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Are you happy? Can you be happy without success? Can you be happy when you still haven’t reached that lifelong goal? Have you ever thought “I’ll be happy when I get that promotion; when my bank account is at XXX dollars; when I have a bigger house; when I have a leaner physique”? You’re not alone. Humans tend to chase the notion of happiness. We keep moving the goalpost and missing out on the here and now, holding our breath for that moment when we achieve the ultimate

“Go hard or go home!” “No pain. No gain!” “We don’t need machines; we are machines!” I’m sure you’ve all read or heard one of these quotes or any number of others telling you workouts have to be all out. That you should leave nothing in the tank. That the way to make progress is to put yourself in the pain cave and stay there. Not only have I heard them all, I’ve no doubt said them all too—and meant it at the time. But it’s not true all of the time, and for many of us

There is a long held belief in the fitness world that for every 1-pound of muscle you gain, your body burns an additional 50 calories. On paper, this sounds awesome. Add 5 pounds of muscle, and you’ll burn an extra 250 calories per day or about a pound every 2 weeks. This theory has led to plenty of people, myself included, rationalizing increasing how much they eat with the confidence that their muscle mass will prevent additional weight gain. Unfortunately, it’s not true

So, you’ve been working at building your muscles, but you’ve reached a plateau. Nothing seems to be changing despite your fitness program. Why? Well, it could be that you are simply repeating the same movement, imposing the same stimulus on your muscles. There are several theories on the best way to build muscle. Those in the ‘volume camp’ say keep adding more work to your training; others in the progressive overload crew say gradually add more weight; and the high intensity

The diet buzz right now, that I suspect will wither soon, is Keto. Before Keto, similar high protein, low carb diets included Atkins and Zone. There is no doubt that restricting – or eliminating – carbohydrates results in rapid and significant weight loss for many, and further may be beneficial for seriously overweight individuals or those who have diabetes. For the masses, however, such restriction is not necessary, hard to maintain, and results in nutrient and fuel deprivat

I’ve never been particularly drawn to fitness trackers. Even when I was a competitive cyclist, I didn’t eagerly gravitate towards heart rate monitors. I knew what my resting heart rate was and that was generally good enough for me. I exercise for the love of movement. Despite my reticence, I recently decided to research ‘wearables’, considering the possibility of including them as a package to my clients – and prospective clients- at Beyond Fitness.

She walks through the door and immediately wishes she hadn’t. Machines everywhere. People are moving with obvious confidence. Music she doesn’t recognize. And not a single sign telling her where to start or what anything does. Within about sixty seconds, the thoughts begin: “I have no idea how any of these machines work.” “Every single person here looks like they know exactly what they’re doing.” “What if I hurt myself?” “I don’t belong here.” She turns around. Goes home. T

There’s a client who has been training at Beyond Fitness for three years. She’s not the most disciplined person you’ll ever meet. She’s not motivated every single week. Her life is complicated in ways that most people would consider a perfectly reasonable excuse to let fitness slide entirely.

What happens when you’re healthy, active and not obese, but the last ten pounds won’t move? A closer look at what we know, what we don’t, and the complicated question of using low-dose GLP-1s for weight loss in midlife.

Why do aging adults end up in assisted living? It’s right there in the title. It comes down to not being able to stand up after sitting on the toilet (a simple air squat.) Something that seems taboo and crass to talk about, but a very real thing. More broadly the reason aging adults go to assisted living situations is loss of independence. As adults age, basic movement becomes much more difficult. People retire, they are less active, they have less errands to run everyday, t

Let’s be honest – nutrition advice is exhausting. One expert says carbs are the enemy. Another swears by intermittent fasting. Your neighbour lost 20 pounds on keto, but your sister-in-law can’t stop raving about her plant-based diet. So who’s right? Here’s the thing: they might all be right. And that’s precisely the problem. At Beyond Fitness, we’ve noticed that most nutrition confusion doesn’t stem from a lack of knowledge – it stems from a lack of understanding of th

Last Tuesday, a client came in for her session at Beyond Fitness looking defeated. “I’ve been avoiding anything too intense,” she explained. “I keep seeing posts on Instagram saying high-intensity exercise raises cortisol, and with everything else going on in my life right now, I can’t afford more stress. So I’ve just been walking.” She looked exhausted. And stressed. Here’s what nobody told her: the very thing she was avoiding might have been exactly what would help he

Here’s a story you’ll recognize. You wake up Monday morning with fresh resolve. This week will be different. You’ve stocked your fridge with organic kale, tossed the cookies, and downloaded three meal-planning apps. By Wednesday afternoon, you’re eating cold pizza over the sink, wondering what happened to your willpower. The problem isn’t you. It’s that we’ve been asking the wrong question. We keep asking: “What should I eat to be healthy?” The better question is: “Wh

The Cost of Waiting “I’ll come back when my knee feels better.” She said this in March. Then again in May. By August, she’d stopped mentioning the knee entirely. She just stopped coming. If you’ve been training for any length of time, you’ve either said this yourself or watched someone else disappear with the same promise. I’ll just wait until this goes away. I don’t want to make it worse. It sounds reasonable. Responsible, even. But here’s what nobody tells you: If

She walks through the door and immediately wishes she hadn’t. Machines everywhere. People are moving with obvious confidence. Music she doesn’t recognize. And not a single sign telling her where to start or what anything does. Within about sixty seconds, the thoughts begin: “I have no idea how any of these machines work.” “Every single person here looks like they know exactly what they’re doing.” “What if I hurt myself?” “I don’t belong here.” She turns around. Goes home. T

Margaret had been looking forward to this round for weeks. At 52, she'd finally carved out time in her busy schedule to return to golf—a passion that had taken a backseat during the whirlwind years of raising teenagers and climbing the corporate ladder. But as she bent down to tee up her ball on the first hole, a familiar sharp pain shot through her lower back. She winced, straightened slowly, and forced a smile at her playing partners. "Just getting warmed up," she joked,

Can't see this message? View in browser   The scientific argument for mastering one thing at a time Meet Linda. She is 53, works in marketing, and on January 1st, 2026 , she woke up with a plan. This was going to be her year. She would join the gym. Start meal prepping. Drink more water. Walk 10,000 steps daily. Cut back on wine. Get more sleep. Maybe try meditation. By January 18th , she had not been to the gym in fi

We've all been there: trying to make positive changes in our lives but struggling to stay motivated. What if I told you there's a...

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It might be the most important supplement you’re not taking. Creatine is one of the few supplements that has stood the test of time—and...