The Australian beauty, who earned the nickname “StephFitMum,” for how she got back into shape after having children, invited her 3.3 million IG followers to a virtual party at her gym, where she gave leg day some serious love. “Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes,” she wrote, explaining that while her birthday may have taken place on April 3, a workout would be in session just 24-hours later. “This is my first workout as a 39-year-old,” revealed Sanzo, before pumping some serious iron.

Stephanie Sanzo’s Post-Birthday Leg Day Workout

• Barbell Back Squats: 4 Sets x 6 Reps
• Leg Press Machine: 4 Sets x 12 Reps
• Hip Thrust Machine: 5 Sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, and 12 Reps
• Kneeling Cable Bent-Knee Kickbacks supersetted with Standing Dumbbell Hip Abduction: 3 Sets x 15 Reps of each exercise

Why This Leg Workout Builds Muscle Fast

The buff beauty welcomed in her new era with the same intensity that made her a popular powerhouse to begin with, taking on four heavy sets to stimulate growth in her quads, hamstrings, and glutes with barbell back squats. Sanzo made a deep squat to really feel the stretch, before taking a seat on the leg press machine.

The leg press, like the squat, is a triple extension exercise that requires movement from the hip, knee, and ankle joints, and is a great way to further exhaust the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, because the machine places less stress on the core than the free weight barbell squats, offering support and control to avoid injury by over working.

Third-up was the hip thrust machine, including 5 sets with different rep ranges. Sanzo began with 12 reps and descended by 2 reps for each set, until she reached 6 reps. But for her fifth and final set, she went all out with a further 12 reps to force muscle hypertrophy and make great glute gains. Sanzo then rounded out her intense leg day with a twice-as-nice finisher, opting to superset two cable exercises. Part A was the kneeling cable bent-knee kickback.

To execute this move, the blonde bombshell faced the cable station and kneeled on a seat, using its inclined back rest for support. As Sanzo kicked-back Father time, she hit the glutes, hamstrings, calves, and core. For Part B, the fitness coach got vertical and positioned herself side-on to the cable station, executing the standing dumbbell hip abduction, in order to shape the outer hips while further taxing her glutes and thighs.

“Looking absolutely stunning as always,” wrote one impressed follower. “I’ve been following you for years. Your consistency is truly inspiring,” commented another fan. “May this be the best year yet my queen,” wrote yet another.

M&F Hers can’t wait to see what your year ahead in fitness looks like, Stephanie!

To follow Stephanie Sanzo on Instagram, click here. 

Footage of 50 Cent getting upset went viral after the entertainment website, kollegekidd.com shared a short clip via its social media channels and reported that Jackson was working out in a public gym in Miami when he discovered that someone was filming him. After growing tired of the trespassing of his privacy, the star then turned and eyeballed the camera, appearing visibly annoyed by the apparent violation.

Is It Legal to Film Someone in a Gym?

U.S. law allows filming in places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, and so public gyms could be seen to fall under this principle, but it’s more complicated that that. As private businesses, gyms can set their own rules. Some gyms allow filming while other prohibited it, so it’s important to check he rules at your own local fitness space. Still, is pointing a camera at a stranger who is trying to get their sweat on, a reasonable thing to do? Even if they are a celebrity?

Social Media Divided After 50 Cent Reacts to Being Filmed Mid-Workout

There’s no doubt that having a global icon hit your local gym to make gains is an exciting premise, but should a celebrity have to give up their right to work out in peace? “It’s a gym… celebrity of not… it’s weird,” wrote one Instagram user who felt that capturing 50 Cent on film was creepy. “Let him live,” wrote another. “I don’t blame 50,” added yet another, who understood why the “In Da Club” rapper was wound up.

Others took a less sympathetic view of the situation, however. “I mean what he expect,” wrote one user. “He don’t got a private gym with all that money?” added another. Still, some people felt that filming 50 Cent without his permission showed a lack of respect and suggested that if the camera holder was a fan, he should have approached the star after the workout and ask for a picture, rather than interrupt his flow. What do you think?

For those who would love to see 50 Cent in person, he’s currently on tour. Click here for information.

To follow Curtis “50 Cent Jackson” on Instagram, click here. 

“The physical changes are what people see,” explains Gareth Sapstead, CSCS, author of the new book, 100 Best Physique Workouts. “But they are really the downstream effect of a much deeper process.”

The UK-based strength and physique coach, author, and founder of Team EPT Coaching and EPT Lab. Over the past 20 years, he has advanced through the coaching ranks by working with a diverse range of clients, while developing a specialty in physique transformation grounded in both science and practical experience. With the help of many top trainers, he explains in his new book that in order to acquire the desired physique each of us may strive, it’s equally as important to develop a fitness-focused mindset to help build and maintain muscle.

Why Most Body Transformations Fail

Fat loss and dieting are challenging, but a physique transformation turns the volume up on both. If you’re serious about transformation, you need to be all in, which includes being honest with yourself.

“Before someone starts a physique transformation,” says Sapstead. “They need to be honest about three things: their goal, their timeline, and the life they’re trying to do it within.”

The mistake many people make right off the bat is focusing entirely on the goal of losing fat, building muscle, or looking leaner. “That part is easy,” explains Sapstead. “The bigger question is whether their daily routine, stress levels, sleep, work schedule, travel, family demands, and training history support that goal.”

Nothing happens in isolation, not a biceps curl nor a transformation. Many factors need to fall into place, because transformation isn’t just about what’s possible in an ideal environment, but about what’s realistically sustainable in the environment where a person lives.

“If the plan requires more precision, more recovery, or more consistency than their life allows,” says Sapstead. “It will break.” That’s why Sapstead ensures his clients get clear on everything before diving into the details.

Transformation results from a much deeper process. Successful transformation alters behavior, structure, and identity. The body transforms as the individual begins training with greater purpose, eats more mindfully, recovers more efficiently, manages stress better, and makes smarter decisions.

Those are the internal changes that create the visible result.

That is also why two people can follow the same calorie intake and program but achieve different results. Transformation isn’t just about physiology. It involves psychology, environment, and behavior. You don’t build a great physique through random bursts of motivation. Instead, people build the best physiques with systems they can stick to—even when life gets busy, messy, and imperfect.

The Baseline of a Successful Physique Transformation

Is the transformation as simple as an intense hypertrophy training plan with lots of volume and eating nothing but chicken breasts and lettuce? Not so fast, says Sapstead.

“My game plan is always to simplify before I intensify,” he says.

Instead, he prefers to meet with the client to set a clear goal and help define what success looks like for them. Then, it’s important to establish baseline measurements, including body composition, training experience, movement quality, recovery capacity, stress level, daily activity, and current nutrition habits.

Then comes the good stuff that includes:

• A training program they can recover from
• A nutrition approach they can sustain
• A daily activity target
• Better sleep and recovery habits
• Objective markers to track progress

Once this is established, Sapstead will move on to a transformation plan from a holistic perspective.

The 3 Pillars of a Successful Physique Transformation Plan

Great coaches know that their programs and plans must meet clients where they are, and Sapstead is one of them.

“I like to think of physique transformation as a three-legged stool, “ explains Sapstead. “Training, nutrition, and recovery or lifestyle. If one leg is weak, the entire thing becomes unstable.”

He explains that training provides the stimulus, telling the body to build or preserve muscle and to direct energy toward adaptation. Nutrition supplies the raw materials and maintains the energy balance. Nutrition gives the body what it needs to recover, build tissue, and lose fat.

Recovery and lifestyle determine whether the body can respond well to training and nutrition. Sleep, stress, daily activity, and routine all matter. You cannot separate body composition from someone’s lifestyle.

“People often focus on one leg and neglect the others,” says Sapstead. “The leanest, strongest, most sustainable physiques are built when all three support each other.”

Next, I’ll go into how he structures his training to maximize results.

The 6 Phases of a Complete Body Transformation Plan

In his latest book, 100 Best Physique Workouts, Sapstead provides insight into how he organizes his workouts. He outlines six distinct training phases that he puts his clients through.

“Each phase,” explains Sapstead. “Has a specific purpose, and sequencing them correctly allows you to make more precise, sustainable changes in body composition.”

These phases are:

1. Priming

The priming phase establishes baselines, targets weaknesses, and enhances movement quality. It lays the foundation for everything that comes next. Training here emphasizes technique, control, and the reduction of asymmetries.

2. Basic hypertrophy

This phase builds muscle using moderate loads with higher reps. The goal is to increase muscle size and work capacity, while stimulating both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy.

Myofibrillar hypertrophy refers to the growth of muscle fibers. This approach increases force production and typically uses heavier weights, high tension, and progressive overload. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy involves an increase in the non-contractile parts of the muscle cell, such as fluid and substrate storage. Use higher volume, more metabolic stress, and longer time under tension to drive this effect.

“The key is not choosing one camp,” says Sapstead. “The key is understanding that hypertrophy is multi-factorial, and a good program uses both at different times.”

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3. Functional hypertrophy

The focus shifts to heavier loads and fewer repetitions to enhance strength and muscle growth. this phase enhances force production and promotes the growth of type II fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are the fibers capable of the most growth.

4. Muscle marinating

Lifters often overlook this stage, but it is crucial. After building new muscle, the goal is to maintain it for a while before aggressively pursuing fat loss. Muscle is metabolically costly, and without this stage, people often lose much of what they’ve just gained. Think of it as giving the body time to “settle” into its new baseline.

5. Fat loss

The goal is to lower body fat while preserving as much muscle as possible. You achieve this through a controlled caloric deficit, consistent resistance training, and increased calorie burn from lifestyle and cardio activities.

“Outdoor walking is one of the most underrated fat loss tools available,” explains Sapstead. “It increases energy expenditure without adding much recovery cost, helps regulate appetite, improves insulin sensitivity, and gives people an easy way to stay active.”

He also explains that getting outside is crucial for recovery. Natural light helps regulate circadian rhythms, which can improve sleep quality and sleep timing. Better sleep supports recovery, appetite regulation, energy, and body composition.

6. Recomposition

Recomposition is the simultaneous loss of body fat and the gain of muscle. While it’s the gold standard, it’s not always the most efficient method for everyone. In many cases, better results come from sequencing phases—building muscle, maintaining it, then reducing body fat—rather than trying to do everything at once.

Each of these phases typically lasts between three and six weeks, depending on the individual’s training history, recovery ability, and response to training. More advanced lifters or those under higher levels of stress may benefit from shorter, more targeted phases.

How To Select the Best Exercises For Your Goals

Exercise selection combines science, intuition, and feel. Several factors, like limb length and training experience, influence the choice of exercises. From a broad perspective, some exercises are more effective during a fat-loss phase because they help protect muscle, support performance, and better control fatigue.

Here are the four qualities Sapstead considers in an exercise:

• How much muscle they train
• How much load do they allow
• How much fatigue do they create
• Can clients do them safely and consistently

“Big compound lifts and stable accessory movements are often excellent choices,” says Sapstead. “Because they allow the lifter to maintain strength and muscle.”

One of Sapstead’s many talents is taking a foundational exercise, like a row or hip exercise, and varying the body position, loading, and angle to train the muscle in a novel way. “I want exercises that provide a strong hypertrophy or strength stimulus,” says Sapstead. “Without the unnecessary fear of failure or orthopedic wear and tear.”

Common Fat Loss Mistakes That Kill Progress

Dieting and training for fat loss are not linear processes, as the body is a tricky piece of machinery to manipulate. Because of this, people will make mistakes, and Sapstead has seen many. “People fail at this,” says Sapstead. “Because they make the process too aggressive, too complicated, or too disconnected from their real life.”

Here’s what you need to avoid while transforming your body.

Inconsistency

Lifters often underestimate the importance of consistency and overestimate how much intensity can make up for a lack of it. They chase extremes, rely on unsustainable calorie deficits, do too much cardio, train hard while under-recovered, and expect their bodies to respond well to plans that ignore physiology.

Lack of Patience

People crave quick visual results, so they approach transformation like a sprint. However, the best outcomes typically come from consistently putting in high-quality weeks. Transformation favors patience over excitement.

Being Too Aggressive

Because transformation is difficult, and people want to get there yesterday, they panic when they don’t see progress. Panicking leads to the biggest fat-loss mistake: trying to create results too aggressively.

“When people slash calories too hard and add too much work too fast,” explains Sapstead. “They create a situation that they cannot sustain.”

That results in rising hunger, recovery and sleep tanks, daily movement unconsciously decreasing, training performance suffering, and, eventually, adherence breaking down. That’s what stops fat loss in its tracks. The body and brain both push back, and the lifter either binges, quits, or spins their wheels.

Dropping Fat Calories Too Low

To lose fat, most people go into their routines that you have to start by cutting fat. Sapstead says that’s the wrong approach.

“When fat intake is driven too low for too long,” says Sapstead. “Problems can show up in mood, energy, recovery, libido, satiety, and hormonal function.”

It makes sticking to a diet harder because meals are less satisfying, as dietary fat is crucial for normal bodily functions. It plays a key role in hormone production, cell membrane health, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, nervous system functioning, and overall well-being.

That’s why it’s important to have a specific percentage of your dietary calories come from fat. “I don’t like to see fat intake drop below about 15-20% of total calories,” emphasizes Sapstead. “It provides enough room to maintain basic physiological functions while still allowing calories to be allocated strategically between protein and carbohydrates.”

There are exceptions to this rule, but you’re probably not one of them.

How to Stay Consistent With Your Transformation Plan

Sapstead recommends making the process small enough for you to win. People stay committed when they feel capable, not crushed by the goal’s size. You don’t build big transformations through heroic effort—you build them through repeatable actions you can execute on busy, stressful, or unmotivated days.

Here are a few more.

Behaviors Over Outcomes

You can’t control exactly when your body becomes leaner, more muscular, or more defined. But you can control the habits that cause those changes, like showing up for your workouts, making smarter food choices, hitting your daily step goal, and getting to bed on time. When you shift your focus to daily actions rather than obsessing over the mirror, you stay grounded in what truly makes a difference.

Minimize Decisions

The more friction in your plan, the more likely it is to break down when life gets busy. If every workout, meal, and recovery habit requires too much thinking, your consistency will suffer. Simplicity increases adherence because it makes the right choice easier to repeat. A clear training plan, a few go-to meals, and a realistic weekly routine often beat a perfect plan that is too complicated to follow.

Track Progress

Use progress photos, body measurements, gym performance, and even how your clothes fit, all of which help paint a clearer picture of what is happening. The scale matters, but it is never the whole story. Sometimes fat loss occurs while strength improves and measurements change, even when the scale weight is slow to move. Good tracking stops emotion from taking over.

Expect Fluctuations

Nobody feels fired up every day, and that’s normal. Inspiration fades—systems don’t. Commitment comes from having a plan that still works when you’re tired, distracted, or stressed. The successful people are the ones who keep showing up when motivation leaves the room.

You now have the knowledge to elevate your fat loss.

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Should Judges Penalize Distended Stomachs?

During the show, Milos Sarcev shared that he ate so much before one competition that he couldn’t suck in his stomach for a vacuum pose. “I wanna protect beauty over bodybuilding, and that’s why I’m speaking out” said the man they call “The Mind.” Sarcev went on to say that he is concerned about the direction that bodybuilding seems to be headed in, where bigger is often labelled as better. “Am I crazy by saying you should penalize bubble guts and big stomachs,” he asked, noting that this was not always an issue. Sarcev said the modern ethos, where bodybuilder’s sometimes get away with huge guts, so long as they control them during poses, is an act of denial. “It’s your physique that you bring on the stage,” explained the retired Yugoslavian competitor. “Build a physique you’re proud of, and you don’t have to think of controlling.”

Why Bodybuilders Are Questioning Size Over Aesthetics

“As a professional bodybuilder, you are absolutely right,” agreed host Dennis James. “That’s your only job, is to display your physique.” The Menace said that not everyone should be eating to extremes anyway. “If you’re 5’ 7”, 5’ 8”, 5,9”, you’re not supposed to be 260, 270 pounds on stage.” James went on to say that his physique at 240 pounds was superior to the body he built at 260 pounds.

Milos Sarcev reflected that this sentiment of quality over size has been echoed by other veteran bodybuilders like Kevin Levrone, Flex Wheeler, and even Ronnie Coleman. “But then the direction we are going, and pushing, okay, because it was Dorian (Yates) and size, and freakiness,” bemoaned The Mind.

Chris Cormier, who had an incredibly tight physique in the late 90s and early 2000s agreed with Sarcev’s assessment. “You’re not wrong,” he said in support. What do you think? To watch the complete latest episode of The Menace Podcast on the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel, where the boys also discussed the results of the Arnold Classic U.K., and other breaking bodybuilding news, see below.

What Is Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)?

HSS was founded in 1863 and has become one of the world’s leading centers dedicated to musculoskeletal health. In 2017, the group was named as the UFC’s first official hospital partner,  and has maintained its aim of helping athletes to recover following injury, helping to add longevity to the career’s of UFC fighters. “HSS has been a trusted partner for nearly a decade,” said Dr Duncan French, who is the Senior Vice President of the UFC Performance Institute. “Their expertise has been instrumental in UFC providing industry leading services for injury prevention, treatment, and recovery for the athletes who compete in the Octagon. Together, we’ll continue to ensure UFC athletes have access to the highest level of medical care and support in combat sports.”

How the UFC Performance Institute Supports Athlete Recovery

HSS say that the renewed partnership builds on a proven track record of supporting UFC athletes in maximizing performance and recovery. As part of the expanded agreement, HSS will continue its significant presence across the UFC Performance Institute, including an enhanced role at the Mexico City facility, which reflects a meaningful extension of HSS’s international footprint. HSS will also remain integrated into the state-of-the-art HSS Sports Rehabilitation Center within UFC’s flagship Performance Institute, headquartered in Las Vegas.

Why the UFC–HSS Partnership Matters for Fighters

“Success inside the Octagon starts with a strong foundation of health, and we are committed to helping fighters stay strong, recover fully, and prepare with confidence,” said HSS’s Dr. Todd McGrath, who will be on call during UFC events. “We’re proud to work alongside UFC in advancing a unified approach to athlete health, safety, and competitive readiness. Through close collaboration with performance and medical teams, we’re ensuring fighters have the consistent, high-quality care required to meet the demands of this sport at every stage of training and competition.”

UFC and HSS will also collaborate on a custom content series featuring UFC athletes and HSS doctors, a move that they say will underscore a shared commitment to peak performance and long-term athlete health. The upcoming series is set to be amplified across UFC’s massive digital platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube, potentially reaching more than 353 million social media followers worldwide.

In addition to serving as UFC’s official hospital, HSS also provides care to the highest-performing professional, collegiate, and amateur athletes and organizations, including the New York Giants, New York Rangers, New York Knicks, New York Liberty, New York Mets and Brooklyn Nets, and is recognized by FIFA as one of only 3 FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence in the United States.

Myers has been sharpening his songwriting skills since before the age of 10, which helps explain why his mature, soulful lyrics have already drawn comparisons to icons like John Mayer. At 18, he’s just dropped a new album, Heavy on the Soul, a highly anticipated follow‑up to his gold‑certified debut, The Select, which featured the platinum‑selling “Ends of the Earth.”

His music has already surpassed a billion streams, another line on a young résumé deeper than many veteran artists. What looks like pure prodigy‑level talent might seem like the obvious explanation for his near‑overnight rise, but ask Myers why things took off so fast and he might just point to the scarred, once‑calcified knee he wrecked on the Texas gridiron as the true catalyst for his faster‑than‑expected country career.

And for the young athlete who grew up near Austin—home of the Texas Longhorns—he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s such a culture here, that even if you’re not expected to play professionally, it’s just a way of life,” Myers says. “In Texas, there’s just two types of guys: People who play football and people who don’t play football.”

You could say the former high school defensive back left it all on the field before he started leaving young female fans swooning—and having critics label him the “next face of country music.” Myers chased down a receiver for a touchdown‑saving tackle and shredded nearly every ligament in his knee. The moment abruptly ended his football days, but it instantly changed the trajectory of what now looks like an inevitable rise to country stardom.

Even for the “Thought It Was Love” singer, the speed of his success was a happy surprise.

“I knew my whole life this is what I wanted to do,” he says. “The only thing was, I didn’t expect it to happen that early. But in a way, I’m so glad it did.”

Surgery, hyperbaric therapy, and nearly 12 months of rehab brought his knee back to almost 100 percent. While the two‑sport athlete was mentally preparing himself for never stepping on a football or baseball field again, he—and his family—were already two-steps ahead when it came to pivoting to his next chapter. His mother helped him start a TikTok account, and soon his video for his song “Tie That Binds” became a viral smash. The surge in social media popularity led to label calls, and suddenly future college plans gave way to a packed concert schedule.

“My plan was to go to Belmont in Nashville, so I could maybe shave off years of grinding on Music Row,” he says. “But then, thankfully and luckily, this kind of fell into our lap.”

Today, the teenage Texan whose bedroom was once a shrine to both fastballs and fast guitar licks—Nolan Ryan in a Rangers uniform on one wall and guitar icon Stevie Ray Vaughan on another—has successfully swapped shoulder pads for a six‑string. Recently, he played the halftime show at the UFL’s Dallas Renegades home opener. “I was so pumped when that offer came through,” he says. “I just like to watch football, and I get to do it as part of my job now.”

Now Myers is gearing up for a pair of simultaneous summer tours. For the first time, he’ll hit the road on his own U.S. headlining run while also stepping into a support role behind one of his idols, Luke Combs, on a massive stadium tour. There, he’ll get a different taste of his football fandom as he takes over stages on some of the sport’s most sacred fields, including Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.

He still maintains ties to his football roots, using his old program as a loose template for the strength side of his training. But his conditioning goals are now very different from chasing down receivers. Heavy squats and power cleans have been replaced by traininb that prepares him to cover Combs’ extra‑large stage and still belt out each encore with the same energy he had on the opening song.

“It’s not CrossFit, but it’s a lot of endurance‑type workouts because you’re singing and running around,” he says. “Luke’s stage is huge. It has four mics, so you have to run around during your set and sing, which is a constant workout on the lungs.”

Rehab, Hyperbaric Therapy, and a New Life Direction

In just three years since his viral music moment, pop culture pundits have been heaping nonstop praise on Ty Myers, calling him a “generational talent,” an “undeniable talent” with a voice that “has a weary scrape beyond his years.”

And while songs like “Drinkin’ Alone” and “Thought It Was Love”—each with over 100 million streams on Spotify—showcase his musical maturity, Myers is still an 18-year-old at heart who may be just as happy turning his buddies’ stomachs as he is pulling at the heartstrings of some of his fans. All he has to do is pull out the post-op pics of his damaged knee. “After they did the surgery, they send you pictures of the inside of your knee while they were working on it,” he says. “I still have them on my phone if I want to gross my friends out.”

As if the pain of that moment weren’t enough, the uploaded images are a permanent reminder of Myers’ final snap on the field. As a sophomore safety, he took an angle and chased down a wide receiver from nearly 30 yards out. The fundamentals were as precise and as well practiced as possible: Myers ran him down, wrapped up, and made the tackle. But as both players went to the ground, the receiver landed awkwardly on him, causing Myers’ knee to buckle inward.

“It was the worst pain for like a minute or two, but then your adrenaline kicks in,” he recalls. “I stood up and was able to walk in a straight line. It was the lateral movement that was impossible. But I started to jog off the field.”

Even with the agony and the strong possibility of severe knee damage, the Texan still held out hope he’d return to the game. Helmet in hand, he says he stood behind his coach until, he says, the coach saved him from himself. “After about a minute, [Coach] goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I said I figured I was gonna go back in the game,” he recalls. “Then he told me to go see the trainer.” Once he headed to the trainer, the severity quickly became clear. Then reality hit in an excruciating way. “The pain hit me like a ton of bricks,” he says. “It was always bad. I took some Advil that didn’t work really at all, and then my knee swelled.”

MRIs revealed a torn ACL, MCL, meniscus, as well as damage to the posterolateral corner of the knee (PLC). For NFL athletes, that kind of injury typically requires surgery and up to a year of rehab and recovery. For Myers, doctors initially held off on immediate surgery and instead started him on hyperbaric oxygen therapy—a treatment that delivers increased oxygen to damaged tissue to help reduce swelling and promote healing.

“I was 15, and questioning whether putting me in a tube with oxygen would work,” he says. “You put headphones on, you watch a movie, and they just pump excess amounts of oxygen in there for about an hour and a half twice a week. In about four weeks my meniscus completely healed.”

Surgery on the torn ligaments followed, but that was only the beginning of Myers’ road to recovery. The operation left his quad and hamstring on the injured leg grossly smaller and distorted from calcification. Regaining strength and range of motion became the priority. Most of the work, he says, focused on stretching-based exercises. “I did so much stretching… when [the muscles] calcify, they tighten up, and they don’t allow you to extend your leg, so you just have to stretch it out, get your muscles back.”

Two-a-Days Have Turned Into Heavy Touring Days

It seems that no matter which direction Ty Myers turns, football finds a way to follow him. On a recent episode of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show—while the host and former NFL punter was announcing Myers’ UFL halftime appearance—McAfee inadvertently referred to Ty as “TV Myers,” which  drew an even more uproarious laughter in the studio than usual.

Myers’ friends caught wind of the football faux pas, which meant the singer couldn’t catch a break that day. “All of my buddies—I couldn’t get away from it,” he says, laughing. “I was meeting one of my buddies in L.A. and all I hear from across the street was, ‘TV Myers! Is that you?’ I was like, ‘Oh God.’ But I was belly laughing when I heard it. It was hilarious.”

Even with fast fame, Myers hasn’t lost the ability to laugh at himself, but just like some of his song lyrics—including the “Me Neither” words You can call me A man who’s in love or just the remnants of The man I was before I knew about you—performance is serious business. On the road, he’ll often scope out hotels with a decent gym, especially in big cities. When a weightroom isn’t nearby, he relies on the equipment he brings with him on the bus. “Recently, we’ve actually started carrying weights, dumbbells and kettlebells in the trailer with us,” he says. “So if there’s not a gym that we can go to nearby, we’ll still get a workout in.”

He also keeps some semblance of his old football training in his routine. “I tend to do a lot of workouts that I was doing back then, which is a lot of lifting,” he says. He generally follows a body-part split, alternating between lighter and heavier days.

He’s also incorporated more bodyweight work, including calisthenics and pullups. Another addition has been light running, once or twice a week. He says that while the conditioning is crucial, the mental reset a run gives him helps both onstage and in the creative process. “I’m not a huge runner, but running for me has become more of a mindful thing,” he says. “It kind of breaks me down in a good way.”

His knee is now close to 100 percent, but to prevent another major injury, he’s come to rely on stretching as a training non‑negotiable. “I definitely stretch more,” he says. “I use some of the workouts to work small muscles, because that’s also a lot of what it was attacking—using muscles that you don’t usually use anymore. Obviously, I don’t want to do it again, so I work with that as much as possible.”

The goal of all this preparation is simple: Getting ready for both his 33-night summer headlining “Legal Tour” and his supporting role on Luke Combs’ current stadium tour requires Myers to maintain the physical ability to put on a high‑energy, full‑throttle show without getting gassed. He’s taking no chances. “The endurance part of workout is definitely, probably the most important to this actual stage and performing,” he says.

In 2025 Myers performed in front of his hometown crowed at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, and now several years removed from his career-ending knee injury, he gets the chance to perform on some of the most iconic football fields throughout the country in a different kind of uniform. Still, trading the gridiron for the stage brings the occasional lighthearted reflection on what it might’ve been like roaming the defensive secondary in front of Notre Dame’s Touchdown Jesus if it weren’t for his injury. Now he uses that knee—and its full recovery—as a Texas football badge of honor.

“I could’ve gone to the league if I didn’t tear my knee,” he says, laughing. “I definitely make that joke with my friends all the time.”

Sound familiar?

Pull-ups are great, but if they’re a struggle, let’s take a step back before moving forward. Instead of grinding out half reps and hoping for the best, let’s build the strength, control, and technique that pull-ups demand.

That’s where these five moves come in.

Don’t think of these five exercises as just alternatives—think of them targeted solutions to a weak point in your training. Each one fixes a specific issue that’s limiting your pull-up potential, so you can build a stronger back now and earn more powerful reps later.

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Pull-ups require a combination of strength, control, and coordination that some lifters don’t have. If you’re struggling, it’s usually due to one or more of these issues.

Not Strong Enough (Yet)

Pull-ups are the best test of relative strength because it’s you versus your body weight. If your relative strength isn’t there, it’s not happening. Lifters who struggle often try to brute-force reps but end up swinging or shortening the range of motion. The solution isn’t more failed reps—it’s building strength in a way that transfers.

Shoulder or Elbow Discomfort

Pull-ups can be hard on the joints if you have any existing issues or your technique is off. Hanging at the bottom, using only your arms, or letting your elbows flare out can all increase stress in areas you want to protect. Shoulder or elbow pain can mean you haven’t dialed in your mobility, control, or setup.

Grip Strength

Your back is ready to keep going, but your grip calls it quits. Without enough grip endurance, your lats and upper back will never get going. You’re stopping sets early, not because your back is fatigued, but because your grip gave out first.

Poor Scapular Control

Poor scapular control, whether due to a form issue or a movement hitch, is a common obstacle. If you don’t start the movement by pulling your shoulder blades down and back, you end up pulling with your arms instead. This form flaw shifts the load away from your lats and onto your forearms and biceps, which tire quickly. Good pull-ups begin with the shoulders—not the elbows.

Choosing The Best Pull-Up Alternatives for Lifters Who Struggle

If pull-ups aren’t clicking yet, your goal is to build toward them. That means choosing exercises that target the same muscles, train similar movement patterns, and address your weak links.

Here’s how to make it happen:

Vertical or Diagonal Pulling Pattern: Pull-ups are a vertical pull. Your options should either match that or come close enough to transfer effectively. Matching muscles and movement patterns means building pull-up strength, not just improving at something unrelated.

Lat & Upper Back Emphasis: If you’re not targeting your lats, you’re missing the point. A good exercise should work the lats, rhomboids, and mid-back.

Scapular Control: Pull-ups begin with the shoulder blades, not the elbows. Alternatives should teach you to depress and control your scapula, laying the foundation for stronger reps.

Progression: Whether you’re working toward your first rep or aiming to do more, the movement needs to progress. Progression could involve changing angles, resistance, tempo, or assistance.

5 Proven Pull-Up Alternatives to Improve Pull-Ups Fast

If your pull-ups are non-existent or you’re looking to spice up your back game, these five exercises are for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCxmmLMv7Do

Mixed Grip Pull-Up

Solves: Not strong enough yet, grip limitations.

If pull-ups aren’t happening, mixed grip pull-ups give you a built-in advantage. One hand in a pull-up grip and the other in a chin-up grip creates a stronger pulling position, improves leverage, and enhances your ability to perform pull-ups in the future. The mixed grip allows you to get reps in sooner, eases grip demands, and begins building pull-up strength.

Why it works:

• Improves leverage to make pull-ups doable
• Reduces grip fatigue compared to the double overhand
• Bridges the gap between zero reps and full pull-ups

Inverted Row

Solves: Lack of pulling strength and poor scapular movement

Inverted rows target the same muscles, lats, upper back, and biceps—but with a lower percentage of your bodyweight. This makes it easier to build strength while reinforcing proper pulling mechanics. You’re not just getting stronger; you’re also learning how to pull more effectively. That improves your ability to perform stronger pull-ups.

Why it works:

• Progress by adjusting your body angle more upright = easier, more horizontal = harder
• Builds lats, upper back, and grip strength
• Reinforces scapular control and full-body tension

TRX Pull-Up

Solves: Strength and grip limitations

With your feet on the ground and directly under the strap, the TRX Pull-Up strengthens the pull-up movement without pulling your entire body weight. The shifting straps require you to lock in your core and control your movement, two things that carry over to stronger pull-ups.

Why it works:

• Reinforces full-body tension
• Builds strength through the pull-up motion
• Grip strength isn’t a limitation

Negative Pull-Ups

Solves: Strength limitations, elbow, and shoulder discomfort

If pulling from a dead hang is difficult or bothers your elbows, negative pull-ups are the answer. Negative pull-ups build strength in the correct muscles and positions needed for full pull-ups, while removing the pull from a dead hang, which your elbows may dislike, and creating tension where you need it.

Why it works:

• Builds strength in weak ranges of motion
• Direct carryover to full reps
• Reinforces control and positioning

Half-Kneeling Unilateral Lat Pulldown

Solves: Poor lat engagement, poor scapular control

If you have trouble feeling your lats, the half-kneeling unilateral lat pulldown fixes that. The half-kneeling stance locks in your lower body, engages your core, and reduces momentum, allowing you to better feel your lats. Going single-arm also exposes side-to-side differences and improves coordination between your upper body and core, which carries over to better pull-ups.

Why it works:

• Improves mind-muscle connection with the lats
• Reinforces proper scapular depression
• Enhances unilateral strength and reduces imbalances

STOP GRINDING, START BUILDING

Grinding your way through half reps and elbow pain is not the way to improve your pull-ups. So, stop grinding and start building. If you’re stuck, it’s not only about trying harder. It’s about fixing what’s holding you back. Strength, control, grip, and technique all play a role. Dial these in, stay consistent, and focus on quality reps over ego.

Then you won’t just do pull-ups, you’ll own them.

Who Is Jay Ferruggia?

Jay Ferruggia is the go-to guy for getting the best out of elite athletes. He has shared his knowledge with those in the NFL, MLB, and UFC, and is also a regular adviser to a host of grapplers in WWE. But no matter the discipline, Ferruggia says that high-end performers all have one thing in common.

“Even those on top of their profession always want to get better,” he wrote alongside an Instagram post detailing their fun but functional workout.

Here’s how you can try it for yourself.

CM Punk & Bayley WrestleMania Workout Designed by Jay Ferruggia

• Lying Leg Curls
• Back Extensions
• Hip Thrusts
• Leg Extensions
• Loaded Back Extensions
• Pendulum Squats
• Incline Leg Raises
• Plank

Workout Breakdown

“Working and spending time with these two is always a pleasure,” commented coach Ferruggia, after taking these grapplers though his leg-based workout. “Seeing the way they push themselves is inspiring and brings a smile to my face.”

The session got started with lying leg curls to isolate the rear thigh muscles, also known as the musculus biceps femoris. Notice how Bayley’s hips stay planted on the bench, avoiding the common mistake of going so heavy that they are forced upwards.

Next up were back extensions, taxing the gluteus maximus and hamstrings. Once again Ferruggia guided Bayley to some brilliant form, keeping her spine and neck neutral, rather than extended or bent. The third exercise was hip thrusts, and Bayley came into her own here, explaining the importance of tucking the pelvis for a straight back and pushing through the platform with the heels in order to make serious glute gains. CM Punk also received some stellar advice from his WWE teammate. “Tuck the butt,” she playfully encouraged.

The fourth exercise was leg extensions, and both athletes leaned into some heavy weight in order to crush her quads. By the time the gang hit the fifth exercise; loaded back extensions, Bayley was finding both her form, and her voice. “Alright Jay, just like I taught you,” she joked as the coach led by example. Those glutes were really feeling the burn.

The sixth move was pendulum squats, further crushing those quads, while also recruiting the glutes and hamstrings. These were followed by incline leg raise, meaning that while the wrestlers were nearing the end of the workout, they were now activating some serious core action, taxing the abs in addition to the obliques, adductors, and quadriceps. Notice how Bayley made slow and controlled raises, focusing on the negative portion too, in order to create excellent time under tension.

For his finisher, CM Punk hit the plank, another core activator that works the legs to boot. Planks are also a preferred exercise for high performers because they burn more calories than crunches or situps, and they improve posture and joint alignment.

With the workout finally complete, both CM Punk and Bayley inched ever closer to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, where Punk will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns, and Bayley hopes to win the WWE Tag-team titles alongside her partner, Lyra Valkyria. And, for those of us who are not training for the biggest wrestling event of the year, “We can all push a little harder,” encouraged coach Ferruggia. Who’s tagging in?

WrestleMania 42 slams into action on April 18 and 19, 2026 live from Allegiant Stadium and will stream on ESPN in the U.S. and on Netflix internationally.

To follow Jay Ferruggia on Instagram, click here. 

Peptides are also being called dangerous. Unregulated. Experimental. A shortcut.

That narrative is everywhere right now. It is also incomplete.

Because the same people warning against peptides are often the ones still relying on outdated models of performance. More volume. More fatigue. More breakdown. Then hoping the body recovers on its own.

That is not strategy. That is guesswork. And peptides challenge that model. And that is exactly why they are controversial.

I do not see peptides as a risk to performance. I see them as a progression of it.

But the real shift is not in the compounds themselves, it is in what they expose about modern performance. For decades, athletes have accepted a simple trade-off: push harder, break down more, recover “as best as possible,” and repeat. What most people never realize is that while muscle can adapt in weeks, connective tissue can take months, sometimes over a year, to fully remodel after stress or injury, even when pain has already resolved. That gap is where most breakdown actually happens. What is changing now is not just recovery capacity, but the expectation of recovery itself. We are moving from passive adaptation to actively engineered adaptation.

From Guesswork to Precision: The New Era of Recovery

Every serious athlete already understands one principle: Training breaks the body down. Recovery builds it back.

The entire goal is to create adaptation through stress and then support that adaptation effectively. So what peptides do is refine the second half of that equation. They are not introducing a new concept, but rather are increasing the precision of recovery.

At their core, peptides are signaling molecules. They direct specific biological processes, from tissue repair to inflammation control to hormonal regulation.

This is not random. It is targeted. And in high-level performance, a targeted approach always wins.

Why the Best Are Already Using Them

There is a reason peptides are no longer confined to fringe conversations. Simply put, Peptides work.

Compounds like BPC 157 support soft-tissue healing in areas that most often limit training consistency, including tendons, ligaments, and chronic overuse injuries. TB-500 builds on this by enhancing cellular repair and regeneration, improving how the body responds to repeated mechanical stress over time.

At the hormonal level, growth hormone secretagogues such as CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin stimulate endogenous production, influencing recovery capacity, body composition, and sleep quality in a more physiologic way.

The results aren’t subtle. Recovery improves, training frequency increases, and overall output becomes more consistent.

This is not about doing less work, it’s about sustaining high-level work without breaking down.

Longevity Is the Real Advantage

Most people still think in short timeframes: one training cycle, one season, and one physique goal. But that is not how I approach performance.

The real question is not how hard you can train today, but rather how long you can maintain that level?

This is where peptides become more than performance tools. They become longevity strategies.

If you can improve tissue repair, reduce chronic inflammation, and support recovery at a higher level, you extend your ability to perform. You stay in the game longer and you perform at a higher level for more years.

That is the advantage.

Are Peptides Dangerous?

The word dangerous gets used quickly when people do not fully understand something.

Yes, peptides exist in a space where regulation is still developing. Yes, quality and sourcing matter. Yes, protocols need to be structured.

None of that makes them inherently dangerous.

It makes them something that requires both intelligence and discipline. There is a difference.

We do not call training dangerous because people can overtrain, and we do not call nutrition dangerous because people can diet incorrectly. We recognize that outcomes depend on application.

Peptides are no different.

The Real Problem

The real issue is not peptides, it is the mindset people bring to them. Too often, the approach is rooted in shortcuts: skipping fundamentals and reaching for advanced tools without a structured system to support them. That strategy fails with or without peptides.

Peptides do not replace discipline; they reveal it. If your training is inconsistent, your nutrition unstructured, and your recovery neglected, no compound will compensate for that gap. But when those variables are dialed in, peptides don’t substitute the system…they elevate it.

Where This Is Going

Peptides are not a passing trend, they are part of a broader shift toward precision-based performance. Athletes are no longer satisfied with doing more and hoping for results; they want measurable inputs, predictable outputs, and a greater level of control over how their bodies adapt.

As research evolves and protocols become more refined, peptides will move from controversial to standard, following the same path as every meaningful advancement in performance.

The Standard

I do not approach performance casually and I do not rely on guesswork.

Everything I do is structured, measured, and intentional.

Peptides fit into that system because they make sense. Not emotionally. Not socially. Biologically.

They support recovery. They improve consistency. They extend performance.

That is the standard and there is a science to building the body. There is an art to sustaining it at a high level.

Peptides are part of that evolution.

Rigor. Discipline. Results.

Orlando’s presence in CrossFit began in 2009 when he qualified for the individual division three years in a row, and later in 2016, when he returned in the masters division, but he is also known as the man who designed the “Pig”—a 300 to 500 pounds weighted box that has been a staple of the games CrossFit Games since 2013. And, even before crushing it in CrossFit, Orlando had built a solid reputation as a strongman.

“Rob was creative, multi-talented, and entrepreneurial,” wrote his friend and fellow athlete, Dave Lipson. “He would help design a lot of strongman equipment we see in gyms today. He was a well-spoken announcer for many CrossFit Games events. Rob even found a passion later in his life for organizing race car events. In his own words, Rob always had ‘something cooking.”

Rob Orlando’s Battle With Cancer and Final Days

A man of many talents, Rob Orlando was also a popular contributor with Muscle & Fitness magazine, sharing innovative tips for building muscle, improving endurance, or simply breaking through plateaus. “On Jan. 20, 2025, Orlando was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, affecting his lower jaw and lymph nodes in his neck” explained the official CrossFit Instagram account, while paying tribute to one of their MVPs. “Just a day prior, he achieved a personal best powerlifting total, lifting 1,525 pounds.” The icon sadly passed away on April 6, 2026.”

Rob Orlando Tributes From the CrossFit Community and Top Athletes

Rob Orlando was a longtime affiliate owner of CrossFit Hybrid Athletics in Connecticut, leading the brand for 15 years, and was loved by all for sharing his passion with the fitness community, even creating the CrossFit Strongman specialty course, where he introduced legions of CrossFit athletes from all around the world to events such as the Atlas stones. As the tributes flooded in this week, many friends and fans took to social media to pay their respects.

“Rest in power, my brother,” wrote fellow CrossFit star, Noah Ohlsen. “Thank you for all the inspiration,” wrote another pained colleague. “A truly tremendous human,” commented yet another.

The entire team at Muscle & Fitness would like to express our own sadness on Rob’s passing. His enthusiasm and easily accessible life-lessons, for becoming a better human, continue to make an impact. For that reason, Orlando will remain immortal within the fitness community.

Many veterans feel a sense of gratitude at the gesture, but Jeric Fry has a different perspective on it.

“Those words became dirty to me.”

To be clear, Sergeant Fry has no bitterness about his nine-year career as a United States Marine. He was proud of his service from the time he joined after high school until his final days when he was escorting fallen service members to their parents and recovering from knee surgery. The main reason his career ended was because he was going to be a father and wanted to be home, and even then, he spent three years teaching at the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Virginia.

“(That) was probably my proudest time in the Marine Corps.”

Unfortunately, the problem was after he transitioned out of service. Despite being a leader, teacher, and thriving throughout his military career, he couldn’t get a job. Management would ask about college degrees and not hire him when he explained why he didn’t have one.

“I would tell them, ‘I was in the Marine Corps for nine years and deployed four times. I didn’t have the opportunity to do that.’ And they’d be like, ‘Well, thank you for your service,’” Fry recalled. “It was like people patting themselves on their back, you know, saying like, ‘Oh, I told that guy thank you for his service,’ but meanwhile you were telling me I couldn’t have the job. So, pretty insulting, actually.”

Rock Bottom: Alcohol, Isolation, and Identity Loss

While losing confidence and people around him not understanding his struggle, Fry found solace by drinking. He found himself divorced, not very active in his child’s life, and by his own admission, drinking heavily.

“Back-to-back bad combo.”

Fry eventually found employment working with gas lines and plumbing, but he acknowledged that the timeline at that point in his life is blurry due to the heavy drinking. There was one day that he recalled very clearly that could be called his turning point. While pumping out a sewer on a cold February morning in Pennsylvania, he came to a revelation.

“It was just going through my head like, “Man, you’ve done a lot in your life, you have a bunch of capability, and you are smart, you’re intelligent, you’ve lived through a lot of stuff. This is not what you’re meant for.”

Fry later had a conversation with a co-worker, another Marine, and told him the same thing he told himself. He learned how to barber while he was in Quantico and decided that he would pursue a job cutting people’s hair.

“I went to this guy’s barber shop that I knew, and I took my tools, and I would just go there after work every day and sit there with my bag of tools and tell him ‘Dude, I can cut hair. Let me try.”

Jeric Fry Took a Chance and Changed Everything

Fry finally got his chance and made the most of it. He even went on to help the barber improve his shop. He said the skills he got from plumbing served him well at that time. Aside from finding a job he liked, he talked more with customers that were also veterans and first responders. While he was improving the way the tops of their heads looked, he found it also helped how he felt inside his own.

“It made me start to like open up and almost like, honestly, I was giving therapy to myself by trying to help others.”

One of his customers was a jiu-jitsu instructor that would try to encourage Fry to come to one of his classes. The idea of rolling around on mats didn’t appeal to him initially, but he finally conceded to give it a try. When he did, he was surprised by the ability of then blue belt (now black belt) and Air Force Seargeant Nate Hand, who Fry described as a “150-pound little dude.”

“The dude held me on my back,” Fry said. “I was 220 (pounds) and I was powerlifting at the time, I was pretty strong, and he held me on my back. I couldn’t move.”

Fry sat in his car questioning what happened that day. Many others in his position would’ve likely chosen to not go back because they never want to feel that again. Fry’s Marine mindset took over, and he decided he didn’t want anyone to be able to do that again. So, he committed, and it didn’t take long before he found a new passion.

“I was going twice a week and then I was going three times a week and then it became an obsession that I was going up to 10 times a week for like four years.”

Now, Fry himself is a black belt, and the changes he has felt since that first class have gone far beyond physical. He’s in a better place mentally, found a new wife, a new faith, and proudly said he is a better dad. The momentum just built up from there.

“I started taking care of my house, I like started making more money, and it was just like a crazy landslide of things that happened. Within a year I started my own barber shop.”

From Barber Shop to Brotherhood: Building a Mission Again

Fry recalled what it felt like to be alone and unable to do something productive after his military career ended. After discovering jiu-jitsu and feeling all the ways that it impacted his life, he decided he had to share it with others. He wanted to be a solution to the problems he faced.

“So, as soon as I figured it out, I was like, ‘I need to show veterans Jiu-Jitsu.’ That’s how it started.”

The simplest way that Fry found to help increase awareness was to host an event in the parking lot of his barbershop. Along with the matches and music, he also held a raffle where people who paid for entry could win prizes like guns and beer. He managed to raise $2,500 and decided to do it the following year. Every year he held his event, it grew significantly. After they eventually outgrew the parking lot, Fry realized he had something special, which led to the creation of Veteran Bushido Brotherhood, a nonprofit organization made to combat veteran isolation and improve mental health through fitness and community.

“The only thing that you’re required to do is you have to have an honorable discharge and have some initiative. The initiative is just reaching out; Reaching out, contacting us, and finding a gym.”

Fry revealed that he shares his phone number with every veteran that he supports, and they don’t have to do jiu-jitsu. They can train in any fitness discipline they choose, even yoga or CrossFit.

“I even joke around and say that I would do competitive dance, I just haven’t had anybody ask yet.”

Fry’s efforts have been beneficial to numerous veterans, which has spread to their families, friends, and communities as well. While he feels good about the difference he has made since launching the nonprofit, he admits that he may have benefited just as much, if not more, than the veterans he helps.

“What the Veteran Bushido Brotherhood did for me is it gave me the ability to serve again.”

To learn more about VBB or provide support, go to their website.

Andrew Jacked is certainly the man of the moment. After earning a career-high third place at the 2025 Mr. Olympia event, and picking up $100,000 in the process, the Nigerian has made 2026 an even more successful year. In March, AJ picked up bodybuilding’s biggest ever single payday of $750,000 at the Arnold U.S., only to follow up with another victory, and a further $250,000 at the Arnold U.K. “After his two huge wins, Andrew could be at home with his feet up, chilling, watching TV,” wrote Olympia All-Star Tours promoter, Giles Thomas, in a recent Instagram post, adding that the popular iron pumper is “Such an easy guy to work with.”

Muscle & Fitness attended Jacked’s recent stop at the Power Up supplement store in Leicester, England, where the line of fans wanting to meet their hero backed out of the shop. “I think opportunities like this are important for international fans who maybe don’t have access to these top bodybuilding stars very often,” said Liam Smith, who facilitated the event. As a bodybuilder himself, Smith was impressed at the amount of time that AJ took, to engage with his fellow iron pumpers. “It’s about bringing the superstars to our local community,” Smith told M&F. “If you want to dream big, then stars like Andrew Jacked are proof of the results.”

For his part, AJ is very excited to be on his Arnold victory lap. The big man told M&F, while in Leicester, that he never imagined bodybuilding would be a vehicle that would take him all over the world. “It’s a blessing,” he reflected, noting that his own beginnings were humble, crafting his first set of weights from “concrete, pipes, and some breaks from cars.”

In terms of being able to share his stories and hard-earned wisdom with fellow bodybuilders, Jacked is in his element, no matter what part of the world he finds himself in. “I’m not doing it for legacy, or whatever,” he told M&F. “I’m just grateful.”

Andrew Jacked’s Olympia All-Star Tour

To catch any of the remaining dates on Andrew Jacked’s UK and European meet and greet events, see the dates and locations below.

• Wednesday, April 8: Muscle Machine, St Austell, England
• Thursday, April 9: Zone Gym, North London, England
• Friday, April 10: Chosen Few, Bristol, England
• Saturday, April 11: The Gym, Newry, England
• Sunday, April 12: Nebula Gym, Wexford, England
• Saturday, April 25: Really Fitness, Prague
• Monday, April 27: Limitless Fitness, Stirling, Scotland
• Tuesday, April 28: Monster Factory, Redcar, England
• Wednesday, April 29: Infinity Gym, Ireland
• Friday, May 1: Stockport Supplements, Hazel Grove, England
• Saturday, May 2: NPC Slovakia, Hilton, Bratislava

To stay up to date with the latest Olympia All-Star tours, click here!

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Most personal trainers get it. You work hard and don’t get enough time to socialize with friends and family. So, when an excuse to let loose arrives, it can often be a time of excess. Thankfully, all is not lost. “Here’s how to get your mind and body back after a few too many treats,” advised the body coach. “First, ditch the guilt. You can’t undo what’s already been done, so don’t waste energy dwelling in it. Focus on how the break was of benefit to you. Like sharing great memories or feuling up your training sessions for the week. Then, move on.”

Anna McManamey-Cashion’s Post Binge Body Reset Tips

Drink Plenty of Water

If you’ve binged on too many beers or treated yourself to some sugar laden beverages, now is the time to swap these out for water. “This helps to get digestion back on track, and alleviate fluid retention caused by increased sodium and carbohydrate intake,” advised the bodybuilder.

Indeed, water is not only great for the body, but it improves the efficiency of the brain, helping to flush toxins while assisting with nutrient absorption. If your body feels like it’s stalling, avoid dehydration and aim for around eight glasses of water per day, that’s 2.7 liters. For those who are more active, ramp up your water intake further to replace the fluids that are lost through sweat.

Get Some Exercise

Now that you’ve cut out those sweet drinks and started to avoid alcohol, there’s a great natural way to keep your mood levels high. “A solid workout will boost endorphins, stimulate digestion, and help your body burn off excess calories for energy, rather than storing them as fat,” explained the ace Australian.

Be Gut Friendly

Overindulging can often mean overloading the body with processed food and additives that play havoc with your gut health. “Fill your plate with plenty of gut friendly foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and blueberries. And avoid inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, refined sugar, and alcohol,” said the coach.

So, there’s no need to beat yourself up after a brilliant break, but McManamey-Cashion coaches that you should get back on track as quickly as possible to mitigate any damage done. Still, she is strongly against going to extremes, such as skipping meals. “Put the feasting behind you, and get back to your normal eating routine, as soon as possible,”

concludes the coach. And if your “normal” eating routine is missing any of the great tips above, now is the time to incorporate them!

To follow Anna McManamey-Cashion’s sensible advice for staying in shape, click here. 

The research suggests that individuals who stuck to a set routine, like eating the same meals, and keeping calories intake consistent over time, displayed more weight loss after 12 weeks than those who consumed different dishes.

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How The Study Was Conducted?

Scientists observed 112 overweight or obese adults over the course of 12-weeks, and asked them to track everything that they ate via a mobile app. Participants also recorded daily weigh-ins and during the trial, the experts analyzed how “routinized” each diet appeared, by noting caloric stability and observing how daily intake varied day-to-day, and at weekends. The study also focused on the element of repetition, looking at those who ate the same foods over and over again, as opposed to those who took a more varied approach to eating.

Key Results: Repetitive Diet vs Varied Diet

The study reported that those who were more likely to eat from a small range of foods lost more weight than those who consumed a more varied diet. The group that stayed the most consistent with their consumption lost an average of 5.9% body weight, while the more varied group lagged behind at 4.3% after 12 weeks.

And it wasn’t just consistency with foods that led to better results. The study also showed that keeping calories at a similar level on a daily basis was advantageous when battling the bulge. For every 100-calorie daily increase, weight loss decreased by around 0.6% over the 12-week period.

While the idea of repeating the same meals may seem unappealing at first, many people prefer this approach, because it takes much of the guesswork out of calorie counting, and allows individuals to form healthy habits. “Maintaining a healthy diet in today’s food environment requires constant effort and self-control,” commented the study’s lead author, Charlotte Hagerman, Ph.D., of the Oregon Research Institute. “Creating routines around eating may reduce that burden and make healthy choices feel more automatic.”

Dr Hagerman also explained that keeping consistent with meals can help combat cravings. “If we lived in a healthier food environment, we might encourage people to have as much variety in their diet as possible,” he said. “However, our modern food environment is too problematic. Instead, people may do best with a more repetitive diet that helps them consistently make healthier choices, even if they might sacrifice some nutritional variety.”

The sumo deadlift is not just a social media argument about what’s a legit deadlift. It’s also a question of biomechanics, body structure, training goals, and the trade-off between risk and reward.

So, before dismissing it as a fake deadlift, it’s worth asking a better question: Is the sumo deadlift cheating, or is it one of the most misunderstood strength builders in the gym?

Let’s dive in.

Is the Sumo Deadlift Cheating? The Truth Explained

The main reason it gets criticized is that it doesn’t resemble a traditional competition deadlift that most lifters grew up respecting. Conventional pulling has the visual appeal of brute force, with the bar dragged from the floor with what looks like pure grit.

On the flip side, sumo looks cleaner, shorter, and to some eyes, easier. As the bar doesn’t travel far, it’s thought of as less demanding and therefore less impressive. From there, it’s a short jump to the idea that sumo is cheating, and only for people trying to inflate their numbers. “It’s not cheating,” explains Gareth Sapstead, C.S.C.S., Olympic coach, and the author of Ultimate Abs. “It’s just a different solution to the same task.”

Lifters treat sumo like it breaks an unwritten rule, and social media fans the flames. It’s easier to mock it than to explain hip anatomy, femur length, or spinal loading.

The debate often boils down to lazy takes and locker-room logic rather than real training talk.

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Arguments Against The Sumo Deadlift

The number one argument against it is the reduced ROM, as the stance is wider, and the hips start closer to the bar. Many lifters still believe that less distance means less work, less effort, and less credibility. For critics, that’s case closed, but not for Sapstead.

“The bar still has to move from floor to lockout,” explains Sapstead. “Sumo simply changes the joint angles and moment arms. That’s biomechanics—not a loophole.”

Critics claim the upright torso makes the sumo deadlift a glorified leg press, taking away the hinge strength that gives the movement its value. It’s true that sumo changes which muscles get emphasized, but changing emphasis is not the same as removing challenge.

“It places greater emphasis on the adductors, lateral hips, and quads while still heavily engaging the posterior chain,” explains Tasha Whelan, a world champion powerlifter with a 515-pound deadlift. “These muscle groups are often undertrained in other deadlift variations.”

Another strike against sumo is its technical complexity. Conventional feels more intuitive: hinge down, grab the bar, brace hard, and pull. Sumo demands more precision. Stance width, toe angle, hip position, knee tracking, lat tension, and the ability to wedge yourself into the bar all matter. Get any of these wrong, and the lift feels awkward.

That begs the question, if it’s more technical, is it really cheating?

But that complexity has a payoff. “The more upright torso position in sumo,” says Whelan, “Can also help some lifters create and maintain intra-abdominal pressure more effectively, especially if they struggle to brace in a conventional setup.”

Although there are legit arguments against it, it comes down to whether it’s the right choice for you, which depends less on gym dogma and more on your goals, structure, and mobility. That’s what we’ll discuss next.

Sumo Deadlift Mechanics

The wide stance and the hands inside the knees alter almost everything downstream, including joint angles, bar path, muscular demands, and how the lift feels. As the knees bend more and the hips sit closer to the bar, the sumo deadlift places greater emphasis on the quads, glutes, and adductors.

That comes with its own benefits. “Athletes will benefit, “explains Sapstead. “ From the extra frontal plane stability, and it’s great for lifters who can’t express force well in a conventional stance but clean up instantly with a wider base.”

Because the torso stays more upright, the lower back deals with less forward lean and, in this analysis, lower shear demands than in a conventional pull. That does not mean sumo is risk-free or “safer,” but it does explain why some lifters with cranky lower backs feel better pulling sumo than conventional. The trade-off is that sumo requires greater hip mobility, adductor strength, and position-specific strength.

Earlier muscle-recruitment work (EMG) found that conventional and sumo shifts demand different levels of muscle recruitment. More recent biomechanical comparisons also support the idea that sumo tends to emphasize a more knee-dominant, upright pull. In contrast, conventional tends to place more demand on trunk inclination and posterior-chain mechanics. So yes, the sumo deadlift shifts the emphasis, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for glutes, upper back tension, or hip extension strength.

Then there’s the subject of body type. Research on anthropometry suggests lifters with longer torsos may have a slight mechanical advantage with sumo, while those with shorter torsos may be better suited to conventional. That’s a big reason blanket statements about the “best” deadlift style often miss the mark.

The research-based conclusion is straightforward: The sumo deadlift is not fake, nor is it an easy way to lift heavier. It is a valid pulling technique with unique mechanical requirements, different strengths, and limitations.

Let’s dive into the strengths of the sumo deadlift.

Benefits of the Sumo Deadlift for Strength and Longevity

You’ve read why lifters throw shade on the sumo, but here is where it shines.

Lower Back Thumbs Up

The sumo deadlift offers certain lifters a way to pull heavy without experiencing the same lower back strain they feel with conventional deadlifts. The lower hips and upright torso make this deadlift variation suitable for lifters with a history of lower back pain. “More upright torso, reduced spinal shear, shorter ROM for some clean things right up,” says Sapstead. That does not make it easy, but it is useful.

Not All Lifters Are Built The Same

As lifters are not all built the same, the sumo can better match certain leverages. Some people can wedge into a strong, efficient sumo start position and express force better from there than they ever could conventionally. Research on anthropometry and pulling style, as expressed above, supports the idea that body structure can influence which deadlift variation is the better fit.

Works More Muscle

The sumo lift demands a lot from the quads, glutes, and especially the adductors. These adductors are not just along for the ride but play a key role in hip extension, pelvic control, and force generation from the bottom. Therefore, when performed correctly, sumo isn’t just a watered-down deadlift but a full-body strength exercise with a different focus.

Training Longevity

Some lifters can’t sustain intense conventional deadlifts year-round because fatigue accumulates or their technique weakens. When form fades, injuries arise. Sumo can provide those lifters with an alternative heavy barbell lift that still builds strength and keeps them in the game.

“As a coach with over 20 years of experience and a competitive strength athlete who primarily pulls conventionally,” explains Whelan. “I still program and regularly use sumo deadlifts, either as a supplemental lift or during various training phases. They’re an excellent way to build additional hip and leg strength while providing a different stimulus that benefits other variations.”

Risk vs. Reward Ratio

Each exercise has an element of risk, but the trick is to balance it in your favor by knowing what is at the end of the rainbow.

Risk

Lifters think it’s easier on the lower back, but they force themselves into a stance they don’t naturally own. Going too wide and lacking the hip mobility to get into position can turn the lift into a quick route to cranky hips, angry adductors, and rough reps. Sumo isn’t forgiving when your setup is off by even an inch, because that inch often becomes a mile once the bar leaves the floor. That makes the technical margin for error smaller than many lifters realize.

Reward

Sumo allows some lifters to pull heavier with a more upright torso, less forward lean, and a bar path that better matches their structure. It can also distribute training stress differently by giving the quads, glutes, and adductors a bigger role while often reducing how much the lower back gets smoked compared to conventional training. That combination makes it valuable for powerlifters, strong intermediate lifters, and lifters who want to keep a heavy pull in their program without feeling like every deadlift day takes three business days to recover from.

Verdict

The sumo deadlift has a moderate-risk, high-reward profile when it suits your anatomy, mobility, and goals. Forcing it when it doesn’t fit increases the risk, while the reward diminishes just as fast.

Final Verdict: Should You Switch to Sumo Deadlifts?

The sumo deadlift is not cheating. “It’s like saying a low-bar squat is cheating,” explains Sapstead. “ As compared to a high bar. It’s just a different strategy.”

It is not a fake deadlift or lifters trying to dodge hard work. It is a legitimate pulling style with genuine advantages and clear limitations. Yes, the range of motion is often shorter. Yes, it changes the mechanics of the lift, but that does not make it less valuable. It makes it different.

That difference is why the sumo deadlift still belongs in programming conversations. For the right lifter, it can be a powerful strength builder, a more sustainable heavy pull, and a smarter match for their structure than conventional ever will be. For the wrong lifter, it can feel forced, awkward, and not worth the trouble.

While the sumo deadlift often gets criticized because people mistake “different” for “wrong.” The smarter perspective is this—if your body, mobility, and goals align with the lift, sumo isn’t cheating.

Taking to Instagram, Henrie provided some essential points that must be covered in order to crush your muscle building goals. M&F breaks it all down here, so that whether you are a complete newbie, or just need a bit of a nudge in the right direction, there’s a way to build more mass.

Tip One: Lift with Intention

Okay, you’ve purchased the gym membership and you’re even managing to make regular visits, but if the muscles are still not growing, you might need to take stock of what you’re actually doing while you’re there. “Just because you are lifting does not mean you are building,” Henrie told her 80,000-plus IG followers in a frank but fair post. “There is a difference between lifting weights and lifting with intention, progressing over time, focusing on range of motion and muscular contraction. Anyone can lift weights but to build, you have to lift with intention.”

To unpack Henrie’s advice, start out by focusing on form and activating the target muscles for each exercise. From there, aim for 8 to 12 reps per set, and find a weight that you almost fail at as you try to complete the final rep. Then, as your body gets accustomed to the weight and it begins to feel easier, increase the load to keep failure within reach. This is the kind of progressive overload that signals your body to build back stronger, and if you want to really increase hypertrophy, complete around 3 sets with each exercise, adding further exhaustion to the muscles.

Tip Two: Muscle burns more calories than fat

Muscles need fuel to grow, so trying to build lean mass without addressing your nutrition will put you on the fast lane to muscle breakdown. “Nutrition is critical for muscle building as muscle is more metabolically active, meaning it requires more calories than fat to maintain,” explained Henrie, who has competed in the Bikini division. “If you are working out but not fueling appropriately, it is going to feel difficult to build. This means adequate calories but also protein + carbohydrates as they are the building blocks for muscle.”

Henrie explains that adequate fueling is not just about eating before a workout but also making sure there’s enough left in the tank for recovery, because the recovery phase is where the muscles are actively built.

Tip Three: Recovery is key

Speaking of recovery, this is often those most neglected, and yet most important aspect of making gains. Sure, getting to bed on time is a less glamorous than pumping iron, but dialing in your recovery could lead to surprising growth. “This is where muscle tissue is repaired (in the deepest phases of our sleep cycle),” explained the coach. “You can workout all you want, but if the recovery piece is not there (and I am not saying you need perfect sleep every night), you won’t see muscle growth.”

To follow McKenna Olsen on Instagram, click here. 

Aidala, a former college football player who competed in Olympic style weightlifting competitions, and is now a performance coach, is once again proving to his clients that anything is possible. This is not the first time that Aidala has aced the Turkish Getup to enter the Guinness World Record gang. In 2022, he used the same move to lift the most weight in one hour, racking up 13,823 pounds (6,270kg) by repping as many times as he could. While that record was eventually surpassed by Nicolas Stir of France, who in 2024 clocked in with 16,378 pounds (7.429kg) Aidala refused to quit his quest to be the best, and chose another punishing Turkish Getup record for his next feat.

What Is a Turkish Get-Up? Full-Body Strength Explained

The coordination, mobility, and strength required to perform a Turkish Getup will recruit every single muscle in your body, making this move an old-school staple for centuries. It is thought that the Turkish Getup shot to prominence during the reign of the Ottoman Empire in the late 13th century, as a grueling method of training its soldiers.

To execute, you’ll begin by lying flat on your back while holding a weight such as a dumbbell, kettlebell, or barbell. Using your available arm, and legs, raise up until you have the load at full extension over your head with the other hand to complete. Turkish Getups are deceptively simple to try but take serious grit to master.

Mike Aidala’s Journey to the Single Heaviest Turkish Getup Record

Aidala first claimed the heaviest ever Turkish Getup with a 255 pounds (115.6kg) lift in March 2025, but he didn’t stop there. On Feb. 21, 2026, he decided to dial-in once again for the heaviest single repetition of the Turkish Getup, but he failed to beat his previous record. “Weightlifting is a solo attempt with yourself, it’s you vs. the weight,” he explained of his initial disappointment. “The Turkish get up specifically is a unique orchestra of movement that requires many aspects to play in tune for it to happen.”

Fortunately, Aidala dusted off his instruments and got back to work 48 hours later, on February 23, and while he missed around 20 attempts in the course of a two-and-a-half-hour session, trying to smash the record, he continued to battle through exhaustion and finally to made a new highest weight. Not only did Aidala beat his own published world record with a new benchmark of 261 pounds (118.6kg), but he also raised more than $3,000 for Valor Fit, providing financial aid for the gym memberships of veterans.

“Lessons are learned through failure,” wrote Aidala on a previous Instagram post, and if that sentiment doesn’t inspire you to reach for your ambitions, what will?

To follow Mike Aidala on Instagram, click here.

I’m going to tell you, but first I need to preface this with the following for clarity: While the “Olympia” is composed of 11 divisions today, and most of the qualification requirements to compete in them are similar, my focus here is on the original Men’s Open Mr. Olympia, upon whose backs rests the entire fitness industry.

While what I discuss here is, in many ways, relevant to the other IFBB divisions, nuanced conditions can arise and push some limits. Accordingly, this is about them—the core element—and the process by which one would set out to find their way among them.

Just like competing in any world championship in any sport, the first thing you have to do is qualify. And in bodybuilding, therein lies the culmination of all that you’ve been about for years on end—dedicating, suffering, abstaining, sacrificing, grueling workout after grueling workout, fatigued and starving, without letting up for a second. Because if you did, someone else would move up and pass you. Bodybuilding is the apex variant of not leaving any stone unturned. In our world, those stones are the size of gravel, and there’s enough to pave a circular driveway. Every single one of them counts, and if just one is left to fate and it turns out bad, the entire row of dominoes falls.

That’s why the accommodations are slim atop Mount Olympus. Since Larry Scott won the first title in 1965, the battle for the honor has been waged a total of 62 times, producing just 19 champions. Let me say that another way: in 61 uninterrupted years, just 19 men have earned the title of Mr. Olympia. This makes the Sandow trophy the rarest prize in modern-day sports—and you want one.

Win Amateurs, Earn an IFBB Pro Card

Well, while you’re making some room on the mantle, you’d better clear out some space for a slew of other trophies you’re going to have to win first. And that’s just to climb out of the amateurs. Once absorbed into the pros, you’re just beginning your climb to the top.

The Olympia is the proverbial world championship of bodybuilding. It’s as high as you can go, and there are no other contests on its level—it’s Everest’s peak. The zenith of all the body sports. Critics will decry the Arnold Classic as being on par with the Olympia, that the honor is the same. But it’s not. It just isn’t. The Mr. Olympia is the historical center of our universe. Any kid who ever dreamed of being a bodybuilder dreamed of being Mr. Olympia. Now, you can win the Arnold to qualify for the Olympia, but not the other way around. There are no two sides to that. The Mr. O is it.

Insofar as that’s concerned, those seeking to grace its stage have to start somewhere. In IFBB pro bodybuilding, that means getting a pro card—your ticket to entry. As ubiquitous as the pro card has become these days—it’s entirely possible that the beer tub girl in a trendy pool bar is a card-carrying IFBB Bikini pro—it doesn’t make the card any easier to get, especially among the men chasing a Sandow. Specifically for the Men’s Open, in order to “pick up” your pro card, you have to win the overall at either the USA Championships, the NPC Nationals, the Junior Nationals, the North American, or the Universe. There are also international paths through the Arnold Amateur in Ohio and other international Arnold events, the IFBB World Championships, and NPC Worldwide pro qualifiers in various countries.

Training

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The Road to Olympia is Narrow with Heavy Traffic

But before you can compete in any of those shows in the U.S., you have to qualify by winning the overall at a national qualifier. These days, many state-level shows are open national qualifiers.

This is where you can struggle for years to climb out, or you can hit the fast track. If you bide your time and wait to compete until you’re ready—until you’re Olympia caliber—you can literally win a state-level show, sometimes even just your weight class, which would qualify you for an NPC national show. Win the overall there, and you get your pro card. If you’re an aggressive and gifted monster who gets the federation’s nod, you could immediately enter your first pro show—an Olympia qualifier—win it, and thus qualify for the Olympia. No one has ever done that, but it could happen. The path is there. But you’d have to be a heretofore unseen freak to walk it.

Regardless of what kind of monster you think you might be, you have to win an Olympia qualifier to compete in the big show. Other than the Arnold, there’s quite a bit of events in the U.S.—the New York Pro, the Tampa Pro, the Toronto Pro, the Pittsburgh Pro, to name a few. There are also few held all over the world—for example, the recent Arnold UK was an Olympia qualifier.

I made that path sound easy, but it’s not. While there are—and have been—outliers who came out of nowhere and shot to the top, for most, it’s an uphill grind. I know guys who have spent a decade or more trying to turn pro. It’s not easy—especially today. The competition is as fierce as it’s ever been, particularly among the pros. A lot of guys turn pro, and you never see them again.

To add more stress to the equation, qualifying for the Olympia is also a strategic consideration in managing your pro career. Should you try to qualify as soon after the Olympia as possible, or as close to it as you can? How do you best manage your condition? That’s one of many gambles athletes take as they set their sights on competing in the Olympia. Some guys blow it, don’t make it, and have to try again next season.

Competing in the Olympia is serious business. There’s no letting anything slide. If you have any doubt, remember: In 61 years, there have only been 19 men crowned Mr. Olympia. Out of eight billion people in the world—just 19.

What does that tell you?

“The Prodigy” placed fifth in the Arnold U.S. and upped his position to second at the Arnold U.K. in March, proving that he is still a threat to those who may be younger in years. “What is your personal goal for the Olympia, this year,” asked James during the show. “My goal is simple,” answered the tenacious bodybuilder from Nashville, Tennessee. “I just want to be able to shake things up, you know what I’m saying? I want to be able to cause some confusion, make everybody question what’s going on.”

How Curry Stays Elite Into His 40s

During the episode, Curry explained that his success has always been based on the fact that he focuses on the work that needs to be done, rather than making predictions about what position he may place. This often creates a situation where judges and industry observers underestimate the package that he brings to the stage on the night. “So, that let’s me know that I put in the work, and I made the necessary changes, and I brought something to the stage that the judges don’t really know what to do with (in) in the moment. That’s a compliment.”

 Is Brandon Curry  Still a Threat at 43?

When asked about taking a break between the recent Arnold contests and the Olympia, Curry showed no signs of slowing down in the immediate future. “I do want to take a break, but I may not take a break,” he revealed. “We’ll see how these next couple of weeks go with travel. If I can stay engaged and do everything I need to do, you may see me another time out (on stage).” Pressed by The Menace on whether he might tread the boards before the Olympia in September, Curry kept his options open. “You may, you may,” he teased.

Dennis James also wanted to dive into the issue of age. “You know, you’re up there in age, but 43 is not even old anymore,” mused The Menace, who noted that Dexter Jackson completed into his 50s. Indeed, Jackson was 51 when he retired following the 2020 Mr Olympia.  “I enjoy the process,” explained Curry of his own longevity.

The Prodigy has been competing for over 20 years and has amassed multiple awards including the Olympia trophy in 2019, and two Arnold Classic titles in 2019 and 2022. “I’m enjoying the training, enjoying the challenge, and I’m still living life. It’s like, ‘why not?’ If I can do it.”

The Menace Podcast is available via the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel. To watch the latest episode in its entirety, where the boys also discussed the latest bodybuilding news, see below:

Full-Body Exercises

Here's a Back-Building Breakdown of How to Ma...

Gymgoers of all levels can incorporate this move created by the late strength-training icon.

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What is the Meadows Row?

John Meadows, known to fans as the “Mountain Dog” was a popular bodybuilder and advanced exercise coach, who developed the Meadows Row to stimulate growth in the lats, specifically in the upper armpit area, in order to create what is often referred to as the “cobra spread” on stage. This move primarily targets the lats, rhomboids, and rear delts, but also recruits additional muscles such as the forearms and core. Technically, the stretch at the very bottom of the Meadows Row is what is believed to encourage growth in the target area.

How Jay Cutler Uses Meadows Rows to Build a Massive Back

“I got a chance to train with John back in my career, and I was able to learn a couple of things from him,” shared Cutler with his almost 6 million Instagram followers. To get started, the big man stood in front of a T-bar row device and turned side-on to the bar. He then put himself in a bent over position, with knees a little bent, and kept his legs still while the working arm repped some rows with the barbell. Cutler says that it is important to go heavy here (without sacrificing form), in order to “really get that contraction.”

Cutler adds that when it comes to the benefits of the Meadows Row, “It stimulates, like a one arm dumbbell row, where (you’re) kinda rowing through the side of the body, switching sides as you go through.”

So, if you’re looking to mix up your back workout and haven’t made a Meadows Row yet, Cutler highly recommends adding it to your program. “With this exercise, we’re really helping (to) help lengthen the lats, get that thickness in there, and of course, develop the biggest back possible… which everybody wants.”

To follow Jay Cutler on Instagram, click here. 

“I really love to teach, and I really love to see the accomplishment on people’s faces and then, just to have people have fun.”

Thompson does a lot while stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, the only physical and staffed USO center in Africa, including logistics coordinating and getting program supplies to them, and then going out and hosting in-person programming for morale. Her work is not easy but having been a service member herself in the past, being in a role that supports the military today is worth the effort.

“I can 100 percent say with all honesty that this is my dream job.”

From Civilian to Marine

Thompson opted to join the Marines in 2010 on a whim, recalling that she woke up one random morning and made the decision to sign up. The final decision that day came when she was told it was the most difficult branch, a challenge she accepted with open arms.

“So, a bit of a goofy start, if I’m honest.”

She received an awakening of what she signed up for during boot camp, but it only made her commitment to it even greater. It also ignited her passion for fitness and helping others train and improve performance.

“I picked up into a leadership role really quickly, and therefore I was responsible then for making sure that my platoon was in the best physical shape that they could be in.”

When she wasn’t fulfilling her duties as a Marine, she was learning more about the science behind fitness and challenging herself through CrossFit or bodybuilding, even going as far as stepping onstage at an NPC show.

“I completed two shows. I got fourth place in my very first competition ever, and then first place, and both of those were Figure.”

Joining USO

Sergeant Thompson called it a career as a Marine in 2018. Prior to that, she had been deployed to Iraq and encountered the USO, specifically a lady named Amanda Odette. Odette and the USO made quite the impression on Thompson during that visit.

“She was just this giving person and could talk to anybody. And I just fell in love with her position and the role that she was playing in such a hostile location,” Thompson said. “And so, right then and there during that deployment, I decided that was what I wanted to do.”

Once Thompson joined herself, she initially wanted to go back to Iraq, but the position was filled. They offered her the opportunity to go to Djibouti, a new place for her, and she jumped at the chance. Among her other roles, she’s involved with helping service members staying connected to their families, even going as far as recording videos of them reading books for their children back home to watch.

“I think that that is probably the most rewarding part of working here.”

Thompson can see the camaraderie and engagement among the people she works with and know that she has made a difference for them. However, she’s also the first to confess that it does as much for her as she does for them. That’s because when she first exited the military, it left a void she didn’t expect.

Thompson explained, “I really struggled with a newfound loneliness that I didn’t really expect to stumble upon, and it really did rock me to say the least. It put me in a really hard position where I realized that I’m not around people that thought like me anymore.”

That is a common feeling for most service members. According to the VA, about 15% of all veterans experience a steady decline in vocational and financial well-being during their first 36 months out of uniform. This leads to self-doubt as well as depression because of the outsider feelings that may come from transitioning from military to civilian life.

Thompson’s current job has brought her back around to a familiar community, and she has gone above and beyond to support those that support her. It reminds her of the days when she had the uniform on herself.

“While my position is different now, I still have that sense of camaraderie, and I still feel like I’m a part of it.”

Thompson expressed that other veterans looking for a new way to serve or to feel connected with the brothers and sisters in uniform again may be able to gain that through joining the USO. She can imagine what life would be like had she not decided to, but she

would rather not. It’s evident that what she does now has helped her in ways that a civilian job may not have.

“I think that I would still be in that hole, that dark place where I felt very disconnected from other people. This transition was one of the best things I did for my mental health, I think.”

For more information on the USO, go to its website.

Ali Thompson’s Horn of Africa USO Workout

Thompson created this workout for Horn of Africa service members that was conducted on her first expeditionary USO visit to perform at a gym opening. Her main advice for this one is, “Get after it & stay hungry!”

Warm-up: 2 rounds

• 1 minute light jog or row
• Cat Cows – 10 reps
• Scapular Pushups – 10 reps
• Deep or Sampson Lunges – 10 reps
• Inch worms with an additional pushup – 10 reps
• Kettlebell Squat – 5 reps

 World’s Greatest Stretch

• 10 barbell-only deadlifts
• Deadlift – 5 sets of 5 reps with 90 seconds of rest between sets.
• ·Add weight so it is moderately heavy.

HIIT for AMRAP

• Devil’s Press or Burpees – 10 reps
• Box Jumps or Step Ups– 20 reps
• Row Machine – 15 calories

Cool-Down

• Child’s Pose – 30 seconds
• Thorasic Stretch – 30 seconds
• Pigeon Stretch – 30 seconds
• Cobra Stretch – 30 seconds

But a few miles in, once the trail pitches upward and your footing turns uneven, the effort starts to settle in. Your legs lose some pop, your breathing sharpens, and the rhythm you had early on begins to slip.

From a performance standpoint, hiking lives in its own lane. You’re moving for extended periods, navigating rocks, roots, and shifting terrain, and often climbing or descending for long stretches at a time. That combination challenges your conditioning, strength, and stability in a way most gym workouts don’t fully prepare you for.

It’s not about what you can do for a short set. It’s about how your body holds up when the effort keeps coming.

I’ve seen this play out over and over, both in my own training and with athletes. There’s always a point where people head out feeling confident, assuming their general fitness will carry them through. A few miles later, you start to see the shift. Someone’s sitting off to the side of the trail trying to catch their breath. Others start to fall well behind the pace they expected to hold. I’ve been there myself. Longer hikes, especially those with steady climbs and drawn-out descents, exposed the gaps quickly.

That’s where most people miss heading into hiking season. They rely on general fitness or treat hiking like it’s just a casual activity. If you want to move well, stay comfortable, and actually enjoy being out there, you need to be more intentional. That means preparing your body for what the trail throws at you and showing up with the right gear to handle it.

Workout Routines

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Why Hiking Is More Physically Demanding Than You Think

Hiking places a unique demand on your body as it blends steady aerobic output with continuous muscular work and constant joint stabilization. You’ll soon find yourself somewhere between producing and sustaining constant force while adapting to terrain that constantly changes. That combination taxes multiple energy systems at once, which is why fatigue builds faster than most people expect.

• High Repetition, Low-Grade Muscular Output: When hiking, each step functions like a submaximal contraction, primarily through the quads, glutes, and calves. Over time, these repeated efforts rely heavily on local muscular endurance and fatigue resistance. As those muscle groups fatigue, force production drops and movement efficiency declines.
• Aerobic System Sets the Ceiling: Hiking primarily operates in an aerobic zone, where your body depends on oxygen to produce energy through oxidative metabolism. A stronger aerobic base allows you to maintain pace at a lower energy cost, while a weaker system leads to earlier spikes in heart rate and perceived effort.
• Continuous Stability and Proprioception Demands: Uneven terrain increases reliance on proprioception, or your body’s ability to sense position and movement.

Your ankles, knees, and hips constantly adjust to maintain balance, while your core stabilizes your trunk. This creates a persistent neuromuscular demand that adds to overall fatigue.

• Elevation Changes Increase Mechanical and Metabolic Stress: Climbing requires greater concentric force production, especially from the glutes and quads, and elevates heart rate and oxygen demand. The steeper the grade, the more both the muscular and cardiovascular systems have to contribute.
• Eccentric Loading on Descents Drives Muscle Damage: Downhill hiking places a high eccentric load on the quads, which control knee flexion with each step. Eccentric contractions generate more mechanical stress and muscle damage, which is why descents often lead to greater soreness and fatigue than the climb itself.

When you look at hiking through this lens, it becomes clear why general fitness doesn’t always translate. The trail demands efficiency, durability, and the ability to sustain output across multiple systems simultaneously.

How to Train for Hiking: Build Endurance, Strength & Stability Fast

Before you start adding miles or random workouts, it helps to take a step back and look at what hiking actually requires. A simple needs analysis gives you a clear picture of the physical qualities that show up on the trail. Once you understand those, you can train with purpose instead of guessing.

At its core, most hikes demand a mix of aerobic capacity, muscular endurance, strength, and stability. The terrain and elevation may change, but these foundational needs stay consistent.

• Aerobic Capacity for Sustained Effort: Hiking lives in a steady, aerobic zone. The ability to keep moving without your heart rate spiking too early is a necessity, otherwise you’ll feel cooked before you ever begin. Incline walking, longer steady-state efforts, and low-intensity cardio build that base.
• Muscular Endurance to Handle Repetition: Your legs repeat the same movement pattern for thousands of steps. Step-ups, lunges, and longer lower-body sets help build the capacity needed to maintain pace.
• Strength to Handle Elevation and Load: Steeper climbs and added pack weight require force production (and mental durability). Movements like split squats and hinges build trail-specific strength that carries over to the trail.
• Eccentric Control for Descents: Downhill hiking places a high demand on your ability to absorb force. Controlled step-downs and tempo-based lower-body work prepare your legs for that stress.
• Stability for Uneven Terrain: Rocks, roots, and shifting ground challenge your balance. Single-leg work, carries, and core stability exercises help you stay controlled and efficient.

How to Train for Different Types of Hikes (Flat, Steep, Rocky, Loaded)

You wouldn’t train for a sprint by logging marathon miles, and you wouldn’t prepare for a marathon by only doing short, all-out efforts. Hiking works the same way. The demands change with terrain, elevation, and duration, so your preparation needs to match the hike

ahead of you. I’ve seen people put in solid work, show up confident, and still struggle simply because their training didn’t reflect what the trail required.

Flat, Long-Distance Trails

Flat trails challenge pacing and durability. The effort stays steady, but the total volume adds up fast. Without a strong aerobic base and enough time on your feet, fatigue builds, and minor discomforts become bigger issues.

Steep Climbs and Elevation Gains

Steep climbs demand both strength and conditioning. Your legs have to produce force with every step while your aerobic system supports the effort. Without both, climbs turn into frequent stops and broken rhythm. Step-ups, incline walking, and loaded carries prepare you well here.

Rocky and Uneven Terrain

Rocky trails challenge control and foot placement. Every step requires adjustment, which increases the demand on your ankles, knees, and hips. Poor stability slows your pace and increases the chance of missteps. Single-leg work and balance training help you stay efficient.

Loaded or Multi-Day Hikes

Hiking with a pack shifts your posture and increases joint stress from the start. Fatigue builds faster, especially through your shoulders, hips, and lower back. I’ve seen plenty of hikers underestimate this and feel it within the first mile. Training with a load ahead of time makes a noticeable difference in how you hold up.

Best Exercises for Hiking Strength, Endurance, and Injury Prevention

Effective hiking prep comes down to choosing movements that transfer directly to the trail. Each step requires force production, control, and the ability to repeat that effort for miles. Strong legs support that effort, while upper body strength and core stability help you stay efficient, especially when carrying a pack or navigating uneven terrain.

For Climbing Strength and Power

• Step-Ups (bench or box)
• Bulgarian Split Squats
• Goblet Squats

Climbing relies on consistent force through the hips and legs. These movements build concentric strength, which supports a steady push uphill without a rapid spike in effort.

For Muscular Endurance

• Walking Lunges
• High-Rep Step-Ups
• Bodyweight Squat Variations

Long stretches of hiking turn into a high-repetition effort for the lower body. Training muscular endurance improves fatigue resistance, allowing each step to stay strong as the miles add up.

For Downhill Control (Eccentric Strength)

• Step-Downs
• Tempo Squats (slow lowering)
• Reverse Lunges

Descending places a high eccentric load on the quads as they control each step. These exercises train your muscles to absorb force efficiently, which helps limit breakdown in movement and excessive soreness.

For Stability and Balance

• Single-Leg RDLs
• Lateral Lunges
• Controlled Step-Throughs or Balance Holds

Uneven terrain requires constant adjustment. These movements improve joint control and balance, helping maintain stable foot placement across rocks, roots, and shifting ground.

For Load and Core Stability

• Farmer’s Carries
• Suitcase Carries
• Front Rack Carries

Carrying a pack shifts posture and increases total system demand. Loaded carries build core stiffness and positional strength, helping you stay upright and efficient under load.

For Upper-Body Endurance and Posture

• Pull-Ups or Assisted Pull-Ups
• Push-Ups
• Bent-Over Rows or Band Rows

Upper-body strength supports posture and pack control, especially on longer hikes. These movements help you stay tall through the torso and reduce unnecessary strain on the shoulders and lower back.

3-Day Hiking Workout Plan to Build Trail-Ready Fitness

A focused plan built around these qualities prepares your body to handle the trail while building strength, endurance, and control. Supersets keep the pace up and improve your ability to move under sustained effort.

Day 1: Strength + Climbing Focus

Superset 1

• Step-Ups: 3 sets, 8-10 reps (each leg)
• Pull-Ups or Assisted Pull-Ups: 3 sets, 6-8 reps

Superset 2

• Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets, 8 reps
• Push-Ups: 3 sets, 10-15 reps

Superset 3

• Goblet Squats: 3 sets, 10 reps
• Farmer’s Carries: 3 sets, 30-45 seconds

Day 2: Conditioning + Endurance

Superset 1

• Incline Walking or Hiking: 30–45 minutes (steady pace)
• Every 10 minutes: Walking Lunges: 10 steps (each leg)

Superset 2

• Bodyweight Squats: 2 to 3 sets, 20 reps
• Band Rows: 2 to 3 sets, 12-15 reps

Superset 3

• Step-Ups (bodyweight): 2 sets, 15 reps (each leg)
• Push-Ups: 2 sets, 12-15 reps

Day 3: Control + Stability

Superset 1

• Step-Downs: 3 sets, 8 reps (each leg)
• Single-Leg RDLs: 3 sets, 8 reps (each leg)

Superset 2

• Reverse Lunges: 3 sets, 10 reps (each leg)
• Bent-Over Rows: 3 sets, 10 reps

Superset 3

• Suitcase Carries: 3 sets, 30 seconds (each side
• Lateral Lunges: 3 sets, 8 reps (each side)

Best Hiking Gear for Performance, Comfort, and Endurance

The right gear doesn’t make a hike easy, but it changes how you move and how long you stay comfortable. Poor choices show up quickly. Footing feels unstable, small hotspots turn into blisters, and fatigue builds faster than it should. The goal stays simple. Support movement, reduce friction, and stay efficient from start to finish.

Footwear That Matches the Terrain

Your footwear sets the tone for the entire hike. Traction, fit, and underfoot feel matter most once fatigue sets in.

What to look for:

• Reliable grip for dirt, rock, and loose terrain
• Secure fit through the midfoot and heel
• Cushioning that stays comfortable over distance

Performance takeaway: Stable footing keeps your stride consistent and reduces wasted energy late in a hike.

Coach’s Gear Pick: Notace Yama Trail Runners

A Pack That Moves With You

A pack should feel like an extension of your body, not something you fight against as the miles add up.

What to look for:

• Snug fit that stays close to your center of mass
• Even weight distribution across the shoulders and hips
• Minimal bounce while walking

Performance takeaway: A well-fitted pack reduces strain on your back and shoulders, helping you maintain posture and pace.

Coach’s Gear Pick: Osprey Exos 58 Pack

Hydration That Keeps Pace With Your Effort

Hydration plays a direct role in endurance and output, especially on longer or hotter hikes.

What to look for:

• Easy access to water without breaking stride
• Capacity that matches the length of your hike
• Electrolyte support for longer efforts

Performance takeaway: Consistent hydration supports energy levels and helps prevent early fatigue.

Coach’s Gear Pick: Ultimate Direction Ultra Vest 12L

Clothing That Adapts to Conditions

Clothing should help regulate temperature and manage sweat as conditions change.

What to look for:

• Breathable, moisture-wicking fabrics
• Lightweight layers for changing weather
• Freedom of movement without restriction

Performance takeaway: Comfortable body temperature and dry skin help maintain output and reduce energy drain.

Coach’s Gear Pick: Kuhl Renegade Outsider Short and Shadow Hoody

The Essentials That Keep You Moving

A few small additions help you stay prepared without weighing you down.

What to bring:

• Simple fuel source for longer efforts
• Navigation tool to plan your route and keep you on the trail
• Lightweight outer layer
• Headlamp or basic navigation tool

Performance takeaway: Preparedness keeps small issues from turning into bigger problems that slow you down.

Coach’s Gear Pick: onX Backcountry Navigation App

For those of us that are retro enough to remember, there were fewer crazes bigger than He-Man in the 8’0s. A 1987 movie starring Dolph Lundgren was a critical flop at the time but has gone on to reach cult status since. Sadly, however, aside from the comic books, Eternia had gone pretty quiet in recent years.

So, news that Prince Adam was putting the band back together for another clash with Skeletor and the gang lead to the kind of warm glow that only nostalgia can bring. Fortunately, Nicholas Galitzine, who will take up the mantle as the muscular superhero feels the same way.

“As a kid, I played with actions figures a lot, and for hours every day I’d conjure up storylines in my head. I kinda think those moments were what birthed my sense of creativity,” wrote the star in a recent Instagram post. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I’d be staring at my own face on one of those figurines.”

Full Cast Revealed: Idris Elba, Jared Leto, and More

Nicholas Galitzine has been forged by the power of Grayskull Now immortalized by Mattel  and about to bash the bad guys on the big screen, Galitzine has clearly made his own muscle gains, as the new trailer reveals, demonstrating bulging biceps and pecs that seem to have been forged by the power of Grayskull. The new film, titled Masters of the Universe, boasts an all-star cast including Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Alison Bried as Evil-Lyn, Jared Leto as Skeletor, and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man.

The plot (be gone, critics!) sees Prince Adam returning to Eternia after 20 years on Earth to battle evil forces, and the franchises’ loyal fans appear to be loving the promo, particularly how the traditional lion is swapped out for He-Man’s “Battle Cat” in the MGM logo. “He-Man, that’s OG level of nostalgia,” wrote one excited YouTube user on viewing the trailer. “To everyone involved in making this- THANK YOU,” wrote another.

When Will Masters of the Universe Be Released?

Amazon MGM Studios have announced that the film will hit cinemas from June 5, 2026.

Watch the new Master of the Universe movie trailer

To follow Nicholas Galitzine on Instagram, click here. 

While setting up your barbell back squat, you need to:

• Create tension through your upper back
• Lock the bar into a stable position
• Find a grip that doesn’t hurt your wrists or shoulders

Back Exercises

Squat Setup Tips for a Safe & Powerful Lift

Your technique for spotting can be as critical as your partner’s squatting.

Read article

Suppose the setup feels off; compensations may occur, like elbows flaring, wrist pain, chest collapsing, or the bar position not feeling right before you squat. Most lifters try to push through it—widen their grip, or suck it up. But the real problem is a lack of mobility where it counts: the shoulders, upper back, and surrounding tissues.

The 5 best shoulder mobility exercises are not just about increasing flexibility but also about developing the mobility and positioning necessary to control the barbell before you squat.

How to Test Your Back Squat Setup (Quick Self-Assessment)

A simple barbell test to identify shoulder tightness, elbow flare, and upper-back weakness. Nothing fancy here, as all you need is a barbell. Step under an empty bar and set up like you’re about to back squat.

Now check:

1. Hands just outside shoulder width (or your normal grip)
2. Wrists relatively neutral, not cranked back
3. Elbows slightly down and in, not flared high
4. Chest tall without overextending the upper back
5. Bar sitting firmly across your upper back
6. Hold this position for 10–15 seconds.

Now that you’re there, watch for and feel for anterior shoulder discomfort, elbow discomfort, or elbows drifting up and out, wrist pain, or the chest collapsing. If you can’t hold this position without pain, your setup is off—and loading it will only make it worse.

What Proper Back Squat Positioning Should Feel Like

A good squat starts with a great setup. And a great setup is built more than just where you place your hands. To own the bar position, you need:

1. Shoulder external rotation: Having adequate external rotation allows your hands to get into position without forcing your wrists or elbows to compensate.
2. Thoracic extension: Your upper back needs to stay tall to support the bar.
3. Lat and pec length: Tight lats and pecs pull your shoulders forward, limiting your ability to create a stable “shelf.”
4. Scapular retraction and depression: These movements lock the bar into your upper back, preventing it from moving.
5. Wrist positioning and tolerance: Your hands guide the bar, nothing more, nothing less.

Miss one of these, and your squat is on unstable ground before you begin. Next, we’ll tell you what to do about it.

The 5 Best Shoulder Mobility Exercises for Squats

The exercises below serve two purposes. First, if you’re having trouble getting a barbell on your back, these will help. Second, these exercises serve as a preventive maintenance to keep or even enhance your shoulder mobility.

Band Face Pull With External Rotation

A banded face-pull variation in which you pull toward your face and finish by externally rotating your shoulders, bringing your hands up and back.

Why Lifters Need It for the Back Squat

A solid back squat begins with a tight upper back and externally rotated shoulders. When you lack sufficient external rotation, you can’t create a stable shelf, your elbows flare out, and the barbell’s position isn’t solid. This exercise develops the combination of scapular retraction and external rotation needed for improved upper-body positioning.

How to Do It

1. Anchor a looped resistance band at face height or just below.
2. Grab with both hands, shoulder-width apart, palms facing down.
3. Pull the band toward your face, leading with your elbows.
4. As the band reaches your face, rotate your hands up and back.
5. Finish in the goal post position and lower with control.

Programming Suggestions: Do 2 sets of 10-12 reps before squatting and include in your general warm-up for 1-3 sets of 10-12 reps.

External Rotation With Elbow on Knee

A controlled external rotation drill is performed with the elbow supported on the knee to isolate the rotator cuff.

Why Lifters Need It for the Back Squat

This exercise targets the range where lifters may struggle with their grip on the bar. Forcing shoulder external rotation when you lack it causes elbows to be out of position and wrists to rebel. This drill develops control within the critical range of motion your setup relies on.

How to Do It

1. Sit tall on the weight bench with your elbow resting on your knee.
2. Hold a light dumbbell in one hand with the elbow bent at 90 degrees.
3. Rotate the forearm upward while keeping the elbow fixed.
4. Move and lower with control for desired reps.

Programming Suggestions: Before squatting, perform 2 sets of 8–10 reps per side.

TRX Face Pull to Y (Eccentric Overload)

A TRX exercise combining a face pull with a Y raise, emphasizing a slow eccentric phase on the Y raise.

Why Lifters Need It for the Back Squat

Face Pull to Y builds strength and control through an extended range of motion. First, strengthen external rotation using only your body weight; then, the eccentric Y improves upper back strength and posture.

How to Do It

1. Position your feet at your desired intensity and grip the handles with an overhand grip.
2. Pull into a face pull position with your elbows at shoulder height and pause.
3. Transition into an overhead Y raise.
4. Slowly lower back down, and reset and repeat.

Programming Suggestions: Before squatting, perform 2–3 sets of 6–8 reps, emphasizing a slow lowering.

TRX Deep Squat Breathing with Lat Stretch

A deep squat hold using TRX support, combined with overhead reach and deep belly breathing.

Why Lifters Need It for the Back Squat

Tight lats limit your ability to get under the bar and maintain thoracic extension that’s needed to create a stable shelf. With the deep squat with belly breathing, you develop shoulder mobility, lat length, and proper squat positioning all at once.

How to Do It

1. Hold TRX straps at shoulder height and sink into a deep squat.
2. Your torso should be over your thighs.
3. The arms should be overhead, feeling a stretch in your lats.
4. Take a deep breath, feeling your belly pushing into your thighs.
5. Breath out and repeat.

Programming Suggestions: Perform 1-2 sets of 6 breaths before hitting the barbell.

Pec Stretch with Lift-Off

A wall-based pec stretch where both arms are supported against the wall, followed by a controlled lift-off. This exercise adds active control to a traditional chest stretch.

Why Lifters Need It for the Back Squat

Tight pecs pull your shoulders forward into internal rotation, making it harder to position your hands properly, keep the elbows down, and form the tight upper back shelf needed for the barbell. The pec stretch with lift-off does two things: opens the front of the shoulder and trains control within the new range. Tight pecs also contribute to poor shoulder mechanics and scapula positioning, which can limit proper setup and stability.

How to Do It

1. Stand facing a wall with one arm in the goal post position, and the other bent with the hand resting on the wall.
2. Gently push your torso away from the wall until you feel a stretch in your chest for a few reps.
3. At the end range, rotate your forearm off the wall.
4. Hold for 2–3 seconds, then return to the wall.
5. Repeat for controlled reps, then switch sides.

Programming Suggestions: 1–2 sets of 5 lift-offs per side, pairing with face pulls for better carryover.

Common Back Squat Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

Most back squat issues don’t begin during the descent; they happen before you even unrack the bar. Here’s what can go wrong, and how to fix it.

Gripping Too Narrow Without Earning the Position

A narrow grip will create upper-back tightness, but only if your shoulders can handle it. Forcing it leads to elbow flare, wrist pain, and a compromised setup.

Fix: Widen your grip until you’re able to keep wrists neutral and elbows down. Then, gradually narrow your grip as you improve shoulder external rotation and thoracic extension.

Letting the Wrists Carry the Load

If your wrists are cranked back and taking the pressure, your upper back cannot do its job.

Fix: Think “hands hook, back supports,” by pulling your elbows down and in and driving your upper back into the bar.

Flaring the Elbows

Excessively flaring the elbows pulls the upper back out of position, making it harder to create a stable shelf.

Fix: Bring your elbows down and slightly toward your ribs, not straight back or cranked high. Think about pointing your elbows toward the floor behind you.

Lack Of Upper-Back Tension

If you’re not actively pulling the bar into your back, you’re missing the foundation of a strong squat.

Fix: Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down, then pull the bar into your traps like you’re trying to bend it over your back.

The Wrapup

If your shoulders protest during the barbell back squat, the problem isn’t the lift itself; it’s the setup. The focus then shifts to improving mobility and control so you can get under the bar without compensating. Because a squat doesn’t start when you bend at the hips and knees, it begins the moment you take the bar out of the rack. Own your upper body positioning, and everything that follows will get stronger.

“A little late on this challenge, but better late than never,” explained Greca while posting a video of her efforts for the buff beauty’s 6.6 million Instagram followers.

What is the 12 0’Clock Pushup Challenge?

You may need to find a quiet timeslot in the gym for this one, because it’s simple, but does require a fair bit of real estate. You’ll place 12 weight plates in a circle, replicating a clock face, and then you’ll become the hand as you perform a pushup on each plate.

Note from her IG reel Greca opted for a more difficult version of the challenge, placing plates of different depth on the ground in order to shake things up. “That’s one rep… and way more difficult that I thought,” she reflected after rounding out the challenge.

Pushups are an epic exercise that are known for working the pectoralis major and minor chest muscles. You’ll also tax the triceps, shoulders, and crush your core as you complete your reps.

Why This Pushup Variation Builds More Muscle

In essence, 12 o’clock pushup challenge adds an incline via the inclusion of the plates, activating the lower chest and back more than regular pushups do.  By adding different inclines, Greca is also adding further work to the mind and muscle connection, making quick adaptations to build stability, while hitting the muscles from slightly different angles for a fuller workout.

How to Make the 12 O’Clock Pushup Challenge Harder

To make it even more difficult, you can add extra rotations around the clock, or time yourself and try to beat your own personal record. “Not easy at all,” wrote one impressed follower on seeing the coaches’ completion around the clock. “No wonder I couldn’t find plates at the gym, you had them all,” joked another.

To follow Senada Greca on Instagram, click here.