You want to increase your lower body pull volume, but you’re not sure which deadlift variation to turn to. The Romanian deadlift and the stiff-leg deadlift are both muscle-building versions of the ... Continue Reading
Is 5-Time World’s Strongest Man Winner Mariusz Pudzianowski the G.O.A.T?
Who is the most underrated strongman of all time? It's a tricky question to answer — and it's one of taste and personal preference. Viable contenders range from World’s Strongest Man (WSM) winners like ... Continue Reading
2021’s Biggest Strength Stories (Podcast)
Today on the BarBend Podcast, we welcome two of the BarBend Team's finest: Managing Editor Andrew Gutman and Senior Writer Phil Blechman. We dive into our favorite strength stories, feats, records, and ... Continue Reading
The Best All-Around Kettlebell Training Program
Figuring out how to work out with kettlebells — in all their off-balanced glory — is one thing. You’ve long since mastered the kettlebell swing, and you’ve even got enough training pizzazz to perform a ... Continue Reading
Use the Trap Bar Deadlift to Build Strength and Size From the Ground Up
The trap bar deadlift is a total-body pulling movement that can be utilized across various sports to develop leg strength, lower body power, and improve your general fitness. Both veteran athletes and ... Continue Reading
Check Out Devon Larratt Arm Wrestle Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman)
Devon Larratt is one of the best arm wrestlers on the planet. The 46-year-old Canadian is currently in possession of the Legacy Hammer — an artifact similar in appearance to Thor's Hammer that represents ... Continue Reading
Michael B. Jordan’s “Creed III” Training, Diet, and More From Coach Corey Calliet
When actor Michael B. Jordan steps into the ring for the third time as titular boxer Adonis Creed, he wants to do more than look the part. For Jordan, Creed III — due out on March 3, 2023 — isn’t just ... Continue Reading
Seven Compelling Benefits of the Push Press
The push press is an exercise often used in Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit due to its potential to produce a powerful upper and lower body. Similar to the strict press, the push press requires you to ... Continue Reading
Xwerks Motion BCAA Review
BCAAs have become a popular athletic supplement for their potential to improve muscle retention, fat loss, endurance, and focus during workouts. BCAAs — or branched-chain amino acids — include the ... Continue Reading
Try These 9 Squat Cues the Next Time You’re Under a Barbell
There is a definitive art to cueing squats and other barbell lifts. Cueing refers to the short phrases and reminders you give yourself to maintain good form while lifting. A couple of cues you may have ... Continue Reading
Xwerks Grow Whey Protein Review — Is Grassfed Better?
Xwerks is a Florida-based supplement company that has a particularly dedicated following among the functional fitness crowd. The brand sponsors a few big name CrossFit® Games athletes, most ... Continue Reading
17 Year-Old Weightlifting World Champion (with Hampton Morris)
Hey folks, we have a short and sweet one for you. Today I’m talking to American weightlifter Hampton Morris. Just 17 years old, Hampton has an athletic resume that is nothing short of jaw-dropping. He was ... Continue Reading
Xwerks Lift Creatine Review
Creatine is one of the most scientifically backed supplements on the market with hundreds of studies suggesting its powerful effect on performance and body composition — more specifically, it can ... Continue Reading
Seven Hip Thrust Variations to Build a More Stable Butt
There’s no doubt that if you want a strong pair of glutes that not only look good but also make you stronger, barbell hip thrusts should be your go-to exercise. Strong glutes can help with lower back ... Continue Reading
Is Your Front Rack Lacking? Try These 5 Fixes (Plus Some Technique Tips)
The front rack position in Olympic lifting isn’t intuitive or natural the first time you try it. In fact, it is common for many athletes to have some limitations to their mobility when it comes to racking ... Continue Reading
How to Find Your Ideal Exercise Frequency
Exercise frequency has been and will continue to be an oft-debated topic in strength sports. How often you work out or how many times a week you hit your legs — AKA, your exercise frequency — is a very ... Continue Reading
Xwerks Ashwa Ashwagandha Review
Ashwagandha is an herb that has a long medicinal history. For years, people have been using the herb to treat stress — ashwagandha is considered an adaptogen and can help calm the brain, in turn, helping ... Continue Reading
Bodybuilder Nick Walker’s Full Day of Eating Consists of 4,567 Calories
Only a handful of bodybuilders on the planet are in the conversation as a potential Mr. Olympia champion. Nick Walker is one of those bodybuilders. The 2021 Arnold Classic champion left the 2021 Mr. ... Continue Reading
The Best Kettlebell Workouts for Strength, Muscle Mass, Beginners, and More
If you have room for only one piece of strength equipment in your home gym, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better alternative than the oddly-shaped powerhouses known as kettlebells. Working out with ... Continue Reading
Ab Training 101 — Everything You Should Know About Training Your Core
Many of the conversations surrounding the abs can be oddly polarizing. Some prefer to think of them as wasted training time, others like to overemphasize their core with near obsessive volume. The truth, ... Continue Reading
Fouad Abiad Announces His Retirement From Competitive Bodybuilding
On Nov. 26, 2021, professional bodybuilder Fouad Abiad released a video on his YouTube channel that included multiple announcements. Among them was his formal retirement from competitive bodybuilding. ... Continue Reading
Train Weightlifting Like a Pro With the Squat Jerk
There’s more than one good way to get a barbell overhead. In Olympic lifting, you can jerk a barbell to arm’s length with various techniques — the split, push, power, and the infamous squat jerk. The squat ... Continue Reading
Bodybuilding Legend Dave Draper Dead at 79 Years Old
Bodybuilder Dave Draper died on the morning of Nov. 30, 2021. Draper's wife, Laree Draper, confirmed the news in a post made on Facebook that same day. Dave Draper, born in 1942, was a bodybuilder, actor, ... Continue Reading
Deadlifting Every Day Can Take Your Strength to New Heights
One of the best ways to rapidly increase your strength or skill is to practice an exercise more frequently. Strength training performance, especially in the deadlift, is often a product of competing ... Continue Reading