Proper back training begins with the exercises you choose to help you pursue your fitness goals. Commonly regarded as “pulling movements,” there are more viable back-training options than there are muscles ... Continue Reading
The 8 Best Push Exercises You Should Be Doing for Muscle and Strength
If you follow fitness, it probably feels like the posterior chain is all the rage. (For the uninitiated, your posterior chain is basically your backside. It counts all of the muscles that span the base of ... Continue Reading
The 5 Best Lower Lat Exercises for a Denser Back
Big lats serve two primary purposes: They support your spine during squats, deadlifts, and bench presses and make you look big in sweaters. However, many lifters have trouble engaging their lats because we ... Continue Reading
The 6 Best Landmine Shoulder Exercises You Can Do
When it comes to shoulder training, most folks base their workouts on a combination of free weights and cables. After all, nothing beats the barbell overhead press for raw strength, and it’s hard to match ... Continue Reading
The 7 Best Resistance Band Exercises for Building Bigger, Better Glutes
Glute training has the interest of the entire lifting space — and with good reason. Whether you’re looking to round out your peach, improve your hip drive, or just move to feel better, tacking on some ... Continue Reading
These Are the 10 Best Compound Exercises You Can Do. So Why Aren’t You Doing Them?
The clock is ticking. You have, what, 45 minutes to work out? It’s not a lot, but you have to play the hand you’re dealt. On the treadmill (can’t skip your warm-up, no matter what), you consider how to ... Continue Reading
6 Best Lower Chest Exercises, + 3 Lower Chest Workouts
The pecs are large fan-like muscles with two heads — the clavicle and the sternal head. But we know you’re not here for an anatomy lesson; you’re here for lower chest exercises and lower chest workouts. ... Continue Reading
The 6 Best Hamstring Stretches to Add to Your Routine
If you’ve ever gotten out of bed the morning after heavy deadlifts unable to straighten your legs, you’ve experienced sore and tight hamstrings. Your hamstrings are a large muscle group on the back of your ... Continue Reading
The Nine Best Wrist Curl Variations to Supercharge Your Grip
In virtually every exercise you perform, your wrists are in play, assisting with the stabilization of either the weight or your body, and helping to hold things together. Your wrists are paradoxical; elite ... Continue Reading
The Best Short-Head Biceps Exercises to Round Out Your Upper Arms
Take a trip to the gym and gaze in the mirror. The biceps are one of the muscles people will likely be staring at the most. All manner of posing revolves around the sleeve-expanding potential of the upper ... Continue Reading
These Are the 10 Best Bodybuilding Cable Exercises for Consistent Muscle Growth
A good bodybuilder uses every tool at their disposal to build muscle: Barbells for maximal loading, dumbbells to identify and attack muscular imbalances, and, especially, cables. The cable tree is, in many ... Continue Reading
The Best Pre-Workout Meal for Bodybuilding Based on Your Goals
You don’t just head to the weight room to work out. You go to the gym with a mission. You’re on a quest to build the most muscle possible. Maybe that means you’re entering your first bodybuilding show. Or ... Continue Reading
The 12 Best Upper Body Exercises and 5 Workouts
At BarBend, upper-body workouts are our bread and butter (but don't get it twisted; we love a good leg day). From bench presses to barbell rows and everything in-between, our editorial staff is packed to ... Continue Reading
The Best Nitric Oxide Foods to Increase Blood Flow and Boost Performance
When you’re at the gym with your music playing and your blood flowing, nitric oxide is at work in your body. It helps to widen your blood vessels, and in turn can boost your training, improve recovery, and ... Continue Reading
16 Best Quad Exercises and Quad Workouts for Muscle Gain
Quads are all the rage nowadays — we blame the rise of shorter shorts, but hey, we aren't complaining. If you're here for quad-focused exercises, the best quad workouts, or the best movements for quad ... Continue Reading
The 8 Best Biceps Stretches to Support Long-Term Arm Thickness and Strength
Picture this — you crush your biceps curls and pull-ups at the gym, and the next day you feel that sweet pain of not being able to straighten your arms. Your biceps muscles flex and supinate your forearms. ... Continue Reading
9 Best Upper Chest Exercises for Stronger Pecs
There’s a reason Mondays are colloquially known as “International Chest Day.” An impressive set of pecs can change your whole physique. Beyond helping you look good at the beach or pool this summer, we ... Continue Reading
Our Favorite Forearm Workouts, + the 11 Best Forearm Exercises
At BarBend, we’re big believers in getting a grip, both literally and figuratively. Your forearm muscles are essential for holding onto heavy objects — how else would you perform a deadlift otherwise? — ... Continue Reading
The Best Powerlifting Workouts for Beginners to Break Into the Sport
The squat, bench, and deadlift are staples in the strength training realm no matter your sport. But when you put these three lifts together, you get the sport of powerlifting. If you’re a fan of the ... Continue Reading
How to Do the Cable Biceps Curl for the Best Arm Pump You’ve Ever Had
Think back to your very first days in the weight room. Unless you somehow found yourself wandering over to the squat rack, you probably bee-lined to the dumbbells and started banging out some ... Continue Reading
These Are 7 of the Best Exercises for Tall People
According to scientific data published in journals like The Lancet, the average height for adult men and women in the United States is 5'8" and 5'3", respectively. However, Hadi Choopan, the 2022 Mr. ... Continue Reading
What Are Workout Splits? Top 3 Most Effective Routines
When you walk into a gym, do you have an idea of what you’re going to do, or do you find the first empty station and start pumping out reps? It should probably be the former. Whether your goal is to build ... Continue Reading
The 8 Best Barbell Hip Thrust Alternatives to Try on Your Next Leg Day
Nowadays, everyone seems to be hammering the hip thrust — and with good reason. A pair of well-developed glutes are something of a status symbol in the gym. Strong, powerful gluteal muscles can help you ... Continue Reading
The Best Shoulder Exercises and Workouts for Bigger, Stronger Shoulders
A set of strong, broad shoulders signal to the world that you lift (hey, a little vanity is okay). Stronger shoulders also mean you can bench press and overhead press more weight while potentially staving ... Continue Reading