Bodybuilders and powerlifters have sung the praises of the barbell row as one of the most vital moves for strength and muscle-building. But don’t take their word for it — the American Council on Exercise ... Continue Reading
Hang Clean Vs. Power Clean — Which Lift Should You Be Doing?
Few lifts measure (and create) power as well as the clean. Simply put: a clean is when the lifter picks weight up off the floor and drives it up into a front rack position. Like most exercises, there are a ... Continue Reading
Dumbbells Vs. Kettlebells — Choose the Right Tool for Your Goals
Nowadays, gyms are chock full of tools — resistance bands, barbells, fancy squat racks — and it's frankly overwhelming. Want to get lean and increase your power output? Better start swinging a kettlebell. ... Continue Reading
Pro Gymnast vs. Journalists: Max Pull-Up Challenge
How many strict pull-ups can you do in one set? Five? Ten? Maybe fifteen? We here in the BarBend office do, contrary to some YouTube comments, lift, and we were fairly confident that in a test of pull-up ... Continue Reading
Pro Strongman Vs Journalists: Thor Challenge, Steinborn Squats, and Plate Flips
We're a competitive group of people at the BarBend office; after all, we write about strength sports day-in and day-out. However, are we really that competitive compared to a pro strongman? That's the ... Continue Reading
Partial Vs Full Range of Motion: Which Is Ideal for Muscle Development?
How much range of motion is needed to develop muscle? This is a highly debated topic across multiple strength circles. There are camps that argue that a full range of motion is an absolute must, while ... Continue Reading
Power Cage Vs Monolift Vs Combo Rack Differences, Powered By Ghost Strong Equipment
In every gym across the globe, you'll find multiple pieces of equipment to squat and lift big weight in. As you get stronger and the weight on your back gets heavier, then the equipment in which you're ... Continue Reading
Added Sugar vs Natural Sugar | What You’re Missing on Nutrition Labels
Sugar gets a pretty bad rap these days. The sweet carbohydrates are all over the news being linked to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, and even skin problems.(1)(2)(3) Despite all these ... Continue Reading
Bodybuilding Versus Powerlifting Programs: Three Big Differences
Over the past year, I’ve trained for both the world’s most prestigious powerlifting meet (the Kern US Open) and for a national-level bodybuilding competition (the NPC North Americans). It wasn’t the best ... Continue Reading
Nike Metcon 5 Vs. Reebok CrossFit Nano 9: The REAL Winner
The Nike Metcon 5 and Reebok CrossFit Nano 9 have both been on the market for a few months now, so I figured it was about time to highlight each of them in an epic showdown. One of the most frequently ... Continue Reading
EMOM vs Timed Circuits: The Best Ways for Athletes to Burn Fat
When you’re trying to lean out or just looking to drop a few pounds, a lot of people head for the cardio machines and not the weights. However, with a few slight programming tweaks — like shortening ... Continue Reading
Bench Press Vs Push-Up: Which Is Best for Strength, Mass, and Power?
Bench press or push-ups? Which is best for developing upper body strength and muscle mass? Many lifters would probably agree that the bench press is King for these goals, however, some research suggests ... Continue Reading
Hip Thrust Vs. Back Squat for Glute Development
Glute development is key for strength, power, and fitness athletes, everyday individuals, and aesthetics. When looking to increase glute hypertrophy and strength, some lifters will suggest that performing ... Continue Reading
Powerlifting Vs. Bodybuilding Arm Workouts: What’s the Difference?
Recently, I wrote an article explaining what I think of bodybuilding — from, of course, my point of view as a life-long professional powerlifter. In that article, I explained that despite how different ... Continue Reading
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Vs. MuscleTech Premium Gold – Which Whey Protein Is Best for You?
The world’s most popular whey protein powder versus the top selling bodybuilding supplement company in the United States. Who comes out on top? At this point, Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard is more ... Continue Reading
BSN Syntha-6 Vs. Dymatize Iso-100: Do Digestive Enzymes Matter?
These are two super popular whey proteins that are both very different, both in the kinds of protein they contain and the fact that one of them contains way, way more ingredients than the other. Which ... Continue Reading
Quest Vs Isopure – Which Low Carb Protein Powder Is Best?
Today we’re hosting a battle of the low carb protein powders: Isopure and Quest. They’re both very popular names in the supplement industry but for different reasons. Isopure has a well-deserved ... Continue Reading
Isopure Vs. Dymatize – Which Low-Carb Whey Is Best?
These are two protein powders that deserve recognition for the indelible impact they’ve made on the industry. The first is Isopure, which may well be the most popular whey isolate on Earth. (We don’t ... Continue Reading
SBD vs. Rehband Knee Sleeves: Which Is Better for Competing?
SBD and Rehband are two of the bigger brands when it comes to knee sleeves. These sleeves have a few similarities, but also a few pretty big differences worth taking a look at. If you're a serious strength ... Continue Reading
Athletic Greens Vs. Organifi – Which Superfood Powder Wins Out?
If there's ever been an ultimate face-off between titans of the green superfood powder industry, this is it. These two companies are enormously influential and many consider them the default option when ... Continue Reading
Ample Vs. Soylent – Big Differences Between the Biggest Meal Replacements
Soylent changed the way people think about meal replacements. Targeting techies and busy entrepreneurs, Soylent wanted customers to look at meal replacements as a crucial part of their productivity ... Continue Reading
Ample Vs Ample K – There Are More Differences Than the Fat Content
Ample is on a mission to change the meal replacement game. Launched in 2015 by Connor Young, a one-time owner of his own CrossFit gym, the idea behind the brand was to produce a meal replacement for folks ... Continue Reading
What’s the Difference Between Knee Wraps and Knee Sleeves?
Our fitness gear wish list is as long as Mat Fraser’s Fran time is short. Can you blame us? There’s no shortage of high-tech gear promising to help us move, sweat, and recover better. Some trends (like ... Continue Reading
Sympathetic Vs Parasympathetic: Why Every Athlete Needs to Understand the Difference
What if you could will yourself to absorb food better? OK, that sounds like magic, but — and we promise there’s science supporting this — in two minutes and without leaving your chair you can purposefully ... Continue Reading