It’s getting to that time of year again, where we look back and review what we did well in the year past, and what we want to improve upon in the upcoming year.
I always enjoy looking back to see what content my readers enjoy the best, so that I can make RTS more focused and specific going forward.
In 2013, I’d like to think I put out some really strong content. Some materials that will help both coaches and athletes alike take their performance to the next level.
So without any further ado, here are the Top 10 RTS posts of 2013.
10. Three S’s for Stronger Knees
After a minor knee surgery myself in 2005, I’m still fascinated by the knee joint and keeping it healthy.
In this article, I detail why the sagittal plane is the starting point for knee health, but from there, we can’t forget about the frontal and transverse planes, either.
9. The Get Swole Upper Body Workout
The Get Swole Upper Body Workout was something I created for two of my good friends at IFAST earlier this year. At the time, they were pretty beat up through the lower body, but they still wanted to push the limits of their upper body training a bit.
If you have a knee, back, or hip injury and can’t push the weights on the lower half, I think you’ll really enjoy this program (includes a downloadable PDF with the entire routine).
8. Big Lifts and Core Training
One of the topics we fitness people have argued about for years is the core.
And even more specifically, if you perform big lifts like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses, do you need direct core training?
I dig in here and explain why core alignment is the first thing we need to be shooting for, and if we don’t have that, why the big lifts may not be enough to keep us healthy and moving forward.
7. Should we Train Rectus Abdominus?
When it comes to core training, rectus abdominus is right up there with transverse abdominus when it comes to arguing and in-fighting.
Quite sipmly, should we train rectus abdominus?
What is its role in our body?
And if we should train it, is it as simple as throwing in some crunches or sit-ups at the end of our training session?
I do my best to provide some thoughts and answers here.
14 years later, and I’m still fascinated by anatomy.
One of the major players when it comes to a scissored posture are the lats. They can put not only the shoulders in a bad position, but the hips, pelvis and lower back as well.
In this article I discuss not only the functional anatomy, but training progressions to help you keep those monster lats in check.
I don’t let many people write guest posts on my site, but obviously Wil Fleming was a good choice.
Wil is not only a sharp guy when it comes to power training, but he’s one heckuva Olympic lifter as well, having just competed at the American Open last weekend.
If you want to learn the difference between a deadlift and a clean pull, you’ll definitely enjoy this article.
4. Warm-up
Now we get into some of my really big, keystone content for the year.
I get questions almost everyday from online and offline clients as to why warming up is important.
And even if you do know that warming up is important, the next question inevitably becomes, “what should I do?”
This article is one part functional anatomy, one part philosophy, and one part application. If you have any questions about warming up whatsoever, you need to read this post ASAP.
3. Floor Press
As a guy who has always loved pushing iron, a lift that never seems to get any credit is the floor press.
If you have back issues, shoulder issues, or just want to get freaky strong, the floor press can help get you there.
And as I was creating this article, I quickly found just how many different floor pressing variations there are! Whether your goal is to get a stronger core, more stable shoulders, or just get brutally strong, there’s a floor pressing variation that’s just right for you.
2. Front Squat
As far as content goes, the front squat article was the post I was most proud of for 2013.
Clocking in at just over 9,000 words, I did my best to cover every angle of the lift.
Set-up.
Technique and performance.
Variations.
Troubleshooting.
The list goes on and on.
If you want to know anything about the front squat, I bet it’s in here somewhere.
1. Long Duration, Low Intensity Cardio
Dum, dum, DUM!
The #1 post for the year was about – cardio???
Yes, that’s right – cardio.
With everyone and their mother fully buckled in to the high-intensity bandwagon, I felt it was my job to highlight some of the benefits of lower intensity training.
I look at it as standing up for the people. So many of my clients and athletes have been beaten into submission with the high-intensity training circuit, they just can’t fathom that there’s any real reason to perform low-intensity training.
It’s frustrating, and that’s what initially drove me to write this piece.
I think this post was my most popular for two reasons:
- It’s an incredibly hot topic, and I think there’s a serious backlash coming with regards to exclusively training in a high-intensity fashion. It can absolutely be beneficial, but not all the time, and definitely not year round.
- When I wrote this, I was pissed off. Angry. I had a lot of emotion, and I think you can tell that at certain points in the article.
So those are my Top 10 articles here at RTS for 2013.
And without letting the cat out of the bag just yet, I can tell you that 2014 is going to my best year ever.
The content is going to be hyper-focused, streamlined, and on point.
If you enjoy any of the articles above, please help me out by sharing them with your social networks, or even with a friend that may benefit.
Have a great week!
All the best
MR