best-articles – Tony Gentilcore

I’m very fortunate that I have a fair number of coaches and other fitness professionals who see this site as a resource of quality information as well as a resource to help get their information and content in front of more eyes.

I had a bounty of excellent professionals pinch-hitting for me in 2016, and the three articles below were the top ones according to the traffic they received.

NOTE: Once January 27, 2017 arrives I’ll be in dire need for guests posts. That’s the day my little guy is supposed to arrive and my world is going to be turned upside down. In a good way of course…;O) I suspect my writing schedule will be drastically reduced, however I’d still love to continue offering top-notch content on a consistent basis.

If you’re interested please use the Contact function HERE and pitch me some ideas. A few criteria to consider:

1) You should be able to, you know, write well. On a base level you should be able to differentiate between to/too/two, their/there/they’re, your/you’re, then/than, and have read every book Kurt Vonnegut has ever written. Kidding.¹

2) Preferably you actually have experience training people in real life. And, I’d prefer minimum two years experience in the field.

3) Have some “feel” for the type of content on this site. If you pitch me an article on fat-loss supplements or “Top Exercises to Tone Your Arms” I will Sparta kick you you in the throat.

4) I can be bribed with homemade carrot cake.

And now the best Guests Posts from 2016…

Intensity = Lift More Weight NOT Lift Weight More – Mike Sheridan

This article actually made the PTDC’s list of Top Articles of 2016 on their site (you can check out their list HERE). People have been programmed to think that exercise intensity is all about performing endless repetitions of whateverthefuck and then dropping in a pool of your own sweat or going until you can’t feel your legs.

Sure, it’s hard, and it has it’s time and place. But it’s not, technically, “intense.”

Why CrossFit Doesn’t Make an Elite Athlete – Travis Hansen

Ohhhhhhhhh snap. Not surprisingly this article received a fair bit of back and forth in the comments section. I get it: I think much of what was argued about was over semantics over the word “elite.” Nevertheless, I felt this was a good article by Travis who brought up some valid points.

Stop Cranking on Your Shoulders for More Mobility – Andrew Millett

Stop it already!

2016 was another banner year for TonyGentilcore.com. It was the 3rd year in a row the site reached more than 1-million “sessions” and almost 2-million page views.²

Granted, Google and Facebook do those kind of numbers every minute (if not every second), but it’s still surreal to me that my site was visited more than a million times this past year. I mean, I don’t think my mom pressed the refresh button that many times.

Copyright: enterline / 123RF Stock Photo

I am not an analytics guy. I don’t pay much attention to it to be honest. The only time I look at the numbers is during this time of year when I do the “Year in Review/Best Of” posts. It’s interesting: my traffic is pretty steady on a day-to-day basis, with obvious dips on the days I don’t post something (typically the weekends and Holidays). However, in looking at the data this morning the two highest traffic days this past year included posts that included a swear word in the title.

The “Real” vs. “BS” Hip Flexor Stretch
Becoming a Brick Shit House 201

This is good information for me. Basically, you can expect more swear words in titles in 2017. I don’t know, maybe something to the effect of:

Assessment: You Don’t Know Your Ass From Your Acetabulum
Shit People Do in the Gym That Make Me Want to Jump Into a Shark’s Mouth
Deadlifts? Dangerous? Motherfuckers Be Cra-Cra

** All are running titles of course and are subject to change.

Below are the top articles of 2016 according to which ones received the most traffic (you all obviously have impeccable taste).

Becoming a Brick Shit House 201

This was a 2-part interview I did with strength coach Pat Davidson. Pat’s a character, but I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. He’s one of the smartest guys I know and one of the more vocal coaches out there. I love it.

If you like rants and you like listening to people tell it how it is, then you’ll love this interview. You can also check out Part I HERE.

The “Real” vs. “BS” Hip Flexor Stretch

The title is self-explanatory.

This is one stretch I see people performing incorrectly all…the…time.

Striving to be More, Instead of Wanting to be Less: Why Strength Training is Perfect for Women

My humble contribution at helping to fight off the mainstream media’s incessant mission to program women into thinking strength training isn’t for them.

A Thoughtful Discussion on Low Back Sparing Strategies

As a fitness professional it’s inevitable you’re going to come across a client or athlete who’s dealing with low-back pain and shenanigans. This article provides some food for thought with regards to assessment and programming strategies for your consideration.

Check back tomorrow for MY picks for Best Articles of the Year.

Best Articles of 2016: Guest Posts