Corrective Exercise has been a gift and a curse to the industry. Through one lens, it opened up the minds to people who lived in the "No pain, no gain" mentality. On the other side, we are seeing more fragile training than ever where one imperfect squat pattern could result in the explosion of multiple knee ligaments (at least that is what coaches are telling their clients). This is all b******t and needs to stop. To discuss this topic further, I brought on the resident meathead PT, Dr....

The word content gets thrown around a lot when talking about fitness professionals and social media. The idea of content is very vague and can become misconstrued by most the people that are trying to generate it. On today’s podcast I invited Fitness Director for Men’s Health Magazine, Ebenezer Samuel, to break down the do’s and don’ts when it comes to content. At the base of all the Content we produce it ultimately boils down to programming. So when you step back and look at your feed,...

When most people think about tactical fitness they think about rolling around in the mud, army crawling through water, and doing crazy stuff. That isn’t necessarily the case. To help explain what tactical fitness really is we brought in PPSC Coach Tim Danchak. As a former law-enforcement officer and advocate for tactical fitness, he breaks down what the definition actually means and how it applies to more people than you would imagine. Really, most people should be taking a more tactical...

Ambitions can get the best of trainers in my experience. That also means my own experience. The well-intentioned trainer may be creating some bad habits and poor business practices whether they can recognize it or not. Luckily, I have had a career of managing over 500 trainers in a span of 13 years and have seen some of these tendencies that I made recur in others. Logan is also one of the most polished and refined coaches I have come across in the fitness industry. So talking with them...

Year after year we hear more coaches asking how to amplify their social media accounts. But why? Well, they believe it's an avenue to more clients and a more booming business. Unfortunately, unless you are operating 100% online - that's not the best move. For today's episode, we sat down with Andy McCloy of BCI Performance in Huntsville Alabama. Andy built a highly sought after facility on two things: heartfelt conversations and word of mouth. Taking your business to new heights isn't always...

On today’s episode of the podcast we had to bring back the strongest in the Harski household, Amy Harski. With such great feedback on the prenatal training episode, there were obviously questions to ask when it comes to postpartum. In my experience there is so much free information out there to try and navigate pre-needle training. Unfortunately, for some reason, once the baby is here there isn’t an abundance of information on how new moms can help get back into a fitness routine. For these...

On today’s episode, we sit down for a conversation with the author of one of our most recent articles, Gini Grimsley, who wrote about training the former athlete. So many coaches we run into always have a common theme – they want to train athletes. I get it, you can do a lot of fun stuff when working with an athlete who is truly engaged in the session. But a very common mistake in training is assuming someone’s goals before asking them what they are. Gini and I dive into our experiences...

Being a coach is much more than sets and reps. For the people we meet with, the session is just a small piece of the puzzle. Today’s podcast we discuss how to expand beyond the 60 minutes of the session with PPSC Instructor, Logan Dube. While programming is such an important part of what we do it’s not the entire picture. Moving the needle towards holistic conversations can be a difficult shift if it’s unfamiliar territory. Logan walks us through how to adjust your coaching conversations...

Today, JR and I discuss mindset when it comes to training. One of the more common questions I receive on the road is how the hell to juggle everything with the constant message of doom being portrayed online and on the news. Maybe some parts are tough to deal with but there are certainly steps we can take to make sure we are doing everything to preserve our most valuable asset - mindset. John and I discuss 4 lenses to look at Mindset from and JR gives some of his own personal tips on how he...

On today's podcast we sat down with Amy Harski, Personal Trainer and Pre/Post Natal coach. Amy will also downplay her absolute badassness as a Mom of 2, American Ninja Warrior competitor, and constant topic of interest on Clifton's instagram. With pregnancy, there is an abdunance of information that simply hasn't been corrected over time. Lets be clear, pregnancy is a completely amazing, life altering experience. How to maintain a level or normalcy during this process can not only improve...

On today’s episode we sit down with Dr. Justin Farnsworth, Director of rehabilitative services for the PPSC. The topic, pain! Pain is such a prevalent piece of the training puzzle. Unfortunately, most coaches either don’t know how to manage it or are too nervous to even approach it. Justin breaks down the definition of pain while also identifying what you can do as a coach to help put somebody in a better position to live pain-free!

On today's we are talking about that money. That's right, managing your business for success. The summer tends to be when people start to relax more in their training because they know their clients are away. I understand the feeling but getting your ducks in a row for the fall should be something you cross off the list first before you kick your feet up with a cold drink in hand. In this episode I go through the baseline guide to resetting your expectations, re-evaluating your business you...

On today's episode of the podcast, I sat down with JR to ask about one of the more common types of people we will find in our social media and even in our personal lives, "Askholes". Yes, Askholes. Those are people that don't only ask for you to provide them with free services but demand it and get uncomfortably offended when you don't. As a trainer, coach, or even person who is well versed in fitness, I am sure you can think back to specific moments in your lives when strangers, friends, and...

On today’s episode we look at the specific differences between hinging mechanics from person to person. Not everyone is created equal and it’s important to understand that when it comes to programming specific exercises. Today I discuss hip range of motion, differences in modalities, the research between the lifts, and my personal take on the best approach!

Today we sit down with PPSC Director of Education, Clifton Harski to discuss contradicting information in fitness. Lets be honest, we run into it a lot. Every fit-pro wants to throw their individual spin on what they believe fitness is and how people should train. Sometimes its just an opinion and harmless. Sometimes its reckless and misleading. Check out this episode to identify how to be discerning in your education when learning from different outlets!

On Today's episode, we had the pleasure to sit down with Dr. Mike T Nelson. Mike  is a research fanatic who specializes in metabolic flexibility and heart rate variability, as well as an online trainer, adjunct professor, faculty member at the Carrick Institute, presenter, creator of the Flex Diet Cert, kiteboarder, and (somewhat incongruously) heavy-metal enthusiast.  He has a PhD in Exercise Physiology, and a MS in Mechanical Engineering (biomechanics).   You can find out more about him at...

On today’s episode of the podcast, I have friend and mentor Dr. Brad Schoenfeld. I will give less of an introduction on Brad as he is one of the leading Muscle Hypertrophy researchers in the world based out of Lehmann College in the Bronx NY. Brad has been an amazing resource for me over the years and I thought it would be best to invite him on the podcast and talk shop. We discuss some of the breakdown of what is the necessary amount of exercise needed, how to set yourself apart in his...

On today’s episode of the podcast we have Taylor Van De Loo, OG for the PPSC and drjohnrusin.com. Taylor is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to managing the online training experience. As a Personaltrainer coming out of college, he was almost thrown directly into this field. We talk about online programming, some of the things most trainers missed, and why he would ever wear a tank top golfing. Enjoy!

Today we get to sit down with Greg Nuckols, who I can best describe as someone who is genuinely interested in fitness. Yes, he has a degree in Exercise Science and holds a few all-time records as a drug free lifter, BIG WHOOP. Greg is an overall fitness library and someone who is a pleasure to talk to and be around. You may have heard of him from Stronger by Science where himself, Eric Helms, Mike Zourdos, and Eric Trexler put out a monthly publication breaking down the research in specific...

Today we get to chat with Dr. Brittany Bozzini, friend and colleague who currently is working on the tactical side with US Army right now. As we progress through our knowledge, understanding how detailed and controlled most of the variables need to be gives you a deeper appreciation of how it all works. I asked Brittany to come on (Dr. B) to discuss some of the overarching features of how research is done, how many steps really need to be involved, and how truly long it can take for research...

Today we talk one of the most interesting topics in Ex Phys with one of the most interesting people in the field, Dr. Andy Galpin. Andy is based in California as a full professor at Cal State Fullerton. While his hand is in many things, his research of muscle fibers is the key area we talked about in this conversation. We talk muscle makeup, power capacity, training recommendations, and Hip Hop. To understand training we need to understand muscle at a deeper level. This is an amazing...

Today is Episode 50! That's right, 50! For the last 25 weeks we have been doing 2 podcasts per week and the show will keep going. This had to be a special episode so I passed the mic over to JR for this one to have him interview someone. The perfect person for this conversation is none other than PPSC Instructor, Dan Stephenson. Dan recently put our the 7 Functional Strength Standards to evaluate how strong we are in certain lifts and to identify our areas we can bring more attention to....

You may know Marcus from social media somewhere swinging around a kettlebell. I mean, his name IS Kettlebell Exercises as his handle. Marcus however is a seasoned coach who has been sought after around the world to coach - not just kettlebells. Marcus is a PPSC Coach and Men's Health Contributor so we have crossed paths a number of times but never really got the time to sit down and talk. We discuss his background, training, kettlebell options, exercises starting points - you name it. I...

Gym essentials are highly debated. No matter where you look for information you are going to find opinions on what you should have available to you and what you shouldn't. Regardless, this can be a conversation of your home gym, your gym-gym, or your dream gym. Finding the line between nice to have and NEED to have is a tough conversation to have with yourself. Listen, I am all for splurging and just buying whatever makes you happy. With that said, sometimes you need to make decisions of...