Yesterday, my Oura readiness score was 94. I should have had a good workout—but I didn’t! The first exercise was bent-knee deadlifts, and my goal was to work up from 305 to 335 pounds in a step-loading fashion for five sets of five. I went to do my first work set, and it felt like…
Here’s a rack deadlift sequence that starts with less weight lifted through a longer range of motion and ends with more weight through a shorter range of motion. It’s done in three stages: STAGE 1Set the bar right below the knees on the side supports of a power rack. Position a sturdy step or box…
Take a look at this deadlift variation I’m doing in the video below. Nothing earth-shattering here, right? It looks like I’m not lifting much weight—except when you consider that I’m using the Apollon’s Axle. This 2-inch bar is much thicker than the standard Olympic barbell, which is about half the diameter. And by doing these…
A great way to wake up the central nervous system before a heavy lift is to stomp your feet. I picked up this tip from Dr. Stuart McGill in the book Gift of Injury. Try it the next time you do a heavy squat or deadlift—your nervous system will thank you! For more strategies like…
If it looks right, it flies right! I once heard a great comment from Yusuf Omar, a colleague from York University and a technical consultant for my book The Elite Trainer. He said, “An athlete’s glutes should look like half a Calabrese bread standing upright!” Yusuf has worked with elite-level athletes, including Ben Johnson, and…