Straight Shot Radio

How are those new year’s resolutions holding up after a week? If you’re like most people who make resolutions this time of year, I'm going to be honest with you...only 20% of you will stick with it past February. Being a personal trainer for the past 10 Januarys, I know how this works. People have the best intentions to get in shape, lose weight, get stronger, or start running, but sadly, 80% of t...

If you had to spend every day fighting a genetic disease by doing hours of therapy, regular hospital admissions, taking countless medications and intravenous drugs, and using a feeding tube to maintain a healthy weight, and do all of this just to be able to breathe, you can imagine how hard it would be to see the joy in life. Mary Frey not only goes through all of that to battle her Cystic Fibrosi...

Socrates said “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” Being strong makes you better at just about everything. That’s why even though the Straight Shot Training program balances all aspects of fitness, we consider strength training with excellent technique the...

Did you know that personal trainers are not paid to yell at you? Or just count your reps? Did you know that we don’t get paid to work out and we don’t just eat chicken and broccoli? There are a lot of misconceptions floating around about personal trainers, so I brought in two of my fellow trainers from the Shepherd University Wellness Center to clear up the confusion and give you all the inside sc...

Chris was a heavy kid who grew up in a poor family in Indiana. He ignored bullies and people who didn’t believe in him, and became successful in his career as an adult, but was near 300lb and borderline diabetic by his mid 30’s. Chris started training with me and taking my classes, and got serious about his diet to lose 70 pounds! Chris’ brutal honesty and inability to let people’s opinions get to...

Every wonder where kettlebells came from? Or where dumbbells got their name? Or why the barbell was invented? Well, probably not because that’s not something the average person stays up at night thinking about, but the answers to these questions ARE pretty interesting. In this episode, I give you a brief history and explanation of some of the tools of the strength trade and why each is an importan...

If you visit a physical therapist for an injury, they’ll help you get back to moving pain free with a list of rehab exercises. But what if you aren’t injured? Do you still need to perform movements like rotator cuff exercises? Hip mobility drills? Low back and core stability drills? Well that depends...do you want a healthy rotator cuff? Mobile hips? A stable core that keeps your low back from get...

Here's your official "diet and workout pass" card from two personal trainers so you can chill out, enjoy your time with your family, and eat some delicious food this Thursday. Rebecca Reifsnider and I give you a fresh take from two fitness professionals as we don't mind you going off your diet and workout plan for a day or two, provided it's not carried on for the next 6 weeks into the new year. W...

Creating workout programs is just as much of an art as it is a science. When it comes to being a science, there are some proven systems that we as coaches need to abide by in order to create effective and safe workouts for our clients or athletes. In this episode, I share with you The 7 Principles of Training. These scientifically proven concepts apply to all training programs for better or for wo...

Being a radio DJ isn’t exactly the healthiest, most active job. You spend hours a day on air in a booth, and then more time sitting at a desk editing audio and writing scripts. Combine that with restaurants donating food constantly for reviews and the ease and convenience of fast food while working long hours, and you can see how someone like this episode's guest can end up living a sedentary life...

Denise Hanton was faced with the seriousness of obesity when she witnessed family members suffering from the effects of diabetes and dying from heart attacks. Knowing that she had to make a lifestyle change to save her own life, Denise sought the help of a dietician and made the commitment to lose weight and get healthy. 2 years later, she’s lost 200lbs and continues to improve her health by eatin...

Grab a donut and catch up with Delaney and Brandon now that they've been training for me for a couple of months! We get into how they're enjoying their new jobs as personal trainers after their internship and I answer some questions along with them that I've received recently. We get into foot placement on squats, strategies to get your first pullup, and how to become a personal trainer. We finish...

When we talk about functional fitness, we typically mean we’re training movements, not muscles. We’re trying to do things in the gym that mimic things in everyday life outside of it. My goal as a coach for my athletes is to have them moving well and feeling great whether their sport is on a field, in an office, on a construction site, in a classroom, at home, or anywhere else. Bodybuilding takes a...

In today’s fitness world the lines are often blurred between genuine advice, and gimmicky advertising. That’s why one of the goals of this show is to provide a clear, no nonsense approach to fitness and health. In this episode, I'll answer a few questions that have been posed to me recently regarding rapid weight loss and it's effect on strength, the benefits of stand up desks, and the safety and...

For me, warming up correctly has always just felt right. But the more I study various warm up methods and the science behind them, the more convinced I am of the importance of priming the body for exercise. Not only does mobility work help you move in better positions to keep you safe during exercise, it can actually improve your performance. In today’s episode, I want to share with you why I feel...

Every wanted to teach yourself a new skill, movement, or trick? Here is the method I've used to teach myself backflips, presses to handstand, ring movements, and other gymnastics elements as well as Olympic lifting, juggling, slacklining, and as of this past week, skimboarding. I won’t call myself an expert at any of these movements, and the bruises and scrapes on my legs from the skimboard confir...

Aristotle said, “Patience is bitter, but it’s fruit is sweet.” We all know being patient is difficult, especially since in today’s society, since it’s not that often that we have to wait for something. When it comes to health and fitness though, there aren't any shortcuts; At least not ones that create any lasting change or actual results. ACSM Personal Trainer and Coach Coach Rebecca Reifsnider (...

If you’re like most gym goers, you’re probably not working out in silence. If you’re ever forgotten your headphones and have had to workout without any music, you know how much it helps and how much you miss it when it’s not there. But have you ever wondered why working out with music is so much better than exercising without it? I break down a study in this episode that examined music’s effect on...

Flexibility decreases as you age, but you can do something to combat it! I get into detail on this topic along with answering another question regarding flexibility and knee pain, and go into my defense of the proper use of isolation movements in our 2nd Q&A show. I lay out many of the flexibility and mobility strategies out there and how to use each to keep mobile, get the most out of your workou...

Jim was born with a severe vision impairment, but has never let anyone else tell him what he can’t do. He has run over 20 marathons and half marathons and is an active cyclist. At almost 55 years old, Jim decided to switch careers to pursue his passion of helping others and now works as a personal trainer. He truely lives out the “no excuses” mantra on a daily basis and is living proof that if you...

After suffering a minor low back injury last year (beware of trampoline parks and losses of midline stability!), I developed a protocol to systematically eliminate pain and tightness, correct faulty movement patterns, and return to usual activities in the gym. I go over the entire protocol in detail for you all in this episode. Optimizing recovery from any injury is crucial, so whether it's a low...

Meet my inspiring summer interns, Delaney and Brandon! We sit around a box of donuts (shoutout to flexible dieting and moderation!) to discuss how they got to where they are and what excites them about being trainers before I give them some advice to hopefully help them reach their full potential as coaches. Their instagram handles are @_delooney_tunes and @blittle82. 

What is Direct Primary Care and how can movement shape the future of the medical field? Dr. Ken Rictor, a Direct Primary Care physician at Scotland Family Medicine and Straight Shot Training subscriber joins me to to discuss these topics and along the way shares an ER story that you have to hear to believe. 

Here is a speech I gave to the varsity boys soccer team from Martinsburg High School. I explain to them why giving 100% effort in everything you do is so important and I share with the team a story from my childhood soccer days that has shaped who I am today. 

Bikini body workouts, detox tea, intermittent fasting, butter in your coffee...Instagram is a wild place with some wild health and fitness claims. I sort through the facts and fiction behind a few of them along with certified Personal Trainers Anna Hornstein and Natalie Rhoades.