Short Workouts, Big Gains: Making Fitness Work in Any Schedule

  We all have time to work out. Believe it or not, just 10 to 20 minutes of exercise a few times a week can significantly impact your fitness. Yes, even those 12-minute sessions can burn fat, build muscle, and boost strength as part of a healthy lifestyle. Think about it – we all find …

Read more

Devoting Yourself to a Craft

Next week will be my one-year anniversary of training jiu-jitsu. What a journey it’s been. I’ve been a “fitness person” most of my adult life—beginning after college, I started working out to counteract all the sugary drinks and pastries I’d been consuming as a Starbucks barista. Though I originally got into fitness for appearance reasons, …

Read more

Seven Things I’ve Learned After Seven Months Training Jiu-Jitsu

I attended my first Brazilian jiu-jitsu class a little over seven months ago. If you don’t know much about it, jiu-jitsu is a martial art based on ground fighting and is one of the fastest-growing combat sports in the world. Jiu-jitsu attracts a passionate and dedicated community, which is one of the reasons I first …

Read more

Trying Vs. Regrets: Part Two of My First Jiu-Jitsu Competition

“Welcome to the women’s jiu-jitsu rollathon,” Pete, the owner of the MMA gym announces, instructing us to line up by the wall by rank. Six months into training, I’m still a total newbie in the sport, so I head toward the back of the line. There are about fifteen of us — more women than …

Read more

Trying Vs. Regrets: Part One of My First Jiu-Jitsu Competition

I started crying on the way to my first jiu-jitsu tournament. It was the first time I was competing in the sport, and although it was an unofficial competition — a no-gi rollathon held at a local gym, nothing that will go on my record as a jiu-jitsu athlete — I was unbelievably nervous. While …

Read more

5 Universal Life Lessons from Jiu-Jitsu

Three months ago, after years of not understanding what the hype was about, I turned up at my first Brazilian jiu-jitsu class. I quickly became hooked. I’m not alone in my experience — people who train jiu-jitsu often become fanatics about it. Many end up training for years, decades even, — a feat that’s nearly …

Read more

My Jiu-Jitsu Journey: Part One

Many of you may know this, but I didn’t start getting into fitness until the end of college. Since then, I’ve constantly pushed the limits of what I previously believed was possible for my talent and ability level. Along the way, I’ve transformed from someone who hated exercise and couldn’t do a single push-up to …

Read more

When it Comes to Exercise, More Isn’t Always Better

The other day, I posted a screenshot of my Oura ring data on social media. I do this sometimes to be transparent and show that as a fitness coach, I follow my own advice. I’d had a reasonably active day, skateboarding, playing basketball, and running sprints, not to mention taking my dog on several walks. …

Read more

Want to Build True Strength? Ditch the Weights

“But don’t I need weights to get strong?” In my work as a fitness and performance coach, I get this question a lot. Even though I’ve been designing mostly bodyweight-based workouts for myself and my clients for over a decade, most people can’t seem to believe me at first when I tell them that you don’t need heavy weights …

Read more