Product review: NURU cards

People often ask me about printing up my website pages so they can take them to the gym. It’s not a bad solution, and it beats hauling your laptop to the squat rack and asking the floor staff if you can set up a wireless router. But what if there were an easier way to quickly –and portably — reference exercise tips and pics?

Troubleshooting

So, you’ve gotten the ball rolling and have tried your best to follow my advice, but dangnabit, you’re just not seeing the results you want. Or perhaps you feel like you’re doing something all wrong. Don’t be embarrassed about it! Most beginners, by virtue of being beginners, have trouble with one thing or another. I’ve screwed up in just about every way there is.

Staying motivated

You get up in the morning all ready to head to the gym and CRAP! it’s raining or snowing or windy or another one of those damn pestilences of locusts outside. Arrgghh… gym… so… far… away… well, back to bed! What is the secret to leaping energetically out of the house and into the gym? If you find anything foolproof do let me know. Usually the secret to us doing something is that we want to get it done. So we’re “too busy” to scrub out the toilets or balance our chequebooks but never too busy to read the comics. It’s a question of where we choose to direct our efforts.

Setting goals

I see a lot of folks get into the gym with the best intentions and a bit of knowledge, and even some smashing gym outfits and nice little navel rings, and either make no progress or make so little progress it’s discouraging.

Progress tracker worksheet

Here’s a handy little progress tracker worksheet that goes beyond the usual “pounds lost” or “pounds lifted” — it looks at some of the more intangible aspects of what constitutes real, meaningful, lasting progress.

How to read a scientific study

How do we know what the “truth” is? When it comes to health and fitness, people are often confused by what seems like conflicting research reported in the media. It seems like everything conflicts. Eat this. Don’t eat this. This will give you cancer. This will cure cancer. And so forth.

So how do you, an average schmoe, figure out who to believe? Well, a scientific background is helpful, but if you don’t have one, you use your common sense. Here are some helpful tips about how to read and interpret scientific research.