The sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has become increasingly popular over the past decade, with dedicated gyms once hard to find, now all over the globe.

A Transformation Celebration

Thanks in part to it's eponymous soap opera from the eighties, Santa Barbara has long been regarded as a haven for hard bodies the world over. While the soap's bubble burst long ago, the perception that our town brims with a bronzed and sculpted population remains firm. And why not? Ideal climate, location, and wealth of healthy outdoor pursuits make fitness feasible year round. Not to mention the peer pressure to look good wearing less that a walk along Butterfly Beach presents on a sunny spring day. But come April 20th, the bold and beautiful will have a new stage to star on, the 2013 Complete Nutrition Golden State Championships presented by Global Physique.

No one plans on getting sick, but this winter friends and family seem to be dropping like flies with this latest bug going around. So how do you protect yourself from catching it?
Boost your immune system now, don't wait until you start to get sick to think about it.

BeachBody Brings P90X Certification to a Gym Near You

By now, we've all seen the infomercials for the fitness phenomenon known as P90X and have marveled at the rigorous routines and remarkable results. But for many of us, the idea of going it alone at home and maintaining motivation seems as probable as pulling-off a one-arm pull-up. That's why the folks at Beachbody, the brains behind the best-selling box-set of workout DVDs, have come up with a solution.

Santa Barbara is home to some world-class surf breaks but is not known for having consistently big surf. Point Conception and the Channel Islands create a very narrow window for swells to sneak past, but when larger northwest swells arrive in winter, the aforementioned breaks come out of hibernation and start to fire! Surfing is all about having fun, and preparation is proportional to the amount of fun you will have. Confidence in your abilities and knowledge of your limitations will allow you to achieve peak performance and make the most of the outstanding outside sets that finally swing through. Here are some strategies I use with my personal training clients to prepare them for sizable surf.

Have you ever thought about doing a triathlon? For some of you, the idea may be intriguing but the amount of specific training for a three-sport event might seem overwhelming. Perhaps you're a runner that may have dabbled in cycling, but you're not sure you can even swim a complete lap in your local pool. Or maybe you love swimming and cycling but can't remember the last time you ran over a mile without stopping. No matter your fitness history, I'm here to tell you that ANYONE, with the proper training and desire, can complete a Triathlon!

One of the major things that helps keep me on track and action-oriented is to continually take on challenges and opportunities that stretch my comfort level and force me to prepare for the future. Another very important component for me is to share my aspirations with others and bring them along on these new adventures. The experience of chasing after a tough goal is so much more rewarding when you have great friends and family taking part in the challenge alongside you. So, what's next?

Ah, it's January, and you know what that means: This year you're going to stick to your goal of dropping a dress size, putting on some muscle, start waking up at 5AM to run... every day. Why does it seem that each year your goals stay the same, but yet you never seem to hit them?

You probably already know what it is, but may not recognize the name. If you've seen James Bond's opening foot chase in the film Casino Royale, or Nike and Xbox commercials featuring urban acrobatics while on the run, then you've seen parkour.

I'm writing this as I wait for my flight back home to Port Angeles, Washington after the most incredible, painful, exciting, amazing, physical experience of my life—The Lean Horse 100 ultramarathon in South Dakota. The guys who trained me describe 100-mile trail running as living a lifetime of emotions in a weekend, and I was not let down.