(Men, feel free to sit this one out): The cramps are crippling. You feel bloated, and you keep running to the bathroom between sets of squats. You’re not sure if it’s the coffee or just period poo, but ... Continue Reading
Op-Ed: When Research Comes Up Short In the Gym
Editor’s note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein and in the video are the author’s and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been ... Continue Reading
The Importance of Variation and Four Benefits of the Safety Squat Bar
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been using the safety squat bar (actually, the Elitefts Yoke Bar) as my main squatting movement in all of my training. There’s a pretty good ... Continue Reading
6 Foolproof Ways to Improve Your Grip Strength Today
Grip is something in strength training called a limiting factor. For example, you can have the back strength to deadlift 600 lbs, but if your grip can't hold the weight, then you're limited to what those ... Continue Reading
Fitness Gifts for the Lifter in Your Life
In life and in lifts, there are gifts we give in holiday spirit to those bereft of fitness equipment. The following guide is going to help you navigate the way to the perfect gift for the lifter in your ... Continue Reading
The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Weightlifters | Shoes, Belts, and More
Everyone loves to be spoiled on the holidays. Whether it’s a cookie before dinner starts, an extra serving of your favorite sides, or a not-so-little splash of brandy in your eggnog, the holidays are ... Continue Reading
The Small Muscles That Will Make Your Lifts Bigger
There’s nothing more impressive than a massive lift, but it's worth pointing out that even the biggest and strongest lifters can neglect the smaller, less sexy muscles in their quest for getting ... Continue Reading
How Tempo Work Helped Me Push Through a Plateau
Retiring from being a competitive CrossFit athlete is different than moving on from any other sport. When I quit gymnastics, I stopped practicing beam routines. Cold turkey. When I retired from ... Continue Reading
Muscle Fiber Found In Elite Powerlifter Is 22% Larger Than a Rhino’s
Where do the upper limits for strength and size exist? We're in an interesting time in the world of fitness and strength sports. The popularity of lifting and competing in strength sports continues to ... Continue Reading
How Should the Shins Be Positioned In the Deadlift?
Shin angle in the deadlift often gets overlooked, but it's incredibly important for success. The deadlift, like every other compound lift, is the culmination of multiple joint angles working with ... Continue Reading
3 Reasons Why Bicep Curls Are Good for Your Shoulders
It’s the one exercise everybody knows about when they’re a gym newbie: the biceps curl and all its variations. This exercise is in our DNA. Nobody taught you how to do them. But when you enter the gym, ... Continue Reading
Do You Really Need to Squat for Big Legs?
Yep, it’s an age-old question – but one that we can learn a lot from. If you listen to the bros (whether in the gym or online), you’ll probably think that you have to squat if you want big legs, or if ... Continue Reading
The History of Bodybuilding’s Messy Journey to the Olympics
Bodybuilding truly deserves a place in the pantheon of Olympic sports. It dates to the original Olympic Games of the ancient Greeks, which inspired the modern Olympics. Between competitive events, the ... Continue Reading
Weight Over Bar Guide: How-To, Benefits, and Programming Tips
Weight over bar is a classic strongman event. This event is contested in a couple different ways in strongman and Highland Games competitions. In the weight over bar event, athletes will throw an object ... Continue Reading
Why Powerlifters Should Be Accessory Lifting With A Swiss Bar
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
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
The Definitive Guide to Picking a Powerlifting Coach
A powerlifting coach can help improve technique; develop long-term, individualized programming, provide mental skills and strategies, and assist with competition preparation. The purpose of getting a ... Continue Reading
The Untold History of Functional Fitness
This article will understand functional training in its simplest sense, that is, the ability to perform tasks in everyday life. This distinguishes functional training from powerlifting or bodybuilding, ... Continue Reading
Pulling the Slack Out of the Bar Is Key for Strong Deadlifts
A strong deadlift is the culmination of strength, power, coordination, and technique. An athlete needs to possess a baseline level of all of these variables to efficiently perform strong deadlift singles ... 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