5 Exercises to Never Take Out of Your Program
The five exercises I have chosen will not cause overuse injuries as the heavy compound movements can. In fact, if you keep them in weekly, you’ll prevent injuries.
6 Foundational Movement Pattern Variations
If you’re not spending time with each of these patterns weekly, you’re leaving gains on the table.
An Underrated Training Tool: Timed Deadlift Sets
You can only set 60-second rep records in the deadlift for so long before you experience burnout and injury. Here’s how to increase your reps without the burnout and injury.
5 Exercises to Improve Back Strength in the Deadlift
There are a ton of great back exercises to choose from, but what exercises translate to more pulling power? More specifically, what exercises bring up weaknesses found in your erectors, lats, and rhomboids?
7 Intermediate Bench Hacks
Pick one or two of these hacks, run them for about two months, and see where it takes your bench. Hack #4 was a tremendous help getting my raw bench to the best it’s ever felt.
6 New Uses for the Safety Squat Yoke Bar
The SSB is quite possibly the best bar known to man. FYI, this article isn’t meant to sell you the SSB, but we’ve had so much success with this bar; it’s hard not to share our experiences with it.
Randomized Band Shoulder Press Benefits
Do two to three work sets at the beginning of one of the weekly upper body training sessions while the nervous system and muscles are fresh.
3 Tweaks Your Squat Needs
Without a doubt, there are some things you need to pay attention to when performing and coaching squats across the board. I will list them here.
Three Phase Offseason Bench Protocol to Replace Dynamic Effort Waves
Following these phases, there seems to be, on average, around a five to seven percent increase in 1RM bench by the end of phase two, with a further increase after phase three.
The Most Underrated Exercise You’re Not Doing for Shoulder Health
Do your shoulders hurt at the bottom of the bench? If so, what are you doing to fix it? This exercise may help.
Bench Press More Weight
Watch this 4-part video series to learn everything from the technique of the movement to more advanced methods like overload training.
Band Exercise Index
An in-depth analysis of band movements I heavily depend on for augmenting my physical prowess on the mat, and for any athletes I coach irrespective of sport.
Down with the Decline?
If you decide to embark on the decline press, for whatever reason, regardless of whether or not the pursuit is to target these particular fibers of the pec, you may want to consider alternate options.
Make Your COVID-19 Training Better
Let’s go over the different categories of at-home training that you can begin adding to your routine right now: Bodyweight Training, Make Light Weights Feel Heavy, and Get Create and Go Outside.
11 Medicine Ball Exercises to Improve GPP
You down with GPP? You know, General Physical Preparedness. If not, it’s time to get back in shape to dramatically and positively affect your total strength. You can start this process with a medicine ball.
Shoulder Saver Bench Warm-up
Since starting this recovery routine, that I do on both of my upper body days per week, I have had far less pain and nagging injuries. Save your shoulders!
Beginner Gains for Advanced Lifters
Here’s how you can quickly jump through your current plateau and advance to the next stage of strength.
All I Need Is One Bar
Many of my online clients and members of my gym don’t have a squat rack or bench at home, unfortunately. However, many of them have access to a barbell. Are you in this same predicament?
Anchored Band Squats for Unmatched Quad and Glute Power
A cluster 6-second pause execution as Dr. Serrano demonstrates with patients in the video combines to create excellent conditions for muscle growth and body fat loss at the same time.
Bodyweight Training for Lower-Body Strength and Power
We should not lose sight of the benefits that bodyweight training provides. Take a break from the barbell and machines and try Prison Squats, Nordic Leg Curls, Jump Squats, and Jump Tucks for newfound strength and explosiveness.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — Spud Inc. Econo Triceps and Lat Pulley
This item is one of the most cost-effective ways to add a ton of variation to your training and enable you to perform a greater number of exercises.
Drag Those Gym Closure Blues Away
I see lots of bands, bodyweight exercises, and lightweight information, which is all great, but in my opinion, sleds are right up there. I can train every body part with one sled.
Bare Bones Bodybuilding
This article is not about the bands or weights but HOW you use the bands or weights. You can use these 12 techniques to keep your workouts fresh and keep your sanity without going to the gym.
Endless Sled Dragging Variations That Will Dramatically Improve Your Per...
Get your ass out there and start dragging some sleds! It’s not as much of a drag as you think it is. With 22 variations to get you started, the possibilities are truly endless.
3 Workout Mainstays in Every Home Gym
It’s in these moments, we wish we would’ve put a little more energy and cash into our home gym. Here’s how to start small yet smart.
Explosive Strength and Plyometric Options for Upper Body: How and When t...
Speed is king, right? Then you’d better train it. I have some medicine ball throws to get your athletes up to speed. Make sure those movements are crisp and fast! Go, go, go!
Emergency Home Gym 101
We are on a budget and in a hurry and we don’t have the space, we just need stuff to press, hoist, lift with and not break the bank.
Home Gym Essentials on a Budget
Here are my top budget-conscious choices for an extremely effective home workout.
Six Reasons Athletes Need to Use Sandbags
Yes, sandbags. Nothing new for many coaches but always used as a tool when “better” training implements weren’t available.
Bodyweight Training for Upper-Body Strength and Power
This split is customizable, flexible, and effective in helping to build and maintain lean muscle mass. Not to mention, you don’t have to have a pricey gym membership in order to see results.
WATCH: 17 Band Exercises Powerlifters Can Do at Home
Life gets hectic with viruses, gym closings and holidays, work, and travel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some training in.
6 Conditioning Finishers for New Personal Training Clients
Here are six conditioning finishers that I’ve used to help clients to end tremendous sessions but also give them swift kicks in the asses, coming back for more.
230 Max Effort Variations You Can Do With 1 Bar
If you think having one bar means you can’t do max effort variations, you’re wrong. It’s time to think outside of the box. If you can’t, no worries! I already have, and I came up with 230 variations you can use with a straight bar. No specialty bars required!
Kettlebell Compounds for Conditioning
These multiple-movement sequences link a variety of kettlebell exercises for a full-body, more brutal and effective workout that can be done anywhere.
12 Upper-Body Blast Strap Variations
Anchor this suspension system and you instantly have at the very minimum, twelve exercises to train back and shoulders.
Best Training Methods for Biceps Growth
In this 5-week program, I include training modalities that your biceps respond to by growing. We’ll cover peak contraction, isotension, giant sets, extended sets, plus a great bonus finisher to encourage a biceps stretch!
Loaded Carries for Box Athletes
Loaded carries are so effective that you won’t find one program that we offer that does not include them on the regular.
8 Lightweight Exercises for a Massive Shoulder Pump
A large amount of blood into the shoulder feels great, and over time will help them to round out. These eight exercises are easy to do anywhere, and they work great for extra workouts. Here are three shoulder workouts to get you started.
Top-10 Assistance Exercises to Get Stronger and Remain Injury-Free
I started late in the game and unfortunately have the scars to prove it. Now with so much information literally at your fingertips, you don’t have to go through the wringer like me. Learn from my mistakes and incorporate these exercises into your program.
WATCH: Jordan Shallow Explains How Bicep Curls Can Help with Your Should...
Another way to combat the shoulder and elbow pain present in many powerlifters is by doing bicep curls, and doing them properly. It will help prevent injury when doing your bench press.
7 Exercises That Have Become Extinct
Trends come and go and with them, certain exercises. With that in mind, which exercises does a seasoned bodybuilder say are outdated?
WATCH: How Tricep Extensions Can Improve Your Bench Press
Elbow pain is a common ailment of powerlifters, particularly when it comes to the bench press. However, an unlikely move can help treat and prevent bench press related elbow pain.
WATCH: Reconsider Bands as Your Strength Warm-up
Are you really utilizing your muscles at their maximum strength?
WATCH: JM Blakley's Ultimate 6-Rep Triceps Workout
Even though it’s 6 reps, you might want to tell the person who wants to use the cable machine they’ll have to wait a bit. This exercise puts the burn in slow burn.
Project Return to Press: The Road Back
You really don’t appreciate something until it’s gone. But man, when you’re able to bench again… there’s nothing like it.
Project Return to Press: No Barbell, No Problem
OK, maybe I shouldn’t have gone so hardcore with jiu-jitsu, but you know what? I made the best of my injury and learned from it.
5 Common Strongman Weaknesses and How to Fix Them
Consider the Press, Deadlift, Farmer’s Walk, Death Medley, and Atlas Stones. I’ll pinpoint the common weakness in each event and provide an exercise (a solution) for you to fix the weak point. No excuses!
How to Screw Up Your Posture with the Leg Press
Sure, you can build bigger quads in the leg press, but that is the only benefit I can see of doing it. The cons outweigh the pros when it comes to this machine.
Training the Lats in Dao
Lifters concern themselves with putting tension across the fibers of the lats in the hopes that they’ll grow — without dosing them in the smallest moment of function to help stabilize their trunk and core, minimize the risk of low back pain, and ultimately, promote longevity in lifting.
WATCH: Atlas Stone Tutorial with Brian Alsruhe
Even if you’re not a strongman competitor, the Atlas Stone’s benefits have carryover to the Big Three. Besides, it’s fun to train something new. So what are you waiting for? Grab an Atlas Stone, heavy med ball, or sandbag so we can get started!
How to Use Knee Wraps for Strongman
Strongman is a brutal sport that will beat your joints up, so you might as well take all the precautions that you can. That means that knee wraps, knee sleeves, and elbows sleeves are musts.
WATCH: Farmer's Walk Tutorial with Brian Alsruhe
Fun fact: the farmer’s walk is one of Brian Alsruhe’s favorite exercises of all time. It works your grip, back, traps, biceps, core, and calves… what’s not to love?
Chin-Ups at a Higher Bodyweight
If you’re a heavier trainee, chin-ups are difficult… but not impossible. Case in point: I’m nearly 50 years old and weigh 245 pounds, but I do chin-ups for volume rather than output. Here lies the secret to my chin-up success.
Touch as a Feedback Mechanism for Athletes
Not every athlete can feel their spine twist into a pretzel, so how do you teach them not to do that? This article will give you a model for how to manipulate the sense of touch to create an altered feedback environment for your athlete. Work your way up from simple movements, such as the prone stick hold, to something
Alternate Your Heavy Squats with Belt Squats
Save your back from disc compressions by shifting from heavy squats to belt squats. It’ll help you recover faster, which will give you results faster and with fewer injuries.
The Best Bang for Your Buck: elitefts Plyobox and Tri Plyo Cube
Jump in — er, jump on the opportunity that comes along with using the elitefts Plyobox and Tri Plyo Cube to train plyometrics!
Selecting Appropriate Exercises for Youth Athletes
Parents are understandably worried about their children starting strength training. Ease their minds by selecting appropriate exercises for their kids.
Romanian Deadlift Variations for Stronger Hamstrings
Other than the GHR, nothing else builds the hamstrings better than Romanian Deadlifts. Try out these variations, and you’ll see a difference in those hammies.