Being a fitness provider as a trainer and educator for over two decades, I have deep experience in the human's inability to create massive changes overnight.

If you have ever tried to lose 50 pounds in one month, or become an educated and experienced athletic strength and conditioning coach in a few months, you know what I am talking about.

We tend to overestimate what we can get done in a day, a week, and a month; yet we underestimate what we can accomplish in year and a decade with consistent improvements.

I am sure you have heard of the just improve 1% per day or week, quotes, commentaries, and memes. I am not here to convince you of the need or desires that most of these well-intentioned memes are after...I am here to help you put some handles on it.

Below I give very simple actions, habits, behaviors, or routines, that will help you walk out the 1% improvement model.

Stop meme'ing about it, and start showing it through your daily and weekly action. Implement just 1 per...

Whether you love to run or you don't like running, you can improve your running with these drills.

• High Knees
• Butt Kickers
• Single Leg Lateral Hops
• Static Rope Running
• Line Rotations
• Single Leg Plank Work

Running is repetitive oscillating locomotion to take you from point A to point B.

We humans used to be pretty good at this thing, or if we weren't good at it, we had to use it. A lot. Both running and walking was our only mode of transportation for 100's of thousands of years...some humans were lucky enough to domesticate an animal here and there for some of that transportation.

What is the difference between the humans of yesteryear and us?

Conditioning.

According to the SAID principle, we will specifically adapt to imposed demands. Our biology and physiology is actually pretty dang good at this adaptation...we can screw it up by overtraining, but we are still pretty good at it.

If you have been running, and you even consider yourself a runner. I would suggest adding this drills...

"Get on the bar, and come to a dead hang!" the drill instructor screamed at me when I was in boot camp. And then this became the annual call of every unit I have ever served with when we performed our yearly physical fitness tests for the USMC.

The anxiety and anticipation still gives me butterflies to this day.

In the Marine Corps, I have produced thousands of pull-ups over the last two decades. Since 1999, I have been performing pull-ups, teaching pull-ups, counting pull-ups, and helping people be able to perform their first pull-ups or adding to their maximum number of pull-ups.

When I first started helping people do pull-ups, I just assisted them by giving a lifted assist or giving them a resistance band to help propel them upward until they no longer needed my assistance, and could do it on their own.

I quickly realized that this can lead to injuries if they don't build the proper mind, muscle, and movement awareness.

Most people that can't do pull-ups or do very few,...

We are constantly fighting the four C's of bad posture: couch, computer, car, and cell phone. To help you in your fight, these are my top five battle rope exercises to improve posture:

1. Outside Circles
2. Straight Arm Vertical Waves
3. Drink Pour Waves
4. In-and-Out Waves
5. T-Waves

In order to improve our posture, we need to condition the muscles and nervous system to be able to hold a better posture, even when we sit in the car, couch, or at the computer desk.

If these muscles have no connection to our brains, the adaptation will not occur.

Moving the shoulders, scapula, and torso (core) muscles and bones together in proper ways throughout a functional range of motion, is the first step to creating better posture.

I also like using kinesthetic cues, like raising my computer screen high enough for my crown to raise up and pull-back away from the screen. Or use the head rest on your car seat, instead of craning your neck forward, like it is going to get you to your destination any faster....

If you haven't combined the power of these two "unconventional" tools, you are missing out.

The kettlebell is a world-renowned strength and stability creator, and the battle rope is a world-renowned finisher...but the concepts that these two tools are known for, is only telling a fraction of the story.

With the right coaching and programming these two tools can fill entire libraries of effective and efficient programs that build strength, coordination, efficiency, mobility, endurance, power, and cognitive focus.

Check out our growing libraries of workouts and programming here: Trainer Resources

Don't get caught in the trap that kettlebells are only for strength, and battle ropes are only for cardio.

This will lead you into a corner, that will hurt your training effectiveness.

The key is to learn the principles and concepts behind each of the tools, so that you can build more effective...

• Prepares the musculoskeletal tissues for movement, and then maximizes the output potential.¹
• Prepares the Nervous System for movement, and then maximizes the output potential.²
• The static/isometric safely prepares the joints and kinetic chain for the movement pattern.³
• The dynamic movement patterns explores and reinforces the range of motion your joints and kinetic chain have control of.⁴
• An effective way to add volume to your programming.⁵
• Single arm forces the vertical core to integrate for more stability in all three planes of motion.⁶
• Single arm forces the vertical core to create more output through all three planes of motion.⁶
• Works on ipsilateral patterning and contralateral patterning.⁷

Written By: Aaron Guyett, M.A., B.S., CSCS, FRAs, FRCms

Living.Fit Education Director and Master Coach

Action.

There is no substitute. One cannot wish or hope their way to doing.

In consulting and coaching, I hear a lot of people express the action they are going to take in poor ways.

It will have a lot of “try,” “should,” and “hope.”

I also read and hear a lot of ambiguous and general language.

It is almost as if the person is giving themselves an escape.

Unfortunately, this ambiguity does not inspire, ensure, or create any actions.

In order for action to be taken, there must be concrete terms and clarity.

“I will run every morning for ten minutes for the next week, in order to develop strength, endurance, and improve my health.”

That is concrete, clear, and calls out the action step.

How can you adjust your language to bring forth action?

By: Aaron Guyett, M.A., B.S., CSCS, FRCms, FRAs

Education Director and Master Coach

What is Circuit Training?

Circuit training is the high intensity interval training of yesteryear.

Whereas the average group training and exercise class is filled with high intensity interval training, we used to call this circuit training.

Most people think of machines or tiny dumbbells when they conjure pictures of circuit training, but that does have to be the case.

Is circuit training high intensity?

It can be, depending upon the results you are working for, or the way in which you design the program.

Is circuit training, interval training?

It is, dependent upon the goals, and the way you design the program.

Is circuit training effective in building strength and endurance?

As stated in research by Alcaraz, Sánchez-Lorente, and Blazevich, "Heavy Resistance Circuits may be an effective training strategy for the promotion of both strength and cardiovascular adaptations."¹  It has...

1. Too much ballistic work with not enough weight
2. Too many circuits that burn too many calories
3. That’s not the goal for most

By: Aaron Guyett, M.A., B.S., CSCS, FRCms, FRAs

Education Director and Master Coach 

So many people are talking about flow, and there is an equal amount of people that have zero clue what these flow-people are doing.

Turns out, many of the flow-people are just using yet another term that has been watered down and turned into whatever feels good at the time.

Person 1 - "Check out this flow that I am doing with the kettlebell." (performs cool sequence of fluid and dynamic movements with a kettlebell)

Person 2 - "I am so flowing right now." (Really into a video game)

Person 3 - "I am flowing." (Gives dog a treat...)

Let's break down what flow state is, and then we can begin to see how flow workouts began to exist in the fitness industry and the Gram (as in Instagram).

Flow State is a heightened state of arousal and focus, also know as being in the "zone."

If you have played sports or even been really into a creative craft or competition...you may have experienced flow state.

Let's...