Television race commentators frequently use the term “on form” to describe the race worthiness of a particular athlete. This week, I am exploring what it means to be on form and how to create a simple ... Continue Reading
Put Your Feet Up: 5 Reasons You Should Do Inversions
Yoga works for people. But not in the same ways that exercise does. Although researchers are still teasing out the hows and whys of the impact of yoga on the body, we (I dabble a bit in research myself) do ... Continue Reading
How Much Can You Press? A Brief History of a Big Lift
For Christmas 1961, I talked my parents into buying me a 110-pound barbell and dumbbell set from Sears Roebuck. After having been the smallest kid in school for several years, I could hardly wait to get my ... Continue Reading
What Parents Need to Know About Osgood-Schlatter Disease
Knee aches and pains are expected in an athlete’s training, but how does an athlete or parent know if the pain is a normal part of conditioning or if it is something more? This article will explain ... Continue Reading
Why the Fitness World Is Full of Monkeys (And How to Stay Safe)
A former colleague of mine, Ben Blom, had this interesting way of describing human interaction in terms of primates. In meetings, he would lean over to me and describe the “monkey” interactions. “There's ... Continue Reading
How to Make Nature Your Gym (Australia Style)
Due to the pervasive nature of fitness infomercials, I’d be willing to bet that nearly everyone has heard that classic tagline “You gotta door? You gotta gym!” While the product behind that tagline is ... Continue Reading
What Deadlifting 225 Kilos Taught Me
I’ve never been a natural athlete. Most of my genetic gifts were intellectual rather than physical. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been fascinated by the way people move. I think we’re often drawn to the ... Continue Reading
Should I Run? Smart Strength With Charles Staley
Note: Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get to the bottom of the biggest questions in health and training. Post your questions via social media or in the comments ... Continue Reading
How to Train BJJ With a More Experienced Practitioner (Or at Least This One)
I have been training Brazilian jiu jitsu for seventeen years. That’s 119 in dog years. So, not surprisingly, sometimes I feel like Spike, and sometimes newer grapplers remind me of his eager compatriot ... Continue Reading
The CrossFit Games and My Battle With Depression
The black dog walks among us all. Every thirty seconds somewhere in the world, someone takes his or her own life due to depression. I am the 2013 and 2014 CrossFit Games masters champion. But who I really ... Continue Reading
2 Fitness Solutions for Serious Athletes Over 40
Remember when you were younger and you could eat whatever you wanted for weeks straight and burn it off in a single week of strict eating and training? That’s not going to happen for you at forty. ... Continue Reading
5 Ways to Cultivate Healthy Competition in Young Children
It was finally Saturday morning, the day my four-year-old had been waiting for. The day of her first Highland dance competition, a tangible sign that she had become, in her words, “a real ... Continue Reading
A Simple Plan for Stronger Running
When I worked as a personal trainer, I had the opportunity to design a program for a master’s triathlete. Her main goal was to increase her total strength while reducing her knee pain in the three months ... Continue Reading
What I Learned From Deadlifting 500 Pounds
I’ve never been a natural athlete. Most of my genetic gifts were intellectual rather than physical. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been fascinated by the way people move. I think we’re often drawn to ... Continue Reading
Feel, Look, and Move Better: Workouts for 40+ Athletes
You’re not in your twenties anymore, and haven’t been for a while. You’re busy, don’t really enjoy the gym setting, and you couldn’t care less about setting a new personal record in Olympic lifts or “Fran” ... Continue Reading
Upgrade Your Grappling With Natural Movement Principles
This article is for people new to grappling arts or thinking of taking the first step through the door of a gym. The purpose is to not only give you technical insight, but also to put grappling into the ... Continue Reading
Take Your Strength to the Next Level With Ipsilateral Crawling
When people are training for optimal power output, they push themselves harder, faster, stronger, and longer. The mission is to kick your ass to be a badass. But what most often happens is the brain ... Continue Reading
4 Safe and Effective Minimalist Workouts for 40+ Athletes
You’re not in your twenties anymore, and haven’t been for a while. You’re busy, don’t really enjoy the gym setting, and you couldn’t care less about setting a new personal record in Olympic lifts or “Fran” ... Continue Reading
Sparring Essentials: Learn How to Take a Punch
Other than a couple of minor scraps in high school and college, I had never been in a fight prior to studying martial arts. Getting hit wasn’t something I was used to when I showed up to kung fu many moons ... Continue Reading
12 Reps – The Breaking Muscle Digest – Vol. 1, Issue 10
This week's theme is personal growth and betterment, not only physically but in all ways. I've also included some swimming content by reader request. We've had so many terrific interactions in our ... Continue Reading
Hydraulic Resistance Training for High Calorie Burning
Many research studies over the years have compared exercise intensity (effort) and duration (length of effort), independent of the calories required to fuel them. From this we have learned that various ... Continue Reading
Sparring 101: When, Why, and How to Take a Hit
Other than a couple of minor scraps in high school and college, I had never been in a fight prior to studying martial arts. Getting hit wasn’t something I was used to when I showed up to kung fu many moons ... Continue Reading
You Are Not Prepared: How to Survive a Life-or-Death Situation
I have no idea why, but “the f-word” - fear - seems to be a subject that is rarely discussed or addressed when it comes to self-defense training. In a real situation you are probably going to be absolutely ... Continue Reading
Safe and Sane Fat Loss Advice From People Who Care About You
Once upon a time, I would have glossed over articles with titles like this one. Back then I could eat a whole twelve-inch pizza with no increase to my waistline. But all that changed in college. Forget the ... Continue Reading
