Hi there.  My name is Alex, and I'm a strengthaholic.

As I've written on this blog about 306 times by now, strength is what matters.  It's the ultimate equalizer, and not just because I'm terrible at conditioning (I'd rather drop a 45 pound plate on my foot than go for a 5 mile run).  It's because I have yet to meet someone who hasn't had better movement, felt better overall, or needed extra help moving apartments (a nod to all of you on a September 1st lease in the Boston area) once they were stronger.

Yet, how do you quantify strength?  The inner meatheads will use the powerlifting "big 3" of back squatting, bench pressing, and deadlifting with good reason - those three movements are tested at powerlifting meets, and dedicating time and effort to them will make you super strong.

....but what if I told you, that unless you're a powerlifter, it's silly (and sometimes downright stupid) to use those exercises and metrics?

For better or worse (and for the introvert in me, the worse), Summer has a way of forcing you to meet new people.  With weddings, parties, BBQs, etc. I always tend to find myself describing what I do for a living....and receiving some pretty interesting questions.  Among them:

1. "I'm so out of shape, can you not look at what I'm eating!?"
2. "I want to get stronger, but will I get too big?"
3. "Is Bachelor in Paradise really that good?"
4. "What are some of your good motivational tips for clients?"

Now, my answers usually go something like this:

1. No, I don't care what you're eating. Knock yourself out!  Seriously!
2. Let's cross that "too big" bridge when we get there....worry about getting strong and picking up heavy things.
3. Make no mistake, Bachelor in Paradise is complete trash on TV.  But, if you want to turn off your brain for a couple hours and make sarcastic remarks while drinking a beer....it's perrrrfect.
4. My motivational tip is pretty simple: I have none.

In only 57 short days, Lindsay and I will finally be getting married.  Now, I haven't spoken a ton about our wedding on here, but Lindsay has been as cool as a cucumber....while I'm finally starting to realize/stress out about everything that needs to come together.

Marriage day events/antics/cowboy dances aside, I haven't mentioned on my blog how great Lindsay is in the field of nutrition.  She already has her Masters in Nutrition Communication, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Nutrition and Food Policy at Tufts. While I tend tease her and call her a "professional student" (I mean, it's true) I like to think we make a pretty good nutrition power couple.  After all, it's not like I can ask many other people what the recommended daily intake is for manganese, and what are symptoms of toxicity? (Nerd alert!)

If you've had access to the internet over the past few weeks, you've probably seen the terrific Always video, #LikeAGirl.

If you haven't, it's probably because you've been living in a cave; an underground bomb shelter; or took up residence in the Alaskan countryside, a la the National Geographic Show "Life Below Zero."  If that describes you, then it's probably because you've been hiding from Ebola.  After all, I can't blame you, it IS the United States...where where we don't want to vaccinate our children, but we freak the hell out about infectious diseases.

Irony, politics and diseases aside, here's the commercial which is absolutely fantastic:

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: