Here are some of the many benefits of getting adequate quality sleep in your life:

• lessens bodyweight gain and may make it easier to lose weight
• controls appetite
• enables better recovery from a hard workout
• lessens the risk of type-2 diabetes
• lessens a slowdown of metabolism
• lessens the likelihood of eating less healthy foods

​You can read more details here.

     The muscle soreness that may occur after a workout (commonly referred to as DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness) tends to differ in intensity and duration from person to person.  The reason for this is not quite understood although several factors have been theorized:  

• exercise intensity
• novice lifter
• new exercise performed
• genetics
• gender

     Exercise intensity seems like a no-brainer in terms of causing muscle soreness.  The harder the workout the more likely you'll experience muscle soreness.  Factors affecting workout intensity include amount of weight lifted (i.e., the heavier the load, the more sore you'll get), number of repetitions performed (i.e., the more reps performed, the more muscle soreness will occur), set duration (i.e., the longer the set, the more muscle fiber damage will occur), type of exercises performed (i.e., compound exercises may cause more muscle damage than isolation exercises). The speed of movement may affect muscle soreness later. For example, extending the duration of the eccentric (i.e., muscle lengthening) movement of an exercise may cause more muscle fiber damage and hence, muscle soreness. 
     If you're new to lifting weights, you're more likely to experience DOMS than one whose body has been conditioned to exercise. In addition, if you perform an exercise your body has not experienced, you're more likely to get sore later.
     The type of genes (or more precisely, the deficiency of certain genes) within fast-twitch muscle fibers may predispose some people to experience DOMS more so than others.  One particular marker of muscle fiber damage is the appearance of an enzyme called creatine kinase.  DOMS increases when creatine kinase levels increase. 
      Some research seems to indicate that women do not experience as much DOMS as men. Why? Perhaps it might have to do with the amount of estrogen hormone present.  Estrogen seems to lessen creatine kinase levels after exercise.  Less creatine kinase indicates less muscle damage and therefore less DOMS.  Because of this, women may have an inherent advantage over men in that they can recover faster.

BOTTOM LINE:  It's still not quite clear why DOMS occurs in some people more than others. DOMS can be directly attributed to muscle fiber damage but why some people experience more soreness than others is still a mystery. Most likely it's a combination of factors including exercise experience, exercise intensity, type of exercises performed, genetics, and gender.  You can't change your genes nor gender--at least not yet, although advancing biotechnology may make this statement a falsehood.  For now, the easiest way to affect the level of DOMS felt is to adjust workout intensity.

Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
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     Exercise recovery should NEVER be downplayed.  The importance of recovery is very significant when it comes to exercise performance.  In fact, exercise recovery may be more important than your nutrition and your exercise routine(!). Yes, you read that right.  Why?  Because it's how well you rest that will determine how well your body will perform.  You can't expect to train hard if you don't give your body time to recover, period.  You'll actually do more harm than good if you shortchange your rest time between workouts.  Inadequate recovery will inevitably lead to overreaching and ultimately to overtraining over time in which case your body will be in a state of perpetual fatigue.  
      Here are the key concepts you should practice daily to recover optimally:

• GET PLENTY OF SLEEP--aim for seven to eight hours per night
• EAT HEALTHY OFTEN--if you want to perform optimally, you need to fuel your body with healthy ingredients
• STRETCH OFTEN--your muscles and joints tend to get tighter with age so maintaining flexibility is essential to reduce injury risk
• GET MASSAGES--periodic massages will help your body to relax and operate in a more optimal state
• TAKE NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS--only take supplements when your diet is on track.  Recommended supplements include whey protein, glutamine, BCAAs, creatine, vitamin C, and vitamin B complex

Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
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     A common mistake many gym goers make when working out is to mindlessly swing the free weights when curling or bouncing the weight off the chest when bench pressing. People subconsciously do this because it's their body's way of conserving energy and therefore makes the lift easier.  But easier is not always better!  Not only does this look utterly ridiculous to the casual observer, but more importantly, it's a complete waste of time!  Why?  Because swinging and bouncing weights allows too much momentum to take effect, which forces the joints (not the muscles) to bear most of the brunt of the work.             Allowing momentum to take over is counterproductive because it doesn't allow your muscles to feel the contraction and tension needed for strength and/or hypertrophy to occur. Unnecessarily swinging and bouncing weights will inevitably cause joint wear and tear over time which could lead to injury.  The faster you swing or bounce the weight, the more momentum occurs and the more force is exerted onto the joints, not the muscles.
    Avoid the temptation to quickly perform a movement and instead take your time.  Learn to control the speed of each repetition.  Think about squeezing the muscle as you lift. A good rule of thumb:  perform the concentric (contraction) and eccentric (stretching) portions of the lift in two and four seconds, respectively.  Slow down and practice awareness throughout each repetition.

​BOTTOM LINE:  Ultimately, what matters is not how much weight you can hoist (check your ego out the door) but how you can lift the weight with good form and feel the muscle working.  Your purpose in the gym, whether it's to get stronger, leaner, more muscular, etc., is to lift safely while achieving your fitness goal.  Train your muscles, not your joints!

Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
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     The answer is most emphatically, "YES!"  Occasionally straying from your structured pattern of eating healthy foods is strongly encouraged to lessen the temptation to go hog wild when cheating on your diet.  This is a case where cheating is acceptable just don't go crazy! Maintaining your sanity is what's most important when it comes to eating healthy.  Occasionally overindulging on junk food has the purpose of making you feel satisfied and content.  But the key word here is "occasionally". Don't make overindulgence a habit.
     The reality is trying to maintain a strict diet regimen indefinitely is doomed to fail.  Why? Because you're only human and life's too short! If you're striving to lose bodyweight it is foolhardy to believe that you'll lose two pounds every single week. That's just not how your body works.  Some weeks you might lose only one pound.  Another week you might lose only half a pound.  Losing bodyweight is not a linear function in the real world.  There are many factors that may interfere with the steady loss of weight (i.e., family obligations, work, stress, etc.).  Weight loss will occur but in a turbulent fashion with ups and downs. 

BOTTOM LINE:  Food should be thought of as one of life's greatest pleasures to be enjoyed, savored and appreciated for what it is.  Food is NOT the enemy when it comes to losing bodyweight.  Rather, it's how you feel about food that matters most.  Accept the occasional indulgences and move on from there. 

Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
https://www.facebook.com/BrianDanleyFitness ​​​  

     The Paleo diet consists of consuming animals, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.  The basic tenets of the Paleo, or Paleolithic, diet are that:

• the human body has adapted to eat only particular foods, and
• we need to eat like our ancestors who did not eat grains and legumes to avoid modern-day chronic diseases

     The former idea is flawed because the human body is quite adaptable and can "learn" to thrive on any kind of food in time. The reason for this is because our gut bacteria is quite versatile. Dairy products can be slowly assimilated in the diet over time despite lactose intolerance.  Eventually, gut bacteria will adapt by producing the lactase enzyme for digestion to occur. 
     The latter idea is also flawed because it's controversial whether our ancestors ate grains or legumes. Also, it's been believed that grains cause inflammation but this occurs only for a small amount of people (less than 10% due to celiac disease and gluten sensitivity).
​    There is an assumption that the cause of modern chronic diseases (i.e., obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.) is the result of consuming grains.  It is believed that those who follow the Paleo diet don't get chronic diseases because grains are not eaten.  But this belief is misguided because the Paleo diet, which consists of whole foods including high fiber, lean proteins, lots of omega-3 fatty acids, unsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals, and less saturated fat and sodium, contributes to good health regardless of grain consumption. The characteristics of the Paleo diet make it a much healthier diet than a diet of processed foods high in sugar, fats and sodium predominately eaten today. Thus, the issue is not the consumption of grains but rather processed foods. The increased consumption of fruits and vegetables alone will surely lessen the prevalence of chronic diseases in our modern society.  
   BOTTOM LINE:  Excluding dairy, legumes and grains from your diet, as the Paleo diet recommends, is not prudent as the evidence to support this is shaky.  The human body can continually adapt to evolutionary changes in the diet so a one-size-fits-all approach to eating is suspect.  In fact, any diet which espouses restricting particular foods should be a red flag.  Healthy eating need not be complicated and consuming more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds is certainly recommended. There are no inherently "good" or "bad" foods.  Just be sure to eat any food in moderation.  
     
Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
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     The answer is to perform a technique called prioritization.  Prioritization is simply emphasizing weaker body parts at the expense of stronger ones in your training program.  Here are several ways to do this:  

• Train the weaker muscles first when you have the most energy and focus
• Increase the training volume of the weaker muscles (i.e., more sets)
• Train the weaker muscles exclusively in a session (i.e., train hams and quads on different days)
• Avoid training the strong muscles to allow more time to train the weaker muscles
• Increase the training frequency of the weaker muscles (i.e., twice per week)
• Train the weaker muscles after a rest day when you'll have the most energy
• Increase the training intensity of the weaker muscles (i.e., increase TUT, drop sets, forced sets, supersets, etc.)

Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
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     Fixed-resistance training machines consist of any of the devices you see on the gym floor that limit your range of motion in a determined path.  The benefits of using these machines are that you can push or pull a lot of weight with less risk of injury in a predetermined, limited path.  Theoretically, you can isolate whichever muscle(s) the machine is designed to target with less joint pain or irritation due to tendonitis in any stabilizer muscle(s).  Of course the downside is that the stabilizer muscles will not be strengthened as much as would be the case free-motion resistance training.
  Free-motion resistance training consists of any exercise such as free weights (i.e., dumbbells, barbells), flex bands, cables, bodyweight, etc. that does not limit your range of motion and is not restricted to a certain movement path.  The benefits of this type of training is that you can strengthen not only the prime mover muscles but also the stabilizer muscles and you'll have the ability to perform a movement pattern unique to your joint movement.  This type of training corresponds to how your body moves in life and is therefore conducive to functional training.  
     Which type of training type is better for you?  The answer is that both can be good for the reasons previously stated.  Consider incorporating both types of training techniques in your workouts.  One strategy you might want to try is super-setting the fixed-path weight machine exercise with a free-path exercise.  This allows you to push/pull a relatively heavy weight to target the prime mover muscle followed immediately with a free-motion movement to further fatigue the muscle along with surrounding stabilizer muscles.

Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
https://www.facebook.com/BrianDanleyFitness ​

​Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
https://www.facebook.com/BrianDanleyFitness

​Brian Danley, CFT
"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going."

408-688-1586 (cell)
briandanleyfitness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandanleyfitness
https://www.facebook.com/BrianDanleyFitness

     Ideally you should feel fairly hungry before you eat (i.e., 7 on a hunger scale of 1 to 10) and about 80% full after you eat (i.e., 2 or 3 on a hunger scale of 1 to 10).  It is generally recommended you should eat some food every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar level fairly steady.  Maintaining a steady blood sugar level is important since a low blood sugar level encourages a ravenous appetite and tends to lead to overeating.