Health and Performance Made Ridiculously Simple
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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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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