According to you, the readership of Breaking Muscle, the theme of 2015 was Get Better.
You spent the year learning to mobilize your hips, heal your low back, come back from a pregnancy, or teach your body to move correctly under its own power.
In over a thousand articles published throughout the year, we brought you expert advice, analysis, and commentary on all of the above and more, from the leading minds in fitness.
You wanted better coaches, better nutrition, and a better mindset. You challenged us to produce content relevant to your athletic needs, with the depth and focus on research-driven quality you have come to expect from Breaking Muscle. Whatever your quest for improvement, we gave you the best tools to get there. If you missed these top articles throughout the year, now is your chance to find out what all the fuss was about.
Our best of 2015 list is broken into three categories. Two were picked by you, our readers: Most Engaging and Most Viewed. Our last category is reserved for the Editor’s Picks: the pieces that the Breaking Muscle staff admired the most. What was your Breaking Muscle article of the year? Let us know in the comments below.
Most Engaging
1. Have the CrossFit Games jumped the shark? Coach Patrick McCarty documents the neverending escalation and potentially catastrophic consequences in Survival of the Survivors: The CrossFit (Hunger) Games.
2. You are inundated daily with examples of athletic perfection. Coach Andy McKenzie reminds you that to get there you have to start with a foundation of simplicity and consistency. After all, You’re Not an Elite Athlete, So Stop Acting Like One.
3. Coach Mike Dewar thinks your clean is a mess. But he’s not here to criticize, he’s here to help. Find out how to fix yourself in Cleaning Up Your Dirty Clean: It’s All About Technique.
4. The science of fat has been a moving target in recent years. With so many opposing views, it’s hard to know what to think. Coach Tom Kelso cuts through the fog with The Best Research on Body Fat, Losing Fat, and Eating Fat.
5. As a Master RKC, Coach Keira Newton knows that the hips are the key to it all. In 5 Stretches to Regain Hip Mobility and Flexibility, she shows us a few easy ways to keep them working as advertised.
Most Viewed
1. The SI joint can cause you big problems if you don’t look after it. In 2015’s most viewed article, Coach Cassie Dionne explains Why Your SI Joint Is Such a Pain (And 4 Exercises to Fix It).
2. Pregnancy can wreak havoc on your core, even if you were an athlete before. Coach Nicole Crawford has been there and done that, and is here to help with 12 Weeks of Workouts to Rebuild After Diastasis Recti.
3. Do you even lift? Do you even need to? Not if you know how to use your bodyweight effectively. Coach Todd Kuslikis gives you everything you need in The Ultimate 90-Day Bodyweight Training Plan.
4. The kneeling groin stretch, also known as the Sampson stretch, is a common way to stretch the hip flexors. You might think you know this stretch. But Coach Maryann Berry takes it to a whole new level in Release Your Hip Flexors: Groin Stretch 101.
5. No gym? No problem. Coach Krista Stryker lays out how to hit a heavy leg day without ever touching the weights in her 7 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Stronger Legs.
Editor’s Choice
1. Don’t have time to train? Coach Bobby Maximus has serious doubts about that. Follow his advice, and Be Better at Life: How to Find More Time to Train.
2. Most of us don’t put a lot of thought or effort into our warm up routine. Coach Ramy Saleh suggests that if we did, we could take our training to another level. He explains how to Ramp Up Your Warm Up: Prepare With Purpose.
3. Short, high-intensity workouts are all the rage these days, but if you want to separate yourself from the crowd, it’s time to go long. Coach Andrew Read leads the way in Everybody Wants to Be a Lion.
4. If you think you know your sport, you probably don’t. Coach Chet Morjaria reminds us that in order to grow, we have to realize how much there is to learn in How to Be an Expert: Knowing You Know Nothing Is Everything.
5. How much is too much when training for weightlifting? Coach Bob Takano explores the correct weight and rep schemes in detail in More Isn’t Always Better: Proper Training Intensity in Weightlifting.
Onward and Upward
For 2016, we are already working harder than ever to give you the best information for you achieve your training and sporting goals, no matter what your pursuit. We have massses of developments and surprises in store, and look forward to serving up the best content and information in the world to you, our community of athletes.
Here’s to another strong year!
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Photo 1 Courtesy of CrossFit.
Photo 2 Courtesy of Krysta Stryker.
Photo 3 Courtesy of CrossFit Stars.
