Maybe you’ve reached a plateau in your workout. Or maybe your fitness goals seem to stay just out of reach. You’ve heard about “muscle confusion” and think that might be the answer to your problem. Jeff Monaco, director of education for Gold’s Gym, sees people get that idea all the time. But the phrase “muscle…
If you’re going to do pull-ups, do them right! Instead of doing 3-4 sets of 10 “ugly” reps, do the opposite! Do 10 sets of 3-4 “quality” reps. You’ll get a better training response with less risk of injury. If you struggle to do a few reps in good form, then work on the eccentric…
First workout of the year and I had the pleasure to do horizontal ring chin-ups (also known as inverted rows). This is a great exercise if it’s done right! Three key points: brace the core and set the shoulder blades to start, and pause in the top (contracted) position. It’s natural for your range to…
The Sicilian Crunch put me on the map many moons ago. Consider this as the reverse action. It’s a negative-accentuated glute-ham raise emphasizing the knee flexion component. If you have access to this machine in your gym, give it a shot. Do 4 sets of 2-4 reps with an 8-second lowering. Expect your hamstrings to…
Frankie Valli’s Grease is certainly a blast from the past and it’s a fitting song for the reverse hyper. You see, most people that do this exercise “blast” out of the bottom and send the lever arm into orbit. Don’t do that! Control the movement. Maintain constant contact with the ankle pad for optimal performance….
The Single-Leg Cable Romanian Deadlift is a deceptive exercise. Judy is able to do it with ease, but it’s far more challenging than it looks. Your stabilizers will be highly active, from the foot right up to the hip and beyond. You’ll definitely feel this one and it doesn’t take much weight to get a…
The maximum overload with triceps extensions typically occurs when the forearms are parallel to the floor. Doing them, however, on a slight incline with cable resistance helps to maintain constant tension throughout the entire movement. In particular, the cable provides a greater amount of tension in the contracted position compared to other versions, so make…
I tend to favour a reverse-band setup when performing the California Press, which is a cross between a close-grip bench press and a lying triceps extension. The band reduces stress on the triceps tendon in the bottom position and promotes accommodating resistance (i.e., less weight at the bottom and more at the top). Give it…
Here’s a great triceps exercise that I’m doing right now. It’s called the High-Pulley Overhead Triceps Extension. It’s done bent-over in a lunge position using a rope. As you extend the elbows, flare the hands out and pause in the contracted position. When you return back to the start, make sure that the forearms make…
The walking dumbbell lunge is a great exercise to do during a body composition phase, but as the weights go up, your grip will fatigue before your legs do. One way around it is to use a heavy weighted vest with lighter dumbbells. For more tips like this, check out 5 Exercise Problems and Solutions.