Bodyweight training has become a dominant form of exercise in fitness while accessibility to gyms and equipment remains limited. If you are a coach you are most likely familiar with the basics of bodyweight training, but may not have experienced restricting your training prescriptions to movements without load.

In my experience most people see and want to do gymnastics elements, but haven’t the vaguest conception of the work it has taken to achieve these skills.

Here he is hitting a pain-free back squat at 200kg/440# following 6 months of no heavy back squats.

There are countless numbers of gym owners that attempt to put individual design into a group gym. While we understand their desire for increasing profits, the idea itself is folly and leads to the demise of both your service offerings.

Fitness, just as much as fashion experiences fads. As Coaches we’ve been privy to them all, answering questions from our clients on everything from the ab roller to hot yoga and ROMWOD. As crazes makes their way through the gym, rather than entertain each one, we see it as an opportunity to re-visit the client’s fitness program and explore what’s sparked their curiosity.

El is a strong individual who likes to Power Clean And Power Snatch. Throughout his years of sports and training Power was the go to movement. We have been working different variations to get him comfortable with pulling under the bar into full squats to allow him to move big weight. The base of strength is there so now we focus on mechanics and exposure to repetitions.

In a world that is constantly looking to move more digitally, fitness coaching is also attempting to move more digitally. Each year there are new and interesting ways that coaches are attempting to deliver their service online. 

It seems as though every day we hear more and more about training plans based on the particular needs of an individual. Word is getting out on how group training might not be the best option.  Fact is, fitness gains can be maximized with proper assessment protocols and well thought out program design. However, one thing that is often overlooked by most athletes and coaches is MONITORING.

Gino Bua has been diligently working on a lot of accessory lifts throughout this off-season for him in order to create unilateral stability. One of the main aspects of the training for him as well has been creating strength endurance in movement to create ease with training in CrossFit, as he is naturally explosive and neuromuscularly efficient. In the past, he hasn’t been able to complete or sometimes even enter a season due to injury, but he’s now able to compete in the sport.

High-intensity metabolic conditioning workouts can be effective at preparing for functional fitness competitions, but only to a certain extent and for a limited time. Eventually, doing the same thing over and over again leads to infamous strength ‘plateau’. If you’re looking for a new type of program to prepare you for competition, you need to look no further than Functional Bodybuilding.

OPEX Athletes Hayley Owen, Devin Thaut, Josh Petlowany and Leslie Gray have combined their skills and ambitions toward one goal: competing in the 2018 CrossFit Games. This alliance of over a year in the making has lifted them to new heights and given them the chance to fulfill that dream after an excellent performance in the pre-qualifying phase of the CrossFit competitive season, the CrossFit Open.

This client had presented with a few things that she and our medical team were working on, but we, too, were trying to figure out why she was presenting with these scores.

Tennil has 3 sessions today as she prepares for the CrossFit Regionals. In the AM she has 3 rounds of rowing, double unders and running. Noon Tennil has some walking in the elevation room. In the PM she has sprinting, thrusters and rope climbs.

The onsite model here at OPEX is nothing new to us. We meet someone where they are, physically & mentally. We assess movement and design a custom tailored program. They, in turn, work out consistently and with purpose.

As one of the only competitors from the Latin America Region to have made five CrossFit Games’ appearances, she has managed to hold her own against some of the more competitive regions around the world.

Since starting together we’ve been focusing a lot on increasing his aerobic capacity through paced cyclical, and mixed modality pieces alongside developing his strength-speed and absolute strength concurrently.

Tennil is back to 3 sessions a day after simulation training. Tennil and the rest of the OPEX sponsored athletes are getting ready for the CrossFit Regionals.

Mixed Modal is the most comprehensive course on competitive Functional Fitness to date and the brainchild of James FitzGerald, inaugural CrossFit Games winner. This digital course is designed for coaches and athletes alike and details conditioning requirements, sport-specific program design, and a  breakdown of required skills. We are excited to announce that the fourth and final module of the course, Skill, has officially been released.

How do you identify and then successfully train weaknesses in your client? Join James as we outline the power of properly assessing a client and the necessity of individualized program design to effectively train their specific weaknesses.