Competitive Breed

Improve what you’re currently doing, before just doing “more”!

How can you get the MOST out of each rep… each set… each session?
Start there!

It might look like improving your set-up/execution (this way you can maximize the tension where you want it!)
It may be improving your ability to “TRAIN HARD”. Controlling the load, staying poised when the set gets harder and harder, and pushing yourself to/clos(er) to concentric failure.
It may involve swapping out an exercise for something that’s a “better fit” - BUT, most people should spend more time learning how to get the most of out X exercise and progressing w it, before searching for the next shiny object (Y exercise swap)

For those focused on maximizing muscle growth, aimlessly moving weight from point A to point B isn’t going to be “good enough” after a certain point.
Skill, mind-muscle connection, intent/control need to improve over time.

Before doing MORE working sets for a particular exercise, or a particular session, you need to evaluate how your distributing your total volume across the entire week/microcycle.

You can also consider how you’re organizing this current training block, and your next one …
If you want to bring up a “weak point”, and all the former considerations are in a good spot, you can absolutely implement a specialization phase, where you DO, DO MORE total work across the week/ training cycle for that muscle … but, you likely bring DOWN volume/total work on a different muscle group (eg strong points).

When looking at the literature, it’s pretty clear that you CANT talk about volume, without considering:
Exercise selection / variation
Intensity of effort / prox to failure
Training density
Intra session frequency & weekly distribution of volume

If you need help getting the most out of your efforts in & out of the gym, my team and I are here to help 💪

9 Years 🤗 9 Winners 🥳💪

To celebrate 9 years with the best, all-natural Sports Supplement company, I’m going to select NINE winners to receive any product of their choice from their extensive line.

To Enter & Win:
- follow &
- Tag a friend or training partner below 💪
- Bonus Entry: share to story

I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of Legion since May of 2017, originally as an athlete, and later as part of their Scientific Review Board.

This company is doing everything right behind the scenes and in the spotlight, in an industry where this is far from the norm, they’re the exception who raises the standards. From sourcing the highest quality ingredients, always using full-clinical effective dosing & transparent labels, good manufacturing procedures, and so much more, they are also honest with their customers, stating “you do NOT NEED supplements, but the right ones can help.” For those reasons, and many others, I’ve been proud to represent & be a part of this brand for the past 9 years.

If you haven’t tried Legion yet, or are part of the legion fam, now is a great time to check them out, take advantage of their MDW sale (up to BOGO 75% off), & ask any questions below.
(You can always use code CB20 for additional savings 💪)

It’s been amazing to see this brand grow over the years. What started off as primarily performance/ body composition focused supplements, has evolved to a more comprehensive and holistic line that I absolutely love.

What supplement has turned into a staple for you?
What do you want to try the most? 👇

Our Sport is Subjective & Judging gives you valuable perspective!

I’ll be heading back to Houston later this summer to judge the again - judging is truly an honor and privilege.

My first time ever judging was 13 years after my first ever competition & despite my experience as a coach & competitor to that point, judging challenges your biases & highlights the differences between your personal preferences vs the objective differences between physiques & how it aligns with the criteria of each category.

I remember sitting next to my big bro and NOT being on the same page in some scenarios between 1st & 2nd place … hence the importance of an entire judging panel! This surprised me a bit bc I assumed him & I may have some of the same preferences and/or value certain aspects more than others.

Sometimes the judging is super straight forward and clear as day, other times in very competitive lineups, your splitting hairs and essentially searching for flaws / weak points.

One of the first conversations I recall about the subjectivity of the sport dates back to 2011, when I was in the locker room of .bevsgym and & were talking about judges having a difficult job, often times comparing apples to oranges and being forced to lean towards their preferences. Zack used the example of two females, both being a 10/10, but one being a blond and one being a brunette.

To everyone who competes, of course we compete to win, but remember that getting to the stage and seeing your contest prep through is a huge victory in itself, and the best part of bodybuilding is the self progression it yields and the relationships you build over time. You can’t control who shows up on stage with you, so do your best throughout the process, and the chips will fall where they may.

I also always tell my athletes, I’d rather place 3-5 in a stacked class with many competitors, than walking away with first place in a small class without competitors pushing you to be better!

Present your best and enjoy the time under those lights - you never know if you’ll have the opportunity to do it again!

Sometimes the best thing to do is no-thing, at all. Be still.

One thing I love about yoga (and bodybuilding) is how the practice(s) give you the opportunity to sharpen your discipline, to be less reactive, and to connect with your mind, body, & spirit.

How can you remain calm in the chaos? There is so much to be gained from those moments, especially when it’s applied to other areas of our life.

For those of you who have (and perhaps regularly) done a modern yoga class, you have likely heard the instructor say something along the lines of “final savasana (co**se pose)” is the “most important” posture of the practice. At face value, many people are quick to dismiss or undervalue this sentiment from the teacher. How/why is it so important to just lay on your back, and do, “nothing”.

It’s an opportunity to observe how the last 60-90 minutes of work in a 102+° room has affected your internal environment, and how long it takes for your body to get back to baseline.
The work, the sequence of postures, the heat, the shortening and lengthening of agonist/antagonist muscle groups, impacted your physiology.
The significant increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate is palpable.
This palpability gets you to connect with your mind, body, & spirit on a deeper level than any other time of the day. This is so beneficial beyond the physical.

You can feel your body start to “recover” and shift from the sympathetically aroused state, to a parasympathetic, relaxed state. … (if you let it).
Too often, so many people are in a rush, they feel like they have something to tend to, and, they simply want the “discomfort” to END - they want to get out of the heat, get in the AC’d lobby, drink their fluids and go. BUT, this is the moment that truly is for you to reconcile how the work and practice has benefited (and changed) you.

This helps me remain calm in the chaos, even when it feels like my internal world/personal life is in flames, or when the stimulation & consumption of the external world news (literally being on fire) is a lot to process and navigate.

I hope you have practice(s) that serve you in this way. If not, all are welcome 🤗💪🧘‍♂️