The single-leg RDL is often the next exercise progression for those who’ve mastered the hinge and double-leg RDL. But for some people it’s a pretty big jump from double to single-leg, and many spin their wheels and become frustrated by how hard they are to learn and progress beyond very light weight. If balance is the thing preventing you from learning or loading the single-leg RDL, you might want to try some supported variations.

A runner who does online strength training with me is planning to put together a home gym and asked for some equipment recommendations. This is my list of priority and preferred strength equipment for endurance athletes (and really most other people out there) who are looking to build a home gym.

The hex bar deadlift is one of my favorite exercises and my preferred deadlift variation both for myself and the individuals I work with. In my option, if you’re an endurance athlete looking for an exercise to develop lower body strength and power, then there aren’t many options better than the hex bar deadlift.  

Some people might assume that personal trainers have it all figured out and don’t struggle with anything related to health and fitness. Of course that’s not the case, and I think that many of us come into this field because we had to overcome a struggle or are currently dealing with an issue that has caused us a lot of emotional or physical pain. I know that was the case with me. Here are 5 areas I’ve personally struggled with on my fitness journey

Brad Stulberg had a post a couple of days ago about not getting too hung up on the inevitable ups and downs we all experience in life. Instead, we should focus on the “average,” and try to make it a little better over time. This principle applies to every area of life, but I think it’s especially relevant to exercise and training, since it’s easy to assign too much significance to “outlier” workouts and lose sight of the bigger picture.

When I first got into trail running and endurance sports I honestly made some questionable decisions when it came to my exercise fueling and nutrition. Thankfully I’ve come to realize how important fueling is for both health and performance in endurance sport. Here are some general tips and reminders for fueling as an endurance athlete.

There is a general belief that being sore is a good indicator of a “successful” workout. But is this true? While soreness isn’t necessarily a bad thing (it’s an inevitable part of training and a sign you’re challenging yourself in workouts) it definitely shouldn’t be the only criteria you use to gauge the effectiveness of your workouts.

I recently finished “The Little Black Book of Training Wisdom” by Dan Cleather, and it’s easily one of the best books I have read about training. Coaches and athletes alike are sure to find it packed with practical insights and advice that they can apply to keep improving at their sport and in the weight room.

The hip hinge is a good movement for people to learn early in their strength training journey. It’s the basis for many lower body strength and power exercises, such as deadlifts and swings, so getting this movement down opens the door to more advanced training options. Being able to hinge at the hips also allows for safer and more efficient movement in both sport and everyday life.

As many of you have learned, things didn’t go as planned at the Rasputitsa 70k a couple of weekends back. While I continued to wrestle with a wide range of feelings and emotions in the days following the event, this experience reminded me how important it is to prioritize process over outcome and the journey over the destination.

The side plank is a simple but effective exercise for core stability and strengthening the entire side of the body. Setting up a side plank is tricky for many people though, and getting it wrong it can make the exercise less effective or uncomfortable to perform. Here are some general guidelines to side plank correctly.

Crawling is a fundamental movement pattern that just about everyone should be doing. Unfortunately, just about everyone hates doing them. That’s too bad, because they are great for shoulder health, core stability, coordination, as well as ankle, big toe, and wrist mobility.

The morning of a race is always a rollercoaster of feelings and emotions: Nervousness, uncertainty, excitement, self-doubt, hope, and even sadness that the thing you’ve poured so much time, energy, and resources into will be over soon. I’m feeling all this as I wait for Rasputitsa to kick off in a couple of hours. Here are some things that I’ve found helpful over the years to stay grounded and calm before a race.

The bird dog is a great anti-rotation exercise to train spinal stability and proper core bracing. Similar to the dead bug, the focus of this exercise is on keeping the spine and pelvis stable as the opposite arm and leg move. While it might look underwhelming or too simple to be effective, bird dogs are deceptively challenging and tough for most people to do right.

The training adage “stop one rep short” is one that I’ve kept coming back to the last few months as I train for the Rasputitsa 70k later this month. This principle is about prioritizing consistency over intensity, and involves ending a workout or training session before need or feel you have to. That is, when you still have one more lift, mile, or interval left in the tank.

What comes to mind when someone says “core exercises”? For most people it’s the “six-pack” muscles on the front of the body and high rep sets of crunches and twisting exercises. However, there is more to the core than doing crunches or having a six-pack. In fact, the six-pack muscles are just one of many muscles that make up the core. And while being able to bend and twist the spine is important for sport and everyday life, most people should spend more time doing exercises that train the core to resist motion.

“Instead of always thinking, Don’t just stand there, do something, we should at least consider thinking, Don’t just do something, stand there.” This quote from Brad Stulberg’s book, The Practice of Groundedness, got me thinking about how many of us, especially those who are driven and goal-oriented, have a hard time just standing still and being satisfied with doing “enough.” Our tendency is to choose action over rest, effort over ease, complexity over simplicity, and doing more over less.

Every endurance athlete can benefit from strength training, both from a performance and injury prevention standpoint. Many runners and cyclists know they should be doing something, but they aren’t sure how to make sense of all the information out there and apply it to their situation. Here are four common mistakes I’ve seen endurance athletes make over the years when it comes to implementing strength training.

When I first started lifting weights there were four exercises I prioritized over everything else: the barbell back squat, deadlift, bench, and overhead press. Back then, I would have told you that these were mandatory lifts for every strength training program and that they were the best exercises to get stronger and build muscle. Thankfully, I’ve come to realize over the years that there is no such thing as a “best” or “mandatory” exercise.

My training philosophy is built around 5 ideas or principles that I believe apply to everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or ambition. This philosophy has evolved (and will likely continue to evolve) over time, and is the result of my own mistakes and experiences, as well as the collective knowledge and wisdom of other people a whole heck of a lot smarter than me. I’m not perfect and definitely don’t pretend to have it figured out, but hopefully this gives you a lens into who I am and what it is like to train with me.