exercises

The other day I got a Facebook message from a young man in India, asking me how to improve his upper chest. I clicked to his page to see what he looked like, and as is the case with many of the would-be bodybuilders who contact me from India and Pakistan, he appeared to be about 120 to 140...

There is a misconception that you need a lot of time to exercise to be effective, and a common excuse for not exercising is having no time. With the holiday season is in full swing and the New Year is just around the corner, thoughts drift to parties, food, and family on top of a packed...

The gluteus maximus, often termed the body’s powerhouse, serves as a crucial muscle responsible for both form and function. Beyond its role in shaping the buttocks, this robust muscle plays a pivotal part in various movements, from extending the hips to stabilizing the pelvis. While genetics...

Bodybuilding. The word invokes images of oiled man (or women) with shaved and tanned bodies, bowling around on stage, showing off their steroid-gorged physiques. It’s not a pretty picture. Yet, building our bodies is the goal of nearly everyone who exercises. Here’s my definition of...

Given a choice between leg day and arm day, which one would you choose? It’s not like training legs is not essential because it is, but nothing gives you instant gratification more than a wicked arm pump. In the mirror by the dumbbell rack, doing endless biceps curls and shoulder raise...

Written by Michael Matthews EVIDENCE BASED BUILDING MUSCLE FacebookPinterestTwitterEmail Behold! Not one, not two, but a camel-load of only the finest, evidence-based training tips this side of Damascus. Don’t do behind-the-neck pulldowns. They’re more likely to irritate your shoulders, and...

What Are the Side Delts? The deltoid muscles—or “delts”—are the muscles that cover your shoulder joints and help your upper arms move forward, backward, and out to the side. Each deltoid is made up of three sections or “heads:” the anterior deltoid, the lateral deltoid, and the posterior...

The hack squat is a lower-body exercise involving a hack squat machine. It’s a go-to exercise for many gym-goers because it trains your entire lower body without stressing your knees and back as much as other free-weight squatting exercises. What’s more, it helps you develop lower-body...

The Study The study aimed to pinpoint the perfect calorie surplus for maximizing muscle growth and minimizing fat gain. The researchers split 17 seasoned weightlifters into three groups: Group 1 (maintenance group) ate maintenance calories. Group 2 (small-surplus group) ate in a 5% calorie...

Yes and no. While scientists are still unraveling the complex systems responsible for muscle growth, it’s clear pump training is effective for building muscle. That doesn’t mean it’s optimal for building muscle, though. You can build muscle effectively without ever getting a pump, as...

No one talks about their one rep max for a dumbbell bench press and row. And why would they? Because boosting unilateral strength numbers is unheard of. If you ask a lifter how much they squat, bench, and deadlift, those numbers roll off the tongue. Ask them how long they have been married and...

By Bret Contreras There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and some meathead on Facebook advising a lifter to “just squat” when he sees a picture or video of a woman performing a glute exercise he isn’t familiar with. I refer to these meatheads as “just squat” bros. Is their advice...

Lifting novices often omit the more "complex" exercises that they don't understand how to perform or work their way into. Instead of deadlifting and squatting, they stick to machine and isolation exercises that don't require much coordination. As experienced lifters, we make similar mistakes...

You are probably not learning or progressing if you’re not making mistakes. When you make mistakes, then you know better and then do better. If you make the same mistake twice, you will learn better the third time. In the weight room, when striving for progress, mistakes are going to be made...

Bret_ContrerasElite Coach First, I apologize if I left out one of your favorite exercises. Don’t take it personally. I performed these experiments in my garage, and while I have one of the baddest garage gyms in Arizona, I don’t have a lot of machines. Furthermore, there are probably 200...

Every guy has his own theory about which exercises are the best and which exercises suck. Whether we’re analyzing the biomechanics of an exercise (not very likely), “feeling the burn” (more likely), or simply doing a ton of sets and seeing how sore we get over the next few days (ding, ding...

How to Fix Lower Back Pain First and foremost, your lower back pain could be caused by any number of issues including – but not limited to – the issues you mentioned. If I had to guess, though, I’d assume your back pain stems from a combination of: Insufficient hip mobility Weak posterior...

What Is a Superset? To understand what a superset is, it’s helpful to first understand how to perform a traditional strength training workout. In most strength training programs like Bigger Leaner Stronger or Thinner Leaner Stronger, you perform straight sets. This means you perform a set of an...

My lats locked the weight out for me… I’m now one of the only people in the world to deadlift 4x my bodyweight It was a momentous occasion and one that helped me progress as both a lifter and a coach. Now, years later, I not only understand how to use my lats in the squat, bench press, and...

5 Muscle-Building Mistakes (And How To Make Gains) By Brad Schoenfeld 1) You Always Train in the Same Rep Range The claim that muscle growth is maximized in a moderate rep range (6-12 reps per set) continues to be a source of debate in the fitness field. Although this theory is backed by some...