Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu used to experiment in the gym to find ways to fix weaknesses. One thing they discovered was that doing squats with a wider stance helped build the inner thighs (check out page 123 of Arnold’s autobiography Total Recall for more details). This is one area that I’ve been focusing on…
For several weeks now, 15-year-old Joseph has been working hard on hanging-band squats and assisted chin-ups. Friday night he was able to see what effect that type of training has had. After working up to 45 pounds a side on hanging-band squats, he was ready for conventional squats with the “big plates”. No problem! Now,…
My son has become a wizard on digital devices. Give him an iPhone, iPad or iMac, and he’s right at home. Of course, I’m not a big fan of Wi-Fi, so I make sure that he keeps any mobile device on airplane mode as much as possible. I’m also not a fan of the posture-destroying,…
Different strokes for different folks. I prefer high-bar, ass-to-grass squats. If you’re not used to doing full squats, you can use chains to lighten the load at the bottom. Here I’m doing full squats with 185 pounds on the bar and 140 pounds of chains. At the bottom there’s roughly half the weight left on…
For volume training with intermediate and advanced athletes, legendary strength and conditioning coach Al Vermeil recommends wave-like loading when performing squats and presses. Too much high-volume, low-intensity work can detrain the nervous system over time. This scheme works well to counter that effect: Wave 1set 1: 8-10 repsset 2: 4-6 reps Wave 2set 3: 8-10…