Recent Posts

Physical Preparation with Greg Robins

Greg Robins is a guy who I’ve followed for years now. Not only is he a great coach, but someone who I feel is constantly educating himself and taking his own game to new levels. In this show, Greg and I talk about his wide-ranging path to working at Cressey Sports Performance, his personal philosophy […]

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RTS Coaching: What Torso Position is Best on Split-Squats?

Split-squats are one of my all-time favorite exercises. When you think about it, they can do numerous things for you: Build single-leg strength, Improve flexibility in the trailing leg, Improve stability and control through the hip, knee and ankle, etc. Yet, when it comes to the split-squat, a common question comes up time and again: […]

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My 5 LEAST FAVORITE Coaching Cues

(Lead Photo Courtesy of Flickr) After last week’s article, I was perusing the Twitterverse and came across the following comment: @RobTrainSystems can you write one with your least favorite cues? — Jared Rosenberg (@JRStrengthFit) June 8, 2016 Thanks Jared for the great idea! Normally I like to keep my articles positive. Yet in this case, […]

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RTS Coaching: Knees First on Squats?

The other day I was perusing the Interwebz, and I came across this awesome tweet from my guy Mike Roncarati: Vertical tibia during a squat means anterior head and trunk displacement as the first move for most. Or a very wide BOS #letquadswork — Mike Roncarati (@RoncMike) June 8, 2016 The timing was impeccable, because […]

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My Top 5 Coaching Cues

(Lead photo courtesy of Flickr) As you may or may not know, I’ve gone through something of a Marvel obsession that past couple of months. Whether it’s the big Avengers roll-outs, the solo movies, or even the Netflix series’ like Daredevil and Jessica Jones, I’ve pretty much seen all of their recent work in the […]

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RTS Coaching: Make the Arrow on Push-ups

Lots of talk on push-ups lately, and for good reason. Great exercise. FANTASTIC exercise. But again, not always executed the way we would like. One of the most common questions has to do with arm and shoulder position. Quite simply, where should your elbows be relative to your torso? Should they be tucked in tight? […]

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RTS Coaching: Finishing the Push-up

When it comes to training, virtually anyone and everyone includes push-ups in their programming. Whether your goal is to build muscle, lose body fat, or become a better athlete, well-performed push-ups can help you get there. I’m a huge fan of the push-up for obvious reasons – and if it’s not obvious, grab a cup […]

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5 Things I Wish Someone Would’ve Told Me About Coaching

In the summer of 2000, my life changed forever. I thought I wanted to do something in fitness, and the thought of being a personal trainer or strength coach sounded pretty darn cool. Problem was, I’d coached/trained less than 10 people in my entire life! (I had, however, become an absolute ninja assassin in the […]

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The Great Slovenia Trip of 2016

I’m going to stray from my usual educational content for a week to give you a not-so-brief recap of my recent trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia for a seminar at the Vigor Move and Live training facility. I’ve known Matej and Luka Hocevar for years now, and they are two guys I’ve really come to respect […]

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5 Qualities EVERY Athlete Should Train

Building an athlete requires building multiple physical qualities. When I first started in this industry, I took a lot of pride in the fact that I was “strength and conditioning coach.” But I think in many cases, we took the title “strength and conditioning” a little bit too literally. And if we’re being totally honest […]

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Physical Preparation with Grant “Rufus” Gardis

Grant “Rufus” Gardis is a guy I’ve known and worked with for years. In fact, he was one of my instructors when I took the USA Weightlifting certification course way back in 2003! Not only is he one of the most knowledgeable coaches I’ve ever met when it comes to long-term athletic development, but one […]

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RTS Coaching: Hips First on Push-ups

Since the beginning of time, people have been doing push-ups to get into better shape. In fact, the push-up may be the single-most performed exercise on the planet, simply because you can do it anywhere, anytime, and get in a great workout. However, like most exercises, there are little things you can do to make […]

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Do Athletes Need More Anterior or Posterior Chain Work?

Ever since I got into the world of physical preparation, there’s one simple rule that no one ever seems to argue: All athletes need more posterior chain work! And in the interest of being transparent here, I was firmly on board with this point of view. I wrote about it in articles. I preached it […]

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Physical Preparation with Mike Snyder

Mike Snyder is a guy I’ve known for years now, and someone I truly respect as a coach. He’s the physical preparation coach at Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and someone I think all of us can learn a thing or two from. In this show, Mike and I talk about how his 3-4 […]

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15 Random Thoughts on Coaching

If you know anything about me, you know that my brain is always working. Especially when it comes to the athletes I work with, I’m constantly thinking about not only their training, but what I’m doing as a coach. For example: What are the best ways to communicate with and coach this athlete? Am I […]

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