At Element 26, we’re always looking to innovate fitness and performance gear.
Whether it’s creating a new product from scratch or improving a current product on the market, there is always something that can be done better.
With that said, we wanted to solve a huge problem and at the same time, flip the fitness space on its head.
And we did it.
We developed a leather belt that utilizes a nylon strap and our unique Self-Locking™ buckle technology.
So many times athletes are looking for a belt that gives them exceptional support but doesn’t have such an overly restrictive buckle setup.
Those traditional leather belts have preset sizes, take excessive efforts to loosen up, pose a threat to pinching your abdomen and thigh, and make it difficult to keep the bar close in the Olympic Lifts.
So we created a PATENT PENDING 6mm Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt to solve this problem and give you a better option.
Over the past several years, athletes have been saying “your current belt is great, but sometimes I need a stiffer one for the power lifts or during the WODs when the barbell gets really heavy.”
As the frequency of those comments increased, we knew we had to do something.
We took into account the demands of YOU, the athlete, and put that on our radar and into action.
But we didn’t want to just release some run of the mill leather belt.
It needed to be more advantageous to the functional athlete.
We had to solve this problem.
That meant this belt had to be stiff, easy-to-use, and not bulky like many of the other leather belts out there.
So we took our current belt model with the Self-Locking™ Buckle and Pin technology, and combined that with a superior leather body to give you the perfect balance of support and ease of use.
For the functional athlete, this is our current belt model on steroids!
Over the past 5 months we spent hours going back and forth with our manufacturer on leather material, leather thickness, stitching profile, nylon thickness, buckle placement, and any other foreseen user issues.
Safe to say, this belt was the winner after we sifted through all the crap materials and eliminated all the poor ideas. We had several different samples shipped to us for testing and we were incredibly critical.
For example, one sample we got had a poorly stitched nylon strap to the leather body. We could literally see the nylon pulling off the leather. Awful! We knew this was going to be a long term issue, so we went back to the manufacturer to have them double stitch the nylon strap to the leather body. Problem solved.
Another sample we got had too thick of a leather body. Sure a thicker body may work well in powerlifting, but this belt was designed to perform for the functional athlete. So if it’s too thick it will compromise form and mobility. That’s why we minimized the thickness to 6mm.
With a nylon strap you’re getting two very important aspects of belt function: infinite adjustability and less bulk.
Have you ever used a belt that has fixed notches for buckle placement and tightening?
One notch is not tight enough and the next notch is too tight that it’s nearly impossible to get the belt off. With this E26 belt you get to customize your belt tightness because it doesn’t use notches or preset holes.
And without a thick metal buckle, you’re given more mobility in the bottom of your squats and cleans. Oftentimes those thick buckles will impede mobility by getting in the way of your thighs/abdomen as you descend into your lift. Oh and let’s not forget how much those buckles hurt when they pinch your abdomen in the bottom of a lift.
You may ask: “since this is a ‘never before seen’ belt, how do you know it will hold up?”
Great question by the way.
Our answer: every single material used in the construction of this belt has been used prior with great success.
When you break it down, the belt is simply a leather body, a nylon strap, a velcro hook and loop closure, and a Self-Locking™ buckle.
No other added ingredients.
Leather has been used for decades as the primary material in belts. Nylon and velcro have been tried and tested by thousands of Olympic lifters, functional athletes, and E26 athletes. And the Self-Locking™ buckle we use in our current belt has helped athletes hit thousands of personal records.
The two areas where we saw primary issues in testing were the stitching of the nylon strap on the leather and the wear of the velcro over time.
We made sure to fix both issues. The strap has been double stitched onto the leather body which reinforced the support and durability. The velcro we used on this belt is stronger and more long-lasting than your typical velcro and proved in testing that it will hold up to your abdominal pressure and the repetitive use.
The main purpose of any belt is to increase your abdominal pressure beyond what you can do with just your abdomen. It serves as that outer wall of protection when the abdominals can’t contract and stabilize optimally. That’s how proper optimal abdominal pressure is generated to help you improve your lifts while supporting your spine.
But for functional training you need a belt that continues to deliver whether the training plan calls for heavy squats/deadlifts, high rep squat cleans, or a WOD/metcon that increases back fatigue and risks injury.
That’s where the Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt comes in. To give you the stiffness and stability of a leather belt without the restriction of a thick, bulky buckle.
The Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt is available for purchase NOW!
Any questions, about sizing, ordering a belt, or anything else, comment below or email us directly at: support@element26.co and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Signs of training progress doesn’t always have to come in the form of more weight on the barbell.
There are a number of other variables to look at, which may change your focus during training to look less towards outcomes, and more towards process-oriented training.
During your next cycle of training, even if your strength doesn’t improve based on the gross amount of weight lifted, track other measures such as training volume, rest periods, movement velocity, movement execution and form, or rating of perceived exertion.
Strength has a tendency to vary based on responsiveness to that training cycle, type of training, stress, nutrition, sleep and overall recovery.
The same training cycle can produce progress for multiple cycles, but eventually your responsiveness and sensitivity to those movements and level of stimulus may change, making your progress slow down.
Hypertrophy-based training cycles have an inherent tendency to reduce overall strength, due to focus on movement quality and training volume with the intended goal of increasing muscle size.
In this case, tracking strength would cause some to be discouraged and change their training program due to apparent lack of progress, even though other metrics such as training volume, movement execution, and ability to recover during training have improved.
If you’re someone who has been following the same training cycle, and hasn’t seen much improvement in muscle strength, consider either changing the training stimulus to focus on muscle hypertrophy for a cycle or two, or consider looking at other metrics such as RPE, movement velocity, length of rest periods between sets, or movement execution.
For example, using the same weight while squatting, deadlifting, or clean and jerk but with a lower RPE or faster speed this week, compared to the last, still demonstrates improvement in strength without increases in weight lifted.
Oftentimes, demonstrating patience when following a plan and not attaching too much emotion to a given target weight will produce greater long-term outcomes in the end.
Written by: Jeff Tremblay
Jeff is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Performance Coach, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is actively treating patients and coaching athletes of all disciplines, ranging from youth to high level athletes.
Jeff is an active member of the E26 community and lives by the motto: "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Jeff or any member of the Element 26 Team, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
We get in a flow, stay consistent with our habits, and proceed to “stick to the plan.”
For the majority of the time, even on the worst programs, progress will be made.
However, the richness, depth, and emotional high we initially experienced when we started this fitness journey has become stale and things start to become less fun, less rewarding.
We begin to go through the motions and get upset when the progress doesn’t show up as quickly. It becomes more exhausting than it used to be, yet we feel like we should be more in shape.
So what gives?
The problem isn’t with our physical performance, that’s usually going pretty well.
The problem is with our mindset and frame of thinking.
As human beings we like to place things into categories, or as I like to call them, ‘buckets.’
It’s easier to remember that way and takes less energy to process. This can be a good and bad thing.
Fitness tends to get dumped into the “physical” bucket. So progress and improvement is typically measured by physical attributes such as fat lost or weight added to the bar.
Sure this needs to be measured to track progress towards a goal(s), but we often forget or don’t realize that fitness can offer so much more than just physical improvement.
We get caught up in the routine and neglect all the other amazing benefits of fitness and working out.
Benefits such as focus, resiliency, humility, motivation, perspective, the list goes on.
But like anything in life, that lack of awareness can result in complacency and eventually resentment when the superficial, physical progress seems to have stalled.
The point of all this isn’t to point the finger, instead it’s to help bring awareness to the deeper value that fitness can provide especially when things aren’t so glamorous.
Fitness is an incredible gift and one we shouldn’t take for granted.
Right now look at your fitness journey and life, reflect on what fitness has offered you, and if you’re ready, email me back here or leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.
We’re on this journey together. Always rooting for ya!
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Whether you’re an experienced athlete or new to training, muscle soreness will always come and go. It’s functionally limiting and at times can be quite painful.
Remember the last time you did too many squats after not squatting for several weeks? The weight wasn’t necessarily heavy, but the volume was just enough that two days later you could barely walk up stairs.
The intensity and duration of the soreness you experience will differ depending on the task you performed or in this case the stimulus applied. Adding a new stimulus for a trained athlete can absolutely affect their level of soreness, whereas most any stimulus placed upon an untrained individual will create a good deal of soreness following the task.
In this blog, I’m going to briefly cover the topic of muscle soreness following mechanical musculoskeletal work and what to do about it.
Let’s get into it!
Everytime you work out you create microtears in the muscle tissue. That’s right, you’re literally ripping apart tissue. That’s also why you get sore after a tough workout (typically noticed 36-48 hours later).
These microtears occur more greatly following resistance training activity and high intensity tasks. Aerobic tasks won’t have the same degree of trauma to the muscles unless you’re relatively untrained to that aerobic task.
The microtears create a cascade of inflammatory responses which start the process to repair the tissue. Keeping it simple, that’s how you get stronger.
If you’re new to training, almost everything you do in the gym is a stimulus for creating muscle tissue microtrauma. Just remember this is not necessarily a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ thing. It just is what it is.
Whereas if you’re a trained athlete and have years of experience under the bar, then the level and degree of soreness will depend on whether or not you added a greater stimulus above that to which you are adapted. This can include performing a new exercise, increasing the volume too quickly, or adding more weight.
If you’re new to training and working out, it’s best to be more conservative at first to understand how your body responds to a given stimulus. Otherwise you’ll learn the hard way!
For example, if you want to start doubling your squat volume (sets x reps x load) but just learned how to squat last week, then this is probably not a great idea.
The amount of soreness you’ll have after a big session is going to require a greater amount of recovery time. That time lost due to soreness and pain could be spent training more. So instead of doing those 5 sets of squats in one session, maybe it’s better to perform 3 on Monday and then 2 on Thursday/Friday.
There’s no perfect formula for figuring out how much volume is right for you at first, instead experimenting by starting on the lower end and progressively increasing the volume over time is best.
On the other hand we have more trained individuals who have learned the foundations of movement and have a sufficient level of strength. They’ll be less susceptible to crippling day-to-day soreness.
Of course these individuals can get sore, but it’s not as limiting and the recovery time is much less than a newbie who slaps on too many plates in the beginning stages.
The trained individual’s body can handle the stress of training more and has the adaptations in place for better recovery. Not to mention, these trained individuals are usually more aware about how to enhance recovery via outside protocols (ie. nutrition, sleep, hydration, stretching, etc.)
If you’re training or working out consistently, soreness is part of the game. Sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t. There’s not always this ‘perfect soreness’ predictor.
Although as I alluded to before though, a new stimulus for an athlete of any training level can cause some degree of soreness and/or fatigue. To limit that it comes down to proper programming strategies of those new exercises/workouts in order to control the soreness along with appropriate rest and recovery.
So if soreness is inevitable along the way, can you still train through it? For example if you squat on Monday, but then start feeling sore Tuesday night, can you still train your deadlifts that you have planned for Wednesday?
Short answer, yes.
However, the degree of soreness matters. If this is some debilitating soreness (usually seen in newer athletes that did way too much), then it may be best to push off that training session another day or so. Maybe you workout the upper body instead.
If you’re experiencing lighter soreness and some general stiffness, spend a few extra minutes warming up in the beginning and get to work. That’s normal.
You have to pay attention to your body. If you’re experiencing ‘pain’ then it’s going to be smarter to change up the routine or push back the workout all together. However, the more advanced you become in your training the better able you are to differentiate ‘pain’ from soreness along with having a better idea of how to manage those soreness symptoms.
If you’re experiencing more mild-moderate soreness and still plan to workout through it, there are a few things you can do that are quick and easy to implement.
The first of which is light activity. Getting the blood flowing and increasing your core temperature is a great way to reduce some “tightness” in preparation for the task at hand. Starting with general movement such as biking or rowing is great, however as you get more warm, progressing to more movement specific drills will get you prepared for the upcoming session. So if you have squats on the menu, taking some time to perform goblet squats under a light load can help you get into a good position pre-squats.
Another tip for when you are sore is gentle stretching through a range of motion. Remember though, when you’re sore, you’re not going to have as much available range of motion as you normally do since you’re more inflamed and neurologically stiff. Fancy words for you being “tight.” Just don’t fight the tightness. Instead, meet it where it resists your motion and breathe through it. Breathing under control (via the nose) induces a state of relaxation and can lengthen the tissue more.
Hydration is key. The more water you have in the muscle and surrounding tissue, the more smoothly they can glide and contract. The more hydrated you are, the better the nervous system is going to fire. So that means a better ability to relax and contract muscle. Keep in mind, electrolytes such as sodium should be replenished if the prior session was a sweaty one. That will also help nerve and muscle tissue function.
*There is also some data demonstrating the effectiveness of hot/cold therapy 24 hours following a training session for reducing muscle soreness. So taking a cold shower or hitting the sauna could potentially benefit you prior to the following training session but according to the research, it’s most effective within those 24 hours following a given session (1).
1) Wang Y, Li S, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Yan F, Han L, Ma Y. Heat and cold therapy reduce pain in patients with delayed onset muscle soreness: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 randomized controlled trials. Phys Ther Sport. 2021 Mar;48:177-187. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2021.01.004. Epub 2021 Jan 14. PMID: 33493991.
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Most people, at this point, understand that incorporating physical activity into their lifestyle is important to improve their health and longevity.
Whether you’re someone who has an existing health condition or someone who is simply looking to optimize your existing quality of life, increasing your physical activity levels enough will result in improvements in these conditions.
In 2018, the newest edition of the “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans” was updated and revised from the prior 2008 edition.
These guidelines mainly serve as a resource for health professionals and policymakers to design and implement physical activity programs, policies, and promotion initiatives, but also provide guidelines for different demographics to follow.
Upwards of 80% of the population in the US doesn’t meet the recommended amount of physical activity during the week, which has been contributing to increases in childhood obesity and chronic health conditions in adults and the elderly.
So how much physical activity should you accumulate throughout the week, and at what intensity?
Is any one type better than another regarding health benefits?
While each age cohort has a different amount and type they should accumulate throughout the week or focus on each day, the common narrative established is adults and the elderly should reach 150-300 min/wk of moderate intensity physical activity or 75-150 min/wk of vigorous intensity with 2 days of resistance training, hitting all the major muscle groups. That could mean doing some type of cardiovascular exercise, such as riding a bike, walking, running, hiking or another repetitive movement you prefer for 30-60 min/day, 5 days a week. While this may seem daunting at first, the guidelines demonstrate that exercise can be broken up throughout the day, and doesn’t have to occur all at once.
This provides an area of flexibility that you can work your schedule around.
I’m sure you’re wondering what defines the difference between moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity.
The level of intensity of exercise can be measured using subjective metrics, such as ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) that ranges from 1-10, or objective metrics such as exercise heart rate (HR) or metabolic equivalent of task (MET).
One MET is equivalent to the rate of energy expenditure while sitting at rest and is equal to 1. Moderate physical activity can be considered an RPE 4-7, exercise heart rate of 60-85%, or MET value of 3.0-6.0, while vigorous physical activity would be considered above these marks, with RPE >7, exercise HR >85%, and MET values >6.0.
Now that you understand the different intensities of physical activity, you can focus on obtaining the 150-300min/wk of moderate PA or 75-150 min of vigorous PA.
Bouts, or episodes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of any duration, may be included in the daily total volume throughout the week.
Regardless of the current status of your health, regular exercise has been demonstrated to be safe and effective in improving an individual’s health and quality of life.
While individuals with certain health conditions, such as those with diabetes or cardiovascular disease should consult with their doctor before participating in an exercise regiment, majority of exercise is safe and hasn’t shown to promote any adverse health consequences.
Meeting the recommended amount of physical activity throughout the week has been shown to improve certain health outcomes such as all-cause mortality, disease such as coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, osteoporosis, physical fitness and strength, cognitive performance, sleep, depression and risk of falls or injuries from falls in the elderly.
Those who meet the 150 min/wk of moderate physical activity have a 33% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who don’t.
In regards to weight management, routine physical activity has been shown to help maintain a stable weight, and can reduce the risk of excessive weight gain and incidence of obesity.
Sleep outcomes such as sleep efficiency, sleep quality, reduction in frequency of medication use and duration of deep sleep has been shown to improve with increasing amounts of physical activity.
This can also have a positive and concurrent impact on other qualities of life and allow for improvements in psychological health.
For children and adolescents, the importance of daily physical activity can’t be disregarded. Majority of bone mass is developed through the adolescent years, as this period serves as an important time to not only develop their physical health, but also develop and reinforce good behaviors that will serve them through life.
Guidelines for Children/Adolescents
Guidelines for Adults
Guidelines for Elderly
Guidelines for Pregnant Women and Postpartum period
Guidelines for those with health conditions or disabilities
While this post focuses on the general guidelines and health benefits of obtaining enough physical activity throughout the week, the next couple of weeks will go more into depth with cardiovascular adaptations, musculoskeletal benefits, psychological benefits, and provide more specific strategies to implement into your routine.
Written by: Jeff Tremblay
Jeff is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Performance Coach, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is actively treating patients and coaching athletes of all disciplines, ranging from youth to high level athletes.
Jeff is an active member of the E26 community and lives by the motto: "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Jeff or any member of the Element 26 Team, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Throughout any fitness journey, motivation will always come and go at varying amounts.
Those days when you feel fresh and recovered, the motivation will be high.
On the other hand, those days when you feel worn down and stressed, the motivation will be low.
It’s a constant back and forth between feeling naturally motivated and trying to “find it.”
Assuming you’re on a journey with specific fitness goals in mind, then something sparked that drive initially.
You took the first steps because you were motivated. Motivated for a change or improvement in something.
However, that initial level of motivation doesn’t always last and continually trying to “find” motivation takes energy and makes us more stressed.
Imagine coming home every day from work exhausted, knowing that you just want to sleep but you have specific fitness goals in mind… then you’re conflicted and feel guilty about not going to the gym which further drives down motivation status.
The last thing we want to do is “find” motivation. Once in a while is fine, however in the long term it’s not sustainable. There’s a better way to go about it.
Goals don’t get achieved when stress is high and you’re forcing motivation.
So below I’ve written down 3 strategies that you can implement right now to help cultivate continuous motivation so you don’t have to constantly “find” it.
Hope this helps!
If you have any questions about motivation or cultivating it, feel free to shoot the E26 Team an email at support@element26.co. Phil and the team are standing by waiting to help you!
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
We all love the high of getting a good sweat and hammering out a solid workout. It’s a feeling of accomplishment.
Sweet satisfaction!
But the physical and mental work it took to complete that workout wasn’t easy. You really had to push through in order to not give up. That is tough to maintain day-after-day, week-after-week.
If you’re a “functional athlete” or someone training a variety of movements, energy systems, and intensities, then the ability to push hard in these workout sessions day-after-day comes down to your ability to recover.
If you’re not recovering, you’re not performing. No way around it.
Today I wanted to provide some background on why proper rest day “fueling” (eating and hydration) is important, bring awareness to some flaws I’ve seen on rest day, and give you 5 tips for better fueling.
Keep in mind, the advice provided is general and based on athletes who are at least “moderately” trained (training >10 hours a week). Although most of the information can be applied to less trained athletes, please consult your health professional, doctor, nutritionist, or dietician prior to implementing any of the strategies below.
Also a rest day is defined as a day where you aren’t training, participating in planned physical activity, or performing a task that is more physically difficult than what you normally do.
As you may be aware, you need calories (or energy) for all your metabolic processes to take place aka living and functioning.
You need energy to keep your body functioning at rest (breathing, tissue repair, digesting food) and you need energy when exercising.
The exercise/physical activity you perform on a daily and weekly basis determines how efficient you will be and the specific energy requirements your body needs to operate optimally.
For example, if you regularly perform aerobic exercise, your body is going to be better at utilizing fatty acids and glucose (simple sugar) for long duration tasks, think running 5 miles.
Meanwhile, if you’re an Olympic lifter who doesn’t perform much aerobic exercise then your body will utilize a combination of the energy that’s readily available and ‘glycolysis’ for more energy production (more powerful short term, but not efficient long term). That’s why it’s optimal for powerlifters and Olympic lifters to take 2-5 minutes of rest between sets, it allows for better energy regeneration in the absence of oxygen.
You need fuel to function.
Regardless if you’re an aerobic based athlete or anaerobic based athlete (functioning primarily with and without oxygen respectively), you will almost certainly function better when your glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are full. Even if the athlete has trained on a low carbohydrate diet for some time, power and performance increase even more when utilizing glycogen aka carbs(1).
That leads into my next point about rest day fueling with carbohydrate (glucose) sources. If you’re training moderately (~2 hours a day, 5 days a week), you’re going to need the fuel to continue to push through the following session. If you’re fairly well trained, you can even tell when you didn’t have enough carbs or simply enough calories the day before. That’s because you feel “off” and sluggish. You feel like you’re working harder and can’t apply the same power output you had previously managed. The muscles store glycogen and if you’re looking to make progress, you need to provide it.
So on your rest day and immediately following the previous workout session, ensure you’re taking in some carbohydrates of various forms and restoring those glycogen stores in the muscles.
Also keep in mind, for the 3-24 hours that follow a single bout of exercise, you have an increase in GLUT4 protein expression (2,3). GLUT4 is the receptor responsible for bringing the glucose into the muscle cell. This is a fancy way of saying after you exercise, you are potentially more sensitive to uptaking glucose. Therefore, glucose for rest day fuel is strongly considered if you’re training at least moderately. More energy for the following session.
The second point I want to make is about tissue repair. Everytime you workout you are ripping apart your muscle cells. Yes, you have microtrauma to the muscles. Hence why you get sore and feel inflamed afterwards.
Regardless of whether you are on a rest day or on a training day following a prior training session, you need to start the repair of the muscle tissue you broke down in order to continue to push at the levels you desire. Your body can’t do this as optimally if you’re limiting carbohydrates and/or protein intake.
Everytime you perform a bout of exercise, more specifically resistance training, you get an increase in muscle protein synthesis (MPS) (4). This means your body starts making new muscle tissue by incorporating amino acids into the bound skeletal muscle proteins (5).
Essentially, you’re building muscle.
But what’s also true is that ingesting protein following this bout of exercise increases the rate of MPS (6,7). So it seems that when trying to repair muscle tissue, protein consumption post-exercise increases MPS and recovery.
In fact one study had shown 20g of high-quality protein ingested every 3 hours after exercise for a 12-hour window was more superior than 10 grams every 1.5 hours or 40g every 6 hours (8). This was limited to lower body exercise. Another study from 2016 had shown that among healthy resistance-trained men, ingesting 40g of protein following an acute bout of whole body resistance training can increase protein synthesis by 16% in a 5-hour recovery window compared to 20g (9).
Sure these are only a couple studies, but there is numerous data that have studied the improvements of MPS when ingesting protein post-exercise following both aerobic and resistance exercise. Skeletal muscle can stay in a heightened anabolic state following a bout of resistance training when protein is available in the diet for 24 (10) to 48 (11) hours post exercise.
Bottomline, eat your protein after you exercise, especially when you complete a more “resistance-heavy” exercise bout. That continual protein ingestion over the next 24-48 hours can potentially improve recovery and the following training session.
We all know drinking water is a good thing, but how much is essential and how do we optimize a proper level of hydration?
This is all determined by your pre-exercise hydration status, your body composition, the temperature of the environment, the humidity level, what you’ve eaten/ingested, etc. There’s a ton of factors that play into it but let’s keep it simple, we’ll focus on water and electrolytes during your period of recovery.
One important point to remember is that the human body is 50-70% water, depending on the body composition and mass of the specific individual (12). Therefore the body requires a certain amount of water to operate its normal day to day functions. If you have too much water or too little water, this will be detrimental to function and performance. Hence the importance of rest day hydration. But it’s not as simple as “just drinking water” throughout the day. Although that’s beneficial, there are some other key points to be noted as well.
Plain water is good at restoring the volume of water in the blood, but it's not as efficient as improving rehydration status after exercise. Basically, you won’t be driving water into the muscle cells so easily. In fact, plain water by itself can decrease the relative concentration of electrolytes (sodium in particular in the blood, which comes with its own issues). So to help drive more water into the cell, sodium and carbohydrates in particular, can help to optimize this process. When sodium is in a higher concentration outside the cell, it will flow into the cell carrying water with it. Sodium is also the number one electrolyte lost in sweat during an intense workout and has a large effect on plasma osmolality (the relative amount of particles in your blood) (13). A study by Sheriffs et al. demonstrated proper hydration was achieved after the volume of fluid ingested was greater than that lost and when the drink sodium concentration was higher than that of sweat (14). So the pairing of the sodium and water had a greater rehydration effect.
Another important point to consider is that carbohydrates can deliver a similar effect of restoring rehydration. Evans et al. found that drinking a 10% glucose solution immediately post-exercise resulted in greater fluid retention at the end of a 6-hour recovery window compared to a 0% glucose drink (15). The amount of fluid in those drinks was 150% of the fluid lost during exercise. Another similar study concluded that 4 hours after exercise, the water retention was greatest when drinking a 6% and 10% glucose drink (16). The fluid volume in these drinks was equal to 100% of what was lost during exercise.
It appears that the greatest ability to promote rehydration after exercise where fluid loss is high, is sufficient fluid paired with sodium and carbohydrate. This results in greater fluid retention. However, just remember more is not always better. A 10% glucose drink is already on the higher end of consumption status. Sure the carbs help with energy here, but in terms of osmolality, they may not necessarily be promoting greater rehydration status. That’s why some commercial “rehydration” drinks may not be optimally rehydrating you because the concentration of glucose (sugar) to water is a bit too high and may be pulling water from other tissues to follow the glucose concentration in the lumen aka your ‘gut’.
So to jump start your recovery day fueling, it makes sense to rehydrate initially with a sodium and simple carbohydrate drink, then transition to more complex carbs after the first few hours following the exercise. Remember, if the exercise is not intense enough, you may not even need that much sodium and carbohydrate solution. The hydration amount depends on variables such as environment (humidity, altitude, temperature), work intensity, prior hydration status, and body composition. Those need to be accounted for first before choosing a specific drink mixture.
When talking about exercise and rest day fuel, we have to remember that some hormones can be produced and released as a result of the training session intensity and volume. These hormones are notably testosterone, IGF-1 (insulin growth-like factor), and growth hormone (GH). Much is still not fully understood about their effects and how much of a role they play in recovery acutely and chronically. However, exercise does induce a cascade of reactions in the body, specific to the individual and exercise type, that can enhance the effect of the given hormone. This is true for males and females. Whether the signaling and hormone release is present over a period of time, it is important to ensure proper nutrition and food intake after a workout to enhance the overall effect of the hormones and their ability to promote a greater environment for recovery and future performance (16).
There is a ton of misleading information out there about training and proper recovery fueling. This information can lead to poor choices in particular fueling strategies which can create a negative result in performance. Here are some flaws that are common.
Undereating - Of course if an athlete or individual is in a fat loss phase then ‘undereating’ or eating in a calorie deficit is essential. How much depends on that individual. However, this can unfortunately be a problem for performance athletes. If fat loss is not the primary goal, then the athlete has to ensure they’re taking in sufficient calories to fit their performance needs. If you’ve been training long enough, you’ll know your maintenance calories more or less. Remember the body is building itself back up during those recovery days and needs sufficient fuel for repair on top of normal metabolic processes. So the amount of energy you’re using for these rest days during a normal training week should be above baseline calorie levels. If you do not know your daily maintenance calories, it’s best to meet with a nutritionist or dietician who can help you find an optimal calorie intake. There’s also a ton of free resources out there in the forms of apps and databases that can help you troubleshoot this as well. But undereating on your recovery day is setting you up for failure on the following session and leading to less-than-optimal muscle building effect.
Lack of nutritional variety - This one is just about getting your micronutrition. Think veggies and other real foods. Performance, sleep, recovery can all be benefitted from ensuring proper nutritional variety when ingesting a mix of amino acids, vitamins, grains, fats, etc. Ensure you’re taking in a variety to promote greater performance and overall health.
Poor hydration - The organs, and in particularly the nervous system, need water to function optimally. Let’s also not forget the human body is made up of 50-70% water. If you’re not hydrating during that recovery day, the next session is going to be a smack in the face. The water you drink the day before your next workout can make a ton of difference in performance. Subtract 1-2 coffees and instead add 12-16 oz of water, your body will thank you.
1) Eat above maintenance
2) Eat complex carbs for fuel
3) Eat sufficient protein
4) Hydrate properly and utilize sodium and carbohydrates
5) Break up your meals throughout the day
Hope this helps! For any questions or comments regarding any of the above, please comment below or reach out to the E26 Team at support@element26.co.
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Performing a warm-up is a central part of most individual’s training routine.
While there are unique styles of warming-up that many of you have seen in the gym, ranging from the most simplistic to those severely drawn-out, there are some inherent benefits provided in performing a dynamic warm-up prior to training.
Whatever your preferred style of warming up is, there are some important elements that should be incorporated while adhering to specific time-frames.
Important elements that should be incorporated involve minimal use of passive stretching techniques (i.e sustained stretching for >30-60 seconds) and prolonged use and reliance of foam rolling for increasing tissue temperature and perceived “tissue restrictions.”
While sustained stretching can be incorporated at the end of training to increase the body’s tolerance to tissue tension and increase passive range of motion, a warm-up that relies on passive, sustained stretches has demonstrated reduction in muscular strength and endurance.
If your ultimate goal is to increase strength and function, sustained stretching should be avoided to allow adequate motor unit recruitment, neuromuscular facilitation and tissue tensile strength.
The use of foam rolling should also be discouraged because there is lack of evidence suggesting any benefit in range of motion beyond a short-duration of time (i.e 5 min).
If foam rolling has been a part of your regular warm-up routine, minimize the duration to 5 min or less, which will increase time spent on more dynamic components.
Proper elements of a warm-up should consist of modes such as a bike, treadmill or elliptical to increase blood flow and prepare the cardiovascular system for more intense exercise, followed by specific exercise selection similar to the demands that day.
For example, if the expected workout incorporates squats and deadlifts, utilizing specific exercises such as inchworms and pause goblet squats can be helpful to improve position and prepare the lower body for exercise.
Following these with light barbell squats and/or RDLs beginning with the bar for one or more sets, and then progressing sequentially will, over time, demonstrate a much more time-efficient strategy while still accomplishing the same objectives. When properly executed, warming-up should only take 10-20 minutes, at most, and you should feel prepared for that day of training.
Duration: 10-20 min
Bike, Treadmill, Elliptical, etc to begin
2-3 Dynamic drills
If olympic lifting, practice drills with barbell until warm and notice increase in range of motion
If strength training with barbell, perform first movement with barbell for multiple sets, then add weight
If performing a WOD, run through expected lifts with lighter weight
Performing a warm-up prior to training is commonly seen in the majority of individuals who exercise.
The benefits include increase in focus/attention, increase systemic blood flow, reduction in pain sensitivity, and overall increase in physical preparedness for exercise.
While there are conflicting thoughts and suggestions that you can find, talking to the local trainer at your gym, a lifting-partner, or online, there are central elements that should be incorporated for a warm-up.
While certain elements will be based on a person’s individual preference, reliance on passive modalities such as foam rolling or prolonged stretching should be avoided, while dynamic exercises should be incorporated that mimic the expected positions and lifts to be performed.
You’ll find that over time, your warm-up routine will be of less duration, saving time and energy and help you obtain your specific goals.
Written by: Jeff Tremblay
Jeff is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Performance Coach, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is actively treating patients and coaching athletes of all disciplines, ranging from youth to high level athletes.
Jeff is an active member of the E26 community and lives by the motto: "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Jeff or any member of the Element 26 Team, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
The fitness journey isn’t linear.
There’s a constant flux between your “success” and your “failure.”
I put these terms in quotes because how you define each is up to you, your expectations, and the metrics you’re using.
But regardless, there’s always going to be a struggle somewhere along that path.
Maybe it’s physical, maybe it’s mental, maybe it’s inside the gym, maybe it’s outside….
There’s so much variability in an individual’s journey.
So I’ve taken 3 common fitness struggles and provided a bulleted list on how to overcome those obstacles.
Schedule your workouts ahead of time.
Literally plan your week ahead for when you are going to workout. Having set times where it’s just ‘workout time’ is going to be crucial for staying on track.
Have a crew to hold you accountable.
Accountability and support is so important for staying consistent. When you have people in your corner that want you to succeed as much as you want to, sky’s the limit. They can help you manage the ‘good” and the “bad.” So find that crew that can help you along. As always, the E26 Facebook Group is always here to support you along the journey.
Setup a routine.
Become a routine machine. From your eating habits – to your workouts – to your sleep schedule, make sure everything becomes second nature. Now, it can take a few weeks to make something stick, but once you get through that habit building phase it takes less brain energy for planning and processing.
Analyze your goals.
Determine what it is that you truly desire. What do you want to accomplish from a fitness, performance, and/or health standpoint? Once you get clear on what you want, you can put a game plan into action and ensure your probability of success is much higher. The more specific and detailed, the better.
Make your goals realistic and attainable.
If your goal is to run a marathon in 2 months but you haven’t been able to run 5 miles without stopping to walk several times throughout, then you need to go back and figure out a better goal and/or timeline. A goal like that (that is clearly unrealistic) is setting you up for failure and making it difficult for you to stick to long term consistency. Make sure the goal is challenging but not too challenging where you’re only going to fail.
Analyze your entire life schedule.
In order to create really good fitness goals, they need to coincide with your entire life situation. Your stress, your job, your family, your commuting… everything needs to be considered and analyzed. If you want to train twice a day but you work 7am- 7pm then it’s going to be very hard to be consistent because you’ll literally burnout. You need to balance the dance between life and fitness so it’s sustainable and you can recover appropriately.
Be able to measure progress.
If you can measure your progress, you can adjust and rework your expectations (and goals) in real time. Even if you set some pretty lofty goals to begin with, don’t worry, you can always go back and adjust as needed to ensure continual progress. Better to adjust than to proceed down a burning path. The speed of the goal doesn’t matter as much, focus on the smaller, incremental wins. That’s how you set yourself up for success long term. The opposite can also be said for goals not big enough. You can always go back and rework your expectations/goals to fit your increased level of progress.
Every failure is a learning opportunity.
Instead of looking at the situation as a “failure,” look at it as a learning experience. Take a step back and look at where things went astray and what you can do better next time. Failures and obstacles are inevitable, they’re bound to happen. Make sure you “fail fast” and analyze why it happened.
Give yourself permission to fail.
A lot of times what makes failing worse is the way you treat yourself after. You are your toughest critic. It’s not easy and certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but giving yourself permission to fail by paying mindful attention to how you respond to a failed situation will empower you and help you regain your confidence and plan of attack more quickly.
Ask yourself why you’re afraid.
Why do you fear failure? Take some time to really get to the depth about why you feel a certain way about failing. This takes a lot of work, I won’t lie, but if you can really break down and get to the root of your fear of failing, that fear slowly shrinks over time. You got this!
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Success in anything is a direct correlation with your ability to focus.
Think about it. Everything from your job, your fitness routine, and your personal life require varying levels of focus to be successful and to fully enjoy the experience.
Without the ability to fully focus or find a sense of clarity, your experience won’t be as profound as if you were fully immersed.
Quick example, imagine being with your family on a Sunday but you keep thinking about that big work meeting the next day. You won’t be able to fully enjoy the presence of your family with a mind that can’t focus on the present.
If that’s you, don’t feel guilty, you’re human. It’s what we do to plan against possible “threats.”
However, these threats, triggers, stresses disturb the ability to fully commit to what’s in front of us.
A fast paced life, habitual distractions, and poorly constructed expectations make the art of focus more difficult to achieve.
So this not only affects your fitness routine and results, but it impedes the experience and enjoyment of everyday life. So we have to help ourselves become aware of that.
To break this cycle, I have outlined 7 tips to improve your focus and clarity both inside and outside the gym.
These tips will help bring some awareness to the current habits preventing optimal results and help you establish new ones in their place.
But first I need to set the stage with two questions.
Answer: As I alluded to before, full focus essentially means full effort. The more effort you’re putting in, the greater the output, generally. We’ll talk about setting intentions later, but clear intentions with full effort get you even better results.
Diving deeper, more focus means more awareness of what’s going on in your body: heart rate, breathing, soreness, fatigue, pain, etc. Having that inner body awareness is called interoception. That helps gauge certain workout intensities and feelings in the moment. The brain can gather all this information and use it again later. Along with that comes the ability to know where you are in space during certain movements aka your “form.” Fully focusing on your movement creates a more efficient pattern over time and that efficiency creates better long term results. More reps and sets in a more efficient pattern means less fatigue, more muscle growth, and less joint pain. Bottomline, focus creates a more sustainable, optimal approach over time.
Answer: Now taking a step back, let’s look at some barriers that could affect your ability to focus or fully immerse yourself in the experience. In your day to day life these could be the distractions that pop up. Distractions are inevitable but how you respond doesn’t have to be. For example, notifications that pop up on your phone or your co-worker giving you an additional task to work on. They pull you out of your focus.
Another barrier could be misaligned expectations. The expectations you have about a task that are too high or too low could compromise your focus because they’re too stressful or not stressful enough. The expectations have to be realistic for you.
Poor planning is another one. That could be anything from your daily workouts to your daily life. If there’s no plan, then it’s tough to set intentions. And if there’s poor intentions, then there’s poor focus and clarity. Think about it, if you know what the workout is meant to accomplish (ie. enhance long term aerobic fitness, build some strength in the back squat, hit a moderate intense workout for 20 minutes without redlining) then you can focus specifically on that intention and get it done. Planning is a must for optimal performance and results.
Oh and I can’t leave out the motivation and confidence you gain just from setting up a plan and executing a task. It becomes a drug and when you see that progress it fuels the fire.
Inside the gym
1. Plan the workout (script the actual session ahead of time)
Inside/outside the gym
4. Make a routine
Outside the gym
5. Meditation practice
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
When it comes to fitness and physical training there are so many different avenues that you can pursue.
There’s strength training, low threshold aerobic/cardio training, high threshold aerobic/cardio training, power work, sport specific training, circuit training, HIIT, etc.
But if you’re just going for “overall fitness,” what is the best one?
Or how do you know the correct prescription for each one?
It’s a difficult matter and it can be overwhelming.
However, I’m going to simplify this process even more by breaking down each component of the human energy systems to give you a basic understanding of the different forms of exercise out there and then give you some tips and recommendations on writing a comprehensive plan to help take your fitness and performance to the next level.
Let’s get into it!
There are 3 ways for the body to create a muscle contraction, which is the essentially end result of how these energy systems work.
That’s the goal, muscle contraction in order to pull two connecting bones together.
Keep in mind, each energy system functions a bit differently for the given demands placed upon the body, but they ultimately have the same goal which is to create energy for contraction.
This energy comes from the food you eat, which is either used immediately or stored for later.
Below I go into more details about each specific energy system and how they get to the end result.
The end goal of all energy systems is to produce Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). This system has ATP on hand and available for immediate use. That means when you’re going for a short sprint or about to hit a max lift, you’re using the ATP available in that moment. This system does not use any oxygen nor does it use lactate (a product of glucose breakdown in the glycolytic system). This is your main strength and power system. It will only last for about 10 seconds of hard all-out effort before you use up the current ATP stores. It doesn’t last long.
Let’s now say you continue to sprint or perform a hard all-out task. Maybe you're doing a “sprint” WOD and you have to slam the gas pedal. This system will start to take over predominantly once you run out of that available energy. The muscle cell will take glucose (simple sugar aka carbs) to produce the necessary ATP for muscle work. It takes this glucose from the available blood sugar and from what’s stored in the muscle cell at the moment.
*Glycolysis is the process of breaking down carbs into simpler components for energy.
This system will go on to produce lactate (formed from pyruvate), which can then be recycled. Lactate is a good thing since it allows glycolysis to continue to produce ATP and help the production of more NAD+ (which can then accept hydrogen ions, reducing acidity). The acidity is what makes your muscles burn when you’re working so hard.
In most athletes, this system will operate for about 30 seconds to 3 minutes given the athlete is operating at a level beyond their VO2 Max (maximum oxygen consumption). Therefore no oxygen is being used if you’re continuing to push yourself past the recovery limit. That’s when the muscles burn and you eventually “red line” aka your power output and work performance start to decline and you can’t give anymore effort. You’re above the lactate threshold, therefore lactate levels spike because of how much you’re utilizing glucose and your inability to clear lactate.
This final system is your aerobic system. This one takes place within the mitochondria of the cell and operates in the presence of oxygen to help burn fat and carbs. It will allow you to turnover much greater amounts of ATP (energy), but it takes longer to get that ATP. This system operates at lower levels of intensity, for example a 5 mile run or a slower WOD that you pace yourself for.
Operating in this system will occur below your lactate threshold since you’re not performing at such a high intensity that you have to kick on the process of glycolysis, creating more lactate. This system uses the electron transport chain complete with molecules and proteins that bond with the hydrogen ions (again, what causes burning in the muscles) and uses them to create larger amounts of ATP. So think low, long durations for this system. Much more efficient for long term work, but not as powerful. Diesel fuel here.
So now that all the science and chemistry is out of the way, let’s move onto the real-life application. How should we target each of these systems in our training and how frequently?
This can be a loaded question for many athletes out there all having different backgrounds and different goals, but to keep it general let’s focus on the functional athlete who’s moderately trained and is trying to maximize all of these components of fitness.
When structuring their plan, each aspect of fitness is divided into specific buckets. For example, let's use power, strength, moderate-to-high intensity work, low-to-moderate intensity work, and sport specific/gymnastic work.
From there you can see where each energy system would fall. Strength/power into the phosphagen bucket, moderate-to-high intensity into the glycolytic bucket, low-to-moderate work into the mitochondria/oxidative bucket, and sport specific/gymnastic work into the phosphagen bucket.
Of course it’s not always that clear cut and these systems are constantly overlapping, but for the majority of the time, that’s the energy system you will primarily be using during that task.
Now let’s script a general weekly plan based on maximizing each one keeping in mind fatigue and ability to recover.
For this athlete, let’s pretend it’s a low stress week, training has been going well, no injuries to note, and they work a normal full-time job on top of training.
*We have to mention that otherwise the plan could be written completely differently, but the majority reading this will most likely have a ton of other responsibilities.
Monday: Power, Strength, Low-to-moderate work
Tuesday: Sport specific/gymnastic, Moderate-to-high work
Wednesday: Low-to-moderate work
Thursday: Power, strength, low-to-moderate work
Friday: Sport specific/gymnastic, Moderate-to-high work
Saturday: Power, strength
Sunday: Low-to-moderate work
The weeks are laid out like this in order to minimize the accumulation of fatigue and maximize the athlete’s ability to recover. The moderate-to-high intensity work for the average trained athlete will be pretty rough and can take longer to recover from, hence why it’s only 2x/week. Meanwhile, low-to-moderate work (think steady state cardio) can be performed multiple times a week since recovery will be much greater there.
For the sake of this, I’m not going to get into specifics with volume and lift selection for the strength and power part, but that does have to be in check and should be monitored week-to-week depending on the athlete's goals. More volume (sets x reps x load) potentially means more fatigue.
Moderate-to-high intensity work will also consist of those tough circuits, WODs, metcons, whatever you want to call them, that have your heart rate consistently at or above that zone 4-5 range. It’s freaking hard work.
Remember, as a functional athlete you want to maximize each energy system so that you’re enhancing your whole fitness package. Going to classes that have you rolling on the floor, gasping for air at the end, time after time, is only focusing on one piece. In order to enhance your performance and health benefits you need to spend time in each bucket to make the changes required.
Let me know if this blog helped and if you have any questions, leave a comment below or shoot us an email to support@element26.co.
As always, we’ll be rooting for ya!
#TeamE26
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Let’s talk about the ‘tough’ workouts.
These are the ones you absolutely dread.
Not only do they look hard on paper (or the class whiteboard), but you know it’s going to hurt.
It’s a grind, it’s a battle, and it takes you to some dark places.
You’ve probably been there before… rolling around on the floor at the end of the workout, gasping for air.
*Straight suffering.*
But what if we took a different approach to all this?
What if we can make the ‘suffering’ more easy to manage?
What if there’s a way to endure these workouts and ensure you got the most out of it?
The tough workouts are predictable in the fact that they’re going to be tough.
So how do we make them easier?
Well for starters, everything comes down to mindset and preparation.
Both are insanely powerful tools when used correctly for these workouts.
Below I have outlined 5 easy-to-follow tips to help you endure those tough training sessions so you can get the most out of them and come out the other side confident.
Prior to any tough training session or workout, you should be drinking plenty of water. Whether that’s the morning of or the night before, you need to make sure your muscles, nerves, and other internal organs have the water necessary for top performance. During the workout you should also have some water on hand ready to go along with some simple carbohydrates (ie. dextrose, glucose) and electrolytes. The sugar helps fuel the system during the workout, the electrolytes help nerve/muscle cells function and help balance fluids in and out of the cell.
Prior to your training session keep your food choices simple. The last thing you want is to have a meal too heavy that you end up with stomach pains and bloating during the session. Instead, keep the foods simple and easy to digest 1-2 hours before. A blend of simple and complex carbs along with whey protein are much easier to digest. Avoiding high fatty foods and high fiber foods is a smart move at this time.
Every night should follow a similar routine. Brushing your teeth, drinking some tea, journaling, reading, some television, whatever it is for you, it should be consistent. The more routine, the better the sleep. Following that routine for 80-90% of the time will improve your sleep and following workout performance.
Is the workout supposed to be as hard as possible or is it supposed to be done smoothly and under control? Understanding the point of the workout will dictate how hard you should be pushing it. Honestly a lot of people make the workouts much harder than they should be. That causes excess stress and expectation around the workout making it ‘miserable.’ Reframing your mindset around the intention of the workout can improve your performance.
In your day-to-day life, how often do you feel stressed and anxious? Do you have a daily stress-management practice such as focused breathing or meditation? Practicing calmness throughout your day will help you when it comes down to taking on that tough session. If you’re able to sit in the stressful times mentally, you’ll be able to endure the tougher workouts from a mental perspective. Your mindset affects heart rate and breathing rate as well. If these are managed properly, you’ll get more out of your workout. Try taking breaks throughout your day to simply sit in silence. This could be 5 minutes or 30 minutes. Whatever works for your day is best.
Hope this helps!
Please share this with your fellow gym buddies if you found this helpful.
Leave a comment or email us directly at support@element26.co if you have any questions!
In the meantime, keep crushing it! We’ll be here rooting for ya.
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
As a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Strength Coach, I’ve seen a TON of knee pain in my professional and personal experience.
Everything from patellofemoral pain and ACL tears, all the way to full-blown knee replacements.
This includes a wide mix of athletes and general pop clients.
But for most people dealing with some good ol’ mechanical/musculoskeletal pain (think general cranky sore knees), I have 5 really simple steps to help out anyone suffering with that form of knee pain.
*Note: I have not evaluated you nor know your history. The advice I’m providing is strictly from my own experiences as a licensed clinician. This may or may not be right for you. Please consult your Medical Doctor or Physical Therapist prior to engaging in any activity below :)
Ok now onto the good stuff!
The below strategies are what I have seen help a TON of clients over the years suffering from mechanical based knee pain.
Some might seem like common sense, but don’t overlook the potential. I explain my reasoning and how it can help.
They are as follows, in no particular order:
1) Stretch your calves - The calves are a group of muscles that connect from the back of your knee to your heel bone. If the calves are “tight,” forward movement of your knees will be more difficult and the front of the knees tend to get achy real quick. Stretch those calves in straight and bent knee positions. This can be done throughout the day and prior to exercise. Sustained static-stretching or smooth ankle mobilizations can work here.
2) Slow down the tempo of knee dominant movements - Knee dominant movements refer to movements with a high degree of knee bending. Think squats, lunges, step ups. Slowing down the tempo, aka slowing down the movement as a whole, allows you to focus a bit more and use your actual muscles to support the lift instead of your knee joints. Slowing things down also causes you to build muscle… good problem!
3) Shorten the range of motion - For those knee dominant motions, don’t be afraid to shorten how deep you go. It’s ok to not go full depth. Let me say that again… YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO FULL DEPTH. If you have pain during “full” motion then stop doing that, it’s not doing any good. Partial range of motion still allows you to hit the same muscle groups while avoiding unnecessary pain. Over time you’ll be able to creep back into going full depth.
4) Maintain a “full-foot” position throughout the movement - What this means is don’t allow the knees to cave-in to the point where you are now standing on the inner edge of your feet. If this happens it’s because you’re either going too deep for your body, your calves are super “tight,” and/or you lack mobility and strength elsewhere. Solution: See the point above about shortening the range of motion. I’d rather see your feet flat and stable in a quarter squat versus trying to go full depth and performing an ugly looking squat.
5) “Feel the heel” - Make sure you’re working in plenty of hip dominant movements. These are movements that improve your ability to load your backside. Think hamstrings, glutes, and back muscles. Movements like Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, box squats… you get the point. By feeling your heel throughout these movements you’re immediately taking stress off the knee and placing it in the muscles on the backside. WIN-WIN. When I say “feel the heel” that doesn’t mean lift your toes (that’s another bad habit we don’t want to form). What I mean is have conscious awareness of your heel throughout the movement and pay attention to when you start to shift your weight toward your toes. Don’t let that happen. You want “quiet toes.” Unless you're jumping, the weight shouldn’t be shifting excessively to the toes.
At 6mm in thickness, the E26 knee sleeves provide you with the compression/stability necessary to perform your heavy lifts and the flexibility needed to move quickly and efficiently in your WODs.
So if you have some cranky/sore knees, these are definitely something to look at in addition to implementing the above tips. Warmth, compression, blood flow, and stability in the bottom of a squat, they’ll take you one step further to reducing that knee pain and upping your performance.
To check them out, click the link below.
And any questions about the tips above or the E26 Knee Sleeves, email us at support@element26.co and we'll take care of ya ASAP!
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Imagine you’re deep into a workout.
Lungs burn, legs are heavy, and hands are on fire.
But you’re not done yet, you still have to put together 1 more round of 20 chest-to-bar (CTB) pull ups, 20 deadlifts, and 20 calories on the airbike.
At this moment, you’re not worried about the pain you’re feeling from the acid buildup in your muscles…. That’s normal, you’re used to it.
What you’re worried about is the fact that your hands are almost raw from the prior 3 rounds.
So you take a small break, chalk up those hands in an attempt to get a better grip on the bar, and proceed to the final round.
The first 5 reps of CTB’s go smoothly.
The second 5, again, no issue. Just mild hand cramping.
The next 5, your hand really starts to burn across the palm.
And by the final 5, you’ve given it everything and can’t feel your arms.
Upon jumping down to go straight into your deadlifts you notice a red streak running down your hand and forearm and realize you’re bleeding.
You look at your palm to find the source of bleeding… SURPRISE... You managed to rip your hand on those CTB’s.
Now it’s decision time.
Either you take the time to tend to your wound and end the workout when you were about to PR or you proceed to bleed everywhere while pushing through the pain of raw skin on a steel, knurled bar.
There's no great choice in this situation. In fact, you may have even experienced this dilemma before.
So let's pause here and rewind to the beginning of the workout.
To a time where smart decisions and planning should be made.
If the workout is full of high volume pulling aka it’s “grippy,” it’s going to be best to protect those hands.
Although chalk will help dehydrate those hands to get a better grip, let’s remember CTB’s expose your hand to higher levels of turnover and friction.
So chalk is fine, but it’s not protective.
That friction will end up peeling away at the skin on the surface of your palm. Even most leather model grips don’t protect your hands completely. They stop at the base of the fingers, are so thin that they wear down quickly, and don’t provide full hand protection/coverage.
But let’s insert the IsoGrip Hand Grips here and discuss the benefits.
So now it’s your choice!
You're welcome to continue going bare handed or using a thinner finger hole grip, just realize the risk of ripping your hand open mid-workout does increase.
If you would, however, like to level up and grab a pair of the IsoGrip Hand Grips, simply click the link below.
LESS RIPPING, MORE GRIPPING.
#TeamE26
**BONUS: If you do end up ripping your hand or have known areas on your palm that do tend to rip no matter what, we also have a fix for that!! It’s called Rip Repair.
Rip Repair is a medical grade super glue that is similar to liquid bandage. It provides a plastic-like protective barrier to a fresh rip or area known to rip. Impermeable to sweat, water, and chalk!
Best part about Rip Repair is that you can use it immediately! You simply clean the rip, apply an even coating of Rip Repair to the affected area, and let it dry for 60 seconds. And guess what, there’s no sting!
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Alrighty, I'm going to get right to the point.
In this blog I answer some frequently asked questions we get from athletes and customers about Rip Repair aka the liquid skin protectant.
If you already have it, then you know how effective this stuff really is and how well it performs when it's GO time!
Question 1: Can I use Rip Repair if I haven’t ripped yet?
YES. YES. YES. In fact we encourage this. For example, if you have an area on your hand or shin that you know you tear or scrape during a given movement or workout, applying Rip Repair to the area prior helps protect it from further damage.
Question 2: Does Rip Repair sting?
Not at all. There is no sting! That’s because this is not an alcohol-based solution. With that said, it does not have any antiseptic properties. That’s why we instruct the user to thoroughly clean and dry the area prior to application. People have reported a “warm” sensation with initial application and mild discomfort if they push down too hard on the applicator itself.
Question 3: How long does it take to dry?
Rip Repair takes approximately 60 seconds to dry depending on the amount of solution you apply to a given area. Therefore, if you would like to apply a second layer, it is best to let the first coating fully dry for those 60 seconds.
Question 4: How long will it last?
It will remain on the affected for approximately 2-5 days depending on the physical activity you’re participating in and the amount of Rip Repair used. So if you rip your hand doing chest to bar pull-ups one day and then apply some Rip Repair, you'll be perfectly fine if you have deadlifts, for example, the next day. However, you may need to re-apply after the deadlifts for the following session(s).
Question 5: If I tear my skin in competition or a CrossFit workout, can I apply Rip Repair and then go right back to competing?
Absolutely! But the same rules apply. First, clean the area thoroughly, remove any debris, and stop any active bleeding. Then apply the Rip Repair and let it dry for the full 60 seconds.
Question 6: Is it normal for Rip Repair to "crack" and "flake" after some usage?
Yes, this is completely normal. Especially on areas that have increased friction such as the hands. That's why certain areas such as those with more friction can benefit from applying a second layer. The other thing to note is that Rip Repair isn't as pliable as the skin beneath it, hence why it will crack a little bit when bending certain joints. Not to worry, Rip Repair is still doing it's job!
Question 7: Will it stay on if I get water or sweat on it?
Yes it will. Once Rip Repair has dried, it will provide a fully protective “plastic-like” skin barrier. It is impermeable to sweat, water, chalk, you name it! Nothing is getting through Rip Repair.
Question 8: Can I re-use an applicator?
DO NOT RE-INSERT THE APPLICATOR INTO THE BOTTLE. You must use a brand new applicator every time you need to apply more Rip Repair. That’s because if you re-dip the applicator, moisture will get into the bottle and ruin the product. It will harden. Secondly, we want to keep the environment sanitary within the bottle. Re-dipping will not promote a sanitary environment. Each Rip Repair package comes with 20 applicators. Use a new one every time you need to apply some Rip Repair.
Question 9: How many uses per bottle?
Rip Repair can last anywhere from 15-25 uses depending on how much of it you’re applying per use. For example if you have a larger skin tear on your hand, you may decide to apply a double layer several times in a given week prior to a specific workout to allow the wound to heal. At that frequency you will have less use than a wound that gets less Rip Repair application.
Question 10: Can I apply more than one coat?
Yes 100%. The wounds that have a larger surface area may need a second layer to thoroughly protect it and have a longer lasting effect. To note, Rip Repair is not a replacement for stitches or deeper cuts. If you’re questioning it, then it’s recommended to get that checked out by a medical professional.
Question 11: How do I get it off?
Rip Repair will come off naturally in 2-5 days, and being honest, it is difficult to remove after a recent application. However, if you’d like to remove it earlier for whatever reason, start by cleaning the area with soap and water to sanitize the skin and soften the Rip Repair bond. Wash/scrub for at least 20-30 seconds. If this is a fresher wound, soap will not irritate the area. After that you can try applying a warm, clean towel to the area to further soften the bond between the skin and Rip Repair. After it is softened, attempt to peel back the Rip Repair bond and clean the area again after it is removed.
-----BREAK! -----
So now, if you have any other questions we’d love to answer them. Simply email us at: support@element26.co and we'll get back to you ASAP!
In the meantime, if you would like to check out Rip Repair for yourself, simply click the link below.
And no matter what, we’ll be rooting for ya!!
**Instructional Video and Safety Data Information also located at the link above :)
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Have you ever seen someone strap up their velcro belt as they prepare to take on a new squat max?
They pull the strap over as tight as they can in hopes that they will give themselves an advantage, because increased belt tightness means greater intra-abdominal pressure and support…
After tightening the belt, they set up under the bar and get ready to hit their max attempt.
The unracking goes flawlessly and their feet are firmly planted under their hips.
They then take a deep breath in for additional abdominal support and begin to descend.
As they hit the bottom however…
**POP**
The velcro detaches and the strap flys off.
Suddenly all the support and pressure has been lost.
As a protective mechanism, the athlete quickly dumps the bar backwards to avoid a serious injury.
Frustration sets in and any confidence is now shot.
The velcro FAILED.
It’s something you never want to see happen, but it does unfortunately. And it tends to do so when it matters most.
However, there are three solutions to this velcro problem.
The first solution is that you could simply not use a belt at all.
This is a phenomenal strategy for a beginner or an athlete looking for some more abdominal muscle and pelvic floor awareness as they lift heavier. Although once the athlete is getting more advanced and lifting heavier, using a belt is a huge advantage for increasing weights and providing additional support.
The second solution is to wear a leather belt.
This is a great option for powerlifting or movements that don’t require as much mobility or barbell cycling. The downside is it’s a bit too thick and cumbersome for any functional training that utilizes a variety of movement patterns.
The third solution is a velcro belt that does not rely on the velcro for support and pressure generation.
Now you must be thinking how is that even possible?? Well at Element 26, we did just that with the Self-Locking Weight Lifting Belt.
The E26 belt utilizes velcro, of course, but comes equipped with a Self-Locking Buckle. That buckle is what holds all the abdominal pressure when the weights get heavy. And as you read prior, it is very important in reducing the risk of velcro popping open.
The buckle is so secure, you technically don’t even need the velcro strap attached! *Pictured Below.
Bottomline, those velcro-only belts are risky and become increasingly unreliable as the velcro wears down. With the buckle on the E26 belt, the risk of the belt strap popping off is reduced to literally nothing.
There are a lot of belts out there and a lot of different training modalities. So of course you need to choose a belt for your goals, training history, and current state of fitness... Whether that’s a leather belt variation or a velcro belt like the E26 one with a Self-Locking Buckle... that's your ultimate decision.
If you’re thinking about a new belt and would like to check out the Element 26 Self-Locking Weight Belt, simply click the link below.
And if you're curious how this "Self-Locking Buckle" works, we've included a quick demo video below.
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
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Look around your gym…
Or just picture it if you’re like me and currently in front of your phone or computer.
What do you notice??
Maybe you see Steve who always skips leg day trying to flirt with Kate who clearly doesn’t care what he has to say because she’s trying to workout.
Maybe it’s Curt in the corner grunting to the beat of another Metallica song which is blasting so obnoxiously loud out of his headphones that the entire gym can hear it while he’s using the pec fly machine.
Or maybe you notice Jess trying to perfect her “booty pop” while taking a selfie in the mirror of the empty group studio room while Steve is staring at her while doing preacher curls between sets of talking to Kate.
Ok maybe you’re not picturing this exactly, but you get my point.
Gyms can be a strange place.
Anyways do you know what a lot of these people may have in common??
Nope, it’s not just the fact they’re taking up valuable space at your gym.
It’s that they are all wearing a weightlifting belt.
Envision yourself in your gym again. You’ll see a bunch of members wearing a belt that may have no idea why they have a belt on.
Sure they may say something like “I have back pain” or “it keeps my back steady on deadlifts,” but the truth is 9 times out of 10 they shouldn’t be wearing a belt.
I’ll tell you why.
A weightlifting belt (as the name suggests) is for weightlifting (and because many associate Olympic Lifting with weightlifting... I’m also going to add Crossfit, powerlifting and bodybuilding to the mix).
So let’s go all the way back to the beginning for one really, really quick second to recall what a weight belt does.
Simply put, a weight lifting belt:
That’s it. Literally. Nothing else. That’s science. #science. Did I say that right?
Abdominal pressure creates stability. Sense of touch and the pressure of a tight belt tells your brain it’s safe. That’s a very generalistic approach here, but it’ll work!
Now let’s return to why weightlifters wear a belt.
Well you guessed it: to increase stability and feel “safe.” So when a clean and jerk is performed at 300 lbs, a given lifter has enough support from the belt to increase their abdominal pressure supporting the spine while telling the brain it’s safe. All together that’s giving the lifter more confidence and strength.
BOOM. win-win!
Ok so you may ask why can a weightlifter wear a belt, but Steve (the guy who skips leg day) shouldn’t?
That answer is simple. Because the weightlifter (assuming optimal form) moves well and practices heavy lifts involving the entire body while Steve does not lift heavy enough nor have the proper motor control to even carry out a proper deadlift/squat.
READ THIS. If there is one take-home point, HERE it is:
IF YOU MOVE WELL AND HAVE MASTERED YOUR SQUAT, DEADLIFT, AND OTHER BASIC COMPOUND LIFTS WITHOUT A BELT; AND YOU HAVE STARTED TO LOAD THOSE MOVEMENTS; THEN YOU ARE READY FOR A BELT.
A belt is meant to help support your lifts, not fix them. Therefore, if you have back pain, sciatica, disc issues, muscles spasms, SI joint issues, whatever…. Address those concerns first then when you’re moving weight with minimal-to-no pain/symptoms, you can throw that belt on and absolutely crush it in the gym.
And side note, please stop wearing a belt if you’re doing pec flys like Curt grunting to the beat of a Metallica song. Metallica is cool, but the pec flys and grunting take it a bit overboard.
Now let’s go hit some PRs!
Oh and when you're ready, make sure to grab your Element 26 Self-Locking Weight Lifting Belt by visiting the link below!!
#TeamE26
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Look around your box or gym and you’ll probably see 4 different people with 4 different brands of tape.
Brittany tapes her thumbs for hook grip.
Kathy tapes her fingers for pull-ups and rowing.
Dan only tapes his fingers when he rips off a callus.
And Frank tapes every other finger for no reason other than the fact that he’s superstitious.
It’s overwhelming and doesn’t make for an easy decision when you go to buy your own set of tape.
Just do a quick search on Google or Amazon, there are a bunch of different brands/models that pop up.
Some are black, some blue, some 1.5 inches in thickness, some 2.5 inches in thickness...and so on.
All promising “no slip,” “best for hook grip,” “stretchy,” “easy to tear,” “sticks great”… yea we know the drill.
The Element 26 Weightlifting Tape does all of that too.
But the one thing that has clearly differentiated us from many of the other brands is the adhesive we use on the actual tape.
From listening to our customer feedback, one of the most beneficial points we continue to hear over and over again is how our tape “doesn’t leave a white sticky residue” on their fingers when they take it off.
Yea that’s kind of gross....
I mean personally I didn’t know such adhesive existed until I tried out a few competitor brands and noticed the same thing after a sweaty workout.
The tape performs nearly the same as the E26 tape but upon tape removal, the adhesive certainly leaves a weird sticky substance on your fingers and nails, which I’m left picking off for the next several hours.
A minor inconvenience but an inconvenience nonetheless.
So looking at the big picture, this has been one of the most solid differentiators for the E26 tape according to customer feedback.
Yes, it also sticks incredibly well, holds up to high-rep barbell cycling in sweaty conditions, is super easy to tear, and stretches/contours to your comfort level. Those are musts.
But the clear adhesive we use is a HUGE benefit and one I couldn’t keep from sharing with you.
If you would like to try out some Element 26 Weightlifting Tape, simply click the link below.
And if you have any other questions about Element 26 Tape, just email us at support@element26.co and we'll respond to you ASAP!
#TeamE26
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
Do a quick search for “wrist wraps” on good ol’ Google or Amazon and you’ll find a bunch of thick powerlifting type wrist supports.
All of which are great in their own way and there’s some trusted brands out there for sure.
But one thing that none of these wraps offer is the element of MOBILITY. These wraps are all aimed at complete stability, offering little to no motion at all.
That’s great if you’re gearing up to bench 315 lbs…
But if you’re a functional athlete dealing with the occasional wrist discomfort and/or are looking for some additional support without complete immobility, then you’re not going to want one of those thick, bulky wrist wraps.
That’s the flaw with most wrist wraps out there.
They’re too limiting.
Imagine what happens when you want to do a circuit with DB push press but need to move quickly burpees… You either have to take the time to unwrap the wrap or you do burpees on your fists.
Oh and then when you want to hop back up and go back to DB push press, you have to tighten them again!
One that’s not efficient, and two, and I’m not looking to get bloody knuckles.
It’s a huge inconvenience.
If you have such wrist wraps, you know! That’s why you have to pick and choose when to wear the wraps.
However, with the Element 26 IsoWraps, you have the freedom to wear the wraps for nearly anything!
That’s because they’re one-inch in thickness.
Ok so now you may have concerns about them not being very stable or supportive…
That’s fair, but don’t worry. Just because they’re one-inch does not make them any less supportive.
Constructed from premium suede leather, these wraps are both very durable and incredibly supportive. They’re built for longevity.
Oh and because they’re not bulky, you have a BONUS option of where you want to apply them on your wrist.
You see, the wrist itself contains a bunch of tiny bones, each articulating upon another. That’s what allows your wrist to move the way it does and distribute a bunch of force.
So you can wrap the IsoWrap directly on those tiny bones to prevent wrist motion and limit extension (this technique may be preferred if you have pain pressing a barbell for example).
But if you have some tendonitis-like symptoms going on (pain from the tendons that feed into the wrist), then wrapping just below those tiny wrist bones is the way to go. That way is also recommended if you have to perform any activity on your hands since that will allow an element of wrist extension aka more mobility.
And remember, these wraps are not just for athletes with pain!
They’re for anyone who wants that added advantage in their training to increase their pressing strength and overall wrist stability in movements such as cleans, snatches, and front squats .
So if you’re looking for a wrap that’s durable, supportive, non-restrictive, and versatile, then the Element 26 IsoWrap Wrist Wraps are easily the way to go. Nothing else like them.
You can grab your pair of the IsoWraps by clicking the link below.
And remember, any questions just send an email to support@element26.co and we’ll help you out ASAP.
#TeamE26
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
It’s a shame.
There are some athletes today that still wear those cheap, thick cotton sweat bands…. And all they make me think about is a pickup basketball game in the mid-90s.
It’s similar to wearing those long, baggy shorts to your morning Fitness class. You know those basketball ones? Good luck trying to squat and run in those...
Anyways, last time I checked, it’s 2021 and we’re not looking to shoot some hoops.
So let’s just leave the thick sweat bands and baggy shorts back in the 90’s and move forward with the times.
Aesthetics aside, you know what else is crazy about the thick cotton sweat bands??
They make you sweat even more!
So cotton’s primary job is to absorb sweat. Yea they’re really good at it.. Too good to the point that it becomes a drawback.
You see, once you sweat a little too much, the cotton is fully saturated with sweat and because it’s a bit on the thicker side, it won’t dry as quickly as it should.
Therefore you continue to sweat into your sweaty sweat bands.
And sweating into those sweat saturated sweat bands is only going to make you sweat more which defeats the purpose of a sweat band.
It’s a big, sweaty conundrum!
(Side note, I don’t think I’ve ever typed the word sweat so much LOL)
But what we did at Element 26 is we developed a wrist sweat band that not only looks FRESH, but optimally functions to limit sweat saturation.
Because the E26 Wrist Sweat Bands are thinner than the traditional cotton models, they’ll efficiently wick sweat (aka dry out faster), which allows them to continually absorb your sweat as you work harder.
The E26 sweat bands have also been designed to be a bit longer (~5 inches in length), so that surface area allows the sweat band to absorb a wider range of sweat that drips down the forearm, preventing it from getting on your hand and messing with your grip.
Most cotton models are not that long, meaning there’s less space to absorb sweat…. Not good.
Oh and this 5 inch sweat band length allows you to wipe your forehead mid-WOD as well.
So when you’re banging out a huge set of double-unders and you need to transition to thrusters, it’s literally the perfect length to give a quick wipe and move on.
And the fit/comfort level is incredible.
They are developed using a hybrid of materials that stretches to the circumference of your forearm/wrist (one size fits all). And taking them one step further, they’re thin enough to fit behind or over your fitness tracker; AND they fit comfortably under your hand grips.
So much WIN!
When it comes down to it, the E26 Wrist Sweat Bands are an absolute game changer.
If you’re on board with this and are ready to upgrade your sweat band game, the Element 26 Wrist Sweat Bands can be purchased by clicking the link below.
You get 2 pairs of sweat bands with a single purchase. That’s 4 individual bands!
If you have any questions regarding the wrist sweat bands, email us at support@element26.co and let us know!! We’ll help you out ASAP.
When developing the Element 26 Knee Sleeves we spent hours watching athletes in functional fitness competitions and speaking with them about pros and cons of various types, models, materials, and stitching profiles.
What we realized is that many athletes were buying multiple pairs of knee sleeves.
The most common of these would be 5mm or 7mm thick models. They would wear the 5mm thick sleeves for lighter weight, body weight movements... and then they’d pull out the 7mm thick sleeves for heavy lifting such as a 1-rep max squat attempt.
That just seemed like a pain in the butt and a waste of money to buy multiple pairs of different knee sleeves for different functions.
So we decided to solve this problem, and to do so we took the athlete’s perspective.
We thought: what does a functional athlete need to perform better in competition and training and how do we get that in one uniform knee sleeve?
It seemed so obvious but the answer was VERSATILITY.
A functional athlete needs a sleeve that is all-around versatile. One that can support them in their heaviest weightlifting attempts and one that can also be used for pistol squats, box jumps, wall balls, burpees, lunges, etc.
And BOOM it clicked, instead of making another 5mm or 7mm knee sleeve, let’s combine the two and get the best of both worlds, STABILITY and MOBILITY.
So we developed a 6mm KNEE SLEEVE with great success and haven’t looked back!
With the 6mm knee sleeve, you have the compression and feel of a 7mm knee sleeve, but like a 5mm, it’s not so stiff that it will impede your other movements.
For example, if your workout calls for 4 rounds of heavy squats cleans paired with wall balls and handstand walking, these knee sleeves are GOLD.
And what else is really awesome is that they slide on easily between sets.
So say you have a rowing and front squat workout, but you don’t want the knee sleeves on during the row. That’s cool because you can keep them on your shins during the row and then pull them up right before you squat.
The combinations are endless here!
Oh and if you’re wondering about washing them. Easy. Wash with cold water and then let them air dry to preserve the material and keep them fresh!
Ever since we launched the 6mm Knee Sleeves, they have been killing it in functional fitness. And by that we mean the word is spreading, more athletes are using them, and many of them are hitting PR’s!
It’s beautiful.
Anyways, if you don’t have the Element 26 [6mm] Knee Sleeves and would like to check them out, click the link below.
And if you have any questions about sizing, fit, or function, email us at support@element26.co and let us know what's going on! We’ll be happy to help you out!
Cheers to happy knees!
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
The Element 26 Self-Locking Weight Lifting Belt has been ABSOLUTELY CRUSHING it for functional fitness and training, and it’s not just a coincidence.
Every detail from the stitching all the way to the buckle placement and design has been optimized to improve your performance in functional training.
When developing a weight belt, there is one huge thing it needs to do for the athlete… increase intra-abdominal pressure (IAP). Aka pressure in your belly.
That’s because IAP is what generates the stability you feel in a big lift or fatiguing workout.
So we made sure the belt does exactly that!
Now generating that IAP does not require a specific material. For example, you don’t necessarily need a leather belt. You just need something for your abdominals to “feel” and push into as you’re lifting.
And you know the belts that have the thick contoured part in the back that promise to help your back pain…
Well that’s more marketing hype than anything.
A belt may reduce back pain, but that’s secondary to you increasing your IAP. The thickened back part doesn’t really do much other than provide some sense of “touch feedback.” Which could be valuable, but misses the big picture for where the stability really comes from....IAP, which is circumferential in the abdomen, not localized to the low back.
Additionally, if you have back pain, you shouldn’t be masking it with a belt anyways. Fix your form, build your foundation, reduce your pain, and then come back to the belted lifts.
So with that said, we use 100% premium nylon and a uniform 4-inch wide design because this belt is meant for functional training and moving in multiple planes. We want to optimize performance, not negate it.
Leather belts are simply unnecessary and restricting for functional training. You can’t do burpees and then move quickly into heavy squats with a leather belt, you’ll be jabbing yourself in the gut with every burpee.
And those belts that have that foam core… well those break down over time, lose their stiffness, and are much harder to clean. Don’t need that negativity in your life or lifts!
The Element 26 Belt allows you the flexibility and mobility to perform multiple body weight movements with the belt on, while quickly transitioning to heavy squats, overhead lunges, cleans, etc.
And the buckle system we use on the belt allows the belt to stay locked in place without even using the velcro! (Pictured below).
So if you’re worried about the velcro popping open on heavy lifts, don’t be. The buckle system is what truly holds all the pressure, the velcro just holds the strap out of the way.
Therefore you can generate all that IAP you want and not have to worry about hurting yourself because the belt popped open.
How about this. Are you worried about the buckle jabbing you on burpees or getting in the way of your bar path on snatches?
Well you don’t need to be worried about that either, you can easily slide the buckle/belt around your torso wherever you need it in order to get the buckle out of the way and off to the side.
The Element 26 Self-Locking Weight Lifting Belt has been optimized in EVERY DETAIL so that you can get the most out of your lifts, WODs, and every day training!
If you have the belt and are about to start breaking it in, check out this video if you haven’t already. That goes into detail about how to properly use the self-locking buckle and how to optimally tighten/loosen the belt.
If you don’t have the belt and would like to check it out, simply click below to grab one yourself!
#TeamE26
Written By:
Phil Gauthier
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Strength Coach
Element 26 Co-Founder
A hernia is an internal organ, such as the intestine, that pushes through a weakened section of the abdominal wall. These present most commonly in the lower abdomen, but also around the belly button and groin area. They are most often associated with heavy weight lifting, pregnancy, obesity, constipation, and frequent/intense coughing. Don’t worry, just because you lift heavy doesn’t mean you’ll get one. I’ll explain more in one second!
A weight lifting belt is designed to increase your intra-abdominal pressure. That increase in pressure is what stabilizes your low back. That sense of stability sends signals back to the brain and spinal cord that then allows you to move your lower body more freely (in a squat, for example) with less of an injury risk. But here’s the deal, in order to make the weight lifting belt most effective, you need to make sure your rib cage and pelvis are lined up. Think of your abdomen like a cylinder. If the cylinder is straight up and down, you’re going to be the strongest. Stress is even throughout. If the cylinder is bent (ie. arching your back too much and lifting your chest excessively in the squat), you’re putting unnecessary compressive stress on one side of the cylinder and excessive tensile stress on the other.
The compressive stress is essentially jamming your vertebrae together. Overtime that can potentially cause back pain. The tensile stress on the front side, (aka the tug-of-war between the groin muscles and the abdomen), can potentially lead to a hernia. Essentially, when you arch too much, with too much weight, too frequently, your risk for back pain and a hernia can increase.
Now can a weight lifting belt prevent a hernia? Not directly. A weight lifting belt can’t protect the abdominal wall or the small tears that you may already have in the abdominal wall that may lead to a hernia down the road. A weight lifting belt is designed to increase abdominal pressure and give you a sense of touch feedback.
But on the upside, a weight lifting belt can indirectly limit stress on the abdominal wall by making you more aware of form. A weight lifting belt, like the Element 26 Self-Locking Weight Lifting Belt, is a great tool to help you keep that cylinder shape between your ribs and pelvis. That’s because when you start arching your back excessively on the way down (picture the back squat), the belt will shift and your contact points on the belt will change. That can serve as an amazing tactile cue to help you keep position. And maintaining that nice cylindrical position in your lifts is how you limit excessive, unneeded stress associated with heavy lifting.
Conclusion: Weight Lifting Belts can't directly prevent hernias, but with proper training, movement form, bracing techniques, and mobility, you can limit hernia risk.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. We have not thoroughly evaluated you, nor do we have any awareness of your medical history. If you have a hernia or think you're at risk, please consult your medical professional or healthcare provider to ensure you can safely and effectively proceed with exercise.
Written by: Phil Gauthier
Phil is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
He is also an Owner and Co-Founder of the performance gear company, Element 26 (E26).
E26 prides itself on developing functional gear for the functional athlete to help you "Destroy Your PR's, Not Your Body."
To reach Phil or any member of the Element 26 Staff, please email us at: support@element26.co and we will respond to you ASAP!
If you live a busy life with a million other responsibilities (kids, work, school, commuting, etc.), you know how difficult it is to manage your life outside the gym while at the same time trying to optimize your fitness and performance.
It’s tough to balance for sure! I feel that.
We all don’t have the freedom everyday to dedicate the perfect amount of time to a given training session. And when we think we do, something else tends to interrupt us.
But I’m here to tell you that you can still make great progress and see results with a busy schedule.
It’s not impossible by any means, you just need to be efficient and flexible with your training sessions and the plan you have laid out.
So below, I have written 6 important training variables that will help you optimize your training, see results, and help reduce your overall stress.
1. Limit volume in a given session.
Pretty simple rule. Most busy athletes aren’t going to be able to stick around for more than 1-1.5 hours at the gym. That means volume is going to need to be adjusted and kept reasonable. Performing a long EMOM, multiple strength movements, a high intensity WOD, and some low threshold aerobic work is going to be a bit much in one session. Keep the volume, or total amount of work, dependent on the time you have available. Focus on quality over quantity in that time. Also, lower volume means better ability to recover on a week-to-week basis.
2. Frequency is king.
So with shorter sessions and less volume, the frequency or number of sessions you have a week can be a little bit more. This also allows you to recover more efficiently (pending you’re not going all out 5 days a week hitting 80-90% of your heart rate max). A higher frequency allows you to hit your fitness from different angles and because you’re keeping the volume lower, you don’t have to spend so much time in the gym. More bang for your buck with higher frequency, lower volume.
3. Zone 2 heart rate training is your best friend.
For the busy athlete, there is a lot going on which means stress levels may be a bit higher. So some sessions where you were scheduled to hit a pretty intense WOD but you just don’t have the time or the energy, you can still get some incredibly effective exercise in. Enter zone 2 heart rate training. Zone 2 is a level where you can move (for example bike, run, row, etc.) and still have a conversation. It’s fairly easy and is essentially 60-70% of your max heart rate. And the best part is you get a ton of reward without increasing training fatigue and/or taking more time to recover. Benefits of zone 2 training include more efficient fat utilization for energy, better lactate clearance, and it helps to preserve glucose which means more energy later on. I’m not going to go into all of the benefits but here’s a quick summary from one of the leading experts on endurance training and the benefits of zone 2.
4. Plan for the long term and don’t overstress the short term.
With a busy life, you need to plan for the road ahead. The fitness journey you are on will take time like anything worth having. That means PR’s will come with time. Attempting to chase some quick validation by adding more volume/weight and putting excessive pressure on yourself to achieve some result in the short term is a bad idea. Fatigue increases, the risk of setbacks increases, and it’s not sustainable. Enjoy the journey and keep in mind it’s a process.
5. Utilize slow controlled reps in your strength training.
So if you’re frequently making it to the gym 4-5 days a week, you should have at least 2-3 days where you’re working on some type of slow controlled movement in the form of strength training. This in itself is not only going to increase your muscle mass and protein synthesis, but it’s also going to prevent injury when you start pushing the workload in your more intense WODs. Just a few movements here and there dedicated to slowing things down will work wonders in the long haul. It’s therapeutic!
6. Nutrition doesn’t have to be perfect, just has to be consistent.
I’m sure you hear this all the time, so I’m just giving you a reminder here. You don’t have to perfectly count out every macro, drink exactly 8 cups of water, or eat exactly 12 servings of vegetables a day… just be mindful and eat intelligently for your goals. So for the majority of the week, eat as "good" as you can. Meal prep. Do what needs to be done. But don’t put excessive pressure on yourself to be perfect, especially when you want to go out and enjoy yourself on a Friday night and have a drink or two. You need to enjoy the journey, "rigidity" is not sustainable. Flexibility and mindful adjustments create better, long term results!
Optimizing performance and living a busy lifestyle is tough but it’s not impossible, remember that. When in doubt, break down your plan into smaller goals and chip away at what you can realistically accomplish in your given time. Take the pressure off yourself first to bring back the enjoyment and adjust from there.
Work with your busy lifestyle, not against it.
Now go out and have a freaking awesome day!!
The Element 26 Team is over here rooting for ya :)
#TeamE26
Phil Gauthier
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Strength Coach
Element 26 Co-Founder
Have you ever heard of the placebo effect??
Well it’s a term that gets thrown around a lot in the health/fitness field.
A quick search on WebMD defines the word placebo as "anything that seems to be a ‘real’ medical treatment -- but isn't. It could be a pill, a shot, or some other type of ‘fake’ treatment. What all placebos have in common is that they do not contain an active substance meant to affect health."
So in basic studies they’ll have one group that gets a test drug and another that gets the "fake" drug, or placebo in this case. They use this model to see if the drug is actually working.
Now, the "placebo effect" is slightly different than "placebo" because it refers to the psychological effect of the placebo itself. Keep in mind this effect can be positive or negative based on the person’s beliefs and expectations.
So let’s look at a fitness example and use a new 10-minute warm-up plan as the intervention and imagine you’re a powerlifter.
If your coach tells you that performing this new warm-up before all your squat sessions will make your squat stronger, you may actually experience a stronger squat regardless of how good the actual warm-up is.
On the other hand, if your coach says that same warm-up will make you a better bench presser, you may actually start seeing the weights on the bench press increase as well.
Keep in mind, most warm-ups for the squat and bench press won’t look much alike for a specialized athlete. But for explanation’s sake, you can understand the psychological benefits because your coach told you it would work. You expect it to work.
Whether or not that warm-up is truly beneficial from a physiological standpoint (causing physical change in your body), doesn’t matter so much in this example. What matters is that there is a positive effect on your performance even if it is straight up psychological.
I would argue that in itself is a benefit.
If you or your athletes believe it and there is a positive outcome, there’s not necessarily any reason to change.
If there’s a negative or opposite effect from the goal, then there’s reason to cease the intervention and find a better alternative.
The mind drives the vehicle so whatever it believes is where all your energy and focus will go. Those beliefs create connections and associations with emotional feelings and that’s when success happens.
Bottomline, the psychological and emotional connections to your beliefs/expectations are so strong that they can and will give you the ability to have success in your fitness journey.
If you're a coach, consider the placebo effect when motivating clients to enhance their progress. Consider their beliefs to drive them closer to their goals even if they’re not adhering to every little thing the research shows.
If you're an athlete, appreciate your beliefs and biases and keep going if something is working for you even if others say it’s not the "optimal way" to do something. That’s because if you don’t believe it, it doesn’t matter how effective that exercise, program, or modality truly is.
There’s no right or wrong way to do something in fitness when it comes to exercise choice, programming, and/or modalities. There’s just an intervention and the outcome.
If it works for you, it works for you!!
Now if you’d like to join an amazing group of athletes and coaches who support your beliefs regardless of whether it’s because of the placebo effect or not, click the link below and join our private Facebook group.
I hope to see you there!
In the meantime, keep crushing your fitness plans, appreciating your beliefs, and having success.
#TeamE26
Phil Gauthier
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Strength Coach
Element 26 Co-Founder
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I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
Something that all the best athletes in the world utilize... well technically, it’s not even a secret, but it might as well be since so many neglect it.
And no, it’s not a supplement, mobility technique, training modality, or nutrition plan…
It’s even more general than that.
It’s the practice of CONSISTENCY.
The best athletes in the world are also the most consistent.
They are incredibly consistent in every aspect of their lifestyle and training.
And guess what, the more consistent they are, the more refined they become.
Consistency is all about practice, routine, learning, and adapting.
And whether or not these athletes have the best form, the best training plan, or the best recovery approach, they’re consistent at what they do.
That’s the crazy part!
You don’t need to be perfect with all these small details, you just have to show up and continue to refine things.
Sure, reaching the elite athlete level means the smaller details matter, but achieving success starts with consistency. Simply showing up.
Consistent practice makes progress.
That’s the secret…. And you know what stinks?
Most companies or influencers on social media won’t tell you that since it’s not some sexy, quick fix.
Remember success is driven by your daily choices and habits. All it takes is one small, consistent action everyday towards your goals.
Now, if you agree that consistency is one of the foundational pieces of success, we would love to have you join our E26 Family, just click the yellow link below to access our Facebook Group.
It’s an amazing community that exists to provide you with fitness support, advice, and accountability.
And guess what, we consistently show up :)
Hope to see you there!
In it together.
Phil Gauthier
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Strength Coach
Element 26 Co-Founder
Online Store: www.element26.co