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My Back Hurts (Wait, so do my hips).
I have congenital scoliosis. As I was exiting the birth canal, Nomgar, the fire dragon from the North, attacked me. I parried against his fire and claws with a ball of infant explosion and savagery described with adequate vim as Ginger Fist. During the battle, however, I over-utilized my supple infant tissues to dodge fire and inflict damage–as a result my spinal [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
Rings and Power Recap
This past weekend I stuffed my gym bag full of my finest mesh shorts, picked up my buddy and intern, Justin Assadinia, and pointed my Saturn Vue toward Hamden, CT. After five and a half hours, lots of head banging and the occasional Lonely Island Dance party we arrived at the coveted Ranfone Training Systems. [...]
5 Questions with Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCS
Recently I had the opportunity to interview my good friend, and former classmate, Joe Giandonato. It was a huge opportunity. I’ve been picking his brain for years–the dude’s managed to store an encyclopedia’s worth of strength and conditioning info in his cranium. But Joe’s not just a walking knowledge center, he can apply his knowledge. [...]
The ABCs of BCAA Timing
There are few things on which I spend money–I call them the cash-drop trifecta. The trifecta is composed of food, gas and a few chosen supplements. Sure there are bills thrown in the mix, but we are talking about the important stuff. BCAAs sit atop the list of supplements I’m willing to spend money on–when used [...]
World Class Athletes: What Have They Mastered? By: Justin Rabinowitz, DC
If you are like me, you’ve been watching the Olympics–marveling at the abilities of world-class athletes. If you are like me circa 3 years ago, you also assume these same athletes have mastered proper movement patterns. However, you and the younger me, are wrong (at least some of the time). The question: Being a world-class athlete and [...]
You’re not a Bull Rider
I’ve only been to one rodeo, and it was to support a high school friend. Truth is my buddy Brett dragged me there; I was reluctant to go. The combination of country music, belt buckles and Skoal scares the hell out of me. But I obliged—life is about experience, right? Suffice to say that I [...]
A Meathead’s Tale
I’m a meathead—plain and simple. I can’t deny it. Well, I used to deny it—but those were the old days. A douche de jour would imply—not so covertly—that I am, in fact, a meathead. At the time, while I was in college, this was too much for my ego to handle—so I’d fire back a [...]
11 Best Deadlifting Songs
Later this week I’ll be sending out a free, 12 week deadlift program to all the noble souls that are on the Beyond Strength Performance mailing list. They’ve stuck with us through thick and thin and it’s much appreciated. To prime everyone for the program, I decided to put together a video list of the [...]
5 Questions with Ben Coker
Todd: Ben I had the opportunity to meet you in person at the PerformBetter Summit inRhode Island this year. Most of my readers have not had the opportunity to catch up with you in person. If they meet you, why will they want to high-five you? Ben: First up Todd I’d like to say a [...]
What I’ve Learned So Far: A Response from Justin Rabinowitz
Today’s post is a guest blog from our good friend, and my favorite New Jersey Native, Justin Rabinowitz. A few months back I published an article called “What I’ve Learned So Far.” Justin liked the article so much that, in response, he decided to share a few of his lessons with us. Enjoy! -Todd Hey [...]
