Autonomy by GMB Fitness

Ask a question Walking is the least sexy exercise of all time, and it’s also one of our favorites. Which probably says a lot about us... Now before you give a giant yaaaaaawn and click away, let’s get to some of the topics we’re gonna cover that might just be a bit different form what you expect: Ok, honestly, the first few minutes probably start exactly like you’re expecting...but then things sta...

Ask a question Handstands are cool. That's actually the main reason most people want to practice them. Sure, you can also build spatial awareness and improve your shoulder health, but cool and fun are excellent benefits in their own rights.  And unless you're looking to be a performer, we highly suggest sticking with those as your goals. Performers have unique needs, but if you just wann...

Ask a question No pull-up bar? No panic. We like to talk about physical autonomy a lot here at GMB, and a big part of that is learning how to adjust to the circumstances. Whether you are stuck at home without the equipment you use normally, you're injured, or you're on the road, building strength, flexibility and control is still possible. In fact, trying a few different exercises might...

Ask a question After your first few months learning to walk, the only times most people think about their feet are when they're buying shoes or when they hurt themselves. The feet and ankles are extremely complex structures - they hav to be, because they're responsible for supporting your entire body weight while moving and adapting to changes of direction and different terrains. But in...

Ask a question In case you’ve never thought about this, we have some breaking news: the idea of ‘fitness’ is manufactured. We often get so caught up in how to workout and what to do to stay fit that we forget to ask ourselves WHY we are doing any of this at all. What is a push-up and who decided this was what we should do with our time? In this episode, Ryan geeks out about these questions with Ja...

Ask a question Pop quiz: how many wrists do you have? Most people can answer that one pretty easily, so here's a follow up: when was the last time your wrists felt good ? We all put our wrists under a lot of stress, especially on our dominant hands - texting, typing, pressing buttons on the remote control... And then you chance across these weird "GMB" people on the internet who tel...

Ask a question There’s a thousand right ways to do almost anything. I know that’s not what you wanna hear, but it’s the truth.  For any skill you wanna learn, the right focus is gonna depend on where you’re at, what impediments you have, your natural strengths, your goals, your context, and whatever other training or activities you’re into. All that stuff impacts how your practice works, and that’...

Ask a question You probably have at least one shoulder. And if you do, there's a really good chance that you've experienced shoulder tightness, aches, and pain. Most people do. And most people also do next to nothing about it. In this episode, Jarlo and Rose go over basic shoulder anatomy and physiology, common issues and injuries, and how to get back to moving and grooving in the best w...

Ask a question We favor a cyclic approach to training at GMB, and all our programs are designed to be repeated, but periodization is a topic that can get needlessly complex and confusing.  In this episode, Ryan breaks down: the key points of how to stack a series of training cycles for various goals detailed examples of training plans with multiple cycles how to plan a year's worth of trainin...

Ask a question Hip problems are one of the most common causes of injuries and pain in other parts of the body, and most people never even realize that they have an issue.  The truth is almost everybody has some form of hip dysfunction, and in this episode Jarlo and Rose go over basic hip anatomy and physiology, common issues and injuries, and how to get back to moving and grooving in the best way....

Ask a question One of the coolest things that's happened to us over the past ten years is that we've gotten toward with people doing activities and sports we never would have dreamed up. Our clients are into some really cool stuff! Rock climbing, surfing, martial arts, train running, slackline, pole dance, and every traditional sport too.  And what all those clients have in common is tha...

Ask a question If you've got hip pain that keeps you from doing stuff you want to do, one of the diagnoses you might get is femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI. Which basically means the bones that make up your hip joint aren't the "right" shape. So they cause you problems when you move in certain ways. If you ask an orthopedic surgeon what to do about it, there's a good...

Ask a question There's nothing less sexy than listening to two guys talk about safety for 45 minutes, but do you enjoy being injured?  Yeah, we thought so... In this episode, Jarlo pulls from his decades as a physical therapy clinician to help you understand the physical conditions that lead to injury and the mental tools you need to stay safe, even while pushing your capabilities to get stro...

Ask a question This episode was inspired by our community, best represented by this question: "I know that I get in the way of my training more than any injury or external obstacle.  Even tho it sounds silly to say it, sometimes it feels like the conditions have to be perfect to make any progress.  For example, “Shit, I ate a donut for breakfast, so today is shot.  Forget tomorrow because you...

Ask a question A few episodes back, we talked about building a morning routine that would set you up for a great day AND move you forward on what's most important in your life. But setting up for a great morning starts the night before, so this time, Ryan and Andy will cover the ingredients of a great evening routine. A few key points: Capping off the day so you can shut down and go to sleep...

Ask a question One of the most frustrating things about diets is this: most of them work. They work for some people, sometimes, under some conditions, for some goals. So you can't dismiss the results of Diet A as a criterion for choosing to follow Diet B. If both of them work, which one is right? Which do you choose? In this episode, Andy talks with Josh Hillis about what principles underlie...

Ask a question Fancy bodyweight skills are completely unnecessary for normal life. You never hear, “We have a bit of a situation, is there anyone on board who can do a handstand push-up?” But that doesn’t mean they’re not useful. Because if you’re the sort of person who’s drawn to challenging skills, they can be super motivating. And working up to them will help make your body more capable in all...

Ask a question We've all got our own interests and priorities in life, so one of the really important questions our clients tend to ask us is how to adapt their training for their specific needs.  Of course, with infinite variations, there's some black magic involved - it's more art than science at times - but there's a few general principles, and over time we've found tha...

Ask a question The whole point of training is to get better at the stuff that really matters to you. But how do you actually structure your training to do that? The truth is that most people's workouts aren't all that aligned with what they actually care about. Maybe they used to be but as their personal priorities changed, momentum kept their workouts pretty much the same. Or maybe they...

Ask a question The bodyweight fitness world tends to fetishize the idea of advancing toward a small handful of advanced skills like the planche, one-arm chin-up, handstand push-ups, and similar moves. These are all great strength moves, but a lot of people focus too much on these outcomes at the expense of developing the full package. In this episode, Ryan will teach you how he thinks about progre...

Ask a question Getting hurt is part of having a body, especially if you're one of those crazy people who likes to actually use yours! They key is to be smart about it when it happens so you can come back quickly and as strong as ever. The problem is there's a lot of stupidness in the fitness world when it comes to pain and injury. "No pain, no gain!" might look great on the wal...

Ask a question Warning: Jarlo and Andy go on a long, rambling, rant-filled discussion about the attitudes that keep people from being successful in their training. You probably won't like it. Unless you're the sort of person who will ;) Here's some of what's covered: mental traps that prevent us from taking good advice learning from principles and concepts rather than relying o...

Ask a question What does it mean to skip the kip? Contrary to popular belief, it's only coincidentally related to muscle-ups. Part of our ethos at GMB is that, rather than taking shortcuts to try and reach an endpoint, you're usually better off investing in the process of building your capabilities systematically. With a solid foundation, you can learn a wider range of skills with relati...

Ask a question Supplements and fitness gadgets are really easy to sell. "$50 for rock-hard abs and elite endurance? Sign me up!" But this episode aims to save you some money. Working out stresses the body. It stresses your muscles and joints and nervous system. It uses energy that you have to replenish with food. It takes time for your body to return to neutral after training so you can...

Ask a question We talk a LOT about "the basics," but we also get that literally zero people are out there thinking "oh wow, I can't wait to do basic stuff forever!" Basics aren't sexy. They're actually a lot like spinach. You know they're good for you, but you'd probably rather have some fried chicken or ice cream instead. So this show is about how to d...