Your shoulder mobility often determines the quality of your barbell back squat. If getting under the bar feels tight, awkward, or painful, that’s not just “bad shoulder mobility,” it’s your body telling you something is wrong. While setting up your barbell back squat, you need to: Create tension through your upper back Lock the bar…
Walk into most gyms, and you’ll see it—benches lined up, barbells padded, and someone hip thrusting their way to “better glutes.” We’ve shifted from squats to hip thrusts as the top booty builder. Social media crowned them the king of glute training, and influencers swear by them. The message is loud and clear: “If you…
The Bulgarian split squat is one exercise many lifters love to hate. It burns, and it exposes every weakness from your hips to your ankles. But some of these challenges may just come from improper setup. If you’ve ever felt wobbly, not getting enough depth, or like your front knee is taking a beating, it…
You step up to the bar, lock in your deadlift setup, and let it rip from the floor. But something doesn’t feel right. Your grip loosens, and your lower back says, “No, thank you.” You could grind through it, but heavy deadlifts don’t leave much margin for error. Some days, your body has second thoughts,…
There’s no lift more satisfying than gripping and ripping a deadlift. It’s you versus the barbell, and you either move it or you don’t. It’s arguably the king of the gym because every muscle from head to toe works in unison to overcome gravity. It never tickles. It’s raw. It’s heavy, and it’s primal. Lifters…
Many people dismiss planks as too dull or too easy. With other effective core exercises to choose from, planks often get thrown in the gym trash. Besides increasing the amount of time you hold it, it’s hard to make progress without tying yourself up in knots. To progressively overload a plank, you need a way…
Most lifters view strength as if it were all about the muscles. Bigger chest and glutes, and more “time under tension.” And sure, muscle matters. But strength doesn’t start there; it starts in your brain. The brain sends the command, the muscle carries it out, and the clearer that signal becomes, the stronger you get….
The front rack position sets up key lifts, including the front squat, push press, clean and jerk, and power and hang clean. When you have it there, you realize this position creates internal pressure that feels like no other exercise. That’s why Dan John calls this core internal pressure anaconda strength. But to get it…