movement

While some segments are designed to be more stable/mobile than others, it is important to encourage movement in the spine (assuming it is controlled and not under excessive loads) to promote healthy joint function and longevity. The thoracic spine specifically requires an adequate amount of...

Sometimes we need to dive into anatomy books to figure out how to best isolate certain muscles. This case is no different. Many people have a hard time feeling their lateral delts during lateral raises and also feel like their traps are overpowering the movement. The traps don’t play a direct...

Sumo Deadlift Guide: How-To, Muscles Worked, Benefits, and VariationsHere’s a guide to this effective deadlift variation. by Matthew Magnante January 31, 2020 The Sumo deadlift is one variation of the conventional deadlift where a barbell (although, there are different ways to do it)...

Imagery/Visualization – Also known as "mental rehearsal," imagery is a skill that researchers have studied extensively in sport psych settings, and which has repeatedly been shown to enhance performance and make sports and exercise more enjoyable (Weinberg, 1981 and 2008). When you mentally...

6 Reasons Deadlifts Are Awesome, by Charles Staley – Although deadlifts might seem a bit "expensive" for some because they initially require a learning curve, and also because they negatively impact your recovery compared to other movements, no other single exercise provides as many benefits...

Eccentric Vs. Concentric training. Which Is Better? How should you think about the benefits during lifting (concentric) and lowering (eccentric) of the weight during your workout? Resistance training involves two types of movements, concentric and eccentric. Concentric movement is...

Training with prior DOMS can be a sore subject, pun intended. Many are not sure if it’s okay to do or not, and the reality is that it depends. If your soreness is relieved by your typical warm-up, you’re probably good to go. However, if you’re still feeling the last workout’s DOMS after your...

Pre-exhaustion involves exhausting the prime mover in a compound movement before performing the compound movement – like doing chest flyes immediately before a bench press. However, this can easily lead to failure on bench which might not be the safest option when training alone. The good news...

Don’t quit doing an exercise just because it hurts. . Let me say this again. If you’re doing an exercise and it begins to hurt, and it has not hurt in the past, then your body is trying to make you aware of something. The pain you feel is your body’s way of saying, “Pay attention to me...

Does lifting faster increase strength gains? _ You often hear the advice of “lifting slowly” and “focus on the squeeze in the muscle”. _ Turns out this might very well cut your 1RM strength gains in half. _ Performing squats with maximal speed in the upward (concentric) phase vs half the...

The Recovery Intrusive Deadlift . The deadlift is a "takes more than it gives" movement. It's recovery intrusive, possibly more than any other compound movement. No lift causes a greater degree of "workout hangover" than heavy and hard deadlifting. Why? Most coaches say it's because of the...

There are many ways that we burn calories, but lifting alone doesn’t burn very many. And cardio is something our body gets better and better at quickly and we end up burning fewer calories at the same length of time/intensity as our cardiovascular fitness improves. For this reason, adding more...

I've never understood why bodybuilders apply 21's only to their biceps. The way I see it, 21's are a simple and versatile overload technique that can easily be applied to almost any strength exercise. As a refresher, 21's are usually performed by doing 7 partial reps at the top of the range of...

by Matt Weik For many people, this article will be a “duh” feature. However, I think we all fall into a routine at the gym and some people forget about different workout techniques to help stimulate the muscle and promote new muscle growth. Many people get stuck doing three sets of 10 reps and...

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themusclephd ◾️The 100 rep method is one of the MOST BRUTAL methods known in the gym, especially if you do it with a compound movement like the leg press or bench press. This variation of monster reps drives growth to the slow twitch muscle fibers.

Lat Pull-Down Basicshttp://www.fitnessandpower.com/training/bodybuilding-exercises/back-exercises/5-lat-pull-variations-complete-lat-development Aesthetics aside, the benefits of having a strong back are innumerable and range from better posture and improved spine health to injury prevention and...

Smash Through Your Plateau Let me guess. You've been training your ass off and still stuck with the same freakin weight on the bar month after month? Aren't you sick of never adding any more plates? Here are a few ways you can smash the shit out of that freakin plateau and before you know it...

by Christian Thibaudeau - Dumbbell shadow boxing is a stupid exercise. It does nothing good. First, you're doing a horizontal movement (punching forward) against a vertical resistance – the dumbbell only provides vertical resistance because of gravity. So the resistance doesn't even overload...

Safety Squat Bar I’ve seen you use the safety squat bar in your DVDs, and I asked my gym owner if he would get one for our place. He started giving me excuses about budget and whatever, so I looked online and found one used for under $300. I am sure the shipping won’t be cheap. Obviously I would...