I Want To Do Something Bigger With My Life

By Todd Durkin, MA, C.S.C.S. I recently spent time with a 25- year veteran of the fitness field whom asked for my guidance. He runs a successful business, presents at major conferences, and influences many people. Not knowing exactly what he needed, he began to tell me about his “successful” career. He really has accomplished […]

Foundations of Strength: The Push-Up

Push-ups are probably the most commonly used bodyweight strength callisthenic whether you are working with kids, adults, or pro athletes.   They can be done anywhere and are highly effective for building upper body strength and endurance.  However, in my work with kids, I am finding that fewer and fewer boys and girls are able to […]

The Power Of One

I was about 15 years old the first time I felt overweight. It seemed to sort have snuck up on me, all of a sudden my body had changed and I was horrified. I remember trying on a pair of pants and feeling frantic because I was supposed to go to a church event and […]

Dad, We Like You Better At Disney

My wife, Melanie, and I recently took our three young children (ages 8, 6, and 3) to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, for summer vacation – three days at the “Happiest Place on Earth.” It was an amazing adventure filled with laughter, smiles, tons of rides (my personal favorites were Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad), […]

What Is Pilates?

Pilates is not Yoga and is not mainly Stretching! Many People are under the assumption that Pilates is mainly stretching. I hear it more often then not explained as and or compared to Yoga. Do not get me wrong, I think that Yoga is great and can be very beneficial, but Pilates and Yoga are […]

Taste The Healthy Lifestyle… Real Food For Real Kids

  Are your kids “coocoo for Cocoa Puffs?”  Does there breakfast come in the form of pink moons, yellow stars, and orange clovers?  Are they receiving morning nutrition information from a rabbit?  Silly parent!  Trix are for kids!  Unfortunately now, so is obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.  Foods and drinks high in sugar are at […]

Napoleon Complex. How much is enough?

As I write this, my 1RM on the deadlift is 385 lbs (stop snickering). My 3RM on weighted pull-ups is bodyweight plus 105 lbs. I would say my pull-up numbers are respectable, the deadlift numbers, not so much. I’m hoping a couple months of Jim Wendler’s “5/3/1 training program” will help. My goal? I would […]

Create Your Successful Mindset

Justin Russ, CPT I was having a conversation with one of the Fitness Quest 10 athletes the other day and one part in particular stood out to me. He looked me and my colleagues in the eyes and said, “This is why I train the way I do. This is why I become a demon […]

Refuse To Fail

Just two weeks ago, someone asked me (for the umpteenth time) if I ever get mad. I responded to the question in my opening letter for our Fitness Quest 10 Insider telling about a particularly chaotic evening when our three young children clearly outnumbered me, and my wife, Melanie. I was totally frustrated that night. […]

The Summer Sloth Syndrome

Brett Klika C.S.C.S. For many youngsters, summer is a time for “free time.”  No school, homework, or daily structure.  It’s truly time to “be a kid.”  Ah, the carefree days of being a kid… doing mom’s list of chores, playing every ball (real and made up) game with the neighbor kids, riding bikes, and getting […]