“Rage-baiting is commonplace and infuriatingly successful, so the most prevalent language of the Internet is at its best cynicism and its worst outright meanness.” - Emily Layden, ... Continue Reading
How Sleep Deprivation Affects Athletic Performance
Being sleep deprived for competition is probably the average state for most of us. Last minute travel, jet lag, unfavorable sleeping conditions, and anxiety are amongst the common reasons why we might have ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Chris Duffin, Entry 67 – Time to Refocus
EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the Athlete Journal of world champion powerlifter Chris Duffin. Follow Chris as he trains and competes in various events over the coming year. Chris's journal will be posted every ... Continue Reading
Psychology in the Weightlifting Arena, Part 7 – The Lifter’s Trance
In our exploration of the psychology of a weightlifter, we now come to a point just before the lifter is ready to lift the barbell. All physical and psychological preparations have been completed. It is ... Continue Reading
Running Shoes: What You Need to Know to Buy the Right One For You
Running is a simple sport. Left foot, right foot, repeat. The only specific sport equipment you'll need to run properly is a good pair of running shoes. Do You Really Need Running Shoes? You can ... Continue Reading
Lessons From the Fall: Turn Over a New Leaf and Switch Up Your Program
“Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments.” - Plato As a fitness professional my job ... Continue Reading
The Truth About Conditioning for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
To answer the question of how to get in shape for Brazilian jiu jitsu, we must first look at the requirements of the sport. One of the founding principles of exercise science is the SAID (specific ... Continue Reading
The Rx Factor: 3 Reasons Why You Must Scale Your WODs
It seems as of late, especially with the boom of the CrossFit Games, the Rx element has become more important in a CrossFitter's daily workouts. We can admit, we were all beginners at one point in time, ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Alli Moyer, Entry 2 – 9/9/2013
EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of Allison Moyer. Allison is a nationally ranked NPC Figure Athlete, nationally and internationally published fitness model, an avid CrossFit athlete, BSN, ... Continue Reading
Sunday Seven: The Week’s 7 Most Popular Articles, Vol. 75
Every Sunday we post the "Sunday Seven" so you can quickly see the seven most popular articles of the week. This week's most popular posts cover coaching, CrossFit, pull ups, sleep, mature athletes, ... Continue Reading
The Wai Kru: What That Funny Dance Muay Thai Fighters Do Really Means
If you’ve ever watched a muay Thai match, then you know at the beginning of every bout you see the fighters perform a ritual dance. For Westerners, it may seem strange or tedious, but this dance has deep ... Continue Reading
The Inverse Relationship Between Max Effort, Short-Term Complex Skills and Multiple Repetitions
High intensity effort and high volume are mutually exclusive terms. You cannot have a high intensity effort with high volume of output without losing quality, relatively speaking. However, you can have low ... Continue Reading
10 Links to Give Life to Your Deadlift
The deadlift is often called the King of Lifts, for good reason - it is one of the best lifts for full-body strength, posterior chain development, and muscle growth. Here are ten links to help you pick up ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Charles Staley, Entry 58 – Another Solid Week
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever wonder how a world-class coach actually trains? Wonder what it's like to train as a "mature athlete?" Welcome to the athlete journal of Charles Staley. A big believer in practicing what ... Continue Reading
MIL/LEO/FF or Anyone Else Short on Time: 3 Fast Workouts to Switch It Up
One of the most difficult lifestyle changes faced by members of the military and first responders is an inconsistent and often unpredictable work schedule. Leaving aside the mentally and physically ... Continue Reading
Beyond the 2-Handed Swing: 5 Effective Kettlebell Movements You May Be Neglecting
There’s a lot more to the world of kettlebells than just the two-handed swing. While the swing is effective, there are other movements that can work our strength, stability, flexibility, grip, and ... Continue Reading
Flexibility Is Like Any Other Discipline – It Takes Discipline
Flexibility is one of those things that people seem to believe you were either born with or you weren’t. As if there is some wonder-gene that allows you to do the splits. That’s just not the case, and I’ll ... Continue Reading
The Effects of Weights on Anaerobic Power
It's important for many types of athlete to pay attention to both aerobic and anaerobic power. In particular, athletes need to consider aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. The boundary between the two types ... Continue Reading
Psychology in the Weightlifting Arena, Part 6 – Discharging
Continuing my comments on Edward W.L. Smith's Not Just Pumping Iron, we come to the final stage of the psyching up process. After you have relaxed, centered your mind, visualized the lift, grounded your ... Continue Reading
The CrossFit L1 Cert Doesn’t Make You a Coach
I am going to go out on a limb here with a statement: Attending a CrossFit L1 Cert does not qualify you to coach CrossFit. Now, before this is railed as blasphemy, let me put this into ... Continue Reading
Muscular Endurance and Strength Training: An Ideal Combo for Endurance Athletes
There has been a lot of interest in concurrent training in scientific literature lately. Concurrent training means developing your cardio and strength goals within the same week, instead of breaking them ... Continue Reading
Interview with Jesse Bellevance of Killer Bee Kimonos
Jesse Bellevance, owner of Killer Bee Kimonos, understands first-hand the value of knowing self-defense. Recently I had the chance to speak to Jesse about how he got his start in martial arts. Turns out, ... Continue Reading
How to Safely Lift and Do Yoga When You Have a Bulging Disc
Yoga will not "cure" a bulging disc. In fact, unless you are working one-on-one with a teacher, I wouldn't recommend yoga with an active disc bulge. However, once your doctor has cleared you for physical ... Continue Reading
Santa Claus, Fairies, and Why the Transverse Abdominis/Multifidus Co-Contraction Theory Belongs in the Fiction Section
I can’t remember when I first realized there was no Santa Claus. Nor can I tell you when it first dawned on me that advocates of the transverse abdominis/multifidus co-contraction theory of lumbar ... Continue Reading
