Trainer Tips Tuesday

Reading time: 4 – 5 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! It's been just under a week since I returned home from my 9-day excursion up Mt. Whitney with my brother and some friends. The climbing was fun, the views were amazing, and plenty of challenges were overcome: Hiked 40+ miles, carrying a gear-filled pack for roughly half the distance Gained about 20,000 ft of elevation from hiking Gained another 2,000 ft of elevation from climbing...

Reading time: 2 – 3 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! Last week I explained how I dial in my attention prior to every set during training and where I focus when snatching a kettlebell. An expected follow-up line of questioning might be: "Do I really need to pay attention to all that stuff when training? Can't I just show up and move?" To which I'll answer: Yes and no (to the first question). And, no and yes (to the second). Let's...

Reading time: 2 – 3 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! I'm currently in Wyoming with my brother for my second of three climbing trips this year. This time we'll be summitting the iconic Grand Teton before making a quick jaunt to Colorado to hike Mount Elbert, the second highest peak in the 48 contiguous states. (If you missed the story & tips from the first trip of the year to Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48, you can...

Reading time: 2 – 3 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! I'm not much of a YouTube watcher or podcast listener. But last weekend I was referred to this 13-minute clip of the Huberman Labs podcast in which Dr. Andrew Huberman (a neurobiology professor) and David Goggins (a retired Navy SEAL, author, & ultramarathoner) were discussing willpower, and I found it fascinating. Goggins drops more than a few f-bombs, so maybe don't watch the...

Reading time: 3 – 4 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! Yesterday was the third annual TNT & Friends New Year's Day hike. It's a tradition that began a little over two years ago when KG and Cindy, two hiking club regulars, decided that they wanted to do something awesome, challenging, and epic on New Year's Day 2022: hike 22 miles, in tribute to the year. So just after sunrise on January 1st, a group of current and former TNT members...

Reading time: 2 – 3 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! You may think that subject line seems a little self-serving considering that I operate a gym and co-operate an online training business and lifting event. But that doesn't change the fact that you and everyone else (myself included) really do need to exercise. At least, we do if we want to increase the probability of leading long, healthy lives. Let me explain... I'm currently...

Reading time: 3 – 4 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! Last Sunday I went rock climbing and rappelling in Necedah with my brother (Derek) and a group of friends who are summitting Grand Teton with us in July. Derek and I have been climbing for just over 20 years now, but this was the first outdoor rock climbing experience for all the others in the group except one. (And, yes, each of them came home safely!) If you've never been rock...

Reading time: 4 – 5 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events! In last week's tip I suggested that a reasonable first step for improving our sleep is setting and adhering to a consistent bedtime, and I concluded the tip by offering a few questions to get you thinking about your current sleep schedule. Have you spent some time reflecting on those questions and perhaps even started making small changes to your sleep-preparation habits?...

Reading time: 4 1/2 min Last week I explained the hollow position and mentioned that learning and practicing it would make almost any physical activity easier. This week I'm going to cover two more simple ways to practice the position that will directly improve your push-up and pull-up capabilities: the Superman plank and the hollow hang. If you can already do push-ups from the floor and unassisted pull-ups, practicing these drills should immediately increase the number of reps you can...

Reading time: 3 – 4 min You've probably heard the saying that "practice makes perfect". But you inherently know that isn't true. A joke that illustrates the point: When I was younger, I wanted to play the guitar really badly. And after years of practice, I can finally play the guitar really badly. :-) An even more clichéd idea that's gained popularity recently is "perfect practice makes perfect". But you know that isn't true either. First, because the ideal of perfection is unattainable (and,...