How To Zercher Squat: One Exercise To Rule Them All

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We all want that golden ticket. The one-size-fits-all exercise and perfect program. You know – the one that makes us look like the Hulk as long as we follow that program to the T.

Well folks, that all sounds great. But in reality, we know there is no one-size-fits-all exercise, program, food, or supplement… PERIOD.

However, I have a secret weapon exercise that will get us really close; it has a lot of bang for its buck. It builds massive quads, big glutes, a wide back, and some awesome biceps. Exactly what every athlete needs.

Meet the Zercher Squat

What an exercise! It almost sounds mythical. I would say that outside of most strength and conditioning coaches and the athletes we implemented it with, very few people have heard of a Zercher Squat or know what is.

The Zercher Squat is a heck of an exercise: you hold a barbell in the crease of your arms and squat up and down. What makes it so great? This movement has a lot of details hidden in it for athletes to make major gains:

1. Tension: It creates and teaches you to generate a lot of tension throughout your body. We need to learn how to brace and squeeze. Due to the bar’s placement, we subconsciously, or naturally, must contract all the right places.

2. Toughness/Grit: I’m not going to lie – this movement doesn’t always feel great. Many athletes may need to wrap some form of padding around the bar for a while. That’s just the cost of admission though. The mental fortitude you need to perform the exercise will pay off.

3. Safety: It is very hard to load this exercise to the point of increasing an athlete’s risk of injury. Also, if the athlete gets in trouble, they can just bail by dumping the bar out in front of them. No spotters needed.

4. Mobility: We struggle with many lifting movements due to not being mobile enough to access the correct positions. The Zercher doesn’t require much mobility, and mimics natural movement, making it a good fit for the majority of the athletic population.

Any drawbacks? It can be awkward, but it’s well worth it.

How to Perform a Zercher Squat

1. Set the rack up just below your elbow

2. Put the bar in the crease of your elbows and keep them tight to your sides

4. Squeeze your hands together or have palms facing the ceiling

5. Get your hips under the bar, grab a big belly breath and stand it up from the rack

6. Take a couple steps back, settle the bar, and grab more air if you can to brace

7. Squat down until your elbows touch your thighs or fall in between

8. Stand up. Repeat and get massively athletic.

No Rack? No problem. You can perform a Zercher deadlift with the bar resting on the floor. You can also do a conventional deadlift it, then let the bar rest on your knees, scoop it up at the elbow crease, and go right into your squats. Don’t forget to try Zercher carries for some serious core work.

Zercher Squat From Rack

Deadlift to Zercher Squat

Zercher Deadlift to Zercher Squat

When to Program the Zercher Squat

Add Zerchers as an alternative to any of your current main squat movements. They’re relatively interchangeable for volume and intensity as well. Try changing your program’s back squat to Zercher squats for the next block and see what kind of weight you can handle.

Train strong!

– Ryan

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Top 6 Exercises for Managing Shoulder Injuries

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What to Do for an Injured Shoulder

After 6 years of coaching at the highest levels across multiple disciplines, the most common issues I see in my sports therapy clinic have to do with the shoulder. Statistics show us that shoulders are the most commonly injured area in many sports including CrossFit, weightlifting and rugby.

I give my athletes, from beginners to Olympians, 6 common exercises to help them prevent nagging injuries around life and training. Most of these exercises look at one of these key principles:

Strengthening the Lower Traps

Often neck and shoulder pain comes from an imbalance between upper and lower trapezius The lower trapezius should be the primary agonist once the arm is raised above 60° but is often neglected in favor of the upper traps.

Building the Infraspinatus

This muscle should be responsible for the first stage of raising the arm, but in athletes with poor mobility it is often trapped, and doesn’t properly generate force when lifting the arm overhead. This is the muscle that is often ‘pinched’ in the shoulders due to being weak and having an overzealous upper trap. Simply strengthening it can help avoid trapped nerves and numbing sensations down the arm.

“Functional redundancy” of the upper traps without weakening them

”Overactive” upper traps can cause all sorts of issues, pathologically as well as in terms of performance, even leading to increased concussion risks and migraines. Effective training of deep cervical tissues can help prevent and fix this.

1) Supinated Grip Cable Machine Rows

This is a great exercise for focussing on shoulder blade retraction under constant load and is easier to mitigate for grip strength than a chin up (which are also excellent)

Check out this demo video of IRONMAN athlete Kloe Gibson as we incorporated the exercise into her program to help with postural efficiency for her sport.

• Palms facing upwards.
• Lean forward to allow for shoulder blades to slide forward, pull them down and back as you row. Push your elbows backwards like you’re ‘trying to unhook your bra’, for those of us that know about such things.

2) Modified Cobra Pose / Diamond Push Ups

An interesting study looking at the electrical muscular stimulation of the lower trapezius found that these positions were some of the best body weight only movements to do so.

• Focus on a squeeze in between the bottom of your shoulder blades and allowing them to move as you press.
• Holding hands further back on either exercise will help here.
• Try holding a cobra pose with your hands by your side, palms facing upwards for time as well.

3) Dead Hangs

Dead hangs allow for space in joints at the shoulder girdle. There is some reasonable research that links benefits experienced by our monkey ancestors and a relief in pain from modern human lives.

For an extra bit of fun try out a gibbon grip dead hang by turning your wrists out so your palms face backwards.

• Play around with pulling into your lats, mid back and shoulders while you perform these.
• Use straps if you need to hang for longer.

4) Low ROM Lateral Raises

Keeping the range of motion limited on these (around 60°) will help in building the infraspinatus, preventing the levator scapula from pulling against the shoulder blade as much.

• The first 60° of raising the arm should be primarily performed by the infraspinatus
• Turn pinkie fingers up to the ceiling to help and keep tension off traps and in the deltoids and rotator cuff

5) Lu Raises

These are an extension of the lateral raises and the shoulder should be trained through a full ROM in general. If they’re good enough for the Chinese Olympic lifting team they should work wonders for you, provided you start light and focus on good scapula movement.

• Focus on keeping a neutral rib cage by bracing into core, think about keeping your sternum and pelvis in the same place throughout.

6) Neck Flexion and Extension

Going very light with these has been shown to cause what’s known as functional redundancy of the upper traps. This means that instead of using your traps to turn your head (when they should just be for lifting your shoulder blade and hyper extending your neck) the deeper muscles of your neck will do it, allowing for proper positioning and usage of the other muscles in your neck and shoulder.

• The same focus should be made in keeping the rib cage and shoulders still
  Move through a range of motion that is comfortable to you with a very light weight (see my article about neck training for further details).
• You could also try doing these while biting onto a towel which can help in activating the scalene muscles in the neck. This can cause what is called reciprocal inhibition of the muscles at the back of the neck (like how your triceps relax as you perform a bicep curl).

This list is certainly not exhaustive and you should seek medical advice if you’re struggling with chronic pain. Feel free to check out my neck training program if you’re having issues around your neck or shoulders. It can be dropped into most training regimes and is an extremely cost effective way of helping your ailments.

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3 Killer Kettlebell Mobility Exercises for Your Shoulders

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Let’s face it: sometimes your shoulders feel rickety even on good days. But overhead mobility and good upper body articulation is so important for everyday life — it pays major dividends to dedicate some time to working on your shoulder strength through all ranges of motion.

We love to see healthy, pain-free shoulder joints here at TH. Check out this blog for three kettlebell shoulder exercises to work into your next training session.

Time to Work on That Sticky Shoulder Mobility

Low back pain might be the most prevalent injury among those who train, but shoulder issues are arguably a close second.

Whether it’s an impingement that limits range of motion, hypermobility that makes dislocation more likely, or the dreaded rotator cuff tear that keeps orthopedic surgeons busy to the tune of 250,000 repair procedures each year, shoulder problems are pervasive.

This means that regular shoulder mobility work is a must. But sometimes people are coming at the problem with the goal of removing restrictions and adding greater range, when in fact what’s lacking is stability and strength.

Even when people realize this, their attempted solutions fall short.

Endless variations of “rotator cuff exercises” – see five kinds of shoulder flys, endless scarecrows, and three-pound Granny weights – are the go-to, and yet often produce little more than local soreness.

While a few of these movements have a place you have to understand that there are other “big rock” exercises that do much more to stabilize and strengthen the muscles and other tissues of the shoulder and scapula area.

Three Shoulder-Focused Kettlebell Exercises

Here are three kettlebell exercises focused on shoulders to add to your training repertoire.

1. Single Arm KB Shoulder Press

OK, you could derive a lot of benefits from shoulder pressing a barbell with both hands.

But only using one arm adds an additional stability component and will help you avoid “cheating” with your stronger side while hiding the deficiency of the weaker one.

Making the shoulder press unilateral will also ask more of the inactive side, as it has to counterbalance the force you’re generating with the active arm.

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
• Pick up a kettlebell in one hand and hold it to your collarbone, with your palm facing your chest.
• Bracing your abs and squeezing your glutes, straighten your arm to press the kettlebell overhead.
• Lower the weight down under control, and use the stretch reflex to initiate the next rep.
• Complete the desired number of reps, then switch sides.
  

Form tip: Keep your active wrist straight, and create stabilizing tension by balling the hand of the non-active arm into a fist. Try to keep the path of the kettlebell straight up and down.

2. Overhead Carry to Suitcase Carry

Like the single-arm kettlebell press, you could use a dumbbell for both of these carry variations and/or a short bar for the suitcase one.

However the compact design of the kettlebell and concentration of mass in a smaller area makes it easier to obtain and preserve the proper alignment, particularly with the overhead component in which your shoulder is most vulnerable.

• Repeat the first three steps of the single-arm kettlebell press.
• Walk down your driveway, across your garage (check overhead clearance first!), or between two cones.
• Keep going until you start to feel slight fatigue in your arm, shoulder, or thoracic spine, then slowly lower the weight until it’s down by your side.
• Continue walking until you again fatigue a little, then switch arms and start over in the overhead position, before transitioning to the suitcase carry.
  

Form tip: When the weight is overhead, imagine a straight line running through your hip, wrist, elbow and shoulder. Start with a lighter weight that you think you can handle. When transitioning to the suitcase carry, put the weight further back than you might initially, so your active hand is between your side and back pockets.

3. Turkish Get-Up

Of all the exercises you can do to sort out your dodgy shoulders, the get-up arguably reigns supreme. Why?

Because it requires both a horizontal (when you’re lying on the floor) and overhead press position and tests the integrity of your shoulder complex while static and in motion. Plus, unlike many movements, the get-up involves controlling the path of a kettlebell across the transverse plane, which is why folks like the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) prescribe it for golfers.

Not to mention that the off-arm has to provide stabilization through the shoulder as you maneuver your body from lying, to a lunge, to a standing position, and then back down. As the get-up is a highly technical exercise, you can follow the directions below and check out the video, but you’ll be best off seeking a coach to make sure you’re getting the finer points down.

• Lie on your back with your left leg straight and left knee bent, with your right leg flat on the floor. Then position a kettlebell next to your left shoulder and grip the handle with your left hand.
• While still gripping the kettlebell with your left hand, use your right hand to help move it toward the center of your body and then extend your left elbow.
• As soon as your arm is locked out, allow your left shoulder to move to the back of the socket. Your left hand and elbow should be in a straight line over your left shoulder. Try to maintain this alignment throughout the rest of the exercise.
• Roll onto your right elbow, keeping your gaze fixed on the kettlebell.
• With your right arm staying straight, push off the ground with your right leg and extend your right elbow with the right palm flat on the ground and positioned in a straight line down from the other arm, which is still gripping the kettlebell overhead.
• Squeeze your butt muscles and drive off the ground with your right foot as you extend your hips toward the ceiling.
• Use your right arm and leg to support you as you pull your left leg under your hips. Then place your right knee underneath your torso, making sure that you keep looking up at the kettlebell.
• Move your bodyweight toward your right side and get your torso upright. As soon as your right hand comes off the ground, pull your shoulder back and turn your arm outward. You should be in a lunge position.
• Use your left leg to push yourself up out of the bottom position of the lunge with your torso remaining upright and weight centered over your hips.
• Bring your right foot forward so it meets the left, and stand up with your feet facing forward and shoulder width apart. Your left arm should be fully extended overhead and your right arm straight out in front of you.
• Reverse the pattern to return to the floor.

Form tip: Don’t ever do an AMRAP-style workout with get-ups, but rather focus on quality and take your time between reps. In some sessions, reduce the weight (again, this should be lighter than you think you can lift to begin with until you nail the correct technique) and pick one segment of the get-up to pause at during each rep (e.g. the lunge with arm overhead, or rolling onto the elbow).

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Think incline bench is just another bodybuilding accessory lift? Well, it is. But it’s also a killer strength builder for your entire upper body, including the largest muscle — your pecs. Incline bench is done at an angle between flat bench and standing strict press, so you get a stimulus that’s somewhere in between.

Joseph Lucero, owner of Harvesting Strength, is a powerlifter and strongman coach with years of practical S&C experience in high school, collegiate, and professional settings. Check out his guide on the incline bench and its variations.

Beefier Pecs Incoming

We already know that bench press is the king of all upper body lifts. Ask any gym-goer. However, with great power comes great responsibility. And if the bench press was as wise as my uncle Ben, he would tell you to stop focusing on just the flat bench press.

Performing the flat bench has massive benefits — there are tons of books and articles written about the standard bench press and how to get stronger at it. But if you only do flat bench, you’re missing out on the gains that allow your chest to grow fully. What else do bodybuilders and powerlifters do to get those big, rounded chesticles?

Enter the incline bench.

Let’s get straight into it with a refresher on the structure of those big bodacious chest muscles.

Chest Anatomy

First, let’s change our terminology. Instead of referring to them as the “chest muscles”, let’s call them by their scientific name which is pectoralis major. Now, if there’s a major, there’s a minor. The pectoralis minor only really functions to help with stabilizing the scapula (shoulder blades) to your chest cavity.

When looking at the upper body, the pectoralis major is one of the largest parts of your anatomy. The pectoralis major serves the functions of adduction and internal rotation of the upper arm. This means the pectoralis major helps with various forms of extension (commonly known as “pressing”). Pressing can be done in many different planes of motion, as in traditional exercises like the flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, dips and overhead press.

When you change the direction of the pressing motion, you change the fibers that are being engaged.

When talking about the fibers of the pecs, we are talking about the two main segments which are the “sternocostal” middle region and the “clavicular” upper region. These two regions of the pectoralis major are tough to stimulate simultaneously, unless we consider using the incline bench press exercise.

When using the incline bench press, we’re targeting both the middle region and upper region of the pectoralis major. And if this is the case, that means we’re performing a dominant movement that can build a thicker chest.

Incline Bench Points of Performance

What brings value to this movement has to do with specific details of performance which includes things like set up, grip, modifying execution, different types of equipment and variations of the lift as well.

Set Up

The incline bench predominantly uses a barbell or dumbbells. The perk of using a barbell has to do with overloading the chest and providing a higher stimulus from heavier loads. The problem with a barbell, though, means you need an incline bench setup or something similar. For those without it, using an adjustable bench is fine. You can also elevate one end of a flat bench.

When setting up the incline, it’s ideal to perform this movement between 30-45 degrees. Adjusting a bench higher than 45 degrees changes the press into a shoulder dominant variation.

I suggest using a slightly lower incline to work on the middle region of your chest. Increasing the bench to 45 degrees helps work both the middle and upper regions of the chest.

Grip

If you want to improve your pressing, you need to learn about grip. People think benching with a wide grip means they’ll limit range of motion, improve strength and “stretch” their chest. But a wider grip could cause issues with your shoulder joint.

Compared to a flat bench, not many people are strong from an inclined position. My suggestion is to maintain a grip that is either shoulder width apart or just a fist size outside of that grip. This grip allows you to displace resistance a little better across all your pressing muscles.

Speaking of pressing muscles, the pecs are only one group of muscles you use to press. The secondary movers of a pressing motion are the triceps brachii and the anterior deltoids. Depending on grip and touch point, the triceps and rear delts could have more or less of an influence on the movement.

For those who struggle with the incline press or have an injury, there are other ways to alter your grip. You could use a multi-grip bar to change your hand placement from pronated to neutral, or use dumbbells to adjust your grip for more comfort.

Press

Start off by setting the incline to 30-45 degrees. The higher the incline, the higher the engagement you have with the upper region of your chest (the clavicular head).

Make sure your eyes are below the bar during setup. Grip the bar so it rests across your palms to make sure your wrists are not excessively flexed or extended.

Unrack the weight and place the bar above your upper chest where your touch point will be. Lower the bar by bending your elbows, making sure they’re tucked in toward your lats, keeping your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Retract your shoulders to make your back stronger during the descending motion.

Touch the bar to your chest, then push the weight back up, keeping your elbows under the bar. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Incline Bench Variations

Depending on your anatomy, you should consider other variations of the incline bench. These variations below can serve a specific purpose for some people, be it working around an injury or just trying something new.

Spoto Incline Press

The spoto incline press involves performing reps within 1-2” of your touchpoint. This allows the motion to stay tense without bouncing the bar off your chest. It also helps reduce the range of motion for those who have issues with the shoulder joint.

Tempo Incline Press

This type of variation helps to improve “time under tension” for those who want to fatigue their chest without excessive volume. Other benefits of the tempo include improving stability and building “elastic tension” for better pressing power. For those concerned, the tempo should last 5-6 seconds on the descending phase and 0-3 seconds on the ascending phase based on strength goals or hypertrophy goals.

DB Incline Press

The dumbbell incline press allows the lifter to freely move their resistance. This can be beneficial to stretch the movement further as well as move the weight closer to the midline of the body for the inner chest. I recommend the dumbbell bench to be a secondary movement after a primary barbell movement.

DB Hammer Grip Press

The dumbbell hammer grip incline press helps to prioritize the triceps brachii and anterior deltoids. This can be helpful for those going through an injury or perhaps want to grow those “lagging” muscles that need to get better. It’s also a sports-specific variation that could help in traditional sports such as “blocking” in football.

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Handstands are a gymnastic staple, but unless you took to gymnastics as a kid, they’re not easy to learn. Holding a freestanding handstand for just one minute can take years to perfect, but even the less gymnastically-inclined athlete can learn to do handstand push ups against a wall. (That means you.)

 A guide to getting upside down like a pro

The CrossFit Games popularized handstand push ups as a movement accessible to most people with arms and not nearly as intimidating or time-consuming as a freestanding handstand. Watching professional athletes blow up their shoulders by doing huge sets of inverted push ups is super fun and inspiring. Have you ever noticed how jacked their shoulders are?

Isn’t it time you made it to that point? (Well, maybe not the Games, but definitely the HSPU mastery.)We wrote this guide to get you working on the necessary basics and progressions for handstand push ups. Nailing that upside-down strength carries over into a ton of other movements too, so let’s get crackin’.

Kipping vs strict

The age-old battle of “to kip or not to kip” is so outdated—as with pretty much all gymnastics movements, a pro gymnast can do both. Many coaches encourage building up your strength and coordination prerequisites by practicing the strict movement first. 

For some beginners or novice athletes, there comes a point when it’s easier to pick up the kipping rhythm even if they can’t yet rep out a ton of strict HSPU (just like with strict vs. kipping pull ups).

The value of kipping comes in speed and high-volume output. CrossFit athletes use kipping handstand push ups in fast, intense workouts designed to get your heart racing. Like with pull ups, kipping is programmed more often in metabolic conditioning training (metcons), while the strict version is usually used to build strength and skill. It’s worthwhile to learn both.

How to Do a Kipping Handstand Push up

Kipping handstand push up points of performance

Setup

Find a wall free of distracting objects and with plenty of space. Be wary of any squat racks, nearby equipment, or gym friends who might catch a foot to the face. Place an ab mat or a gymnastic mat against the wall to cushion your head.

Kick up into a solid handstand with your heels against the wall and your hands framing the ab mat. Engage your lats, keep your core tight, spine neutral (don’t let your low back sag), and drive your heels up the wall. You should feel like you’re “reaching” toward the floor or actively pushing the floor away from you. Look out and ahead, not down at the floor, to keep your neck neutral.

Lower

With control, bend your elbows and lower the crown of your head to the mat. Don’t lose tension and crash down or you’ll suffer the consequence of your bodyweight + your neck + gravity. The three points of your head and hands will create a tripod position (like three legs of a camera tripod). Your head is just for stabilization, not to completely support your weight.

Tuck

Holding your tripod position steady, sit your butt back toward the wall and hinge at the waist, pulling your knees down toward your triceps. This is the tucked position where your kip starts. It kind of looks like a waiter in an upside down squat holding a tray over his head.

Explode & Press

The actual push up happens in a series of quick, fluid movements. From your tucked position, launch your feet back up the wall, driving your heels toward the ceiling. The second your hips reach full extension and your body hits a point of weightlessness (Sound familiar? Like all Olympic weightlifting.), use the momentum to press into the floor and extend your arms overhead. You’ll land back in your original handstand position.

The goal is to harness the power from your explosive hip extension to take some of the work away from your core, arms and shoulders. In a strict handstand push up, you don’t get any help from your legs. Try maximizing your hip power by pulling your pelvis in toward your belly at the bottom of your tuck instead of leaving your hips on the wall.

HSPU Scaling, Progressions & Variations

Check out this video for some handstand push up variations and pay attention to their similarities and differences. The pike push up on a box is a great place to start getting the hang of the strict movement while deficit HSPU are more advanced and strength-focused. The freestanding strict handstand push up is Level 10 difficulty, wow.

yoga headstands

Getting confident in every version of a freestanding headstand is a lesser-known secret to handstand push up mastery. When supporting yourself upside down is easy, you don’t have to work as hard to balance. Plus, being comfortable upside down comes with some nice health benefits—it improves your motor control, spatial awareness, and circulation.  

Shoulder mobility

Love it or hate it, having mobile shoulders helps with every overhead movement including handstand push ups. If your shoulders, chest, and lats are stiff, sticky and restricted, it’ll be that much harder to support yourself in proper alignment against the wall. Do some regular soft tissue work and long-hold stretches to open up your overhead positioning. 

barbell push press

The push press is the one right-side up movement that most closely mimics the handstand push up. Your arms and head make a similarly tripod shape while your core and shoulders are doing most of the work. There’s no excessive tuck, but you still bend your knees and use your legs to drive the barbell up before pressing. 

hollow body holds and rocks

A running theme in any gymnastics practice is this: you probably need to get better at the hollow body position. For everything from handstand walks to pullups and bar muscle ups, the hollow body is essential. Handstand push ups are no exception. A strong, stable core keeps your back from arching and holds your body nice and tight when you’re upside down. Nobody likes a banana back.

Wall walks

A surprisingly long and taxing movement, wall walks are perfect for hammering away at some pressing strength and core/shoulder stability. Keep your abs tight and see if you can get your nose as close to the wall as possible. Try not to flop down off the wall. 

Bonus:  Try HSPU Negatives

Kick up to the wall and lower down with a 3-5 second tempo. Pull your knees down to your tuck position so you can come off the wall, then kick up and work the negative again. Just like with pull up negatives, this drills the point of greatest tension for the movement and translates to stronger strict handstand push ups. 

The Benefits of Bodyweight Training

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While fancy new gym equipment and trendy fitness classes come grand go, we’ll always have a tool that we can exercise with at any time and in any place: Our own bodies.

Improve Your Strength & Body Awareness Without Using Weights

Bodyweight training — aka calisthenics, or strength training exercises that don’t require free weights or machines — is essential to a well-rounded fitness routine. Using our own body’s weight to stay in shape is nothing new. World class gymnasts and competitive athletes around the world use bodyweight training to get really good at moving through space.

Some people may be skeptical of a workout that uses no expensive machines or heavy weights, but bodyweight workouts improve strength, endurance, and power, and can burn through major calories. Read on for some convincing reasons to incorporate bodyweight exercises into your workout routine.

Six Bodyweight Training Benefits

There are many benefits to bodyweight training. Let’s take a look at the top six!

Convenient

Adding weight to a workout has benefits. But using your own bodyweight trumps dumbbells and barbells for convenience. With your own two hands and feet (and everything in between), you can accomplish a sweaty and effective workout anywhere–your living room, a hotel room, or outdoors in a minimal space. Some bodyweight workouts can be intensified with an on-hand prop, such as a chair, but it’s not a necessity.

Inexpensive

Although bodyweight moves can be performed at a gym, all you really need is your own body. At-home workouts also mean fewer social distractions.

Efficient

With no dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells in the way, transitioning from one move to the next takes little time. With less rest, your heart rate maintains its elevated level, an important factor for calorie burn. Bodyweight workouts are essentially interval training, meaning alternating bursts of intense activity with periods of no- or low-intensity activity. This has been shown to be more efficient than steady-state cardio.

Customizable

Exercise machines are limited in range of use by their settings, but bodyweight exercises have a multitude of modifications for any fitness level. Take the push-up: varieties range from knees-on-the ground all the way to clap and handstand push-ups.

Multifaceted

There’s a reason the squat and push-up are recommended exercise: Both are compound movements, meaning they engage multiple joints and work more than one muscle group at a time.

Challenging

One of the most important benefits of bodyweight exercise is its ability to improve your cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength all at once. Frequently changing your position keeps the heart rate elevated, while body weight and gravity work together to strengthen muscles. One small study showed just one bout of 10 sets of 10 squat-jumps produced beneficial change in muscle fibers.

Bodyweight Exercises to Replace Machines & Dumbbells

Your gym’s collection of exercise machines is designed to target each and every muscle group. But while free weight and bodyweight exercise require balance and stability, most machines force the body to move weight on a stable, single plane. This type of movement can be unnatural and taxing on the joints. Machines can also have a more limited range of motion when compared to non-machine work, so you may not get as much out of each rep.

Bodyweight exercises focus on the body’s natural movements–pushing and pulling–and have fewer limitations to that range of motion. There are dozens of bodyweight moves that can replace your favorite gym equipment, but here are a few of our favorites.

Replace the Leg Press With a Single-Leg Squat

Also known as the pistol squat, this move is super challenging even without added weight.

HOW TO

Stand with arms extended out in front for balance. Extend one leg toward the front wall (as straight as feels comfortable) and slowly squat down with the standing leg. Keep the back straight and try not to let the knee of the standing leg pass the toes. Raise the body back to standing. To make the move easier, try a few reps gently resting a hand on the back of a chair, or place a chair behind you and just barely tap the butt on the edge between each rep.

See this blog post for a detailed look at the pistol squat!

Replace the Seated Chest Press with Push Ups

This replacement engages the whole body in the push-up, not just the chest muscles.

HOW TO

Start in the plank position with the hands below the shoulders, just outside the chest. Slowly lower the body downward until the chest just barely touches the floor—the lower the better. Keep the elbows close to the body, the back flat (the butt shouldn’t spike up toward the ceiling and the lower back shouldn’t dip toward the floor). Press the body back up to the start position; focus on driving through the hands and keep the core engaged. Make push-ups more challenging by adding a clap between reps, lifting one leg at a time, or placing the toes on a higher surface (like a chair, coffee table, or bench).

Replace Tricep Push-Downs with Bench Dips

Triceps are an often forgotten arm muscle, so they need attention. While the tricep push-down machine can feel pretty awkward and unnatural, dips are a customizable move that will have you feeling the burn after only a few reps.

HOW TO

A variation of the tricep dip can be performed on the ground by bending and extending the elbows. But for an increased range of motion, use an elevated surface such as a stable chair, table, or windowsill. Start by sitting on the edge of a chair, heels of the hands resting on the front edge. Slide the butt off the seat, holding up the bodyweight with the hands. Slowly lower the butt straight toward the floor while simultaneously bending the arms. Keep the elbows tucked in (not bowed out). For beginners, the knees can remain at a 90-degree angle throughout the move. Play with foot positioning: move the feet out, extend the legs, or try lifting one leg at a time. Whichever version you stick with, make sure to keep the back close to the chair and nearly parallel with the chair’s legs.

Replace Assisted Pull Up Machines with Standard Pull Ups

The assisted pull-up machine is a great way to ease into a more challenging pull-up. While this move requires equipment, a pull-up bar can be fairly inexpensive and well worth the investment. It enables you to complete a multitude of pull-up and chin-up variations that target different muscle groups in the arms, back, and abs.

HOW TO

Grip the bar with palms facing away from you, arms straight. Squeeze the shoulder blades back and down. With control, pull the body up toward the bar (for beginners, using a little momentum is okay) until the chin just passes the top of the bar. Squeeze the glutes at the top of the move, then slowly lower back down to the start position. Beginners can start pull-up training with a chair for assistance. Place the chair below the bar and rest the toes on the edge of the seat. Gradually place the chair further away from the bar, so the legs have to extend to reach it, until you can complete a pull-up or two without that extra stability.

Optional Equipment to Amp Up Your Bodyweight Routine

Adding extra gear can produce a more challenging and effective bodyweight workout. By elevating parts of the legs or hanging from a bar, the body has to work harder against gravity or resistance to press and pull through a greater range of motion.

Chair

Great for dips, decline push-ups, Bulgarian split squats, assisted pull-ups, beginner pistol-squats

Wall

Great for wall-sits, wall push-ups, assisted handstand push-ups

PULL-UP BAR

Great for pull-ups, chin-ups, hanging leg lifts, hanging side crunches

SUSPENSION STRAPS

Great for inverted rows, suspended plank, suspended chest presses, suspended lunges

PLAYGROUND

Great for monkey-bar pull-ups, bench dips, bench step-ups, swing rows

Final Thoughts

Bodyweight exercises focus on the body’s natural movements like pushing and pulling. You can do them basically anywhere, with almost no equipment necessary. There are dozens of bodyweight moves that can replace your favorite gym equipment.

We challenge you to try these and find more to add into your training routine every week. Start getting really good at bodyweight movements and watch your fitness gains skyrocket!

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Kettlebells are funny-looking in the world of fitness equipment, but they’re insanely useful for building your strength and conditioning. We’d argue it’s necessary to learn how to use them properly. In the spirit of spreading valuable information, here’s a piece from one of our knowledgeable coaches on how to do both strength and ballistic movements with kettlebells.

Jack McCormick has been a coach and trainer since 2009. He’s worked in a range of settings from college sports performance to tactical S&C. Read on to learn all about kettlebells from him!

Kettlebells Are Your Friends

When I was first introduced to kettlebells in 2007 I honestly thought they seemed gimmicky. They looked nothing like a dumbbell, barbell, or any machine I was familiar with. I had major doubts about their legitimacy as a training tool.

Now I’m proud to say I’ve been a certified kettlebell instructor for the past seven years. I use them in my programming extensively.

I’m a believer in the idea “methods are many, but principles are few.” No one particular tool is the end-all be-all for fitness, so learning to master them all has major advantages.

Some exercises lend themselves best to a kettlebell, or sometimes a KB is the only piece of equipment you have available. Whatever the case, being familiar with kettlebells and the variety of ways they can be used is a valuable feather for any athlete to have in their cap.

In this article, I’m diving into the primary kettlebell movements as well as progressions for each, and some recommendations along the way. The details and finer points of each of these movements can be articles on their own, but this crash-course will give you an idea of the various ways KBs can be used to build effective strength and conditioning in a fun way.

Kettlebell Strength Movements

There are five primary movement patterns I consider when creating a strength program with kettlebells:

1. Hinge
2. Squat
3. Pull
4. Press
5. Carry

There are other valuable movements that don’t technically fall into these categories, but these five movements form the core of my training plans. Let’s get into them!

Hinge

Picking up a kettlebell off the ground is the first step to beginning any strength movement. KB deadlifts are also the foundation for any of the ballistic movements used for power/conditioning.

The kettlebell deadlift allows the weight to start in between your feet instead of slightly in front like with a barbell. It’s a nice first step in learning to load your hinge position, because the external load does not have to clear your knees during ascent.

The first way I progress the single kettlebell deadlift is with the double kettlebell deadlift. Obviously this increases the complexity of the movement with more load. Notice that the athlete uses a slightly wider stance to accommodate the width of two KBs.

Another way I will progress the deadlift is with the single-leg deadlift, using either unsupported stance or in a “kickstand” stance. I see value in learning both of these movements — unilateral strength is important.

The single-leg deadlift offers more challenge by creating a heavy balance demand. This can progress the regular-stance deadlift by focusing on the force production for each leg. Unilateral work like this also develops your balance and stability through a narrower base or by only having one point of contact with the ground.

Squat

The goblet squat is a nice way to load the squat pattern for a couple of reasons. First, it allows you to easily deal with the posterior weight shift required to squat. Second, it allows you to manage load without the compressive force on the spine that a barbell has.

One goblet squat progression is the one-arm kettlebell front squat. This movement teaches you how to maintain the racked position with a kettlebell, which you need to master for heavier loads. It also provides an asymmetrical load that challenges your stability.

Keep in mind: you need to be able to get the bell into the racked position to complete this movement. The most effective way to do this is to learn the “cheat clean.” You should be comfortable using the hip mechanics of the swing to safely guide the kettlebell up to the racked position. You can also use both hands to cheat clean for a heavy goblet squat.

The next progression is a double kettlebell front squat. Once you’re comfortable with a single bell, we can add another one to the other side. The big key with this exercise is knowing that in order to safely load the movement and be effective, you need to be comfortable with the double kettlebell clean. This includes coming out of the front rack position and safely returning the kettlebells to the floor. Practice with light KBs. Once you have this down, the double kettlebell front squat is an effective strength builder!

Pull

Single-arm supported kettlebell rows are a great pulling movement for upper body strength. A kettlebell is more comfortable than a dumbbell for this movement, because the handle is situated directly above the rest of the weight instead of in the middle. This makes the weight less “wobbly” and easier to pull properly.

I like to use this movement for horizontal pulling as my go-to when someone only has a kettlebell available. Get your form right with the video above and start working these into your program!

Press

One of my favorite exercises in all of strength and conditioning, whether using a KB or not, is the single-arm kettlebell military press. I love this movement because it requires you to develop tension in your entire body instead of just focusing on your arm and shoulder.

If you have the proper shoulder mobility to do overhead strength movements, the one-arm KB military press puts the weight on the back of your forearm. This does two things: first, it places the weight directly in alignment over the elbow joint instead of out to the sides like with a dumbbell. Second, the bell resting on the back of the forearm creates an external rotation force on your shoulder. It forces you to train and develop shoulder stability better than with a dumbbell overhead press.

I once trained to pass a test that required me to do a single-arm kettlebell military press with a bell that was close to half my bodyweight. Training for this taught me how to create tension, position my bodyweight to use my center of mass, and use my breath effectively more than any other experience.

Similar to the double kettlebell front squat, I progress this movement to a double kettlebell military press. This is a much more challenging version. Like the front squat, you should be proficient with a double kettlebell clean first to ensure you have the front rack position down.

Carries

I find carries to be tremendously beneficial — there’s a huge bang for your buck value to such a simple concept. There are many different carry varieties you can perform depending on your skill level and programming. Farmer carries, suitcase carries, and overhead carries are some I use often.

The biggest benefits of the carry is the demand for maintaining a neutral spine and encouraging good postural integrity. A less obvious benefit is the reflexive contralateral hip stability demand that occurs with each step.

One of my favorite carry variations is a double KB front rack carry. The double front rack position requires you to support the kettlebells up against your body. It works your core, especially when performed with actively tightened armpits to engage the lats. Pretend you have a $100 bill in each armpit that you don’t want to lose as you walk.

Kettlebell Ballistic Movements

The most well-known kettlebell movements are the ballistic ones. These movements make more sense using a kettlebell rather than a dumbbell. They’re tremendous for developing power and conditioning.

The most commonly utilized ballistic kettlebell movements are the two-arm swing, the one-arm swing, the clean, snatch, push press, and jerk.

All of these movements can be performed with one or two kettlebells (the caveat being that a double KB swing is performed with one in each hand). I like to bias programming for my athletes in this order: two-arm swing, one-arm swing, KB clean and KB snatch. Because this article is meant to be a crash-course in kettlebells, those are the main ballistic movements I’ll focus on for now.

The Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is the foundation for all of the ballistic kettlebell movements. In order to do a double KB press or double KB front squat, one must get the bells into the front rack position. To do this, you need to be confident in both the double and single kettlebell clean, which requires mastery of the single and double kettlebell swing.

When we work backwards from the execution of some of the more advanced movements, it’s obviously important to have a strong foundation with the kettlebell swing. Used for higher weight and lower reps (4-6 or so), the swing can be great for developing power. When done for higher reps with lower weight (8-15 for example) it can be an excellent conditioning tool.

The hip mechanics of the swing are extremely important to get right. Once the bells pass through your legs and you hit hip extension, it’s the bell path and influence of the upper extremities that changes the movement. A well-executed double clean or single-arm snatch should have the same hip mechanics as the two-arm swing.

The amount of power necessary will vary (a snatch has the bell finishing in the overhead position, and a clean has the bell finish in the racked position near the shoulders), but the hip mechanics should look the same. You can think of the amount of power being generated as a volume dial on a speaker system. You must get comfortable turning the dial up and down to get the right amount of power from your hips. This takes practice, but with time and focus it’s a very valuable skill in kettlebell training.

Psst, be sure to check out this article for a more comprehensive breakdown of the kettlebell swing.

Single-Arm KB Swing

The one-arm swing is slightly more challenging than the two-arm swing, because the nature of the asymmetrical load creates a rotational force on the torso that we need to counteract. A well-executed single-arm swing should look mostly the same from the set-up through the end of the movement.

You’ll want to set up as if you’re doing a two-arm swing, then take one hand off the kettlebell and bring it out to the side. Nothing else about the posture should change. The one-arm swing is the bridge between a basic kettlebell swing and a kettlebell clean or snatch.

Kettlebell Clean

Although I don’t use the kettlebell clean extensively as an exercise by itself, it’s critical to understand how to do them if you want to do anything with heavier bells in the racked position. One of the most important things to understand about the kettlebell clean, whether single or double, is that it is different from an Olympic weightlifting clean.

The kettlebell clean is about getting the bells from the ground into the racked position as efficiently as possible. It’s kind of a means to an end. To finish the movement, you want to guide the bells up to the racked position and “spear” your hand through so they rest comfortably on the fronts of your shoulders. Avoid “plopping” the kettlebells on your wrists or shoulders. A common complaint of people using kettlebells early on is the discomfort of the bells landing, but that usually means you need to work on the timing of your spear motion.

The most useful tip I have is to try to punch your hand through the kettlebell faster than you think you should so the kettlebell meets your shoulder comfortably. Performed correctly, it looks fluid. If you struggle with the bell flopping onto your wrists, you’re likely waiting too long to punch your hand through.

Kettlebell Snatch

The kettlebell snatch is a more advanced movement — highly effective for conditioning and also very demanding from a technique perspective. The snatch takes the coordination of the single-arm swing to a new level by requiring you to finish with the bell overhead in a stable lockout position.

It’s critical to become comfortable with the one-arm swing before going into snatches. Notice how the hip mechanics of the demonstrator in the video are virtually the same in both movements. I also recommend being comfortable with one-arm swings as well as understanding the concept of loosely cradling the kettlebell in your fingers and not “over gripping” it.

Points of Performance

1. The kettlebell snatch requires you to have the shoulder mobility to be in a proper lockout position overhead. One way that snatch is taught is by starting at the top position of a military press. From there you learn how to cycle the bell back down in between your legs, through the bottom position of a single-arm swing to park the bell in front of you. If you don’t have the shoulder mobility to finish in a full lockout position, work on that before attempting KB snatches.
2. The snatch also requires you to be highly competent with the single-arm swing and the basic kettlebell swing even before that. Master these two movements, then the KB clean before attempting the snatch to save yourself a lot of trouble and ensure you are on a road to success.

One of my favorite things about the different ballistic movements is how technical they are. I’ve been performing swings and snatches for roughly 13 years, and I still feel like I’m tweaking my technique. Like a surfer on a hunt for the ever elusive “perfect wave,” I feel the swing, clean, and snatch all offer the same challenges.

Some of my favorite workouts are like this:
15 minute EMOM (every minute on the minute)
4 single-arm snatches each side

It’s only one movement, but that gives me 120 opportunities to practice the movement with roughly 40 seconds to think about those reps and self-audit what felt good and what didn’t. Practicing the movement repeatedly and trying different cues/drills can help refine your technique. The satisfaction of searching for the “perfect wave” is equally as powerful in my mind as the physical conditioning benefits of the movements.

For those of you who have never used kettlebells, use this guide and the videos to really get your form down. Practice with light weights and find a coach who can safely teach you the movements and progressions in person. When incorporated properly and safely, kettlebells can be a tremendous addition to your program and can provide a fun method of training using just one piece of equipment.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are my own and not those of my employer nor the organization I am certified by. This article was written on my own personal computer and not as part of any work done for my employer.

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It’s no secret that carrying heavy things will net you serious strength gains. Are you ready to get farmer strong? Check out some solid tips on farmer’s walks and carries in this blog! 

Fred Ormerod is a freelance coach, army reserve medic, nurse, master’s student, and massage therapist. He’s spent a decade working in healthcare and five years coaching in one of Edinburgh’s leading training facilities. 

You’re Strong, But Are You Farmer Strong?

Having grown up in the English countryside, I know how strong farmers can be. I have great memories of watching Westmorland wrestling — MASSIVE sons of local farmers throwing each other about.

I remember being carried by one through a three-legged race as if I weighed nothing at all. “Less than a lamb” I seem to recall him saying, which still bruises my ego today.

It’s easy to understand where this natural, iron strength comes from when you consider that farmers constantly carry heavy loads and work long hours everyday.

How can we, mere mortal gym-goers, learn from this?

Many strength coaches use the Greek myth, Milo of Croton, to describe progressive overload. Milo, a young farmer, carries a calf to market every day until he can carry a fully grown bull into town.

My favorite exercise (and perhaps the most obvious) to take from the daily life of farmers is a farmer’s (or yolk) carry. Both are events in strongman competitions.

There are studies looking at massive improvements in gait analysis and grip strength when training weighted carries. These lifts can be considered to be effective replacements for deadlifts in certain circumstances.

Alongside many other strongman training principles, carries are terrific for building practical, functional, full body strength. Carries are used as a fitness test in the British army and their benefits translate to multiple sports and life skills.

Tips to Crush Your Carries

When it comes to form with a farmer’s carry, it’s easy to over-complicate. The cue I give most of my athletes is to imagine you’re running for the bus with some heavy shopping bags.

In lieu of sensible coaching cues of my own, I spoke to my friend and two-time 80kg Europe’s strongest man, Dean McVie. He represented the Royal Marines at the World’s Strongest Man competition.

Here’s what Dean had to say:

Go Heavy

The stimulus is in the load here. Make sure you’re carrying loads heavy enough to feel hard. You should be breathing heavily and feeling some shoulder burn.

Practice Bracing & Breathing

You might want to breathe as you perform this movement, especially if you’re walking longer distances, so bracing the same as you would for a deadlift or squat (taking a breath and holding it) won’t necessarily work. Allow for some tension changes in your upper body by not bracing as hard.

Work on Your Grip

Farmer’s carries are as much a test of grip as they are of lower body strength. It might be wise to strap up if your grip doesn’t match that of your leg strength to get the most out of the exercise. If you’re using loadable farmer’s carry handles, I’d also advise gripping from the front of the handle. As you start to walk, the weight will shift — having an offset grip will help pull you forward with heavier loads.

Use Small Steps

Even when carrying a lighter load, taking smaller steps will help build good habits for when the load increases. Find your balance as each foot lands. All the more difficult as the load, and its momentum, moves from side to side with each step.

From hours of practice, Dean is able to do it quickly with a car on his back. I’ve even seen him do it with a broken toe.

Use Your Legs!

Let the weight hang as you would with a deadlift – don’t burn out your traps trying to lift the weight up, they’ll get plenty of growth even just holding the weight. Focus on driving your feet into the ground and using your entire posterior chain for strength.\

Try Unbalanced Loads

Using uneven loads — a different weight in each hand — as a part of your training will allow for greater core muscle activation, just be sure to balance out on each set.

I watched half of series 2 of Clarkson’s Farm while writing this to really get in the farming mindset. To find out more about Dean McVie, I recommend checking out this quick strongman documentary: Road to OSG with Dean McVie | Scotland’s Strongest Man

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The clean and jerk is a complex and technical weightlifting movement that requires a solid level of skill and strength. It is a two-part lift that involves lifting a barbell from the ground to the shoulders (the clean), then locking out the barbell overhead (the jerk).

The clean and jerk is one of the two lifts contested in the sport of weightlifting, along with the snatch. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the different phases of the clean and jerk and how to perform each phase correctly.

Brian Chambers is the owner and head coach of Big Bend Strength, an online resource for olympic weightlifting and strength training. Big Bend Strength has produced athletes at the state, national, and international level in weightlifting since 2017. In this blog, he breaks down the clean and jerk piece by piece.

How to Clean Like an Olympic Athlete

We’re going to focus on the full squat clean, not the power clean or split clean or any other variation. The squat clean is the most common and efficient method for moving the most weight possible.

Don’t be fooled by watching the pros make it look easy. There are actually five main phases of the clean:

1. The setup
2. The first pull
3. The second pull
4. The third pull
5. And the squat

It’s important to understand that while there are broad techniques most athletes can apply to their training, you should work on the fine details with a coach if possible.

The Set Up

How you set up for a clean will vary somewhat based on your proportions. A good rule of thumb here is that when viewed from the side, the lifter’s hips should be higher than the knees, the shoulders above the hips, and in front of the bar, the elbow pits rotated in, and most importantly mid-foot pressure.

Those with longer legs may have higher hips and a wider stance, while those with shorter legs may have their hips lower and stance narrower. I suggest experimenting to see what feels the best for you!

The First Pull

The first pull is generally referred to as the pull from the ground until the bar passes the knee. The main priority of the first pull is to not let the bar move forward off the ground and to maintain the same torso angle from the ground to the knee. I prefer to think of this as the “first push” as most people let their hips rise too fast — imagining this as pushing against the ground with your legs helps fix this issue.

In order to prevent the bar from moving forward around your knees, you need to move your knees back out of the way WITHOUT letting your balance shift back to your heels or letting your toes lift. This will help you get a better drive with the legs as you transition to the second pull.

One way to isolate and work on your first pull is with the tempo clean. By slowing down the pull, you can notice and fix things you normally speed through, which has a ton of potential to clean up your technique.

The Second Pull

The second pull happens as the lifter transitions from right above the knee until the extension of the legs (around hip-height). The main goal is to get your knees under the bar enough to have optimal leg drive while still keeping your shoulders in front of the bar. As the bar crosses your knees after the first pull, you’ll need to push your knees forward under the bar without leaning your torso back behind the bar. This solves both of the main priorities of the second pull and allows for maximal leg drive.

This also leads to a more vertical bar path, preventing athletes from pushing the bar away with the hips, resulting in a loopy bar path. A good cue is to try to make your hips AND knees extend at the same time, not hips first, then knees. One drill you can use to work on this is the double pause clean. By stopping above the knee, you can isolate the second pull and make any changes to your normal technique. This solves many issues in the second pull, helping with your power output.

The Third Pull

The third pull can be tricky to understand, but it’s the difference between elite lifts and amateur ones. The third pull happens from the top of the extension to the bottom of the squat. The goal of the third pull is not to elevate the bar any higher, but to use the moment of weightlessness it has at the peak of its height to pull yourself under the bar.

The idea here is that instead of pull, drop, catch, we’re much faster if we pull OURSELVES under the bar. This allows us to meet the bar better instead of having it crash on us at the bottom making the squat much easier to recover from.

Another goal of the third pull is to keep the bar close to the body as we pull under. Rotating the elbows as I mentioned in the set-up portion of the article will make a big difference with this. One way you can practice this is with the tall clean, which is a great drill to learn how to keep the bar close AND has the added benefit of helping improve speed under the bar!

The Squat

Once you land in the bottom of a front squat, you’ll need to stand the weight up to complete the clean. This is a good chance to talk about foot movement. Most people should start with a closer pulling stance, then move their feet out at the top of the extension (third pull) and land in their squat stance. Doing this will help make the squat feel easier and set you up for a better jerk.

Perhaps the biggest key to making the squat feel easy is to meet the bar on the way down with braced abs. These two things allow you to ride the bounce of the squat rather than get pinned at the bottom and be forced to pause-front squat it up and waste a ton of energy on the recovery. Check out this video for a quick front squat tutorial!

Dialing in Your Split Jerk

Let’s focus on the split jerk rather than the push, power, or squat jerk. Most athletes use the split jerk in competition as it has the highest ratio of efficiency:room-for-error.

There are five main phases of the split jerk:

1. Rack position
2. Dip
3. Drive
4. Transition to split
5. Recovery

Rack Position

The rack position for the jerk is sometimes different from that of the clean/front squat. The main priority is keeping a vertical torso and choosing an elbow height that allows you to stay vertical in the dip and drive. While most coaches universally agree, high-as-possible is the best elbow height for the clean, there is much more wiggle room for the jerk.

My personal preference is lower elbows with the shoulders pushed forward, and the bar resting in the palms while behind the delts and in front of the collarbone. You should generally choose a grip on the barbell that’s easy to transition to from the clean. Either the same or slightly wider than your clean grip works for most athletes. This allows you to have the most efficient punch under the bar (though your mobility and proportions may force higher elbow height or a bar placement further toward the fingertips).

Stance is less important, but for most people, I recommend choosing a stance that is wide enough to prevent falling forward in the dip, but not too wide where you lose out on power output. This takes some experimentation. As always, try it for yourself and find what works best for you!

The Dip

The dip is where most mistakes are made in the lift. The dip takes place from the standing rack position to the lowest point the bar goes by bending into your knees. The main priorities of the dip are to keep the torso completely vertical, to control the timing of the dip, and to control the height of the dip.

Most issues in the jerk can be solved by focusing on these main points. If you’re falling forward in the dip, you will likely push the bar forward overhead. If you dip too suddenly, you’ll likely begin the drive too slowly and have the bar crash on you at the bottom of the lift. If you dip too low, you’ll likely fall forward at the bottom of the dip.

One drill you can use to nail your dip technique is the pause jerk + jerk complex, which allows you to fix any issues in the dip before completing the rest of the lift!

The Drive

The drive is often not an issue if the dip was perfect, however, there are a few things you’ll want to focus on. The drive happens from the lowest point in the dip to the highest point of the barbell. The goal of the drive is to maintain a vertical torso, to make the legs do 100% of the work to elevate the bar, and to time the punch under correctly.

While it is mainly a priority in the dip to keep the torso vertical, and not often a huge problem to drive forward out of a vertical dip, it’s still something you should be aware of. A good cue is to drive through the heels as much as possible which should stop you from leaning forward in the drive.

In order to make your legs do the work, your arms should be relatively relaxed throughout the dip and drive. Rely on your legs for the upward power. Only once the bar has reached maximum height do your arms actually take on any weight, but that is for the next phase. If you focus on these cues, you’ll have a TON of success with all variations of the jerk.

The Transition To Split

Once you’ve launched the bar from your shoulders to its highest position in space, you’ll need some fancy footwork to land in a split position. The success of this phase of the lift is largely based on two things; timing of your arms, and the speed/balance of your footwork.

If your legs have done the job correctly in the dip phase, then your arms’ should add speed to the lift by punching your body under the bar into the split. Similar to the “pull under” in the third pull of the clean, the “punch under” takes advantage of the weightlessness of the bar at the peak of the drive. Rather than falling under, we can make the lift faster and more controlled by punching ourselves under the bar.

It’s important to note that if your arms begin working too soon before you complete the drive, or too late after the drive, your timing will be off resulting in a press out or loss of speed. If the timing of the punch is something you need to practice, I suggest using the tall jerk as part of your warm-up. This drill is designed to help lifters feel the punch and use their arms/shoulders to create speed under the bar.

When it comes to footwork and balance in the split, there are a lot of variations from lifter to lifter based on proportions (are we seeing a theme here?), but a good rule of thumb is to aim for these main points:

• Vertical front shin
• Bent back knee
• Back heel off the ground
• Balance 50/50 between both legs
• Torso vertical and core braced

One way you can work on just the footwork element of the lift is to practice bodyweight footwork drills. These are low-impact and don’t tax the shoulders, making it easy to get a ton of practice in. By keeping the timing, footwork, and balance in mind, you’ll be an incredibly efficient lifter, and won’t need to rely on a large amount of strength reserves to move big weights.

Recovering The Split

Recovering from the split jerk takes place from the lowest point of the split to the final point of the lift before dropping the bar. This is a relatively simple phase, with the main goal to maintain stability in the recovery. The key is to prevent the bar from moving forward or backward while you’re standing up. The best way to do this is to use 1-2 shuffle steps with your front foot, then one step forward with your back leg.

This recovery method helps prevent any big steps in either direction that result in the barbell moving laterally. It’s much less likely you’ll miss the lift by taking large, unstable steps. Often lifters will take a big step forward with the back leg, causing the bar to drift forward, sometimes missing the lift at the last moment. Less often, but still happens is taking a big step back with the front leg and missing the lift behind or losing stability.

To work on this, practice pausing in your split position for two seconds each rep to stabilize and give yourself time to remember how to recover correctly. You can also use jerk recovery to isolate and practice just the recovery phase of the lift. (PLUS you’ll be able to go heavier than you could jerk, which is great for confidence in your overhead strength.)

Applying Your Technique Work In Training

We covered a ton of information today, which can leave a lot of people feeling confused about where to start. If you’re brand new to the Olympic lifts, I recommend checking out my FREE beginner weightlifting program. This will take you from never-touched-a-barbell to feeling confident and strong in your snatch and clean and jerk!

If you’re already training the clean and jerk but want to work on each of these phases, then pick out which phase you need to work on, and try the drills I mentioned for each phase. You can make a ton of progress with some periodic, intentional work, either before or after your normal training sessions.

Sample Workout

Double Pause Clean + Double Pause Jerk:

Double Pause Clean: pause above the knee and pause in the power position, then finish the clean as normal.
Double Pause Jerk: pause at the bottom of the dip and pause in the split position

3x (3+3) at 60%
3x (2+2) at 65%
1x (1+1) at 70%
1x (1+1) at 75%
1x (1+1) at 80%

The lighter volume work here will give you plenty of reps to practice, before applying the new techniques you learn on the heavier sets. Give this workout a try and tag me @bigbendstrength on Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube.

PS. I always offer free form checks if you text my community number at 850-306-4544, or DM me on IG for those not in the US.

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Barbell rows are a pretty essential movement for building a strong back, and a strong back is often the foundation of a quality athlete. Is your row form on point?

Jayden Pollard is a passionate powerbuilder (powerlifting bodybuilder) with a background in strength training and sports like basketball and wrestling. He runs the fitness blog SHREDDIT, writing about various health and fitness-related topics. In this blog he outlines how to perform the barbell row plus some common mistakes.

Do Barbell Rows for Massive Back Gains

Ah, the barbell row — one of the best back builders and a classic tried-and-true exercise. But too many people neglect the barbell row in favor of cable, dumbbell, or machine rows, due to lower back fatigue, or simply because it’s too hard.

Well, neglecting this exercise is a big mistake, especially if you struggle to build back thickness. (Personally, I attribute most of my back gains to the barbell row, even more so than pull-ups and deadlifts.)

Machines, cables, and even dumbbells can’t replicate the raw upper back strength you build with this movement. Barbell rows will give you that pit bull back. Big traps, thick upper and mid back, wide lats, and huge spinal erectors — a lot of muscle groups that many people neglect when trying to add mass.

When you add barbell rows into your training and execute them with proper technique, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what it does to your physique.

Muscles Used in The Barbell Row

The prime movers of the bent-over barbell row, or the muscles that get hit the most during the movement, are:

• Lats
• Rhomboids
• Lower/Mid Traps
• Posterior (rear) Deltoids

Your lats, rhomboids, and traps will be doing most of the pulling here. At the top of the rep, you should be trying to squeeze your lats and rhomboids together as you pull up.

You will use your lower back, legs, and core to brace and stay upright during the exercise. Don’t be shocked if you have sore quads, hamstrings, or abs after performing this movement.

The barbell row is a movement that will expose your weaknesses, so be ready for that.

Performing The Bent Over Barbell Row

Setup

You’ll want to set this lift up like you do for a traditional deadlift. Some people like to do this lift off of the rack. I am not one of those people. This lift should be done off of the floor if you want to build real strength, just like a deadlift. Getting the bar over your midfoot is a key component of any heavy pulling movement, which is best achieved when the weight starts on the ground.

Approach the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart and try to get the bar in line with the middle of your foot. Once you have the proper foot position, get into the deadlifting starting position.

Your back should be at around 45-degree angle, with slightly bent knees, hips pulled back, and chest up. The position should feel tight and secure.

Now grip the barbell with a double overhand grip (you can also use straps or an underhand grip), take the slack out of the bar, squeeze your lats, and take a breath.

Pull

Pull the bar from the ground into your belly. Some people like to touch the bar to the ground at a dead stop, while others like to leave the bar hanging an inch or two in the air. I prefer to keep it in the air an inch or two as I am a taller individual, and I lose a bit of tightness when I bring the bar completely back to the ground. This is really the dealer’s choice.

Breathe in on the way up, and let that breath out once you return to the starting position. Don’t release the breath on the way down. The extra stability that this inhale brings is important for keeping stability throughout the entire movement.

These rows should be strict with little momentum used; these aren’t cheat rows.

Coach’s Tip: pull with your elbows, not your wrists. You’ll want to keep your wrists as straight as possible throughout the entire movement. If your wrists begin to curl despite your best efforts, that’s a sign that you’re lifting too heavy.

If you’re just starting out, aim for a 6-12 rep range, as you don’t want to go too heavy on this lift. Having good form is crucial for proper upper back activation. I recommend resting 3-5 minutes between sets, depending on your strength.

Novices rest 3:00
Intermediates rest 4:00
Advanced rest 5:00

Common Mistakes & How To Fix Them

Using Too Much Momentum

This is most common in beginners and novices, but intermediate and even advanced lifters are guilty of this as well.

The use of momentum occurs when one uses too much weight. It’s when a standard bent-over row turns into a cheat row, then usually by the end turns into a bent arm shrug. You start to swing the weight in order to get it up.

The bent-over barbell row should be a smooth/strict pull that almost resembles the seated cable row. You should be lifting with your lats and traps, not swinging your whole body around.

Curling Your Wrists

This one isn’t as obvious as the first one but is almost as detrimental. Curled wrists can be a sign that you are lifting too much weight. Your form might feel perfect, the stance, squeeze, and bar path, but if your wrists aren’t straight, you’re leaving some gains on the table.

Having curled wrists will quickly turn this into a grip exercise, as it puts more strain on your biceps and forearms.

Straightening your grip is a complete game (or should I gains) changer when it comes to the barbell row and rowing movements in general.

Knees Too Close To The Bar

Having your knees too close to the bar, just like the deadlift, will cause the bar to hit your knees or shins on the way down. If you’re lifting in shorts and using a considerable amount of weight, this could result in some pretty nasty knee and shin scrapes.

The scraping is a little annoying, but the main problem with this is the interruption to the set. Hitting the bar against your legs can alter the course of the set. It could cause you to lose your balance, it can shave a rep off of your set, or it can just cause you to lose your focus and balance.

You can fix this by putting an extra inch or two between you and the bar.

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