Plan On Lifting or Squatting Something Heavy? Check Your Neck
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of frequent contributor, Dr. Nicholas Licameli. He covers a topic that’s sometimes controversial: Neck position when lifting heavy things. Some people play close attention to it (as they should), while others play it off as “no big deal” and point towards really strong people who seemingly have never had any issues… Read more
Bottoms-Up Squat Patterning Is the Jam
I was livid. Not long ago I had a female client come in for an initial assessment and she divulged to me the previous coach she had worked with, in not so many words, inferred she was “dysfunctional” and that she’d likely never be able to perform a decent squat. What kind of BS is… Read more
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Offset Shouldering Squat
I’m not someone who feels everyone needs to squat with a barbell on his or her’s back. I kinda lose a lot of respect for those coaches who have a knack for putting their ego and bravado a head of individual variances in anatomy, ability/skill level, injury history, not to mention goals. Call me old-fashioned… Read more
Why I Love These 2 Simple Cues to Clean Up the Front Squat
There was a time in my training career when I despised front squats. I hated them in fact. They never felt good. But when does any form of squatting feel “good?” I mean, that’s the last adjective I’d use to describe them. A back massage feels good. Hitting a walk-off home-run feels good. Hell,… Read more
Stuff I Used to Say, When I Was An Idiot: Squat Edition
I remember the first time I saw Eminem perform. I was at my apartment in between classes watching a little TRL on MTV. It was spring break, 1999. I was in my living room. Many of my friends were somewhere else, not in my living room, galavanting around on some beach in Cancun soaking up… Read more
2-KB Front Squat: A Simple Looking Exercise That’s Anything But
Being a “good” coach and writing effective training programs isn’t about inserting the most demanding or most obnoxious looking exercises for your athletes & clients. Peruse social media and you’ll inevitably come across any number of fit pros vying for everyone’s attention with elaborate looking exercises ranging from Quasi-isometric deadlifts vs. chains (from a deficit… Read more
Exercises You Should Be Doing: HBT Front Squat March
In my career as a strength coach I’ve worked with numerous athletes and non-athletes alike dealing with back pain. And while much of the time my initial “go to” exercises are things like the McGill curl-up, birddogs, deadbugs, and various planks I also recognize that, after awhile, some people would rather wash their face with… Read more
“Squat Like a Girl”
I hate the term “girl push-up.” I hate the connotation it breeds; that girls are weak and that they should do these kind of push-ups instead (performed from the knees). Coaches who use it are 1) lazy and 2) are definitely worthy of the stink eye. But what about squats? Is there such a thing… Read more