Blog
Beyond Reps: The Trainer’s Hidden Effort
The role of a personal trainer goes far beyond the gym floor. Clients often take for granted how much energy and behind-the-scenes work a trainer
Q&A with John Paul
QUESTION: Hello John Paul, I purchased your ebook Lean and Mean and have over the past 6 weeks had great success with gaining strength, building
Which is the Best Brand of Eggs?
Conestoga Farms is by far my favourite brand of eggs, but there was only one left this morning. Take a look at the difference in
Negative-Accentuated Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Try negative-accentuated lateral raises in your next workout. Simply raise the dumbbells with bent arms and lower them slowly with your arms straight. Make sure
3 Tips to Improve Your Sleep
Poor sleep can destroy your efforts in the kitchen and in the gym. Don’t let it happen! There’s no doubt that nutrition and exercise are
Outdoor Training with a Sandbag
A sandbag is a great form of resistance, especially for outdoor training. Here’s 16-year-old Joseph doing sandbag squats and rows and 61-year-old Jane doing sandbag
Ring Dips Done Right
Doing dips on rings will heighten stabilizer activity. If you do a phase of these and then return to parallel-bar dips, you should notice a
Rear Delt Training
Here are two exercises that target the back of the shoulders – one emphasizes the contracted position and the other the stretched position: Give them
Fat-Loss, Muscle-Building Workout
If your goal is to lose body fat and gain muscle, here’s a great weight training strategy. It involves sequencing your exercises in a particular
High-Pulley Overhead Triceps Extension
Here’s a great triceps exercise that I’m doing right now. It’s called the High-Pulley Overhead Triceps Extension. It’s done bent-over in a lunge position using
Walking Dumbbell/Xvest Lunge
The walking dumbbell lunge is a great exercise to do during a body composition phase, but as the weights go up, your grip will fatigue
Foam Rolling the Upper Back
Many personal trainers recommend foam rolling the entire body prior to a workout. That’s unnecessary and can be counterproductive. Always adjust muscle tone accordingly –
The Taper Warm-Up
Today was the last day of a triple split routine that I’ve been on for the past month. It was a taper workout that targeted
A Salad A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
One aspect of a meal that you can’t appreciate in a photo is taste. Today’s salad was crazy good! Each bite was unique and had
Safe Pressing with Heavy Dumbbells
Believe it or not, many lifters get injured just getting in and out of position before an exercise begins or right after it’s done! The
Loading and Unloading a Barbell
Do you know what the #1 injury in the gym is? It’s a weight dropping on your foot. Don’t let it happen! Here’s the right
A Passion for Personal Training
At one point in my career, I was training as many as 12 to 13 people a day, 6 days a week, and doing paperwork
Take Advantage of the COVID-19 Shutdown
Wouldn’t it be nice to go back in time when you lived at home with your parents and had no responsibility? You could sleep in
Do Quality Reps
The two lost commandments that you never hear about are “Thou shall exercise with weights regularly,” and “Thou shall do quality reps.” I follow those
Learning to Walk Again
“John Paul, may I talk to you outside please?” I knew it was about to get uncomfortable as I followed the doctor and his colleague
Standing Rope French Press
Some people think that the Standing Rope French Press is some kind of specialty coffee. It’s not… it’s a great “elbow-friendly” exercise that emphasizes the