As you can probably figure out, it’s just a landmine done in the bottom of a squat.

Before I talk about why I like it, I’ll show you what it looks like so we can be on the same page.

Now for why I like it.

Basically, it gives a lot of bang for your buck and kills a lot of birds with one stone it terms of addressing both mobility and stability.

I’ll be honest; I really don’t like doing mobility work, and I really don’t like doing core work, so if I can combine them into one exercise, that’s a huge win in my book.

The landmine is a great anti-rotation core exercise to build rotary stability. Now that I’m getting back into golf, I think it’s very important to incorporate anti-rotation work, and in my mind there’s nothing better than the landmine to do that.

Doing the landmine in the bottom of the deep squat not only increases the rotary stability demand on the core, but it also serves as one heck of a good stretch for the hips, as well as building stability in the pelvis. I’m a big advocate of the basic squat stretch where you just sit in the bottom position and push the knees out. I also like doing it with a light weight in the goblet hold, and I’m a fan of goblet squats for the same reason. Using the landmine functions very similarly to the goblet squat in the sense that it forces you to stay upright and get into a good position.

When you start moving your arms, you have to work hard to stabilize the torso but also the hips to keep from shifting or swaying.

If you keep your arms straight, it’s also a pretty good workout for the shoulders.

This is really tough, so make sure you have regular landmines down before trying it. When you do try it, only go as far as you can go before you begin to lose stability in your core and/or hips. How do you know that point? Trust me, you’ll know when it happens. On that note, the other thing I like about this exercise is that you can’t really cheat it, so when you’re done, you’re done. That keeps you honest and also keeps you from hurting yourself.

If you have a light barbell that may be a good place to start, or maybe even a PVC pipe.

Also, if you don’t have a specific device to anchor the barbell like I’m using in the video, simply put the barbell in a corner. Just make sure it’s not sheetrock; I’ve made that mistake, and you can probably guess how that turned out. Woops!

So to wrap it up, if you’ve spent some time getting good at landmines and want a way to challenge yourself further and build hip mobility in the process, give these a rip and let me know what you think.

For more good training videos, check out yesterday’s For Your Viewing Pleasure post.

It’s pretty lengthy so I’ll just the chit-chat and get right to it.

Enjoy!

Martin Rooney’s nine-year-old daughter cranks out 11 chinups! This is probably the coolest video I’ve seen in a long time. Not only is she strong, but she’s darn funny too!

Jim Bathurst practices one arm handstands. All I can say is, wow. This is just nutty. I love watching Jim’s videos and when I do, it always inspires me to try new things. I’ve actually never even given regular handstands a shot so I may have to do that.

Max Shank does a pinch grip pull-up from a hanging 2×4. Max is one of the strongest people I know, and this is just another example of the nutty stuff he does.

Dave Dellanave deadlifts 603 pounds at a bodyweight of 193. That’s a serious pull. Great stuff.

John Meadows shows the horizontal shoulder press. This one looks brutal. I bet it’s really hard even without weights actually. I saw this video a couple days and meant to try it but I forgot, so I’m going to try it out next time I go to the gym (i.e. in about 20 minutes).

Smitty Diesel shows “grappler pullups.” Just when I thought I’d see and tried just about every pull-up variation known to man, I see this. This one looks brutal for the grip. I look forward to trying it out.

Michael Keck squats 500 lbs for 3 reps. While this is crazy strong, what’s most impressive to me is just how easy it looks for him. You know you’re a beast when you can make 500 look like 225.

Marianne Kane crushes a hard workout of reverse lunges, front squats, bridges, RDLs, chin-ups and bench presses. I got tired just writing that workout out and even more tired watching the video. And I’m spent!

Julia Ladewski does some weighted chin-ups and foam presses. It’s cool to see Julia training so hard, but I also like how she gets help from her kids and uses the workout as a chance to spend time with them.

Dean Somerset shows a planch row done between two benches. I really like plank rows and this looks cool because it allows for a greater range of motion.

Graham Carpio crushes an upper body bodyweight workout. Lots of strong work here.

Frankie Addelia shows the kettlebell “blow torch.” I’d have a hard time remembering all the different steps of this exercise, let alone actually doing it. This looks brutal for the shoulders and core.

John Meadows shows “over and back” shoulder rotations. I do these every day either with a band or a PVC pipe.

Elsbeth Vaino shows a hip flexor activation combined with a glute stretch. This combines two common drills into one to save time. I’m not sure I have the flexibility to do this but I’ll try it out.

As usual I didn’t include any of my own videos in the mix, but if you’d like to see what I’m up to you can head over to my You Tube page and check it out.

Also, I wanted to thank all of you that gave me feedback on my computer question on Monday in my Random Thoughts posts. I’m going to stick with the Mac I got.

And with that, I’m off to the gym…

Here are a few random thoughts to start the week.

1. Getting the Golf Itch Again

I got to spend yesterday morning with my mom for Mother’s Day, which was awesome as usual. The older I get and the busier I get, the more I enjoy and appreciate family time.

We went to breakfast (the absolute best breakfast place in the world, by the way) and then went to the driving range to hit golf balls. I hadn’t hit balls since last summer when I tried to qualify for the ReMax World Long Drive Championship (which I wrote about here) so it was awesome to get back out there and take some rips.

Last summer was my first real competition so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I barely missed qualifying (I was 4th out of 25 or so competitors and the top 3 moved on) but I had a blast and it’s definitely something I’d like to continue doing. I like long drive because it doesn’t take a whole ton of practice like regular golf does, so it works well with my busy lifestyle.

Plus, it’s just fun letting loose and swinging for the fences, and it’s always nice to be outside.

My knee surgery threw a little monkey wrench into the mix and I wasn’t sure how it would hold up, but it actually felt pretty good—better than expected anyway. I didn’t swing my absolute hardest, but if anything it actually helped keep me in check to keep my tempo from getting too quick, with for me usually leads to a nasty hook if I don’t connect right.

Anyway, I hit the ball well yesterday and it felt pretty good, so as of now, the plan is to compete in two competitions in June and July and take my chances again.

We’ll see how it goes. If nothing else, it’ll be fun and it’s something to satisfy my competitive personality.

More on that later I guess as it gets closer, but I’m excited.

2. Dumbbell Floor Presses Sans Partner

I’m a big fan of dumbbell floor presses and do them often.

The biggest complaint I hear about them is that it’s hard to get the dumbbells into position without a partner to hand them to you.

I agree that it’s cumbersome, but here’s a way I’ve come to do them that works for me with heavy dumbbells.

Step 1: Pick a weight that you’re sure that you can lift for 8-10 reps. That’s really the biggest thing. As much as I like the exercise, it doesn’t lend itself to lower reps unless you have a partner.

Step 2: Start in a seated position on the floor with your legs straight. Rest the dumbbells on the lower part of your quads right away your knees.

Step 3: Slowly walk your feet up until your legs are at around a 90 degree angle, making sure to hold the dumbbells in place and keep them from slipping.

Step 4: Lie back while simultaneously kicking the dumbbells up towards your shoulders by jerking your knees. If you do this right, your legs will kick into the air after the dumbbells come off your knees. That’s what you want.

Step 5: This step is the most important and is all about timing. You need to time it so that you press the instant your feet hit the floor. You want to use the momentum of your heels hitting the floor to help propel the dumbbells into place.

Step 6: Start pressing. I prefer a neutral grip or something close to neutral (maybe slightly pronated), but do whatever is most comfortable for you.

If that was confusing, here’s a video that hopefully clarifies what I’m talking about.

It’ll take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not bad.

3. Basically all my posts are pertaining to topics I choose. That makes sense given that it’s my blog, but I want to open things up to questions from you.

To be honest, I’ve been coaching a lot more recently now that my knee is feeling better, and as such, I don’t have as much time to devote to my blog or answering e-mails and all that stuff.

A lot of the questions I get via e-mail are similar, so I’m thinking it might be a good idea to answer them here on the blog so more people can benefit from the answers.

So if there’s something specific you’d like me to address, let me know in the comments below or through the contact page and I’ll see what I can do.

4. If you missed this weekend’s Good Reads, give it a look. It’s a pretty sweet list if I do say so myself. Find it here.

5. Computer Help Needed!

So yesterday I finally decided to get a Mac computer. I’ve been resisting for a long time because I don’t like the idea of having to learn a new system, but my computer has been a constant headache and it seems like people with Macs don’t have as many problems.

Thing is, right after I got home someone told me that they’re coming out with a new model in a month. Doh!

So my question is this: should I return the one I got yesterday and wait for the new one, or does it not really matter? I’m a computer moron so I don’t really know enough about it to know.

Thanks for the help!

Have a great week.

Here are some posts you may have missed during the week.

Two Advanced Glute/Hamstring Exercises

Training Update

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Take 81

Good Reads (from last week, in case you missed it then)

And here are the best of the rest. Enjoy!

The Sacroiliac Joint Takes a Beating by Bret Contreras

5 Quick and Easy Ways to Look and Feel Better by Eric Cressey

5 Things We Can Learn from Arnold by Bret Contreras and Brad Schoenfeld

Breathing, Anterior Pelvic Tilt, and Voodoo Witchcraft by Jim Laird

Jim Wendler Q+A

Interview with Neghar Fonooni

Interview with Bret Contreras

The Influence of Anterior Pelvic Tilt on Hip Flexion Mobility by Mike Reinold

Quadrant III and the Baby by Dan John

5 Little Things That Make a Big Difference by Martin Rooney

It’s My Fault, Too by Tony Gentilcore

It’s My Fault, Too, Continued by Tony Gentilcore

10 Things Personal Trainers Need to Know About Kettlebells by Neghar Fonooni

Hotel Room Training by Devan McConnell

How to Build a Better Diet by Adam Bornstein

Are You Sabotaging Your Gains With the Wrong Rep Range? by Jason Ferruggia

Hard Ab Training by Jim Kielbaso

The Genius Is Not in the Program by Harry Selkow

Preventing Hamstring Injury by Mike Boyle

When to Throw in the Towel by Michael Keck

115 Ways to Increase Pitching Velocity by Eric Cressey

Interview with Bill Sonnemaker

3 Day Mentorship with Bill Sonnemaker

5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Write Your Own Program by Conor Nordengren

Passion and Purpose by Neghar Fonooni

Carb Backloading Interview with Kiefer and Sean Hyson

Squat Better: 3 Things to Think About by Greg Robins

Two Ways to Overdeliver in a Group Exercise Setting by Greg Robins

One Squat to Rule Them All by Ben Coker

Training Variations for Mass Gain by Dean Somerset

Two Tools for Healthier Elbows and Shoulders by Nia Shanks

Sausage Jalapeno Bites by Neghar Fonooni

HRV: A Tool For Measuring the Training Process by Andrew Flatt

Two Lifts You Could Be Doing Right Now to Help Your Olympic Lifts by Wil Fleming

Dan John and Your Butt by Mike Baltren

Is Less Really More? by Clifton Harski

Back to Basics: A Challenge to Myself by Molly Galbraith

The New Old-School Circuit Training by John Paul Catanzaro

Why the Bench Press is the Best Exercise by Tim Henriques

Protein Pudding 101 by Anthony Mychal

Step Ups and RDLs Using the 747 Method by Nick Tumminello

Let There Be Pain by John Naylor

Throw Out the Rep Ranges by David Adamson

Shoe Review from Tyler English

3 Keys For Optimal Skating Technique by Kevin Neeld

A Doctor’s Response to a Response From a Doctor by Bojan Kostevski

Geeky Friday by Bojan Kostevski

The Most Important Stat for Strength Coaches by Justin Wetherby

But How Much? by Harold Gibbons

Lower Body Alternatives for Low Back Pain by David Lasnier

Where Has the Common Sense Gone? by Matt Siniscalchi

Have a great weekend!

As I touched on in my training update, I’m mixing lower back intensive work (i.e. deadlifts) with non-lower back intensive work (i.e bridging, sliding leg curl variations).

With deadlifting variations, progression is simple: add weight.

With bridging and sliding leg curl variations, however, progression isn’t quite so straightforward. Adding tons of weight to bridging exercises can be cumbersome and uncomfortable, and with leg curl variations (Valslides, stability ball, foam roller) there really isn’t a great way to increase the load.

As such, progression can come from making the exercise harder rather than just adding weight.

With that in mind, here are two variations that I like.

1. Single Leg Hip Thrusts

Elevating the feet increases the difficulty substantially, and it also brings the hamstrings into play much more than when your feet on the floor.

Don’t go adding load right away because this is a very difficult variation. If you do choose to add load though, I’ve found it to be very helpful to start by bridging up with two feet to get yourself situated and centered and then removing one foot.

Like this.

I also like to do these slow and controlled with a pause at the top at opposed to rushing through them. I think of it as a controlled thrust.

2. Glute Bridge/Valslide Leg Curl Combo

These are downright brutal for the hamstrings and glutes.

Bridge up, pause, and slowly lower yourself down until your legs are straight, making sure to keep your hips up and your glutes off the floor.

It won’t take much load for these to suck. Start with just bodyweight, then progress to a light dumbbell in your lap until you get the hang of it.

If you think Valslides are a little wussy, these might change your mind.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. For more videos, check out the last For Your Viewing Pleasure post for some good inspiration.

Amputee Workout. Wow, this guy is amazing. Not really too much more to say.

Jim Bathurst shows 90 degree pushup negatives. I love watching this type of stuff. So impressive.

Max Shank does weighted freestanding handstand pushups. This is just nutty. Considering I can’t even sniff a handstand pushup, I think this is beyond cool.

North Dakota football team Olympic lifting. A lot of times when I see college lifting videos the form leaves much to be desired, but this is really great. Cool to see.

Nia Shanks crushes some smooth single leg squats. Nia makes these look far too easy. Awesome.

Mike Boyle shares a slideboard leg curl progression. I am a big fan of slideboard leg curls and this is a good progression to follow to work up to doing them correctly.

James “Smitty” Smith and Joe Defranco share the trailer for their new HardCORE DVD. This looks awesome and I can’t wait to check it out.

Molly Galbraith maxes out on back squats. Very strong stuff here, and congrats on the new personal best!

Nia Shanks does overhead press with Fat Gripz. Using Fat Gripz is a good way to take stress off the elbows. Good stuff from Nia.

Jim Laird deadlifts 315 with 200 lbs of chains for 3 reps. What’s crazy is that this is his last of five sets and he is just working on form. I wish I could work on form with that much weight. Holy moly.

Marianne Kane does some chin-ups, rows, and curls. Nice workout, and I especially like the dude doing smith machine “squats” in the background while she does cable rows.

Kevin Carr shows some stability cable row progressions. Great stuff as usual from Kevin.

Michael Keck box squats 550. This goes up really fast for 550. Yikes.

Tony Gentilcore shows the tall kneeling landmine. This is great exercise to build rotary stability.

On that note, time to hit the gym!

As usual, I didn’t include any of my own videos, but you can find them over at my You Tube page if you’re interested. You can also see what I’m up to with own training here.

Have a great day!

The knee keeps feeling better as long as I don’t do anything stupid. I still can’t doing any squatting or lunging without pissing it off, but I’m able to do most hip dominant work without a problem and I’ve been crushing loads and loads of reverse sled drags to keep working the quads as much as possible without inducing pain. I’m also riding the bike quite a bit—not pushing it hard, but just trying to get some pain-free motion.

Interestingly, while I’ve lost some muscle mass in my quads, my thighs have stayed pretty much the same size, which I attribute to the extra work I’ve been doing on my hamstrings and glutes. As my knee gets better and I’m able to introduce more quad dominant work back into my program, I have a feeling my legs will actually be stronger than before. That’s the hope anyway.

I’ve been working my posterior chain three times a week with a combination of deadlift variations, bridging patterns, and sliding leg curls (as discussed here and here). The key with posterior chain work is to find a balance between lower back intensive work (i.e. deadlifts) and non-lower back intensive work (bridging and leg curls) so you don’t smoke your lower back in the process.

Because I’m doing more lower body posterior chain work, I’ve had to scale back on the upper body work a bit. Remember, the body has a limited capacity to recover, so if you increase something, you also have to decrease something else.

As such, I’ve gone from doing chin-ups daily to doing them 1-2 times a week and doing rows (usually Batwing rows) 1-2 times a week. I don’t want to lose the progress I made on chin-ups so I’m keeping them in the program, but they’re no longer as big of a priority as they were a couple months ago.

With pressing, I’ve also scaled back. Six weeks I shared my plan for attacking the overhead press, and to be truthful, it hasn’t panned out as I expected. When I started on the plan, it made sense in my head and it looked good on paper, but a lot of things look good on paper that don’t necessarily pan out in reality. The program went well for three weeks, but really, what doesn’t work for three weeks? After that, my shoulders started to get cranky pressing three times a week and I’ve gone back to twice a week and feel much better for it. Sometimes you have to admit that you were wrong and go back to the drawing board.

So in a nutshell, I’m back to training four days a week doing full body workouts, but each day has a slightly different emphasis. One day it’s heavy on the posterior, another day I’ll focus on pulling, another day pressing, etc.

It’s actually very similar to my Power of 3 template with some slight modifications to work around my knee issues.

That about sums it up I think. Any more questions, just ask.

Also, if you missed this weekend’s Good Reads, be sure to give that a look.

First off, here are a few posts you may have missed during the week.

Bridge Rollouts for the Glutes and Hamstrings

How and When to Modify Exercises

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Take 80

Beyond that, I also did an interview with Mike Robertson. I’ve never done an interview before, so it was pretty cool. I feel very honored to have been asked, and it was a fun experience to be able to share a little but more about myself. You can find the interview here.

I also had a new article go up on T-Nation this week called 7 Shoulder-Friendly Pressing Variations. Bet you can’t guess what it’s about? Seriously though, check it out.
Now for the best of the rest. Enjoy!

15 Powerful Things Happy People Do Differently. This one isn’t directly fitness-related, but I really liked it so I included it.

Becoming a CNP by Mike Boyle

5 Great In-Season Lower Body Strength Exercises That Won’t Make You Sore by Eric Cressey

How Can I Stop My Hammies From Taking Over During Hip Thrusts and Glute Bridges? by Bret Contreras

May Strength and Conditioning Research Questions by Bret Contreras

How to Measure Volume in Strength and Conditioning Programs by Eric Cressey

What’s the Best Muscle Building Workout Split? by Jason Ferruggia

Cuing Good Neck Posture by Mike Robertson

4 Simple Leg Workouts For Growth by John Meadows

11 Ways to Achieve a Healthier Life by Adam Bornstein

The Cardio Prescription by Tyler English

A Personal Trainer Roadmap to Understanding and Navigating Educational Opportunities by Bill Honaker

4 Step Plan for Off-Season Weight Gain by Kevin Neeld

How to Start Intermittent Fasting and Kick Hunger Aside

Geeky Friday by Bojan Kostevski

Best Foot Position for Hip Bridges by Nick Tumminello

The Top 10 Movements to Build Explosive Power For Athletes by Wil Fleming

Social Media in Strength and Conditioning by Donnell Boucher

Glute-licious by Kellie Davis

Strength Coach Podcast Episode 101

Minimum Training for Maximum Results by Nia Shanks

Freaky Forearm Training by John Gaglione

The Renegade Diet vs. Carb Backloading by Sean Hyson

Dropping the A-Bomb on Your Waistline by Mike Roussell

Baby Got Back by John Romaniello

25 Lessons from my 25th Year by Greg Robins

Pimp Your Pull by Greg Robins

A Simple and Effective Gluteus Medius Exercise by Mike Reinold

Carb Backloading Explained by Julia Ladewski

6 Areas in Which I Can Improve Part 2 by Molly Galbraith

Just Because a Doctor Said It by Joseph Lightfoot

The (Not So) Obvious Causes of Low Back Pain by Tony Gentilcore

Passion and Purpose by Neghar Fonooni

Chocolate Protein Thingy by Neghar Fonooni

Deadlift or Squat: What’s the Diff? by Mike Boyle

60 Day Transformation Part 1 by Kevin Larrabee

60 Day Transformation Part 2 by Kevin Larrabee

60 Day Transformation Part 3 by Kevin Larrabee

Hockey Nutrition: Grocery Shopping by Kevin Neeld

The Whole9 Exercise Series from Clifton Harski

Discus Clinic Notes from Dan John

Michael Keck shares his training log

Belting It Out by Mike Baltren

Developing Explosive Strength and Power by Jordan Syatt

Effective Conditioning for Today’s Athletes by Duncan Ogilvie

Coaching Cues: The Science and Application by Sam Leahey

Speed Development by John Hughes

Training to Failure by Matt Siniscalchi

Form is Everything by David Lasnier

Butter is Healthy by Ana Castilla

Who Wants a Hug? by Harold Gibbons

Are You Insane? by Keith Fees

Exercises for Low Back Pain by Steven Rice

The “Discipline” Diet by Justin Wetherby

Wake Up and Smell the Roses by Justin Rabinowitz

That’s all folks.

Have a great weekend!

Here’s the original question:

“I’m always very impressed to read Ben Bruno’s articles because of his skill to modify exercises based on specific needs, goals, or just variety. I understand that a lot of this stuff comes with experience, but what tips do you have to become more creative and see these modifications better? Hopefully, Ben Bruno tunes in also here.”

Here’s my answer:

1. A lot of the exercise tweaks I use myself are either to make something more joint friendly or to change an exercise to where I don’t need to use as much weight.

I like lifting hard and constantly try to improve and progress, but as time goes on and I get stronger, I can’t tolerate just doing heavy squatting, deadlifting, and benching all the time. Consequently, I’ve gravitated towards more single leg stuff and bodyweight stuff. It’s been working great for me, but sometimes progression can be a little tricky because a lot of the exercises can be tough to load after a certain point, so I do other stuff to manipulate it to make it harder.

I want to be very clear though I built my foundation doing an extremely simple routine and just focusing on hammering the basics.

2. I’ll also modify exercises to meet equipment needs. Maybe I’ll see an exercise that I like but don’t have the same stuff at my disposal, so I’ll think of a way to get a similar training effect using what I’ve got.

3. I would not recommend going into the gym with the intent to modify things just for the sake of modifying them. The basics work the vast majority of the time, especially for beginners, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If you run into a problem (something hurts, you need to make it harder/easier, you don’t have the necessary equipment, etc.) then try to come up with a solution to the problem.

If there’s no problem, then you don’t need a solution.

4. I would look at Mike Boyle’s recent article called There’s a Reason There is a Box. He wrote it with regards to coaching, but I think applies to just about anything.

I highly suggest you read the whole article, but here’s one line that really rings true for me: “Out of the box thinking should be reserved for those who know the inside of the box like the literal back of their hand.” I really like that line.

To relate this to myself, I am relatively new to coaching, so rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, I try to learn from other great coaches (hence why I came to MBSC) and learn how they do things.

With my own lifting, however, I’ve toyed around for a long time and have developed a solid foundation of strength on the basics and a good knowledge of my body, so when something doesn’t feel right, I make small changes. Moreover, whenever I progress an exercise, it’s because I’ve mastered the previous step first. That’s very important. It’s never really a big jump, just more of a natural progression.

Still, the vast majority of my own lifting is actually VERY simple.

As for how to see exercise modifications better, I think that really just comes down to understanding how the exercises work and how the body works really well.

Hope that helps.

There are 15 videos as it stands so I won’t bore you with more of my own, but you can always find them at my You Tube page to see what I’m up to.

And with that, let’s get to it. Enjoy!

Kellie Davis does 315 lb. hip thrusts at a bodyweight of 130 lbs. Now that’s one strong-ass chick, literally and figuratively.

Neghar Fonooni does a double kettlebell overhead press with 24 kg bells. The sum of the bells weighs almost as much as she does, making this extremely impressive in my book.

Barstarzz in Miami. These compilations wouldn’t be complete without some Barstarzz awesomeness. This is cool, and there’s even a female appearance half way through.

Jeremy Frisch shows elevated speed lunges. Jeremy makes these look really easy, but I can tell you from experience that it’s tough to do them as fast as he does them. I tried them about a year ago and made a complete fool of myself. Great stuff from Jeremy.

Jim Wendler cranks out some overhead presses. Jim has been recovering from a shoulder surgery so it’s great to see him well on his way to recovery.

Jim Wendler squats 495 for 6 reps. Reppin’ heavy weight like it’s nothing.

Training at the job. I have no clue who this dude is, but he’s doing all kinds of cool stuff. Respect.

Jim Laird squats 370 pounds with 320 pounds of chains added for a triple. Now that’s some serious squatting right there. Holy moly.

Dave Dellanave smokes some axle cleans, single arm snatches, and grip work. Big time strength right here on some really tough stuff. I have never tried the single arm snatch but just from looking at it I can tell it’s a bear.

Jake Pudenz snatches 260 lbs for a personal best. Great stuff from Jake!

Joe Bonyai smokes a 225 lb. clean. Nice work!

Molly Galbraith does a brutal conditioning circuit. I started breathing heavily just watching this one. Must’ve been rough.

Rafael Escamilla shows the differences in bridging techniques. Very interesting stuff here. I’ve also intuitively thought this to be true, but it’s cool to see research backing it up.

Kevin Carr shows some cable chop progressions. Here are some good ways that you can progress chops as you get better at them.

Jim Laird shows some breathing and bracing drills. This is some simple stuff that he puts right into the warmup.

That’s a wrap. You can also check out my last post for some great leg curl variations for the posterior chain.

Have a great day!