By: Chris Gates Something we all consider when going about our fitness routines is how many calories we’re burning. Your Apple Watch or Fitbit may give you a “calories burned” prediction. Most modern pieces of cardio equipment will also give an estimate on calorie expenditure. As I’ve written before, these totals are inaccurate. They are […]
I have some good news, and I have some bad news. Good news: tracking “calories burned” via wearable technology (Fitbit, Apple Watch, etc.) or on a piece of cardio equipment can be valuable. Bad news: The “calories burned” this equipment gives you is, at best, inaccurate, and at worst wildly off base. If you run […]
The old-school training mindset is when you go into the gym, you need to be prepared to absolutely crush yourself during every workout to see progress. I’m here to tell you to stop. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against hard work. If you have your sights set on getting stronger and building muscle, you […]
Week 1 of dieting is in the books! I’ve already learned a lot about myself and gotten clues as to how this process will evolve. I’m excited for this entire 2019 cut! First off, I’m feeling good. Reducing my food intake and focusing on self control has been a challenge, but it’s one where I’m […]
A new study came across my desk in the latest edition of MASS that I just had to share. Why? Because it’s about the concept of your favorite music improving performance. And the fact that there’s research emerging on this topic is just absolutely amazingly cool to me! The research study is titled, “Effect of […]
The head-on view is not one I use very often for deadlifts, just because it fails to include some of the most crucial aspects of the lift (flat back, bar path, etc.). However, I found this view useful in my most recent deadlift session. As my sets go on, I’m often interested in watching bar […]
Why aren’t you progressing? Maybe it’s because you’re not giving yourself enough time to actually progress. I think there are two major problems people run into when pursuing their health and fitness goals. 1) They “program hop” because the results don’t come quick enough. 2) They don’t have a logical, structured plan in the first […]
You can’t go for your max lift every week. Hell, you shouldn’t even go for 80% of your max lift every week. What you need is progression, and sometimes that means stripping down the weight and focusing on technique. If the proper technique isn’t there for any of your major compound lifts, you’re eventually going […]
I’M SO DAMN MOTIVATED FOR 2019!!! I’m not big into making New Year’s resolutions and whatnot, but I AM all about building and activating on any motivation you might have. So if you have a goal, or you’re motivated to start doing something in 2019, start planning NOW to achieve it! I could not have […]
Sometimes there are workouts you “just have to get through.” That isn’t to say you should put forth less effort or walk through it mindlessly without any focus. But there are just some days where things aren’t going well or feeling right, and that’s OK. In those situations, consider the factors at play… Have you […]