Posts categorized in:
Videos
Bulletproof Your Hammies with the Nordic Hamstring Curl
One of the worst injuries in sports (or LIFE!) is pulling a hammy. So we all know we should do SOMETHING to prevent them. But what? The Nordic Hamstring is an awesome exercise for bulletproofing your hammies, but too often, I see it coached and performed incorrectly. Here’s how we do it at IFAST – […]
Continue ReadingBuild Those Glutes with the Offset Split-Squat
Back in the day, I was a little too linear in my thinking. As a powerlifter, I thought if you wanted to get strong or build a muscle, you needed to do it in the sagittal plane. So if someone wanted to build their glutes they should do it with glute bridges, pull throughs and […]
Continue ReadingBuild Stability, Mobility and Strength with the Half-Kneeling Shoulder Press
A while back, I was really struggling with my home workouts. I love trying to sneak stuff in on my off-days, but the days of the home gym are long gone. Unfortunately, all my equipment has ended up at the various training spaces we work out of, so now I’m down to two kettlebells and […]
Continue ReadingA Challenging Variation of the Front Squat
If you know anything about me, you know I’m a huge fan of the front squat. Whether it’s shifting the center of gravity back, unlocking the body’s mobility, or just providing a great workout to the core and quads, pretty much every client and athlete I train is going to front squat. But here’s the […]
Continue ReadingTraining Trunk Rotation in the Push-up
A long time ago, I thought that if you weren’t bench pressing, you were wasting your time with regards to your upper body training. Luckily with age (and a little bit of experience), I realized that there was actually a lot more to upper body development than just bench pressing three times per week! Nowadays, […]
Continue ReadingCRUSH Your Core with the Side Bear
When I first started coaching, I really thought I knew everything about training the core. As someone with a Masters Degree in biomechanics, it only made sense that if you CAN train and move your core in every plane of movement, that you SHOULD do it. Right? Not so fast friend. Just a year or […]
Continue ReadingHow to Trap Bar Deadlift
You asked, so I’ve delivered! These days, the trap bar deadlift (TBDL) is my go-to deadlifting progression for both gen pop clients and athletes alike – and for good reason. The trap bar is awesome for a few reasons: The high handles reduce mobility needs, and makes setting-up easier. This combo helps you spare the […]
Continue ReadingLearn to Control Anterior Pelvic Tilt with THIS Exercise
Many clients and athletes have some degree of anterior pelvic tilt (APT). And while APT isn’t the awful disease or malady we once thought, the fact of the matter is if it goes unchecked, bad things tend to happen. As such, as a trainer, coach or athlete, you need tools in the toolbox to help […]
Continue ReadingCoaching and Cuing the Glute Bridge
One of my favorite books as a young coach was Muscles: Testing and Function by Florence Kendall. It’s the book that really got me thinking about posture, alignment, and movement quality – not just moving maximal weights. When assessing the glutes, one of the tests I used for years was a prone hip extension […]
Continue ReadingHow to Single-Leg RDL
The single-leg Romanian deadlift (RDL) falls into the camp of “awesome exercises that are also really hard to do.” Many people assume that because a single-leg RDL uses less load than a trap bar, conventional or traditional RDL that it’s somehow an “easier” exercise. That, my friend, would be a false assumption. In fact, single-leg […]
Continue ReadingHow to Kickstand RDL
I’m going to start today’s post by dropping a serious bit of truth on you: Single-leg RDL’s are an awesome exercise – but they aren’t an easy exercise, and they’re definitely not suitable for beginners. Much like the the forward lunge, you clients and athletes should have to earn the right to do this exercise. […]
Continue ReadingHow to Lunge Without Crushing Your Knees
Lunges are one of my all-time favorite leg exercises. Once I got through over the “my legs are already big enough phase” and started training seriously, squats, deadlifts and lunge variations were always staples in my training routines. Now for some reason, many people assume that just because lunges are a common exercise that they’re […]
Continue ReadingSkinny vs. Showy Abs
A long, long, long, long, LONG time ago when I first started working out, I had numerous goals. Obviously I wanted a huge bench (like every teenage boy does). Second, I want to have big arms (again, like every teenage boy does). And last but not least, I wanted to develop that “6-pack” in my […]
Continue ReadingHow and Why to Stack the Ribcage on the Pelvis
I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about stacking the ribcage on the pelvis. And two questions in particular keep coming up… What does it mean to stack the ribcage on the pelvis? And Why is it important? In this short video, I describe not only what it means to stack the ribcage on top […]
Continue ReadingHow to Use Band Resistance to Improve Power and Explosiveness
I’ve learned a lot from Lee Taft over the years. In many ways, he’s the closest thing I’ve had to a true mentor when it comes to speed and agility training. One of the most impactful things I’ve taken from Lee’s work was watching him use band resistance to control the momentum of his athletes. […]
Continue Reading