A common challenge I observe people experience when undertaking a new workout regime is overcoming the myth that they should be able to exercise efficiently on day one. To improve your overall fitness level, there are movement patterns around which you should construct exercises. Read More

As we all navigate the murky new waters of COVID-19, I’m trying my best to determine which changes are here to stay and which things will eventually return to normal. I’ve observed and read how some organizations are changing their business models completely. Many fast food chains are putting more emphasis on drive through instead of dine-in eating. Many of the airlines are opting to not sell the middle seat for now, but have been clear that they will eventually have to go back to selling every seat. It’s not economical, nor do I see Boeing or Airbus creating a new plane on the fly, no pun intended. At the studio, I have been trying to get back to reading the current research on effective fat loss, strength and conditioning. Easier said than done. Read More

Is a deadlift an upper or lower body exercise? If you had to classify the movement pattern, it is a hip hinge. The hips are the dominant access of movement. The Glutes, hamstrings, and lumbar spine must work synergistically to pick the load up off the ground. You are picking the load up with the arms and the shoulders must maintain a point of stability with the scapulae retracted. If the shoulders pull forward, the result will be a rounded upper back. This can be considered a power leak and leaves the lifter susceptible to injury in the lower back. Read More

It has been a month since we’ve reopened. Compared to when a person has taken an extended lay-off, it was a time for a re-boot for everyone at the studio. Some people did take advantage of the virtual workouts we made available, but those workouts had their limitations (limited equipment, space). Read More

Inside the parameters of the strength and conditioning world, the pendulum of what everyone needs tends to swing between opposite directions. As in many polarizing topics in society, what we need probably lies somewhere in the middle. Hips have become an area of interest in recent years. Do you need better mobility or is it strength and stability? I think this is partially because the age group of people that are strength training has aged. As an older population has entered the gyms, they have more water under the bridge, which tends to bring some limitations. I am glad that we have evolved past the days of your physician telling you to solely walk on the treadmill for exercise. The average age at my studio is 52. I see people who want to move better and be stronger. That was my inspiration for today’s post. Read More

During the quarantine phase of dealing with COVID-19, we had to shift our workouts from the studio to online and provide them virtually for our members. Participants having minimal or no equipment forced us to use bodyweight as the resistance for many exercises. When I started designing these programs, I considered it an optimal time (I had a captive quarantined audience) to dedicate 2-3 exercises daily with the objective of improving mobility. The 3 areas that are traditionally addressed for mobility in strength and conditioning are the ankle, hips, and thoracic (upper back) spine. Hip mobility and it’s lack thereof, have become all the rage recently. There are Instagram pages dedicated to it. Read More

If you’re like me, being quarantined, having a limited work schedule, and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has completely disrupted your daily routine. I was forced to temporarily close the studio a month ago and I’m currently training people privately and in small groups using Zoom. Virtual training isn’t the same as training someone in person, but it does provide a viable option. I’ve had to quickly adjust many of my coaching cues on the fly, so that they still translate online. I’ve had to substitute where I previously had the ability to touch and physically move someone, to solely using visual and verbal cues. Read More

It’s not uncommon for someone to walk into the studio for the first time and ask me “Do you provide weight training?” The reason for their confusion is because we don’t have any typical machines at the studio. I decided to use today’s blog post to explain exactly what “weight training” is. The first thing I should clarify is that research has proven that to improve muscular fitness you must apply the overload principle. Read More

We just wrapped up a Body-fat loss Challenge in the studio. I typically schedule these twice a year (January and August). The duration of the Challenges is always five weeks. The objective is to lose as much body-fat as possible within the five week window. Body-fat is measured using a Lange skinfold caliper. A typical amount of body-fat seems to hover around 2%. The winners of the Challenge usually lose upwards to 4% in body-fat or more in the five week span. To facilitate and help fat-burning we recommend people increase their intensity in their workouts and the frequency. Read More

In 2001, Thomas Meyers authored Anatomy Trains. The book instantly became a staple in the functional strength and conditioning world. The book shows and explains how the muscles throughout the body are interwoven by fascia. Fascia is a body-wide collagenous web. I like to use the analogy that it’s a layer of Saran wrap that encompasses the muscles. Taking the information from this text became an outline for trainers on how to group exercises and movement patterns. There are seven trains, or lines, that run throughout the body. Read More