In order to get you off to a healthy start this new year, we are throwing a giveaway contest with Natural Vitality Sports. What can you win? Natural Calm magnesium supplement! What do you have to ... Continue Reading
Top 10 Articles in 2011 on Breaking Muscle
2011 was a great year for us here at breakingmuscle.com and a few thanks are in order before we list our Top ten articles of the past year. We are very proud of our staff of writers and guest ... Continue Reading
4 Tools to Successfully Start the Workout Lifestyle
Starting to workout is a lot like helping someone move: It sounds good at the time. You organize it and get the needed gear. But the day of, it can be a complete disaster. I know I’ve started the workout ... Continue Reading
How to Build Strength to Improve Running Efficiency
A few decades ago endurance athletes where encouraged to avoid “gym training” for fear that they would develop heavy, bulky muscles. The reasoning was: extra mass without function will inhibit endurance ... Continue Reading
Putting Plans Into Action: Make Your Resolution Happen!
It’s that time of year again. The holidays are coming to a close and we make our promises: promises to stop eating this or that, promises to quit smoking, promises to exercise, promises to get ... Continue Reading
New Year’s Resolutions – The Hard Way
Every year, you make New Years Resolutions, commitments to yourself to reach goals you CLAIM are important to you. And every year, you fail to meet most of them - maybe all of them. Think about what ... Continue Reading
BodyPump Group Exercise: Does It Work or Not?
It’s often enticing when getting back into regular exercise to try the newest fad in fitness. One of the more popular movements of late is Les Mills Body Pump. It’s often enticing when getting back ... Continue Reading
Owning Your Training, Part 2: Setting Your Own Boundaries
In my most recent article, Why a PhD and BJJ Aren't So Different, I suggested Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu be studied the way academic disciplines are studied. I also suggested one of the similarities between BJJ ... Continue Reading
New Year, New You: Set a New Intention For The New Year in 5 Simple Steps
With the New Year fast approaching, and resolutions floating around, take a moment to clear the mind and focus on setting a new intention. New intentions allow for the setting of attainable and measurable ... Continue Reading
Owning Your Training: Why a PhD and BJJ Aren’t So Different
The longer I spend training and thinking about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the more fervently I believe it should be treated and studied as an academic discipline. I would like to see smart people develop theory, ... Continue Reading
Can the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) Actually Determine Ability?
The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) has been gaining popularity in recent years as a measure of physical ability and predictor of athletic performance. Trainers and coaches who use the FMS include ... Continue Reading
How to Get Fat, Weak, and Totally Miserable in 10 Days Flat!
Nick Horton, also known as The Iron Samurai, is out of town on Holiday. I'm his twin brother, The Plastic Ninja, and I've stepped in to take over his column this week to help him out. Hopefully, I can ... Continue Reading
Featured Coach: John Farr, Part 2 – The Reality of Coaching
Last week, in part one of our interview, we spoke with Olympic weightlifting coach John Farr about how he went from musician to UCLA strength and conditioning coach. He revealed his preference for the ... Continue Reading
Balance for Grapplers & Humans: Using BJJ Techniques to Balance Life
Let’s chat a little bit about balance and how we might achieve it in our lives, from the perspective of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We can use grappling as a metaphor, at least in part, as long as we accept we ... Continue Reading
Use Your Inner Coach to Set SMART Goals
In a previous article I talked about setting big, scary, unreasonable goals. Using your creative, daring side of your brain to paint a picture of your dreams. Great. So now you’ve got a list of ... Continue Reading
Weightlifting Shoes Beneficial for Athletes With Forward Trunk Lean
There is much debate in the CrossFit community regarding the necessity of weightlifting shoes. Many athletes swear by them and would not dare to think of wearing athletic shoes for weightlifting. There is ... Continue Reading
Find Your Authentic Self by Setting Unreasonable Goals
There is no way in January of 2010 I would have written on my annual goal list, “Move to Portland, Oregon.” In fact in June of 2010 I signed a two-year lease on my apartment in Los Angeles. Within five ... Continue Reading
The 7 Fitness Myths (i.e. Total B.S.) You Need to Know
The fitness industry is full of more lies, myths, and total B.S. than nearly any industry on the planet. Some of these myths are slowly going away, thanks to bastions of reason like Breaking Muscle. But, ... Continue Reading
The Stocking Stuffer Workout from Taku
This workout is a combination of a bodyweight barbell challenge and VersaClimber conditioning. It is intended for advanced athletes who possess very high levels of both strength and conditioning. If you do ... Continue Reading
Featured Coach: John Farr, Part 1 – Mental Toughness
If you met John Farr, it might take you a little while to start hearing the tales from his varied background, but once you did you would start to realize the depth of life experience behind his coaching. ... Continue Reading
Ten Ways to Win Over Your Grappler Friend
I’ve heard it said that anyone who trains long enough to earn a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is bat-guano crazy. So, imagine how nutso the brown, black, and red belts are. People who grapple ... Continue Reading
Everyday Squatting for the Everyday Athlete
The year 2011 was a great one for the promotion of heavy, daily training. Olympic weightlifting continued its rise in popularity, CrossFit partnered with Reebok, and the so-called "Bulgarian" methods of ... Continue Reading
Practice Your Practice: 4 Mental Steps to Stay Active this Holiday
Last week I made it into yoga class for the first time in a few weeks. My body had been craving it, but my mind kept telling me I needed to do other things. My yoga instructor took the opportunity to talk ... Continue Reading
4 Ways to Be a Good Training Partner: Getting Started in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
I train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and submission grappling. I’m not the best technician, instructor, or competitor - not by a LONG shot. In fact, the more I train, the more I wish I could keep my gi closed ... Continue Reading
