Free resources.
Research summaries, book recommendations, and free tools to help you move better, get stronger, and stay capable — plus free programs and content over on my Trainerize app.
Four studies worth knowing.
Plain-English summaries of research I trust, with links to the full papers. Read them yourself — that's the point.
Lose fat while protecting muscle.
Calorie restriction alone reduces weight and fat, but adding exercise changes the composition of what you lose. Resistance and moderate mixed training helped preserve lean mass; aerobic exercise generally produced larger drops in total weight and fat.
What this means for you
Sustainable fat loss starts with a manageable calorie deficit. Pair nutrition with strength training and some cardio to protect the muscle that supports your health — no starvation or punishment workouts required.
Xie et al., 2025. Comparing Exercise Modalities During Caloric Restriction: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis on Body Composition. Frontiers in Nutrition.
There is more than one way to build muscle.
Every resistance-training prescription studied outperformed doing nothing. Heavier loads ranked highest for maximum strength; multiple sets ranked highest for muscle growth. But a wide range of loads and schedules successfully grew muscle.
What this means for you
You don't need the perfect rep range. Multiple challenging sets, progressive overload, recovery, and consistency matter more. A beginner, an older adult, a busy parent, and an experienced lifter don't need identical workouts to make real progress.
Currier et al., 2023. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
A shorter workout isn't a lesser workout.
Supersets cut workout duration while generally maintaining training volume and muscle activation. Longer-term studies found similar gains in strength, endurance, and hypertrophy compared with traditional sets. They do feel harder.
What this means for you
Well-designed supersets let busy people finish meaningful strength work in less time without automatically giving up results. It's why many of my programs use intelligently paired exercises instead of sitting around for 90 minutes.
Zhang et al., 2025. Superset Versus Traditional Resistance Training Prescriptions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. Note: only 3 studies examined long-term adaptations, and most participants were men.
An imperfect week still counts.
Compared with people who hit 8,000 steps zero days a week, hitting it just 1–2 days was associated with a ~15 percentage-point lower 10-year all-cause mortality risk. Benefits began to plateau around three days per week.
What this means for you
You do not need a perfect seven-day streak for movement to matter. Missing Monday does not ruin the week — start again Tuesday. Consistency over a month beats perfection over a week.
Inoue et al., 2023. Association of Daily Step Patterns With Mortality in US Adults. JAMA Network Open. Observational: shows association, not causation.
These summaries are for education, not medical advice. Individual results vary. Talk to your doctor before starting a new training or nutrition plan.
Habits, movement, and the mind.
A short list of books that have shaped how I think about coaching, change, and showing up consistently.
“The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can't extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it.”
This is why my programs focus on replacing old patterns with new ones rather than just trying harder. Fitness sticks when it becomes automatic, not when it depends on willpower.
The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
Why small routines compound into big change.
Atomic Habits
by James Clear
How to get 1% better every day without relying on motivation.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
by Mark Manson
Focus on what actually matters instead of chasing perfection.
Discipline Is Destiny
by Ryan Holiday
Stoic discipline beats motivation every single time.
The Mountain Is You
by Brianna Wiest
How to stop self-sabotage and become the person you are capable of being.
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
A reminder that the body is built to move, not just perform.
The Comfort Crisis
by Michael Easter
Why a little discomfort is one of the best things for your health.
The TB12 Method
by Tom Brady
Longevity, recovery, and pliability as the foundation of performance.
Free programs & content on Trainerize.
Head over to my Trainerize profile to grab free workouts, habit trackers, and starter content. Same app I use with paying clients — no cost to browse, no strings attached.