Always Lift with Proper Form
Lifting with Proper Form I was listening to podcast earlier today and the discussion of form in the weight room came up. This is a big deal when it comes to exercise. Proper form is huge in getting the gains you desire as well as keeping yourself healthy and injury-free. So many times in the gym (especially commercial gyms) you see Kevin Quarter-Squat and Roger Round-Back lifting with the worst form known to man. Not only will these two not get the strength gains that they need to get girls to like them, but they will also [...]
Motivation
Everyday Athletes of Louisville, personal trainer Chance Cianciola shares his thoughts on motivation. I recently downloaded a book on motivation and it is a collection of thoughts from different coaches all over the country about motivation. It made me think about motivation and how I perceive it. Everyone is motivated differently. Some people are motivated by competition while others are motivated by how they look. However it may be, we all need to find what motivates us and use it to its fullest. I know for me, motivation roots from a need to be better. [...]
Facts Needed to Prevent Hamstring Strains
Facts Needed to Prevent Hamstring Strains By: Brad Longazel Once you’ve experienced a hamstring strain, you wish nothing more than for it to never have happened or at least for it to never happen again. The sad truth behind this desire is that once you’ve strained it once, it has an increased risk of reoccurring. This is especially true if you’re performing any activity that requires hip flexion combined with knee extension such as sprinting. If you’re doing sprints in your program, this can be a very dangerous set up if you have a history [...]
Disable Your Strength Limits Focus on Pain
Disable Your Strength Limits Focus on Pain The world of lifting can be narrowed down to one criterion for success—focus. We focus on setting new records, getting in the right nutrients, and staying mobile. What happens to a great number of us all too often is that we get so focused on one goal that all other health factors fall by the wayside. When we're looking for that PR, the anterior knee pain that flairs up, the shoulder that spasms, or the low back twinges that arise are mere obstacles in the way of the [...]
Three moves you should be doing for strength training
Everyone has different goals when it comes to fitness. Some people simply work out to look better while others are striving for certain numbers such as a time on a run or a weight on the bar. Others just know they need to be active to stay healthy. Regardless of the goals one might have, there are a lot of similarities between the different goals when it comes to the program. Whether you are trying to burn fat, gain strength, or stay healthy, there must be strength training involved. Strength training makes our muscles stronger [...]
A Case for Wide Squats
Squats are a staple of any sound exercise program. Whether goblet, front, or back, we need to include them, and we need to squat wide. The value that squats add to quadriceps growth and functional capacity in life is undoubted. However, traditional or narrow stance squats simply don’t provide the same total muscular activity as a wide stance. Conventional wisdom of ideal squat form has been popularized, and anyone with half an interest in strength training will eventually stumble upon information on how to improve and modify the lift. Squats should be looked at as [...]
