Category Archives: Fitness
1% Fitness FAQs – What About Muscular Endurance?
The reason we should be lifting weights is to build strength and muscle, but I often receive questions on the importance of muscular endurance. As discussed in 1% Fitness, and as we went through in Eat Meat And Stop Jogging, endurance is an inferior biomarker for longevity, and purposely pursuing it can be detrimental to…
1% Fitness FAQs – Are Leg Curls Necessary?
Strong hamstrings are an essential part of a balanced anti-fragile physique. Research in the journal Clinical Biomechanics found that decreased hamstring strength increased loading on the ACL by 36% during side-step cutting. This is why training the legs (just as much as the upper body), and training the back of the legs (just as much…
How to Warm-Up for a Workout
Unlike static stretching, which can actually harm performance (1, 2, 3, 4), research has shown that a short routine of dynamic activation drills and functional movement patterns enhances strength and power, and has proven more effective at preventing injuries, and reducing muscle soreness when executed before a workout. Hence the reason those following my 1% Fitness…
Turning the Trap Bar into a Safety Squat Bar
The other day I posted an article called “8 Unconventional Uses for the Trap Bar” for BreakingMuscle.com. And if you take the time to read it, you’ll come across a section where I discuss turning the Trap Bar Squat into a Safety Bar Squat. Here’s an excerpt from the article (in italics): 5. Trap Bar…
Is There an Optimal Tempo for Strength & Muscle Building?
Tempo is the speed of a movement, or the time you dedicate to each individual rep. Usually it’s presented in a 4-digit sequence, with the first number applying to the eccentric part of the exercise (muscle lengthening), and the third number representing the concentric portion (muscle shortening). Tempo = 4 – 0 – 1 –…
Build a Better Butt – The 15 Best Glute Exercises
Ask a girl what her workout goals are, and other than toning-up “here…here…and here” and losing “this..this…and this,” she wants a smokin’ butt. And frankly, that’s what us guys are hoping for too. But here’s the sad part. Most women end up following nutrition plans and workout routines that produce the opposite – a Flat…
Sprinting vs Jogging – Go Fast to Burn Fat
When it comes to fat loss, there’s something to be said about the practice of going ‘all out.’ For instance: Research from 2014 in the European Journal of Endocrinology determined that maximal exercise increases a fat burning hormone called irisin (turns white fat to brown) 34% higher than a matched workload with a lower intensity.…
10 Red Flags You’re Unhealthy That You Call “Normal”
Doctors use symptoms to diagnose illnesses, and one could say a symptom is your body’s way of communicating something is wrong. The problem is, some of us have lived with these symptoms for so long, they’re no longer classified as symptoms anymore. They’re simply classified as “normal.” Many times these problems are treated with medication,…