"More" has become the religion of the 21st century. We assume more is better in training, in eating, and in our to-do lists. Commercials convince us that buying more will make us happy, and social media ... Continue Reading
The Elusive Flow: Finding Ultimate Human Performance
One moment you’re grinding it out on a long run, and then suddenly something shifts. You find yourself at one with your body, your breathing relaxes, and your mind focuses. At this moment, your running ... Continue Reading
A Head-to-Toe Approach to Back Tension
If you’re struggling with tension or pain in your back, it’s more than a nuisance. It affects your quality of movement from the ground up. Your back—specifically your spine—is literally the axis you ... Continue Reading
What Is CrossFit to You?
“I hate competing. It gets in the way of my training.” -My wife, the most wonderful woman in the world For a long time, I thought she was being funny or ironic when she said this. For me, the whole ... Continue Reading
Eccentric Strength to Fight the Aging Process
Every effective program—those for high-level athletes, the average Joe, or those getting on in years—will include at least a partial focus on eccentric loading. The eccentric portion of a movement is the ... Continue Reading
A 4-Week Plan for Getting Started With a Jogging Stroller
Being a parent can make you better at life or it can make you worse. There is very little grey area. There are some things I've gotten worse at, like keeping up with the laundry and drinking coffee in ... Continue Reading
The Impact of Training and Diet on Cognitive Performance
Students are among the most malnourished people in the country. Multiple studies have shown that the average college student is lacking in fruits and vegetables, eats a lot of processed and artificial ... Continue Reading
Train Your Perception to Dominate Adversity
The luxuries of the 21st century have created the expectation that life should be comfortable. We have become accustomed to ease and security to the point where we see having problems as a problem. Then ... Continue Reading
A Systematic Approach to Mobility
So you want to get mobile. You have dreams of dropping into a deep squat with ease, of being the person that can fold forward into a pancake position. Or maybe your goals are a little less lofty. Maybe you ... Continue Reading
The Search For Optimal Reps
Time crunches play an important part in the patterns we adopt for our training. So, it may make sense to do fewer repetitions during high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts if it can get better ... Continue Reading
How an Anti-Cancer Drug Boosted Fat Burning
Do you have any idea how much the average American spends on diet supplements? It's estimated that 68% of Americans take supplements, with 66% of Americans saying they'll take more supplements in the next ... Continue Reading
How Iron Boosts Exercise Performance in Women
Walk into any supplement or health food store, and you'll find yourself overwhelmed by the multitude of supplements available. There are literally dozens of different brands, types, and flavors of protein ... Continue Reading
6 Exercises For Rebuilding Your Core After Pregnancy
You’re sitting at home, holding that adorable little bundle of joy, and so glad the hard part is over. Then you look down at that big squishy blob that used to be your stomach and wonder, “What in the hell ... Continue Reading
CrossFit Masters and Teen Qualifiers 2017: Beating the Odds
Over the course of this weekend teenagers and masters athletes will be competing in the CrossFit Online Qualifier. It's pretty much like the Games Open in terms of set-up - you'll be doing it ... Continue Reading
HIT: Stop the Trashing and Begin the Thrashing
(Source: Bev Childress) High intensity training (HIT) has received a lot of negative reviews over the years. It's confounding because one of the cornerstones of any viable training program is ... Continue Reading
The Newbie Guide to Building Muscle
Every experienced lifter will tell you that they wish that they were a newbie again. After all, it's the best gains you'll ever have in your life. That initial rush of physical improvement becomes your ... Continue Reading
Can The Mediterranean Diet Prevent ADHD?
The Mediterranean diet is ranked among the healthiest diets in the world by multiple sources. It offers a diet rich in natural ingredients, free of artificial foods, with a great balance of macro and ... Continue Reading
The Essentialists: Chris Holder
"More" has become the religion of the 21st century. We assume more is better in training, in eating, and in our to-do lists. Commercials convince us that buying more will make us happy, and social media ... Continue Reading
Your Lats, Your Lifts, and the Coiling Core
It’s time to talk about a serious condition: Imaginary Lat Syndrome (ILS). According to Urban Dictionary, ILS is the imaginary sensation of having huge latissimus dorsi muscles or "lats.” Weak deadlifts, ... Continue Reading
Ballistic Strength: Adding Velocity to Muscle
Over the years, I’ve tested many different types of training modalities. I’ve introduced elements of bodybuilding, powerlifting, circuit training, and many forms of interval training to stress various ... Continue Reading
Is Your Cell Phone Ruining Your Workout?
Gym etiquette is clear: Get off your cell phone, dingus. For most of us, the gym is the place where we can get away from work, and disconnect from our phones. Leave them in the locker room is the best way ... Continue Reading
It Takes More Than Talent
(Source: Bev Childress) Weightlifting talent is not rare. When I first started to coach weightlifting, back when I still had plenty of hair on my head and none on my back, I thought physically ... Continue Reading
Fix Your Own Kettlebell Swing
There are myriad articles and video on Breaking Muscle (and elsewhere) touting the benefits of the kettlebell swing. I’ve written plenty myself about what a vital role the kettlebell swing plays in ... Continue Reading
Mercury: Its Role In ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease is a very serious, life-threatening disease that affects as many as 30,000 Americans. Johns Hopkins estimates that up to 5,000 new ... Continue Reading