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My Top 10 Single-Leg Exercises for Athletes and Gen Pop Clients (2024)
If you’re looking to improve your single-leg strength and stability, I’ve got you covered in this week’s video! Now look, I LOVE big-bang lifts like squats and deadlifts. There’s nothing better than getting in the gym and pushing some weight or really getting after it. BUT you can love big-bang lifts while still respecting the […]
Continue Reading7 BIG Step-up Mistakes (And How to Fix Them!)
Step-ups may not be the sexiest option in the gym, but they are fantastic for building single-leg strength, stability and control. But here’s the thing – a lot of times I see clients and athletes making the same mistakes with their step-ups time and time again. So in this video, I’m going to break down […]
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 ReadingRTS Coaching: The Crossover Step-up
If you’ve been training for any extended period of time, you’re familiar with the step-up. The step-up is a fantastic exercise for many reasons: It builds single-leg stability and control, It can help iron out side-to-side strength imbalances, and It’s a functional, real-world movement. Like most weight room lifts, however, the step-up is very sagittal […]
Continue ReadingRTS Coaching: How Wide on Split-Squats?
One of the most common questions I get asked is: How far apart should my feet be on a split-squat? For many years, I always had my athletes start in a 90-90 set-up. But over the years, I’ve changed this position ever so slightly, which this video will describe. After watching the video here are […]
Continue ReadingRTS Coaching: Foot-Knee-Hip on Unilateral Work
A few weeks back, I wrote an article about five of the biggest benefits of single-leg training. If you haven’t read that, take a few minutes and review it first, as I think it gives unique insight into the true role of unilateral training. And if you want the Cliff’s Notes version, here goes: […]
Continue Reading5 Benefits of Single-Leg Training
The debate between unilateral (single-leg) versus bilateral (double-leg) lifts has raged on for nearly a decade. In one camp, you have coaches that really, truly believe that single-leg lifts are on par (in all respects) to bilateral lifts. And on the other hand, you have coaches who would never, ever, consider having their athletes perform […]
Continue ReadingFREE Single-Leg Training Video
Yes, this is an “old” post (but still, incredibly valuable). And while I’m sure some of the exact details of my argument have changed, the big picture philosophy has not. Yes, I’m putting it up again because I know people have not seen it. In fact, I actually posted this all in the way back […]
Continue ReadingQ&A: Single-Leg Solution
Hi Mike! You did an AWESOME job with your article on Elite Fitness. I read most of the articles on that site, and I feel like the issues you addressed are going to be of great value to powerlifter-types who many not normally be hip to soft tissue work or shoulder stability exercises. I have […]
Continue ReadingBlocked 90-90 Split-Squats
Sorry I’ve been out of the loop for the past week. At midnight last Wednesday night, my wife went into labor and later than evening we celebrated the birth of our baby girl, Kendall Ann Robertson! Needless to say it’s been a crazy couple of days, but hopefully we’ll get back in the swing of […]
Continue ReadingAre we Missing the Mark on Single-Leg Training?
Humor me for a minute while I bounce an idea off you. What if we’re doing single-leg training completely wrong? What if we’re totally missing the mark, and therefore, not getting the most out of our training? Over the past couple of years, the landscape of strength and conditioning/performance enhancement training has totally changed. While […]
Continue ReadingThe 90-90 Split-Squat
Half-kneeling and split-stance exercises are beneficial for numerous athletes and trainees. Whether your goal is to soothe knee and lower back pain, or to improve your performance on big lifts like squats and deadlifts, half-kneeling and split-stance exercises can be a fantastic addition to your program.
Continue ReadingKnee Pain Basics Part 3
Coaching Your Way to Healthy Knees! In this final installment of our knee pain basics series, we’re going to cover specific things you can do in your training sessions to maximize your knee health. If you’ve been living under a rock the past two weeks and missed the first two installments, be sure to check […]
Continue ReadingKnee Pain Basics Part 2
Programming and Training Thoughts to Reduce Knee Pain In Part I of our series, we discussed my core philosophy behind knee pain, and how to address it from a theoretical standpoint. In case you missed it, check it out via the link below: Knee Pain Basics, Part I In our second edition, we’re going to […]
Continue ReadingKnee Pain Basics Part 1
How To Get (And Keep!) Your Knees Healthy for a Lifetime Today we’re going to cover the basics of knee pain – whether you’re an end-user, a trainer/coach, or somewhere in between, I hope this piece gives you an understanding of my core philosophy behind long-term knee health. Rule #1 – Do No Harm! Are […]
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