How Working Out is Just Like Eating a Reese’s

During my 500-hour personal trainer certification program, I learned a lot of things about exercise from the instructor, Barry Fritz. One of the most important was the necessity of having a rationale for whatever it is you’re doing at the gym.

I like to make the analogy to eating a Reese’s. (Actually, I’ve never made this analogy before, but hear me out.) We know there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s. Likewise, there’s no wrong way to design a workout — as long as you have a rationale.

I guess it’s not a great analogy, since it doesn’t matter the slightest bit why you chopped your Reese’s into a hundred tiny pieces, organized them from smallest to largest, and ate every third morsel. Oh well. Back to exercise.

What I mean is that you could put together what might seem to be a completely bone-headed training program. You appear to make every “mistake” in the book. Yet if you can justify all of your choices with sound logic, then your program may not be so bone-headed after all.

Top 17 Fitness Professionals to Watch in 2017

Every January, several lists surface advising you on which fitness professionals to follow in the coming year. These lists are rarely to my satisfaction, so I decided to make my own in order to better inform the general public regarding who the most qualified practitioners are.

My selection criteria were pretty strict, so I apologize in advance if you or your favorite fitness professional didn't make the cut. With only 17 spots, I had to make some tough decisions.

Without further ado, I present the Top 17 Fitness Professionals to Watch in 2017:

7 Lifting Rules That Actually Don't Matter Much [T-Nation]

A lot of folks get their panties in a bunch at the gym when it just isn’t necessary. For instance, there’s no need to have an aneurysm when the equipment you want is in use, when you don’t hit the exact number of reps you intend to, or when you’re forced to miss a workout.

As much as fitness professionals love to argue over the minutiae of training (I'm definitely guilty as charged!), when it comes to getting results some things matter much less than people think. Like the seven topics I wrote about in my new T Nation article, 7 Lifting Rules that Actually Don't Matter Much.

Read all about it here:

>https://www.t-nation.com/training/7-lifting-rules-that-actually-dont-matter-much

5 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Every Exercise

People love to debate over whether this exercise or that exercise is “good” or “bad.” In reality, hypothetical debates like these are nonsensical.

That’s because the question “Is [fill in the blank] a good exercise?” is the wrong one. The correct question is this:

“Is [fill in the blank] a good exercise for me?” 

See the difference?

Despite the proselytisms of some internet fitness gurus, there are no absolutes when it comes to exercise selection. To determine whether an exercise is good for you, you have to ask yourself a few questions -- and answer them honestly.

Is There A Science to Physical Therapy?

Many disciplines rely on a grand theory, or an overarching conceptual framework -- something that ties all the pieces together. According to Carter and Lubinsky,¹ a grand theory provides a “broad conceptualization of phenomena.” In other words, a grand theory purports to address big ideas -- or even an entire discipline -- with one theoretical context. It attempts to subsume the middle-range theories within a discipline, which typically apply more to direct action or clinical practice. For example, physics has a number of competing grand theories: The Grand Unified Theory, The Theory of Everything, and String Theory. (They say competition is good for business.) When it comes to healthcare professions, occupational therapy and nursing have both given considerable thought to theory over the last several decades.^1–3 What about physical therapy? Does it have a grand theory?