Fitness Workout

It’s been 10 years since Breaking Muscle began. When I first started, I wrote about what was interesting to me at the time because I couldn’t find the information anywhere else. I was interested in yoga, CrossFit, Russian kettlebell training, MMA, and then that lead me to weightlifting and gymnastics, but most of the specialist

As a coach or personal trainer, you are limited by your knowledge and skillset. Therefore, certifications are suitable; however, one could become too heavy-handed and lose sight of their focus. The purpose of this article is to give insight into why I chose to go into physical therapy in contrast to obtaining more certifications.   

Hello there, it’s Oleksiy Torokhtiy speaking. You may recognize me from my participation in weightlifting sports for more than twenty years. For ten of those years, I was an active member of the national team from Ukraine.   Read Why Athletes Hate the Jerk Lift at its original source Breaking Muscle: http://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/why-athletes-hate-the-jerk-lift

If you are into strength training, you’ve heard about the fundamental movement patterns—the natural human movements that most trainers believe all humans would, ideally, be able to demonstrate and load. According to Dan John, there are five fundamental movements:     Read Go Beyond the 5 Fundamental Movement Patterns at its original source Breaking Muscle:

I’m the laziest, hyperactive, lethargic, ambitious, idle person you’ll meet. As breathing contradictions go, I get by. I’ve learned how to deal with myself by finally admitting just how much wiggle room I need to allow for the plans I create. It took me a while to admit. I’d throw that deep self-shame shade on myself

We praise what matters. In a famous study, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck found that students were far more likely to persevere through challenging problems and bring those problems home to work on more when they received praise for working hard rather than being smart.  Praising effort produced a hard-working identity that fueled people to persist through difficult challenges.

Sleep is fascinating. We all know it is good for us, and most of us would like to get more, yet, according to research, 43.2% of adults are sleep deprived.   Read Sleep is the Body’s Most Powerful Recovery Tool at its original source Breaking Muscle: http://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/sleep-is-the-bodys-most-powerful-recovery-tool

Put yourself in your potential client’s shoes. Why would they fork over a large amount of cash to train with a person they barely know? Or, when they become clients, how do you keep them coming back? The answer is in the buy-in. Are the clients buying what you’re selling?     Read 5 Ways

Someone asked me how I would program an 8-week CrossFit cycle and I had to say, I wouldn’t. Frankly, I prefer 12, 14 or 16-week programming blocks because I think 8-weeks is just too short to create some meaningful impact. Having said that, I probably have 3 solid 12-week training blocks left before my athletes

Dear stressed-out life hackers, I’m with you. Have you ever stressed yourself out by trying to incorporate too many stress management tactics? Have you lost sleep trying to fit more into your sleep routine? Have you spent a meditation practice thinking about what you can do to find more time to meditate? Or, perhaps, you

When you’re coaching personal or group training, you’ve probably come across a sluggish client, or one that doesn’t pick up on exercise cues, or they muddle through their training with no enthusiasm. And, this bothers you because it’s not occasional as they’re almost always like this. If it’s a personal training session, it’s easier to

Dan John once said, ‘the most dangerous part of my day is when I step out of the shower.’ Think about it. How easy is it to slip and fall once you get out of the shower? Now if it’s that easy, imagine how your older adult clients feel about losing their balance. That’s why

Bro, do you row? Almost every type of athlete, from elite weightlifter to weekend warrior, could greatly benefit from more pulling. Here are a few reasons: Improved Scapular Retraction: Due to the amount of time we spend hunched over various screens, the ability to pull the shoulder blades back and down is becoming a lost

A new school year is around the corner. All over, there will be in-season coaches trying to condition their athletes to be ready for game time and out-of-season coaches trying to get their athletes faster, stronger, and tougher before the season begins. Lots of effective exercises, cone-drills, and conditioning schemes will be assimilated. But if

  In this episode, I’m delighted to join Tony Gentilcore to discuss how he charted his path within the fitness industry and has built a thriving business using coaching, writing, and educating. Read A Successful Career in Fitness With Tony Gentilcore at its original source Breaking Muscle: https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/a-successful-career-in-fitness-with-tony-gentilcore

My dad began waking up my older brother and me a few days a week to practice karate and lift weights in the basement in elementary school. While I wouldn’t recommend starting eight-year-olds on weights, these experiences had a lasting impact on me. I’ll never forget my father bragging to other adults about how much

How is strength defined and who defines it? Kinesiologists study muscles and have various ways to gauge muscle contraction, length, tension, and force. Therefore, kinesiologists typically measure strength by these primary factors and neglect individual variations of strength as a subjective concept. Whether one can lift X number of pounds overhead is meaningless in the overall

  A mini-cut is a vital tool in your muscle-building toolbox. Sadly, it is often misunderstood or used recklessly. Used strategically, mini-cuts are one of the best ways to help you build the bigger, leaner body you want. Read The Misunderstood Art of Mini-Cutting for More Muscle at its original source Breaking Muscle: https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/the-misunderstood-art-of-mini-cutting-for-more-muscle

So, you signed up with the latest cool app that claims to deliver personalized workouts and promises results. You have been diligently following along for two months but are growing bored and skeptical because you do not see the expected results. Or, maybe you have been attending boot camp three days a week for the last

Not many words make people shift in their seats as the word posture does. Probably just reading it made you straighten up. What did you do? How are you sitting now? When most people think of good posture, they think of sitting and standing up straight with the shoulders pulled back. Trying to maintain this