In January of 2011, I went to Boston because I wanted to see what Dan John and Mike Boyle, two people who’s training styles could not differ more on paper, had in common enough to present together. I was drowning in all the options available to me as a coach and sick of all the cults that had...
The Experience For the month of June, I wanted to give the Big 21 an honest shot. So I didn't care about weight gain or performance in any other area but O lifting. I ate whatever my body told me to eat (this is a fine distinction from eating what ever you want), slept as much as I could, and...
A few months ago one of the trainers in the gym where I play with barbells told me they never saw me work very hard. I would come in with very light warm up, little stretching, no drama, and perform 10 repetitions each of the front or overhead squat, the snatch, and the clean and jerk with about...
One day a few weeks ago, I came up up with a workout. This isn't unusual; it's kind of my job. I did the workout. Then I had a group of strong female athletes do it. Then I had a strong male athlete do it. Then I had the Coyote Point Kettlebell Club do it. I took notes and feedback. I tweaked. I...
My wife flies around a lot. She’s all important and what-not, so she gets to travel to big cities helping people with her elite lawyering skills. Since these are usually quick trips, she travels with a roller bag, a really big purse, and not me. When it comes time to board the plane, a funny thing...
I've been "Russian Kettlebell Certified" for a little over 2 years. My logo is a kettlebell. I have kettlebells on my shirts, pants, hoodies; I have kettlebells in my living room, bedroom, and 600lbs of them in my truck. So it's not surprising when people ask me, "Why kettlebells?" I'm obviously a...
General James T. Mattis is an interesting guy. When I was playing Marine, he was the person I most idolized in uniform. General Mattis (Call sign "Chaos" How cool is that?) has been in the Marine Corps since January 1, 1972. He has commanded Marines in every situation from rifle platoon commander;...
When I was a teenager, my family went on a trip to Great Britain. We drove from London to Edinburgh and made one very special stop at a castle along the way. Now castles are cool and all (especially the ones with dungeons), but this particular castle in the North East of England was extra rad...
My favorite book is The Magus by John Fowles. It was given to me by my first mentor, the late Dr. John Miller. The book is so good and I love it so much that I have never finished it. Every time I pick it up, I come across a sentence so breathtakingly perfect that I have to close the book and leave...
What if I told you there was a single habit that could make you healthier, fitter, better looking, richer, smarter, and more frequently laid? What if I told you that habit had zero learning curve, took less than 10 minutes a day and was practically free? You’d probably ask if I have a bridge in...
Everyone wants to get from Point A to Point B. But one of the great problems on the journey towards health and/or fitness is knowing if you're making progress. How does a sprinter know he is improving? He runs faster on race day. But between races, he might have no idea where he is on his journey....
I have been training every day since the day I met Dan John. I have encouraged most of my clients to do the same. As a result we have all gotten stronger (without getting sore) and I have amassed a modest amount of experience with the Grease the Groove, Even Easier Strength, Easy Strength, 40 Day...
In his 2002 book, How Wars Are Won: The 13 Rules of War from Ancient Greece to the War on Terror, Bevin Alexander makes a big deal of rule #5: feign retreat. It's a damn good rule. Every great commander since Gilgamesh has followed it and boneheads as recently as Tommy Franks have fallen for it....
The vast majority of my clientele are regular folks. They want to feel better, move better, and look better. I have a handful of athletes, but for the most part the people I work with take a casual approach to fitness. I am assuming the same is true about people who read this blog. Which is why I...
Do you remember learning to drive? I look back in amazement that I and everyone in the town I grew up in did not die as a result of me having unfettered access to 3,000lbs of steel and gasoline. And like you are probably thinking about yourself, I wasn't even the worse driver I knew; I was actually...
Why can Jon North snatch 166kg and I can’t? Because he’s snatched 165kg. Pavel tells everyone at RKC certs who’s paying attention that “strength is a skill” and he’s absolutely right. But a skill is an outcome. How does one acquire a skill? By doing it a lot. The process of acquiring a skill is...
One of the great complisults I've gotten as a coach was from a woman in my Booty Camp class. Booty Camp happens to be all extremely dedicated ladies who come to the gym that I teach at every morning at 6am and take what is offered. I designed this class to compliment the other three days a week...
Most of the people who read this blog are my clients and potential clients. They tell me they want to get back into shape, maybe lose a few pounds, and just get a little hotter. As you might have noticed from my weekly Q&A posts, I get asked a lot of questions from those readers. But after doing...
"We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty."-Quintilian In this ongoing series, I deal with common excuses that I hear every day from clients and potential clients. I'm too busy. Oh, did you see last night's American Idol results show? No you're not. Moving more and eating less takes...
In case you haven't noticed from my inconsistent posting last week, Coach Stevo has been a little busy. No this post isn't going to be a pity party. I know that all my readers and clients are very busy, too this time of year. So rather than complaining, I thought I'd set a good example and tell you...