Looking for a spine-friendly way to train your core? The half-kneeling reverse woodchop fits the bill. It’s a great exercise for developing rotational strength and stability without placing excess strain on the lower back. No cable machine? No problem—grab a dumbbell and you’re good to go. Give it a shot!
The Formulator is a great weapon to have in your arsenal—but it’s hard to get your hands on one these days. It was off the market for a while, then it was back on, and now it’s off again! If you want to “formulate” your own knockoff version in the gym, check out The Jon…
There’s no doubt that lower body training with compound lifts requires hard work. While progressive resistance is important, sometimes you can “go further” with a lighter weight. Technically speaking, work equals force times distance, so to increase your training volume, you don’t always need heavier weights. Try increasing the range of motion instead. Sure, you’ll…
Take a look at this video… It doesn’t look like I’m doing much, right? There’s only 110 pounds on the bar, but it’s surprisingly challenging. Why? Because I’m only using my thumb and index finger to raise the weight! Take a closer look. Thanks to fellow strength coach Christian Thibaudeau for bringing this method to…
Growing up, all I ever wanted was the “biceps vein!” I wanted it even more than huge biceps. Of course, big arms help push that vein out, and being lean is important too—too much body fat will hide your vascularity. Bodybuilders use several tricks to bring out vascularity during competition. Drugs aside, glycerol helps… and…
A great exercise to pair with incline or standing presses is the subscapularis pull-up—also known as a lean-away pull-up. To perform it, pull yourself up to the bar, then push your body away from the bar as you lower down. Keep your core braced and control the descent all the way to the bottom. Give…
Supersets are a form of strength training where you pair two exercises and move from one to the other with little to no rest in between. This method allows you to get more work done in less time—and more work can lead to a leaner, more muscular physique. A staggered superset involves alternating exercises for…
The Sicilian Crunch put me on the map many moons ago—consider this its reverse. It’s a negative-accentuated glute-ham raise that emphasizes the knee flexion component of the movement. If your gym has this machine, give it a try: Expect your hamstrings to be sore for a few days.
Frankie Valli’s Grease is a blast from the past—and a fitting song for the reverse hyper. Why? Because most people “blast” out of the bottom of the movement and launch the lever arm into orbit. Don’t do that! Control the movement. Maintain constant contact with the ankle pad throughout the entire range for optimal results….
For many people, lower leg training truly is “the seventh stranger!” Even when the backside gets some attention, the front often gets overlooked. I guess most people just don’t give a “shin” about it! That’s a mistake. All kidding aside, the gastrocnemius and soleus—the two major calf muscles—do receive some love at the gym, but…