As a highly active, hungry person, it feels like I’m always planning my next meal. I grew up largely outdoors in a pretty remote part of Vermont, so my early appreciation of meal prep was equal parts survival and love of the culinary arts. I’m privileged to say I don’t think I ever missed a meal as a kid. And when my parents couldn’t believe that I was still hungry—a near-daily occurrence—they empowered me with my first kid-chef skill: mastering the PB&J.

Over more than 15 years of refining my fitness philosophy, the three pillars I continually return to are training, practice and play. Though it seems simple, it has taken me a lifetime to refine this philosophy. It started with my mom sending me “outside to play” whenever I was being a pest—and the gradual realization that whatever is happening in my body impacts my mental state.

As a fitness professional, people usually think that performance goals, weight management and overall wellness should come easy to me. Early in my twenties—when I was still new to this career—I made the same (incorrect) assumption. The sad truth is that I was actually burning the candle at both ends: sleeping just 5-6 hours a night, powering through on too much caffeine, drinking a moderate to heavy amount of booze, and training my body harder than I ever have in my life (before or since).

By definition, an evergreen is “any plant that retains its leaves through the year and into the following growing season.” That resilience is the goal that guides my training philosophy, informing a holistic approach to short-term athletic achievement, as well as long-term strength and injury prevention.