Blog
2027 Fitness Trends: What Matters and What’s Just Noise
The 2027 ACSM fitness trends put wearables, apps and balance training at the top, but popularity is not the same as effectiveness. Here’s what fitness professionals should actually pay attention to.
7 More Exercise Modifications For A Winning Physique
Explore seven advanced exercise modifications designed to add variety, increase training stimulus, and help build a stronger, more balanced, and more muscular physique.
Moderate Rules For Maximum Results: It's About Time You Start Growing!
Learn how moderate loads, reps, tempo, and rest intervals can help lifters train smarter, manage recovery, and continue building strength and size as training age and life demands increase.
2013 in Review: A Look at our Articles, Blog Posts, Discussions, and More…
A year-end roundup highlighting The Elite Trainer’s top articles, blog posts, discussions, and industry contributions from 2013.
Tiger-Bend Push-Ups
Tiger-bend push-ups are tougher than they look, taking you from a push-up position down to the forearms and back again. Use knee or foot-elevated variations to scale the movement.
Cable and Leg Curl Tibialis Raise
Most lifters hammer calves and ignore the tibialis anterior. This video shows cable and leg-curl-machine options for tibialis raises to bring balance back to the lower leg.
Cable Crossovers with a Twist
This cable crossover variation adds internal rotation to light up the pecs harder than a standard crossover. Use rope attachments, rotate through the movement, and chase the contraction—not the weight stack.
Half Foam Roller Calf Raise
A half foam roller can turn an ordinary calf raise into a bigger range-of-motion movement with a deeper stretch and stronger contraction. Simple, cheap, and brutally useful.
High- and Low-Platform Wrist Curls
Changing platform height changes where wrist curls hit hardest. A high platform emphasizes the contracted position, while a low platform loads the stretch for a more complete forearm-training effect.
Inverted Sit-Ups and Squats
Gravity boots turn basic sit-ups and squats into a serious inverted challenge. This video shows how inverted sit-ups and inverted squats can hammer the core, hip flexors, and lower body in a very different way.
Neutral-Grip Chin-Ups
No neutral-grip chin-up bar? This video shows three practical workarounds—triangle handles, PVC grips, and wood grips—so you can keep rotating grips and building balanced upper-body strength.
The Last Set: A Synergistic Combination of Volume and Intensity in Strength Training
Discover how combining multiple sets with a high-effort final set can balance volume and intensity, helping lifters stimulate strength, muscle growth, and measurable workout progress.
Breathing During Strength Training
Learn how proper breathing, bracing, and technique support safer and stronger lifting by helping you maintain control, stability, and performance during strength-training exercises.
7 More Advanced Exercise Variations
Add variety and new stimulus to your workouts with seven advanced exercise variations designed to challenge your muscles, improve training progress, and keep your strength program moving forward.
Wrist Roller Exercise on a High Step
Use the wrist roller on a high step and train it for time, not arbitrary reps. Sixty seconds becomes the target—when the clock is up, the set is over, whether your forearms like it or not.
Tube Lateral Raise and the Jettison Technique
A shoulder-training demonstration combining tube resistance with the jettison technique to extend the set and increase delt fatigue.
Telle Shoulder External Rotation
A shoulder external-rotation variation associated with Jerry Telle, aimed at training the rotator cuff through a practical setup.
Swiss Ball Side-Lying Dumbbell Lateral Raise
A lateral raise variation performed on a Swiss ball to change body position, challenge stability, and target the shoulder differently.
Prone Lateral Ball Roll
A core-training drill using the Swiss ball to challenge trunk control, lateral stability, and controlled movement under tension.
Accommodating Resistance on the Reverse Hyperextension
A reverse hyperextension variation using accommodating resistance to challenge the posterior chain more effectively through the range.
A Wrist-Friendly Version of the Reverse Bench Press
A reverse bench press modification designed to reduce wrist discomfort while keeping the movement useful for triceps-focused training.