I had a conversation with a client the other day that simply can't leave my mind.  As he was clearly out of energy after our workout, I asked what he had eaten before our hour-long session.  After some heavy panting and wiping of his brow, he told me that he had only eaten "a few pita chips" before coming to the gym.

After telling my client he needed to put some "gas in the tank before the car is used," he told me that he didn't want to eat much more than those chips, since, as he said, he was watching his calories.

Wait....what the what?????​

Yes, that happened. Now, what's the problem with counting calories?  While it may work for some, it's time-consuming, difficult, and terribly inaccurate.  (Warning: epic rant below.)

Florida Gulf Coast.  If you watched your share of college basketball this past weekend, then you know how that school completely ruined my March Madness bracket, along with many, many others.  However, I couldn't be happier for that team as they played both games like they were on a Nerf hoop, and they produced a hilarious/terrible, highlight/rap video.

So, while this weekend went on to prove that I know absolutely nothing when it comes to sports prognostication, it made me think that just like March Madness, not everything in the strength and conditioning world always goes according to plan.  Most notably, how most people try (and fail) to do a proper pull up.

Besides push ups, pull ups are pretty much the bane of most people's existence (at least, in the gym).  Now, you can make the case that pull ups are tough (they are), and that a pull up is scientifically/biomechanically harder to do for a woman than a man (it is)​. But, I'm tired of excuses, so how does one go about, you know, actually doing them?

Well, it's official - spring has sprung!  Of course, if you live in the New England area, the 6 inches of snow/sleet/rain/cold miserable mess that we received yesterday doesn't exactly lend itself to feel like a new season.

But, in the fitness industry, the beginning of spring also marks the time of year where everyone tries to get in "bathing suit" shape.  Now, besides working hard at the gym (which, of course, I'm all about), the more important aspect is a proper diet....and that's where it all gets interesting.  All day long, we're bombarded by health claims, new diet trends, and we're left alone to try and make sense of it all.  So, what actually is "eating well" and how does one define "good nutrition?"

Hope everyone is enjoying their St. Patrick's Day weekend!  Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly if you know my schedule), I actually worked both days this weekend to cap off what's been a busy past few days.  That said, you can probably figure out that my St. Patty's day celebrations this year were very tame compared to previous ones....which is probably a good thing.  Anyway, I figured it's been a while since I last posted an edition of weekly good reads.  Enjoy!

One of the many great things about where I work is that I'm surrounded by kettlebells (and other, large heavy things) all day long.  Aside from being in my own personal playground, it probably comes as no surprise that I'm constantly trying to think of ways to use them that will get my clients stronger.  In fact, feel free to think of me as a mix of Ivan Drago from Rocky 4 and a mad scientist.

Having said all of that, I wanted to share my latest solution to making people strong: the Kettlebell Floor Press.

(Beware: epic post looming)