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: 3–4 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events including the (mostly) weekly Hiking Club, technique courses, and more! Last week a mom asked what training suggestions I had for her son’s shoulder. He had tweaked it playing basketball, and she was looking for some exercises that he could do to improve its stability, particularly in outstretched positions. As a physical therapist and long-time TNT member, she had already helped...

Reading time: 3–4 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events including the (mostly) weekly Hiking Club, technique courses, and more! Just after 11 PM on Tuesday night, the three of us tied into our rope and started up. It was dark—obviously—and cold. The route we were climbing was steep enough in places (30 to 45 degrees, with sections barely wider than two foot-widths side by side) that a slip would’ve had significant consequences. The three...

Reading time: 3 – 4 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events including the (mostly) weekly Hiking Club, technique courses, and more! Last weekend I participated in an indoor rock climbing competition—Adventure Rock's Quick on the Draw. It's an annual event that I'd done a few times before, although the last few times were somewhere between twelve and twenty years ago! Since then, my training priorities have shifted. For a long stretch,...

Reading time: 2 – 3 min Reminder: Make sure to check the bottom of this message for details about upcoming events including the (mostly) weekly Hiking Club, technique courses, and more! Have you ever noticed how quickly we forget about our goals after achieving them? I don't mean forget forget—of course we remember what we've accomplished. I mean a kind of minimizing forgetfulness. We hit a target and almost immediately shift our focus to the next one. That's not a problem on its own. Goals...

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 a big fan of quotes and memes. While their brevity and simplicity often prevent them from describing nuance, they serve as quick reminders of complex but useful ideas that are easily overlooked during the daily grind. Of course, when we have minimal experience in a subject, their brevity and cleverness can also promote ideas which may cause more harm than good. A couple weeks...

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! In the previous two weeks' tips I've discussed some reasons to prioritize strength development and high-level concepts about how to develop strength. This week I'm going to take a quick pass through the science about why the concepts from last week actually work. To start, let's dig deeper into one of last week's lynchpin comments: Strength is a skill You're not alone if that...