On one hand, the deadlift is as simple and straightforward as “pick the heavy bar up off the ground and stand up.” On the other hand, the deadlift is an intricate series of muscular coordinations, involving muscles from your ankles and thighs to your abdomen and lower back to your shoulders, wrists, and hands. Because
Exercise Guides
The bench press is the reigning king of upper body barbell exercises for many lifters. Even non-lifters are familiar with muscular athletes demonstrating their strength performing a bench press. It’s almost universally recognized as the way to build your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Because you have the potential to put so much weight on the
The barbell skull crusher, also known as the barbell triceps extension, is one of the most well-known exercises for the triceps. Yet it is heavily underrated due to a misunderstanding of how to perform the exercise effectively. The barbell skull crusher can improve strength in a variety of activities, especially the bench press and overhead
Back exercises come in two basic patterns: vertical, or overhead, pulls, like the classic pull-up, and horizontal rows. Many lifters are familiar with standard pull-ups, chin-ups, and pulldowns, but the wide variety of rows requires more specific attention. The seated cable row offers distinct advantages over barbells, dumbbells, or other machines. The combination of body
Sometimes simple is better when it comes to exercise selection. And few exercises are as simple and equally effective as the standing dumbbell overhead press. You heave a couple of dumbbells to your shoulders, brace your core, and press them overhead. The standing overhead dumbbell press requires your shoulders, arms, back, core, and legs to
The front squat is one of the most fundamental, functional, and yet commonly-overlooked lower body exercises. It develops strength, power, conditioning, and leg size while reducing lower back stress compared to other squat variations. Despite its benefits, many lifters mistakenly consider front squats “too advanced” for beginners or, worse yet, merely a lesser alternative to