Traveling in ‘murica for an Education

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Do Epic Shit

I’ve been very fortunate in that this site and working in Japan has enabled me to connect with a great number awesome people in the fitness world. I took full advantage of that recently and spent a few weeks in the US meeting and visiting friends in the industry, as well as making new ones.

It was great to bounce ideas back with people doing similar work and has been a fun learning opportunity that I took full advantage of.

It’s funny, if you had told me two years ago that I’d be greeted with a big hug by Alan Aragon in Kansas City, train with Eric Cressey’s athletes in Boston, or eat cheesecake in Times Square with Dick Talens from Fitocracy, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here I am, just stepped off the plane in Tokyo, buzzing from an awesome trip. Continue reading →

A Little Japanese Commercial Gym Rant

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Hamster in a wheel

Forgive me friends, I am going to depart from the usual friendly, helpful articles this time. There’s something I need to get off my chest.

Three weeks ago I quietly walked out of my gym with a mixed feeling of disgust, sadness, a sprinkling of embarrassment, and I vowed to never go back.

Rog was with me at the time and we were considering the best way to work round my knee injury (MCL tear – snowboard + tree). Routine set, we got into it.

A trainer walks over during one of our between top-set rest periods. Surely, about to ask a sensible question about this style of training, I turn, smile and say hello to Louie between breaths. – I wanted to introduce my friend anyway. Before I get chance however…

Andy: Our racked deadlifts are too noisy. Can we please be quiet? Continue reading →

Why would a coach get coached? – Interview with Rog Law

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Rog Law - Leangains - Balcony shot

I first met Rog at an industry conference in the US last summer. It was good to meet people in the industry outside of Japan and confirm that, contrary to my suspicion, internet people are actually real. A likeable fella, I invited him over to Japan to stay if he ever had chance to visit, which he did just last week. Continue reading →

What Makes a Good Diet Coach?

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The greatest things in your life won't happen by chance, they'll happen by choice.

The greatest things in your life won’t happen by chance, they’ll happen by choice.

In the article What is the Value of an Online Diet Coach? I talked about the specific benefits I think working with an online coach holds vs one you can hire locally.

This article focuses more on the specifics of what I personally do and my thoughts on what I feel a good coach does. Continue reading →

Delicious or Dangerous? Spotting Bad Science

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IS693041Home visiting my family for a couple of weeks, I’m in the kitchen rustling up a delicious, super-sized omelette when mum comes in. I cringe and expect the usual criticism of my cooking skills but get something different.

Mum: “Five eggs!? Don’t you know that they will give you a heart attack?! I thought you would know about such things.”

Me: “I do. I’m fine mum. It’s fine.”

Mum: “Didn’t you see the headline in the paper?”

[Mum sets this incontrovertible evidence on the counter. Looks smug.]

How do you think I reacted? Continue reading →

What is the Value of an Online Diet Coach?

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Online Diet CoachingThe online diet coach/trainer is a new concept. There are very few online coaches, each with their own methods. I can’t speak for them. I only talk here about my own views. 

Most personal trainers you’ll meet at your local gym want you as a customer for life. I don’t. I think that is a shitty business model. – Keep you confused, never explain things fully, always make it seem difficult so that you feel that you need them and keep coming back… Reminds me of the Hostess industry here in Japan where the hostess will drag out the relationship for as long as possible to get the most money from the client before she either sleeps with him or he gets bored and moves on…. It has to end somewhere and invariably that ending is not a happy one. Continue reading →