The trap bar deadlift carries a stigma in serious strength training communities. It is described as the easier deadlift, the beginner deadlift, the deadlift for people who cannot do a real deadlift. The perception is that its reduced range of motion and more upright torso represent a shortcut around the technical and physical demands of…
Every bent-over barbell row, every dumbbell row, every cable row performed from a hip-hinged position involves a silent trade-off: some portion of the training stimulus goes to the lumbar erector spinae and the postural muscles holding the torso position rather than to the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and mid-trapezius that the exercise is intended to develop….
Shoulder internal rotation is one of the most commonly restricted ranges of motion in both overhead athletes and office workers, for completely different reasons that produce the same mechanical consequence: the humeral head cannot sit centrally in the glenoid during overhead movements, the supraspinatus tendon gets compressed, and pain or injury follows. In overhead athletes…
Battle ropes sit in most gyms but get used by a minority of members. The exercise looks unusual — swinging heavy ropes in wave patterns doesn’t resemble any conventional cardiovascular or strength exercise — and its place in a training programme is less obvious than a treadmill interval or a barbell lift. The research tells…
The straight barbell curl is the classic bicep exercise. Most programmes include it, most beginners start with it, and most experienced trainees return to it as their primary loaded curl movement. It also produces wrist and forearm discomfort in a significant proportion of trainees, particularly those who have had wrist injuries, naturally have limited forearm…