Article recommendations week #7 2021

The most interesting and valuable articles of week #7 2021.

Strength Training Articles

Healthline outlined the use, benefits, and execution of an advanced training method, the Drop Set, in the article What Is a Drop Set? Benefits and How to Use Them.

Stronger By Science asked How Important Is Exercise Variety? Discussing how much variation is enough and how much is too much. Check it out

Fitness Volt listed

• The 18 Best Smith Machine Exercises, discussing the pros and cons of the Smith machine, why it is a controversial piece of equipment, and the best exercises to do in the Smith machine.
• The 13 Best Leg Extension Alternatives for Quads Size and Strength, common ways, as well as creative ways to vary the Leg Extension movement.

Juggernaut Training Systems discussed the use and application of some common Bench Press variations

• The Dead Bench

• The Floor Press

• When Should You Pause Your Bench Press

The BoxRox shared a few training programs, including what they do, how they work, and example programs

• How to Build Muscle and Transform your Body with the 3 Day Split Method
• How to Build Muscle and Increase Strength: The 5 x 5 Program
• How to Build Muscle and Transform your Body with the 4 Day Split Program
• How to Build Muscle: The 6 Day Split Program

Fitness FAQ asked Pull-Ups Or Chin-Ups? Discussing the muscular activation of the two variations, the pros and cons of each variation, and which one you should choose. Check it out

Stack showed that making your own landmine isn’t that difficult in the article How To Make Your Own Landmine for Your Home Gym.

Squat University discussed Strongman With Golfers Elbow, how to assess for tendonitis and potential fixes. Check it out

Women’s Health listed The 20 Very Best Online Workouts You Can Do For Free Right Now, free online workouts, and freemium workouts.

Starting Strength explained why Physical Strength is the Most Important Thing in Life, a common sense approach to prioritising strength. Check it out

Renaissance Periodization shared

• a common strength training myths You Need to Max Out to Get Stronger, discussing what strength is, does maxing out work or not, and the best practices to become stronger. Check it out

• Beginner vs Intermediate vs Advanced Training, how to determine which category you are beginner, intermediate or advanced, and how to train for each category. Check it out

• What Can You Learn From The Best Lifters, defining who are the best, who to determine why they are the best, and what you can take away from it, and what not. Check it out

• Rest Times Between Sets, the considerations for different rest periods, what the science says, ideal rest times for hypertrophy, a 4-factor model approach to determining rest times, and different examples from the training world. Check it out

Breaking Muscle outlined How To Develop A Coaching Career Doing What You Love, how to make coaching into your main occupation. Check it out

Nutrition Articles

Aleksey Torokhtiy discussed Snacks For Weightlifters, the macronutrient demand of a weightlifter, the purpose of snacks, different snack variations, and potential disadvantages of snacking. Not only applicable for weightlifters.

Bodybuilding.com listed 5 Easy Life Hacks To Be Less Fat, discussing an active lifestyle, sleep, hydration, supplements and nutrition.

Plyometric Training Articles

Swim Swam discussed the use, benefits, and practical application of Plyometrics For Swimming: The Best Dryland Jumps That Are Specific To Swimming.

Aleksey Torokhtiy demonstrated Plate Jumps, a drill to improve lower body explosiveness. Check it out

Olympic Lifting Articles

The Bar Bend discussed Hang Clean Vs. Power Clean — Which Lift Should You Be Doing? The differences between the two variations, and which one to chose when.

• also, check out one of my most controversial videos Power Clean vs Hang Clean difference: What’s the difference between Power Cleans and Hang Cleans? (Why controversial? Read the comments)

• or check out The Ultimate Guide to Power Cleans, which answers all questions around the Power Clean.

Garage Strength outlined The Perfect Olympic Weightlifting Technique of Kuo Hsing-Chun, what I really like here is the concepts around perfecting technique, which are not only applicable to Olympic Weightlifting. Check it out

Zack Telander discussed The Greatest Olympic Lifting Competition Ever, whether this is the greatest competition ever, I don’t know, but certainly a great one. Check it out

I would argue that the historic battle at the 1996 Olympic Games between Naim Suleymanoglu and Valerios Leonidis, where the world record was broken 5 times in one competition, was probably one of the greatest competitions in Olympic Weightlifting. Check out The historic battle for Atlanta Weightlifting gold (unfortunately the Olympic Channel doesn’t allow embedding videos outside their own website or from their sponsors, so you need to hop over to Youtube to watch it

Squat Articles

Livestrong asked Struggling With Jump Squats? Here’s What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You, the reasons for pain in different body parts, and how to fix it.

Fitness Volt outlined The 8 Most Common Squat Mistakes and How to Fix Them, what the most common mistakes are and what you can do against them.

Squat University discussed Squatting With Knee Pain, how to evaluate the knee pain, and how to fix it. Check it out

Elite FTS listed 4 Squat Variations to Build Power Out Of the Hole, discussing common technical flaws, and the use of the Front Squat, Pause Squat, Pin Squat, and Zercher Squat. Check it out