|
| When I look back on what I was doing and what I knew a few years ago (or even last year), I laugh. The health and human performance field is incredibly dynamic in nature, so if you aren't evolving, you're sure to be left behind.
For me, 2006 was a tremendous year of evolution, both personally and professionally, so I figured the new year would be a great time to reflect on some of the more influential revelations I had this year. This list certainly isn't exhaustive, but it should give you a peak into what a difference a year can make.
Continue Reading...
|
| Read more |
|
| Without a doubt, the leg extension debate is one of the most heated in the fitness industry today. Let's take a look at what the research says and apply our findings in a practical manner.
Continue Reading... |
| Read more |
|
| A few weeks ago, I published Shoulder Savers Part I and Part II. People ate them up and asked for more. But truth be told, I held back in those articles. Hey, there's only so much info you can cram into two segments!
Since I estimate that more than two-thirds of lifters will have some sort of shoulder problem during their training career, I figured it was only right to give the people what they want. Here are nine more tips just to make it a cool 25. Enjoy!
Continue Reading...
Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance. |
| Read more |
|
| In Part I, I told you my life story, reflecting on my favorite color and the fact that I was raised by wolves. Eventually, I got around to my first eight tips on how to keep your shoulders healthy. My creativity is a little lacking, so I haven't got any more stories to tell you, but I can at least offer eight more shoulder savers. Enjoy.
Continue Reading...
Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance. |
| Read more |
|
| Very simply, there are certain mistakes that many lifters with shoulder problems share in common. With that in mind, I decided to take a proactive approach and present to you my top sixteen recommendations for avoiding the problems in the first place. These aren't exhaustive, but I guarantee that if you take them to heart, you'll be much less likely to email me or, worse yet, give your orthopedic shoulder surgeon enough business to pay off his new Mercedes.
Continue Reading...
Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance.
Sign up for our FREE Newsletter today and and receive this deadlift technique video!
|
| Read more |
|
| The Smith machine is the equipment parallel to High Intensity Training. On one hand, it's been called more dirty names than Madonna on a trip to the Vatican. On the other hand, there are those who vehemently adhere to it in spite of the fact that it's an inferior way to train.
I'm about as anti-machine a guy as you'll ever meet, but I'm also open-minded enough to realize that as is the case with most things in life, the answer rests somewhere in the middle.
Continue Reading |
| Read more |
|
| In Part I, we discussed how your body type can hinder you on certain lifts while making you an absolute stud on others. We also covered how your body type can influence the way you should be training to maximize your performance in the squat.
Here in Part II, our goal is to take the guesswork out of bench and deadlift training and, in the process, take your total to an all-time high!
Continue Reading... |
| Read more |
|
| "I suck at squatting because I'm too skinny!"
"My bench is weak because of my long arms!"
"My deadlift will never go up. I'm just not built to pull heavy!"
Ever hear a training partner utter one of these lines? Or, worse yet, have you ever said these things yourself? If so, we're here to give you a fresh outlook on ways to improve your lifts.
Biomechanics buffs like us are always looking for scientifically applicable ways to improve our lifting. In this article, we're going to give you some new insights as to possible areas of weakness, as well as ways to address these weaknesses to take you to newfound levels of strength and performance! |
| Read more |
|
| In Part I, our first five adages focused predominantly on the lower body. Now, in Part 2, we’ll look closely at some commonly maligned upper body exercises.
Continue Reading... |
| Read more |
|
| We live in a society that doesn't want gray areas. People want right or wrong, up or down, and left or right. This mindset carries over to the gym, too; lifters want to be able to say that Exercise A is evil, and Exercise B is safe.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple, so with that in mind, I'm devoting this article to killing off some myths, establishing some more well-defined gray areas, and making recommendations on who can do what.
I'm going to come right out and say it: in the absence of musculoskeletal pathology, no movement is fundamentally bad. Sure, there are exercises like kickbacks and leg extensions that don't give you as much bang for your buck as their multi-joint counterparts (e.g. dips and squats), but that's not to say that these pansy exercises are "bad" for you. Likewise, it's rare that I write any sort of machine lift into my programming, but there are rehabilitation patients that benefit greatly from certain machine training.
In my opinion, there are only five scenarios in which exercise is ever truly bad for you from a health standpoint:
1. When that exercise is performed in excessive volume.
2. When that exercise is performed with poor technique.
3. When that exercise is performed in a manner that puts it out of balance with the rest of the programming that is in place.
4. When that exercise irritates an existing injury or condition.
5. When that exercise is performed with excessive loading (relative to the lifter's capabilities).
Now, it's not feasible for me to outline every specific instance where every exercise is safe or unsafe, but I can address some common adages we frequently hear in our gyms.
Continue Reading... |
| Read more |
|
LEARN
HOW TO
DEADLIFT
- Avoid the most common deadlifting mistakes
- 9 - minute instructional video
- 3 part follow up series
|
