Exercise guides

If you’ve ever seen clips of a strongman competition in which an absolute unit is heaving a massive concrete boulder onto a platform, you know how insane and badass it looks. Those guys and gals clearly have a level of superior functional strength that most athletes...

The deadlift is one of the best compound movements to give you monstrous legs and a resilient back, but only if you do it right. Get the most out of your deadlift (and avoid injury) by following these four steps. Remember: deadlifts aren’t dangerous. Get a coach to...

Hitting plateaus in your big three lifts? Try switching it up with these beefy strongman moves to improve your overall strength and help you hit some deadlift, squat, and bench press PRs. Your new total is waiting for you. Joseph Lucero, owner of Harvesting Strength,...

You’ve heard it before — deadlifts rule. For raw power output, having a massive pull is where it’s at. But why is that the case? And what other deadlifting variations are out there? Joseph Lucero, owner of Harvesting Strength, is a powerlifter and strongman coach with...

The single leg squat (a.k.a. pistol squat) is a challenging, advanced movement that requires single-leg strength, stability, mobility, balance, and motor control. If you are looking to get your first pistol, or just want to continue getting better at them, here is a...

Hitting a plateau with your strength gains? Not seeing the muscle growth you thought you would? Or just getting plain bored in the gym? Using tempo training in your current program is a great way to spice up your workouts by challenging your weaknesses and improving...

Look in the mirror lately and see your shoulders slouching forward? Spent too much time on your phone and came down with a case text-neck? Not to worry – the face pull exercise can help fix these issues by strengthening your upper back and giving you picture-perfect...

Whether you’re looking to build explosive power or you need to work on correcting your posture, the kettlebell swing is for everyone. This ultimate posterior chain exercise can fit into almost any training program and is sure to strengthen your core, glutes,...

Getting a symmetrical physique isn’t just a goal for bodybuilders. Functional athletes deserve to look like they lift and make massive progress too. But how do you know what kind of reliable program works for you? What training structure will net the most reward? Dave...

Some would argue that the snatch is the pinnacle of athletic movements. It requires speed, strength, flexibility, and practice, practice, practice. Moving fast under the barbell is an essential skill to develop if you want to get better at the snatch, because you’re...

You’ve probably seen videos of people getting crushed by a squat due to improper form and loading too much weight. Don’t be that person. The dead squat is the perfect movement to prevent this from happening – it’ll improve your form and increase maximum strength (so...

Doing countless rows, pull ups, and lat pull-downs but not seeing any real improvement in your back size? You might be neglecting the three core movements that are crucial to challenging your lats. Marc Lavallee has trained Canadian military units in the Search and...

Struggle with weak hamstrings? Hips? Glutes? Your entire posterior chain? Join the club. Kyle McGough, CSCS/USAW, is the founder of Hardbody Athlete where he teaches people how to strength train like professional athletes. He’s worked as an S&C coach for The Ohio...

Boost your strength and performance on the mats, be it Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo or wrestling, by mastering these four fundamental movement patterns in the gym and organizing them properly into your training. Cathal O'Brien is a personal trainer and S&C coach...

We know the usual suspects for ab work: sit ups, crunches, toes-to-bar, leg raises, etc. But if you’ve ever felt your ab training was lagging (or just boring), you’re probably missing out on some key ingredients to total trunk strength. Brandon Robb is the founder and...

What kind of accessory work do the big dogs use to get massive bench press numbers? Is something missing from your programming that could give you crazy tricep strength to boost your bench? Joseph Lucero, owner of Harvesting Strength, is a powerlifter and strongman...

Olympic weightlifting is a tricky mistress. She requires consistent, dedicated practice for years just to get “kinda good” and even then, the technical work is never-ending. But if you wanted to focus on improving just one part of your clean and jerk to get the most...

“I’m too busy” is the oldest excuse in the book. The reason it works so well is because it’s a totally valid excuse for those of us with active lives—careers, families, hobbies, the works. But you know better. You know there’s a way to prioritize strength training...

For those of us less-blessed in upper body muscles, push ups can be a real struggle. Maybe on a good day you can get one and it’s still kind of ugly. Over the pandemic, Liz Serago rose to this challenge. She’s an ambitious CPT and NASM youth soccer coach out of...

If you struggle with explosive power, be it in sprinting, Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics movements, or any sport that requires quick footwork, here’s a question for you—do you actually train that explosiveness? Are you missing out on superior speed by doing the...

Listen, we get it—barbell training is fun. It’s more fun than like, anything else. But what kind of other training could you be doing to support your barbell work? Could adding more bodyweight movements get you that much closer to a new back squat PR?   Heather...

Everyone online seems to have a strong opinion about arching your back in the bench press. The reasons and schools of thought vary around the hows/whys, so what’s a novice athlete to do? Anthony Cuevas is an NCSF Certified PT based out of New York with six years of...

Rowers are a super common piece of exercise equipment these days. You can find them everywhere from CrossFit gyms to your corner rec center. Whether you’re a rowing machine fan or foe, knowing how to use one properly just adds to your fitness arsenal. Are you getting...

Squats are a hot topic in the strength and conditioning world, and that fact isn’t going away any time soon. With so many resources out there on squatting, how does a novice know where to start? Cory Caruthers is a trainer and ACSM certified Exercise Physiologist...

Your hamstrings can be easy to ignore since they’re just “back there”, but strong hamstrings are the foundation for a meaty and symmetrical posterior chain. Neglect them to your peril. Aja Campbell is a CSCS/CrossFit Coach with a decade of fitness experience. She’s...

We know deadlifts help make up the meat and potatoes of posterior chain training, but there are so many underutilized ways to pick something up from the ground. How do you know which variation to work on for maximum strength gains? Daniel Yalowitz has a background of...

Back squats and deadlifts get the most exposure as top posterior chain builders, but what if you have imbalances or a weaker side? Split squats are the perfect underrated movement for working on unilateral strength and size gains. Coach Ryan Johnston (MS, CSCS, USAW2)...

Your power clean capacity says a lot about your weightlifting technique—speed, explosiveness, timing—it’s all there. What should you be focusing on to dial in your power clean skills and claim beast status? Justin Barchus, owner and head coach at Kraken Strength out...