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The Training Lab is the knowledge hub for online Strength and Conditioning content. We have curated articles designed to empower you to Be Your Best inside and outside the weight room.

This isn’t some fitness blog trying to sell you a cheap diet or a new magic pill. Our writers are sourced from the top minds in the strength training industry. The Training Lab is a forum to share knowledge within a vast network of coaches and athletes around the globe.

Above all, we are here to bring performance to the people.

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How To Zercher Squat: One Exercise To Rule Them All

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.

What Does Paralympic Strength Training Look Like?

Paralympians undergo rigorous training when preparing for the Paralympic Games. While the Paralympics only last about two weeks, getting ready takes place all year, as these athletes are among the most dedicated in the world. Here’s how people with disabilities...

Your Guide to Passive Recovery Strategies

What is Passive Recovery? I don’t think that there exists a complete guide for athletes that tackles the underrated topic of “Recovery-Regeneration” strategies. I plan to disclose a majority of the scientific and practical information that I know of on this topic and...

Top 6 Exercises for Managing Shoulder Injuries

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...

Ballistic vs. Plyometric: Understanding Dynamic Movements

Have you heard the Russian proverb, “once you stop jumping, you start dying”? A little dramatic and fatalistic maybe, but the basic idea centers around maintaining your body’s capacity to perform explosive plyometrics. As we age, we become more risk-averse — injuries...

Winter Warfare: How to Bulk Up This Season

It’s that time of the year to wreak havoc and prepare for a massive winter bulk! But wait, what is a winter bulk? What does it take, and how do we achieve it? Joseph Lucero (CSCS), owner of Harvesting Strength, is a powerlifter and strongman coach with years of...

Top 5 Exercises for a Better Deadlift

How many reps should you do for muscle growth? How can you get a better pump from a movement that usually doesn't make you sore? Tweaking your program to include high-volume and tempo sets is sure to get you the kind of size and strength you want from your training....

TrainHeroic’s Massive Gift Guide for the Fitness Nerd in Your Life

The most wonderful time of the year—when everything is on sale and your inbox is flooded with promos and each time you click “purchase”, you can feel your bank account groan. But man, there is some cool stuff out there. And who doesn’t love giving a unique gift to...

A Deep Dive Into the Mind-Muscle Connection

Ever heard of the "mind-muscle connection" and thought, it's gotta be bogus, right? But some of the top competitive bodybuilders (Arnold included) have used this method in their training and swear by it. Is it real? Are you doing it right? Learn up. Jack Shaw's...

How to Train for a Hyrox Competition

A new competition has arisen alongside the trending buzzword “hybrid athlete”. It’s called Hyrox, and it’s growing rapidly in international popularity. Why? And how can you prepare for a Hyrox competition to make sure you don’t place dead last? Fred Ormerod is a...

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Female athlete standing in gym looking straight at camera while holding a foam roller

How to Use (and Not Use) Your Foam Roller

Foam rollers: one of the most popular and arguably overrated recovery tools out there. Mostly because people don’t know how/why they’re using it. Before you start mindlessly rolling around in pain (and potentially inhibiting your performance), you need to know how...

Fit young woman lifting barbells looking focused, working out in

How To Execute The Perfect Barbell Row

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...

Strong man in gym facing backward on lat pulldown machine doing lat workout

How & Why To Do More Lat Pulldowns

Most people are at least somewhat familiar with the lat pulldown machine. Maybe you used it before, or maybe you hit your head on it a couple of times (yes I’m looking at everyone over 6ft tall, myself included). So what makes this machine so popular, and how can...

Professional athlete sits with a barbell on his shoulders and prepares to back squat. View from the back.

Perfect Your Squat Form

The back squat is easily one of the most famous lifts in the gym. Sure, it’s simple, but a lot of athletes unknowingly perform it wrong due to bad posture, shifting knees, or multiple other reasons. Whether you’re looking to hit a new PB or struggling with bad form...

Man in gym wearing red shirt doing triceps extensions for bigger arms on the cable machine

Tricep Extension Variations

Triceps extensions come in many shapes and sizes, from overhead extensions to straight-bar pushdowns. With so many variations, it’s hard to know which one you should do. And what’s the difference between all of them anyways? Marc Lavallee has trained Canadian...

Young active woman taking a break in the gym and drinking protei

Supplement Primer for Strength & Conditioning Athletes

The amount of misinformation out there on supplements is enough to make your head spin. So many athletes and coaches and influencers touting the benefits of this or that supplement, but wait! Don’t forget to use their referral code for a discount! Which supplements...

Strong female athlete in gym using leg press machine

Leg Press Like A Pro

Leg press: should you do it? Loved by some, scoffed at by others, the leg press is notorious for being used and abused by gym noobs. As long as you do it correctly (aka not overloading and being that guy/gal), the leg press actually offers some great benefits when...

Shirtless man in gym doing hammer curls with two dumbbells for stronger, bigger biceps.

Hammer Curls: Get Bigger, Better Biceps Faster

Want thick, juicy biceps that pop out of your T-shirt? Then you need to do more hammer curls. This curl variation shoots a powerful pump through your biceps and forearms that lead to big gains faster than traditional bicep curls. Sari Terranova is a total supermom,...

Muscular shirtless man with strong abs and core strength in gym setting

4 Core Exercises for Noticeably Stronger Abs

What does it mean to have a strong core? Is it six-pack abs? The ability to do 500 crunches in one sitting? Holding a plank for 10 minutes? If your goal is to develop real core strength, you need to understand the function of your core muscles and exercises that...

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Mobility 101: A Complete Guide

Mobility is hot topic, and vital for anyone spending time in the weightroom.

The ability to have full range of motion in your muscles and joints is one of the most important aspects of training. Improving your mobility can help you workout for longer, reduces joint pain, and can reduce the risk of injury.

In this guide you’ll learn more about mobility, who it impacts, why you should be focusing on it no matter what your age or training history, and how to tame common mobility hot spots from head to toe.

Olympic Weightlifting 101: A Complete Guide

In this article, Mike Dewar shares a basic template on how to build an Olympic weightlifting program geared toward the beginner and intermediate lifter.

Mike covers everything from the 8 goals of an Olympic Weightlifting program, how to build your own 4 week program including full sample sessions, the 5 key variables in Olympic Weightlifting, and 30 exercises perfect for beginners.

10 ways to build an unstoppable engine for competitive crossfit

To succeed in CrossFit, you need the ability to repeat near maximum efforts with as little rest as possible.

It’s not enough to simply have a high one rep max or a large unbroken set of muscle-ups. How many reps at 90% of your max power clean can you do in 8 minutes?

In this article, Todd Nief gives us a full breakdown of the 10 ways he helps Crossfit athletes build an unstoppable engine for competition.

How to Zercher Squat: One Exercise to rule them all

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, coach Ryan Leibreich has a secret weapon exercise that will get us 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.

4 scientifically proven ways to develop explosive power

Building athletic power is one of the most desired, if not the most desired, quality in athletic performance today. It’s as important for the athlete training for the sport of life as it is for a D1 high performance athlete.

The question is…how do we optimally train it?

In this article coach Joel Smith, a long-time D1 S&C coach, gives us the lowdown on creating explosive power in the weightroom. From Olympic lifting to plyometrics, this is your one-stop guide on all things athletic power.

Nervous system training 101: The creation of superhuman strength and athleticism

Consider the following: pound for pound apes have double the strength of a human being.
They can also jump about 30-40% higher than top human jumpers.

How is this possible given their similar amount of muscle mass?

Our simian friends have an interesting piece of their brain and spinal cord that allows them stronger muscle contractions: less grey matter.

TrainHeroic Instagram: For Athletes, By Athletes

Looking for some Monday motivation? How about a new training session to shake things up a bit?

TrainHeroic’s Instagram is for for athletes, by athletes. We share news and notes on the latest in the strength game, valuable training insights and tips from thought leaders in the fitness game, exercise guides, sample training sessions and more.