I started this site back in August of 2008. Since then, hundreds of posts have been published here. Naturally, there’s a good bit of info in the archives, and many times, good posts get buried – never to be seen again.
So, on this page, I wanted to provide a directory of the best content on this site in case you’re new here or if you missed some of the good ones in the past. You’ll find it broken down into categories below.
The Top 10 Most Popular Posts
These are some of the highest-traffic, most shared, and otherwise most engaging posts in the history of this website.
Note: a couple of them may appear elsewhere on this list. Let’s just say that they were that big of a hit!
How to Rapidly Increase Your Pullup Numbers in 3 Months or Less (over 1 million views!)
The 2 Pounds Per Week Rule and How to Burn Fat Faster
The 5 Minute Plank For Core Strength, Stability, and Rock-Hard Abs
15 Ways to Prevent and Heal Muscle Soreness
The Right Way to do the Plank Exercise
Kipping Pullups VS Deadhang Pullups (Part 1)
The Right Way to do Pullups and Chinups
Be careful who you talk to about CROSSFIT…
The Definitive Guide For Going Barefoot
10 Must-Read Articles on Physical Living
Traffic stats aside, these are some of the all-around best posts on this website that really embody the spirit of PhysicalLiving.com. If you want to know what this site is really all about, then take some time working through these.
Epic 500th Blogpost: 100 Fitness Lessons I’ve Learned About What’s Really Important
Are you missing any of these 15 critical fitness secrets?
5 Easy Ways to Accelerate Aging and Reduce Your Expected Lifespan – GUARANTEED!
Nature Deficit Disorder: The Top 10 Reasons To Go Outside
Too Much Sitting = Too Bad For Your Health
Natural Movement Doesn’t Come Naturally: You Weren’t Born Perfect
How to Love What You Do – Plus 100 Ways to Disguise Exercise
How Sitting is Killing You and What to do About it
How to Win The War on Health in the Workplace
John’s Top 10 Favorite Posts
Just some personal favorites here. A handful of these were very popular, too.
10 Things Your Genetics Won’t Do For You
No More Sugar-Coating The Truth
The “Beg For Mercy” Extreme Fitness Workout, and why I dare you NOT to do it
That Glorious Day When My Gym Kicked Me Out For Working Too Hard
The 7 Crucial Elements Of A Balanced Physical Training Regime
5 Things That Helped me do the Impossible: Lessons From Banging a Drum
5 Fitness Hacks to Help You Get Fit While Brushing Your Teeth
The Top 10 Most Controversial Posts
I know it’s hard to believe, but I’ve covered some pretty controversial topics over the years. And to this day, I still get the occasional message from someone commenting on a post that is years old – just because they feel the need to put me in my place. Naturally, three of the most controversial posts deal with CrossFit. Speaking of which…
What about CrossFit? Tuesday Q+A with John Sifferman
Be careful who you talk to about CROSSFIT…
CrossFit at its Worst – Don’t Try This At Home!
Kipping Pullups VS Deadhang Pullups (Part 1)
The Kipping Pullups VS Deadhang Pullups Debate Finally Put To Sleep (Part 2)
Strength Training For Women: Why Women Don’t Bulk Up From Strength Training
Don’t Buy Russian Kettlebells Until After You’ve Seen This
A Creationist’s Response to the Primal Lifestyle and Evolutionary Fitness
The Top 10 Most Under-Viewed Posts
Here is a small collection of posts that did not go viral, but that I think deserve a looksee. Maybe they got buried in the archives too quickly when I was posting quite frequently, or they just didn’t get the exposure I expected. Either way, I think these posts deserve another look.
3 Things That The Health and Fitness Gurus Don’t Want You To Know
How An Often-Ignored Training Strategy Can Improve Your Fitness Results Overnight
How to Prevent Overtraining, Avoid Injuries, and Still Crush Your Workouts
The Massive Public Health Problem That Nobody Is Talking About
25 Reasons Why You’re STILL Not Losing Weight And What To Do About It
The Top 10 Exercises to Get a Strong and Shapely Butt
10 of the Best Posts on Strength Training
This blog originally started on the topic of “Real World Strength Training.” And over the years, the Strength Training Category has grown faster than any other. And these posts are among the best ones.
The Right Way to do Pullups and Chinups
The Right Way to do the Plank Exercise
5 Beginner Level Burpee Exercises
The Top 10 Exercises You Should NEVER Do
Bodyweight Training for Functional Leg Strength
Single Leg Squat Practice: How to Master Any Exercise or Movement Quickly (using the Pistol Method)
Why Doing 3 Sets of 10 is DEAD
The Ballistic Plank Exercise For Rock-Hard Abs
Women can’t do Pull-ups? Watch them.
The Best-of-the-Best Posts for Runners
I was originally reluctant to post content on running-specific topics on this site, but over the years, it turns out that these have consistently been some of the most popular posts I’ve written. In fact, I nearly gave myself a hernia trying to narrow this category down to just 10 posts. So, I’ve included a few more.
100 Lessons I’ve Learned From 10 Years of Running
3 Exercises In 5 Minutes: No More Knee Pain When Running
How to Run Better for the Perfect Run: 5 Things That I Do Differently Now That I Know Better
Persistence Hunting and Endurance Running: 5 Ways to Run Effortlessly
How to Run Every Single Day For One Year
Learn the Skill of Barefoot Running
An Unconventional Guide On Strength Training For Runners
The Definitive Guide For Transitioning To Barefoot Running
The Holy Grail of High Intensity Interval Training
How To Supercharge Your Long Distance Runs With The NEW Anti-Comfort Zone Paradigm
Running For Dummies, Idiots, Nitwits, And Other Normal People Like You And I
What I Love Most About Running
Inspirational Stories, Motivation Tips, and Mindset Hacks
If you need a little “pick-me-up” or a friendly nudge to just GET THINGS DONE, then check out these posts.
16-Year Old Girl Totally Shatters The Plank World Record
Why New Year’s Resolutions = Fail
Another Plank World Record That We Can All Learn From
1 Weird Trick To Help You Muster Up The Motivation To Workout – Even When You Don’t Feel Like It
Why Certain People Are Hard-Wired to Hate Exercise (and what to do about it)
One Simple Mindset Hack That Keeps Me Going When I Feel Like Quitting
How Fitness Professionals Stay Motivated To Train (Hint: We Don’t!)
How to Model Physical Success in Other Areas of Your Life
Advice to Those Who Are Waiting For The Time to be Just Right
The Top 10 Most Popular Product Reviews
I’ve published dozens of product reviews on this site over the years, and below, you’ll find the ones that were the most popular.
The Complete Clubbell Review: Everything you ever wanted to know about clubbells – the world’s best club swinging tool for strength training.
The Clubbell Mass Evolution – Complete Review – The Clubbell Mass Evolution is the premier clubbell-based, muscle building program. There are other clubbell training programs out there, but this is the first one that is exclusively for building lean muscle mass.
The Clubbell Flow Evolution – Complete Review – The Clubbell Flow Evolution is a health-first clubbell training program that is meant to help people enact positive lifestyle change through the conduit of physical transformation. It is a user-friendly, plug and play fitness training program that caters to an individual’s skill and conditioning level to help them burn fat, build muscle, and improve strength and conditioning while also developing the character qualities they desire to embody on an every day basis.
TACFIT 26 Review: First Impressions – Scott Sonnon’s new-and-improved TACFIT 26 program is a comprehensive, plug-and-play tactical fitness program that will help you develop a high standard of fitness by burning stubborn fat, building functional muscle, injury-proofing your body, and improving your conditioning level using a variety of movement-based exercise and conditioning skills via several unique training protocols that were specifically created to address the tactical needs of various service personnel and military operators.
Primal Stress Review: First Impressions – Scott Sonnon’s new Primal Stress program is a comprehensive, plug-and-play bodyweight training program that will help you develop a high standard of fitness by burning stubborn fat, building functional muscle, injury-proofing your body, and improving your conditioning level using a variety of movement skills and training protocols that were specifically created to build resiliency and toughness while fostering a sense of strength and empowerment.
TACFIT Warrior Review: Reinvent Yourself One Workout at a Time
The Shapeshifter Body Redesign Program – Complete Review: The Shapeshifter Body Redesign Program is a plug-and-play, follow-along bodyweight training program that integrates a broad range of workout, diet, and lifestyle training methods into one comprehensive system to help you transform your body in six weeks.
Review of the Xero Shoes Huarache-Style Minimalist Sandals (aka Invisible Shoes) – A Comprehensive Product Review of the Xero Shoes Minimalist Footwear for (Almost) Barefoot Running, Walking, Hiking, Yoga, and More!
The Most Comprehensive Joint Mobility Training Program Is Now FREE!
The Complete Shake Weight Review
The Top 10 Guest Interviews
This was a very difficult list to narrow down because I’ve been able to interview so many bright and interesting people over the years. But of all my interviews, these were the ones that made the cut for the Top 10. In no particular order…
Interview with Ross Enamait about Achieving a High Standard of Fitness
Interview with Scott Sonnon about TACFIT – The Premier “Tactical Fitness” System
Interview With The Legendary Strength Coach Dan John – Build World Class Strength With These Expert Tips From Dan John
Interview with Coaches Steer & Murdock About Bodyweight Burn – Learn How To Leverage Bodyweight Training To Burn Fat And Get Lean At Home In This Insightful Interview With The Bodyweight Coaches, Adam Steer And Ryan Murdock
Interview with Scott Sonnon: the Creator of the Circular Strength Training System
Interview with Shane Heins about Clubbell Training for Building Muscle
Interview with Jeff Kuhland about MovNat and Natural Movement Training
Interview with Chris Highcock about Fitness, Strength, and Becoming HillFit – A Candid Discussion About Fitness for Hiking, Backpacking, and Hillwalking With One of the Most Down-to-Earth Fitness Authors on the Net
Interview with Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton about Running Barefoot
The Top 10 Best Workouts and Programs
This is a fitness site, and workouts and programs have been in the mix since the very beginning. Here are some of the best ones in the archive.
How to Rapidly Increase Your Pullup Numbers in 3 Months or Less
The 5 Minute Plank For Core Strength, Stability, and Rock-Hard Abs
Replace 10 lbs of Fat with 10 lbs of Lean Muscle in 4 Weeks using this Simple Workout Program
My Top 5 Favorite Pullup and Chinup Workouts
Natural Movement Outdoor Strength Training Session: Outdoor workout video tutorial
Beyond Burpees – 3 Ground-Engagement Bodyweight Workouts
This Workout is not CRAZY, INSANE, or EXTREME… but it works.
Burn Fat, Build Willpower, and Get Healthier With This EASY Walking Program
Honorable Mentions
These posts have been included on this page for one reason or another, but didn’t necessarily fit into any of the categories above. Don’t miss ’em!
How to Relieve ANY Type of Stress and Relax Yourself Instantly With This Simple Breathing Trick
Heal Your Aches and Pains and Prevent Injuries with this Joint Mobility Super-Package
Figure Out Exactly How Much Sleep You Need With This Simple Self-Test
Body Hacks For A Longer, Better, and Stronger Life
Learn the Squat Creep Exercise For Stronger Knees and Ankles
How to Hot-Wire Your Nervous System For Instantly Better Strength and Conditioning Performance
Training Tips From The 3-Hour Plank World Record Holder
A Direct Message To Those Who Proclaim That Exercise Makes You Fatter
Sequential Recruitment of Muscle Fibers For Maximal Muscle Gain
Disciplined Training VS Creative Expression
Archive
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
- The Minimalist Footwear PRIMER Featuring The “Man Of Many Shoes”
- Burn Fat, Build Willpower, and Get Healthier With This EASY Walking Program
- Where I’ve Been
2011
2010
- The Superiority of Bodyweight Training – it’s not what you think
- The Bodyweight Glide Workout Series for a Functionally Fit Body and Shredded Core Muscles
- Best Physical Living Bloggers to Watch in 2010
- Too Much Sitting = Too Bad For Your Health
- Leave a Comment, Win a Book: Free Gift for Physical Living Readers Interested in Fat Loss
- Stop Right There And Don’t Take Another Step – How Technology is Killing Us One Invention at a Time
2009
- How to Make Eggs So Delicious That You Could Eat Them Everyday For the Rest of Your Life – John's Tips For How To Make An Omelette With All The Fancy Fixin's!
- Bodyweight Training for Functional Leg Strength
- Positive Doing: How to Replace Bad Habits with Positive Activities Using the "Policing Your Thinking" Strategy
- Primal Food Video Montage: If you pay any attention to what you eat, watch this fantastic video montage that 'Pay Now, Live Later' put together all about FOOD
- How to Climb a Tree – Your Primal Homework Assignment is to go Tree Climbing
- The 100 Day Challenge – will you commit to making positive changes in your life every day for the next 100 days?
- Exclusive Interview with World Renowned Strength and Conditioning Coach Adam Steer: What's New In Health-First Fitness and Strength Training
- The Pareto Principle and Fitness Compliance – The Difference Between Working Out, Focused Training, and a Lifestyle Integration Fitness: where do you fall on the spectrum?
- My Fitness Evolution – from 11 years old in my parents basement, to finding childlike freedom as an adult
- Funny Exercise Cartoons
2008
- Core Strengthening Exercises: Rotation – Video Series About The Best Strengthening Exercises for Your Abs and Core Muscles by John Sifferman
- Getting Active Outdoors: your challenge from John Sifferman in Clough State Park
- Sneaky Exercises: How to fit exercise into the busiest schedule
- Core Strengthening Exercises: Video Series About The Best Strengthening Exercises for Your Abs and Core Muscles by John Sifferman
- Are Pushup Handles Really That Great? Tips and Tricks for making the most of pushup handles by John Sifferman
- Video Tutorial: Bodyweight Lunge Exercise Variations by John Sifferman
- Review of Ageless Mobility by Scott Sonnon, Pain-Free Wellness for Longevity – review by John Sifferman
- Healthy "Burn the Fat" Recipe from Tom Venuto: Beefy Spanish Rice – which gets the "kitchen dummy" seal of approval
- Most Powerful Training Tool: Video Demo From an Underground Strength Coach
- Have a Perfect Day, the Best Day of Your Life – a lifestyle strategy to help you with your strength training and other life goals by John Sifferman