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Lifting Technique

The Coaching Progression

The other day I was working with a new(ish) client, and I was cuing her to get into proper position.  Upon completion of the set, she turned to look at me and said: “How come you never told me that before?” And my response was simple: Because you weren’t ready for that before!

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Grab Your Balls!

A New Perspective on Activation By Jim Smith, CSCS, RKC Over the last 3 years I have made a huge change in the programming for my athletes.  The warm-up that was once a formality has now become the center for the entire program. Why? Because it is that important! When I started focusing on the […]

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Step-by-Step Bench Pressing

If you’ve been in the iron game for any period of time, you’ve probably been asked the following question: “Hey bro (or broski, or brosef) – how much ya bench?” We can argue about the efficacy of bench pressing ‘til we’re blue in the face.  While I’m apt to say that a big squat or […]

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Conquering the Chin-up

Chin-ups and pull-ups should be a staple exercise in virtually everyone’s program. Regardless of whether your goal is to build a massive back, develop a stronger bench press, or even to lose body fat, mastering chin-ups can help you get there faster. Unfortunately, people struggle with chin-ups for a variety of reasons.

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Improving Your Push-up

Push-ups are easy.  After all, you just plop down on the floor and press yourself up, right? Not so fast.

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Coaching Cues Comment Contest

As you guys can tell, things have been a bit slow around here.  Sorry about that – things have been a little bit more hectic than usual lately 🙂 To get things cranked back up, I figured I’d run a little contest.  Here’s what I’d like for you guys to do.

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Simple Squat Fixes

As many of you already know, my good friend and fellow strength coach is getting ready to release his new product, Show and Go next week. I know that Eric has spent the better part of two years pulling this thing together.  Writing the program, developing the video content, it all takes a ton of […]

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A Killer Chin-up Variation

In today’s edition of Exercise of the Week, we’re going to cover a sweet variation on an old-school strength exercise.

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Turkish Get-Ups Step-by-Step

TURKISH GET-UPS

One of my goals of late is to really dial in and focus on the quality of my movement, and that of my athletes.  And one of the exercises that I’ve really tried to develop within my coaching and teaching repertoire is the Turkish get-up. The Turkish Get-up is a fantastic exercise, and while I […]

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More Thoughts on Movement Quality

Several weeks ago, I wrote a blog titled “The Concept of Movement Quality.”  There, I touched on a basic premise – it’s not just about moving more; it’s about moving better. This past weekend during our Bootcamp Bootcamp Q&A, several of us were discussing the topic even further.  It reminded me of a quote I […]

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Exercise of the Week: Supine Face Pulls

I know many of you out there are fans of the face pull, so here’s a cool variation that I think you’ll enjoy. The supine face pull is performed in exactly the same fashion as the traditional version – thumbs up grip, pull towards your face/neck, etc.  The big difference here is that when you’re […]

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Exercise of the Week: External Rotation on Knee

In today’s edition of “Exercise of the Week,” we’re going to cover a simple, yet effective, rotator cuff exercise. The external rotation on knee not only helps develop strength in the shoulder external rotators, but can also help you discern the difference between actual shoulder rotation and scapular motion. Finally, training in the scapular plane […]

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Mastering the Kettlebell Swing

This past year I’ve really become fascinated with kettebells. (Side Note: I also know and understand they aren’t the be-all, end-all of training.  My gym still has plenty of dumbbells, barbells, and a bunch of other equipment to help you get big and strong) However, I do see the value in using them.  And perhaps […]

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Exercise of the Week: The Tall Kneeling Series

(Note: I actually wasn’t going to post this today, but since I have a few extra minutes, here goes!) In this edition of Exercise of the Week, I want to discuss two of my favorite core training options: The tall kneeling cable chop and the tall kneeling cable lift. Gray Cook wrote an entire article […]

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Exercise of the Week: Prone Row to External Rotation

The prone row to external rotation is a simple, yet effective exercise for improving scapular stability and external rotator strength at the shoulder.  At IFAST, we often use these in the early stages of training to improve motor control.  Once motor control is improved, all the “big-bang” exercies like dumbbell rows, chest supported rows, PNF […]

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