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Showing posts from March, 2019

Big Man Training

When you need to add some size to your frame as fast as possible. Big Man Training (BMT) was the name of the program the strength and conditioning coach at my first professional rugby club put me on when they needed to add some size on my frame as fast as possible. It worked.   In fact, it was the first training program to put any significant muscle on my frame . Up until that point, the standard 3x10 and 5x5 programs I’d followed had failed miserably. To this day I still revisit BMT with clients that need a plateau busting mass gain routine.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2UZzOHe via IFTTT

Big Man Training

When you need to add some size to your frame as fast as possible. Big Man Training (BMT) was the name of the program the strength and conditioning coach at my first professional rugby club put me on when they needed to add some size on my frame as fast as possible. It worked.   In fact, it was the first training program to put any significant muscle on my frame . Up until that point, the standard 3x10 and 5x5 programs I’d followed had failed miserably. To this day I still revisit BMT with clients that need a plateau busting mass gain routine.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2FB7CUs via IFTTT

The 10 Most Important Reasons to Squat

Finding our personal strength balance through squats is the answer to eliminating pain. By the time we have reached the age of thirty, the muscles used to straighten our spines ( erector spinae ) and keep our shoulders from falling forward ( trapezius and rhomboids ), have atrophied in the majority of North Americans largely due to a culture that avoids squatting at all costs.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2UXehyB via IFTTT

The 10 Most Important Reasons to Squat

Finding our personal strength balance through squats is the answer to eliminating pain. By the time we have reached the age of thirty, the muscles used to straighten our spines ( erector spinae ) and keep our shoulders from falling forward ( trapezius and rhomboids ), have atrophied in the majority of North Americans largely due to a culture that avoids squatting at all costs. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2CFam2E via IFTTT

Muscle Growth and Inflammation: How Much Is Too Much?

Diet and lifestyle changes can go a long way towards dealing with inflammation, while enabling us to train better overall. One of the most complex biological processes that human biology is privy to is inflammation . Given how important muscle is for our health, wellbeing, longevity, and quality of life, it’s impressive that inflammation was initially a background concern for people in the health, nutrition, and bodybuilding industry.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2CDkF7m via IFTTT

Muscle Growth and Inflammation: How Much Is Too Much?

Diet and lifestyle changes can go a long way towards dealing with inflammation, while enabling us to train better overall. One of the most complex biological processes that human biology is privy to is inflammation . Given how important muscle is for our health, wellbeing, longevity, and quality of life, it’s impressive that inflammation was initially a background concern for people in the health, nutrition, and bodybuilding industry. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2UdLmct via IFTTT

The Rack Position Deserves Your Time

Perfect your positioning of the barbell for successful presses and front squats.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2TWhNNy via IFTTT

The Rack Position Deserves Your Time

Perfect your positioning of the barbell for successful presses and front squats.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2UfBIpK via IFTTT

The Split Style Isn't Dead

The split style died with weightlifters decades ago but it appears that its funeral was a bit premature.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2USzWIk via IFTTT

The Split Style Isn't Dead

The split style died with weightlifters decades ago but it appears that its funeral was a bit premature.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2FBFBgZ via IFTTT

Step Into the Arena Part II: You Need a Team

Team sports must become a staple for all ages or communities will slip further into obesity and mental disorder. At age 9: “Okay, it’s time for y’all to come inside and clean-up for dinner.” At age 12: “I know y’all go to the park to play football after school, but I need you home by 5 to do homework and get ready for dinner.” At age 13: “I told you that you could go play ghosts in the graveyard at the park. Not that you could come home at 2am!” At age 14: “Where the hell have you been all day?”   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Ft6tPX via IFTTT

Step Into the Arena Part II: You Need a Team

Team sports must become a staple for all ages or communities will slip further into obesity and mental disorder. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Cz2bEL via IFTTT

Exceed Your Limits with Functional Overreaching

Functional overreaching is essentially short-term overtraining where you have a goal of digging yourself into a recovery ditch. Two weeks—two ball-busting weeks. Get to work and reap the benefits. Overtraining for long periods of time is bad . Short-term, planned overtraining, however, can be a massively powerful tool.   Functional overreaching is essentially short-term overtraining where you have a goal of digging yourself into a recovery ditch. You intentionally push your training past your body’s ability to recover before backing off, super-compensating, and jumping out of that recovery hole to new levels of strength and muscle. Doing so allows you to benefit from the harder training as your body gets a chance to recover. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2TRckre via IFTTT

Exceed Your Limits with Functional Overreaching

Functional overreaching is essentially short-term overtraining where you have a goal of digging yourself into a recovery ditch. Two weeks—two ball-busting weeks. Get to work and reap the benefits. Overtraining for long periods of time is bad . Short-term, planned overtraining, however, can be a massively powerful tool.   Functional overreaching is essentially short-term overtraining where you have a goal of digging yourself into a recovery ditch. You intentionally push your training past your body’s ability to recover before backing off, super-compensating, and jumping out of that recovery hole to new levels of strength and muscle. Doing so allows you to benefit from the harder training as your body gets a chance to recover. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2JtVV79 via IFTTT

Make Linear Progression Work for You

Never forget to trust the process as you ascend to higher heights. Do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels every week in the gym ? Are you clueless about your progress? Training programs are created in order to work around you, the individual. Don't consider a one size fits all program, however.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2FoVfMl via IFTTT

Make Linear Progression Work for You

Never forget to trust the process as you ascend to higher heights. Do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels every week in the gym ? Are you clueless about your progress? Training programs are created in order to work around you, the individual. Don't consider a one size fits all program, however.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Oi0Nen via IFTTT

Step Into the Arena Part 1: Shape Fitness to Meet Modern Needs

Without the demands of survival, the human spirit needs occasions to organize in pursuit of shared missions. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HH3bKz via IFTTT

Step Into the Arena Part 1: Shape Fitness to Meet Modern Needs

Without the demands of survival, the human spirit needs occasions to organize in pursuit of shared missions.   “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ucQ6k8 via IFTTT

Why You Need a Woman on Your Staff

What I’ve come to learn is no matter how well rounded you attempt to be, how educated and accepting you might become, there are certain situations where a woman on your staff is the only answer. No, this is not some politically correct, pandering to the masses and a public give-in to the pressure of what big mouths in our society deem to be mandatory ways of thinking. In fact, their noise makes most of us want to go the other direction, or at least me, in nearly any topic they are forcing down our throats.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Crs3Cz via IFTTT

Why You Need a Woman on Your Staff

What I’ve come to learn is no matter how well rounded you attempt to be, how educated and accepting you might become, there are certain situations where a woman on your staff is the only answer. No, this is not some politically correct, pandering to the masses and a public give-in to the pressure of what big mouths in our society deem to be mandatory ways of thinking. In fact, their noise makes most of us want to go the other direction, or at least me, in nearly any topic they are forcing down our throats.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ucqyDN via IFTTT

Thoracic Mobility: Chest Up When You Squat

The third in a series of mobility instructional videos for total body mobility, stability, and strength.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ULTKNL via IFTTT

Thoracic Mobility: Chest Up When You Squat

The third in a series of mobility instructional videos for total body mobility, stability, and strength.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Y3ASM3 via IFTTT

Fundamentals Over Flash

You have to have some solid basics, or you just won't progress. Your favorite athlete continuously works on the fundamentals, so why don’t you?   Not to sound like an ass, but what do you think gives you the right to skip building a foundation?   Answer: No one has that right.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2CjNvt8 via IFTTT

Fundamentals Over Flash

You have to have some solid basics, or you just won't progress. Your favorite athlete continuously works on the fundamentals, so why don’t you?   Not to sound like an ass, but what do you think gives you the right to skip building a foundation?   Answer: No one has that right.   The strongest people in the world have built their strength through years of consistently training the foundational exercises and building a base . Without a base, you have nothing to build off of and rather than getting bigger and stronger, you crash and burn.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HjjvBV via IFTTT

9 Reasons Why Stretching Your Psoas Isn't Working

As much as we want to work through things and be tough, we have to recognize when it’s hurting more than helping. Most of us who train frequently are familiar with the psoas muscle , short for iliopsoas, and commonly referred to as the hip flexor.   “My hip flexors are tight.” “My hip flexors hurt.” “My hip flexors are pinching.” You name it, and I’ve heard it. We’re familiar, for the most part, with what hip flexors are. However, a lot of us are lost on what to do to help them.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2Cgntak via IFTTT

9 Reasons Why Stretching Your Psoas Isn't Working

As much as we want to work through things and be tough, we have to recognize when it’s hurting more than helping. Most of us who train frequently are familiar with the psoas muscle , short for iliopsoas, and commonly referred to as the hip flexor.   “My hip flexors are tight.” “My hip flexors hurt.” “My hip flexors are pinching.” You name it, and I’ve heard it. We’re familiar, for the most part, with what hip flexors are. However, a lot of us are lost on what to do to help them.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HfvMY5 via IFTTT

Complacency or Tenacity: It's as Simple as What You Praise

You can't control natural talent, but only attitude and effort. It is easy to get our kids doing push-ups with us and to comment, “Wow, I couldn’t do push-ups like that when I was your age. You are so strong!” Likewise, when our kids are playing at the park and we watch them beat their friends in a race, we might comment later about how fast our little guy is and when his sister is running circles around the soccer field we naturally let her know how athletic she is.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2VQbyY0 via IFTTT

Complacency or Tenacity: It's as Simple as What You Praise

You can't control natural talent, but only attitude and effort. It is easy to get our kids doing push-ups with us and to comment, “Wow, I couldn’t do push-ups like that when I was your age. You are so strong!” Likewise, when our kids are playing at the park and we watch them beat their friends in a race, we might comment later about how fast our little guy is and when his sister is running circles around the soccer field we naturally let her know how athletic she is.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2NVSrcc via IFTTT

Chestnut Beetroot Soup

In this roundup of nutrition, beets are a superstar for athletes. Earthy and vibrant, this creamy soup gets its texture from pureéing the softened chestnuts and vegetables together . This technique results in a perfectly thick spoonable delight that’s teaming with a rounded assortment of nutrients perfect for athletes. In this roundup of nutrition, beets are a superstar for athletes. Compounds found in beets increase the body’s ability to use oxygen and increase the time it takes to feel exhausted. Consuming chestnuts increases energy levels as they provide carbohydrates for both short and long-term energy. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2XJh6Fk via IFTTT

The Awesome Things Helping Me Regenerate Knee Cartilage, Avoid Surgery and Snowboard a Whole Lot

When you need help, get at least a few qualified opinions. Complement those with your own research, observations, and goals. I love mountain sports. They energize, inspire, and motivate me—highly so. But sadly, I’ve become a regular patient at the orthopedic clinic. A renowned surgeon told me I need surgery on my right knee. As well as the left knee. And I trust the guy—yet, joint surgery is profoundly terrible. I know first-hand, I’ve been through it five times. Instead, I decided to see what I can do to stay active and put my back into knee cartilage regeneration through holistic and modern procedures and habits.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2SRacu3 via IFTTT

Chestnut Beetroot Soup

In this roundup of nutrition, beets are a superstar for athletes. Earthy and vibrant, this creamy soup gets its texture from pureéing the softened chestnuts and vegetables together . This technique results in a perfectly thick spoonable delight that’s teaming with a rounded assortment of nutrients perfect for athletes. In this roundup of nutrition, beets are a superstar for athletes. Compounds found in beets increase the body’s ability to use oxygen and increase the time it takes to feel exhausted. Consuming chestnuts increases energy levels as they provide carbohydrates for both short and long-term energy. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HmLpMA via IFTTT

The Awesome Things Helping Me Regenerate Knee Cartilage, Avoid Surgery and Snowboard a Whole Lot

When you need help, get at least a few qualified opinions. Complement those with your own research, observations, and goals. I love mountain sports. They energize, inspire, and motivate me—highly so. But sadly, I’ve become a regular patient at the orthopedic clinic. A renowned surgeon told me I need surgery on my right knee. As well as the left knee. And I trust the guy—yet, joint surgery is profoundly terrible. I know first-hand, I’ve been through it five times. Instead, I decided to see what I can do to stay active and put my back into knee cartilage regeneration through holistic and modern procedures and habits.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2H4vEKV via IFTTT

Everything Is Connected

Adaptation is when the body changes, and it’s a process, not the prize. "Enlightenment, for a wave in the ocean, is the moment the wave realizes it is water."

 Thich Nhat Hanh

   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2TxSEYw via IFTTT

Everything Is Connected

Adaptation is when the body changes, and it’s a process, not the prize. "Enlightenment, for a wave in the ocean, is the moment the wave realizes it is water."

 Thich Nhat Hanh

   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2VJvFH5 via IFTTT

The Pain Free Truth

You have to take control of your fears. The fitness industry is wrought with lies.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2NJMjnk via IFTTT

The Pain Free Truth

You have to take control of your fears. The fitness industry is wrought with lies.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2SMasL4 via IFTTT

Reset Your Default to Force Adaptation

Resetting your defaults will yield success and drive insanity out the door. “Looks familiar, doesn't it? We've been here before, you and I, remember? I do. I think of nothing else.” – Agent Smith (Matrix - Revolutions)   You’ve dedicated yourself to a training regimen . You’ve spent countless hours, days and years to forcibly change your physique. Then inevitability kicked in and you hit the wall. We’ve all been there before but we can do something about it.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2ENlXy4 via IFTTT

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

Easy and economical, this simple soup is a quick and flavorful way to feed your family. Easy and economical, this simple soup is a quick and flavorful way to feed your family . Inspired by the ethnic origins of peanut soup, this soup utilizes another common staple of African cuisine, the yam, or its similar relative, the sweet potato, and combines these key components with Thai curry paste and lentils. Thai cuisine also utilizes peanuts or other nuts in their regional dishes which complements the unique curry blend that is flavorful but not overly spicy.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2VwS3Ue via IFTTT

Reset Your Default to Force Adaptation

Resetting your defaults will yield success and drive insanity out the door. “Looks familiar, doesn't it? We've been here before, you and I, remember? I do. I think of nothing else.” – Agent Smith (Matrix - Revolutions)   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HguHhE via IFTTT

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

Easy and economical, this simple soup is a quick and flavorful way to feed your family. Easy and economical, this simple soup is a quick and flavorful way to feed your family . Inspired by the ethnic origins of peanut soup, this soup utilizes another common staple of African cuisine, the yam, or its similar relative, the sweet potato, and combines these key components with Thai curry paste and lentils. Thai cuisine also utilizes peanuts or other nuts in their regional dishes which complements the unique curry blend that is flavorful but not overly spicy.    read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2tOeybt via IFTTT

The Chief Habit: Your Ten-Minute Morning Fitness Plan

If you had to choose one thing you could do to enhance your work, relationships, attitude, confidence, and health, it would be exercise. Becoming the person we want to be is typically a case of taking action —not once, but over and over again. This is hard to do, particularly within a world that ingeniously inserts technology meant to pull us from those actions that we decided we wanted to adopt. Logically, it makes perfect sense to add a workout five days per week, but life is busy and our emotions will often disagree with these plans.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HboMKM via IFTTT

The Chief Habit: Your Ten-Minute Morning Fitness Plan

If you had to choose one thing you could do to enhance your work, relationships, attitude, confidence, and health, it would be exercise. Becoming the person we want to be is typically a case of taking action —not once, but over and over again. This is hard to do, particularly within a world that ingeniously inserts technology meant to pull us from those actions that we decided we wanted to adopt. Logically, it makes perfect sense to add a workout five days per week, but life is busy and our emotions will often disagree with these plans.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2H0bCkF via IFTTT

Periodized Nutrition: When to Go Low Carb

The more we learn about the human body the more we realize that, while there are some basic concepts that work for everyone, the “one size fits all” diet just doesn’t exist. The carbohydrate has had a bit of a hard time recently. Carbs make us fat, sugar is evil, and we should all switch to a high-fat diet or we will get diabetes . While that may sound extreme it certainly isn’t a rare opinion. We, humans, love to see things in black and white and nowhere is a better example of this than in the fitness and nutrition world.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2HgBA2m via IFTTT

Periodized Nutrition: When to Go Low Carb

The more we learn about the human body the more we realize that, while there are some basic concepts that work for everyone, the “one size fits all” diet just doesn’t exist. The carbohydrate has had a bit of a hard time recently. Carbs make us fat, sugar is evil, and we should all switch to a high-fat diet or we will get diabetes . While that may sound extreme it certainly isn’t a rare opinion. We, humans, love to see things in black and white and nowhere is a better example of this than in the fitness and nutrition world.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2tNpl5v via IFTTT

Find the Gym that Works for You

Progression often times comes with a change in location. Progression often times comes with a change in location . We have a tendency to become comfortable with the familiar. As a coach and bodybuilder I have seen stagnation within my own physique when I’ve become comfortable with residing within the same gym for an extended period of time expecting a new result; call it insanity if you will.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2XyqzPG via IFTTT

Find the Gym that Works for You

Progression often times comes with a change in location. Progression often times comes with a change in location . We have a tendency to become comfortable with the familiar. As a coach and bodybuilder I have seen stagnation within my own physique when I’ve become comfortable with residing within the same gym for an extended period of time expecting a new result; call it insanity if you will. This isn’t an opportunity to bash another gym or rouse discussion regarding the superiority of one gym over another. read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2EqdzTs via IFTTT

Hip Mobility - Unleash Your Power

Taking care of the tightness in abductors, adductors, and hip flexors so that you can fully realize the potential of a fully mobile hip.   Our previous video dealt with Ankle Mobility . This time, I want to review your hip flexibility , specifically abductors and adductors, and hip flexors, predominantly how tightness in those areas hinders your mobility.   read more from Breaking Muscle https://ift.tt/2TmOq5I via IFTTT