They said I’d fall in love with the tapas, wine, and sights in Spain and boy, were they right. In a recent 10-day excursion to Barcelona and Madrid, I got to experience incredible cuisine, caught glimpses of fascinating history, and worked off all the excess wine calories by walking at least 7-10 miles per day. The Barbell Pilates blog may …
The Right Mobility Approach For Your Training
We know that mobility training is crucial for all of us. We see the hundreds of mobility articles, videos, and posts about this and that drill. But do we know how to piece it all together? For years I’ve tinkered with different mobility techniques with my clients and myself, and quickly realized that mobility training is always fluid and evolving. Sounds …
A Beginner’s Guide to Weightlifting Gear: Shoes, Belts, Wraps, and Sleeves
I have a rule about buying new workout gear: If I’m still practicing the sport or activity diligently for at least 6 months, I’m allowed to buy gear. Otherwise, I borrow what I can from friends or make do with what I got. For example, I took spinning classes on and off for two years before finally purchasing my first pair of …
3 Considerations For Lifters and Their Pelvic Floor Health
I’m sure the last thing you’re thinking about when it comes to strength training is your pelvic floor muscles, but believe it or not, the two go hand-in-hand. Not only do we all share the same pelvic floor anatomy (yea bruh, this applies to you), but a weak or overactive pelvic floor can really hurt us in the long run …
3 Signs You’re Burning Out
Ask any ambitious, hard-working person how burnout feels in their jobs or careers and they’d tell you it’s soul-crushing. Thankfully, we’ve gotten better as a culture at detecting the symptoms of work-related burnout. But what about fitness burnout? Is it even a thing? Yes, fitness-related burnout is a real, and it can happen to anyone who is remotely passionate about …
Three Ways to Upgrade Your Workouts
I’mma be real with you. Programming can be complex and a tad overwhelming for the average person to understand, but it really doesn’t have to be. I see way too many people get caught up in the fancy training variables like dropsets, clusters, or finishers instead of focusing on what really matters: Progression. If you’re not progressing your exercises or …
The Truth About Toning and What it Really Means
Trainer: So tell me about your fitness goals. Woman: I want to get in shape. You know, get a little more toned but not too bulky. Trainer: Safe to say, trainers here this one a lot so the eye roll isn’t about you, it’s about the words “toning and “bulky” in the same sentence. These terms can mean many things …
Exercise You Should be Doing: The bird-dog plank row
There are only a few things in life that excite me. They are: My dog Coffee Other dogs Top Gun on repeat That just about sums up the “Trish’s Favorite Things” list, except when I uncover a new exercise that is so cool and badass like today’s Bird-dog plank row. What is it: An advanced variation of a few exercises …
Four Cardio Training Styles to Meet Your Fitness Goals
As a former runner turned powerlifter turned generalist (what can I say, I love all the fitness!), nothing says “no fucking way” quite like the word “cardio.” The word brings me back to my 6-mile days on the treadmill – THE TREADMILL! — and half-marathon training sessions in the freezing Boston cold or pouring rain. Good times. At the time, …
The Key to Thoracic Mobility: The Pilates Swan
There’s a lot that can go wrong when you have poor posture, and I’m not just talking about looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame. If you’re a meathead like me, crappy posture makes lifting a heck of a lot harder by creating: Neck pain brought on by excessive forward head position Back pain due to poor spinal mobility Stiff, …