Recent Posts
5 Strength Training Tips for Females
Between my years as a strength coach, gym owner, and personal trainer, I’ve had hundreds of females come to me with a goal of getting stronger. Some want to get stronger as a goal in-and-of itself (i.e. to compete in powerlifting). Some want to get stronger to improve their athletic development. And others simply want […]
Continue ReadingMolly Galbraith Interview
Molly, thanks for taking the time to be with us here today. Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself? Sure, Mike! Thanks so much for having me! In terms of my professional life, I’m am a trainer and certified strength and conditioning specialist, co-founder and owner of Girls Gone Strong, and […]
Continue ReadingThoughts on Training Female Athletes
Coaching is in my blood. Before I decided to become a strength & conditioning or “performance” coach, I thought I was going to be a basketball or volleyball coach when I grew up. I remember as a teen watching the same recorded games time and again on old VHS tapes, breaking down mechanics, movement, and […]
Continue ReadingPush-up
Every single client or athlete I train uses push-ups in their programming. And why not? They are simply a fantastic lift, whether your goal is to get stronger, burn more body fat, or become more athletic. Let’s start our journey by reviewing just a few of the reasons you might want to include push-ups in […]
Continue Reading7 Exercises You SHOULD Be Doing
I’m not a fan of the article that features “eight new ways to blast your pecs,” or “six new ways to shred your abs.” When it comes to training, I’m very vanilla in my approach. I believe that there are certain basic, big bang exercises that everyone should be using, regardless of their end goal. […]
Continue Reading5 Fitness Business Tips and Tricks
Running a fitness business is one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. Needless to say, it’s a lot more difficult than that whole “Field of Dreams” mantra: “Build it and they will come.” That makes for awesome cinema, but if you try to pull that in the business world, it’s only a […]
Continue ReadingHow to Write Power Training Programs
Power training is critical in athletics. Whether it’s the ability to juke a defender and break off a big touchdown run, hit a baseball 400 feet, or slam dunk a basketball, power is a key component that every performance coach must program for. However, before you blindly jump in and start doing 100 repetitions of […]
Continue ReadingMy Top 5 Moves for Athletic Power
Let’s start with an important, yet not so obvious statement…. Athletes are not professional lifters. Does strength have carryover to what they do on the field or court? Absolutely. But is it the be-all, end-all of athletic development? Absolutely not. When it comes to developing a well-rounded athletic development program, you can’t put in everything […]
Continue ReadingWil Fleming Interview
Note from MR: Wil Fleming is a guy I’ve become close with in recent years, and beyond having great hair, he’s also an awesome guy to chat with. The guy owns a successful business, coaches high-level athletes, and is an Olympic lifter himself. In this post we’ll discuss training, coaching, and everything in between . […]
Continue Reading3 Keys to Improving Power
As an athlete, power reigns supreme. Sure maximal speed is important, and being brutally strong can help, but if you want to be at your best it behooves you to improve power. Unfortunately, I think most athletes go about this entirely wrong. First and foremost, they spend all their time focusing on force production vs. […]
Continue ReadingForce Absorption vs. Force Production
“.2 off your 40 in 8 weeks!” “2 inches on your vertical in 6 weeks. Guaranteed!” If you’ve been in the athletic development industry for any period of time, claims and guarantees like the above aren’t anything new. In fact, especially when it comes to young athletes, it seems as though if you’re not making […]
Continue ReadingTwo HRV Case Studies
Heart rate variability (HRV) has been getting a ton of press lately, and with good reason. We all know that training, nutrition and recovery always has been, and always will be, an arms race. Who can train the hardest? Who can really dial in their nutrition? And who is recovering the fastest and most completely […]
Continue Reading5 More Thoughts on Energy System Development
A few weeks back, my article 10 Nuggets, Tips and Tricks for Energy System Training got some great reviews. However, I don’t feel as though people should take what I say as gospel, either. There was one comment in particular from a reader that stood out: Not that I’m against this style of training, I […]
Continue ReadingThe Cardio Competition
Note from MR: Last week in my 10 Nuggets post, Tip #10 was to make energy system training fun whenever possible. Jen Sinkler is someone I really respect in our industry, and with her background as a National caliber rugby player, I know she knows a thing or two about conditioning. If you want some […]
Continue Reading10 Nuggets, Tips and Tricks on Energy System Training
Energy system training (EST) is always a hot topic in the fitness and athletic development industries. And unfortunately, I think there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to EST. With everyone looking to get leaner, more “toned,” or just look and feel like a sexy beast, it’s natural to assume that glycolytic and/or […]
Continue Reading