My friend Jordan has a brutally honest flag hanging behind the squat rack in his home gym. It reads: Comfort is a Slow Death. The fabric of the flag is yellow, and the type is bold and blue – it arcs across the middle of the flag. I love seeing it every time he sends...Read More

On a sunny spring day in 2012, I sat beside my girlfriend at the time as we looked out over the Juniata River. We were on top of one of Central Pennsylvania’s small, rolling mountains. We’d finished a hike called the 1,000 Steps and did a little exploring afterwards. I realized how tired I was...Read More

I love Stoic philosophy. The Stoics have been my guides since I was a teenager. I’ve burned through copies of Epictetus’s Discourses and The Enchiridion. My copy of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is thumb worn, and I’ve bought more copies for friends than I could ever remember. The minds of these good men have molded my...Read More

You want to set some goals, but you aren’t sure where to start. You wonder what even defines a goal as good. Well, let’s talk about it. We’ll start by assessing your goal-setting skill and we’ll talk about the two different types of goals and how they support each other. Then we’ll have a chat...Read More

There is a section of a creek here in Loudoun County that’s near and dear to my heart. It’s a secret, so I won’t tell you where it is. My friend Dave Hudgens (pictured above) showed it to me, and his friend showed it to him a long time ago. Over the past few years,...Read More

My friend Leann, who’s more of a sister, has a saying that I’m about to steal from her. It’s an entire philosophy, a way of living and being, condensed down into two words. The phrase will change how you see your life, and the world, if you let it sink into you and try to...Read More

“Man, it’s dark when I start working and it’s dark when I’m done. I had to watch the sunset from a meeting room today.”     A Beyond Strength member recently said that to me at the end of class. While he still made it to the gym that day, he outlined why a lot...Read More

“When will this start working? When will I feel the results? When can I expect to get _________?”   Fill in the blank: abs, faster, stronger, bigger, etc.   Chris, Rony, and I have gotten questions like this throughout our careers. As younger coaches, we’d stammer through physiological answers.   Well, strength gain typically takes...Read More

There are lots of orange leaves, it’s cold in the morning, and today’s sunset is officially 6:17pm in Sterling, Virginia. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s fall – autumn if you want to be British about it.    As the seasons change, so does our training at Beyond Strength. We spend each season of the year focusing...Read More

Two of my friends did two profound things within days of each other. These things were different. One was an action and the other was a statement. One was age-defying and the other was a slow walk toward decline, decay, and unhealth. Each illustrated mindset and belief.   “I don’t want to hold you guys...Read More