Sleeping Your Way to Fitness
My goal as a coach is to help you get the most out of every workout, plain and simple. And if you look around 8WeeksOut, you'll find plenty of articles on how to do that by writing conditioning programs. But here's the truth that I tell everyone I train: unless you're...
How Mental Stress Can Sabotage Your Fitness—And What to Do About It
Not long after I opened my gym in 2003, a high-level Microsoft exec came in to train with me. He played recreational volleyball and was only 5’9”, so he was desperate to increase his vertical jump. After working with him for a month or so, his vert was up a little...
Mastering the Ancient Art of Medicine Ball Training
Almost 3,000 years ago, Persian wrestlers would take animal bladders, stuff them full of sand and use them in their training. In 1889, Professor Robert Roberts first coined the term "medicine ball" in Scientific American and said, "Playful exercise with it invigorates...
Don’t Crack Under Pressure: How to Train Resilience
You’re likely aware that mental performance isn’t as simple as being “mentally tough.” You’ve also probably got a good idea of what psychological resilience or mental performance looks like as an outcome. When you think of the characteristics of tough, resilient...
The Coptercast with John Berardi: How to become a Change-maker
Introducing the Coptercast In 2003, I went to a conference up in Toronto known as the S.W.I.S. Symposium. I didn't know it at the time, but when I went to one of the talks featuring Dr. John Berardi, I was witnessing the very beginning of Precision Nutrition. Over...
How to cheat death (or die trying)
When I was in middle school, I used to walk to the local bookstore and pick up the latest copy of FLEX magazine every month without fail. I was a teenager, so my motivation was pretty simple: I wanted to learn how to get big arms and six pack abs to impress the girls....