Yesterday I gave you an overview of my thoughts on diet. Today I am going into more detail about what I eat and what I try to avoid. Plus I've included another of my favorite smoothie recipes! Here is my list of "Al Approved Foods," broken down into three categories: Group 1 - Have as much as you want! Water Veggies Roots Seeds Nuts and Nut Butters Group 2 - Eat, but show some… Continue reading

Rants and Raves

Diet and exercise are probably the two biggest factors in determining your overall wellness. Just like my workout regimen, I aim to keep my diet simple and stick to the fundamentals. To paraphrase from Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food, my dietary advice is this: eat real food, not processed crap. A simple concept, but one that can be surprisingly difficult to implement in our… Continue reading

Rants and Raves

I got an email recently from a runner (let's call him Jim) who had just started wearing a heart rate monitor during his training. Jim was concerned because at 56 years of age, his maximal heart rate was "supposed to be" 164 beats per minute (bpm), yet during his threshold run he managed to get his heart rate all the way up to 172 bpm. Was Jim… Continue reading

Rants and Raves, Running

On Wednesday I celebrated the release of my debut fitness book, We're Working Out: A Zen Approach to Everyday Fitness, by signing copies at Nimble Fitness in NYC. The party was a smash success thanks to the support of my friends (both old and new!), family, and clients who came out to celebrate with me and get their books signed. Everyone in attendance had a… Continue reading

Rants and Raves

When I was in high school I got a pair of gloves to wear for lifting weights. I'm not totally sure what my primary motivation was; there were several factors involved. At the time I thought they looked cool and since I had just gotten into working out, I wanted to have all the gear. I was probably concerned about preventing callouses too, but like most… Continue reading

Rants and Raves

My long-anticipated fitness book, We're Working Out: A Zen Approach to Everyday Fitness, will be available on June 30, 2010. Some of you have asked to have a peek. Here's a little of the introduction (the first line may look a bit familiar). I was a tall, scrawny kid growing up in Brooklyn and I didn’t want to get my ass kicked, so once I was thirteen I decided… Continue reading

Rants and Raves

You can have anything you want; It all starts with your mind. Exercise is the most clear cut example of how we can use our minds to manifest the reality of our choosing. Once you put that mental focus into action and start a consistent workout routine, your body starts to change right before your eyes. If you have the mental focus to be in tune with your body… Continue reading

Inspirational, Rants and Raves

I'm not into having a bunch of fancy, high-tech running accessories these days; however, I am into staying hydrated. With the mercury rising as summer approaches, training runs that last over an hour can be dangerous if you aren't taking in fluids along the way. That's why I decided to try wearing a FuelBelt during some of my training runs for the Brooklyn half marathon. The… Continue reading

Rants and Raves, Running

You don't need fancy sneakers to run long distance. This past Saturday I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon in my beat up, old Vans and it was a great experience. Finishing the race with a time of 1:53:33 (8:40 per mile) felt pretty good, too. I started my day before the sun came up, making my way to Prospect Park just in time to line up for the… Continue reading

Rants and Raves, Running

This is a guest post by personal trainer and fitness expert Eric Bergmann. I’ve long been a fan of a dangerous and irritating word: “why.” I’m fond of applying it when people tell me about their new “fitness” quests. Outside of making me a social pariah, questioning people’s motives has led me to an interesting discovery: Many people build their fitness goals around a skill, not around exercise. I’ll explain what… Continue reading

Rants and Raves