We all have secrets we like to keep close to the vest.  Maybe it's that we secretly love The Bachelor (sorry I'm not sorry); are slowly becoming a Patriots fan (5 years in Boston WILL do that, but the New York Giants will always be #1); or have some OCD-like tendencies (if you want some amusement, ask me about my superstitions when I was a pitcher)

But today, I'm revealing another secret that I usually keep pretty close to the vest:  I'm somewhat of a musical theater geek.  In fact, loooong before I discovered deadlifts, I was the lead in my high school musical. *Cue: Jazz Hands, annoying vocal warm-ups, and the "I've Gotta Crow" scene from 21 Jump Street*

So, I've decided to stop being lame and finally write a new post!  I know, you're excited....but try to keep your paws off the screen.

Anyway, I decided to break tradition with my normal posts, as I've had a few odds and ends floating around my mind for some time.  While none of them really make a full post, hopefully the collection of all three certainly do..

1. With Thanksgiving in the books, and the holidays being literally right around the corner, it's a good time to touch on a conversation that I had with a client of mine.  A few days before Thanksgiving, they told me that they needed to burn 1400-1700 calories during their workout because they heard that amount was the average Thanksgiving meal.  My first reaction?  Well, I hope mine completely dwarfs that number..

I'm in a nutritional state of mind this week, as I've been preparing for my second nutrition lecture: "Are All Calories Created Equal?" It'll be on Feburary 7th, at The Training Room in Somerville (Washington St) at 2 pm.  As last time, I promise to keep the references to Channing Tatum to a maximum, and the pictures of Richard Simmons to a minimum.

(But no promises.)

Anyway, as I type this post I have five different academic journals open in my browser (yes, I just counted). To say I'm geeking out on nutrition would be a slight understatement.  And besides all of those open tabs making my computer run a bit slower, I have to say, my powerpoint slides are going to kick some ass.  <-----The only thing that could make me sound more like a nerd would be if I actually said "Bazinga!!"

So, you know that feeling when you wait all week to watch your favorite TV show?  Only, once it starts airing, you realize that this week's episode is simply a "clip show?"  Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is what we have here.

Call me lazy (no seriously, you can....I spent most of this past weekend binge watching "Orange is the New Black"), but I wanted to highlight a few different articles as well as one very, very interesting deadlifting video.

1. First and foremost, I wanted to share a great blog post on one of my best clients, Sarah B.   Originally posted last night on our company blog, her progress deserves an extra shout out on here:

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.