Articles

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

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

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 @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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 go out of town to visit family in Alabama often and over time I’ve had to learn how to adapt to training in other gyms. I am spoiled at NBS and when it comes to the equipment and training atmosphere, I have yet to train in a gym that compares. So, when I go...Read More

I am writing this article in an attempt to help anyone out that may not be at the time paying a professional to write out a structured program for them to follow.  Since being at NBS and working under the wing of our owner David Allen, I have learned a couple of things about programming...Read More

Strength sports have many variables that can make or break an individual’s progression, reputation, and enjoyment of their sport. Some people believe that in strength sports it is only the individual who is responsible for the lift. They believe it is all about their mindset and that no one else can aid them in that. Personally,...Read More

In my first article, I want to talk about a couple of reasons why it is important to be on some type of program. Not everyone can get a degree in Exercise Science, spend 10 years working with clients, and building experience but you can work with someone who has done just that. Not everyone...Read More

Are you a beginner? I bet you don’t think you are but you are. See, being a beginner has nothing to do with how long you’ve been training and I’d even argue that it doesn’t have as much to do with your abilities and performance either. Instead I believe it has everything to do with...Read More

If you have several years of quality training and nutrition under your belt, these three concepts can help further your training success. If you’re still new to this whole health and fitness thing or have been struggling with consistency, I suggest reading this article on goal setting and this article as well before implementing these...Read More