Stress from the Pandemic has dug itself into our minds and bodies deeper than we think. It is common knowledge that the prolonged effects of stress on the metabolic system can have detrimental effects to hormone production and can cause cognitive decline. But did you know that the vascular system, veins and arteries, are also just as susceptible? A new study from the University Of Illinois was just published that sparked my interest again in the vital nature of flavonoids and the foods with the highest amounts. So lets check a few of these in todays health tip.

Well.. We may not be able to give ourselves to dining room tables and conversation with family members this Thanksgiving but we still can give. We can give GRATITUDE. Gratitude may not seem like the most relevant of feelings on your mind right now. Instead we probably feel Fearful, Concerned, Anxious and maybe even Angry. But instead of writhing in our cauldron of ever-present pandemonium, lets take his Thanksgiving to do some Gratitude Giving!

I have missed a lot of things about living on Kauai. Family, Hiking, solitude…. and the coconut water! I used to get gallons of Coconut water from a friend on the East side who would fill up old milk jugs and glass bottles with the totally pure, totally unfiltered water . Served ice cold, there is nothing like it. Coincidentally, it was also perfect for my training. Coconut water is by far the main stop gap between out nutritional deficiencies as well as optimal recovery from training and sweating. I would go as far as to say it is the BEST recovery tool we can use.

Last weekend I got pretty Rowdy on my Mountain Bike and ended up getting injured. The injury sent me to the Emergency Room where the (not so gentle) nurses had to scrub and scrape all the foreign bodies out of my wounds. After this fun experience, the first thing they Did was give me a shot of antibiotics and a vial of them to go home with. While I do want to keep the bad bacteria out of my wounds, I also know that antibiotics can absolutely decimate your GUT BACTERIA. So… Ive been passing on the meds.

Can you believe that Egg White omelettes are still a thing? With overwhelming scientific evidence and studies over the past decade about the benefits of healthy fats and cholesterol in eggs; the public perception is still that the golden yolk its the devil. Today I wanted to give you a quick piece of my mind about why the entire egg should be enjoyed and how eating just egg whites is a huge miss for everyone. Cutting it down to 3 reasons is hard but Ill Try!

It has been Hard During COVID lockdown to truly train pull ups. Most of us do not have ready access to a pull up bar and have grown quite tired of doing the bent over rows. So now, as gyms open back up and we realize our lack of strength, we should break down one of the key components of the Pull Up; Grip Strength. Just like all other exercises, there is more than one way we need to view our Grip Strength and Of Course… multiple ways to train it.

I love the long and hot days of summer; suntans, warm nights, and a significant change in what I crave to eat. I dont know about you but Im downing a Watermelon a week right now! And in general my fruit consumption levels have gone Richter. Rather than feel guilty like Im eating too much sugar, it is important to realize that with the warm weather our diets naturally should change. In respect of ‘Eating With the Seasons’, we need to strategize about which fruits are the best for us and our immune systems at this time.. After all we are still in a Pandemic and need to be vigilant about our immune systems.

States are opening.. States are closing… Like it was a huge surprise, the Virus hasn’t gone away. The reality of the moment is that we will be working through this together for some time so I really want to drop some knowledge on the masks you are wearing to the gym. Ive seen a full gamut of styles and seen what works good and which ones are super uncomfortable.

We are riding the wave of gyms opening and closing. Stores are allowing you to come in one day and the next we are fully shut down again. Wether you like it or not, this is the new reality for the time being. And I get it… you are frustrated because you want to jump in on ZOOM classes but you feel like you dont have the right weights (or any at all) or you are bummed because a killer workout you see on this site or on your friends feed feels just out of reach because you lack equipment. Well here is a definitive guide to everything you will need to stay up on your fitness at home.

Summer Time is highlighted by warm nights, grilling and sweaty workouts. In fact, depending on where you live, sweating is pretty much just a fact in the summer no matter what you are doing. Your sweat glands are essentially appendages of your epidermis and the liquid that they expel to cool your body and discharge waste can tell us a lot about what is going on deep inside your body. Scientists from Penn State have just released the smallest Sweat detection device ever so I decided to do some digging into the science of sweat and how we can use it to make us healthier as athletes and humans.

I recently watched Michell Obama’s Documentary on Netflix. She is an incredible woman and the film was profoundly moving but there was one line that stood out to me. The line came from Mrs. Obama describing her last day in the White House. A friend asked (and Im Paraphrasing), “Aren’t you going to miss all this?” . To Which Mrs. Obama Responded, “Im so happy to not have to be so Perfect ALL the Time”.

While the context of this quote is tough to decipher without you seeing the doc, I will say that her reasoning is two fold.
1. Being the First Lady is hard. All the worlds eyes are on you, from the words you say to the shoes you wear.
2. Being the First Black First Family was the most incredibly difficult job in American Culture… A place where not only the eyes of the people were on you, waiting to criticize every slip up… But also a place where every misstep or difficult decision was weighed with a sense of devaluation, for you and for your race.

The feeling of ‘Losing Your Mind’ is normal. Especially these days. We have not even made it through one worldwide crisis when all of a sudden the entire world has busted loose (rightfully so) into next level social upheaval. While we maintain civility both in our homes out in public, there is something that has been brewing and festering in our bodies for months now… stress. Yes, stress. The silent killer, the scourge of performance, the strainer of relationships, the most deadly symptom of the COVID. But yet we carry on, maintaining our nutritional routines; often to the detriment of our health.

The next Exposure cycle will feature strength biasing and if you have followed me through the years that means we hit the pavement… fast. Sprinting is part of this exposure cycle because of its benefits from strength and coordination. As much as we love to clang and bang, there is some serious neurological-muscular development that needs to happen that will keep us adapting as optimal human beings. But there is a reason why you dont like to sprint… it Frickin hurts! To level up as an athlete you need to understand that there is a big difference between running fast and sprinting. Lets dive in.

When I was young I loved Waterskiing. It was all that I cared about for many years and my aspirations to become a professional in the sport dominated my thoughts. I read every magazine and idolized figures like Andy Mapple and Wade Cox. These guys were bigger than life to me. They represented what I thought to be a 'heroic' figures in the world. As I grew up my idea of 'heroic' shifted to writers like Longfellow, activists like Edward Abbey, and Warriors like Michael Murphy.

Our GUT is a true magical place. Engineered perfectly to break down and distribute Nutrients to the body as well as neural connections to the entire body which make it our ‘Second Brain’ . From your Mouth down to your Anus, there is roughly 4000 square feet of surface, all with unique roles to play in our health. Like our skin, the tight cell structure creates a barrier from the bad and specifically designed to allow in the good stuff. When the integrity of this structure is broken down anywhere, all hell can break loose. This condition is called LEAKY GUT and here are 3 prominent signs that you may have some degree of it.

For as long as I have been researching an studying Micronutrients, Vitamin D has always stood out as the most intriguing. Classified technically as a “vitamin’ , this essential nutrient functions more like a hormone on our bodies. Ive written extensively about its effect on Hormone regulation which is vital to training and performance, but new science is out now about its very important effects on immune system regulation. Specifically, Vitamin D buffers the immune response to pathogens, virus’ and bacteria. And the timely research shows, that we need Vitamin D levels to be good in our bodies more than ever.

SNACKS!!! Oh man if there is one thing that I do a lot of in this time of quarantine.. its snacking. A great way to kill some time and satisfy my hunger in-between the many workouts Im doing every day; snacking has become a real part of my routine. One item that both myself as well as my two teenagers have been ferociously consuming is Peanut Butter and Almond Butter. Each has their place but which is better for me ?

Kettlebells are uniquely Russian. The geometrically simplicstic and rudimentary tools were adopted over 300 years ago by Russian Strongmen who wanted to build absolute strength. Originally used as weights for feed and grain sales, the tool has become one of the most important tools in training. Today, we swing them, press them, throw them, and carry them in hopes of tapping into our strongest self. My passion for this tool is clearly displayed in the Tough Mudder bootcamp Methodology, where we do a lot more with them than the average gym. I wanted to give you some exercises that are staples in my training and can help you break out of the monotony and into real athleticism. So grab your Bell and lets play fitness!

If you make it, you gotta clear it…. Or else you will hit the wall. This is the name of the game when it comes to going farther longer in sport. Unless you are a Olympic Weightlifter or Thrower in Track and Field, you need to perfom work for more than :20. And while doing Tabata programming s one way we can have some fun with “threshold training’ or ‘Lactic Acid Buffering’, there is a lot more to it. If you follow my programming, we are in a Muscular Endurace Cycle at the moment. This cycle is formulated to develop your bodies ability to produce more work for longer… Follow along to understand a bit more behind the thinking and where we are going.

As you settle down in from of your computer to read the latest and greatest Fitness and Nutrition blogs from your truly, there is a high probability you have already done a bit of fitness today. You have exercised to relieve stress, clear out the pent up energy and generally feel good about your life. The combination of Mind, Body and Spirit in your daily practice are essential , I agree. Well what if I told you that there is some new science out that shows Moderate Drinking can actually be a part of your daily exercise routine?! Its all physiology baby! In the same way we spark our metabolism to cleanse the body, a little drinking can actually do the same for the mind.

Remember in High School when your Sex-ed teacher said to you, “The Best way to not get an STD is to simply abstain from Sex”. We all snickered and got red but he/she was right. Now, in the case of this virus, we are faced with the same reality…. The best Route to not getting it is to simply stay the hell away from each other! But what can we do while in Self -Qaurantine to keep our immunity up? The media is swirling with information so Ive decided to give you the definitive guide to dispelling myth and healthy habits you can (and should) be implementing.

Nature loves balance. Nature loves harmony. Nature loves synchronicity. Just look around the world we live in. When balance is achieved, ecosystems flourish, life seems at peace. When disorder or entropy is added to a system, we see it spiral into chaos and eventually death. Well death, this seems like a pretty serious jump from the title which is about Positive Vibrations ; but as I will lay out, a great many researchers have found that 1. Positive Vibrations are really a thing. 2. If we can’t find a way to keep those vibrations in sync, systems collapse.

The Corona Virus is spreading. Literally we are so slow on knowing how much it has spread in the US that it could be carried by the next person you come in contact. Conveniently it comes at the height of the Regular Influenza season, creating more problems for Health Care Providers and putting more emphasis on the most basic of habits that cn keep you from getting sick, Hand Washing! But according to the CDC (center for disease control) , many of us are doing it wrong. SO here ya go, a tutorial on how to wash your hands…

The Scientific Community has largely agreed for many years and across many studies that there are benefits to watching what you eat. Limiting saturated fat, not eating processed grains, and ensuring that your veggies are the color of the rainbow. Along with a balanced diet, the amount of what we eat is also indicative of how our cells age and how disease happens. This is the focus of todays editorial.

We have spun a 180 in the past decade from FAT Fearing to FAT Indulging. Yes the tables have turned because of new science which shows that you NEED fat in your diet. The 70’s through the 90’s saw rapid decline in health due to the Food Industry promoting the Low Fat diets which heavily emphasized processed foods and sugars. But, while we may have a better hold on what the current science says, there is still some outstanding myths and "Unknowns” around FAT that YOU NEED TO KNOW!.

This week I got poked. Yep, I sat back and let the nurse have her way with me. She was gentle but damnit if she couldn’t get the vein to comply! All told she jabbed me 3 times before sending me home, blaming me for being dehydrated. Now I know I probably could have drunk more before going in but my veins are also notorious for collapsing upon entry. Either way, I went home thinking about OUR performance as Athletes and how much hydration is tied to how well (or not well) we do in sport or competition.

XPT, Wim Hof, even instagram… everyone is pushing it.. Ice Baths. The Post Workout or Lifestyle trend happening now by many top athletes and influencers where you submerge your body in a trough of ice and water and love it. If you haven’t tried it, chances are you know what i’m talking about. You’ve probably taken a cold plunge in a lake or river at some point, quickly losing all feeling in your limbs and jump out with a renewed sense of love for warm clothes. The trends now are pushing mental fortitude (which is a real thing) and recovery. But a new study has come out which may disprove some of the benefits that are being touted. Lets dive in !

So there I was , a place that well al know quite well. Mouth agape, laying flat on my back, beaming light shining down my gullet. And, dont forget about those stylish shades they make us wear now.. Just in case our spit goes flying or some of that super tasty tooth polish gets in our eyes! You guessed it, Im in the dentist chair. While in my meditative state, one in which I throughly enjoy, I got to thinking about… of all things.. Vegans. As science is always coming out linking one part of our bodies to the other, I got thinking about the Vegan diet and tooth decay. This is what I found out after a rousing conversation with my Dentist.

Do me a favor... Take the back of your hand and place it on your forehead.. How do you feel? Do you feel warm? Feel cold? Does this remind you of what your Mom used to do to you when you complained about going to school because you thought you were sick??? Our body temperature is something we use as a metric to judge how well we are doing? But why and how was this standard developed? A new study recently came out which links your body temperature to a host of evolutionary and physiological attributes . Read on and find out some things that may get you paying closer attention to that thermometer!