Making it hard for no reason

Many blue moons ago when I coached people to lift big-money weights, I advised them to do most of their squatting and deadlifting belt-less.   Why?   Belting up was worth +5% STR, maybe more, in a competition state.   Same idea with runners and cyclists who train at high … Keep reading

Why low IQ bodybuilders discover the keys to fantastic fizeek

Back 10 or 15 years ago when I would still talk to other people about strength training and nutrition, there was a mini Cold War in between the “nerds” and the “jocks”. You had one group who wouldn’t go to the gym without three links to peer-reviewed papers on Pubmed. … Keep reading

Plato’s shocking advice for sticking to your workout and diet

Along with Aristotle he created from scratch almost every major idea and thought you’ve ever heard of. Forget TED Talkers and authors of airport books. If you want real wisdom, go back to the source, that’s what I think. Few people understand what Plato was doing. They maybe heard about … Keep reading

Reinventing fitness and health

Not too long ago a friend and mentor of mine wrote to me: This is true for almost any singer, dancer, business person etc. You do what you do, have a time when you’re on the crest of something and then the next generation takes over. Which isn’t to say … Keep reading

Minimum Viable Cardio

It shocks me more than it should how little new or fresh insights come out of the science of exercise. Which isn’t surprising, since exercise and physical conditioning are mostly solved problems. Within a handful of constraints, lift weights, go on walks, and sprint. Don’t stuff your fat face with … Keep reading

The wannabe trainer didn’t care about why

A few years back, when I was involved in education for personal trainers, I had this one guy come through on a course that told me “he didn’t need to know all that stuff” because he was busy training clients. By “that stuff” he meant such non-essential knowledge as what … Keep reading

Squat Every Day would bomb if I wrote it today

I don’t know if you have any interest whatever in book publishing, but I follow it closer than most made-up current events. A creature of the mind, such as yours truly, has to be deeply interested in how ideas spread through the culture. Books are one of the oldest and … Keep reading

It’s vitality, not health and fitness

Plato wrote in the Republic that the soul has three divisions, stacked like layers in a tasty cake. The highest part is intellect which thinks. The lowest concerns the hungers of the body. In the middle, there’s a strange piece that doesn’t fit into modern psychology. Plato’s word is thumos, … Keep reading

The “busted fuel light” psyching you out

When I woke up this morning, I felt rough. Rough like that feeling you get when a cold’s coming on, when you’re warm all over and your comfy bed is three times as enticing as usual. I know that I’m not sick. The warmed-over feeling has more to do with … Keep reading