press

It would be almost impossible to boil strength down to a single measurable in order to even suggest being “stronger” then an NFL athlete. Strength is a vague term that is often hard to define. However, in the gym we look at strength in numerical terms, most commonly weight and reps. If you...

A detailed look at the most potent muscle building exercises, as well as a bodypart by bodypart breakdown. Stop wasting time in the gym and start getting results! A workout is made up of only so many sets and exercises. Constructing a workout without a purpose, and without the use of the best...

When an athlete is looking for gains in explosiveness, it generally comes down to two things: Choose better parents or get stronger first. Too bad the first option is out. This leaves us with the second. If you want to get faster, jump higher, and be more powerful, get stronger first. But after...

WHY THE LEG PRESS? Before you start droning on about how the leg press doesn't transfer to sports performance and how it doesn't build strength, let's draw some distinctions here. There's a difference between strength and hypertrophy. There are plenty of guys who look perfectly average who can...

THE SCRAPE THE RACK BENCH PRESS This exercise helps emphasize the contraction of the pecs (you get a much better squeeze when you both push up and against the pins) while reducing the involvement of the shoulders. The triceps are also more easily activated. But even more interesting is that by...

When it comes to pain-free shoulder stability when bench pressing, sometimes locking into a range of motion and position can be challenging. But using the right tools can fix this problem. There's a reason many smart sports rehab pros are gravitating toward kettlebells for movement remediation...

Follow these rules and you just can't fail at adding muscle and strength. So why don't we see more people using this approach? Because people love shiny new things and have the attention spans of wasps. At some point, you must make a decision. What matters most to you when it comes to training...

This table lists the most probable issue causing each sticking point on the bench press. Now, there could be something more complex going on, or a technical issue that's more unique to you. But most of the time, I've found that strengthening the sticking point area will solve the problem. So...

The dumbbell squeeze press goes by a few names, like the hex or champagne press, but they all mean the same thing—more gains for your chest. Part dumbbell chest press and the part dumbbell flye, the squeeze press creates muscular tension from the get-go for juicy muscle-building gains. Lifting...

Most guys do some form of paused bench press... if they aren't ego lifters. Bring the bar down, pause at the chest, do some repping. Sweet. It's great in theory, but the application is sometimes lacking. Where? The pause itself. The whole point of the pause is to reduce the rebound from the...

There is a lot of love and hate that surrounds the leg press. Some think it’s not very functional because you’re sitting on your butt and pressing, which resembles nothing done outside the gym. Other lifters swear by it as it allows them to lift heavy weights and build muscle without the...

Comfortably holding a heavy weight over your head takes some serious shoulder stability and a good amount of mobility through your thoracic spine. You'll need stable and mobile shoulders to nail a good overhead lockout position with everything from barbell pressing to the Olympic lifts and even...

Upper-Back Isometrics and Shoulder Pain The barbell bench press is the universal standard for upper-body strength, but it’s also one of the most injury-inducing exercises. So what exactly gets injured the most when benching? Generally, the anterior part 58 of the shoulder. There could be...

Top 5 Exercises for Sculpted Pecs Many lifters struggle to build their chests for three reasons: Blind love for the barbell bench press. Ego-driven lifting: Chasing weight rather than chest growth. A poor mind-muscle connection. Here are some key strategies and five pillar exercises to...

Big shoulders are the foundation of a V-tapered body and, when you’re lean, give you the ultimate aesthetic physique. These supersets will get you pumped without beating the snot out of your joints. Superset 1: Alternating Overhead Press + Face Pull Exercise Sets Reps Rest A1. Alternating...

Designing an effective push-pull-legs workout from the ground up takes a bit of planning and strategy, regardless of prior lifting experience. Thankfully, the push-pull-legs routine is fairly straightforward and easy to follow for just about any gym-goer, athlete, or bodybuilder that wants to...

Way back in 2006, physical therapist John Pallof came up with what is known as the Pallof press. This move dynamically trains anti-rotation, anti-low back extension, and posterior pelvic tilt. Not everyone is onboard with the benefits of the Pallof, but sometimes people miss the subtleties of...

There is no doubting most gymgoers’ attraction to the barbell bench press. It is part of the Big 3 lifts for a reason: The barbell bench press, with its stability and relatively fixed range of motion, allows the lifter to move the most weight possible. But through injury or range of motion...

If you do the six major compound movements – the squat, hip hinge, vertical press, vertical pull, horizontal press, and horizontal pull – you're bound to see success. These are the movement patterns every complete workout program contains. Problem is, not every variation is best for everybody...

A FEW FORMALITIES Before we dive right in, there are some important things to consider prior to using this: This is in no way scientific. It's observational. Everyone is different (age, experience, sex, injury history, training style, build, etc.). Therefore, this won't be exact, and that's...