Exercises You Should Be Doing: Half Kneeling Vertical Pallof Press
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Pallof presses – and all their variations. While I’ve definitely curbed my views with regards to core training and the whole anti-everything mantra most of the fitness industry adopted in recent years (lets be honest: it’s perfectly okay for the spine to go into flexion every… Read more
Does Everyone Need to Squat (Deep)
In a word: No! In my latest T-Nation article I tackle the often controversial topic of squatting. Why it’s controversial I really have no idea. Squatting is a basic human movement pattern that I feel provides a gulf of benefits – everything from improved performance on the playing field to helping to offset many of… Read more
Exercises You Should Be Doing: TRX Batwing
A few months ago Dan John wrote a blog post (or maybe even an article) on his “batwing” principle, which is a subtle exercise tweak one can make to standard rowing variations that aids in “waking-up” the rhomboids and the upper back musculature as a whole. It was a very simple idea – albeit brilliant,… Read more
A Critical Reply to an Uncritical Coach
Today’s post comes from the one and only Bret Contreras. As he’ll note below, I received an email from a fan of my blog asking me for my opinion on some candid remarks she overheard one of the strength coaches at her university regurgitate to a few other students. And by using the word regurgitate… Read more
All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups
I’ve got an interesting topic today that may or may not win me some friends. I’m guessing the latter, but that’s okay. Below is an email I received a few weeks ago about kipping pull-ups (what are they, is there any efficacy behind them, would I ever program them? Short answer: Um, no.), and I’ve… Read more
The Squat 4x Per Week Experiment
I’ve been alluding to this “experiment” for quite some time now – and I wouldn’t be surprised given how long it’s taken me to actually hunker down and write about it, if some of you felt I was just making it up and blowing out a bunch of hot air. It’s kind of like that… Read more
Tips For a Badass Bench Press
I’ve told this story numerous times via email exchanges and presentations I’ve given, so please forgive me if you’ve heard this one before. Awhile back I wrote an article on T-Nation titled My Shoulder Hurts: The Finest Whine, and in it I detailed, among other things, some of the more common reasons why someone’s shoulder… Read more
I’m Challenging YOU to a Deadlift Battle
Yeah that’s right – I’m talking to YOU. Imagine for a second that it’s like 1801, and for some reason you irritated me – whether it was because you built a fence on my property, stole one of my cattle, didn’t tip your hat back at me when I said “good day,” or I just… Read more