Today’s blog post is going to be quick, but I wanted to show a simple but cool exercise that I’ve started using with some of my clients that I really like. For lack of a better name, I’ll call it a landmine shoulder-to-shoulder press. You can probably figure out what it looks like from the name, but just for the sake of clarity and being on the same page, here’s a video of what it looks like in action, as demonstrated by my client Ryan. This one really kills a bunch of birds with one stone: hip mobility, [...]

Goblet squats have been my go-to exercise for teaching the squat pattern for awhile, but more recently I’ve been using the landmine as way to teach the pattern and I really, really like it. I still like goblet squats and use them often, but they don’t work for everyone. Some people still tend to fold forward as they squat down, and people also struggle to hold heavier weights to where it’s tough to get a training effect for the legs because the upper body is such a limiting factor. The landmine works really well as a teaching tool because the [...]

I really like single leg RDLs, but a lot of people struggle with them tremendously, especially when they first try to learn how to do them. As such, I start most clients off with assisted single leg RDLs where I allow them to use one hand to hold onto something for balance. Almost two years I shared a simple but effective method of assistance using the TRX which you can check out HERE, which looks like this. I still really like this and use it often, but I’ve noticed that for clients that struggle to grasp the hip hinge, some [...]

Today I want to share a chin-up variation that I’ve been using a lot the past three months with my clients: kneeling chin-ups. As the name suggests, it’s just chin-ups done starting from the knees. Here’s a video of my client Ryan doing a set. I first experimented with these because I was training a very tall basketball in a gym where the chin-up bar was too short for him to be able to do chin-ups with a full range of motion. I had him start from the floor on his knees and set the bar in a power rack [...]

As my friends and training partners know, I’m a creature of habit and my own training tends to be pretty consistent and predictable. If you’ve trained with me at all in the past 6-7 years then you pretty much know how I train because it doesn’t change too much. I’ve found a style of training that works well for me and that I enjoy, and I’ve found exercises that work best for my body that allow me to train hard and get stronger without pissing off my injuries. Whereas some people like to do a bunch of different exercises in [...]

Being tall definitely has its advantages and truth be told, I’ve often wished I was a little taller myself, but squatting is one thing where being taller is a disadvantage. Taller people tend to struggle with squats in general, and as a trainer, I struggle to teach them to squat well with good form. Shorter people tend to pick up squats relatively quickly, but for taller people it’s an ongoing battle. The biggest thing you see with taller people is that they tend to fall forward as they squat down. And once you lose your position on the eccentric, it’s [...]

Today I want to share a simple but really great way to add band tension to front squats. Bands (and chains as well) give a unique stimulus by providing accommodating resistance, which means there’s less tension at the bottom of the squat and more tension at the top. Accommodating resistance is great for working on being fast and explosive coming out of the hole, but it can also be useful for folks with knee and/or lower back issues because it deloads the bottom portion of the rep where things can get dicey if you’re not careful. Trouble is, not many [...]

I’ve long been a fan of Dan John’s batwing row idea, which is essentially a chest supported row iso hold. I’ve also applied that same concept to inverted rows (see here), and now I want to share something I’ve been doing recently with unsupported one-arm dumbbell rows that I really, really like. Doing an iso hold with unsupported dumbbell rows changes it from more of an upper back exercise to a really tough full body challenge. Get in a split stance with a stable base and hinge forward at the hips until just before the point where your stomach rests [...]

I tweaked my shoulder about four months ago, and while it’s gotten much better, most pressing exercises still really aggravate it. Rather than try to push through the pain, I’m eliminating any exercises that exacerbate the pain and instead sticking to things I can do pain-free, which at this point is basically just dumbbell floor presses and pushups. So needless to say, I’ve been doing a boatload of dumbbell floor presses over the past several months. I’ve stuck to regular dumbbell floor presses and single arm dumbbell floor presses for the most part, but I’ve also toyed around with a [...]

My good friend Sean Hyson just released a new ebook called The Truth About Strength Training which also includes a great 12-week program. The book/program is over a year in the making, and I’ve talked to Sean about it every step of the way. I really like the setup of the book, and I like the training program as well. I’m not an affiliate for the product so I have nothing personal to gain by recommending it, but I’ve made a point of highlighting good information on my blog and Sean’s new ebook certainly fits that bill. I highly recommend [...]