On Tuesday, The Globe and Mail published a story about longtime coxswain of the Canadian women’s rowing team—56-year-old Lesley Thompson-Willie.  The angle of the Globe article was essentially to glorify Thompson because of her age—to emphasize that age is just a number—and to inspire people to realize age doesn’t need to slow you down. 56-year-old Thompson has had a stronghold on the coxswain position in Canada since 1980. “I think it’s redefining to our society that we can keep going, as long as we’re active,” said Thompson in the article. What a lovely message, right? Maybe. But maybe not. When I read the story, I couldn’t help but grow a bit perturbed—angry, even. I couldn’t help but think: 'C’mon woman,...

  Most gym owners are cautious about what products they endorse, and what to sell to their members. We’re in the business of helping clients through health and fitness; we’re not in the snake oil business trying to sell products that don’t work just so we can make a buck. So when it comes to deciding if and what you should sell at your gym, I believe the questions you should ask yourself are these: 1. Will it help the client? 2. Will it help the coach? 3. Will it help the business owner? If the answer is yes to all three of the above, there’s a good chance it’s something you should consider stocking. Here are our top 4:...

Rips aren’t created equal. When a client gets a large blood blister that turns into a deep rip in the palm of his hand, I usually recommend avoiding handwork for a day or two.  Versus, when someone whimpers about some superficial skin loss on his thumb from hook gripping during high-rep hang cleans, I tell him to tape it up and suck it up!  Generally speaking, regardless of the rip, tape can be useful. It’s great for preventing rips, and it’s also great for reducing pain when you do rip. Further, it helps prevent further damage to the skin when you hit the bar. 1. Finger and Thumb rips  These guys, which often result from using a hook grip on the...

Long-time gymnastics coach and former competitive gymnast Kira Hallwood deals with children—sometimes as young as 6 years old—suffering from bar-induced bilsters and rips on their palms and fingers.

Hallwood’s prescription when a young gymnast gets a blood blister or ‘water’ blister, meaning a rip is inevitable, is as follows:

Long-time RIPT Skin System's user—Canada East Regionals athlete and owner of Nutrition Rx in London, Ontario Jennifer Broxterman—explains she never leaves home without her RIPT Daily Dose. “It fits so nicely in my purse,” she said. Broxterman's well-used Quick Fix  Keeping it in her purse at all times also means she doesn’t have to remember to pack it when she goes on vacation, and happens to rip her hands, like she did recently when she was working out at CrossFit FXTX in Allen, Texas and joined in on a group class with 35 bar muscle-ups. Here were her hands after her workout: Unconcerned, she pulled our her Quick Fix and Daily Dose, lathered them on her rips, left her hands to...

Stuffing stockings is a stressful endeavour. It’s usually left until the last minute—after you’ve already spent too much money on other presents—and you end up buying whatever useless stocking trinkets that Walmart happens to be selling at the till.

From ugly leg warmers, to that plastic moose that poos brown jelly beans, to the wrong kind of shampoo for your hair—the list goes on. Let’s be honest now, nobody needs another post-it-note pad, and that annual stick of deodorant has become predictable and unexciting. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Stuffing stockings with practical gifts that will be appreciated by the recipient just takes a little planning. 

Whether your muscle-ups are so good you don't need to false grip, like phenom muscle-upper Alex Schaalo, or you struggle along with the false grip like myself—which often leads to ripped skin on my wrists—a good grip is important when it comes to any ring work, especially big swinging movements like muscle-ups.

  T’Was the night before Christmas And there was only one small glitch The athletes were in stinging pain Ripped hands are a bitch!   They tossed and turned, raw wounds stinging in their beds While visions of thin, smooth calluses danced in their heads And I with my polysporin that got smeared all over my cap Had reluctantly settled down for a messy winter’s nap   When near the pull-up bars there arose such a clatter It was obvious to all nothing was the matter Santa Class had RIPT kits for all hands to be tamed And he whistled and shouted and called the products by name:   Now Daily Dose, now Quick Fix, now Grind Stone too! On bees...

When I rowed in university, I generally avoided the lightweight rowers. 

They tended to be stressed out and uptight all the time, and I don’t blame them. They wandered through their days hungry. I remember one lightweight in particular, who was trying to shed 20 pounds in 20 days so she would make weight at the upcoming regatta, setting a “Three-S” rule for herself: When she was hungry, her options were to shower, sleep, or have sex.