When I started working with Gerald back in April, he wasn’t able to hit any reps in his MU tester. At the time, we decided to go after absolute upper body strength and make some fixes in his nutrition. In June, we re-tested, and again, no MU’s. However, he had made significant adjustments in his nutrition and lifestyle, dropping 15 lbs and drastically improving body comp. Strength gains were evident as well, so we decided to go to work on the MU. Plan was simple. We would keep doing what we were doing, continue to get strong and lean, but added MU tech work in a morning aerobic/ non fatigue session for 10 consecutive weeks. Gerald showed great patience in sticking to the plan and trusting the process. Last week, we decided to test again. This was the workout, look at the results!!! Not only was he able to get a total of 10 reps within the 5:00, but he was stringing 2’s and 3’s!!!

But what makes the Peloton unique is the 22-inch screen attached to the front of the bike. This screen gives you access to the enormous library of on-demand Peloton workouts. All of which are led by Peloton instructors that actively guide you throughout the workout. 

“Well, I just watched the CrossFit Games on the weekend, and I’m turning 40 this year, so I’d like to start training to compete there as a masters athlete,” he said.

But what makes the Peloton unique is the 22-inch screen attached to the front of the bike. This screen gives you access to the enormous library of on-demand Peloton workouts. All of which are led by Peloton instructors that actively guide you throughout the workout. 

Everyone responds differently to the stimulus of exercise. For some, one push-up is a max effort, while for others 20 push-ups are considered a warm up. 

However, the current fitness market falls short in reaching this goal when it pushes intense fitness, short-term fixes, and complex exercises that are far beyond the capabilities of most clients.

We’ve all seen the marketing tactics of fitness gimmicks showing how to get “shredded” or “6-pack abs” in 30 days. The before and after pictures may be convincing, but often these images are fabricated and fake. These “fitness programs” are scams that abuse the general public’s ignorance on the subject of health and fitness, despite countless studies that have proven that fitness isn’t an “overnight” sensation.

If you love health, fitness, and working out then you’ve probably considered a career as a health and fitness coach. But what does a health and fitness coach actually do? 

Considering my formal education was in the arts—a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in journalism—I have sort of learned as I go from other coaches I work with who are more qualified than me, and by taking the odd weekend course here and there. Needless to say, the biggest thing I was excited for in taking the OPEX Coaching Certificate Program (CCP) was learning more about exercise science and anatomy, as well as learning how to physically assess clients and design more effective programs.

In order to ‘cycle’ or move loads and barbells quickly, clients need to learn how to make complex contractions ‘aerobic’ in nature. This requires an understanding of how to design programs that mix aerobic work with strength speed work.

Developing a client’s absolute strength is critical to their long-term physical development in relation to their overall goals. This is regardless of whether that goal lies in competition or general health and wellness. Absolute strength training establishes the foundation for the entire Strength Continuum. It enables competitive athletes to efficiently switch between different aspects of the Strength Continuum (strength speed, speed strength, absolute speed). For general fitness clients, it helps them live better and healthier lives by increasing longevity and helping build muscle which can protect them from normal wear and tear in daily life. So what is absolute strength training and how can we define it in a way that can aid functional fitness coaches?

Absolute strength imbalances are common for all types of clients. These imbalances can hamper a client’s ability to reach their fitness goals and increases the risk of injury. Therefore it’s critical that functional fitness coaches understand what absolute strength imbalances are and learn some simple program design methods to correct them.

When one thinks about athletic competition, they usually think about it’s physical elements rather than the mental and emotional component. While strength, speed, and power are important to success in competitive endeavours, one must not forget how vital mindset training is to the competitive process.

la, each of whom pays $75 Euros a month for a training program and monthly lifestyle consults with Costa. Though Costa says he has room to take on a few more clients, he’s now in the process of looking to hire a coach to help him handle the volume.

Matt is a husband and and father, looking to make consistent progress and increase his standings in the OPEN each year.

In this weeks 10 Minutes of Fitness James FitzGerald and Micheal Pilhofer discuss James’ newest course, Mixed Modal. You can watch the full episode for yourself here.

Planning is something that we at OPEX pride ourselves on. It is what creates the pathway to success for anyone to reach there full potential and fitness goals.

Robin Lyons breakdown from consult, assessment to prescription when starting a new client….

While the ‘open gym’ model technically does exist through globo gym models, such as a Gold’s Gym, 24-Hour Fitness, or YMCA, there is undoubtedly a difference in the style of training and equipment available at these mega-gyms versus your raw, box setting or functional fitness style gym (think rubber mats, pull-up rigs, squat racks, bumper plates, boxes, air-dynes, rowing machines, rings, kettlebells, wallballs, Oly lifting bars, etc.).

Pacing the floor, back and forth, to ensure safety, remind Enrique to catch the bar with ‘fast elbows’, remind Alyssa to squat “all the way down”, and assist Barbara with donning her foot into the big thick green pull-up band on the pull-up bar, but all in all, the chaos ensues to say the least.