We are all looking for an edge in competition, and anything external that we can take to improve performance is called an “ergogenic aid.” Although we normally think of things you ingest, an ergogenic aid ... Continue Reading
Announcing the Winners of the Gymboss and Yoga Hands Giveaways!
Last week we posted reviews for the new Gymboss Interval Timers and Yoga Hands. If you missed the reviews for these products, be sure to check them out! Here are the ten winners of the Gymboss giveaway and ... Continue Reading
A Day in the Life of a Muay Thai Fighter
The art of muay Thai, otherwise known as “the science of eight limbs,” has existed for centuries. However, the modernized sport of muay Thai evolved in the early 19th century. Many changes were made to the ... Continue Reading
5 Ways Doing Karaoke Can Benefit Your BJJ Training
Over the weekend, I went with some friends to a karaoke bar. Not the kind where you get your own private room. The kind where you go on stage in front of God and everybody, where it’s just the backbeat, ... Continue Reading
3 Questions Every CrossFitter Needs to Ask Every Day
As CrossFitters we’re constantly competing. Unlike any other sport I can think of, each and every time we train we get a score - a time, a weight, or a number. On top of this there are benchmarks workouts, ... Continue Reading
Get a Grip: 3 Ways to Grip a Deadlift and How to Get Your Grip Stronger
The deadlift has long been touted as the King of Lifts. Whether you agree with that or not, it’s easy to see why it has gained such a reputation. For most, the deadlift is the lift for which you ... Continue Reading
Evidence for Direct Core Work Found Lacking
For as long as I’ve been a trainer, people have been doing a lot of core exercises in the gym. In fact a search on the web will give you innumerable articles, videos, and web sites devoted to core ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Pat McCarty, Entry 17 – 6/19/2013
EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of CrossFit trainer and masters athlete Patrick McCarty. Patrick competed in the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games in the 45-49 age bracket and has his sights set on ... Continue Reading
Meditation for the Athlete: 8 Steps to Get You Started
How do I begin a meditation practice? This is a question I often hear from my students. Meditation takes daily practice. You can read a hundred books on the subject and you won’t experience any of the ... Continue Reading
Project Mayhem: Sign Up and Tell Complacency to #$@% Off
In 2008 Michael Atkinson wrote a paper that has become very well known in the endurance community – Triathlon, Suffering and Exciting Significance. What sets this paper apart from most published on any ... Continue Reading
Hormones and Muscle Growth: An Overrated Correlation?
The belief in the importance of anabolic hormones is central to most athletes, coaches, and researchers. The depth of the belief extends to pretty much everything we do in the gym. For example, most ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Chris Duffin, Entry 55 – Turning Up the Volume
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
And Then What? What Happens After We Reach Our Goals
And then what? That, my friends, is the least answered question in fitness. This question is about what happens after we’ve reached the goal. It’s about what is behind our goal. Goals in their inherent ... Continue Reading
Yoga for Strength Athletes: Triangle and Side Angle Poses
Hopefully, if you are not already practicing some form of yoga on a regular basis, my previous article inspired you to integrate it more intentionally into your training, or at least tinker around with it. ... Continue Reading
Foot Placement and Movement in Olympic Weightlifting: How to Create the Most Power
Those new to the Olympic lifts sometimes are confused about foot positioning in the execution of the snatch and clean. When I started lifting many years ago the squat style of catching the weight was still ... Continue Reading
Maximize Your Strength and Gains With This Simple Rep Scheme
Did you know there’s a simple way to get more gains from your strength workouts? The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research has an upcoming study that uncovered this phenomenon. Researchers ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Andrew Read – Spartan Race Training, Entry 2
Click here to read other journal entries and articles by Andrew Read, and look for his new journals as he trains for not one but TWO back-to-back Spartan Races - the Spartan Beast and the Spartan Ultra ... Continue Reading
Build the Upper Body Strength to Climb Walls: 2 Parkour Wall Dip Exercises
Imagine you are running away from some threat to your life. Perhaps you are hustling to escape the rising waters of a flash flood. Maybe you are bounding through the woods to hide from a wild boar. You ... Continue Reading
The Myth of Willpower: The 3 Step Way to Create Lasting Habits
We’ve all tried to change habits before and most of us are not very successful. We swear off junk food or snacking. We promise ourselves we’ll go to the gym every day. We swear to stick to our guns this ... Continue Reading
MovNat and the Mature Athlete
Watch Erwan Le Corre's Brand New Video Workouts! At the age of 51, I jump out of bed every morning and I can’t wait to get to the gym or park to train, move, and enjoy all the physical activity my body ... Continue Reading
How and Why to Train Your Lungs
Working the respiratory muscles has long been a goal in fitness culture. It’s not something you’ll see a machine for in the gym, not even the hardcore gyms. No, working the muscles that drive your lungs is ... Continue Reading
Factions of the Fitness Industry: Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong, and Who Really Cares?
Most strength and fitness enthusiasts are in the game for a specific reason. It could be to lift competitively, to excel in endurance events, or to simply improve general fitness. Whatever the reason, when ... Continue Reading
Sunday Seven: The Week’s 7 Most Popular Articles, Vol. 63
Every Sunday we post the "Sunday Seven" so you can quickly see the 7 most popular articles of the week. This week's popular posts cover BJJ, how to squat, sprint training, the Grok analogy, kettlebells, ... Continue Reading
A Hotter Mess Than I Thought: 5 More Things I Wish I Had Known When I First Started Training BJJ
I had so much fun writing my last piece about things I wish I had known when I started BJJ, and I got a positive enough response to it, that I decided to write about five more things I wish I had known ... Continue Reading
