Archive for Exercises
Does Lifting Weights Make You Smarter?
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Beast-like strength. A humongous, visually stunning physique. Explosive power for sports. Weight training has numerous benefits, but here’s one you might not have considered: lifting weights makes you smarter.
There’s a ton of evidence to directly support that claim, as well as the more general: exercise makes animals smarter (their brains work better) and more effective at navigating their environments (their bodies work better).
What about specific, practical evidence of this revelation? Actually, why should it be considered a ‘revolution’? It’s pretty clear that the mind and body work together. Until very recently, we relied almost entirely upon our physical prowess for survival in the wild. Read More→
5 Killer Exercises for Shoulder Mobility
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A couple weeks back, we discussed a few key points to good posture. In today’s white collar world, many have found themselves somewhat permanently hunched over. I say somewhat because with the tips we reviewed, anyone can achieve perfect spinal alignment. Today, we’ll examine some of the best exercises and mobility drills for those looking to achieve ideal posture. Read More→
Home Gym Buyer’s Guide – Part 1: Barbells
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A friend of mine asked me a little while back about which gym he should join. He lives amidst an uncontrollable suburban sprawl, and though there are a ton of gyms in the metro area, they all seem somehow compromised. He narrowed his choices to two options, but one is relatively expensive and the other only has one power rack (but it does have three smith machines 
). I told him to move, find a home near a gym of a harder core (my recent cross-country move was heavily weighted by the search for a well-equipped powerlifter-friendly gym), but instead he joined the expensive health club.
If you don’t want to be stuck in a place that threatens to kick you out for doing anything resembling getting really strong and muscular, then it might be time to consider equipping the garage or basement with your home gym. In this multipart series starting today, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the dos and don’ts of buying home gym equipment. Read More→
The BEST Beginner Training Program
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The best training method for new trainees is Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. This simple template will pack on muscle and make new lifters stronger than any other program I’ve witnessed. I wasted plenty of time doing silly routines copied from bodybuilding magazines, only to learn the hard way that those bodypart split systems only work well for dudes with, ah, let’s just say they’re getting a little extra help from the needle. The amazing thing about SS is that even after all that silly training, I still gained size and strength from using its simplified outline.
Despite being an internet legend, or perhaps because of its wiki-fied viral spread, SS is widely misunderstood and misused. Some versions only use the five major barbell exercises Coach Rip devoted a couple hundred pages to describing in his signature witty style. Other ‘versions’ of SS float around the internet. A change here, a change there; soon enough, you’ve got guys doing ‘Ripetows’ that miss many of the key points from the irreproachable original. I’m going to discuss what I feel is the ideal program for new trainers. Those familiar with his work will understand why I’m giving much thanks and a lot of credit to Rip, but you can still learn a thing or two about how to properly utilize SS: Read More→
Movement Mastery – How to do Pullups
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Big bulging biceps! They’re the symbol of strength in our culture, yet few have them. Plenty have tried countless curl variations, only to find that they’re not going anywhere. Perhaps they should have started with pullups and chinups. Pull-ups and chin-ups (chins) are one of the best ways to increase your grip, pulling strength and upper body size. They work your forearms, biceps and lattisimus dorsi (lats), plus chinups work the long head of the triceps. Having strong lats helps to balance the strength you’ll gain by increasing your bench press, plus strong lats actually help you push the bar off of your chest. Read More→
