The table below shows the evolution of my warm-ups. Assume I am trying to attempt a 515 Deadlift.

This is all after doing our mobility drills, etc…

I just wanted to share that I've been doing better warm-ups on not just Deadlifts but even Pull-ups, Front Squats, etc. Every lift where I see fit, I do a few warm-up sets.

I think it's made a good improvement in performance contrary to the initial reaction one might have of "omg this is gonna suck my energy levels dry".

i do 4 day split like
Monday OHP, DB lateral raises, cuban rotation.
Tuesday: DL, BB rowing, Shrugs.
Thursday: Bench press and bench dips.
Friday: squats, Lunges, stepups.
my assistance exercies r good or should b changed?

Then I took a total departure from it for many months.

One of the funny things about me is that if the rules are bent a little bit - from "Core Work is Essential" to "Core Work need not be done every single workout" I end up jumping at the other extreme of just skipping Core Training for months and months.

I think Core Training is important, it is not essential but it should be done every so often. Initially, Core Training was key to me being able to do my Deadlifts…then I did Core Training too much and my lifts started suffering. So a balance here is key as well and I've figured that doing core work about 1-2x a week for just a few sets is decent :-)

Just sharing!

As an adult, you probably wouldn't be harmed but it you take enough of the stuff, you could get a little build up. It could be dangerous to children. I wouldn't think people would give their children a joint supplement but…

Many ingredients that are allowed in dietary supplements are absolutely not allowed as food additives. The reason should be plain enough. People who are buying food should not have to worry about the physiological effects of it that go beyond the normal physiological affects of nutrition.

So, in this case this company called Revolt markets a beverage called "Slowtivate" which is a relaxation drink. The opposite of an energy drink. The drink is marked as a dietary supplement and it contains melatonin. Problem is, they call it a "drink". To the FDA, that makes it a conventional "food or beverage." A drink is a drink. A dietary supplement is a dietary supplement. So the FDA sent a warning letter to Revolt, since their beverage is adulterated, under the law. http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2011/ucm294506.htm

The use a "supplement facts" panel for their nutrition labeling but that does not cover their asses because they market it as a drink or a beverage.

Now, what I am wondering, is how many energy drinks are doing the same thing? Most of them are just lots of sugar, caffeine, vitamins, and some extracts all of which are fine for food. But I'll bet there are plenty that are doing the same damn kind of thing that slowtivate did. They are sold right alongside sodas in many places. The dietary supplement "beverage" market, to me, is a big problem. Nobody treats a sugary beverage like a supplement.

I thought I would start a thread with ideas on these types of drills.

I'll update this as and when I recall the various things I have done.

Front Squats & Pull-ups for Time - Density Training

Alternate Front Squats and Bodyweight Pull-ups for 24 minutes straight. Total reps determines progress.

Lower Body Exercise & Core Training Exercise Alternated for Rounds

Pick 3 Lower Body Exercises and 3 Core Training Exercises. Alternate each one. I used to start with just one round and then build on that - either by increasing volume while keeping the total rounds the same or by adding rounds.

3 Lower Body Exercises:

1. Pistol Squats
2. Reverse Lunges & Overhead Press with one arm (Eric has put up a description of this)
3. Dumbbell Swings

3 Core Training Exercises:

1. Front Planks
2. Side Planks
3. Jackknife Pikes on a Swiss Ball

I'll post more later on…..

What proceeds is a big discussion on whether Full Body routines or Split routines are beneficial…and whole concept of "Hey: you wanna get strong at WHAT exactly?" gets missed.

You get the standard version..

Full body means you will do a few compound lifts with overlapping muscles (BB-style talk right here) and Splits mean you will focus one day on each big lift and then have accessory muscle-oriented exercises that follow.

Anyone who wants to get big should focus on diet first and anyone who wants to get strong should define what they mean by that to begin with. If they want to get maximal strength on a few key lifts, everything should be designed with that as the sole goal.

What is a 'Buttwink'

Buttwink is a crude slang used to describe the problem hips going into posterior tilt and the butt seeming to roll under the spine at the bottom of the squat exercise. This causes the lower spine to be in a vulnerable loaded position and causes getting out of the hole to be less than efficient. Here are the questions that were asked:

a. Causes: Is it purely related to Hip Mobility and nothing else? Working on hip mobility over time only helps minimize this problem or does it completely eradicate it? I am assuming there's an inverse relationship between the Lower back Rounding problem and the "depth" we are seeking to achieve. Is that correct?

No. It is not purely related to hip mobility. It is a myth that doing some hip mobility drills will just magically result in a perfect deep squat. It is also related to stability and the ability to keep the lower back set and the hips open at the bottom of the squat is a very specific skill. That skill is different depending on whether the exercise is loaded or not. For instance, a heavy loaded bar may force you down deeper than you can stabilize or have the mobility for, resulting in a "buttwink" that is not there with a non-weighted drill. Also, stability is related to the load, so just because you have a good deep squat with no weight doesn't mean you can stablize the load at that same depth when weighted.

I read someplace there is a neural component to this as well and that training hip mobility trains your hip's proprioception/ memory to maintain proper arch under loads. Is that how it works?

Sounds like a bunch of typical "should be so it must be" stuff. Great jargon and "theory" that, along with a quarter, won't even get you a cup of coffee these days. Since you don't do hip mobility under load, how could your "proprioception/memory be trained to maintain arch under loads? The proprioceptive sense known as "kinesthetic awareness" isn't a magical explanation as to how mobility exercises fix specific exercise related issues.

b. Symptoms & Consequences: What are the typical symptoms or consequences of this continued rounding under loads? Lower back pain perhaps?

Back pain could result. SI related issues could result. I don't know as there has never been a systematic study of the 'buttwink'.

c. Ashiem helped me understand the best way for someone with this problem to progress ahead, would be to work with less poundage on the OH Squats and Box squats. He also mentioned its important to completely stay off back squats meantime while in this phase of the program. Pls help me figure out a sample working (say for someone who squats 180-190 lbs) in terms of poundage, reps/ sets range (Periodization etc) and also the reasons for the same.

You're making it much more complicated than it is and making a fundamental mistake. You are treating a mobility/stability exercise as if it is something that should be rigidly programmed as if you are going for a PR at the end of some period, that PR being no buttwink. Instead of monitoring reps and set ranges, you will want to monitor performance. You do not want to use high reps, but simply use sets of 1 to 3, at first, so that you can work on the performance alone without incurring too much fatigue.

Yes, the overhead squat is the best way to begin addressing this. Once you go back to the back squat, the bar position will influence somewhat your ability to control the buttwink but the ability to do a good, deep, overhead squat is the basic fundamental starting point, after which the rest becomes gravy. It does NOT work the other way around.

To cure the buttwink, the truth is, you really do not have to think in terms of this one problem at all. All you need to do is develop a good overhead squat. I would usually say start with the "tweaking the overhead squat" article and do the drills and such outlined there. Once you can perform the swiss ball drill and go as deep as possible without letting your butt roll under, it is time to start with a dowel and perform the overhead squats facing a wall.

You move on to there by doing what a call the "two progressions method".

See, once you can use a dowel in facing close to a wall and go nice and deep with a good squatting position, this does not mean you can pick up a metal bar (training bar or Olympic bar) and do the same under load. If it turns out you can, then that's great. If it turns out you cannot, you will continue using the dowel to work on mobility, while performing other drills, to be able to go as deep as you possibly can. At the same time, on a different day, you will work with a bar and you will go only as deep as you can stabilize the load and not have the hips roll under. For this, you want to use the empty bar and just work on increasing the depth until you can go well below parallel, and get the beginnings of a deep squat. Then, you should start loading the bar, maintaining only the depth you can do perfectly, till you get to about 60 or 70lbs then you will start going deeper and deeper with that load. Now, you would have been doing the dowel squats all along, going very deep.

To continue with that progression track (the dowel squats) you really need what is called a "training bar" or a "standard bar" which weigh about 15 lbs. You want to use one of those and begin loading those deep squats. The "two progression" are the dowel squats, that are deep, becoming loaded squats that you continue to slowly add weight to, and the heavy loaded squats, which you get to 60 or 70lbs and then go deeper and deeper. The idea is that the two progressions "meet" each other so that your 70lbs loaded squat goes to the depth you have for the dowel squats, and the weight you use on the dowel squats, which are not loaded, goes up to 70lbs or beyond. What you've done, as a result, is work the loaded mobility and stability from 'both ends'. Once you've done this, you'll never have butt wink again.

d. Any detailed descriptions of the Box squats available anyplace on our website? I am particularly interested in knowing it better.

I don't have anything written. They could help once you've done the overhead squats and move back to back squats. Someone could describe them to you or maybe we already have a thread.

Guy has many training issues. He cannot Squat. He cannot Deadlift. He cannot Bench Press. He has zero coordination. Why? Because his mobility and stability is not up to par.

So he is given a detailed plan to help improve his position.

He never trains seriously.

He does not improve.

He continues to not train seriously.

His problems only get worse.

And yet he still whines and complains.

I really don't get it. To get good at anything you absolutely have to dedicate time and effort for it. For me to pull a 515 Deadlift on a Deload workout and make it an "easy" workout it means I have put in multiple times that effort into daily training.

Forget lifting. Think Martial Arts. Anybody (like Joe) who actually practices this stuff knows that almost 99% of the time it is about keeping your head low, practicing and practicing and polishing technique and really working hard for that one glory moment when you're actually in a true situation - either a fight or a competition.

We train hard on a day to day basis so that when competition day or test day or maxout day comes around: it is a walk in the park.

End of rant

It's pretty interesting because they admit that the use is rampant, it is for performance enhancement, they cite wanting to be the best or better than others in order to gain employment, and some of them admit to being on them at that moment or that they will be on them during the coming performance. No where near the same stigma as pro athletes.

In regards to anabolic steroids, there is a actually a lot of talk in the UFC right now because one of the heavyweight fighters failed a pee test with a T/E ratio something like 14:1 (they allow 6:1 I believe). Nothing has been proven or dis-proven as of yet, his official statement so far is anti-inflammatory drugs with testosterone caused it, but speculation is not in short supply.

Personally I understand an athlete's, or anyone's, desire to be the best or to become better and better but I am wholeheartedly against performance enhancing drugs.

One, I recently heard a bodybuilder say that muscles do not remember exercise variations and therefore using variations is silly.

About this, if we look at variations only from the perspective of muscles (a silly idea, imo) then any group of exercises which have overlapping muscles becomes a variation and therefore silly to do.

However, Exercise Variations should be looked at as movements separately and independently on their own - not that circular thinking way of "movements are caused by muscles and therefore muscles are the basics of movements so all you need to know is muscles".

Two, we use Exercise Variations extensively in our training because they do have their own unique added benefit. The general statements we read are true: a Snatch Grip Deadlift will help build a stronger upper back which will help in handling more weight overall on the Deadlift. Similarly, Pin Presses will help a trainee lift more on the Bench Press or OHP (if the Pin Presses are Overhead).

But, I think it is futile to try to quantify how much this added benefit is. Sometimes the co-relation is so indirect it can only be qualified through comfort in the lift and/or smoothness of the pull (which is also another deceptive factor btw). A lot of Percentage Based Programs explicitly state that if you can Rack Pull 110% of your 1RM then your Actual Deadlift is now at 102.5% or whatever arbitrary number. This is wrong because not everybody is the same and it is impossible to be able to predict a certain quantity every member of the general population can successfully attempt.

Three, I also heard someone mention that Exercise Variations are a form of progress. I think this is true and at the same time it is also untrue. In terms of unilateral movements - lunges, raised lunges, all the way to pistol squats are all progressions on exercise variations. Defining it as "similar movements", one can see how the epitome of single leg movements is the Pistol squat. But at the same time, I do not think that this is the same for Squats for example. Or Deadlifts. Or the Bench Press. The Pin Press is not a progression from the Bench Press. Perhaps this has to do with ROM though. For example, I think, going from Back Squats to Front Squats to Overhead Squats is actually a form of progression because the exercises get more and more technically inclined and less about "brute strength".

:-)

You can download that freely or you can just read it there on the page. It is an old article by Bartitsu founder E.W. Barton-Wright called "How to Pose as a Strong Man", published in the January, 1899 edition of Pearson’s Magazine. It is basically a set of seven parlor tricks as outlined by the The Bartitsu Society's website.

Bartitsu, obviously named after Barton, is a self-defense and martial arts system out of England in the late 1890's. According to wikipedia it is mentioned in Sherlock Holmes as "baritsu" and it has experienced a revival since 2002…indeed, I see a number of websites dedicated to it, not only the one linked above.

Classic case:

Glute Bridges with 405 lbs

His form is bang on the dot and he's not just doing 1-2 reps but a whole set of 10. So yes, given that, this is adequate. What I find interesting is that an exercise like this which is really not meant to be taken so seriously and done balls to the wall, has been given SO much attention in recent times.

I believe Bret Contreras has even prescribed a "Rest-pause" method for doing this exercise.

At first, the rage was Glute Ham Raises. Now, it's time for Glute Bridges.

These injury prevention or activation exercises should not be given so much attention and trained this aggressively. I also believe that a lot of these people are convinced that doing Squats and Deadlifts for multiple sets and wave loading or generally large "volume" is bad for them….but doing these injury prevention and pseudo-isolation type exercises for crazy intensity and volume is "safe".

So, this latest piece by Todd Bumgardner got me thinking..

Squat Commandments

In his "Commandments" about the Squat, he writes, as a conclusion:

Be Strong. TC has a great quote: "What's the sense in looking like a Ferrari if you've got a Volkswagen engine under the hood?"

If you want to be bigger, you need to get stronger. Is it more athleticism that you fancy? You need to jump and sprint. Oh, and get stronger.

Since everyone needs a barometer to be measured against, I'll give you one. To be a strong squatter you need to squat two and a half times your bodyweight. And unless you are a world-class bench presser, you better be able to squat more than you bench. If you can't – start making the squat rack your church.

Well, this was funny. One, he makes it sound like it IS highly common and achievable to look like a Ferrari and have a Volkswagen engine under the hood - yet where are these common achievements?

Strength is the key to everything….even bodybuiding???

2.5x BW Squat… I have no words.

Moving on to Bench Press….

Bench Press Commandments

Forget Your Chest.

This is actually mostly true. One doesn't bench for a bigger chest…we have flies for that.

Hey, this bodybuilder said some nonsense for the squat but he got his bench info down right

Most bench training should be done with sub-maximal weights and through a full range of motion, but twice per year you should include a partial range of motion Max Effort training cycle. At the end of each cycle your nervous system will be primed to return to full range benching.

What? LOL…. He is talking about using board presses and floor presses but such a weird way to put it across!

That limit strength should be 1.75 times your body weight if you want to be considered a strong bencher. I don't base this number off a scientific formula. Paying attention to what strong guys can do has led me to decide that it's a respectable ratio.

Okaaaaay…. so 2.5x SQ and 1.75x BP. this is the score so far.

Deadlift Commandments

Know it's not a Squat. A rugby player I train was required to train at his university's varsity weight room this past fall. The strength coach told him that he was to "Drop his ass low because the deadlift is just a squat with the bar on the ground." This is a popular misconception, and a bad one.

Boom! This is right on the money. I love it. Infact, I've been observing more and more people harping about this recently. Good!

Each day you train include hip mobility training, upper-back training, hip extension movements, and grip work – no matter the split. All of these components, minus the direct grip work, can be included during your warm-up.

We do this most of the time.

Prioritize Your Back and Hamstrings.

Very bodybuilderish but It's most PC Work.

To be a strong deadlifter, you need to pull at least two and a half times your body weight. When you can, you'll have the strength base necessary to develop your body in any way you choose.

We just went over this in the Deadlifts = Mass thread. What nonsense!!!

But yes, this is how the scorecard looks:

So, Deadlift = Squat = Deadlift for Strength + Bodybuilding????

I wonder where I should be and where I am at weighing 89 kgs which I'm gonna take as 200 lbs for simplicity's sake.

I'm not strong.

Look at it this way, even a moving video cannot teach you exactly how to move with a heavy weight. It's your center of gravity, after all. So a static image really doesn't stand a chance.

Very true.

I am going to follow the following template for my goals that I mentioned in the Training Template section of the forum.

Deadlifts + PC:
Mobility Drills
Deadlifts
Cable Pullthroughs

Pressing + Squat Technique work:
Bench Press
Dumbbell Pressing work at a very low incline bench(+30 Degrees)
Cook Mobility Drill

Squats + Rows
Mobility Drills
Front Squats
Cable Rows

Pressing + Pull-ups + Rows
Overhead Press
Pull-ups
Dumbbell rows
Face pulls

My training for the above mentioned routine will start in couple of days from now.

Today, I did some Front Squats, used clean grips for the very first time, and moreover I am not a regular front Squatter, I am always a lover of back squats. I want you all to critique my form for the same.
Sorry for the camera angle.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGj9B4JXvwI]

But you know there is this really irritating phrase that is often applied to neural factors: "We cannot overstate the importance of….."

Yes, we CAN. We can overstate. People overstate things all the time. A great example comes from Pavel Tsatsouline who famously states, "Your muscles already have the strength to lift a car, they just don't know it yet."

After this Eric goes on to give an example of a mother saving her child trapped in a burning car.

It is really true that people exaggerate their points to provide a cosmetic effect of them being of more importance than what they're worth.

Awesome!

I was considering the design factors that I will be utilizing for manufacturing of the cage.

Size of Cage: Height : 7 Feet, Width : 4 Feet, Depth : 3 Feet

Material of Construction: MS Rectangular Pipe: 5” X 2”, Gauge thickness: 12-14 (I.e. 2.7 mm to 2 mm)

Pull Ups Bar: Hollow Pipe of suitable thickness

Please provide inputs on the safety rod diameter, Spacing to be maintained between the safety rod racking holes (I hope 4" spacing should be enough).
Any other inputs on design correction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Goal - looking strong and muscular by actually getting stronger i.e. to progress in my lifts.

Looking for some kind of progression scheme for my lifts, because till now it was haphazard in the push-pull that I was following.

BSQs(my fav, as deep as it can get, no issues with mobility) – 305 X 4
DLs – 315 X 6
OHPs – 135 X 6~7
Bench – I won’t talk about this, because we never practiced it on the Push- Pull. But, I know its weak and I want to improve that.

I am Harsh, my good friend Ashiem introduced me to the GUS a long time back, but at that time I was immature and young enough to actually understand the basics of strength training, I am always lured by a good heavy hypertrophied physique, so, I was there, following a push-pull routine. Propagated by a fitness academy we all know. There is nothing wrong in following that, if getting strong is not on the list. Actually, the main reason that I feel is, there is no progression scheme what so ever, lifts are just placed in a manner from the point of view of muscles. The purpose of that schedule is still not clear whether the schedule aims at getting strong or ‘looking’ strong. However, this is the not the reason, for which I am inclined towards joining the GUS, I am inclined and interested because I want to progress in my lifts, i.e. I want to be strong and big [my goal]

I am sorry, if that sounds a bit immature, but looking strong and muscular by actually getting stronger is my goal.

It was Anshul, who encouraged me to join GUS, we constantly talk about the articles on GUS, I am an avid reader of your articles Eric, even when I was following the Push-Pull (I am still following the same ), I was using the concepts of acclimatization for warming up for my main lifts like BSQs and DLs and even for decline benches. I resumed my workouts on 22nd Jan 2012 after a year gap (almost) because of my personal problems. I have been lifting (gyming) since the age of 17(that was all bullshit to be honest, separate day for each body part). But, I understood lifts like Squat and DL for the first time when I joined K11 in the year 2010. Since then, I am evolving and learning new concepts, trying to improve my lifts by reading articles on the GUS.

As, I said I resumed my workouts on 22nd Jan 2012(i.e. working out from near about 2 months now),

These are some of my numbers which I got few days back –

BSQs(my fav, as deep as it can get, no issues with mobility) – 305 X 4
DLs – 315 X 6
OHPs – 135 X 6~7
Bench – I won’t talk about this, because we never practiced it on the Push- Pull. But, I know its weak and I want to improve that.

Lifts I want to focus on – DLs, BSQs, Bench/OHP.

Goals - looking strong and muscular by actually getting stronger (just want to let you know that I am good on my genetics (muscles) part :-P)

I am really sorry GUS, if this post of mine was a bit too long. I just don’t want to hide anything from you guys to be honest.

This post isn't to defame him or put him down in any way - this is a disclaimer because he is a very close friend of mine.

Well, the other day, we were talking and I did criticize the Push-Pull routine (if you don't know what it is, it's a standard push-pull routine lol with some more compound movements and the usual 2 sets to failure with no clear progression pattern) saying that people training like this aren't really training "hard".

My justification for this was that they have Deadlifts thrown in every alternate week and for all the big movements all they do is warm up, acclimate and set a 1,2,3, or in rare occasions 4+ RM for the day. That is it.

Well, comparatively anybody training using the plethora of GUS methods is really breaking his/her back, right?

So I made this casual comment and I was surprised at the response I got.

He made two points. One, according to his S&C books, our training is too long. Apparently athletes train in 40 minute rounds. Anything more than 40 minutes and you are losing the hormonal drive (something to do with anabolic response to training).

His second point was that our training is imbalanced. We do not do speed work and plyometrics.

Well, it got me thinking.

One, I have yet to meet anybody who has reached a certain strength level who does NOT take just 1 hour to warm-up, acclimate (and this includes mobility work, etc). I think anybody who has reached a certain level will take an hour to get to their working weights and anybody really training for maximal strength IS going to take much much much more than 40 minutes to get their sets done.

Two, that 40 minute number baffles me. First off, we don't train 40 minutes straight - with the rest thrown in and all that, sure our workouts take 2-2.5 hours on paper but the actual time spent training is probably 25 minutes. So perhaps this 40 minute mark makes sense.

With regards to the Speed work, we do use speed work just not regularly because you don't HAVE to do speed work just because speed is a component of power.

The thing is, I'm not singling out my friend alone for his reference to his S&C book about the 40 minute mark. A lot of people have approached me regarding this as well, so I think it is an important point.

What depth in squats do we consider as good enough or in other words when speaking of strength training what is the depth one should look for?

I am not looking for answer as people say BB style.."below parallel". Of course squats are always below parallel but what depth below parallel one should aim for? Should it be the deepest possible?

In my case:

Lets assume I am hitting 220 on Front Squats. On a day I am feeling fresh, I hit 220 with full depth (my hips touch back of the shins almost) where as on a day I am relatively fatigued say after a tough day at office..I try to hit 220 with same depth I fail or I get it really really tough. I try to hit 220, break parallel and good depth still but not deepest, I get it easily.

Please guide on this. Thanks.

July 20, 2010: Potentiation and Waved Sets, Stupid Exercise Names, More Training to Fail, and More Posts and Articles

Programs and Methods Versus Principles: Wave Loading and Interval Training

The Singles Scene - Your Guide to Single Rep Strength Training

Is Your "Strength Training" Actually Strength Training:Part 1

Now, almost a year later, as the reigning Night of the Lifting Dead Champion, Richard Hawthorne performed at the Arnold 2012 at the Animal Cage. He Deadlifted 610 lbs for 4 reps!

Richard Hawthorne Deadlifts 610 x 4 at the Arnold 2012

In a private conversation on his profile wall on Facebook, Richard Hawthorne mentioned to all his fans congratulating him on this incredible feat that his training usually involves him working in a weight range: his being 550-600 for reps and working sets.

So I guess his interview last year in which he mentioned 10x10 is outdated: Richard likes to train heavy and own a weight range. Ring a bell???

So in this article, Bret has something interesting to say about Cluster Sets:

Cluster Training for the Deadlift

There are an infinite number of possible ways to arrange a cluster set, but here's a specific protocol that I really like. Recently I put on some really loud music, loaded up the bar to 405 pounds (around 75% of my 1RM), and pulled ten explosive singles with about 10-15 seconds of rest in between reps (as much time as it took for me to walk around the inside perimeter of the training studio).

This was an awesome training stimulus and something I'll try to do more often. To reiterate, the protocol is:

10 x 1 with 75% of 1RM with 10-15 sec. rest between sets

Remember to pull with maximal acceleration.

That is not a protocol at all. That is just one workout. How does one proceed from there?

Speaking of Clusters, I have not come across any article which is better than Eric's on It's All About Time: Ideas for Manipulating Rest Periods in Strength Training for Force Potential (not Bodybuilding)

He has some very interesting points:

In the last installment of The Contreras Files, I discussed some of the benefits of hex bar deadlifting especially as it pertains to maximum power production. Many strength coaches prefer the hex bar deadlift to the conventional deadlift for its increased safety due to reduced spinal loading.

I prefer the conventional version. Why? I'm all about the hips!

He then proceeds to lay out some technical studies…and then he concludes with:

Here's the way I see it. A strong case could be made for either variation's superiority. One could argue that the hex bar deadlift is the safer of the two due to reduced spinal loading.

One could also argue that the hex bar deadlift is a more "well-rounded" lift due to its significantly greater knee extension torques (Stuart McRobert in Brawn referred to the exercise as a "squat-lift" since it's more of a hybrid squat/deadlift exercise).

However, in strength and conditioning, we aren't restricted to performing just one exercise. If I want to load up the knee joint (quadriceps), I'll perform a squat, front squat, or Bulgarian split squat as these movements take the knee joint through a fuller range of motion.

If I want to load up the hamstrings, then I'll perform a conventional or Romanian deadlift. If I want to load up the glutes I'll perform a hip thrust. These are the exercises that produce the most torque loading on the joints, require the most muscle force from the associated muscles, and elicit the highest EMG activation for the associated muscles.

That's my two cents!

I don't know why anyone has to choose between the two. Why can't we do both? I do both.

Interesting read.

Injuries

More than ever, you need to take care of yourself and not get injured in the first place. No matter how boring it may seem, you need to do your foam rolling and mobility work, take deload weeks, and listen to your body when it's banged up. An ounce of prevention goes a long way.

Injury proofing. That is exactly what we believe in.

Spine Flexion

His Reverse Crunch exercise looks pretty cool and perhaps I will try this out tonight.

Hip mobility "sticks" far better when you train core stability at greater hip ranges of motion.

I've stopped ab work for a long time - direct ab work that is, but this was a good reminder of whenever I get back to it :-)

Decent article on the whole.