You have a gym membership and time to use it regularly. Your facility most likely offers heart-rate elevating devices such as treadmills, ellipticals, and climbers. In addition, you have your compliment of ... Continue Reading
3 Lessons From Injury: Making Lemonade From Lemons
Ten reps. That's how many I demanded of myself on the fateful set of tire flips. By the fourth rep I was struggling, fatigued from previous sets, but I soldiered on - in retrospect, not the wisest ... Continue Reading
Strength for BJJ: 3 Guard-Opening Exercises
The closed guard is one of the first positions we learn in Brazilian jiu jitsu. It is also one of the hardest guards to pass. An opponent who is good in closed guard is skilled enough to both control your ... Continue Reading
How to Own the Transverse Plane With the Tall Kneeling Press
Power lives in the transverse plane. If you want to unleash that power you need to control it first. Golfing expert Lance Gill says, “If you don’t own the transverse plane, you are playing for second ... Continue Reading
Should You Split Jerk With a Wide Grip?
As I mentioned in my last article, I recently attended the Pan American Games. The one thing that stood out to us technique watchers was the wide grip jerks employed by quite a number of weightlifting ... Continue Reading
Enter the Dragon Flag: 4 Simple Progressions for Success
Did you know the dragon flag is named after Bruce Lee? He was often called “the Dragon” and performed this movement where his body hung straight like a flag. It is a complicated move with many ... Continue Reading
5 Fundamental Core and Abdominal Exercises for Beginners
If you’re newer to training or getting back into shape, I’m sure you’ve heard about core training. Perhaps you’ve heard about it in magazines or maybe your doctor recommended it. So, that’s all ... Continue Reading
Stay Motivated to Train: Smart Strength With Charles Staley
Question #1: How Do I Build Bigger Shoulders? READER: My delts are flat and pathetic. I do side and front raises as well as presses with both barbells and dumbbells, but that just seems to make my ... Continue Reading
Exercise for Moms on Bed Rest: Is It Safe?
Bed rest during pregnancy might seem pretty straightforward, but it’s surprisingly controversial in the birth world. Approximately twenty percent of pregnant women are prescribed bed rest each year, but ... Continue Reading
The Problem Isn’t Your Strength Program – It’s You
I am hopeful that in an advanced modern era of fitness that the majority of us might recognize a “one-size-fits-all” program only works for the beginner. Unfortunately, right after finishing this article ... Continue Reading
Don’t Be a Specialist: Your Routine Needs Variety
The human body craves variety. No matter how disciplined someone is, sooner or later he or she will need a change. For some reason, instead of embracing the fact we need variety and understanding it, many ... Continue Reading
A Case for the Wide Grip Jerk: It’s Hard to Argue With Success
As I mentioned in my last article, I recently attended the Pan American Games. The one thing that stood out to us technique watchers was the wide grip jerks employed by quite a number of weightlifting ... Continue Reading
Bobby Maximus’s 5 Favorite Not-for-Wimps Workouts
Over the years I have been asked many questions about my workouts: “What is your go-to workout?” “If you could only do one workout what would it be?” “What is the best workout to build ... Continue Reading
You Don’t Need Fancy Stuff: 3 Creative Ways to Use a Stick
One of my favorite things about the world of movement, exercise, fitness or whatever you want to call it is the sheer variety of training methods. There are fancy methods with fancy tools and barebones ... Continue Reading
Create Muscular Balance With Unilateral Training
A 2004 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology opens with an intriguing story. One day in 1984, a Miss Emily M. Brown squeezed a rubber bulb as strongly as possible with her left hand. She ... Continue Reading
Who Has a Cranky Shoulder? How to Train Around It
Who has a cranky shoulder (or two)? Raise your hand… or don’t if it hurts. Nearly every athlete or lifter who’s trained for more than a couple years inevitably tweaks a shoulder. Sometimes, if ... Continue Reading
12 Reps – The Breaking Muscle Digest – Vol. 1, Issue 22
Andre Miller Executes a Perfect V-Sit Andre Miller Executes a Perfect V-Sit Featured Article of the Week: The Most Memorable Fitness Swindles of the Last 30 Years - Andrew Read takes you on a ... Continue Reading
Will Static Stretching Make You a Better Runner?
For years you have been told to "stretch" to improve the range of motion of the joints involved with whatever sport or activity in which you attempt to excel. For many of you, your sport entails ... Continue Reading
The Truth About Training Your Stabilisers
Have you ever been to a physical therapist and been told you have something going on with your shoulder?Maybe the therapist calls it impingement, maybe tendinosis, or maybe he or she says it’s postural. ... Continue Reading
5 Underrated Reasons You Should Pick Up a Martial Art
“Why study a martial art?” is a question that has many answers. The benefits of the training are widely touted and the popularity of mixed martial arts has brought new insight and perspective to the arts. ... Continue Reading
CrossFit and the Real Meaning of “No Excuses”
Sometimes it’s hard to go to the gym. Work stress creeps in. Obligations begin to take over. Maybe a nagging injury flares. I know I have my excuses. After I met Joe Fonseca I started to suck it up ... Continue Reading
Beat the Dog Days of Summer With New PRs and Friendly Competition
Here in the northern hemisphere, the summer is still going strong, but many of us have hit a slump in our training routine. The progress you made over the winter and through the spring is slipping away as ... Continue Reading
Train Your Mind: The Real Meaning of “Mind Over Matter”
Before embarking on any form of training whether it be as a tactical athlete or complete beginner to exercise, it is important for us to have our mind in the right place. Getting up at 0500 in the snow to ... Continue Reading
Use Eccentric Movements to Build Strength and Improve Flexibility
Focusing on the eccentric (negative) part of movements is often overlooked. But it can have many strength, hypertrophy, and mobility benefits. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of eccentric ... Continue Reading
