JJFit and Garmin Coach Help You Get Race Ready

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JJFit and Garmin Coach Help You Get Race Ready

I was thrilled and honored to be asked by the folks at Garmin to contribute some of my best tips for getting race ready for a 5k, 10k and half marathon to the kick *ss Garmin Coach app. Garmin Coach has everything you need to safely train for a big event including helpful articles with advice from yours truly! If you’re considering a race in the coming weeks or months check out these resources: Helping Your Body Handle Long Distances and Your Race Nutrition Plan. And give Garmin Coach a try!

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What to look for in a gym buddy (MEL Magazine)

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What to look for in a gym buddy (MEL Magazine)

Trying to find the perfect workout partner — one who keeps you motivated, even when you can barely bench 100 pounds — can feel a lot like looking for a beefy needle in a sweat-drenched haystack. And like any relationship, even when you think you found the one, the squat to your deadlift, they could very well pack their gym bags and leave you and your swole bod for another even swoler bod. Check out my interview in MEL Magazine for advice on how to find your ideal gym partner.

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Don't Neglect Planes of Motion Training

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Don't Neglect Planes of Motion Training

Many of us could benefit from more "planes of motion" training in our workouts. In a nutshell, the body is designed to move in three planes of motion: sagittal (like in a squat or bicep curl), frontal (like in a lateral lunge or side cable raise) and transverse (like in a "curtsy" lunge or a bicycle crunch). Most of us live almost exclusively in the sagittal plane limiting our functional mobility, strength and performance. Read more about the importance of planes of motion. in addition to standard sagittal exercises (which are still great) consider layering in more frontal and traverse moves to your program for your lower body, upper body and core.

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The 10-Minute Workout a Busy Lawyer Can Do (Almost) Anywhere

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The 10-Minute Workout a Busy Lawyer Can Do (Almost) Anywhere

Traveling and working long hours put a lot of stress on the body, so it's important to carve out even just a few minutes to move and breath. Check out my latest Law.com column for a video of my favorite 10-minute workout perfect for at home, in a hotel or at your gym.

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JJFit in the News: Workout Programs vs. One-Off Routines: Which Is Best for You? (Openfit)

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JJFit in the News: Workout Programs vs. One-Off Routines: Which Is Best for You? (Openfit)

Focusing on your health and fitness is an investment in your time, energy and money. And just like buying organic produce or wearing proper running shoes, it may be a worthwhile investment to get a professionally-designed workout program from a trained professional (like yours truly). But is it absolutely necessary? Especially when the internet is overflowing with free workouts from people who, if their defined abs are any indication, seem to know what they’re doing? Check out my interview for Openfit.com for tips to decide what’s right for you.

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JJFit in the News: How to Clean Up 8 Notorious Gym Moves (Oxygen Magazine)

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JJFit in the News: How to Clean Up 8 Notorious Gym Moves (Oxygen Magazine)

When you arrive at the gym, there’s probably a lot on your mind — from stress over neglected emails to excitement about weekend plans. While you certainly get bonus points just for showing up, if you’re working out while distracted or haven’t been trained on proper movements, your workout could lead to unintended consequences. Based on years of observations, I've identified the main moves people execute incorrectly time and again — and provided instruction on how to perform them properly. Thanks to my amazing friend and writer Jill Schildhouse for including my tips in this Oxygen.com article and to my beautiful clients Erica and Sarah for demoing good form.

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Crush Your 10K Goals with this 8-Week Training Program

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Crush Your 10K Goals with this 8-Week Training Program

After weeks and weeks in the recording studio I’m STOKED to announce that my 8-week 10K training program is now available for free on the ClassPassGo app. Perfect for all levels, this audio training program includes three steadily progressive classes each week that will safely and effectively improve your speed, endurance and strength so you can crush it on race day. In addition to programming and instruction you’ll get plenty of form tips to make sure your strike and stride are on point, nutrition advice so you are properly fueling your body pre-/post- class and tips to prepare before the big race and how to recover after. Check it on the app.

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JJFit in the News: How to Work Out on the Keto Diet (LIVESTRONG.com)

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JJFit in the News: How to Work Out on the Keto Diet (LIVESTRONG.com)

Following the low-carb, high-fat keto diet can have some desirable effects on the body. It’s been shown to accelerate weight loss, reduce seizures in children and help people manage diabetes. The keto diet will likely also affect the way your body handles a workout, though there’s some debate over whether exercising while in ketosis helps or hurts performance. Check out my interview for LiveStrong.com to learn how you may want to adjust your workouts if you go keto, how to survive the "keto flu" and other considerations when deciding whether keto is right for you.

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Four Advanced Moves for Building a Strong, Balanced Back

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Four Advanced Moves for Building a Strong, Balanced Back

Everyone loves a good chest workout, including yours truly, but you shouldn’t neglect your “posterior chain”. Ignoring back day can deteriorate your posture, lead to injuries and wreak havoc on your athletic performance. If your back program is in need of some inspiration, consider these programming tips and four advanced moves for adding functional strength and symmetry to your upper, mid and lower back. Oh, and they’ll help you look great in a tank top too.

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Roll Your Feet for Improved Mobility and Performance

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Roll Your Feet for Improved Mobility and Performance

Too many people overlook the all important foot when warming up for cardio or lifting. Dysfunction in the feet leads to pain, injury, poor performance up the chain and a bevy of other nasty stuff. Simply rolling your feet for ~90s/day stimulates proprioceptors that send important information to the brain, fixes many common form issues and keeps the fascia, intrinsic muscles and joints of the feet mobile and healthy.

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Want to Grow Your Pecs? Try This Chest Workout.

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Want to Grow Your Pecs? Try This Chest Workout.

In this video Marcia Robles and I demonstrate six movements that use a variety of modalities (dumbbells, cables, barbells), angles and rep ranges to maximize muscle growth in the chest. If you're looking to grow your pecs, give this program a look.

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Tired of the treadmill? Sick of the Elliptical? Try Rowing.

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Tired of the treadmill? Sick of the Elliptical? Try Rowing.

Tired of the treadmill? Sick of the Elliptical? Try Rowing. If you haven’t gotten the memo yet, you need to be doing cardio. After cleaning up your diet and getting sufficient sleep it is one of the most important things you should be doing to stay healthy and fit. But I get it. You’re busy. So what form of cardio will give you the biggest bang for your buck? When done properly rowing is a metabolic, total body workout that strengthens a lot of areas the average desk-bound folks needs to work on. But without proper form you may find your lower back, hips and neck hurting. Check out rowing tips and videos from my latest Law.com Fit Counselor column. 

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What I Learned from a RUNANATOMY Assessment

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What I Learned from a RUNANATOMY Assessment

If you follow me on social media you've likely caught on that I'm running the SF Half Marathon in July with #teamunicorn. But I wanted to be smart about this. I realized there could be some dangers to running 20-30+ miles per week over many months. So before I really amped up my training, I worked with the awesome Dr. Justin Jellin, DPT, ART to have my running gate, muscle output and form professionally analyzed in a RUNATOMY assessment. I interviewed Dr. Jellin for JJ Fit 24/7 so you can learn more about RUNATOMY and decide whether you could benefit from a similar experience.

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Five of the Most Effective Methods for Reducing Body Fat

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Five of the Most Effective Methods for Reducing Body Fat

I get so tired of gimmicky, unsafe and ineffective products promoting unrealistic promises of trim waistlines and washboard ads. While fat loss is generally a function of "calories in, calories out" there are some helpful cardio and nutritional methods for helping stimulate fat loss. These five methods have helped many of my clients over the years get lean and more healthy safely and with minimal kicking and screaming.

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JJ's Body Challenge Workout and Playlists

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JJ's Body Challenge Workout and Playlists

I've had the privilege of instructing my Body Challenge strength class at Equinox Pine Street for over a year. We started with Tuesdays at 6a and when folks asked for more we added Thursdays at 6a. Over time my crew of morning ninjas has grown and my core students have gotten stronger, improved their posture and become more athletic. They've learned how to safely perform all the main lifts (squats, deadlifts, lunges, pulls and presses) and how to create stability in their cores. When my students travel they tell me they really miss my class and their community. So now you can take a little piece of Pine Street with you on the road. Just toss an ankle band in your carry on and you'll be good to go!

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Don't Skip These Key Warm Ups (They Only Take About 5 Minutes)

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Don't Skip These Key Warm Ups (They Only Take About 5 Minutes)

If you're one of those people who struggles to find time to workout, much less time to warm up properly, I can relate. One of the biggest complaints I hear from clients, especially those who have gone through physical therapy to recover from an injury, is that their list of warm up exercises would take them 30-45+ minutes to finish and they just don't have the time to get them all done. So they skip their warm up alltogether even though they know it will likely lead to more pain and injury. So, if you are short on time and can only muster a few minutes to warm up before your run, bike ride or any other form of cardio, here are the most important things NOT to skip. 

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Here’s Where You’ll Be Hurting After Starting to Work Out Again

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Here’s Where You’ll Be Hurting After Starting to Work Out Again

Thanks to my pal Andrew Fiouzi for including me in this feature in MEL Magazine on how you can avoid unnecessary pain from your workouts. It’s a new year and perhaps you’re like the millions of other people around the world dedicated to finally getting, like, totally ripped, brah. What this means in practical terms is that if you haven’t worked out since fourth-grade gym class, you’re going to be hurting in a lot of new and interesting places this month. But what kind of pain does your journey to You 2.0 (or 1.1) have in store? Jonathan Jordan, an award-winning trainer, explains how each type of workout will hurt, and how to heal more quickly.

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7 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays Without Blowing Your Fitness Goals

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7 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays Without Blowing Your Fitness Goals

Checkout my 7 practical tips for not blowing it this holiday season. Thanks to my pal and leading fitness writer @jillschildhouse for putting this helpful piece together for @oxygenmagazine. 

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