In this day and age of accessibility for everything from strength training and nutrition, to mobility and recovery, I find myself wondering where the simplicity has gone. If you are reading this you are ... Continue Reading
How to Determine the Best Exercises to Build Strength and Mass
Note: Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get some real perspective regarding health and training. Please post feedback or questions directly to Charles in the comments ... Continue Reading
Why You Fail Under Pressure (And How to Succeed Next Time)
Watching an athlete choke can be one of the most difficult, and at the same time, engaging moments to witness. Like watching the scene of a car accident, we just can’t look away. What happens to athletes ... Continue Reading
Serious Fitness for Fighters in 3 Sessions a Week
It’s easy to get derailed when you train for a sport. With so much to balance - from skills training, to strength and conditioning, to whatever flexibility is needed for the sport, to recovery processes - ... Continue Reading
2 Essential Strategies for Motivation Mastery
Motivation is our inner desire to take action, accomplish our goals, and fulfill dreams. For a lot of people, getting motivated is easy to start with, but staying motivated is seemingly impossible. ... Continue Reading
Recovery Lounges: The Ultimate Recovery Experience
As I approach 40+ status, recovery becomes more important each year. Sometimes I wonder if I’d feel better now if I’d given proper attention to recovery in my younger years. But at this point it is what it ... Continue Reading
The 2 Essential Principles of Lifelong Motivation
Motivation is our inner desire to take action, accomplish our goals, and fulfill dreams. For a lot of people, getting motivated is easy to start with, but staying motivated is seemingly ... Continue Reading
The Journey to a BJJ Black Belt: Look Back to Move Forward
Students often think of Brazilian jiu jitsu as a journey that will one day take them to a black belt. If you are a new student or someone thinking about starting Brazilian jiu jitsu, realize you are going ... Continue Reading
Feats of Strength: The Old, the New, and You
Besides a Seinfeld joke about Festivus, the phrase “feats of strength” more commonly refers to exhibitions of strength that are particularly done with an eye to performing for others. The average person ... Continue Reading
Strength Training for Yogis: Pull Ups for Upper Body Athleticism
As a form of fitness, yoga encompasses balance, bodyweight movements, strength, and flexibility, as well as mental focus. As you get stronger, more flexible, and more proficient in your movements, you will ... Continue Reading
Use Game Theory to Increase Your Odds of Hiring the Best Coach
When searching for the right person to do a job, there are plenty of variables to consider. For many people, the first variable is price. How much is it going to cost? Although price is important, more ... Continue Reading
Pack Your Neck for a Safer Spine and Stronger Swings
I know for some of you this is going to rehash a topic that keeps going round and round throughout the fitness and strength community. Everyone thinks he or she is correct and scoffs at the other side. The ... Continue Reading
3 Quick and Simple Exercises to Prevent Back Pain
I am a yoga teacher and I have back pain. It is hard for me to admit it, but the truth is people from all sorts of athletic backgrounds can suffer from back pain. My particular injury came from falling ... Continue Reading
Why Serious Cyclists Should Eat Their Greens
I am sometimes surprised by my fellow cyclists who are prepared to work hard in their training sessions and are happy to consume numerous supplements, but don’t like to eat their greens. By doing so they ... Continue Reading
Can Kettlebells Improve Jumping and Balance?
Researchers from the University of Padua in Italy will soon present their recent research with ballet dancers who followed a basic kettlebell protocol for three months. We have an advance look at what they ... Continue Reading
The One Element of Your Training That Can’t Be Forsaken
Note: Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get some real perspective regarding health and training. Please post feedback or questions directly to Charles in the comments ... Continue Reading
7 Hot Tips for Your Next Bench Press Competition
You've been researching powerlifting comps. You thought, "Screw it," got registered, and signed yourself up for a meet. Maybe you signed up for bench-only just to dip your toes in, or maybe you’re planning ... Continue Reading
A Proven Method for Building Full-Body Power (Plus a 6-Week Plan)
The fitness world is in a constant state of flux. It’s like a kid trying to balance a see-saw on his or her own, running from one end to the other. This flux is created by a response to trends we see, and ... Continue Reading
Lifting Stuff, Being Harder to Kill, and Why Burpees Save Lives
Photo by Bev Childress “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.” The infamous words of Mark Rippetoe are often used to drive the avid gym-goer to squat more, deadlift ... Continue Reading
Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Butterfly
The butterfly. It is arguably the most beautiful stroke, and the most difficult to learn of the bunch. In previous articles we looked at the basics of learning to freestyle, backstroke, and ... Continue Reading
How Much Do You Want It? The 4 Levels of Motivation for Lifters
It is always interesting to ask your fellow trainees why they lift weights. The answers will usually range from simply wanting to stay in shape to becoming a champion weightlifter, powerlifter, ... Continue Reading
Learn to Ignore the Noise: Be Your Own Fitness Expert
The word “guru” originally comes from Sanskrit. According to Wikipedia, it means, “teacher or master of a certain type of knowledge.” However, in an industry where your expertise ... Continue Reading
Dispelling the Myths About Poor Posture (And Your Poor Pelvis)
You do not sit in anterior pelvic tilt. It is a myth, it is wrong, and don’t make that mistake again. "You have too much lordosis due to sitting in anterior pelvic tilt." Actually, that's BS. ... Continue Reading
Supersets: Beware the Line Between Training and Recovery
In the world of sports performance, it’s often said that strength underpins everything we do. But is that really true? There’s no doubt athletes need to produce and absorb forces quickly and reactively. ... Continue Reading
