3 Steps to an Effective Deload
Before you take a break from lifting heavy (and for those of you that are on the fence wondering if deloads are even necessary), consider three backed-by-science steps.
Technique's Role in Injury Risk
Can we adapt, get stronger, and build tolerance within what could be considered bad technique. Here's how injuries occur and don't.
What is Pain Telling Us?
Pain is your brain going, “Hey, let’s stop this before (more) damage occurs.” Do you push through the pain or do you stop? Then what?
Set Your Mind Free
Getting over the mental hurdles post injury can be just as painful as the actual injury, but you can come out of it stronger if you choose to.
What is GPP and Who's It For?
Incorporate General Physical Preparedness into your regimen and watch as you meet or exceed your overall training goals.
Poor Recovery is Holding You Back!
Training hard but still not seeing gains in strength and size? Try taking a harder look at your recovery. It's science.
Train and Rehab with Crossbody Extensions
Crossbody extensions address tissue tolerance and scapular awareness—something to use for direct upper body training AND physical therapy.
A Well-Rounded Approach to Injury Prevention
No exercise or series of exercises can guarantee injury prevention. It takes a holistic approach with a heaping amount of common sense.
Blending Training and Rehab for the Powerbuilder
There's no reason to be sidelined into rehab purgatory when dealing with a combination labral tear with bicep tendinopathy. Read how this case study is applicable to you.
Hormone Panels 101
I instruct all of my clients to get a full hormone panel at least once a year. Here's how to prepare for these labs and what a comprehensive hormone panel looks like.
The Anti- Tin Man Romanian Deadlift
Implementation is the easiest part of this exercise because you are using only your available range and not approaching this with a “must have the mobility of a 12-year-old gymnast” mentality. Here's your chance to access planes and ranges of motion that most of us forget even exist.
It's Better to Wear Out Than to Rust Out
In my fifties, I started to experience knee pain during and after Olympic lifts, squats, and deadlifts. After a career full of lifting and contact sports, my options were anti-inflammatory medication and gels, surgery, braces, ABI, and PRP. Here's what helped me.
How to Relieve Lower Back Pain
I had my fair share of lower back issues to the point I needed to be fed by my wife. There are only so many times you can go through this before it clicks what the problem is and how to fix it. Here's what I've figured out.
Does Mobility or Stability Come First?
For those involved in the healthcare, fitness, and strength industries, this is a question that has been long debated and has much enthusiasm behind it, creating the ultimate chicken vs. the egg debate in the human body. So which is the answer? How do we know once and for all?
My Left Glute is Not Activating
Anyone who’s actually said this and FELT this lack of power knows how frustrating it can be: Despite the EBP nerds saying, "Well, the hip is extending, so the glute must be firing." If you have felt the empty feeling, you know that you’re not firing on all cylinders.
The 8 Pillars of Longevity for Athletes
The primary drivers of aging can be narrowly reduced to inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function. Here's how to manage them.
What’s Wrong with Today’s Multisport Athlete
Why is the multisport athlete of today more burnt out and fatigued as ever?
Tendinopathy Edition: Programming Variables to Consider When Returning to the Squat
When it comes to returning an intermediate-advanced lifter to a heavy compound, there are often more factors at play than we initially think. Perfect mechanics probably aren't enough to get you back to where you need to be.
Understanding How To Utilize PRI With Youth Athletes
The Postural Restoration Institute® (PRI) course I took helped me understand body position optimization so much. I immediately saw how I could use this to help benefit my athletes and clients (and hopefully, I can help you help your clients and athletes).
Thyroid Health Update
The intricacies of the thyroid are complicated, so I wanted to triangulate my advice versus just taking one opinion and rolling with it. When I did so, I found that they all had very similar conclusions. Here's my treatment plan.
Serious Training Considerations for COVID-19
So here is the decision you need to consider: should you adapt your training in favor of less dangerous styles of exercise and workload, or continue as planned on your strength journey?
Epidemic Survival Strategies for Fitness Enthusiasts and Professionals
For starters, if you have access to equipment during this time, it is recommended that restraint be employed pertaining to exercise intensity and volume as both have been implicated in temporarily suppressing immune system function.
My Sh*tty-@ss Thyroid
Why is it important to get thyroid testing done? What thyroid markers should be tested? What causes thyroid dysfunction? As I dive into thyroid health and function, these are the questions I'm discovering. I'm still trying to get a better understanding of it all, but here's what I know so far.
What To Do When Your Thyroid Fails You
Slowly each week, I was getting bigger and bigger — and not the good kind. I exploded from a 130-pound fitness chick to a 200-pound walrus. After a solid three years of impeccable blood lab results, it's time to dabble in my sob story and ultimately share the phases I undertook to regain my health and life.