Being that the founders of Monolith (myself and Kurt) live in Arizona, it’s no shock that we spend most of our time here or that the home base of Monolith Apparel resides in AZ.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve traveled all over the Southwest and have spent many a Fit Expo in California.

In fact, I find myself spending about a week a month in California these days, but that’s for another blog.

Being Part Of A Local Fitness Community

Over the past few years, we’ve had not only the pleasure but the honor of being part of some amazing events here in AZ.

Once, we walked (and took a picture in a giant colon) to support friends as part of an inspirational cause called the “Take Steps” walk for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Our team was named the “Storm Poopers”, which is a Star Wars Reference… get it… like Storm Troopers but in regards to the digestive tract?!?!

All the way up to fitness events that our team has raised money for, or donated to, like the “Stride For Sight” walk presented by The Foundation For Blind Children, or the annual Global Rescue Project dodgeball events. (Which we’ve spectacularly lost two times now.)

We also attended the first ever Culture Fitness & Fashion Expo here in Arizona which showcased local companies, gyms, and athletes from all over the valley! It was a great time putting faces to Instagram profiles and meeting friends in person!

All of these mean more to us than just sponsoring a WOD at a local box because, from park rescue to people rescue, there was a deeper impact to all of them.

Why Being Part Of The Local Community Matters

The simplest way to answer that… because it’s OUR community.

Everything that we do in Arizona focuses one of three things. Helping the land, helping others in our community, or helping yourself …and not just to the second helping of dessert, but helping you forge a stronger, happier, healthier you!

Yes, we have a worldwide reach, but it all starts in our own backyard. Forging relationships with amazing people in the local fitness community that is doing humbling work always puts a smile on our face!

It’s Not Just About Arizona or Fitness

Part of the reason our Ambassadors are with us is that each and every one of them believes and exemplifies our company values.

To be of service. To be supportive. To be kind to yourself and others, and to help yourself by helping those around you.

It takes a special person to not only be an Ambassador of ours, but also a patron.

We can honestly say what we have the most amazing fans (aka family) in the industry.

Although it may be small in comparison to some of the other brands out there, the Monolith Family filled with people that live the Think Massive mantra every day. People that understand that connection is one of the most important things in life, and by sharing what drives you, it can motivate others.

An Open Call To Join Our Community

At Monolith, we set out to build a movement. Something that, no matter where you are, be it Arizona or Argentina, if you spot a piece of our gear, you know that you’re about to meet good peeps.

(One of our favorite stories is of two people that connected in Disneyland because of a Think Massive T-shirt… they sent us the photo of them together and it was awe inspiring!)

We want you, if you’re up for being a pillar in your community, to join ours. We support all who work to better themselves and others.  

We look forward to seeing you in our desert exercise community, be it the Arizona one, or our much broader worldwide community, your spot is being saved.

We’ll leave you with this:

What one thing are you going to do today that changes the path of someone else’s life for the better? It could be as simple as holding a door, or making a phone call to let someone know they are appreciated… that’s the community we want to be a part of.

In short, how will you Think Massive?

The post We Love The Arizona Fitness Community appeared first on Monolith Apparel.

The idea started simply, put an uplifting motto to help guide and motivate people on some T-shirts and see where things go!? (We didn’t even really know what a lifestyle brand was at the time…)

Unfortunately, Kurt and I (Adam) are both perfectionists, to a fault at times, and we couldn’t just stop there.

We became obsessed with creating a lifestyle brand that seeks to inspire and guide people into living a life that is larger than they could ever imagine!

Paying attention to the opinions of a group…

We looked at other successful lifestyle brands in the market, especially ones that were producing fitness apparel, and we saw a host of products and services (some offered training or programs) that were all very similar.

There seemed to be a lack of care for quality.

Since the rise of the internet, anyone could find a supplier overseas and buy products contributing to the downfall of manufacturing a lifestyle brand in America.

Ironically most fitness apparel brand strategies include buying from the same handful of overseas producers.

We were heartbroken to know that the consumer way of life we’ve become accustomed too was cheapening the thought, quality, and care that went into producing an exceptional product.

We’re not just talking about big brands like Nike, Under Armor, Polo, Ralph Lauren, Puma or even true lifestyle brands like Red Bull and Harley Davidson… they all seem to manufacture a majority of their products overseas.

It’s even more rampant among the smaller brands out there today.

If you look through social media you’ll see that a lot of small lifestyle brands have the exact same cuts and colors with a different logo thrown on.

Traditional marketing would have you believe that all these brands are unique, (realistically, we know there is only so much that you can do with fabric and thread) but nothing is further from the truth.

Looking for inspiration when it came to a fitness apparel lifestyle brand…

I was once looking around the “market” at what was going on as far as styles, cuts, colors and other trends in athletic apparel and was shocked to see at least 5 brands selling the EXACT same “mesh highlighted” leggings with their own logos on them.

Not to mention, after a quick search, I found the exact same pair on Amazon without a lifestyle brand name on it, for pennies on the dollar.

That’s when I knew we had to make our athletic apparel different.

We became people with a goal.

We decided that if we were going to inspire, guide and motivate people to Think Massive and live a life on a higher level, we had to create a group or a culture, that understands what it means to do things differently than the pack.

We wanted to build a lifestyle brand that could embody the interests of all Americans. Not just the gym rats either.

We wanted to inspire anyone that needed a daily reminder that they are amazing.

A daily reminder that they matter.

A daily reminder that they can change the world, and not just their own…

So what’s it all mean?

Monolith Apparel has truly been trying to live that Think Massive mantra while building our lifestyle brand.

We source and or produce approximately 90-95% of our material and product for our lifestyle brand from right here in the USA.

In some cases, right here in Arizona!

We wanted to create apparel, and in particular, fitness apparel that stands for quality, and community.

We wanted to build a lifestyle brand that encompasses not just lifting weights, but lifting those around you.

When you help others, you end up helping yourself.

Going against what we all believe deep down inside, you can’t go it alone…

But, when you begin to help others, they, in turn, will help you. With help and support, ANYTHING is possible!

So what’s that have to do with a lifestyle brand?

If you’re going to live this life, we suggest you live a lifestyle that is inspirational, fulfilling, and mind-blowingly awesome.

Push past what your mind says you can’t do. Push past the fear that holds you back. Push past the limits society, or you put on yourself and become Monolithic.

Don’t let anything move you off the path of your goals.

…and do it while wearing fitness apparel that is strong, comfortable, American made, and filled with passion for not only quality but for seeing what you can become.

We mean that truly.

As we’ve been building this apparel company, we’ve come across so many amazing people.

Made so many uplifting friends.

And pushed ourselves farther than we thought was possible.

When we say that we want you to succeed, we mean it.

And we want our, and your, Think Massive mantra to be the reminder that you can do anything you set your mind, intentions, and actions too.

Let’s build a lifestyle together.

So as we continue to grow, evolve and change, this lifestyle brand we’ve created, we want you to do the same in your own life!

We’re always trying to do things better, and so should you.

The post The Difficulties Of Starting A Lifestyle Brand That Focuses On Fitness Apparel appeared first on Monolith Apparel.

Although our Rose Gold Think Massive Cropped Hoodie is no longer available, BuffBunny was able to snag No.002 of 150.

Above is a shot of Heidi heading out wearing our hoodie which was featured on Christian Guzman’s Youtube Channel.

Which is when we knew we had to show BuffBunny rocking the gear. I mean… she even matched her sweatpants!

So we dug through her videos and found the one where she actually received her No. 002 of 150 exclusive cropped hoodie.

We just thought we’d share, cause we’re proud of our gear, and stoked that others like Heidi can appreciate and support us by sporting our stylish gym apparel!

It goes to show that with that Think Massive mentality, even someone that would be considered a “competitor” in the fitness and fashion space, seeing that BuffBunny is its own line, knows that abundance is all around, and super cool gear is just too good to pass up!

Our Gear Is Made For Your Lifestyle.

Although the Rose Gold is gone, (maybe you can hit up BuffBunny and she if she wants to sell hers… 😉) we have plenty more killer apparel to share with you.

We’ve brought all our testing and manufacturing in-house for small runs which means we can test designs at our retail outlets in Arizona to make sure our local family loves them before the rest of the world gets to scope out our new gear.

We know, it’s not fair… but we appreciate and support our local community and the athletes that live here, and take it as a blessing we’re able to get feedback on what we produce. If you want stuff first, move to AZ!

Check out our store to see what’s new, what’s in stock, and what’s out of your grasp.

We’re constantly coming out with new cuts, new designs, and new fabric options. Not to mention, we manufacture most of our gear right here in the USA.

It’s Nice To Have Friends.

We actually want to thank Alicia Coates for making the connection to Buff Bunny for us. Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to get the gear in Heidi’s hands.

The moment we started putting this all together, Alicia wanted to get one to Heidi cause she was proud of our collab and the quality of the product. Alicia and Heidi go back as some of the original OG’s of Live Fit and have since both gone on to become icons in the fitness industry. The Buffbunny line was a spinoff of Live Fit after she learned the biz over the years. 

We got giddy when a few of the Monolith family shared these videos with us… so we wanted to share alike!

Now we’re heading into fall and we are releasing a new crop (coming soon) and are restocking the oh-so-soft green version of our Think Massive Cropped Hoodie.

It’s A Small World Afterall.

Just wanted to put out a short post to not only share our admiration but also share with you, our Monolith family, the idea that this word is a lot more connected than you could even imagine.

So, be kind to others and Think Massive every day!

Let us know what kind of future gear you’d like to see from us in the comments down below!

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The post BuffBunny Wears Monolith Fitness Gear [Cropped Hoodie] appeared first on Monolith Apparel.

We’re going to show you how you can train harder, more efficiently, and more effectively every day.

You might be thinking, “but I’m not trying to get on the US Olympic team, I’m just trying to get (or stay) in decent shape.”
We’re 100% talking to you.
We’ve spent time training with Emmett. We’ve watched him train clients. Over time, we’ve come to fully understand his thinking when it comes to fitness.
As Emmett defines it; “An athlete is anyone that works out more than 4 days a week.”
So if you’re going to the gym to run on a treadmill or you spend 4+ days doing the same weight routine, you’re doing yourself a disservice. You don’t need a new program. You need a new way of framing fitness. No more leaving the gym without breaking a sweat.

This fitness philosophy will show you better results in a shorter time than anything you’ve tried in recent years.

Emmett owns and operates Bishop’s Training Facility in Scottsdale Arizona.  Over the past 15 years, he’s worked with all sorts of clients. From your average mom to firefighters and first responders, and all the way up to the elite pro athletes.

The main idea behind his type of training is to get as many muscle fibers to fire in one session as possible. He combines specialization, defined by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as: “metabolic efficiency, sometimes referred to as energy system development, is a training methodology that helps to better prepare athletes for specific energy demands”, with generalization. By training this way he mixes up muscle groups, movements, and rep-ranges to continually keep the body from getting too comfortable.

The idea that you can’t train a body part back to back is foreign to him. The way he stacks his rep-range and movements allows you to train hard every day using your entire body.

So why should I use Multi-Energy System Training?

“Multi-Energy System Training” is the evolution of fitness that allows Emmett’s clients to rapidly shed weight, gain muscle, and build stamina. It’s also his way of keeping your workout routine very interesting. It’s hard to get bored with your workout program if you’re never really sure what’s going to be happening from day to day.

Right now you might be asking, “How can I train the Multi Energy System way?” Well, we’ve worked with Emmett to build a video library that allows anyone anywhere to work out with Emmett. Although you may see some of the same movements, (let’s face it, there’s only so many ways to pick things up and put things down…) you won’t see the same routine twice.

The library will start you off with access to five separate workout routines the first week. Then we add another workout to your library each week. As a bonus, you’ll also receive access to a PDF version of each workout so you can review the video and then take the workout with you where ever you go!

If you are looking to take yourself to the next level, to drop the pounds, or build the mass doing things differently than you have become accustomed to, then check out Ground Zero OnDemand Training with Emmett Bishop!

***We’re so confident that you’ve never seen training like this before, we’re giving away a workout!***

Now you can try out one on us.

Simply submit your info and we’ll whisk you away to Workout No.1

The post How To Get More Out Of Your Time In The Gym And Become An Athlete appeared first on Monolith Apparel.

How to Squat Properly

Keys to proper squat

• Set your back before you take the bar off the rack.
• Feet should be shoulder width apart with the toes pointed slightly outward. You don’t have to have your feet pointing straight ahead. Most people are not flexible enough to clear their hips without having their feet pointed outward.
• Do not tuck your tail! Once you get to parallel or slightly past, do not let the butt tuck under.
• Make sure your knees track over your feet. Your knees should stay in the same line as your feet. Make sure your knees do not go over your toes.
• Do not arch your back, keep your chest up as you go down to the ground.
• Flex your butt at the top of the movement to engage your muscles fully.
• And last pick an appropriate weight to use, no need to go crazy and hurt yourself.

We hope you enjoyed this video and got a little knowledge about proper squat form at the same time.  If you are interested in working with Emmett click here to the first free workout in our online library.  You can workout with Emmett and his clients in your home or gym.

As always don’t forget to Think Massive!

The post Proper Squat Form Utilizing A Resistance Band appeared first on Monolith Apparel.