February 9, 2012 | Category: Strength Training |  The squat probably gets more of a bad rap than any other strength training movement, the barbell back squat in particular. Many people will choose the leg press machine instead, blaming the squat on their knee or low back injuries. Others will only perform partial squats, fearing injury if they go too deep. Avoiding injury is always a good thing, but avoiding the squat is like refusing to walk because you’ve seen other people trip and fall on the sidewalk. Millions of professional and amateur athletes around the world regularly perform deep squats without injuring themselves, demonstrating that it’s possible to squat safely.
The fact that a properly performed squat is very safe has been presented many, many times by others who are much more qualified than I am. In spite of this, the misconceptions persist, so >> Read full article
December 6, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | On the surface, the squat is a straightforward exercise. You lower the weight, then you drive it back up. Another way to put it is that you flex at the hips, knees and ankles until you reach your desired squatting depth, and then you extend those joints to return to the starting position. Of course, there is a lot more involved in the proper execution of a squat, and the specific movement required at each joint will depend upon the variation you’re using. You wouldn’t know that by observing the manner in which some squats are being performed, though. In particular, I’ve noticed that the hip drive technique is showing up in just about every squat variation, even the front squat.
Now, hip drive is an essential component of a low-bar back squat. If you’re not familiar with that term, hip drive is when you focus on pushing the hips up >> Read full article
February 28, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | In Part 2, we discussed how training volume and intensity may be manipulated to provide optimal strength gains. In order to realize those gains, sufficient recovery is also required and Part 3 will provide some general guidelines for nutrition and rest. Just because I’m presenting these topics last in the series doesn’t mean they are any less important. You can be doing everything right with your workouts, and then sabotage your progress with poor nutrition and/or insufficient rest.
5) Nutrition
Nutrition is a highly complex field, for sure, but the overall principle for losing, gaining, and maintaining weight is very simple. If you want to maintain your current weight, simply eat at caloric maintenance. Want to lose weight? Eat less and/or exercise more. Trying to put on some weight? Eat more and/or exercise less. This holds true irrespective of the macronutrient composition of your diet. For example, if >> Read full article
February 21, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | Part 1 highlighted the need to develop a plan for making progress with properly chosen exercises that will help you build strength effectively and efficiently. Part 2 will deal with the importance of training volume and training intensity. As you’ll see, it’s hard to separate one topic from the other, as intensity is one factor in determining total training volume. Exercise duration and training frequency also contribute to total volume, and they will both receive a brief mention as they are intrinsic to a discussion on training volume and intensity. Please keep in mind that I am presenting general guidelines, as it will be impossible to cover every possible scenario in a single article.
3) Volume
Most weightlifters in almost every commercial gym are doing bodybuilder-styled routines with the requisite volume in training. Performing 5-10 exercises for 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps to failure on 4-6 days per >> Read full article
February 14, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | Do you actively participate in a strength training program? That was the easy question, but here’s the more challenging one: Is your program effective? No one likes to feel like they’re spinning their wheels without getting anywhere, and seeing tangible results is a major motivating factor in adhering to an active lifestyle. So, how can you get the most out of your program? In this series of articles, I’m going to cover the following six general guidelines for an effective strength training program:
- How to make progress
- Exercise selection
- Training volume
- Training intensity
- Nutrition
- Rest and recovery
As you consider each point, note how your current habits compare with the recommendations and then determine if you have any room for improvement. In Part 1 of 3, we will discuss the first two areas, progression and exercise selection.
>> Read full article
January 7, 2011 | Category: Strength Training | Deciding what to write for my first article wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Where do I start, when there are virtually an endless number of topics and issues to cover? After some deliberation, I figured that since developing a base of strength should be at the foundation of any fitness program, then I might as well write about that and make it the foundation of my article base. Much of my future efforts will be focused on HOW to train for strength, but first let’s try to establish a few reasons WHY it’s important for everyone to engage in some form of strength training, even if strength isn’t the main goal.
I say “some form” of strength training because individual needs and goals vary. If you’re a long-distance runner, for example, then working toward a 600-pound squat will probably not be very high on your priority list >> Read full article
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