A never-ending debate in many sports, but especially in weightlifting, concerns when a young athlete should begin training in the discipline. There are two schools of thought in this area and now is a good ... Continue Reading
The Relationship Between Training and Hypoglycemia
Three years ago, I had to undergo multiple health screenings to stay on my father’s insurance plan. When the doctor called me back and told me I was hypoglycemic (meaning I have low blood sugar), I was ... Continue Reading
Flexible to Competitive Nutrition
If it fits our macros. It’s a common term that's being used as the catchphrase for the new wave of eating. However, this is an old school phenomenon that your average gym patron can easily adhere ... Continue Reading
Alternatives to the Big 3 Lifts
You can’t go wrong with the back squat, deadlift, and bench press—the classic big three powerlifting movements. Train them regularly and you will gain strength, especially if you’re new to ... Continue Reading
Bulletproof Your Grip Strength
Though your impetus to improve your grip strength might be as simple as wanting to be able to stay on the pull-up bar longer during a conditioning workout, science says grip strength might even be more ... Continue Reading
Were You Taught the Power Position Wrong?
Two years ago, Max Aita and I sat down for a beer in a dive bar in Brooklyn, after he taught his first weightlifting clinic at JDI Barbell. We discussed the Olympic weightlifting technique and agreed. ... Continue Reading
A Daily 6 Exercise Circuit for Youth Development
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” - Henry David Thoreau School is back in session and we are all coming up with our best plans for a new year. Yet ... Continue Reading
Zero to Hero: How to Make That Strict Pull-Up
Teach me a pull-up. Teach me a pull-up! A common request from many eager students—and their bubbles are immediately popped when I explain I can’t just teach them a pull-up. That getting a pull-up might ... Continue Reading
The Fingertip Push-Up Training Plan
When I first got out of college I was hired to teach World History and coach football at a large high school in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs. I reported to work three weeks early along with the rest of ... Continue Reading
For Best Results Train the Mind, Body, and Emotion
Have you ever been driving down the interstate when it occurred to you that a sharp turn of the steering wheel in either direction would send you and your cargo flipping to an early grave? Not a pleasant ... Continue Reading
5 Reasons You Should Box Squat
“Why are we squatting to a box? Nobody cares how good my 1RM box squat is!” That was a legitimate complaint fielded from a client who has been at my gym for seven years. “Why are we ... Continue Reading
Specificity Versus Transference In Powerlifting
Specificity is a core principle in sport science. It’s the degree of association between training and performance outcomes.1 If you’re a powerlifter this means that the training you do should be focused at ... Continue Reading
Lunges Are Harder and Better Than You Think
Though we seem to like to make fitness complicated, it doesn’t have to be. If you squat, push, pull, hinge, and carry consistently you’ll probably get pretty fit. But don't forget to lunge! ... Continue Reading
7 Steps to Barbell Etiquette
The gym is just like a classroom or an office—there are important rules you need to follow in order to keep everyone safe and to ensure it runs efficiently. Rules are also there to stop you from looking ... Continue Reading
How to Value Your Health
We love to vaguely allude to values in day-to-day conversation. Values are a convenient, socially respected concept and any reference to them adds weight to our words. More than likely your company has ... Continue Reading
5 Common Rowing Mistakes
The rowing machine looks simple and less intimidating than others—a machine anyone can use—and it is. As a former university rower, I’ll admit it’s one of the easier sports to pick up, as there’s ... Continue Reading
Add Tempo to Your Training to Optimize Performance
Before I get into what tempo is good for, let’s talk about reading tempo. “What does @3131 mean?” Before I explain that, you need to understand the difference between the concentric and ... Continue Reading
Eliminate Poor Reps to Build More Muscle
If you’re not making weekly progress with your training plan right now, then listen up. Chances are it has nothing to do with the exercises you’re using, or to do with how much time you’re spending in the ... Continue Reading
The Wisdom to Back Off; The Maturity to Be Okay
You ever listened to the Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler? The chorus reads: "If you're gonna play the game, boy You gotta learn to play it right You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when ... Continue Reading
The 30-Day Challenge that Actually Works
Before you start any fitness program or commit to a new way of eating, you have to really look at how you’ve been living and why you have been living that way. You can’t just turn the dial to awesomeness ... Continue Reading
How to Pace Yourself During Distance Rowing
As a former college rower, it’s hard to stop myself from getting in there and coaching anyone I see at the gym rowing with uncharacteristic technique. As a former college rower, it’s hard to ... Continue Reading
‘How To’ Is Pointless Without ‘Why’
“He who has a 'why' can bear almost any 'how.'" - Nietzsche Back in the 1800s, Nietzsche understood how pivotal the question of ‘why’ is to the human experience. “He who has a 'why' can ... Continue Reading
No-Equipment Needed Upper Body Pulls
All you need to train is your body. Mastery of that one machine makes the world a playground and almost certainly ensures a life of physical vigor. Bodyweight movement is the best because it is: Cheap ... Continue Reading
5 Exercises to Better Wrist Health
Be honest now. When it comes to your training, how much time do you spend working on your wrists? There’s a good chance the answer is, "Not at all." Most of us don’t think much about warming ... Continue Reading
