Congratulations on your decision to start a new fitness regimen!  This is the best decision you can make for yourself for long term health. Not only does exercise improve your physical health, it can help your brain performance and memory too! I could give you hundreds of reasons as to why you should start your...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

During my time as a coach, I have encountered many people who have experienced a lot of knee pain while squatting. When I ask them to show me their squats, I discover multiple issues with their technique. Particularly, (but not exclusively) squatting with toes pointed forward descending straight down into the squat and knees tracking...Read More

WE ARE OPEN! It’s been great to see so many of you over the last few weeks. We are all, now more than ever, aware of how important it is to sustain and improve our health and fitness, and we are all excited to be out of our homes more often and able to use...Read More

We’re into week six of social distancing in the US and week five of the safer-at-home order in Memphis. I hope this email finds everyone safe and healthy. How have you approached the obstacles we are all facing? If you are anything like me, the past few weeks have exposed you to a wide range of...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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…is rarely (though sometimes) the genetic freak.  Before you start peppering me with your anecdotals and acquaintances that defy that statement, I will acknowledge that there are exceptions to that rule. However, the most successful athletes I have known or heard of are usually those who have a bit of genetic predisposition and a lot...Read More

I want to outline and explain a few things that dramatically improved my performance in training and ultimately in competition at the 2017 World’s Strongest Man u90kg competition. These changes were lifestyle and diet based, and for their relatively minor investments they could be considered force multipliers with how much of an impact they had....Read More

So, what are you willing to sacrifice to reach the goals that you have set for yourself in life? Do you not know? Have you never asked yourself this question before? If you’ve set goals for yourself, then surely you have. Maybe you haven’t, and if that’s the case, then I’d be willing to bet...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 today’s world, a majority of the population has bad posture. With the amount of sedentary lifestyles and desk jobs, our posture is the first thing to suffer. In past articles, I have talked about S and C posture. Just incase you missed it; here’s a quick overview. S posture is excessive rounding of the...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

Earlier this month I had the the opportunity of taking the Level 1 RPR (Reflexive Performance Reset) course. Long story short, it was more insightful then I ever imagined. As many of my clients and colleagues know I am a firm believer in proper movement mechanics, strength, stability and mobility. All of these play an...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

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

Let me ask you something. Have you ever sat and daydreamed about something that you were going to do, or perhaps something that you may have already done but you wanted to revisit that place so you thought about it in you head? I’m sure you have. Maybe you were about to go on a...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

  Recently I have had numerous clients compete in powerlifting meets. Some are remote clients (out of state that I do not meet with) and others that are local, whose progression I see week to week (if they follow the prescribed program). Here’s an outline of my experiences and my approach to guiding a client...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

Mechanics The most important place to begin in CrossFit (or any weightlifting sport for that matter) is with proper mechanics. Mechanics refers to the ability to move properly through core movements. This includes moving your body and external objects in the most efficient, effective, and safest manner possible. In simple terms, you must learn proper...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

I love me some strict pressing. While typically barbell strict press, I also program is in with log, swiss bar, fat bar, dumbbell, and just about anything you can safely press overhead. I find its utility to be a bit higher than bench press, so if I am really having to consolidate training days, it’s...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

Picture this, you’re at the gym and you see some guy on the bench press. He’s an average looking guy that looks like he may lift, or he may look like he doesn’t even lift, but that’s beside the point. Okay, so he’s benching and is struggling to get some reps in with 135, or...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

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

I would say that I am still pretty new to the sport of powerlifting. I’ve been doing it for almost 3 years now, but I feel like there are many lessons that can be learned in 3 years.  I would like to share a couple of them with all of you in hopes that my...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

Last month, we discussed the various types of ruck sacks as well as how to pack them successfully in part 1 of this serious.   Today, we will talk a bit about training for or around your ruck. Most clients that I work with are rucking because rucking is an important ability within their career path. ...Read More

BETTER AGED As people, we adapt and learn which allows us to progress. Well, some of us. Others fail to change and thus fail to progress. Either way, when we implement what we have learned (often through failing), we identify certain variables as the cause of the failure and change those variables. Then we see...Read More

Building Callouses Despite what you may have heard, callouses on our hands are actually a good thing. Large callouses however, are not. Let’s start by defining what a callous actually is. Callous –showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.  Oh, ok, not that kind. Callouses are quite simply just a hardened or...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

YOUR POSITIONING SUCKS My poverty bench is so comical it could have its own stand up show and make a killing. Seriously, it would sell out the FedEx Forum. My current goal is to hit a (measly) 400lbs bench on the platform. Over a year ago I completely changed my bench setup and stance, which...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

I’m going to be very honest: somedays, I rise each morning just to go to the gym in hopes of seeing David running so I might make fun of him.  And man, he doesn’t disappoint. However, through this sibling-like tough love, I found myself feeling a little bad for him as the temperatures headed into...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

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

Sports Performance is a buzzword that holds a high amount of value in competitive athletics. When most people think about performance in sports, they think about training, lifting, agility drills, or other activities that increase the athlete’s abilities. Athletes invest a large amount of time pushing their bodies through extremely high levels of physical stress...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

Over the past several decades, fitness in golf has been a highly debated topic. Until recently, fitness was viewed negatively on the golf community and was something you “never” should do. However, even though times are changing, people still critic the place of fitness and lifting within the golf community. Prime examples of this are...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

The Best Post Meet Recovery Ever! We always talk about taking a break after the meet to let our bodies recover. For those of you who follow this advice, you understand why. Those that do not implement this will understand one day. For me personally, when I finish a meet I don’t have motivation to...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

Why CrossFit Kids I’ve been coaching kids for as long as I’ve been coaching adults. One of the focuses has always been teaching kids proper movement patterns that will translate when they get into upper grade level athletics and training. Another benefit to starting kids young is that it sets a precedence for them as...Read More

Seriously. One easy trick allowed me to have the most productive year of training I’ve ever had. I am now in the best shape of my life, the leanest I have ever been, and the least injured I have ever been. And the greatest part is you can do it too! Whats the secret? I hired a knowledgable professional...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

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

Part 2 Last month, I started an article about the importance of warming up properly before a round of golf. So, let’s review what we talked about in the last post. How many of you walk up to the tee, grab your club and just hit the ball, as the player in the video below?...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

Behind all the tan, awkward cut bikinis/speedos and carb-depleted divas lies a sport I really love.  So much, that I am frequently encouraging people to get out of their comfort zone and commit to a formal show.  While I think this is a really great goal for a lot of people, I am reminded time...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

Pouring into Broken Glasses (2) Now that we have been formally educated by a recognized institute (Part 1) and continue to learn from others while building more of our own theories, next we need to weather the storm of attempting to actually teach people. Trainers and coaches are nothing more than teachers, and athletes and...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

How to Be A Great Swinger! Kettlebell swings are personally one of my favorite exercises.  No matter your fitness level, you can learn to swing properly and efficiently. Swing Stance and Set Up Start with placing your feet slightly outside hip width. Your stance should be more narrow than a squat stance, with toes pointing forward....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

Are you a runner who needs help getting back up to speed? Running injuries are seen in everyone from the recreational runner to the most advanced ironman athletes. As a provider for all athletics at the University of Memphis, one of the most challenging sports to tackle is track and field. It is a well acknowledged fact that track...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

The age excuse is a topic that I encounter on a regular basis in my personal and professional life. “I am to old for ‘X’ activity.” “Getting old sucks.” “Back when I was younger…” People talk about age like its an unescapable, constricting prison. It’s as if age simply deteriorates you and keeps you from being active,...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

Kipping Pull Up – The Final Chapter You’ve established a superman (arch) and the hollow position and we’ve taken that movement onto the bar. The next step is actually getting the pull up. Part of the goal when working the Superman/Hollow position is to generate enough force that you create horizontal momentum.  At the apex...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

I may be slightly biased in my opinion on this subject but 17 years of training and 10 years in the fitness industry has influenced my ideas on what constitutes a solid gym from a gym that sucks. I am sure there are more than just five ways to know if your gym sucks but...Read More

In the past, strength training in golf has been a highly debated topic. However, times are changing. Strength training is important in every sport, even in golf. That’s right, I said it! Proper strength training, on a regular basis, will help prepare a golfer for the physical demands put on their body, reduce risk of...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

Have you ever done this? Have you squatted and sat back onto a box before? Do you have any particular reason as to why you were doing that? Perhaps you saw it somewhere, maybe someone told you to. Well, here at NBS we have many people who box squat, and a variety of reasons for...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

GPP is one of those cool catch phrases that fitness folks like to throw around to sound smart (me included) but what is it? Is it metcons? Is it pushing the prowler? Is it steady state cardio on a machine? If you don’t know the correct answer, no worries, this article is designed to get...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

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

Specialty Squat Bars: WTF is this? How many times have you walked into a gym and seen a piece of equipment so odd that you are left scratching your head thinking, “What the hell, why is that even in here?” We get that a lot at NBS, because we have equipment you won’t find at...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

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

Online programming is a useful tool in the strength world that everyone on a fitness journey may benefit from. This ranges from the unexperienced to elite level athletes through out all disciplines. Annie did a great job of explaining how to get the most out of online programming in her recent article . After several years of...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

Coach Christian Anto has started a series on the differences between remote coaching and personal training, and when to opt for one or the other.  Both have distinct advantages and disadvantages, which I will leave to his series to explain.  I would like to allow some insight in how to get the most as a...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

Summer is coming up and it’s time to show off those beach bods. But what if you’re struggling to get the physique you want? These 5 reasons may be why: You don’t actually want it What a way to start an article right? But I think it’s important that we address the obvious elephant in the...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

I recently started coaching the morning conditioning group every week and boy do they get after it. I’ve played around with different workouts with them and experimented on what works for them and what doesn’t. There is a fine line between pushing it hard and causing good change and pushing it so much that it interferes...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

http://www.elitefts.com/education/external-rotation-small-cue-for-a-big-squat/    Read More

I recently read the book “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John Ratey. The book talks about the positive chemical, hormonal, physical, and psychological effects that exercise can have on the brain. As well as how exercise can have specific positive effects on learning, depression, anxiety, aging, menapause, and pregnancy....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

I recently had a client respond to the question “Why do you want to lose weight?” with the confusing answer of “I don’t want to do a bikini contest”. I realized that with her being in a gym that has a high amount of high level fitness athletes along with today’s constant social media fitness model...Read More

Everyone who trains is looking for something to give them an advantage, something to help them gain more return on their investment into training hard and eating correctly. People will put their money into supplements, clothing, training gear, and even those goofy “magnetic bracelets”. Unfortunately, many of those have a relatively crappy return for the...Read More

Core Training: Revised and Revisited By John Taylor Weglicki, PT, DPT Every gym rat and personal trainer has a different outlook on how to train the core musculature. There are countless gadgets and gimmicks on how to get six pack abs. 6 Minute Abs, Ab Rollers, those freaky looking ab chairs, all of them have...Read More

Check out the original article here: http://www.elitefts.com/education/rehab-recovery/band-pull-apart-super-series-for-healthy-shoulders/  Read More

NBS Fitness was created for the purpose of making people better. Pure and simple, I wanted to expose people to the highest level of training possible to allow them the greatest stimulus for growth. When referring to higher training, I do not mean a higher intensity necessarily (although that is the case sometimes) but more...Read More

Link to EliteFTS Version of the Article http://www.elitefts.com/education/motivation/training-and-dietary-considerations-for-women-needs-formatted/ Ever since I began training several years ago, I have had the chance to work with both men and women of varying levels of experience and with differing goals. Although my approach for both genders is very similar, there are a few considerations I take for both...Read More