the Blog
How a Client Maintained Diet and Training While on Vacation
People often have a tough time sticking to a fitness and diet regimen when traveling. The problem is often that people take an all-or-nothing approach to travel. Either they surrender experiencing ANY of the “fun” of travelling, or they give up and go way off the diet...
Dealing with Food Bullies
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had to help clients deal with the problem of food bullies, part of a larger category of problem I like to call “navigating the nonsense.” Navigating the nonsense usually has nothing to do with diet and training, and everything to do...
How to Change Your Life
You can't change your life in one area without changing it in others. Whole industries lie in wait for you; they're hoping to tell you that you can change your entire life by tweaking one or two things. They're lying. They're slapping a new coat of pain on old ideas...
Client Case Study: Maxx's Before and Afters
Why I do these client case studies? To illustrate that everyone’s journey is different and a definition of triumph and success is different for everyone as well – therefore there are no linear pathways – but there is expert guidance. Some people aren’t even aware of...
You're Not “Struggling” With Weight Loss of Physique Goals
I get one or more emails every day expressing something like this: “Coach, I’m really struggling with my diet…” “Coach, I’m suffering because of all the sacrifices I have to make to lose this weight…” Let me ask you: are the words “struggling” and “suffering” really...
Lessons In Metabolism: A Case Study of Yours Truly
“Metabolism” has not truly been understood in our industry, but it’s one of these industry buzzwords that capture people’s attention. Today, in order to explore what metabolism really is—and what it’s all about—I want to share my own personal (and recent) example, and...
Client Case Study: How Mike Vieth Has Lost 120 lbs. and Kept It Off
I wanted to write a client case study that illustrated the precise hows and whys of success. On top of the obvious reasons for success, there are also subtler, harder-to-see reasons. Below I am going to cover an actual example email from my client Mike Vieth. Mike is...
“Hardgainer” Genetics and the Compare, Contrast, Compete Game
You might have seen Andy in many of my recent videos. Andy's an international magazine cover model, and he often seems like he has "great genetics," but the truth is more complicated... The Hardgainer Solution complete course is open for a limited time....
Sleep: The Unsung Hero of Sustainable Weight Loss
I’ve just returned from the bookstore to pick up some research I ordered. Because of my background in sociology, one of the things I always do at the bookstore is go over to the diet section and to see what books people are looking at and buying. Of course there is a...
The Joy of Being a Muscle Head
This is a guest blog by Perry Mykleby: Meat head. Iron head. Muscle head. Those are terms used to describe guys (mostly) who are longer on muscle than brains. In recent years, I’ve learned there’s a lot more head involved in building muscle than I...
Abel Leg Thirties
I wanted to share a brutal workout or "circuit" that is for hypertrophy, and especially useful if you want to bring up your legs. It's called the "Leg Thirties." Oh yes indeed there are a lot of reps :) I have two demos to show you what they're like. One thing I want...
Happy Tenth and Thirteenth “Coaching Anniversaries” for Two of my Clients (…and what YOU can learn from them!)
One of the things I take great pride in as a Big-C Coach is my client retention rate. Believe it or not, my clients average about five years staying with me before they move on. Some will also come to me for coaching, stay a couple years, then try things on their own,...
The Twelve Days of Christmas: Naughty, Obsessed, Psychotic Fitness Coach Version
This time of year I get letters and inquiries regarding all kinds of crazy advice that supposedly comes from “Coaches.” Well, I’ve had enough. So I rewrote “The 12 Days of Christmas” and I call this “The 12 Days of Christmas: Obsessed/Psycho Fitness Coach Version.”...
Review of the Audio66 BTS Sport Headphones
This is a guest post by Mike Forest. Scott was recently offered a set of headphones in exchange for an honest review. Thing is, Scott doesn’t listen to music when he works out, or even when he goes on long walks. Mike does. All the time. So… we had the company send...
The “Post-Facts” Era in the Fitness and Diet Industries
Journalists are describing the times we now live in as "the Post-Facts Era," and they are at a loss as to what to do about it. It was bad enough back when politicians and pundits would look at the exact same set of facts, but use those same facts in opposite ways,...
“BINGO”: How One Word Can Create An Automatic Success Habit
I developed an accidental mental habit back in the early days of my bodybuilding career. It was a mental habit that set me up for incredible success and achievements, whether winning bodybuilding contests or earning academic scholarships for intellectual proficiency...
Training Priorities for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Trainees
The first real gym I went to was a local YMCA. After kicking around the “Y” for a bit I managed to connect with a guy who had won the Mr. Canada title the last several years in the lightweight category. He agreed to let me train with him. I was more like his lackey. I...
Fitness and Physique Over 50: Welcome to the Platinum Club
I want to tell you about a club I belong to -- I call it “The Platinum Club.” Many of you are charter members already and I will be asking for your input as well as offering you a little of my own right now. But first let me give you some background. I live in the...