It can be very challenging finding a heart rate monitor that fits your budget and your needs because there are thousands to choose from. I created a 7 step checklist you can follow to make the process MUCH easier. I also give you my top pick for a great heart rate monitor that doesn’t break your wallet.

1) Heart Rate Reading Should Be Easily Visible

Believe it or not, most heart rate monitors don’t make the heart rate reading easily visible on the display. I know, it’s crazy. Polar heart rate monitors, which are considered “best of breed” are notorious for making the heart rate reading extremely small and even worse, hard to find!

Continue Reading How to Choose a Heart Rate Monitor

When most people think of cardio, they think of long, boring jogs, or endless hours on the elliptical. I’ve got good news for you: there’s a method of cardio that takes much less time and is far superior to jogging to help you burn fat. It’s called High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and this article will give you the basics so you can take your body to a new fitness level.

The picture to the right shows an extreme example of the different training outcomes of a marathoner (“steady state” cardio) and sprinter (high intensity interval training cardio). While these people obviously have different body types and genetics, the photo is still revealing.

What is High Intensity Interval Training?

Continue Reading High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): Best Cardio to Burn Fat

The 5 Stages of Change Model is a very useful framework that describes the series of stages we go through to change our lifestyle habits. The critical assumption that underpins this model is that behavioral changes do not happen in one step, but through a series of distinct, predicable stages. Just realizing the stage of change you’re in may be helpful for you to succeed.

While this model was originally developed in the 1970′s to better understand how smokers are able to give up their addiction to cigarettes, it has since been used to understand changing just about any type of behavior. For the purposes of this article, eating unhealthy foods, or not exercising are the habits we are trying to change.

1) Precontemplation

Continue Reading 5 Stages of Change Model: Which Stage Are You In?

Do you ever dream about your perfect fitness program? Ok, maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always wondered how I could adjust all the variables in a fitness program just right so that I could reach my potential as quickly, safely, and efficiently as possible.

I will go over all the variables to consider for each of the three major components of your fitness program that affect your body composition (1) Strength Training, (2) Cardio and (3) Nutrition.

Continue Reading The Perfect Fitness Program

There are a number of different ways to measure exercise intensity, but using your max heart rate to create target training zones is the most common and reliable. Here’s a brief overview of how to calculate your max heart rate, along with a couple tips to help you better understand the limitations.

What is Max Heart Rate?

Your heart rate is measured as the number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm). Your resting heart rate is the measure of your heart rate at rest, which decreases as you get in better shape. Your max heart rate, on the other hand, is the maximum heart rate that you can attain that is based on your genetics. A high, or low max heart rate does not predict athletic performance, or even fitness level.

Why is Max Heart Rate important?

Continue Reading How to Calculate Your Max Heart Rate

Growing up, I was definitely the most stressed out person I knew. I used to believe stress was healthy because it fueled me to work harder to achieve my goals. It gave me that extra boost when I had little energy. I thought it was a big reason why I had some solid accomplishments, because I was willing to work harder and handle more stress more than just about anybody. Unfortunately, this lifestyle caught up with me fast. I had a joint birthday with my brother when I turned 25 and he turned 30. About ten people came up to me who thought I was the older brother.

Since that experience, a lot has changed in my life. A turning point in my battle with stress came when I left the finance world and instead of analyzing stocks, I began to analyze myself. What makes me happy? What exactly do I want to accomplish in my life? What’s most important to me? I asked myself several challenging questions that require deep introspection to answer. The better I really understood how I wanted to live my life, what I wanted to accomplish, and that I had control over how I feel, the stress literally vanished.

Continue Reading Winning the Battle With Stress

Choosing a gym that’s right for you can be challenging, so I created a checklist that will make the process much easier. You can trust me because I’ve seen hundreds of gyms over the years, even in different countries. Here’s the inside scoop on how to choose a gym that’s right for you. I listed the criteria in order of importance:

1) Convenience
I think the #1 most important criterion by far is where the gym is located. If you’re living in suburbia and there’s a gym right across from your office, or within a couple minutes of your home, you should probably just use that gym. The gym that is most convenient is the one you should use, unless there is something seriously wrong (for example, the gym fails a few of the criteria I’ve listed below miserably). We all know how hard it is to make it to the gym consistently, so you might as well make going to the gym as convenient as possible.

Continue Reading How to Choose a Gym That’s Right For You

As you’ve learned from my Starvation Mode article, skipping meals, or not eating enough food can drop your metabolism and sabotage your efforts to get lean. So what happens if instead of skipping meals, you eat more frequently? This post will delve into the benefits of frequent eating that you can apply to your life.

But before mentioning some of these benefits, I want to share with you an article I came across about how Sumo wrestlers eat to pack on so much weight. The average Japanese man is only around 145 pounds, yet amazingly, sumo wrestlers can reach 500+ pounds! So how do they eat to get so huge? Is it possible that you have similar eating habits as a sumo wrestler?

It turns out sumo wrestlers skip breakfast, then eat 1, or 2 enormous meals at 11am, then 6pm. If they eat two meals, they usually take a 4 hour nap right after the 11am meal to drop their metabolism. I’m taking a wild guess that you probably don’t want to look like a sumo wrestler (even though sumo wrestlers are venerated for their impressive stature in Japan).

Continue Reading The Wisdom of Eating Frequently to Get Lean

In the last couple years, I compiled what I believe are the top 10 fitness motivation quotes to help motivate you to exercise, eat well, and improve your health. I think they are very powerful and thought provoking, so I hope you enjoy them:

Master Your Mindset…

1) “The greatest discovery of my generation is that you can change your circumstances by changing your attitudes of mind”
-William James

2) “He who conquers others is strong, he who conquers himself is mighty”
-Lao Tsu

3) “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”
-Winston Churchill

4) “That which holds the attention determines the action”
-William James

5) “Our life is what our thoughts make it”
-Marc Antonius

When it comes to mastering our mindset, most of us harbor negative thoughts. In fact, some studies show that more than 90% of our approximately 60,000-70,000 thoughts each day are negative, and most are the same as the previous day. It’s not by chance that half of the 10 quotes I chose relate to mastering your mindset. Your thoughts and your mindset determine your outward actions.

Continue Reading Top 10 Quotes For Fitness Motivation

I recently interviewed Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD who is author of The F-Factor Diet and one of the world’s foremost experts on fiber and its role in weight management. Tanya is not only very smart, but also extremely nice. To learn more about fiber and its importance in helping you get a leaner, healthier body, check out the interview below.

What is fiber and why is it so important for weight loss?

Fiber is the indigestible part of the carbohydrate. Fiber aids in weight loss two ways; it binds with calories and pulls them out of the body and it helps keep you feeling fuller longer, which leads to consuming fewer calories throughout the day.

Do most Americans eat enough fiber? What is your recommendation?

Unfortunately most Americans do not eat enough fiber, the average intake is 9-11 grams. Women need between 30-35 grams of fiber and men need 38 grams of fiber. Children need fiber too, add the number 5 to a child’s age to calculate their fiber needs.

Continue Reading High Fiber Nutrition: Q&A with Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD