We live in a body that has evolved to respond to environmental stimuli in order to survive. Now that we no longer need to run away from fast animals with big claws and teeth and no longer have to physically hunt for our food, we use this evolutionary adaptation to get fitter. So, when popular…
All physical performance requires efficient energy management. Efficient energy management comes with adaptive responses to the human body that promote specific aspects of fitness, typically metabolic endurance or strength that enable the body to perform a specific athletic task well. Adaptive responses (i.e. the building up of muscular strength or increased efficiency in handling metabolites…
The typical response to lifting, traditionally has always been: “Lift heavy, lift often”. The assumption behind it has been that by placing the body under mechanical stress (the load of lifting) we trigger the body’s adaptive response which helps build bigger and stronger muscles. That is correct, up to a point. It turns out that…
If you stopped exercising and are thinking of getting back into it you’re familiar with the strong feeling of guilt that comes as you consider how to best go about it. With it also comes an uneasy mix of dread (because you know just how difficult it will be to get fit again), uncertainty and…
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a short, intense burst of exercise, usually carried out over a period of time that ranges from one to three minutes with a recovery phase between repetitions. Because HIIT brings heart rate, aerobic and cardiovascular performance to near optimal levels it delivers impressive results in improvement in body fat…
Summer heat provides the perfect way to level up with less effort. But you need to be smart, methodical and consistent in your efforts. To understand how to better use summer weather to improve fitness we need to examine some of the basic mechanisms at work when exercising in hot weather. Heat Transfer First of…
If you have to work for home for any reason at all you know that it’s no picnic. We think of home working as stress-free, hyper-productive and totally idyllic. Until we have to do it. Then we realize that our everyday work life has a ready-made structure we fit in and daily rituals[1] that prepare…
We obviously believe that exercise is something that you can do on your own, any time, anywhere which is why we have a database of thousands of workouts of every level and category you can focus on and do at home. That doesn’t mean however that gyms are redundant or that a set of exercises…
Home fitness is a challenge. There are a lot of bodyweight exercises that will easily help you build and maintain muscle at home. Starting a home-based fitness regime however and maintaining it long enough to see results is the real challenge. When working (and working out) at home sticking to a fitness routine becomes more…
