Posts categorized in:

Lifting Technique

Exercise of the Week: Split-Stance Cable Push

I’m going to start a new segment of the blog, appropriately titled “The Exercise of the Week.”  In this case, I’ll post a new or old exercise and reasons why you may want to include it in your programming.  The first exercise up on our list is the split-stance cable push. This exercise is excellent […]

Continue Reading

Row Right: Get More Bang For Your Buck

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com Big backs are way cool. Whether it’s the back of a bodybuilder like Dorian Yates or Ronnie Coleman, a powerlifter like Ed Coan, or an Olympic lifter like Pyrros Dimas, big backs are a byproduct of moving heavy iron for an extended period of time. You can’t pump and cramp your […]

Continue Reading

Olympic vs. Powerlifting Squats

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com There’s a rivalry in the iron world between the Olympic lifters and the powerlifters as to who’s stronger. This argument has invariably led to the two camps debating which one squats more and who has the better style of squatting. The reality is this is like the old cliché of comparing […]

Continue Reading

Perfecting The Romanian Deadlift

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com The Romanian Deadlift, or RDL, is an excellent lift for developing strength and muscle mass in the posterior chain. Whether your goal is a great physique, a bigger squat or deadlift, or to run faster and jump higher, the RDL can help get you there. Unfortunately, the RDL is one of […]

Continue Reading

Hardcore Lunge

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com The lunge is one of the best exercises you can do in the gym. Unfortunately, the performance of the “lunge” by your average gym-goer is about as baffling as nipples on men. Some things just don’t add up. Whether your goal is improved performance, wheels of steel, or a bigger total, […]

Continue Reading

Yo, How Much Ya Bench?

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com Striving for the Big Bench I recently had the privilege of being an assistant coach for the USA’s World Bench Press Team. While I was there I refused to sleep more than a few hours a night; I wasn’t about to miss out on learning some kick-ass tips and tricks to […]

Continue Reading

6 Tricks For a Sexy Squat

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com Confessions of an Ugly Squatter This article is dedicated to those of you that either aren’t squatting, or squatting with weights well below what you should be using because you have bad levers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people bitch and moan about having a short back, […]

Continue Reading

Wanna Grow? Gotta Row!

Originally Posted at www-t-nation.com Death by Bench Press! (Or at least you may get a nasty imbalance) Where are you going to be in five years? Will you have added 30 pounds of solid muscle? Will you have put hundreds of pounds on your powerlifting total? Or will you be a has-been who talks about […]

Continue Reading

Single Leg Supplements

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com In your quest for developing legs that are bigger, stronger, and more powerful, chances are you’ve already read dozens of articles on the basic exercises. Any decent strength training routine will put emphasis on the big lifts like squats and deadlifts. While I’m not saying these exercises aren’t important, a lot […]

Continue Reading

Precision Pulling

Originally Posted at www.t-nation.com Deadlift or Die! If I hear one more geek personal trainer or “fitness enthusiast” say that he doesn’t perform deadlifts because he doesn’t want to hurt his back, my next set of articles may be coming from behind bars. I just can’t stand to hear this crap anymore! The truth is […]

Continue Reading

10 Tips for Flawless Squattin’

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com You’ve heard it a thousand times. To get big and strong, ya’ gotta’ squat. But how many of you are doing it right? The squat isn’t as complex as a clean and jerk, but whether you’re a competitive powerlifter or just the basic trainee trying to put some size on your […]

Continue Reading

How to Improve the Wide Stance Squat

Squatting…like it or not, you just have to do it if you are serious about getting strong! There are two main ways of squatting today; one being the high bar, narrow stance squat (Olympic squat), and the other being a wide-stance, low bar squat (Powerlifting or Power squat). While they are in essence the same […]

Continue Reading

How to Improve the Sumo Deadlift

There is a common phrase in powerlifting circles that states, The meet doesn’t start until the bar hits the floor. I’m not sure if that’s entirely true, but I do know that the deadlift is your last chance to move up in the standings. There are two major forms of the deadlift used in competition: […]

Continue Reading

Biomechanics and the Bench Press

How many times since you’ve been going to the gym have you heard, “Dude, how much can you BENCH?” If you’ve been training for a while, I would venture to guess quite a few. Big bench pressers are always highly revered, especially because someone with a massive bench can inspire everyone, not just powerlifters. To […]

Continue Reading

Five Habits of Defective Squatters

It pains me to see ugly squats. Seriously. Physical pain, nausea, and nervous ticks all occur when I see the average gym goer hit the iron and try to squat. The only thing I can imagine being worse are the clowns who still hang out in the Smith machine so they can “hit their glutes […]

Continue Reading