As a nation that sits for a majority of our work days, it's not uncommon to see issues in the gym with the lower back. The back is made up of three segmented areas, which include the cervical, thoracic, ... Continue Reading
Dropping Weight in Strongman: How to Cut Pounds and Build Strength
Strongman. The word alone conjures the image of man: tall, muscular, and larger than life. The character that the World’s Strongest Man contest has created is most likely the only one people think exists, ... Continue Reading
Toes to Bar: Kipping vs Strict
The toes to bar movement is a highly effective way to develop midline stability, increase muscular hypertrophy of the abdominals and obliques, and enhance overall core strength. Gymnasts, fitness, and ... Continue Reading
Sports Acupuncture – Can It Benefit Strength Athletes?
"Every needle I put in, I have a reason for it. It's not just a concept, but a reason with scientific backing," states Peter D'Aquino. Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that ... Continue Reading
So You Wanna Be a Powerlifter? Know Your Equipment
In our first episode, we discussed different powerlifting federations you can compete in. This week we’ll explore the equipment available to athletes in each of those federations. The decision about ... Continue Reading
Kinesiology Tape for Shoulder Pain and Stability
Kinesiology tape can be a useful tool to strength athletes for multiple reasons. This article is going to dive into why an athlete would tape, or need to tape the shoulder. One of the main, and possibly ... Continue Reading
Official Strongman Announces New Online Qualifier (and Path to World’s Strongest Man)
Official Strongman made an announcement a few days ago that left every aspiring strongman and woman looking at flights to North Carolina. This news that has caused waves in the strength world is that they ... Continue Reading
Is Your Sleep Schedule Preventing You From Getting Stronger? 8 Questions to Ask Yourself
Most people don’t realize it, but getting stronger and sleeping go hand in hand. In fact, sleep is one of THE most important components of the recovery cycle. “With each workout, you are essentially ... Continue Reading
5 Effective Tips for Stronger Handstands
Handstands: for some, they feel more natural than standing on feet, and for others, they may seem foreign or even downright impossible. As a bodyweight athlete and avid handbalancer, one of my most ... Continue Reading
4 Benefits of the Kettlebell Clean and Jerk
While many athletes and coaches are familiar with the barbell clean and jerk, only a select few train the kettlebell clean and jerk variation. The kettlebell variation offers us many unique benefits that ... Continue Reading
15 Things Only CrossFitters Understand
When asked why we love CrossFit® training, most of us will tell you it’s all about the community and personal growth we’ve experienced since joining a box. In herds, people sign up to give the sport a try, ... Continue Reading
Squat Alternatives for Strength, Hypertrophy, and Functional Movement
In some circumstances, a lifter may want to vary their squat training to increase squat performance, work around injury, induce metabolic hypertrophy, or promote sound functional movement ... Continue Reading
Light Therapy: Why Putting Red Light Up Your Nose Can Increase Strength
You know that old quote that says any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic? That’s how it feels to look through the scientific literature for light therapy, also called ... Continue Reading
3 Moves that Break Through Strongman Sticking Points
The strongman is the most diverse strength athlete on the planet. The best in the world can press, pull, and load stones at bone crushing weights all while being athletic and in great anaerobic condition. ... Continue Reading
How Battle Ropes Can Improve Powerlifting and Weightlifting
Battle ropes have been misused, misunderstood, and mistaken as a fad workout tool that traumatizes the shoulders and achieves little more than looking cool. We get it. Usually when an exercise looks as ... Continue Reading
Kinesiology Taping for Ankle Stability and Sprain
Kinesiology tape has grown in popularity in strength sports over the last decade. Many athletes utilize this unique tape to promote recovery, create additional stability, and enhance performance. When it ... Continue Reading
11 Struggles People Who Work Out in the Evening Understand
Maybe you’ve heard that evening sweat sessions could bring on insomnia or that evening exercisers are less likely to stick with a workout. But sometimes waking up before the sun rises sounds about as ... Continue Reading
Only 6 People Have Officially Clean & Jerked Triple Bodyweight (in Competition)
If you can clean & jerk your bodyweight, you're no longer a novice at Olympic weightlifting. If you clean & jerk double your bodyweight, depending on how much you weigh, you’re likely approaching ... Continue Reading
5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Train With Gymnastic Rings
In the wide world of fitness, where there’s a different contraption for isolating almost every individual muscle in the body, the idea of two rings hanging in the air, each suspended by a strap, seems ... Continue Reading
What’s the Best Time to Work Out? (For Strength, Power, and Fat Loss)
What's the best time to work out? The short answer: It depends. I'm currently in that awkward transition between switching from evening workouts to morning, and I'm not going to lie, it hasn't ... Continue Reading
So You Wanna Be A Powerlifter? Breaking Down the Sport’s Federations
So, you wanna be a powerlifter, but you’re not sure where to start? Over the next 12 weeks Calgary Barbell has teamed up with BarBend to release weekly YouTube videos to guide you to your first ... Continue Reading
The Ultimate Guide to Heart Rate Variability and Strength Training
There are a lot of things that can affect your strength levels, which makes it super difficult to know whether or not your workout is going to be awesome or terrible on any given day. This is where heart ... Continue Reading
10 Undeniable Benefits of the Clean & Jerk
Sometimes, people are confused as to how Olympic weightlifting is just two exercises: the snatch and the clean & jerk. (And formerly the clean & press, which was part of the sport in the ... Continue Reading
How Long Does It Take to Get Good at Strength Sports? A Newbie’s Guide
"You just haven't been training long enough, don't sweat it," My boyfriend Mark said this me once when I was somewhat tearfully lamenting what I perceived as a stall in my overall progress. For a ... Continue Reading