Walking into a CrossFit gym for the first time can feel intimidating. The barbells are loaded up up, the music is loud, and you’re wondering what you got yourself into. The first thing to remember is that ... Continue Reading
Barefoot Strength Training — Can Lifting Without Shoes Help You Make More Gains?
You've probably seen it in your gym at least once — someone training in a pair of socks or, more shockingly still, entirely barefoot, flesh-to-floor style. It certainly looks odd at a glance, but it does ... Continue Reading
Perfect the Pallof Press for More Core Strength and Stability
What exercises come to mind when you picture a chiseled six-pack? Crunches, sit-ups, maybe a plank? What about the Pallof press? Probably not, because the move sounds more like a piece of construction ... Continue Reading
Can You Eat Intuitively as a Bodybuilder?
When people think of nutrition for bodybuilders, they often imagine cardboard-tasting protein shakes, calorie counting, and a whole lot of plain chicken and rice. But restricting what you eat (and when) ... Continue Reading
Want to Move Better? Try These 5 Mobility Drills for Weightlifting
Weightlifting is about how you move. The better your movement, the more you can lift. The two main lifts (the snatch and the clean & jerk) are not just your average gym exercises. You have to use your ... Continue Reading
3 Big Benefits of the Low-Bar Back Squat
[Read More: The Best Quad Exercises and Quad Workouts for Muscle Gain] No one is born knowing how to squat with a loaded barbell draped across their back. Everyone starts somewhere, and the ... Continue Reading
Add the Box Jump to Your Routine to Power Up
Strength is ever-important in the weight room. The pursuit of strength is number one on your quest to hoist a heavily loaded barbell, after all. But power — defined as how quickly you can move weight — is ... Continue Reading
How to (Safely) Train Legs if You Have a Back Injury
You walk into the gym pain-free. After going through your trusty squat warm-up, you apprehensively unrack the bar for the first time, anxiously waiting for a spasm or shockwave to radiate across your body ... Continue Reading
Your 4-Step Cheat Sheet to Start Lifting Weights at 40
You might falsely think that resistance training is a young man's (or woman's) game — this could not be further from the truth. Being “over the hill” may seem like a deterrent, but there is absolutely ... Continue Reading
8 At-Home CrossFit Workouts You Can Try Today
Whether you’re just starting out in CrossFit or compete regularly in the Open, there are certain things about CrossFit that seem non-negotiable. To be a "real" CrossFitter, it may feel like you need to ... Continue Reading
Learn the Best TRX Exercises for Your Experience Level
In 1997, Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick was on deployment and wanted to get in a solid workout. According to legend, he created his first version of the TRX suspension training system out of a jiu-jitsu belt and ... Continue Reading
The Best Bodyweight Leg Workouts to Crush Leg Day Anywhere
Your legs have some of the largest and strongest muscles in your entire body. You might have the roundest biceps in all the land, but tree trunk legs are going to load up so much more. If you’re able to ... Continue Reading
Build a Big Back and Strong Core at Once With the Renegade Row
There’s some truth to the expression less is more. But sometimes more is more, and when it comes to exercise selection, the renegade row is a prime example. This movement combines a ... Continue Reading
How to Do the Dumbbell Pullover for a Bigger Back and Chest
Serious strength athletes and steadfast gymgoers know that prioritizing heavy compound movements will always do more to get you bigger than single-joint accessory exercises. But isolation moves are not ... Continue Reading
10 of the Best Back Exercises for Beginner to Advanced Weightlifters
In weightlifting, every day is back day. Moving the barbell involves using the strength of your whole body, and your back is a prime contributor to your success both on and off the platform. Whether you're ... Continue Reading
The BarBend Guide on How to Start CrossFit
The growing world of CrossFit is only getting bigger as endurance athletes, lifters, and all-around beginners continue turning toward community-based intense workouts to achieve their fitness goals. But ... Continue Reading
How to Do the Goblet Squat: Proper Form and Variations
The goblet squat is a great exercise and teaching tool to help you graduate to other squat variations, or to just build a bit of leg muscle. This front-loaded squat variation ensures that you stay upright, ... Continue Reading
Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 Workout Program, Explained
Sometimes your training just needs a good stiff kick in the butt. If you're the type of chronic program-hopper that constantly wonders if your workout routine is adequately servicing your fitness goals, ... Continue Reading
Learn the Deficit Sumo Deadlift for More Pulling Strength and Mobility
Want to stir up some trouble between strength athletes? Bring up their deadlift stance. Sumo deadlifts are controversial, to say the least. To some, taking a sumo stance is cheating. You can lift more ... Continue Reading
What Is the X-Frame In Bodybuilding and How to Get One
Hang around in bodybuilding circles long enough and you’ll more than likely have heard someone make a comment or two about the elusive “X-frame.” You might have smiled and nodded along even though you ... Continue Reading
Learn the Good Morning for a Seriously Strong Posterior Chain
The name tells you absolutely nothing about the exercise, but lifters laud the good morning for its ability to increase hamstring and glute strength, teach proper hip hinge mechanics, and help ... Continue Reading
Let the JM Press Be Your Key to Bigger and Stronger Triceps
Your triceps — the muscle that sits on the back of your arm and flexes your elbow — are important for building bigger arms and moving more weight on the bench press. And few moves are better at ... Continue Reading
How to Exercise Once Per Week and Make it Count
If you had it your way, you’d work out every day of the week. A good training split will often have you training anywhere from three to five days per week, sometimes more. On a push-pull-leg routine, you ... Continue Reading
Try Out the Best Split Squat Variations For Every Experience Level
Building your lower body is a mainstay of your program. You deadlift and squat all the time. But training your lower body while making sure to training both legs equally may be something your program has ... Continue Reading