Don’t be the guy at the gym who no one wants to stand next to because your clothes reek of your previous workout!

Your clothes are filled with bacteria after a workout, don’t let them sit and get smelly.

The chances of you finding accountability partners at the gym diminishes the more times you wear the same gym clothes without washing in between.

Sometimes we have terrible days, where we are grumpy, irritated and things just don't seem to be going according to plan. It can be easy to stay in that emotion and carry it.

Being disciplined and committed are great qualities but you have to be careful when you find yourself getting into an “all or nothing” mindset. We all make mistakes and we all face challenges.

Comparing yourself against others is not as powerful as comparing your current self against your future self.

Sometimes we can be “go-go-go!” We get on a roll with things and fail to slow down. I know for myself, when this occurs I tend to be bogged down with stress and anxiety.

Taking some time to stop, reflect and check in with myself provides a moment to be grounded again. Sometimes we can lose sight of our “why” and our motivations. Taking the time to mentally regroup allows you to refocus, calm down, and get prepared to continue on.

Ever say this to yourself? "I can't workout because I have too much work to do" or my personal favorite "I'm too busy to exercise."

Sounds awfully familiar to what we usually hear as an excuse for not working out.

First off, is there anything wrong with going out of your way to make others happy? Not at all! The problem isn't service to others, but rather the disservice you do to yourself when your priorities are not being handled effectively.

Those who say that they are too busy usually are not. In fact, it's 99% likely that they are simply insecure.

People who achieve extraordinary amounts of tasks FIND THE TIME while the majority of the population simply default to saying they're busy when that's not the truth.

There is a saying that resonates with me, “Schedule your priorities, not prioritize your schedule.” This is a great reminder that if it’s important to you then you will make the time and find a way

It can be so easy to get on a roll with your fitness journey and forget to stop and reflect on how far you have come.

This is especially important (and easy) to do if you take progress photos. You can be amazed at what you have actually accomplished over a stretch of time without even realizing the changes day to day.

We see ourselves in the mirror everyday so the progress isn’t always noticeable. The changes may not jump out at us in an obvious manner. However when you look back over long stretches of time (months-years) you will see the incredible changes and progress you have made. A highly rated app is Fit Stitch.

Toxic relationships affect every aspect of your life. If you have a relationship that leaves you at your wits end, feeling defeated, unworthy, in constant turmoil, or where you are fearful of your safety, then please seek help.

These relationships are some of the most difficult to walk away from because we clearly and deeply care for the individual which is why we continue to remain in the toxicity of the relationship.

Even coaches have coaches! No one is perfectly knowledgeable in everything, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. It’s ok to ask for help and it’s really beneficial to have someone hold you accountable.

You may be thinking "I don't need a coach", but remember...professional athletes, musicians and fortune 500 CEOs all have multiple coaches

Stress is not good for our health in many ways. It raises our blood pressure, messes with our cholesterol, and increases our cortisol.

If you attempt to adopt a more stress-free attitude in life you will find that your overall health will improve.

So yesterday wasn’t your best day. Maybe you slipped up on your diet, or skipped a workout.

That’s ok!

Those days happen. It’s your consistency, development of good habits and overall trajectory that matters.

Sleep is something your body needs, more than just to keep the dark under-eye circles away! While you sleep your body actually is focusing on recovery.

If you’re hitting the gym hard but not getting enough rest your body doesn't have the proper time to repair the muscle fibers you just tore down. While you sleep your body is actually able to properly recover from your strenuous workout.

Got back pain? Odds are high that you probably suck in your tummy more than you should. Doing this causes a build-up of lactic acid from being overworked.

Muscles that are contracted all the time get shorter and tighter. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why so many of us have pain in our backs.

Our bodies are smart, they adapt quickly and pick up on routine. If you are constantly changing what time you go to bed and allowing yourself to wake up at various hours you are keeping your body from finding a sleep pattern.

This is one of the worst things you can do for your health.

What if your masseuse only focused on each area for 10 seconds? How would your body feel? Probably very little benefit, right?

The same goes for stretches. It takes a bit for your muscles to really get the full benefits of each stretch.

There is something called a motivational cycle that drives our behaviors.

If a very attractive person asks if you’d like to go have dinner, your needs, drive and incentives are quickly met because your goal is obviously to get to know that person better.

However, if you realize you missed your workout after you get home from work, your needs, drive and incentives will actually work against you

How many times will you circle the parking lot looking for the coveted front row parking spot?

Intentionally finding a parking spot far away isn’t necessarily about the number of calories you could potentially burn, but rather the mindset of finding every opportunity to do something beneficial for your body.

This is huge! Your body sends signals all the time! Sometimes they can be challenging to decipher, but other times they are extremely clear.

If you choose to ignore the signals that your body is giving, you are on a road to injury, illness, and overall putting your health at risk. In the gym this can mean that your body is telling you that you’re fatigued and taxed out. If you ignore this signal, you can easily get injured.

The sun can feel incredible!

However, it can cause some serious damage.

If you fail to take the proper precautions before spending time in the sun, you’re allowing your skin to be exposed to potential danger.

Andy reminded us of this one. If you are performing and keep performing quality movement and stretching, your body adapts accordingly with quality results.

This applies equally to technical movement and proprioception training such as gymnastics or an olympic lift as it does to learning a new exercise with your personal trainer

First off, who genuinely enjoys being around people who stink?

Okay, I'm sure there are some weirdos out there but I'm willing to bet that most of us prefer the opposite. If you think about it, personal hygiene is correlated to the individual's ability to take care of themselves.

There are people out there who selflessly put others ahead and don't get me wrong - service to others is a phenomenal virtue.

No...I'm not talking about Sunny D. In other words, are you getting outside to enjoy the sun?

For folks like us at Crazy Muscle who live in places like the Pacific Northwest, sun isn't nearly as abundant as it is in states like California and Phoenix.

So you set a weight loss or physique goal, and all that you can think about is getting to that end result. You live for it, you think about it while you workout, you focus on it day and night.

After a while you start to feel discouraged because it’s taking a while to get there. You have to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. What I mean by that is you have to be patient. Enjoy the journey. You may think that once you achieve that desired result you’ll be happy and content, but the reality is that even once you do achieve that result you have to work hard to maintain it or improve.

Our fitness goals are a BIG part of our overall fitness journey.

Many of us are guilty of this. We hit the gym hard day after day, make it a habit and then let those recovery periods slip. We love training, we enjoy the routine and challenge so the thought of a week off seems ridiculous.

Our bodies actually need and benefit from rest and recovery periods. I’m talking more than just 1-2 days of rest per week. More like 5-14 days away from the gym! I know, it sounds crazy! Our bodies need time to fully and properly recover and grow.

Not knowing your minimum and maximum limits is a surefire way to injure yourself quite quickly! It’s always best to underestimate and then increase the weight or resistance incrementally.

With everything else in life, it's about learning to crawl until you're ready to start walking.

Whether it’s due to budget constraints, a love for your favorite pair of running shoes, or perhaps you just haven’t considered it before, but not changing your running shoes ever 400-500 miles is setting yourself up for injury.

Your shoes are your support system, especially if you are a runner! When running, you are putting pressure on your feet and legs and your shoes play a vital role in not only traction but also how your body absorbs the pressure and tension from your stride.

With continued use, the tread on your running shoes wears down. This renders your shoes less effective and you are more prone to injury.

Isolation exercises can be particularly great if you suffer from imbalances in your physique as it can allow you to focus on building up the particular area without simultaneously causing significant growth in others. Now, who does it sound like would benefit most from isolation movements? If you said bodybuilders, you're right!

However, it is best to use isolation exercises in conjunction with compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and more. Compound movements are beneficial because they recruit other muscle groups during the movement, thus training more efficiently and burning a great deal of calories.

Squats for instance focus on your glutes and quads, but the movement also taps into your hamstrings, calves, and core. You are essentially training and strengthening multiple muscle groups at once. So if you have been focusing primarily on isolation work, try incorporating compound movements into your workout!

You’re going to be so disappointed in this, but you can’t spot reduce.

Your body will eliminate fat in the order it chooses to and there is unfortunately nothing you can do to encourage it to reduce from one area over another.

Stretching prior to a workout is not recommended, especially if you workout as soon as you wake up! You should take the time to warm up instead, especially if you’re someone who has a more sedentary job.

You want to get the blood flowing to your muscles, get them moving and primed before beginning any heavy lifting or running, etc. If you skip the warm up you will be much more prone to injury.

his could span from making sure that you have a quality pair of shoes that are designed for the type of training you are doing, to utilizing the equipment properly.

Let’s use shoes as an example, if you perform your workouts using any old athletic style shoe you have laying around your house you could very well find yourself injured down the line.

While there are benefits from trying new workouts and exercises, if you are always jumping from one workout fad to the next you may be doing yourself more harm than good.

You may find that you aren’t seeing the results you want, or you may not necessarily even notice progress or changes.

Weight training is necessary for virtually any sport (except eSports). The ability to jump higher, run faster and push harder always tie back to time spent in the gym.

Bodyweight training does many things. Two of the biggest benefits in my opinion are showing you proper form with minimal potential for injury and the ability to consistently work out while traveling

Time is precious, we all can attest to that! So why spend your quality time at the gym leisurely working out?

Sure we may get stopped for a brief hello from a friend, but making the best use of your time spent in the gym not only is efficient, but you’ll get a better workout overall.

I will be the first to admit that I HATE FOAM ROLLING. Like many aspects of fitness, it provides a tremendous amount of benefit if you can develop this habit. If you haven’t heard of or tried foam rolling you are missing out on one of the best ways to promote recovery.

So, what is foam rolling? There is a fancy term for this: self-myofascial release. This technique promotes the release of muscle tightness, movement of lactic acid and increased mobility.

This ties into the motivational cycle. Even if you look forward to your workout, let’s face it...many of us have jobs, families and other commitments.

However, we all have the same 86,400 seconds each day.

Yes, theoretically it is easier to stick to the same workout plan especially if you have a demanding schedule. The major reason is because you will ultimately plateau.

A plateau is defined as the results of your body's impressive ability to adjust to stress and change.

Pretty neat right? In theory totally, but there is nothing that kills productivity and motivation more than realizing you’ve stopped making progress.

So you have vegetables at your meal- great!

But then you eat your protein and carbs first and sort of push those veggies around.

You’re then too full to finish them so you opt to toss the veggies or “save them for later.”

So you had a bad day and you ate more than you probably should have. Don’t overthink it. Stressing about the excess food leads to spikes in cortisol which leads to water retention, which often leads to us feeling even worse.

Those days happen. It’s ok, take a deep breath...you'll survive.

“Carbs are bad” is something you may have been told or heard through the grapevine. However, this is absolutely not true. Yes, the western diet is generally high in carbohydrates (most of which are simple carbohydrates like sugar) and high in fat which both in excess can lead to weight gain.

This doesn’t mean that you should cut out carbohydrates from your diet. Carbohydrates are a primary source of energy for your body, and your brain needs carbohydrates to function properly.

Omega 3 fish oils can be found in both fish oil and krill oil and provide a lot of really great health benefits.

They help fight against depression and anxiety, improve eye health, lower your risk for heart disease, help reduce symptoms of metabolic issues, can reduce inflammation and more.

Vani, the Food Babe has a wonderfully written article about which cooking oils you need to get out of your pantry now...no, seriously like NOW!

We’ve all heard of stories and research showing how huge companies create food with fake ingredients and sell it cheaper than the quality brands you should be buying.

I won’t even go into the details here, but the main point is that these cooking oils go through tons of refining, processing and bleaching...yuck!

Have you ever opened up your pantry and wondered how on earth you have accumulated so many items and realized you have no clue what all is actually in there?

It’s a great idea to clean out your pantry on a regular basis to keep you from having products you don’t need, perhaps aren’t great options for your diet, or things that you’ve been setting aside because they’re tempting but you just can’t get rid of them.

So you’re reading the nutrition labels on food products, great! It is important to understand and learn about macronutrients. However, if you’re not taking a closer look at the ingredient list on the items you’re purchasing you could be missing out on some important information.

Take granola bars for instance, you may find some that are lower in fat, moderate in carbs and pretty decent in protein for a granola bar. But take a look at the ingredient list and you may notice they have quite a few on there that you can’t even pronounce.

Mindless eating is exactly that. Your body will tell you when it needs more fuel but when you snack even when you’re not hungry you are training your mind to ignore hunger cues.

You are most likely also consuming additional calories that you don’t need.

You are in control of what you consume. If you’re in the drive through and the server asks if you want to supersize your meal, you have every opportunity to say no.

You are in control of what you order and what you consume. It’s important to make decisions for yourself, and exercise self-control. Self-control and discipline will grow with practice, just like our muscles.

Stop for a moment and think about how many meals out of your day that you consume protein. How many of the meals where you lacked a quality protein source did you find yourself hungry shortly after?

Protein should be consumed at every meal for a few reasons: your body needs protein to repair your muscles, so if you’re hitting it hard at the gym and not consuming enough protein then your body cannot properly repair the damage you did in your workout.

It’s ok to add a little cream and sugar for taste to your coffee, but have you paid attention to the calories you’re adding to your cup of joe?

Take a look at the nutrition label on the container of your coffee creamer and actually measure out the serving size...you may discover that you’ve been pretty heavy handed!

We talked about not drinking your calories earlier, and this is one way that you can cut back or at least be more aware of what you’re drinking.

“Immune Support”
“Lowers cholesterol!”

Have you seen claims like these on food labels? While they may be a better option than the competition on the shelves, the product alone is not responsible for those benefits.

Lowering your cholesterol for example comes from making good choices in all aspects of your diet, not just by choosing one product over another.

Sports drinks have their time and place, especially if you’re finishing up an intense sweat session. Electrolytes do need to be replenished at times, but make sure you choose a healthier alternative than the crap being made by the big companies.

However sports drinks should absolutely not replace the amount of water you intake.

I personally have a pretty big sweet tooth, who doesn’t? I have found that if I am purposeful to plan into my nutritional intake a small treat or sweet each day than I am far less likely to cave when someone brings homemade cookies into the office.

I know that I have already allotted in my macronutrients for the day that I am having 66 grams (or one serving) of my favorite ice cream after dinner, so I don’t feel the urge to linger by the office treats. It’s ok to have a sweet tooth, but being purposeful about how you approach fulfilling it is key.

Always giving in to desserts whenever they are present is an easy way to consume a great deal of sugar, carbs and fats that generally have very little nutritional value, and may even leave you with the dreaded sugar crash or craving more.

Be smart about how you fulfill your desire for dessert and work it into your nutritional intake and try to keep it to healthier options. My personal favorite lower calorie dessert is Halo Top ice cream.

Simply because the food was placed in front of you doesn’t mean that you have to consume all of it. If you feel comfortable and no longer hungry but there is food on your plate, that’s ok!

It is much better to walk away than to gorge yourself or overeat.

When aiming to reach a fitness goal planning out your meals in advance is key.

When you fail to plan ahead it is all too tempting and easy to end up hungry with few healthy options to choose from.

If you plan your meals ahead for the day, you are more likely to stick to them.

This may seem like such a small thing, but it can truly make a difference in reaching your desired results. Pack a lunch on workdays!

When you skip bringing a lunch from home you run the risk that you won’t be able to find a healthy option, and you will also be far more inclined to go grab a slice of pizza with coworkers.

When first starting to make healthy choices in the kitchen food can feel rather bland. This is because your tastebuds are adjusted to being wowed by excess amounts of sugar, additives and sodium.

Fear not! With time your taste buds will adjust to healthier food choices and begin to crave those steamed veggies that you used to like doused in butter.

Eating out can be a lot of fun, but if you are consistently eating out rather than preparing your own meals you could be sabotaging your progress.

When you eat out, it's harder to control the way that your food is prepared. There are some restaurants that provide nutritional information online, but most don’t. That can make it challenging to track your intake.

Restaurants often prepare meats using marinades or cook with oil which can add up. 1 gram of fat is 9 calories, so the unknown factors in the way your food is prepared can quickly increase your caloric intake. Another reason consistently eating out isn’t a great idea is that it can be challenging to find healthy options.

One thing that we tend to struggle with is not taking our time to enjoy our meals.

Often we are sitting at our desks and shoveling food down so we can quickly get back to work.

Maybe chew your food, bro.

Hunger strikes and there’s nothing in sight. You find yourself desperate to fill the hunger pang so you head to the vending machine and grab a quick candy bar. That will hold you over for what? An hour before you’re hungry again.

Or an even worse scenario is you don’t have any change for the vending machine and so you must bear through the hunger until you get home for dinner, and you find yourself accidentally taking out your “hanger” on your coworkers.

Neither scenario is good.

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it’s true. When you take the time to start your day with a balanced breakfast you’re starting your day off on a healthy note.

You are less likely to buy that pastry when getting your morning coffee because you aren't ravishing with hunger. You are giving your body fuel to function during your work day and giving your brain energy to stay focused.

Beverages are a sneaky way to accidentally consume more calories than you intended. Do you know the calories in a Pumpkin Spice Latte? How about that soda you’re drinking with lunch?

You only add a splash of half and half to your coffee? How many calories are in that glass of wine or beer? Many of us don’t stop to think about what is in our beverages.

Those little splashes of milk or sugar, let alone a latte add up. While you don’t have to cut out those fun beverages all together, it is a good idea to limit the amount of calories you consume through beverages.

It is always best to aim to consume your calories through food as they will keep you fuller longer, provide more nutritional value and thus better fuel for your body.