Justin G. Walls, Certified Personal Athletic Trainer

A common issue facing many exercisers is that, even after having committed to a regimen of nutrition and exercise, the goals of weight loss and muscle gain just aren't lining up. You'll ask "why am I not losing weight?" and the answers seem elusive. If you have a wellness coach or a trainer whom can coach you, then talk to him or her about the issue. Just remember that this process is challenging and it's not your fault if its not working immediately. Here's a few possible things to consider: Talk to your coach or trainer. Share your concerns. Adjust the meal planning - your meals may be leaving you hungry, and that's a recipe for disaster. Review your meal plan with your coach to see if there's adequate protein, fat, or hydration in your plan Exercising too often or too hard - completing a challenging routine may make you feel accomplished, but if your metabolic rate is getting too high, then your body will signal the need to consume more foo...

It's Not Just For Your Home Here's a few simple changes you can make starting tomorrow Thanks to the wonderful snowstorm today, I've had the opportunity to make over my blog to better serve you guys. So it got me thinking: what are a few things I could do better for you, and, more globally, what are things we could do better for ourselves as spring hopefully approaches (swiftly!) Firstly: I've added a page where you can go look at all of these products I mention on this blog. You can check it out here . This way, when I add a new workout for a BOSU or recommend a foam rolling position, you can just go look at one and then order it if you'd like. Secondly, I've simplified the layout so it's easier to find my older posts Finally, I've added an easy way to sign up via email. It was impossible to locate before. We will lose the sleek and dynamic layout in favor of functionality for now. And now- on to a few quick tips to get read...

There are some serious studies being conducted to confirm the efficacy of tree nuts as a weight maintenance food. The Purdue University study (you can read about it  here ) is testing to see how such a calorie rich food can help control appetite and contribute to weights loss. There are the obvious suggestions that it is rich in fiber and protein which help satiate, but the study is trying to see if there's some neurological or sociological response to their consumption which can keep people coming back to them instead of going for  candy bars. Another diet trend has its roots in ancient practices.  A new trend to weight loss, blood glucose maintenance, and a possible Alzheimer's reducer, is to conduct fasts twice a week. This practice is referred to as 5:2 fasting. The Wall Street Journal recently talked about it , and you can read about it's implementation here . Basically, it's about having zero to 500 calories on fasting days twice each week and eating no...

Over the years, we have thrown around words like 'VO2 Max', Resting Heart Rate, Oxygen Intake, and so on. I actually blogged about this about a year ago  How to ACTUALLY go from Couch to 5k , and I had some funny pictures of Homer Simpson running and a cool chart showing oxygen intake and deficit relationship. Today, I am going to give you some tools on how to calculate VO2 Max, make it meaningful to you, and have you start making any necessary changes to your lifestyle to get you feeling your 'fitness' age. What's your fitness age? Let's start with VO2: this is the volume of oxygen your body will use in one minute. It's the ratio between the amount of oxygen in the air you inhale divided by the amount of oxygen in the air you exhale, all during the course of one minute. To save you the thousands of dollars it would cost to measure this with specialized equipment, some fantastic sport scientists have developed some simple formulas that you can use to...

A Calorie May Not Be Just A Calorie Recent Studies Show That Genes or Bacteria May Affect Matabolism A recent article in the Economist gives a synopsis of four very fascinating studies into how different people may metabolize glucose in different fashions. The metabolic pathways could change based on either certain genetic features of the person (or mouse in the study) or the presence of certain types of bacteria. Fat Mouse, Healthy Diet! There is another more extensive article in the New York Times looking more closely at how diets higher in fruits and vegetables but lower in saturated fat would not only result in weight loss, but also correlated in a change in the types of bacteria present in the mice that were losing weight in the study: the fat mice started to have similar bacterial compositions as the lean mice.  Eating healthy is an important part of changing the stomach flora, and we have discussed on this blog about some important dietary changes that you...

Rituals make our food more flavorful - some simple gestures, not necessarily related to the food, make our involvement, and therefore our enjoyment, of the food, much higher. Nutrients are better on a plate than in a bottle - the food-first approach is everyone's best recommendation. Living on pills isn't. Get Informed! - know what to look for and what to know about supplementing your diet without risk of side effects or wasting your money on stuff that won't get absorbed. Get the app! -  have all your nutritional information on your smart phone Another "things you might be getting wrong" list - this focuses on weight perception and weight loss Best points about meals and weight loss: Only eat when you know what you're eating- so try to make the food yourself  Foods higher in fiber and higher in flavor go best together- like broccoli and garbanzos Watch the dressings on your salads- vinegar and olive oil are best bets for low calorie fla...

Parkour for the rest of us: a gym in Alexandria, VA challenges regular people to attempt some forms of the street gymnastics called parkour to help awaken parts of the body rarely used in daily life Is there such a thing as "the least amount of exercise"? ACSM struggles with the issue of how little exercise can people get away with if they won't meet their standards for regular exercise. "Really doc, how much exercise do I have to do?" Stay AWAY from DMAA:  The FDA has seized a large number of GNC products containing DMAA, as its side effects have caused serious illness and death in people found to have taken the dietary supplement Best tasting Fitness Shake  I have switched to this shake because it not only has great vitamin, mineral, fiber, and protein content- it also tastes FANTASTIC mixed just with water. Contact me to get the best pricing Some Very Earthy Extracts Some are claiming that certain extracts taken from rocks have some amazing positiv...

In an excellent social experiment,  TCU scientists  discovered that people were less likely to overeat when confronted with how long it would take to "walk off" the food they were eating. The study comes in the wake of the Affordable Care Act requiring calories be displayed on the food. The journal article can be found  here This image is from Scientific American's article on the subject. You can see how the calories "jump off the page" when confronted with the prospect of having to walk off everything you just ate. You can use this  exercise calorie calculator  to see how long it can take you to burn off breakfast lunch or dinner with a large variety of exercises

Normally, people think of exercisers as those who work hard, train hard, and eat like there won't be food tomorrow. Take for example, the Michael Phelps breakfast of champions: So that's what gold medal swimmers eat The NY Times Health Blog referenced a recent study from some University of Wyoming professors that demonstrates the opposite. Apparently, running would cause both men and women to reduce the calorie intake of their next meal by almost 100 more than someone who had just exercised by walking, and way more than someone who was totally sedentary. You can read the full study here . The study looked at some of the hormone and peptide production resulting after the two types of workouts. The result of running left the volunteers consuming fewer overall calories and making their calorie consumption much better regulated. The article quotes Prof. Catia Martins as saying: Exercise “improves the body’s ability to judge the amount of calories consumed and to adjust fo...

We Tried This: Strong vs. Skinny | TIME.com According a recent edition of the ACSM Health and Fitness Journal , the fitness industry has made some strides into what is considered a healthy body image. No longer is the muscular look taboo, but the 'lean' look is still the appropriate trend- and the fitness trends are changing too: Lean isn't always healthy. Body fat percentage and muscle tone, like rings on a tree, tell the true story of how well the body has been kept. Blood tests also tell the tale that lean isn't always healthy. Trendy fitness fads like Zumba and other dance classes aren't getting the job done. Neither are the spin classes. Classic, good-ole fashioned boot camp and weight lifting are getting the results. The attitude is different. People (especially women) demand to be pushed and challenged. And they aren't afraid of 'getting too big' anymore. Just of climbing the next hurdle. Check out the latest trends as we head to the end of...

I often throw in how important is mental acuity to the overall body functionality. Especially at this time of year when getting large groups of family together, I thought about giving everyone an excellent mental exercise that they can use while *ahem* sitting around and eating at a table (just watch those calories, ok?) Using this simple method can reduce stress, and especially the additional eating that is often associated with stress. You have probably heard of Dr. Martin Seligman's ACR positive psychology ? ACR is Active Constructive Responding, and the basic premise is to promote only positive responses to outside stimuli. There is a good test at the PBS blog to give yourself cues on when to use this technique. Stay positive, enjoy your families and your time off from work to reduce stress and change your routine. Then feel energized and ready to return to your normal grind and workout, possibly with better tools than before! Happy Thanksgiving!

Now that's an odd title... Yes, it appears that, based on some observational research, these things are related. In some research released today during the International Conference of the Alzheimer's Association, poor walking habits and awkward gait can be signs of cognitive inhibition. There is no longer sensitivity integration between different parts of the brain and the rest of the body. You can read more about this  at USA TODAY But Strength Training... According to another study released at the same conference, major improvements were found in test subjects that engaged in weight training: Participants were tested for cognitive executive functions such as attention, memory and planning. According to [a lead investigator], “the cognitive executive function and associated memory – those are the two traits most linked to dementia.” At the end of the trial, those in the weight lifting group were most improved. So what's the point... The goal is early d...

It requires some thought in to why we do and don't do things. Exercise was not really much expected of the average person when there was so much labor to do around the home and job. Our evolution from labor based to service based industries has created a need for us to generate time for activity. Hence- our need for motivation. Exercise in ancient Greece, for example, was an ingrained part of the religion and culture. The Gymnasium was dedicated to physical perfection, but also developed into a meeting place of philosophers and educators. In some ways, exercise is a motivator today for people to look attractive, impress their friends, potential friends, or just to make people notice them. Vanity can motivate. Sometimes, it's just about pride. The thought of having to buy new clothes to make room for more of you is just not pleasant (especially when you see the selection available). In fact, some studies have demonstrated that monetary incentives have helped people lose...

From the IRS website : You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay to lose weight if it is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, or heart disease). This includes fees you pay for membership in a weight reduction group as well as fees for attendance at periodic meetings. You cannot include membership dues in a gym, health club, or spa as medical expenses, but you can include separate fees charged there for weight loss activities. Many employers offers an FSA (flexible spending account) or HSA (health savings account) as part of their health care package. This means that you may be able to use the money from those accounts towards personal training. You need to do two things before jumping in and purchasing sessions: You need a prescription from a medical doctor, or a note from your health care professional describing your need for a personal trainer. You should consult with your tax advisor about writing off the co...