*Photo Credit: Eddie Hall – world record holder with a 1020lb deadlift If you’ve been following my writing for a while, you’ll remember I made a post awhile back where I said, “the squat is the best exercise in the history of ever.” Well, my thoughts on that haven’t changed. I still think the […]
Don’t Get Married to Percentages
Percentages are awesome. I use them in nearly all of the training programs I write – both for myself and for my clients – and not only do they allow you to regulate the weight/intensity used on a given exercise (and control the progression scheme moving forward), but they give you an idea of […]
The Four Horseman of Optimal Recovery (Part 1)
Nick Smoot- Owner of Smoot Fitness Smootfitness.com I started a new training block yesterday, and man was it brutal. The focus of this phase is maximal strength, and day one looks like this: – Barbell Box Squat- 6X3 – Good Mornings- 6X3 -Lying Hamstring Curl- 3X6 -Barbell Lunges- 3X6 -Back Extensions- 3X6 I always expect […]
Does Soreness Indicate a Successful Workout?
Nick Smoot- Owner of Smoot Fitness Smootfitness.com There seems to be a trend going around promoting soreness and fatigue as leading indicators of workout success. Although soreness is a common by-product of a hard training session, is that really what we should focus on when determining whether or not we are making progress in the […]
The Correct Way to Spot an Exercise
Nick Smoot-Owner of Smoot Fitness Smootfitness.com Sorry in advance for the rant, but it really amazes me that so many people in the gym do NOT know how to spot another lifter correctly. The other day I went for a new bench press PR (personal record) and asked the guy in the power rack […]