Your body is the smartest machine ever built. It’s built on task efficiency. It will get a job done in the easiest way possible. I believe this is where we coined the term, “path of least resistance”. If you drop a napkin on the floor, as you bend over to pick it up, your spine will flex. There is nothing wrong with that. We should be able to change levels, stop and change direction, walk, and rotate without pain. The problem is that as we have evolved in western culture, we have developed and adopted these life hacks that have made life easier, but it has come at an expense. Read More

Partly brought on by the popularity of kettlebell training 20 years ago and the increased research on the negative side effects of sitting, training the muscles of the superficial back line have become a staple in many training programs. The kettlebell swing, one of, if not the foundational exercise you perform with a kettlebell, is a good choice to effectively train this area. The Superficial back line (SBL) connects   and protects the entire posterior surface of the body like the shell of a turtle, starting from the sole of the foot to the top of the head in two pieces- toes to knees and knees to brow. When the knees are straight, as in standing, the SBL works as one continuous line of integrated myofascial tissue. Read More

Every 10 years or so, you will have an accepted protocol or accepted approach in strength and conditioning that will get challenged. This challenge will typically come from someone in the research realm. The researchers usually do not have a dog in the fight, so they perform their research and will share the results from their collected data. The problem is that everyone doesn’t receive or accept these findings at the same time. What I’ve experienced is that the change usually starts at the professional and Olympic athlete level- Group A, then the high-level athlete (usually at the Collegiate or High School level)- Group B, followed by the active gym goer from the general population- Group C, to eventually be welcomed by the beginner from Group D. Read More

It’s mid-March and January 1st probably feels more than only 2 ½ months ago. As we start to enter Spring, I would like to return to a topic I spent a substantial amount of time discussing in December. Goal setting. Goal setting is a skill and requires thought. Read More

It’s Springtime in the Las Vegas Valley. As temperatures start to creep up, you can observe outside plants, trees, and flowers starting to awaken from their brief winter slumber. It is recommended that you prune and cut back the overgrowth or dead parts of the bush to allow for more vibrant growth. The same holds true for backing down your training intensity periodically, so your body can then take a leap forward with new growth. Read More

I’ve recently come across a realization amongst many veterans in my industry that I find interesting. It reinforces the fact that no matter how much you know about a specific topic, you can still fall prey to human emotional tendencies. A certain tendency is that more is always better. Some of the leaders in strength, conditioning and fitness have been forced to find alternative methods to maintain their fitness levels outside of resistance training. They have opted for outdoor cycling, swimming, and/or Yoga as their means to stay fit. Why have they substituted lifting heavy weights overhead and squatting with a kettlebell for laps in the pool? Did they become bored? Did the challenge of lifting iron become stale? Read More

Recently at the studio, I have been adjusting and manipulating the interval sessions we use during our Torch workout. The outcome goals for this workout are to improve mobility, increase strength, and drop bodyfat. One of the mistakes I think some coaches make is overcomplicating the workouts they administer. Much has been written about how keeping things simple is better for overall execution. Due to this, I didn’t vary the intervals used at the studio for years. In a mode of self-evaluation, I have recently questioned myself “What can we do better?” My conclusion was to adjust the time intervals relative to the desired goal for the exercise. Read More

Last night I was talking with my wife about the current state of the virus in Nevada. I was feeling optimistic because the current 14-day trend of cases was experiencing a substantial decline in Clark County, Nevada. She was more pessimistic citing the current death rate she read from the WHO report. I guess what we should both probably pay attention to is the percentage of deaths of those infected along with the overall daily infection rate. What the numbers don’t tell us is how the vaccination is affecting these numbers. That’s hard to measure. This is like when someone looks at their calorie burn from a workout at the studio. Read More

One of the things I take seriously at the studio is our program design. I follow the credo that there should be a reason why you do everything that is involved in your workout. If there is not a Why, or reason, you shouldn’t do it. I’ve never been a fan of the approach to like an exercise because it makes you tired or sweaty. Jumping up and down for 45 minutes will accomplish that, but I’m not sure what else it will accomplish. Another common mistake trainers tend to make, is to recommend an exercise because it creates “the burn”. The burn is a buildup of lactic acid. The burn is a reaction from your cells when they metabolize carbohydrates anaerobically without the presence of oxygen. Read More

Happy New Year. I thought it appropriate to start my first blog post of 2021 discussing goal setting. If you did not give it any thought the last few weeks of 2020, don’t worry, all is not lost for the year if you do not have them established by January 1st. I feel that part of the excitement of goal setting is the anticipation of making the goals. It’s almost like window shopping. In retail shopping, there is a financial exchange. You must give money or use credit to receive the services or product in return. In window shopping, you can visualize and imagine receiving the product or service without the investment. Read More