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Sometime in the late 1800s—nobody is quite sure exactly when—a man named Vilfredo Pareto was fussing about in his garden when he made a small but interesting discovery. Pareto noticed that a tiny number of pea pods in his garden produced the majority of the peas. Now, Pareto was a very...

The economist J.K. Galbraith once wrote, “Faced with a choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy with the proof.” Leo Tolstoy was even bolder: “The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed...

In the grand scheme of things, I have little to nothing figured out. But just in case I’ve stumbled on something that could help you, here are a few ideas about living well, doing good, and making life better. If you want to change your life, then change your identity. All behavior is belief...

Remember that scene in The Matrix where Neo’s having Kung Fu training uploaded directly into his brain and at the end he’s all like, “I know Kung-fu”? Well, I hate to break it to you, but he was wrong. He didn’t actually know kung-fu. He only thought he knew kung-fu: Meaning, he understood kung...

What Is Hyperbolic Discounting? As humans, we like to believe we are well informed, forward-thinking, and consistent in our preferences. Unfortunately for us, many scientific studies have shown this simply isn’t true—we almost always prefer immediate gratification even when the future reward...

The places that you go, the events that you attend and a lot of your daily decisions surround your workout. You try your best to plan your hangouts, make your work schedule fit and of course, make it so you can obtain a good night of sleep before hitting the weights the following day. One thing...

The fitness industry is filled with misinformation. I am reminded of this every time I scroll through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and see my newsfeed lined with garbage. Surprisingly this actually ticks me off. How are uninformed people supposed to find quality nutrition information? I mean...

Whether or not you should wear a lifting belt is a surprisingly contentious subject. Some people are adamant that you should always wear a belt with the opinion they dramatically decrease your injury risk. Other people are adamant that you should never wear a belt, either because they think...

As we age, the general belief is that muscle loss and increased fat gain are inevitable. This is false. In this article, you'll learn how to continue building muscle mass as you age. You’ve probably had an older friend or relative tell you that after you hit your late thirties, everything goes...

And Why Strategies Beat Diets The Problem With The D-Word The thing about “diets” is that they can become a serious burden. If you try to dramatically change everything about your eating at once, you’ll likely fail. So a better goal is to become mentally prepared to eat better at every...

Low FODMAP vs. Gluten-Free Diet Gluten-Free or Rational Thought-Free? I blame that tennis player for most of today’s gluten tomfoolery. Yeah, Novak Djokovic. Here’s the ridiculous way it went down: In 2010, Djokovic met with Dr. Igor Cetojevic, a Bosnian Serb who theorized that Djokovic’s...

TESTICULAR FATIGUE? I spent a lot of evenings and weekends at the beach this past summer. There I espied hundreds of beautiful, nearly naked girls, many of who were candidates for future lower back problems, if you catch my drift. Now, however, I have no energy. I have mild depression and...

Take This, Forget About That Health Supplements: What to Take, What You Can Probably Skip When America wants nutrition advice, they generally defer to medical doctors. Why that is, I don’t know. Most medical schools only spend about 15 minutes teaching nutrition. As such, I’m always skeptical...

Many people get into fitness because they love the possibility of seeing success, and in some cases, training is even enjoyable for them. However, the challenge for many is the nutrition component. Because of that challenge, fad diets have grown in popularity because of their marketing as “the”...

Beginners trying to lose body fat don't need to follow an advanced fat loss program in order to get results. If you're fat, you're fat, and following an advanced training program won't necessarily speed up the process. All you really need to do is move. The same can be said about newbie...

For years, renowned exercise physiologist Dr. Andy Galpin has spent years working with professional athletes and Olympians to help them be at their best when it matters most. While most of those athletes had dietitians, skill coaches, and other health and wellness experts in tow, Galpin noticed...

Whether you love or hate social media, it is a big part of our lives because it’s pretty difficult to ignore. News media reports on it, Congress investigates it, and many people make a living from it. Social media is great for trainers and coaches to get their message out and for people to...

Fitness professionals often complain about fitness “influencers” with large social media followings who peddle “T&A—and abs” all over their social media. This almost always leads to the inevitable discussion of how to differentiate a skilled and reputable coach from someone who only wants to...

BAD SCIENCE A few years ago, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center reported that diet sodas made people fat. In fact, they got pretty damn specific about it. They said that every can of soda you drink increases your chance of being overweight by 41%. I'm not even sure...

We live in an interesting era. It's an era in which food selection can actually define you as a person. It shouldn't, but if you're looking for significance or purpose, it's an easy way to feel like you've found it. This new phenomenon was catalyzed by the explosion of social media. We can now...