One of the biggest issues for people wanting to take up triathlon is lack of swimming ability. The bike and run, while also potentially problematic, aren’t quite so bad, as you can just stop and have a ... Continue Reading
Does Your Diaphragm Need a Warmup?
The diaphragm is the body’s largest inspiratory muscle. It’s a flat sheet of muscle that spreads across your insides. Its movements create suction pressure on the lungs, which results in your ... Continue Reading
What All Athletes Can Learn From the Life of B.K.S. Iyengar
B.K.S. Iyengar is credited with bringing the practice of hatha yoga to the Western World. Born Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar on December 14, 1918, he passed away (or left his body, as they say ... Continue Reading
Anderson’s 1,200lb Squat: Did He Do It?
The name Paul Anderson is still one of mythical proportions in the barbell world regardless of whether you are talking about Olympic, powerlifting, or strongman practitioners. Anderson’s lifts were ... Continue Reading
Use Motivational Interviewing Techniques to Create Positive Change
There is a powerful technique to help people make positive health changes by reframing how they see their goals. These motivational interviewing techniques can provide a simple and effective way for people ... Continue Reading
Stirring the Pot With Patrick McCarty, Ep 5
In this episode our hosts, Managing Editor Becca Borawski Jenkins and Coach Chet Morjaria, speak with CrossFit veteran Patrick McCarty. Pat is a three-time CrossFit Games masters-level athlete, finishing ... Continue Reading
A Scientific Analysis of the Quads During Leg Extensions
It’s easy to become imbalanced in quadriceps development, which can result in injury or even just an odd-looking quad muscle. In a recent Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study, researchers ... Continue Reading
Great Expectations (Athlete Journal 35)
Now that the Boston Open is over, it is time to start focusing on Masters World Championships in November. After my performances competing in the New York Open and the Boston Open, my confidence is high ... Continue Reading
The Truth About Hypoxic Training and Oxygen Reducing Masks
Hypoxic training, or the practice of limiting oxygen availability while training, has been used for decades to improve performance. The United States Olympic Training Center is located just south of ... Continue Reading
The Moment Grid Became a Sport
The New York Rhinos had it sewn up. After ten races, they led the Miami Surge by three points and the final race heavily favored New York’s strengths and skills. Then, the Surge threw their bonus flag. ... Continue Reading
Pull Up vs. Chin Up: A Comparison and Analysis
Chin ups are not really pull-ups. Well, according to some Internet debates, that’s the case, but I contend that chin ups are in fact pull-ups. I suggest that pull-ups is an umbrella category, and there ... Continue Reading
Unilateral Leg Training, Part 4: Correcting the Imbalances
In part one Historical Perspectives I raised the two challenges I faced in the 1980s - first, that there were inadequate numbers of exercises being used in single-leg format, and second, that the few ... Continue Reading
You’re Not Getting Stronger Because You Don’t Know How to Move
Have you hit a plateau in your training? Getting frustrated because you just can’t get even one more pull up or add any more weight to your lifts? Or maybe you’ve even had to decrease your ... Continue Reading
How to Instantly Improve in Any Exercise
This is the fourth in a series of articles on using Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to improve your performance in the gym. It’s important you read the previous articles to give you the foundation you ... Continue Reading
An Introduction to Kettlebell Sport Training Methodologies
Click Here to Start Your Free Kettlebell Sport Workouts I treat kettlebell sport like another job. In fact, if you add up the total number of hours I spend training each week it would definitely qualify ... Continue Reading
Back to School (Athlete Journal 48)
I’m finally back to normal! Or at least my health is. I don’t think I’ll ever consider my brain to be normal, but that’s for a different time. I’m also back in school now, but don’t expect too much ... Continue Reading
Bracing, Breathing, and Belts – A Lifter’s Guide
The use of belts is a topic that is much considered, much debated, and sometimes contradictory - and that's just me. I have a lot to say when it comes to the use of belts, when we may or may not use them, ... Continue Reading
Great Workouts Don’t Make Good Reality TV (Athlete Journal 105)
As I was pondering what to comment about my training journal entry this week, it suddenly struck me that the most remarkable thing about my workouts lately is that they’re not remarkable. And that’s ... Continue Reading
The Evolution of Weightlifting Coaching
In today’s fast moving pace of any movement that gains popularity with the masses, practices and procedures change at an almost dizzying rate. What was cool yesterday is passé today, just because of what ... Continue Reading
Being Sick Sucks: A Gameplan for Getting Back on the Bike Quickly
If there was a competition for being the worst patient ever, I think I would have a pretty good chance of making the podium. Whether it’s a summer cold, stomach bug, strained muscle, or cough, I ... Continue Reading
Suspension for Shoulder Stability? This Study Doesn’t Think So
Suspension trainers, sometimes also called slings, are popular exercise tools. A modification on the concept of gymnastics rings, slings like Redcord and TRX provide convenient ways to get a complete ... Continue Reading
Tips for Helping Teens Balance School and Sport
As adults, we recognize the signs of stress and overscheduling and are able to control some of the competing variables, but what about children and their stressors? As the school bells ring to ... Continue Reading
When Referees Go Wrong: How to Handle Harsh Calls
Officiating is not an easy job regardless of your sport. Weightlifting is no exception. The Difficulties and Disagreements of Refereeing In the sport of weightlifting, three referees ... Continue Reading
The Kettlebell Snatch: A Swing That Ends Up Overhead
StrongFirst Master Instructor Dave Whitley (pictured below) is known for saying that the kettlebell snatch is a swing that ends overhead (he also says the clean is a swing that ends up in the rack). He ... Continue Reading
