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Showing posts from August, 2019

5 Reasons You Should Box Squat

So, what makes the box squat useful? You can improve your back squat without back squatting, that's one reason.   “Why are we squatting to a box? Nobody cares how good my 1RM box squat is!”   That was a legitimate complaint fielded from a client who has been at my gym for seven years. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2MN9wYi via IFTTT

For Best Results Train the Mind, Body, and Emotion

Lifestyle change often fails because we try to do too much and we train too little. Have you ever been driving down the interstate when it occurred to you that a sharp turn of the steering wheel in either direction would send you and your cargo flipping to an early grave? Not a pleasant thought, but it is surprisingly common. We all have these moments of recognition where we are reminded and possibly frightened by the immense power we hold. Perhaps you’ve had similar thoughts when holding a newborn or a ladder for a friend. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2UimgXD via IFTTT

Specificity Versus Transference In Powerlifting

Your ability to move up and down the spectrum of specificity based on what will yield the best long term results is a critical skill. Specificity is a core principle in sport science . It’s the degree of association between training and performance outcomes. 1 If you’re a powerlifter this means that the training you do should be focused at getting you better at squatting, benching, and deadlifting. But this is where the disconnect occurs with coaches; between the principle and its application.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2UdChOy via IFTTT

Specificity Versus Transference In Powerlifting

Your ability to move up and down the spectrum of specificity based on what will yield the best long term results is a critical skill. Specificity is a core principle in sport science . It’s the degree of association between training and performance outcomes. 1 If you’re a powerlifter this means that the training you do should be focused at getting you better at squatting, benching, and deadlifting. But this is where the disconnect occurs with coaches; between the principle and its application.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/30TZg3y via IFTTT

Lunges Are Harder and Better Than You Think

If you squat, push, pull, hinge, and carry consistently you’ll probably get pretty fit. But don't forget to lunge! Though we seem to like to make fitness complicated, it doesn’t have to be .   If you squat, push, pull, hinge, and carry consistently you’ll probably get pretty fit. But don't forget to lunge!   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/3282Xmz via IFTTT

Lunges Are Harder and Better Than You Think

If you squat, push, pull, hinge, and carry consistently you’ll probably get pretty fit. But don't forget to lunge! Though we seem to like to make fitness complicated, it doesn’t have to be .   If you squat, push, pull, hinge, and carry consistently you’ll probably get pretty fit. But don't forget to lunge!   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2zp9ZqM via IFTTT

The Six Pack of Knowledge: Thought Leaders in Hypertrophy

Binge-listen opportunity with some of the best coaches in fitness: Dr John Rusin, Eric Bach, Dr Joel Seedman, Dr Andy Galpin, Damian Lees, Brad Borland, Michael Goulding, JC Deen, and Tom MacCormick. Find Our Podcasts iTunes Google Play S potify read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2PfFXR6 via IFTTT

The Six Pack of Knowledge: Thought Leaders in Hypertrophy

Binge-listen opportunity with some of the best coaches in fitness: Dr John Rusin, Eric Bach, Dr Joel Seedman, Dr Andy Galpin, Damian Lees, Brad Borland, Michael Goulding, JC Deen, and Tom MacCormick.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ZkSS98 via IFTTT

7 Steps to Barbell Etiquette

The gym is just like a classroom or an office—there are important rules you need to follow. The gym is just like a classroom or an office—there are important rules you need to follow in order to keep everyone safe and to ensure it runs efficiently. Rules are also there to stop you from looking like a rookie in the gym who isn’t sure what’s going on.   This is especially true when it comes to the barbell .   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2NBryw3 via IFTTT

7 Steps to Barbell Etiquette

The gym is just like a classroom or an office—there are important rules you need to follow. The gym is just like a classroom or an office—there are important rules you need to follow in order to keep everyone safe and to ensure it runs efficiently. Rules are also there to stop you from looking like a rookie in the gym who isn’t sure what’s going on.   This is especially true when it comes to the barbell .   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2MCeNSf via IFTTT

How to Value Your Health

To understand why health and fitness changes don’t last, you have to start with people’s real values. We love to vaguely allude to values in day-to-day conversation . Values are a convenient, socially respected concept and any reference to them adds weight to our words. More than likely your company has core values plastered on the wall with lofty important terms like: Respect, Integrity, and Synergy (whatever that means). These make their way into company newsletters and annual meetings, but do they make their way into people’s perceptions, beliefs, and actions?   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/321eyUr via IFTTT

How to Value Your Health

To understand why health and fitness changes don’t last, you have to start with people’s real values. We love to vaguely allude to values in day-to-day conversation . Values are a convenient, socially respected concept and any reference to them adds weight to our words. More than likely your company has core values plastered on the wall with lofty important terms like: Respect, Integrity, and Synergy (whatever that means). These make their way into company newsletters and annual meetings, but do they make their way into people’s perceptions, beliefs, and actions?   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2TZNCBC via IFTTT

5 Common Rowing Mistakes

Though simple in theory, if you haven’t been taught the one skill (the rowing stroke) properly, it’s easy to butcher it and make all sorts of crazy mistakes. The rowing machine looks simple and less intimidating than others—a machine anyone can use—and it is.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/3260OrN via IFTTT

5 Common Rowing Mistakes

Though simple in theory, if you haven’t been taught the one skill (the rowing stroke) properly, it’s easy to butcher it and make all sorts of crazy mistakes. The rowing machine looks simple and less intimidating than others—a machine anyone can use—and it is.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/341eqX0 via IFTTT

The 30-Day Challenge that Actually Works

This 30x30 challenge synchronizes training to spur big results. Before you start any fitness program or commit to a new way of eating, you have to really look at how you’ve been living and why you have been living that way. You can’t just turn the dial to awesomeness and expect change to follow. We are pulled by a lot more than just our New Year’s Day desires.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2P7gmJV via IFTTT

The 30-Day Challenge that Actually Works

This 30x30 challenge synchronizes training to spur big results. Before you start any fitness program or commit to a new way of eating, you have to really look at how you’ve been living and why you have been living that way. You can’t just turn the dial to awesomeness and expect change to follow. We are pulled by a lot more than just our New Year’s Day desires.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HcTmD5 via IFTTT

Add Tempo to Your Training to Optimize Performance

You can get more out of your strength training by understanding how to change the speed of your reps and using pauses, otherwise known as tempo training. Before I get into what tempo is good for, let’s talk about reading tempo.   “What does @3131 mean?”   Before I explain that, you need to understand the difference between the concentric and eccentric portion of a movement .   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ZliTEc via IFTTT

Add Tempo to Your Training to Optimize Performance

You can get more out of your strength training by understanding how to change the speed of your reps and using pauses, otherwise known as tempo training. Before I get into what tempo is good for, let’s talk about reading tempo.   “What does @3131 mean?”   Before I explain that, you need to understand the difference between the concentric and eccentric portion of a movement .   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/33L5STV via IFTTT

Elimate Poor Reps to Build More Muscle

Every repetition is an opportunity to get better. If you’re not making weekly progress with your training plan right now, then listen up . Chances are it has nothing to do with the exercises you’re using, or to do with how much time you’re spending in the gym. It has all to do with your exercise execution and overall quality of each rep.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2z4iUxM via IFTTT

The Wisdom to Back Off; The Maturity to Be Okay

This isn't about quitting when things get tough. Sometimes it’s pivoting and going a different way. You ever listened to the Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler ? The chorus reads:   "If you're gonna play the game, boy You gotta learn to play it right You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away" 1   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/30gBI8W via IFTTT

Elimate Poor Reps to Build More Muscle

Every repetition is an opportunity to get better. If you’re not making weekly progress with your training plan right now, then listen up . Chances are it has nothing to do with the exercises you’re using, or to do with how much time you’re spending in the gym. It has all to do with your exercise execution and overall quality of each rep.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ZfmofA via IFTTT

The Wisdom to Back Off; The Maturity to Be Okay

This isn't about quitting when things get tough. Sometimes it’s pivoting and going a different way. You ever listened to the Kenny Rogers song,  The Gambler ? The chorus reads:    "If you're gonna play the game, boy You gotta learn to play it right You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ZgVX96 via IFTTT

How to Pace Yourself During Distance Rowing

Each stroke on the rower should be at a deliberate and consistent speed regardless of the distance you’re rowing. As a former college rower, it’s hard to stop myself from getting in there and coaching anyone I see at the gym rowing with uncharacteristic technique.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Z8UPUV via IFTTT

How to Pace Yourself During Distance Rowing

Each stroke on the rower should be at a deliberate and consistent speed regardless of the distance you’re rowing. As a former college rower, it’s hard to stop myself from getting in there and coaching anyone I see at the gym rowing with uncharacteristic technique.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/33G4Lok via IFTTT

'How To' Is Pointless Without 'Why'

Are you running toward something or looking for a way out? “He who has a 'why' can bear almost any 'how.' - Nietzsche   Back in the 1800s, Nietzsche understood how pivotal the question of ‘why’ is to the human experience.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2N5AREi via IFTTT

'How To' Is Pointless Without 'Why'

Are you running toward something or looking for a way out? “He who has a 'why' can bear almost any 'how.' - Nietzsche   Back in the 1800s, Nietzsche understood how pivotal the question of ‘why’ is to the human experience.   These days though, in the age of instantaneous and abundant information, asking 'why' is a lost art . For many, doing the work of digging deep and asking 'why' is just not nearly as convenient or comfortable as asking ‘how to.’  read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/30evxly via IFTTT

No-Equipment Needed Upper Body Pulls

Sometimes gravity is the best form of resistance in your training. All you need to train is your body. Mastery of that one machine makes the world a playground and almost certainly ensures a life of physical vigor. Bodyweight movement is the best because it is:   Cheap (you need $0 of equipment) Adaptable (you can do it on a boat, you can do it with a goat) Safe The most natural, functional form of training   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2YIRZGV via IFTTT

No-Equipment Needed Upper Body Pulls

Sometimes gravity is the best form of resistance in your training. All you need to train is your body. Mastery of that one machine makes the world a playground and almost certainly ensures a life of physical vigor. Bodyweight movement is the best because it is:   Cheap (you need $0 of equipment) Adaptable (you can do it on a boat, you can do it with a goat) Safe The most natural, functional form of training   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2KwR03P via IFTTT

5 Exercises to Better Wrist Health

If you can find 10 minutes twice a week, your wrists will return the love through greater mobility, increased strength, and best of all, less wrist pain. Be honest now. When it comes to your training, how much time do you spend working on your wrists ?   There’s a good chance the answer is, "Not at all."   Most of us don’t think much about warming up or strengthening our wrists , which is weird considering how many of us have immobile or weak wrists or even experience chronic pain in them.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ORnutW via IFTTT

5 Exercises to Better Wrist Health

If you can find 10 minutes twice a week, your wrists will return the love through greater mobility, increased strength, and best of all, less wrist pain. Be honest now. When it comes to your training, how much time do you spend working on your wrists ?   There’s a good chance the answer is, "Not at all."   Most of us don’t think much about warming up or strengthening our wrists , which is weird considering how many of us have immobile or weak wrists or even experience chronic pain in them.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2H3TnJv via IFTTT

How to Say No: A Guide to Guilt and Eating

Treats are such a common staple today that you couldn’t possibly eat them every time they were offered without gaining unwanted weight. “I made brownies! Here have one.” “Oh, they smell so good! Thank you, but I had a big breakfast and I’m still full.” (a white lie) “Come on. It’s just a little brownie.” “Really, I appreciate it, but no thank you.” “Really? You’re such a health freak that you won’t even eat the brownie I made?”   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2KGCZ2t via IFTTT

How to Say No: A Guide to Guilt and Eating

Treats are such a common staple today that you couldn’t possibly eat them every time they were offered without gaining unwanted weight. “I made brownies! Here have one.”   “Oh, they smell so good! Thank you, but I had a big breakfast and I’m still full.” (a white lie)   “Come on. It’s just a little brownie.”   “Really, I appreciate it, but no thank you.”   “Really? You’re such a health freak that you won’t even eat the brownie I made?”    read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2OMPjDF via IFTTT

A Vacation's Worth of Simple, Effective Workouts

It's better for your mind to do some sort of fitness routine on vacation. We keep it simple here with 20-30 minute routines. So, you’re going on vacation and are stoked about the mental and physical break from the gym.   But you also know an entire week of drinking and a lax diet, all the while not getting your heart rate up or doing a single push-up for a week, is only going to make you feel emotionally low during the days on vacation—days that you’re supposed to be enjoying!   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2YCioX4 via IFTTT

A Vacation's Worth of Simple, Effective Workouts

It's better for your mind to do some sort of fitness routine on vacation. We keep it simple here with 20-30 minute routines. So, you’re going on vacation and are stoked about the mental and physical break from the gym.   But you also know an entire week of drinking and a lax diet, all the while not getting your heart rate up or doing a single push-up for a week, is only going to make you feel emotionally low during the days on vacation—days that you’re supposed to be enjoying!   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2yKMfgy via IFTTT

5 Exercises to Improve Your Deadlift

That's right, you don't need a barbell to improve your deadlift. Every gym has at least one of them (OK, more like 10 of them)—the people who want to improve a specific skill or movements so their answer is to practice that skill every single day.   I have a client—bless her heart—who was frustrated that her deadlift hadn’t improved in 12 months and proceeded to deadlift heavy every single time she came to the gym for six months. At the end of it all, her deadlift weight hadn’t increased, but frustration certainly had. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2KyTwFL via IFTTT

5 Exercises to Improve Your Deadlift

That's right, you don't need a barbell to improve your deadlift. Every gym has at least one of them (OK, more like 10 of them)—the people who want to improve a specific skill or movements so their answer is to practice that skill every single day.   I have a client—bless her heart—who was frustrated that her deadlift hadn’t improved in 12 months and proceeded to deadlift heavy every single time she came to the gym for six months. At the end of it all, her deadlift weight hadn’t increased, but frustration certainly had. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/31t8C6t via IFTTT

How to Create a Gym on a Bare-Bones Budget

Bootstrapped gyms have to be about passion, commitment, and ultimately, service to the community. Let me tell you about a character. A character you’ll find many times over in different independent gyms. This person is passionate, not only about their training but the idea of it. The type of training doesn’t matter. It could be:   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2TdOWR3 via IFTTT

How to Create a Gym on a Bare-Bones Budget

Bootstrapped gyms have to be about passion, commitment, and ultimately, service to the community. Let me tell you about a character. A character you’ll find many times over in different independent gyms. This person is passionate, not only about their training but the idea of it. The type of training doesn’t matter. It could be:   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2YvORhp via IFTTT

Whys Are For Beginners

Knowing what your "why" is can be helpful in getting started, but you'll need more if you plan on sustaining your efforts. What is your “why?”   No other question pops up in the self-improvement world quite so frequently . As all clichés that get beaten to death, there is actually a lot of value in exploring this question. The more clear we are on what we want and why want it, the more we’ll be able to get momentum on the planning we need to see an effort through.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ZC5Nzn via IFTTT

Whys Are For Beginners

Knowing what your "why" is can be helpful in getting started, but you'll need more if you plan on sustaining your efforts. What is your “why?”   No other question pops up in the self-improvement world quite so frequently . As all clichés that get beaten to death, there is actually a lot of value in exploring this question. The more clear we are on what we want and why want it, the more we’ll be able to get momentum on the planning we need to see an effort through.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2yFG7WX via IFTTT

Bulletproof Your Ankles

Don’t let your ankles hold you back: Get them mobile and bulletproof! Just like your poor little forgotten wrists, you probably also pay very little attention to your ankles and feet, unless you have experienced a major foot injury. Yet, ankle mobility could be the number one reason your squat, well, kind of still sucks .   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/33cOvuT via IFTTT

Bulletproof Your Ankles

Don’t let your ankles hold you back: Get them mobile and bulletproof! Just like your poor little forgotten wrists, you probably also pay very little attention to your ankles and feet, unless you have experienced a major foot injury. Yet, ankle mobility could be the number one reason your squat, well, kind of still sucks .   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2GNmMHP via IFTTT

Training Is Data Driven, But Not How You Think

Training without analysis isn’t really training at all. It's not about smashing yourself and trying to get as sore or tired or beaten as possible. A real training program has to have a few attributes that make it a training program and not an exercise program . The difference is not subtle. Training should be progressive. Training should be periodized. Training should be goal-oriented and outcome-based. But more importantly than anything, training should be meticulously planned, executed, and the most important piece of technology out there is a training log and a pen to keep your results.   Training without analysis isn’t really training at all. Let’s break this down one by one. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2YEER0O via IFTTT

Training Is Data Driven, But Not How You Think

Training without analysis isn’t really training at all. It's not about smashing yourself and trying to get as sore or tired or beaten as possible. A real training program has to have a few attributes that make it a training program and not an exercise program . The difference is not subtle. Training should be progressive. Training should be periodized. Training should be goal-oriented and outcome-based. But more importantly than anything, training should be meticulously planned, executed, and the most important piece of technology out there is a training log and a pen to keep your results.   Training without analysis isn’t really training at all. Let’s break this down one by one. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Yo1ivC via IFTTT

Cut Body Fat Using Methodized Strength Training

Someone who is strength training should have the flexibility to go on a weekly run and remove a day on the weights. That's heresy to some coaches who want to keep you in the gym. Occasionally, I pop my head out of my cave to examine where the average level of insight among the general public is in regards to strength and conditioning. I’m not as pessimistic as many of my contemporaries who look for things to be angry about to justify their general dissatisfaction with life. I think things are improving.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2OEcTlS via IFTTT

Cut Body Fat Using Methodized Strength Training

Someone who is strength training should have the flexibility to go on a weekly run and remove a day on the weights. That's heresy to some coaches who want to keep you in the gym. Occasionally, I pop my head out of my cave to examine where the average level of insight among the general public is in regards to strength and conditioning. I’m not as pessimistic as many of my contemporaries who look for things to be angry about to justify their general dissatisfaction with life. I think things are improving.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/31fs4Dp via IFTTT

Top 10 Foods to Gain Muscle Mass

Don't sabotage your gains with poor nutrition. What if I told you that you could retain or even gain more muscle mass and strength with less training? The secret lies in your nutrition.   As a personal trainer, most of my clients exhibit similar behavior: they train hard, but they don’t give a damn about nutrition. So the time and effort they spend on training is wasted. Why do they sabotage their own success? Because they think nutrition is complicated and want to avoid the topic.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2BqAXAQ via IFTTT

Top 10 Foods to Gain Muscle Mass

Don't sabotage your gains with poor nutrition. What if I told you that you could retain or even gain more muscle mass and strength with less training? The secret lies in your nutrition.   As a personal trainer, most of my clients exhibit similar behavior: they train hard, but they don’t give a damn about nutrition. So the time and effort they spend on training is wasted. Why do they sabotage their own success? Because they think nutrition is complicated and want to avoid the topic.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2OvUasG via IFTTT