MY PHILOSOPHY IN LIFE

The answer depends a lot on your goal too. Everyone's goal matters a lot, it depends on your needs and what you want. If you just want to maintain your health or your muscles, or maybe you want to develop them more. Or, maybe you are a professional athlete, or maybe all that you want is just to be in great shape, look good and be better physically and mentally, improving your health overall. We all have different goals, so, we have different needs. 

In the following lines, I will address only those who are not professional athletes or bodybuilders. I address those who are concerned about their wellbeing, about their physique and their health. People who always want to be better than yesterday, who always want to improve themselves, people who want to be in extremely good shape and look good in the mirror, at the same time, but they don't always have enough time for it. Folks, this is your shortcut! 

We all know that being more active and working out has great benefits for us. Many large studies made by scientists proved with strong evidence, that short workouts of 1-5-10 minutes increase our endurance, strengthen our joint movements, prevents us to became overweight, increase insulin resistance, reduces the risks of diabetes, cancer, heart diseases and improve our health, extending our life span. So, more benefits with less effort! All we have to do is just start doing it, for as little as 5-10 minutes 3-4 times per week, regularly at least 3 times. As I always say, push that red button!

At the beginning, you don’t have to start at a high intensity, start slowly, at your own pace, where you feel comfortable. Take a break whenever you feel like it, build up your intensity in time until you become more confident and when you master the exercises better. Do not rush to jump straight into complicated exercises that you do not master correctly yet. So, at the beginning, you can start with just 1-2 minutes, 3 times a week. You will notice the difference right away, if you didn’t work out in the past 2-3 months, or more. Afterwards, you will feel very fast, much stronger physically as well as mentally, and you will also feel a rapid boost in your whole energy level. Believe me, with just those few minutes, done regularly, it is a noticeable impact! You’ll see fast results!

Furthermore, besides the obvious benefits of stress relief, staying in shape and being healthy, these kinds of short but intense workouts increase the blood flow and the oxygen level wherever it’s needed in your body. 

Also, increases human growth hormone, which typically decreases with age and therefore the workout decreases aging processes, helps strengthen your bones and cartilages, in the same time enhancing your muscle strength. 

Many scientists from Japan and Australia say that it is enough to work out for even 30 seconds 3 times a week, for a month, to significantly improve your physical and mental shape, to develop your muscles, to increase your strength and blood circulation. All after just one month of a short workout, so you have no excuse now!

But I dare to suggest, even though I am not a scientist, that I think you should put in at least just a few 5-10 extra minutes 3-4 days per week to produce really stronger and efficient results. You can do it with just a little willpower for your overall health and wellbeing. More benefits with less effort! 

Our muscles like to be stimulated frequently, in order for us to be strong and healthy, therefore, let’s help them just a little bit! Because nobody else is going to do it for us!

So, basically, to answer the title question, I think, as I have shown to you and it is also proved by prestigious scientists, that frequency of a workout is much more important than the duration of it for all those meaningful benefits I just mentioned above. 

The bottom line is, if you are not a professional athlete, or bodybuilder, if you don't focus on increasing significant your muscles size or running a marathon or you don’t have any specific health issues and all you want is just be in good shape, look good, be healthier physically and mentally, but you don't always have enough time for it, these kinds of short workouts are especially for you! 

So, in just a few minutes, but done regularly, you will totally boost your energy level, your overall health and you will see an unbelievable impact on your whole wellbeing!

In just a few minutes after those short and easy workouts (you can also try some of my short and easy but also very efficient workouts, especially the elaborated “Fit-Booster”) you will feel a rapid and massive change in your whole body. You may feel a bit exhausted if you haven't been training lately, but you will definitively have a pumped up feeling with a positive, energizing outlook at life. So, get in shape with simplicity, in less time, but more efficient!

You’ve seen the flight attendant advertisement on the airplane that “you should put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others or the person sitting next to you”. 
So, I think, people who can not help themselves in the first place, can’t help others! If they don’t prioritize themselves, if they don’t have compassion for themselves and they are not able to give themselves emotional or/and material help, how will they help you achieve one or all of these goals? 


I am not a psychologist or any kind of guru. I just think people before they try to give advice, or try to help others in some domains, first they need to prove themselves that they are good (they have knowledge, experience and success) in that particular domain; it doesn’t matter in what kind of field that is, personal or professional or both. I mean, not like a permanent urge to prove themselves to anybody. But, just to prove themselves in an authentic, real way, with real success in their personal and/or professional field. I think that’s not insecurity! That’s not that they seek the need for validation for social acceptance. I think there is something else. That’s a sense of worth! That’s a validation in order to be completely trusted that you definitely know your field very well, that you know what you are talking about. 


I also think people, generally speaking, our family members, friends, clients deserve to know that, when they ask someone for advice or expertise! So, they can trust that person's advice and trust them that they will help them out, because they have already proved that they can do that for themselves too. 
Yes, I know that saying “You have nothing to prove to anyone else!” and I completely agree with this statement! I can go my whole life without proving myself to anybody, because I don’t really care what people think of me, generally speaking. But I also think, it is a bit like in our lives sometimes, you have to prove that you know what you are doing, or/and that you care for someone, or/and that you love certain people, you have to prove it, because they deserve to know that it makes them feel good and more secure.


Even when you choose your boyfriend or your girlfriend, or your business partner and so on, you choose the one who proves himself to you that deserves your trust. That’s why we trust our life partner and/or just a few certain people, and/or our business partners, because they proved to us, that they care about us, they love us or/and they have the knowledge to help us in their domain. So, they deserve our trust and we know that they are capable of helping us when we need that. 
How can you trust your boyfriend or girlfriend if he/she doesn’t help himself/herself? If they do nothing for themselves, they have no ambitions, no discipline, no goals, if they don’t work on themselves and can’t improve their lives? So, if they can notprove it to themselves, how can they help you become a better person, and improve yourself, improve your life? 


How can you trust your business partners if their previous businesses went bad or even bankrupt; they didn’t prove themselves, so, can you trust their advice or would you invest your hard earn money with them?
I think it is very important to make the right decisions, to make the right choice, with a rational mind based on the right judgment, in order for you to have better results.
We like certain coaches/trainers with the best results, to train our favorite team. We made this decision to choose them because they’ve proven with their previous teams that they are capable of winning certain championships in the past. That their training methods and skills have already proved many times! There’s nothing insecure about that or a need for social acceptance. It is pure capability! They prove to themselves and to others that they did it and that they can do that many times over! Because they are capable of doing so. They proved that clearly, so that's why we can trust them and that’s why they stand out from the crowd. They proved that they have good knowledge, good methods, good experience, good skills and that they can apply it successfully with others. That’s what I mean, when I say that people sometimes need to prove themselves.


So, in conclusion, don't choose a trainer who doesn't prove himself as a good trainer; don’t choose from the metro station or social media advertising. It doesn't mean that if he has a good marketing knows what he is doing or he has enough knowledge or enough experience in his domain. You should ask around your friends and/or people who work out with him/her about his/her experience. Make sure that he/she has at least a couple of years of experience in the sports, or/and fitness industry, meaning that they have already proved their knowledge to others, so they have the skills and they are capable of helping them, so they can help you as well. 


I don’t believe that “image is everything”. I strongly believe in someone with substance, not in his/her appearance! Also, don't get fooled by the trainer looks, he may know a few things about working out, but he does not have sufficient experience and enough skills to teach you, or he may not know how to adapt, to react, to different body type, or how to avoid certain injuries, or what is the correct way of doing certain exercise, the right movement, or how to pick up the right exercises, or the right order of exercise and so on. You will learn all of these thingsand accumulate the knowledge in many years by working with different body types. 


Also, just because a guy looks extremely fit doesn’t necessarily mean that he also has enough experience and enough skills to teach you. A trainer with 10-20 years of experience in the field, with pro athletes, but has a little belly, or walking shuffling because of an old sports injury doesn’t mean he doesn’t knowabout sports, or doesn’t have the skills, or doesn’t know how to teach you. I am pretty sure that he knows what and how to do it, sometimes better than some guy with perfect abs, who worked for a few months just to look good, to create a good impression on presumptive customers. Look at all these trainers from football, soccer, boxing and so on, who are teaching professional athletes for 20-30-40 years or more and most of them don’t have flat abs. That doesn’t mean that if he drinks a couple of beers and eats a burger, after teaching a long game, these trainers know less than a guy who weights his food and drinks just water. Of course, some of them can be very fit and also can have a lot of years of experience behind them and unbelievable skills, so they are incredibly good trainers. But just be aware and have the patience to find a really good trainer who has enough knowledge and experience to really help you and who can adapt to your personality.


I chose my trainer, because he proved that he can train a lot of people that became champions and he was a big-time champion himself. Because he had multiple skills, an outstanding knowledge of sports and the fighting game, plus more than 30 years of hard-earning experience in this field. So, he was extremely capable of helping me to learn and progress even though he was smoking and drinking (I am not advocating it) and he wasn’t in shape; he had a little bit of a belly. Again, for me, image is not everything; substance and proved capability always prevail in my book.
The important thing is to be credible! So, do not judge after appearances or advertising!


It is not easy to find the right trainer, but I am pretty sure that there are lots of credible, extremely capable trainers who want to share their knowledge, their skills and their experience and pass them on to you. Just give yourself some time!

Scientists have proved that digestive imbalance can negatively affect our health and our mood. There are many variable factors that can negatively influence this; sleep quality, what we eat, the ingredients we use, excess of alcohol consumption, anxiety and lack of exercise-inactivity. But, all have in common, one huge factor, which is the neurotransmitter serotonin. Those scientists in addition proved that serotonin regulates our digestion, makes us happy and optimistic, helps our sex drive, our memory and our emotional stability. 

The scientists furthermore prove that, on the other hand, serotonin deficiency causes exactly the opposite effect. Interesting fact, that in November of 2022, U.K. scientists found new evidence that serotonin deficiency may cause depression.

Back in the days when I was still fighting, I was surprised to learn from my doctors and nutritionists, that this big contributor of joy and responsible for my good mood is only 10% produced and stored in the brain, and the remaining 90% in the gastrointestinal tract. It’s unbelievable-I was thinking at that time. I remember that I was so shocked, that after hours of discussions on this topic, I started reading most of the specialized books on nutrition. I am a curious but also meticulous type of guy, so I tried to acquire as much knowledge as possible in this field.

My biggest opponent most of the time was the scale, as I like to mention on every occasion, because it was constantly a big challenge that I had to overcome for almost every fight during my boxing career. So, it made a lot of sense for me to learn how to eat smartly. I always struggle to maintain the same weight permanently, in order to make my weight division. I had to watch what I was eating all the time, like most fighters do. Therefore, I started to read a lot about nutrition to make my life easier and to know my body and its reactions depending on what kind of foods I consume. 

I strongly believe that in order to progress as individuals, to help ourselves, but also to help others with our knowledge, I believe that our personal education must continue in other fields as well. For this reason, I was, am and will always be an autodidact and I will always invest time and money in education, especially if many of them are hobbies. As in my case, I am interested in everything related to our body, nutrition, our health and overall our wellbeing.

Also, I think that since the internet was invented, if we choose our sources very carefully and thoroughly checked, we can have super easy access to all the subjects that we are passionate about. After I studied and then put into practice, everything I learned, positive results were seen throughout my entire life, including my boxing career and even later, after I hung up the gloves, as a trainer. 

I just want to emphasize that these studies made by scientists, most of it, I tested and verified them for myself first. So, only then, after they were tested, did I pass them on to my students. Now, everything I have learned and experienced, I'm passing it on to you here.

So, now let's get back to the subject. Like I said before in my previous articles about another fact also demonstrated by scientific researchers with clear evidence, is that carbs spike insulin and therefore, the brain produces serotonin. As a result, serotonin makes us happy and more optimistic, helps us sleeping better, helps our memory, increases our sex drive, and our whole emotional stability. So, I guess, we really need this badly! For those reasons, unless we have a particular medical situation, I think we should never completely eliminate carbs from our diet.

I have been talking in others articles here, about how often I eat foods that contain carbs, like apples, bananas and I drink green or chamomile tea. I have to say that numerous studies find that all of those and many more I will mention here, boost serotonin levels. So, I guess, that's why I'm always in a good and optimistic mood, besides the fact that they give me more energy and charge my batteries when they're low.

Research has proved that in order to release and/or balance the serotonin levels, we should eat, besides apples and bananas, also eat canned tuna, eggs, spinach, a bit of chocolate and I love eating it, a few nuts, some cheese and turkey or chicken. Of course, all in small portions depending on the metabolism, weight, state of health of each of us and also depends on everyone's goal. 

Besides all that, in order to have a healthy gut balance and increase serotonin, we should also manage stress by trying some yoga, getting enough sleep, avoiding drinking alcohol in excess, spending more time outside, in sunlight, especially at early hours and, of course, by being more active, so exercising more. 

After a long and intense hard training, at the end of it, most of the time, I get an euphoric feeling of happiness and I am much happier and more optimistic about life. So, this after-workout feeling is not all just from dopamine and endorphins, it is also from serotonin. All things considered, apart from having a higher level of serotonin, we will build better feelings of self-esteem, become more confident, much happier and, overall, much more emotionally stable.

By the way, talking about emotional stability and happiness. I have a long-standing rule, that if anything makes me stressed out, I take a break, and right on the spot, at that particular moment, in that room, or anywhere, in another room, outside, in the park, I take a 40-50 second break, to do 10 jumping jacks, 10 push ups, 10 squats and at the end of it, I eat a banana or grab an apple and smile! These few seconds instantly change my vision and cool me down. It immediately disconnects me from the situation in question, relaxes me and creates a new optimistic perspective, it's amazing!

But I'm glad that I only have to apply this rule very rarely, maybe once a year or twice at most, because I'm very well balanced in absolutely any situation. Many years of performance sports, especially the fighting game, gave me this well-controlled discipline and balance. But it works instantly! Believe me, it is definitely working every single time! 

So, next time, when you are stressed out or sad, try to apply my 3x10 rule, see if it is working for you. I bet it does!

I am an extrovert, very sociable and outgoing type of guy-people person. I love to hang out with my friends on a daily basis. But sometimes, I need space, alone time, I like to get in my own head and meditate on different things. It’s more like a spiritual time for me. Especially when I am working out, I enjoy training by myself, without any external interruptions. Personally, I am not comfortable when people are breaching my privacy. There is no doubt that is very good to work out with a partner or with a trainer and enjoy the benefits of that. 

A trainer can teach you the proper form of exercises, the proper techniques, the most effective workout you need, to make a plan of training program that suits you and more other things about fitness and a healthy lifestyle. A partner can challenge you, encourage you and can make you feel more motivated, gives you a boost. But I am motivated enough to work out. I love it, I know what to do and I have been doing this since I was 13 years old. I am concentrating much better on myself in training and I like to be alone with my thoughts. 

So, it's all about preference and choice! Like all things in life! As long as you are motivated enough and never give up pursuing your goal, you can do whatever you want. Trust me, because I did it myself. You should never give up! You always have to see all the alternatives life gives you, that come in your way and all the possibilities that exist in this world. To see all the potential life has to offer you, to DREAM BIG AND TAKE CHANCES!

When we are well motivated, we become more successful in hitting our goals, despite all challenges and obstacles that come in our way. 

Goals provide us with the clear objective we desire to achieve and the direction in which we must go and motivations are the reasons behind our goal. Basically, the goal is WHAT we want to do, and motivation is WHY. It’s a smart combination! Motivations sustain our goal and gives us the force and the energy to accomplish the goal, encouraging us to keep going no matter what.

As I always said in many articles, I believe that regular exercises fulfill my entire life, makes me healthier, also, makes me feel alive and happy - which actually, is a legitimate goal for anybody. That’s my motivation and my goal and that’s why I’ve been playing sports since I was 13 years old, and it is still one of my greatest pleasures.  I strongly believe that exercises increase your energy level, boosts your good mood and helps us to overcome pain or any other obstacles much more easier. Also, it makes us see and think everything from a more optimistic perspective, it makes us more confident in making good quick decisions. So, this is a good motivation for a clear and beneficial goal to work out. 

Working out always helped me to be strong mentally, besides the obvious reasons of being fit, and maintaining or/and developing my overall health and wellbeing. Every time I start to overthink, or I am upset, or I have to deal with a difficult situation, my remedy is sport and I fix everything much easier after a good workout. So, I have given you the WHAT and the WHY. Now, it's up to you to decide if you think this is a good goal and if it has a good motivation behind it. It’s your choice if you want to stay the same as before, or if you want to make progress, to be better than yesterday and much healthier tomorrow!

Also, part of my remedy is my thinking strategy, my motivation, to be able to achieve my goal no matter what, despite the obstacles I encounter and the pain I have to go through.

You should really try this!

I had several surgeries to straighten/align my jaw and a massive bone grafting, plus 2 sinus lifts, along with several dental implants. I looked at everything very optimistically and with the same motivation as before a fight when I needed to win no matter what, that was my goal. So, I applied the same thinking strategy in the case of jaw alignment surgery. Looking ahead and thinking that finally I will be able to chew normally and look better. Which means that I will win my health. The reward of overcoming adversity, which makes me feel stronger. So, that was my goal. Therefore, I got over the pain and the terrible discomfort, super easily.

I think, like all of us, including you, always believe that your goal is to become healthy, maybe even healthier. To reach this goal, you will have to be patient and maybe sometimes even have some discomforts or even some pains. But think first of all that these shortcomings are only temporary, and secondly, that your ultimate goal is to be healthier. So, you must overcome these small shortcomings for an extremely important goal, the most important of which is your health! I say small shortcomings because, compared to your health, nothing is bigger and more important.

Also, this sports motivation can be applied in many other situations, such as a breakup, or a job transfer, and in many other cases where you can go through difficult times or even more dramatic situations. But, your motivation must always be the same for you, to be well, not perfect, but better, as I always say, better than yesterday. To achieve this extremely important goal, I think you can overcome some temporary shortcomings much more easily.

As in all sports, the goal is to win, to surpass yourself, to overcome obstacles thinking only of the final result. That’s all that matters! Our sacrifice and our pain will pale if we have clear motivation, and after we have reached our goal. 

Very often we have the greatest life lessons and benefits after we first go through a little pain or suffering. The right motivation, along with the right goal, always helps to overcome our pain and any obstacles. 

I think that trying to be better than yesterday, reaching a healthy lifestyle while having fun at the same time and to adapt to new healthy life habits, as well as fitness habits, is the right goal for everyone.

That's all it takes to be fitter, stronger and healthier tomorrow!

 If you have a goal, a dream, if you want to start a business, or to start working out, or stop smoking and so on, don’t wait until tomorrow. That means that you have already lost a day towards your success. Try to get out of your comfort zone and do it today. You will win a day! Try to forget about yesterday's regrets or to worry about tomorrow and stay focused on today! Take it one day at a time. If you concentrate on today, on the moment, on yourself, you will understand your emotions much better, your thoughts and your actions. Therefore, you will be in a better state of mind and you will be much happier! After you increase your self-awareness, try to do different new things than you normally do and do not be afraid of the outcome. Give it a go! You will know better who you really are! Be true to yourself, believe in yourself and good things will come in your way! When you expand your horizons and get out of your comfort zone, you will progress and you will live a happy life. 

Should I eat carbs? Before or after the workout, or both, or none? Less, more, or not at all? Carbohydrates, or carbs, have been a controversial topic for many years. There are two currents against and in favor of carbs and I think in a way, both are right.

All you have to do is maintain an equilibrium, just simply balance your food intake with moderation, that's all. I never liked extremes or excesses in anything. I always prefer stability and balance. That’s because boxing really taught me when is the moment to hold back and when to go for it, to have emotional stability and equilibrium. So, our behavior towards our diets should be the same, balanced. We should always know when and importantly, why, to hold some ingredients and when to add them. Equilibrium gives me a great peace of mind in every aspect of my life. I think in order to have a happy and healthy life; we also need to balance our diet too.

This, of course, depends on your personal situation, your metabolism, your age and your current state of health. Do you have doubts or concerns? My advice is to consult a doctor and/or a good nutritionist. As I always say, I am neither of them. So, I’ll give you my point of view from my personal experience as a former athlete and from everything I've read/learned over more than 35 years in the field of sports and fitness business. The experience I'm happy to share here with you, with the understanding that you will draw your own conclusions and you will figure it out on your own. All, depending on your personal situation, health condition and your goal.

I know that the low-carb diet has skyrocketed lately, with endorsements from lots of Hollywood celebrities. There is nothing wrong with it. That, only if you really need it and only with medical nutritionist's advice and under their strict supervision. It is really up to you and your strict personal needs. But, I already tested and now I trust, for many years the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, made by nutrition experts.

Call me old school but I like carbs, occasionally and in small doses. Our body, in order to function properly and beneficially for our health, needs carbohydrates, protein and fat, in debatable percentages. Science has shown us, that all three are indispensable, so, no doubt about it. There’s been a debate for several years on this topic. I start by saying that muscles need workout in order to grow. Numerous studies have proven without any doubt that carbs provide us with the fuel and the energy to work out. It is also demonstrably proven that our body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose. Scientists have proved that our muscles and our brain are in great need of this glucose! No doubts here either. If we do not provide this glucose, our body will suffer a lot with serious consequences and a negative impact on our health and well-being. This has also been clearly demonstrated for decades, by all scientists from all over the planet. So, again, no doubt! Our best bet is to pick the right carbs. That's the trick! Now, it is more than clear to us that, if we are in a good health condition and work out often, carbs are not our enemy. Also, apart from all of that, simply, as I always said we should balance our carbs intake. Carbs (along with protein) refill energy stores for our next workout, help muscle recovery and muscle growth. So, we desperately need carbs if we work out regularly, or we are a professional athlete. 

Also, another fact demonstrated by scientific researchers with clear evidence is that carbs spike insulin and therefore, the brain produces serotonin. Therefore, serotonin makes us happy and more optimistic, helps us sleeping better, helps our memory, increases our sex drive, and our whole emotional stability. So, I guess, we really need this badly! For that reason, unless we have a particular medical situation, I think we should never eliminate completely carbs from our diet.

There is more to debate here, about glucose and glycogen, but it is a subject full of controversy and requires much more extensive explanations. That's why I try to explain very simply, for everyone to understand; only the facts proven by science and from the experience lived by me or my colleagues from the gym. 

Carbohydrates have another big advantage because they digest first and also burn first. Then it burns fats and finally protein only when the first two are already consumed. 

If glucose stores are depleted, our body still tries to produce it because the body needs it and demands it. Fat can’t be used to produce glucose (only about 5% of fat, so, is a slow process and lacks efficiency) and your desperate body will then use its protein stores, from your muscles, instead, for this transformation. To avoid this, we should have the right necessary amount of glucose stored, taken from the digestion of carbohydrates. So, we have to eat some carbs for this storage, making sure they are not depleted.

Back in the days when I was fighting, I used to eat an apple before training and a banana after the workout. I still do that. Both contain carbohydrates. So, it is important to pick the right carbs and the right quantity depending on your goal and your health condition. After a very hard, intense workout or after a tough fight, I always eat carbs along with high protein food and I drink lots of water. 

Also, my trainer used to give me a tiny piece of chocolate (approx. 60% fat, 5% protein, 35% carbs) after a hard, intense and long workout, to boost glycogen replenishment.

As I have written in some other articles, in this blog, I just want to emphasize that these studies made by scientists, most of it, I tested and verified them for myself first. I strongly believe that in order to progress as individuals, to help us, but also to help others with our knowledge, I believe that our personal education must continue in other fields as well. For this reason, I was, am and will always be an autodidact and I will always invest time and money in education, especially if many of them are hobbies. As in my case, I am interested in everything related to our body, nutrition, our health and overall our wellbeing. Also, I think that since the internet was invented, if we choose our sources very carefully and thoroughly checked, we can have super easy access to all the subjects that we are passionate about. After I studied and then put into practice, everything I learned, positive results were seen throughout my entire life, including my boxing career and even later, after I hung up the gloves, as a trainer. So, only then, after they were tested, did I pass them on to my students. Now, everything I have learned and experienced, I'm passing it on to you here.

Getting back to the subject, I keep talking about glycogen, so what it is and what is its role in short and simple. Glycogen is the fuel used to produce energy needed for muscular contraction. It’s a glucose polymer. Our body turns carbs into glucose and glycogen. The glycogen is stored more in our muscles and a bit in the liver. Glycogen supplies energy during muscle contraction. But the quantity of glycogen stored depends on your metabolism, workout intensity, length of training and your eating style.

Now, if the body’s supply of carbs is totally depleted, the body will use the protein (you just eat for muscle growth) from your muscle structure, instead of carbohydrates, to provide energy. You definitely don’t want that, especially if your goal is to build muscle size. 

Also, when your muscles lose glycogen, because your body doesn’t have the carbs it needed (or/and you work out too hard for too long) your muscles will shrink. If your glycogen storage is completely gone, it is hard, actually impossible, to elevate your training intensity, increase your muscle size, or even to work out. If your muscle stores enough glycogen, your muscle size, along with your workout intensity increase, so, it's all good!

Carbs also fuel the brain and their absence has a huge impact on your mood. That’s why I enjoy eating carbs! I like being in a good mood and with lots of energy. So, to make sure I just keep it going in this spirit, sometimes, I also eat a small chocolate for a glycogen boost. I always eat everything only in small doses: whole grain pasta, eggplants, apples and bananas are among my favorites. 

Besides carbs, you need also protein in order to build, maintain and repair your muscle fibers used during a high intensity, hard, long workout. So, I eat two eggs and/or small portion of fatty fish, or grilled chicken, or turkey breast. 

I believe that a diet too high in protein is unhealthy and lots of researchers confirm that, saying that it can affect your liver and your kidneys negatively. Those scientists also proved that your food intake shouldn’t consist of more than 35% percent of protein in one day, because you increase chances of developing cancer, heart disease or diabetes. 

Basically, like everything else in life, you need balance. Carbs provide energy and protein provide muscle growth, so you need them both. Also, if your diet is too high in protein and too low on carbs, your muscles will lose glycogen and shrink, as I already explained. Just keep everything in check, by keeping the balance perfectly adapted to your eating style and nutritional needs.

So, I strongly believe that in order to enhance our performance in any sports activity (if we don’t have any health issues) we should eat more carbs. It helps our endurance-maintaining the blood sugar level up during and after an intense, long, hard workout. 

If you work out for less than an hour, like I do sometimes, or without using any hard and high intensity exercises; or if you want to lose weight, as it often happened to me struggling to maintain my weight division, before the official weigh in, you should definitely eat fewer carbs. 

Simply, just pick only the right carbs from fruits and vegetables, but in small quantities. As I always say, even if you want to lose weight or not, you should always eat less and exercise more-burn more than you eat. Also, be more active and exercise. Really simple! It’s no big deal, just common sense.

Sometimes, we feel that we are tired and bored of our too-long workouts or repetitive exercises. 

Or, we are afraid that we don’t have all the ability to do it on a particular day. 

Or we think that we don’t have enough time to do it, so we keep postponing it. 

Or that we are strong enough, so we are looking for a short cut. So, we are losing interest. We've all felt it. It is normal. 

Our motivation can be low from time to time and difficult to maintain. You are not the only one. I felt this too and it’s pretty common. Even professional athletes feel that way very often.

If we feel that our daily routine is the same, repetitive, and predictable with no surprises, then, boredom will be born. In everything we do. In our training or in our relationships as well.But, we can beat this very easily with surprises. Surprising our body, our muscles, and talking about relationships, our partner. So, we can vary our exercises, or, in the case of relationships, vary the schedule with our partner. Many times, we take our bodies—our health—for granted, and so is our partner in the relationship. 

Our partnership, as well as our body, needs awareness, care, and protection that we have to look after. When we feel comfortable, we tend to put our lives on autopilot, following the same routine, which eventually becomes boring. Believe me, I went through this too, and it's not fun at all, it really affects your mood and your whole wellbeing. If we don't get out of this harmful routine, we risk weakening our muscles, our bodies, our health, and our partnership as well.

So, we definitely have to change that, spice it up, and revamp it. We need to boost our health and our relationships too. Sometimes, we need to shake up our workout routine and our schedule from our partnership. In our relationship, we can do that simply through our hobbies, our passions-by finding (or restarting) common interests that we enjoy with our partner, like going out at new restaurants and coffee shops, or to new trips and destinations, and so on.

In sports, it is almost the same. We have to try new exercises and a workout plan that we enjoy that is not too long or too exhausting, and which will not make us totally unhappy. We should try to choose shorter but efficient workouts that we can easily fit into our schedule. We should also try to aim for short-term goals! We should add a few challenging exercises or a new workout routine that will make us feel good and which makes us feel that it really works for our specific desired muscle, and therefore adapts better for our type of body. So, we should choose a better targeted routine for our health and our whole well-being. So, challenge yourself! Surprise your body, your muscles, surprise your mind, surprise yourself! You will see unbelievable gains in your fitness routine, and you will feel much happier working out, and it will change your mood and give you a new zest for life.

It’s crucial for us, sometimes, to change our boring routine, and, therefore, to boost our entire well-being with beneficial, positive effects on multiple levels, both physical and mental.

So, you will never have to worry that you are not in good shape or in your desired relationship.

We all know that in anything we do, we need to be efficient. In our family, in our business, when we work out basically everything into the day and in our entire life, we need to be efficient. Nobody wants to be inefficient. 

So, in order to be efficient, we need to focus on our goals and be mentally prepared for all the challenges that come in our way. But, to be able to accomplish something, you need to be well rested, relaxed and optimistic, before we get ready to approach our targets. We must be consistent and have discipline to achieve our goals. Now, we have all these, but we need time to do it. Of course, we wanted it as soon as possible. We all wanted fast results in less time, so we wanted that efficiency. 

That’s why I created a simple, easy to follow but highly effective unique workout. Nowadays, we don’t have enough time. We all want everything to be done with maximum efficiency in less time. So, I developed-a now proven successful-a very short and efficient combination of an intense boxing routine with old-school classic exercises based on natural movements. A mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise with no need for heavy weights or fancy machines. I just tried a different approach for a non-boring way to stay fit faster. I understand that it's difficult to start and/or maintain a goal or to adapt to new healthy life habits as well as fitness habits.

My goal is to show that you can do it easily! Just by keeping it simple, in short time, like brushing your teeth, so that it becomes a part of who you are and part of your lifestyle without sacrificing your pleasures. It is a formula used by professional athletes adapted by me in a safer way, minimizing the risk of injury, for non-professional people of any gender or age. I really tried to have lots of complex compound movements, focusing on covering all muscular groups with more emphasis on being dynamic. So, after more than 35 years of hard earning experience in the boxing and fitness industry, I elaborated and designed the entire workout in a certain order, focusing on the maximum efficiency so that you never have to worry that you are not in a good shape.

Furthermore, besides the obvious benefits of stress relief, staying in shape and being healthy, these kinds of short but intense workouts increase the blood flow and the oxygen level wherever it’s needed in your body. 

Also, increases human growth hormone, which decreases with age and therefore decreases aging processes, helps strengthen your bones and cartilages, in the same time enhancing your muscle strength. Research suggests that this kind of HIIT training, increases testosterone levels, will improve your immune system, detox your blood, stimulates your concentration, boosts your memory and raises your energy level, including male virility, because it stimulates nitric oxide production. I believe and it is proven by scientists that if you reduce the rest periods between exercises, or even no resting, you burn more calories much faster.

Back in the days when I was fighting, my trainer used to make me rest just 30 seconds, instead of 1 minute, between rounds. It made a huge difference! Makes your training much harder, more intense, builds more stamina and activates more muscle fiber. Also, I try to concentrate on increasing the range of motions in a more natural way, so you can be much more effective easily. While doing so, I was happy to notice that the body would continue to burn calories for almost 24 hours. It is similar to a car engine which remains warm after you turn it off. This effect is called EPOC, which means excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or simply after burn. Studies by scientists have this phenomenon proved that after burn can last up to 70 hours. 

This kind of specific intense and progressive training, helped me maintain a certain weight permanently, in order to make my weight division. It kept me in great shape while I was fighting and even now, it’s a flexibility maintenance routine. Also, I wanted to be able to do these short workouts anywhere in the living room, on the beach, in the hotel room or in the park. I didn’t invent the wheel. I just didn’t include in my workouts complicated, dangerous exercises, in order to minimize the risk of injuries and maximize the efficiency of the workout.

In just a few minutes after those short easy workouts, especially the “Fit-Booster” you will feel a rapid and massive change in your whole body. You will feel exhausted and pumped with a positive, energizing outlook at life. 

Staying in shape, developing muscle tone, reducing body fat, looking fit and being healthy are achievable goals now. Just push the red button! Turn your dreams into reality and get out of your comfort zone. So, get in shape with simplicity, in less time, but more efficient!

The other day, I was watching the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and seeing all these athletes in great shape, and I thought it was the time to share a thought.

The other day, I was watching the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and seeing all these athletes in great shape, and I thought it was the time to share a thought.The other day, I was watching the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and seeing all these athletes in great shape, and I thought it was the time to share a thought.

Sometimes I try to have it both ways. I usually find a way to do that, but I can't do that all the time. For example, after I hung up my gloves, I gained about 18 lbs/8 kg, because I no longer cared about the scale, or the weight class I was fighting in. I ate a lot, without any restrictions. I didn't do much training, but I always planned to start working out again. I could see that I was visibly gaining weight, but I couldn't give up the evenings on the couch, watching sports or movies, chewing on tortilla chips with guacamole and spicy chicken every night. 

Until one day, looking in the mirror, I thought of the saying “you can't have your cake and eat it too”. So, I can’t remain or become fit by lying on the couch for hours eating. I can only pick one. From the next day, I started to work out and, with great sacrifices, I gave up the daily evenings on the couch eating snacks. In a few days already, I felt that I had much more energy, I felt much stronger, I felt much better, mentally and physically. Working out is a stress reliever, and it’s like a life booster. Believe me that you feel it right away. Then, in the next few weeks, I saw that the fat on my belly disappeared almost completely, and I felt a sense of accomplishment. Basically, what you are doing impacts how you feel.

But after a while, after I achieved my goal of getting in shape and getting rid of belly fat, sometimes, just in some evenings, occasionally, I still do this couch eating thing, but rarely. I even eat a burger, but again, not as often as I used to, maybe once a week, or once a month. And the next day, I did a more intense workout. So, after you get in shape and start working out, you can have it both ways. Have it all with just a little discipline, fun and simplicity, in other words, with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment, enjoying your life, like never before.

I want to make my point clear, and I insist on emphasizing, that you can do this, have it both ways, only after you get in shape. So, sometime after you have already started to work out and it is by then part of your daily routine. First, you got to do it just one way: by working out and with no comfort food, sitting on the couch for hours. That’s the first step. Believe me, this “sacrifice” is fully worth it ! You will truly “live your life to the fullest”-a healthy, happy life !

From time to time, we just need a change, even though it is scary to imagine that now. It is uncomfortable today, but it will be a powerful thing tomorrow. To change our way of life, or our house, or our job, our routine, our habits, or our workout, and so on. 

We all have to take a chance on ourselves, and focus on things that matter most to us, like our health, our mind, our body, and overall, our wellbeing. Believe me, you get this so fast and so much easier than you think. I even eat a burger, but again, not as often as I used to, maybe once a week, or once a month. And the next day, I did a more intense workout.

With only 15–40 minutes of a good efficient workout routine a day, or, at least 4–5 times a week. I’ve done it, and I am still doing it for the past 10 years, and I feel really good. You should try it. It’s working, so you should give your body a reset. Once in a while, we all need this. Press that reset button and give yourself a health booster, look ahead and keep going forward. So, never let anything or anybody hold you back. Nothing should stand in your way of living the life you really want to live. 

We all know that change is necessary and beneficial for all of us. 

We also know for sure that eventually we will enjoy it, so, let’s just have the courage to do it happily. Disconnected from the past and looking confident and fearless, to a bright future, where the sky is the limit, our future !

We all like to be in shape, to be fit, to look and feel good, but for various reasons, not all of us do anything about it. We also know the multiple benefits that sports or working out brings to our physical and mental health. I will not list them now, because I have already written about them in countless articles on this blog. So, in the era in which we want, and sometimes we really have, everything fast, we get used to it. But in our life nothing comes easy, and we need to live up to our full potential as a way to really reach our goals.

Also, we all really need to understand that things take time, so we have to have a little patience, and sometimes we have to sacrifice a bit. Thus, in order to be in shape and look good, we got to work out. There is no other way. And there is absolutely nothing else to replace working out with. It is just a little and simple “sacrifice” for your health and wellbeing. It’s all about you, so, you really have to do it, because otherwise, as an old saying goes that “if you don't sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice” 

Very often we feel guilty or a bit ashamed that we are not fit like an athlete, or that we have gained some weight, or friends from our entourage look better. But due to lack of time or motivation, we continue the same pattern, over and over. Without changing anything and postponing that change, that we know we really need it. I think, comparing yourself with others, or even with a professional athlet, is counterproductive, because it is unrealistic, and clearly, a losing game, it’s definitely pointless. We should get inspired strictly by our own needs. Because we are not all the same, we have different jobs, different types of body, different schedules, different hobbies, different needs. So, we should just focus on ourselves and our own needs. If we don't like how we look in the mirror, or we don’t like the way we feel, which is a pretty common thing, we should stop complaining about it or feel pity for ourselves, and we should take some action instead. 

Try to redirect your energy, your attention and your time to the reasons why you need to work out and stay motivated to reach your goal. So, start working out, take the first step towards your goal ! Even if you are too far out of shape, or have never worked out yet, or it’s too long since you did, or in the beginning you can’t perform at your desired level, you will, I promise you ! I've seen this all the time happen to me too. Don't be embarrassed, buckle up and just take that first step. Do just a few minutes, you'll get more, believe me. You'll feel it in your mood, and in your whole body, so, as they say "just do it!" You will be sorry that you didn't start sooner !

If you don’t try to take the first step and work out, later, in a few years, you are going to look in the mirror, and you will be a lot more disappointed than if you did work out, that you could have done it, but you didn’t.

So, you should never give up on yourself ! We find lot of different excuses because it is very hard to get out of our comfort zone. I’ve done that many times. But the goal of staying healthy and starting or restarting working out is easy to achieve. As I always say, and I wrote in many articles here, try to create a routine where you can squeeze in, just a few minutes for your health ! It is not such a big deal if you make it a regular habit, like brushing your teeth, you will stick with it easily.

You will also automatically reset your mind, and you will redirect your mindset towards your goal. 

So, if you take those small easy steps, you don't quit and stay consistent, you are on the right track. In no time, you will prevail ! There is nothing and no one that can keep you from working out, but you !

As I always say, believe in yourself and be optimistic. Life is fun, we should all enjoy it. So, if you want to make progress, stay strong at any age, stay healthy, and you will never have to worry that you are not in good shape. Take that step. You will be better than today or yesterday. Also, your life will be much more enjoyable, every single day.

We are all different people with different personality types, different behavior, different routines, different styles, different habits, from different generations and gender. That makes a non-boring life worth living, fun and so beautiful!

So, trainers, students or/and clients, we are all different, with different ways of teaching, different types of working out and different ways of learning and different needs, but we all together want to find our perfect match.

Some trainers have lots of knowledge but they may be shy and they are not so good at talking face to face and social media are here to help them. 

Some are good talkers and they just love to talk and explain, show the moves and have as much interaction as possible.

Others have all the knowledge but they don’t have the proper skills to communicate and they prefer less interaction, showing just what is strictly necessary.

Some trainers prefer to teach classes, some prefer one on one lessons, some are very good and comfortable at both. Some like the gym atmosphere; others prefer it at home, in the park, others online or a combination of all. All of these types of trainers are very good, but the important fact is, which one suits you best? It depends on what type you are and what kind of personality you are? What kind of learning method suits you better?

I am not going to talk here about the trainers without the proper knowledge, but with a big mouth who just loves to hear themselves talk and eat up your time, putting you on the treadmill or stairmaster for most of your session time, while he is having his speech.

Or the yes-man types, the ones who accommodate someone in their clients disadvantages. The ones who care only about accommodating too much, in excess, despite their clients real needs. He is a lackey/bootlicker type, who makes his clients do their preferred exercise, or out of convenience, recommends that the client use whatever is easily available, such as a stationary bike or a treadmill, not what the client really needs to achieve its goal. So, they are trying too hard to please you to your detriment. 

 Or another type is the trainer with lack of knowledge, who offers positive motivation, but encourages you in the wrong direction with bad consequences for your health.

So, in order to find out which trainer suits you best, which one is your match, it all depends on your needs. If you love the gym atmosphere or feel lonely and need to be surrounded by people who motivate you, then the gym is the right choice. 

If you prefer the commodity and the comfort of your own home and do not want to have any distraction, or to be disturbed, the online workout is the best option for you.

If you like outdoor activities, then the better option is the park or the beach. 

You can use all of those options. One does not exclude the other, it's up to you! All of them are very good options!

Now, what kind of trainer?

A great way to find the right trainer is by asking your family, friends, for some recommendations. Ask only people who care for you and you trust the most, the one who know you best. 

We like certain coaches/trainers with the best results, to train our favorite team. We made this decision to choose them because they’ve proven with their previous teams that they are capable of winning certain championships in the past. That their training methods and skills have already proved many times! They proved that they have good knowledge, methods, experience and skills, that they can apply it successfully with others. 

So, don’t choose your trainer from the metro station or social media advertising. It doesn't mean that if he has good marketing tools knows what he is doing or he has enough knowledge or enough experience.

I don t believe that saying that “image is everything” I strongly believe in someone with substance, not in his/her appearance!  Also, don't get fooled by the trainer looks. He may know a few things about working out, but he does not have sufficient experience and enough skills to teach you. Or he may not know how to adapt, to react, to different type of body. Or how to avoid certain injuries, or what is the correct way of doing certain exercise, the right movement. Or how to pick up the right exercises, or the right order of exercises and so on. All of these skills you will learn and accumulate only in many years by working with different types of bodies.

I walked all over the world through different gyms and I noticed with amazement that too many people, trainers and students or clients didn’t do the proper form for some exercises and also not doing any warm up before doing their workouts and this is extremely serious, dangerous and harmful for our body and our health. So, never do this and never choose a trainer who does not insist on the proper form for specific exercises and doesn’t warm up before any form of physical exercise. I think it’s a huge red flag! I've always been warming up since I was 14 years old when I started boxing and I'm still doing it today. I had a few different trainers while I was fighting and the best ones and all of them were absolutely very strict on the proper and correct form and on warming up every time we started working out. I really want to emphasize these two precursors to the workout, because they are extremely important for your body and for your health. 

I think it is also important to have a trainer who has besides the obvious things such as knowledge, good experience, good methods and skills, to also have  a good motivational style and a good long-term proved efficient strategy and a sustainable routine.

Matching different people with different needs is not easy to accomplish. But I am pretty sure that there are a lot of credible, extremely capable trainers who want to share their knowledge, their skills, their experience and pass them on to you, wherever would that be, in the gym, at your house, or here online. 

Just give yourself some time! You may be able to develop a good long term friendship together, which will benefit both of you and you will both enjoy.

During my boxing career I always had to fight my biggest opponent: the scale. I used to lose 6-8 lbs (approximately 3-4 kg) for almost every fight. So, eating smart and always eating small portions of food, in combination with my specific intense training, helped me to maintain the same weight permanently, in order to make my weight division. I had to watch what I was eating all the time, like most fighters do. Therefore, it kept me in great shape while I was fighting and even now.

The secret to healthy eating is very simple if you use common sense and balance your food intake! I believe that most diets don’t work. Will work for a certain amount of time, and then you fall back into your old pattern.

I think that losing weight mainly depends on your food intake and your fitness level. But of course there are some other things that contribute to maintaining the ideal weight, like your genetics, your age, your metabolism and your current health condition. The bottom line is to balance your food intake daily, eat less, and have an efficient workout in order to live a long, healthy life. Basically, diet is first and work out second, if you want to have realistic expectations of losing any weight.

So, if you gain a few pounds, just eat less for the next few days and work out a little harder than before, doing more cardio or/and strength exercises. Keep it simple, and remember: always use common sense. You don’t need to starve yourself and try to lose weight overnight, it’s impossible. Have realistic goals. 

Eat until you are just 80% full. That’s a rule that the people who lived the longest, the Japanese from Okinawa, live by. They age slower and are the healthiest people on the planet. Their citizens eat lots of vegetables and fresh fruits, not so much meat. Their food intake is 1200 calories per day. We all get frustrated and feel guilty when we put on a few pounds. That’s when your willpower kicks in. Leave 20%–30% of the food on your plate and forget about desert. Not forever! Just for a while, until the weight comes off and you are back on track at your optimal weight. It’s that simple, all you need is a little discipline. So, remember, eat less, live longer!

We always have the temptation to eat a burger with french fries, you don’t need to resist your cravings all the time. Allow yourself this pleasure occasionally, like every few weeks. Eat fewer calories for the next 2-3 days and workout more intensely, doing more cardio, and adding a few extra minutes to it. Also, always weigh yourself very often (I do that daily) so you know when it is time to cut off your food intake and start working out a little harder. For example, if you want to eat a portion of french fries, you have to burn 300 calories so, you should run for 30 minutes. Or, if you want to eat 4-5 chicken wings, that’s about 400 calories, which means another 45 minutes of running. An intense boxing workout of one and a half hours can blast up to about 800 calories. Again, simple common sense, easy to follow and apply. So, weigh yourself often and then adapt/balance your food intake and your workout routine in accordance with what your scale says. I think that’s one of my best "magic" diets. I am not a diet guru, or a doctor, nor do I claim to be any of them or intend to become one, even though I love, I respect, admire, and always follow their advice. My knowledge is based on a hard earned personal experience of more than 35 years in the boxing, sports, and fitness industries. Back in the days when I was fighting, I used to step on the scale twice a day. Now, I do that almost once daily. I always know when I gain weight and need to reduce my food intake. Once in a while, I have to admit, I do eat a burger with french fries and have a beer, but for the next 8-10 days, I really control my food intake and add some intensity to my workout routine. By doing that, I have kept almost the same weight, plus or minus 2-3 pounds, in the past 25 years.

So, I try to eat smart, with lots of fruits and vegetables and seafood, and always eat very small portions of it. I also read food labels carefully and I am trying to stay away from sugar although I like chocolate to the maximum. So, twice a week, I only eat 2-3 squares of organic dark chocolate. Also, I try to avoid processed foods or eating too much fried food and red meat. Besides that, I eat lots of garlic and drink a lot of water and tea daily. But about eating smart, I have another article that is more detailed.

I also have a daily routine of walking in the park with my dogs (I have always had dogs since I was a kid) for 1-2 hours, which we always love doing.

All of that, in combination with my specific intense training, helped me maintain a certain weight permanently, in order to make my weight division. It kept me in great shape while I was fighting and even now.

My favorite quote is my grandfather’s "get up from the table feeling a little hungry".  So, basically, you should stop eating before you are full. His basic foods contained fish, a carrot and an apple a day plus some other fruits, lots of vegetables, and only 1-2 times a week he had meat, chicken or turkey, all in small portions. Also, like me, he loved to eat garlic daily, and he had one glass of red wine at lunch or dinner. He was very healthy, in unbelievable shape and he never suffered from any major illness for 98 years! He has kept the same weight for the last 70 years of his life! His every day routine was simple: to walk outside in the park, at a fast pace for at least an hour after breakfast and another hour after lunch, and to work out for 10-15 minutes, that’s it. It’s simple! Just use common sense and self-discipline. If you don't want to gain weight, don’t eat that much. If you've already added some pounds, reduce your food intake, exercise harder, and walk more in order to burn more calories. This theory is really working! I use to do that for 13 years with Rolf, my beloved 90 lbs giant schnauzer boy. Now, I do this even with Sigrid, my adopted golden retriever girl, and it’s always working. When she gains weight, I cut a bit off her food intake and don’t give her extra treats. I play with her harder, making her run more after the ball, or I'm going to swim with her; she really loves that. In a few days, she will be back on track to her optimal weight while both of us enjoy and have fun. It’s all about watching your weight, balancing your food intake, staying active, and working out efficiently. It’s proven and simple, no big deal, just common sense.