Pull-ups are one of the toughest exercises for most people — especially females. In fact, the average number of pull-ups a female can do is zero. The two biggest culprits? Lack of strength and poor body composition. But perhaps the most powerful obstacle of all is perception. If a woman believes she can’t do a…
Focus on the exercise — not the music. As Randy Roach said in Episode 28 of The World of Muscle: You should be able to put on Lawrence Welk and do a maximum lift!Listen here In other words, you need to be able to psych yourself up — on your own — without relying on…
I’ve always tried to avoid problems. If a glass is near the edge of a table, I move it. If a parking spot is too tight, I find another one. But the other day, I had an epiphany—maybe avoiding problems isn’t always the best strategy. In fact, having a few challenges might actually help with…
The classic model of fatigue focused entirely on the body: muscle depletion, lactic acid accumulation, and declining performance. According to this outdated view, the athletes who could push through their “poisoned” muscles were the most successful. But over time, this peripheral fatigue model has been challenged. After all, muscles always have some reserve capacity. Clearly,…
These days, my two girls practically live at the dance studio preparing for their upcoming competitions. Often, they’re not around for dinner, so it’s just me, my wife, and our five-year-old son. Usually, after we finish our meal, I’ll make an espresso for my wife and me, and we’ll sit and chat for a while….