After two decades of research, no controlled study has ever produced overtraining syndrome under experimental conditions. Here is what that means, and what to do …

“Cardio will ruin your gains!” We’ve all heard some version of this phrase from a veteran of the iron game. Right or wrong, the idea …

Whether you’ve been working out for years or are just starting, you’ve likely seen the term “progressive overload” billed as a foundational concept in exercise. …

It’s a deceptively simple question that determines the success of your entire workout: How long should you rest in between sets?  There are several training …

If you’re a fitness enthusiast then you have, at one point or another, daydreamed about leaving your job and becoming a full-time coach or personal …

The machine chest press is defined by external stability and a constrained movement path. It is often framed as either inferior to free weights or …

Most chest training advice starts with exercises. Flat bench, incline bench, dumbbells, cables—some combination of movements presented as inherently superior for building the chest. From …

Introduction How strong should you be? Many lifters search for strength standards to compare their squat, bench press, and deadlift numbers. A quick search online …

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. That’s the rhythmic sound your heart is (hopefully) making during the approximately 100,000 times it beats per day. Many people think the …

Strength training plateaus are a normal and expected part of long-term strength development. At some point, most lifters experience periods where strength no longer increases …

Strength training programming is the process of organizing training variables over time to produce specific fitness adaptations while managing fatigue and recovery. A program includes …

Strength training is the systematic process of improving your ability to produce force against external resistance. It is one of the most effective methods for …

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Sprint Interval Training (SIT) are often promoted as a superior way to do cardio, with greater improvements in fitness, …

“You can get stronger and gain muscle by lifting light weights”  seems like a clickbait-y type of claim, but would you be surprised to learn …

Many people think that the squat is an exercise for athletes or serious lifters only, but this couldn’t be further from the truth, as the …

Anyone who has experienced severe low back pain or ‘sciatica’ has a story to tell, and it’s usually not a pleasant one. Being unable to …

Chest training often generates the same set of recurring questions. Most of them revolve around exercises, technique, or small details of execution—what angle to use, …

Chest training programs are often presented as fixed templates. A set of exercises is listed, along with specific sets and repetitions, and the expectation is …

Chest training volume is often reduced to a number. Recommendations are given in terms of sets per week, and the assumption is that staying within …

Rep ranges are often treated as the primary driver of hypertrophy. Specific numbers are recommended—8–12 for growth, lower for strength, higher for endurance—and exercises are …

Chest workouts are often presented as fixed routines. A sequence of exercises is prescribed, with specific sets and repetitions, and the expectation is that following …

The dumbbell bench press is a pressing variation defined by freedom of movement and limited stability. It is often positioned as either a replacement for …

Progression in chest training is often reduced to adding weight to the bar. When load increases, training is considered effective. When it does not, the …

Chest training is often approached as a collection of exercises. A program is built by selecting a variety of movements—presses, inclines, flys—combined with a target …

When chest growth stalls, the default assumption is that something is missing. A new exercise is added, a different angle is introduced, or a technique …

The floor press is a range-constrained pressing variation that removes the deepest portion of the movement. It is often treated as a partial substitute for …

Decline pressing is a variation that changes pressing mechanics and redistributes stress. It is often framed as a way to target the lower chest, but …

Push-ups are a bodyweight pressing pattern defined by how they scale with positioning and loading. They are often treated as a beginner exercise or conditioning …

Dips are a high-load bodyweight pressing pattern defined by how they load the shoulder and scale with the lifter. They are often framed as either …

Machine fly variations, such as the pec deck, are defined by maximum external stability and a fixed movement path. They are often treated as interchangeable …

The cable chest press is defined by continuous tension and a freely adjustable movement path. It is often grouped with machine or dumbbell pressing, but …

Chest fly variations are defined by how they redistribute stress and extend volume beyond the limits of pressing. They are often described as isolation exercises, …

Incline pressing is a variation that changes pressing mechanics and redistributes stress across the system. It is often justified as a way to target the …

The barbell bench press is a loadable, repeatable pressing pattern that allows chest training to be tracked and progressed over time. It is often treated …

Cable chest fly variations are defined by their ability to maintain tension across the range of motion. They are often treated as interchangeable with other …

Introduction If you’re trying to build muscle, it’s natural to ask which exercises you should be doing. Many people assume that certain movements are inherently …

Introduction The bench press is one of the most commonly used exercises for training the chest. It’s often included in programs aimed at building upper …

Introduction If you’re trying to build muscle, you’ve likely come across a wide range of advice about what works best. Some sources emphasize specific exercises, …

Strength training is a form of exercise where muscles produce force against resistance in order to increase strength, muscle mass, and physical capacity. The resistance …

Headaches are a common, painful, and oftentimes disabling symptom that can pop-up during exercise or at rest. Exercise may be useful for not only reducing migraine frequency in many, but also for improving nearly every aspect of general health in the population. Individuals who frequently experience the onset of headache during exercise should work with their physician to make sure there isn’t an underlying medical cause.

Debate around how deep you should squat is one example of a range of motion (ROM) controversy. Range of motion (ROM) can be defined as …

Cuando la gente comienza su aventura en el gimnasio, empieza a aprender muchos de los principios básicos de la programación Términos como “adaptación”, “recuperación” y …

So you’re experiencing pain in your heel. It’s especially painful when you take your first few steps out of bed in the morning and limits …

The efficacy of placebo in enhancing performance is as well established as it is multifactorial. Geers 2014 This presents a paradox of a placebo being …

The United States population has become profoundly physically inactive in recent years. This has contributed to an increase in health problems such as heart disease …

Low back pain is commonly attributed to a ‘weak core’ or a lack of ‘core stability’, and this leads to lots of advice about ‘activating …

In the late 17th century physician-philosopher John Locke published An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which suggested that the mind was a blank slate at birth …

The ability to engage in physical activity is an integral component of the maintenance of health and independence with age. This capacity is typically developed …

While resistance training for the calf muscles is typically the butt of jokes in bodybuilding gym culture, there are some legitimate benefits to increasing the …

Lifters occasionally ask us whether it is “okay” to include snatches or cleans in a training program that is otherwise focused on building strength in …

Barbell Medicine values the development of a well-rounded athlete and healthy individual, so while we have a clear focus on strength training, we aim to …

Belief that you can perform a task is an essential component to beginning the process of mastery. There are a host of both internal and …

In this segment of the How-To Do GPP series, we tackle direct arm training, or “arm work”. In the context of GPP, we train the …

Last week’s article made a strong case for embracing variability in movement for active individuals,  particularly when learning a new movement.  Still, much has been …

Our attempts to understand and explain complex systems commonly involve reductionist analysis, whereby a system is broken down into its component parts for easier understanding. …

It is late afternoon on a Monday and you’ve just arrived at the gym for Day 1 of this week’s training after a tough day …

The process of strength training is not a linear one where every workout allows us to realize a new level of performance, although improvement early …

Exercise selection is an important programming variable for both performance and health outcomes. From a performance standpoint, the type(s) of exercises selected play a major …

If you’ve used our programs or have been coached through Barbell Medicine then you may have seen “Myo-reps” programmed in your training. This strategy has …

Introduction If it has been some time since you last exercised, whether due to COVID-related restrictions or other circumstances, there is one important point to …

Hopefully after our journey through Part I, Part II, Part III  and Part IV of this series it is clear that youth benefit from a …

In 2019 we published our Beginner Prescription, a free workout program with supporting materials designed to answer the question, “Where do I start with exercise …

In part four of the Resistance Training for Youth series, we’ll discuss the role of different training elements (or modalities) in athletic development. We recommend …

Part III will focus on the specific effects of resistance training on youth athletes. As mentioned in the previous parts of this series, resistance training …

If early sports specialization is not advantageous in most scenarios, and with an epidemic of inactivity among our youth, we need to find a more …

This series will analyze current evidence for training the general youth populations as well as for those who already consider themselves athletes. We will give …

The benefits of resistance training for reducing injury risk in endurance athletes was covered in  Part 1 of this series.  In Part 2, we examined …