Do you dream? Dream about being a morning workout person?  Of a life where your day begins at 5:30 a.m., and by the time you’re at work at 8 a.m., you’ve already had a workout and are feeling that endorphin high all morning? A life, where after work you’re able to pursue other interests because you're not devoting your evening to the gym? I’m a morning coach, and have been for six years. Over the course of those years, many many people have attempted to convert to morning training sessions. For some, it's never too early to deadlift... Each January especially, a new influx of aspiring converts trickle into my 6 a.m. class. But by February, only one or two manage to...

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:...

So do I! That's why I turned to Miracle-Worker Gymnastics Coach Louise Eberts. When it comes to gymnastics, Louise has helped many athletes go from good to great. One simple cue she gave to CrossFit Games veteran Emily Abbott ("Look up on your bar muscle-ups") made all the difference in the world for Abbott, whose bar muscle-ups now appear effortless. One thing I particularly respect about Louise is her ability to create patient athletes. Whenever you see videos of her athletes getting their first muscle-up, it's always a very pretty first muscle-up. This is because she doesn't let people get ahead of themselves. Everyone she works with builds the necessary strength first, so when they do get through the rings they're...

There's nothing more frustrating for a coach than watching an athlete skip warm-up and head straight to the bars and start busting out butterfly chest-to-bars or muscle-ups.

Remember, even the best of the best take the time to properly prep their body before big swinging moves like ring muscle ups. I watched Lucas Parker, a six-time CrossFit Games competitor, train a couple times, and he spends more time warming up than working out.

“Keep going.” “Be better.” “Believe.” Three words that are tattooed on 4-time CrossFit Games masters athlete Terry Peters’ skin. “I found myself writing “keep going” on the floor during the Open workouts all the time. It’s just a reminder to push myself a little harder,” Peters said about the tattoo on the inside of his forearm.  “And this one was next. ‘Be better.’ I just felt like, ‘Ok, I can keep going, but that isn’t enough anymore.’ I wanted to be better. Not just in CrossFit, but in everything,” he added, pointing to the tattoo. Sitting in his beautiful North Vancouver home, surrounded by paintings he painted himself, Peters admitted it’s hard for some people in his life—people has has...

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...

 Have you ever been held back because of your grip in a workout with high reps of toes-to-bar, pull-ups or hang cleans? Your shoulders or legs weren’t even lactic yet, and your lungs were breathing comfortably, but your damn small hands (or at least that’s what you told yourself) just couldn’t hang onto that bar any longer. What a shame! You have worked so hard to improve your pulling strength and barbell cycling only to have your grip fail… Don’t blame your small hands. Work on your grip strength instead! Seven Ways to Improve your Grip Strength quickly 7. Deadhang Holds Some high level gymnastics coaches don’t teach their young athletes any great swinging moves on bars until they can hang from a bar...

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:

Calgary native Emily Abbott recently became a three-time CrossFit Games qualifier when she exercised her way to the podium at the West Regional Competition in Portland.

Not only has she proven her body is a well-oiled machine, even her hands are among the fittest in the world. How’s this for an impressive statement:

"I have not ripped all year." - Emily Abbott