My approach to training

My approach is guided by five principles:

Individuality - Training should reflect your goals, abilities, preferences, and circumstances.

Intentionality - The actions you are taking should move you towards your goal.

Evidence - Decisions should be guided by exercise science and proven approaches, not trends or marketing.

Action-Based - Behavior and emotions are tricky, measurable actions are concrete and can’t be misinterpreted.

Sustainability - Your approach must be engaging enough that you want to continue doing it.

I prefer the “teach a man to fish” approach to fitness. However, I don’t teach from the classroom, I teach from the boat.

For beginners, this often means experimenting. You may need to try different forms of exercise before finding what fits you. You need achievable goals, visible progress, and enough variety to discover what you can sustain. The goal at the beginning is not perfection—it is consistency and learning what helps you keep going.

For people in the intermediate phase, it means learning the why behind the exercises, programs, and nutritional choices you are making.

For people that are later along in their fitness journey, it could mean trying new things to prevent burnout, teaching others how to achieve the success you have, or just dialing down from a competitive mindset to a more casual one.

My relationship to fitness

My relationship with fitness began when I was 13 years old. I was unhappy with how I looked and felt in my body—not uncommon for a pubescent boy or girl. All I had was a squeaky elliptical in the basement. With that, I lost 25 pounds in 3 months, and for the first time I saw that change was possible. But over time, I learned that fitness is about far more than weight loss—it is about capability, confidence, and long-term physical independence.

Since then, I have spent over 15 years training and more than 10 years studying and working across fitness and human performance. I have worked with adults, elderly, severely disabled individuals, military members, and Division I collegiate athletes. Each environment reinforced the same lesson: good training depends on the goal of the individual. The needs of a college athlete are not the same as those of an older adult, a green beret, a D1 female volleyball player or someone returning from injury. Goals, schedules, resources, and limitations all matter—and training should reflect that reality.

The “perfect” program is meaningless if it cannot be followed consistently in the conditions you actually live in.

I also understand fitness through personal injury and recovery. I had my military career ended from an injury sustained in airborne operations. I’ve regained weight many more times than I wish to admit. Progress is not linear, and becoming fit does not eliminate struggle. Motivation will fluctuate. Pain, inconsistency, and doubt will slip into your mind at times. That does not mean you are failing—it means you are human.