Matt Brzycki, B.S.

Pronouns
he/him
Position
Assistant Director of Campus Recreation, Fitness
Office Phone
Office
Racquet and Recreation Fieldhouse, Room 110B, Meadows Campus
Education

Bachelor of Science, Health and Physical Education, The Pennsylvania State University, 1983

Bio/Description

Matt Brzycki, BS, has more than 41 years of experience at the collegiate level as an administrator, an instructor and a coach. This includes work as a Health Fitness Supervisor at Princeton University (1983 to 1984); Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Rutgers University (1984 to 1990); and a variety of positions at Princeton University including Strength Coach and Health Fitness Coordinator (1990 to 1993); Coordinator of Health Fitness, Strength and Conditioning (1993 to 2001); Coordinator of Recreational Fitness and Wellness Programs (2001 to 2007); and his current role as Assistant Director of Campus Recreation, Fitness (2007 to present).

He served in the US Marine Corps from 1975 to 1979, earning various distinctions that include the Leatherneck Award (for rifle marksmanship during basic training; 1975), meritorious promotion to the rank of sergeant (1978), Meritorious Mast (for being named Marine of the Month; 1978), Good Conduct Medal (1978), Certificate of Merit (for "successfully completing a demanding and rigorous tour of duty as a Marine Drill Instructor"; 1979), Drill Instructor Ribbon (retroactive to 1979) and rifle expert badge (three awards; 1975, 1977 and 1978). After completing his four-year enlistment, Matt enrolled at The Pennsylvania State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education in 1983. In college, he was a competitive powerlifter and bodybuilder.

Matt has authored eight books, co-authored seven books and edited two books. In addition, he has authored more than 530 articles/columns on strength and fitness that have been featured in 48 different print publications, including American Fitness; Athletic Business; Athletic Journal; Coach and Athletic Director; Fitness Management; Jersey Firefighters; The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance; LAW and ORDER; Martial Arts Training; Muscular Development; New Jersey COPS; The New Jersey Police Chief; Pennsylvania Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance; Powerlifting Canada; Strength and Health; S.W.A.T; Tactical Response; Texas Coach; Training and Conditioning; Women's Sports and Fitness; and Wrestling USA.

He has given presentations at more than 100 conferences, clinics and camps throughout the United States and Canada, including the New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Annual Convention (1992 and 2009); National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Region I Conference (1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2013, 2020 and 2022); NSCA Strength and Conditioning Conference for Football (1996); Toronto Football Clinic (1997); American College of Sports Medicine’s Health and Fitness Summit and Exposition (1999); Tampa Bay Buccaneer Strength and Conditioning Seminar (1999); Operational Tactics National SWAT/Sniper Symposium (2002, 2003 and 2004); FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (2005); Athletic Business Conference and Expo (2009); Greater New York Regional Chapter, American College of Sports Medicine, Annual Meeting (2011); Michigan State University Strength and Conditioning Clinic (2013); US Air Force Expeditionary Operations School Professional Development and Team Building Conference (2019); and New Jersey Higher Education Mental Health Summit (2025).  In addition, Matt has given presentations to more than two dozen organizations and groups, including the US Secret Service Academy (2004); the Central Intelligence Agency (2007); the US Customs and Border Protection (2007); the Pentagon (2023 and 2024); the Princeton University Class of 2018 Last Lecture Series (2018); and the Princeton University Wintersession (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025).

In 1993, he introduced an equation (“the Brzycki formula”) to predict a one-repetition maximum (1-RM) from repetitions-to-fatigue in a paper that has been cited in more than 1,275 research studies (according to ResearchGate), likely making it the most popular equation of its kind and a favorite of recreational weightlifters across the world.

In 2013, Matt was ranked #65 in the US, #70 in North America and #191 in the world among men aged 55 to 59 in the 400-meter dash (with a time of 1:05.80).

Selected Publications
  • A Practical Approach to Strength and Conditioning. 5th ed. Terre Haute, IN: Wish Publishing, 2018.
  • "Strength Testing - Predicting a One-Rep Max from Reps-to-Fatigue." The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 64 no. 1 (January 1993): 88-90.