I recently came across these fascinating preliminary findings from a study at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. They fly in the face of many things we thought we knew about stretching, strength training and flexibility. Most of us grew up believing that stretching is THE way to improve flexibility. Something we need to do prior to exercise or other active pursuits to prevent injury and improve performance. In fact, a lot of the old “truths” about stretching have been disproven in recent years. For example, we now know that static, “old school”, style stretching will actually diminish athletic performance. These new findings, though, are truly revelatory. They suggest that resistance training, with attention paid to using a full range of motion- as you know a critical element of a Smartraining workout- is as good, if not better at improving and maintaining flexibility than static stretching! Your Smartraining workouts are not only making you stronger, they are also improving your flexibility. Just another reason to Koko. Enjoy the read!
Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Friends, I love earning Koko Points! They give me instant feedback on how well I followed my Smartraining workout. A pat on the back for a job well done. I know I’m not alone in this, but most of you probably don’t know what is actually at work behind the point system. (It’s really pretty amazing when you get down to it.) So, my job today is to broaden your understanding of how Koko Points are totaled and to encourage their use as a positive motivator, remembering that in the end it’s not about the points, its about getting the best workout possible. 
The fitness industry offers a million tools to help you get fit, but after you spend your money, you are left to your own devices. One thing we realized early on in our research, was that people can have the best tools in the world, but without a goal and a good plan, they don’t get results. So in designing the Koko Smartraining System, we knew that we couldn’t just provide a fitness tool. Providing a long term, goal-oriented plan was key. You can think of the 
This article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is well worth your time. It is about exercising now to keep you “young” into your golden years- a topic that never gets old. I’ve spent much of my career researching this topic, and for 
I love the 4th of July. Nothing says summer like parades, fireworks and neighborhood cookouts. Though I’m fully aware of the calories in/calories out equation, this is one tough holiday when it comes to intake. I’m always tempted to go a little overboard. (What to do when there are 3 different kinds of potato salad, 5 plates of brownies, pitchers of margaritas and that fluffy jello salad with the little marshmallows in it at the potluck table?) What helps me out on the 4th of July is that there is all kinds of calorie-burning fun to be had. So, how about taking that Koko bod outside and playing a little? 
The 
As a 
Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there in Koko Nation! For this post, I have been thinking a lot on our favorite 
To coincide with National Men’s Health Week, (June 14th to 20th,) we are rolling out a brand new 
The thought of summer and all the bare skin that shows in our warm weather clothes is an annual alarm-bell for many of us to “lose a few pounds.” Studies estimate that nearly half of all women and a third of all men in America diet. Beware of dieting alone. Dieting alone or dieting and cardio exercise alone may not be the solution you think it is. Worse, it’s likely contributing to your weight woes by burning through metabolism-boosting lean muscle mass. The 