Knowing how to craft an effective workout routine doesn’t have to be a mind-bender. You don’t need a PhD in exercise science, nor advanced certifications. What I’m about to share with you is the simplest strength training system imaginable. It’s a design that I’ve been using multiple times per week since 2010. And, it’s so …
Category :Strength and Conditioning
Let’s get moving!
Adjustments: If you don’t have a barbell, hold a kettlebell or dumbbells in the front rack position. If spiderman pull-ups are too challenging, scale back to regular pull-ups, or jumping/eccentric pull-ups as necessary. If ring dips are out of your grasp, try jumping/eccentric dips, or bench dips for a beginner option. How I did it: 185 …
Tactics for the Well-Rounded Athlete
Being labeled a “well-rounded” athlete doesn’t sound like a massive compliment. It implies that you’re soft around the edges — okay at some activities, but not a super-star in any one. Yet for those of us who aren’t professional athletes, being well-rounded is one of the best accolades out there. A well-rounded athlete can hold …
How to play the Push-up Game
Back in high school gymnastics, one of my favorite ways to end a day in the gym was to play something we called the Push-up Game. You might know it by another name, or perhaps you play it slightly differently than how we did. Whether you coach your own clients or you simply enjoy exercising …
Why movement variety matters
Think back through your last month of fitness activity. Try to tally every exercise that you performed during that time. Can you count the different movements on one hand? Do you need two hands? Do you need both hands and both feet? You probably have a few of exercises that you use in heavy rotation. That’s …
Strong like your great-great-great-grandparents
Ten years ago Michael Pollen wrote an article for Time magazine, titled “Six Rules for Eating Wisely.” One recommendation that always stuck with me was that you shouldn’t eat anything that your great-great-great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. His point was that in our age of packaged food products, much of what is on the …
Shoulder Flag Tutorial
Holding yourself above the ground in a flag position is an amazing sensation. Imagine being able to soar above the earth like Superman, while also being able to rip a telephone pole from the ground like the Hulk. It is weightlessness and pure strength combined into a single drill. In this tutorial, I am going to …
Short-Form vs Long-Form Training
You’ve been training for a few months now, building strength, acquiring skills, and gaining confidence. You’ve got some different vaults under your belt, and appreciate how your balance has been steadily improving. Most importantly, you feel safe training outdoors, and trust your ability to recover from a bail. Overall, your training has been going really …
Do you parcours?
Have you heard the term “parcours”? It sounds a lot like parkour for a reason. It is the French word for “course” and is undoubtedly the root word for the discipline, as we know it today. You might be familiar with it from the term “parcours du combattant” which is the French military obstacle-training regimen. …
When to Add Weight to Pull-ups
Being able to pull yourself over an elevated bar or on top of a high wall, as with a muscle-up or a climb-up, are two fundamental parkour skills that are both predicated on serious upper body strength. And, as we all know, pull-ups are one of the best tools for gaining real-life, functional upper body …