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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

Imagine a sweaty, dirty, grimy hole-in-the-wall gym in a small town deep in the hills of Central Pennsylvania. If you know me, knock about 13 years off of my age and place a 24-year-old Todd in your mind’s eye. I’ll help you. He’s about the same size, but there’s no red beard on his face....Read More

Strength matters, you know this, I know this, hell, I bet your Aunt Edna from Altoona, Iowa knows this. But here’s the thing, lots of strength with lots of body weight isn’t the best thing for you. Have a look at the general health of powerlifters and strongman competitors. They ain’t too healthy. Relative strength,...Read More

Something’s not working. You’ve been training hard; you’ve been training consistently, but you’ve plateaued. Or worse, you haven’t made any progress. You feel like you’ve got the elements of your training in line. You’re strength training. You’re conditioning. You’ve even added mobility training to your regiment. But something isn’t right. You should be a better...Read More

“Pain is a part of life, but suffering is a choice.”   The quote is a paraphrase that’s attributed to a guy folks look up to: the Buddha. Most people think of, and use, the quote in an existential way, not to deal with a sprained ankle or bum shoulder. But physical limitations often lead...Read More

In 2017, Chris and I were in a weird spot with our training. Neither of us wanted to do it.   That’s right, two gym owners that spent the balance of their adult life as coaches struggled with training motivation. At the time, we filmed a segment every week called “Coaches in Chairs.” We’d sit...Read More

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....Read More

“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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More