To answer your question, yes, I'm aware of the arrogant nature of that title.  And yes, I am only talking about facts/issues/questions related to the fitness field.  But, to be totally clear, this blog post is really targeted at my former, office working self.

A few years ago, I thought personal trainers were little more than meatheads who threw weights at people and simply counted the reps.  Every profession has its stereotypes, and with no background in exercise science (besides reading men's health and getting coached a bit in college) I actually thought I knew just as much (if not more!) than many of the trainers in the commercial gym I belonged to.  In fact, I may have even used the dreaded term "muscle confusion," for which I will never forgive my previous self.

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I'm going to let you in on a secret: I hate squatting. 

Yes, you read that correctly.  

Blame it on the fact that I'm on the taller side (long levers and squatting don't always get along), but the "king of lower body lifts" just doesn't have a special place in my heart anymore.

However, I realize that squatting still has an important place in any program as it's a fundamental human movement.  And even though I may not love to squat, you need to train your weaknesses, along with your strengths.

Of all the fitness jargon that’sused on a daily basis, there’s one word I absolutely CANNOT stand.  Nope,it’s not “Crossfit,” nor is it “cardio.”  Today, I’ve got my crosshairs onthe word “toned.”

Getting toned is a myth.  Plain and simple.In fact, the best way to break down this word is to look at what it actuallymeans: building muscle and losing fat.

This past weekend, I hit a new PR on hang cleans at 225 (which, forthe internet, is probably not all that impressive).  While I’ve posted thevideo, what you can’t see is how after my reps I walked around an empty gymhigh fiving walls, fake people, and screaming the lyrics to Luke Bryan. True story.

But, it made me realize that I don’t talk about Olympiclifting on here, even though I do the lifts very often.  So why do I stayquiet about it?  Well, for the majority of adults, Olympic lifting justdoesn’t make sense (yup, I’m looking at you, Crossfit).

​It's the first week of April, and you know what that means: tax season.  Fortunately, I've already filed mine (with the help of my Dad), so no late, number-crunching nights are in my immediate future.

Oddly enough, tax season reminds me (as most things do) of some of the parallels to strength and conditioning - sometimes, what you want to do, is not always what you need to do.  Sure, I want to tell the IRS to keep their grubby hands off my money, but for a list of reasons, that's not a sustainable strategy.

Ok, so how does this apply to the gym?  Well, as some of you know, there are few things that I hold as close to my heart as the deadlift.  In fact, I believe the order goes: eating dead animal flesh, country music, deadlifting, and The Bachelor. All ensuing masculinity jokes aside, I recently had to put all my deadlifting on the shelf, as I realized that doing some form of hip-dominant movement every workout (like the deadlift) was what I wanted, but not necessarily what I needed.

If you've been in touch with me over the past week then you probably already know, but....

Lindsay and I got engaged on Saturday night! 

It has been a wonderful whirlwind ever since, as we ended up getting engaged down at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a high roller (my favorite beers are Miller High Life and PBR, after all), but I needed to pull out all the stops if I was going to convince Lindsay to say yes.  Suffice to say, it worked!

There are few things in this world I fear more than bats.  You can blame my irrational fear on their connection to rabies, their nocturnal nature, or the fact that they are essentially glorified mice with wings.  But, if I have ever to build an arc, you can take a pretty good guess at which animal I'd be leaving behind.

That said, there is one exercise that has a loose connection with bats that I just can't get enough of called, you guessed it, "batwings."  What's with the name?  Well, it's because when you're doing them correctly, you look like (*gulp*) a bat. 

This past Christmasbreak, I spent a ton of time watching my niece and nephew.  And besidesreveling in their infinite cuteness, trying to decipher their words, andavoiding diaper changes, I learned a lot about how they move.  I know, itmay sound odd, but there’s a heck of a lot we can learn from watching toddlersplay around. 

Before I move on, I urge you to keep an open mind. Also, let’s collectively take a second to put down all the dumbbells,kettlebells, and, for the love of all things holy, please swear to me thatyou’ll never again touch a bosu ball.

I really hatehearing about new year “resolutions.”  In fact, I find this term to beabout as annoying as “irregardless.”

Oddly enough, I have a favorable view when people tellme about “goals” for the new year.  Before you start telling me that thedifference is merely semantics, let’s take a closer look at each one.

For many people, resolutions might be some form of thefollowing (note: the items listed below were once my own resolutions, so I’m asguilty as the next person):

It's currently 70 degrees outside my apartment, baseball season is well underway, a new season of "The Voice" is on NBC, yet today is a great day for another reason...

It's the 6 month anniversary of this blog!

Now, I'm not one for big celebrations (seriously, you'll probably never find someone who dislikes throwing their own parties as much as me)​, but I thought it'd be a great time to pause, reflect, and review my past few months of writing.  Also, for those that are new to this blog, I figured it's a great chance to highlight some of my previous posts.  ​

As my head hurts from watching Notre Dame get absolutely pounded by Alabama last night, today’s post is mostly in video form.  In fact, I figured today’s post is pretty appropriate....as fixing your bum shoulder is going to be a lot easier for you to accomplish than Brent Musburger realizing his dream of eloping with A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend. (If you need help with that reference, just click here.)

Before I go anywhere with this post, I just want to ask one simple question:​ what is the deal with the "Harlem Shake?"

I like to think that I appreciate internet humor as much as the next person....but, where did it come from?  Why for 30 long seconds does everything get really, really weird?​  And, more importantly, is this something we have to worry about for much longer?

If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, here are the members of the Miami Heat performing their own version (my favorite character being the "horse-tronaut" in the background)​:

One question I tend to hear somewhat regularly is that if you're looking to lose weight, should you cut back on your fruit intake?

While you can probably guess my answer from the title above, it's important to clarify that this question is based on the notion that all sugar is handled by the body in the same way.  If that were true, wouldn't eating a strawberry be the same as a gummy bear?

In any profession, I think it'sfair to say that only about 10% are truly great at their jobs. While it's probably pretty tough to spot them, you can usually tellpretty quickly which of your coworkers "get it" and which ones are merelypunching the clock.

The same is true in personal training and thefitness industry.  Yet, the mistakes that some of the not-so-greattrainers make are often remembered much more than the successes of others. For instance, most of my clients have worked with personal trainersbefore, and several of them have horror stories about how they were hurt froman improper exercise, or now have a convoluted notion about what it actuallytakes to "get in shape."

Recently, I was asked about my thoughts on the Paleo diet. Truth be told, I think it's a great way to lose weight and eat healthy.

But that doesn't necessarily mean it's for you (or the people you know).

It's been an incredible last few weeks for both Lindsay and I, and we are both finally settling back into our normal routines.  I've been quiet on the blog recently, as during the past two weeks I've been squeezing in a full week of work into about 4 days.  Suffice to say, I napped on Sunday.  Hard.

Anyway, as I've grown busier I've also started receiving many more emails, several from clients that would like advice or want to reschedule.  Here's one such email I received a few weeks ago:

 "Hey Alex, my piriformis has really been bothering me for the past week.  I think the best thing to do is rest for a few weeks and come back when I'm ready." 

Sorry, try again. 

I’ve made it no secret that I favor large, multi-joint exerciseslike pullups, squats and deadlifts.  In fact, if all you ever did in thegym was deadlift and some Turkish Get-ups, you’d be eating a whole, balanceddiet.

However, blame it on the new year,how much I’ve learned the past few months, or even the size of my own arms, butthere’s one exercise I’ve recently added to my own workouts...

The much maligned, and “nonfunctional,” bicep curl.

Today, I'm fighting a common thought that's prevailed in society: avoiding animal foods will automatically make you a healthier person.

We may all know some vegans, vegetarians, and others (pescetarians?) that are on a plant-based diet.  To clarify, I'm not doubting all the political and environmental reasons that some people choose to eat a more plant based diet, because as Bobby Brown once famously said, "that's their prerogative."  Instead, what I'm after is proving that the idea of solely cutting out animal products from your diet is not necessarily going to make you healthier in the long run.