Firstly, I plead guilty to doing something I now understand is a hindrance to progress in the gym. I would hit a many max singles during the year that sucked every last bit of energy from my body and one ... Continue Reading
The Importance of LGBTQ+ Visibility in Professional Strength Sports
My name is Rob Kearney. I am a 3 time World's Strongest Man competitor, Arnold Strongman Classic competitor, Arnold Australia Strongman Champion and American Log Lift Record Holder. I am also happily ... Continue Reading
7 Tips For Working Out At Home When You Have No Motivation
Even if you have a kettlebell or a couple of dumbbells lying around, it can be hard to muster up the motivation to use them. When you’re used to being able to load up a barbell and lift way more than ... Continue Reading
OpEd: The “CrossFit” Community Is Going to be Okay
My gym was the first CrossFit affiliate in Canada—CrossFit Vancouver. We affiliated in 2005. Our owner Craig Patterson was mentored directly by Greg Glassman in the early 2000s, and then Patty became my ... Continue Reading
Op-Ed: The Myth of “Natural Talent” As a Cover for Racism in (Strength) Sports
Growing up, I wanted to be a geneticist. I also wanted to be a ballerina, a boxer, and an astronaut — but up until my sophomore year in college, I thought I was going to be a geneticist. I don’t know about ... Continue Reading
Coaching in the Time of COVID: What It’s Like to Instruct In a Mask
Over the years I’ve purchased bandanas solely as a fashion statement—to be tied around my neck, in my hair, or on a handbag. Now that gyms are reopening after mandated closures amid the coronavirus, all ... Continue Reading
3 Misconceptions CrossFit® Athletes Have About Nutrition
As the sport of CrossFit has evolved on the performance side of things, so too have the community’s ideas about how to best fuel for performance. The Zone Diet dominated the community in the early ... Continue Reading
Finding Body Acceptance Through Strength: Four Women Share Their Journeys
I remember the first time I became self-conscious about my body. It was in the sixth grade and I was at the local swimming pool. I was about to exit the pool when I told my “boyfriend” at the time to turn ... Continue Reading
What to Focus on When Getting Back into Fitness Postpartum
Though each pregnancy is a bit like a snowflake—all completely different—in my 11 years of coaching, I have seen some similar trends show up over and over when it comes to women getting back into fitness ... Continue Reading
Rotational, Reactive, and Lateral: Three Forgotten Pieces of the Strength Training Puzzle
In my experience, nine times out of 10 when my clients have gotten injured acutely, injury hasn’t happened in the gym. Acute injuries can happen while playing a sport, or in life. Doing something like ... Continue Reading
4 Barbell Exercises You Should Try Adding Bands To
Resistance bands are one of my favorite training accessory tools. Not only can you stretch and train in multiple planes of motion but adding them to barbell and dumbbell exercises challenges the ... Continue Reading
9 Mobility-Focused Exercises to Improve Your Squat Without Weights
If you haven’t had access to a barbell or significant weights in a while, you’ve probably started worrying about your squat strength. A lot. And sure, you’ll have to get back into the gym slowly — ... Continue Reading
Fight Dirty Against Fatigue, How Breathing Is the Key to Performance
I met Dr. Belisa a couple of years back. We spoke on the phone discussing an article I wrote back in 2009. In my article, I described how I teach strength athletes how to brace for heavy lifts. She had ... Continue Reading
6 Ways to Modify Powerlifts When the Barbells Are All Taken
In this time of social distancing, low capacity gyms, and lifters missing the barbell, there is a strong chance that when you’re lifting you either don't have access to a barbell or they're being used ... Continue Reading
4 Exercises Most People Butcher (And How to Fix Them)
I like the motto from Original Strength: ‘good, better and best.’ Because some movement, no matter how poor, is often better than no movement at all. You start at good, then get better and then comes ... Continue Reading
4 Alternatives For When You Don’t Have Cardio Machines
Maybe you have access to a gym, maybe you don't, but whether you're leery of cardio machines or you just don't have any available, there are options. You've probably read one or two articles about ... Continue Reading
Why I’m Not Going Back to the Gym (Yet)
I have had conversations with dozens of gym goers, many of whom desperate to get back in the gym and back on the barbell. Understandable. Although most of them have been following their gym’s ... Continue Reading
4 Upper Body Exercises You Can Do With Just Weight Plates
Breaking news: Weight plates are not just for putting on a barbell. They can be a useful exercise tool on their own, and for people who have limited access to dumbbells, barbells, and ... Continue Reading
Back to the Gym? Use This Professional Powerlifter’s 3-Step Plan!
As gyms start to reopen across the United States, you’ll see a lot of lifters getting back into things after a long layoff of doing…well, doing nothing. My guess is they’ll be a little frustrated at first, ... Continue Reading
5 Tips to Transition Your Gym Away from the Group Class Model
The future of the group class is uncertain. Most small gym owners and CrossFit affiliates—who have relied on running group classes of anywhere from 8 to 30 people—are collectively trying to figure out ... Continue Reading
2 Front Loaded Squat Variations Every Lifter Needs More Of
The back squat, a.k.a what many refer to as the king of all exercises, is often discussed as an exercise that everyone should be able to perform. For some, the ability to squat is viewed similarly to being ... Continue Reading
5 Yoga Poses Powerlifters Should Try For a Better Big 3
When you think of yoga, you (may) think of men and women wearing stretchy clothes twisting themselves into knots, granola hippies who would not hurt a fly. Let us put this stereotype to bed. Here are ... Continue Reading
Op-Ed: 4 Unilateral Exercises You Should Do No Matter What Your Sport Is
Bilateral strength exercises (squats, deadlifts, presses, rows) should form the majority of your training because this is where you will get most of your strength gains. However, unilateral training ... Continue Reading
COVID-19: The Launching Pad to Fix a Broken Fitness Industry?
“The fitness industry is devastated,” wrote a strength and conditioning coach friend of mine on social media a few weeks ago, in a post questioning why we locked down so hard in Vancouver, B.C., where ... Continue Reading