The 4 Pillars Of A Healthy Diet

Image result for healthy foodYesterday morning, shortly after waking up, I had breakfast—3 hard-boiled eggs; a bowl or organic oats mixed with raw honey, cacao nibs, ground chia seeds and maca, cinnamon and a bit of raw coconut oil; and a big cup of organic, black coffee.

Mid-morning, after my workout, I had a protein shake consisting of a mix of plant-based protein powder and collagen, almond milk and 1 cup of frozen fruit (banana and berries).

For lunch I had about 6 ounces of chicken thighs, roasted potatoes, a cup of steamed broccoli and a bowl of navy bean soup.

My dinner consisted of 8 ounces of grass-fed ground beef, 1 cup of jasmine rice, and kale (sautéed in ghee).

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10 Books You Should Read In 2018

2682293197_3b1514b5c7_bWe’re about to wrap up another year and, for me, that means the culmination of yet another successful stretch of reading, learning, and growing as a human being.

It’s safe to say that we are living in a truly extraordinary time.

While we have access to more information than at any other period in human history, the advent of the internet, social media, and a vastly growing 24 hour news cycle has also made it easier than ever before for us to remain in our own bubbles of like minded people, ideas, and world views.

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Mental Muscle: October 2017

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If you missed the first installment of the “Mental Muscle” series last month, you may check it out here. 

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Sleep Strategies For Success

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According to National Geographic’s 2014 documentary, Sleepless In America, the average American sleeps just 6.5 hours each night, with 40% of all U.S. adults sleeping less than 6 hours per night, and many more getting less than 5 hours throughout the week—this despite The National Sleep Foundation’s recommendation of at least 7-9 hours per night for adults.

What does this data imply for our overall health and well-being as a society?

Well, being chronically sleep deprived can lead to a whole host of problems for us—cognitively, behaviorally, and metabolically.

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Mental Muscle: September 2017

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What’s up everybody?

This post will kick off a new segment of my blog: at the end of every month I will send out links to all the interesting podcasts, books, documentaries, articles, music, movies, and performances that I checked out throughout the previous 4 weeks and that inspired me in some way, shape or form.

I’ve been doing this for my clients via email the last few months, and I thought that it would be cool to share this stuff with all of you as well.

One of the characteristics that I feel distinguishes me from others in the health and fitness industry is that I have a very broad definition of “wellness.”

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Muscle Soreness Vs. Muscle Fatigue

It was the summer of 1996.

Jay-Z’s first album, Reasonable Doubt, had just been released, Michael Jordan had just won his fourth NBA championship, and Bill Clinton still knew the definition of the word “is.”

Image result for Eden Roc MiamiI was ten years old and my family headed to Miami Beach’s Eden Roc resort for one of my father’s biennial conferences for the Cuban American Medical Association.

For him this meant 3 days of lectures, meetings and glitzy dinners; for my sister and I this meant 3 days of unadulterated “fun in the sun.”

We’d get up early and hit the buffet around 8 or 9 am, then spend the rest of the day at the beach and the pool,  playing games and horsing around with the many friends we had made with the other doctors’ kids.

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The Best Exercises For Each Body Part

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I recently discussed The Law of Diminishing Returns in regard to training in an Instagram post about a week ago.

Basically, this economic principle refers to the point in which the benefit gained from something ceases to outweigh the investment (time, energy, money, etc.) required to accrue that benefit.

If you are new to training, it doesn’t take much to get results: just lift 2-3 days per week and focus on 3-4 exercises per session, consisting of full body, compound movements.

A simple workout of 2-3 sets of squats, dumbbell press, and rows can elicit some pretty impressive results if executed correctly and fused with proper eating habits.

Now, once you are passed that beginner – intermediate level and focused on taking your training and muscle-building to the next level, you’re going to have to get a little more intricate with how you design your workouts.

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The Perfect Workout

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Most people have absolutely no clue whatsoever about how they should go about designing their training sessions.

They walk into the gym and immediately head over to the free weights or machines – without warming up – and dive in, head first, into an incredibly inefficient training session; and, in most cases I observe, a workout that usually does more harm to their bodies than good.

This is because not only are they performing exercises incorrectly, with bad form and/or in the wrong sequences, but they are also just focusing on one aspect of a training session: lifting.

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A Beginner’s Guide To Getting Healthy

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I’ve been lifting weights now for almost 20 years; and I’ve been studying nutrition and exercise science for just about the same amount of time.

One of the many mistakes I made when first starting out as a personal trainer 8 years ago was that I often gave new clients too much, too soon.

I would forget that not everyone was like me; and while this stuff may have come easy to me over the years, for most people it was complicated and extremely challenging, especially later in life—and even more so if they were severely overweight.

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