Send us a text Conditioning intensity can be divided into four domains: moderate, heavy, severe, and extreme. Moderate Intensity Personal anecdote: walking to New York City In athlete language: "easy", "Zone 2" What it feels like: you can speak in complete sentences Typical duration: 2+ hours Moderate intensity is below the first Lactate Threshold (LT1), which is the pace at which lactate begins its sustained increase. Below LT1, the body is working in a physiologically steady state. If you hold...
Jul 24, 2025•28 min
Send us a text Thanks for being here! In this episode, I respond to the questions: If I don't train for a while am I going to lose all of my gains? Does psychological stress affect my performance? Do I need an intra workout? Is competitive fitness good for physique?
Jul 17, 2025•44 min
Send us a text Key Takeaways For beginners , the primary limitation is motor control. Program design should facilitate skill acquisition by providing lots of reps. Intermediates with lots of muscle to gain should optimize for mechanical tension. Train in the 3-10RM range with approaches to failure. Advanced athletes who have already tapped most of their muscle growth potential should utilize both training close to failure for muscle growth and explosive training for neural adaptations. Beginners...
Jul 10, 2025•26 min
Send us a text In this episode, I reflect on some of the mistakes I made in my mindset as a competitor - and how I would coach that version of myself. I also share my experience toward the end of my competitive career, the health issues I ran into, and what I've learned so far in navigating them.
Jul 03, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Send us a text Tap the link to save your spot at the live training this week. https://www.paulbweber.com/mastering-gymnastics-for-fitness-athletes --- We only get one body. Those who have gone through serious injuries know this. Many athletes have injuries that change their bodies for the rest of their lives. On one hand, we accept this as part of pushing our bodies to the limit. But in the adrenaline-fueled, warrior culture of modern fitness, we often take it too far. I've seen athletic careers...
Jun 18, 2025•32 min
Send us a text Join me live next week for: "Mastering Gymnastics for Fitness Athletes" Thursday, June 19th at 2pm MT **Everyone who signs up will get permanent access to the recording** Tap for more info: https://www.paulbweber.com/mastering-gymnastics-for-fitness-athletes Not training gymnastic strength It's common to have "just enough" strength to do the Rx movements. But the best gymnasts don't have "just enough" strength, they have strength reserves . They're stronger than they need to be, a...
Jun 13, 2025•27 min
Send us a text Mastering Gymnastics for Fitness Athletes Live training on Thursday, June 19th at 2pm MT For more information, visit: https://www.paulbweber.com/mastering-gymnastics-for-fitness-athletes In this live training, you will learn: Gymnastic Strength Why gymnastic strength is specific for fitness athletes Movement patterns of gymnastic strength and progressions for each How I program gymnastic strength for fitness athletes Sets and Reps Frequency Cycle Length and Deloads Gymnastic Stren...
Jun 05, 2025•27 min
Send us a text Accessories help develop muscles other than the prime movers in core movements, providing structural balance and resilience. They can also be used to address specific weak points in a core movement that would go undertrained if the athlete only trained the core movement. For example, if a lifter is limited in the front squat by their upper back, then only training the front squat can fail to address the limiting factor. Instead, the lifter can use an accessory to strengthen the up...
May 29, 2025•39 min
Send us a text In this episode I share the exercises I use most often for mobility. Handstand Walk I discuss the handstand walk and the exercises I use to improve thoracic extension and shoulder flexion: PVC Pass Through Cross Bench Dumbbell Pullover Pistol I discuss the progression I use to develop the pistol: Front Foot Elevated Poliquin Split Squat Barbell Poliquin Split Squat Counterbalance Box Step Off Counterbalance Tempo Pistol Goblet Tempo Pistol Hip flexion and internal rotatio...
May 22, 2025•22 min
Send us a text In this episode, I go over the gymnastics events from World Fitness Project Indianapolis and the TFX Invitational. I cover how I prepare athletes for success in these workouts with a 5 Step Process: Gymnastic Strength Movement Economy Volume Density Intensity I use this process for my athletes’ seasons, often starting the offseason on step 1, 2 or 3, before progressing them to the next steps....
May 15, 2025•39 min
Send us a text In this episode, I share my clinical experiences with manipulating body composition for fitness athletes. We discuss: Food Quality Food Quantity Meal Frequency Rate of Gain and Loss The Importance of Training Performance Weigh Ins and Body Scans Preserving Blood Sugar Balance and Insulin Sensitivity Gut Health Food Variety Fiber Guidelines Common Allergens Digestion and Upper GI Symptoms Bowel Movements and Lower GI Symptoms...
May 01, 2025•32 min
Send us a text The first step in injury recovery is to rest so that the pain can dissipate. Once my clients are pain free with daily activities, then I start rehab exercises. Here are the key variables I keep in mind: Force Range of Motion Speed Keep in mind that what causes pain sensation for one person may not cause pain for another even if they have a very similar injury. Choose exercises that allow you to move with little to no pain, then progress methodically from there. Ring Muscle Up exam...
Apr 17, 2025•23 min
Send us a text I use a five step process to guide my athletes to better scores in gymnastics-heavy workouts: Strength - are you strong enough to make this movement easy? Movement Economy - could you use less energy per rep? Volume - can you handle the number of reps? Density - can you handle the set sizes? Intensity - can you handle the set sizes while breathing hard? In this process, each step prepares you for the next one. That's why I also use this process for my athletes' seasons. I will oft...
Apr 10, 2025•32 min
Send us a text Key Takeaways The mechanical loading of burpees and box jump overs limits the number of reps we can safely do - about 150 reps per session. Because we are limited in volume, we want to do all of our burpees and box jump overs at race relevant paces - 15 reps per minute or faster . Use as short of a working interval as you need to achieve this race relevant pace, then gradually extend the intervals as you improve. Use endurance modalities to do more conditioning than you could with...
Mar 27, 2025•25 min
Send us a text In this episode, we cover every CrossFit gymnastics movement, to what degree each movement depends on strength or movement economy, and how to train each movement. Hey guys, letting you know that I have 1:1 coaching spots available. With the Open over, this is the start of the offseason for most athletes. This is the time for doing an assessment, knowing your training priorities, and training your weaknesses. If you’re interested in 1:1 coaching, complete this intake form and I’ll...
Mar 20, 2025•58 min
Send us a text In this episode, we cover these concepts for CrossFit gymnastics: Volume – the common number of reps per workout for each gymnastics movement Intensity – the intensity of the workout in which the gymnastics reps occur Density – the direct muscle fatigue of the workout in which the gymnastics reps occur
Mar 13, 2025•31 min
Send us a text In this episode, I cover: What is gymnastic strength? Why gymnastic strength is specific for CrossFit athletes My personal experience with training gymnastic strength My clinical experience training gymnastic strength with CrossFit athletes How to train gymnastic strength (frequency, sets, reps, exercise selection, cycle length and deloads) How to progress from training gymnastic strength to in-season gymnastic training The physiology of gymnastic strength When to use and not trai...
Mar 06, 2025•46 min
Send us a text Live Training Thursday, February 27th, 1pm MT Save your spot: https://www.paulbweber.com/building-advanced-strength-for-fitness-athletes In this episode, I cover an overview of the demand of fitness sport, concurrent training and strength training.
Feb 13, 2025•39 min
Send us a text This episode covers: why not all muscle growth is created equal which type of hypertrophy matters for strength and how to train for it the strength-endurance continuum blood flow restriction and "pump work" which training strategies make sense for CrossFit athletes and which ones don't Resources The Role of Fiber Types in Muscle Hypertrophy: Implications for Loading Strategies (Brad’s review) https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fulltext/2014/04000/The_Role_of_Fiber_Types_in_Muscle_H...
Feb 06, 2025•24 min
Send us a text Lack of week to week control Lack of fatigue management Too much variety Too frequent severe and extreme intensity conditioning Lack of offseason, lack of periodization leads to lack of peaking, lack of availability
Jan 23, 2025•43 min
Send us a text In this episode, I cover: My personal experience in the sport and how important it was to me to figure out how to get stronger and build muscle as a fitness athlete How fitness sport values strength over gymnastics and conditioning My experience coaching athletes on strength-biased programs The problem with most competitor programs and why most people can't get stronger on them How strength works Whether you should train explosively or close to failure Which exercises to do Traini...
Jan 02, 2025•30 min
Send us a text CrossFitters have to do anaerobic training You have to do every movement every week Do as little movement prep as you can Always progress aerobic work from long to short CrossFitters shouldn't train explosively Scientific evidence always trumps experience Supplements don't work Eating more will always result in more lean body mass gain The effectiveness of crosstraining...
Dec 19, 2024•42 min
Send us a text CrossFit, Inc. appears to be taking a major step away from being an events company. The product that CrossFit, Inc. is offering athletes in 2025 is poor. And leaves a big opportunity for other events companies to provide better experiences. Hyrox is just one of them. Here’s what I’m telling my clients who are competitive fitness athletes – look for other experiences outside of the CrossFit, Inc. season. I understand the title of Fittest on Earth and CrossFit Games and “Semifinals”...
Dec 12, 2024•25 min
Send us a text Effort isn't the only thing that matters. Release the outcome. Trust your coach.
Dec 10, 2024•25 min
Send us a text In this episode, I talk about: the feelings that led me to start a business the very first thing I did exactly what I did every week to go from 5 clients to a successful business
Nov 19, 2024•18 min
Send us a text In this episode, I talk to gym owners about the concept of a Pro Gym and how this would benefit CrossFit competitors. Key features of a Pro Gym: Presence of a pro or semi-pro level competitor 24 hour access to all necessary equipment Individualized coaching offerings (individual design, personal training, small group training)
Nov 07, 2024•26 min
Send us a text We know that CrossFit consists of Monostructural (M), Weightlifting (W) and Gymnastics (G) movements. For Monostructural Movements, the tension in the muscle is relatively low. Maybe 20% of 1RM. Because the % 1RM is so low, these tasks are more sustainable, and I can slow down or speed up as needed. Here it helps to see the relationship between pace and time. The shorter the workout, the faster you can go. But for Weightlifting and Gymnastics movements, the tension in the muscle i...
Nov 05, 2024•19 min
Send us a text A question I got in the last webinar was, “If most competitor programs don’t follow these principles, how come there are athletes who follow them who are successful?” This question really is a bigger question of, “What can we learn from the training of elite athletes?” The short answer is: a lot. Of course. Here is a frame that I use to understand why elite athletes are successful. 1. Training Age How long has this athlete been training? 2. Set Point What did they come out of the ...
Oct 15, 2024•18 min
Send us a text Strength gains occur through neural adaptations and through muscle growth. Neural adaptations seem to be stimulated by muscle activity and force production. We ensure these by training explosively or by training heavy. Muscle growth, on the other hand, is stimulated primarily by mechanical tension. We ensure this by training close to failure. In this episode, we discuss: Training Explosively Training Heavy Loads Far from Failure Training Heavy Loads Close to Failure Training Moder...
Oct 10, 2024•16 min
Send us a text Concurrent Training is defined as training strength and conditioning in the same week. When you do Concurrent Training, you introduce the Interference Effect (also known as the Concurrent Training Effect). Above a certain volume of conditioning, you will slow down your strength gains. You can even make yourself weaker if you do enough conditioning. There are a few mechanisms that appear to cause the Concurrent Training Effect: Glycogen Depletion Neural Fatigue AMPK and SIRT1 lead ...
Oct 03, 2024•22 min
