In weightlifting the cue "quick elbows" is typically easily understood, but can be difficult to perform. Unlike a static cue such as, "turn your toes out," that involves a quick change in body ... Continue Reading
This Russian Weightlifter’s Clean Is a Clinic in Never Giving Up
Russian weightlifter Sergey Koptev isn't a huge name in the weightlifting world, and he's not attacking world or national record weights during training or competition (yet). And while it remains to be ... Continue Reading
Biofeedback Testing: How to Tell If You Should Lift Heavy Today
Most of us have experienced a situation where you walk into the gym feeling like you're going to crush a new PR, only to fall short. Or the flipside: you feel like you're going to have a subpar workout and ... Continue Reading
Why You Sweat More as You Get Stronger
If you find yourself frustrated on a daily basis due to sweat, you're not alone. It seems like the stronger and fitter you get, the more you're actually sweating during your day. Even if it's 15 ... Continue Reading
Harbinger 4″ Nylon Lifting Belt Review
Harbinger is known worldwide for their supportive strength gear. Their supportive gear covers a variety of needs including powerlifting, weightlifting, bodybuilding, and recreational lifting. Chances ... Continue Reading
13 Undeniable Benefits of the Snatch
There are full-body exercises, and then there’s the snatch. It’s a phenomenally difficult exercise that can require years to properly master, but when performed correctly, it could provide a wider array ... Continue Reading
John Cena Squats Al Roker for a Three Rep PR
John Cena was recently on the Today Show talking fitness and workouts you can do at home. He was leading three trainees through various workouts and showing them how to perform bodyweight ... Continue Reading
This Strength Athlete Crushes Workouts and Inspires With One Arm
We can't always choose the cards life deals us. Nor can we change events that happen in our lives that change us forever, but we can choose how we live our lives after. Victor Hugo Castro Assaf is the ... Continue Reading
What to Eat Before an Olympic Weightlifting Meet
What you eat before you exercise should depend on what kind of exercise you’re doing. If you’re doing a medium- to high-rep functional fitness workout, L-citrulline might be useful. Powerlifters ... Continue Reading
Training Masters Fitness Athletes: Lessons on Goals, Volume, and Intensity
As functional fitness training continues to grow into 2017, the number of participants aged 50+ also continues to rise. Whether they be former athletes, or your average weekend warrior, it is important to ... Continue Reading
5 Reasons Functional Fitness Athletes Can Benefit from “Formal” Weightlifting
Being a weightlifting coach at a premiere CrossFit® gym in New York City, I have had the opportunity to work with many members and drop-ins from all over the globe, who in one way or another have embraced ... Continue Reading
You Can Vote for the IWF’s Weightlifter of the Year
The International Weightlifting Federation has officially opened up their voting process for the World Weightlifting's Best Lifter of the Year 2016, and you, fellow fan of weightlifting, are eligible to ... Continue Reading
10 Rules for the Aspiring Strongman
Strongman is a tough sport, and the dropout rate reflects that. It’s such a shame to see a talented athlete fall to the wayside either through injury or losing interest after a bad comp. But it doesn’t ... Continue Reading
Murph In Space: How This Astronaut Does CrossFit Workouts In Orbit
If you want to be an astronaut, you don't just need a science background and a thousand hours of pilot time in a jet aircraft—you need to train legs. BarBend was lucky enough to sit down with U.S. Air ... Continue Reading
NOBULL Gives Sneak Peek of Their Two New Lifting Shoes
NOBULL is best known for their cross training shoes and their old school-esque lifters. Their shoes grew quickly in popularity largely due to members of the functional fitness community who ... Continue Reading
How Long Should You Rest Between Sets? What the Science Suggests
It's generally understood that rest time is dependent on type of exercise, training goal, and rep scheme. For example, heavier multi-joint exercises with low-reps receive longer rest, while ... Continue Reading
The Strongman’s Guide to Hand Care and Maintenance
All strength sports have one unifying factor: they rely almost entirely upon healthy hands. Without them, the show just cannot go on, regardless of how much you want it to. The most common injury, of ... Continue Reading
How to Keg Toss Like Thor
“It’s such a fun event because there aren't a lot of times you get to throw something under technique and control, but also as hard as humanly possible.” In a nutshell, that’s the keg toss: the rarest ... Continue Reading
72-Year Old Fred Rice Deadlifts 520lbs for His 72nd Birthday
The deadlift is such a fantastic lift. It's the type of lift that shows the true grit and strength someone possesses. Whether someone's a deadlifter or not, there always seems to be a respect that ... Continue Reading
3 Arm Workouts for Weightlifters and Functional Fitness Athletes
In an earlier article I made my case for the programming of arm training (specifically biceps) in strength and power athletes. In weightlifting and functional fitness programming, arm-specific exercises ... Continue Reading
Nike, Reebok, Adidas: 2017 New Shoe Release Roundup
In the last two months Nike, Reebok, and Adidas have all released new cross trainers and lifting shoes. In the lead up to each shoe's release, there were multiple rumored shoe speculations, ... Continue Reading
Why It’s So Hard to Nail the Hammer Throw
The Highland Games hold a special place in the strength athlete’s heart. They’re not the most widely covered or best-attended events on Earth but, like a Jurassic mosquito frozen in amber, they’re a ... Continue Reading
3 Reasons Why Weightlifters Can Benefit from the Behind the Neck Push Press
In the world of weightlifting, coaches and athletes have a plethora of snatch, clean, and jerk variations, each of which can be used to address specific weakness and/or faults a lifter may possess. In an ... Continue Reading
The Practical Applications of Using Complex Training to Increase Power
Strength athletes require two key aspects (among others of course) for success in their lifting: Strength & Power. Unfortunately, there's often a confusion that surrounds training ... Continue Reading