Yesterday, we picked some fun at the skeptical lunatic charlatans at Wikipedia for denying the science of breathwork because it doesn’t fit into their model of the world. Today, I want to get into the science that DOES exist about the many benefits of breathing exercises. There is quite a …
Breathwork is Pseudo-Science
…at least if you believe Wikipedia. Here’s the start of their entry on Breathwork: “Breathwork is a New Age term for various breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person’s mental, emotional or physical state, with a claimed therapeutic effect. Breathwork has no …
175 lb. Barbell Bent Press (new personal record)
A new personal record of 175 lbs. in the barbell bent press. I weighed 184 lbs. at the time of this record, so closing in on my goal of a bodyweight bent press. It’s taken many attempts to get this one so very excited to finally get it. Previously I …
Density by Time vs Density by Set
Density is one of the great yet underused methods of progression in training. In the 2nd Edition of Master Keys to Strength & Fitness I label it as one of the secondary methods of progression, but that is only because you must understand the primary methods of intensity, set and …
Foundational Foundation: Breath
Yesterday, I covered how important the quality and quantity of water was to your health. And by health, I mean it’s impact on every single cell and system in your body. (If you missed it, you can find it on the blog here.) Improve your water supply and you’ll reap …
Foundational Foundations
Health is on my mind a whole lot. Lately, I’ve been thinking about a big overarching framework that covers everything…as well as how to really boil it down to the simplest basics. Or as I’m calling it here the foundational foundations. As I’ve said before, when it comes to health, …
One Exercise Session Alters 9815 Molecules
New research shows that nine minutes of aerobic exercise alters a whopping 9,815 molecules in your blood. Researchers at Stanford University attempted to look at everything that changes in the body from metabolism to genes, from proteins and fats to microbiome, from immune response to hormones and more. With 36 …
Muscle Control and Qi
Maxick talks about an interesting concept in relation to muscle control… “I discovered that by using the Will to control the muscles, not only did I gain development and strength, but that I was storing energy. By giving nothing out, I was slowly conserving energy…so the more energy conserved, the …
I Hurt My Back…
It happened! For the first time in something like eight years I hurt my lower back. (Methinks that’s a pretty good run.) Was it from kettlebell juggling? Was it bent pressing a heavy weight? Was it doing arched back handstand pushups? None of the above. It was simply cleaning a …
Kettlebell Juggling Ranking Revisited
Earlier this week I talked about how paying attention in movement supports and grows your brain. I think there may be fewer great examples of this than kettlebell juggling! This is something I’ve done on and off over the years and am just getting back too recently. This started out …
Growing Your Brain through Movement
“The moment we pay attention to our movement, the brain resumes growing at a very rapid rate.” – Dr. Anat Baniel I came across this quote in a book I read the other day and had to share it. Can I talk about being smart for a second without sounding …
Barbell Bent Press 135 lbs. x 5 reps
A new record of bent pressing a 135 lb. barbell for five reps in a single set. My top amount is 165 lbs. right now though I feel like I’ll hit 175 any day now. The bent press is most commonly done for just single reps. However, I’ve found that …
Strength Training Like a Fighter, Why and How to Do It
We’ve all watched boxing or MMA and thought about how fast, strong, and ripped the fighters are. The mistake people make is thinking that they have to be full-time athletes in order to achieve a fighter’s physique or (functional) strength. Most fighters adhere to a pretty similar strength training routine …
Goals for Health and Pain-Free Movement
“How do you decide upon fitness goals? I’ve struggled with this my whole life. I’m not interested in lifting any specific amount of weight or anything, I just want to be healthy and pain free.” – Watts Personally, I do enjoy this stuff, so picking something challenging and going after …
Low CNS vs. High CNS Workout
“Could you give me an example (s) of a low cns workout and high cns workout?” There are three main points to look regarding impacts on the central nervous system in training: 1 – Severity, Intensity and Volume The main thing that will differentiate between a high CNS workout and …