Are Bulgarian Split Squats Overrated?

Are Bulgarian Split Squats Overrated?

The Bulgarian Split Squat or Balance Lunge is a move you see all over social media. It’s even a staple in many standard gym training routines. Many say it is a “must-do” exercise or the “best” unilateral leg moves.

But honestly, it’s slightly overrated BECAUSE it is so often done INCORRECTLY.

It’s a move that’s far more advanced than we realize and many of us haven’t earned the variation we’re using.

So we don’t see the full benefit of the exercise. And even end up injured from it.

We wobble around and let our front knee cave in. We don’t lower down to the ground using the full range of motion. We rush through as we lose our balance.

Our training should feel hard with purpose. We want every move to truly pay off and yield the best results as fast as possible.

That’s why I wanted to share my favorite static lunge variation to start with and even variations of the Balance Lunge you may use instead.

But before I do I wanted to share 3 key form tips if you are using the Balance Lunge to make sure you’re getting the most out of the exercise!

#1: Set up at the BOTTOM of the lunge.

By setting up at the bottom of the lunge, you can make sure your feet are not only in the right position but also make sure you are truly able to work through a full range of motion.

Because the value in doing the Balance Lunges is in the range of motion. You’re increasing the range of motion to create more of a challenge and progress the exercise.

This increased range of motion puts muscles under greater stretch while loaded to help you see better muscle and strength gains.

It also helps you maintain a bigger range of hip motion. So if you’ve been doing that mobility work, you need to make sure you’re doing moves to fully strengthen through the range of motion you built.

Too often when we do Balance Lunges we aren’t actually going through the full range of motion completely defeating part of the purpose of using them in the first place!

We also aren’t stable in our set up because our feet are at odd widths. This set up at the bottom, allows you to focus on pushing the ground away and set up at a stance you can control.

You can choose to flex or relax your back foot based on your toe and ankle mobility. But make sure you’re creating that tension down into the bench or box either way to stabilize.

While more load will be on that front leg, you want tension through your back foot to balance as you focus on your front foot pushing down into the ground like a tripod with two points in the ball of your foot and one in your heel!

This helps you truly activate the muscles of your leg and even helps with knee alignment so that it isn’t caving in!

#2: Use torso and shin angle to your advantage.

We think of form as this very set binary thing – good or bad. But with so many moves, there are tweaks to form you can use to emphasize the muscles you want to work and even better suit your unique build.

With the Balance Lunge, you can change your shin angle and torso angle to help you emphasize more quad or more glute.

You can also use these two things based on ankle mobility and knee issues to work around aches and pains.

A more vertical shin angle will help you emphasize your glutes especially when combined with a slight more hip hinge or a slight lean to your torso.

Allowing your knee to move a bit more forward over the all of your foot while maintaining a more vertical torso position will emphasize your quads more.

Which you use will be based on your goals for the exercise. Everything should be included with purpose.

Also you may find that previous knee injuries or even ankle mobility issues impact the postures you use.

If you have issues with knee pain or ankle mobility, even due to previous ankle sprains, you may find you need to use a bit more of a vertical shin angle although you can play around with torso angle a bit.

#3: Adjust your depth!

The higher the bench or box you use, the harder this lunge is, creating more instability and a bigger range of motion. You need to be more mobile and stronger as you increase the range of motion you’re working through.
This makes changing the height of the box or bench a great way to progress this move potentially without adding weights. But it also means the height of the bench is something you need to EARN.

Yet so often we just think Balance Lunge and we just go to any bench around instead of finding one that fits our needs and fitness level.

Don’t be afraid to adjust the height based on your mobility and height. Also don’t be afraid to adjust the height to progress the movement without adding loads.

And if you do want to focus on lifting more, don’t be afraid to even go LOWER than you have in the past to progress and add instability while going heavier. There are so many ways to create progression through how we combine range of motion, stability and resistance!

The importance of the height of the box or bench we are using is too often not appreciated and recognized, which is why I feel so often this lunge is overrated and misused.

Because if you don’t work through the range of motion you’re creating, you’re better off doing a different lunge variation instead and really learning to control it with loads.

Results come from quality of movement.

That’s why I love to start with the Split Squat and even return to this move to focus more on progression through adding heavier and heavier loads while maintaining mobility.

Because lunges are a great mobility and stability exercise for our hips especially when included at the level and in the variation that matches our fitness level, needs and goals.

The split squat is the most basic static lunge variation. But instead of your back foot up on a bench or box, you’re doing this move fully off the ground.

If you can’t yet lower your back knee to touch the ground, or hover right above it, you haven’t earned increasing the range of motion further.

If you aren’t yet able to go to the ground, you can also reduce the range of motion you’re working through to build up.

You can place a block under your back knee and lower to that over going all of the way to the ground. This is a great way to slowly build up that range of motion and hip mobility and leg strength but in a way you can control.

With this split squat, I love to set up at the bottom and focus on maintaining that even pressure between both your foot and back foot, whether you’re doing it off the ground or from the block. This push down into the ground to help you drive up centered is key to helping you balance and really engage your legs.

And like the Balance Lunge, you can adjust torso and shin angle to impact what muscles you activate more.

You can add load to this move as you can control that full range of motion.

And this is where there is extra opportunity in the options and variations of the split squat that you can even use to tweak the balance lunge to fit your needs.

With adding resistance, it isn’t just about going directly heavier all of the time.

You can change where you hold the weights from down at your sides to allow yourself to focus on your legs and grip and go heavier to up at your chest in the goblet position to target your core more.

You can even unilaterally load the weight and hold it on one side to work on core stability. Even holding a weight in the opposite hand from your front leg can help you target your glute medius more especially with that torso lean and vertical shin angle.

You can even change how you’re applying resistance by using a mini band over dumbbells.

The key is understanding there are options to really make this move fit your needs and goals.

And with the Balance Lunge, we so often only increase range of motion by placing our back foot up.

However, you can also progress the basic split squat by raising your FRONT foot up as a deficit split squat.

Even if you love the Balance Lunge and can work through that full range of motion, you may include this to emphasize different muscles and even create progression through the same but different.

Just like you return to the split squat to go heavier while having the more limited range of motion.

With the Deficit Split Squat, some may find this easier to control while getting the benefits of working through a bigger range of motion.

And a very small elevation can have a huge impact. It may even feel better for some with longer femurs or upper legs.

The deficit split squat can keep that front leg in more of a working range of motion and put the glute under greater stretch in that front leg. And unlike the Balance Lunge, you won’t have more of your weight in that front leg, making it potentially easier to balance with full pressure between both legs and feet.

So as you build up and progress, see opportunity in the options. But don’t just include a move to use it because someone said it was the “best” or a “must-do.”

Make sure every move you use has purpose and that you can use it for quality reps!

Want amazing workouts to challenge you and help you build your leanest, strongest body ever?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!

10 Ways to Progress Your Workouts (Without Adding Weight)

10 Ways to Progress Your Workouts (Without Adding Weight)

Weights are not the only way to progress your workouts and build strength and muscle.

And the more advanced an exerciser you are, the more you have to even turn to other forms of progression in our workouts to keep seeing results.

These tips are helpful too when training at home or traveling to help you create that challenge to build.

So whether you’re finding yourself stuck at the loads you’re currently using, don’t have heavier weights available or simply need to challenge yourself through the same but different, these 10 forms of progression will help.

#1: Combine Equipment.

Different forms of resistance work in different ways.

Combining two tools can not only help you add resistance when you don’t have a clearly heavier weight but also take advantage of the different ways tools challenge you.

Try combining a band with your dumbbell exercise.

This way you not only have the weight of the dumbbell, but the challenge of the band that increases as it is stretched and forces you to control and decelerate as it shortens.

You’ll be surprised by how even a light band exponentially increases the challenge.

You’ll even find this can emphasize or activate different muscles to a greater extent. Like on a single leg deadlift, you may be surprised by how much more you are able to engage that glute!

#2: Adjust The Range Of Motion.

Changing up the range of motion we are working through can help us challenge our body in different ways.

By shrinking the range of motion and doing more pulses with an exercise, we can spend more time under tension.

This can really isolate a muscle to work it to fatigue.

We can even work muscles under differing amounts of stretch to not only build muscle but address weaker links or areas in the movement.

And pulses can be combined with moves that work the same muscles through the full range of motion to take muscles closer to fatigue when we don’t have heavier weights.

We can also increase the range of motion for exercises to increase the difficulty of a move and load the muscle under greater stretch.

Loading a muscle through a greater stretch has been shown to not only improve muscle gains but also helps you really create stability and strength through a full range of motion so that you mobility work truly pays off!

#3: Create Instability.

When we think about making a move more unstable, we may go straight to adding in an unstable surface like doing a move on a balance board or bosu.

And while these are ways to create instability and force muscles to really activate more and work harder to stay balanced, instability can also be created through taking a bilateral, or two leg or arm movement and making it a unilateral or single leg or arm exercise.

Exercises can be included all along that continuum from two sided to one sided as well based on our exact needs and goals and even to use progression through the same but different.

For example, you could do a two legged deadlift variation, an 80/20 variation, a slider variation, a bench variation, a hand assisted variation and then a full single leg deadlift.

And even if you can do the full single leg, you may use these others to create more or less stability based on the loads you have. Even combining two forms of resistance as you vary the stability demands!

You’ll even notice how other tools besides just an unstable surface, like the sliders, can add instability.

So don’t be afraid to get creative even using things like the suspension trainer or bands to add a little stability challenge to moves!

#4: Adjust Load Placement.

Load placement, or how you hold the weights or resistance, can not only challenge different muscles to different extents, but can actually be another way to create instability as well.

An uneven or offset load, holding two different weights, or a weight on just one side, can really challenge your core especially to stabilize and work.

Where you hold the weight can help you progress moves to target different areas without necessarily going heavier too.

Consider the goblet position, holding a weight up at your chest to work your core more during a lunge over down at your sides.

Even load just one side to work those obliques and fight that rotation and lean.

And on lower body moves, like reverse lunges or step ups, holding the weight in the opposing hand can even help you focus on targeting those glutes more.

But varying where you are placing the weight can create a new challenge to help you build muscle and strength!

#5: Change Up The Tempo Of Moves.

This can mean pausing and holding in moves, it can mean slowing them down or even speeding them up based on your goal for the exercise.

But adjusting the pace at which you do moves can really have an impact on whether you’re even working to build power or strength.

And both improving your strength and your power can help you build muscle overall.

Don’t be afraid to even use different tempos throughout the move.

You may slow down the lower down in a pull up, but return to the top quickly. You may even add in pauses at different points in the move to work on weaker areas.

Slowing down the eccentric especially, or the part of the move where the prime mover muscle is lengthening, can not only lead to greater muscle gains but even allow you to do a move advanced variation of an exercise than you otherwise would be able to.

And this can help you further build strength. I love using it especially to build up moves like push ups or pull ups!

#6: Spend More Time Under Tension.

Tempos really have an impact on your time under tension, but I wanted to mention time under tension, and specifically more time under tension as its own form of progression for a reason…

Because you can also impact time under tension through range of motion and even workout design.

With time under tension, you are getting a muscle to spend more time working.

Slowing down the tempo of a move makes a muscle work for longer, but so can adjusting the range of motion, both increasing it but also shrinking it.

In moves like even the Get Up Lunge, you’re increasing the range of motion of a basic lunge to go all the way down to the ground, but you’re also shrinking it in that you’re not standing up at the top.

So your legs never completely get a break. They’re in that working range of motion the entire time. And this can create a great challenge without you adding heavier and heavier loads.

Even adjusting workout design to combine moves or use intervals of work, which I’ll go over more in tip 8 can have an impact!

But getting those muscles to work hard for longer can help you increase that challenge!

#7: Switch Up Postures and Positions.

Simply adjusting the posture or position you are doing an exercise from can dramatically change the challenge of it and even the extent to which you feel muscles working.

We don’t realize how much we can often use other muscles or even seek out mobility from other areas to assist.

So even changing up an overhead press from standing to seated may make us have to check our ego and even go lighter with weights.

Changes in our posture can even help us target different aspects of a muscle.

Like a glute bridge and curl is going to hit our hamstrings in a different way than a deadlift because we are working the muscles by moving at different joints.

So don’t be afraid to vary how you’re doing those same basic moves or even consider how to include different exercises to target the same muscles!

#8: Vary Your Workout Design.

We can often get very “married” to specific ways of programming.

I often see people wanting their body part splits over the weeks and workouts with one move done in isolation.

Or they need specific intervals or circuits.

But we need to realize that sometimes varying up our reps, sets, rest intervals and such can really impact how we’re challenging our bodies.

Especially when you don’t have heavier weights, consider timed intervals of work to help you push past failure and do those few extra reps.

Consider even back to back intervals working the same area but with one move that is compound and one that is isolation.

This combination of isolation and compound can even be key if you don’t use intervals but do count reps and sets.

While we may often do a superset when we have heavier weights to allow one area to rest as the other works, sometimes doing back to back moves for the same muscle group can help us work it closer to fatigue when we don’t have heavier weights to challenge ourselves.

Don’t be afraid too to use different rep ranges. If you can challenge yourself for 6 reps great, but if you then have another move that you need 15 or even 20 reps to feel add up, don’t be afraid to use both rep ranges even in the same series!

But realize that how you adjust exercise order and even use different rep and set designs can have a huge impact!

#9: Increase Training Density.

How we design our workouts can also have a huge impact on our training density. But I think it is key to note this as a form of progression on its own.

Because training density is the amount of work you can complete in a certain amount of time.

And often to try to do more volume of work (more reps and set), our workouts just get longer and longer.

But this doesn’t have to be the case.

While we don’t just want to cut out rest from our workouts and turn our strength training into cardio and we don’t want to just add more reps and sets when we don’t have weights to create more fatigue, we can use training density to our advantage to see results.

Because often when we are training with lighter loads, a greater volume of work is needed.

This is also why workout design is so important to consider. Doing even things like timed supersets, compound sets or circuits, or Density Training, can be key to helping you get in more work without increasing time.
Your goal is to use harder variations and basically move more weight but without increasing time and through this create progression.

So consider each week how you can do a harder variation or another rep but in the 10-15 minutes you’ve set for that series!

#10: Adjust Your Workout Schedule.

Many of us may have grown up seeing those body part split workout schedules where each day you work a different area.

But not only have studies shown that more frequently working an area, 2-3 times a week, can be beneficial, but the more you don’t have loads to challenge you, the more you do want to use volume of work, or even training density to your advantage.

And this isn’t just in a single workout, but even something to consider over an extended timeline of a week.

If you are training with limited tools or struggling to build an area, consider adjusting your workout weekly split.

Consider more full body workouts or even hemisphere, dividing routines into upper and lower workouts.

You can even do anterior/posterior splits focusing more on those frontside vs. backside muscles in routines.

But vary what you’re including in your workouts to create that progression, even down to using different tools, different moves, different tempos, all of these other forms of progression, over the week to see results!

Remember we can create a challenge and see better results through not just adding weights but using these other 10 forms of progression! Which will you include in your workouts for a new challenge?

Want amazing workouts you can do anywhere? Check out my Dynamic Strength program…

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4 Hamstring Exercises For A Powerful Lower Body

4 Hamstring Exercises For A Powerful Lower Body

When we get caught up in a single best move to work a muscle group, we miss out on the opportunity in all of the options out there.

Often we need different movements to work different areas or muscles in a muscle group.

So including a diversity of exercises over our weekly training schedule is key to help us see the best results as fast as possible.

Especially when it comes to muscle groups like our hamstrings that control movement at multiple joints like our hips and knees.

That’s why I want to share 4 moves to help you target all 3 hamstring muscles, working them with different positions and movements at your hips and knees.

But to truly value the different moves, and even include the ones we most need, it’s key we know a little bit more about our hamstrings first!

Your hamstrings are a group of 3 muscles on the back of your thigh that control movement at your hips and knees.

They extend, or straighten, your hips and flex, or bend, your knees.

Two of the hamstring muscles on the inner portion of the back of our thing can also turn our lower leg in, or internally rotate, when our knee is bent.

While the hamstring toward the outside back of our thigh can turn our lower leg out, or externally rotate, when the knee is slightly bent.

That hamstring toward the outside of our thigh, the bicep femoris, has two heads, a short and a long one.

This is also key to know as the long head can also turn our thigh out, or externally rotate, when our hip is straight.

While the short head can’t as it actually only controls and works to bend the knee.

These slightly different functions all mean that different moves can be more valuable to target different portions of our hamstrings.

It’s why considering our toe angle in moves can have an impact as well as the position of our hips and knees during the exercises.

It’s also why if you only do deadlifts with a straighter leg where you’re only moving at the hips you aren’t targeting your hamstrings fully since they also work hard to bend the knee!

This is truly why there is not just one best move!

And it’s why I want to share these 4 hamstring moves that cover both knee flexion and hip extension but also while performing these movements with different degrees of both included!

I’ll start with a common hamstring staple of any routine…

#1: The Romanian Deadlifts or RDLs

While there is some different terminology sometimes used when it comes to deadlifts with a straighter leg position, RDLS are commonly a top down version of a straighter leg deadlift.

You will focus on pushing your butt back with soft knees as you lower the bar down just below your shins to feel a big stretch on your hamstrings.

You will not bend your knees more to lower down further or touch the bar down.

You may also want a slight anterior pelvic tilt, or almost to act like you’re lifting your butt up as you lower to stretch your hamstrings and sit back further.
Then to stand up, you’ll really focus on pushing the ground away.

Keep the bar close to you as you lower and stand back up.

This focus on the lower down and hip hinge movement is what targets and works your hamstrings.

Just make sure you sit back and don’t round your back but keep your lats engaged to push the bar back into your body.

If you struggle with the barbell variation, dumbbells or even a kettlebell that you drop down between your feet can be great options.

You can also slightly tweak this deadlift to hit more of that bicep femoris long head by turning your toes out! Remember this aspect is worked by that turn out of the lower leg and thigh!

And you can always do a straighter leg deadlift variation as a single leg deadlift too if you don’t have weights to further progress this move.

The next amazing hamstring move focuses on working the hamstrings while the hips stay extended unlike the deadlift that works them through hip movement.

The Glute Bridge and Curl makes the hamstrings work by bending the knees instead to curl your heels in toward your butt.

The thing I love about this move too is it is so easy to use even when training at home.

And you can progress it through the use of different tools or even by making it a single leg over a two leg variation.

Sliders, stability balls, towels, suspension trainers are all great tools to use.

But I will warn you, this exercise is much harder than it seems.

You want to focus on engaging your glutes to bridge up and extend your hips as you brace your abs with a very slight tuck your hips up toward your ribs.

This is key to protect your lower back.

You will then extend your legs out from this bridged position fully without relaxing on the ground before using your hamstrings to curl your heels back in toward your butt.

That curl back in as you bend your knees while you keep your hips straight will have you feeling those hamstrings working.
Really focus on that pull back in with your hamstrings.

Just make sure your lower back doesn’t engage or hips don’t sag.

Because this move is deceptively hard, you may need to start with just sliding one leg out at a time and alternating sides or even holding the bridge as you work on just one side.

While the single leg variation with one leg raised can progress this movement and make it even harder, this single leg variation with stability can help you modify and build up!

The next exercise will also work the hamstrings through powering that knee bend but this time with your hips bent.

The Seated Hamstring Curl is an amazing exercise you can do with a band, machine or cable.

This seated position with the hip bent actually puts the hamstrings under more stretch.

And studies have shown that working the hamstrings while stretched can actually improve your muscle and strength gains for this muscle group.

Not to mention, the focus on knee flexion of both this move and the bridge and curl make sure you hit that short head of the bicep femoris which isn’t worked by the hip extension of the deadlift.

Make sure to sit so that you can extend your leg out in front of you with your hips bent then curl your heel in toward your butt while seated against the resistance.

You can even change your toe angle to target the different hamstring muscles slightly more or less. Turning your toe in will hit the two hamstrings on the inner portion of the back of your leg while turning your toe out will hit that outer hamstring muscle.

You may also find that flexing your foot makes you stronger with this movement to really focus on your hamstrings.

But don’t be afraid to still start light to really isolate that curl in with your hamstrings and perform a full range of motion,

And if you are at home you can even get away with a seated single leg towel curl which is just a bent hip variation in a way of the bridge and curl.

The 4th and final move I wanted to share goes back to targeting the hamstrings with a hip hinge but this time with your knees flexed unlike the deadlift.

This move is a variation of the Glute-Ham Raise that looks very simple but is oh so deceptively destructive.

It’s the Glute Ham Hip Hinge.

To do this move you will need someplace to sort of lock your heels under with your knees on padding. You’ll want to be able to really flex your feet as you lock your heels down.

If you have a partner they can hold your feet even.

You’ll set up kneeling and lean slightly forward to create that tension up your hamstrings.

Then keeping that position, you’ll simply hinge forward or bend at the hips.

This won’t be the biggest of movements but you’ll lean forward, about half way to parallel, just only bending at the hips.

Then use your hamstrings and your glutes slightly to come back up and extend at the hips.

You don’t want to sit back or change your knee bend. You want that slight lean forward to be maintained.

All the active movement comes from leaning forward then straightening your hips.

You’ll feel your hamstrings work isometrically with maintaining that hold and knee bend but also to power that move to come back up after leaning forward.

What seems like a very small move is incredibly hard without any weight.

And it’s even a great move to include for higher rep with very light or even no loads.

All 4 of these moves address different postures and positions to really hit all aspects of your hamstrings.

And even little variations in them, such as foot positioning, can help you truly adjust them to what youneed!

But use all 4 of these moves to target all aspects of your hamstrings and utilize both compound and isolation movements to really make sure you’re seeing those strength and muscle gains!

Take your training to the next level and build your leanest, strongest body ever with my Dynamic Strength program…

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The Weakest Muscle in Your Lower Body (Your Glute Medius)

The Weakest Muscle in Your Lower Body (Your Glute Medius)

Stop ignoring this muscle…

The Glute Medius.

The thing is…we THINK we’re doing a ton of exercises to work this muscle and target it at times.

But all too often we’re doing the “right” moves and compensating because of previous injuries and tight hip flexors from sitting for most of the day.

We’re letting our TFL, a hip flexor, or our piriformis, a butt muscle that turns the hip out and open, take over for the glute medius.

And this not only doesn’t help us build stronger glutes, but perpetuates the aches and pains and injuries FURTHER.

So all of that hard work we’re putting in to correct the problem is actually making it worse.

That’s why I want to break down how to actually make sure your glute medius is working and form tweaks to 2 basic glute medius moves I see people doing all of the time and not truly benefiting from.

I’ll also share a few bonus prehab tips to help you get more out of your glute activation exercises in general!

But first, I need to mention the most important part of activating the correct muscles during movements…

Not just going through the motions with exercises!

You need to actually ask yourself as you do the moves, “Where and what do I feel working?”

This mind-body connection is key. And starting out it may be more of a challenge.

You may not feel anything working when you think about it.

The key is learning to notice when other muscles are taking over.

Which is why I want to help you understand how to know your glute medius is truly working…

This starts with understanding where you DON’T want to feel the move.

And you don’t want to feel this move in your TFL, piriformis or down your IT band. Now if you have no idea where these things are, don’t worry, I’m about to break all of this down!

Let’s start with the TFL…

It is key to note that the TFL, or tensor fascia latae if you want to be all fancy, IS an abductor muscle like the glute medius so IS going to work with lateral raise movements too. It helps raise your leg out to the side and stabilize lateral movement.

But too often it is becoming overworked leading to hip, back, IT band and even knee and ankle issues because we aren’t aware it is taking over for the glute medius.

To feel where your TFL is so you can notice when it is working, put your hand on the front top of your pelvis down your leg as you’re lying on your side.

Rotate your toe down toward the ground, turning your leg all the way up toward your hip.

You’ll feel the TFL flex as you do this movement. That’s where you then DON’T want to feel the main part of any lateral raise type movements you do if you want to target your glute medius.

Next the piriformis…

Now this muscle will assist more with external rotation type exercises, so moves where you’re lifting your leg out to the side but also rotating your hip open or turning your toe out.

To notice your piriformis working instead, you will want to lie on your side and put your hand were the top of your back pocket on your pants would be. Then turn your toe open toward the ceiling, externally rotating your hip. You’ll feel that piriformis muscle flex.

Again you don’t want to feel this taking over during those glute medius lateral raise, abduction movements.

And the last area I want to mention is the IT Band as often we can feel tension down the side of our thigh during these movements as we start to progress them.

Part of this is because of the TFL’s connection to our IT Band and that becoming overworked.

But also because we aren’t focusing on the lift coming from our glute.

If you feel tension down the outside of your leg, you will want to then check to feel if your TFL is really flexed during the exercise especially or if you feel your glute medius working.

Now…I want to help you find your glute medius so you can check to feel it working in moves when you can’t yet just feel it activating with that mind-body connection yet.

Then I want to dive into the 2 moves and form tweaks you can make to help you make sure this muscle is powering the movement.

To find your glute medius so you can place your hand on this muscle even during moves to feel it working and build that mind-body connection, set up half kneeling with one leg forward and your knee bent to 90 degrees.

You want your knee right over your ankle.

Take your hand on the same side and place your thumb in your hip crease with your palm resting fat at the outer hip joint.

Your palm is resting on your glute medius.

Keeping your palm there, lie on your side and lift your leg straight up to the side.

You “should” feel it working.

But if you don’t, this is where the tweaks to form with basic moves is key!

Because form with exercises isn’t so binary and just good or bad.

There are tweaks we can make to work with our builds and our recruitment patterns, or how we’ve taught our body to use muscles based on daily movements and injuries.

Since we used the basic lateral raise to find these muscles, I want to start with this move and the adjustments you can make to this exercise to really make sure you feel your glute medius working!

The Basic Lateral Raise:

The lateral raise exercise can be done standing or lying down and you can use a variety of tools, including mini bands to progress it.

But before you advance it, you want to be able to really activate your glute medius with just your own bodyweight.

You have to EARN the addition of resistance, or even a bigger range of motion. And you earn that by being able to engage a muscle with just your own bodyweight.

If you struggle doing the lateral raise with feeling those other areas we went over and not your glute medius, the first change to the move you may want to make is your hip rotation, which often we can see in our TOE ANGLE.

Is your toe and foot pointing straight ahead? Turned open? Or down toward the ground?

If you’re struggling to feel your glute medius, you may find it isn’t turned down toward the ground and that internally rotating your hip and turning your toe down toward the ground actually HELPS.

While having your foot parallel to the ground and toe pointing forward isn’t wrong in the slightest nor is turning your toe open, often those make it harder for us to avoid compensating to start.

If you turn your toe down and still don’t feel your glute, notice your body alignment.

Are your hips slightly flexed? Is your torso slightly forward or legs slightly in front creating a slight bend in your hips?

If so, straighten out and squeeze your glutes to drive your hips into extension. Do not arch your back. Just extend your hips with your glutes.

This engagement of your glute max can help.

You can also then slightly kick back as you raise your leg out to the side.

This also focuses the move more on your glutes to help prevent the TFL, which flexes the hips, from engaging.

Kicking back into a wall even and holding that pressure as you raise can even help further if the basic kickback isn’t enough.

Just to recap the tweaks…

Turn the toe down toward the ground, rotating your hip toward the ground. Keep this position during the move. If you’re standing, you’re turning your toe in toward your other leg.

Make sure your lying in a straight line with your glutes engaged.

Kick back slightly as you lift even pushing into a wall through the entire move.

The next move I wanted to cover is The Clamshell.

This is a move that anyone with back pain, hip pain, knee pain, ankle pain has probably been given in physical therapy.

And it is an amazing move, when done correctly.

But so often this move isn’t done while targeting the glute medius and we don’t even realize it.

With the clam, we tend to focus on range of motion and making it a bigger movement, which really is just more external rotation of the hip and often leads to us feeling the piriformis more.

To stop us focusing so much on the range of motion, place a yoga blocks between your feet. This helps you really focus on lifting from your glutes and makes the move very small.

Sometimes shrinking the range of motion on an exercise to start can help.

Because, while we do want to strengthen muscles through a full range of motion, we first need to isolate to activate at times.

So using the yoga block you can focus on just that small movement to lift the knee open.

This also helps you avoid any toe rotation and therefore extra hip rotation. This keeps your feet locked in parallel.

But if you don’t have a block, just like with the lateral raise, even turning your toe down over your bottom foot can help you focus on that glute medius and restrict the range of motion of the clam too!

You can also put your back against a wall to help you avoid rotating open or swinging your leg if you don’t have a yoga block while almost seeing the exercise as you working to STOP the lift open.

And just like the lateral raise, we also want to pay attention to the amount of hip flexion we have during the exercise or how much our hips are bent.

The more out in front of you your knees are, the more your hips will be bent, which can make it harder to feel your glute medius and easier for your TFL to compensate.

And while you may adjust the degree of hip flexion to target different aspects of the glute medius eventually, to start you want to find the positioning that allows you to make sure your glute is working.

Keeping your hips more extended can help and the wall behind you can be a guide to set up.

To recap these tweaks quickly…

Use a yoga block or wall to help you avoid making the exercise movement bigger than it needs to be and focus on that glute lifting.

Adjust how bent your hips are to even extend your hips more and engage your glutes better.

Turn your top toe down over your bottom foot to help limit the range of motion and focus on that glute even stopping the lifting through engaging.

Then as you feel your glute medius working in both of these moves, you can add resistance.

A mini band placed often on the thighs is a great way to start.

Placing a light resistance closer to our hips helps us really focus on still feeling our glute medius working as we create more of a challenge for the muscle to strengthen it!

Now if you’re still struggling with feeling everything but your glute medius working right from the start, you should NOT add resistance.

And you want to make sure you’re doing that full prehab process, including foam rolling and stretching prior to these activation moves.

Foam roll your TFL and your piriformis to help relax and release those muscles.
Stretch your hip flexors to allow your glutes to engage better.

THEN do these activation moves.

And don’t be afraid to pause in your activation to use those foam rolling moves especially if you do feel something compensating.

But don’t just keep pushing through!

Because what you feel working is getting all of the benefit of the exercise. Make sure the muscles you want are truly being worked!

If you want to improve your hip stability, avoid knee, hip and lower back aches and pains, lift more, run faster and cycle further, stop ignoring the importance of making sure your glute medius is actually benefiting from all the exercises you are doing!

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The BEST Lat Exercises You’re Not Doing

The BEST Lat Exercises You’re Not Doing

Don’t get me wrong, I love pull ups…

I love being able to lift heavier loads with the traditional lat pull down…

And both are FABULOUS exercises to target your lats.

But so often we find one move we deem “BEST” and then ignore the opportunity in other options out there. Yet diversity is key, especially over the course of our weekly workout schedule.

This diversity of movement can help us see better strength and muscle gains faster. Because creating progression in our workouts isn’t just about adding weight or doing a directly “harder” exercise variation all of the time…

Sometimes it is about doing the same but different to target those weak links even.

And that is why I want to share a lat exercise I feel is underutilized and underrated and one you should be including in your back and lat workouts…

It is the side seated single arm lat pulldown.

It’s a mouthful to say, but this move is deceptively challenging and a great way to really target those lats while correcting any strength imbalances we may have between sides!

And it really forces you to take the ego out of things and lighten the load to isolate not only each side but that lat.

I’ll go over how to do this amazing move, why it is so beneficial and even how you can adjust it to fit your needs and goals, as well as a home alternative you can try!

So first, how do you do this amazing move and why is this exercise so beneficial?

I love the cable variation of this exercise although you can use a traditional lat pulldown machine with a single handle or even a resistance band anchored overhead.

You’ll also need a bench, and ideally an incline bench you can relax your side against as you set up gripping the cable in the hand furthest from the machine.

The incline bench allows you to fully eliminate any extra movement or assistance from any other area of your body so you are forced to be fully stabilized and engage that lat to power the pull down into your side.
It truly helps you isolate the lat and may force you to have to go lighter than you’d think to start.

And because you are only pulling on each side independently, your stronger side can’t compensate for your weaker side.

The stretch to reach up overhead, elongates the muscle under load and makes you work the pull through a bigger range of motion, which has been shown to be amazing for improving those strength and muscle gains.

You’ll also find you can really work on that shoulder blade, or scapular, movement, which not only works your back incredibly well to build strength but will even help you improve your pull ups while avoiding neck, shoulder and even elbow pain.

To do this lat pull down, let your shoulder rise as you reach up overhead and stretch your lats, elevating your shoulder blade then drive your elbow down into your side as you pull to feel your shoulder blade move down and back toward your spine.

This stretch and the lateral lat pull that prevents your elbows from flaring targets the lats even better than the traditional wide grip overhand lat pulldown.

You’ll be amazed at how much you really feel it down the sides of your back even while going lighter than you would usually for the two handed lat pulldown!

It’s a killer accessory exercise even for the pull ups if you’re working to improve them while building strength and tone in your back!

Now there are a few variations of this exercise you can do if you are limited on equipment.

The great part is, even this basic variation I’ve gone over already can really be adjusted to any fitness level based on the weight you start with.

And as I mentioned, you can swap a cable for a band or even use the traditional lat pulldown machine with a single handle.

To use the machine, you’ll just sit sideways on the seat.

This version or even a cable or resistance band variation done without the incline bench are all still amazing, but they just don’t create the same stability or isolation that leaning against the incline bench does.

So be conscious that you may want to move your torso more.

While this can allow you to exaggerate the stretch, it can also allow you to compensate and use other muscles, such as even using your obliques more to crunch down or even seeking out mobility from lateral movement of your pelvis.

And while a bonus side crunch for a bit of extra oblique work isn’t bad, and can help you get that full tuck of your elbow in, you want to be careful you don’t turn this into ONLY an oblique exercise.

If you don’t have a bench and are using a band even at home, you can sit on the ground or even perform the move half kneeling.

Half kneeling will again give you more room to move around and may allow you to go heavier than fully seated on the ground will allow you to do. Neither is better or worse, just different.

And while we have to go lighter the more we isolate, the more every ounce of work is being done by the muscles we want to target! And seated on the ground, you’ll be surprised by how much your core is firing to keep you balanced!

I also want to mention a version of this movement pattern you can do at home with just a towel if you don’t really have access to equipment.

It’s called Lying Side Slides.

You can use a slider or towel on hardwood floors or a paper plate on carpet. But you’ll lie on your side with your knees bent and hand on the slider overhead.

You will then pull down on the slider to sit up, feeling your lat power the pull.

This version really cuts out any potential bicep engagement because it is a straight arm pull down, but you do have to be careful not to turn it into an oblique crunch.

But using any of these variations, you can really target each side of your back independently to work those lats.

Just remember that it isn’t just about creating progression in your workouts in just one way! Postures and different positions for movements can really help us target different aspects of muscles to our advantage.

This diversity is so key and helps us strengthen weak links through really isolating the muscles we want to work in different ways!

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10 Unique Healthy Habits I Wish I Knew Sooner

10 Unique Healthy Habits I Wish I Knew Sooner

I’m not even going to waste your time with an intro…Here are 10 Unique Healthy Habits I Wish I’d Started Earlier….

Habit #1: Stop labeling foods as good and bad.

I pressured myself to eat clean…in a whole host of different variations for the longest time and sabotaged my own success.

And every time I went on another diet that cut out some “bad” food, I would ultimately be consistent for 30 days or 6 weeks, see some results, then feel so deprived and restricted I would ultimately fall off. 

And then I’d feel guilty. 

So of course, since I’d already ruined the day or week, I’d eat everything bad for me possible to only have to “start over Monday.”

Then Monday would come and I’d restrict again.

But this labeling of foods as good or bad stopped me from finding balance. And it ultimately led to me eating more foods not as nutrient dense over the long term. 

Not to mention it stopped me from seeing results.

Now instead, I focus on an 80/20 balance. I work in foods I love 20% of the time and fully enjoy them. Then focus on whole natural foods 80% of the time. 

I never now feel guilty and realize if I don’t include something it is my CHOICE, not something I have to do to hit someone else’s arbitrary standards of clean eating!

Habit #2: Reflection breaks.

I’m a do’er. I get something I want accomplished and I just want to get to taking action.

But this approach leads to a lot of wasted time and energy and often a lot of frustration as we work harder without moving forward. 

It’s why I think it is so key we realize the importance of reflection breaks.

Times we step back and actually look at our habits, how we’re truly implementing them and then assess our progress.

Because often we are doing a lot of things we don’t need to be doing and not paying attention enough to the habits we do need to be focusing on.

We’re letting little deviations in our nutrition creep in. Ignoring missed workouts. While putting a lot and time and energy into other things that aren’t as essential.

But honest reflection can help us notice a gap between what we say we want and what we’re doing.

And even help us assess what we’re actually optimizing our habits and lifestyle for.

Because we won’t stumble our way into results. We have to be clear on where and what we’re spending our time on and why!

Habit #3: Set end dates.

Any time I create a plan, I set an end date. This also helps me take time to reflect, making that second habit easier.

And not only do end dates give us that time to reassess and adjust but they help us embrace and trust the process when trying new things.

We know there is a point we can make a change if things aren’t working.

End dates also give us motivation to start now. It’s easy to say, “I’ll start tomorrow.” when there is no deadline.

It’s also easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of FOREVER.

We honestly get BORED with that idea.

We want to test out new workouts. We want to try new foods. We like searching for some improvement.

Instead of shying away from that, set those end dates to give yourself the opportunity to make tweaks and still have fun testing out new things while keeping yourself focused.

Habit #4: Cycling macros every few WEEKS.

I tried carb cycling, variations of daily cycling of macros and calories. 

I tried sticking to one thing for months upon months.

The first led to my energy being all over the place and frustration trying to hit different numbers while prepping different foods daily. 

It was too much work. Made me feel sluggish.

And it made it so hard to know what was and wasn’t working.

When I switched to sticking with one thing for extended periods, I found I got bored. Results weren’t as fast.

And if my workouts or activity level shifted, I found myself either starving at times or even gaining fat because my fueling didn’t match.

That’s why I began cycling every 2-3 weeks most consistently with small changes over cycles.

It allowed me to simplify meal prep. Keep my energy consistent. Adjust with changes in my workouts. Use different macro ratios to work toward different goals.

And I could even use the ratios to build better off of each other to take advantage of the different impact going lower carb after higher carb or higher carb after lower carb could have on body recomp goals!

It was my balance of diversity with consistency. 

And without being too complicated or requiring the extreme precision cycling daily, like carb cycling, required!

Finding my balance of diversity with consistency was key for me not only with my diet but also with my workouts.

Habit #5: Repeating a weekly workout progression.

It’s easy to want to jump around. Or even want to repeat things because they are comfortable.

But you need a balance of both and repeating workouts is key to creating progression. 

It’s hard to track progress when there is no clear build and every workout, every day of every week is a bit different.

If you do pull ups one week on Tuesday when your back hasn’t been worked that week you may get out 10 pull ups in a row versus if you did them on Friday of the next week after doing rows on Wednesday, you may find you struggle to get 6. 

You didn’t get weaker. The muscles were just fatigued from previous work.

You’d be able to track progress better if you repeated the same schedule and workouts weekly for a few weeks in a row.

And to keep this from becoming boring, implement diversity in your workouts over the week. Don’t just do pull ups multiple times or the same workouts multiple days in a week.

Use different types of moves and even different training techniques and workout designs and tools to create unique and fun sessions.

This combination of even different forms of progression will help you see faster results while helping you not get bored!

Habit #6: Do that prehab!

I wasn’t always the prehab or foam rolling, stretching and activation obsessed person I am today.

But injuries made me face the facts and I’m so glad I did.

Not only am I moving better with fewer aches and pains, but honestly my fat loss, muscle grains and lifting performance all improved by just committing to this system every single warm up.

And it doesn’t have to be a lot. Some days it’s barely just 5 minutes, but the consistency with that flexibility, mobility, and stability work pays off.

We get good at what we consistently do. And the more we stay consistent with this prehab work the less we have to do extra to address movement compensations and imbalance that build up.

That feeling that we used to get away with something just means we shouldn’t be trying to get away with it.

And the longer we try to avoid the prehab work, the more we’re just creating bigger issues that will sabotage us later.

So focus on that prehab work and be intentional with your training. Don’t just rush through. Don’t just think of your workouts as a chance to burn more calories.

Focus on moving well in your sessions and you’ll not only feel and move better but you will see the payoff in those aesthetic goals too!

Habit #7: Prioritize protein.

This habit was something I resisted just like prehab. But when I started prioritizing protein, I finally got to the leanness level I wanted while also FEELING my best.

I saw my workouts and strength improve as well as my recovery.

And this prioritization of protein, I know will serve me well in years to come so I can look, move and feel my best!

I think this focus on protein is essential as we don’t just want to train to look and feel good for a day…we want to feel our best till our final day on this planet!

To help myself focus more on increasing my protein, I began to log it first and build meals around the portions I needed. 

I even researched different protein types to find opportunity in the options out there.

I also at first didn’t worry about my ratio of carbs to fats. I just focused on calories and protein.

This allowed me to start to learn how to increase my protein while also making meals I enjoyed.

And I stopped even just focusing on ONE protein source at a meal.

By seeing how I could use two different types of protein in a meal to hit my needs, I found I enjoyed my meals more and didn’t get that protein fatigue!

Habit #8: Embrace my laziness.

This sounds weird to say as a habit but I think it’s a key thing to point out.

Because too often with habit changes, we try to focus on hitting an “ideal.”

We don’t think about how the habits can be adjusted to realistically fit our lifestyle. And that’s often what makes habit change so hard.

We’re trying to force a habit mold.

Instead we need to think, “How can this adjustment work for me and what is one small step toward bigger changes that I can make even on my worst days?”

This focus on embracing what I call my “laziness” with things, allowed me to build healthier habits that have evolved more and more over time.

Like I buy tons of frozen veggies and fruits. I know they won’t go bad and they are easy to prep.

I’ll buy pre-cooked chicken breast. I’ll get frozen meal prep from places.

I’ll plan in restaurant meals out so I don’t have to cook.

I get canned goods.

I have 5 minute workout options or even home workout options when I just know I won’t be motivated or have the time to get to the gym.

The more we can embrace our own “laziness” or desire to not give MORE or prioritize something more, even if just not right now, the more we can actually make healthy habit swaps that add up!

Habit #9: Brain dump before bed.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. 

The night before I make sure I have everything laid out for the next day.

This pre-planning, or last minute opportunity to adjust my plans, helps me make sure I have my to-do list set for the next day in a way I can accomplish the main things I need to do.

It helps me so that I’m organized in a way I’ll put first in my day the things that will get skipped if not done immediately.

It also helps me clear my mind before bed of anything that may keep me awake at night.

I don’t know about you, but if I’m not conscious to do a little brain dump of thoughts or tasks before going to bed, they’ll be spinning around my mind all night, making it hard to not only fall asleep but stay asleep.

So I use this brain dump into a list to close loops from the day to relax before bed while setting the next day up for success!

Habit #10: Take breaks.

I struggle HARD to not be doing something…like all the time. 

So I honestly steered into that even with how I take breaks.

Because breaks don’t mean you aren’t doing something. They are really just a break from what we WERE doing.

So on weeks my body needs to back off the workout intensity, aka needs a break from the heavy lifting or killer cardio, I plan in things to do that are recovery.

I plan in a ton of mobility work and restorative movement. That way I don’t feel like a couch potato. 

I use that time if I do shorten my workouts as an opportunity to even make other changes or habits shifts I haven’t had as much time to focus on.

I give myself a new focus while taking the break.

Because our body and mind can’t just go at 100% in the same way forever. And our priorities at times do need to shift.

And if we don’t own this, we never end up actually giving our all to anything.

We can also see our motivation completely fade and burnout hit.

It’s why sometimes even proactively scaling things back when you know priorities have shifted can be key.

So give yourself the break at times and shift your focus. It can help you feel like you’re still getting to take action but in a way that helps you stay motivated while giving your all to what you truly can!

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