strength

The long-lived debate surrounding cardio and strength training has crossed many headlines over the years, causing confusion amongst gym-goers looking to shrink their waistline. While they both host many benefits for the body, the suggestion of why one should be used in place of the other...

The barbell bentover row is the mack daddy of all the rowing variations. It strengthens your upper and lower back, shoulders, biceps, forearms, and grip. Plus, being in the hip-hinge position under load for time improves your lower and upper back endurance. Guess what that’s good for? You...

The long-lived debate surrounding cardio and strength training has crossed many headlines over the years, causing confusion amongst gym-goers looking to shrink their waistline. While they both host many benefits for the body, the suggestion of why one should be used in place of the other...

You’re reading this because you love to deadlift. You love the challenge of stepping over the bar and gripping and ripping heavy weight from the floor. When lifting heavier weights, little technical hitches can appear that are covered up while you’re working with submaximal weights. And the...

The biggest knock-on resistance band is after a certain point they will not get you stronger. But resistance bands are a versatile tool as you can train your muscles in multiple planes of motion for better muscle development. The real magic with bands is when you add them to free-weight tools to...

For a lot of gymgoers, one of the most important and necessary goals is getting stronger. Many take their first step toward achieving this objective by wrapping their hands around a barbell and lifting heavy weight — around or above 85% of your one-rep max — for low reps, and higher. Oftentimes...

Andy, just, WHY??? Great question. I’ve explained these challenges before as a good way to ward off any boredom/monotony of daily training for the past 30-plus years. You may have read/heard me discuss my philosophy that the three most influential factors in your training progress are...

Louie Simmons, the powerlifter and strength coach who will be forever remembered for developing the “Westside Conjugate” training method, passed away at the age of 74 on Thursday, according to Westside Barbell’s official Instagram account. Simmons had been a powerlifter since his 20s, and was a...

Mistakes are a part of life — it’s how you learn. Keep on making the same mistake over and over, however, is something to take notice of and make a priority to fix whatever your setback may be. You’re better than that, and when you know more and know better, better things start to happen —...

The strict overhead press is the gold standard when it comes to overhead pressing. Using nothing more than your upper body you press a barbell strictly overhead with no help from your lower body. There’s no doubt strict overhead press is a fantastic exercise for strength and mass and requires...

To get better at the deadlift, you need to deadlift more because sometimes it pays to state the obvious. But lifting hard and heavy all the time in a bilateral stance is tough on the body and also weak points like lockout strength and strength imbalances between sides can creep up on you. That’s...

The Question Even the best training programs can stall out and get boring. And if you're mentally checked out, it's definitely time to "shock" the system. What's your favorite way to do it? "Do less, not more." -Mark Dugdale – IFBB Pro Bodybuilder When bodybuilders lose motivation they often...

Progressive strength training as good as it is for you, can be tough on your joints. There will be times when your squats, deadlift, or lunges, and your knees will flip you the bird. You ignore this at first until it happens again. Then again and again. Well, you get the picture. Working around...

Some lifters go into full panic mode when every flat bench is occupied on Bench Press Monday. However, the savvy lifter never worries because there is plenty of space on the floor. Because there’s no reason to fret or lose your temper when you’ve got the best press you’re not doing, the barbell...

I get this question a lot: Is there a difference between abs and core training? And the quick answer is yes! A better answer, however, would be, Yes, but … Technically, the abdominals are part of the larger “core” group of muscles. Most folks consider the abs to be the small muscles in the...

Lifters who just focus on the big bilateral lifts of the squat, press, and deadlift family will get strong but can develop muscle imbalances. The body will always resort to plan B to finish the lift, and this is not always good. Having a strength imbalance by itself is not a huge deal. But over...

For years, I’ve been posting some crazy challenges for a group of friends I used to train with. Now, I do these to fight the tedium that threatens our fitness lifestyle. No matter your dedication or fitness level, sometimes we all know that no matter where you train, it can get a bit...

The single-arm row is often thought of as the poor cousin of bilateral rows. Then the Meadows row came along. This row variation allows you to go hard and heavy without being inhibited by big and bulky dumbbells. The late John Meadows, a former IFBB bodybuilder and head coach of Mountain Dog...

For years, I’ve been posting some crazy challenges for a group of friends I used to train with in Los Angeles in order to keep each other motivated. These days, it’s more to fight the tedium that threatens our fitness lifestyle. For more than three decades I’ve worked out at least once a day...

Some lifters look at the TRX and think, “How is the TRX going to get me stronger?” The biggest disadvantage of the TRX is after a certain point, it will not get you any stronger because it’s all about bodyweight and leverage. And for this reason, is not a great tool for absolute strength. But...