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(703) 444-0662 Hours 21620 RIDGETOP CIRCLE STE 150, STERLING, VA 20166
(703) 444-0662 Hours 21620 RIDGETOP CIRCLE STE 150, STERLING, VA 20166

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A member of Beyond Strength using RIR to figure out weight selection during a class in Sterling VA.

Reps in Reserve vs RPE: What’s the Difference?

I started lifting weights when I was 12 years old. Initially, my brother took me along with him to work out at a gym in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Soon after, I hit the Juniata Valley YMCA with my middle school buddies. We’d scour the muscle magazines for the next program that guaranteed us bigger, stronger muscles....
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The Most Important Fitness Variables: Consistency and Continuity

Cory Hudson has done what you want to do.   He’s done what every person that’s ever lived has wanted to do.   He’s transformed.   Cory’s lost 40 pounds since joining Beyond Strength in November 2021. More than that, he’s improved his performance during all of our testing weeks, shaving significant time off of...
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Eustress Training: How to Lift Weights and Manage Stress at the Same Time

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself...
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Exercises That Build Real-World Strength

The only strength training you need is heavy barbell strength training.   There are a lot of folks that live and die by that philosophy. They think that as long as they are barbell strong, and they’re training others to be barbell strong, they’ve done enough. And they’re wrong.   As much as I love...
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Why Find Your Why?

Chicago traffic sped by. We weaved through cars and accelerated through cross streets. We’d stop at traffic lights and the L clamored by, protesting against patience along with the car horns and people shouting out driver’s side windows. I sat in the backseat, enthralled. “That’s it, honey. You can’t just take up space. You gotta...
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Rucking: A Great Tool for Dealing with Discomfort

Let’s begin with a thought experiment.   Try to remember a day that you spent in total comfort. Not a pinch, not an awkward seat, not a weird sense of pressure, not a worry and not a care.   Can you remember the day? I doubt it. But let’s say that you did.   Remember...
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How I Lost Weight

This isn’t the typical weight loss article. There are no before and after photos, and I won’t tell you how much weight I lost. I won’t say, “Here’s what you need to do to lose 10 pounds in a month,” or some such bullshit. I lost the amount of weight I wanted to lose for...
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Tracking led to enjoying more of life

How Tracking Health and Fitness Data Changed Me

There are no ways around uncomfortable truths. We can avoid them and we can pretend that they don’t exist. But the truth is the truth whether we like it or not. And it always comes knocking even if we lock the door. It will find its way in.   I spent much of my adult...
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Places to Play Harder: Algonkian Regional Park

I’m starting this party with a seemingly contradictory statement: We’re a gym, but we’re not, like, gym people.   To us, training is a tool that builds our bodies and minds so that we may live the fullest possible life. And while we enjoy training, it’s not entirely an end in itself. It is a...
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Vo2Max Intervals are spicy

V02Max Intervals: Intense Training That Isn’t Stupid

Fitness marketing has people obsessed with the burn, the sweat, the feeling that you’re going to black out in a pool of your own fluids. They sell you on things like the “afterburn” of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). And to achieve it, you have to work so hard you piss down your leg while...
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Kettlebell Mile at Beyond Strength in Sterling, Virginia

Why We’re Doing the Kettlebell Mile Challenge

Life is better with strength and endurance. That’s our credo. Because when you have both, you have access to more life – in the present and in the future.   We spend each training session at Beyond Strength developing one, the other, or both. So, it only makes sense for us to do a challenge...
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Yesterday, Todd was JACKED

Yesterday Don’t Mean Sh*t

Picture, if you will, 14-year-old me blaring Pantera through the stereo. I’m in my room getting my lifting clothes on so my mom can drop me off at the Juniata Valley YMCA. I plan on being there for at least two hours, doing some kind of Westside Barbell-inspired powerlifting workout. I bang my head, breaking...
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Why Your Heart Rate Jumps During Plyos

This month’s endurance class includes a bunch of low-threshold plyometrics. These are reactive hopping exercises that require minimal height while jumping. Examples: jumping rope, side-to-side line hops, and low rebound jumps. They’re great for building tissue tolerance to prep for running, hiking, and rucking. And that’s why we include them—so our bodies get used to...
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put something hard on the calendar

Want to Make Progress? Put Something Hard on the Calendar

Many people search for something transformative. They want to look different; they want to feel different; they to grow to be something more than they currently are. A lot of folks get lost as they search. On the way toward something meaningful, they get sidetracked by another thing that looks like it speeds up the...
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Strength loves rest

Strength Loves Rest: Why You Need Longer Rest Periods to Build Strength

You check the clock. It seems like the numbers are slowly creeping down. You tap your foot. You look around, then you pace for a second. “Screw it, hot stuff, let’s do it,” you say to yourself. Then you grab the weights, and you do your next set. But it’s only been 30 seconds. You...
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You don't need to hype yourself up with energy drinks to train!

Why You Don’t Need to Psych Yourself up to Train

Chris and I met at a commercial gym in State College, Pennsylvania. He flirted with me, and I was interested. Now here we are. And while you’d like for that to be true, it isn’t. But we’ve all had fun now, haven’t we?     The actual reason I’m talking about the gym where Chris...
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Members of Beyond Strength going through a cool down at the end of their workout

Why It’s Important to Cool Down After Training

Most people don’t cool down at the end of their workout. They finish up their last set, gather their things and rush into the next part of their day. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a big mistake. Cooling down is critical for getting the most out of the current workout while prepping you for...
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Michelle doing a kettlebell swing at Beyond Strength in Sterling, Virginia

Morpheus Heart Rate Training: What it is, Why We Use it, and How You can get the Most out of it

My friend Jordan said something to me the other day that I want you to remember. I want it to become a refrain that plays over and over in your head. And I want you to keep it in mind as you read the rest of this article. The philosophy behind the statement sums up...
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Stop waiting for the "right time"

Start Now: Why Waiting for The Perfect Time is the Worst Thing to do

The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it. -Jordan Belfort (Yes, I realize that I just quoted a con artist. But the sentiment rings true. Let’s carry on.)   I want you to reminisce on a time when everything...
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How to Choose the Right Deadlift Variation

Deadlifting seems simple, right? How could you mess it up? You just bend over, grab some weight, and stand up with it. In essence, that’s true. But deadlift performance is more nuanced than it seems. While lots of shitty coaches lead you to believe deadlifting is nothing more than picking something up and putting it...
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How to be Intelligent with Your Weight Selection

How To Be Intelligent With Your Weight Selection

We recently released a podcast episode, titled “How to Select the Right Weights and Exercises for You.”     During that podcast, Chris and I talked about a tool called Reps in Reserve. It’s a guide for dialing in your weight selection based on how many reps you could have done with the weight that you...
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Jackie doing a get up at Beyond Strength in Sterling, Virginia

Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing: February 2023 Program Blog

This edition of the Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing Program Blog marks one year since we started the series. These days we share them privately with our members. But to celebrate, we’re making this one public. We’re giving you a good look inside this month’s training at Beyond Strength while also offering up a...
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Jasmine training at Beyond Strength in Sterling, Virginia

How (and why) Our Year-Long Training Plan Works

Good training requires planning. It isn’t just some arbitrary process of doing exercise. It’s the culmination of doing the right exercises, and the right types of exercise, in the right sequence. That is how you build true and lasting fitness.   The problem is, most gyms and trainers don’t know how to plan effective year-round...
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Tips for Competing with Yourself in the Gym

Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no fluff in this article. It’s for those of you that love competing with yourself and want a few reminders on how to approach it. It’s also for those of you that are trying to figure out how to compete with yourself. It’s quick. It’s dirty. It’s actionable. Read it before...
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Jon testing push-ups at Beyond Strength in Sterling, Virginia

Why We Test at Beyond Strength

We have a unique training system at Beyond Strength. One that you seriously won’t find anywhere else. There’s one big difference that really sets us apart from other gyms. We test our members. Right now, we’re in the middle of testing week. Our members are jumping, rowing, lifting, and biking. They’re learning the truth about...
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How Many Reps Should You Do? (Spoiler alert, it matters in more ways than you think)

We recently received this question via email: “Do you think it’s ok if I stay in the 6-12 rep range using alternating linear periodization? Below 6 seems too heavy and above 12 is sort of fatiguing for me. Can I keep working out with the same general template and just vary movement order, reps, and...
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exercise while traveling

How to Keep Exercising While Traveling

Travel kicks workout plans right in the pants. And it always happens as you settle into a good routine, right? You’re humming along. You’re hitting your gym sessions every week. You’re getting in your steps, and you’re doing extra mobility training to keep your muscles and joints right. Then Thanksgiving hits and you have to...
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How to Set Goals for 2023

Goal setting is one of those things that we all know we should do but have a hard time doing. I think that mostly happens because people don’t have a process to follow for setting their goals. It’s also a skill to develop. Problem is, we expect to just be able to set goals. That’s...
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Dave Hudgens knocking out some Kettlebell Swings at Beyond Strength in Sterling, Virginia

Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing: September 2022 Beyond Strength Program Blog

We’re entering the summer block’s final training phase. It’s the final phase in the transition from work capacity training to heavy strength and power training.   Monday and Friday: Strength A and Strength B Yes, Monday and Friday. If you’re about to ask, “What in the blue blazes is going on here?” There’s a good...
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Sandy and Lauren training with kettlebells and batling ropes at Beyond Strength Strength in Sterling, Virginia

Why You’re Doing What You’re Doing: August 2022 Beyond Strength Program Blog

We’re onto Phase 2 of our summer block of training and continuing our transition from work capacity training to heavy strength and power training.   Monday and Wednesday: Strength A and Strength B You’ll notice a lot of similarities between Phase 1’s strength sessions and Phase 2’s strength sessions. There are a few good reasons for...
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