My first Kettlebell Sport meet broke a nine-year competitive dry spell. It was the first time I had participated in any official athletic event since my freshman year of high school. So when I entered the ... Continue Reading
Biomechanics, Gender, and Running Economy
Running economy is the amount of oxygen consumed at any given velocity. Reduced need for oxygen at a given speed means economy has improved because less energy is needed to maintain that velocity. A new ... Continue Reading
When Losing Is Actually Winning
Losing, but winning. A few questions come to mind when I think of this statement. Such as, “How does that make any sense?” “How do I feel any sense of accomplishment if I just lost?” Or “Did I make that ... Continue Reading
7 Important Lessons on Listening to Your Body
Good athletes are typically good at listening to their coaches. But they're not always so good at listening to themselves. Truth is, your body knows what you need better than your brain and all the ... Continue Reading
5 Essential Ingredients for Successful Ironman Training
When it comes to something as crazy as completing an Ironman, you really need to have done one yourself to offer advice. Our resident athletic adventurer, Andrew Read, chronicled his Ironman training plan, ... Continue Reading
The Importance of Daily Goal Setting (Athlete Journal 37)
My preparation for the New York Open is going great! I’ve been getting lots of drilling in, running is getting easier, I’m cleaning up my diet, and I’ve started weight training again after a little ... Continue Reading
Training Athletes 30 Years Ago – Has Anything Really Changed?
Trainers and coaches under the age of thirty have been exposed to a different world. Although you have access to conventional paper books, scholarly periodicals, and profit-driven magazines from years ... Continue Reading
My Competition Results (Athlete Journal 94)
I competed in the 2014 100% Raw! Federation’s American Challenge on June 8th in Tucson, Arizona this past Sunday. Due to a few personal issues that prevented me from arriving the day before, I opted to ... Continue Reading
How Often Should You Compete in Weightlifting?
Today there are large numbers of CrossFit and other athletes who have decided to try a weightlifting career. To those unfamiliar with our sport the idea of infrequent competition comes as a bit of a shock. ... Continue Reading
How to Reach Freak Level Fitness
If you ever feel like you’re not progressing as fast as you’d like, then there’s a fair chance the fastest way there is to do more. Eat more good meals per week. Train more times. Do more reps within ... Continue Reading
A Way to Meditate: For People Really Bad at Meditation
We are hard-wired to be really bad at meditation. Thousands of years of evolution have ensured that the humans with the most active brains - those in constant assessment of the world around them, potential ... Continue Reading
6 Exercises to Fight Bad Posture in Kids
There is a silent plague striking children today. You won’t hear about it on the evening news, and few doctors will talk about it, choosing instead to focus on the general issues of obesity and juvenile ... Continue Reading
A Beginner’s Guide to Structuring Your Swim Workout
When you head to the pool for a swim workout, do you ever wonder what you should be doing? Many athletes tend to think they only need to jump in the pool, swim a certain distance, do some speed work, and ... Continue Reading
The 7 Laws of Training According to Dr. Fred Hatfield
I recently sat down with Dr. Fred Hatfield, also known as Dr. Squat, to discuss his views on strength and conditioning and how they fit into modern training systems. For those of you unfamiliar, Dr. ... Continue Reading
Bands Are for Pushing, Not Pulling
When engaged in serious training in the gym, it is best to operate under a set of well-informed principles. These principles may vary depending on the circumstances, but it is in your best interest to have ... Continue Reading
Consistency and Focus (Athlete Journal 23)
Everything is coming along nicely for the New York Summer Open next month. I got four solid training days in on the mat last week, including another training day up at Daniel Beleza’s Brazilian jiu jitsu ... Continue Reading
11 Amazing BJJ and MMA Gifts for Father’s Day
Turn this Father’s Day up to eleven! Father’s Day is this weekend and if you haven’t finished shopping for the BJJ- or MMA-fighting dad in your life, there’s still time. If you aren’t sure what all of the ... Continue Reading
15 Great Training Plans – Is One For You?
You Wanted More Access We're all coaches here at Breaking Muscle, and we remember back to when we each were running gyms, be they BJJ, CrossFit, or otherwise. We were deluged every day with messages ... Continue Reading
Take Nothing for Granted: 9/11, CrossFit, and Breath
The importance of breathing need hardly be stressed. It provides the oxygen for the metabolic processes; literally it supports the fires of life. But breath as "pneuma" is also the spirit or soul. We live ... Continue Reading
Dehydration Impacts Heart Rate and Performance
There has been some controversy lately over the effects of dehydration on health and performance in athletes. Its consequences for performance were investigated in a recent Journal of Strength and ... Continue Reading
Every Experience Is a Teacher (Athlete Journal 20)
"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” - Eleanor Roosevelt Every experience, no matter what it is, has something to teach us. ... Continue Reading
Everything to Know About Ultra-Marathons
Marathons are the “giants” of all running races, the ultimate goal for many who venture into the sport of running. Some runners, however, set their sights higher still and consider tackling an ... Continue Reading
Valerie Worthington: On BJJ and Life, Ep 1
Welcome to our inaugural episode of Breaking Muscle Radio! In this episode our hosts, Managing Editor Becca Borawski Jenkins and Coach Chet Morjaria, interview Valerie Worthington. Val is one of the few ... Continue Reading
The Modern Male and Body Image: It’s Okay to Talk About It
We often talk about the female body image. I have written about it as well as many other authors, but what about the male body image? How do today’s standards affect males and how they feel about ... Continue Reading
