I’ll make this short & sweet. My new website has been up for about a week, but I want to do a formal post for those on my blog’s RSS feed who might not have gotten the memo otherwise. Dig through the pages (find the hidden LOL in the bottom navigation bar), sub to AARR if you’ve been thinking about it but needed a direct nudge from Big Brother, enjoy the articles, check out my speaking schedule, etc., here’s the site – BOOM: https://alanaragon.com
How to beat health & fitness quacks at their own game: A guide for science-based practitioners.
Guest Banger by Bryan Krahn
Editor’s note: The following article by my friend & colleague Bryan Krahn originally appeared in the March 2015 issue of my research review (AARR). I rarely air-out AARR pieces for public consumption. I’ve done it a total of 4 times since 2008. However, I feel that this article is of particular importance, especially in the current climate where slick pseudoscience and flat-out guru insanity seem to be at an all-time high. Ready or not, I reserve the right to use Bryan as a weapon of mass destruction in this dogfight. 🙂 read more…
This is Not a Tutorial
Just to be clear, this isn’t a tutorial on how to get published in the annals of the Ivory Tower. This is my personal case study, and you should know that I never intended to make it into the peer-reviewed literature. No such goals or aspirations were on my career bucket list. I was happy to be able to read others’ work and report on it; this is just something I really enjoy. For me, writing & teaching was the natural progression after having been in the training & counseling trenches with live human clients full-time from 1992 to 2010. As fate would have it, I ended up being one of the folks that get cited by others who conduct and review scientific research. Let’s take a walk through the steps that led me to stumble into PubMed. read more…
Fun…..but Fricking NUTS!
My second consecutive year presenting at the NSCA Personal Trainers Conference was one of the most rewarding, and definitely the most hectic speaking experience I’ve ever had. The way it works is that speakers do their presentation twice throughout the weekend so the audience has a greater chance of not missing them. As fate would have it, I was the only speaker in the lineup doing two presentations: a Paleo diet dissection & a carbohydrate debate. This means that I presented four times — and all four presentations were scheduled on one day (Friday). If the NSCA had a surprise hazing for me in mind, they definitely succeeded. read more…
The following interview is with Petter Fagerberg, a nutrition major at the University of Gothenberg, Sweden. I’m honored that he chose me as the subject of his assignment in a course on leadership. For those who are en route, or are already in a position of leadership, this is for you. read more…
Something’s wrong with this picture.
The pics on the left are straight off of the side banners on Facebook, leading to a website that promises to transform your physique into those of the Spartans in the movie 300 — in 4 weeks. All you have to do is buy their supplements. It’s hilarious how the heads of Will Ferrell and Keanu Reeves were superimposed on random, enhanced bodybuilders to bait people into the site. At the right is fitness marketer Mike Chang, photo-morphed into a mass-monster. read more…
This past weekend, I spoke at the annual NSCA Personal Trainer’s Conference. Not only did I have a blast of a good time, it was such sweet revenge. In contrast to several years ago when clinching a speaking spot at a national conference was a long shot requiring a ton of pavement pounding & red tape, I was now invited to speak at a conference held by the industry’s top organization. Here’s a photo montage made possible by my dear wife, who wanted to capture every dirty detail of this trip. read more…
It’s been more than a decade since I graduated from college, but the memories are vivid and most of them are good. I was recently contacted for an interview with Anoop Balachandran, coordinator of the Health & Fitness Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. This interview will appear in the Fitness Center’s newsletter. By the way, Anoop maintains one of the few blogs out there with useful, research-based information (exercisebiology.com). The questions I answered were a pleasant diversion from the ones I typically get from the more advanced/technically inclined audience. While the latter are also important, they only apply to the minority of the population. In the following exchange, more of a general college student audience is addressed. Without further ado…. read more…
The Price of Internet Fame
I’m not too modest to admit that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the amount of online celebrity I’ve experienced – however minor it may be in the large scheme. Here’s some of the fine handiwork of the people on the forums (and other social media) who make my job something I truly enjoy. read more…
Is the fitness industry unique?
The fitness industry appears to be unique in its ability to facilitate career success despite a lack of what I call paper credentials (letters after your name). Before I go on with this, it might be a good idea to set some operational definitions for fitness industry & career success. The latter term is highly subjective, so let’s just define it as the ability to make a decent living. I’m not necessarily talking about getting filthy-rich, but at least being able to comfortably cover your independent living expenses without needing a night-job where dollar bills are waved at you. read more…
