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Getting Schooled on Building Muscle

10/9/2020

Getting Schooled on Building Muscle

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Chris Barakat, MS, ATC, CISSN, is the founder of School of Gainz and Competitive Breed. He is also a competitive natural bodybuilder, researcher, and educator who truly walks the talk.

In this episode, we discuss all things muscle building including:

Whether DOMs are a useful indicator of effective training
What makes a good muscle building exercise
How much variety do you need in your training
Is periodization a useful muscle building tool

As well as discussing Chris' exciting research and insights into the latest science in hypertrophy.

If you enjoyed this podcast and took value from it, please rate and review to help us spread the word to motivate and inspire others to take their performance to the next level. For more podcasts like this, visit the Breaking Muscle Six Pack of Knowledge page. Find all out podcasts on most streaming services available including: iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, Stitcher, PlayerFM, and PodBean.

I am the host, Tom MacCormick and I am a personal trainer and online coach whose goal is to be the curator of the greatest hypertrophy experts on the planet. If you are interested in working with me or finding out more about me then follow him on Instagram @tommaccormick.

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October 9, 2020 at 09:51AM

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The Cossack Squat: Reclaiming Your Baseline Balance

10/8/2020

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The Cossack Squat: Reclaiming Your Baseline Balance

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This uncomplicated exercise not only builds single-leg strength and coordination but also takes care of the instability of the hips that unavoidably creeps in after years of training heavy two-sided movements like squats and deadlifts.

We're not perfectly balanced machines. One side of our body has more prominent organs in different places than the other side. We have a dominant side that will always be a little stronger and more coordinated than the other.

So, when we start training heavy two-legged or bilateral movements like squats and deadlifts, it would make sense that we'd begin to develop a bias to push harder, shift toward, or favor our dominant side.

It's part of the deal in being a human being, and no measure of one-side focused remedial exercises or drills will make us perfectly balanced.

There's no point in obsessing over this because we're, by nature, imbalanced.

We should always concentrate on the foundations that are beyond every movement and exercise. If you're interested in learning what these foundation principles are, check out this new course I'm offering.

When the Imbalance Is Too Much

Sometimes though, the gap between the sides and segments can grow a little too large. When that happens, we need smart exercises that train all variables to help move the meter back toward your baseline, a reasonable asymmetry.

The c ossack squat demands you move in positions that can be difficult at first to do, but the movement itself is simple and straightforward.

It can be done anywhere with bodyweight or loaded in different ways with whatever kind of weights are available to you.

Why The Cossack Squat?

Any single-leg exercise can improve stability and physical awareness. What makes the cossack squat valuable is that you have the light support of your trail leg. This support enables you to focus on controlled moving through the entire range of motion available to you while building more mobility and strength at the end of your range.

As you drop down, you're moving at the limit of your hip and ankle range of motion. Just look at the picture above. I'm doing as deep of a squat as I possibly can on one side of my body.

We all tend to emphasize linear movements where we move straight up and down. If you want a big squat and deadlift, there's nothing wrong with that. But you need to make sure that you're moving in different directions and patterns of movement at least some of the time.

The cossack squat is an exercise you can add to the end of your workouts that gets you moving in a different plane.

It would be best if you moved through these different patterns to prevent pattern overload (injuries to your soft tissues from moving in only one pattern or limiting the free range of motion for too long).

It would help if you moved in these different positions to keep all of the connective tissue in the body healthy.

The longer we've been training, the more we may need this.

The older we get, the more we need to move in every possible way.

And the more we sit for work, the more we should move in every movement pattern possible.

Use Every Pattern of Movement

Place your feet one to two-foot lengths outside of shoulder-width apart. You may have to adjust your feet wider. Play around with your stance to figure out what's comfortable and strong.
Ground the foot on the side you're going to squat toward first. Push your big toe firmly into the ground and create pressure against the ground outside of your foot, directly below the outer edge of the ankle.
You can turn your toes out at first but eventually work toward keeping them pointed straight as it will challenge your mobility and stability at new levels.
Use your other foot on the opposite side to help you and push you into the squat.
Lower yourself into the squat without letting your heels or any part of your feet lose contact with the floor. Some variations allow your toes on your trail leg to lift and rotate up but keeping them down is better to challenge your adductors mobility.
Push off the foot you've squatted toward to push your hips up and back toward the middle.
Without pausing, lower yourself to the other side, keeping the same points of contact and ideas in mind.

Weighted Cossack Squat

Usually, to add weight to this exercise, you'd hold the weight out in front of you to use as a counterbalance to keep you upright, or you'd hold it close to your body.

If you want to change it up, try holding a weight behind your head.

Holding a weight behind your head tests your dexterity to stay upright.

You'll train the upper back's strength and mobility, and your trunk will work even harder to keep posture and stabilize you. Win, win, and win.

Watch Your Limit

The point of this exercise isn't to bend and fold yourself into a position that you can't yet reach. It's to find the edge of your mobility and stability in this motion and challenge it slowly, without losing posture and rigidity or compensating in some way.

If you consistently practice it, you'll reach this bottom position, but your adductors, knees, and ankles won't like you very much if you try to force it too soon.

Ready For More Difficulty?

There are a few different ways to load this exercise to make it more challenging. Holding a weight behind your head, which I already described, is one. Keeping weight overhead with arms extended is another.

But there's something else you can do to test your mobility and stability that doesn't necessarily require any weight.

Choose the side you're squatting toward and place a small plate or similar flat object under that foot. Do your chosen number of reps and then switch sides.

Just by elevating your foot a few inches, you'll be fighting to maintain position while you lower into a deeper position.

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October 8, 2020 at 08:44PM

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Can I Train With A Herniated Disc?

10/5/2020

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Can I Train With A Herniated Disc?

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Short answer? Yes.

Before you go rushing to the weight room, we need to take a step back.

Even though you can still exercise, play sports, and move in general with a herniated or bulging disc, there are a few precautions and steps you need to take to stop the owie from kicking your butt big time.

First, you need to understand your injury. Know thy enemy and all that.

What Is a Herniated Disc?

Your spine consists of small sections of bone called vertebrae. In-between each of these bones is an intervertebral disc.

These guys are there for three reasons.

Shock absorption
Protection
Allow movement

Oh, and to piss you off when you try to lift something clearly too heavy for you.

A disc bulge or a disc herniation is when one of these fluid-filled discs is injured.

It can either protrude out or rupture, usually causing a restriction on nerves and generating intense pain.

On the other hand, most adults have disc bulges and suffer no effects at all. In general, it's completely natural.

Many people get MRIs and decide they are done for when it shows herniated or bulging discs.

But if you've ever herniated a disc, you know the kind of pain it can trigger.

When I herniated three discs, I could not move at all without intense pain. I mean, really could not move, and if you are in that kind of pain this minute, I sympathize with you. I do understand because it sucks big time.

There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel

It might not seem like it, but there is.

You can come back from herniated discs just as strong if you take the right steps.

It's all about building back the proper support around your spine and convincing your brain that it is safe and doesn't need to generate that pain action signal.

There are four essential steps to getting you back in action.

1. Isometric Exercises

Listen, if you've had a backsplosion (going to TM that btw), you need to take a step back and scrape it all down to your training foundations.
That means learning to tense your muscles again by re-learning to brace your trunk ane support your spine. You are re-educating your brain, confirming that you know what you're doing, you're addressing the issue, and most importantly, it's re-establishing your relationship with gravity.
Also, by building isometric strength, you are giving your spine the support it needs to move safely and eventually accept a load.
Proper support means less pressure on your discs.

2. Find Movements and Exercises You Can Do

It sounds simple.
But that's not all. It would be best if you found exercises you can do that replicate the ones you can't.
For example, the second exercise in the video is the split stance lunge. This exercise replicates the back squat's muscular activation, and it won't leave you in tears the next day trying to get out of bed.

3. Start to Reintroduce Hinge Movements

It would be best if you started re-introducing your trunk and spine back into hinge movements.

Slowly!

Just hinging at the hip could be too much for your spine to take straight off, so you need to find a way to hinge but with consideration for initial weight and movement range.

Next, you need to increase weight gradually.

4. Build control

It would be best if you build control of the spine and the muscles that support it.

If you can't control and support your spine, you'll never fully recover from a herniated disc.

Try the all-fours-spinal-wave in the video to start building the control you need to keep moving well.

After all, if you can't control the car you're driving, you can't expect it to stay on the road, can you?

It makes complete sense when it's laid out, but sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees.

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October 5, 2020 at 03:35PM

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How Does Resistance Training Rank in Terms of Safety?

9/28/2020

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How Does Resistance Training Rank in Terms of Safety?

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A misconception is that weight training and weightlifting (yes, these are two separate entities, more on that later) are dangerous activities and are to blame for several injuries that occur in the gym.

From a young age, parents will often elect safer activities for their children to participate in over resistance training for fear of a traumatic injury occurring. Even worse, individual coaches and athletes well into their professional and collegiate careers opt-out of resistance training for fear of it, making them too slow or bulky.

Unfortunately, abstaining from resistance training ultimately does the body more harm than good, and is not the culprit. There isn't any question that poor exercise technique can result in injury; however, the chances of that occurring are unlikely, particularly with proper instruction.

Don't miss out on the extraordinary performance benefits that lifting provides because of the fear of a rare injury. Every day that you drive your car, you run the risk of getting into an accident, but that doesn't stop you from driving. It also applies to weight training and weightlifting.

Taking the proper steps to learn sound techniques will enhance athletic performance at low risk.

Safety Rankings

To be clear, weight-training is any resistance training that takes place with machines, implements, or weights, while weightlifting is the Olympic sport that includes the snatch and clean and jerk explicitly.

Both modalities include a wide array of exercises, but together they cover resistance training.

Regarding the safety of these two activities, they are some of the safest sports in which one can participate. Weightlifting, as previously mentioned, is a sport in itself, but weight training includes powerlifting, bodybuilding, or any other type of exercise to improve physical fitness.

A 1994 research study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research¹ examined the relative safety of both weight training and weightlifting in comparison to many sporting activities, including:

Rugby
Football
Tennis
Cross country
Soccer
Volleyball

The results showed that per 100 participation training hours, weight training had the second-lowest injury rate and weightlifting had the lowest, an amazingly low 0.0035 and 0.0017 rate, respectively.¹

The aforementioned safer option most parents elect to place their children in, soccer, topped the list at 6.2 injuries per 100 training hours.

Unfortunately, individuals are so quick to write off any type of resistance training due to unjustified fear.

While I still believe children should participate in a wide variety of sports, this evidence demonstrates that children and adults, for that matter, should by no means avoid any resistance training unless clearly stated by their physician.

Do You Have Self-Imposed Limitations?

One of the most significant issues I am confronted with when training a new athlete or client is the limitations they bring to the table before our first meeting.

They may have heard that squatting is bad for their knees.
They refuse to lift anything heavy because they believe it will injure them despite the data demonstrating otherwise.

My absolute favorite quote to that point is by Brett Contreras, who once said,

“If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.” -Brett Contreras

While I digress, he does make a fantastic point. Previous injury, health issues, and paranoia are no excuse to avoid resistance training altogether.

Now I must preface this by saying that your doctors and medical health care providers always know the best way more than somebody like myself, so please listen to them first.

The point I make is that if you have a fused spine and they tell you to never back squat again, that doesn't mean to never squat again in any capacity. (Unless explicitly stated by your doctor. Also, listen to them, not me). It merely means do so in a more intelligent way.

Giant newsflash, you will have to squat to get up and down from a chair or toilet at some point in your life again, might as well learn how to do it right. Falling prey to the assumption that herniated discs and torn ligaments are imminent when undertaking lifting modalities is close-minded.

Everybody should be able to:

They should be able to do each of these functions with some type of resistance at any age, especially if high-level athletic performance is the goal.

Barbell Squats

Take the barbell squat as our example; it is undoubtedly the king of all exercises, but it is not always appropriate for everyone. It's important to remember that we are loading this movement pattern to facilitate a particular adaptation in an athlete to prepare for their sport.

If one variation does not match up with what they are physically capable of, find another way.

Here are three significant variations.

1. The Goblet Squat

Goblet Squat: Once an athlete can demonstrate the sound technique in the squat pattern with their body weight, they can quickly move on to the kettlebell or dumbbell goblet squat.

Those who need to refrain from axial loading due to a previous injury or being relatively a novice can gain a lot from this movement as the anterior load forces one to maintain an upright posture.

2. The Front Squat

Front Squat: If an athlete demonstrates the sound technique in the front squat and requires more significant loading than what the goblet squat provides, another great variation of the squat is the barbell front squat. Similar to the goblet squat, it forces an athlete to use proper core stability to ensure they are maintaining posture.

3. The Zercher Squat

Zercher Squat: This squat variation is a significantly underused one. It serves as s great substitute or a workaround to the front/back squat variations when one may have a wrist injury or something similar.

Athletes who cannot physically grip a bar will often fall behind in their training because they can't do any of the big three conventional movements:

Supplementing this issue with the Zercher squat can make a huge difference.

Age and Safety

I've worked with clients well into their 70s, 80s, and even 90s that can move more weight than they did when they were young because they put in the effort to improve themselves.

Athletes who come to me as freshmen in high school and can't squat correctly with more than their body-weight often cap their senior year by squatting double their body weight.

With the right programming and a little discipline, significant gains can occur.

The earlier one incorporates training into their life, the better off they'll be, mainly when they are young and can pick skills up quickly.

Most people wish they would have learned a foreign language as a child when it quickly becomes second nature, but unfortunately, every year that goes by, it becomes increasingly difficult.

The same applies to movement and training; learning to lift young and lift often ingrains healthy habits into your life that reach well beyond athletic performance.

If an athlete hears that they could take a pill guaranteed to increase their athletic performance while reducing their relative risk for an injury, I can't imagine one that would not take it.

When it comes to resistance training, that is what they are getting, yet some still refuse to engage.

I believe that this comes from a severe lack of misinformation and a lack of guidance.

If you are a coach reading this, help your athletes understand the massive benefits that a good training program can have, and if you are an athlete reading this, make sure you train, you'll thank your coaches later.

References

1. Hamill, B. P., "Relative safety of weightlifting and weight training." J Strength Cond Res, 1994, 8(1), 53-57.

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September 28, 2020 at 03:13PM

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A Weighted Vest for Beginners

9/26/2020

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A Weighted Vest for Beginners

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Franco Columbu, who was Arnold Schwarzenegger's best friend, a champion bodybuilder in his own right, as well as a competitor in strongman and powerlifting events, had his own views about adding weight to bodyweight exercises, famously saying, "Never add weights to your pull-ups." The thinking went, if you can do multiple sets of 8-12 reps of a pull-up with varying grips and perfect form, that was what you needed to do, and adding weight was a distraction from the ultimate goal, and not necessarily helpful.

There is, however, research on the use of weighted vests (WV) in training, and the recommendations indicate that a certain degree of thought needs to go into incorporating WVs in training protocols but, in some cases, they do produce results. In Effects of Sprint Training With and Without Weighted Vest on Speed and Repeated Sprint Ability in Male Soccer Players the researchers didn't find any conlcusive evidence to support the efficacy of WV training but did recommend its consideration as a supplementary addition to normal training because of improvements in repeated sprint ability. However, in The Effect of Extra-Load Conditioning on Muscle Performance in Athletes, researchers determined that the WV experimental group improved their jumping heights in squat jumps with and without extra loads; their jumping heights in drop jumps and mechanical power output in 15 second of jumps.

On the other hand, in Weighted Vest Exercise Improves Indices of Fall Risk in Older Women, researchers found that postmenopausal women benefited from lower body resistance exercises where the resistance was increased through the use of a WV. So, I am not going to advocate or deny the value of a weighted vest. When it comes to athletic or sports performance there are so many reasons to shy away from making any definitive statements because the one percenters in physical fitness aren't like the rest of us so, it's pointless to try and compare yourself. And, based on research of older populations, there is certainly some value to be had from WV training so, there's probably a middle ground usage criteria that can be applied to most trainees.

The Zelus Beginner Weighted Vest

Which brings me nicely to the Zelus WV that I had a chance to review for Breaking Muscle. The product used here is the 12 lb version, what we have designated as a beginner, but seeing as how the vest is avaiable in lower weight configurations, that might not be the case for you. Judging by the research, you could be postmenopausal, start off with a 4 lb weight and that might be heavy enough to start you off. 12 lb may not sound like much but you do feel the weight, no matter how fit or strong you are.

The picture at the top of the article is how this vest looks compared to a heavy duty, 80 lb WV. There's a world of difference, and not just the weight. Zelus's WV is comfortable and suited to rapid movement. It loops around your back and shoulder, fits nicely, and stays on firmly. It's definitely a good choice if you are going to be using it for a long stretch of activity.

I would prefer to carry a set of dumbbells if I wanted to do a loaded carry over a long hike, or use a heavier vest, much heavier, for ruck, but if it was a sprint, or jog then, Zelus's WV is a no brainer. Again, it depends on whether you think a weighted vest is a help or hinderance in sprinting.

It kind of gets marketed as a CrossFit friendly product. There's certainly a lot of people who like to add WVs to traditional WODs like Murph. Although, you may also like to wear a weighted vest to do your grocery shopping, and if you do, this is a great solution for you and will probably go unnoticed as just a fashion statement.

What I am really trying to say is that this is a pretty nice addition to the WV firmanent. It's a good design. It fits nicely. I haven't had a chance to use it over a year of activity so, I can't tell you how reliable it is going to be but I can't see anything that would indicate that it is not well-made. I didn't really care much for the detachable zipper pocket that came with it, a way to store your phone and keys and stuff. But, to be honest, it's irrelevant to the product. If I am going to take my wallet and $700 phone into the gym or on a sweaty run, no one has invented a pocket that hits the mark, at least not in my experience. On a positive note, I do keep the vest near me at my desk, and every time I can get off the computer, I can hit a few sets of push-ups with it on. Right now, I am at home, but I could keep one in my desk drawer at work, which is kind of cool.

Zelus Weighted Vest
Features	Comfortable material, dual storage pockets, adjustable straps, reflective stripes, rear mesh pocket, includes detachable front zipper pockets for personal items and phone
Weight	20lbs/ 16lbs/ 12lbs/ 8lbs/ 6lbs/ 4lbs
Price	$36.99 (Amazon)

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September 26, 2020 at 03:31PM

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Homeschooling 2020/2021 Update

9/25/2020

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Homeschooling 2020/2021 Update

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Well guys, we are now a little over a month in our first homeschool year! I wanted to write this post as an update because, as I was saying on Instagram, you can’t really know what is going to work or what you’re even going to do until you just start. This reminds me of knitting, which I learned how to do during this pandemic season. I would have these lofty plans in my head and then get all the materials I needed for a new project (that was probably way too advanced for my newbie self). The hardest part was always STARTING. I didn’t know what I was doing at all but I just started anyway — I just dove in and learned as I knit. Homeschooling is sort of like that for me, I think.

So, if you read my previous blog post you know I had these grand plans to teach allllll these subjects and was even writing my own curriculum to go along with it. Okay well, real life — that worked for maybe four days. Well, it’s not that it didn’t work, it’s just that it was way too much for all of us. I spent my mornings anxiously trying to fit it all in and feeling stressed.

Grayson loved it but I have two other little kids to think about, too. It got to the point where I just needed to be more flexible and adapt our curriculum to, basically, be less. I actually realized through this experience that I can really only do half of what I think I can do. And you know what? That is okay. That’s where we are at right now. If doing less makes me a less stressed out mom and my kids are still happy and learning, I count that as a win. Right now, my two year old literally doesn’t let me do read alouds on the couch or teach math while he is awake (and destroying things). While that’s annoying, I know it’s only for a season. We can work with this!

So, here’s what we found to really work for us. Every morning, we have what we call Morning Time. It’s when we all gather around the table and soak in our beauty for the day (while the two year old throws rice and beans on the floor and the four year old does play-doh). Morning Time right now is literally only ten minutes. I’m okay with that. Every morning we sing a hymn, read the Ology, sometimes do some scripture copywork and work on our memory work. Right now, we are memorizing Ephesians 6: 10-20. We also have been following the Classical Conversations history memory “jingles” via the app (“In 1620 the piiiiiiilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England and signed the Mayflower compact….”). It’s quite catchy and we all have been very much enjoying it! Then, after that, we sometimes listen to a piece of classical music, sometimes look at an art print, sometimes paint, sometimes read a poem, sometimes I read from a picture book…whatever works for the day.

After trying a few different things we finally decided to go with the literature and project based curriculum for elementary students, The Playful Pioneers, from Peaceful Press. It’s all early American history that uses either the Little House on the Prairie books or the Little Britches books (we chose the latter since we already have read laura ingalls wilder last year) as a spine. After trying a few different things, I can safely say this curriculum is AMAZING. We all love it. It’s really just read alouds and projects, which my kids thrive on. This curriculum covers us for history, science, geography and language arts. I just add in math (here’s what we use) and it’s a complete day.

Playful Pioneers is also super family friendly because you can just adapt it for the ages of your kids. It’s also very flexible. I teach “morning time” right when we start school (little kids at the table with their sensory activities like playdoh, rice bins or lots of snacks), then we take a break. When we come back, we do some table time work. Grayson works on his copywork for the day and does some phonics from an Explode the Code book, which he loves. We take another longer break then later, after lunch when Brooks takes a nap, I teach reading, math and we work on labeling our US map according to what we are currently studying. At night right before bed, we do the “big” read aloud for the day from Little Britches (it’s a great book but not appropriate for toddlers or preschoolers. It’s like a step up from Little House on the Prairie).

Playful Pioneers teaches American history through amazing living books, which I have Grayson narrate back when I read them. Once a week he works in his narration notebook, where he narrates, I write and then he illustrates his own narration.

That’s about it! I went from thinking “I had to do school ONLY in the morning and be done by lunch” to spacing it out throughout the day because that’s what works right now. We are also planning on joining a co-op next month so that will be our school day one day a week.

It is exhausting, to say the least. I rarely have time for myself these days and at 1pm I literally shove my kids in their rooms with their books on tape so I can take a short breather with a cup of tea. However, the self sacrifice is worth it because I see how much my kids LOVE learning! It is a joy to learn alongside them. Grayson tells me frequently that school is his favorite part of the day and I would have to agree.

As Charlotte Mason said, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline and a life”.

I think I will post again at the end of our term in December and provide another update. In the meantime, feel free to follow along in our crazy days on Instagram, as I’ve been sharing more and more frequently there.

Blessings, friends!

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September 24, 2020 at 11:28PM

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How to Keep Yourself Upright During a Squat

9/24/2020

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How to Keep Yourself Upright During a Squat

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We all know we shouldn’t look like we’re bowing to worship the gym floor when we do a barbell back squat. That’s a lot of what you see at gyms, though.

So, we do corrective exercises that focus on building strength and stability for the muscles and patterns that would supposedly keep this from happening.

These are usually simple and single-joint exercises that work on only one side of the body at a time. But sometimes, and more often than not, we can develop what we need by just spending more time in the positions we want to improve.

If you want to learn all about the principles behind this, check out my online course starting in a couple of weeks.

Addressing Posture and Position in the Squat

Moving through positions is what the 1.25 squat does best.

It keeps you moving through the positions that are frequently harder to maintain.

More time practicing the bottom positions of the squat means we have more opportunity for sensory learning - feeling the muscles that contribute to a movement where and when they should.

The continuous controlled movement from the bottom of your squat to a quarter standing, back down to the base causes you to maintain the type of balance and posture that creates a great squat.

It’s better than just doing more straight reps because of how challenging it is to lower into that second squat without resetting at the top like you usually would. It helps you feel any shift in the pressure of your feet and the tilt of your torso.

The Benefits of the 1.25 Squat

Some exercises are just variations for advanced lifters who need some new kick to get stronger.

It does that, but it’s also great for inexperienced squatters.

It can be a focused movement practice for anyone trying to make their squat pattern fluid and strong. And, it can be a way for someone who already has an ingrained good squat to strengthen their quads and glutes while they work on the skill of keeping ample tension at a depth of their squat.

The 1.25 squat doesn’t just strengthen and train the coordination of the muscles that do the moving.

It provides a condition that naturally trains the stabilizing musculature of the trunk. Muscles like the abs, obliques, the transverse abdominis, and the erectors stiffen the spine.

Posture breaks down, and squats fall apart because of a lack of control over these muscles during the most challenging part of the movement (reversing from the bottom to standing back up).

With this exercise, you train this capacity for tension better because you spend most of your time in that part of the movement.

How To Brace, Lower, and Hit Your Squat

Set up under the barbell and walk out just as you’d do for a standard squat, Take your breath, and make sure to focus on creating a proper brace. You’ll need it to stay rigid for this extended rep.

Lower into your squat and once you hit your depth, come up a quarter of the way to completely standing. Think of coming up 3-5 inches above parallel.

Immediately go back to the depth of your squat and then stand up entirely from there. That’s one rep.

Make sure not to pause at any point.

As soon as you reach depth, come up.
Once you feel like you’re 3-5 inches above parallel, immediately go back down.
When you reach the bottom of your squat for the second time, stand up completely without hesitation.

Don’t do more than five reps on this exercise, and be aware of how much weight you use.

The focus is on the quality of the movement, posture, tension, and feeling the muscles working well in one coordinated effort.

Don’t worry if you’re coming too high or not high enough on the quarter rep. If you’re going in-and-out of the bottom of your squat twice, you’re doing the exercise correctly.

Change It Up

The point of this exercise is to make sure the right muscles are working where they should and to increase stability in the movement where you’d often lose it.

The muscles of the upper-back aid in creating a structure and posture that you need for a solid squat, so a 1.25 front squat can be a significant variation to this end.

Front squats require that you keep tension in your upper back and keep the chest from falling forward because if you don’t, you’re dumping the bar on the floor in front of you.

Rotating 1.25 front squats with back squats will improve the posture and muscular coordination for a strong squat.

Challenge Your Squat Technique With Pauses

This exercise can be pretty tricky, even if you have a lot of experience.

But if you’ve been training with them, try adding pauses.

Pauses force even more control to keep tension in these positions because you’re spending even more time at the bottom.

Using a one count pause at the bottom of the squat, again after you rise a quarter of the way up, and then also the second time at the bottom is plenty to challenge and advance you for some time.

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September 24, 2020 at 03:40PM

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Making Your Money Count: 7 Effective Social Media Advertising Tips

10/14/2019

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Making Your Money Count: 7 Effective Social Media Advertising Tips

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According to Hootsuite’s Global State of Digital in 2019 report, there are 3.484 billion social media users worldwide. This number keeps growing each year by 9 percent.

With the rise of social networks, it’s becoming harder than ever to put your content out there and reach potential customers. Algorithms change constantly, and brands try to keep up with the trends.

As a brand, you can’t afford to spend time and effort on posting content without spending money on ads. Only a few of your posts will have an organic reach. You have to pay for the rest in hopes of being noticed.

Here are seven essential social media advertising tips you need to know to get your money’s worth for each ad you put out there.

1. Build a Social Media Strategy

Before you begin with social media advertising, you need a solid social media strategy. First, decide on the content you’ll post, the timeframe, and frequency. These parameters are different for each platform and for each type of audience.

For example, LinkedIn users are the most active after work, while Facebook users are the most active at noon, during their lunch break, or in the evenings. Then, decide on the type of ads you’ll run, your budget, and frequency.

Remember that it takes time for your strategy to produce results. Even with paid ads, platforms need time to figure out the best audience to present your ads to and gain momentum. However, if you don’t see results after a month, either kill the ad campaign or change something about it.

2. Decide Which Platforms You’ll Use

With so many social media platforms, it can be hard to decide which ones to use for the best results. Where does your target customer spend the most time online? Which platforms do they use every day and for what purpose?

Each platform has its own rules on advertising, but also different types of audiences. This means you should prepare different ads and pay different prices.

It’s important to choose your top advertising vs marketing channels and allocate your budget accordingly. Some marketing efforts don’t require big budgets but may need the support of paid ads to convert.

3. Know Your Target Customer

Social media ads are easy to set up, but no matter how advanced their algorithms, this doesn’t mean they’ll reach the right audience. This is why you have to know your target customer in terms of demographics, purchasing power, lifestyle habits, shopping habits, and even the generation they belong to.

Once you have a detailed buyer persona, you’ll know the type of voice to use, images and graphics, price ranges, and calls to action. Running ads just for the sake of it will not only drain your ad money but also result in low conversion rates.

4. Engage With Your Followers

If you want to learn what your audience wants, you have to interact with them on a daily basis. This means replying to comments and messages, organizing giveaways, making polls, asking questions, and posting regular social media content.

The more you engage with your followers, the closer they’ll feel to your brand. They’ll tag their friends, post photos of your products, and participate in discussions. This will help algorithms show your posts in users’ feeds, and earn the trust of your followers. And when your audience learns to trust you, they will buy from you.

Remember that trust is hard to earn, but it’s easily broken. Your interactions with the audience should always be friendly, professional, and helpful, no matter how much time it takes to turn them into customers.

5. Set a Social Media Advertising Budget

Most social media platforms make it easy and affordable to run ads, but you still need to set a budget. Otherwise, your ads will run indefinitely, and you’ll spend money with little ROI.

Divide your advertising budget into several parts for different social media platforms. Then, decide which platform can bring you the most return on ad spent, and assign the biggest chunk there.

Remember that click-through rates aren’t as important as conversion rates. If you see a great CTR, but also high bounce rates on your website/landing page, you need to change something there.

6. Do A/B Testing on Ads

Advertising on social media can be tricky because you don’t know how the audience will perceive your ads. This is why A/B testing is important if you want to see what type of copy and content performs better.

A/B testing means you’ll create two different ads and see which performs better. Then, you can easily see where to tweak and optimize until you get a better conversion rate.

This is especially true when you want to attract new customers and don’t know how they’ll respond to your ads, if at all. This data will help you create better-targeted ads in the future, and with better results.

7. Dive Into Social Media Insights

To truly understand the results behind your advertising efforts, you should dive into your social media insights. There, you can see which ads performed best, what the conversion rate was, and what the audience was.

Then, follow the analytics on your website to see where users clicked, how they interacted with the landing page, and if they took some action. The goal is to make a sale or generate a lead, so if these metrics are too low, you need to adjust your ads or landing pages.

Learn how to read and analyze your data to make the most of it. It’ll always show you the real state of your ad efforts so you can learn, adjust, optimize, and repeat.

Reach New Customers Online With These Advertising Tips!

No matter what industry you’re in, using social media ads to boost brand awareness is a must if you want to get new customers.

The first steps are having a social media strategy, an advertising budget, and a lot of patience until things take off.

Want more marketing and advertising tips? Check out some of the other articles on our website where we share the latest trends and tools in the social media world.

The post Making Your Money Count: 7 Effective Social Media Advertising Tips appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

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October 13, 2019 at 01:44PM Social Media

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9 Amazing Ab Workouts Set to Pop Songs

9/27/2019

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9 Amazing Ab Workouts Set to Pop Songs

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From Lizzo to the Jonas Brothers, These 9 Pop Song Ab Workouts Are Pure Motivation

Workouts synced up to music are kind of the best, and you don't have to hit up a trendy studio class to get them! YouTube is a treasure trove of fun workouts set to the best pop songs of the moment, and fitness YouTuber Maddie Lymburner posts some of the coolest. Obviously, that includes the perennial favorite: ab and core workouts. Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Lizzo, and more — take your pick from our top pop song ab workouts, for when you just need that extra motivation to get going.

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September 27, 2019 at 09:47AM

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Jennifer Worth - Fitness - 2019 Olympia

9/13/2019

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Jennifer Worth - Fitness - 2019 Olympia

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September 13, 2019 at 02:11PM

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1. Build a Social Media Strategy

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3. Know Your Target Customer

4. Engage With Your Followers

5. Set a Social Media Advertising Budget

6. Do A/B Testing on Ads

7. Dive Into Social Media Insights

Reach New Customers Online With These Advertising Tips!

From Lizzo to the Jonas Brothers, These 9 Pop Song Ab Workouts Are Pure Motivation

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