In a shock twist in the the lead up to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, it has been confirmed by the International Weightlifting Federation that twenty Olympic weightlifting athletes have failed ... Continue Reading
Behind the Diet Curtain
The “secret formula” to weight loss is no secret at all. Take in more calories than you expend, and you’ll gain weight. Burn more than you eat, and you’ll lose weight. This is known as calorie balance, and ... Continue Reading
Qualifying for Rio: A Tale of Two Cities
Once again, it’s the spring of an Olympic year, a time when all weightlifters start to think about the Games, Olympic trials, and securing a ticket to Rio de Janiero. The USAW held the Senior National and ... Continue Reading
The 4 Key Supplements for Athletes
Walk in to any supplement store and you’ll immediately see images of super lean physique athletes. This might make you think supplements are only good for the bodybuilders and hard-core fitness people. ... Continue Reading
How to Choose Your Coach
In a health and fitness industry filled with misinformation and misguided professionals, how do you choose a good trainer or coach? This question can be among the most challenging to answer for any ... Continue Reading
Glute Training for Real-Life Strength
The term “functional training” has never acquired a strong definition. We know what maximal strength, power, speed, and many other physical qualities refer to, but functional training seems to be a rather ... Continue Reading
Organized Sports or Trees? Choose Your Risk
I read two articles recently that got me thinking about the modern state of parenting. One was titled, "We Don't Allow Children to Climb Trees." It was a discussion of new restrictions put in place by ... Continue Reading
Lower Stress to Increase Fitness
No one walks into the gym with plans to burn out and invite injury. We eat clean, take pre-workout, and have a gainer shake waiting for the second we’re done training. We do everything we can to recover…or ... Continue Reading
Running a Marathon Is the Best Thing You Can Do
Professional joy-killer Daniel Engber of Slate recently opined that there is possibly no “greater waste of time and energy than the running of the marathon.” He bemoans the misspent hours, the injury risk ... Continue Reading
Obesity Is Bigger Than BMI
I have a friend who has dignosed himself as “borderline obese” based on his BMI. I look at him and see a thriving person who eats well and likes to lift. The fact that his classification is technically ... Continue Reading
Be Silent to Be Efficient
One of the best lessons I learned from the MovNat courses I've been to is an emphasis on silent movement. Silent, smooth, and graceful are all components floating around in the same pool of efficient ... Continue Reading
Be a Fitness Extrovert
“Hey, I know I must be getting pretty annoying posting all my run stuff all the time, so I’ve created this other page where I’ll be posting it. If you want to, give my new page a follow…” I’ve read ... Continue Reading
How to Combat Poor Movement in Your Upper Body Training
Poor movement quality is a pandemic among athletes, and whilst many of them are able to identify their own weaknesses and imbalances, I am always surprised by athletes' reluctance to address and remedy ... Continue Reading
3 of the Best: This Week’s Top Articles, Vol. 33
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
Intuition in the Kitchen: Are You Listening?
We were born with an innate wisdom to listen to our bodies. That gut feeling you just can’t ignore. But for a society that is so hyper-connected, we are incredibly disconnected from the world around us, ... Continue Reading
Athletic Training for Pre-Adolescents
I’m often approached by parents of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who wonder if resistance training is safe to start with their son or daughter. In short, the answer is yes. But doing it right ... Continue Reading
Don’t Judge the Judging: Do Something About It
Judging in fitness competitions is a strange game. As the scene grows, the demand both on and for judges grows. There’s some work to be done by us all. How can we help to drive the sport forward in a way ... Continue Reading
The Dark Side of Fitspiration
It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and you feel like grabbing a donut to tide you over until dinner. On your way out the door, you find your co-workers oohing and ahhing over the latest Instagram post of ... Continue Reading
4 Principles to Master the Rowing Machine
Rowing is one of the most beneficial movements the human body can perform. Get it right, and there's nothing more physiologically demanding on earth. In its purest form rowing is about using your body to ... Continue Reading
Triathletes: Own the Transition With Brick Workouts
Triathletes have been doing brick workouts (running right off of the bike as you would in a race) for ages. Brick sessions are a valuable training tool that comes with the territory of managing three ... Continue Reading
Master the Fundamentals: Functional Flexiblity
Functional flexibility and natural range of motion are the foundations of optimal performance in most athletic activities. Being able to move our bodies in the way they were intended, without restriction, ... Continue Reading
Should You Track Your Nutrition?
Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get some real perspective regarding health and training. Please post feedback or questions to Charles directly in the comments below ... Continue Reading
Dad Bod Is a Lie
You might have seen articles floating around the Internet about “dad bod.” Dad bod is the new somatotype for suburban American fathers. A certain toy manufacturer has even proposed a new makeover for Ken ... Continue Reading
So You Want to Write Your Own Program
Many trainees do not understand how to set up a training program themselves, so they follow any plan that comes along, bouncing from one idea to the next. Or they train however their friend is training, ... Continue Reading