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Coaching
Training Trunk Rotation in the Push-up
A long time ago, I thought that if you weren’t bench pressing, you were wasting your time with regards to your upper body training. Luckily with age (and a little bit of experience), I realized that there was actually a lot more to upper body development than just bench pressing three times per week! Nowadays, […]
Continue ReadingCRUSH Your Core with the Side Bear
When I first started coaching, I really thought I knew everything about training the core. As someone with a Masters Degree in biomechanics, it only made sense that if you CAN train and move your core in every plane of movement, that you SHOULD do it. Right? Not so fast friend. Just a year or […]
Continue ReadingHow to Trap Bar Deadlift
You asked, so I’ve delivered! These days, the trap bar deadlift (TBDL) is my go-to deadlifting progression for both gen pop clients and athletes alike – and for good reason. The trap bar is awesome for a few reasons: The high handles reduce mobility needs, and makes setting-up easier. This combo helps you spare the […]
Continue ReadingLearn to Control Anterior Pelvic Tilt with THIS Exercise
Many clients and athletes have some degree of anterior pelvic tilt (APT). And while APT isn’t the awful disease or malady we once thought, the fact of the matter is if it goes unchecked, bad things tend to happen. As such, as a trainer, coach or athlete, you need tools in the toolbox to help […]
Continue ReadingCoaching and Cuing the Glute Bridge
One of my favorite books as a young coach was Muscles: Testing and Function by Florence Kendall. It’s the book that really got me thinking about posture, alignment, and movement quality – not just moving maximal weights. When assessing the glutes, one of the tests I used for years was a prone hip extension […]
Continue ReadingHow to Kickstand RDL
I’m going to start today’s post by dropping a serious bit of truth on you: Single-leg RDL’s are an awesome exercise – but they aren’t an easy exercise, and they’re definitely not suitable for beginners. Much like the the forward lunge, you clients and athletes should have to earn the right to do this exercise. […]
Continue ReadingHow to Lunge Without Crushing Your Knees
Lunges are one of my all-time favorite leg exercises. Once I got through over the “my legs are already big enough phase” and started training seriously, squats, deadlifts and lunge variations were always staples in my training routines. Now for some reason, many people assume that just because lunges are a common exercise that they’re […]
Continue Reading5 Simple Hacks You Can Use in the Gym TODAY
One of the biggest issues I see when people train is missing (or poorly executing) lifts due to a poor set-up. Now this is might be obvious when it comes to big-bang lifts like squats and deadlifts. Let’s take the squat for example: If you’re doing a back squat and your weight is pushed forward […]
Continue Reading5 Things Clients and Athletes Want from Their Coach
A few years ago I had an amazing chat with my good friend Eric Oetter of the Memphis Grizzlies. And while EO and I always seem to have amazing chats, the discussion we had that day still stands out in my mind. That discussion focused on writing programs, and specifically, the idea of checking boxes. […]
Continue ReadingHow and Why to Stack the Ribcage on the Pelvis
I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about stacking the ribcage on the pelvis. And two questions in particular keep coming up… What does it mean to stack the ribcage on the pelvis? And Why is it important? In this short video, I describe not only what it means to stack the ribcage on top […]
Continue ReadingHow to Use Band Resistance to Improve Power and Explosiveness
I’ve learned a lot from Lee Taft over the years. In many ways, he’s the closest thing I’ve had to a true mentor when it comes to speed and agility training. One of the most impactful things I’ve taken from Lee’s work was watching him use band resistance to control the momentum of his athletes. […]
Continue Reading7 Tips for Training Around Lower Back Pain
I’ve been doing this training thing for close to 20 years now, and I can tell you one thing: Pretty much every client or athlete who trains with you is going to have some sort of issue. In fact, training a new client or athlete with zero pain or issues would be kind of like […]
Continue ReadingA Simple Cue for Less Shoulder Pain
I can’t tell you how many clients and athletes I’ve seen over the years with a set of stiff or cranky shoulders. And while there’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” approach to keeping your shoulders healthy, this one simple cue can make a world of difference. In this short video, I explain: What that […]
Continue ReadingThe Core Training Collective
I’ve been coaching for close to 20 years now (I’m officially in my 19th year), and one thing I’ve learned over the years is that trainers and coaches love learning stuff they can use and apply immediately. If you go to a workshop, it’s called “Monday Morning” value. Sure they want to learn theory and […]
Continue ReadingCrush Your Hamstrings and Glutes with the ValSlide Leg Curl
I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more I’m looking to get maximum bang for my buck when in the gym. And suffice it to say, the days of body part splits and hitting a single muscle-group during a training session are long gone! So if I’m going to do a […]
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