and think about it, the main reason for working out and eating right, is because it is GREAT for our health. My 59 year old client (we’ll call him “Sam”) came in to train with me a few months back after he went into see his doctor only to find out that he was pre-diabetic. Sam had trained with me about 4 years ago but then took time off only to let himself get out of shape. He had been e-mailing for the past 1.5 years saying that he plans on getting back in to work with me. Well, after the news he received from the doc, it was time for Sam to finally put his foot down and get back to the gym. If Sam would have continued down the path that he had been going, the quality of his life would have greatly changed, and diabetes was inevitable.
He had a follow up appointment with his doctor last week to see if his workouts and improved nutrition would have a positive effect on the numbers for the various tests (glucose levels, cholesterol, etc) that raised so many red flags just 3 months ago. Well, when Sam came into his training session today, I’m thrilled to say that not only are his numbers improved, they are so much better that the doctor said he COULD NOT BELIEVE how much better they look! He told Sam that no meds are needed, and that he just needs to continue down the same path that he has been on! His HDL (good cholesterol) is the best that it has been in years, and he is down 16 pounds. Keep in mind that when Sam came back to see me, it was the holiday season. For most people it’s considered a win just to maintain weight during this time of the year. This makes Sam’s results all the more impressive!
The Secret Sauce
The secret to his success is, that there is no secret. Sam shows up 3 times a week every week to train with me (and his training partners). And he has greatly improved his nutrition. So if there is a secret sauce it is this: consistency + discipline = results. His hard work has paid off and Sam is now the poster-boy of how to fight off diabetes and live a long, healthy life!
