Some of the best training techniques aren’t anything new. Forced reps, pause reps, and giant sets are still around and kicking for good reason, and supersets are on that list as well. Altering intensity to ... Continue Reading
Complexity in Periodization
Intensity and volume are the most popular variables in periodization. Exercise selection, however, can play a crucial role in determining how these variables actually affect the training process. ... Continue Reading
How the NCAA Can Fix Youth Athletics
Bashing the NCAA is in vogue, and it’s not hard to see why. Every keyboard warrior on the internet feels it’s their duty to self-righteously assault them. They point to the billionaire boosters, the ... Continue Reading
The Iron Mind Makes Its Workout a Meditation
Source: Bev Childress Sometimes you read a single sentence and it sticks with you for life. I remember one such sentence from the early days of my own reading on meditation, mindset, and mental ... Continue Reading
The Traps Destroying Your Commitment to Your Goals
As a personal trainer, I’m always programming workouts for everyone else. While I follow a program myself sometimes, there are some days I get bored doing the same routine for 6 - 8 weeks and lose some of ... Continue Reading
Daily Movement With Passion and Purpose
If you’re new to trying to get in shape, the ocean of options available to you can be daunting. There are hundreds of different implements, machines, protocols, and programs, all claiming to be the best ... Continue Reading
Balance Endurance and Resistance in Concurrent Training
How are your workout routines planned? Are you the sort of person who warms up with a light jog before moving into resistance training, or do you add the cardio training after your weightlifting? Do you ... Continue Reading
Are Vegetarian Diets Really That Effective?
For many, myself included, vegan and vegetarian diets hold little allure. As a dedicated meat eater and lover of all things bacon, it's tough to think about giving up eggs, cheese, chicken breast, whey ... Continue Reading
Can You Afford the Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is generally regarded as one of the world's healthiest, most balanced diets. The high consumption of fish, fruits, vegetables, natural fats, seeds, nuts, and whole grains can improve ... Continue Reading
Low Intensity Training for High Intensity Sports
High intensity training gets all the love. And for good reason—it’s tough, it’s time efficient, and it works. Low intensity training is a less appreciated form of conditioning, yet can have tremendous ... Continue Reading
Cardio Doesn’t Have to Be Discriminated Against by Meatheads
Are you allergic to cardio? Does the mere mention of it create visions in your head of long hours spent on the treadmill or stationary bike? Are you already bracing yourself for another article listing the ... Continue Reading
Sugar and Protein Don’t Get Along
Source: Bev Childress The beverage industry spends $3.2 billion marketing sodas and other sugary drinks every year. Is it any surprise that you'll find these drinks in just about every home in the ... Continue Reading
7 Ways to Create Better Mental Toughness
It has often been said that mental toughness is a key ingredient to true fitness. Some of what weighs us down in the weight room or the track is not ours to carry. Here are seven steps to achieving mental ... Continue Reading
Progression and the Hierarchy of Needs
Recently I came across a fascinating piece detailing Peyton Manning’s work ethic and unparalleled focus while training under Tommy Moffitt at the University of Tennessee. His training folder was not just a ... Continue Reading
Why You Should Train Naked
Every runner and cyclist will tell you that if it isn’t on Strava, it didn’t happen. CrossFit is built on the concept of quantifying work for comparison to others. As athletes, and indeed as human beings, ... Continue Reading
Push Up Progressions for Everyone
Have you ever felt frustrated at not being able to do a decent push up? Some people just seem to pop those reps out with complete ease, yet for the majority of people a great push up alludes them. What ... Continue Reading
Get Ready for Handstands: Wrist Prep
Beautiful handstands sit on a foundation of strong and stable hands and wrists. When working to progress in our handstands, we can easily fall into the temptation to simply start going upside down. Of ... Continue Reading
The Public Health Importance of Identifying Excess Body Fat
It was recently estimated that between 62 and 76% of the world’s population has reached body fat levels that can impair health. This condition, which can now be labeled a pandemic, was described by the ... Continue Reading
Bulgarian Split Squats: The King of Single Leg Exercises
Source: Shawn Gerber's TriStrong Bulgarian split squats are the king of leg exercises. Before you click off of this page in disgust, I want to ask, have you ever tried Bulgarian split squats as your main ... Continue Reading
2 Cone Lateral Bounding (aka Heiden Jumps)
Description Start out by setting up 2 cones that are about 5 to 7 feet apart in distance. Part of this distance will be determined by the trainee having a good understanding of their own abilities as this ... Continue Reading
Work Your Muscles with Unilateral Training
Unilateral training isn’t anything new these days. We hear a lot about different techniques to do it, such as carries, bands, kettlebells, suspension trainers, and single-limb exercises. But since so many ... Continue Reading
Sleep Loss Favors Weight Gain
Much to the irritation of my wife, I like to keep to a regular sleep schedule. I'm asleep before 11 PM every night and up at 6 AM every morning. Even on the weekends, I still end up sleeping around this ... Continue Reading
Sixteen Going on Sixty – Fitness in Decline for the Young
A recently released study found that teens today have the same activity levels as 60-year-olds. At an age when they should be on their way to their physical prime, they are instead entrenched in lifestyles ... Continue Reading
Back Pain: The Hundred Billion Dollar Scam
If I told you that there was an enterprise that charges its customer base $100 billion annually and fails to deliver what it says it’s selling, you’d wonder how it could exist. If I then told you that the ... Continue Reading