Chris Merritt
How important is an education?
A few weeks ago I had a high school junior message me through Facebook to ask if I would take some time to answer a few questions on going to college for exercise science. OF COURSE I said yes… And my answers were some things I wish that I had heard before starting college as [...]
8 Weeks to What?
As many of you know, my gym is adjacent to a mixed martial arts school. So, you would think that there’s a constant flow of fighters strolling through the doors. And while there are some, it’s not nearly as many as you think… You see, there’s a common term thrown around in the MMA game: [...]
Have YOU Progressed?
I’ve come a long way… Sometimes my clients think that I am superhuman. I move well, I’m damn strong pound-for-pound, I’ll leap a building, I can stay lean rather easily, I’m- okay, okay, I digress… But in all seriousness, most of my clients can, should, and will eventually surpass me if I’m doing my job. [...]
Was it worth it?
When I was growing up I kind of got in trouble- a lot. Not big trouble, but I definitely pushed the envelope quite often. For instance, in the first grade I got in trouble in class for something I don’t even remember. But, I do remember that the punishment was to take a letter from my [...]
One Piece At a Time
Coach Chris here… Your body and my gym have a lot in common. When I opened my gym in October of 2011, I had no idea what it was going to look like a year down the road. I mean, yeah, I had ideas, visions, dreams- but I didn’t really KNOW. On day one it [...]
Pull-up Progressions for Women (they’re secretly for everyone!) – UPDATED!
Coach Chris here! There are two things that everyone should be doing when starting a program- screening (getting screened) and grading movements. When people come to my facility we use the Functional Movement Screen and a static postural assessment before taking people through some simple progressions of the major compound exercises that we will [probably] [...]
Quick Patterning and Breath Drill for the Hip Hinge
Hey guys, Chris here with a quick post on a drill I came up with for setting your air and getting your patterning down for the hip hinge. This is quite possibly the most difficult movement for people to get down when first taking on an exercise regimen. This drill was influenced by Gray Cook [...]
This week in videos
Hey guys, coach Chris here. We’ve been ridiculously busy lately (always a good thing!)… but I wanted to get some videos up here to entertain you as we head into the weekend. Enjoy! . Todd is getting his strong on And Mike Ranfone is a programming god.: 500 x 3 505 x 2 from a [...]
Why am I doing this?
If you were to ask me the most common question that I receive on the regular, “why am I doing this?” tops that list (right after, “how is your beard so freaking marvelous?”). Hey guys/gals, Chris here- listen, I’m no English major, and I’m pretty sure that the above sentence structure is a wreck… so [...]
Be Thankful for the Little Things
Well, it’s that one time of year where we Americans show our thanks by over-eating and then zoning out on the couch to our favorite TV movies and sports. All of this before we rush the stores and trample each other for the “best deals of the year.” But hey, in all honesty I’m doing [...]
Turkish Get-Up Tutorial with Progressions
Hey guys, coach Chris here! The Turkish get-up is an awesome test of overall strength and mobility. When performed properly, it is a beautiful thing. However, it’s not an exercise that one runs out and masters on day one. One of my strength coach buddies, Nico, up in NY hit me up today to ask if [...]
Monday, Monday (read, listen, persevere)
What’s up??! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to crush this week! I know it’s Monday and you’ve probably got a full itinerary after the weekend, so I’m just going to drop a few random thoughts that you can hopefully take something away from. 1. I finished two books over the weekend [...]
Sunday Randomness
A RARE SUNDAY RANDOMNESS POST I don’t do random posts often, but when I do, I post ‘em on Sundays. So Dustin had back surgery to shave a bone spur at L5-S1 last Monday (the 1st of October) and is recovering amazingly well! You will see him in a video below (prior to surgery). He [...]
A Facelift on Rollouts
Planks, ab wheel, pallof presses- all of these things and more, can, and will be used to rock your core. However, we can all be guilty at times of doing too much of the same. I’m here today to show you thirteen anti-extension drills that you probably haven’t seen before. And if you have, well, [...]
Awesome Med Ball Throws (round 2)
Can you believe that I opened my gym one year ago, today!! It’s been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t trade a thing. I have learned so much from the good, but even more from the bad. For those of you that don’t know, I have made the tag-line for my training “Progression Through Perseverance.” [...]
