A study published in the November edition of the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research revealed some interesting conclusions with regard to CrossFit training, most of which is not great news. Despite the positive spin used in the headline, “CrossFit-Based High-Intensity Power Training Improves Maximal Aerobic Fitness and Body Composition,” […]
Despite the hype and hyperbole surrounding Human Growth Hormone, steroids, and other Performance Enhancing Drugs, the weight room – and other conditioning methods – has caused more damage to baseball players than damage from all the PEDs combined. And in the aftermath of Matt Harvey’s catastrophic elbow injury, the New York Mets should get rid […]
Over the past few months, I have been hearing almost constant radio commercials for raspberry ketone weight-loss/fat-burning supplements, with the tag line that they are the miracle fat-burning supplement recommended by Dr. Oz. Can you say, “Scam alert?” The raspberry ketone scam follows the same tired script that has been used by supplement hucksters for […]
One of the great, stupid, steroid-influenced exercises of all-time is the reverse grip bench press. The exercise had been popular for years among powerlifting types, but was co-opted by body builders and thus became part of the classic, steroid-influenced “Chest Day,” workouts. I hadn’t seen this exercise performed much over the past 15 or so […]
Has the “Sport of Fitness” really arrived in the form of CrossFit, via Reebok? Sorry to disappoint you, but no, it hasn’t. The Hype of Fitness, however, is in full gear. Like clockwork the Fitness Industrial Complex uses the mainstream media to overhype an existing, but perhaps fringe or niche element of the exercise world. […]
Of all of the waste of time exercises that people do in the gym, calf raises and all of its iterations, are probably the worst of all of these exercises. And of all the machine-based exercises, no other machines are as much of a waste of space, iron and cable as the various calf raise […]
After reviewing over 1,600 papers, researchers from the Mayo Clinic state that, “You can make a very compelling argument for exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed.” Author and neurologist Dr. J. Eric Ahlskog lead the effort that included the […]
Whenever on vacation I make it a habit to visit a local gym and over the past 30+ years I have worked out in gyms in Jamaica, Italy, California, Florida, Ohio, Bermuda, Vermont and countless other places. Besides restaurants, there are no better places to really get the local flavor and mix with the natives […]
I spend a lot of time in open gyms and see a lot of ridiculous things, things I feel compelled to speak out about, and against. There is so much misinformation, and plain bad information circulating in the mainstream, and in the gym, about fitness and nutrition there is no shortage of subject matter. Recently […]
You might think I’m crazy, my neighbors probably think I’m crazy and if you listen to me your neighbors might think you’re crazy. And you might be crazy if you listen to me, but you will be in better shape. Try sledgehammer training. In the effort to get fit you don’t have to rely on […]
