training

This simplistic but highly effective banded warm-up routine teaches lifters how to stabilize the pelvis and keep the rib cage grounded while moving through hip internal and external rotation. By utilizing specific drills, such as the banded deadbug and the 90/90 hip internal rotation, athletes can enhance motor control and address common mobility restrictions that limit their squat performance.

The Strength Mastery Event is a two-day, hands-on coaching experience designed to help participants master the squat, deadlift, bench, and overhead press while learning foundational mechanics such as breathing, bracing, and foot rooting. Attendees work in a small-group setting to receive practical feedback and clear cues, ensuring they leave with improved positions and a training plan they can use immediately.

Start your year off right with this free webinar on January 14th at 6:30 p.m. EST. 

Rooting, or grounding, stabilizes the body from the hip or pelvis down to the floor, whereas bracing stabilizes the structure from the pelvis up to the shoulder. Since they are interdependent, performing both rooting and bracing correctly is essential for creating a whole, rigid structure and achieving maximum strength and stability.

Discover how Zercher movements, including the Squat and Deadlift, can be seamlessly integrated into your training program to boost muscle growth and strength. This article evaluates the biomechanics, benefits, and proper execution of these variants to help you train safely and effectively.

"If you work shift work, if you're a first responder, if you're a nurse, if you're a new parent, there are things that you can be doing to improve the amount of sleep you're getting, to improve the quality of that sleep, to reduce that overall cortisol. You don't just have to suffer through it. It's not the cost of doing business, like I chose to do this job, and I made the choice to suffer for as long as I did before I found somebody who could help me write the ship."

So first off remember just because you're doing what is a lat exercise doesn't mean it's necessarily hitting your lats very well. And then also you have the ability to take a certain exercise and bias it towards whatever your goal is very very easily by just adjusting the grip width how you put pressure on your hands and ultimately change that upper arm angle relative to your body.

Consider this: your body can only apply as much force as your grip can withstand. If your hands can’t control the bar, your power leaks before it even transfers through your arms and torso.

The longer we're spending in that stretch position actively lengthening and relaxing those target muscles we are going to be spending more and more time in a lengthened position but also getting further into that stretch position which is going to leave us more mobile than when we started. Now these are going to be more effective for mobility than traditional static stretches as well because we have the external load helping us.

This highly effective, two-band warm-up routine focuses on improving lumbopelvic stability, strengthening hip internal and external rotation, and addressing movement bottlenecks to enhance squat performance and reduce injury risk. Key exercises include the banded deadbug, the 90/90 banded hip internal rotation drill, and the single-leg banded hip thrust with a contralateral load.

Ben Patrick discusses how he overcame chronic knee issues that began at age nine by utilizing backward sled drags and eccentric loading to rebuild athletic resilience. The conversation bridges the gap between Westside Barbell principles and Patrick's "Knees Over Toes" methodology, exploring how scaling exercises like the split squat and seated good morning can facilitate longevity and pain-free movement.

Everyone starts somewhere. Early on, it’s easy to look at newcomers and forget you were once guessing too. The difference between arrogance and experience is humility. If you’ve been in the game long enough, you realize the next wave isn’t your competition — they’re your continuation.