If you ever wondered how to get more bang out of an exercise you already know and love, the deficit is where it’s at. Long before I became a trainer, deficit training wasn’t even on my radar. The only way I knew how to progress an exercise like the squat or lunge was to make the weight heavier or more …
I’d be willing to bet that you don’t give your recovery as much thought as the rest of your workouts. Maybe you attend a free outdoor yoga class here and there (San Diego is full of them). Or, perhaps you are diligent about a half-ass foam rolling session at the end of each workout (You know who you are). Nodding …
People that say squatting is similar to squatting down to a toilet seat don’t understand squats. Or at least, they are oversimplifying an exercise that demands a lot more from us than going #1 or #2. In order to squat deep and well, you have to meet certain mobility requirements, which I’ve discussed at length HERE, HERE and HERE. Here are …
2009 Trish loved to workout. She wanted to run fast, have the muscle definition of a bodybuilder, the booty of a Brazilian goddess (without the jiggle), and be really strong and athletic. Your girl just had no idea how to achieve all that. Never mind the fact that these were a lot of goals to tackle at once. Yet, I …
Strengthening your back for lifting and living is pretty obvious to many. It’s a pretty simple line of reasoning: The more you lift weights, the stronger your [back] muscles get, and the stronger your muscles are, the easier/better life becomes. The flip side to this coin is that lifting can also lead to back discomfort and pain. Or more specifically, …
Make no mistake…the Pilates abdominal series is a real core burner. No matter how strong those abdominals get, these five exercises seem to always cause a few groans whenever I teach them. Unlike your basic ab crunch or sit-up, the Pilates ab series of five can do a lot more than just give you a nice six-pack. They offer up …
Are you using your feet right? Can you ignite the back side of your body when you stand, lift, or move? Chances are, the answer is no. I don’t blame you for this. Fitness culture is obsessed with the front side of the body: how it looks, how it moves, how to engage this or that big muscle. It’s …
To the untrained eye, the Rollup appears to be one giant sit-up requiring the kind of core strength one can only dream of. But the truth is, this famous Pilates exercise has less to do with your abdominals and a lot more to do with your back flexibility. This is often the Roll-up can feel extremely difficult even to the …
Long before I became a trainer and barbell connoisseur, I assumed all overhead presses were the same. You grabbed a weight, pressed it over your head, put it down, and turned into a magical unicorn. At the time, I didn’t know the difference between horizontal and vertical pressing movements, just like I had no idea that different presses needed to …
I used to work in an office where good work was rarely rewarded, but mistakes big or small were magnified and publicly shamed for everyone to see. Sometimes the shaming was subtle, and other times it was plain as day. The office’s infamous “Bun Fund” was one example of the deeply rooted culture of shame and fear. The Bun Fund’s …
