Whether you’ve been working out for years or are just starting, you’ve likely seen the term “progressive overload” billed as a foundational concept in exercise. It’s the magic bullet, the secret sauce, the one universal truth that every coach and trainer agrees is necessary for making progress. What they don’t agree on, however, is what […]
It’s a deceptively simple question that determines the success of your entire workout: How long should you rest in between sets? There are several training variables we can adjust to get the most out of our program. We may carefully manipulate the load we’re lifting, the intensity of each set, and our total weekly volume […]
If you’re a fitness enthusiast then you have, at one point or another, daydreamed about leaving your job and becoming a full-time coach or personal trainer. Maybe you’ve even thought about opening your own gym. For some, the idea of pursuing a career in fitness is so appealing that they’ll actually take action. I’m one […]
Key Points The Limited Effect of Exercise Alone on Weight Loss Energy balance represents one of the fundamental principles of human metabolism. This physiological mechanism measures the relationship between caloric intake—the energy we obtain from food and beverages—and caloric expenditure, which occurs through basic metabolic processes and physical activity. When caloric intake exceeds expenditure, the […]
Over a lifetime, the average human will consume enough energy to fly a Boeing 747 jet from Los Angeles to New York just over 50 times. That’s an enormous amount of fuel to be sure, which speaks to how much nutrition plays a role in not only powering our daily activities, but also our well-being. […]
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. That’s the rhythmic sound your heart is (hopefully) making during the approximately 100,000 times it beats per day. Many people think the heart beats at a regular tempo like a metronome, but the reality is quite different. The time between each beat, known as the interbeat interval of the heart, is fluid, […]
Lack of available time is a common barrier to exercise. [1] Even small amounts of exercise show health benefits, so finding ways to do something is still worthwhile. We discuss how much exercise people need, and how they can still increase their fitness when time is limited. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends the […]
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Sprint Interval Training (SIT) are often promoted as a superior way to do cardio, with greater improvements in fitness, along with better weight loss and body composition when compared to moderate intensity steady state conditioning. However, most of the research on this topic is limited to untrained individuals and […]
“You can get stronger and gain muscle by lifting light weights” seems like a clickbait-y type of claim, but would you be surprised to learn there’s some legitimate (and not-so legitimate) science to support a training method to do just that? Enter Blood Flow Restriction Training. Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) dates back to the 1960’s, […]
Many people think that the squat is an exercise for athletes or serious lifters only, but this couldn’t be further from the truth, as the squat can be done by a wide variety of people with a range of goals. All squats share a similar movement pattern in that they move a weight from a […]