Optimizing Your Deadlift Setup For A Strong Lockout – CLICK HERE

To finish off my series of proper setup on all 3 lifts, we come to the conventional and sumo deadlift. In my latest YouTube video, I dive into all the nuanced details of how to optimize your setup to create a strong lockout. And while your first instinct may not be that you need lockout help, the fact is that any optimally positioned deadlift is going to create more difficulty off the floor and an easier time at lockout. The setup on deadlift is maybe even more important than the other two lifts, as the setup really sets the tone of the execution for the rest of the lift. If we nail our setup, everything else tends to fall into place. Within this video, I take a look into why people struggle at lockout and the 4 common mistakes we see that leads to this improper positioning. I break down 3 examples of submitted videos where we see these faults to give a full analysis on. I give a step by step process for how to set up, starting with understanding how to hinge, where to place the bar in your stance, how to tension, how to pull in, and how to maximize all of this to create the most efficient pull. From there I finish with some programming tips to engrain these patterns and technical breakdowns of 7 of my lifters and what they do right to help create a good setup, strong positions, and efficient deadlifts. Click the link above to view!

Programming Series: Volume Manipulation and Progression – CLICK HERE

In part 1 of a 2 part programming series, I’ll be diving in depth into the manipulation and progression of volume within powerlifting programming. Volume is an often discussed topic, but over the course of each week, each, block, and each year, how should we be managing our volume to maximize long term progress in the sport? In my latest YouTube video, I discuss how I approach programming within the context of volume, why I don’t manipulate or adjust volume much week to week or block to block, and instead how I use volume to create a consistent variable to better understand the drivers of progress within our training. I breakdown within my system how I structure rep schemes, deloads, and the general maximum daily volume to best suit an athlete. And have you ever wondered if you should add another squat day? Well I cover that too, with how I decide when to increase frequency and how I do so. And lastly I cover the way I typically build in volume increases over time to improve athlete work capacity and tolerable workload at a manageable and safe rate. Click the link above to watch!

The Definitive Guide To Leg Drive In The Bench Press – CLICK HERE

Leg drive in the bench press is one of the hardest things to master within powerlifting. I have been bench pressing for almost 11 years, with 5-6 of those years being dedicated to powerlifting. But only within the past 2 years have I really mastered the ability of leg drive to control and stabilize my bench press. Unlike the common misconception where you see people almost “push press” with their leg drive, what it should be is a constant tension we apply throughout the entirety of the movement to create tension and stability, while maximizing our position. In my latest YouTube video I dive into all aspects of leg drive, from the initial setup, optimal foot position, maintaining leg drive, cueing to increase ribcage elevation, how to keep you butt down, and options to individualize leg drive for your specific needs. This is an all encompassing video of everything you should need to know to master the technique of leg drive. To watch, click the link above!

Breathing/Bracing On The Bench Press For A Better Arch

A big misconception on bench press is that you breath and brace in the same manner as you do on the squat and deadlift. But especially with those trying to create a higher arch, trying to breath and brace in the same manner on bench press is going to be of detriment. Above you can see with Abbee’s (CLICK HERE, slo motion in the 2nd video) before and after, we implemented changes with her breathing and bracing patterns on bench. If we try to replicate the bracing patterns of our squat, what is going to happen is this “belly expansion” as you can see in the top video. This belly expansion raises her belly button to be the top point of Abbee’s arch, and in the process depresses her ribcage down. You might look at this and say she has a big arch, but that arch is in all the wrong places. We want the touch point of our bench press to be the highest point of our arch, which is usually the bottom of the chest/sternum, not our belly button. So to do this, I cued Abbee to be intentional as she inhaled to “expand her ribcage”. On the squat and deadlift that may create unwanted extension, but that is because those are different movements. On the bench press we are wanting that extension to elevate that ribcage to its highest position, as well as blowing up that ribcage to create a “barrel chest”. People frequently talk about how if you want a big bench, get a big barrel chest. And while in that reference they are alluding to the hypertrophy of the chest, we can create this same concept with our breathing. So while “chest breathing” is a big no-no on the squat and deadlift, it is the go to for our bench press. And as you can see on the bottom video of Abbee, as she breathes and braces that ribcage expands and elevates to cause that touch point to be the highest point of her arch.

So the one drawback to expanding the ribcage through breathing is the possible elevation of the shoulders. If you watched my video on bracing in the squat and deadlift, I gave a particular cue on how to prevent this elevation. On the bench press it is the same concept but just through a different means. With our leg drive, we should be creating a horizontal force that is sliding us back onto the bench to “roll up onto our traps”. This leg drive helps to create the initial ribcage elevation, which then is maximized ever further by inhaling to “expand the ribcage”. This leg drive and elevation naturally creates retraction and depression of the shoulders, and in sense traps them underneath us as we maintain that horizontal leg drive. So the key on bench press is that we must achieve this leg drive and elevation before breathing and bracing. Leg drive and ribcage elevation needs to proceed that inhalation so that this trapping of the shoulders prevents them from elevating as we breath and brace. When done correctly, we can still expand the ribcage and create this “barrel chest” while maintaining shoulder retraction and depression throughout.

Volume vs. Intensity for Novice/Intermediate/Advanced Lifters – CLICK HERE

As we progress in our training age, our programming must progress as well. While there are many variables that we can manipulate within our programs, volume and intensity remain the two staples for how we create the overload stimulus to produce strength. In my latest YouTube video, I dive into a theoretical discussion of my thought process in regards to the manipulation of volume and intensity, and specifically how that relates to the progression of novice to intermediate to advanced lifters. This is meant to be a general breakdown of how I relate the manipulation of these variables into the structuring of programs for lifters. As well as my anecdotal thoughts on what I see between the different spectrums of lifters around the country and what type of training they are responding to. If you can make it through my 24 minutes of rambling, hopefully you’ll come away with a better understanding of how to use these two variables to optimize your training based on your current training age and needs. Click the link above you watch!