You, that’s WHO, are my first fitness topic for this initial series of articles on The Question Authority.  WHAT’s on second…  then When, Where, Why, & How to Exercise come next.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity of sharing with you as much as I know… as quickly as I can.  Your specific questions are most welcome, as that is the primary purpose of this section.  With your membership to The Best Way to Exercise, you can “question” your own personal exercise “authority” as much as you see fit. 

For now, let’s start with the seven most basic questions regarding exercise.  Thanks for reading and let’s focus on first things first… YOU! continue reading…

Welcome to the second in my Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to Exercise Series.  We have already learned that “you” is who needs to exercise, especially if you do not exercise already.  The great news is that the worse your initial condition or shape, the faster you tend to see results.

“What” is a little more complicated and controversial, but I will do my best to approach it in a tactfully-opinionated way.  As an exercise physiologist, I am particularly persnickety regarding what I consider exercise to be.  Many popular “workouts” unfortunately prove to be an exercise in futility at best.  You may already know this to be true.  Have you ever felt that all of your hard work is hardly working?  Many times, it is not. continue reading…

“When should I exercise?” lends itself to the easy answer, “whenever you feel like it and even when you don’t.”  However, in my daily dealings with real people in real situations, it is never that simple.

Exercise isn’t always the best medicine and, depending on the specific situation, can actually be a source of dis-ease.

For that reason, I would like to share with you a few times when inactivity is the most sensible option.  The following are not lame excuses for not working out, but rather valid physiological bases for exercising your right not to exercise.  These are brief… if you need more, you know where to find me. continue reading…

Believe it or not, as the owner of Stand Firm Fitness, one of the largest personal fitness centers in Connecticut, the question of “where to exercise” has actually always been one of the least important concerns on my list of “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” to exercise.  People are more important than places.  When looking for a facility in which to transform your physique and psyche, what the people know should determine the place where you go.  Your workout routine doesn’t mean squat if your trainers are all body and no brain. continue reading…

It seems like there is always a new gimmick or guru coming into the fitness marketplace.  I should know, right?

Well, this past year, a new book hit the market that elevated quite a few heart rates.  The “controversial” title, if you even want to give it that much credence, is “The Cardio-Free Diet,” by Jim Karas.

I don’t buy it… the concept or the book.  The excerpts were enough for me.  For what it is worth, Jim was educated at the Wharton School of Business in fiscal fitness.  Here are some of his quotes (and, just so there is zero doubt, this is Jim Karas speaking… not me!):

“Are you interested in losing weight, keeping it off and completely changing your body shape to the astonishment of all your friends?  What if I told you this goal is best accomplished without ever stepping on a treadmill or elliptical machine?”

HOLD ON… HE GETS BETTER: continue reading…

Just to warn you up front, this is definitely a “to be continued…” topic.  The discussion of “How to Exercise” justifies at least an entire book series, video production, and, last but not least, comprehensive and interactive website.

To help us get on the same page and all get started on the same foot, I’ll assume that you don’t currently exercise.  If you do, hopefully, at least for my benefit, you don’t exercise correctly.

Thankfully, if you haven’t exercised for a while, your body will respond to almost anything.  Even relatively pathetic quantities and intensities of exercise will elicit rather substantial adaptations within the body.  And not only will your body respond favorably to “next to nothing” workouts, it may also respond poorly to anything beyond that.  An initial “less is more” approach is safe as well as smart. continue reading…

Strength training is one of the most productive methods of changing your physical appearance and physiological stamina. Regardless of the specific routine, there are definite broad guidelines to follow which maximize the effectiveness of your training time. The following list is a brief synopsis of the most important principles of strength training.  Please also watch me describe these principles in greater detail by clicking on the link following each Top Ten Training Trick. continue reading…