Exercises You Should Be Doing: KB Goblet Squat w/ Lowering
It’s hard to imagine a more versatile and “user friendly” exercise than the Goblet squat. I think we should collectively pass it into law that anytime anyone in the fitness industry crosses paths with Dan John, he or she is obligated to give him a high-five for popularizing it. Or buy him a steak. His… Read more
Cleaning Up the Turkish Get-Up: Stuff People Gloss Over Because They’re Too Cool
“What does this THING even do anyways?!” That’s pretty much the standard reaction/question I receive every time I have a client or athlete perform a Turkish get-up. What’s the big deal anyways, right? You take a cannonball looking thingamajig, hold it in your hand, and stand up with it. La-dee-freakin-da. There was a time,… Read more
Pause Your Lifts For Better Performance
I was teaching a workshop not long ago, and the topic of corrective exercise came up. It’s a term some fitness professionals live by, and often make their living bastardizing. It’s also a term that makes some fitness professionals – including myself – want to jump into a live volcano. All you have to do… Read more
The Right Tool(s) For the Job
For many people walking into a gym can be just as confusing as long division, watching a leaked copy of House of Cards spoken in Mandarin (shit!), or a Lady Gaga outfit. I don’t get it. Lets put it like this: there are a lot of machines, trinkets, and gadgets in the gym and trying… Read more
Are You Part of the Resistance (or the Assistance)?
T-minus eight hours before Lisa and I hop on a plane and make our way to Australia and never come back. It’s a 20-hour long trip from Boston to Brisbane (where we land), and then a bit of a car ride to Ballina where I’ll be conducting the first of TWO workshops while there. One… Read more
The Single Dumbest Way to Bench Press
A few months ago I wrote a post on why incorporating barbell glute bridges prior to an upper body day (namely, bench pressing) may be a nice way to help “potentiate” the glutes to fire to better help with performance. I wrote it and people loved it. I had no idea so many people would… Read more
Passive vs. Active Foot For Squatting Performance
There’s a lot to think about and that can (potentially) go wrong when you have a barbell on your back. Photo Credit: Elitefts.com (Julia Ladewski) Is it better to high-bar squat or low-bar squat? Big air! Are my lats engaged? Where are my elbows positioned? Head position? On the descent is it hips back or… Read more
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Deadlifters – Part 2
In case you missed it, last week I shared a few thoughts on deadlifting. You can check out part one HERE. In it, rather than regurgitate the same ol’ obvious things most people who write about deadlifts regurgitate (don’t round your back!, good deadlifters don’t “jerk” the bar off the ground, 2+2 = 4, water… Read more