The most popular articles are not necessarily the most important articles, in my opinion. While I love all the articles on Breaking Muscle (otherwise, I wouldn’t publish them), these eight stand out to me as having particularly unique, interesting, or valuable takeaways.
Plus, there’s chocolate involved.
Are You Overtrained?
When You Hit the Wall in Training: 5 Ways to Fix It
It happens to the best of us. In fact, it’s on your way to your best that it often happens. As athletes, we don’t just hit the wall in competition, we can often hit it in training. Coach Jannine Myers offers her thoughts on how to deal with this as a runner, but her advice applies to all athletes and sports.
The Top Ten Ways to Test Your Body
Maybe you suspect you’ve hit the wall, but you’re not really sure? You don’t feel so great, but you don’t know exactly what’s wrong? Blood tests are a great way to pinpoint dysfunction in your body. In this article, coach Ben Greenfield outlines which tests to take and what scores you’re looking for.
Training Older Athletes
How to Train the Boomers Safely and Effectively
Many of us personal trainers are seeing that our clientele is trending older and older. The Baby Boomers are to blaim, and as Coach Andrew Read outlines in this article, they have some needs and concerns you need to take into consideration as their coach or trainer.
Coming to Terms With Being an Aging Athlete
While we might be training older athletes, some of us are also becoming older athletes. While coach Bret Hamilton isn’t older himself, he has been through a traumatic injury and healing process that gives him a special relationship with his older clients.
Mood and Mindset
The Science Behind Why “I Think I Can” Actually Works
Do you remember the Little Engine That Could? Did you used to say, “I think I can. I think I can,” when you were a little kid trying to do something challenging? Well, it turns out there’s some real reasons why that worked then – and why it can still work for you now. Coach Graeme Turner explains.
How Food Addiction Can Impact Your Mood
Sometimes we have this illusion that we’re totally in control of our mood, behaviors, and mindset. Well, not so fast there, buddy. Turns out stuff like sugar has a whole lot more control over us than we’d like to admit. Nutrition expert Kevin Cann explains how food addictions happen and how they can send us for a loop.
Music, Breathing, and Weightlifting
How to Brace and Breathe Properly for Weightlifting
If there’s a question I get asked more often than any other, it’s, “How do I breathe?” At which point do you breathe in while lifting, when do you exhale, and how exactly do you use your breath to brace your core? Featured coach Wil Fleming answers all this and more.
Music and Weightlifting Don’t Mix (Or Do They?)
If there’s something everybody has an opinion about when it comes to weightlifting, though, it’s what kind of music is the best to listen to. Coach Dresdin Archibald examines whether or not it’s actually useful to listen to music, as well as when and where doing so (or not) can optimize our performance.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.
