Using a barbell and a power rack, you can do deadlift isometrics that can directly increase your deadlifting ability. But you must understand your weak points to know which isometrics will work best. For most people, the sticking point in the deadlift is right below or above the knees. If …
How to Combine Isometric Training with more…
A great question came in recently. And it’s a common question about how to combine different forms of training, if it can be done well at all. Robert asks: First of all: congratulations on your fantastic website!! I’m lovin’ it! Well, I train seriously since two years now, one year …
Pressing Isometrics in Doorway
In the previous video, I discussed how to do pressing isometrics if you have a barbell and power rack available. In my opinion, this is the best option. But not everyone has that same equipment. If you missed that video, click here. So, in this video I give you an …
Pressing Isometrics in Power Rack
If you have a barbell and a power rack you can easily work with a number of pressing isometrics that will translate over to pressing any object. All you have to do is move the pins around so that you can work any position you want. See it in action …
Tendon Strength through Isometrics
The cult of muscle. That is the strength and fitness world that we live in. Few people give any recognition to other bodily tissues that play a role, such as the tendons. Yet, these other tissues are KEY, if you want to be strong. In January’s Strength Health Mind Power …
Rack Pull vs. Health Lift
This video covers the difference between Rack Pull vs. Health Lift, and why you might want to choose one over the other: The key difference is in the alignment of the spine and legs. In a rack pull, you’re mimicking your deadlift position as you would normally have it, typically …
An Evolved Bob Hoffman
I’ve been called many things over the years. An evolved Bob Hoffmann is a new one to me! Ed writes in regarding Deceptive Strength: I love this book because it confirmed and reinforced many concepts I either knew or had an “innate” understanding, especially what I know best: Olympic Weightlifting …
Hand Position in Handstand Pushups
Your hand position in handstand pushups is not often addressed, even by those that teach the benefits of this exercise. Yet this small piece of positioning makes a BIG impact. In short, by having your hands out a bit wider, it changes the length of the range of motion, thus …
Dying Art of Phonebook Ripping
As phonebooks slowly become extinct, you have to be a bit more creative in how you tear them in half. After tearing them for a crowd, I often make a joke, “It’s harder to find a phonebook these days than to rip it in half.” Sadly, this is a dying …
Diversity of Fitness
Jim sent this in (along with a question for another day): “BTW, a really impressive thing about you and your web site. It is amazing how many different things you have studied. Handstands, heavy partials, old time stuff, bending steel, etc. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else with such …
Standard stretching sucks… Here’s what to do about it
The following is a guest article from Peter Tzemis, creator of Anabolic Stretching. Stretching. Most people just don’t do it. And I don’t blame them – considering half the time you feel like your just wasting time sitting in uncomfortable positions. The main problem with conventional stretching programs is that …
Strict Form vs. Not
A couple weeks ago I put up this popular article all about form, and how it’s really different than most think. And on that note, I wanted to address a similar area. Should you be super strict with your form? Or should you “cheat,” use a bit of “body English,” or, …
Joint Strength
Too much attention is put on the muscles, and not enough on the other tissues of the body. In this article, we’re diving deep into the topic of joint strength, a little talked about subject. Now a joint may be considered the synovial cavity, and synovial fluid that fills the inside. …
Pain
In the past I’ve talked about how strongmanism is in large part about pain tolerance. For example, one tip from there is “In learning to bend nails, once you get to the point where its starts to hurt and you want to quit, that’s where you need to double your …
The Phantom and the Atom
A few nights ago when I was at a Maverick business event, one of the guest speakers was Sandra Joseph, who played Christine in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. As she told her story, she talked about as a child she went to see the play Annie. She …