Author: Matt Schifferle

It’s time to start slimming down and tightening up! I’m not talking about your midsection, I’m talking about your workout. Here’s an example of what I mean: A short while ago there was a guy who came into my gym and spent a good 3-4 hours there. As a bit of a joke, I followed him with a stopwatch and timed how long he was actually exercising. I wasn’t surprised at the result. This poor soul spent so much time on his cell phone and chatting with his buddies, that in 3.75 hours of gym time, he only logged 8.25…

Warren Miller once said that even the sweetest dream is only slightly removed from a nightmare. In our pursuit for a fitter body, we often have to play the balance game between pushing ourselves enough and taking things too far. If we push ourselves hard enough, our dreams of a fit body will come true. But pushing too far can result in the nightmare of overtraining, injury and lack of motivation. Here are a few strategies I use to push myself to new heights while decreasing the risk of taking things too far: Tip #1 To Avoid Overtraining – Not…

When it comes to progressing to new heights, the obvious methods are to keep upping the stakes with more weight on the bar or a few more reps. While those methods are fine, we humans have a limited capacity to progress in how much weight we can lift and how long we can workout. The good news is that progression through improving your technique is infinite. You can squat for 50 years and still learn ways to improve. The down side is that technical progression isn’t the easiest of roads to travel. So many folks throw on another 5 pounds…

It’s no secret that losing weight and being lean can improve one’s health and quality of life. It’s the Holy Grail for many diet and exercise programs, and yet I sometimes wonder if this whole weight loss thing is just more than a little over rated. Is being lean really that big of a deal? Is it really the be all and end all when it comes to fitness? And more importantly, is it as important as we make it out to be? Maybe this whole weight loss thing is more hype than anything else. Below I explore a few…

In previous articles I’ve talked about the role of improving your technique as the main means of progression in your workouts. All too often adding intensity or volume is the fallback method of progressing one’s workout. While you certainly can progress to adding intensity and more volume, it’s important to keep in mind that these methods have a finite capacity to bring you results. You can only add so much intensity or volume to exercise before it stops being productive and at some point you can even add so much that it’s actually detrimental to your health and fitness. Improving…

I used to think that the practice of visualization was more of a pseudo-science aimed at selling books and self-help tapes. That was until I discovered myself using some visualization tricks to greatly improve everything from my speed on the mountain bike to how many pull-ups I can do. Here are just a few tips to help you with visualization to reach your fitness goals! Visualization Tip #1 – View Something Outside of Your Mind It’s common for visualization teachers to encourage you to make your own mini movie in your head of what you want to accomplish. It’s not…

Early on in my fitness career, I learned that working out like most other people was going to bring me the type of results most other folks achieve. Nothing against that, but I’m not cut out to be an “Average Joe”. I’m here to be a stand out, someone who is a little left of center. The last thing I want to do is fit in a nice little category in a fitness encyclopedia. I guess that’s why I’m always looking to run as much against the common fitness trends as possible. My workout strategy is very much based on…

For those who have dabbled in Crossfit, the use of timing a workout is nothing new, but for the rest of us we only think of racing the clock for things like 5K races or if we need to finish a workout in time to catch Dancing with the Stars. But racing the clock in any workout has massive benefits that just can’t be ignored. Benefit #1 Workouts and progression become crazy simple. There are two different ways you can race the clock. One is to set a specific time (5 minutes) and see how much of the exercise you…

Back in college I was a cardio junkie. Were talking a hardcore, life-sucks-if-I-don’t-workout kind of junkie. My public reason for doing cardio 2-3 hours a day, 6-7 days a week was because I was a bike racer. I had teammates who were counting on me to perform on the bike and I wanted to do everything I could to stay competitive. However, underneath there was the real reason why I was compelled to spend 2 hours a day like a hamster on a wheel. I call it the cardio trap. You see, because of my high volume of exercise, I…

Imagine for a moment that right now at this very instant, you have more strength and power in your muscles than you ever thought possible. It’s kind of like you have this hidden reserve of might and power that’s locked away deep within your muscle bellies. The only question is how can you unlock this hidden strength so you can use more of it in everything you do? I’m here to say that you most certainly do have a lot more power and strength than you currently believe. The only issue is that strength may be a little difficult to…