You walk into the gym ready to squat, but the first few sets feel terrible. Your hips feel tight, depth is hard to reach, and the movement feels awkward even with light weight on the bar. Then, a few sets later, everything starts to feel better. Your hips loosen up, your depth improves, and the…
Most Back Squat warm-ups are trash. A few minutes on a bike, some random stretches, then straight to the bar. The result is pretty predictable… your first working set feels slow, unstable, or tight. General cardio raises body temperature, but it does nothing to improve squat positions. Your hips still feel tight. Your upper back…
One of the most common questions in the weight room is whether you should stretch before or after lifting. You’ve probably heard conflicting advice. Some people swear by a long stretching routine before they touch a barbell. Others only stretch at the end of the workout (or not at all). The truth is, timing matters….
The Hang Power Snatch is one of the best lifts for developing speed, power, and coordination. It looks explosive, and it is, but strength alone doesn’t guarantee success. What holds most athletes back isn’t their pull… it’s their mobility. If your shoulders, hips, or ankles are locked up, you’ll fight the bar the whole way….
Tight hips don’t just throw off your squat; they can throw off everything. From walking and running to standing up straight or even just sitting comfortably, hip mobility plays a bigger role than most people realize. If your hips feel stiff or locked up, chances are your body is compensating somewhere else, usually in the…
Different aspects of a strength and conditioning program often get very segmented. The Warm-up, Speed Work, Conditioning, Weight Training – they’re all components of a complete strength and conditioning plan and they often all have their own beginning and end. However, one exercise that blurs the line a bit is a Barbell Complex, also referred…
Foam Rolling has become extremely popular, both among athletes and the general population. A foam roller can be found in warm-ups, cool-downs and recovery sessions. At the last few schools I worked at, during the season, a foam roller and stretch band were even located in each meeting room so guys could grab them and…