Maybe you’ve seen the bulky, kind of odd-looking bar in your gym, or maybe you’re contemplating buying yourself a new toy for your garage gym. Or maybe you’ve just finished a meet or hit a lifting plateau, ... Continue Reading
Machines Vs Free Weights: Pros, Cons, and Which Is Best for Strength and Mass
Man, talk about a topic that’s been beaten to death. The “free weight versus machines” debate has raged as long as I’ve been a lifter – and probably much longer, though that’s not a topic on which ... Continue Reading
4 Awesome Cardio Finishers for Your Next Strength Workout
There’s nothing really wrong with traditional cardio machines. You jump on, set the time and intensity, and off you go. It’s easy. But personally, I find that mind numbingly boring. Plus, I don't ... Continue Reading
3 Rules to Follow for Crushing Your Off-Season Training
I’ve written before about how the off-season can be a challenging tie for a lot of lifters: You feel like you have all the time in the world to get stronger, but — with no immediate goal or reward in sight ... Continue Reading
10 Questions You’ve Always Had About Kettlebells, Answered
You want to start working with kettlebells because you’ve seen other people swinging ‘em around and let’s be real: they look badass. Or you have worked with kettlebells before, but you’re looking to take ... Continue Reading
How to Grow Stubborn Calves and Forearms
Most lifters, unless they’re genetically gifted, have a stubborn muscle group that refuses to grow. No matter what you do and what you throw at it, it still looks the same. It’s almost enough to make ... Continue Reading
Three Tips for Switching From Bodybuilding to Powerlifting
By now, you probably know about my experiment with bodybuilding — specifically, with Classic Physique — and, if you’ve been following me on Instagram, then you know that in the long-term, it’s just not for ... Continue Reading
Is Competing Really Worth It? Professional Powerlifter Shares His Thoughts
I recently had one of my athletes ask whether he had made a mistake by choosing not to compete this year. It’s a great question — one that I’ve been considering a lot myself following my short experience ... Continue Reading
Powerlifters: Do These 6 Bodyweight Exercises For A Better Big 3
There are countless and tools to help you get a stronger bench, deadlift and squat. Fancy machines, kettlebells, landmine attachments and suspension training devices just to name a few. However, among ... Continue Reading
Op-Ed: This Registered Dietitian Has Some Issues With the Keto Diet
Much to my chagrin, fad diets continue to pop up. While I am tempted to roll my eyes each and every time I am asked a question about these trends, it is my job to be educated on these things so I can best ... Continue Reading
3 Ways to Improve Your Self Image and Why It Will Improve Your Performance
Flipping a massive tire or busting out a huge PR on your squat feels amazing. For a lot of lifters, those sensations of being untouchable — of being better than we were yesterday — are why we spend so many ... Continue Reading
5 Drills Every Athlete Should Do Every Day
Exercise doesn’t stop because your workout is over. And movement doesn’t stop because you've left the gym. The human body is made to move, and the benefits of daily movement are innumerable. To keep the ... Continue Reading
How Often Should You Train Shoulders to Build Muscle?
Training frequency is dependent on many variables, such as training age, ability to recovery, sets and reps per session, total training volume per week, and overall goals. For individuals looking to ... Continue Reading
How Many Times a Week Should You Train the Olympic Lifts?
The Olympic lifts are highly technical movements that require countless hours of technique training and analysis. Like most skills, the more you do them, the better you will become; assuming you are ... Continue Reading
So You’re a Runner Who Wants to Start CrossFit
As an endurance athlete, the high-intensity, heavy weight attitude of CrossFit® workouts might have you quaking in your running shoes. Or, on the flip, you might feel like CrossFit was made for you: you’re ... Continue Reading
So You’re a Powerlifter Who Wants to Start CrossFit
So you eat, sleep, and breathe the big three lifts, but you’re interested in trying out CrossFit. Or you already dabble and want to get better. Or you’re already pretty damn good and are chasing even ... Continue Reading
3 Hinge Exercises You Can Still Do When Your Back Hurts
Editor’s note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it shouldn’t take the place of advice and/or supervision from a medical professional. The opinions and articles on this site ... Continue Reading
The 6 Best Deadlift Accessories for Smashing Your Sticking Points
When you want to get better at deadlifting, you need to deadlift more. Seems like a no brainer, but sometimes you miss the obvious. However, when working with weights over 90 percent of your 1-rep max, ... 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
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
3 Types of Workouts That Help Powerlifters to Improve Work Capacity
As a powerlifter, my main concern is getting stronger. And as a human who’d like to live a real long time, my main concern is developing cardio capacity that’ll keep my heart doing its thing long enough ... Continue Reading
Op-Ed: There Is No Such Thing As the “10 Best Lifts”
Recently, BarBend author Nick English wrote an op-ed titled “These Are the 10 Best Lifts, Fight Me” — one of which, weighted planks, even featured yours truly! Since Nick asked for it, I’m gonna offer my ... Continue Reading
Smash Imbalances and Weaknesses With Functional Symmetry
In case you’re out of the loop: this article describes part of my transition from competing in powerlifting meets to competing in bodybuilding shows. While the outcomes of the two sports are quite ... Continue Reading
How to Use Loaded Stretching to Produce Muscular Hypertrophy
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or you don’t have social media) then you’ve probably heard of the idea of “loaded stretching” movements for muscular hypertrophy. I first read about these in ... Continue Reading