JM is known for being the namesake of the JM Press, breaking numerous world records, holding multiple degrees including an MA in Strength and Athletic Conditioning and Ph.D.'s in Exercise Physiology and Metaphysical Sciences, and more. JM credits a mastery of the basics as the ultimate driving force behind human achievement. His coaching philosophy is based on the idea that the basics can be used by anyone to achieve greatness.
"By concentrating INTENSELY on what you desire and fueling that passion, you can fill your mind with it and actually “go blind” to all else. There is one huge caveat to this mindset: your training must be FLAWLESS. Wanting it is not enough. Let me explain. The perfect mindset (what is going on in […]
You’re a big dog now and the good ol’ days of TWO heavy pressing days per week won’t work anymore. So, what’s the answer? My answer is to train shoulders specifically in a predetermined offseason with these weird exercises. They work!
I am going to offer the second-best option that I know of to prevent injury that does not require a coach or countless hours to master. You can do it all by yourself. It is a way of executing a repetition.
I want to elaborate on the most radical and misunderstood facet of the Nautilus training protocol—the concept of ONE SET TO FAILURE. Follow me down the rabbit hole.
Here’s to increasing our “power endurance.” To “Prefontaine” our training. To go hard, go heavy, and go forever! Or, at least a few sets more than what is normally accepted!
So here is the decision you need to consider: should you adapt your training in favor of less dangerous styles of exercise and workload, or continue as planned on your strength journey?
If you are a “millennial” or, like me, a person from another generation who has become beguiled by the power and comfort of the internet and the society that it has engendered, I want to revisit the value of “the long haul.” World = Fast, Gym=Slow.
As told to Dave Tate, some 18 years ago, these tips stand up to the gauntlet of common sense and I’m sure that at least a few will be of use to you. Load the bar!
Following a program along blindly without knowing much as to why you’re doing it will take you nowhere. No matter who it comes from. It’s time you think for yourself.
You won’t be able to properly improve your bench press without the proper form. JM Blakley recruits Yessica Martinez and Lily Starobin to share with us his secrets to a solid bench press form.
Whether it’s good or bad stress, how can we deal with stress so it does not outstrip our ability to recover? There are plenty of techniques to explore, so turn off the TV and grab your cat (or dog) so we can start trying some out.
Nothing is bad for us, per se. What we have to do is figure out how much we need, and then supply it in the correct amounts. But to villainize sugar, carbs, fats, and other nutrients is a gross miscarriage of judgment.
My opinion about the topic may hold weight because I used to eat like this EVERY SINGLE DAY! To you... it's Thanksgiving. To me... it's just Thursday. I'm sort of an expert on the overeating thing.
If you coach, please do not co-opt your athletes' success. We have had a torch passed to us as coaches from when we ourselves were athletes. Now, it is our turn.
No aspect of physical culture is more rife with myth, misunderstanding, falsehoods, and fantasy than is the field of nutrition. There is a very good reason that there exists so much confusion to this day when it comes down to what to eat: money.
You can only act like the big guy if you are standing by people smaller than you. Why look askance at the week? What can you do with an 880-pound squat that someone with a 440-pound squat can't do?
Existential philosopher Albus Camus said, "An achievement is a bondage. It obliges one to another achievement." At first blush, you may be disinclined to agree with Camus. I was. Our weight room mentality has little tolerance for this kind of unhinging from achievement. We can ALWAYS try to lift one more pound. And we do!
Your training is like filling a bucket. When it is time to give it all and dump the bucket in competition, whatever you filled the bucket up with comes pouring out. If you had shitty training, you end up with shit flowing out. If you had solid training, you'll have a bucket of gold.
Go your way. Create your own strategy. Find a new way. It may take you a long time, and cost you a fortune, but that is of no import. You will be where you want to be and you will have a better story to tell.
People tend to agree that it’s important to get a good night’s sleep, but most probably don’t actually get that sleep. Using what I’ve learned from something called sleep hygiene, you can finally get those 8 hours of shut-eye you’ve been whining about not getting.
That come-to-Jesus moment when you have exhausted the limits of the technique and exposed its shortcomings is precisely when you should re-evaluate your thinking. YOU ARE AT THE CROSSROADS, MY FRIEND. Congrats!
You go about your day unaware of your body. Think about your socks right now. Can you feel them on your feet? You felt them when you put them on, and although they are still on, you’ve let the sensation fade deep into the background… and now, you’re aware of your socks again.
I am personally giving you permission to skip today’s workout — but only if you learn about muscle origins and insertions and how they move. Watch some videos about this instead of binge-watching Stranger Things or whatever. Just sit down and educate yourself.
We will spend countless days and hours and even years TRAVELING TO our goals. And in one moment we ARRIVE. That is one sweet moment, to be sure, but it is unbelievably brief. Bask in it all you like, but it will pale and fade.
There is a battle for sure going on in a sporting event and I am in no way minimizing that. I simply feel it is going too far to call it a war. Maybe a fight...in which there are "fighters", but no war.
You must slow down to truly get a feel for the mind-muscle connection. I know some of you who do slow-motion reps or time under tension think you do not need to slow down. Well, then, this article is ESPECIALLY for you!
Think about how much time you spend on a project physically and mentally. Then consider the amount of time you spend on it spiritually or emotionally. Are you acting as a whole human being?
How many workouts did you have last year? How many books did you read last year? How many times did you hold someone in a deep embrace and tell them you loved them from the core of your being last year?
I will suggest that we pursue Excellence in the things we care about most. And for those which we care little, Good Enough should do just fine. Make sure that something in your life warrants the pursuit of Excellence.
Here's the punchline: she was walking back to bury what she had found of her sister and she looked into the box and wept screaming as loud as she could," why did you not try harder!?"