Articles

Medication non-adherence is when a patient, either intentionally or unwittingly, fails to take a prescription medication as prescribed. Seeing as how 70% of Americans take at least one prescription medication and over half take at least two, it is worrisome that between half or more of them fail to take their medication properly, if at...Read More

With the Clash for Cash getting closer every week here is a brief overview of the events of the competition. The competition is scheduled for the 31st of October and will consist of five events:Press MedleyYoke + Keg CarryFarmer’s Hold Husafell CarryDeadlift  The press medley will consist of three implements clean and pressed in the following order...Read More

The other day I was at the grocery store and noticed a pretty large number of shopping carts that had been left out in the parking lot instead of put back into the return corrals. I began to consider why people don’t put them up and how this might apply to health and fitness. I...Read More

View this post on Instagram @noah_b_glenn walks through the Press Medley for Clash for Cash V on Oct 31, 2020 A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Aug 18, 2020 at 3:22am PDTRead More

Smoothies are a meal option if you need something, quick, nutritious, tasty, and balanced in macronutrients and whole food groups. Below are three simple-ingredient smoothies that can provide a well-rounded meal in drink form. Instructions are simple, just combine all ingredients and enjoy!: Green Smoothie: 1 frozen banana ½ avocado 2 handfuls spinach or kale...Read More

I have a running question that I like to ask people early on in their fitness journey:  “How long do you have to train to look like you’ve been training for 10 years?”  This can be formed into other similar questions as well: “How long does it take to develop 20 years of training knowledge?”...Read More

As we enter into the summer months we will all have more opportunities to get more sunlight and thus more vitamin D. Yet many regularly still take vitamin D supplements if they are unable to get daily sunshine. Another factor to consider is magnesium status. People who take vitamin D supplements but who have low...Read More

View this post on Instagram Coach Brandon Reilly discusses 2 ways to improve your gut health A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Jun 2, 2020 at 2:49am PDTRead More

During my time playing college football, we would have meetings every Sunday to review the previous game. We had three big boards in the team meeting room: one for offense, one for defense, and one for special teams. Each board tracked different metrics for each group. For example, the offensive board tracked yards gained and...Read More

Red meat often gets bad press in popular media.  This is unfortunate, because red meat, and in particular beef, is one of the most nutritious foods available. Eating for a healthy heart and enjoying one of your favorite foods, aren’t at odds with one another! Recent research actually shows that eating lean beef as part...Read More

View this post on Instagram Coach @angie4e shows how you can get a great workout with just a hand towel and a backpack full of canned goods 💪🏻 A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Apr 17, 2020 at 2:45am PDTRead More

During a pandemic, you may be faced with having limited availability of foods you normally eat. To make matters more difficult, many have their jobs put on hold, or needing to save money otherwise. But regardless when putting a meal together, you can get creative using simple combinations of your basic macronutrients: carbs, fat, and...Read More

The recent spread of the Coronavirus is having global impacts across many spectrums of life. While the disruptions to our daily lives can be frightening and frustrating, there are many lessons we can learn from this event. The question is whether or not we as individuals, communities, or as a nation are willing to change....Read More

In light of the recent developments with the COVID-19 coronavirus, we want to let you know what measures NBS Fitness has and is taking to ensure a clean and safe facility for members and their families.  We currently partner with a cleaning service that cleans and disinfects daily. We also maintain a regular cleaning and...Read More

David discusses 4 mindset shifts that will change the way you allocate your time. View this post on Instagram 4 mindset shifts that will change the way you allocate your time A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Feb 24, 2020 at 2:42am PSTRead More

View this post on Instagram David discusses how to budget health and fitness A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Feb 21, 2020 at 3:44pm PSTRead More

If you max out your IRA contributions each year starting at 20 years old, by the time you reach 65 you will have earned over $1.4 million in interest at a return rate of 7%. If you wait till 30, your interest drops to around $620,000. If you wait till 40, it drops down to...Read More

View this post on Instagram You know the goal and you even know what you need to do. But having Bumpers will keep you from veering off track. A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Feb 6, 2020 at 3:12am PSTRead More

View this post on Instagram @brandon_reilly on the importance of hydration and how to do a better job staying hydrated. A post shared by NBS Fitness (@nbs_fitness) on Feb 3, 2020 at 11:14am PSTRead More

Did you know February is National Berry Month? Older adults are recommended to eat 1.5 – 2 cups of fruit daily. You can add berries to your daily fruit intake for a nutritious AND delicious boost. Noteworthy Nutrients of Berries:Antioxidants, Fiber, Folate, and Potassium Ways to Boost Berry Intake: Enjoy them as a fresh snack.Add...Read More

What is a fitness hero? A CNN article titled Why Are Fewer Americans Trying to Lose Weight? shared research results showing that the number of Americans trying to lose weight is decreasing despite dramatic increases in the number of people who are overweight and obese. Researchers stated several reasons for this lack of alignment including...Read More

All across the internet inevitably you’ve been seeing articles about New Year’s resolutions; some that speak affirmingly and some that speak about them negatively. Frankly, I’m unbothered when someone tells me they have a fitness New Year’s resolution. Statistically it’s no different that setting a fitness goal any other time of the year. Many fail,...Read More

Next year is fast approaching and with it, a theme of clear vision. 2020 means being able to see clearly what is in front of you without blur or distortion. With that in mind, I wanted to share our vision for next year with all of you.  The Current State of Fitness The other day...Read More

My husband has heart disease. He is 51 years old and was diagnosed this year. Both of his parents have heart issues and have had bypass surgeries. He’s genetically wired for the same, but does that mean he will suffer the same fate? We’re not panicking, but we are dedicated to educating ourselves to prevent...Read More

At NBS Fitness, our process for getting new clients integrated into the facility is through a No Sweat Intro. It’s just a conversation to get to know you, learn about your goals and struggles, and share with you the best way we can help. During the conversation we’ll ask you what your “Why” is. We...Read More

In this article we will break down squat depth and discuss just how low is optimal.  Simply put, a squat is defined as an individual lowering their hips from a standing position down then standing back up. There are two depths we will define in this article, full depth and breaking parallel.  A full depth squat...Read More

About 40 percent of the United States food supply (1,500 calories/ person/day) goes uneaten. Discarded food in homes and foodservice accounts for 60 percent of this total food loss and is mostly avoidable. Here are several tips to help reduce food waste and save money! Look for recipes on websites that can be searched for...Read More

Competition can come in many forms. While not everyone who walks through the doors of the gym is looking to compete at the highest level, I believe it is important for everyone to find some level of competition in their health and fitness endeavors, even if that means simply competing against yourself. This month at...Read More

While Halloween is typically a day full of costumes and imagination, it can also be full of candy. It does not have to be so scary, however. While Halloween occurs one day a year and habits ultimately provide the consequences to our health, what we do can magnify our usual habits when surrounded by so...Read More

This past week I saw where someone posted on a local message board on Facebook that they were looking for some help with weight loss. There were a few suggestions for trainers or local gyms, a lot of suggestions for MLM products, several medical-related suggestions (ie gastric bypass), and one guy simply said eat less...Read More

Can you feel it in the air yet? Fall will soon be upon us! In order to honor the season and to promote good health, here is a tasty, simple, and healthy recipe to kickstart the Fall. Ingredients:  1/3 cup old fashioned oats uncooked1 teaspoon dried chia seeddash of salt to taste1/3 cup unsweetened almond...Read More

Human beings are emotionally-driven creatures. Our emotions have a major influence on our decision-making and can even overpower our logic, coercing us into making decisions we know are not the right ones. This happens in our fitness and health decision-making as well. We see it every day as fitness professionals. Clients will have a bad...Read More

Supplements are a popular topic among not only your friends at the gym but the general population. There is a supplement for just about everything these days. The industry has grown tremendously in the last few decades, and with that growth, endless options have become available to us, making it more difficult to know which...Read More

In the New York Times Bestseller “Make Your Bed”, U.S. Navy Admiral William H. McRaven discusses the importance of Teamwork, specifically the need to rely on others for help through difficult tasks. One difficult task that we face on a daily basis is our nutrition. With so much conflicting information available at our fingertips on...Read More

Human beings are emotionally-driven creatures. Our emotions have a major influence on our decision-making and can even overpower our logic, coercing us into making decisions we know are not the right ones. This happens in our fitness and health decision-making as well. We see it every day as fitness professionals. Clients will have a bad...Read More

Fruits and vegetables are often not the most palatable foods, however it is strongly recommended to make them a priority in diet. The truth is, they are not often the most enjoyable part of meal prep, however there are ways to get them in without excess prep. One of those ways is through smoothies, which...Read More

I recently had a consultation with a man in his 40’s who had a background as a wrestler. This background taught him a ton of mental toughness which he used for many years to develop himself physically. As he got older, the daily toll of high intensity training sessions started to catch up to him...Read More

Invariably when many of us, especially in our younger days, begin a relationship with someone, there is the initial bubbly “everything is good” phase where you and a partner are experiencing the very surface of each other, which is also the surface that most people see anyway – the common likes, dislikes, jokes, things that...Read More

Most of us desire to have a six pack of abs while also having the best-looking arms or legs in the gym and are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. This includes putting hour after hour into achieving this goal. Recovery days do not exist and lack of energy via poor food...Read More

Do you sometimes hit a wall during your training sessions? You know, that feeling when you are struggling with a weight that usually goes up much faster, or tapping out halfway through your intervals? Maybe you’re new to training or getting back in the swing of things and can’t seem to find your energy. Wherever...Read More

I had breakfast with a friend the other day. He started asking me very specific questions about how to implement intermittent fasting. My response was not what he expected. I asked him what was the longest period he had followed a healthy nutrition plan and been consistent with training. 5 years? No. 1 Year? No....Read More

Most of us are after well-developed, proportionate, and polished-looking legs. Legs that complement your upper body without overpowering it. Legs that are athletic and agile, as well as powerful. So how can you develop legs that look outstanding, are highly versatile and downright explosive? I like to do Plyo Complexes. These are a strength-oriented movement...Read More

Many people struggle finding quick breakfast recipes that are well-balanced and whole food-based. In today’s fast-paced culture, readily available breakfast foods tend to be either high in fat or sugar (or both) and often also lacking in colorful nutrient-dense plant foods. You have fruit or an omelet with vegetables. This recipe provides a healthy, well-balanced...Read More

Over the last decade, I’ve gotten to witness and participate in the pursuit of health, fitness, physique, and performance of a lot of people. I’ve seen success, failure, given a lot of advice, and learned a lot in the process. One thing I’ve learned is that everyone struggles. Some people struggle more or less in...Read More

If you’ve ever made a dietary change that you took seriously for even at least one day, you know the feeling. You’re trying to stick to a plan but there is someone who insists that you eat something. And it’s usually not their favorite meal prep recipe if you catch my meaning. For most situations,...Read More

With the new season, comes new festivities, warmth, people out and about at Shelby Farms, brunch or beers on the patio, and also new seasonal food. One of those foods I particularly enjoy in season is asparagus. Asparagus is often seen as a boring but necessary meal prep vegetable that hits your nose when you...Read More

We often spend so much time practicing and trying to perfect what is important or easy to us. As a result, we spend little time on things that we do not find important or hard to do. With that being said, let me ask you this:   What is more important than breathing and how...Read More

As a registered dietitian, I have numerous roles to fill. In clinical settings, we assess, identify, and diagnose, and make recommendations as interventions for which nutrition is the primary form of treatment or as a means to correct nutrition problems in the management of disease. Developing diet plans of action for a given goal, whether...Read More

NBS Fitness is happy to announce the Spring Nutrition Challenge! In honor of National Nutrition Month, the challenge coordinator and registered dietitian, Tim Burbeck, will kick off the 6-week challenge with a seminar on March 23rd for all registered challenge participants. This is a challenge for anyone who is looking for a fresh start, to...Read More

I recently joked that I wanted to give a speech at a high school graduation in which I would site a bunch of depressing statistics about their likelihood to get divorced, dislike their jobs, go on anti-depressants, get addicted to social media, and be obese. I guess it’s not really a funny joke but laughter...Read More

I find that many people often need to be reminded that fat loss secrets don’t exist. As I was considering this article, I knew that right off hand many people reading are thinking, “yeah man! The charlatans preying on desperate people with magic pills suck!” Yes, they do suck. That’s a boring topic to me though, and one...Read More

There are many ways people misperceive the role of food in their approach to goal-setting. This is a dog I’ve walked before, but it is a reoccurring phenomenon and I want to expand on some of the wrong approaches people often take as it concerns to manipulating their food intake. Diets  The first way, is the “this...Read More

Who depends on you? Who depends on you to be healthy, fit, and strong? Who might depend on your physical abilities thirty years from now? Tomorrow? Today? Who depends on your mental and emotional health? Who depends on your example? Now is the time where everybody reevaluates their life over the previous year and vows...Read More

It’s a new year and time to get back on track. Yayyy, right? Not so fast. It doesn’t mean you have to give up all things tasty and eat only chicken, broccoli, and rice. I wanted to provide for you today something that can ease the transition from ciders, hams, and dressings to your normal...Read More

If you don’t want to keep adding candles to your birthday cake every year then this article is not for you. Still here with us?  Awesome! Have you ever skipped the weights before at the gym? I know I have. The truth is you could be impacting your lifespan without realizing it. How? One of...Read More

And food is made in the kitchen. I know. There’s a part of you that wants to think that as long as you eat less enough, the abs will be there. And the harder you cut, the sooner you see them all nice and defined. Consider this the Tyler Durden in your head, the person...Read More

Do you ever find yourself sucking wind after walking up three flights of stairs to get to your apartment? Maybe after a heavy set of squats, or deadlifts? If so, you might try to incorporate some conditioning into your workouts to help improve this.  It’s not fun when it takes 4-5 minutes or longer to...Read More

Did you know… The drop out rate for fitness is higher than that of Navy Seals? About 80-90% of people will give up on their fitness routine within the first 5 months. Of those that do stick with it, many will eventually hit a rut, get complacent, stop making progress and quit. I’ve been there...Read More

Sweet treats and rich meals can feel like landmines for health-conscious people, yet no one wants to feel deprived during the happiest season of all. For some there is often one meal, which is no big deal. Others have very large families, which means many meals that happen throughout the end of the year. No...Read More

When I first made the transition from powerlifting to CrossFit with the goal of becoming more well-rounded in my health and fitness, I struggled a lot with body weight movements like pushups, sit ups, and pull ups. This was partly due to my weight but also due to lacking the capacity to perform higher rep...Read More

Chances are if you are an athlete of any sport or a fitness enthusiast of any discipline, you care about performance. And intuitively you probably already  know on some level that fueling yourself and recovering with the proper macronutrients and micronutrients is essential to this process. However one nutrient tends to not get as much...Read More

Recently I have been trying to diet down and get lean again.  2 weeks ago, I got an update from my coach, that resulted in lower carbs on low and medium carb days, and 104 min HIIT cardio per week, broken up over 6 days. The HIIT sessions are done on the newly repaired air...Read More

Do you know why you’re weak? Do you know why you miss a lift, or why you fail on a multiple-rep set? Part of being a good lifter is knowing why you missed a lift, then being able to take the necessary steps to correct that mistake and work on that weakness. The majority of...Read More

Every Day I’m Hustilin’ A lot goes into your daily training beyond just your physical ability. Sleep, nutrition, and stress all play a role. Sometimes we walk into the gym ready to kill the workout but instead, we end up as carnage. The perfect training day is a Unicorn, if there is one in existence,...Read More

I first started lifting weights in the early Fall of 2005 to get stronger for high school wrestling. Like most gym rats, I ended up having a much higher affinity for the gym and lifting weights than I did for wrestling. I started reading everything I could get my hands on: bodybuilding magazines, Arnold’s Encyclopedia...Read More

The ankle is probably one of the most ignored joints in the human body, especially in athletic performance. Poor ankle mobility affects everything up the kinetic chain. It can lead to knee, hip, lower back, and shoulder problems. It is important as a coach or athlete to earn the right squat, especially heavy weight. If...Read More

I’ve had many people over time ask me what the best diet is. I am a “dietitian” after all so I should know, right? There is usually combination of shock, disbelief, and/or disappointment when I tell them that none of them are. The expectation among beginners in health and fitness, though with good intention and...Read More

Are you one of those people that constantly travels for work, and you can never seem to fit in a simple workout, or never know if there is going to be a gym where you are staying? I know quite a few people who do tons of traveling for work, and this always seems to...Read More

Cardio timing   Insulin Let’s talk insulin for a second. Insulin is a storage hormone, and it gets released by beta cells in the pancreases in response to rising blood glucose. As the blood glucose raises, the pancreases secrete insulin. Insulin binds to an insulin receptor on a cell, which will cause GLUT4 proteins to...Read More

Over the last several months, Steve and I have been working hard to become debt free. In an effort to reduce our monthly expenses, in January, I sold my jeep and “bought” a less expensive car. After driving the car a couple of months, I decided I didn’t care about the car enough to warrant...Read More

Sometimes life can get a little crazy and that can make getting training in more difficult than before. This doesn’t mean that we can’t get training in, just that we have to make some adjustments to do so if it’s a priority in our lives. If training isn’t a priority then it will get dropped....Read More

Fructose Fructose is the sweetest of all-natural sugars. It is somewhat special compared to other sugars. It has its own GLUT transporter which is cool and could potentially make fructose a better option as a carb source, by lowering the total amount of insulin secreted due to specific glucose transporters. Fruit could be a better...Read More

I had a writing prompt earlier this month that has turned into a conversation piece between me and nearly everyone I have run into and has led to some fairly interesting reading as well. “In your more dire situations, what life rules do you cling to in order to guide your behavior to the best...Read More

Is strongman training appropriate for everyone? 1. Yes, assuming they are healthy enough to do any form of physical training. What are the benefits of strongman training compared to more traditional training styles like powerlifting or bodybuilding? 1. Strongman training involves a few fundamental human movement patterns: the overhead press, the deadlift, weighted carries, and...Read More

Summer Heat Has Arrived We often don’t think of the necessity of hydration until Summer is upon us. While we have hydration needs during cooler months, it is especially necessary to focus on hydration during Memphis’ summers. A good way to monitor your child’s fluid intake is by using this 3 point system: Prehydrate –...Read More

In our pursuits of athletic and physical improvements, we must ensure that we have the proper foundation to continue to build upon. There are two physical capacities that we must enlarge before we can add more on top of them: strength and aerobic capacity. What is capacity? Capacity is used to reference ability in a...Read More

Things I Have Learned NOT to do While Training For a Powerlifting Competition People do dumb stuff right before a competition. These things range from not following the training program to trying to lose 10+ pounds to compete in a lower weight class 10 days before the competition. I have seen some goofy stuff in...Read More

SET UP Stand with heels underneath your hips, legs locked out Hands outside the shoulder with a full grip, elbows slightly in front of the bar Begin with the bar racked on the front on the shoulders, belly tight POINTS OF PERFORMANCE With a tight and rigid body, break at the hips and knees dipping...Read More

Attention: Endurance athletes. Yup, you. The runner, the cycler, the biker, the elliptigo-er, the rower…alla you. You really should lift weights. No, seriously. You need to lift weights. Trust me, I know that’s a little hard to take seriously. I have had a similar message to all my powerlifting/strongman/weightlifting friends as well. There are benefits...Read More

When CrossFit first gained public attention, there was a lot of criticism of the “WOD” training structure from sports scientists and strength coaches. While traditional training utilized a long term periodization model for programming, CrossFit utilized a daily form of programming. Periodization is simply the organization of training. At CrossFit NBS we utilize a long...Read More

Things Learned at a meet as a Coach In powerlifting, you should learn something every training cycle, especially from the competition. You cross-reference your failures with your training program to find the “top takeaways” that inform the areas of focus for the next training cycle. Identify the weak points, hammer them in the next program....Read More

At the very beginning of any life change, we tend to look at the end picture and all that it will entail before we decide if it will be worth it.  Once we have decided that it is, we often find ourselves with a wave of motivation to start moving all the big rocks in...Read More

Challenge Yourself If you have a solid push up and have found yourself wanting a bigger challenge, I suggest you give the handstand push up a try. Below, I will lay out some fundamental movements to get you into a handstand push up. With strength, time, patience and a lot of practice, you’ll nail them!...Read More

We are always trying to find new exercises that challenge and help us reach new levels of performance in the gym and on the course. The tall kneeling step-up is one of those exercises. This exercise is great for developing stability, improve motor patterns and nervous system stimulation. As a rotational athlete, it is very...Read More

When I first began studying exercise science, I was introduced to Westside Barbell and EliteFTS which led me to common strength and conditioning resources like Supertraining, Science and Practice of Strength Training, Block Periodization and so on. I started training CrossFit a year ago and since then have been taking my previous education and experience...Read More

Day in and day out you see golfers in the gym doing “golf” exercises. You’ll see them at the cable machines performing their golf swings with resistance or dumbbells and even standing on a medicine ball to improve their balance. Are they accomplishing anything? Probably not. Last thing, we want to do in any sport,...Read More

Training is feeling pretty good. You are probably blowing through the build up weeks and hitting your rep ranges. Maybe your AMRAP sets are predicting you at a pretty good 1RM in the future. Sure would be a shame if something…came up…and ruined it. But hey: that would never happen to you. If you are...Read More

This article was inspired by a sermon by Jason Cook of Fellowship Memphis on February 4th. I’m writing this article for myself to remember, some of you may enjoy it as well.  Regardless of your religious beliefs, the Bible offers great lessons about how we should live our lives. Stories from the Old Testament provide...Read More

  A year and a half ago, I took my NBS training partners up to EliteFTS. It was the start of our peak phase for an NBS fitness meet in November 2016. While we were hoping to get in some quality training, we ended up mainly getting torn apart by Dave Tate and some of...Read More

Here at Mid-South Spine and Sports Performance, we provide performance-based care for conditions of the musculoskeletal system. Our mission is to provide the members of our community access to the same results-based, quality health care that is typically reserved for collegiate and professional sports teams. Most competitive athletes form personal, long term relationships with their...Read More

The CrossFit Open is 4 weeks away! Are you ready to… Prove Your Fitness?? February 22-March 26 Intramural Open CrossFit NBS will be participating in the CrossFit Open and we want all of our CrossFit members involved! In order to provide inclusiveness, we will run an “Intramural Open”, an idea adopted from Catalyst Fitness. The...Read More

“No one said this was going to be easy” This phrase is something everyone has heard at some point in their lifetime. (If not, I suggest getting into a hobby that does not entail playing video games). This phrase can be aptly applied to School, Sports, Religion, or Work. Basically anything in life. I would...Read More

Compensations are a familiar buzzword for most of the general population, but what does that mean? When compensation takes place, changes occur in motor control, joint stability, and movement patterns across the entire body. For example, if a person is compensating for hip extension, they may be accomplishing that movement by contracting something other than...Read More

After this short blog post about sitting back and doing nothing while someone killed themself with bad habits, I had a long talk with David about what we could do.  After very short deliberation, we have decided that I am going to open up my own books to take a few clients that fall in...Read More

I Gotta Pee! If you’re a female, do double unders, squat heavy or perform other high impact exercises for any length of time and you soon find it very difficult to not pee your Lulu’s. If I’m being honest, for me, it’s the one thing that breaks up a consistent string of double unders every...Read More

How do you Recover Outside of Training?  The first installment of this series was basically me telling you all that I love to drink. Well, not entirely. I enjoy a good drink, unlike some of you all who prefer to drink fruit-flavored stuff spiked with alcohol or beer that takes like water ‘cause you are...Read More

Last month we discussed some of the problems that are prevalent with headaches in the current model of medical care. These three problems in headache care were: 1) A lack of quality health care professionals 2) Improper diagnosis of headaches 3) Improper treatment of headaches. In the next couple of articles we will breakdown different...Read More

In my opinion, the T-Bar is the most useful piece of equipment in every gym. Why you may ask?  It can be used to train both upper and lower body, help teach proper motor patterns (hip hinge, squat, deadlift) and it also can be used to train all aspects of strength, power and hypertrophy. What...Read More

In an effort to continue to be the best we can be for you, I thought it might be a good idea to share with you what we call our Bill of Rights. When you join CrossFit NBS, you’re not just showing up for a workout, its important to note that you’re a part of...Read More

“David, I…HATE…RUNNING!” I’ve heard it more than once in my time as a trainer. Running is a very polarizing activity. Some people love it, most people hate it, and neither side really understands how the other one can feel the way they do towards it. I once programmed a mile run into the training plan...Read More

How do you Recover Outside of Training? Does training fall within your top five priorities in life? Do you feel like training creeps into other areas of your life and you cannot stop thinking about it? This tends to occur when someone is passionate about a sport, hobby, or career. Nothing is wrong with answering...Read More

Headaches are one of the most difficult and common ailments that affect people world-wide. Although they are more common with females, headaches are a burden that almost every person is likely to experience not only in their lifetime, but every year. I understand the complexities of headaches and that many people are likely challenged by...Read More

The most frequently asked question asked of me is, “What exercises do you recommend for back pain/problems?” There is no one answer to that question. Why is that? It is primarily due to the fact I like to screen the client to see where the pain is actual coming from or what is actually causing...Read More

9 Keys to Strengthening our Affiliate (community) I recently read this e-book, Always Be Caring: The 9 Ways to Strengthening Your Affiliate Community  written by Ben Bergeron. The material was written specifically for gym owners and coaches, so during my recent turn presenting during our monthly CE sessions, I delivered my best interpretation of it...Read More

This time last year I was weighing in right at 280 lbs. Fast forward to present day and I’m hovering around 220. That 60 lbs of weight loss has come from a number of different factors. I got off testosterone supplementation, started doing CrossFit, started running, and went through many dietary changes. In this article...Read More

Supplements can be confusing.  Many are absolutely worth the time and effort, while others are clever marketing ploys that don’t really make much, if any, difference on your performance.   Further, of the ones that are worth while, the truth is that *situationally* they aren’t appropriate.  So how do you know what to take and when? ...Read More

While some of you may recall and others may not, “Inspire some Intimidate the Rest” use to be our slogan for NBS Fitness. Now, I could see how having this as your business slogan could lead one to believe that we are in fact an intimidating gym full of intimidating meat heads. However, that being...Read More

We discussed rucking on episode 3 of the Iron and Lead Podcast very briefly, and since then I have had quite a few questions on rucking.  While I have had the benefit of working with hundreds of military/LEO/big dudes for the last few years, I do think rucking can be an enjoyable (*gasp*) activity for...Read More

What is failure? Failure is inevitable. Failure is life. Show me someone who doesn’t have a bag full of failures that they can pull from and I will show you someone who hasn’t done anything worth a damn. Failure is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, to do it better the next time. Failing...Read More

Our hips create a lot of power and its important that we learn how to harness that power, especially in the golf swing. How do you harness the power, through a proper hip hinge. What is a hip hinge? The hip hinge, is flexion and extension originating at the hip. It is a fundamental pattern,...Read More

Spoiler Alert: This article exposes some of your most common and favorite ab exercises Abdominal exercises are a key component of any good training program. Functionally, they are crucial in providing stability throughout the spine as well as connecting the upper and lower extremity during almost every exercise in the gym and during sport specific...Read More

Let me ask you a question. Do you ever find yourself getting distracted from doing the things that you need to do to become the best possible version of yourself? I know that for myself, it is a never-ending struggle to stay on track towards reaching my goals and even completing simple tasks, such as...Read More

Life Advisors I feel like if counselors and therapists were called “Life Advisors” there would be less stigma placed on those who see them. Or, less stigma placed on mental health overall. When someone remarks that they have an appointment with their financial advisor, the response may typically be, “Cool, hope all goes well!” or...Read More

I used to say that anyone who can physically squat a thousand pounds surely doesn’t have any mental weakness but much like many other definitive statements that I have made, I’m about to challenge this one. I first began lifting back in 7th grade. As I started puberty, I shot up in height very quickly...Read More

Why your training must change over the years. When it comes to the true definition of a powerlifter I am still a novice in the sport. It has been five years since walking my scrawny ass through the front doors of NBS fitness, starting with only a map (training program) down a road leading to...Read More

A few months ago, I wrote an article about the importance of warming up before teeing it up on the golf course. Way too often, I see people trying to squeeze in a workout, skipping or just completely forgetting the warm-up because they feel the main movement is more important. When in fact, the warm-up...Read More

Do you have anything in your life that you are working towards right now? Have you ever set goals and reached them because it gave more of a purpose to what you were doing? If you train, do you train with a purpose? Do you have a reason for the things that you put yourself...Read More

The CrossFit Games For the first time in CrossFit Games history, it will be televised on a national network. The Games will be broadcast through 2017 and 2018 on CBS, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Digital. With nearly 400,000 athletes from more than 175 countries The CrossFit Games is the single largest participatory sporting...Read More

The vast majority of my clients are not physique competitors looking to do well onstage but are instead regular people who just want to lose some body fat, build some muscle, feel better, and be proud of their bodies. What this means is that packing all their food and taking it with them everywhere they...Read More

Don’t be Camera Shy If you are like me, explaining things via text can be difficult. Important bits of information can be lost in communication if the message is misinterpreted. This is amplified when trying to give instructions to clients who need explanations or form breakdowns and technique cues. For one thing, the coach is...Read More

Lives are Changing! I recently pulled a few of our CrossFitters aside and asked them to share how CrossFit has changed them. It seems dramatic, I know, but CrossFit has truly made such positive change in so many lives. I hope this inspires you to make the changes you need to make to improve your...Read More

In the short time that I have been involved in strength training and powerlifting, there are many things that I’ve noticed throughout that time, and something that sticks out more than most of the atrocities that I come across. That is the act of “program hopping”. Yep, I’m talking about your friend that in one...Read More

I can never emphasize enough the importance of eating a healthy diet.  I also cannot believe how often this is ignored.  You don’t have to go on a fish-and-broccoli only diet, but American’s have a terrible relationship with food as a whole.  Make sure that the food you are consuming each day SERVES A PURPOSE....Read More

Puzzled We were fortunate enough to enjoy some much needed time with our grandson last weekend. Jackson is absolutely our greatest joy and we treasure our time with him. During our customary trip to Target on Saturday, he picked out a 1000 piece puzzle for us to do together. I always enjoyed putting puzzles together with my children...Read More

Chiropractic is a very unique profession. As such, there are a good amount of questions concerning the perception of chiropractic education. Unfortunately some of the reasons for these questions is the lack of a common and unified voice from my profession in educating the public. One of these lulls in public education and of the most...Read More

We are all looking to get the best results from our training. However, are we getting the best results if we don’t really know what we need to improve? This is where a movement screening comes in handy. The results from movement screening can help you program your training to improve and restore your physical...Read More

While some people fear change, others welcome it. When it comes to your training, conistency is good, but variation can be great. When a person first begins training, it’s true what they say, stick to the basics. That means if you want to learn how to squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press, then that’s what...Read More

When I was younger, I managed a commercial gym.  During this time, I became very close and familiar with the members of that gym. As a result, I became a sounding board for frustrations for many of them.  So it wasn’t surprising when Pam* asked if she could come talk to me about some concerns...Read More

Welcome back to the second edition of the NBS Fitness Guide to Supplements. In Part 1, we talked about he benefits of protein supplements and what differences between different kinds are. In Part 2, we will discuss the peri workout window, why it’s so important, and what we can do to maximize it. So without further...Read More

My mind is obsessed with powerlifting and every aspect that goes into it. This haunts me. It can take focus away from other areas. But it also allows me to correlate random things to explain powerlifting in a better way. I was sitting in church and we were talking about vineyards and the growth of...Read More

Over the past year, I have focused my training on improving my game on the course. Why you may ask? There are two main reasons why I chose to do this. The first reason is actually simple. I wanted to improve my game on the course, and I’m a firm believer that begins in the...Read More

Kettlebell Training Kettlebell training has always been a favorite of mine. I took a course several years ago and became Level 1 Certified in Kettlbell training in 2010. Eventually, I’d like to become RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certified). Programming Kettlbell workouts in our CrossFit programming occurs at least weekly. One of my favorite KB movements is the...Read More

Its easy to get confused about nutrition.  As we have discussed in numerous articles and blogs, there are a million ways to manipulate your intake for a number of different results.  And honestly, for the most part, most ways work to a degree.  This is why its important to understand nutritional components on a base...Read More

At Mid-South Spine and Sports Performance, our motto is Prepare. Perform. Prevent. We truly believe that the services and content that we push for at Mid-South Spine and Sports Performance are a direct reflection of this motto. If a service does not reflect at least one aspects of this motto, then it is not one...Read More

Pouring Into Broken Glasses This is part 3 of a 3-part series on “pouring into broken glasses,” which is a metaphor for how information is spread within the fitness industry. In Part 1, we looked at the differences between how one is educated as a fitness professional vs. the realities of being a personal trainer....Read More

Do you have a personal trainer? How have things been going with him/her lately? Are you reaching your goals that you set for yourself? I’m going to lay out some tips here that I think will help you in your fitness, strength, physique endeavors, or whatever your goals may be with your personal trainer if...Read More

Bone Health We all know the benefits of a strength and conditioning program from a muscular standpoint, but let’s pause and think about the benefits your bones receive. Our bones are living tissue and constantly changing. From the moment of birth until young adulthood, bones are developing and strengthening. Peak bone mass occurs in our...Read More

When it comes to the organization of training, many people fall back to basics they learned early on in their training career. Things that have been passed time from one lifter to the next and so on and so forth. Many times lifters are not even sure of the purpose or reasoning behind their training...Read More

Concussions are a commonly seen condition, especially in sports care. Chances are if you have played a significant amount of competitive sports, regardless of the level, you or one of your teammates has experienced a concussion. Concussion management has taken some large steps forward over the last decade in sports medicine to help provide better...Read More

Last weekend, the entire NBS team and I, had an amazing opportunity to attend the Elitefts Sports Performance Summit at Ohio State University. It was a once in the lifetime opportunity to have all of those brilliant minds together in one place. At the summit, we were lucky enough to learn from some of the...Read More

Who are you seeking advice from when it comes to your training? This is a pretty serious question, and one that you should be asking yourself if you are serious about training. Working in a gym you tend to notice many things from time to time, and eventually they start to get to you. There...Read More

In the past few years, countless great strength athletes have began incorporating hypertrophy components into their programming.  While the cited reasons vary quite a bit, there’s no debating that there is clearly a case for hypertrophy work for the strength athlete.  Some of the more sophisticated reasons would be to create a frame that can...Read More

Don’t you just love a catchy title. Catchy, effective, and truthful. If we’re going to define “fat” as having more body fat than the ideal amount for health (ie overweight/obese) then at least 2/3 of the population falls into that category. That number is also on the rise, by the way, which means there is...Read More

Pouring into Broken Glasses (1) Back to School An education in Exercise Sports Science is largely comprised of memorizing muscles, understanding movements, and practicing tests to apply to subjects in a lab setting. You learn the scientific theories behind testing as well as the protocols themselves, which test for specific values. Most of this information...Read More

In my last article, I discussed the two different types of posture, S-Posture and C-Posture, and how important posture is to the game of golf. Recapping, posture is crucial in every shot you are attempting to hit. However, what part of the body plays the leading role in keeping our posture on point during the...Read More

Did I catch your attention with my gripping title? I hope they’re a few of you that get a moment to read this tid bit of valuable information that can help you to create more stability by understanding the 3 muscular contractions, and what each of them do. One of our biggest goals we want...Read More

I have been training for 17 years, I have been in the fitness industry for 10 years, and I have owned a gym for 5 years. Along that time frame I have helped over a thousand people in training, nutrition, and life. I have watched people succeed, fail, struggle, bounce back, do awesome, do terrible,...Read More

How to Use Bands and Chains for Accommodative Resistance The concept of accommodative resistance can be explained as “the increase of resistance while lifting through a range of motion” (Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing. (2012)). This can be accomplished by using bands or chains to increase tension/weight at the lockout of a...Read More

Not only is good posture important in everyday life, but it also plays a vital role in the golf swing. In a perfect world, we would all exhibit a neutral spine position 24/7. However, due to jobs, stress, injury, and just day-to-day activities, we all lack the perfect posture that our moms tried to instill...Read More

Go to college. Get an exercise science/ kinesiology degree. Go to grad school. Get an internship.  Suck at your trade for a while, then slowly get better. Make mistakes and learn from them. If someone asked me to summarize the path to becoming great in the fitness industry, that would be my initial suggestion.  As we...Read More

Your mind can help you or hurt you On any given day in any given situation, our mind will set us up for failure or success. A negative mindset in social situations may go something like this: “what if they don’t like me”, “I hate what I’m wearing”, “Why am I here, this is stupid”. Sound familiar?...Read More

There are many training program systems for strength athletes and different theories are applied within these systems. With so much specialty equipment out there, people tend to get lost in what  to use and more importantly how to use it properly. In this installment in our “Specialty Equipment Series” we are going to look at...Read More

In the wake of yet another report of insurance hikes set for 2017, more and more people will find themselves asking one question: Why are health care costs SO HIGH? Now I know “tis the season” to start getting all political. I know everyone wants to begin blaming the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) or the top...Read More

Recently I had the opportunity to work with Zach Gallmann, founder and producer of the popular strongman series, Finding Strength, at EliteFTS. Zach had heard a lot about the new RPR method for improving performance and fixing compensations. He had a lot of interest in finding out if RPR could help him, so we got him in...Read More

Last article we established that the hollow hold position is the most fundamental movement in creating success in kipping pull ups. This article we will add the arch or ‘Superman’ positon, which is the opposing position to the hollow hold. Hollow hold             Superman It’s important to maintain contraction throughout...Read More

I’m lucky, I have perspective. In the fitness field I’ve worn or wear many hats and that has allowed me to participate and witness many things. It has allowed me to meet and know many people. I’ve had the chance to watch people both fail and succeed, to witness people give up and persevere, and to...Read More

**TRANSPARENCY ALERT: I have done each and every one of the actions I am about to list.  I have done entire training cycles of these extra little bits of action and they have stalled my progress, frustrated my coaches, and probably made me an annoying friend.*** Now, with that said, the reason I am sharing...Read More

I recently ran across a great article at EliteFTS on joint maintenance and it was spot on awesome that I decided to share it. With joint and musculoskeletal pain being one of the most prevalent conditions in today’s society, there are a lot of poor resources full of articles and experts trying to sell you on...Read More

Here at NBS we have many things that are out of the norm, including a bunch of weird equipment that the majority of gym goers have never seen. We have more bars, kettlebells, and weights per square inch than most training facilities within 300+ miles of Memphis, TN. Did I forget to mention a FOUR...Read More

An Introduction to RPR: For those who are unfamiliar, over the last two or three months, I have added a new and powerful service to the line of performance and results based services at Mid-South Spine and Sports Performance. The vision of Mid-South Spine and Sports Performance from the beginning has been to provide the best...Read More

In this edition of “Ask the Chiro,” we will take a look at another common question that comes up a lot i the everyday patient, Heat vs Ice. Both are modalities used to reduce pain and increase function, yet many questions come up when discussing the two. Specifically, should I heat or should I ice an...Read More

The kipping pull up is perhaps one of the most sought after gymnastic movements in CrossFit, but can take quite some time to learn. While it may appear as though one is just swinging on the bar and pulling up, there is actually a lot of technique involved. Strength and patience are also key elements...Read More

You may be asking yourself, what the hell does it mean to hip hinge and why is it so important. Yep, that was pretty much me a few years back. Let me start with a quick lesson in the anatomy of your hip joint. The head of your femur connects to your hip socket which...Read More

As David pointed out on his facebook this week, we hosted The Clash For Cash And Cash Car Pull this past weekend and it turned out to be a great success.  NBS Fitness itself has hosted 10 or so events in its existence, and various pieces of our staff have been helping in some capacity...Read More

              So many places to start here so let us just pick a few and jump right in!  “I am a mom; I don’t have time to exercise anymore.  I can’t fit in everything I have to do all day let alone find the time to go to the gym and train.”  Bull.  That is...Read More

This fall marks my 7th year as either a competitor or provider in collegiate athletics. During these seven years, I’ve been fortunate to do my part in 4 different programs at the Division I level. These experiences have been as narrow as a football only focus to as broad as encompassing all varsity collegiate sports. Being in college athletics long enough, you...Read More

The most common of all chiropractic stigmas is “Once you start, you have to keep going forever.” Just as with any stigma, there are two sides to this story. I will address some of the truths this stigma is based on, but will focus more on the misconceptions of chiropractic treatment, its goals, today’s societal outlook on health...Read More

Mid-South Spine and Sports Performance is invested in the continual process of providing the best in sports performance care for our athletes and patients. One of these products have been our recent addition of Foot Levelers functional orthotics. These orthotics are providing a much needed support system for an often neglected are in many athletes,...Read More

You may have heard it before if you have ever had a trainer, or if you were ever and athlete on a team with a coach. You show up to train, and they look at you and say, “Go warm up!” You probably look back with this blank stare and think why? Why do I...Read More

In today’s age of trigger warnings, social pressures, and fragile self esteem, people struggling to incorporate fitness into their lives have turned to a commonly used self preservation tactic known as playing the fitness victim. It is characterized by a complete lack of responsibility with a good dosing of helplessness to taste. If you or someone...Read More

A month ago, I attended the Reflexive Performance Reset™ (RPR™) seminar at The Spot Athletics Columbus, OH. If you didn’t read about my expectations and review on RPR’s benefits, feel free to do so. Since returning, we’ve hit the ground running with some of our more difficult cases at NBS Fitness. Over the last month we have seen nothing short of awesome results...Read More

Recently, I stumbled across a social media shout out to my strength coach from the University of Iowa, Chris Doyle. The post was meant to congratulate him on a story about a recent pay raise that he had received after an undefeated regular season last year. Basically showing respect to his success and hard work....Read More

The foot and ankle region is one of the most common areas neglected in corrective and performance care of athletes. 26 bones make up each foot and ankle of the 206 bones in the body  This accounts for almost one quarter of the bones in the body. There are also 32 joints and over 100 soft...Read More

As you may remember, my last blog talked about my expectations and excitement for the Reflexive Performance Reset™ (RPR™) seminar being held at The Spot Athletics in Columbus, OH. I was looking forward to this seminar for personal and professional reasons. First, I’m familiar with the challenge of getting a muscle to fire in a specific...Read More

I’ve had a lot of questions lately, specifically from clients trying to decide when the right time to put on a weight belt is. Obviously, this is going to vary from person to person depending on their strength, ability to maintain core stability and intra-abdominal pressure. Since I have been powerlifting, my strength has increased as well...Read More

Beginner Background Earlier today I was joking with a member about some of the silly things I did when I was a beginner and I thought all of you would appreciate some of these stories as well. I started training the summer between 7th and 8th grade. Around this time my testosterone levels were starting to increase...Read More

So you just did a powerlifting meet. Now what?  There are many potential answers to this question. Here are my suggestions, compiled from conversations, methods, and opinions from fellow coaches and athletes, many of whom are far more knowledgeable than I am. #1 DELOAD Take some time off from under the bar. This is especially...Read More

A few weeks ago, me and another member were having a conversation that I have long had with myself about knowledge and learning. This conversation was particularly about nutrition and human performance, but I would argue that it can be applicable to becoming better at your craft, regardless of what it may be. The conversation at hand...Read More

One of the things that I love about powerlifting is the passion that people have for the sport.  From training to competitions there is no shortage of passionate people in powerlifting.  People love this sport, they love the way they feel when shattering a personal record or reach a goal that they’ve been working on...Read More

Body image wasn’t something I thought I would ever write about.  Not because I don’t have thoughts about it or have no experience with it, because I certainly do.  However, I think its SUCH a hot topic for people and there’s almost no way to address it without upsetting someone.  As my reach has expanded...Read More

I can’t say that I’ve seen everything but after 16 years of training and 10 years in the fitness business I can say I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen people of all shapes, sizes, and background succeed, fail, and everything in between. One thing I hear many people talk about is motivation. Whether they claim...Read More

In practice (private or team sports), there are a wide spectrum of injuries that can occur in many different places. Today’s world of information undoubtably arms patients with more knowledge of their body. It is not uncommon for a patient to beat me to the punch and ask whether or not their problem is a...Read More

So you’ve just got done with a competition, and the summer is coming up. You’d like to give your body a break from the grind of meet prep training. You’re making the transition over to hypertrophy-style training to try to get some bigger “gunz.” You know what they say, “suns out, guns out.” “Curls for...Read More

First off, as a disclaimer, I’m not going to sit here on my high horse and talk about all the things I know or do that you should know and do too. I’m a pretty big on the concept that one of the best ways in invoking a change is to go ahead and own the...Read More

I sometimes wonder if other industries are full of so many fads as the fitness industry. It seems someone is constantly putting out some new training style, new diet plan, new health tips that has everyone worked up until the next trend comes along. You gotta be quick if you’re gonna make it on this...Read More