How to be Awesome: Build Your Mindset

By Jesse Burdick I want to tell you some things about where motivation comes from. Six years ago, my life changed dramatically with the birth of my baby girls, Kaycie and Sophia. When these two came on the scene, I wasn’t able to do all the things I’d been doing on a daily basis for years until … [Read more...]

The Revolution Begins

Athlete.io: ATHLETE IN OPPOSITION Welcome to Athlete.io, where we’re you. We do the same things you do, and we want the same things you want. Our goal is to be healthy, and we want to perform and look our best every minute of every day. Most of all, we want to do things the right way and the … [Read more...]

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 X-Frame Protocols: Ice Cube Abs

By Monte Spicer When your ab training goes wrong, or you’re not getting any results, it’s not because you’re doing the wrong exercises. It’s not about volume, intensity, or rest periods, either. The reason your abs aren’t coming in the way they should—other than your shitty diet, of course—has … [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 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...]

Bringing Sexy Back

By Rachel Guy Have you ever seen a piece of raw meat wrapped in string? You don’t need to spend time in a butcher shop to imprint this image on your consciousness. Instead, just look at the legions of “skinny-fat” girls wasting hours on all the cardio machines in your gym. When you’re skinny-fat, … [Read more...]

From Bookworm to Bikini: Week Three

By Caroline Gick I use the Shockwave protocol because it lets me maintain and add muscle at the same time as I’m stripping off body fat. It’s the perfect plan for getting ready for competition. In fact, I’ve adopted Shockwave for my regular training, and not just for contest prep. What has … [Read more...]

The Cute Girl Guide to Carb Back-Loading

  I was raised in the 1980’s, where most people’s idea of exercise was Jane Fonda attempting to give us aerobics instruction on VHS with Michael Jackson’s “Can You Feel It?” playing in the background. Back then, I watched my mother go on just about every diet there was. The entire decade was a sad … [Read more...]