Stupid Human Tricks: Burdick Loves CrossFit

By Jesse Burdick I don’t do CrossFit. I’m a powerlifter, and a pretty damned good one. For the past seven years, however, I’ve been associated with CrossFit in one form or another. I’ve worked in CrossFit-affiliated gyms, I’ve trained athletes for the CrossFit Games, and I’ve even done a little bit … [Read more...]

The Mellow Metcon: Conditioning For Strength Blocks

By Scott Paltos Strength is king. Conditioning counts, too, though. For many of you, it counts a little too much. If you’re a good coach, or an athlete who knows what you’re doing, you’re always going to include some level of conditioning—whether it’s aerobic or anaerobic—in your programs. … [Read more...]

The Power of Power

By Scott Paltos Want the secret to everything? I know you’re looking for it, at least for your fitness, because that’s why you’re on the fucking internet today in the first place. I’m also sorry to disappoint you, because the answers you’re so desperate to find have nothing to do with any of the … [Read more...]

Shockwave: Nothing More, Nothing Less

In anticipation of the upcoming release of the next Shockwave Protocols programming system, here’s a newly edited re-release of the original introductory Shockwave article (Shockwave 1.0) from two years ago. We’re a few versions in at this point, with the biggest one to come, but this blast from the … [Read more...]

The Cute Girl Dream Sheet

  Women want compliments. If you don’t think so, you’re crazy. If we tell you we don’t, we’re lying. If you’ve read my last article here on, however, you know I’m of the opinion that the compliments we want need to be delivered a certain way if they’re going to do you—or us—any good. Regardless, we … [Read more...]

How To Be Awesome: Dealing With Bad Days

By Jesse Burdick Eric Spoto’s day was shit. Absolute, total, unmitigated shit. At one in the afternoon, he’d managed just two hours of sleep since the night before. All he’d had to eat since three in the morning was a handful of pistachios, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of apple juice. For most … [Read more...]

The X-Frame Protocols: An Introduction to Excellence

By Monte Spicer Clear your mind. Now, picture the letter X—an X with the caps lock on, and not the lowercase version. Look at the structure of the X. Examine its design. It’s wide on top, narrow in the middle, and wide again at the bottom. … [Read more...]

Who Wants To Be A Fitness Model?

By Ian Spanier Want to be a fitness model? Sounds like a cool and easy way to make a living, doesn’t it? All you have to do is train all day, keep your diet on point, get your spray tan right, and start calling magazine editors and ad agencies, and the photo shoot offers—and then the checks, … [Read more...]

The Sexy Strong Woman: Part 2

  Women and muscle mass have a strange relationship, and it’s been that way forever. When you’re trying to decide whether you actually want to put on muscle, it’s a very personal decision that a lot of women eventually choose not to make at all because they don’t want to “bulk up.” Still, a lot of … [Read more...]

Exercise Technique: Exploiting the Half Rep for Strength and Hypertrophy

You know those guys you see in the gym (including plenty of CrossFit folks) doing half reps? This happens all the time on the bench press and with bicep curls, and we've all witnessed it. You know you want to tell them this is a major training mistake, but you're not exactly sure what to say. Well, … [Read more...]