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The Best Way to Do the Barbell Hip Thrust

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Barbell Hip Thrust Alternatives 3 Barbell Hip Thrust Workouts Muscles Worked by the Barbell Hip Thrust More Leg and Glute Exercises Instructions Sit with your upper back resting across a regular bench or against the padded backrest of a dedicated hip thrust bench (as shown in the videos). Roll a barbell over your thighs so it sits in your hip crease (use a bar pad or folded yoga mat to protect your hip bones), and plant your feet on the floor or footplate about shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Position your feet so that your shins are vertical and your knees are bent about 90 degrees at the top of each rep. Push the bar up with your hips by pressing through your heels until your torso and thighs are parallel to the floor and your shins are vertical. Hold this position for about one second, and then reverse the movement and return to the starting position. Expert ...
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The Best Way to Do the Seated Cable Row

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike’s Take Seated Cable Row Alternatives 3 Seated Cable Row Workouts Muscles Worked by the Seated Cable Row More Back Exercises Instructions Attach the handle to the cable row machine, sit on the pad, and place your feet against the footrests. Lean forward, grab the handle, and lean backward slightly so that your back is perpendicular to the floor and your arms are straight out in front of you. Keeping your back straight and staring straight ahead, let the handle pull your shoulder blades forward as far as they’ll go. Pull the handle toward your abdomen by bending your elbows and retracting your shoulder blades simultaneously. Keep your elbows close to your sides and pull until the handle touches your abdomen, your forearms are roughly parallel with the floor, and your shoulder blades are pinched together and down. Once the handle touches your torso, straighten your arms and let the weight pull you...
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The Best Way to Do the Dumbbell Hammer Curl

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Dumbbell Hammer Curl Alternatives 3 Dumbbell Hammer Curl Workouts Muscles Worked by the Dumbbell Hammer Curl More Biceps Exercises Instructions Stand up straight holding a dumbbell in each hand, with your palms facing each other and your arms hanging straight at your sides. Keeping your left arm at your side, curl the right dumbbell toward your shoulder while keeping your thumb pointed toward the ceiling. Keep raising the dumbbell until you can’t lift it any higher without moving your elbow forward. Lower the dumbbell to the starting position and repeat with your left arm. Expert Tips Keep your upper arms fixed beside your torso as you curl the dumbbells. Don’t push your elbow forward to raise the dumbbell even higher or help you finish each rep. Keep your torso as still as possible throughout the entire set. Don’t heave your body back and forth to make your reps eas...
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How Lori Lost 23 Pounds & Dropped 14% Body Fat in 6 Months

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In 6 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Lori lost 23 pounds and 5 inches from her waist, while getting much stronger. At 48, Lori had tried plenty of diets and workout plans, searching for what would work for her to have more energy and be stronger and fitter. Some worked for a while, but none of them lasted. She wanted something she could stick with for life, and after listening to Thinner Leaner Stronger, she thought this was a lifestyle change she could sustain, and signed up for coaching. With her coach’s help, she got a plan built around her busy life and finally learned what her body needed. Here are her results: Lori’s Journey “I am not getting any younger,” she said. “My goals at this point in my life are to be strong, healthy and to be around as long as I can for my children and their future families.” Lori wanted to invest in herself and her fitness, but her full time job with stressful days made a consistent diet and workou...
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The Best Way to Do the Seated Calf Raise

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Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Seated Calf Raise Alternatives 3 Seated Calf Raise Workouts Muscles Worked by the Seated Calf Raise More Calf Exercises Instructions Sit on the seated calf raise machine seat, adjust the thigh pad so that it rests just above your knees, and place the balls of your feet on the footplate. Lift the pad slightly by pushing through the balls of your feet, and use the safety handle to release the weight. Lower the weight as far as possible without letting your toes slip out of position, then pause for 2 seconds. Push through the balls of your feet to elevate the thigh pad as high as you can. Once you’ve lifted your heels as high as possible, pause for 1 second, then reverse the movement to return to the starting position. Expert Tips Make sure you pause for a full 2 seconds at the bottom of each rep. This puts maximum tension on your calf muscles and ensures you can’t cheat by bouncing...
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The Best Way to Do the Barbell Back Squat

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Table of Contents + Instructions (Low-Bar Squat) Instructions (High-Bar Squat) Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take High-Bar vs. Low-Bar Squats Back Squat Alternatives 3 Back Squat Workouts Muscles Worked by the Back Squat More Leg Exercises Instructions (Low-Bar Squat) Adjust the hooks or pins in a squat rack so the bar is at your midchest (about the height of your nipples), and load it with plates (or not, if the bar alone is enough weight). Grip the bar with your palms facing forward, thumbs on top of the bar, and your hands three to six inches wider than shoulder-width apart. Holding on to the bar for balance, place your feet underneath it about shoulder-width apart, then duck under the bar and place it across your upper-back muscles, directly across your shoulder blades. Tuck your shoulder blades back and down, and gently adjust the bar until you feel it resting on the "shelf" created by the bony protrusions of your shoulder blades and surroundi...
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The 13 Best Lat Exercises and 3 Lat Workouts

Here’s why many people struggle to build wide, strong lats: they do the wrong lat exercises with poor technique and lackluster effort. Thankfully, you only need a handful of effective exercises to build the back you want: One vertical pulling exercise, like a lat pulldown. One horizontal rowing exercise, like a chest-supported machine row . And, optionally, a lat isolation exercise like the cable pullover (straight-arm lat pulldown or lat prayer). Well, more accurately, these are the three best movements for training the lats—a pulldown, a row, and some kind of lat isolation exercise (technically known as shoulder extension ). You have a lot of flexibility in terms of the exact exercise variations you use, and I’ll share my favorites in this article (some are better than others). If I had to pick just one exercise for my lats, it would be a high-to-low machine row performed with a palms-up (supinated) grip or a close-grip lat pulldown. Both train the lats, biceps , and t...
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