Sticking points are annoying. There’s nothing worse than when lifts get stopped in their tracks, or stopped before they even really start. It’s especially annoying when you miss lifts at the same point day-after-day. Luckily, a few programming changes can help you overcome your sticking points and push toward new PR’s! Before you check out … Read more
We’ve all been there. You’re driving out of the hole on a heavy squat. The bar is moving like a knife through warm butter. And BAM. You hit a brick wall and the bar stops. No matter how hard you strain, you can’t get the bar to move any higher. After a fight, you dump … Read more
Most of us spend all day sitting. We sit at a desk at school or work for 8 hours. Sit in our car or on public transit during out commute. Eat our meals seated. And then flop down on the couch all night. But despite all the sitting we do; we spend almost no time … Read more
With the winter training season upon us in the Northern Hemisphere, many cyclists are moving from riding outside to training indoors. Indoor cycling training is often considered to be much more monotonous and boring than riding outside. But if you want to see improved fitness come the spring, being consistent with off-season training is key. … Read more
For years, the use of gym chalk (magnesium carbonate) was reserved for the most serious powerlifters or weightlifters or gymnastics gyms. Recently, the increased popularity of functional fitness that incorporates powerlifting, weightlifting, and gymnastics into everyday workouts has made gym chalk a must-have for all gyms. But the question is: does using chalk increase grip … Read more
If you’re new to exercise you might wonder if you should stretch before or after a workout. The recommendation from strength and conditioning coaches and scientific research is to perform a full-body dynamic warm-up including dynamic stretching to increase heart rate and blood flow to muscles before exercising. After working out you should perform static … Read more
Knowing your heart rate when exercising can give you vital information about the intensity of your workout (how hard it is on the body), how your body will adapt to the training and the number of calories you’ve burned. As a general rule: the harder you’re working, the higher your heart rate will be. However, … Read more
The SAID principle stands for: Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. Or simply, the type of training you do determines how your body responds and adapts. This means that the training you do needs to be focused on a set adaptation – determine what adaptation you want to see, train in accordance for a period of … Read more
If you are new to working out or starting to write your own workout programs for the first time, you may be wondering what sets and reps are, and how many you should do. Reps stands for repetitions or the number of times you complete a movement. For instance, 5 reps of a squat means performing 5 … Read more
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the body’s response that causes sore muscles after working out. Muscle soreness after a workout is a completely normal reaction from the body. You may notice that DOMS is present after either new workout programs, heavy eccentric (muscle lengthening) exercise, or plyometrics (jumping and landings). DOMS shows up as … Read more