Blog

Given that it’s summer and most of the civilized world has the ability to take time off with family and friends, I thought it would be a good time to remind you to do the same. Many of us who work a lot (and enjoy it) need to be reminded that work is not an end...

A few months back I suggested you have a goal in mind for your training. Over 20+ years of teaching martial arts and 10+ of teaching strength, I’ve found that students with specific goals always make the best progress. This is not earth shattering information,...

Everyone is familiar with the statement “Practice makes perfect.” Ahhhh, if only this were true. In reality, as my good friend, mentor and world renowned MMA coach Greg Nelson has said for years, “Practice makes HABIT.” Whatever you do...

Injuries are an unfortunate part of the training cycle. Even with the best program and technique, you will eventually get hurt. Hopefully it will be minor, but sometimes it will be significant. As upsetting as serious injuries are, they make the healing process very...

I spent last week at my brother’s homestead outside Providence, Rhode Island. He and his wife have a beautiful little spot with 5 acres, nut trees, fruit trees, berry bushes, chickens, pigs and (soon) a steer. He worked his butt off for years and decided to...

I know you like to lift. So do I. But what exactly are you training for? Are you trying to hit a specific load with your dead lift? Are you trying to get in shape for an endurance event? Or maybe a martial arts competition. Maybe, like me, you want to tame the...

I wrote “The Martial Arts / Kettlebell Connection” back in 2010 for Black Belt Magazine. When I signed copies for people I always wrote something I had been telling my students for a while, “Always be smarter than the kettlebell!” I found this...

In my opinion, diet is the single most powerful element of training to affect body composition. You won’t get “fit” from eating a specific diet and yes you need to move and lift in order to build strength and cardiovascular conditioning but diet is...

There is probably a finite amount of wisdom accessible to humans. I mean it’s a large amount but it’s more than likely finite. I’m guessing this is why there are so many different ways of saying something. For example, my Wing Chun instructor Sifu...

No matter where you go these days there seems to be some kind of Purell (or similar product) dispenser because God forbid I get my cappuccino without eradicating every germ on my hands. My students are familiar with my “caveman filter.” No, this does not...

I’ve been lucky enough in my time training and coaching to have been around some spectacularly talented athletes and martial artists. Some were professional fighters but not all by any means. One quality that I found in each of these people was the right...

Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) said, “Teaching is the highest form of understanding.” The act of teaching requires us to gain a depth of understanding prior to teaching and also implies that we must maintain our thirst for knowledge even after we have...

Having recently completed the StrongFirst Lifter (SFL) certification and achieved “StrongFirst Elite” status I have set my sights on a new goal: Beast Tamer. I would say that it’s a goal for 2019 but it might take me til 2020 to actually achieve it!...

I admit to being a dinosaur. I was born in 1968, have never cared about pop culture or the “cool” thing to do, and drove used diesel cars that ran on vegetable oil for over a decade. Let me tell you, nothing screams “hip” as much as a used...

There is a fascination with going heavy in the weight room. It seems logical. If I lift heavy weight I will get stronger in less time than if I lift lighter weight, right? Wrong. While you will likely make some initial progress lifting heavy and often, you will...

We are a creature that is made to move. I am not the first to say this nor am I the first to lament the sedentary nature of most of the country’s population but have you ever noticed how great it feels to just go take a walk? This is not simply your body...

I am the kind of person who enjoys a lot of interests. I train and teach martial arts. I train and teach strength and conditioning. I love to cook. I am into traditional archery and hit the woods during hunting season with a longbow. (As if hunting with a compound bow...

January is as full of New Year’s resolutions as February is with folks who’ve already broken them, but please don’t let that stop you from making one! The new year is the perfect time to assess what you accomplished last year and plan your goals for...