If I had to choose the one, single factor that’s most important in training success, it would be hard work balanced with sufficient recovery. And if I had to pick one thing that made for sufficient ... Continue Reading
6 Adaptogens That May Help Strength Athletes
Adaptogens are the wellness trend that have caught the attention of bendy yogis and functional medicine guru’s… but now Olympians and strength athletes may be hitting up their spice racks, too. Using ... Continue Reading
Decoding Strongman Language in the Gym
Strongman training is serious business. Hundreds of pounds being thrown over your head, stone loads can crush a spine, and farmers walks that test the ability of your arms to stay in their sockets requires ... Continue Reading
5 Ways Kettlebell Training Can Improve Your Barbell Lifts
Throughout history, we have used different types of training tools to achieve muscular strength, development, and power. When I first began training on my own, my tools were predominantly barbells and ... Continue Reading
Struggling to Stay On Track With Your Diet? These 3 Tricks Could Help
Heads up! This article is about diet tricks – not fundamentals. These can be really useful for people who already have a sound diet planned, and are having a little difficulty sticking to it (for whatever ... Continue Reading
How Including More Narrow Stance Squats Could Improve Your Lifting
How often do you change your stance in your squats? I'm in the camp of lifters who squat with their toes slightly angled out with their stance roughly wider than shoulder width. This feels natural and ... Continue Reading
3 Things You Must Avoid in Strongman Training
Everyone is always asking me for tips and help with their training. I’ve been coaching the sport for over a decade and have worked with countless people that went on to compete at different levels or ... Continue Reading
Should Strength Athletes Be Drinking Bulletproof Coffee?
Move over branched chain amino acids, citrulline, and beta alanine, there’s a new pre-workout in town: butter coffee, at least according to advocates of the Bulletproof Coffee trend. Popularized by ... Continue Reading
3 Reasons Why Strongman Athletes Can Benefit From Weightlifting
Something interesting that I’ve noticed over the past four years coaching strength athletes is the complete lack of competitive strongman athletes using the Olympic lifts. Every once in a while you'll get ... Continue Reading
4 Key Tips for College Weightlifters to Succeed and Grow
I study business administration at a small school in central Maine called Thomas College. I recently transferred to Thomas from the larger urban University of Southern Maine, which was much further from ... Continue Reading
Use These 3 Squat Variations to Build Stronger Legs
Unlike the deadlift, the squat is a little more forgiving in terms of high-frequency training, and most people are already familiar with many variations of the standard low-bar back squat. High bar, ... Continue Reading
Strongman Training for Combat Athletes
One of the fastest growing sports of the last 20 years has been Mixed Martial Arts. These highly specialized athletes are some of the strongest and most well conditioned people on the planet. While nearly ... Continue Reading
How to Program Speed Work for Raw Powerlifters
Speed work for raw powerlifting gets a bad rep sometimes, and I can understand why. Lots of equipped lifters swear by the power of speed work to help increase a one-rep maxes, but when a raw guy tries to ... Continue Reading
A Powerlifter’s Take On the If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) Diet
In my last YouTube video, I said that I haven’t really dieted in years – that I just eat whatever the hell I want to. That was really misleading, so I want to clarify. Yes, I do typically eat whatever the ... Continue Reading
Three Steps to Better Time Management for Busy Strength Athletes
When I moved to Texas from Northern California in 2011, the biggest culture shock I experienced was time. People move at a bit of a slower pace in Texas, and – especially after having spent the first 25 ... Continue Reading
I Know You Can Jump, But Can You Land?
When I start working with a new athlete, one of the first things we work on is landing mechanics. It doesn’t matter to me if you can jump on a 50” box if you’re not able to land properly coming off ... Continue Reading
Honestly Ask Yourself: Are You Working Hard Enough?
If you’ve been following me on social media, you know that I’m a pretty conservative guy. I’m usually talking about topics like, Cutting back on how much work you do in the gym Saving some ... Continue Reading
These Are 32 Things Strong Women Do Not Want to Hear On Dates
Let's set the scene. You have a date coming up with a super cool lady, and you find out soon after she's really into lifting. Now you're no stranger to the gym, but you're not heavily involved in ... Continue Reading
5 Essential Tips for an Aspiring Young Bodybuilder
I am so grateful for the people I knew at the start of my bodybuilding career. They gave me words of advice that prevented me from making huge mistakes that could have jeopardized my future in ... Continue Reading
Cardio and Powerlifting: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Cardio is a double-edged sword for powerlifters. On the one hand, cardio will help you to shed fat, will probably make you feel a bit better and healthier in your daily life, and might improve your work ... Continue Reading
The Real Pros and Cons of the Bodybuilding Lifestyle
Over my career, from beginner all the way to the Olympia stage, I heard it all. Every sleazy comment, every myth and misconception about the bodybuilding lifestyle. In my experience the average person, ... Continue Reading
5 Things You Can Expect When Attending a Women’s Powerlifting Event
I recently had the pleasure of attending a “Women In Strength” event at my gym; The Warhouse Gym in Reading, Pennsylvania. The event was hosted by Dana Linn Bailey, Jennifer Thompson, and Megan Gallagher ... Continue Reading
Is It Normal for the IT Band to “Pop”?
It’s quite common for our joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments to make popping and cracking noises throughout day-to-day activities and our training routines. These sounds are thought to be caused by a ... Continue Reading
Kipping Pull-Up Injuries – 4 Reasons Why and How They Happen
In this article I wanted to spend some time going through the kipping pull-up, specifically whether or not it is responsible for shoulder and muscular injuries (SLAP tears, labrum issues, muscle strains, ... Continue Reading