By Courtney Kelly

As the head marketing honcho at Strength Ratio, I do a lot of writing about Sustainable Training. I talk about what it is, I describe how it works, I explain why it will work for you-- but something pretty profound dawned on me recently: Sure, that stuff's great, but this WHOLE TIME, I've been breaking the cardinal rule of creative writing. I've been telling you all about Strength Ratio's methodology, but never once have I shown you sustainable training in practice. It's high time that I give you a concrete, detailed, and real example of what it's like to train sustainably.

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By Courtney Kelly

This is a scary, keep-you-up-all-night time for any fitness business owner. We're feeling for everyone in this industry, and we want to do our part to help our fellows.

So! Given that we've been in the online coaching and programming game for more than 6 years now, and given that those 6 years have taught us a lot about what works and what doesn't in terms of building a remote community, we're going to share what we've learned. Our hope is that you or someone you know finds this information useful. We want you to know: We're here for you.

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By Courtney Kelly

The reality is, human life is complex, dynamic, and teeming with unpredictable elements. This makes it a poor candidate for optimization, which fares a whole lot better with subjects that are made up of countable, controllable variables. And since when is a human life made up of that sort of thing?

So! During this article, I’ll be pulling the concept of optimality from the shelves of cognitive scientists and offering it up to the world of health and fitness as a worthy and healthier alternative to optimization. Buckle up!

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By Courtney Kelly

As it turns out, one of the most important reasons to train may be that it’s good for our minds, not simply because it’s good for our bodies.

Bold statement, I know. But consider this: Across all age groups, exercise has shown itself to improve cognition and psychological health. It’s helped middle school students score better on academic standardized tests. It’s helped seniors suffering from neurodegenerative diseases reclaim their memories. And it’s served as a powerful ally for people of all ages in their battles with mental illness.

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By Courtney Kelly

Males: You’re about to hear why you don’t have to avoid cardio like the plague and why a female gym buddy might push you more than your bro. Females: You’re going to find out that you’re great candidates for strength training, that you’re metabolic machines, and that there’s nothing biologically or physiologically preventing you from gaining strength or muscle as fast as a dude. And coaches: Get ready for some helpful tips on how to coach homo sapiens of all kinds.

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By Courtney Kelly

We know your goals are important. And we know how critical exercise is to your mental and physical health. We want to help you take back what is yours from the email chains and spreadsheets and voicemails that multiply like the Night King’s dead army. So we’ve created this guide on how to train sustainably when your time is *very* limited, whether that’s because you’re getting married or for some other reason. Brides, grooms, new parents, entrepreneurs, and other exorbitantly busy folk: This one’s for you.

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by Dr. Eric Sobolewski

In part one we talked about what the actual measurement as it pertained to the passive properties. For the most part they remain constant throughout exercise, as it would not be beneficial if tendons and ligaments got more elastic during a workout. What does change over the course of a workout do to the active component of our muscles? Let’s dive into a little physiology…

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by: Dr. Eric Sobolewski

The science behind this assessment is twofold (this the first of two responses). To fully comprehend this ROM assessment we first must understand what exactly is happening at the tissue level. All tissue in our body follows one simple rule when a stress is applied (a load) the tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament and even bone) will undergo strain or lengthening. So, using this example, the stress is…

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Taking out the guess work: 

With functional exercises, all tissue receives a stress because every muscle and joint is joined to every other muscle and joint. Therefore, with functional types of exercise, the body shows global stiffening when stressed. To account for this, you measure the flexibility of as many joints as possible with a ROM test that is easy to perform, repeatable, and measurable. 

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By Becca Lee
USAW Sports Performance Coach
Strength Ratio Coach and Co-Owner
Licensed Massage Therapist
Masters National Medalist

When I was a new weightlifter I was transferring over from competing in CrossFit and I had limited exposure to seasoned weightlifting competitors from which to learn from directly. Along the way, I sought out advice from others more experienced than me…

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Relative to the accumulation block, the hypertrophy block of training features increased training frequency, increased intensity (load), and increased specificity. In the video above, we discuss the significance of the hypertrophy block in the context of the larger macrocycle. We also discuss hypertrophy-related responses, as well as the general characteristics of a hypertrophy block, and how weightlifters, specifically, would incorporate it…

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An accumulation block of training represents the first block of a macrocycle. It is characterized by low training frequency, high training volume, and low specificity. In the video above, we discuss the significance of the accumulation block in the context of the larger macrocycle. We also discuss the general characteristics of an accumulation block, and how weightlifters, specifically, would incorporate it in their training.

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We hold the belief that injury rehabilitation and performance optimization takes time and concerted effort. This is why we provide a long-term commitment to and emotional investment in all of our athletes. Because today's fitness media is steeped in quick fix formulas and get fit fast solutions that are unsustainable and largely ineffective, we want to improve our commitment to the entire Strength Ratio audience with actionable content that will enable you to set new records and stay healthy for the long term. Thus, we've created the Strength Ratio "Sustainable Training & Performance" series.

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by Dr. Eric Sobolewski

The key to determining what supplements you should take is determined by how you train.  If you don’t train hard, supplements are a waste of your time. You can drink all the pre-workout, get in all the BCAAs, and have the best post-workout protein shake in the world, but it won’t get you very far.  Supplements are used to help your body recover and prepare for a workout.  The most common recover/muscle building aids are Protein, vitamins, and fish oil.  Common training aids are usually Creatine, caffeine and B vitamins.  

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by Dr. Eric Sobolewski

First and foremost, a supplement is, by its very definition, meant to be something added to an already balanced diet. If your diet sucks, no amount of supplementation will help you. Begin by getting your diet right; then, and only then, should you consider taking supplements.

Secondly, it is important to note that supplements are not drugs. If they were drugs, they would only be available by prescription, yet GNC and bodybuilding.com do not require a physician's referral.

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The strength community in the US is slowly welcoming conversation about aerobic activity for health, performance, and recovery purposes. This post seeks to add to the current information available about the benefits of aerobic training for strength athletes, most specifically in terms of recovery. It will first attempt to clarify misunderstandings about lactate, the single substrate, versus lactic acid. Secondly, it will explain how lactate’s involvement in lactic acid can be converted back into re-usable fuel by performing low intensity aerobic activity.

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