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Creator perspective · Body

Longer contact times increase collapse, forward body tilt, and hamstring strain exposure

When hitting the ground in running, the body tilts forward; the longer the foot is in contact, the more collapse and the more forward the spring pattern is tilted — more trunk and pelvic tilt. If you collapse too much due to a long contact time, you risk tilting the entire body forward. Forward trunk lean in sprinting is a huge vector of hamstring strain, very often related to pelvic tilt (though the two could be independent).

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Creator perspective · Body

Overloading an unprepared running pattern is self-sabotage

Some soccer clubs do top-speed sprinting several times a week for prevention, which risks overexposing players who do too much, too fast. If players' running pattern is problematic and you overload them with top-speed work, you will basically shoot them in the foot by doing too much on an unprepared body.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

described example from clubs he has seen

Creator perspective · Body

Ankle collapse may stem from insufficient hip and knee stiffness, not just the ankle

If the hip and knee cannot be stiff enough, a huge overload lands on the ankle, and even a stiff ankle cannot withstand the mechanical loading — so ankle collapse at high speed may originate higher up the body.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation · Body

Body Positioning and Muscle Targeting

Lean slightly forward during the single leg squat to target the glutes and hamstrings. To focus on quad development, put the foot tighter so the knee tracks forward more. The single leg squat with a slight lean forward increases mobility.

Garage Strength · The "Single" Best Lift Every Athlete Should Do!

Recommendation from Garage Strength

Recommendation · Body

Avoid Compensating in Forward Lunges

Jeff Cavaliere advises against sliding the hips back and then standing up when pushing out of a forward lunge; instead, keep the knee bent and come straight up.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Ankle Limitations: Stop at Available Depth

Jeff Cavaliere advises that if you have ankle dorsiflexion limitations and cannot reach full depth, stop at your available depth and continue.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Avoid Pitching Forward with Ankle Limitations

Jeff Cavaliere warns that if you have ankle limitations, avoid pitching forward to appear lower, as it shifts focus to the posterior chain away from the quads.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Forward Lean Targets Glutes and Hamstrings

Jeff Cavaliere recommends leaning forward by hinging at the waist during a reverse lunge to target the glutes and hamstrings (posterior chain), calling it a 'sprinter lunge'.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

If Doing Forward Lunges, Step Through

Jeff Cavaliere recommends that if you must do forward lunges, continue in a walking direction by stepping forward and through rather than compensating backwards.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Step Back and Out for a Stable Base

Jeff Cavaliere recommends stepping back and out to at least shoulder width or wider to provide a stable base of support for the lunge.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Upright Torso Targets Quads

Jeff Cavaliere recommends keeping an upright torso during a reverse lunge to target the quads (anterior chain).

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Recommendation · Body

Avoid Stepping Too Close Together

Jeff Cavaliere advises against stepping too close together in the lunge, as it turns the exercise into a balance test rather than a leg builder.

ATHLEAN-X™ · Stop Doing Lunges Like This! (SAVE A FRIEND)

Recommendation from Jeff Cavaliere

Creator perspective · Body

Avoiding fruit and vegetables is a distraction from bigger nutrition issues

Jeff argues that avoiding apples, grapes, and carrots because they supposedly block a six-pack is a distraction from the bigger-picture nutrition items that actually matter, and that extreme nutrition tactics are used to avoid facing changes one isn't ready to make.

ATHLEAN-X™ · I'm 51. Here's How I Still Have Visible Abs (WORKS AT ANY AGE)

Claim from Jeff (Athlean-X)

Creator perspective · Body

Why the pull-up stresses a damaged shoulder: traction stress and the labrum

The host explains that the pull-up is a troublesome exercise for people with a bum shoulder, though less obviously so than the bench press. Hanging creates traction stress that pulls the arm up, and without an intact labrum you lose stability of the ball in the socket, like a suction cup that no longer works.

ATHLEAN-X™ · 7 Exercises That Are Making Your Shoulder WORSE

Claim from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Creator perspective · Body

Why the bench press aggravates the shoulder: bicep tendon, rotator cuff, and labrum under stretch

The host explains that the bench press is a classic chest builder but must be done right to avoid wrecking the shoulders. Structures susceptible to aggravation include the bicep tendon, the rotator cuff, and to a lesser extent the labrum. Getting the bar down requires the elbow behind the body, putting the shoulder into extension, which stretches the long head of the bicep tendon across the area; under load this can become problematic.

ATHLEAN-X™ · 7 Exercises That Are Making Your Shoulder WORSE

Claim from Jeff Cavaliere (Athlean-X)

Report · Body

Ground contact time at high speed is around 100–150 ms for good athletes

When running fast, good athletes' ground contact times are around 100, 120, or 150 milliseconds — an extremely short window to express force that people very often overlook.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Report · Body

Intrinsic foot muscle training improved change of direction and high-speed metrics in highly trained people

In a training intervention specifically targeting the intrinsic foot muscles, highly trained people showed real improvements, including improved change of direction performance and some high-speed metrics.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Report · Body

The Bramah score links sprint kinematics to hamstring injury risk in EPL players

Today there are papers, including Chris Bramah's score — the only study so far linking sprint kinematics with hamstring risk in high-level English soccer (EPL). A higher score relates to higher hamstring injury risk. The score has 12 items, so a player could be perfect on the collapse item, have wrong numbers on other items, and still get injured; no specific link has been established between each individual item (e.g., trunk angle, pelvic tilt) and injury risk. When asked, Bramah said the collapse item (a huge collapse or not at mid-stance) was very often observed in future hamstring-injured players.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Claim from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation · Body

Rate video observations as good, average, or bad to reveal what to work on

Dr. Morin recommends grading qualitative video assessment as good, average, or bad — with no numbers — and explains that a series of these ratings reveals what an athlete needs to work on.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation · Body

Do your own research in your own context; small correlations don't extrapolate

Dr. Morin recommends doing your own research in your own context, because maybe no published study corresponds to your situation. He argues a small correlation coefficient difference cannot be extrapolated to all contexts and all players, and notes he was a co-author — but never lead author — on studies comparing exercises and their correlation with sprinting, because he doesn't think it's a good approach.

Garage Strength · Why Most Athletes Train Speed Wrong w/ Sprint Scientist Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin

Recommendation from Dr. Jean-Benoit Morin