When you’re a beginner starting to workout, the sheer amount of options and advice out there can be daunting. It can seem easier to just not get started than it is to review everything. This beginner’s fitness guide from the Mayo Clinic doesn’t even tell you to get started moving until the 4th thing. Prior to that they want you to measure and over analyze things. Thanks for nothing, Mayo. Start Moving First, Then Refine It. Instead, skip all the overanalyzing junk and get started moving more each day. Walk, jog, learn to do push ups, lift weights, or dance. Start with whatever you have access ..read more

You’re often told to set big goals so that you can achieve great things. It turns out though there are a lot of smarty pants people that would tell you to focus on the smaller goals you can do consistently to achieve a larger success.  Those really big goals can effectively stop you from ever getting started because they seem like an impossible task. This happens to millions of people when they think about the big changes they’d like to see in their health fitness. Doing 50 push ups seems impossible when you’re still learning how to do a push up. It’s easy to procrastinate about that buck ..read more

I’m pretty sure the first time I ever did this workout it was with my buddy Erik Blekeberg of Squat More. That was probably like 10+ years ago, but this super simple combination has always had a way of creeping back into my routine anytime I wanted to get more conditioning work in a short period of time. The original iteration was kettlebell swings until you felt you were getting tired, then immediately switch to jumping rope until you could do more kettlebell swings. Repeat these two for 12 minutes, getting as much work done as you can out of the two exercises without getting so sloppy that ..read more

Push ups are fantastic exercises that allow you to workout practically anywhere. One challenge that many people face with regards to mastering this exercise is not getting set up well to start. Doing push ups from different elevations or on your knees can make it even more difficult to always get set up properly. In this article I’ll show you how to get yourself set up in the perfect starting position for a push up every time no matter what kind of push ups you choose to do. Getting into a proper starting position for push ups each time will help you generate tension from your arms and should ..read more

This week I had the pleasure of joining Steven Sashen, CEO of Xero Shoes, on his podcast “The Movement Movement.” It was a great experience! We talked about best strength training working you’ll ever find. The MOVEMENT Movement features some of the brightest thought leaders in natural movement who dispel myths, confusion, and sometimes outright lies about how people should move their bodies during different activities such as running and yoga. I was fortunate enough to be a guest on the show. I found the experience to be both exciting and enriching. Mr. Sashen is passionate about what he does ..read more

When you’re training at home, in a small space, or a crowded gym space one of the first options that seems to go out the door is farmers walking over a distance. No one wants to give up on carrying exercises, though because there are so many benefits to loaded carries. The good news is you absolutely don’t have to. You can do most of the kettlebell carrying exercises you would do over a distance by standing in place and marching. This is actually a great way to emphasize the challenge to your balance, midsection and learn to link yourself together from the legs to the shoulders. Additionally ..read more

Last year Strong Made Simple began supporting Feeding San Diego by providing the 30-Day Home Workout Challenge to everyone that made a donation to our fundraising campaign. I’m very proud to continue supporting Feeding San Diego with this program and supporting their mission to “Connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue.” As of the day this is being written we’ve raised over $6,000 and helped to connect people with over 24,000 meals in San Diego County. A volunteer for Feeding San Diego, placing groceries into the trunk of a recipient’s vehicle. Click ..read more

Health & Fitness. Get fitness tips and help right in your email. I love to hear from readers. Last night was rough for me as a Chiefs fan. I really thought the Chiefs would have it together and be back to back Super Bowl champions. Lucky for me not too many people took me up on my push up bet from my pre-Super Bowl newsletter. Tom Brady is an absolute legend. There is no denying it, and at age 43 shows no real sign of being close to done. Many people are looking at his super restrictive eating style and workout plan to figure out exactly what is his secret sauce. While on the surface it ..read more

If you find yourself working out at home and all you’ve got is a few dumbbells lingering in the corner of your closet you may wonder how you can get some effective lower-body training with what you have available. Enter dumbbell swings, the solution to your problem. Dumbbells are a great alternative to kettlebells for exercises like the swing. Using dumbbells instead of kettlebells for swings just requires a little change up, but the fundamental movement pattern of hinging at the hips is still there. If you’ve got dumbbells of all sizes I already made a video about how to do kettlebell swing ..read more

Whether you are working out at home, in a hotel gym, or your regular spot this is a great workout that will challenge your full body, build your work capacity and keep you strong. By doing all the exercises on one side of your body at a time, it will allow you to keep moving with less rest, so your heart rate will stay up and you’ll be getting the most out of every second of your quick workout. The workout can be super quick and done in as little as 8 minutes or you can extend it out to as long as 20 minutes if you’ve got the time and want to put in more work. Scroll down to watch a video of ..read more