Strength is a lifestyle.
When is stronger not better? I would rather have a strong argument, a strong cup of coffee, and a strong handshake. Everything gets better with strength. Learn the fundamental Bodyweight and Kettlebell lifts for a lifelong pursuit of strength, hypertrophy, and power. “Bodyweight” exercises are an inch wide and a mile deep. When we can always add an external load or change the range of motion (e.g. create a deficit) to find the right intensity;) Increase your mobility and flexibility to express even more of your strength and power. Tutorials, programs, videos, and articles. Use the search bar below to find what you are looking for, or use the dropdown menu in the archive to search in categories. There are 5 categories: Mobility, Stability, Push, Pull, Lower Body.
Mobility- Mobility and flexibility drills that can be used as movement prep before lifting; as a daily movement practice to address restrictions/limitations; or post training/activity as restorative movement.
Stability- These are non-programmable movements/drills that will look like physical therapy. These are activation drills that can be helpful movement prep that teach body awareness. Basic Trunk stability, Rotational Stability, Glute activation, etc. Depending on your skill level/ability you may not use any of these movements or they may make up the bulk of your training as you build up to compound lifts.
Push, Pull, Lower Body- The big multi-joint exercises that take you through large ranges of motion. These are the lifts that build strength, power, muscle, and performance.
Wide Grip Pull-ups
Spending time with Wide Grip Pull-ups will expand your understanding of Pull-ups. You never know what you will learn from a different variation that you can apply to your primary lift. Wide Grip Pull-ups will help you feel your lats and upper-mid back working. When you do come back to conventional Pull-ups you will feel stronger and more powerful because you have a better concept of how to engage your lats. You might discover that a deep Thumbless Grip gives you more leverage and improves your 1RM. Grip width is a spectrum and limb length makes grip width unique for each lifter. Playing with a wide grip can help you find a better conventional Pull-up grip that might be a hair narrower than you thought it should be.
Opening and Closing the Ribcage for Pull-up Performance.
There are many variations of Pull-ups/Chin-ups and a progression to challenge every skill level. Pull-ups/Chin-ups are a lifelong pursuit and can be included in your training plan forever. They are an essential lift and a skill to develop. It is easy to see that Pull-ups/Chin-ups are an upper body exercise, but the abdominal muscles play a critical role. The Abs control the J-shaped curve of the Pull-up/Chin-up; improve efficiency for high rep ranges; and when used correctly will help you hit a heavy 1Rep Max. The Abs do this in the way that they control the opening and closing of the ribcage.