barbell

While six-time Olympia champion Dorian Yates is famed for releasing his Blood & Guts bodybuilding video guide in 2003, the Englishman still has plenty of exercises to share that didn’t make the cut. Here, “The Shadow” explains the importance of the simple shrug to his legendary success. “Here’s...

We’ve all had our epic gym fails, but few of us have the nerve to upload our most cringeworthy moments for social media to consume. Recently, however, one Instagram user put a whole new spin on the term “lifting to failure,” with a funny but equally scary moment at the squat station. A few...

Some lifters frown upon some fitness machines and the exercises performed on it. The Smith machine is one of those underappreciated piece of strength equipment mainly due to what may be perceived as its biggest drawback: the fixed bar path. But you may be surprised by how many unique Smith...

How many times have you assumed a great workout requires a fully equipped gym with tons of equipment? Stop assuming, it’s not true. When equipment access is limited and your time is tight, it’s time to think outside the box. Forget about straight sets, supersets, and circuits. Instead, dive...

When looking to grow a bigger, stronger backside, the barbell hip thruster is a go-to exercise as it targets the gluteal muscles better than any other lower-body movements. “The No. 1 reason most lifters perform barbell hip thrust is it builds more gluteal muscle, strength, and power than just...

If you want glutes that look good and make you stronger on and off the field, barbell hip thrusts are your go-to exercise, but you better make sure your hip thrust form is on point. Since Bret Contreras, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., aka “The Glute Guy,” popularized this and invented equipment to do it on...

There are not many more satisfying things in the gym than pulling a heavy barbell deadlift from the floor. It’s you versus the barbell, and you win. The regular barbell deadlift is not the greatest exercise to build muscle due to a lack of eccentric contraction, but it sets the table for muscle...

Have you ever wondered why they call it the Romanian deadlift? It looks similar to the straight-leg deadlift but with a better name. Well, here’s why. It’s called the Romanian deadlift, or RDL for short, because it’s named after the Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad, an Olympic medalist in the...

Here’s a little-known gym fact, kirk shrug may be, he best shrug variation you’re not doing. There’s nothing more imposing than a lifter with a big yoke, otherwise known as a set of massive upper traps, shoulders, and back will make you stand in awe—and move out of their way as they toss...

Barbell back squats are arguably the king of all leg exercises, with the barbell front squat close behind. Back squats are part of the powerlifting big 3, but the front squat and the various front squat variations, although less load, is used because of the reduced stability; they have better...

There’s probably no need to tell you that dumbbell rows are near the top of the list when it comes to helping build a massive back, as well as blow up your biceps and improve your grip strength. But did you know that a combination of different unilateral dumbbell row variations each serve a...

The inverted row isn’t a complicated move but there are still plenty of room to make inverted row mistakes. It is easily progressed and regressed depending on the lifter’s experience. That and being an excellent movement for the forearms, biceps, upper back, and lats is why it should be in...

Google the term “biceps curl,” and you’ll get over 20 million hits. There is no shortage of information about this beloved muscle group and its most popular exercise. Think back to your first time in a gym when you didn’t know much about lifting. Was one of the first exercises you performed a...

There’s more total-body benefits to be gained inside the squat rack than just everyone’s favorite legday staple, the squat. And, no, we’re not talking about biceps curls, but other heavily effective moves not quite mainstream yet that you should be aware of. At one time, the squat was...

Landmine training was invented long before the barbell attachment was created—unofficially—when the first gym bro stuck a barbell in corner and created a T- Bar rows variation long ago. For lifters who have shoulder mobility issues, landmine training is an excellent method to lift overhead...

We’ve all had those off days. You look at your workout routine and barbell back squats are on the menu. Normally you can’t get enough of leg day, but on this particular workout day, you’re feeling a tweak your shoulder or knee after the previous night’s pick-up basketball game; now back squats...

There’s no question that the basics of strength training work despite what you may see from time to time on the Internet. The barbell is the ultimate tool for strength and muscle and will continue to work for all who take it seriously. Incorporating the Big 3exercises—the barbell squat, bench...

The Romanian deadlift exercise was named after the Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad, an Olympic medalist in the ’80s and ’90s. Vlad performed this deadlift variation after finishing his Olympic lifting, and some fellow lifters asked him what he was doing. He said he did them to make his entire...

Have you seen lifters turn a barbell squat into a good morning by losing upper back tightness? Now the problem isn’t that the good morning exercise isn’t a great exercise, but the issue here is placing the lower back in a risky position. A squat is a squat, and good mornings are good mornings...

Glen Pendlay was so modest when he came up with the idea for this row, he called the strict barbell row. He saw a weakness in the traditional barbell bentover row and set about to improve it with the Pendlay row. The legendary American weightlifting coach who unfortunately is no longer with us...