Building a stronger bench is often at the top of every powerlifting and strength athlete. When looking at isolating weaknesses in the bench press, lifters can break down the individual angles and muscle ... Continue Reading
Best Lifting Belts
BarBend HQ has been on a quest to find the best lifting belt for every type of strength athlete. Our mission through multiple sweaty – often heavy – gym sessions was to provide you with direction when ... Continue Reading
Best Healthy Snacks
Snacking is different for everyone. Some people may prefer a salty and crunchy snack, whereas others may crave sweet and chewy morsels. Luckily, there are endless snack options on the web that make ... Continue Reading
Why Tennis Players Should Lift Weights (Plus Two Free Workouts)
Long ago strength training for tennis wasn’t in vogue, even among the professional players. Even the great John McEnroe (winner of the US Open in 1979, 80, 81, and 84), famously avoided strength ... Continue Reading
Performance Lab Whole Food Multi Review – Vitamins From Whole Foods?
How do you get a whole food-based multivitamin? They're not steaming vegetables and putting them into capsules; the process behind Performance Lab's Whole Food Multi is actually far more complicated. The ... Continue Reading
USA Weightlifting Earns 100th Pan American Games Medal
Since the first Pan American Games that took place in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, USA weightlifting has won at least one medal at every one of their appearances. This past weekend, the 2019 Pan ... Continue Reading
Can You Squat and Deadlift Heavy Without Getting a Thick Waist?
"I’m training for a physique contest and I don’t want to wreck my aesthetics with a bulky waist, so I don’t squat or deadlift heavy." I’m sure you’ve heard that — or some variation on the “do squats and ... Continue Reading
3 Hotel Workouts for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Lifters
Training while traveling. For some, this can be the difference between improving their fitness, losing the last few pounds, and helping keep them sane as they take on life and business stress. It’s no ... Continue Reading
5 Ways to Improve HRV (Heart Rate Variability) (Brought to You by WHOOP)
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a fantastic tool for athletes to use to assess readiness and recovery. Everyone has a baseline HRV number, which serves as a suggestion for how physically ready one is to ... Continue Reading
No Squat Rack? Here Are 5 Leg Exercises to Perform In a Smith Machine
Barbell squats, deadlifts, and lunges are staples of any leg day. But what happens when you find yourself with only a Smith machine? The Smith machine, while not truly a free weight movement, can offer an ... Continue Reading
What Is Heart Rate Variability? How to Use and Monitor HRV (Brought to You by WHOOP)
Over the last five years, heart rate variability (HRV) has grown in popularity as a useful tool for assessing recovery and training readiness. If you’re new to the concept of HRV and how it can translate ... Continue Reading
Best Compression Socks: For Runners, Workers, and More
Compression socks may help improve blood circulation and assist recovery, and they can be a stylish addition to any active wardrobe. Popular among athletes and people who work jobs that require them to be ... Continue Reading
Experts Predict Winners for the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games: Agree with Their Picks?
The 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games are upon us, which means it's time to set your own predictions for the Women's and Men's podiums. The 2019 iteration of Games — which run from July 31st to August 4th in ... Continue Reading
Squats Causing You Low Back Pain? Try This Unilateral Leg Workout
Ah, the pains of low back pain. You set up under the barbell, get tight, unrack, and physically feel those vertebrae compressing under the weight. Sometimes it’s not even an injury; sometimes, no matter ... Continue Reading
Powerlifter Yangsu Ren Beltless Deadlifts 745lbs for a Massive Triple
Powerlifter Yangsu Ren (-83kg), aka “Deadlift Panda”, just casually deadlifted 745lbs/337.93kg for a triple. To understand just how impressive this is, in 2017 Ren set the American raw deadlift record ... Continue Reading
15 Steps to Nailing Your First Powerlifting Meet
At my first powerlifting competition, I bombed. This means that I wasn’t able to complete at least one attempt of either the squat, bench press, or deadlift. In my case, it was the bench press, which was ... Continue Reading
5 Overhead Press Mistakes, Why They Happen, and How to Fix Them
The overhead press is a compound upper body movement that develops serious strength and mass. Powerlifters, strongman athletes, weightlifters, and general fitness-goers alike will benefit from including ... Continue Reading
Podcast: Weightlifting’s Future with Olympic Medalist Cheryl Haworth
It's almost impossible to talk about the history of USA Weightlifting without Cheryl Haworth's name popping up. She's one of America's most accomplished lifters, with accolades that include: Three ... Continue Reading
Portugal Pro Bodybuilding Results: Mohamed Shaaban Wins
When you look at a bodybuilding lineup for a pro show, you might see the biggest names and predict that one of them will take the victory. This is especially true if you only see one or two big names and ... Continue Reading
Is Technology Hurting Or Helping Your Training? 4 Rules to Help You Decide
If you’re anything like me, you have a pretty set routine that you follow before you begin training. I like to get to the gym, spend a few minutes chatting to help rid myself of the pre-workout jitters, ... Continue Reading
Swiss Archeologist Squats Sheep for 104 Reps, Becomes First Foreign Champion in 1,000 Years
As first reported by The Daily Mail, for the first time in 1,000 years, a foreigner has won a sheep squatting contest in the remote Russian republic of Tuva. The ancient tradition features contestants ... Continue Reading
Weightlifter Kate Nye Jerks 145kg/319lb for a Big PR a Week Out From Pan American Games
It has been a week of personal records for Team USA weightlifter Kate Nye. But given how successful her year has been, we can't say we're surprised that her strength is continuing to increase. Nye ... Continue Reading
Watch the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games Live on BarBend
BarBend will be streaming the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games on our site! The Reebok CrossFit Games kick off on July 28th in Madison, Wisconsin, with a formal competition running from Thursday, August 1st ... Continue Reading
On His 80th Birthday, This CrossFit® Trainer Finished a Workout That Would Humble Anyone
Jacinto Bonilla, a CrossFit® trainer based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, celebrates his birthday every year by performing a seriously impressive workout of the day (WOD). For the last 13 years, Bonilla has ... Continue Reading