In a recent article I wrote for The Triune, I discuss how including the Trap Bar into your training regime will certainly give you the boost that you’re looking for – and why.  The design and versatility, ease of use, and potential to pull bigger loads makes this inexpensive tool one that you MUST have in your arsenal if you’re serious about getting that big deadlift.

In this same article you’ll find a powerful way to reinvigorate your training, or really any aspect of your life —

The N.E.W. Principle.

Check it out and be sure to drop your thoughts and comments below.  I’d love to hear what you think of it all.

The post Are You In a PR Drought? appeared first on Travis Holley's.

What was this book, you ask?

Now, I know many of you have already read this and have already experienced the tides of emotion that come as a result of the turning of each new page.  For those that haven’t, I’m not going ruin it for you by giving my abbreviated and, truthfully, lacking review of this amazing story.  Nope.

My hope is that this post is enough to get you to go buy it INSTANTLY and proceed to read it yourself.  That’s honestly the only way you’ll know how powerful it is and the impact it can have on you daily life in all aspects – Mind. Body. Spirit.

Lastly, because Luttrell gave me so much through the telling of his story, I feel compelled to somehow assist him in any way I can.  One great way is to purchase this shirt(below).  In any case, I urge you to visit the The Loan Survivor Foundation and see the amazing work they are doing and how you can help those that have served and sacrificed for us.

The post How a Book Can Change You appeared first on Travis Holley's.

Now, on to the real reason for the post: Rob.

Like I said, it’s Saturday night as I write this, and I finished an amazing session with an amazing man just hours ago. Yet again, Richard Smith, my good friend and long-time client/FireSWOD athlete, connected his friend, Rob Rice and me for a specialized training session and consultation, of sorts.

What made the session so unique was the fact that Rob recently had his left leg amputated below the knee and was brought to me by Richard to show him some foundational movements that he could begin doing to regain strength, power, stability and coordination.  I jumped at the opportunity to help Rob out as he sets out on a new path of strength.

Here’s what makes this story even more powerful…..straight from Rob:

“In the winter of 1996 while serving in the Army I was severely injured during a field exercise in Korea. My pelvis was fractured and left Illiac artery was crushed after I got caught between a tank and a 5-ton truck. I spent the next 8 months in the hospital recovering. Initially I was unable to feel anything below my waste and couldn’t walk. After a lot of hard work I walked out of Walter Reed almost a year later. Over the next 15 years my injured leg became more and more compromised. Chronic pain and poor circulation finally left me with the only option for a cure….amputation. On January 11, 2013 I pulled the trigger and had my left leg amputated.”

This is where Rob is currently on his new path to strength!!! —->

It was an amazing opportunity to work with Rob!  I have no doubt that he will be making some major gains in the next year as he adapts to his prosthesis and regains his strength.  I will be sure to stay up to date with his progress and, of course, relay it to y’all as well!

The post On A New Path appeared first on Travis Holley's.

I have done a fantastically shitty job of promoting the fact that Strictly Strength is expanding via the additions of several top-level strength coaches!  This post is the first of several that will detail this expansion, the new opportunities you’ll have available to you, and introduce you to the new faces of Strictly Strength.

That being aired out….It has always been my vision to help as many people as possible get f*cking strong – and to effectively do so – I knew that I could impact more people with the help of other talented, like-minded coaches than I could ever do solo.  So….several months ago, I recruited some of the most talented, skilled and passionate strength coaches to be part of a team that would impact not only Austin – but ultimately – the world with their passion for strength, their inner drive to educate and help others, and their own unique and dynamic personalities and training styles.

I know I have an all-star group that can make some amazing shit happen. Now it’s my job and duty to focus on their success so that all parties involved reach their goals. That, by the way, is a new and scary territory for me, but one that I am stoked to take on!

So….Who are these badasses of the barbell?  This squat squad? These masters of muscle?!!

1. Coach Aaron Arehart

Aaron is a coach and personal trainer with a passion for helping people advance their quality of life through fitness. He sees strength as a vehicle for personal growth in all aspects of life. As a CrossFit and Strictly Strength coach, Aaron is a movement technician.  He has a unique talent for dialing-in the details and relating these finer points of technique and proper biomechanics to the bigger picture of strength and conditioning. Aaron is also extremely well-versed in mobility techniques that will unleash your untapped potential as an athlete.  Simply put, Arehart is a jack of all trades and will train you to handle any task or obstacle with confidence.  He builds bad mama-jamas.  Period.
Find out more about Coach Arehart HERE.

2. Coach Mary De’Scacchi

Mary has been, and continues to be, one of my most dedicated and consistent athletes.  She started in my evening classes and CC Burnet, and decided that she wanted much more.  She joined one of the very first Strictly Strength Projects, and never looked back.  She is now one of the strongest women at CC, and has implanted herself and her passion for this lifestyle on CrossFit Central.  I see Mary’s passion and natural-born coaching come out every time she enters the gym.  She is always assisting others that don’t have the same experience level so that they can enjoy their time and learn to love CrossFit and strength training.  But, let it be known….she is one of the sweetest people you could possibly meet, but she will push you hard and expect you to always bust your ass.  She demands more of you so that you learn to demand more of yourself.
Find out more about Coach De’Scacchi HERE and HERE.

3. Coach Jeff Mckinney

Jeff is a CrossFit Level 1 ANSI Certified trainer and has a B.A. in Human Biology from the University of Texas in Austin.  He has been involved in the CrossFit Community since 2007 and is passionate about training inside and outside of the traditional gym setting.  This drive to walk the road less taken is one of Jeff’s greatest strengths as a coach – It pushes him to discover new ways to elicit strong responses from his athletes.  I’m always excited to see what new method Jeff has implemented any time we share the gym together.  Suffice it to say that as one of Jeff’s athletes, you will never find yourself, or your training, stagnant.
Find out more about Coach Mckinney HERE.

4. Coach Nyki Helmcamp

Nyki graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology and a minor in Exercise and Sports Science.  She is CrossFit Level I and Personal Trainer certified through Cooper Institute.  Nyki brings a lot to the table as a coach.  Her life-long sports involvement has left her with a unique perspective on training strength, power, conditioning and overall athleticism.  Her dynamic personality and “No B.S.” mentality creates an environment where only driven, focused, hard-working people will thrive.  Expect to be pushed to new levels.
Find out more about Coach Helmcamp (aka. Nyki-Nyk) HERE.

So there they are….”The F*cking Fantastic Four!”

I will continue to update y’all with what these badass coaches are up to and what they have to offer.  All I can really say is that if you are serious about being better, stronger, faster, more powerful, more confident than you were last year – these are the people that you need to be around as often as possible.  The time, money, sweat and effort you invest with these coaches will drastically change you – mind, body and spirit.  Stay ready.

The post Expansion and New Faces appeared first on Travis Holley's.

An example of NST is something like, “Why can’t I do this right?” Or, “I can’t do that!”

I know that we are all guilty of doing this type of thing to ourselves, but what many fail to realize is that the questions we ask ourselves have tremendous power.  In fact, they direct our mental focus and ultimately the decisions we make and the actions we take.  Suffice it to say, the questions you ask and the way you ask them is controlling your life – whether you realize it or not!

Now, simply being aware of the power your questions hold is a great start.  That alone will start a massive shift in your life.  But, we all know that rituals or habits are hard to break, right?  If you’ve been asking shitty questions all your life like the example above, you will probably have a more difficult time breaking that habit.  You must replace that old, crumby habit with a new and empowering ritual that sets you up for success.

Then, of course, comes practice and consistency.  Just like any new skill or talent that you wish to develop, you must practice that skill.  In fact, you have to practice it in all sorts of different scenarios and environments.  Let’s take the snatch for example, since most of you out there are people of the IRON(my fav!)

Early on in your lifting career, you were taught the very basics of the snatch: First, you had to learn the basic/foundational movements that would eventually lead to the snatch – movements like the deadlift, squat, OHS squat, and probably the clean.  Then, you had to learn the grip and stance.  As those bits of information were learned and consistently applied, you most likely were given a very light barbell to “test the waters” with.  It was probably horendous, but it gave you a baseline starting point that you could then reference as you developed that skill.  After many reps(good and bad) you learned to perform the snatch consistently well.  But, as most of you know, the snatch(like all other movements in CF) is performed in many capacities:

A) As heavy as possible
B) As fast as possible(AMRAP-style)
C) Differing variations of the snatch(Hang Power, Power, Hang, Pause, etc)
D) Performed while fresh or smoked out and tired

We’ve all been there and know how drastically different the above scenarios affect the same exact lift at the very same weight.  But, we practice all of these differing variables until it becomes ritualistic – no matter the situation.  A perfect example of this is THE Rich Froning successfully performing a 300lb snatch in Nanos for a PR >>>

Then, watch him perform the snatch ladder from last year’s regional competition…..MECHANICAL!>>>

The scenarios were drastically different, but you will notice that Rich had a routine, a ritual that he went through before each and every lift that prepped his mind and body for the next effort.

Now, I realize I went of on a distant path with that example, but my goal is to relate it to something that most of you know, understand and can appreciate – all so that you are better able to apply this idea of asking POWER questions and implementing empowering rituals in ALL areas of your life.

Before we wrap this one up, I urge you to stick around and watch this short video where Tony Robbins discusses this very same topic in a much more poetic way. In any case, pay attention to the questions you ask and the rituals that you have.  Ask, “Is there a more powerful way to discover new, untapped potential?”

The post The Power of Questions & Rituals appeared first on Travis Holley's.

Now you see why I was so fired up by this session!  That shit is awesome!  Not just because Fran is a badass athlete who happens to be in a wheelchair – NO!  It’s because Fran’s a badass athlete, laying it all out there during a training session with an extraordinary coach leading her and directing her through a training style that is not only effective, but creative and fun!  Whether you realize it or not, doing that as a coach does not come easily to everyone.  Nyki is incredibly talented and displays all of the qualities of a coach that I what reppin’ the Strictly Strength brand, training styles, and life style.

I am stoked to see how Nyki’s outstanding talents and passion push Fran – an already dominate player(Top 10 in the world) – to the top of her game!  I will surely keep you posted, but I can promise that you will hear much more about both of these incredible ladies!

The post No Excuses appeared first on Travis Holley's.

I get that this may seem like a lot of nonsense at this point.  To remedy this I am going to ask you to commit yourself to reading an amazing article detailing “The Art of Manliness”, and more specifically, the desperate need for the resurrection of HONOR.

It’s a longer read, but if you invest the time, you will find that this one article has the power to alter much of who you are and how you are.  It’s powerful, to say the least.

One last thing before I link you to the post….

If you are not willing to read the article in it’s entirety(clear a solid 30-45min), then don’t bother reading it at all.  Sadly, the boys that cannot commit to reading an article delving into the intricacies of HONOR, are the exact population that needs an injection of HONOR the most.

This is HUGE!  Please read this then dissect it.  Ingest it. Feel it. Breathe it.  Once that is done…..I want to hear your thoughts.  Post them here or on Facebook.  At the very least, shoot me an email with your responses.

Manly Honor VII:
How and Why to Revive Manly Honor in the Twenty-First Century

The post Honor, and the Art of Manliness appeared first on Travis Holley's.

It’s a very interesting article on T-Nation illustrating the opinion/fact that you don’t need to always lift heavy to increase your 1-RM, contrary to popular belief.  It is true that you can’t neglect lifting heavy, as the body has to experience this loading every once in while in order to create proper support systems.  But, as I’ve shared with you in the past, and as this article details, focusing your efforts in the gym on speed and power production at sub-max loads will train your body to lift whatever you pick up with a pace that will get the job done when the shit gets heavy.

Alright, enough of my jibber-jabber. Let’s get in to the good stuff.
Check This Out!

The post Speed vs. Heavy appeared first on Travis Holley's.

Here’s the deal…..Listen to this….then come back.

What’s your initial reaction to music like this?

I am willing to bet that for most of you, you can’t help but smile and move a bit, right?

I bring this up because this morning at Red Black Gym we had the MoTown tunes cranked, and the athletes were loving it!  I call it “MoTown Monday”.

You’ve got to understand that our typical playlist includes the usual suspects: Rock, Rap, Dubstep.  I gotta say, that shit gets old when you hear it every day.  And it was apparent that the athletes appreciated the switch up.  Everyone was moving at a peppier pace, smiling, singing, laughing and just having fun while they do what they do.

That’s super important!  Are YOU having fun doing what you do?  That question spans beyond the gym as well, but for today, let’s keep it specific.  I’m sure we can all figure out that if you’re not having fun – no matter how effective a training method may be – you will grow tired of it and soon dispose of said method.  You gotta have fun!

Just check out Big Nick cranking the newest band walk dance!

That shit will get the ladies(or guys) AND get you jacked!  Perfect!

Anyway, this is a long write-up to pass along the very simple idea of FUN.  Have it, and have it often!  The success will follow.

The post Are We Having Fun Yet? appeared first on Travis Holley's.

Wanting to workout but struggling to muster up the motivation to drive to the gym to hit up a training session.  You’ve been there before, I know it.  It seems silly, but sometimes the preparation and commute to the gym is what is so unappealing about going to the gym.

Well, I went through that yesterday.

I know I wanted to get some work in, but had no desire to actually drive to get it done.  My breakthrough, mind-blowing solution???

Throwdown in the backyard with some of the basics.

Y’all know that I am big on keeping shit simple.  This video shows exactly what that means and gives you an idea of how little you need to get a kick-ass workout in…..no matter what!  Check it!

The post Backyard Throwdown appeared first on Travis Holley's.