Anatomy Archives - Robertson Training Systems

Step-by-Step Glute Training

on November 21, 2017 | by Mike Robertson

Lots of people that I work with want a great set of glutes. Now I know what you’re thinking: “But Mike! You work with athletes! These people don’t care about training muscle groups…” First and foremost, I’m not talking about bodybuilding splits here. What I am talking about is building a set of glutes that […]

Should You Tweak Your Stance for Squats and Deadlifts?

on July 3, 2017 | by Mike Robertson

Note from MR: Dean Somerset reminds me of, well, me back in the day. There was a 5-10 year stretch were I was obsessive about functional anatomy. Nowadays, it’s not that I’m not that into it – but there’s just so much other stuff to cover, I can’t obsess about it like I used to! […]

The What, Why and How of Alternating Function

on June 27, 2016 | by Mike Robertson

(Lead photo courtesy of Keith Allison) One thing I’ve always tried to do is grow and evolve as a coach. When you’re just getting started you’re somewhat limited in your perspective, and we all have a tendency to model the coaches we spent time with early on. When I started coaching I was strongly influenced by powerlifting, […]

My 3 Favorite Exercises for Sexy and Stable Shoulders

on February 19, 2015 | by Mike Robertson

Let me start by making one very important point: Not everyone can, or should, barbell press. And taking that a step further, there are plenty of people who should be excluded from other big-bang exercises and variations as well. Whether we’re talking bench pressing variations, chinning variations, or even most rowing variations, some people need […]

Built by Science

on March 4, 2014 | by Mike Robertson

March is “Movement” month here at Robertson Training Systems, and I see no better way to kick it off than with some hard core anatomy. In September, I flew out to Boise, Idaho to the Bodybuilding.com headquarters, and shot material for five days to develop what’s now called the “Built by Science” video trainer. In […]

Big Lifts and Core Training

on June 18, 2013 | by Mike Robertson

Yo Mike! Coach Poliquin (and others) have noted that you only need squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, etc. to build core strength. What do you think? This is an age-old question, and hopefully I can do it justice in one post. Let me begin by saying I have the utmost respect for Coach Poliquin and everything […]

Lats: Friend or Foe?

on June 10, 2013 | by Mike Robertson

The lats are an often revered muscle group. Most guys are all about getting that “V-taper” and looking jacked. For women, there’s something incredibly empowering about being about to move their own bodyweight. As such, we have tons of women coming into IFAST who have a goal to do a chin-up. But are the lats […]

Sexy Shoulder Function

on April 4, 2013 | by Mike Robertson

(Photo courtesy of A. Blight) I get at least 8-10 e-mails per month that go something like this: “I jacked up my shoulders – what exercises can I do to keep training while working to fix the underlying issue?” The end goal for guys and gals like this is simple: Get back to hard and […]

Is Scapular Stability a Myth?

on September 5, 2012 | by Mike Robertson

Over the past year I’ve given my “Facts and Fallacies of Corrective Exercise” presentation approximately one billion times. Okay maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but I’ve definitely given it a lot! One of the topics I always come back to is the topic of scapular stability, and lately, I’ve been asking myself more and more […]

Should We Train the Rectus Abdominis?

on April 2, 2012 | by Mike Robertson

My goal today is simple: To blow your minds. I have two basic things we’re going to focus on today: Why you SHOULD train your rectus abdominis, and A more effective way to train your lower traps. Yes, I realize it’s hard to blow your minds if you don’t read the post, so please! Bear […]

What I Learned from Charlie

on March 31, 2011 | by Mike Robertson

Charlie Weingroff isn’t just smart – he’s wicked smart. Last month, we were lucky enough to have Charlie come into IFAST for the afternoon and drop knowledge bombs on us left and right. With no real itinerary or schedule, we simply asked Charlie one question and over the next 3.5-4 hours, he finally got to […]

My Top 10 Fitness Books

on December 20, 2010 | by Mike Robertson

We all have “those” books. You know the ones – they always lay next to your bed, either with dog-ears or post-it notes to mark the most important passages. These are the books that have helped mold you as a coach or trainer. Today, I thought it might be helpful to give you all some […]

Understanding Your Abs, Part II

on September 10, 2010 | by

Stay up late some evening, and I have no doubt you’ll be bombarded for core training products like the Bender Ball, Ab Dolly, or an assortment of other ridiculous contraptions promising to help sexify your abs. In Part 1 of Understanding Your Abs, I did my best to explain the true role of your core […]

Active and Passive Stability

on September 8, 2010 | by

The past couple of days, I’ve been diving head-first back into the research and textbook world. Believe it or not, I’m not a total cyborg like Eric Cressey – I have to actually take breaks from this stuff, from time-to-time 🙂 Regardless, whenever I start working on a new project I want to make sure […]

Understanding Your Abs

on July 23, 2010 | by

There’s been tons of talk lately about the abs, and even more specifically, the rectus abdominis (RA). After all, everyone wants that lean, sexy six-pack before summer hits, right? Here’s the problem: We’re still caught up in outdated training methods, and not focused on what science has brought to light over the past 5-10 years. […]