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Effective Simplicity for the Busy Man

Effective Simplicity for the Busy Man

Although I love weightlifting, and it is a very important part of my life, I am also a busy person with many other interests outside the gym. 5/3/1 allows me to get in, get the work done and get out in a reasonable time, while still making excellent progress over the span of the year.
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5 Ways to Increase Your Press

5 Ways to Increase Your Press

Ever since I started pressing, I have been obsessed with making it better. Partly because I was so weak at it for so long (which meant that it had no place to go but up) and because it is simply a cool exercise to do. The death of the Press as a movement can be attributed to a lot of things, none of which actually matter. BUT, if you view this lift with as much enthusiasm as I do, use these tips to improve what I consider to be one of the most fun movements in the gym.

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Blood, Sweat and Football: A 5/3/1 Family

Blood, Sweat and Football: A 5/3/1 Family

Note from Jim: I've gotten a lot of success stories over the years, great testimonials from all over the world.  Not one of them goes unappreciated; I am humbled by each one of them.  This time of year (and hell,...

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How to Make Money in the Fitness Industry

How to Make Money in the Fitness Industry

I was surprised when recently asked about the keys to making money in the fitness industry. I never really thought about it much – I don’t know if there are any real secrets to putting out a good product, service or idea other than having a good product, service or idea. I do know...
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What it Takes

What it Takes

Without a doubt, the strongest and best lifters in the world have consistently busted their ass in the weight room. For decades. Not weeks, not a year, but decades. There are genetic freaks out there that achieve a high level of strength quickly, but comparing yourself to them is unfair and will probably drive you out of the sport and into a 10-year Pop Tarts & Vicodin bender. Now, consistency doesn't always mean they're going balls out, every day. It means they chip away slowly, but surely.
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Jim Wendler Bench Press - Quote

Bench Press - How To Set Up In 8 Steps

However you choose to bench press, make sure every single rep, regardless of weight is done with perfection. This goes for the squat, deadlift, press and any other big barbell lift. I've never seen any strong, experienced lifter take any set lightly - they demand perfection from the bar to their max. Think back to the last time you bench pressed - did you have a perfect set-up on the very first rep with the empty bar? Did you treat it with the same importance as your last max attempt? The beginner still thinks there must be some kind of special secret or trick. A veteran lifter always makes sure the simple things are taken care of; they aren't ever sexy but they always work.
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Jim Wendler Deadlifting

8 Simple Ways To Build A Better Grip

One of the keys of doing grip work is to make it economical - there is no point in doing direct grip work when you can EASILY add to an exercise you would already be doing. And the BIGGEST excuse is "but I can do more weight if I don't use overhand grip or X". Well, guess what? If your grip ain't strong, it won't matter what you can tug. You are simply WEAK. Get over your own ego and do things right.
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Jim Wendler laughing with friends

Ramble On - Random Thoughts on Training

Signs you are a Training Asshole

1. You do more tinkering than training.
2. You train harder than you can recover.
3. You aren’t honest about your goals or your effort.
4. You use the exception to prove the rule.
5. You don’t eat to support your goals...
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5/3/1 For College & Pro Baseball

5/3/1 For College & Pro Baseball

I recently got a text from a good friend of mine who is a university strength and conditioning coach. He is the head coach for all sports and works directly with the baseball team. For 2.5 months (about 3 cycles) he used the 5/3/1 BBB training plan and reported the following...

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How To Build Your Own Kroc Dumbbell

How To Build Your Own Kroc Dumbbell

Before we start with the simple process, let me define the Kroc Row. Named after everyone’s favorite Polish American Powerlifter, Matt Kroczaleski, the Kroc Row has quickly become a staple exercise in many lifting circles. In its infancy this exercise was simply a single set of high rep dumbbell rows with the heaviest weight possible. Matt did this because of necessity – the dumbbells he had access weren’t heavy enough to perform the requisite “10-12” reps that is often prescribed. To combat this, he just did a ton of reps with the heaviest dumbbell available. Initially done to build his upper back for his bench press, this exercise also gave him great deadlift lockout strength as well as grip strength.
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Fasted Cardio

Fasted Cardio

Question: Fasted cardio...worth it? If your schedule permitted and your main goal at the time was fat loss, would you do some of your prowler work/hill sprints in the morning on an empty stomach?

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Weighted Chin Ups

Weighted Chin Ups

I like weighted chin ups. I'm not voting for them in the next "Five Awesome Exercises" election but they certainly have their place. I've championed chin ups for years, mostly because they're great for the upper back, lats, and arms. And because you can do them anywhere – chin-up bar, top of the Smith machine, scaffolding, top of the monolift, playground equipment, etc. Weighted chin ups are a good idea IF you can do them, and even then you still need to keep bodyweight chin ups as part of your training (unless you can bang out multiple sets of 20 with good form). And if that's the case, gain some weight!
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Small Changes, Big Impact

Small Changes, Big Impact

Basically, we kicked the rest of the world’s butt, stole their lunch money and slept with their girlfriends when it came to track cycling. When the performance director was asked by the outside media about the key practices they had implemented in pursuit of this success, he told them with a bone dead straight face that they had super round laser cut wheels which gave them a major speed advantage. The morons lapped it up. The foreign newspapers printed the story. Everyone laughed...
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Mentoring Wendler

Mentoring Wendler

I was intimidated. I couldn't even put 25-pound plates on the bar to incline press. My bench was equally as awful. My squat sucked. But I stuck with it.

My older sister, who was in high school, was even told that I was going to get beat up if I kept coming into the weight room. I figured a good beating was worth it; no one was going to keep me away.

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Training and Fashion

Training and Fashion

Training and Fashion Clothing-wise, wear whatever you think is comfortable to train in. I generally  wear cutoff cargo pants and whatever T-shirt/long sleeve shirt I have on that day.        As for gear, the two biggest things that...

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