The daddy of the powerlifts, the deadlift is arguably the most functional lift there is: picking a heavy object off the floor. Most people don’t do this because it is damn hard work. Are you one of them? No? Good. What is the deadlift? The deadlift is picking a dead weight off the floor and [...]

Commenting on a fellow trainee’s form seems to be the ultimate no-no in today’s fitness clubs. Recently I’ve seen some poor deadlifting form in my gym. Basic stuff: rounding of the lower back, hyper-extending at the top of the lift, that kind of thing. But gym etiquette dictates that you can’t say anything to people [...]

People often go on about how much crap there is on the internet, especially when it comes to strength training. But amongst all the rubbish are some real gems, and I will be highlighting my favourite sites on here from time to time. To start with, here are five sites you’ll love if you have [...]

One of the most badass exercises you can do in the gym, the handstand push-up is a humbling experience when you first try it. But persevere and you will develop excellent upper body strength.  What is the handstand push-up? A handstand push-up is performed against a wall in the handstand position. You slowly lower your [...]

At a recent Crossfit London session, we focussed on clean technique. Although we had all done the clean before, we were generally not very experienced in this move and variously exhibited these common problems: Rounding of the lower back Elbows too low ‘Reverse curling’ the bar up rather than shrugging Crossfit encourages full squat cleans, [...]

Strength exercises to prepare you for olympic weightlifting

I like going to the gym, but sometimes I wish I could have my own gym at home. A power rack in the basement, a pull-up bar in the lounge, maybe some gymnastic rings and a rope on the tree outside. Except that I don’t have a basement. Or a garden, let alone a tree. [...]

Explosive strength is often neglected in the gym. If you think dumbells are only good for arm and shoulder exercises, think again. The swing is superb for leg strength and hip extension. Do something different in the gym today! What is the dumbbell swing? The dumbbell swing is an ‘old school’ exercise. It is similar [...]

I’ve had some useful comments on my deadlift form, on this blog and elsewhere. Today was another deadlift day and I tried to put this advice into practice. Here’s a clip of my first set today, lifting 60kg. The issues I am addressing are: Back angle – i.e. the angle my back makes with the [...]

Learn the one-arm dumbbell snatch to develop explosive power and speed. Step-by-step instructions, photos and videos.