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A blog about strength training for men and women. All types of strength - maximal, explosive, bodyweight etc. How to perform exercises, how to maximise your training or try something new, debunking myths about women's weight training and introducing new
Recent Posts Tagged With 'Technique'
How-to: Front squat
The front squat is a very useful exercise that is not often seen in the average gym. But it is unjustly neglected and some coaches even prefer it to the back squat. What is a front squat? Holding the bar across the front of your shoulders, squat down...
Breathing in the bench press
I recently started holding my breath throughout my heaviest bench press lifts. I never used to do this in the bench press as I wasn’t taught that way, but in the squat and deadlift I consciously hold my breath throughout the rep and it seems to hav...
Kettlebell training guide
Following on from Crossfit London’s excellent Ring Training guide, they have now published a Kettlebell Training guide, which I am stocking. Like the Ring Training guide, this Kettlebell Training guide is a snip at only £3.50 and if you buy it via...
Improve your running mile
Photo by latvian Being able to run fast and strong is a pretty useful skill. Although it is trendy in some strength training circles to bash running and other cardio exercise, the fact remains that it is useful – even necessary – for taking part ...
Push press
This is the seventh article in my series of Top 10 Functional Strength Exercises. The aim of this series is to introduce some of my favourite strength exercises, that people may not be aware of or may not have tried. What is the push press? A push p...
Overhead squat
This is the sixth article in my series of Top 10 Functional Strength Exercises. The aim of this series is to introduce some of my favourite strength exercises, that people may not be aware of or may not have tried. What is the overhead squat? The ove...
Chin-up tips
I went for a max chin-up attempt the other day and got 11 good reps with the form I was aiming for. Going over 10 reps was a milestone for me as I was stuck on around 7 or 8 for ages! However, once I had broken through that particular plateau, progre...
Muscle-up and ring training guide
The muscle-up is one of the most challenging tests of strength for the amateur trainee. If you’ve mastered dips and pull-ups and you are looking for your next challenge, add the muscle-up to your arsenal. If you want to learn this difficult mov...
Indoor rowing technique
Indoor rowing is one of the most misunderstood exercises in the gym. This is partly because indoor rowing is somewhat counter-intuitive: it looks like a machine where you just pull on the handle as hard as you can. Few people really think that going ...
Dip
This is the fifth article in my series of Top 10 Functional Strength Exercises. The aim of this series is to introduce some of my favourite strength exercises, that people may not be aware of or may not have tried. What is the dip? The dip is an uppe...
Exercise technique
This is the fourth article in the series Getting into weight training: a female-friendly guide. 1. Why lift weights? 4. Exercise technique 2. Types of weight training 5. Training programmes 3. Starting out 6. Create your own programme Exercis...
My deadlift: then and now
Anyone who has been following my personal deadlift saga might remember that I was on a mission to fix some errors in my form by dropping the weight right down and concentrating on technique. Finally, I am back to the weight I was at before I began th...
What do you do when you see someone lifting with bad form?
Commenting on a fellow trainee’s form seems to be the ultimate no-no in today’s fitness clubs. Recently I’ve seen some poor deadlifting form in my gym. Basic stuff: rounding of the lower back, hyper-extending at the top of the lift, that kind o...
