FAQ

Here are some of the popular questions I receive. If you have questions, check here first. If you don't find an answer to your question, please feel free to contact us.

How long have you been a personal trainer?

I've been a certified personal trainer since January of 2016.

I've been training in some capacity since 2013, mostly friends or other students in group classes.

Read my testimonials here.

What are your fitness goals?

#1 — To be strong, healthy, and capable of self-defense.

#2 — To look good naked. Obviously.

#3 — To maintain momentum and consistency of action in my daily life.

How do you stay motivated?

I don't rely on motivation. I rely on routine.

In the past I didn't enjoy the gym. Once I built a consistent routine, everything changed. My body felt better, my neck and back stopped hurting, my mental clarity improved.

Now if I skip training, my body reminds me immediately. The pain comes back. The clarity slips.

Motivation is unreliable. Routine is permanent. Build the habit and the results follow.

What supplements do you take?

These are covered under Spartan Select Supplements.

How do I download TrueCoach & MyFitnessPal?

TrueCoach is available on Android and iOS, or accessible directly through a web browser.

You won't be able to log in until your account is manually added to the system. That happens during client onboarding.

MyFitnessPal is also available on Android and iOS.

How should I get started?

This is the framework I've followed for over a decade. It works.

In The Gym

  • Lift weights at minimum 3 days per week. Five to six days is the standard I hold myself and my clients to.
  • Foam roll, stretch, and warm-up for 5 to 10 minutes before training. Foam roll and stretch again after training for faster recovery and less muscle soreness over the next few days. I suggest grabbing a pair of loop bands to assist with corrective exercises.
  • Drink water throughout every session. Hydration directly impacts performance and body composition.
  • Prioritize the weight room over cardio. Get stronger. Push intensity. Push limits. Perform cardio after lifting, not before.
  • Low-intensity steady-state cardio after heavy sessions promotes blood flow and accelerates recovery. Use it strategically, not compulsively. For example, biking the day after a heavy leg day.
  • Fasted cardio accelerates fat loss when applied correctly.
  • My intra-workout of choice is ADABOLIC by Steel Supplements. It covers my core performance and recovery stack in a single product. BCAAs for muscle preservation and recovery, beta alanine for endurance, creatine for strength and output, and l-citrulline for blood flow and pump. Everything I previously took separately, consolidated into one convenient supplement.
  • For pre-workout stimulation I keep it simple. Black coffee or a Red Bull handles the caffeine for most sessions. On high-volume days where I need an additional edge, I'll use a dedicated pre-workout with a higher dose of caffeine and nitrates for enhanced performance and pump.

 

In The Kitchen

  • Track your macros. A food scale removes guesswork and exposes exactly why results aren't happening. Most people are surprised by what they find.
  • The modern diet is built around excess carbohydrates. Carbohydrates aren't inherently bad, but they digest faster than protein and fat, which means hunger returns sooner and total caloric intake climbs without most people noticing. Protein and fat are more satiating per calorie and more structurally useful for body composition. That's why they're the foundation of the framework.
  • If you're bulking, consume 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass per day.
  • If you're cutting, consume a minimum of 1 gram per pound of lean body mass per day.
  • Lean body mass calculation: multiply bodyweight by body fat percentage, subtract that number from total bodyweight. A 200lb individual at 25% body fat has a lean body mass of 150lbs. I use this scale to track my numbers.
  • I typically use Dymatize whey isolate for my protein shakes.
  • I avoid fluoridated water and use a quality water filter. I drink Pellegrino mineral water to restore minerals lost during intense training and boxing. That switch eliminated an extended period of muscle cramps I had been dealing with for months.
  • Cook with butter, coconut oil, or olive oil. Avoid seed oils, vegetable oils, and soy. Store and heat food in glass containers only, never plastic. Do not use any plastics that have been heated up at any time in the past, including bottles that have been in the sunlight or left in a hot vehicle. Don't use non-stick cookware. Cast iron or stainless steel only.
  • Get rid of your plastic coffee maker or Keurig. Heated plastic leaches chemicals into whatever it's in contact with, your coffee included. I use a French press instead. The coffee tastes better and there's no plastic in the process.
  • Eat as clean as possible. Grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, organic where it matters most. Just don't eat your vegetables raw. Fermented vegetables are always a good option. Non-organic coffee and ground vegetables absorb the highest concentrations of pesticides and chemicals. For those, always go organic or don't buy them at all.
  • Cooking with turmeric powder and black pepper reduces joint inflammation. It's a simple addition with a measurable effect.

 

In The Home & Office

  • Avoid sitting or looking down at devices for extended periods. Walk and stretch for a few minutes every hour. Your neck and back will thank you in a decade.
  • Sleep in a cool, dark room. No visible device lights. Blackout curtains are one of the highest-return investments you can make in your recovery. Go to bed around the same time every night. Keep a glass of water next to the bed to stay hydrated throughout the night if you wake up. We lose a lot of water through respiration in our sleep.
  • A fan, white noise device, or ambient music will drown out noise during the night and help you fall asleep faster.
  • Turn off notifications before bed. Airplane mode if you don't need to be reachable overnight. The less your phone demands from you after dark, the better your sleep quality.
  • Use fluoride-free toothpaste. Check your personal care products (soaps, shampoos, skincare) for parabens and phthalates. These are hormone-disrupting chemicals that accumulate with repeated daily exposure. I use African black soap and AROMATICA shampoo and conditioner to avoid these chemicals. A filtered shower head reduces chlorine exposure from the same angle. Use a PEVA shower curtain. Small changes that compound over time.
  • Install blue light filters on all devices. No blue light exposure after dark. Your hormones sync with the sun. Disrupting that has measurable consequences for sleep quality, recovery, and body composition. Supplementing Vitamin D is also useful if you don't get much time in the sun. Most people don't.
  • Reduce caffeine intake, especially after noon. Best used once or twice per week for training performance rather than daily dependency. Harder to implement than it sounds. But you'll absolutely notice the difference.

 

This is the framework I've built and lived for over a decade. It produced the physique and the standard I hold myself to. Everything I coach is built on this foundation.