Peer into the locker of most professional athletes, and you’ll find a plethora of legal powders and pills promising larger muscles, speedier recovery and increased energy.  Some of these magic elixirs even claim to improve reaction time and memory.  Supplement companies make equally empty suggestions to the general public that may be even more egregious. The supplement industry is estimated at a $30 billion per year. Because of their popularity in athletic circles, I’m asked which of these products I recommend more than any other question. My advice, as you might have come to expect, is to skip the… One of the best catalysts to jump start your 2014 healthy living program is removing soda from your daily eating plan. Whether your goal is to lower body fat, improve vitality or just generally be healthier, replacing the sugary, carbonated artificially flavored beverages with water will drastically increase your chance for success. Everyone knows that soda has a lot of sugar. If you’re drinking three 12-oz cans a day, you’re consuming 116 grams of refined sugar with absolutely no nutritional value. That’s the same amount of sugar found in 7 cups of blueberries. The blueberries would also provide 100%… Major league baseball training rooms are a popular spot for guys looking to get their daily drug fix. The drug of choice? Advil. Over the course of 162 games, plus spring training, plus the post season, an inflamed muscle here and there is impossible to avoid. I have clear recollections of taking 12 Advil a day for weeks at a time. Hundreds of throws, swings of the bat, face first slams into dirt, full speed collisions with the wall – my body hurt so badly that I felt I had no choice. A couple of ibuprofen would take the… Last year, I began weight training with my two sons. My family often makes friendly wagers on football games. In this case, I had a bet with my older son, Chase, about Peyton Manning’s performance with the Denver Broncos when he returned from neck surgery. My terms were simple. For two months, Chase would accompany me to my weight lifting sessions. I won the bet. Three times a week, Chase and I (along with my younger son, who came along for moral support) awoke at the crack of dawn and worked on the major power lifts. Chase was 13… I’m asked often about the health benefits and effectiveness of energy drinks. I can gracefully answer the first part of the question. The nutrition label on a Rockstar or Monster can tells me all I need to know – stay far, far away. The effectiveness part is a little trickier because once I read how unhealthy these beverages are, I chose not to drink them. Because I have not tried the energy drinks on the market, I can’t speak to whether or not they “work”. I do have one energy enhancer – black coffee. I’ll refrain from enumerating every… I remember the time in my life I was most obsessed with exercise. At 20 years old, home in Los Angeles for the baseball off season, I was at the peak of my training. It was January and I always started to feel like I wasn’t prepared for the upcoming season at precisely this time. I lifted weights in the morning, then headed to the field to throw, take swings and run in the afternoon. I pushed myself to the point of exhaustion, usually crashing in the early evening. My brain hadn’t developed as much as my body; I… Every January, folks around the world commit to better health. Unfortunately, many gravitate towards fad diets and cleanses as their jumping off point.  These diets make trendy claims about quick weight loss and detoxification. Those enticing promises are just enough bait to entice people to swallow the hook. For this new year, I suggest a different, fresh tactic. Start simply by choosing real, whole foods and drink tons of clean water. “Whole” means food that has been processed or refined as little as possible (if at all) and is free from additives and other artificial substances. Taking this affirmative…