December will mark "7" for my next weightlifting power couple: 7 years married, and also 7 combined National Championships. Unlike Jason and I’s coach/athlete relationship, Caleb and Kelly Williams ... Continue Reading
12 Things You Only Understand When You’re Trying to Gain Weight
Ah, the life of a hardgainer. The full-throttle quest for muscle gain is wracked with frustration and stress, but the worst part? Almost nobody recognizes your complaints as legit. But trust us, we’ve ... Continue Reading
Could This Research Change the Way We Look at Muscles and Strength?
A study posted on Experiment, a science-based crowd funding site, could be a game changer for athletes everywhere. Lead authors Andy Galpin, Jimmy Bagley, and Irene Tobias believe this study could be ... Continue Reading
Giants Pro Figure of 8 Lifting Straps Review
You may have heard of or seen the Figure of 8 lifting straps by Giants Pro before. These were the straps Eddie Hall used to break the deadlift world record with 500kg at the World Deadlift Championship in ... Continue Reading
The Lifter’s Guide to Magnesium: What This Nutrient Does for Strength
Ask the average strength athlete to list the supplements they can’t live or lift without, and the list will probably stop at protein powder and creatine. Folks with a higher budget might add fish oil, ... Continue Reading
Elle Hatamiya: Follow the 11 Year Old Weightlifter’s Olympic Dream
It’s always a great day when strength sports receive mass media coverage. Bleacher Report recently did a story on Elle Hatamiya, an 11 year old weightlifter with an Olympic dream. Not only is Hatamiya ... Continue Reading
Which Strongman Weight Class Is Right for Me?
Weight classes. For lifters of any discipline, being in the proper weight class is a large determinate of how well they do in their sport and how long they can compete at it. For a few it’s easy: They are ... Continue Reading
10 Tips for Coaching Athletes at Weightlifting Meets
Coaching athletes at competition can be a rewarding, exciting, challenging task for a coach. Weightlifting meets are no different, often requiring a large amount of pre-planning, adaptation, and ... Continue Reading
Coaches Roundtable: Hook Grip Your Way to Stronger Lifts
The hook grip has been around for years in weight training. While the exact creator and originator of this grip is still unknown, there are records of athletes using hook grips in the 1940’s. To perform a ... Continue Reading
Caber Tossing: Why Hurling Trees Is the Most Delicate Strength Sport
The bicycle, the telephone, the television, and penicillin are all great Scottish inventions, sure, but the country’s greatest contribution to strength sports is definitely the world-famous Highland ... Continue Reading
Strongman Eddie Hall Bench Presses 584 Pounds for 6 Reps!
Eddie Hall is the world's greatest strongman-style deadlifter (as evidenced by his record breaking 500kg pull this past July). Now, the British strongman — who made the podium for the first time at this ... Continue Reading
Canadian Weightlifter Boady Santavy Breaks Records, Aims for Olympics
Over the last five years, I have had several opportunities to venture north of the border and attend national events that were hosted by the Canadian Weightlifting Federation. In addition to friendly ... Continue Reading
Watch Larry Williams Crush the Powerlifting Total Record at 242 Pounds
Larry Williams — or Larry “Wheels” Williams as many know him — has been making waves in powerlifting since his teenage years. Now, 21, Williams from Bronx, NY, made a big statement this past ... Continue Reading
Reebok to Face Big Changes, Will Emphasize Fitness and Higher Price Points
In an article published in the Boston Globe, author Jon Chesto outlines several announcements coming from Reebok leadership following a quarterly earnings call from last week. Newly appointed Adidas ... Continue Reading
Watch Olympic Gold Medalist Aleksey Torokhtiy Make His Transition Into CrossFit
At BarBend we always love when elite athletes try out different forms of stength sports. For example, Max Lang, a 77kg German weightlifter “suffering” through a CrossFit® class and giving his thoughts ... Continue Reading
5 Weightlifting Accessory Exercises to Improve Overhead Performance
As weightlifters, our programming is pretty straight forward. Snatches here, clean & jerk variations there, and a steady diet of squatting and pulling. Accessory training is the term given to ... Continue Reading
8 Telltale Signs You’re Obsessed With Strength Sports
Can you remember the first time you discovered your love for strength sports? I definitely can. My dad, an ex-college football player, used train me when I was growing up. I was 13 when he bought a ... Continue Reading
USA Weightlifting Announces Ursula Papandrea As IWF Executive Candidate
In meeting minutes released on October 14th of this year, USA Weightlifting (USAW) has confirmed they will support the endorsement of three candidates for leadership positions within the International ... Continue Reading
Nick Urankar Hits 315 Snatch, 395 Clean & Jerk. Is This the New Normal for Games Athletes?
The CrossFit Liftoff is currently underway, which means new personal records are stacking up for functional fitness enthusiasts across the globe. More women than ever are snatching above 200 pounds, and a ... Continue Reading
Ray Williams Just Squatted Insane Weight for a Double
Look, there's not a whole lot more we can say about powerlifter Ray Williams without sounding like a broken record. On October 16th, Williams became the first person to squat 1,000 pounds ... Continue Reading
How Social Media Can Make Lifters Feel like Crap (And Why It’s Okay to Opt Out)
You're bored at work and can't focus. You just want Susan to wrap up this meeting so you can go train. You open Instagram on your phone. You see a perfectly tanned, oiled, and dehydrated physique ... Continue Reading
How to Program Plyometric Jump Training Into Your Weightlifting Workouts
Plyometric and jump-based training has been shown to be extremely effective at increasing explosiveness, power output, and neuromuscular adaptations that increase athletic performance. Jump training, often ... Continue Reading
Luke Richardson: The Teenage British Powerlifter Phenom You Need to Know
Luke Richardson is a STRONG teenage British powerlifter. At the young age of 19, Richardson has already built an impressive resume of lifts with a 320.5kg (705 lb) junior squat record, 330kg (726 lb) ... Continue Reading
Deadlift Every Damn Day
When they first make that ever so important first trip to the gym, most teenage boys make a beeline straight for the dumbbell rack, hoping that 20 sets of curls will make their sleeves just that little bit ... Continue Reading