“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” -Confucius   You’re probably sabotaging yourself. Yup, you read that last sentence correctly. Odds are you’re getting in the way of the things you want to accomplish in life, and the reason is probably simple. Simple, because you may not be keeping things simple....Read More

When you think of the word “power,” what words pop into your head? Odds are that you thought of words like fast, strong, explosive, etc., and you’d be onto something. Or maybe you pictured things like a cheetah chasing its prey, or Usain Bolt running the 100 meter dash. Those are good examples of power...Read More

“Are crunches and sit-ups the best way to train the core?”   I’ve received that question a fair amount over the years, and the simple answer is… nope!  At BSP NOVA we rarely, if ever, program either of those exercises because there are more beneficial ways to train the “core”.  Sure, sit-ups and crunches use...Read More

“Dogs are forever in the push-up position” -Mitch Hedberg   It seems like over the years body weight exercises, like the push-up and inverted row, have lost some of the fervor they once had.  A decrease in popularity doesn’t mean a decrease in relevance though. In fact, those two exercises are a staple in most...Read More

“Life has it’s ups and downs. We call them squats.” -Anonymous   Last week I wrote about arguably the most important movement pattern to learn, the hip hinge. Another valuable movement pattern is the squat, and for similar reasons as to the hip hinge. We not only squat to accomplish some daily tasks (sitting down...Read More

What is a hip hinge? Why does everyone at BSP NOVA learn to hip hinge, and why is it useful? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The answers to those questions and more will be provided in this blog (okay, not the Tootsie Pop one). The...Read More

“The simple things that lead to success are all easy to do. But they’re also just as easy not to do.” – Jeff Olson   The above quote rings true in every area of life, especially when it comes to seeing through results through our efforts in the gym. Want to gain more knowledge about...Read More

“Easy training is good training” – Tony Gentilcore   There is a pervasive thought in the world of fitness that sweating like crazy during a workout means that your workout was effective. Although at face value this seems like it makes sense, it misses the mark in a few ways. Sweating a ton means that...Read More

I remember back in college I used to be obsessed with reading fitness magazines to find out what the latest miracle supplements were.  N.O. boosters, creatine, BCAA’s, protein blends—you name it, I gave it a go.  I got stronger, put on muscle, and got lean when I wanted to shred down.  In my mind those...Read More

Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) became popularized through the Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) system and they are something we use in one way or another in most of our client’s programs. In general, we program hip and shoulder CARs most often, but we do occasionally program other variations, such as ankle, eye (huh?) and ear CARs...Read More