EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever wonder how a world-class coach actually trains? Welcome to the athlete journal of Charles Staley. Charles Staley is a big believer in practicing what he preaches, so he trains and ... Continue Reading
The Accidental Leader: How Doing Your Thing Can Be Just the Thing
I attended my college reunion a couple weekends ago. It was exhilarating and overwhelming, the kind of event where it takes you three hours to walk twenty yards to the rest room (or, in the interest of ... Continue Reading
All Apologies: How Often Is Too Often to Say We’re Sorry?
I apologize a lot when I train jiu jitsu. When I CrossFit, too. Sometimes it’s completely warranted. “Coach, I’m sorry I’m late to class. I ran into traffic.” Absolutely appropriate. “Hey, spotter friend, ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Charles Staley, Entry 1 – New Cycle
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever wonder how a world-class coach actually trains? Welcome to the athlete journal of Charles Staley. Charles Staley is a big believer in practicing what he preaches, so he trains and ... Continue Reading
What the Fartlek?!
To many the term “fartlek” is unfamiliar, if not downright embarrassing. While it may sound like joke fodder for fifth graders, this type of workout can help runners, from beginners to seasoned vets, hit ... Continue Reading
Warming Up: Is it Beneficial to Include Functional Core Exercises?
The majority of athletes use some process to warm-up. A warm-up is usually performed before participating in technical sports or exercise and this process prepares an athlete for performance. A good ... Continue Reading
Testosterone Testing May Unfairly Target Female Olympians
Drug tests are common procedure for the Olympic Games. Proposed Olympic policies for testing the testosterone levels of certain female athletes, however, could pose a problem. A bioethicist at Stanford ... Continue Reading
How the LA Kings Saved My Grandfather and Me
Photos provided by Danette "Dizzle" Rivera. It’s not that I was scared of my granddad growing up; it’s that I knew from an early age not to piss him off. But a lot of things pissed him off. My ... Continue Reading
Science Says: Electrical Myostimulation Can Speed Recovery
When it comes to recovery, many people just accept the fact that rest is the only method. Recovery is vital in athletes, because in order for the work capacity of the skeletal muscles to be fully restored, ... Continue Reading
Get Fit And Beat Your Genetics: Reduce Hypertension
Everyone knows that a healthy ticker is vital to a long and healthy life. Unfortunately, some people are dealt a bad hand and cannot help that their genetic makeup makes them susceptible to hypertension, ... Continue Reading
I’m Gonna Need to See Some ID – No, Some Other ID
I’ve had the opportunity to train at a variety of grappling academies. Eventually word gets out that I have a PhD. Some people’s reactions are funny; they get a little indignant and ask me why I never ... Continue Reading
Talk To Your Inner Competitor: Know Your Psychology To Know Your Sport
Are you motivated to achieve by external factors or internal factors? Motivated by pain or pleasure? What do you focus on or think about in the moments you need extra performance power? What we focus on, ... Continue Reading
Athlete Journal: Holley Mangold, Entry 1 – A Little History
EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the Athlete Journal of Olympic weightlifter Holley Mangold. Holley is part of Team USA headed to London this summer. Follow her journey here as she trains for the 2012 ... Continue Reading
The Pain Game: Four Lessons Learned While Recovering from Surgery
In 2011, my body disintegrated, and I'm a better man for it. Highlights of my 41st year included tendonitis in my left elbow, shoulder surgery to fix a right shoulder superior labral tear from anterior to ... Continue Reading
Olympic Warning for 2012: Compete Clean or Get Caught
Even though the drug manufacturers try to stay one step ahead of the drug testers, it looks like their bus may come to a screeching halt this fall in London. Speaking at a press briefing at the British ... Continue Reading
What Successful Athletes (and People) Know: Don’t Get Too Comfortable
In jiu jitsu, people frequently ask each other things like, “Are you a top player or do you prefer the bottom game?” These questions reflect the fact different grapplers prefer different positions and ... Continue Reading
Ankle Injuries: The Secret to Preventing and Healing Them
Recently I looked back at an article I wrote in 2006 about ankle proprioception. It made me think how far we have come in six years. Initially, when I wrote that article, it was looking at the benefits of ... Continue Reading
Karate Kid Weightlifting: Why I Can’t Teach Patience, But You CAN Learn It
"Problem: Attitude." - Mister Miyagi In the totally awesome 1980s martial arts movie "The Karate Kid,” the main character, Daniel, was told by his Karate master, Mister Miyagi, that his early ... Continue Reading
Five Minute Yoga: Learning the Breath Ceremony
Answer this: Out of the last twenty-four hours, how many minutes did you spend connecting to your body? Feeling the tight spots, feeling the open areas? How many breaths did you take with simply feeling ... Continue Reading
When You Hurt a Training Partner
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art; it contains elements of combat and self defense. Most people practice it in a sport context, but at its heart, it is about protecting yourself and, if necessary, doing ... Continue Reading
Welcome to Yoga School: What You Need to Know to Pick a School and Begin
There are many styles of yoga to explore and finding the type to address your needs, wants, and goals is important for your first experience and ongoing development. Not all yoga is the same. There are ... Continue Reading
The Jiu-Jitsu Salieri: Giving Back to BJJ
If you’ve ever seen the 1984 film Amadeus, you saw Best Actor Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham portray Antonio Salieri, a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart is arguably one of the most prolific ... Continue Reading
The PanAms: One of the Big Ones (BJJ Tournaments, That Is)
Competition season in Brazilian jiu-jitsu has started. Truthfully, if you want to compete, you can find a tournament most any time of year, but there are some marquee events that draw lots of big names, ... Continue Reading
Start Small to Learn Big: Learning in Manageable Pieces
You gotta start somewhere. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. One day at a time. Put one foot in front of the other. Slow and steady wins the race. Sticking your finger down ... Continue Reading
