Breaking Muscle / Jen Weir

Jen Weir

I'm a lover of all things outdoors and fitness -- inspiration for my work. I hold a B.S. in Exercise Science, am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, an ACE-Functional Training Specialist and Health Coach and also maintain a Precision Nutrition Certification. I own and operate Front Range Fitness & Health Coaching where I offer coaching in-person and online to help clients conquer their mountains (metaphorical and literal). I am Montana born and raised and strive to spend every spare minute enjoying all this big beautiful state has to offer with my crazy little family.

Childhood Fitness: Start Them Young

The childhood obesity epidemic in America is insane. The problem doesn’t just pertain to prepubescents and adolescents, preschool-aged children also have their own obesity population. It’s hard to fathom the idea of little kids dealing with obesity, but the fact of the matter is 13.9% of 2-5 year olds are obese.1 You didn’t read that wrong—13.9% or 2 out of every 15 small children are dealing with the effects of obesity.

Breaking Muscle • 25th August 2015

Looking for Gains? Manipulate Your Training for Hormone Optimization

With the rampant use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest product or “aid” that just might give you the edge you’ve been looking for. But rather than looking for the newest thing out there, we should consider one of the oldest - the human body itself. It turns out, this amazing piece of machinery we get to use every day has built-in performance enhancers known as hormones. Simply stated, hormones are chemical messengers produced and

Endurance Athletes: Add Strength to Up Your Game

Strength training is rarely on the radar for those participating in distance running (or any endurance sport, for that matter), but perhaps it’s time for a change. Science has proven time and again that strength training has a positive effect on endurance performance, and, whether you’re an experienced athlete or a newbie, it just may be the ticket to clocking your best time yet. Stronger bones, connective tissue, and muscles will help you withstand the rigors of endurance training.

6 Reasons Ladies Need to Show Their Upper Bodies Some Lovin'

This article is for those of you guilty of upper body neglect. You hit the gym, get in some squats, maybe some leg presses, lunges, and kill the core. If you consider curls and kick-backs an upper body workout, then you’ve got a thing or two to learn. While these “exercises” have their uses, I’m talking about legit upper-body work - presses, rows, hang cleans, jerks, and snatches are more along the lines of what I’m thinking. If you don’t think hot arms and respect in the gym are worth the

How to Get Adequate Recovery as a Sleep-Deprived Parent

With exception to Hercules, special operators and other immortals, we all need sleep to recover from the rigors of life and our workouts. But, what if we can’t get that much needed sleep? I read an article a while ago, where a professional athlete was interviewed about his workouts and recovery. This athlete commented that there is absolutely no excuse for anyone not to get at least eight hours of sleep every night. I thought to myself, “This guy obviously does not have kids."

6 Exercises For Rebuilding Your Core After Pregnancy

You’re sitting at home, holding that adorable little bundle of joy, and so glad the hard part is over. Then you look down at that big squishy blob that used to be your stomach and wonder, “What in the hell am I going to do about that?!” Let me tell you, this is where the hard work really begins, sister. Even if you lifted all throughout your pregnancy, those muscles that used to be your abs are shot. They have been stretched and abused beyond recognition. The first sign of complete lack of cor