John Alvino

When back pain, tendinitis, chronic muscle tightness, migraine headaches, bowel problems, digestive issues, aching joints, insomnia, fatigue, or other random ailments befall us, we usually look for a physical cause of our suffering.

We analyze and review any physical action that was taken during the past couple of days before the onset of our condition. What we ate, what we did in the gym, what we lifted in the garage, what mattress we slept on, how much time we spent in the car—no stone is left unturned in our mission to discover why we are in discomfort.

Usually, if there is a physical cause, it is pretty easy to diagnose and address properly.  But often times, there is no clearly defined link between your actions and your newly compromised state. Read more…

In the training world, there is an incredible array of implements and tools that are designed to give you the biggest bang for your buck. The proponents of each of these training tools swear that their gadget is the most effective of them all. But who is right?

Kettlebells, suspension straps, barbells, dumbbells, parallettes, strongman implements, the list goes on and on.  Most people desperately want to cut through the BS and discover which one will give them the best results possible.

It would certainly be nice to pick just one tool and use it exclusively. After all, life is complicated enough. Why do our workouts have to be complicated also? Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.

Using only one of the above-mentioned approaches may seem like a good idea, but it isn’t best for overall training results and training longevity. Read more…

If you could snap your fingers and instantaneously achieve every one of your fitness goals, would you? In these days of impulsive desires for instant gratification, I doubt anyone would say no to that question.

In fact, the most common question that I get asked is, “How can I (fill in your fitness goal) as easily and quickly as possible”?  Loosely translated, this means that they want to achieve their goals “painlessly and instantaneously”.

Sadly, this is the mindset that keeps people agonizingly stuck right where they are, with no hope of ever achieving their fitness goals — or any other goal, for that matter.

The truth is, the road to achieving a worthwhile goal is rarely paved with the intention to avoid work and pain. Read more…

Mobility and flexibility are the two most neglected fitness qualities.

Even though I’ve yet to find someone who would argue that obtaining optimal mobility isn’t desirable, I hardly ever see people actually training to improve their mobility.  Why is this?

Well, there are two main reasons:

1) Mobility/flexibility training isn’t fun or immediately satisfying. If you want to get bigger and stronger, lifting heavy weights will always be more satisfying.  Alternatively, if you want to lose fat, getting your sweat on and jacking up your heart rate will make you “sense” effectiveness.

But being led by what you “feel” to be effective is the number one reason for poor program design, imbalances and neglecting what’s really important, such as joint health and longevity. Read more…

If you want to achieve long-term fat loss, losing body fat simply CANNOT be your goal all year round.

In fact, if you focus on it 52 weeks per year, you are destined for a lifetime of frustration, struggle, and emotional highs and lows.  Even worse, you will ultimately fail—that I can assure you.

Why is this so? Well, significant fat loss requires intense discipline, focus, sacrifice, planning and effort. It’s next to impossible to sustain peak levels of all of these qualities for months on end.

Eventually you will have a weak moment and end up falling off the wagon. Guilt will kick in shortly thereafter, and you’ll be begging for Monday morning to arrive so you can start the madness all over again. Read more…