Strength training plays an important part in your health and fitness, but you may be concerned about injuring your joints or other body parts. By concentrating on proper technique, you can tone your muscles, enhance your posture, and reduce discomfort and stiffness in your joints. Let’s delve deeper…

Athletes, clients and trainers recognize that mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation to achieve athletic excellence and life balance. They are turning to mindfulness practices to enhance workouts, recovery and performance in competition, and to cope with daily life pressures. Fortunately, there are numerous resources available featuring a variety of practices that can be used to support all of us in our quests for peak performance in sports, activities and LIFE .

Metabolism is a complex biological system in the human body that is often exploited by the diet and weight-loss industries. In fact, it’s a billion-dollar business that’s growing each year, as people look for ways to rev up their body’s natural ability to burn fat. There are, however, ways to maximize metabolism naturally and without a lot of extra time, money or effort. It’s the sum of small things that creates an efficient and healthy body that burns more calories and fat.

Summer workouts do not have to come to a screeching halt when the temperatures rise. Aquatic fitness is the coolest summer workout for summertime fitness! Many of my personal training programs can be modified to do in the water. Doing any type of resistance workout in the pool creates a safe and low impact environment that helps to protect joints and decrease the risk of sports injury. Try some of these aquatic workouts that are fun and safe for a change of pace:

Normally, you should be able to get all the nutrients you need from a balanced diet. However, supplements can help fill in the nutritional gaps for those that have deficiencies in their daily diets. Supplements can also be used to help support personal fitness and nutrition goals by enhancing sports specific dietary needs to feel and perform your best. Here are some of the top supplements to support your Optimal YOU Lifestyle:

We often need to be reminded to stay hydrated during training. Many individuals feel they need to wait until they are thirsty to drink fluids. But let’s face it, if we wait until we feel thirsty, we are already dehydrated. Remembering to drink fluids keeps us healthy and supports our training.

Low impact exercises can burn calories similar to high impact exercises, but without the wear and tear of your joints. Low impact exercises are great for overall fitness and individuals that are new to fitness, aging or prone to sports injury…

What do Personal Trainers eat, and what do they recommend for others? Well, this I know, we master snacking before and after exercise. Just like everyone else, we face cravings throughout the day. Try these trainer tips the next time you have a long day at the gym or at work…

I’d always been a great sleeper. I was one of the lucky ones who would fall asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. Occasionally I would awake in the middle of the night to use the restroom, but I always fell right back asleep…then things changed and sleep became compromised…I soon found out, it’s about changing more than just your nighttime routine…

Nutrition plays a large role in your personal fitness program. Having good dietary habits helps to support your training and fuel your workouts. Eating foods that have low nutrient density can work against you leaving you feeling fatigued and irritable. Poor nutrition can also negatively impact your body’s immune system making you more susceptible to illness and internal inflammation. Here are five foods that can help put your daily dietary habits back on track for maximum fat burning:

Preparing to work out requires more than lacing up your sneakers and filling your water bottle. There’s a mental aspect too. You need to prepare your mind as much as your body. In many ways, it’s your attitude more than your muscles that determines whether you’ll make it to the gym and stick to a consistent schedule. If you want to reap the benefits of an active lifestyle, try these strategies for overcoming some of the most common mental barriers to exercise.

If there was a pill that was scientifically-proven to benefit your brain by increasing focus; reducing stress, anxiety, and depression; and improving memory, emotional awareness, and overall happiness, would you take it? Well, guess what? That type of medicine does exist—but not exactly in the form of a pill.

How would you like to burn more calories without spending more time at the gym? You don’t need any magic formula to break through a weight-loss plateau or slim down faster. A few simple changes can make your workouts more efficient. Burning more calories is a matter of what kind of exercises you do and how you do them. Read these tips before your next workout.

CBD products have become more popular with both men and women in recent years. However, they often use them for different reasons. Are you interested in learning more about natural remedies for a wide range of women's health concerns? Take a look at this quick guide to CBD.

Do you know how critical healthy feet are to a successful training program? Your feet and ankles make up your body’s foundation and act as “shock absorbers” when your body interacts with a surface. The feet transmit weight from our body to the ground, allow us to balance in static posture, and propel our body forward, back and laterally in dynamic activities. Let's get serious about taking care of our feet and take a closer look at how we can train them effectively...

There’s no doubt that life can be brutal at times. Even if you’ve been blessed to this point, there’s little chance of making it to the end of your life without suffering a significant setback at some point. People are tested when faced with great challenges. Are you confident that you can answer that challenge?

Workout buddies and group fitness classes make it easy to stay motivated. You feel accountable for showing up, and it would be a little awkward to lounge around when everyone else in the room is doing pushups.

Still, there will probably be times when your schedule or other events require you to exercise on your own. When spin class is cancelled, or you’re stuck at home, try these ideas to help you push yourself when you’re working out solo…

We have all heard the standard list of benefits of a consistent Pilates regimen. Highlights include long lean muscles, better posture, a nice butt and – gosh, I hope so – a six-pack wall of abdominal muscles. However, there are numerous huge benefits that nobody really talks about. So aside from the aesthetics and the hype (albeit well-deserved and the truth), what other rewards can your Pilates workout give you?

One of the biggest struggles that most people face today is a crazy, hectic schedule. We are so busy that it makes eating healthy a real challenge. Quick and convenient foods end up taking the place of healthy, nourishing food when we’re on the go, go, go all the time. These less-than-ideal food choices put us on the hamster wheel of experiencing low energy, weight gain, and potential health problems.

I don’t need to tell you how strength training can make you look and feel amazing. It’s something that hundreds of women have experienced first-hand, pushing dumbbells and heaving barbells on their way to transforming their bodies. There are so many benefits that women can enjoy through resistance training with weights. Here’s the proof that there’s more to health and fitness than fad diets and endless cardio…