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In episode 5, Brandon Reilly talks about the journey of training for the Sylamore 25K and about persevering through injury. He also goes into detail about the different breathing techniques he used during his training and race.Read More

In episode 5, Brandon Reilly talks about the journey of training for the Sylamore 25K and about persevering through injury. He also goes into detail about the different breathing techniques he used during his training and race.Read More

In episode 5, Brandon Reilly talks about the journey of training for the Sylamore 25K and about persevering through injury. He also goes into detail about the different breathing techniques he used during his training and race.Read More

The other day I asked someone why they didn’t work out and their response was “Because I have three kids.” I found that response to be interesting…and sad People often justify and explain away why they don’t exercise or eat right or any other number of activities that would at least maintain and ideally improve...Read More

3 Years, 3 Locations, 1000 Lives Changed Check Out Our Vivid VisionRead More

With Thanksgiving approaching quickly this week, we asked your NBS crew what they are most thankful for this year. Everything has been pretty crazy this year to say the very least; it’s important to reflect on what matters most! Check out what our trainers and coaches had to say about what they are thankful for:...Read More

This Wednesday, our country will be honoring our brave servicemen and women through Veterans Day. On this day, we give thanks and recognition to our veterans who have given so much to protect our country. Many will be celebrating by volunteering, giving remembrance, and spending time with our heroes. You can even pay your respects...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

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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

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA7Z9CjAIxa/?igshid=1fall8bdiyczhRead 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

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

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

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Hey everyone! I hope your week is going well and that you’re making time to engage in activities that energize you. How have your workouts been going in the new year? Are you chasing new goals, or continuing your pursuit toward long-term ones? Are you training for an upcoming event, or enjoying the challenge of...Read More

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“Take a deep breath.” “Just stay moving.” “Two more breaths, then get back to work.” How often have you been in the middle of a workout and your trainer or workout partner says one of the above statements to you? We often overlook how important our breathing is, not only during the course of a...Read More

December is here again. It always seems to sneak up on us so fast. Great news is that this is the time to enjoy family, friends, and rich traditions. Be aware, it is also the time of year when tempting treats are everywhere we turn. Unlike other times of the year when the occasional wedding...Read More

Fitness is essential at all ages. As our bodies age, it is not a time to slow down or relive the glory days, it’s time to get real about movement and practical fitness. Based on the needs of the aging body, certain changes may need to be made, but strength and conditioning should continue to...Read More

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about my experience in the Boy Scouts of America growing up. I was a scout all the way through high school when I got my Eagle Scout. I love the idea of young boys and teens developing life skills under the guidance of adult leadership...Read More

Today I would like to contribute to a topic that people have been fighting about on the internet since its inception: Nutrition. Every couple of years, a fad diet will emerge with its very own rules, restrictions, and claims of being the best way for all human beings to eat and live. We’ve seen Zone,...Read More

Resistance band training can (and should) be added to your daily workouts. They can be utilized in many ways, from stretching through an increased range of motion, to performing high-volume work in your workouts. With high-volume resistance band work, you will strengthen connective tissue, which in turn will prevent possible soft tissue injuries.Greater storage of...Read More

This is more fun way to make zucchini than in the pan, but a better alternative to potato chips that also can improve fruit and vegetable intake. Enjoy! Ingredients:  ‐ Cooking Spray  ‐ 2 Medium Zucchini (about 1 pound)  ‐ 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil  ‐ 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan (3/4 oz) ‐ 1/4 Cup Plain...Read More

In recent months, as we review our workouts at the whiteboard together, we often discuss what our output effort during the conditioning portion should be, 75%, 85%, max effort.  We have also discussed “redlining.” I thought it would be a good idea to discuss what that essentially means, somewhat scientifically. If you go out too...Read More

A recent article by the NY Post showed that American’s waste around $18,000 a year on non-essential expenses. Purchases such as cable, Netflix, eating out, music streaming, subscription boxes and impulse purchases slowly add up to take a large share of the average American’s spending power. This helps to show how the average household has a credit...Read More

Today marks my 10 year anniversary as a CrossFit coach. I was introduced to CrossFit in December of 2008. After having a membership at ATC for years, I needed a change.  I actually used my ATC membership and I had a couple of people I “trained” with and I really enjoyed the community, but I...Read More

With Summer upon us, that means loads of fresh fruits and vegetables!! Here are some tips on how to save them from early death! Important things to keep in mind are : Don’t keep your produce in the door of the refrigerator where temperatures fluctuate. Keep them in the middle or bottom drawers to keep...Read More

Properly planning your training days to ensure you are hitting all of the different muscle groups (without creating imbalances) can be a tall order. With endless combinations of programming variables and schools of thought regarding training, it can be very difficult to decide what exercises to include in your training program. However, breaking the body...Read More

Everyone has heard the term DOMS being tossed around in the gym but what exactly is it, what does that mean to you and how do you recover from it? DOMS stands for delayed onset muscle soreness. This means that after a strenuous exercise, the body may experience pain or stiffness that doesn’t usually start...Read More

In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to ever walk on the moon. Since the beginning of space travel 536 humans have been into space and 12 have walked on the moon. A total of 18 people have died during launch, flight, or entry. Putting a man onto the moon is an incredibly complex...Read More

The Sumo DL High Pull is one of CrossFit’s 9 foundational movements. We teach it to all of our new CrossFitters while going through our OnRamp course.  It doesn’t often come up in programming, and quite honestly I’ve often wondered why it is considered one of CrossFit’s foundational movements, so I did some research and...Read More

There are several things to understand when your goal is feeding strength. Number one, like any athlete, you have to consider overall calories. If you not eating enough, you will be weak. Secondly, you have to consider the macronutrients, carbs, fat, and protein. Strength athletes are recommended to consume 1.6 -2.0 g/kg of bodyweight (or...Read More

Dynapenia is the loss of muscle strength, (rather than muscle mass) and is often associated with older adults. It can have devastating effects on a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. Climbing stairs, picking up a grandchild, or quite simply getting out of a chair or the bathtub become barely possible. Additionally, this loss of...Read More

I’ve been in the fitness industry over a decade and have seen the full spectrum of people’s successes and failures. Everyone shows up motivated. Some of them take action. A few less keep up that action in the short term. A few less train smart and follow an intelligent program. And even fewer keep it...Read More

The holiday season kicks off with Thanksgiving, a holiday characterized by spending time and enjoying good meals with friends and family. It is meant to be a time of grateful reflection and thanksgiving for all that we have. Ironically the following day is Black Friday which is a time spent in consumer chaos, away from...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