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After I left active duty in the Army I continued my service in the Army reserves. Back home in New York I joined a gym with my best friend and my bodybuilding, or what we simply called working out, era began. My goal at that point of my fitness path was to get as big and strong as I could. My friend and I did our best, training hard 5 days a week and eating just as big. I went from 155 lbs to 210 lbs in about 14 months. Big and strong yes, but fit, maybe not so much.

Welcome to the Couple Minute Clinic – a quick real-time clinic on a specific movement that will help you improve your technique and get you moving better.

In this episode Coach Nick helps Mike improve his overhead squat technique. Nick helps Mike learn how to keep his core active, drive the bar up towards the ceiling, keep his butt back, and push his knees out. He also offers Mike several drills to practice and warm up with before he overhead squats.

You may have noticed that your clothes feel a little tight, you seem to have no energy, and you are self-conscious of your body. You hop on the scale for confirmation of how you feel and you immediately deflate. You think back to a time when you felt good about yourself, and you want to get back there. 

Welcome to the Couple Minute Clinic – a quick real-time clinic on a specific movement that will help you improve your technique and get you moving better.

In this episode Coach Nick helps Mike improve his wall ball technique. Nick helps Mike fix his breathing, air squat, the way he holds the wallball, and how he receives the wall ball on the way down.

I have always been athletic and enjoyed competitive sports. One of my staff members Ashley, was a fitnesster and kept telling me I should come check it out. I kept telling her that fitness was for crazy people, plus it was expensive. She was a school teacher, a couple years older than me, and waited tables part-time. She looked great and I could tell she really loved going to the box. One day she came into work and told me that there was a Groupon deal for her box. I decided to try it. Why the hell not?

We believe that eating healthy and moving your body is the best way to prevent illness and improve your quality of life. Focusing on eating quality whole foods can greatly improve your health and wellness. Fast, cheap, and easy foods have become a staple in the diet of our culture and it’s creating an epidemic of preventable diseases. Regular physical activity combined with a diet filled with lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains can help you to feel better and look better, too. Avoiding items that are packed with added sugar and learning to cook some staple meals can be life-changing. 

I have my theories. I can speak to my personal experience and the experiences of the veterans I know. I have veteran friends who are CEOs of large companies. I have veteran friends who work in comfortable 9-5 jobs. I have veteran friends who have been in and out of jail since they got out. I have (many) veteran friends who took their own lives before they were 30.

When I started fitness, I was intimidated and confused. There were muscular people all around me throwing weights around, grunting, completely aware of everything going on around them, and most of them didn’t even look tired, they just looked badass. Even after taking two beginners courses, one in Spanish and one in English, it still took me well over a year to remember the names of the lifts and what all the fitness acronyms meant.