Preparing for endurance events requires a great deal of time and effort. Typically, athletes use long slow distance (LSD) training in an effort to boost their aerobic system as much as possible before a ... Continue Reading
The Cal Poly Armor Building Program
Root. Foundation. Base. These terms are interchangeable when talking about becoming a complete athlete. The most prolific athletes of our time have two intangible qualities that are the underpinning to ... Continue Reading
Do You Rely Too Much on Strength?
"Don't use strength” is something you hear a lot in Brazilian jiu jitsu. While it is commonly taken as a golden rule, I interpret it more as a training method used to develop certain skills, not as an ... Continue Reading
3 of the Best: This Week’s Top Articles, Vol. 39
Welcome to our weekend roundup, Three of the Best! Every Saturday, we'll post up Breaking Muscle's top three articles of the week. These pieces have caught your attention throughout the last seven days. So ... Continue Reading
3 Training Truths You Know But Aren’t Doing
As a fairly new coach, what I find awesome and not a little touching is how often I get asked for advice. A lot of people, text, e-mail, or simply approach me before class or on the way to my car with a ... Continue Reading
Courage Corner: Leaving the Big Gym for Better Training
About five years ago, I did something that I never thought I would do: I closed my training facility. After operating it for over a decade, teaching all over the world had made me so busy I couldn’t ... Continue Reading
Do You Have a Fixed Mindset Or a Growth Mindset?
Mindset in training encompasses a myriad of mental techniques and strategies such as meditation, visualization, counselling, and hypnosis. All of them pursue a single goal: helping the athlete cope and ... Continue Reading
How to Prevent a Bad Day on the Bench
It’s beach season, and for those of us in the fitness world, that means it’s bench season. Whether it’s part of a regimented plan or just a sudden urge to pump up the guns before heading out for the night, ... Continue Reading
Beat the Summer Heat and Run Like a Boss
It’s a terrible feeling. You go out for a run on a beautiful, sunny day. You feel good and you’re ready to kill it. Before you know it, you’re a few miles in and you feel sluggish, your pace sucks, and ... Continue Reading
The Heat Can Beat You: Training Safe in the Summer
You might think heatstroke and other heat-related conditions only happen to older or ill-conditioned people. Sorry, I got news for ya, bub. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, ... Continue Reading
Start Your Movement Practice
I am a habitual list maker. Nothing is more satisfying than putting pen to paper to strike a line through a task. I do well with routine. Give me a strength program or food plan, and I’ll follow it ... Continue Reading
3 of the Best: This Week’s Top Articles, Vol. 38
Welcome to our weekend roundup, Three of the Best! Every Saturday, we'll post up Breaking Muscle's top three articles of the week. These pieces have caught your attention throughout the last seven days. So ... Continue Reading
The Gaps in Your Training Aren’t in the Gym
When it comes to training, people are always convinced they need to do more. In a way, they are right. But what almost all athletes need significantly more of is not the cool stuff that gets retweets. It’s ... Continue Reading
The Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Muscle Strength
A systematic review of the effect of Vitamin D supplementation on strength levels in athletes was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research this week. Vitamin D2 was found to be ... Continue Reading
There Is No Summer Vacation for Olympic Lifters
Unlike many other sports, there is no real well-defined off-season in weightlifting. As soon as any competition, big or small, is over, most athletes take a week or two to transition and start cycling up ... Continue Reading
Sizing Up: How and When to Increase Your Kettlebell Weight
You’ve been swinging the same kettlebell for a while now. You know a heavier bell would increase the training effect, but the next bell seems like a huge increase in weight from your old favorite. Are you ... Continue Reading
The Olympic Weightlifting Primer
The last 5-10 years have seen a rekindled interest in and passion for Olympic weightlifting. Often confused with powerlifting, and sometimes even bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting is one of the best ways ... Continue Reading
What Your Kid Needs to Know About Exercise
“All children start their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds, and a willingness to take risks with what they think.” -Sir Ken Robinson Along with “do your homework” and “eat ... Continue Reading
3 of the Best: This Week’s Top Articles, Vol. 37
Welcome to our weekend roundup, Three of the Best! Every Saturday, we'll post up Breaking Muscle's top three articles of the week. These pieces have caught your attention throughout the last seven days. So ... Continue Reading
Starting Strength’s New Take on an Old CrossFit Concept
Starting Strength’s June 23 article, "The Athlete, The Patient, The Training Log, And a Modest Proposal," was not only thought provoking, but also tickled a memory. The article’s “modest proposal” ... Continue Reading
The Two Minds of a Barbell Athlete
There’s plenty of good advice on Breaking Muscle about the athlete’s mindset. I’m not discounting any of it, but the emphasis tends to be toward improving motivation, discipline, attention to detail, and ... Continue Reading
Pulling the Plug on Xbox Fitness
On June 27th2016, Microsoft announced they will discontinue their Xbox Fitness service. On June 27th2016, Microsoft announced they will discontinue their Xbox Fitness service. This is ... Continue Reading
Race Strong: Gut Health for Endurance Athletes
How many of you have experienced gut issues during a race? I distinctly remember getting terribly ill and having to stop at every portable restroom (there was one every mile) during the marathon of my ... Continue Reading
Get Back on the Horse
It’s said that the day you are born is the day you start dying. But it’s equally true that the day you start dying is the day you start living. It’s said that the day you are born is the day ... Continue Reading
