When it comes to walking my talk, lifting heavy things is my weapon of choice. Working out is relaxing, fun, therapeutic and just a part of my lifestyle. However, this isn’t always the case. Depending on what “life season” I am in, working out regularly isn’t always the fun, easy, breezy, beautiful walk in the park one imagines it’d be. Yup, not …
Meet Recap: Right To Bear Iron Powerlifting
Some people brunch hard on the weekends and others prefer to lift heavy things. This past Saturday marked my second powerlifting meet, the Right To Bear Iron competition in Poway, CA. We lifted hard and won hard. Take that brunch! But first, let’s backtrack to my first meet earlier this year (Read about it HERE). At the time I was …
11 Signs You Need To Switch Up Your Workout Routine
If you work out long enough, there’ll come a time where progress stops and boredom sets in. The signs of burnt out or overtraining are usually subtle in nature, until it snowballs and smacks you in the face! Don’t let that happen to you. I talked to Bustle Magazine about the 11 Signs You Need To Switch Up Your Workout Routine. …
How to Prep Your Body For a Killer Workout
Remember those Build-A-Bear workshops at the mall? I used to hate walking past that store. It reflected all of my deepest fears: Annoying children, overbearing parents, and torn up pieces of toy bears scattered everywhere like a Pixar version of the movie Saw. Despite my utter disdain for that little shop of horrors, the Build-A-Bear business model was on to …
4 Overlooked Training Elements You Can’t Ignore
Recently I found myself unmotivated to finish my workout and missing the days when supersets and 9-mile runs on a Saturday morning were my idea of fun. Before you start judging me, know that I only get nostalgic like this when I run out of carbs and have to max out a lift on a super hot day. San Diego …
The Real Debate Around Lifting Heavy and Getting Bulky
bulk·y (adjective): Taking up much space, typically inconveniently; large and unwieldy. A person heavily built. Synonyms: large, big, huge, substantial, massive Whenever I hear the words “Lifting heavy makes me bulky” I can’t help but cringe. Afterall, science has shown that heavy lifting or any form of resistance training will not make anyone, male or female, bulky. Ask anyone who has …
Assessing Mobility versus Stability
In this special edition of “Funny sh*t people say,” I bring you the irrational yet hilarious comments clients say. Client: “I need to get more flexible before I go to a yoga class.” Me: Um, isn’t the point of yoga to achieve more flexibility? Client: “I have no mobility in my body whatsoever.” Me: Are you a corpse? Client: “I don’t …
Can a Mind-Body Connection Improve Strength Training?
Riddle me this: How long until a strong lifter starts to break a sweat in a single Pilates session? Answer: Five minutes. Usually it starts around the introduction of the c-curl (a deep scoop of the abdominals that lifts the thoracic spine into flexion while stretching the back) and the Pilates hundred. Recently, I’ve taken a few [very accomplished] athletes …
Tips to Improve Your Squat Form Right Now
Believe it or not, but once upon a time I hated to squat in any way. Bodyweight squats? No thank you. Barbell back squat? No sir. Loaded front squat? Pass. Fast forward 10 years later and I’m preaching the Good Gospel of Squats like a good meathead disciple. The squat appears in all my clients’ programming and my own workouts …
7 Exercises To Hip Hinge Domination
Hip hinge domination will take you from average to awesome in every area of your life. For years I obsessed over this movement. I watched students in class hinge so poorly my eyes bled. So I read books, blogs, attended workshops and asked other coaches “how the heck do you teach the hip hinge?” No answer satisfied me. How could it? …