No better a source than Sandi Duncan, managing editor of the Farmers' Almanac, has said that the new decade begins on January 1, 2021. Most people think it's January 1, 2020. I'm not going to weigh in here ... Continue Reading
An Antidote to CrossFit: Going All in on Dan John
Greg Glassman is a controversial choice for Coach of the Decade if you define coach in a certain way, or you think Glassman is all about marketing, or you're mad at CrossFit because, well, they really do ... Continue Reading
Coach of the Decade: Greg Glassman, CrossFit’s Founder
In an interview with CNBC, Greg Glassman, the 63-year-old founder of CrossFit, said that CrossFit’s success happened without a business plan, without any marketing. Dave Werner, the founder of CrossFit ... Continue Reading
Present Self, Future Self, and the Ingredients of Successful Fitness Change
You do it every year and not just in your New Year’s Resolution. You decide to make a change. It sounds really exciting too. You can feel the transformation that is set to take place. You can see the ... Continue Reading
Build Body Awareness Upside Down
While there’s some debate in the functional fitness world whether handstand holds, handstand walks, and handstand push-ups should be considered functional movements, I would say it doesn’t really ... Continue Reading
Coach, Trainer, or Entertainer – The Fitness Industry Conundrum
Fitness has reached worldwide popularity. The need for classes, personal training, and of course my favorite, semi-private training, has exploded with the rise in popularity of fitness. Many people and ... Continue Reading
Bird Dogs: Use Them to Build Stability and Strength
The bird dog is an excellent exercise for increasing both stability and strength in your core and lower back muscles. By strength, I don't mean how heavy can you lift—instead I'm talking about the ... Continue Reading
The Real Reason You Should Fast for the Holidays
“It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than it is to think yourself into a new way of acting.” - Millard Fuller “It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than it ... Continue Reading
Is Lifting Heavy Weight Important For Building Muscle Size?
There’s an ongoing debate on how important heavy weights are in order to get jacked. As with most trends, public opinion likes to cluster around the extremes. One day heavy weights are critical and the ... Continue Reading
The Benefits of Working on Your Explosive Power
Power: Often considered the holy grail of athletic prowess. Yet, most of us casual gym goers (and even high level athletes) don’t spend all that much time training to be more explosive and powerful. ... Continue Reading
Creating A Long-Term Training Plan and Macrocycles
One of the things I’ve come to learn in teaching seminars at Gym Jones is that many people don’t have an understanding of how to put together multiple training phases into a cohesive year (or macrocyle) of ... Continue Reading
Is Excess Protein Bad For Your Kidneys?
Of all of the myths that abound when it comes to nutrition, the assumptions that surround protein consumption and kidney damage seem to be the one everyone talks about most often. How did it start? From ... Continue Reading
Cluster Training: How to Use It to Build Muscle and Strength
I actually find it strange that more hasn’t been written about cluster training recently. There was a period of time there when it was quite popular, but now it seems that it’s fallen back into obscurity, ... Continue Reading
How to Enter the Flow State With Squats
Do you remember the first time you squatted with a barbell? I don’t know the details of my first squat. I couldn’t tell you where I was, what weight I added to the bar that day, or if I had a friend to ... Continue Reading
Bulletproof Your Knees and Shoulders
How did you get injured? I was reaching for something in the back seat of my car and heard a pop in my shoulder. Not again! How did you get injured? I was reaching for ... Continue Reading
Why You Should Audit Your Training
If you’re feeling stuck, frustrated that your efforts haven’t delivered the results you wanted, and you are spinning your wheels, then the answer is a simple, yes. You should audit your training. ... Continue Reading
The Hollow Body: The Most Important Skill to Master
Hollow rocks and hollow holds: There’s a good chance you have been doing them wrong, and because of it, there’s an even better chance they’re not translating to make your other gymnastics skills—like ring ... Continue Reading
The Holiday Turkey Gut Buster Workout
This is one of the best in-the-gym workouts you will ever try. I use this style of training a lot with my clients who want to get in super shape in minimum time. When done right, this style of training ... Continue Reading
The Benefits of the Smith Machine Floor Press
The floor press is an excellent exercise. It is a particular favorite of mine for guys with long arms. I often use it instead of the bench press for these guys. Here are five benefits of the floor ... Continue Reading
7 Clues You Are Doing Your Accessory Work Wrong
Are you treating your accessory work like carnivores treat their vegetables? As an afterthought to the main steak event? As a coach, this is what I witness on a daily basis—people going through the ... Continue Reading
More Than a Workout: Learning Curves and Having High Standards
We have high standards at Gym Jones. I don’t just mean the strength and fitness standards that so many people associate us with. I mean it more generally. When we train someone here, we expect effort and ... Continue Reading
You Need More Than a Training Template
"Buy my template, and you’ll not only get stronger, but it’s all you’ll ever need." Have you ever heard a popular coach or trainer say this? Templates are for sale, usually as an ebook or a PDF ... Continue Reading
Band Pullovers – The Torso Builder
The classic dumbbell pullover is an exercise bodybuilders have been doing for ages. Back in the Golden era they were credited with building bigger lats, pecs, and serratus. Many top bodybuilders also swore ... Continue Reading
The Toxicity of Diet Culture
Diet culture is toxic, haven’t you heard? For many, the impetus behind the anti-diet culture movement is all about putting an end to fat-shaming and our unhealthy obsession with losing ... Continue Reading
