He looks a lot like my little brother, so I hesitate to admit the rather awkward reality that yes, Michael Phelps, while strange looking, is kinda hot. See more photos… (more…)

as featured on Reuters

by Sam Page

I recently divulged my six signs of a lazy trainer. I’ve been spending a lot of time lately at a local gym that isn’t my own, and observing some poor habits by other peers in my field. Here are six more ways to tell if your trainer is kinda lame:

Lazy trainers make cell phone calls and text during your workout. I’ll take an urgent call, but in general I leave my cell phone in my office while I’m working with a client and encourage them to do the same. A good trainer is laser-focused on watching your form and jumping in with a little assistance when your muscles fail. Training requires discipline, and if she’s texting or talking to other clients on the phone, she’s more worried about her social life than your safety.

Can you imagine if Michael Phelps‘ coach asked him to rearrange his swimming practice around the coach’s personal social calendar? Lazy trainers re-arrange their client’s workouts around their own convenience. If anything, training is most definitely a service profession, and the lazy trainer forgets that the client is also a customer. I ask my trainers to put the client’s hour ahead of their own desire to work a regular schedule. If your trainer keeps shifting your appointment on you, gently remind him/her how important it is for you to have consistency in your training and ask for a set schedule.

Lazy trainers don’t demonstrate exercises and won’t lift a finger to assist your set. Today I heard the following actual conversation between a trainer and his client:

TRAINER (sneezing) “Hey, good to see you.”

CLIENT: “Same here. Are you okay?”

TRAINER: “Aww, well I’ve got a real bad sinus infection, and I’ve just been nursing it with lots of Vitamin C,” [drinks from container] “I didn’t get much sleep last night either—up all night with the neighbor’s cats. I guess you’ll be lifting all the weights today, ha ha ha.”

An energetic trainer will work much like a training partner, helping to maneuver weight plates, dumbbells, and set machine resistances for you. If your trainer is pointing and telling you what to lift, maybe you should suggest he do the Hillary instead of training you. A sick trainer should be home in bed. (more…)

by Sam Page

SOMETIMES I THINK IT’S HILARIOUS that I ended up working as a trainer, because if you’d known me during my youth, I was a real chubster, forced into “Husky” uniform pants for school. Even my brother called me “chubby in the butt.” Well, despite my “husk,” I made a valiant attempt at sports. 

Grade 2 — Little League. I was six, and all the boys in class were doing it, so of course I thought I should too. Mom took me to Gart Brothers sporting goods store (where years later, at age 13, I shoplifted a red Speedo), and I picked out my bat—a Louisville Slugger. Truth be told, the uniform was the only reason I wanted to play. And I never did—play that is. Never went to a practice, never went to a game — I just liked having the catcher’s mitt and bat. 

Grade 3 — Soccer. This time, I actually went to practice. I had the cool uniform—the onionskin, slippery soccer shorts, the cleats, the whole nine yards. My big complaint with this sport (and all sports) is the coaches never taught me how to actually play. I needed BASICS, like: “Okay everybody. You’re wearing RED and they’re wearing BLACK. Now, your job is to annihilate anyone wearing black.” THAT I understand. But instead they made us do “drills.”  To confuse matters, one of the drills involved dribbling—(isn’t that a basketball term?). I never excelled at soccer and my participation was probably driven more by my stepdad’s desire to see me do anything that would remotely make me like the average Utah boy and not so obviously queer.  (more…)

as featured on Livestrong

I know I’m supposed to consume protein during the day, and following a workout. My question is: how much protein is optimal before the body begins to store it as fat? Someone told me to consume up to 50 grams of protein after a workout, but others say that the body can only digest about 28 grams at a time. Who’s right? -Michael

Actual assimilation of protein is from 18-25 grams, depending on your age, sex, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and physical condition. During training camp for the Olympics, they actually time protein delivery for each athlete and check assimilation rates. For the “average” person, it’s 18-25 grams every 1.5-3 hours. You might be able to take in a little more than this, because there is never 100% assimilation of the protein consumed due to heat and chemical processes in the body as well as the combination of nutrients. -Sam Page

It’s been a month since I stopped taking the antidepressant drug Lexapro, and I promised to update you. I wanted to wait 30 days from the date of my original “phase out” to get a sense of my baseline mood.

All in all, I feel pretty happy. Admittedly, I’m a little more easily agitated, but I am also more joyfully moved and touched by little things too. I guess with the unexpected lows come also the unexpected highs, but I’m learning to ride the wave of this new, broader spectrum of emotions. Kind of like surfing.

And the sex (more…)

I’M PHASING OFF an antidepressant that I’ve been taking since 2003. During the past several weeks, I’ve been working closely with my doctor and psychologist to create a successful exit strategy.

My personal reasons for wanting to discontinue the use of the antidepressant (Lexapro) are many, the biggest one being my desire to reclaim a greater breadth of emotional frequency in my life. I started using Lexapro in 2003 shortly after learning I was HIV-positive, which seemed to make sense for all the things I was going through at the time. I used it on and off, mostly on, for the next five years.

One of the things I’ve found while being treated with Lexapro is that my “range” of emotions has been “compacted” — like the center part of the histogram in the picture. I don’t experience the great “highs” (or lows) of life like I remember. Not that life is without happiness or struggles — but the colors of life seem a little less varied.

I am married to the man of my dreams, run a business, and my immune system is working better than ever, I have great supporting and loving friends and family, and two great dogs. I am aware of my spirituality and I have a great peace of mind. Everything is fine. I am ready to feel the full spectrum of my life again.

Stopping the use of psycho-active medications is serious business. If you’re taking antidepressants, do not substitute my plan for medical advice from your doctor. That said, here is my “exit strategy” for stopping the use of Lexapro:

Work with a doctor. Don’t stop taking medication without a doctor’s supervision.

Tapering. No, not the sexual kind that Olympic athletes experience. The best way to avoid the side effects of antidepressants is to slowly wean yourself off. I cut my 20MG dose of Lexapro first to 10MG for a few weeks, then to 5MG for a couple weeks, then to 2.5MG for a couple weeks. The final slash to 2.5 was optional, but I decided to do it just for peace of mind.

Therapy. Uncovering what caused my depression in the first place is turning out to be an invaluable part of getting off the medication forever. I’m working with a clinical psychologist who practices cognitive behavioral therapy. I’m also talking through some my issues informally with a spirit-based life coach.

Timing is Everything. My partner, my friends, my doctor, and my therapist all agreed that now seems to be a good time to do this. Most of the external factors that were pressing me at other times in my life are now more or less at bay.

Work Out. As a trainer, I know first hand that exercise is the best antidepressant that money just can’t buy. My doctor agrees: “Increasing your cardio will release powerful endorphins. It’s like natural morphine,” he said. He also says that it will improve my sex drive. Ya-hoo!!!

Supplements & Diet. I eat a pretty balanced diet, but I’ve increased my Omega 3 fatty acids from 900mg to 1800 mg per day during the “phase off” (these fatty acids have been linked to improved brain function, and maintain healthy heart and vascular function). I’m also taking 50mg of vitamin B6 daily.

Get centered. More meditation, more guided imagery, more visualization. I’ll spend some time working consciously to become more unconscious — to be “in flow.”