“Sports specific training” is all the rage on social media. It is hard to see a day go by where I don’t see something gimmicky or flashy being done by a self-proclaimed guru trainer or “performance” coach. ... Continue Reading
A 4-Week Challenge to Develop Unexpected Strength
For a number of years, when I lived in an apartment in Arizona, I trained with a barbell and some weight plates out in the desert. I’d fit the barbell and plates into my vehicle any way I could. Training ... Continue Reading
Making Time to Switch Off
These days it looks like everyone has a voice because of social media. In fact, it is hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t. The amount of filtering that is required is now overwhelming. However, I do ... Continue Reading
Behind the Scenes of Your Running Program
There are hundreds, if not thousands of running training plans out there. There are plans for every event from the 40-yard dash to ultramarathons, and all of them, to some degree, are effective. ... Continue Reading
Is Gaining Strength the Most Important Work You Can Do as You Age?
Photo by Bev Childress During our lifetime, the human body is constantly undergoing visible and invisible changes. Spiritual, intellectual, and emotional changes are among the most prevalent due to ... Continue Reading
Create Your Own New Beginning
A new beginning, fresh start, reinvention, mulligan, or do-over are all terms that we tend to equate with major life changes—the beginning (or end) of a relationship, a move across the country, a new ... Continue Reading
Plan “B” – Short Workouts That Will Save Your Day
Like most serious sports athletes, you’ll do whatever it takes to become successful. Because it’s important, you’ll find the time, make time, and commit to practicing specific sports skills, team ... Continue Reading
A Simple Anywhere Anytime HIIT Workout
When it comes to well, anything these days, people are always looking to get the biggest and quickest “bang for their buck.” Workout-shopping is no exception. The more calories in a shorter amount of time, ... Continue Reading
The Athlete’s Toolbox: Blueprint of the Perfect Warm Up
The warm-up is arguably the most important aspect of any fitness routine. A proper warm-up primes your nervous system and readies your circulatory and muscular systems for the workout ahead. The benefits ... Continue Reading
Three Major Muscles to Always Keep Loose
Whether you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, or bodybuilding event, you want your body to function at its very best. In order to get there we tend to push ourselves, but it’s also important to rest ... Continue Reading
Earn the Weekend with a Gut Check
“Everybody’s working for the weekend!” I’m a millennial, so that is the only line that I know to this popular 80’s ballad. After that line, I just awkwardly hum the melody: “na na na na na na na.” ... Continue Reading
Which Deadlift is Right for Your Body Type?
No exercise is quite as feared, or revered, as the barbell deadlift. It is probably the oldest barbell exercise in existence. The day the barbell was invented, you can bet someone tried to pick it up off ... Continue Reading
Common Elbow Injuries and What to Do About Them
Snap! Pop! That is a common sound heard and felt within the elbow of a professional baseball pitcher. The cause is a torn ulnar collateral ligament. This elbow injury is commonly reported throughout the ... Continue Reading
Is Personal Training Too Personal?
”Anything you avoid in life will come back, over and over again, until you’re willing to face it–to look deeply into its true nature.” - Adyashanti ”Anything you avoid in life will come back, over ... Continue Reading
Respect Your Body’s Signs: Lifting Heavy and Listening Closely
MMA, CrossFit, strongman, powerlifting, football, hockey, baseball - everyone is bigger, stronger, and jacked up higher than ever before. Amateur to pro-athlete, people are maxing out every advantage of ... Continue Reading
Learning and Training the Proper Technique for the Barbell Snatch
The snatch lift is one of two competitive movements in the Olympic sport of weightlifting. Originally known as one of the two “quick lifts,” (the other being the clean and jerk) the snatch contrasted the ... Continue Reading
Fairness in Sport and the Highest Peaks in the World
What makes sport compelling to watch? What drives us to compete against each other? I would argue that we come back to watch the same sports over and over again because of the thrill of the unknown. Until ... Continue Reading
Cossack Squat Your Way to Strength
Really committed to getting deep into your bottom position on your lifts? Sitting at a desk all day at work? Or maybe just have an interest in increasing hip flexibility? The Cossack squat is a good ... Continue Reading
Self-Coach With Confidence
Photo by Bev Childress Photo by Bev Childress Let’s say you have been working out for a long time, by yourself. You are extremely self-disciplined and feel confident following programs that ... Continue Reading
The Auto-Regulated Plan for Lifetime Fitness
The fitness community is full of ardent proponents for one specific route. They are CrossFitters, runners, strength athletes, yogis, or bodybuilders. All develop their body for a narrowly defined goal. ... Continue Reading
I Am No Superhero
Photo by Bev Childress Photo by Bev Childress America is addicted to superlatives. We’re bored with better; we want the best, biggest, fastest, strongest, hottest, coldest, highest, funnest, ... Continue Reading
This Is Supposed to Be Hard
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great. “ This Tom Hanks quote from A League of Their Own has become a cliché. But here’s the thing about ... Continue Reading
When Healthy Habit Becomes Passionless Routine
Today, like every day, I hopped out of bed at the insistence of the alarm I strategically place across the room. Like every morning, I let my dogs out, then went to the kitchen and drank 16 ounces of cold ... Continue Reading
Fight Strength NSFW: Treating Athletes with Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy
On an all-new edition of Fight Strength NSFW, the show takes a turn into the world of medicine, as it focuses on a treatment that is growing in popularity across the world. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) ... Continue Reading