As a competitor I have been watching the growth of kettlebell sport in the UK since 2011, and as an osteopath I have watched the injuries of the lifters involved develop and change radically. Complaints in the beginning were mostly about fatigue and torn ...
In a shock twist in the the lead up to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, it has been confirmed by the International Weightlifting Federation that twenty Olympic weightlifting athletes have failed retests of their blood samples from Beijing and L ...
The “secret formula” to weight loss is no secret at all. Take in more calories than you expend, and you’ll gain weight. Burn more than you eat, and you’ll lose weight. This is known as calorie balance, and you’ll hear it expr ...
Over the course of this series, we've learned about the talent code and myelin, the neural insulator critical to the development of skill in athletes. We first examined how to stimulate myelin's growth with deep practice in training. Deep practice ...
Once again, it’s the spring of an Olympic year, a time when all weightlifters start to think about the Games, Olympic trials, and securing a ticket to Rio de Janiero. The USAW held the Senior National and Olympic Trials in early May, while the Canad ...
The term “functional training” has never acquired a strong definition. We know what maximal strength, power, speed, and many other physical qualities refer to, but functional training seems to be a rather vague umbrella term. Most people defin ...
No one walks into the gym with plans to burn out and invite injury. We eat clean, take pre-workout, and have a gainer shake waiting for the second we’re done training. We do everything we can to recover…or do we?
If you find yo ...
Poor movement quality is a pandemic among athletes, and whilst many of them are able to identify their own weaknesses and imbalances, I am always surprised by athletes' reluctance to address and remedy them. It seems to be much harder for them to be h ...
Amongst inactivity, overconsumption of processed foods, and low nutrient intakes, a new culprit has emerged as one of the main contributing factors to obesity in Western populations: increased portion sizes.
New research published in the scientific ...
Judging in fitness competitions is a strange game. As the scene grows, the demand both on and for judges grows. There’s some work to be done by us all. How can we help to drive the sport forward in a way that is positive for each other and the sport ...
Rowing is one of the most beneficial movements the human body can perform. Get it right, and there's nothing more physiologically demanding on earth. In its purest form rowing is about using your body to create power. But this simplicity is often lost ...
Let’s face it: most of the quality nutrition information comes out of the bodybuilding community and is aimed at bodybuilders. And that makes sense. Nutrition plays a huge role in improving body composition. But as a strength athlete, you don’ ...
Many trainees do not understand how to set up a training program themselves, so they follow any plan that comes along, bouncing from one idea to the next. Or they train however their friend is training, who is just as clueless.
Part of the pr ...
In my previous article, The Single Most Important Aspect of Kettlebell Sport, I spoke about the importance of efficiency in kettlebell sport and explained how to achieve a more efficient rack position. Now I would like to take a more detailed look at the ...
We all love to talk about programming. The term evokes a sense of tapping into our own genetic code and using some secret program (“One weird trick!”) to unlock our hidden genetic potential. We get caught up in the more mythical implications. ...
Modern-day trainees have more information, equipment, and assistance at their disposal than ever before. There’s been a renaissance of knowledge about the myriad training modes, methods, and styles. This has led to a melding of functional methods, i ...
Programming is neither mystical, nor is it mechanical. Nothing within the world of strength training sits on either end of that spectrum. Programming, training, coaching, movement - these are all a mixture of art and science. It's important to ge ...
