The Split Squat ESSENTIALS You Are Missing You’ve mastered the split squat form, but you’re still getting knee pain during? Did you ever think that maybe your split squat technique is NOT the issue? Maybe you’re focusing on the wrong things. Don’t worry, I’ll show you the right drills to shift your efforts towards. I’m going to give you the 3 drills that will loosen up your hips, strengthen your knees, and reduce knee pain during split squats. And make sure to stick around until the end because I’ve got a little present for you to try afterward.
Read MoreCategory: Exercises
Tense Muscle RELIEF – 5 easy exercises
This move will reduce muscular tension throughout the body Do you ever feel tightness or tension anywhere that foam rolling and stretching WON’T TOUCH? Then maybe those things aren’t the answer. Maybe there is a different way. A way that can reduce tension throughout your ENTIRE body. That key? Learning to move without tension. This post will teach you 5 exercises that will help you achieve this skill, and why it works. The best part? I recruited Lucy Hendricks, an AMAZING trainer, to help show us how to do it. Check it out below!
Read MoreHip Hinge FIX in 3 Steps
If you nail these three keys, you’ll deadlift better than ever before Hinging exercises (aka deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, etc) can provide a TON of benefits for improving mobility, lower body strength, and power. IF You can perform these moves with great technique. But if you are someone whose technique is meh and you feel all lower back and minimal torching of the glutes and hamstrings, then you might not be getting the most out of this awesome exercise. Folks, what I’ve found is there are three keys to performing the hinge well. If you can hit these three components, there’s a good chance that you’ll: Increase how much the glutes and hamstrings work Improve your hip range of motion Feel a whole lot less low back discomfort Want to learn how? Check out the post and video below.
Read MorePullover Exercise Proper Form | Why EVERYONE Gets it WRONG
Textbook performance of every pullover exercise variation ever! The pullover can be an awesome move for CRUSHING the abs and enhancing shoulder mobility, assuming that your technique is on point. But if you do any of the following: Arch your back Pull the shoulders back Flare your ribs Then that’s a poor assumption. AKA YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. But don’t worry, I got you covered. Today’s post will go through pullover biomechanics (which will better inform you when and who should get this move), the coaching keys needed to crush the abs and loosen up the upper body, and how to fix common errors with this move. Check out the video and post below to learn about it.
Read MoreSide Plank Exercise – How to Get MORE ABS
Think side planks are easy? THINK AGAIN Side planks. People stop this awesome exercise too early because they either become “easy” or they end up causing elbow discomfort. What if you could solve both of these issues by beefing up your technique? Don’t worry, you’ll be learning the finer technical side plank points that most people are missing, as well as when to best program this vastly underutilized exercise.
Read MoreAb Wheel | 3 Keys You Are MISSING
How to get more out of rollout variations than ever before Do your ab wheel rollouts suffer from ANY of the following: Abs aren’t working? Lower back is engaged? Too much loading on the shoulders? It’s WAY too easy? Then chances are that you’re missing at least one of three major keys needed during any type of rollout variation (yep, swiss ball, TRX, foam roller, walkouts, etc). Not only will I show you how to better perform rollouts, but we will also beef up your biomechanical knowledge of this move, upping your programming.
Read MoreSnatch Grip RDL | It’s AWESOME and I’ll Show You Why!
A great beginning deadlift variation Looking to learn how to deadlift but unsure where you should start? Are you or your client thinking: “YOU WANT ME TO MOVE MY HIPS HOW?” Then fam, the snatch grip RDL might be the perfect deadlift variation to start with. If you are unsure why this version is great, when it should be programmed, or how in the heck to do it, don’t worry, ya boi Big Z has you covered! Check out the video and post below to learn all about the awesomeness that is the snatch grip RDL.
Read MoreQuadruped Hold
An important drill that will improve your pushups You ever try a pushup and it just…looks…AWFUL? I’m talking head dipping forward, sagging like crazy, and shoulder blades looking like you might be able to fly kinda pushups? It may be that practicing pushups more IS NOT the answer. It could be that you or your supreme clientele have movement restrictions that prevent boss-status pushups from happening. Limitations that stretching simply won’t fix. Or perhaps there are fundamental aspects that are needed for an effective pushup that were simply glossed over. Folks, I got a drill for you that will improve mobility and teach pushup fundamentals simultaneously. Enter the quadruped hold. This move is essential to master before really pushing the envelope on any weight-bearing upper body exercises—pushups, bear crawls, mountain climbers, and more. Quadruped is like learning musical scales to your Stairway to Pushup Heaven. Let’s start class! Check out the video and post below to learn all about this awesome move!
Read MoreHow to Forward Lean Split Squat
A split squat variation that targets the hamstrings and glutes The split squat is an excellent exercise, but what if you are someone who loads the back leg WAY TOO MUCH, or you really want to work the hamstrings better than ever before? Enter the forward lean split squat (or as I affectionately call it, the superhero split squat). This variation introduces a hinge component to the split squat, which better works the posterior chain and minimizes back leg loading. But what are the keys to performing this well? Who would benefit from this version the most? I’ll answer that for you! Check out the video and post below for all the details!
Read MoreTop 10 Exercises of 2021
Exercises that’ll improve your movement and get you stronger! If you’ve spent one second on my Youtube channel (and the new exercise channel), you’ll notice there are a boatload of exercises on there, with little guidance as to which are best. Admittedly, some are duds, some work better than others. But instead of relying on my own judgment to tell you what rocks and doesn’t, who better to ask than the fam? Exercises are by far the most popular piece of my weekend goodies, which is why I’ve made a top 10 list of the most popular exercises of 2021 If you want a deep dive into new moves that I’m using on the regular, then you’ll want to sign up for my newsletter. Just about every Friday, you’ll get free goodies that range from exercises, to cool articles and podcasts, and more. ALL FREE!
Read MoreHip Flexor Stretches Don’t Work – Try These 2 Exercises Instead
If hip flexor stretching is whack, what is better, Zac? It’s super common to feel hip flexor tightness from sitting or a bazillion other things. The problem is that your traditional hip flexor stretches don’t really work…At all. The reason why is NOT because your hip flexor muscles are this evil piece of your anatomy that hates you and cares little about your feeble attempts to stretch them. It’s because tight hip flexors are part of a bigger movement strategy that your body uses. And in order to get these muscles to let go, you have to teach your body a different movement behavior. One that takes into consideration ALL of the areas that influence hip flexor tension. What are they? Well fam watch the video below and read the blog to learn! What are the hip flexors? Are the hip flexors simply evil muscles that exist within your body to cause you all types of pain and problems? Uh, no fam. The hip flexors are several muscles that act to flex the hip (aka bring your thigh closer to your abdomen. If you’ve ever sprinted, walked, went upstairs, done marching exercises, or kneed someone in the gut (wild times in Vegas), then you can be thankful you have hip flexors big fam! For you anatomy nerds, some of the major players that complete this move include: Tensor fascia lata (TFL) Psoas major Iliacus Rectus femoris What other actions do the hip flexors perform? You’ll notice that the hip flexor
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