Last week Chris talked about about the construction of BSP NOVA, One Piece At a Time. His analogy for training progress is perfect–our bodies, and our goals, change as we manipulate one variable at a time. What’s frustrating, though, is this isn’t how we think. We envision the whole rather than the thousand meaningful parts that...Read More

I’m sitting comfortably in my bedroom as I write this. My dog is dreaming on my bed behind me, wimpering and huffing at rabbits yet to be caught. The cracked window in front of me welcomes a cool breeze as I sit listening to “Murder in the City” by The Avett Brothers. Tomorrow, if all...Read More

Each year, just past the first quarter of the year, I celebrate my birthday. This one happens to be 27–the first number I wore on my football jersey in college. I wasn’t fond of having that number–I didn’t pick it–and I changed to number 40 for my sophomore season to honor Pat Tillman. I also grew...Read More

I have a favorite client. She’s not an Olympian, nor is she a professional athlete. A few years back she learned how to read and she’s now on her way to mastering long division. She’s my neice, Kendra. That’s her nailing the is0-lunge hold a few months back. Since then she’s been introduced to a...Read More

A few years ago my ex-girlfriend’s mom gave me a copy of Eat Right for Your Type. If you’re unfamiliar, the book is about eating foods that fit your blood type. The book is based mainly on conjecture; there’s minimal–if any–solid research supporting the author’s claims. But at the time I was enthralled. I’m Type O...Read More

I’m a strength coach and a manual therapy student; so when I get the opportunity I like to take my lessons from massage school and apply them at the gym. It’s kind of like how I combine man’s best friend with exercise equipment. (Seriously, get yourself a Fit Bull.) It’s common for strength coaches to...Read More

“Tension is part and parcel of what we call the mind. Tension does not exist by itself, but is reflexively integrated into the total organism. The patterns in our muscles vary from moment to moment, constituting in part the modus operandi of our thinking and engage muscles variously all over our body, just as do...Read More

I’m a football fan and a studier of great leaders. Knowing this, my brother and my sister-in-law bought me Nick Saban’s book How Good Do You Want To Be? for Christmas. The book recounts some of his lessons from the football field and from life. For example, Coach Saban was a student at Kent State...Read More

During the fall, high-frequency upper-body training wrecked my already football-ravaged shoulders. I ended up with a twinge of impingement syndrome in my right shoulder and an accident while overhead pressing gifted me a minor glenohumeral separation/dislocation/that shit really hurt for a while. To remedy the errors that I made, I backed down my pressing volume, had manual...Read More

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you just have to dance while concurrently releasing some rage? We have your solution…punch dancing. Here’s how: (3621) ShareRead More

One of the first things I ever read about writing was to avoid clichés. For a while I took that advice seriously—never with a grain of salt. Now I think about things differently. I don’t litter my writing with clichéd terms and phrases, but I use them as they are familiar; they are something we...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

I’ve been holding out too long—it’s time to let you in on my secret. While what seem to be new fitness eating plans have popped up all over the world, I’ve been secretly toying with my own innovative nutrition strategy. It’s called Intermittent Eating. Before you jump the gun and say its intermittent fasting wrapped...Read More

Being that the internet has become a powerful information monster, many strength coaches and therapists have grown to legendary status. Some, it seems, in a matter of months. I’m not complaining—the internet has done wonderful things for my career, and you’re obviously reading this article through your connection—but sometimes it’s tough to decipher the true...Read More