movement

There has been a war raging in the strength and performance community, and it involves the butt. A strength coach whom I have the utmost respect for, Bret Contreras, has gone against the grain and stated that not only are hip thrusts not dangerous, but they should be a main lift. A main lift...

Leg extensions have been maligned by the strength and performance community. Similar to the arguments made against the hip thrust where I actually sided with the use of this controversial movement. Some of these arguments are (taken from the entire interwebz from many different articles (I will...

When it comes to building muscle and strength, we all know that training with intensity and following a good plan is a key part of success. However, one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of working out is the warm-up. Too many people warm-up incorrectly, or worse, skip it altogether...

The triceps are often neglected. They are the ugly stepchild of the arm group family. Many people fail to realize that the triceps makes up over two-thirds of the arm muscle. Furthermore, developing triceps strength is one of the most important variables in increasing pushing movements including...

Hip Hinge Coaching Points Mastering the hip hinge is a foundational human movement and a key variable in physical performance. Jumping, sprinting, ice skating, or simply picking up a box all require a hip hinge. The proper hinge is flexion and extension of the hips. Unlike certain weight...

Core and shoulder stability exercises are often overlooked in favor of sexier exercises like the overhead press, but neglecting them can lead to weaknesses that affect strength and movement quality. Enter the kettlebell windmill—an exercise that challenges core strength, hip mobility, and...

by Christian Thibaudeau This single exercise will make you look more powerful and scary-looking in just a short amount of time. Here’s how to do it. I’ve devoted my life to building muscle – on myself and on others – for 17 years. And in all those years I’ve only encountered one exercise that...

Powerful Posterior Chain Exercises Whether you're working around an injury, need a break from deadlifting, or just hate the deadlift for some reason, try these proven alternatives. Yes, the deadlift is a great exercise. It's possibly the best all-round lift for strength. But if it's no longer...

How to Build Muscle and Strip Off Fat – FAST! I've tried every way known to man to quickly put on a significant amount of muscle while simultaneously getting ripped to shreds. This is what I've found to be the absolute best method. The Fastest Program for Building Muscle and Ripping Off Fat When...

The good morning is often overlooked, yet it’s a powerful hinging movement that can significantly enhance your training program. When integrated thoughtfully, it can cater to your specific movement needs while promoting resilience and minimizing pain. This exercise effectively targets the...

The Best Movements for Long-Term, Pain-Free Gains Love lifting? Want to keep doing it for life? Then you need to balance your workouts and fix your posture with these five exercises. How to Lift Forever Love lifting? Love playing sports? Then you need to make certain exercises a priority in your...

How to Design a Dynamic Warm-Up Don't waste all your training time warming up. But don't skip the warm-up either. Get primed to lift in just 6 minutes. Here's how. Where do you stand on warming-up? There's a spectrum. On one end, there's no warm-up at all. People walk into the gym after eight...

Fix Your Scapular Movement and Hip Flexion Constantly injured? Here's why and what to do to lift better and get bigger. For lifters, the most common injuries arise from poor movement at two key junctions of the body. For the upper body, it's poor scapular movement while pressing and pulling...

There are the top seven upper back exercises that should make up the core of your upper back training. For some reason unbeknownst to me or probably anyone else (with the possible exception of those TV psychics who, for a small fee, will tell you that your wife is cheating on you with the...

And Some Much Better Alternative Exercises These gym machines are dangerous, dysfunctional, or based on fraud. Luckily, there are some very effective alternatives. Check 'em out. Gym Machines That Suck Not every commercial gym machine is worthless, but here are four you should avoid at all...

When it comes to maximizing your performance in the gym, there’s a strategy that can take your training to the next level: priming. Priming involves super setting activation drills and explosive movements before your main lifts, tapping into the powerful concept of Post-Activation Potentiation...

By Leo Shveyd, Co-Owner of Advanced Wellness Key to understanding your role in promoting healing is learning how your body is naturally designed to regenerate and heal itself. Did you know that in 49 days, your body will make all new red tissue (muscles) and in 210 days, it will make all new...

By Leo Shveyd, Co-Owner of Advanced Wellness The Importance of Blood Flow in Healing In the simplest terms, healing happens when increased blood flow circulates throughout the body (especially when directed to the injured tissue/area). Blood brings healing nutrients to the site of injury and...

By Leo Shveyd, Co-Owner of Advanced Wellness In this 3-part series, we have reviewed: Part 1: The Essentials of Good Conditioning In Part 2, we discuss how to tie fitness goals to your conditioning strategy… Most fitness goals fall into two main categories (1) improved musculoskeletal system...

What many people don’t realize about hypertrophy is that it’s basically isolated conditioning, supplemented by higher caloric intake to make muscles grow. In most movements in the gym, muscles often benefit from increasing work capacity and overall cumulative volume, to ultimately fully fatigue...